Last year, as the industry was looking to lift itself out the pandemic’s purgatory, SXSW lit the wick on A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. It wound up becoming the highest-grossing indie film of 2022, the best ever for the New York-based distributor, and now a potential Oscar Best Picture winner.
It’s often been said that SXSW has been a place to launch big studio horror titles and comedies before genre-friendly crowds rather than sell them and discover fresh talent; it’s here where eventual Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton first made a big splash with the Brie Larson drama Short Term 12.
Still, that slow rhythm has never deterred sellers from utilizing the Austin festival as place to launch fresh talent directly to a zeitgeisty demographic, away from the noise of Sundance’s highbrow fare and frenzied streaming marketplace. >>>The Hot List |
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Creed-ence - Creed could spawn a universe spanning both film and TV for Amazon. There have been meetings with franchise star and filmmaker Michael B. Jordan about various Creed-related projects for the past year, sources said. The plans for the scope of the universe have gotten bolder in the wake of Creed III’s $100M-plus debut. >>> Animated Series & More Considered
No Laughing Matter - After it emerged that a group of crew that work on SNL were threatening to strike over pay and benefits, Deadline understands that the Motion Picture Editors Guild, which represents around 20 of the show’s post-production editors, has met with NBCUniversal. >>>Network Vows Resolution
Global Breakout - The First Slam Dunk, a hit in its native Japan as well as Korea, has a Chinese release date set for April 20. Its current global box office, predominantly from Asia, is upwards of $115M. The manga title is just beginning its European rollout with Italy to be released soon via Anime Factory/Plaion, and France expected this summer (France is a huge manga market). >>>No U.S. Release Set
The Book Of Eli - TriStar Pictures has landed Spyglass Media Group's Thanksgiving, a full-length slasher film inspired by the Eli Roth-directed trailer for a fictitious film featured in the 2007 film Grindhouse. Roth returns as director and co-wrote the script with Jeff Rendell. Roger Birnbaum, Roth and Rendell are producing. >>>Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae Star
'Youth' Movement - Ghosted director Dexter Fletcher & Skydance have reunited on Fountain Of Youth. James Vanderbilt is penning the script. >>>Drink From It And Live Forever |
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As last-minute preparations and rehearsals were busily taking place at the Dolby Theatre for this Sunday’s 95th annual Academy Awards, Deadline's Pete Hammond sat down with AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer to talk about the show. Among the topics Kramer addressed were how the Academy plans to handle potential crisis situations; continuing controversies over Oscar campaigning and social media; plus the future of the megabucks broadcast with ABC and the Dolby Theatre venue. Deals with both will expire in 2028. >>>The Interview |
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Bob Odenkirk has confirmed he's starring in a video re-creation of The Room. Performed against a green screen that displays locations used in the original movie, The Room remake is the latest endeavor from Acting For a Cause, an organization that produces and stages Zoom-style table readings of classic plays and movies for charity. “This is true," wrote Odenkirk on Twitter. "And let me tell you, I tried my best to SELL every line, as honestly as I could…and I had a BLAST." Exclusive Tituss Burgess, Tommy Dewey and Siobhan Williams have been cast in NBC‘s upcoming drama pilot from Good Girls creator Jenna Bans and executive producer Bill Krebs. The pilot, which was previously titled Murder By the Book, features Good Girls star Retta as Hazel, a big city Instafamous book reviewer who becomes an unlikely detective. |
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More News
👆 Netflix's You dominated the Nielsen U.S. streaming charts for the week of February 6 to February 12, racking up 1.7B viewing minutes for the week.
🎙️ Sinatra The Musical will receive its world premiere production at the Birmingham Rep theater in Birmingham, England. Joe DiPietro’s musical will be directed by Kathleen Marshall and begin its run on September 23. Producing is Birmingham Rep in association with Universal Music Group Theatrical and Frank Sinatra Enterprises.
🏆 A final update of presenters for Sunday's Oscars includes new additions Harrison Ford, Halle Berry, Paul Dano, Cara Delevingne, Kate Hudson, Mindy Kaling, Eva Longoria, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andie MacDowell, Elizabeth Olsen, Pedro Pascal and John Travolta.
In Brief - Rust D.A. refuted Alec Baldwin lawyer’s claim that the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins was destroyed...John Wick: Chapter 4 to make surprise debut at SXSW...Love & Hip Hop Producer Lashan Browning has secured investment from Paramount. |
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BY THE NUMBERS
2.4 million - The number of U.S. households that have watched Top Gun: Maverick since the the Oscar noms were announced, according to Samba TV, making it the Best Picture contender with the most streams in that period |
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On the Radar
Fri - SXSW begins; Tom Cruise honored at the ICG Publicists Awards
Sat - The Night Before Party
Sun - The Oscars |
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Opening Scene - Jessica Chastain celebrated the opening of Jamie Lloyd’s hypnotic Broadway revival of Ibsen’s A Doll's House at Hudson Theatre on Thursday night. The actress shines in the stark, minimalist production that Deadline's Greg Evans calls a "captivating experiment in the power of the voice to transport us to places both far away and deep inside the human psyche." |
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