"A bad dish from you and your life will end." Magnolia Pictures has revealed the official trailer for What You Wish For, an indie thriller from filmmaker Nicholas Tomnay, a follow-up to his first film The Perfect Host. This new one premiered at many genre fests: Fantasia, Fantastic Fest, FrightFest, A Night of Horror, Grimmfest, Celluloid Screams, and Screamfest previously before its upcoming release in theaters this May during the start of the summer. A down-on-his-luck chef with gambling problems flees to a Latin American villa, where he assumes the identity of another skilled chef. "A Hitchcockian, edge-of-your-seat descent into escalating moral compromise with generous servings of dark humour, shock, and surprise." The title is an obvious riff on the "be careful what you wish for" idiom, as the full synopsis hints that he "soon discovers just what Jack's been doing to maintain the lifestyle he so desperately craved." Uh oh.
- 4/18/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired North American rights to “What You Wish For,” a new suspense-horror film written and directed by Nicholas Tomnay.
The film stars Nick Stahl (Showtime’s “Let the Right One In”) and had its world premiere at Fantasia Festival. Tamsin Topolski (“Slow Horses”) and Randy Vasquez (“America Has Fallen: Election Day”) also star. Magnet plans to release the film this summer. Tomnay previously co-wrote and directed “The Perfect Host,” which starred David Hyde Pierce.
In “What You Wish For,” Stahl plays Ryan, a talented chef whose crushing gambling problems prompts him to leave town in a hurry for the safe haven of an unnamed Latin American country. There, his friend Jack (Brian Groh), a more prestigious chef with his own unique troubles, welcomes him into his home. Ryan has no idea how Jack’s able to afford his extravagant lifestyle, and...
The film stars Nick Stahl (Showtime’s “Let the Right One In”) and had its world premiere at Fantasia Festival. Tamsin Topolski (“Slow Horses”) and Randy Vasquez (“America Has Fallen: Election Day”) also star. Magnet plans to release the film this summer. Tomnay previously co-wrote and directed “The Perfect Host,” which starred David Hyde Pierce.
In “What You Wish For,” Stahl plays Ryan, a talented chef whose crushing gambling problems prompts him to leave town in a hurry for the safe haven of an unnamed Latin American country. There, his friend Jack (Brian Groh), a more prestigious chef with his own unique troubles, welcomes him into his home. Ryan has no idea how Jack’s able to afford his extravagant lifestyle, and...
- 1/18/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The monkey's paw delivers in Nicholas Tomnay's "What You Wish For," a culinary chiller with strange and dangerous cravings. It's a Hitchcockian take on one-percenter conspiracies and ravenous appetites that cares more about characters caught hosting a unique dinner party experience. One man's cursed profession is another man's opportunity to start over, as Tomnay keys into how desperation can excuse even the most glaringly not-okay moral dilemmas. "What You Wish For" is a whodunit with sharp teeth and precise knife skills — except you already know who "dun it," and tension exists as the perpetrators try not to get caught.
Nick Stahl stars as hotel chain chef Ryan, who reunites with culinary school roommate Jack (Brian Groh) in the jungles of Latin America before his next assignment. Jack has been traveling the world as a private chef for years, padding his bank account with each high-end, well-paying feast. Ryan has been landlocked in America,...
Nick Stahl stars as hotel chain chef Ryan, who reunites with culinary school roommate Jack (Brian Groh) in the jungles of Latin America before his next assignment. Jack has been traveling the world as a private chef for years, padding his bank account with each high-end, well-paying feast. Ryan has been landlocked in America,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Matt Donato
- Slash Film
Stars: Jackson Hurst, Heather McComb, Jay Jay Warren, Hana Hayes, Nick Gomez, Raymond J. Barry, Barbara Crampton, Randy Vasquez, Daz Crawford, Maz Siam, Luis E. Carazo | Written by Gregory Gieras | Directed by Joel Novoa
Made for the Syfy channel Day of Reckoning can be summed up in one easy description: it’s a demonic monster-movie take on The Purge, an old-school disaster movie given a CGI-filled makeover…
Fifteen years ago, the world suffered a horrific global disaster when millions of demon-like creatures ascended from the bowels of the earth, swarming the entire planet, and feasting on mankind for one full day. Now due to a lunar eclipse they have returned for 24 hours to purge the earth’s population. One family will battle against the odds to not only save themselves but to also seal the breach.
See what I mean?
The latest film from writer Gregory Gieras, Day of Reckoning...
Made for the Syfy channel Day of Reckoning can be summed up in one easy description: it’s a demonic monster-movie take on The Purge, an old-school disaster movie given a CGI-filled makeover…
Fifteen years ago, the world suffered a horrific global disaster when millions of demon-like creatures ascended from the bowels of the earth, swarming the entire planet, and feasting on mankind for one full day. Now due to a lunar eclipse they have returned for 24 hours to purge the earth’s population. One family will battle against the odds to not only save themselves but to also seal the breach.
See what I mean?
The latest film from writer Gregory Gieras, Day of Reckoning...
- 4/13/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Ten years ago Randy Vasquez made a documentary about Maria Guardado, a Salvadoran immigrant and activist who had fled her country after being targeted by the army. Maria’s heart wrenching story of surviving torture and sexual abuse, as told in Testimony: The Maria Guardado Story, won awards at both the Boston and New York Latino film festivals for Best Documentary. It went on to screen at twenty other festivals including the Havana Film Festival and AFI Film Festival. The award-winning doc allowed Maria to share her harrowing journey of survival and overcoming intense trauma--it also gave her a platform to continue her mission of fighting for social change through political activism.
It was November of 1996 in South Central Los Angeles, filmmaker Randy Vasquez walked into what he thought was a Green Party meeting but was something entirely different. A group of activists had formed a coalition called Crack the CIA after investigative journalist Gary Webb uncovered that the Central Intelligence Agency had been selling crack cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to contra guerrillas during the Nicaraguan civil war. The U.S.-backed contras were attempting to overthrow their country’s socialist government, the drug money afforded them access to weapons. At that first meeting, Crack the CIA was planning a national rally to protest the CIA’s involvement and demand accountability for their actions.
It was there that Randy met Maria Guardado. He began regularly attending Crack the CIA meetings and started working on a documentary about the group but was drawn to Maria. “Maria would speak up at practically every meeting and tell her story of being kidnapped, raped and tortured by the Salvadoran death squads who were trained by the CIA,” says Randy. Soon the focus of his documentary switched to Maria.
Randy didn’t speak much Spanish but they became fast friends. Maria recounts, “He spoke a little bit of Spanish and I didn’t speak English but I invited him to my house. Then, we came up with the idea to make the documentary.” As Randy remembers it, Maria was determined to shed light on the horrific actions of her country’s government and the CIA’s involvement in the Salvadoran civil war, “...I think I asked her if she’d like to do a doc about her story or maybe she told me she wanted a documentary done on her! She really wanted to get her message out into the world so I helped her do it.”
Maria is a kind, generous woman who fiercely believes that social change will come through grassroots activism. Her enduring optimism, in light of what she has suffered, is truly remarkable. On a Saturday evening in 1980, Maria was approached by 10 armed men, likely soldiers in the National Army, and was kidnapped. She was blindfolded and beaten, given electric shocks, received blows to the face and then thrown to the floor and raped.
Maria found it tremendously painful to share these memories in the documentary but was able to connect to audiences on a deeply emotional level. Randy tells the story of the first time he watched the film, with Maria at his side. “I watched it with Maria for the first time at my then girlfriend’s house because she had a big screen, just the three of us. Afterwards, my girlfriend broke down in Maria’s arms saying that she was sorry and that she never knew those things happened in El Salvador. Maria offered her such grace and held her in her arms.” When it screened in front of an audience for the first time, it was not easy for Maria but the support she received afterwards uplifted her. “I felt terrible, I felt like I almost had a heart attack. It hurt terribly. I was crying the whole time, everyone was crying, we cried together throughout the movie. Afterwards people hugged me and cried, they wanted to take pictures with me. I felt a great deal of support. It felt good. I was raising consciousness. Most Americans don’t know that their tax dollars are creating all this violence.”
Now on the tenth anniversary of the Testimony: The Maria Guardado Story, Maria reflects on how telling her story has helped heal her emotional scars, “It has helped me overcome my trauma, the kindness and solidarity of others has helped me. I have met so many beautiful people. I never imagined there would be so much solidarity here.” The film also helped fuel her activism, “It has helped me join in solidarity with the struggle of others and made me feel empowered.” Maria continues her work as an activist, working with countless organizations fighting for immigrant rights, union organizing, and against U.S. intervention abroad. She hopes that after watching the film people will walk away feeling that, “When people rise up we can make social change and create a new world...I bring a painful message but it’s so the world will realize that we need to work together to change the world.”
‘Randy’s Documentary’ poem by Maria Guardado
(translated from Spanish)
My duty in exile
has been to shout and shout
it to all and sundry
since brought by Santuario
and although my message
has pierced the people
it is still words and words
gone with the wind
in the obscurity of the forest
But in this second phase
it is about a documentary
made by Randy Vasquez
where I request solidarity to the world
with deep pain
to file a suit
otherwise
the terrorism continues…
Documentary that is added
to the history of the people
in its struggle for changes
to never again immigrate
not to divide the family,
not to die on the border
not to be the system’s scapegoat
at last, we will have peace with justice
without foreign interference
Thank you Randy
Your documentary is at long last,
Carrier Pigeon
Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on twitter.
It was November of 1996 in South Central Los Angeles, filmmaker Randy Vasquez walked into what he thought was a Green Party meeting but was something entirely different. A group of activists had formed a coalition called Crack the CIA after investigative journalist Gary Webb uncovered that the Central Intelligence Agency had been selling crack cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to contra guerrillas during the Nicaraguan civil war. The U.S.-backed contras were attempting to overthrow their country’s socialist government, the drug money afforded them access to weapons. At that first meeting, Crack the CIA was planning a national rally to protest the CIA’s involvement and demand accountability for their actions.
It was there that Randy met Maria Guardado. He began regularly attending Crack the CIA meetings and started working on a documentary about the group but was drawn to Maria. “Maria would speak up at practically every meeting and tell her story of being kidnapped, raped and tortured by the Salvadoran death squads who were trained by the CIA,” says Randy. Soon the focus of his documentary switched to Maria.
Randy didn’t speak much Spanish but they became fast friends. Maria recounts, “He spoke a little bit of Spanish and I didn’t speak English but I invited him to my house. Then, we came up with the idea to make the documentary.” As Randy remembers it, Maria was determined to shed light on the horrific actions of her country’s government and the CIA’s involvement in the Salvadoran civil war, “...I think I asked her if she’d like to do a doc about her story or maybe she told me she wanted a documentary done on her! She really wanted to get her message out into the world so I helped her do it.”
Maria is a kind, generous woman who fiercely believes that social change will come through grassroots activism. Her enduring optimism, in light of what she has suffered, is truly remarkable. On a Saturday evening in 1980, Maria was approached by 10 armed men, likely soldiers in the National Army, and was kidnapped. She was blindfolded and beaten, given electric shocks, received blows to the face and then thrown to the floor and raped.
Maria found it tremendously painful to share these memories in the documentary but was able to connect to audiences on a deeply emotional level. Randy tells the story of the first time he watched the film, with Maria at his side. “I watched it with Maria for the first time at my then girlfriend’s house because she had a big screen, just the three of us. Afterwards, my girlfriend broke down in Maria’s arms saying that she was sorry and that she never knew those things happened in El Salvador. Maria offered her such grace and held her in her arms.” When it screened in front of an audience for the first time, it was not easy for Maria but the support she received afterwards uplifted her. “I felt terrible, I felt like I almost had a heart attack. It hurt terribly. I was crying the whole time, everyone was crying, we cried together throughout the movie. Afterwards people hugged me and cried, they wanted to take pictures with me. I felt a great deal of support. It felt good. I was raising consciousness. Most Americans don’t know that their tax dollars are creating all this violence.”
Now on the tenth anniversary of the Testimony: The Maria Guardado Story, Maria reflects on how telling her story has helped heal her emotional scars, “It has helped me overcome my trauma, the kindness and solidarity of others has helped me. I have met so many beautiful people. I never imagined there would be so much solidarity here.” The film also helped fuel her activism, “It has helped me join in solidarity with the struggle of others and made me feel empowered.” Maria continues her work as an activist, working with countless organizations fighting for immigrant rights, union organizing, and against U.S. intervention abroad. She hopes that after watching the film people will walk away feeling that, “When people rise up we can make social change and create a new world...I bring a painful message but it’s so the world will realize that we need to work together to change the world.”
‘Randy’s Documentary’ poem by Maria Guardado
(translated from Spanish)
My duty in exile
has been to shout and shout
it to all and sundry
since brought by Santuario
and although my message
has pierced the people
it is still words and words
gone with the wind
in the obscurity of the forest
But in this second phase
it is about a documentary
made by Randy Vasquez
where I request solidarity to the world
with deep pain
to file a suit
otherwise
the terrorism continues…
Documentary that is added
to the history of the people
in its struggle for changes
to never again immigrate
not to divide the family,
not to die on the border
not to be the system’s scapegoat
at last, we will have peace with justice
without foreign interference
Thank you Randy
Your documentary is at long last,
Carrier Pigeon
Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on twitter.
- 12/5/2012
- by Vanessa Erazo
- Sydney's Buzz
A park policeman hears gunshots in the park and finds a dead marine. Tony (Michael Weatherly) is washing and drying his sock in the office. There, bet you didn't think he could also do his washing there, I mean after the countless number of shirt changes and deodorant refreshers, ha. Tony got his feet wet. Ducky (David McCallum) comments Gibbs (Mark Harmon) is working him too hard and he doesn't have time to do his laundry except in the office. Tony stepped in a puddle whilst texting Ziva. (Cote de Pablo). He thinks cos she's a Probie that she's also his Pa. Ducky loves the rain, don't we all. Actually it's mostly raining in NCIS, especially when one of their own is killed off, or hurt. Tony asks for talc. McGee (Sean Murray) notices Ducky is wearing a tie and not his customary bow tie. Gibbs gives Tony socks and...
- 9/8/2011
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar
CSI:Miami seems to be obsessed with celebrity and reality-based episodes, there's one in almost every season. Delko (Adam Rodriguez) patrols at a reality show: The Boroughs' party. He's on crowd control as there are five parades, so it was amazing he was able to call for back-up when Horatio (David Caruso) arrives. There's Gabe (Michael Carbonaro) from Queens, Tou Shea (Vanessa Lengies) from Brooklyn, advertizing her tanning spray, okay, publicizing it. Zachary 'Guns' Rittner (Matthew Florida) is from the Bronx. Fireworks go off, which Delko mistakes for gunfire. How long's he been on the job now. He notices a man in the crowd with a gun and aims at Courtney (Kristen Renton) who appears to be high or drunk and she falls from the balcony. Delko engages in a chase after the suspect. The best chase scenes are covered in CSI:ny and no one can beat our Flack (Eddie Cahill...
- 8/29/2011
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar
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