Josh Gad has signed on to portray Roger Ebert in Russ & Roger, opposite Will Ferrell as Russ Meyers. The wild comedy will focus on the making of the pair’s legendary exploitation film Beyond The Valley of The Dolls, one of the first X-rated films. Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story) is directing from a script by Christopher Cluess, with polishing by Winterbottom, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons. Sobini Films and Permut Presentations, along with Richard Waltzer, are producing. THR originally reported the news.

Kino Lorber has snatched up all North American rights to Soon-Mi Yoo’s documentary Songs From The North, winner of the Golden Leopard for Best First Feature at the 2014 Locarno Film Festival. Interweaving footage from three visits Soon-Mi Yoo made to North Korea together with songs, spectacle, popular cinema and archival footage, the film tries to understand the psychology and popular imagery of the North Korean people. It is slated to open September 18 at New York’s Anthology Film Archives. Following the New York premiere, Kino Lorber plans to expand theatrical release, with a VOD and home media release scheduled for early 2016. Written and directed by written and directed by Soon-Mi Yoo, It’s produced by Soon-Mi and Harvard Film Archive’s Haden Guest. This deal was negotiated between Kino Lorber President Richard Lorber and Haden Guest.

XLrator Media has announced an early 2016 U.S. release for the action-thriller Camino, starring Zoë Bell and director Nacho Vigalondo in a rare acting role. The film is helmed by Josh C. Waller, who previously worked with Bell on the film Raze. Set in 1985, Camino follows a veteran war photojournalist with a history of emotional distance from her subjects, who embeds in the Colombian jungle with a group of missionaries led by a Charismatic Spaniard known as “El Guero”. When she catches El Guero committing a vicious atrocity on film, she flees into the rain forest with only her camera, evading missionaries who have been turned into violent guerrillas by El Guero.

Camino will be released on XLrator’s “TURBO” action label. It was written by Daniel Noah. Bleiberg Entertainment fully financed and produced the film, with Nicholas Donnermeyer and Barry Gordon executive producing along with Bell and Vigalondo, and Noah, Waller and Bleiberg poducing. Bleiberg Entertainment and Red Granite International subsidiary Blue Box International will be handling international sales at the Toronto International Film Festival. Camino co-stars Sheila Vand and Dominic Rains, Francisco Barreiro, Tenoch Huerta, Nancy Gomez, Jason Canela and Kevin Pollak.