EXCLUSIVE: McG (Way of the Warrior Kid) is in final negotiations to direct Shout It Out Loud, a biopic about Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and their superstar rock band KISS, which will be produced by STX Entertainment, sources tell Deadline.
STX declined to comment, but we hear the studio is in discussions with Lionsgate to distribute the film worldwide and co-finance. The project previously had been set up at Netflix, following a bidding war, with Joachim Rønning attached to direct, as we first reported in 2021.
No word on the framing the film will take in looking at KISS’s decades-long musical journey. Financed by Polygram Entertainment, the most recent draft of the script is written by Darren Lemke (Shazam!, Gemini Man). The project is based on a prior script by Ole Sanders, who was involved with Rønning’s incarnation. William Herron was the first writer on the project.When the deal makes, McG will produce alongside his Wonderland producing partner Mary Viola. Other producers and executive producers for the project include Mark Canton, Leigh Ann Burton, Doc McGhee, Polygram Entertainment’s Jody Gerson and David Blackman, David Hopwood, Courtney Solomon, and Dorothy Canton, along with Simmons and Stanley. Christa Campbell and Annie Herndon are overseeing for STX.