Detail from the cover of Stephen King's 'The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower I)' (Simon & Schuster) |
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After six years creating and producing for Netflix, including the last four under an overall deal, Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy’s Intrepid Pictures is moving to Amazon Studios. Additionally, the duo behind The Haunting TV franchise and Midnight Mass are taking on their most ambitious project to date: an epic screen adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower books. It's been tried at least twice before, and proven elusive. The mammoth book series draws from multiple genres including dark fantasy, science fantasy, horror and the Western. Flanagan envisions a TV series to run for five seasons, followed by two stand-alone features. In an interview with Deadline, he reveals he has already written a pilot script and season outlines for the effort he has publicly called his dream project — which is carved out of their deal at Amazon, by the way. >>>Read The Q&A |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Sundance Card - Deadline parses the newly-announced lineup for the Park City-set fest, which includes CNN/HBO Max’s Little Richard: I Am Everything, Apple TV+’s doc Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Anne Hathaway in Eileen, Gabriel Garcia Bernal in Amazon Studios’ Cassandro, Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth in Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool and Emilia Clarke doing double duty in opening-night film The Pod Generation (which also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor) and The Amazing Maurice >>> More Big Names
Harry & Meghan & Controversy - Netflix's new documentary series on the royal couple, produced by their own Archwell banner, just hit the streaming service and is stirring up talk of Brexit, tabloid journalism and a lot more. >>>Deadline's Review And Full Coverage
Christmas Stories - Peter Billingsley, star of A Christmas Story, is hosting a new podcast celebrating the nostalgia of classic holiday films. "A Cinematic Christmas Journey" was co-created by Vince Vaughn for his podcast network Audiorama, which launched earlier this year. >>>Interviews With Stars & Filmmakers
Lark Makes Its Mark - London-based Lark is one of the buzziest new boutique film and TV agencies in Europe. The company was quietly set up by former Troika Director Harriet Pennington Legh in 2020 and this year has added former Casarotto and 42 rep Sophie Dolan and longtime Independent Talent agent Roxana Adle. The principals spoke to Deadline about their approach to growing the company and navigating a challenging industry landscape. >>>Curated Client Roster
Way More Than 5 More Minutes - Hallmark Media has signed Five More Minutes actress Nikki DeLoach to an exclusive, multi-picture overall deal. The channel's viewers should recognize DeLoach from her many starring roles in Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Hall of Fame productions. >>>Favorite Among Viewers
A Laughing Matter - Emily Furutani — who served as Director of Comedy Development for Universal Television — has joined Hulu Originals as Vice President, Comedy. She will report into Billy Rosenberg, the Head of Comedy for Hulu Originals. >>>Her Track Record
Rom-Com Queen - Kris Rey is set to direct Sooner or Later, a romantic comedy that’s in early stages at 20th Century Studios. Sooner or Later focuses on Nora, a cynical British journalist who is hired to write a puff piece for a legendary Hollywood playboy attempting to reinvent his image. >>>Logan's Scott Frank Producing
"We Can't Look Away" - On and off screen, Danielle Deadwyler implores us to not “look away.” Her eyes convey a quality that filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu recognized when she cast the Atlanta native to portray Mamie Till-Mobley, mother of 14-year-old Emmett Louis Till. Deadwyler tells Deadline the portrayal, and the responsibility thereof, left her "completely and utterly wrecked." >>> Read The Interview
In Brief - Juno Films has picked up North American rights to Hilma — the latest film from Lasse Hallström — which stars Lena Olin.◾ Disney Branded Television is extending its multiyear overall deal with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series creator Tim Federle. ◾ Yetide Badaki is developing a Nigerian vampire story called Naija Vamp as a TV series and a comic along with Prentice Penny's Payback Entertainment. |
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Colin Farrell, Martin McDonagh and Brendan Gleeson (Josh Telles) |
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The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh’s fourth film, began with an ending. As the Covid pandemic loomed, McDonagh found himself in a dark place of his own, struggling to process a failed relationship. And as the writer and director of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and In Bruges is wont to do, processing it meant picking up a pen. “I think I was tapping into being in that sad sort of breakup place,” he says now. “I was getting sad on a daily basis and writing this was like a side of joy.” >>>McDonagh, Farrell & Gleeson Talk 'Banshees' |
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QUOTABLE: “Some people drink to hide or forget things. Drug addicts try to alter their reality. Some people cut. I lied. That was my coping and my way to feel safe and seen and heard.” - Former 'Grey’s Anatomy' writer Elisabeth Finch on why she lied about having cancer |
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Jake Gyllenhaal (Getty Images) |
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TV Turn - In his first major foray into TV, Jake Gyllenhaal is in negotiations to star in and executive produce Presumed Innocent, which in 1990 was turned into a feature starring Harrison Ford. The upcoming Apple TV+ project is a limited series from David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV where the company is based. >>>Based On Scott Turow Thriller
Exclusive The 'Right' Stuff - Edie Falco has reteamed with her Nurse Jackie director Brendan Walsh on I’ll Be Right There — an indie comedy written by Jim Beggarly (Free Samples), which has wrapped production in New York. >>>Co-Stars Bradley Whitford
Exclusive Black Swans - Oscar-nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace), is joining Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina. It's a sizable role, though specifics remain under wraps. >>> Cameras Currently Rolling
Exclusive Stealing Laughs - Amazon has ordered and shot half-hour comedy pilot Lifted starring Ivy Wolk, Veronica Taylor, Kate Godfrey and Annie Marie Elliot. The pilot explores the lives of four geographically, socio-economically and racially diverse American teenage girls united by an online community built around shoplifting. >>>Commentary On Identity
In Brief - Carolee Carmello, Grace McLean and Jordan Dobson will appear in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bad Cinderella when it arrives on Broadway.◾ Yul Vázquez (Severance ) has landed a major recurring role in the Godfather of Harlem's third season. |
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Cancellations
❌ Monarch, starring Anna Friel, Trace Adkins and Susan Sarandon has been canceled by Fox after just one season. ❌ New heads of DC James Gunn and Peter Safran have put the kibosh on director Patty Jenkins’ treatment for Wonder Woman 3. ❌ The Issa Rae-produced reality series Sweet Life: Los Angeles will not be moving forward with a third season at HBO Max. ❌ The BBC announced it will be taking its linear channels online only over the next decade as it consolidates "under one simple, single brand." |
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More News
🏀 U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been released by Russian authorities as part of a prisoner exchange. Griner was arrested last February after she was found to be in possession of two vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is a banned substance in Russia.
😢 Singer Celine Dion revealed that she has been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological condition. She has canceled plans to resume her European tour in February 2023.
🚦 FX has given a pilot order to The Border, a drama based on the third book in Don Winslow’s bestselling Cartel Trilogy. It's billed as an epic saga that reveals the dark truths about America’s failed 50-year war on drugs. The pilot begins production in Mexico in 2023.
💉 As the winter Covid wave gathers steam, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher is expressing renewed concerns about Hollywood’s vaccination mandate saying, "many performers have lost their representation, their medical benefits and their livelihoods." Drescher promised a survey to take the pulse of members on the topic.
💰 Priyanka Chopra Jonas said for the first time she is finally earning as much as her male costar. The actor is starring in Prime Video’s Citadel where she shares leading status with Game of Thrones alum Richard Madden. "I’ve done 60-something movies," she told the BBC, "but I’ve never got paid the same amount as my male co-actor."
🦂 Peacock has revealed the cast and January premiere date for new reality competition series The Traitors, which pits stars of The Real Housewives and Big Brother against each other for a $250,000 prize while three contestants secretly devise a plan to steal it. The cast includes Arie Luyendyk Jr., Brandi Glanville, Ryan Lochte and Cody Calafiore.
🔍 Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Will Smith, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith topped Google’s list of the Top 10 most-searched actors for 2022. They also accounted for four of the top five spots on the overall “People” list. The only non-actor crashing the top five was Vladimir Putin at No. 4.
🤑 Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment agency has joined Caesars Entertainment and Manhattan realty company SL Green in a bid to build a Caesars Palace casino in Times Square. The Broadway League argues a casino would siphon customers and money away from existing area restaurants and theaters.
🌲 Showtime's acclaimed Yellowjackets will return for its second season Friday, March 24 on streaming and on demand for subscribers before making its on-air debut on Sunday, March 26. Season 2 of the series is currently in production in Vancouver.
In Brief - Wednesday star Jenna Ortega revealed that she was sick with Covid when she shot the show's viral dance scene. "I felt like... a little goblin had been let loose in my throat," she said. ◾ Jennifer Lawrence’s No Hard Feelings has moved one week later to June 23 after Warner Bros/DC’s The Flash moved onto its June 16 spot. |
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On the Radar
Sat - Deadline Contenders Film at LA3C festival; Steve Martin & Martin Short host SNL; European Film Awards
Sun - LA3C festival; “Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio” opens at MoMA
Mon - Golden Globe nominations
Tue - Independent Spirit Awards nominations
Wed - Critics Choice Film Awards nominations |
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