Jessica Biel Thriller ‘Bleeding Heart’ Acquired By Gravitas Ventures


Fresh off its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Jessica Biel-starring thriller Bleeding Heart has been acquired by Gravitas Ventures, with the plan to release the pic on demand November 3, followed by a North American theatrical release on December 11, Deadline reports.

Biel plays a reserved yoga instructor who behaves out of the ordinary in order to protect her newly discovered sister, played by Girls actress Zosia Mamet, from an abusive boyfriend. Diane Bell wrote and directed the thriller, which also stars Grey’s Anatomy’s Kate Burton, as well as Edi Gathegi and Joe Anderson.

During an interview with Shockya.com back in May, Bell said the movie was inspired by her own personal experiences working as a teacher in Barcelona, Spain.

“The idea for the story came from my own experiences in life. I worked as a yoga teacher for many years. I taught in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is where I’m from, and then I went on to teach in Barcelona, Spain, where I opened a center.”

Diane Bell reflected on the prostitutes who attended her social welfare classes, and how the violent world in which they lived shattered her naive reality, and ultimately inspired her.

“I taught classes in social welfare centers for prostitutes, and that came about because I was working with social workers who suggested that I do it. I was shocked by the level of violence with which these women lived. It sounds really naive, but every time you went into that place, you would have to warn the women about a John who could beat them up. You would think, this is going on in my city, and these girls don’t know what’s happening. No one’s doing anything about it, and everyone just accepts it. So this was the idea for the film’s story.”

Bell also revealed that Biel was drawn to her character because of their seemingly perfect similarities.

“Jessica’s character is a yoga teacher, and her life seems perfect,” Bell said. “She’s beautiful, and has this great boyfriend and house. While everything seems perfect, she’s really miserable. Deep down, there’s something completely off, because her happiness isn’t real-there’s a falseness to it all.

“When I first spoke to Jessie about the part, she said, ‘I really relate to this person. Everyone thinks my life is perfect, but it’s about that truth underneath. Underneath it all, we’re all human.'”

Gravitas founder and CEO Nolan Gallagher negotiated the deal to secure North American rights for the philosophical family thriller, along with Alex Saks at ICM Partners and attorney Lawrence Kopeikin of Morris Yorn on behalf of the filmmakers.

“We’re looking forward to growing our relationship with the team at Gravitas,” said producer Jonathan Schwartz (Like Crazy).

Bleeding Heart premiered in April at the Tribeca Film Festival to mixed reviews, with one reviewer saying Biel was “unable to bring much inner life to the morally conflicted May and the supporting players hamstrung by their stereotypical roles.”

[Image via Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.]

[Image via Twitter]

Share this article: Jessica Biel Thriller ‘Bleeding Heart’ Acquired By Gravitas Ventures
More from Inquisitr