Voltage Pictures has secured worldwide rights to the new feature film American Boogeywoman based on the early life of one of America’s most notorious female serial killers, Aileen Wuornos who’s downfall was chronicled in the Oscar winning movie Monster. Currently in post production, the film stars rising talent Peyton List who has become a social media sensation since appearing in Netflix’s hit series “Cobra Kai” and Disney’s “Bunk’d”, and is written and directed by gifted horror guru Daniel Farrands (The Haunting of Sharon Tate, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers), it was announced today by Voltage’s President and COO Jonathan Deckter.
List who stars as the young Aileen Wuornos is joined by veteran horror/thriller actor Tobin Bell (“Jigsaw” from the Saw franchise, Manson Family Vacation), Lydia Hearst (The Haunting of Sharon Tate), Nick Vallelonga (Universal’s Green Book), Swen Temmel (Twentieth Century Fox’s In Time, Lionsgate’s Backtrace), Meadow Williams (STX’s Den of Thieves, New Line Cinema’s The Mask), and Andrew Biernat (Shadow’s Edge).
Based on Aileen Wuornos’s early life in 1976, the film follows America’s most notorious female serial killer in Florida when she marries a older wealthy Yacht Club president only to inflict mayhem within her new family and Florida’s high society.
Producers of American Boogeywoman are Lucas Jarach (The Haunting of Sharon Tate, The Amityville Murders), Luke Daniels (Under the Silver Lake, No Man’s Land), Daniel Davila (Dead Mine, Knife Fight) and cast members Swen Temmel and Meadow Williams.
Lucas Jarach negotiated the distribution deal on behalf of the producers with Jonathan Deckter on behalf of Voltage Pictures.
"We know so little of the early years of Aileen, especially given she was living a very different life to the one we see in Monster,” said List. “Embodying such a deeply complex and divisive character is what drew me to the project, and I can’t wait to bring context to America’s most infamous female serial killer.”
“We’ve been fans of Peyton’s for quite awhile. Not only does she bring an immense amount of great acting ability to the project, she has a built-in powerhouse of fans with a combined 23M social media followers,” commented Deckter. “It’s also great to be working again with the very talented Lucas and Dan on this project and continue to bring unique stories to the screen for all generations and cinefiles alike.”
“Most Americans know about Aileen Wuornos’ infamous killing spree as seen through the Oscar winning film Monster, but what they don’t know are the details from her early life and the build-up of events that drove her to commit such horrific crimes,” added Jarach. “We look forward to bringing a new perspective to this incredible true story that has so much more to give audiences around the globe.”
Peyton List became an instant media darling following her portrayal of Emma Ross in Disney’s fan favorite show “Bunk’d”. The role earned her a nomination at the Kids’ Choice Awards for “Favorite Female TV Star”. Her additional credits include Fox’s 27 Dresses, Remember Me with Robert Pattinson, two installments of Fox’s Diary of a Whimpy Kid franchise, Hulu’s supernatural thriller “Light as a Feather” and the CBS series “Happy Together” executive produced by Ben Winston and Harry Styles. She most recently starred as “Tory” in Netflix’s Karate Kid spin-off series “Cobra Kai.”
Accomplished writer, producer, and director Daniel Farrands, who specializes in the horror genre, made his breakthrough in the industry writing the screenplay for Miramax’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers starring Paul Rudd. His additional credits include Blumhouse’s Amityville: The Awakening, The Amityville Murders, Saban Films’ The Haunting of Sharon Tate starring Hilary Duff and Jonathan Bennett and The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson with Mena Suvari.
ABOUT VOLTAGE PICTURES
Voltage Pictures, established in 2005, is a privately held, film and television production, financing and sales entity. Voltage has won six Academy Awards including Best Picture for The Hurt Locker, and three Academy Awards for Dallas Buyers Club.
The current Voltage sales slate includes the highly anticipated action-thriller The Marksman starring Liam Neeson, the gangster crime biopic Lanksy starring Harvey Keitel, Sam Worthington and Annasophia Robb and the horror thriller The Seventh Day starring Guy Pearce.
Voltage represented worldwide rights on After, based on the internationally best-selling series of books by Anna Todd, debuted number one at the box office in 17 international territories including Germany and Italy when released in April 2019 and grossed over $70m worldwide. The highly anticipated sequel, After We Collided, recently opened number one in Italy, Portugal and Spain. The third and fourth films in the franchise are currently shooting in Eastern Europe.
Voltage also produced the blockbuster comedy I Feel Pretty starring Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski, and Naomi Campbell, which generated nearly $100m in worldwide box office. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile starring Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, Jim Parsons, and John Malkovich premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival to great acclaim.