Role Player: A Dungeons & Dragons Documentary in development

XTR has launched production on Role Players, which is billed as the definitive documentary on the seminal fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons.

Boasting never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with high-profile celebrity D&D fanatics, Role Players will tell the all-encompassing story of Dungeons & Dragons, from the game’s origin story to the cult-like devotion of its players, exploring the power living in a fantasy world can have on real-life human connection.

The feature is being made by director Morgan Jon Fox (The One You Never Forget) and producer Ted Speaker (Sword of Trust). Bryn Mooser, Kathryn Everett, Justin Lacob and Abazar Khayami are executive producing for XTR. Pic comes on the heels of Paramount and eOne’s announcement on the title for their upcoming narrative feature, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Hasbro’s reported explosive growth on the franchise as a result of the major theatrical release in March 2023. (It should be noted that Paramount, eOne and D&D owner Hasbro have no involvement in the upcoming XTR film).

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Feature documentary directed by Morgan Jon Fox, now in post production

EXCLUSIVE: There’s a boom in collectible sports trading cards – from the $4.6M paid for a Luka Doncic rookie card or the $5.2M for a 1952 Mickey Mantle card as well as a recent deal that valued card brand Topps at $1.3B.

This is the impetus for a new feature documentary that This Is What Love In Action Looks Like director Morgan Jon Fox is helming for non-fiction studio XTR.

Fox and XTR are producing The Hobby, which delves into the historic comeback of the trading card industry. The doc is a deep dive into the real-time trading card fever following longtime collectors and a new generation of buyers including high net worth investors, athletes and celebrities as the hobby goes nuclear.

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The Power of Being Seen, by Morgan Jon Fox for Talkhouse.

In the late ’90s in Memphis, Tennessee, as an employee of Blockbuster Video, I can vividly recall the nervousness and excitement I felt while scanning the backs of VHS tapes, desperately looking for some hint of a gay character. As a still-closeted 19-year-old, this furtive mission generally had the best outcomes while stocking and organizing the foreign section. To my luck, I eventually came across a French film called Wild Reeds. I’ll never forget flipping over to the back of the box and stopping dead in my tracks as I gazed at the image of two young men locked in a tender embrace. My gay teenaged heart fluttered as I read, “This bittersweet tale delves into the life of François, a sensitive young man uncertain of his sexuality.” When I got home that night, I popped the film in the VCR and my life was forever changed.

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The One You Never Forget featured on Queerty →

“Start the new year right with some inspiring young love in ‘The One You Never Forget’

Anyone feeling a bit hungover from the holidays–possibly due to spending said holidays single for yet another year–we have your cure. Look no further than the heartwarming short film The One You Never Forget.

The eight-minute mini-movie follows 14-year-old Carrie as he prepares for the big high school dance. His parents want to meet his date, but Carrie dodges their interest; he doesn’t want them to know he’s going with another boy.

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Upcoming screenings of Award winning short film The One You Never Forget

The 6 time “best short film” award winner directed bay Morgan Jon Fox is entering its fall homestretch with a swath of screenings around the world. Click the festival names for links to individual screening details.

8/21 Washinton, DC - DC Shorts

8/23 Oslo, Norway - Oslo Fusion

8/24 Washinton, DC - DC Shorts

9/28 Chicago, IL - Reeling FF 

9/30 Atlanta, GA - Out On Film

10/3 Atlanta, GA - Out On Film

10/5 Nashville, TN - Nashville FF

10/5 Pittsburgh, PA - Reel Q FF

10/5 Tampa Bay, FL - TIGLFF

10/9 Cardiff, Wales - Iris Prize

10/10 Nashville, TN - Nashville FF

10/11 Bend, OR - Bend FF

10/11 Sacramento, CA - Bent FF

10/12 Dayton, OH - Dayton LGBT FF

10/13 Phoenix, AZ - Desperado FF

10/18 Seattle, WA - Seattle Queer FF

10/20 Karlsruhe, Germany - Pride Pictures

10/20 Rochester, NY - ImageOut FF

10/24 New York, NY - NewFest

10/25 New York, NY - NewFest

11/8-10 Indianapolis, IN - Indianapolis LGBT FF

11/12-19 London, UK - Lodon Fringe!

Indie Memphis celebrates 15 years of Morgan Jon Fox’s groundbreaking Blue Citrus Hearts by CHRIS MCCOY

Fifteen years ago, a little movie wowed audiences at Indie Memphis. Blue Citrus Hearts was Morgan Jon Fox's coming out party — both as a person and a filmmaker.

When Fox saw André Téchiné's 1994 film Wild Reeds, it struck a deep chord. "It was the first movie I had ever seen about people my age coming out on screen," he recalls. "There were no out kids at my school, that I knew of. There were no role models, like there are now, to look up to. There was no reflection of myself in TV or media. So when I finally saw Wild Reeds, it was the first time I saw somebody who reflected myself onscreen, or anywhere around me. It spoke so much truth to me in a private moment, that I felt like this was the most powerful thing, that I could sit down and watch this movie by myself and it would give me so much peace. It was like a huge sigh of relief."

He wrote Blue Citrus Hearts during his freshman year at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. "Then I dropped out, because I wanted to go to film school. This film was all that mattered to me. I was 19 at the time."

Read the full story at The Memphis Flyer 

2003 - Photo by Elyza Touzeau

Memphis filmmaker Morgan Jon Fox re-opens his 'Heart'

But only in Memphis will you find a celebration marking the 15th anniversary of "Blue Citrus Hearts," a small-budget, big-emotion feature film from Morgan Jon Fox, a tireless local moviemaker who — even in 2003 — was something of a role model and mentor to his peers, thanks to his do-it-yourself determination, his singular voice, his generosity and his enthusiasm for collaboration.

As achingly sincere and painfully honest as the limitations of its unforgiving digital video photography, "Blue Citrus Hearts" screens at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Studio on the Square, as part of the ongoing "Indie Memphis Nights" program. Admission is $10.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

OUT.COM // New Drama 'Feral' Finds Southern Gays Falling in Love in the Bible Belt →

Feral, a new web series premiering later this year, follows a group of friends that live in an artistic and queer area of Memphis, TN. They deal with love, depression, loss, and friendship. The film's director, Morgan Jon Fox, describes the show's aesthetic as similar to the Instagram dreaminess of HBO's Looking.

Fox has created impactful works in the past, such as Blue Citrus, OMG/HaHaHa, and This Is What Love In Action Looks Like. His films boast strong and authentic performances. Named one of FilmmakerMagazine’s ‘25 New Faces of Independent Film,’ Fox grew up in the south and often draws inspiration from his upbringing.

“I didn’t want [the characters in Feral] to be based in cynicism. I wanted their motives and struggles to be pure and honest."

Centered mainly around two best friends, Billy and Daniel, Feral explores the struggle of coming out in the infamous Bible Belt, an area that contains nearly all of the nation’s top 10 most religious states.

The series will premiere on Dekkoo.com, a subscription-based streaming service on October 6.

Official Selections at ITVFest 2016 →

Happy to announce that FERAL is an official selection of ITV FEST “The Sundance of Independent Television” - indiewire