As the CW’s transformation under new owners Nexstar continues, with live sports and acquired scripted series and international co-productions joining the fold, questions persist about the fate of the last remaining dramas from the “old” CW. With Superman & Lois set to end with its upcoming fourth season in the fall, that leaves flagship All American, spinoff All American: Homecoming and Walker. They all film in the U.S., making them more expensive to produce than Canadian-made dramas and come from former CW co-owners (now minority owners) Warner Bros. (All American franchise) and CBS (Walker). From what Deadline hears, it would be a very challenging business proposition to have all three series continue on the CW. The sobering realization defers from the brighter outlook shared by the CW President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz at TCA in February. >>>Looking For More Savings |
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Participant Postmortem - Filmmaker and producer Davis Guggenheim directed 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth featuring Al Gore. The film won the Oscar and helped put Jeff Skoll‘s social-impact-driven production company then known as Participant Media on the map. Participant was also responsible for Oscar Best Picture winners Spotlight and Green Book, and Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, another timely topic. Guggenheim is a co-founder of Concordia Studio and most recently directed and produced Emmy winner Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. Here he penned a guest column for Deadline after learning Participant was shuttering. >>>Company's Legacy
D.C. Party-Palooza Preview - The star power at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner could come as a function of the 2024 election year and a dinner lineup in which Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost will be the featured entertainer following President Joe Biden‘s own stand-up act. >>>Dinner Just One Beltway Event Among Many
Adler-Lieberman Tie-Up - Shortly after it revealed a buzzy remake of The War of The Roses, it emerges that Adler Entertainment Trust, the production company dedicated to adapting the works of Warren Adler, is partnering with Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Todd Lieberman (The Fighter) and his production company, Hidden Pictures, on an initial two-project production deal. >>> Crime Series & Cold-War Thriller
Vertical 'Exorcism' - Vertical has acquired North American rights from Miramax to horror pic The Exorcism (fka The Georgetown Project), starring Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, slating it for an exclusive theatrical release beginning June 7. Directed by Joshua John Miller, the film follows Anthony Miller (Crowe), a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. >>> Shudder Takes Pay 1
In Brief - Baby Reindeer enters Primetime Emmy Limited Series race... Lorene Scafaria to direct HBO’s Rachel Sennott comedy pilot |
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Exclusive
Singer and actress Rita Ora, former NFL star Marshawn Lynch and Rogue Heroes star Jack O’Connell are set to join Joe Cole in action-thriller He Bled Neon, which is an early Cannes market buzz title.
Exclusive
Li Jun Li is the newest addition to the cast of Ryan Coogler‘s untitled supernatural thriller, starring Michael B. Jordan, for Warner Bros. Details as to the film’s plot remain under wraps. As previously reported, Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo, Omar Benson Miller, Jayme Lawson, Wunmi Mosaku and Hailee Steinfeld will also star.
Exclusive
Emily Rios, Louis Ferreira and Bonnie Root will star in independent horror-thriller feature, Don’t Let Them Out . Written by Lila McLaughlin, who makes her directorial debut on the film, the story centers on a struggling woman who journeys to a property she has inherited in hopes of selling it to pay off her debts. But upon arriving, things takes a terrifying turn.
Academy Award nominee LaKeith Stanfield is in talks to star in and produce a feature adaptation of the hit neo-noir video game El Paso, Elsewhere. Lorenzo di Bonaventura’s Di Bonaventura Pictures and Colin Stark will also produce. |
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More News 💰 Range Media Partners has secured a minority investment from a group of backers including Liberty Media and a family office run by TPG co-founder David Bonderman.
⚖️ David Pecker, the former CEO of the celebrity magazine and tabloid company American Media, was first witness on Tuesday in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. Pecker testified for about 25 minutes, telling the jury about his work publishing Star magazine, National Enquirer and other periodicals. He said matter-of-factly that he practiced “checkbook journalism, with budgets of $10,000 per story, sometimes more, for paying sources.
🎞️ AMPAS has revealed some rules changes for the 97th Academy Awards next year. Among them are putting the brakes on the Covid-era rule about drive-ins as qualifying commercial venues and other tweaks that affect the Animated Feature, International Feature Film, Original Score and Writing categories, along with the Governors Awards and Sci-Tech Oscars.
🌴 The Cannes Film Festival has added 13 titles to the selection for its 77th edition, including new films by Oliver Stone, Lou Ye and Arnaud Desplechin as Special Screenings. Stone has made it in with his documentary Lula, about former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The work follows the politician’s imprisonment in 2018 and 2019 and then his return to power.
📺 Netflix will be out in force at France‘s Annecy International Animation Film Festival once again this June as its annual presentation will see directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham give a sneak peek of Aardman’s upcoming new and still untitled Wallace & Gromit film, while Zack Snyder, executive producer Deborah Snyder and Xilam Animation Director Slimane Aniss will unveil clips from the adult animated series Twilight of the Gods. |
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BY THE NUMBERS $927 million - Estimated cost to build the UK's Marlow Film Studios which James Cameron is backing as a potential base for his technology training center |
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Obituaries
🕯 Dusty Kay, a writer and Emmy-nominated producer whose credits include Entourage, Roseanne and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, died April 10 in Summerlin, Nevada, following a brief illness. He was 69. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2024 Photo Gallery | |
On the Radar
Thu - Comcast earnings; SCOTUS hearing on Donald Trump's presidential immunity claim
Fri - Challengers opens wide
Sat - AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Nicole Kidman; Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted; White House Correspondents' Dinner |
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POTUS Pledge - President Joe Biden, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey, (D-MA) in POTUS’ social media pic captioned: “Young Americans know that the climate crisis is the existential threat of our time. They deserve leaders who believe them. We’re not going to let them down.” |
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