Eric B. Fleischman’s Defiant Studios has landed film slate financing from SOLIS Studios and Maurice Fadida’s Kodiak Pictures, Variety has learned.
Defiant, behind genre titles like “The Knocking” (pictured above during production) and “Offseason,” will make multiple features under the partnership, with the first to shoot this summer.
This is the first significant move by SOLIS, the film division of the media and tech collective led by former “One Tree Hill” star Brett Claywell and Brendan de Kauwe. The company’s goal is to create “deeper layers of engagement between content and the communities who consume it,” their mission statement says, including the utilization of blockchain technology. SOLIS also counts Polygon Studios as a technology partner.
“Over the past year we have truly aligned with this team and have become fans of their work, so we couldn’t be more thrilled to launch SOLIS Studios with this slate of films,” said Claywell. “We are equally eager to begin our work of building organic communities around feature films, giving audiences authentic opportunities to engage with the stories and talent they cherish in ways never before possible.”
Fadida’s Kodiak has co-financed projects like the Academy Award-nominated “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and Sony’s “Bloodshot.” The company previously teamed with Defiant on the left-field Netflix sensation “John Henry.”
“We’re continually excited to be partnering again with Kodiak on a new slate of films, and equally elated to be bringing SOLIS into the fold. I think a partnership like this, with our infrastructure and SOLIS’ cutting-edge technology, will be the perfect blend of advancing our reach with the films we produce,” added Fleischman.