Who loves Zendaya? Show of hands? Well, if you do — and Amazon MGM Studios is betting that plenty of 18-to-24-year-olds do — you can watch the Euphoria Emmy winner in Imax in Amazon MGM Studios Challengers this weekend. After that, you can then see her again in Legendary/Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Two as the sequel gets a fresh Imax run. The R-rated tennis romantic comedy Challengers finally steps on the court this weekend after being pushed from its initial September release date due to the actors strike, with an eye on a $15M domestic opening at roughly 3,400 locations.
The pic will serve as a testament to Zendaya’s box office drawing power sans any attachments to major IP (i.e., Dune or Spider-Man). Already working in the favor of the Luca Guadagnino-directed, Amy Pascal-produced movie are excellent reviews at 95% certified fresh. If this film truly can break out, it’s a win all around. >>>Social Ace |
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New Universe - A Quiet Place producers Michael Bay and Brad Fuller’s Platinum Dunes are partnering with Vault Comics to create an all-new IP universe based on an original story by Post Malone, the 8x diamond recording artist. Blending elements of road thrillers and demonic horror, Post Malone‘s story is set in medieval Europe, where the only thing standing in the way of the horde of demons infesting the continent is a mysterious armored 18-wheeler seemingly sent back from the heavens. >>> Graphic Novel Up First
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
Broken Heart Emojis - The latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast features Oscar-nominated filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen, directors of two acclaimed Participant documentaries: RBG and My Name Is Pauli Murray who discuss the developments at Participant and what they mean for a nonfiction field already reeling from a sluggish acquisition market and slashed budgets at streamers. >>>Listen
Creating Their Own Story - Frank Adkinson Jr. and Candice Vernon are set to co-write and star in time-bending comedy feature 117 Years of Movie Bullsh*t. Vernon is directing the indie that follows the journey of two aspiring stars who are sent back in time and repeatedly trapped in the roles of token Black characters in movies from years ago, forced to confront the eyebrow raising of Hollywood’s past. >>> First Project For Viral Productions
'Tie' Bound For Cannes Market - VMI Worldwide has boarded worldwide sales on The Yellow Tie, a biopic about the famed Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache starring John Malkovich, Sean Bean and Ben Schnetzer. The film is billed as the true story of a singular individual with a remarkable destiny. >>>Directed By Conductor’s Son
In Brief - Baby Reindeer’s Richard Gadd signs with UTA... Zero Gravity Management signs Editi Effiong |
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Exclusive
How To Get Away With Murder alumna Aja Naomi King is returning to broadcast as a lead opposite Melissa Fumero, AnnaSophia Robb and Ben Rappaport in Grosse Pointe Garden Society, NBC‘s drama pilot from Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Exclusive
Derek Luke is the latest addition to Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic that Antoine Fuqua is directing for Lionsgate and Universal Pictures International, sources tell Deadline. The actor will play famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, who repped Jackson in a 1993 child molestation case that was settled out of court.
Callum Turner is joining Neuromancer, a new 10-episode drama based on the sci-fi novel of the same name by William Gibson. Turner will play a damaged, top-rung super-hacker named Case who is thrust into a web of digital espionage and high stakes crime with his partner Molly, a razor-girl assassin with mirrored eyes, aiming to pull a heist on a corporate dynasty with untold secrets.
Exclusive
Oscar winner Sissy Spacek has been tapped for a recurring role opposite stars Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate in FX‘s limited series Dying for Sex. Spacek will play Gail, the mother of Williams' protagonist Molly, who has a complicated history with her daughter.
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Danica McKellar and Oliver Rice have booked their next flick for Great American Family. The duo will star in A Royal Christmas Ball, with waltzes choreographed by Dancing With the Stars pro Gleb Savchenko. Production begins this week on the movie that will premiere this November as part of Great American Christmas 2024.
In Brief - Sara Boustany joins Ziad H. Hamzeh's feature Hello, Beautiful... The Hunting Wives adds Karen Rodriguez, Michael Aaron Milligan & Hunter Emery |
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More News 🎬 Several crew members were injured during an incident on the Atlanta set of Amazon MGM Studios‘ heist pic The Pickup, which stars Eddie Murphy, on Saturday, April 20. A spokesperson for the studio said “an accident occurred… during a rehearsed 2nd unit action sequence. Unfortunately, the sequence did not go as planned and several members of the crew were injured as a result. We are still in the process of gathering facts on what happened and why.”
🛒 With the AFM heading to Las Vegas, a group of indie filmmakers are aiming to launch a “new film market and entertainment industry convention” in LA this October. Organizers say The American Film Convention will take place October 15-17, 2024 at Magic Box in Downtown Los Angeles.
💭 Thomas Drachkovitch and Jason Hafford will lead Dream Bay Entertainment, with former Amazon exec Drachkovitch the founder and Managing Director and ex-CAA rep Hafford co-founder and Head of DBE Management. The company, which Drachkovitch launched last year after exiting his role at Amazon Studios, comprises film and television production, literary and talent management, and media advisory services divisions.
🔢 Netflix UK will not be changing its commissioning course when the streamer stops reporting quarterly subs numbers. Programming chief Anne Mensah, who oversees a huge slate featuring the likes of Baby Reindeer and The Gentlemen, said, “there is no secret” for producers when they pitch to Netflix, and that this will remain the same given the streamer’s fresh focus on profit over subs. “I can’t stress enough that [our commissioning strategy] is simply about how you get audiences to press play and stay,” she told the Creative Cities Convention.
🤝 One part of the Megalopolis distribution puzzle could be close to falling into place in France. Le Point magazine reported on Tuesday that Paris-based distributor Le Pacte had acquired French rights for Francis Ford Coppola’s $120M self-financed epic ahead of its world premiere in Competition at Cannes. Contacted by Deadline, Le Pacte CEO Jean Labadie played down the reports but did not deny talks, saying: “We don’t have the film yet. Nothing is signed.”
🎭 Following two sold-out limited seasons at London’s Barbican, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed stage version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbour Totoro will transfer to the West End early in 2025. The show broke box office records during both its inaugural 15-week term in 2022 and repeated that success on its second iteration, which played for 17 weeks from last November until last month. Next stop Broadway?
🌝 Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver has rocketed to the top of Netflix’s charts but has landed fewer viewers than its opening saga. The film, which was released on April 19, opened with 21.4M views, making it the most-watched title of the week (the prequel managed 23.9M when it was released in December). On the TV side, Richard Gadd’s creepy stalker series Baby Reindeer moved to the top of Netflix’s English-language TV charts with 13.3M views.
⚖️ National Enquirer Publisher David Pecker, on the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, detailed the tens of thousands of dollars the tabloid shelled out to “catch and kill” potentially embarrassing stories during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
📺 Prime Experience, Prime Video’s annual Emmy FYC activation, is back for its 2024 edition. Held at a new venue, NYA West, across the street from last year’s location, the event will let invited members of the Television Academy and Hollywood guilds get closer to some of Prime Video’s top series, movies and specials through in-world installations, interactive exhibits, show-inspired menus and panels. |
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BY THE NUMBERS $34.7 million - Combined weekly box office for the 36 shows on Broadway, up 10% year-over-year |
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Obituaries
🕯 Terry Carter, who broke color barriers from the beginning of his decades-long career in the mid-1950s and went on to be best known for his roles as Colonel Tigh in the original Battlestar Galactica and as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on TV series McCloud, died Tuesday at his home in New York City, his son confirmed to The New York Times. He was 95.🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2024 Photo Gallery |
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On the Radar
Thu - Comcast earnings; 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 |
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It Girls - Pam Grier (center, with black hat) and guests pose at the It Girl brunch hosted by Prime Video in partnership with Ebony on Tuesday at the A.O.C. Wine Bar in West Hollywood. |
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