Destry Allyn Spielberg Readies for Production and makes her feature directorial debut
with the New Psychological Horror-Thriller Starring Michelle Dockery.
LOS ANGELES – Michelle Dockery is set to star in Destry Allyn Spielberg’s feature directorial debut, Please Don’t Feed the Children. The elevated genre feature film produced by Jason Dubin (Who Invited Charlie?, Babysitters) and his Perry Street Films, Josh Kesselman (“The Great”, “Devil’s Peak”), and Michael Hagerty (“Old Henry”). The film will begin principal photography the second week of April, 2023, in New Mexico. The movie was penned by Paul Bertino.
“I am so grateful to have the opportunity to bring this story to the screen with such a collaborative and inspirational team. This picture is so much more than just a horror film. It’s a dream come true to work with a talent such as Michelle Dockery. I am excited to elevate the genre with our incredible cast and crew. Huzzah!” Said Destry Allyn Spielberg.
“I could not be more excited about this collaboration. We have assembled a cast and crew that is second to none. I am also beyond thrilled to be filming in my new hometown of Santa Fe.” Said Kesselman.
In Please Don’t Feed The Children, after a viral outbreak ravaged the country's adult population, a group of orphans head south in search of a new life, only to find themselves at the mercy of a deranged woman harboring a dangerous secret.
Destry Allyn Spielberg is already an award-winning director, having won Best Thriller at City of Angels Women’s Film Festival in 2022 for her short film, Let Me Go The Right Way. She co-wrote the screenplay with Owen King (“Sleeping Beauties”) and it premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. Destry is currently developing the feature “Four Assassins (and a funeral)” with Thunder Road Pictures. She has also appeared in multiple award-nominated films, including Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza. She is repped by WME, Sugar 23 and Gang Tyre.
Michelle Dockery is best known for playing “Lady Mary” on the Golden Globe-winning series, DOWNTON ABBEY. The unprecedented international success of the film led to 2 feature films, the first of which grossed over $237 million worldwide. Her performance also garnered her a Golden Globe nomination and 3 Emmy nominations as well as 3 SAG Award wins for ensemble. Dockery also starred in Scott Frank’s award-nominated limited series GODLESS for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. She was the only female amongst an all-star male cast including Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant in Guy Ritchie’s THE GENTLEMEN. Dockery also starred with Chris Evans in the Apple limited series DEFENDING JACOB, directed by Morten Tyldum, and the SJ Clarkson-directed limited series, ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL, for Netflix. She just completed shooting the Stephen Knight six-part limited series THIS TOWN.
Dockery is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, Hamilton Hodell and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
Please Don’t Feed The Children features a powerful female lead, and director, at a time when films featuring and led by women are continually on the rise in popularity and receiving accolades across the board, evident in box office earnings as well as the 2023 Oscar contenders and winners like BLONDE, WOMEN TALKING, TAR, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, THE WOMAN KING, and TILL, in addition to numerous recent hits over the past few years like BOMBSHELL, CAPTAIN MARVEL, OCEAN’S EIGHT, I TONYA, and LITTLE WOMEN to name just a few.
Perry Street Films’ mission is to support filmmakers and artists to cultivate creative and unique visions that inspire us all. The Perry Street Films team, Jason Dubin, Daniel Ryniker and Samantha Erikson, empower artists by bridging the gap between filmmakers and the global marketplace. With every project, they aim to raise the bar for feature films and nurture high-quality talent to bring their stories to the big screen.