Forrest Films is an American

film production Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

, financing, and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

company. It was formed in 2018 and is headquartered in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

, on the Warner Bros lot.

History

Forrest Films was founded in December 2018 by

Lucas Oil Lucas Oil Products, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants founded in 1989. History Lucas Oil was founded by trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989. The company is a m ...

founder Forrest Lucas and race car driver-actor-producer Ali Afshar, with Afshar as CEO. The company aims to make inspirational and hopeful family films. ESX Productions, a film production and financing company formed in 2015 by Lucas and Afshar, operates as a label under the Forrest Films banner. Scott Kennedy, formerly head of operations and distribution for

Open Road Films Open Road Films, LLC (formerly known briefly as Global Road Entertainment) is an American independent film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Tom Ortenberg on March 26, 2011, as a joint ven ...

, was named president of worldwide marketing and distribution. In February 2019,

Christina Moore Christina Moore (born April 12, 1973) is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as Laurie Forman on the sixth season of the Fox period comedy series ''That '70s Show'' (2003–04), Tracy Clark on The CW teen drama serie ...

, a former ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'' cast member, was named vice president of development and production; Ava Rettke was named director of development and production; and Forrest Films signed a three-film deal with producer Hadeel Reda. Prior to the formation of Forrest Films, Lucas and Afshar produced several films through ESX: '' The Dog Lover'', starring

Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress, singer, dancer and director. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990), Beverly Switzler in ''Howard t ...

; '' Running Wild'', starring

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...

; '' American Wrestler: The Wizard'', based on Afshar's time as a high school wrestler; ''Pray for Rain'', starring

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

; and ''Dirt'', starring DeRon Horton. The first Forrest Films production, '' Bennett's War'', starring Michael Roark and

Trace Adkins Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud'', released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since t ...

, was released in theaters in the United States on August 30, 2019. Later in 2019, Forrest Films will release the drama film ''The Ride'', starring Shane Graham and

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

and based on the life of

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...

racer John Buultjens. The company plans to release seven films by 2021. Each will have a budget of $5 million or less. In July 2019, it was announced that Forrest Films would produce the mixed martial arts film ''Mickey Kelley'', starring

Sean Patrick Flanery Sean Patrick Flanery (born October 11, 1965) is an American actor. He is known for playing Connor MacManus in ''The Boondock Saints'' (1999) and its sequel '' The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'' (2009), Greg Stillson in the television seri ...

Katrina Bowden Katrina Bowden (born September 19, 1988) is an American actress. After a two-episode arc on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (2006), she received mainstream recognition for her recurring, later main, role as Cerie on the NBC sitcom ''30 ...

, and

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), '' The Big Easy'' (1986), '' Innerspace'' (1987), '' Great Balls of Fire!'' (1989), ' ...

, written by Flanery and

Alex Ranarivelo Alex Ranarivelo is a French filmmaker known for his sports dramas. Early life He was born into a French- Malagasy family in Saint-Jean-d'Angely, France. His great-grandfather, a Malagasy man, married his great-grandmother, a white woman, in 191 ...

, and directed by Ranarivelo. It will also feature

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

fighters

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder C ...

Edson Barboza Edson Mendes Barboza Júnior (born January 21, 1986) is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai kickboxer. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ...

, and

Mickey Gall Mickey Gall (born January 22, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Gall was born in Green Brook, New Jersey. He began training in boxin ...

. Other planned upcoming releases include romantic drama ''Roped'', sports drama ''Lady Driver'', thriller '' The Stand at Paxton County'', and comedy ''Wheels of Fortune''.

Films

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Film studios in Southern California Film production companies of the United States Film distributors of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Entertainment companies established in 2018 2018 establishments in California Companies based in Burbank, California