Vanessa Marano, a prolific actor known for leading roles and guest turns in numerous notable TV series throughout the 2000s, will both produce and star in the bridal-party horror comedy “Ring Leader.”
Marano is producing the feature through her U.S. production company Calabrian Rhode, behind 2022 Netflix Original romantic comedy “The Royal Treatment,” which hit the streamer’s No. 1 spot worldwide upon its release.
British Columbia-based director Jason Lapeyre is co-producing via his label Osaka Sunset Pictures. Both are attending the Fantasia Film Festival’s Frontières Co-Production Market where they are presenting the project to genre buyers and industry at its marquee pitch event July 22.
“Our goal is to come out of the market with a partner who can help us complete our gap financing goals,” Marano told Variety. “We will be filming in British Columbia, and the tax incentives coming out of Canada allow for us to make a commercially viable film at a realistic scale without sacrificing passion or vision.”
Marano, best known for her leading role in five seasons of global TV hit “Switched At Birth” (2011–2017), has been building her career on the other side of the camera over the past several years. She founded Calabrian Rhode in 2018 with her mother and younger sister – respectively, longtime Primetime Emmy consultant for HBO Ellen Marano and singer, producer, and actor Laura Marano, who starred in “The Royal Treatment.”
