After the end of strikes, agents, managers and producers quickly moved in to assemble high-profile packages to take out in what was expected to be a frothy marketplace following six months of inactivity. But, while there have been a few bidding wars and big sales with a couple of others pending, the level of demand has not been what many anticipated. The biggest casualty of the tight market: packages with A-list stars attached.
“This has been such a head-scratcher,” one agent said about the situation. Agencies are keeping record of all the star packages that went out and failed to draw interest over the past few months despite the level of talent that has included Oscar and Emmy winners and nominees in front of or behind the camera, stars of blockbuster movies and iconic TV series and, in a couple of instances, famous IP. The total now exceeds 20.
“We call it the whiff list,” one manager said of the roster of casualties.
The dry spell may be rooted — at least partially — in the current state of the streaming TV evolution. >>>Profitability Now Paramount |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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A Shore Thing - The Wolper Organization has tapped Jordan Allen-Dutton (Robot Chicken) to pen the script for its recently-announced Richard Simmons biopic produced by and starring Pauly Shore. >>>'Little Miss Sunshine' In Dolphin Shorts
Broadway To The Big Screen - Lissette Feliciano (Women Is Losers) is attached to write and direct On Your Feet, a feature adaptation of the same-name Broadway musical that’s in early development at Sony Pictures. >>>Jukebox Musical
Deadline Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted - The strikes are behind us, Emmy season is upon us, and it’s time to hear from the creatives and talent behind some of the TV season’s most talked-about nonfiction programs. Deadline’s day-long Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted virtual event on Saturday will offer just that, giving awards-watchers a chance to kick back at home and take in the tales. >>> More Info, RSVP Link
My Meeting With David Pecker - David Pecker stabbed impatiently at his veal piccata. It was a cordial business lunch, but he was growing frustrated. The publisher of the National Enquirer was pitching an ambitious deal involving "an important journalistic venture” -- and major money. >>>Peter Bart's Column
In Brief - Billy Corgan’s Adventures In Carnyland sets premiere date... Sam Raimi teams with Campbell & Stuecken on I’m The Grim Reaper series... Megan Fox signs with UTA |
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Jon Bon Jovi, the man who co-wrote iconic songs including “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Keep the Faith” is preparing for the release of Hulu’s four-part docuseries Thank You, Goodnight, directed by Gotham Chopra.
Initially planned as a career retrospective around the band’s 40th anniversary – Bon Jovi’s eponymous album was released on January 21, 1984 – the series added another element to the story, that of its lead singer’s health issues that have raised question marks about the band’s future. >>>Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
The new 28 Years Later trilogy from director Danny Boyle and Sony Pictures is gaining momentum, and some serious star power. Sources tell Deadline that Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes have boarded the first pic.
Steve Carell has been tapped to star opposite Tina Fey in The Four Seasons, the Netflix comedy series based on the 1981 Universal film of the same name, which she’s co-created with former 30 Rock colleagues Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield.
Amy Adams has been tapped to star in At the Sea, a new drama from Kornel Mundruczó and Kata Wéber — the director and writer of such acclaimed films as Pieces of a Woman and White God.
Three-time Emmy winner Julia Garner is boarding New Line’s Weapons opposite Josh Brolin. The pic comes from writer-director Zach Cregger. who made the 2022 New Regency horror film Barbarian.
In Brief - Brian Tyree Henry joins Uni’s Pharrell Williams-Michel Gondry musical... Pulse adds Néstor Carbonell, Santiago Segura & more... FBI: International casts Colin Donnell in last episodes Of Season 3 |
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More News ⚖️ New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction on felony sex crime charges, ordering a new trial. The disgraced ex-mogul will remain in prison due to a separate 2022 rape conviction.
📺 Comcast eased past Wall Street estimates for the first quarter, and also said Peacock is now at 34 million subscribers, with $1.1 billion in quarterly revenue.
Billie Eilish, Dave Mathews, Cyndi Lauper, Lorde, Sia, Train, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Graham Nash, Becky G, and Chappell Roan are among the more than 250 recording artists who have signed a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce in support of a bill advocating for ticket sale transparency and consumer protections against bots.
📺 The Television Academy has revealed the recipients of its 17th Television Academy Honors. The recipients include four non-scripted series and three scripted series. Each year, Television Academy Honors celebrates programs that raise awareness about complex issues facing society.
🔎 Multiple investigations are taking place into the accident on the Atlanta set of Amazon MGM Studios‘ heist pic The Pickup over the weekend, which left several crew members injured. Both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees are currently looking into the incident, Deadline has confirmed.
✒️ Three time Oscar-nominated scribe John Logan is adapting National Book Award-winning author Cormac McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian or The Evening Redness in the West for the big screen for New Regency. John Hillcoat, who previously adapted McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Road, will direct and produce along with Keith Redmon for New Regency.
⚖️ Actors Access is the latest target of a potential class action lawsuit for its pay-to-play model. A week ago, the California-based public interest firm Clarkson Law filed suit against Casting Networks. Now it has set its sights on the Gary Marsh-owned service that allows actors to submit directly to casting breakdowns posted by casting directors. |
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On the Radar
Thu - SCOTUS hearing on Donald Trump's presidential immunity claim; ‘The Great Gatsby’ opens on Broadway
Fri - Challengers opens wide
Sat - Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted; AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Nicole Kidman; White House Correspondents' Dinner
Mon - Paramount earnings; NewFronts begin |
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Wolfe Hall - Jeff Daniels and Lucy Liu attend the Los Angeles special screening of Netflix's A Man in Full, the six-episode limited series from David E. Kelley and Regina King, based on Tom Wolfe’s 1998 novel. |
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