Colin Minihan's Killer Bee Film 'Stung' Wraps, Eyes TIFF Sales — SkimNews
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- Stung wrapped filming in Rhode Island as a co-production of VMI Worldwide, Verdi Productions, and Source M+P, with VMI planning to take the film to TIFF to discuss with buyers.
- Colin Minihan wrote and directed the horror film, in which a girls' sleepover at Jess, Maya, Brooke, and Rachel's home is overtaken by a swarm of African killer bees.
- Iris Apatow, Odeya Rush, Annarah Cymone, and Neela Jolene star as the four leads, while Justin Long plays their "pathetic neighbor" Derek — reuniting Long with Minihan after the director's recent feature Coyotes.
- Additional cast joining the film includes Teddy Parker, Kayln Harper, James Baccile, Tom DeNucci, Kea Ho, and Rob Goon.
- The film was produced by Andre Relis, Chad A. Verdi, Jib Polhemus, Chad Verdi Jr., Paul Luba, and Jessica Russo, with Michelle Verdi, Sera Verdi, and Anthony Gudas serving as executive producers.
- Chad A. Verdi called Stung an "intense horror story with entertaining characters at the center" and praised Minihan's instincts for "building tension and keeping audiences on the edge of their seats."
Why it matters: TIFF sales-floor positioning gives Stung a near-term path to international distribution deals, and casting Long — a recognizable genre-comedy face — opposite Apatow (currently in Amazon's Pretty Lethal and bound for Lionsgate's Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping) attaches bankable names to an otherwise original, high-concept creature feature, a category Verdi Productions explicitly cited as their sweet spot.
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