Ric Roman Waugh directed and wrote Shot Caller, a 2017 American crime thriller film. The film follows a well-to-do family man’s transition into a hardened jail gangster, which he goes through to survive California’s penal system when he is incarcerated for his role in a fatal DUI automobile accident. With Benjamin Bratt and Holt McCallany, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Omari Hardwick, Lake Bell, Jon Bernthal, Emory Cohen, Jeffrey Donovan, and Evan Jones.
Bold Films announced on April 9, 2015, that it would fully finance and develop Ric Roman Waugh’s murder thriller Shot Caller, based on his script. The idea was developed by Participant Media, and it was produced by Jonathan King, Michel Litvak, and Matthew Rhodes of Bold Films, as well as Waugh. Relativity Media bought the film’s US rights for $3 million with a wide theatrical commitment in April 2015, while Sierra/Affinity was brought on board to handle foreign sales.
The movie’s release was postponed after Relativity Media filed for bankruptcy in July 2015, and Saban Films purchased U.S. distribution rights in April 2017. On May 26, 2015, principal photography for the film began in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
On June 16, 2017, it had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival. On July 20, 2017, DirecTV Cinema released the film, while Saban Films released it theatrically on August 18, 2017.
