EXCLUSIVE: Focus Features is getting back into business with burgeoning horror auteur Curry Barker again with his new production Anything But Ghosts, which just wrapped production in Vancouver, Canada. But that’s not at all, 3x Primetime Emmy winner Aaron Paul is starring in the project opposite the filmmaker and Barker collaborator Cooper Tomlinson.
Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, Spooky Pictures and Divide/Conquer are producing the pic. The plot is under wraps. Barker directed Anything But Ghosts and co-wrote with Tomlinson. The news comes as Barker’s Obsession is hitting tracking this morning for a May 15 release; that pic acquired by Focus out of TIFF Midnight Madness for $15M+, which Deadline first reported.
Tomlinson
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Barker and Tomlinson are longtime collaborators through their viral comedy group That’s a Bad Idea, which has built millions of followers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. On an $800 budget, Barker wrote, directed, and starred alongside Tomlinson in the found-footage film Milk & Serial, which was released for free on YouTube, clocked north of 2M views and earned major critical recognition, including being named one of Variety’s Best Horror Films of 2024. Tomlinson also stars in Obsession.
Anything But Ghosts is produced by Jason Blum (Blumhouse), Roy Lee & Steven Schneider (Spooky Pictures), Adam Hendricks & Greg Gilreath (Divide/Conquer), in association with Image Nation and That’s a Bad Idea. Executive producers are Barker, Tomlinson, and Image Nation’s Ben Ross.
Obsession played SXSW last month taking its Rotten Tomatoes critical score up to 96% fresh. Blumhouse is aboard Obsession as an EP. Obsession also stars Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter in a story about a hopeless romantic who makes a wish that his long-time crush falls in love with him. A sinister enchantment ensues. It was recently announced that Barker is set to direct and write a new feature take of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for A24.
Paul is a 3x Primetime Emmy winner for Breaking Bad in the supporting actor drama series category, playing Jesse Pinkman, the partner in crime of Bryan Cranston’s meth drug lord, Walter White. Paul also shared an Actors Award 2014 Drama Series ensemble award for Breaking Bad and was nominated for a 2014 Golden Globe in the Supporting Actor Series, Miniseries and TV movie slot. Paul also reprised his role as Jesse in the Netflix feature sequel to the series, El Camino, as well as the spinoff series, Better Call Saul. Paul also starred in 16 episodes of HBO’s Westworld in addition to the movies Central Intelligence with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, Triple 9, and Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings. The actor is repped by UTA.
Barker is represented by Underground Management, United Talent Agency and Yorn Levine. Tomlinson is represented by Canopy Media Partners, Paradigm and Yorn Levine.