Defendor producer Nicholas Tabarrok is keeping company with the prince of darkness in Los Angeles, shooting the comedy Welcome Back Satan.

The feature is the busy filmmaker’s first to be shot 100% in the U.S., and originated with a script from first-time writer/director Sara Lohman.

‘I liked the script because it’s pushing boundaries,’ explains Tabarrok, who produces through his Darius Films (Defendor, Cooper’s Camera) shingle alongside newcomer Tim Merkel of L.A.-based Yorkville Entertainment. ‘It’s really controversial and very funny… but messes with religious and biblical iconographies, so it’s going to offend some people.’

The story follows Satan as he is invited back to a cocktail party in Heaven where trouble ensues. The low-budget film features young actors from the L.A. improv scene, according to Tabarrok, with ‘Will Ferrell-type’ comedian Scott Rutherford portraying the Devil.

The producer says the decision to shoot in L.A. was a logistical one, since the director and actors are American, and the production could not really take advantage of Canadian tax credits. Darius has offices in both Toronto and L.A.

The feature is a good fit for Slamdance or TIFF’s Midnight Madness program, according to Tabarrok, who says Satan will go for word-of-mouth festival buzz first, and then shop for a distributor.

Tabarrok is fresh from a successful turn at the Toronto festival, which saw his superhero movie Defendor go to Sony Pictures for an undisclosed amount.

It will be back-to-back projects for Tabarrok, who wraps Satan early next month and starts production on Oct. 26 in Niagara Falls on the dark comedy A Beginner’s Guide to Endings.

The feature film directorial debut of Toronto’s Jonathan Sobol, Endings stars Dennis Hopper, J.K. Simmons and Scott Caan in a story about three brothers who attempt to reverse a lifetime of mistakes when they learn they don’t have much time to live. Sobol (Citizen Duane) also penned the script.

The project — described as a dark comedy in the vein of the Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona — continues Tabarrok’s habit of working with newbie directors. Lohman, Sobol and Peter Stebbings of Defendor were all first-timers.

‘I don’t do it to be a nice guy,’ Tabarrok jokes, adding, ‘I just happen to like the projects that come to me.’