# Bonfire Legend > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bonfire_Legend > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bonfire_Legend.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Legend > Source revision: 1334139767 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Film production company based in Dallas}} {{Infobox company | name = Cinestate Holdings LLC | trade_name = Bonfire Legend | predecessor = CINESTATE | logo = | logo_alt = | type = [Private](/source/Privately_held_company) | founder = [Dallas Sonnier](/source/Dallas_Sonnier) | foundation = {{start date and age|March 21, 2016}} | location_city = [Nashville, Tennessee](/source/Nashville%2C_Tennessee) | location_country = United States | industry = [Motion pictures](/source/Movie_industry) | genre = | services = [Movie production](/source/Filmmaking) | owner = [Dallas Sonnier](/source/Dallas_Sonnier) | website = {{official|https://www.bonfirelegend.com}} }} {{Infobox company | name = Cinestate Holdings LLC | trade_name = CINESTATE | logo = CINESTATE (Movie Studio's Logo).jpg | logo_alt = A letter C inside three circles, two creating a top-and-bottom Venn diagram and the third surrounding them. | type = [Private](/source/Privately_held_company) | founder = [Dallas Sonnier](/source/Dallas_Sonnier) | foundation = {{start date and age|March 21, 2016}} | defunct = December 2020 | fate = Shut down | successor = Bonfire Legend | location_city = [Dallas](/source/Dallas), [Texas](/source/Texas) | location_country = United States | industry = [Motion pictures](/source/Movie_industry) | genre = | services = {{unbulleted list|[Movie production](/source/Filmmaking)|[Magazine publishing](/source/Magazine)|[Book publishing](/source/Book_publishing)}} | owner = [Dallas Sonnier](/source/Dallas_Sonnier) | divisions = {{unbulleted list|''Fangoria'' (2018–2020)|Rebeller (2019–2020)}} | website = {{url|https://cinestate.com}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209144045/http://cinestate.com/ |date=December 9, 2020 |title=cinestate.com}} }} '''Bonfire Legend''', owned by Cinestate Holdings LLC, is an American [film production brand](/source/Production_company) began in 2021 by [Dallas Sonnier](/source/Dallas_Sonnier).{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/style/daily-wire-nashville-conservative-media.html|title=Can Nashville Be Hollywood for Conservatives?|last=Bernstein|first=Joseph|date=2022-12-07|website=New York Times|access-date=2025-02-24}} It was launched following the closure in 2020 of the '''CINESTATE''' film production brand that Sonnier started in 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/arts/2019/01/18/dallas-based-cinestate-forges-extreme-entertainment-path-far-hollywood|title=Dallas-based Cinestate forges its extreme entertainment path far from Hollywood|date=2019-01-18|website=Dallas News|language=en|access-date=2019-06-07}} Best known for the 2020 film ''[Run Hide Fight](/source/Run_Hide_Fight)'' and the 2022 film ''[Terror on the Prairie](/source/Terror_on_the_Prairie)'', they hold a [distribution](/source/Film_distribution) agreement with [Nashville](/source/Nashville%2C_Tennessee)-based ''[The Daily Wire](/source/The_Daily_Wire)''. __TOC__ == Caliber Media == [Dallas Sonnier](/source/Dallas_Sonnier) moved from [Dallas, Texas](/source/Dallas) to [California](/source/California), attending [USC](/source/University_of_Southern_California) and graduating with dual degrees in business and film.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/will-cinestate-pave-the-road-for-a-film-industry-in-dallas-8857945|title=Will Cinestate Pave the Road for a Film Industry in Dallas?|last=North|first=Caroline|date=2016-11-21|website=Dallas Observer|access-date=2019-06-07}} In 2008 he launched Caliber Media Company{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/visual-arts/2016/10/15/filmmaker-dallas-sonnier-even-murder-ones-parents-can-keep-good-man|title=For Dallas filmmaker, home is where the sadness is, but he's back to stay and make a mark|date=2016-10-15|website=Dallas News|language=en|access-date=2019-06-07}} and started managing writer and aspiring director, [S. Craig Zahler](/source/S._Craig_Zahler). After acquiring the script for ''Bone Tomahawk'' from Zahler, Sonnier premiered the film through Caliber Media.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-cinestate-film-studio-is-turning-controversial-topics-revenue-1178338|title=How a "Populist" Film Studio Is Turning Rage and Violence Into Revenue|last=Miller|first=Stuart|date=2019-01-28|website=Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2019-06-13}} In 2016, Sonnier moved back to Dallas where he partnered with Will Evans, owner of Deep Vellum Publishing, to form Cinestate.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/will-cinestate-pave-the-road-for-a-film-industry-in-dallas-8857945|title=Will Cinestate Pave the Road for a Film Industry in Dallas?|last=North|first=Caroline|date=2016-11-21|website=Dallas Observer|access-date=2019-06-07}} == Cinestate == The company produced ten films under a variety of production labels, in addition to retroactively claiming the 2015 film ''Bone Tomahawk,'' produced independently by Sonnier, as a Cinestate movie.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-texas-movies-for-americans-hollywood-left-behind-1526400385|title=Making Movies in the Trump Era for the Audience Hollywood Ignored|date=2018-05-15|website=Wall Street Journal|language=en|access-date=2019-06-13}} In 2017, the company acquired ''[Fangoria](/source/Fangoria)'' magazine, relaunching it in 2018 as a print-only collectible under the editorial oversight of [Phil Nobile Jr.](/source/Phil_Nobile_Jr.){{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/02/fangoria-magazine-new-owner-management-1202289951/|title=Cinestate Acquires Fangoria Magazine, Installs New Management And Strategy|last=Busch|first=Anita|date=2018-02-15|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2019-06-07}} In 2019, the company announced the launch of Rebeller Media, an action label that would have encompassed a production company and lifestyle website to be managed by [Washington Free Beacon](/source/Washington_Free_Beacon) journalist Sonny Bunch. In 2020, following the arrest of producer Adam Donaghey for sexual assault and a ''[Daily Beast](/source/Daily_Beast)'' article alleging misconduct on Cinestate sets,{{Cite web|url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2020/august/cinestate-metoo-abuse-scandal-dallas-sonnier/ |title=Cinestate's #MeToo Scandal and the Upheaval of the Dallas Film Scene|date=2020-01-08|website=D Magazine|language=en|access-date=2020-10-06}} Rebeller was shut down{{Cite tweet |user=SonnyBunch |number=1270788950257545216 |date = 10 June 2020 |title=Sonny Bunch's Announcement of Rebeller Shutting Down }} and ''Fangoria'' sold,{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Graeme |date=2020-08-27 |title=‘Fangoria’ Eyes Relaunch as Multimedia Studio Following Purchase |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/fangoria-eyes-relaunch-as-multimedia-studio-following-purchase-4051525/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Squires |first=John |date=2020-08-27 |title=Fangoria Again Re-Animated With New Owners and Multimedia Plans |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3629386/fangoria-re-animated-new-owners-multimedia-plans/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Bloody Disgusting! |language=en-US}} all Cinestate social media and websites went dormant, and all staff were laid off.{{cn|date=February 2022}} Two films produced by Cinestate under the "Fangoria Presents" and "Rebeller" labels, ''The Seventh Day'' and ''South of Heaven,'' respectively, were sold to distributors and released following the company's closure under the [ad hoc](/source/ad_hoc) label "Swiss Avenue Productions," named for the street where the company headquarters were once located.{{Cite web |title=Swiss Avenue Pictures Production Company Box Office History |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/production-company/Swiss-Avenue-Pictures |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=The Numbers}}{{Cite web |date=2019-01-18 |title=Dallas-based Cinestate forges its extreme entertainment path far from Hollywood |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/architecture/2019/01/18/dallas-based-cinestate-forges-its-extreme-entertainment-path-far-from-hollywood/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Dallas News |language=en}} === ''Fangoria'' === In 2018, Cinestate acquired ''[Fangoria](/source/Fangoria)'' magazine from the Brooklyn Company for an undisclosed price, with plans to re-launch the publication as a quarterly edition and additionally develop [Fangoria](/source/Fangoria) into a brand for producing movies, books and podcasts. As part of the deal, Cinestate controlled all material from over 300 issues of ''Fangoria'' magazine over 39 years.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/02/fangoria-magazine-new-owner-management-1202289951/|title=Cinestate Acquires Fangoria Magazine, Installs New Management And Strategy|last=Busch|first=Anita|date=2018-02-15|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2019-06-07}} Following the 2020 Daily Beast article about misconduct on Cinestate sets, the staff of ''Fangoria'' staged a [walkout](/source/walkout) in protest, resulting in the brand being sold. === Books === Cinestate released its first book, [S. Craig Zahler](/source/S._Craig_Zahler)'s ''[Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child](/source/Hug_Chickenpenny%3A_The_Panegyric_of_an_Anomalous_Child)'', alongside the announcement that Zahler would work with the [Jim Henson Company](/source/The_Jim_Henson_Company) to bring the title protagonist to life in an upcoming feature film.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/jim-henson-company-buys-screen-rights-to-hug-chickenpenny-the-next-cinestate-film-10188822|title=Jim Henson Co. Will Make Puppets for the Next Film by Dallas Movie Studio Cinestate|last=Gallagher|first=Danny|date=2017-12-21|website=Dallas Observer|access-date=2019-06-07}} Additionally, Cinestate published ''The Megarothke'', the debut novel from Robert Ashcroft. Its most recent novel released under the Cinestate label was ''Headcheese'' by Jess Hagemann.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/286727/third-novel-published-by-cinestate-headcheese-is-now-available/|title=Third Novel Published by Cinestate HEADCHEESE is Now Available|last=Millican|first=Josh|date=2018-12-18|website=Dread Central|language=en|access-date=2019-06-07}} In 2020, a new ''Rebeller'' literary imprint was launched; a single title, [Natasha Tynes](/source/Natasha_Tynes)' ''They Called Me Wyatt'', was released shortly before the brand shut down. == Bonfire Legend == A successor imprint,{{Cite news |last=Barshad |first=Amos |date=February 17, 2022 |title=MAGA Movies Are Here. Does Anybody Care? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-daily-wire-maga-conservative-movies-are-here-does-anybody-care/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217184902/https://www.vice.com/en/article/akv4ye/the-daily-wire-maga-conservative-movies-are-here-does-anybody-care |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |access-date=May 18, 2024 |work=[Vice](/source/Vice_(magazine))}} Bonfire Legend, was launched by Sonnier in early 2021 to carry on the mission of the Rebeller Media label,{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dallas-filmmakers-arranged-the-shooting-of-a-deer-for-a-scene-in-run-hide-fight-11980825|title = Did Bonfire Legend Go Too Far by Shooting a Live Deer for Run Hide Fight?}} in partnership with ''[The Daily Wire](/source/The_Daily_Wire)''.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/daily-wire-film-tv-run-hide-fight-shooter-right-wing-website-developing-two-tv-series-1234664288/|title=The Daily Wire Makes First Foray into Film & TV with School Shooting Movie 'Run Hide Fight'; Right-Wing Site Developing Two TV Series|date=4 January 2021}} == Filmography == {| class="wikitable" !Film !Director !Production label !Release date |- |''[Bone Tomahawk](/source/Bone_Tomahawk)'' |[S. Craig Zahler](/source/S._Craig_Zahler) |Caliber Media{{efn-lr|Produced by Dallas Sonnier for Caliber Media, but retroactively claimed as a Cinestate title following the launch of the company.}} |September 25, 2015 |- |''[Brawl in Cell Block 99](/source/Brawl_in_Cell_Block_99)'' |S. Craig Zahler |Cinestate |October 6, 2017 |- |''[Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich](/source/Puppet_Master%3A_The_Littlest_Reich)'' |Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund |Fangoria Presents |August 17, 2018 |- |''[The Standoff at Sparrow Creek](/source/The_Standoff_at_Sparrow_Creek)'' |Henry Dunham |Cinestate |January 18, 2019 |- |''[Satanic Panic](/source/Satanic_Panic_(film))'' |Chelsea Stardust |Fangoria Presents |May 31, 2019 |- |''[Dragged Across Concrete](/source/Dragged_Across_Concrete)'' |S. Craig Zahler |Cinestate |March 22, 2019 |- |''[VFW](/source/VFW_(film))'' |[Joe Begos](/source/Joe_Begos) |Fangoria Presents |February 14, 2020 |- |''[Castle Freak](/source/Castle_Freak_(2020_film))'' |[Tate Steinsiek](/source/Tate_Steinsiek) |Fangoria Presents |December 4, 2020 |- |''[Run Hide Fight](/source/Run_Hide_Fight)'' |[Kyle Rankin](/source/Kyle_Rankin) |Bonfire Legend (originally Rebeller) |January 14, 2021 |- |''[The Seventh Day](/source/The_Seventh_Day_(2021_film))'' |Justin P. Lang |Swiss Avenue Pictures (originally Fangoria Presents) |March 26, 2021 |- |''[South of Heaven](/source/South_of_Heaven_(film))'' |[Aharon Keshales](/source/Aharon_Keshales) |Swiss Avenue Pictures (originally Rebeller) |October 8, 2021 |- |''[Shut In](/source/Shut_In_(2022_film))'' |[D. J. Caruso](/source/D._J._Caruso) |Bonfire Legend |February 10, 2022 |- |''[Terror on the Prairie](/source/Terror_on_the_Prairie)'' |[Michael Polish](/source/Polish_brothers) |Bonfire Legend |June 14, 2022 |} == See also == * [A24](/source/A24) * [Annapurna Pictures](/source/Annapurna_Pictures) * [Neon](/source/Neon_(distributor)) == References == {{notelist-lr}} == External links == * {{official}} {{The Daily Wire}} Category:American film studios Category:2016 establishments in Texas --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bonfire Legend](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Legend) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Legend?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.