Megan Stalter, Kanoa Goo, Rainn Wilson Join Taylor James Short ‘ILY, BYE’ ; Freestyle Acquires Sewol Ferry Pic ‘Reset’; ‘The Dutchman’ Adds Lenny Platt; Kevin Woo Boards ‘K-Pops!’ – Film Briefs

EXCLUSIVE: Megan Stalter (Hacks), Kanoa Goo (The Rookie), and Rainn Wilson (The Office) will topline ILY, BYE, a new short marking the narrative debut of veteran music video helmer Taylor James (Jason Mraz’s “I Feel Like Dancing”), which has wrapped production.

The short written and directed by James follows Siobhan (Stalter), a quirky, socially anxious mess who can’t seem to keep a job. Thanks to the help of her best friend Gary (Goo), she scores an interview with his boss, Mr. Litchfield (Wilson). But when her call to schedule the interview goes to voicemail, Siobhan panics and leaves a series of unhinged messages. Not wanting to lose the interview, she embarks on a chaotic mission to delete the voicemails herself. James jokes that he decided to start from scratch and pursue his dream of filmmaking “after being forced to retire” from his career as a professional backup dancer “due to old age (…32)” and couldn’t have hoped for a better cast to work with on the piece.

Stalter is repped by UTA, Entertainment 360, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Goo by Artists & Representatives and Entertainment 360; Wilson by UTA, Sugar23 and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; and James by da Costa Talent Management.

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EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to the Sewol Ferry doc Reset from director-producer Min Bae, slating it for release on VOD and digital November 21. Check out the trailer below.

It was on April 16, 2014 that the ferry sank in South Korea, taking with it the lives of 304 of its 476 passengers. The victims, primarily high school students, perished after following instructions to remain in the cabins rather than abandon ship. South Korea’s worst maritime disaster traumatized a nation while simultaneously sinking the country’s emotional spirit. Three years later, the effects of impassioned protest and shifting political power resulted in the raising of the Sewol from the West Sea. But the documentary asks why rescue efforts were neglected on the fateful day the Sewol sank.

Freestyle negotiated its deal directly with Bae and his Cactus Film Cinematics.

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EXCLUSIVE: Lenny Platt (Quantico) has signed on for a role in The Dutchman, the psychological thriller helmed by Andre Gaines that is currently shooting under an Interim Agreement. He joins an ensemble that includes André Holland, Kate Mara, Zazie Beetz, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Aldis Hodge, and Lauren E. Banks, as previously announced.

Based on the Obie Award-winning play by Amiri Baraka, the film centers on a New York subway encounter between a well-to-do Black man and an enchanting white woman who match wits in a sexualized game of cat and mouse. Gaines and Qasim Basir penned the script and the former also produces alongside Jonathan T. Baker. Financed by Gaines’ Cinemation Studios and E.O.A Productions, pic’s EPs are Nicole A. Parke and Enoch K. Osei-Acheampong of E.O.A., Kyle Townsend, Matt Rachamkin, and Joshua Blum and Han West for Washington Square Films. UTA Independent Film Group is handling sales.

Best known for roles on Quantico and The Hot Zone, Platt has also been seen on series like NCIS: New Orleans, Gotham, and How to Get Away With Murder. He’s repped by Buchwald, Tact Media, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.

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EXCLUSIVE: K-pop artist Kevin Woo (of U-KISS fame) has booked a role alongside Anderson .Paak and son Soul Rasheed in .Paak’s directorial debut, K-Pops!, the project from Stampede Ventures that Live Nation Productions recently boarded as a strategic partner, as we were first to tell you.

Also starring Yvette Nicole Brown and Jonnie “Dumbfoundead” Park, who developed the project with .Paak, the film soon entering production is about a washed-up musician from Los Angeles who attempts to reinvigorate his career by joining the band for a K-Pop competition show in Seoul and discovers that his long-lost son has the chance to front one of the country’s hottest new groups. He jumps at the opportunity to capitalize on his son’s stardom for his own renaissance but ultimately learns that fatherhood is much more fulfilling and meaningful.

.Paak and Khaila Amazan wrote the script. Greg Silverman and Jon Berg will produce on behalf of Stampede Ventures, with Jaeson Ma on behalf of EST Studios, Park on behalf of Big Dummie, and .Paak via his company APESHIT Films. Amazan will exec produce alongside Stampede Ventures’ Gideon Yu, Chris Bosco, Grant Torre, and Michael Tadross, and EST Studios’ Eric Tu, with former Paramount exec Tadross heading up physical production. WME Independent is handling sales. Most recently seen as the male lead of the Broadway musical K-POP, Woo has also secured a lead opposite Margaret Cho in the comedy Honorary Male. He’s repped by Luber Roklin.