Principal Photography Begins On STX Entertainment And Lakeshore Entertainment's "The Boy" From Director William Brent Bell Starring "The Walking Dead's" Lauren Cohan

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Mar 10, 2015, 04:34 ET

VICTORIA, British Columbia, March 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Motion picture and television studio STX Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment have begun principal photography on the theatrical feature The Boy, a frightening new thrill ride from director William Brent Bell (The Devil Inside) starring Lauren Cohan ("The Walking Dead"), it was jointly announced today by Adam Fogelson, Chairman of STX Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, and Lakeshore's Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi.

Written by Stacey Menear, the film is being produced by Tom Rosenberg & Gary Lucchesi, Roy Lee, Matt Berenson, and Jim Wedaa. The film will be shooting in Victoria, British Columbia and the surrounding community.

STX Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment are producing The Boy, and the companies recently announced plans to distribute the movie nationwide on January 22, 2016. The Boy is the fourth film STX has put into production with its partners in recent weeks.

In making the announcement, Adam Fogelson, Chairman of the STX Entertainment Motion Picture Group said, "As STX Entertainment continues ramping up production on a diverse slate of films, we are excited to be a part of this original, petrifying movie. The Boy will be an important addition to our growing slate and we are thrilled to be in business with Lakeshore Entertainment, one of the most successful production companies working in our industry today."

"It is great to have such talented artists in front of and behind the camera to bring this film to audiences," says Lakeshore CEO and chairman, Tom Rosenberg. "We're looking forward to working with the team at STX and are excited to have The Boy as part of their inaugural slate of films."

Said Oren Aviv, President and Chief Content Officer of STX Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, "As we make more and more films, STX will be a studio that supports fresh and daring filmmakers like William Brent Bell. We love this terrifying script and think the movie will be a great start to our 2016 line-up."

In the film, Greta (Cohan), a young American woman looking to escape a troubled past, takes a job in a small England village as a nanny for a wealthy couple's 8-year-old son while they take a long vacation.

She arrives at the remote manor to discover that things are not quite right. The surprisingly elderly Mr. & Mrs. Heelshire have a list of strict rules for her to follow in caring for their son Brahms, and they mysteriously warn Greta that not following them precisely could result in something terrible. But, the most disturbing realization of all is that Brahms is not an actual 8-year-old boy....he's a life-sized porcelain doll, whom the doting parents care for and deeply love, just like a real boy. "If you love him," Greta is sternly instructed, "he will love you back."

Isolated and alone, Greta notices that every time she breaks a rule, something strange happens in the house, and the doll reappears in different places and positions than where she put him. Compelled to uncover the mystery behind Brahms, Greta enlists the help of the local grocery delivery man, the only human being she sees for weeks, who shares horrifying details about the Heelshire family's disturbing past, leading Greta to realize that she wasn't just hired – she was chosen.

ABOUT STX ENTERTAINMENT

STX Entertainment is a full-scale motion picture and television studio specializing in the production, marketing, and distribution of talent-driven films and television programming. The multi-platform studio is rapidly moving to include digital production and distribution, in addition to gaming. It is the first major studio to be launched at this scale in Hollywood in more than twenty years.

In addition to The Boy, STX Entertainment recently announced its first theatrical release dates for its films. On July 31, 2015, the studio will release an untitled, contemporary psychological thriller from Jason Blum's Blumhouse, directed by Joel Edgerton and starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Edgerton. Secret in Their Eyes will be released on October 23^rd. The thriller is written and directed by Billy Ray and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts. On March 11, 2016, STX will release The Free State of Jones, an epic action-drama written and directed by four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross, starring Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keri Russell and Mahershala Ali.

For more information about the studio, please visit www.stxentertainment.com

ABOUT LAKESHORE ENTERTAINMENT

Lakeshore Entertainment is one of the leading independent production, finance and international sales and distribution companies. Founded in 1994 by Chairman and CEO Tom Rosenberg, Lakeshore has produced more than 60 films including the Academy Award® winning Million Dollar Baby as well as Runaway Bride, The Ugly Truth, The Mothman Prophecies, the Underworld franchise, Exorcism of Emily Rose, Crank, The Gift, Autumn in New York and Arlington Road. Lakeshore's recent films include The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Matthew McConaughey, Underworld Awakening, starring Kate Beckinsale and released by Sony Pictures, and Stand Up Guys, starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. In 2014 Lakeshore released the comedy Walk of Shame, starring Elizabeth Banks and James Marsden, along with I, Frankenstein, starring Aaron Eckhart. Lakeshore's upcoming films include The Age of Adaline, starring Blake Lively, Harrison Ford and Ellen Burstyn along with The Vatican Tapes, starring Michael Pena, Dougray Scott, and Djimon Hounsou.