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Kerry Washington Inks ABC Overall, Miramax Options Matthew Quick Book, Disney Announces New Films, New Line Acquires Swedish Novel

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Kerry Washington Inks Overall Deal With ABC Studios

Scandal star Kerry Washington has signed an overall deal with the studio behind the ABC drama series for her recently launched production company Simpson Street. (DH)

Miramax Options Matthew Quick’s Book ‘The Reason You’re Alive’

Matthew Quick’s book The Reason You’re Alive has been optioned by Miramax, with Allison Shearmur set to produce. (THR)

Disney Claims Dates For Several New Movies; Confirms ‘Jungle Book 2,’ ‘Mary Poppins’ Sequel

The studio confirmed that it is planning to make Cruella, an 101 Dalmatians spin-off with Emma Stone, as well as sequels to Jungle Book and Maleficent. (VAR)

Robbie And Stephen Amell’s ‘Code 8′ Film Raises $1.7 Million From Indiegogo

Over 20,000 backers supported the cousins’ sci-fi film about a world where 4% of the population are born with supernatural abilities. (IW)

J.K. Rowling’s ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ Screenplay To Be Published On Pottermore

J.K. Rowling’s screenplay will be published as an ebook on Pottermore and also be available in a print edition, via Scholastic. (EW)

New Line Acquires Hit Swedish Novel ‘The Ice Beneath Her’ For Andrew Lazar To Produce

New Line Cinema has acquired film rights to Swedish author Camilla Grebe’s bestselling 2015 novel The Ice Beneath Her. The psychological thriller will be produced by Andrew Lazar. (DH)

Augenblick’s ‘Drunky’ Toasts Funding Launch With New Concept Art

Augenblick Studios — the Brooklyn animation outfit behind Ugly Americans and Superjail — is turning to fans to help raise funds for the production of its recently announced R-rated animated feature project, The Adventures of Drunky. (AM)

‘Adventures in Babysitting’ Movie Gets Premiere Date At Disney Channel

Disney Channel’s new take on Adventures in Babysitting will arrive on Friday, June 24 at 8/7c. (TVL)

If You’re Having Fun, You’re Doing It Wrong: Andrew Kevin Walker On Screenwriting

The legendary screenwriting veteran behind Se7en has a new film coming out, and a lot to say about not letting the industry eat you alive. (FCC)


TV Development for 4/26/16: Complete Upfront Slate Coverage from IFC, MTV, Lifetime & BET Plus New Showtime Series

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F To 7th
Network: Showtime Networks
Executive Producer(s): Ingrid Jungermann, Michael Showalter, Jamie Babbit, Karey Dornetto, Peter Principato
Writer(s): Ingrid Jungermann
Logline: Chronicles the female descent into pre-middle age in a world where sexuality and gender have left old-fashioned lesbianism behind.
Details: Based on the web series “F To 7th,” created by and starring Ingrid Jungermann.
SSN Insight: Jungermann was nominated for a WGA award for F To 7th, which featured Amy Sedaris, Showalter, Gaby Hoffmann, Olympia Dukakis and Janeane Garofalo.

Guerrilla
Network: Showtime Networks
Studio: ABC Studios
Production Company(s): Tiger Aspect Productions
Executive Producer(s): John Ridley, Idris Elba, Patrick Spence, Katie Swinden, Tracy Underwood
Writer(s): John Ridley
Logline: A politically active couple’s relationship and values are tested when they liberate a political prisoner and form a radical underground cell in 1970s London. Their ultimate target becomes the Black Power Desk, a true-life, secretive counter-intelligence unit within Special Branch dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism.
SSN Insight: Showtime has ordered six episodes for this limited series.

Krypton
Network: Syfy
Studio: Warner Horizon Television
Production Company(s): Phantom Four, DC Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): David S. Goyer, Ian Goldberg, Damian Kindler
Writer(s): Damian Kindler, David S. Goyer
Logline: Superman’s grandfather works to bring hope and equality to Krypton, transforming a planet in chaos into one worthy of his grandson’s future glory as the greatest superhero ever known.
Details: Based on “Superman” characters and the universe created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and first featured in a comic book published by DC Comics in 1938.
SSN Insight: SyFy has given a pilot order.

Lore
Production Company(s): Valhalla Entertainment, Propagate Content
Executive Producer(s): Aaron Mahnke, Gale Anne Hurd, Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens III, Brett Jenkins
Logline: Each episode will feature a new lore and explore the true origins of pop culture’s most legendary horror characters and myths.
Details: Based on the podcast, “Lore,” which was created by Aaron Mahnke and debuted in March, 2015.
SSN Insight: Series in development and will use a blend of narration, historical mixed media and scripted scenes.

Manhunt
Network: Showtime Networks
Studio: Sony Pictures Television
Production Company(s): Kapital Entertainment, Shark vs. Bear
Executive Producer(s): David Caspe, Jordan Cahan, Seth Gordon, Aaron Kaplan
Writer(s): David Caspe, Jordan Cahan
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Details: Based on an idea by Aaron Kaplan.
SSN Insight: Caspe and Gordon are under overall deals at Sony TV.

Rob Riggle’s Sportsbook
Network: TBS
Production Company(s): Principato-Young Entertainment, IMG Media
Executive Producer(s): Rob Riggle, Chris Pizzi
Logline: A weekly late-night program showing the humor in the 24-hour digital cycle of sports, talk, news and entertainment, anchored from Las Vegas.
SSN Insight: TBS gave a pilot order on April 26.

The Swap
Network: Disney Channel
Production Company(s): MarVista Entertainment, Original Pictures, Inc (Canada)
Executive Producer(s): Fernando Szew, Robyn Snyder, Gaylyn Fraiche, Kim Todd, Nicholas Hirst
Writer(s): Charlie Shahnaian, Shari Simpson
Logline: A rhythmic gymnast has a pending make-it-or-break-it competition and the youngest son in a hockey family is vying for a varsity spot on his school team. Their paths unexpectedly cross, and a simple text results in them actually swapping bodies.
Details: Based on the novel, “The Swap,” written by Megan Shull and published by Katherine Tegen Books on August 26, 2014.
SSN Insight: Disney Channel also unveiled plans a summer programming marathon centered on the airing of the network’s 100th original move since 1997.

Whatever, Linda
Production Company(s): Mark Gordon Company, Secret Location, Aberrant Pictures, Touchpoint Films
Executive Producer(s): Graeme Manson, Hannah Cheesman, Julian Dezotti, Mark R. Gordon, Nicholas Pepper
Writer(s): Hannah Cheesman, Julian Dezotti
Logline: In 1978, four disenfranchised secretaries on Wall Street become the engineers behind the world’s most notorious Ponzi scheme.
Details: Based on the Canadian web series “Whatever, Linda.”
SSN Insight: Cheesman and Donaldson previously worked with Manson on the acclaimed TV series Orphan Black.

BET

Benched
Network: BET Networks
Executive Producer(s): Scott Brown
Logline: A reluctant, recently appointed judge is not quite ready to give up his life as bachelor to begin a new life as a public servant. Each week, he confronts the underbelly of the criminal justice system that has derailed a generation of African Americans, including those close to him – as he upholds the tenets of the same system.
SSN Insight: Series order announced at their Upfront presentation in New York.

Comedy Getdown
Network: BET Networks
Production Company(s): Bird and a Bear Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment, Free 90 Media
Executive Producer(s): Tom Brunelle, Brad Wollack, Michael Rotenberg, Greg Walter, Kimberly Carver
Writer(s):
Logline: A look at what really happens behind the scenes of a massive stand-up comedy tour featuring five famous comics – George Lopez, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and Charlie Murphy. The series explores the personal and professional relationships of these five comedians as they navigate the challenges of life on the road: seedy venues, racist road managers, pushy wives, angry baby mamas, obsessive fans, demanding celebrities, shady politicians and more.
Details: Based on actual events.
SSN Insight: BET ordered the series. In addition BET will relaunch its digital ecosystem that will give advertisers expanded reach with added premium integrations and inventory.

Gary Owen Family
Network: BET Networks
Production Company(s): Bunim/Murray Productions
Executive Producer(s): Gil Goldschein, Jeff Jenkins, Gary Owen, Stella Bulochnikov Stolper, Brian Sher
Logline: Gary Owen loves his wife so much, he wants to marry her again. He balances planning a wedding with raising his three rambunctious children and growing his career.
Details: Ordered to series.
SSN Insight: BET ordered the series. Owens’ past roles include Meet the Blacks, Ride Along and Think Like a Man Too.

Joyful Noise
Network: BET Networks
Logline: This gospel music hour delivers a blend of performances from today’s gospel superstars, rising new artists, personal testimonies and man-on-the-street interviews.
Details: Ordered to series.
SSN Insight: Series has been ordered. Will feature Tye Tribbett as host and Willie Moore as a correspondent.

Music Moguls
Network: BET Networks
Production Company(s): L. Plummer Media
Executive Producer(s): Bryan “Birdman” Williams, Snoop Dogg, Lemuel Plummer, Chad Jason Greulach
Logline: Music mogul entrepreneurs navigate both familiar and new territory – from grooming new talent and building new empires to raising their college-bound children.
SSN Insight: BET has given a series order of eight episodes.

One Shot
Network: BET Networks
Production Company(s): Jarrett Creative
Executive Producer(s): Sway, Dominick Wickliffe, Michael Smith, King Tech, Nancy Nayor
Logline: Sway Calloway leads a panel of hip hop legends in a nationwide quest for the next explosive hip hop star with mass appeal, on-the-fly musicianship and command of the stage.
SSN Insight: BET gave a series order. Jarrett Creative’s other series include Boss Nails and My Crazy Love.

Tales
Network: BET Networks
Production Company(s): Visionary Ideas
Executive Producer(s): Irv Gotti
Logline: Song stories weave classic hip-hop songs into visually three-act narratives. In each episode, a song’s lyrics are imagined as cinematic adventures.
Details: The project will be based on the lyrics to classic hip-hop songs.
SSN Insight: Given a series order. Gotti is also an EP on Follow the Rules on MTV.

IFC

Canterbury Tales
Network: IFC
Executive Producer(s): Allison Anders,Terry Graham
Logline: The 1970s punk scene comes to rough and fumbling life when Terry, a young music aficionado, flees Texas and moves into the run-down, cockroach-infested Canterbury Apartments in the heart of Hollywood. Terry and his rowdy female musician roommates sleep all day and make music and mayhem all night at Hollywood’s first punk rock club, as they try to break into the music industry.
Details:
SSN Insight: Allison Anders’s credits include Mi Vida Loca and Grace Of My Heart.

Detective Lady
Network: IFC
Executive Producer(s): Kelly Galuska
Logline: Female detective Annie solves crimes in the hamlet of Sicily, USA. She is a rebel crime solver with a bit of a drinking problem, a new partner to contend with and some family history to unravel before it tears her apart.
SSN Insight: Kelly Galuska’s credits include Bojack Horseman and Mom. Kelly was recently nominated for a WGA Award for her individual episode of Bojack Horseman.

Grand Lake
Network: IFC
Production Company(s): A24
Executive Producer(s): Gretchen Enders
Logline: Two female best friends wish nothing but the worst for each other. They share a murderous secret that most days takes a back seat to the everyday drama of their disappointing adult children, small-town politics and an annoying, yet charming, ex-husband.
SSN Insight: WGA award-winner Gretchen Enders was a story editor on Amazon’s Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street.

How to Rig an Election
Network: IFC
Executive Producer(s): Tom Ruprecht
Writer(s): Tom Ruprecht
Logline: The series explores the astonishingly dark underbelly of political campaigning.
Details: Based on the book “How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative,” written by Allen Raymond and published by Simon & Schuster in 2008.
SSN Insight: Tom Ruprecht’s credits include Late Night with David Letterman and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.

Laughs in Translation
Network: IFC
Logline: The series explores what different people around the world find funny and why. With local comedians as guides, the host will travel the world to find out if anything is universally funny or if some humor is just lost in translation.
Details: Based on the Above Average web series, “Laughs in Translation,” which premiered in January, 2016.
SSN Insight: SNL alum Brooks Wheelan starred in the web series.

Living With Yourself
Network: IFC
Production Company(s): Likely Story
Executive Producer(s): Anthony Bregman, Jeffrey Stern, Jeff Blitz
Logline: A burned-out copywriter undergoes a novel treatment to become a better person, only to find his worst enemy is himself.
SSN Insight: Anthony Bregman’s credits include Foxcatcher and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

This Land Is Ours
Network: IFC
Production Company(s): Merman Films, George and George Co
Executive Producer(s): Vicki Pepperdine, Joanna Scanlan, Sharon Horgan, Clelia Mountford
Writer(s): Vicki Pepperdine, Joanna Scanlan
Logline: In present-day New York, a group of anarchist squatters take over an unoccupied Harlem Row House with every intention to keep it for themselves. They are forced to defend themselves against the fat cat developers who they discover have sold the property for near billions. The bizarre collective of activists, artists and hippies form a strong bond while waging war to bring back the gritty city they love.
SSN Insight: Vicki Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan also created the series Getting On and Puppy Love.

Todd Barth Can Help You
Network: IFC
Production Company(s): Moonshot Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Steven Weber, Bryan Cranston, James Degus, Clay Graham
Writer(s): Clay Graham
Logline: A conservative insurance adjuster completely changes his path in life when he starts to believe he has what it takes to become a New Age self-help guru.
SSN Insight: Steven Weber (Wings) is attached to star.

Lifetime

Deadline
Network: Lifetime Entertainment Television
Studio: A+E Studios
Production Company(s): Imperative Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Justin Levy, Tim Kring
Writer(s): Sam Forman
Logline: Aspiring journalist Emily Twist is frustrated by how hard it is to get noticed as a reporter in a world that values gossip over hard-hitting investigative news. To rise to the top, Emily must leave her integrity at the door and make increasingly deadly moves to keep her story alive.
SSN Insight: Sam Forman (House Of Cards) is set to write the pilot.

Fashion Inc.
Network: Lifetime Entertainment Television
Production Company(s): The Weinstein Company , Matador Content
Executive Producer(s): Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Patrick Reardon, Barbara Schneeweiss, Jay Peterson
Logline: Set in New York City’s fashion district, aspiring fashion and beauty entrepreneurs compete for the chance to secure funds from a panel of expert investors to help grow their budding ventures.
SSN Insight: Lifetime has given a series order of eight episodes.

Gold Medal Families
Network: Lifetime Entertainment Television
Production Company(s): The Company
Executive Producer(s): Charles Ebersol, Mike Lanigan, Bryn Freedman, Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue
Logline: The series showcases six Olympic hopefuls and their families, revealing the extraordinary lengths, economic hardships and personal sacrifices they all go through to get their elite athlete to the podium of the world games.
SSN Insight: Lifetime has given a series order of eight episodes.

None of the Above
Network: Lifetime Entertainment Television
Studio: A+E Studios
Production Company(s): Davis Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): John Davis
Writer(s): Liz Maccie
Logline: A girl’s previously idyllic life as the homecoming queen is called into question when she discovers she is intersex. Based on the novel.
Details: Based on the novel, “None of the Above,” written by I.W. Gregorio and published by Balzer + Bray on April 7, 2015.
SSN Insight: Liz Maccie was previously a writer on the series Make it or Break it.

Sea Change
Network: Lifetime Entertainment Television
Production Company(s): Piller/Segan, MarVista Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Fernando Szew, Sharon Bordas, Lloyd Segan, Shawn Piller, David MacLeod
Writer(s): Liz Sczudlo
Logline: A strong 17-year-old girl, after the death of her father, moves to a small Nantucket-like island to live with her estranged mother. There she is pulled into classic small town rivalries and clashes with her mother, but quickly learns the depth of those conflicts when the island legend about dangerous Sea Walkers appears to be true, presenting a mystery for her and her family. Based on the novel.
Details: Based on the novel, “Sea Change,” written by Aimee Friedman and published by Point in 2009.
SSN Insight: Ordered a two hour pilot to be penned by Liz Sczudlo (The Following, Awkward).

Untitled Selena Gomez Drama Project
Network: Lifetime Entertainment Television
Studio: A+E Networks
Production Company(s): Trigger Street Productions, July Moon Productions
Executive Producer(s): Selena Gomez, Mandy Teefey, Kevin Spacey, Dana Brunetti, Samantha Droke
Logline: A young actress’ experience navigating a career in Hollywood is seen through the eyes of her friends, who quickly become her most trusted inner circle.
Details: Inspired by the real-life experiences of actress/singer Selena Gomez.
SSN Insight: Producers are currently looking for a writer to pen the scripted drama.

MTV

Acting Out
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): A. Smith & Co. Productions
Logline: The most irreverent established and up-and-coming comedians of today have their best stand-up routines acted out.
Details: Ordered to series.
SSN Insight: Given a series order. A Smith & Co. Productions also produces Hell’s Kitchen and American Ninja Warrior.

Blooms
Network: MTV Networks
Studio: Universal Cable Productions
Production Company(s): Flower Films
Executive Producer(s): Walter Mosley, Drew Barrymore, Nancy Juvonen, Ember Truesdell, Chris Miller
Writer(s): Walter Mosley
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
SSN Insight: Drew Barrymore will also star and EP The Santa Clarita Diet for Netflix.

Going Off
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): @radical.media
Executive Producer(s): Dave Sirulnick
Logline: In dance capital North Hollywood, choreographer Tricia Miranda holds a master class where the best young dancers in the world come to see how they stack up against the rest. In every episode, one winner will be crowned and win a high stakes opportunity to book a professional job and take the next step on their path to greatness.
Details: Ordered to series.
SSN Insight: MTV gave a series order. Tricia Miranda has worked with Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Gwen Stefani, Demi Lovato and Iggy Azalea.

Greatest Movie Show of All Time, This Week
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Serious Business, 7 Bucks Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz, Jason U. Nadler
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
SSN Insight: Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming TV specials include Rock And A Hard Place and Rock The Troops.

It’s The Real
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Legendary Entertainment, Get Lifted Film Co.
Executive Producer(s): Eric Rosenthal, Jeff Rosenthal, Jeremy Miller, Daniel Cohn, John Legend
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
SSN Insight: John Legend is also the EP on Ordinary People in development at ABC.

Loosely Exactly Nicole
Network: MTV Networks
Executive Producer(s): Christine Zander, Avi Gilbert, Christian Lander
Writer(s): Christian Lander
Logline: Nicole Byer is living the Hollywood dream. Well, Hollywood adjacent – the deep valley to be precise and it’s not so much a dream but a struggle. In this hilarious half-hour comedy, we’ll watch as Nicole, exuding her special brand of confidence and irreverence, demonstrates the hilarious missteps of what it means to be out on your own for the first time. She’ll deal with humiliating auditions, unpaid electric bills, friendship ups and downs, and the battlefield that is Tinder as she slowly but surely finds her voice as a comedian.
SSN Insight: MTV gave a series order. Christian Lander was also the co-producer on Fox’s Bordertown.

Mary + Jane
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Management 360
Executive Producer(s): Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, Marcus Blakely, Guymon Casady, Jill McElroy
Writer(s): Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont, Maggie Bandur, Danielle Uhlarik
Logline: Paige and Jordan may be weed dealers, but in their eyes they are entrepreneurs. Their dope delivery app is quickly gaining popularity with foodies, celebrities and the most particular and crucial consumers, hipsters. These two girls, living in Los Angeles, are desperate to succeed, find a little romance, and keep their clients happy and high, all with the least amount of effort possible.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Deborah Kaplan is also developing the series Tuned for NBC.

MTV Unplugged
Network: MTV Networks
Logline: The revitalized “MTV Unplugged” will restore key elements that made the franchise so groundbreaking in the first place, while resetting the show in the multi-platform video world of today.
Details: The project is a reboot of the series, “MTV Unplugged,” which premiered on MTV in 1989.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order.

MTV’s The Investigation
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Embassy Row, LLC
Executive Producer(s): Michael Davies, Debbie DeMontreux, Stacey Altman, Andrew Jenks
Logline: This serialized documentary series follows the journey of alleged wrongfully convicted prisoners fighting for their freedom. It navigates these cases in an effort to uncover the truth with the highest possible stakes – the lives and freedom of innocent people locked up for life, and the duty to honor the lives of those lost. It takes an in-depth look into three criminal cases through the unique point of view of Ryan Ferguson, who at 19-years-old was convicted of a murder he didn’t commit.
Details: Ordered to series.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Embassy Row is also behind the series Adam Carolla And Friends Build Stuff for Spike.

Pick Me Up
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): 3 Arts Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Jon Gabrus, Betsy Sodaro, Dave Becky
Writer(s): Dan Gregor, Doug Mand
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
SSN Insight: Dave Becky’s credits include Broad City and Louie.

Shinesty
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Critical Content
Logline: The series follows the young entrepreneurs behind Shinesty, an apparel company in Boulder, Colorado, that did $5 million in sales last year. Shinesty makes “outrageous clothing for life and general ridiculousness” The Shinesty team lives a wild, zero-f*$ks-given lifestyle that is every bit as over-the-top as the apparel they create, and this show will take us inside the world of a millennial business doing things 100% their own way.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Critical Content’s other series include First Seal, Haywire, Start Up and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

Stranded with a Million Bucks
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Tollbooth Television
Executive Producer(s): Kevin Lee
Logline: Ten cast members are stranded on an island with nothing but the clothes on their back and a million dollars in cash! Those who survive for 40 days will split that money as their prize. The catch? They can buy any supplies they want, but everything is crazy expensive – and comes out of their prize money.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Tollbooth Television is also behind the series Coach Charming.

Studio 24
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): SB Projects, Pandemo Inc.
Executive Producer(s): Jonathan Slow, Scooter Braun, Scott Mason
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Details: Based on a format by FTV Rights B.V.
SSN Insight:

Sweet/Vicious
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Shiny Penny
Executive Producer(s): Stacey Sher, Emily Levitan, Amanda Lasher
Writer(s): Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Logline: College student Ophelia is an edgy, hip young trouble magnet: she works in a vintage record store, sells weed on the side, and is on a first-name basis with Campus Security. Jules is a sweet, small-town girl who is a member of the one of the best sororities on campus — but she has a secret identity as a masked superheroine who dishes out rough justice to those getting away with sexual assault and bullying on campus. When Ophelia learns all about Jules and her clandestine operation, she insists on playing Batgirl to , well, to Batgirl.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order of ten episodes.

The Almost Impossible Game Show
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Endemol Shine North America, Left Hook Media
Executive Producer(s): Georgie Hurford-Jones, Rob Smith, Matt Odgers, Scott Teti
Logline: Contestants complete physical challenges ranging from the absurd to the outlandish to beat the game and win cash prizes. Riding tiny bikes over a mud pit, putting on oversized pants while running full-speed on a giant treadmill and grating a heaping block of cheese onto a plate of nachos by using a grater attached to their derrières are just a few of the outrageous challenges the contestants will face.
Details: Based on a popular UK format, “The Almost Impossible Game Show,” which premiered on ITV 2 in 2015.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Georgie Hurford-Jones is also an EP on Sing Your Face Off on ABC.

The Outsiders
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Barcroft Productions
Logline: The series follows eight different families who have very polarizing beliefs, from white supremacists to devil worshipers.
Details: Ordered to series.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Barcroft also produces the series Chaos Caught on Camera for Discovery.

Untitled Mark Burnett Music Competition Reality Series Project
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): MGM Television Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Mark Burnett
Logline: At the intersection of music and business, this show gives hip hop’s freshest talent a chance at every musician’s dream: getting signed. Undiscovered artists perform in front of music’s biggest moguls, each eager to sign the next breakout star. But forget the shiny floor stage — it’s all happening in the recording studio
Details: Ordered to series.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Mark Burnett’s other upcoming series include Coupled for Fox and an Untitled Steve Harvey Reality Project at ABC.

Untitled Zac Efron Documentary Series Project
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Ninjas Runnin’ Wild Productions, Comedy Dynamics
Executive Producer(s): Zac Efron, Michael Simkin, Jason Barrett, Brian Volk-Weiss, Cisco Henson
Logline: Zac Efron explores how food has moved to the center of Millennial culture through his own unique lens as an actor, traveller, and food-lover. The project will look beyond the extravagant and obscure in food to explore the artistry, storytelling and journeys in what we eat, and the issues and experiences surrounding what we find on our plates.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Zac Efron’s upcoming films include Neighbors 2, Baywatch and The Disaster Artist.

Wonderland
Network: MTV Networks
Production Company(s): Done and Dusted
Logline: The series brings together the best new music, ground-breaking live performances and young comedic talent under one roof in a highly curated and truly innovative multi-streamed viewing experience.
SSN Insight: MTV has given a series order. Done and Dusted have produced past specials for Victoria’s Secret.

Turner & Criterion Collection’s New Streaming Service, ‘Sherlock Holmes 3′ News, Daisy Ridley’s New Flick, Bill Simmons’ HBO Show, TV Development For 4/26/16

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TV Development for 4/26/16: Complete Upfront Slate Coverage from IFC, MTV, Lifetime & BET Plus New Showtime Series

A pretty massive list this week, including Ingrid Jungermann adapting her web series to TV, John Ridley’s latest event series, Syfy venturing to Superman’s home planet, a new comedy from the creator of Happy Endings and a new late night show for Rob Riggle. There is actually a ton more, so click the link to read on. (SSN)

Turner and The Criterion Collection Team Up for FilmStruck Streaming Service

New service looks to debut this fall and will cater to the tastes of those who enjoy Criterion’s current slate of releases, and will also include films from major indie distributors like Icarus, Milestone, Kino, Zeitgeist, Janus, and Flicker Alley. This also means that Criterion’s home at Hulu will no longer be, but FilmStruck will allow Criterion to start its own curated channel, where rare gems and cult items can be found in good quality. (COL)

On the Heels Of RDJ Saying There’s a New ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Movie In Our Future, WB Hires a Writer To Work On the Script

Originally, Drew Pearce had been hired to work on Sherlock Holmes 3, and now James Coyne will be handling a rewrite of the script. This would be by far Coyle biggest project to date as his previous writing credits have been for direct to DVD action fare starring the likes of Dolph Lundgren and Legends of Tomorrow co-star Dominic Purcell. Though he’s also responsible for a Treasure Island script that made the Black List. (CB)

Another Day, Another Bit Of Daisy Ridley Casting News, as ‘Star Wars’ Actress Joins Drama ‘The Lost Wife’

Ridley is currently filming the next installment in the Star Wars franchise and recently signed on to star in the remake of the Israeli pic Kolma with J.J. Abrams producing and Marielle Heller directing. Robbie Brenner is producing Wife, based on the book by Alyson Richman. The story takes place in pre-war Prague, where a talented art student and her best friend’s older brother fall madly in love — only to have their dreams shattered by the imminent Nazi invasion. (VAR)

Waypoint Acquires Properties From Mark Millar, Comic Book Writer Of ‘Captain America: Civil War’

Production shingle has acquired the rights to two Mark Millar properties: American Jesus and Supercrooks. Millar is the comic book writer of Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service as well as the original, comic version of Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster. Waypoint’s Ken Kao will produce with partner Dan Kao and Addictive Pictures’ Russell Ackerman and John Schoenfelder. Waypoint has a first-look deal with Addictive. (DH)

Bill Simmons’ HBO Show, ‘Any Given Wednesday,’ Arrives in June

The man once known as The Sports Guy will get his brand new HBO deal started on June 22nd with the premiere of his talk show. The initial 20-episode season, part of Simmons’ exclusive multiyear, multiplatform agreement with HBO, kicks off a few weeks before the deal’s one-year anniversary. The half-hour show will air weekly, on Wednesday nights, at 10 p.m. — simultaneously becoming available on both the HBO Go and HBO Now platforms. (LF)

Sarah Paulson Joins J.D. Salinger Biopic Rebel in the Rye, Alongside Kevin Spacey

Actress has been cast as Salinger’s longtime agent Dorothy Olding. She joins Nicholas Hoult (who is playing Salinger), Victor Garber (who plays his father), and Spacey (Whit Burnett).  Danny Strong is writing and directing the project, which starts shooting in New York soon. (VUL)

Today In Remake News: Screen Gems Set To Give 70s Horror Flick ‘See No Evil’ Another Go

Sony genre arm is gearing up to bring an unexpected horror remake to life with a re-do of the 1971 horror film starring Mia Farrow, not to be confused withe 2006 slasher movie of the same name. Mike Scannell, who penned the upcoming He’s Out There for the studio, will write the film with The Strangers director Bryan Bertino and Adrienne Biddle in line to produce. (CS)

LA Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup: 42 World Premieres in U.S. Fiction, Documentary and Other Sections

Film Independent has unveiled the full lineup for the 22nd Los Angeles Film Festival, which begins in Culver City on June 1. 42 world premieres have been chosen for the U.S. Fiction, Documentary, World Fiction, LA Muse, and Nightfall Competitions. Click the link for the full list of films accepted. (IW)

Whenever Neill Blomkamp Gets Around To Making His ‘Alien’ Movie, He Plans to Resurrect Newt

The District 9 helmer, who had planned to move forward with his Aliens followup before it was shelved in favor of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, has released concept art that features an adult version of Rebecca “Newt” Jorden, one of the key characters in James Cameron’s 1986 sequel Aliens. Sigourney Weaver is on board the project, if and when it does go. (EMP)

Comcast in Talks to Buy Dreamworks Animation, FX Options Don DeLillo Novel, ’24’ Reboot Order,’Wet Hot American Summer’ Next Series

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Comcast In Talks To Buy DreamWorks Animation For $3 Billion

Comcast is in talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation a deal worth more than $3 billion. DWA has been on the block for more than three years, drawing overtures but no suitors that went all the way to a deal. (VAR)

FX Options Don DeLillo Novel ‘Zero K’ For Scott Rudin Productions

Author Don DeLillo’s latest novel, Zero K, is to be published in the U.S. next month by Scribner.  FX has optioned the futuristic tome for Scott Rudin Productions as part of Rudin’s deal with Fox Network Group. (DH)

’24’ Reboot, Lee Daniels’ ‘Star’ Snag Early Series Orders At Fox

Fox is getting an early jump on Upfront week, ordering 24: Legacy and Lee Daniels’ Star to series. (TVL)

‘Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later’ Is Coming To Netflix

The streaming service announced that Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later will premiere in 2017. The eight-episode season is Netflix’s follow-up to Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, which acted as a prequel to the cult classic. (TVG)

‘Dennis the Menace’ Remake Lands Writer

Warner Bros. has hired The Boy screenwriter Stacey Menear to write the script for its remake of  Dennis the Menace.  The project is being produced by Gil Netter. (VAR)

‘Wolverine 3′ Finds Its Mad Scientist

British actor Richard E. Grant is joining Hugh Jackman in Wolverine 3. The movie is heading towards a May start. (THR)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie’

Edina and Patsy are back with a vengeance, taking to the big screen in the new Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie international trailer. (EW)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Snowden’

First footage of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Oliver Stone’s new biopic. (IW)

Screenwriters: ‘Empire Of The Sun’

An unspecified, undated draft. (DS)

 

 

Rep Moves for 4/27/16: Iggy Azalea Snagged by WME, ‘Star Wars’’ Mark Hamill Signs with Industry Ent, ‘Fresh off the Boat’s’ Constance Wu Heads to UTA

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UTA: Actress Constance Wu has shifted from WME to UTA. She’s earned two Critics’ Choice nominations for her breakout role as Jessica Huang on ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat. The series has been renewed for a third season. Wu began in indie films, appearing in Stephanie Daley, Year of the Fish and Sound of My Voice, as well as the Fox Digital Studios feature Parallels seen on Netflix.

Industry Entertainment: Actor Mark Hamill has signed with Industry Entertainment where he will be managed by partner Dan Spilo. He was without theatrical representation for the past two decades, as he focused on voice-over work. But, with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens he has returned to acting in front of the camera and will co-star in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII.

WME: Music artist Iggy Azalea has shifted from CAA to WME for worldwide representation. Her next album with Def Jam Recordings, Digital Distortion, is due in June. Her debut studio album, 2014’s The New Classic, climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with the hit singles “Change Your Life,” “Fancy,” “Work” and “Black Widow.”

CAA: Producer Will Packer along with his shingle, Will Packer Productions, have shifted from UTA to CAA. His recent hits include Ride Along 2, Straight Outta Compton and The Wedding Ringer. Will Packer Productions has deals at Universal Pictures and Universal Television. The company produced NBC’s Truth Be Told and ABC’s upcoming Uncle Buck. Packer also executive produced the upcoming miniseries remake of Roots, to air on History, A&E and Lifetime starting May 30.

WME: Writer-producer-director Dustin Lance Black has signed with WME. Black won the Original Screenplay Oscar in 2009 for writing Milk. He recently created and wrote the upcoming ABC event series and will direct the final two episodes When We Rise, about the gay rights movement.

UTA: Director Fergal Reilly has signed with the agency. He will make his directorial debut co-helming The Angry Birds Movie. Previously he was a veteran with credits including Hotel Transylvania, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and its sequel, Spider-Man 2 as well as head of story at Sony Pictures Animation. He’s also developed projects with Jon Favreau and Richard Linklater as a storyboard supervisor.
WME: Actor Ray Winstone has been signed by WME. His credits include The Gunman, Noah, Snow White And The Huntsman, and the Academy Award-winning The Departed. The actor also received a BAFTA nomination for best actor for his role in Nil By Mouth.

UTA: Writer-director Niki Caro has signed with UTA. She is currently in post-production on Focus Features’ The Zookeeper’s Wife starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Bruhl, to be released in 2017. Her previous credits include her breakout film Whale Rider, along with McFarland for Disney and North Country for Warner Bros.

WME: Animator Sanjay Patel has signed with WME. He was nominated for an Oscar this year for his short film, based on Patel’s own childhood experience, entitled Sanjay’s Super Team produced by Pixar that accompanied the company’s feature The Good Dinosaur. Previously he was an animator at Pixar and then supervisor on hit films Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, and Ratatouille.

Film & TV Deals for 4/27/16: Kerry Washington Signs With ABC Signature Studios, Gordon Ramsay Launches Banner with All3Media, Wesley Snipes and WWE Team-Up

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Jackie de Crinis has signed an overall deal with Universal Cable Prods. Under the deal, she will serve as an executive producer on the USA/UCP 10-episode straight-to-series drama Eyewitness and will develop new projects for the studio. She is currently in Canada where Eyewitness starts production this week. This comes with the news that she has left her post as USA Network’s EVP of original programming. Prior to that she was VP of drama at ABC, responsible for Once and Again and Cupid.

Peter Ocko has inked an overall deal with AMC. Under the deal, he is joining AMC’s drama project Lodge 49 as executive producer and showrunner alongside executive producer Paul Giamatti. His previous credits include Elementary, Black Sails, The Leftovers and Pushing Daisies. He also created the CBS drama 3 lbs.

Hell’s Kitchen’s Gordon Ramsay has launched his own banner, Studio Ramsay as part of a new joint venture with All3Media to develop and produce both scripted and unscripted projects. His first foray into scripted programming will focus on food-related themes as well as developing new talent around the world. The U.K.’s largest independent TV andfilm company, All3Media previously collaborated with Ramsay on Kitchen Nightmares.

Kerry Washington
has signed an overall deal with cable/digital division ABC Signature Studios, for her production company Simpson Street. Under the two-year deal, Simpson Street will develop broadcast, cable and digital projects exclusively for ABC Studios and ABC Signature. As part of the pact, Sharla Sumpter Bridgett has been hired as a development executive/producing partner. The shingle’s first project, which preceded the overall deal, was the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas HBO movie Confirmation.

Turner and Criterion are launching a new ad-free, streaming service for film lovers named FilmStruck. It will have a mix of contemporary, classic art house, indie, foreign and cult films. The service will be the exclusive home to the Criterion Collection and feature a channel curated by the Criterion team. The titles to offered will include Seven Samurai, A Hard Day’s Night, Mad Max and Blood Simple.

Producers Shawn Piller and Lloyd Segan and their production company, Piller Segan, have entered into a multi-year television first-look agreement with global independent studio Entertainment One (eOne). Under the partnership, eOne will serve as the studio, deficit financier and worldwide distributor on all their television and digital projects. eOne first joined forces with Segan and Piller on the long-running series Haven based on the Stephen King novella The Colorado Kid, and most recently on their highly-anticipated Private Eyes, starring Jason Priestley.

Rob Shaftel has started a New York-based full-service unscripted production company called Hit+Run. He was formerly the SVP of Development at ITV Studios America. His new banner will focus on creating “high concept and high quality character driven series” and original formats for broadcast, cable and digital platforms. Shaftel will executive produce all series at the company, and has hired fellow ITV alum Noah Korn as Senior Director of Development.

Noah Hawley and his 26 Key Productions have entered into an first-look film deal with 20th Century Fox. He gained accolades for his translation of Fargo from film to a TV series. As part of the pact, Leigh Kittay will now be the head of film at 26 Keys, the production company Hawley oversees with partner John Cameron. 26 Keys is currently in development on Man Alive, a sci-fi project that Hawley may direct.

Wesley Snipes and his banner Maandi Media DMM have signed a multi-film deal with WWE Studios to develop and produce elevated branded content as well as films. WWE Studios will handle worldwide rights and leverage its platforms including weekly TV shows, digital and social media, and WWE Network to bolster awareness. The first film under the deal is entitled Temple, which stars Snipes, Anne Heche, Dave Annable and WWE wrestler Seth Rollins. The second pic in the deal will begin production this year.

Michael Seitzman has signed a new two-year overall deal with ABC Studios. List his previous deals, this deal will only be for development purposes. His last two pacts with CBS resulted in two series, created/exec produced by Seitzman, Intelligence and Code Black, both on CBS. On the film side, Seitzman wrote North Country and produced Incarnate for Blumhouse and Universal, to be released in summer 2017.

Will Ferrell Gets Presidential, RDJ Opens ‘Iron Man’ Door, ‘Hairspray Live!’ Adds Cast, Film & TV Deals/Rep Moves For 4/27/16

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SSN ORIGINALS

Film & TV Deals for 4/27/16: Kerry Washington Signs With ABC Signature Studios, Gordon Ramsay Launches Banner with All3Media, Wesley Snipes and WWE Team-Up

Among the other big deals happening this week are the announcement of a new streaming service to highlight and feature films in the Criterion Collection, as well as several new overall deals signed between creators and production studios. To get the full skinny, head on over to SSN Insider by clicking on the provided link. (SSN)

Rep Moves For 4/27/16: Iggy Azalea Snagged by WME, ‘Star Wars’’ Mark Hamill Signs with Industry Ent, ‘Fresh off the Boat’s’ Constance Wu Heads to UTA

A surprisingly busy week in rep moves also includes a big move by producer Will Packer, while Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black also settles into a new spot. Both UTA and WME have productive weeks, as well. To read more, click on the link. (SSN)

OTHER HEADLINES

Will Ferrell Gets Presidential, Will Play the 40th President In Black List Script, ‘Reagan’

The comedic actor, who already portrayed President George W. Bush in skits and on stage, has set his sights another Republican, President Ronald Reagan. Ferrell is attached to star in and produce Reagan, by Mike Rosolio. Ferrell will produce via his production banner Gary Sanchez Productions. No director is on board but the project is being packaged in order to be shopped.(THR)

Suddenly, Robert Downey Jr. Might Actually Be Interested In a Fourth ‘Iron Man’ Movie After All

When the actor signed his current contract extension with Marvel Studios, it was widely reported that a fourth Iron Man solo film was not included, and that he was committed instead to returning for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and the two-part Avengers: Infinity War. Downey also made public comments suggesting that the series, with him as Tony Stark, concluded with Iron Man 3. Now, he has apparently changed his mind. (SF)

NBC Continues To Fill Out Its ‘Hairspray Live!’ Cast, Adds Martin Short and Derek Hough

Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, cast already includes Jennifer Hudson and Harvey Fierstein as the famed Edna Turnblad. Fierstein is also writing the teleplay. Short will play Edna’s loving husband, Wilbur, and Hough will step into the role of TV show host Corny Collins. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are executive producing. (LF)

Weinstein Slots Three Summer Movies Outside Oscar Season, Plans To Skip Film Festivals To Chase BO Dollars

Ahead of this year’s Cannes film festival, we now know three films that won’t get the full Weinstein Co. festival treatment at Cannes or the fall awards circuit— because they’re coming out this summer. Tulip Fever will hit theaters July 15th as summer counter-programming, while The Founder is set for August 5th and Hands of Stone for August 26th. (IW)

‘Alita: Battle Angel': Lead Candidates Narrowed to Three for James Cameron-Robert Rodriguez Project

An adaptation of the popular Japanese manga has been on the docket for years now, with James Cameron in charge, but now he’s just a producer on the project, with Robert Rodriguez set to direct. The hunt for the female lead now has a short list, which includes Disney sensation Zendaya, and Maika Monroe, who broke out in indie horror gems The Guest and It Follows. Also vying for the role is Rose Salazar, from The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. (COL)

Paramount Confirms December Date For DreamWorks’ ‘Office Christmas Party’

Josh Gordon and Will Speck are throwing their all-star shindig on December 9th. Studiojust announced the wide release date for the comedy that stars Jennifer Aniston, Olivia Munn, Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, Kate McKinnon — the list goes on. The pic follows a corporate branch manager who throws a Christmas party  in order to land a big client as his uptight CEO sister is threatening to shut the division down. However, the party gets out of hand. (DH)

The Brave New World Of Celebrity Social Media

When one has a rather large announcement to make these days, the standard methods just won’t do. Social media is all the rage, and the only acceptable route to disperse your amazing news. Just look at Dwayne Johnson. The Rock himself is pretty much a master. (TB)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’

Paramount Pictures has released the new trailer for the upcoming movie, based on true events. Starring Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson and Nina Arianda, and directed by Stephen Frears, it hits theaters August 12th. (CS)

Comcast Buys DreamWorks Animation, Netflix & BBC Team for ‘Watership Down’, Stallone Headed to TV, ‘American Idol’ Owner Bankrupt, Stephen Merchant in for ‘Wolverine 3′

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Comcast Buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8 Billion Deal & CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg Gives Up Lead Position

Comcast’s NBCUniversal division is acquiring the DreamWorks Animation studio for about $3.8 billion. Comcast said shareholders in DreamWorks will receive $41 in cash per share of stock. CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will give up his leadership position but will remain involved with DreamWorks’ ownership interests in Awesomeness TV and NOVA. (CNN)

From Jedi to Rabbit- John Boyega to Star with James McAvoy in Netflix/BBC Co-Production ‘Watership Down’

John Boyega, James McAvoy and Sir Ben Kingsley are among an all-star cast set to provide voices in a new adaptation of Watership Down. The four-part CGI animated mini-series will bring an original interpretation to Richard Adams’ classic 1972 novel. Commissioned by the BBC, it is the first blockbuster drama made as a co-production between the BBC and Netflix. (BBC)

An Offer He Can’t Refuse- Stallone to Play Mafia Head in a TV Adaptation of Mario Puzo’s ‘Omerta’

Three-time Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone is finalizing a deal to star in Antoine Fuqua’s TV adaption of Mario Puzo’s Omerta, the final book in the author’s mafia trilogy that started with The Godfather and The Last Don. Stallone is expected to play the mafia head at the center of the story. (THR)

‘American Idol’ Owner in Debt to the Tune of $398 Million, Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

In the bankruptcy filing, Core says it owes $398 million to third parties. The company says its capital structure is now “unsustainable” given the inability to replace Idol, and while it still is getting money from Fox for So You Think You Can Dance, it has been facing a financial crunch. (THR)

Stephen Merchant to Join Hugh Jackman in ‘The Odd Couple’….No Wait….‘Wolverine 3’

In a bit of a departure, Stephen Merchant has joined the cast of 20th Century Fox’s Wolverine 3, the latest in the Hugh Jackman-starring X-Men stand-alone franchise. No word on his role. Merchant is a longtime collaborator with Ricky Gervais, co-creating the original The Office with him as well as The Ricky Gervais Show and Life’s Too Short. (DL)

Oscar-Winning Director Kevin Macdonald to Shine a Light on Whitney Houston with Official Documentary

The “unvarnished and authentic” project – the first to be officially authorized by the singer’s estate since her 2012 death – will be introduced to buyers in Cannes by the banner behind Amy’s record-breaking U.K. release. (THR)

‘Super Combat Teams’ Headed for the U.S., Described as “‘Fear Factor’ Meets ‘Minute To Win It’ on Acid”

Under a deal with Small World IFT, Minute To Win It maker Smart Dog Media is developing interactive primetime stunt-battle format, Super Combat Teams, for the U.S. market. The series racked up over 100 million viewers and 200 million second-screen players across the first season. (DL)

CAA’s Evolution Media Partners to Launch in China with $350 Million Out of the Gate

Evolution Media Partners, the investment and advisory arm of Creative Artists Agency and Evolution Media Capital, is to open shop in China, with an initial funding of $350 million. The new unit, to be located in Beijing with a staff of five, is a joint venture of Evolution and TPG, the investment giant which is now the majority owner of CAA. (VAR)

Sony Producer Adam Fields Named Relativity’s Co-President Of Production

Relativity is making changes in the executive ranks as it emerges from bankruptcy, with another key hire. Adam Fields has been named co-president of production, effective immediately. Fields, who most recently served as a producer and also a consultant at Sony Pictures, will have business affairs, physical and post-production all answering to him. (DL)

Screenwriters: How Making a Short Film Taught Me the Most Important Screenwriting Lesson

If you’re a writer and haven’t yet worked on the production side of the business that’s essential to bringing your pages to life on screen, there’s no easier way to jump in than learning to make a short film. It will quickly make you start asking ‘is it worth the screen time’? (SM)


Film Development for 4/28/16: ‘Sherlock Holmes 3’ Finds its Writer, Kevin MacDonald to Helm Whitney Houston Doc, Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg Reteam for Daddy’s Home 2

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New Attachments

American Jesus
Logline: Follows a modern twelve-year-old boy who realizes he is the second coming of Jesus Christ who has returned to Earth in the present day in a final effort to save mankind.
Production Company(s): Waypoint Entertainment, Addictive Pictures
Producer(s): Kenneth Kao, Dan Kao, Russell Ackerman, John Schoenfelder
Details: Based on the comic book series “American Jesus” written by Mark Millar. The first part of the series was originally published by Dark Horse under the title “Chosen,” in 2004.
SSN Insight: Project was previously in development at MARV Films with Matthew Vaughn and Kris Thykier attached to produce.

Approaching the Unknown
Logline: A NASA pilot is a one-man crew on a one-way mission to Mars.
Studio/Distributor(s): Vertical Entertainment
Production Company(s): Rooftop Films, Court 13, 3311 Productions, TideRock Media, Loveless, Hinkson Entertainment, Department Of Motion Pictures
Producer(s): Josh Penn, Matthew Parker, Thomas B. Fore, Jason Michael Berman, Mark Roberts
Writer(s): Mark Elijah Rosenberg
Director(s): Mark Elijah Rosenberg
Cast: Mark Strong, Sanaa Lathan, Luke Wilson, Anders Danielsen Lie, Charles Baker
SSN Insight: Paramount Home Media Distribution and Vertical Entertainment are partnering to distribute the film with plans for day and date release June 3, 2016. Vertical will cover all U.S. theatrical distribution, with Paramount Home Media handling digital and On Demand.

Baywatch
Logline: An elite group of lifeguards are forced to team up with a young, hotshot former Olympian to save their beloved bay.
Studio/Distributor(s): Paramount Pictures
Production Company(s): The Montecito Picture Company, Contrafilm, Vinson Films, Flynn Picture Co., 7 Bucks Entertainment
Producer(s): Beau Flynn, Ivan Reitman, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Michael Berk
Writer(s): Damian Shannon, Mark Swift, Barry Schwartz, Justin Malen, Robert Ben Garant
Director(s): Seth Gordon
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Ilfenesh Hadera, Pamela Anderson
Details: Based on the NBC television show “Baywatch” (1989-2000) starring David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra and Yasmine Bleeth.
SSN Insight: Jeremy Garelick was previously attached to direct. Project was originally in development at Dreamworks, which paid seven figures for the film rights to the TV show.

Chappaquiddick
Logline: About the tragic car accident that took the life of Mary Jo Kopechne when Senator Ted Kennedy was at the wheel in the summer of 1969. After driving off a bridge, the young Kennedy panicked and left the scene of the accident, leaving the 28 year-old Kopechne to drown. Kennedy went home but didn’t report the accident for nine hours.
Production Company(s): DMG Entertainment, Apex Entertainment
Producer(s): Mark Ciardi, Campbell G. McInnes, Chris Cowles
Writer(s): Taylor Allen, Andrew Logan
Director(s): John Curran (final negotiations)
Cast: Jason Clarke
SSN Insight: Project was included on the 2015 Black List. Sam Taylor-Johnson was previously in talks to direct.

Couple Up
Logline: A divorcing couple see what their lives would be like if they never met.
Studio/Distributor(s): Lionsgate, CodeBlack Films
Writer(s): Joshua Friedlander
SSN Insight: Lionsgate bought the spec script by Joshua Friedlander, in a competitive situation with the plan is to distribute it via the studio’s Codeblack Films label.

Dean
Logline: An illustrator falls hard for an LA woman while trying to prevent his father from selling the family home in the wake of his mother’s death.
Studio/Distributor(s): CBS Films
Production Company(s): Spring Pictures, Honora Productions, Abbolita Productions
Producer(s): Giles Andrew, Jessica Latham, Elliott Watson, Demetri Martin, Charles Denton
Writer(s): Demetri Martin
Director(s): Demetri Martin
Cast: Demetri Martin, Kevin Kline, Gillian Jacobs, Rory Scovel, Christine Woods
SSN Insight: CBS Films acquired domestic rights after the film’s premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival for an estimated $1 million.

Donald Cried
Logline: Returning home to working class Warwick, Rhode Island, Peter Latang encounters childhood friend Donald Treebeck for what starts as a simple favor and turns into a long van ride into their past.
Studio/Distributor(s): The Orchard
Production Company(s): Law Offices Of Elsa Ramo, How Follows What , Electric Chinoland
Producer(s): Allison Carter, Sam Fleischner, Kyle Martin
Writer(s): Kris Avedisian, Kyle Espeleta, Jesse Wakeman
Director(s): Kris Avedisian
Cast: Kris Avedisian, Jesse Wakeman, Louisa Krause, Ted Arcidi, Robby Morse Levy
SSN Insight: The Orchard bought the North American rights to the film, which premiered this year at SXSW Film Festival.

Flock of Dudes
Logline: A group of slacker friends enjoy doing the bare minimum to get by until one guy’s younger brother becomes engaged, inspiring them to attempt to split up the pack and finally become independent.
Studio/Distributor(s): Lionsgate, Starz
Production Company(s): Terra Firma Films, LEG, Kilburn Media, Major Motion Pictures, LTD.
Producer(s): Mark Manuel, Aaron Kaufman, Ted O’Neal, Brian Levin
Writer(s): Bob Castrone, Brian Levin, Jason Zumwalt
Director(s): Bob Castrone
Cast: Hannah Simone, Marc Maron, Jeffrey Ross, Hilary Duff, Skylar Astin
SSN Insight: Starz Digital has grabbed U.S rights and plans a theatrical and VOD release in the fall. Lea Michele was previously considered for the role that Hillary Duff is playing.

Kate Plays Christine
Logline: Follows actress Kate Lyn Sheil as she prepares for her next role playing Christine Chubbuck, a Florida newscaster who committed suicide live on-air in 1974. As she investigates Chubbuck’s story, she becomes increasingly obsessed with her subject.
Studio/Distributor(s): Grasshopper Film
Production Company(s): Fourth Row Films, Faliro House Productions
Producer(s): Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa
Director(s): Robert Greene
Cast: Kate Lyn Sheil, Stephanie Coatney, Marty Stonerock, Michael Ray Davis, Holland Hayes
SSN Insight: Grasshopper Film has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Robert Greene’s documentary Kate Plays Christine, which won a Special Jury Prize for writing at Sundance this year.

Microbe & Gasoline
Logline: About two young friends who embark on a road trip across France in a vehicle they built themselves.
Studio/Distributor(s): Screen Media Ventures
Production Company(s): Partizan, Centre National du Cinema, OCS, StudioCanal, Indefilms 3
Producer(s): Georges Bermann
Writer(s): Michel Gondry
Director(s): Michel Gondry
Cast: Ange Dargent, Théophile Baquet, Diane Besnier, Audrey Tautou, Vincent Lamoureux
SSN Insight: Screen Media Films has acquired U.S. rights to the film that premiered at the 2015 New York Film Festival. A July 1 release is planned in New York and Los Angeles before a platform release.

Miles
Logline: A teenage dirt bike rider stumbles upon an escaped prototype of the most advanced military creation in history, and the two of them become friends.
Studio/Distributor(s): Open Road Films
Production Company(s): Lakeshore Entertainment, Phantom Four, Open Road Films, 1st Man Productions
Producer(s): David S. Goyer, Kevin Turen, Adam P. Schneider, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi
Writer(s): Oliver Daly
Director(s): Oliver Daly
Details: Based on the short film “Miles” (USA/2015) directed by Oliver Daly and starring Alexa Demie and Robby Rasmussen, which was funded by Kickstarter.
SSN Insight: WME packaged the “proof of concept” short as a sales vehicle for its transition into a feature film for their client Oliver Daly.

Rebel in the Rye
Logline: Follows the legendary and secretive author J.D. Salinger through his life — from his rebellious youth, the bloody front lines of World War II, experiencing great love and terrible loss, a life of rejection, his writing in the pages of The New Yorker, and
Production Company(s): Blue Star Entertainment, Bruce Cohen Productions, Black Label Media
Producer(s): Danny Strong, Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Thad Luckinbill, Bruce Cohen
Writer(s): Danny Strong
Director(s): Danny Strong
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern, Brian d’Arcy James, Hope Davis, Sarah Paulson
Details: Based on the biography “JD Salinger: A Life” written by Kenneth Slawenski and published by Random House in 2010.
SSN Insight: Paulson will play Dorothy Olding, the fiercely loyal agent who believed in the young Salinger from his earliest short stories and supported him throughout his career.

Reset
Logline: Renowned choreographer and dancer Benjamin Millepied attempts to rejuvenate the Paris Opera Ballet in his new position as director.
Studio/Distributor(s): FilmRise
Production Company(s): Falabracks, Opéra National de Paris
Writer(s): Thierry Demaizière, Alban Teurlai
Director(s): Thierry Demaizière, Alban Teurlai
SSN Insight: FilmRise acquired domestic rights after the film’s premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.

Sequels, Remakes and Adaptations
Logline: The outlandish journey of a young man in search of love and what he’s meant to do with his life.
Studio/Distributor(s): STX Entertainment
Production Company(s): Anonymous Content, Shiny Penny
Producer(s): Stacey Sher, Chad Hamilton
Writer(s): Sam Esmail
SSN Insight: D.J. Gugenheim was previously attached to produce. Project was included on the 2008 Black List.

Sherlock Holmes 3
Logline: The third installment of the Warner Bros. franchise about the famed detective.
Studio/Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Company(s): Silver Pictures, Lin Pictures, Team Downey, Ritchie/Wigram Productions
Producer(s): Joel Silver, Dan Lin, Lionel Wigram, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey
Writer(s): James Coyne, Justin Haythe, Drew Pearce
Director(s): Guy Ritchie
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law
Details: Third film in the Sherlock Holmes franchise. The series began with “Sherlock Holmes” (2009) directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law.
SSN Insight: Coyne last worked with Lionel Wigram and Warners on last year’s Black List script Treasure Island.

Steven
Logline: This unauthorized biopic of former Smiths leader Morrissey focuses on his his troubled childhood in Manchester and how he overcame it to become a star.
Production Company(s): Honlodge Productions
Producer(s): Orian Williams, Baldwin Li
Writer(s): Mark Gill, William Thacker
Director(s): Mark Gill
Cast: Jack Lowden, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jodie Comer
SSN Insight: This film marks Comer’s big screen debut, following her breakout on BBC’s hit series Doctor Foster.

Sun Dogs
Logline: Follows a young misfit with three failed attempts to join the Marines under his belt. Taking a Marine officer’s advice to “protect the homefront” a little too seriously, he sets his sights on a casino manager who may or may not be a terrorist mastermind,
Production Company(s): Apartment 3C Productions
Producer(s): Jennifer Morrison, Andrew Carlberg
Writer(s): Anthony Tambakis
Director(s): Jennifer Morrison
SSN Insight: Once Upon A Time star Jennifer Morrison launched her own banner, Apartment 3C Productions. This will be its first film and Morrison’s feature film directorial debut.

The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg
Logline: About Moe Berg, an Ivy League grad and attorney who spoke nine languages, and a baseball player who spent 15 years as a journeyman player for such teams as the New York Robins and Chicago White Sox. Berg doubled as a top secret spy for the OSS (a forerunner for the CIA), who helped the U.S. win the race against Germany to build the atomic bomb.
Production Company(s): Animus Films, PalmStar Entertainment, Serena Films
Producer(s): Jim Young, Kevin Scott Frakes, Mark Fasano, Tatiana Kelly
Writer(s): Robert Rodat
Director(s): Ben Lewin
Cast: Paul Rudd
SSN Insight: Project previously in development at Miramax Films with Ray Errol Fox attached to write the screenplay. Robert Lawrence was previously attached to produce. Project previously in development at Warner Bros. with Stan Chervin attached to write the screenplay.

The Death of Stalin
Logline: The last days of Joseph Stalin.
Studio/Distributor(s): Gaumont
Production Company(s): Free Range Films, Quad Productions
Producer(s): Nicolas Duval-Adassovsky, Laurent Zeitoun, Yann Zenou, Kevin Loader
Writer(s): Ian Martin, Armando Iannucci, David Schneider
Director(s): Armando Iannucci
Details: Based on the graphic novel “The Death of Stalin”/”La mort de Staline” by Fabien Nury; published by Dargaud October 1, 2010.
SSN Insight: France’s Gaumont is coming on-board to finance and sell the film.

The Glass Castle
Logline: A woman deals with her homeless upbringing as the child of an alcoholic father and mentally unbalanced mother.
Studio/Distributor(s): Lionsgate,
Production Company(s): Gil Netter Productions
Producer(s): Erik Feig, Gil Netter
Writer(s): Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham, Marti Noxon
Director(s): Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast: Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Max Greenfield
Details: Based on the book “The Glass Castle: A Memoir” written by Jeannette Walls published by Scribner on March 1, 2005.
SSN Insight: Previously in development at Paramount Pictures. Previously in development at Plan B Productions.

The Happytime Murders
Logline: In a place where puppets and humans co-exist, a puppet private eye teams with his former partner from the police force to track down a serial killer.
Studio/Distributor(s): STX Entertainment
Production Company(s): The Jim Henson Company
Producer(s): Brian Henson, Robert Simonds
Writer(s): Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber
Director(s): Brian Henson
Cast: Jamie Foxx (early negotiations)
SSN Insight: Previously in development at Lionsgate. Catherine Heigl was previously attached. Henson Company sees the project as racy enough for an R-rating.

Thoroughbred
Logline: Focuses on a volatile friendship between two suburban teenage girls who discover that a murder might solve both of their problems.
Production Company(s): B Story, June Pictures
Producer(s): Alex Saks, Kevin J Walsh, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Writer(s): Cory Finley
Director(s): Cory Finley
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin
SSN Insight: Olivia Cooke will next be seen in Spielberg’s Ready Player One.

Top of the Food Chain
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): Lionsgate
Production Company(s): DMG Entertainment, 34th Street Films
Producer(s): Tyler Perry, Ozzie Areu, Matt Moore, Chris Cowles, David Kang
Writer(s): Jim Kehoe, Brian Kehoe
Director(s): Jim Kehoe, Brian Kehoe
SSN Insight: Jim and Brian Kehoe made a mid-six figure deal for their pitch.

Transpecos
Logline: Follows three border patrol agents — rookie Davis, seasoned Flores and callous, world-weary Hobbs— who man a checkpoint on a remote highway. On what feels like another routine stop, the contents of one car will throw their lives out of control as dark secrets are revealed in a world where the line between right and wrong shifts like the desert itself.
Studio/Distributor(s): , Samuel Goldwyn Films
Production Company(s): 8750 Films
Producer(s): Molly Christie Benson, Nancy Schafer, Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley
Writer(s): Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley
Director(s): Greg Kwedar
Cast: Gabriel Luna, Johnny Simmons, Clifton Collins Jr., Luis Bordonada
SSN Insight: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to the film that won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW last month and plans a theatrical release in the fall.

Untitled Blade Runner Sequel
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Company(s): Alcon Entertainment, Ridley Scott Films , Thunderbird Films
Producer(s): Bud Yorkin, Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, Cynthia Sikes
Writer(s): Michael Green, Hampton Fancher
Director(s): Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Ana de Armas
Details: Follow-up to “Blade Runner” (1982), directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford.
SSN Insight: Follow-up will be inspired by the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” written by Philip K. Dick and published by Signet in 1968. Alcon Entertainment acquired film, television and ancillary franchise rights to produce prequels and sequels to “Blade Runner” in March 2011.

Wind River
Logline: A lone female FBI agent is sent to investigate a murder on a remote Indian Reservation in the dead of winter, and she finds assistance from a man with a haunted past.
Production Company(s): Thunder Road Pictures, Film 44, Acacia Entertainment, Savvy Media Holdings
Producer(s): Basil Iwanyk, Peter Berg, Matthew George
Writer(s): Taylor Sheridan
Director(s): Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Jon Bernthal, Austin R. Grant, Kelsey Asbille
SSN Insight: Chris Pine was previously attached to co-star.

Wolverine 3
Logline: Storyline under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): 20th Century Fox, 20th Century Fox Distribution
Production Company(s): Donners’ Company, Hutch Parker Entertainment
Producer(s): Lauren Shuler Donner, Hutch Parker
Writer(s): Michael Green, David James Kelly, James Mangold
Director(s): James Mangold, Garrett Warren
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Liev Schreiber, Richard E Grant, Stephen Merchant
Sequel to “Wolverine” (2013) directed by James Mangold and starring Hugh Jackman.
SSN Insight: Jackman has said this will be his last go-round as the character he began playing 17 years ago.

Wonderstruck
Logline: Two children, each living in a different era, set out to solve a mystery.
Studio/Distributor(s): Amazon
Production Company(s): Killer Films, Cinetic Media, Amazon Studios, Killer Content
Producer(s): Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, John Sloss
Writer(s): Brian Selznick
Director(s): Todd Haynes
Cast: Millicent Simmonds, Oakes Fegley, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Jaden Michael, Cory Michael Smith
Details: Based on the children’s book “Wonderstruck” written by Brian Selznick and published by Scholastic Press on September 13, 2011.
SSN Insight: Cory Michael Smith can be seen in the series, Gotham.

New Projects

Callous Disregard
Logline: This film is about Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s controversial work linking the growing rate of autism with vaccines.
Production Company(s): Chameleon Productions
Producer(s): Terry Rossio, Dr. Jocelyn Stamat
Writer(s): Terry Rossio, Dr. Jocelyn Stamat
Details: Based on the book “Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines – The Truth Behind a Tragedy” written by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and published by Skyhorse Publishing in 2010.
SSN Insight: Terry Rossio and Dr. Jocelyn Stamat have acquired rights to the novel for a feature adaptation and through their Chamaelon Prods. banner, have also acquired Wakefield’s life rights.

Untitled Daddy’s Home Sequel
Logline: The story about mild-mannered step-dad Brad and his wife’s super-masculine ex-husband Dusty continues.
Studio/Distributor(s): Paramount Pictures
Production Company(s): Gary Sanchez Productions
Producer(s): Will Ferrell, Adam McKay
Writer(s): Sean Anders, John Morris
Director(s): Sean Anders
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg
Details: Sequel to “Daddy’s Home” (2015) directed by Sean Anders and starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.
SSN Insight: The first film grossed $240 million worldwide.

Infinity Baby
Logline: A lightly futuristic comedy about a man who works at Infinity Baby, a company tasked with farming out three-month old babies who don’t age.
Production Company(s): Faliro House Productions
Producer(s): Christos Konstantakopoulos, Barry Lacina, Rebecca Eskreis, Nick Offerman
Writer(s): Onur Tukel
Director(s): Robert Byington
Cast: Kieran Culkin, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Jonathan Togo, Kevin Corrigan
SSN Insight: The project is set to start shooting Sunday in Austin.

Man Alive
Logline: Storyline for the sci-fi project is under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): 20th Century Fox
Production Company(s): Benderspink, 26 Keys Productions
Producer(s): Leigh Kittay, Noah Hawley, John Cameron, Chris Bender, Jake Weiner
Writer(s): Joe Greenberg
Director(s): Noah Hawley
SSN Insight: 20th Century Fox made a six-figure deal to acquire the sci-fi spec by new writer Joe Greenberg.

My Mother, My Son
Logline: When the mother of an entrepreneur in the senior living business is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she becomes a resident of one of his memory-care communities.
Production Company(s): Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films, Winkler Films
Producer(s): Irwin Winkler, Randall Emmett, George Furla
Writer(s): Irwin Winkler, Jose Ruisanchez
Director(s): Irwin Winkler
Details: Based on the book “My Mother, My Son” written by Dwayne J. Clark and published by Aegis Living on January 26, 2012.
SSN Insight: Alzheimer’s is currently the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. This is the fourth collaboration between Winkler and E/F/O.

See No Evil (Remake)
Logline: A young blind woman returns to her family’s home unaware that they have all been murdered and that the killer is still there.
Studio/Distributor(s): Screen Gems
Production Company(s): Unbroken Pictures
Producer(s): Bryan Bertino, Adrienne Biddle
Writer(s): Mike Scannell
Details: Remake of “See No Evil” (UK/1971) directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Mia Farrow.
SSN Insight: Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper and EVP Production Scott Strauss will oversee for the studio.

Supercrooks
Logline: Eight super-villains are forced out of retirement to rob the world’s most notorious crime boss.
Production Company(s): Waypoint Entertainment, Addictive Pictures
Producer(s): Kenneth Kao, Russell Ackerman, John Schoenfelder
Details: Based on the comic book “Supercrooks” written by Mark Millar, illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu and published by Marvel on November 7, 2012.
SSN Insight: Millar is the comic book writer of Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service and Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War.

The Ice Beneath Her
Logline: About an investigator and psychological profiler who work to solve the case after a young woman is found beheaded in the home of a prominent businessman. The investigation quickly evolves into a race against time.
Studio/Distributor(s): New Line Cinema
Production Company(s): Mad Chance Productions
Producer(s): Andrew Lazar
Details: Based on the novel “The Ice Beneath Her” written by Camilla Grebe and published in Sweden by Wahlstrom & Widstrand on August 20, 2015, and in the US by Ballantine Books in December, 2016.
SSN Insight: New Line Cinema has acquired film rights to the novel to be produced by Andrew Lazar (American Sniper).

The Reason You’re Alive
Logline: A Vietnam War vet must atone for an injustice from decades back so that he can reconnect with his peace-loving son.
Studio/Distributor(s): MIRAMAX
Production Company(s): Allison Shearmur Productions
Producer(s): Allison Shearmur
Details: Based on the novel “The Reason You’re Alive” written by Matthew Quick and published by Harper in 2017.
SSN Insight: Quick wrote The Silver Linings Playbook.

Untitled Penguin Documentary
Logline: A penguin journeys 5,000 miles every year to visit an elderly Brazilian man who saved his life.
Production Company(s): Epic Pictures Group
Producer(s): Shaked Berenson, Patrick Ewald
SSN Insight: Epic is planning a two-pronged documentary project about the pair set to begin production in 2016-2017.

Untitled Whitney Houston Documentary
Logline: This documentary takes a revealing look at the global superstar’s life and career.
Production Company(s): Lightbox
Producer(s): Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn, Lisa Erspamer
Director(s): Kevin MacDonald
Details: The producers are working with the estate’s authorization to tell Houston’s story and are billing the project as the “official” documentary.
SSN Insight: Altitude Film Sales is introducing the project to buyers at Cannes with UK rights acquired by Altitude Film Distribution.

Wild Man
Logline: Two unlikely friends meet when Bo serves house arrest across the street from Elliott.
Producer(s): Jacquie Phillips, Sarena Khan, Brian Adler
Writer(s): Stefanie Black
Cast: Ted Welch, George Dalton, Kate Upton, Mike Vogel, Christine Woods
SSN Insight: George Dalton is part of the cast of Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer.

New Lara Croft Chosen, Alec Baldwin: Game Show Host, WB Sued Over ‘Skull Island’, Nat Geo’s First Scripted Series, Film Dev. For 4/28/16

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Film Development For 4/28/16: ‘Sherlock Holmes 3’ Finds its Writer, Kevin MacDonald to Helm Whitney Houston Doc, Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg Re-Team for Daddy’s Home 2

In other news, two of comic book writer Mark Millar’s properties are optioned anew, Pamela Anderson is a late addition to the Baywatch movie, Chappaquiddick gets a star and a director and Sarah Paulson joins the J.D. Salinger biopic. To read more, click on the link. (SSN)

MGM and Warner Have Found Their Lara Croft, and She’s a Big Time Oscar Winner

Alicia Vikander has been cast in the Tomb Raider reboot that is finally coming together. Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug will direct the action-adventure movie, which is based on the popular Eidos video games that have sold over 35 million units worldwide. Graham King will produce under his GK Films banner. Angelina Jolie originated the role in two earlier films. (TW)

Alec Baldwin: Game Show Host? Actor Will Helm Brand New ‘Match Game’ Reboot

ABC is reviving the show and has signed Baldwin as host. The network has ordered 10 hourlong episodes of the game show from FremantleMedia North America, with plans to debut the revival this summer at 10 p.m. on Sundays as part of a new three-hour game show block launching June 26th. The original Match Game was hosted by Gene Rayburn. (LF)

Legendary, Warner Bros. Sued for Allegedly Stealing ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Story

The movie is set to be released next year — but now there’s an 800-pound gorilla looming over the larger-than-life blockbuster. Artist Joe DeVito claims he created an entire Skull Island universe that ties together the people and events surrounding King Kong, with the blessing of the original creator’s family, and now he’s suing producers of the feature film claiming they stole his ideas from pitch meetings. (HESQ)

Nat Geo Orders First Scripted Series: ‘Genius’ Anthology From Imagine TV, Ron Howard To Direct

National Geographic Channel has given a straight-to-series order to Genius, its first ever scripted series. The anthology drama – telling the stories of the world’s most brilliant innovators — hails from Imagine TV, Fox 21 TV Studios, OddLot Entertainment and EUE/Sokolow. Howard is set to direct the first episode, whose maiden season will focus on famous physicist Albert Einstein, based on Walter Isaacson’s biography Einstein: His Life and Universe. (DH)

The Great Moe Berg Will Finally Get His Day, as Paul Rudd Will Star In ‘The Catcher Was a Spy’

Rudd will play Berg, an Ivy League grad and attorney who played baseball for 15 years for teams that included the Chicago White Sox. What was unknown to his teammates was that Berg doubled as a top secret spy for the OSS (a forerunner for the CIA), who helped the U.S. win the race against Germany to build the atomic bomb. Saving Private Ryan scribe Robert Rodat penned the script, and Ben Lewin is directing. (VAR)

Jamie Foxx Circles Puppet Murder Mystery ‘Happytime Murders’

Oscar-winning actor is in talks to star in the dark comedy-action film directed by Brian Henson and set in a world in which humans and puppets live side by side. Chaos reigns when the puppet cast of an ’80s children’s show turn up dead. In the film, which the Jim Henson Company has been trying to get made since 2008, Foxx would play the human law-enforcement counterpart to “an alcoholic, disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet.” (VUL)

The Massive ‘Dark Tower’ Adaptation Just Added Another Key Piece

Despite the cameras already cranking, the first cinematic adaptation of Stephen King’s series of novels is not finished adding people to its cast. The latest to join up is Vikings‘ Katheryn Winnick, as she joins Idris Elba as main man Roland Deschain (AKA The Gunslinger), Matthew McConaughey as the villainous Man in Black, as well as Jackie Earle Haley, Fran Kranz, Tom Taylor and Abbey Lee. Nikolaj Arcel is directing. (EMP)

Today In Franchise News: 20th Century Fox Moves Forward With ‘The Omen’ Prequel

Antonio Campos, the indie filmmaker who most recently directed the Sundance movie Christine, is in negotiations to helm the supernatural horror thriller titled The First Omen, which is being produced by David Goyer and his Phantom Four banner. The original movie, released in 1976 and directed by Richard Donner, starred the great Gregory Peck as an ambassador who comes to believe that his 5-year-old son may be the living embodiment of the Antichrist. (HV)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Captain Fantastic’

Bleecker Street Films has released the first look at the Sundance Film Festival hit, starring Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn and Steve Zahn. Written and directed by Matt Ross, the film opens July 8th. (SF)

20th C. Fox Skipping Comic-Con, BAFTA Reviewing Voting Privileges, Lionsgate Dates ‘Pastoral’, ‘Miles’ Short Lands Big

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Expecting To See 20th Century Fox At Comic-Con This Year? You Are Now Officially Out Of Luck

Studio has decided not to showcase its upcoming movie releases in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con this year as it feels it can’t prevent the piracy of custom trailers or exclusive footage. That means no panel for Michael Fassbender’s highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed, no first look at Wolverine 3, no footage from Maze Runner: The Death Cure, and no flashy announcement about upcoming X-Men films like Gambit or Deadpool 2. (COL)

Like the Academy, BAFTA Is Reviewing Its Members’ Voting Privileges, Too

Just like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts is currently reviewing its membership rolls to decide who should retain voting privileges for its annual BAFTA Awards. But unlike the Academy, whose efforts have proven controversial, BAFTA’s review has gone much more smoothly, winning the approval of the majority of its members. (TR)

Lionsgate Believes In ‘American Pastoral’, Gives the Film a Prime Awards Season Release Date

Mini-major has set October 21st for a limited release of the drama, with Ewan McGregor starring and making his feature directorial debut. The studio will expand the run a week later. The cast includes Uzo Aduba, David Strathairn, Jennifer Connelly, Rupert Evans, Peter Riegert and Dakota Fanning. Lakeshore toppers Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi are producing along with Andre Lamal. John Romano adopted Philip Roth’s novel, published in 1997. (VAR)

Sci-Fi Short ‘Miles’ Gets Feature Film from Open Road & David Goyer

Lakeshore Entertainment and Open Road Films are partnering to co-produce and co-finance the feature film, to be directed by Oliver Daly, based on his original short which started a bidding war amongst producers last year. It was won by David S. Goyer and his Phantom Four Films, who then developed the script with Daly. (CS)

The ‘X-Men’ Series Hints At The Future By Signing Tye Sheridan Up For Two More Films

Fox has a lot of plans for its X-Men Universe – Wolverine 3, Deadpool 2 and New Mutants are all happening, among others. But what about the core X-Men series? Will favorites like James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence be returning? What about the new cast of youngsters that’s been brought in for Apocalypse? It seems the answer to the later question is a big “yes,” as the actor playing Cyclops has confirmed he will be returning, at least twice. (UR)

Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell Join Pantelion Comedy ‘How To Be A Latin Lover’

Raquel Welch and Rob Riggle have also joined Eugenio Derbez in the comedy for Lionsgate’s Pantelion label. Ken Marino is directing the story about an an aging Latin lover who gets dumped by his sugar mama and is forced to to return to live with his estranged sister and her preteen son in their humble home. Sporting a wardrobe consisting mostly of Versace speedos, the man focuses on finding himself another sugar mama to support his expensive tastes. (DH)

What Do You Do When Movie Stars Just Don’t Happen?

Do you remember the exact moment you knew someone was a movie star? It’s not always easy to do, but there are a couple times in recent memory where it became clear that someone had that special something to set them apart from everyone else. So when Hollywood tries to push a new one at us, and we don’t respond, it makes us wonder what went wrong and why this one, this particular actor, didn’t register with us, like so many others who also missed. (TB)

Trailer Buzz, Part One: ‘Tulip Fever’

The Weinstein Company has released the first look at the upcoming period drama, starring Dane DeHaan and Alicia Vikander. Christoph Waltz, Judi Dench, Matthew Morrison, Cara Delevingne, Jack O’Connell, and Zach Galifianakis also star in the film, which comes out July 15th. (IW)

Trailer Buzz, Part Two: ‘Southside With You’

Miramar and Roadside Attractions have dropped the first look a the highly anticipated indie flick, which was a big hit at Sundance. Starring Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter as Barack and Michelle Obama during their first date, it hits theaters August 26th. (VUL)

Screenwriters: Breaking & Entering — Negotiating Negotiations Part 1

Negotiations can be a wild ride. Writers may think that they will never have to sully their hands with actual negotiations – that’s what agents, managers and lawyers are for, right? Well, yes, they are on the frontlines, but it’s going to be up to you to when it comes to “advise and consent.” (SM)

On the Set for 4/29/16: Nicholas Hoult Starts ‘Rebel in the Rye’, Elizabeth Olsen & Jeremy Renner Wrap ‘Wind River’

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STARTS

Clinical
04/25/2016
Logline: After she’s attacked by a patient, Dr. Jane Mathis decides to change her career path as a psychiatrist. Traumatized by the experience, Jane self-medicates and begins to suspect that the patient that attacked her is after her once again. Working with a new post-trauma patient against her better judgment, Jane’s own sanity comes into question as her paranoia takes hold.
Production Company(s): Campfire
Director(s): Alistair Legrand
Producer(s): Ross M. Dinerstein
Cast: Vinessa Shaw, Henry Thomas, Wilmer Calderon
Writer(s): Alistair Legrand, Luke Harvis
SSN Insight: Legrand also wrote and directed the horror sci-fi film The Diabolical, released in 2014 by XLrator Media.

Day of Reckoning
04/25/2016
Logline: The story is set in Los Angeles 15 years after the world suffered a horrendous disaster when demon-like-creatures invaded Earth and nearly destroyed mankind. A mediocre husband and father, David Shepperd, tries to save his family when demon creatures return to wreak havoc.
Production Company(s): Epic Pictures Group
Director(s): Joel Novoa
Executive Producer(s): Patrick Ewald, Shaked Berenson
Cast: Jackson Hurst, Heather McComb, Hana Hayes, Jay Jay Warren, Raymond Barry
Writer(s): Greg Gieras
SSN Insight: Novoa also produced and directed the 2013 film Esclavo de Dios which won the Nueva Vision Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Love Sonia
04/24/2016
Logline: Tells the heartfelt and brave story of Sonia, a young Indian village girl whose life irrevocably changes when she is entrapped into the vicious global sex trade network.
Production Company(s): Big Stuff
Director(s): Tabrez Noorani
Executive Producer(s): Pravesh Sahni, Hannah Zhang
Producer(s): David Womark
Cast: Paul Dano, Mrunal Thakur, Freida Pinto, Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadda
Writer(s): Ted Caplan, Alkesh Vaja
SSN Insight: Kay Buck, CEO/exec directing of CAST (Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking) is advisor on the film and Apne Aap Woman Worldwide founder Ruchira Gupta is providing support for the actors as they research their roles.

Okja
04/23/2016
Logline: Follows Mija, a young girl who must risk everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named ‘Okja’.
Production Company(s): Plan B Entertainment, Lewis Pictures
Director(s): Bong Joon-Ho
Producer(s): Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Lewis Taewan Kim, Woo-Sik Seo
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Kelly Macdonald, Lily Collins
Writer(s): Bong Joon-Ho
SSN Insight: Bill Nighy was previously attached.

Rebel in the Rye
04/25/2016
Logline: Follows the legendary and secretive author J.D. Salinger through his life — from his rebellious youth, the bloody front lines of World War II, experiencing great love and terrible loss, a life of rejection, his writing in the pages of The New Yorker, and the PTSD-fueled writer’s block that led to the birth of his iconic novel The Catcher in the Rye.
Production Company(s): Blue Star Entertainment, Bruce Cohen Productions, Black Label Media
Director(s): Danny Strong
Producer(s): Danny Strong, Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Thad Luckinbill, Bruce Cohen
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern, Brian d’Arcy James, Hope Davis
Writer(s): Danny Strong
Details: Based on the biography “JD Salinger: A Life” written by Kenneth Slawenski and published by Random House in 2010.
SSN Insight: Hoult will next be seen in Equals by A24, X-Men: Apocalypse by Fox, and Collide by Open Road Films.

Return to Montauk
04/26/2016
Logline: A novelist travels to New York to promote his latest book and runs into a German expat he had a fling with 17 years earlier. Although he had intended to never see her again, he lets her embark with him on a trip to Montauk, at the far end of Long Island.
Production Company(s): Gaumont, Pyramide International, Volksfilm GMBH, Ziegler Film GMBH & Co. KG
Director(s): Volker Schlondorff
Producer(s): Regina Ziegler
Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Nina Hoss, Niels Arestrup, Michael Epp
Writer(s): Volker Schlondorff
SSN Insight: Volker Schlondorff is one of the major directors of the New German Cinema, the group of filmmakers who, in the late 1960s and early 70s, revitalized a moribund German film culture.

Sidney Hall
04/23/2016
Logline: Story follows three stages in the life of the title character, who writes the book of his generation before disappearing without a trace. Meanwhile, a literary rival searches for him, hoping to solve the mystery behind his disappearance.
Production Company(s): Super Crispy Entertainment, Fuzzy Logic
Director(s): Shawn Christensen
Executive Producer(s): Shawn Christensen, Logan Lerman
Producer(s): Jonathan Schwartz, Fielder Jewett
Cast: Logan Lerman, Elle Fanning, Michelle Monaghan, Kyle Chandler, Nathan Lane
Writer(s): Jason Dolan, Shawn Christensen
SSN Insight: Joe Russo was previously attached to direct. Paper Street Productions was previously attached to produce with Scott Free. Jim Sturgess was previously attached to star.

Slumber (Diablo Entertainment)
04/25/2016
Logline: When a car accident puts a woman into a coma, she is enlisted in an experimental procedure where doctors pump her mind with nightmares in an attempt to scare her awake.
Production Company(s): Diablo Entertainment
Director(s): Darrell Wheat
Executive Producer(s): Jaremy Aiello, Keith Fowler, Hank Hoffman, Cyrus Zahabian, Ilana Zahabian
Producer(s): Eric B. Fleischman, Sean Tabibian
Cast: Darby Stanchfield, Emily Bett Rickards, Meaghan Rath, Chris Mulkey, Richard Harmon
Writer(s): Darrell Wheat
SSN Insight: Wheat also wrote and directed the film Recovery for Diablo Entertainment.

Street Gang – The Complete History of Sesame Street
4/23/2016
Logline: A documentary based on the history of ‘Sesame Street’
Production Company(s): Macrocosm Entertainment, Citizen Skull Productions
Director(s): Marah Strauch
Executive Producer(s): Trevor Crafts
Producer(s): Mark Myers, Matt Daley, Heather Kenyon
Details: Based on the 2008 New York Times best selling book Street Gang – The Complete History of Sesame Street by writer Michael Davis.
SSN Insight: To be released in 2017. Marah Strauch, who’s first feature Sunshine Superman was a breakout hit at TIFF in 2014.

The Grizzlies
04/23/2016
Logline: A high school teacher arrives at a struggling Canadian Arctic community plagued by alcoholism, abuse, and the highest suicide rate in North America and creates a lacrosse league that transforms his students’ lives. Based on a true story.
Production Company(s): Pacific Northwest Pictures, Northwood Productions
Director(s): Miranda De Pencier
Executive Producer(s): Frank Marshall, Jake Steinfeld
Producer(s): Miranda De Pencier, Zanne Devine, Damon D’Oliveira, Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Cast: Ben Schnetzer
Writer(s): Moira Walley-Beckett, Graham Yost
SSN Insight: Miranda De Pencier previously produced Thanks for Sharing, Beginners and Cake.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
04/25/2016
Logline: After a 50-year-old woman’s daughter is murdered, she confronts the police in her town who she believes are more interested in persecuting African-Americans than getting justice.
Production Company(s): Blue Print Pictures
Director(s): Martin McDonagh
Executive Producer(s):
Producer(s): Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, Martin McDonagh, Diarmuid McKeown
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Caleb Landry Jones
Writer(s): Martin McDonagh
SSN Insight: Originally developed by Film4 at an early stage.

 

WRAPS

6 Below
04/23/2016
Logline: Olympic hockey player Eric LeMarque becomes hopelessly lost while snowboarding through a massive storm. Now he must somehow survive in the frozen tundra with nothing but his wits to sustain him and while simultaneously coming to terms with his drug addiction, and the selfish and destructive behavior that left him stranded.
Production Company(s): Sonar Entertainment, Tooley Productions, Rock Pile Studios
Director(s): Scott Waugh
Producer(s): Tucker Tooley, Thomas Lesinski, Scott Waugh, Simon Swart, Brad Pilz
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Mira Sorvino, Sarah Dumont, Jason Cottle, Austin R. Grant
Details: True story of Olympic hockey player Eric LeMarque.
SSN Insight: Josh Hartnett is also in the cast of Gut Instinct in active devlopment and Valley of the Gods in preproduction.

Barry
04/25/2016
Logline: Based on true events, this drama explores the time in Barack Obama’s life when he was a college student in New York City and forged key personal relationships, including with a fellow student.
Production Company(s): Cinetic Media, Black Bear Pictures
Director(s): Vikram Gandhi
Producer(s): Teddy Schwarzman, Vikram Gandhi, Ben Stillman, Dana O’Keefe
Cast: Devon Terrell, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Mitchell, Ellar Coltrane, Ashley Judd
SSN Insight: Ashley Judd is also in the cast of Twin Peaks, ordered to series by Showtime.

Fashionista
04/24/2016
Logline: A structurally unique thriller about a fashion-conscious young woman who uses clothes as an emotional crutch and what happens when her life spirals out of control.
Director(s): Simon Rumley
Executive Producer(s): Tim League, Adam Goldworm
Producer(s): Simon Rumley, Bob Portal
Cast: Amanda Fuller, Ethan Embry, Eric Balfour, Alexandra Essoe, Alexandria Deberry
Writer(s): Simon Rumley
SSN Insight: Amanda Fuller has previously been seen on Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy and starred in The Brittany Murphy Story.

San Bernardino Bound
04/29/2016
Logline:
Studio/Distributor(s): Netflix
Production Company(s): The Collective, Friendly Films, Blue Creek Pictures
Director(s): Chester Tam
Producer(s): Sam Maydew, David Friendly
Cast: Josh Peck, Tony Revolori, Chester Tam, Kevin Corrigan, Channing Tatum
Writer(s): Chester Tam
SSN Insight: Andy Samberg and Christopher Mintz-Plasse were previously attached to star.

Temple
04/29/2016
Logline: Follows a team of trained operatives who find themselves trapped inside an isolated military compound after its artificial intelligence is suddenly shut down. There, they begin to experience strange and horrific phenomena.
Studio/Distributor(s): WWE Studios
Production Company(s): Erebus Pictures
Director(s): John Stockwell
Producer(s): Gene Simmons, Wesley Snipes, Michael Luisi
Cast: Wesley Snipes, Anne Heche, Dave Annable, Seth Rollins, Gene Simmons
Writer(s): Matt Savelloni
SSN Insight: Wesley Snipes and his banner Maandi Media DMM have signed a multi-film deal with WWE Studios to develop and produce elevated branded content as well as films.

To The Bone
04/29/2016
Logline: A young woman suffering from anorexia tries to find a doctor who can help her.
Production Company(s): Mockingbird Pictures, Sparkhouse Media
Director(s): Marti Noxon
Producer(s): Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn, Karina Miller
Cast: Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves, Ciara Bravo, Carrie Preston, Liana Liberato
Writer(s): Marti Noxon
SSN Insight: Noxon is also the EP and showrunner for HBO’s Sharp Objects that has been ordered to series.

What’s the Point? (And Other Fair Questions About Marriage)
04/29/2016
Logline: Ensemble comedy about the concept that marriage should be a seven-year contract with an option to renew.
Production Company(s): More Films, Cold Iron Pictures , Ways & Means
Director(s): Lake Bell
Executive Producer(s): Jason Beck, Andrew Bohn
Producer(s): Lake Bell, Jett Steiger, Miranda Bailey, Amanda Marshall
Cast: Lake Bell, Ed Helms, Mary Steenburgen, Paul Reiser, Amber Heard
Writer(s): Lake Bell
SSN Insight: The film received financing from Cold Iron Pictures and The Film Arcade. The film shot in Los Angeles.

Where the White Man Runs Away
04/24/2016
Logline: In 2008, rookie Canadian journalist Jay Bahadur’s impulsive plan to embed himself among the pirates of Somalia provided the first close-up look at these men and the forces that drive them.
Production Company(s): Hungry Man, BCDF Pictures, Kalahari Films & Media
Director(s): Bryan Buckley
Executive Producer(s): Jane Rosenthal, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross
Cast: Evan Peters, Al Pacino, Melanie Griffith, Barkhad Abdi, Edward Gelbinovich
Writer(s): Bryan Buckley
SSN Insight: Al Pacino has also been cast in The Trap for Focus Features which is in active development.

Wind River
04/25/2016
Logline: A lone female FBI agent is sent to investigate a murder on a remote Indian Reservation in the dead of winter, and she finds assistance from a man with a haunted past.
Production Company(s): Thunder Road Pictures, Film 44, Acacia Entertainment, Savvy Media Holdings
Director(s): Taylor Sheridan
Executive Producer(s): Erica Lee, Braden Aftergood, Elizabeth Bell
Producer(s): Basil Iwanyk, Peter Berg, Matthew George
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Jon Bernthal, Austin R. Grant, Kelsey Asbille
Writer(s): Taylor Sheridan
SSN Insight: Chris Pine was previously attached to co-star.

SSN Box Office Trending Report for 4/29/16: ‘Jungle Book’ to Hold Strong this Weekend While ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Prepares for Battle

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In this trending report, SSN Insider takes a deep dive into the film ticket sales of the week leveraging data from the powerhouse ticketing website, MovieTickets.com. The infographic below pinpoints which movies are claiming the largest piece of the pie from day to day in terms of sales. The chart also notes which film, out of the top five best-sellers, had the largest share and which had the smallest share of tickets sold over the week. The report gives you an excellent predictor of which film will be the box office titan after the weekend is through and grosses are tabulated.

Box Office Trending 4-29

Will Ferrell Drops ‘Reagan’, Netflix Orders ‘Punisher’ Series, Pre-Screenings Pilot Buzz, On the Set, Box Office Trending, David Schrader Leaves Disney

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SSN Box Office Trending Report for 4/29/16: ‘Jungle Book’ to Hold Strong this Weekend While ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Prepares for Battle

While Mother’s Day and Keanu will be newcomers this weekend, it looks extremely likely that Jungle Book will remain king of the box office, that is until, Captain America: Civil War takes the battlefield next weekend. (SSN)

On the Set for 4/29/16: Nicholas Hoult Starts ‘Rebel in the Rye’, Elizabeth Olsen & Jeremy Renner Wrap ‘Wind River’

X-Men: Apocalypse’s Nicholas Hoult and Kevin Spacey start shooting Rebel in the Rye while Avengers Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner wrap shooting on Wind River. (SSN)

Amidst Backlash, Will Ferrell Jumps Ship on ‘Reagan’ Film

Ferrell was set to play the lead role in Reagan, a satirical comedy about the former president, but he’s no longer attached to the project. This follows objection from Reagan’s family, conservatives and Alzheimer’s advocates. (LAT)

Netflix Promises Castle Will Be “Locked and Loaded” in New ‘Punisher’ Spin-off Series

Netflix announced the news Friday on Twitter, writing, “The Punisher is back. Locked and loaded.” Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as the titular vigilante — aka soldier Frank Castle — who was introduced in the current season of Daredevil. (VAR)

‘Angry Birds’ Director Fergal Reilly Signs With UTA

Fergal Reilly, who is making his directorial debut co-helming The Angry Birds Movie, has signed with UTA. He is a longtime storyboard artist with credits including Hotel Transylvania and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. Those credits also include Spider-Man 2, which he boarded after Sam Raimi ID’d his ability to blend comedy and action elements. (DL)

Hot Pilots: The Pre-Screenings Buzz on the 2016 Offerings

We are heading into the pilot screening stage of pilot season, an annual binge-viewing ritual that started long before binge viewing existed. Over the next week or so, the broadcast networks will hold marathon screenings of their pilots for some extra feedback before the final pickup and scheduling decisions are made. Here is where things stand according to industry chatter. (DL)

20-Year Disney Theatrical Exec David Schrader Leaving to Start New Company

David Schrader, the longtime executive at Disney Theatrical Productions, will depart his current position as the company’s exec vice president/managing director next month to strike out on his own as an independent stage producer. Schrader will call his new, independent producing firm Murray & Kean LLC. (VAR)

How Comcast’s DreamWorks Deal Could Impact Paramount, Lionsgate & Other Studios

Lionsgate and Viacom could be among the major Hollywood studios benefiting from Comcast-owned NBCUniversal’s $3.8 billion takeover of DreamWorks Animation. Analysts debate additional deal-making after Comcast’s high valuation for DreamWorks Animation. (THR)

Disney Claims Fairy-Tale Territory with ‘Jungle Book’ Success (Among Others) & Tells Studios to ‘Pick a Lane’

“Our people work in this space all the time. Some studios are really comfortable making R-rated comedies; that’s not what we do. Picking a lane and becoming students has its value,” says Walt Disney Studios production president Sean Bailey. (THR)

Good News, Bad News- Streaming Up 19%, But DVD Falls by 9%

The industry organization says that consumers spent $4.55 billion in the period, down just 1.8% from early 2015. But that folds in spending on fast-growing subscription streaming services including Netflix that some analysts say doesn’t belong in the tally. (DL)

 

‘Jungle Book’ Crushes Box Office, Brad Weston Leaving New Regency, 10 Hot Pilots, ‘Captain America’ Soars Int’l, GLAAD Report Card, Daytime Emmy Winners

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Box Office: ‘The Jungle Book’ Crushes ‘Mother’s Day,’ ‘Keanu’

In its third weekend, the movie continued to exceed expectations, grossing $42.4 million in North America to crush new offerings, star-studded ensemble comedy Mother’s Day and R-rated action-comedy Keanu. (THR)

Hold On to Your Hat! Brad Weston is Leaving His Post As New Regency President/CEO

One of Hollywood’s most high-flying production and finance companies is undergoing a shakeup just weeks after two of its films squared off at the Oscars. New Regency Productions, the prolific film and television outlet that backed The Revenant and The Big Short, has parted ways with its CEO Brad Weston. (THR)

Daytime Emmy Winners: GH Tops Soaps While ‘Kelly & Michael’ Grab Gold

CBS’ The Young and the Restless entered the evening with 27 total nominations, followed by ABC’s General Hospital (24 nods), CBS’ The Bold and the Beautiful (23) and NBC’s Days of Our Lives (16). (TVL)

‘Captain America: Civil War’ Soars To $84 Million Internationally

Disney-Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War has launched with a massive $84 million in its first three days in 38 international markets — finishing in first place in all territories. (VAR)

Terrence Malick’s ‘Voyage of Time’ Coming To IMAX Theaters In October After 30+ Year Production

According to an IMAX press release, the wait will soon be over: Voyage of Time is set to be released on October 7 of this year. (IW)

Kelly Macdonald To Star In ‘Black Mirror’ Episode On Netflix

Boardwalk Empire alumna Kelly Macdonald is set to star in an episode of Netflix’s Black Mirror. (DH)

How Sony Intends To Buck The Video Game-To-Movie Legacy With ‘Ratchet & Clank’

The iconic Sony game franchise got a PS4 reboot and a feature film simultaneously—and collaboratively. (FCC)

The 10 TV Pilots Most Likely to Score Series Pickups

As broadcast network executives sit behind closed doors screening pilots and poring over focus group testing results on more than 80 pilots, scores of showrunners, producers, writers, and actors are on stand-by. From family comedies to legal dramas, here are some of the hottest pilots likely to land on the broadcast networks’ 2016-17 schedule. (THR)

GLAAD Report Card Finds Hollywood Needs to Up Their Game…By a Lot

GLAAD has released its annual Studio Responsibility Index on Monday, finding a dramatic decrease in the racial diversity of LGBT characters on screen in 2015 as compared to its previous report, as well as a lack of substantial LGBT characters in mainstream films overall. (EW)

Screenwriters: Genre Gone Wrong

Movies are marketed by audience conditioning and you can affect a screenplay’s potential if you make common mistakes in executing genre. (SM)

Exec Shuffle for 5/2/16: Comcast Buys DreamWorks Animation, Weston Leaving New Regency, Rovi Acquires TiVo, Shifts at CAA

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Company Launches & Partnerships

Comcast’s NBCU has acquired DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. Once the acquisition is finalized, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will become Chairman of DreamWorks New Media, a unit comprised of AwesomenessTV and the visualization technology platform NOVA. NBCU and Comcast will now be connected to DreamWorks Animation’s Netflix projects.

The video analytics firm Tubular Labs has launched Tubular Video Ratings, a new standardized metric. Tubular Video Ratings will be the first metric to rate engagement and views for video content (not ads) across YouTube, Facebook, and Vine over 100 million videos and 5 million brands and influencers.

Paramount and MCN Studio 71 have signed a multi-picture movie agreement. The first title that Paramount will release under the deal is Be Somebody, a comedy from Vine star Matthew Espinosa.

Viacom International Media Networks Asia has signed a multi-year content deal with LeEco, one of China’s major online VOD platforms. LeEco will have exclusive broadcast rights for the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, marking the first time the U.S. show will air in China and OTT rights to select episodes of Nickelodeon TV series.

Rovi has acquired TiVo in a deal valued at $1.1 billion in cash and stock. Rovi CEO Tom Carson will helm the new company which will simply be called TiVo. TiVo will gain a strong research apparatus from Rovi as the tech and software company has built up a trove of valuable analytics data related to TV viewership.

China has shut down both iTunes Movies and the iBooks Store.  Apple launched both services just six months ago in China. The move comes as China seeks to promote domestic tech companies and restrict the operations of their foreign competitors.

Film

Brad Weston is stepping down from his role as President and CEO of New Regency, a position he has held for the last five years.

David Baxter has been named the Head of Content Development at Legion M. He was previously the Publisher Relations/Brand Activation Manger at Gamevice. Terri Lubaroff has been named the Head of Content Acquisition at Legion M. Terri was formerly the Chief Operating Officer at Meltdown Entertainment Group.

Mandy Beckner has been named the VP of Creative Affairs at Heyday Films. She was formerly the VP of Development at Olympus Pictures.

David S. Collins has been named the Writer, Producer at Sweeny Collins Productions. He was previously the Development Executive at Connect Entertainment.

Adam Fields has been named the Co-President of Production at Relativity. He was previously the Producer, Consultant at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Michael Glassman has been named the VP of Film at LD Entertainment. He was previously the Head of Film at Outlaw Productions.

Chet Devaskar has joined Covert Media as EVP of Business & Legal Affairs. He will focus on Covert’s film production slate and handle all above the line talent deals and financial closings for upcoming production projects. Chet joins Covert from Treehouse Pictures where he served as Head of Business Affairs and General Counsel.

Peter Kang has been named the Co-President of Production at Lionsgate. He was previously the EVP of Production at Paramount Pictures.

Lori Sinanyan will be the Chief Counsel at Relativity Media (as of May 2nd, 2016). She was formerly the Counsel at Jones Day.

Edouard de Vésinne has been named the Deputy CEO at EuropaCorp. He was previously the Co-President at EuropaCorp Television in Paris.

TV

Alex Sepiol has been upped from SVP to EVP of Scripted Development at NBCUnivesal Cable Entertainment. Michael Sluchan will now oversee content as SVP of NBCUni Cable. Sluchan was previously SVP and Head of Current for USA. Heather Olander will be the SVP of Unscripted Programming at USA Network and SyFy. In accordance with NBCUniversal Cable consolidating their scripted operations, Sepiol and his team will work across the entire portfolio, take in pitches and recommend which network would be best suited for each new project.

Jared Albert has been named the Manager of Publicity & Communications at Discovery Family Channel. He was previously the Senior Publicist at Animal Planet.

Patrice Andrews has been named the General Manager at Animal Planet (as of mid-June 2016) She was formerly the Chief Operating Officer of East Coast at ITV Studios America.

Betsy Sanner Ayala has been named the VP of Programming at HGTV, DIY Network, and Great American Country. She was formerly the VP of Programming & Production at PTA Networks.

Sharon Bordas has been named the VP of Scripted Development at Lifetime. She was formerly the EVP of Production & Development at MarVista Entertainment.

Michael Clemente has shifted from EVP of News Editorial to the EVP of News Specials at Fox News. Jay Wallace has been upped from SVP of News and Senior Executive Producer, News & Politics to the EVP of News & Editorial at Fox News.

Liza Burnett Fefferman has been named the SVP of Communications for VH1 and Logo. She will oversee all communications for VH1 and Logo’s brand and content, oversee awards efforts, and help those brands as they expand beyond reality and into scripted and documentary films. Previously she was an EVP at RADiUS in PR and involved in 40 film launches.

Kurt Davis has been upped from VP of News Services to the EVP of Affiliate Relations at CBS Television Network. Tiffany Smith-Anoa’I has been upped from SVP to the EVP of Diversity, Inclusion & Communications at CBS Entertainment.

Jackie de Crinis has been named the President at Jackie de Crinis Productions Inc. She was formerly the EVP of Original Programming at USA Network.

Les Eisner has been named the SVP of Corporate Communications at Fox Broadcasting Company. He was previously the VP of Corporate Communications at A+E Networks.

Matt Gentile has been named the Account Executive of Cable Advertising Sales at Entertainment Studios Networks. He was previously the Account Executive of Advertising Sales at ION Media Networks.

Jason Goldberg has been named the President of Non-Scripted & Alternative Programming at STX Entertainment. He was previously the Co-Founder, Partner at Katalyst.

Cristián Jofré has been named the Creative Director at Viceland International. Cristián was formerly the SVP of Marketing and Creative Director at MTV Networks International. Nick Weidenfeld has been named the President of Programming at Viceland. He was previously the Head of Development, Adult Swim and President at ADHD Studios.

Sheraton Kalouria has been upped from EVP to the President, Chief Marketing Officer at Sony Pictures Television.

Jessica Sebastian has been named the SVP of Development for ITV America’s in-house reality production banner. In her new role, she will oversee development, focusing on creating talent-driven series and innovative formats across a range of unscripted genres. She previously served as Head of Alternative Programming at USA Network.

Sharon Bordas is now the VP of Scripted Development at Lifetime. She will develop and oversee production of scripted series.  Bordas was previously the EVP, Production and Development at MarVista.

Barry Poznick has been named the President of Unscripted Television at the MGM Television Group. He will oversee the creative and development of all unscripted television content. Poznick was the Founder and Co-CEO of Zoo Prods where he co-created/executive produced the game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.

Bill Hilary has resigned from his post as President of Fuse Media to pursue other opportunities. The senior staff at Fuse will now report to CEO Michael Schwimmer.

Catrice Monson has been named the SVP Diversity and Inclusion at CBS Corp. In the role she will work to expand and enhance diversity initiatives for CBS Corp. and its business units. She most recently was SVP Labor Relations, representing the CBS Television Network and the labor relations department in negotiations with entertainment unions and guilds on issues related to diversity and increasing access.

Management, PR, Agencies

Geoff Edwards, Bianca Pettinicchi, Joe Saroufim, and Erin Sullivan have been named Executives of Marketing at CAA. Edwards was previously the Co-Founder at DOJO. Bianca Pettinicchi has been named the Executive of Marketing at CAA. Pettinicchi was formerly the Director/Designer, Digital & Print Ad, TBWA/Chiat/Day. Saroufim was previously the Writer/Producer of Branded Content at 72andSunny. Saroufim was formerly the VP at Poolhouse.
Willy Villarreal has been named the VP of Brand Marketing & Communications at PMK•BNC/VOCES. He was previously the VP of Consumer Marketing & Western Region Multicultural Lead at Edelman.

Music, Digital, Publishing, Misc.

Stephen Swad is now the CFO at digital media company, Vox Media. He was formerly the CEO of the language-learning software company Rosetta Stone Inc.

Jenna Goudreau has been hired as a Managing Editor at CNBC and will head strategy and execution of CNBC Make It, the network’s new site focused on money matters. She joins CNBC from Business Insider, where she served as a Deputy Editor.

AJ Mathew is now the VP of Research at Kargo, the mobile marketplace for premium brand advertising. He was previously at Apple, where he served as Global Head of Measurement & Insights for the company’s iAd platform.

Tommy Coriale has been upped to GM of DIGA. The new role grows Coriale’s current responsibilities as VP of Production to include oversight of business development and growth for DIGA. Coriale was previously at Eastern, where he oversaw production of the Love & Hip Hop franchise.
Steve Bunnell has been named the SVP, Chief Content and Programming Officer at Regal Entertainment Group, joining on June 14. He was previously at Universal Theatrical Distribution where he was EVP and General Sales Manager.

Nathan Brown has been named the SVP of Development & Operations at Discovery Digital Networks. He was previously the SVP, GM of Video at The Huffington Post in New York.

Barak Moffitt has been upped from Head of Strategic Operations to the EVP of Content Strategy & Operations at Universal Music Group.

Three Studios Flunk GLAAD Survey, WB Needs a ‘Flash’ Director, Oprah’s Acting Return, Hulu’s Big Moves, Exec Shuffle For 5/2/16

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Exec Shuffle For 5/2/16: Comcast Buys DreamWorks Animation, Weston Leaving New Regency, Rovi Acquires TiVo, Shifts at CAA

Among the other moves happening this week, China shuts down both the iTunes Moves and iBooks stores just six months after Apple opened them, a host of execs have new business addresses, and VH1 and Logo have themselves a brand new SVP of Communications. As usual, there’s plenty more, so click on the link to read on. (SSN)

Disney, Paramount and Warners Flunk GLAAD’s LGBT Report Card

When it comes to portraying LGBT people onscreen, the Hollywood studios are falling behind the rest of the media, with the three above studios all receiving failing grades, according to GLAAD, the LGBT advocacy group, which released its annual studio report card today. (THR)

Warner Bros. Needs a New Director For ‘The Flash’, as Seth Grahame-Smith Drops Out

Director has dropped out of the project over “creative differences,” after signing onto the project in late 2015, with plans for Ezra Miller to reprise his role as DC’s Scarlet Speedster from his cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Studio will apparently continue to use Grahame-Smith’s script, which was based on a draft by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Movie would have been Grahame-Smith’s first job as a feature film director. (NR)

Oprah Winfrey Sets Her Return To Acting, Will Topline a New HBO Film

Winfrey will star in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, based on Rebecca Skloot’s acclaimed bestselling nonfiction book of the same name. George C. Wolfe will direct from his screenplay. Book tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Story is told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks (Winfrey). (CS)

Hulu Keeps Rolling With Another Major Event Series, Casts Elisabeth Moss To Star In ‘Handmaid’s Tale’

Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic sci-fi novel  has already been adapted once for the screen, via the 1990 movie which featured a Harold Pinter script. Now the streaming channel has ordered a new drama series based on the book, and set Mad Men/Top Of The Lake‘s Moss  to star. Bruce Miller wrote the initial script and will be a producer alongside Daniel Wilson, who helped shepherd the original film to screens. (EMP)

More Hulu News: Company Set To Launch Livestreaming TV Service

Streaming giant is expected to announce a service for livestreaming broadcast and cable television, with the service expected to launch in the first quarter of 2017. Prices are estimated to be around $40 a month. Hulu is following in the footsteps of similar livestreaming TV providers Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, but Hulu is looking to be more selective in which channels it provides. (VUL)

A Big Week For Harriet Tubman, First the $20 Bill, Now a Feature Film In Development

Additionally, it seems quite appropriate that Charles D. King, who was the first and only African American to rise from the mailroom to partner in the 118-year history of WME, is leading the charge on the new film, called Harriet, with prolific TV director Seith Mann at the helm. It’s not the first time her life has been adapted. In 1978, Cicely Tyson starred in the TV miniseries A Woman Called Moses based on the novel of the same name by Marcy Heidish. (DH)

‘Space Jam 2’ Is Really Happening With LeBron James and ‘Star Trek Beyond’ Director Justin Lin

Over two years ago, a rumor began circulating that Warner Bros. might be putting together a Space Jam sequel with NBA player and Trainwreck star LeBron James in the lead role. However, shortly after the rumor spread it was shot down. Then last summer, the athlete signed a movie and TV deal with the studio, reigniting speculation that Space Jam 2 could actually happen. Now the sequel is officially in development. (SF)

Another Franchise Being Resurrected: Get Ready For an All New ‘Puppet Master’

Di Bonaventura Pictures and Caliber Media are teaming up to reboot what they are calling the “Puppet Master universe.” Bone Tomahawk writer-director S. Craig Zahler has been hired to script an early draft of the film, the title of which is currently Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (COL)

‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Getting ‘Reboot’ From CBS Due To Slipping Ratings

When Colbert replaced David Letterman last September, critics, industry veterans and CBS waited with bated breath to see if the television masses would embrace the real him. Eight months later, it appears the answer is somewhat unclear. While Colbert ranks second in overall audience behind NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, his presence online with viral videos and in key young demos is slipping fast. It has forced CBS to step in for retooling. (IW)

Tony Award Noms, Just For Laughs Lineup, ‘Hands of Stone’ at Cannes, Syfy Shakeup, Michael Fassbender in ‘Entering Hades’

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2016 Tony Awards: ‘Hamilton’ Nabs Record 16 Nominations

Hamilton dominated the 2016 Tony Awards nominations, with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway juggernaut notching a record 16 noms for the theater industry’s 70th annual awards ceremony. (VAR)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Cross, Hannibal Buress Lead Just For Laughs Lineup

Just for Laughs, Montreal’s annual comedy festival, announced the first major chunk of its lineup. (VUL)

Robert De Niro’s ‘Hands Of Stone’ Gets Special Screening At Cannes Film Festival

Robert De Niro’s new boxing biopic Hands of Stone will get a special screening at this month’s Cannes Film Festival as a tribute to the star. (EW)

Syfy SVPs Paul Shapiro & Erik Storey Exit Amid Restructuring

Paul Shapiro, Syfy’s SVP Original Content, who worked in development, and Erik Storey, Syfy’s SVP Original Programming, who shepherded current series, have left the network. (DH)

Michael Fassbender To Play Serial Killer In True Crime Story ‘Entering Hades’

Michael Fassbender is in talks to star as a serial killer in Broad Green Pictures’ Entering Hades with Storyscape Entertainment and Fassbender’s DMC Film producing. (VAR)

Amber Rose Scores Weekly Dr. Phil-Produced Talk Show On VH1

Amber Rose has landed her own weekly talk show on VH1, produced by Dr. Phil’s and his son Jay McGraw’s Stage 29 Productions, the untitled weekly series will be hosted by Rose and premiere in the summer. (THR)

Sean Bean & Mark Stanley In Talks For Clio Barnard’s ‘Dark River’ Opposite Ruth Wilson

Sean Bean and Mark Stanley are in talks to join Clio Barnard’s Dark River opposite Ruth Wilson. The film is Barnard’s anticipated next feature after The Selfish Giant. (DH)

‘Scandal’ Season 6 Episode Order Cut

In the wake of news that leading lady Kerry Washington is expecting her second child, ABC has trimmed the show’s Season 6 episode order from 22  to 16. (TVL)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Bad Moms’

STX Entertainment has revealed the first Bad Moms trailer with both green and red band versions. It features the principal trio of Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn along with rival trio of Christina Applegate, Jada Pinkett Smith and Annie Mumolo. (CS)

 

TV Development for 5/3/16: John Krasinski is the Next Jack Ryan, Johnny Depp Developing ‘Muscle Shoals’, John Boyega in for ‘Watership Down’

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All the Single Ladies
Studio: Paramount Television
Production Company(s): Anonymous Content
Executive Producer(s): Rebecca Traister
Logline: Based on the book, which investigates the sexual, economic, and emotional lives of women in 21st-century America.
Details: Based on the book, “All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation,” written by Rebecca Traister and published by Simon & Schuster on March 1, 2016.
SSN Insight: Paramount TV has optioned the rights to the book. Anonymous Content is under a first-look production deal with Paramount TV.

Brooklyn Animal Control
Network: USA Network
Studio: Universal Cable Productions
Production Company(s): Circle of Confusion, IDW Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): J.T. Petty, David S. Goyer, Rick Jacobs, David Alpert, David Ozer
Writer(s): J.T. Petty
Logline: The series follows the inner workings of a secret subdivision of the NYPD that functions as social services for some of the city’s most unique citizens — werewolves. Delving into the lives of both the Case Officers, and the secretive, highly insular Kveld-Ulf, a community of werewolves living deep in the borough, the show will examine city politics, immigrant communities, and families divided by ambition, secrecy, and tradition.
Details: Based on the comic book, “Brooklyn Animal Control,” written by J.T. Petty and published by IDW Publishing in 2013.
SSN Insight: USA decided not order the series, but it will be redeveloped.

Genius
Network: National Geographic Channel
Studio: Fox 21 Television Studios
Production Company(s): Imagine Television, OddLot Entertainment, EUE/Sokolow
Executive Producer(s): Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane
Writer(s): Noah Pink
Logline: The series tells the stories of the world’s most brilliant innovators. The first season will focus on famous physicist Albert Einstein and explore how an imaginative, rebellious patent clerk — a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn’t get a teaching job with a doctorate — unlocked the mysteries of the atom and the universe through his theory of relativity.
Details: Season 1 is based on the book, “Einstein: His Life and Universe,” written by Walter Isaacson and published by Simon & Schuster on April 10, 2007.
SSN Insight: NatGeo gave a straight to series order on April 28.

I, Rebel
Production Company(s): IM Global
Executive Producer(s): Jane Fleming, Mark Ordesky
Writer(s): Dana Farahani, Siavash Farahani
Logline: An astronaut — lost in space for eight years — crash lands on Earth to find the world colonized and enslaved by a humanoid alien race. His rise from slave to rebel leader will spark a revolution.
SSN Insight: Mark Ordesky was an executive produce on The Lord of the Rings franchise.

Jack Ryan
Network: Amazon
Studio: Amazon Studios, Paramount Television
Production Company(s): Platinum Dunes, Carlton Cuse Productions, Skydance Productions
Executive Producer(s): Graham Roland, Carlton Cuse, Lindsey Springer, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller
Writer(s):
Logline: A new contemporary take on Jack Ryan in his prime as a CIA analyst/operative.
Details: Based on the Jack Ryan novel series, written by Tom Clancy and first published (“The Hunt For Red October”) by US Naval Institute Press on September 1, 1984.
SSN Insight: John Krasinski, best known for his role on The Office, will star as Jack Ryan.

LD50
Production Company(s): IM Global
Executive Producer(s): Scott Dacko
Writer(s): Scott Dacko
Logline: A virus has decimated the male population and created a tenuous balance between a small pocket of healthy men and women and the infected women who surround them.
SSN Insight: Dacko wrote and directed the 2007 film, The Insurgents.

Match Game
Network: ABC Entertainment Group
Production Company(s): FremantleMedia North America
Executive Producer(s): Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Mullin
Logline: Civilian contestants try to guess how a panel of six celebrities will answer comedically tinged fill-in-the-blank questions.
Details: The project is a remake of the game show, “Match Game, ” which premiered on NBC in 1962.
SSN Insight: ABC has given a series order of ten episodes.

Muscle Shoals
Production Company(s): City Entertainment, infinitum nihil, IM Global, Virgin Produced
Executive Producer(s): Johnny Depp, Richard Branson, Christi Dembrowski, Jason Felts, Justin Berfield
Logline: The series will explore the rich and vast milieu of the tumultuous and often poetically tragic segregated South through its colorful characters, rich cultural and political history and southern gothic settings, which became a unique melting pot of diverse musical and cultural traditions.
Details: Inspired by the documentary, “Muscle Shoals,” (2013), directed by Greg Camalier.
SSN Insight: IM Global Television will partner with sister company IM Global Music to make the songs a focal point of the series.

Oklahoma City
Network: Bravo Media
Production Company(s): Evolution Media
Executive Producer(s): Douglas Ross, Alex Baskin
Logline: Oklahoma City is known for its oil rigs, tornadoes and multitude of churches, but this group of hilarious friends is changing the way the winds come sweeping down the plains. These women are proudly challenging the conventions of conservative society and showing an alternative, outrageous side of the never-before-seen tony enclave of Oklahoma City.
SSN Insight: Bravo has given a series order.

Omerta
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Executive Producer(s): Antoine Fuqua, Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein, David Glasser
Writer(s): Justin Herber, Adam Hoff
Logline: To Don Raymonde Aprile’s children he was a loyal family member, their father’s adopted “nephew.” To the FBI he was a man who would rather ride his horses than do Mob business. No one knew why Aprile, the last great American Don, had adopted Astorre Viola many years before in Sicily; no one suspected how he had carefully trained him . . . and how, while the Don’s children claimed respectable careers in America, Astorre Viola waited for his time to come. Based on the novel.
Details: Based on the novel “Omerta,” written by Mario Puzo and published by Random House in 2000. This is the third novel in Mario Puzo’s Mafia trilogy, which includes “The Godfather” and “The Last Don.”
SSN Insight: Project stems from the multiple-year, first-look television deal with The Weinstein Company and Antoine Fuqua. Sylvester Stallone will play the lead role of mob boss Raymonde Aprile.

Planetoid
Production Company(s): IM Global
Logline: An ex-soldier-turned-space-mercenary finds himself stranded on a mysterious planet in alien territory. As he explores the long-abandoned industrial ruins of the planet’s surface, he fends off roving cyborg militias and a hostile alien military with a bounty on his head. Ultimately, he will build a coalition amongst the planetoid’s nomadic tribes and make a final stand against the larger tyrannical forces that rule over them.
Details: Based on the graphic novel, “Planetoid,” written by Ken Garing and published by Image Comics in 2013.
SSN Insight: IM Global Television is out to writers now for the series.

Relative Success with Tabatha Coffey
Network: Bravo Media
Production Company(s): Lime Pictures, All3Media America
Executive Producer(s): Greg Lipstone, Kate Little, Derek McLean, Phil Harris, Paul Osborne
Logline: There are nearly 6 million family businesses in America, and for every one of them all business is personal. No one knows this better than Tabatha Coffey, with her years of experience helping businesses succeed through critical transitions. In each self-contained episode, a family will call upon Tabatha to help them sort out a dramatic, high stakes moment when their fortune and relationships are on the line. Tabatha will use her unique brand of no-nonsense tough love to help these families at a major crossroads and inspire, coax and sometimes shock them with her unapologetic nature into seeing their situation from a completely new perspective.
SSN Insight: Bravo gave a series order.

Summer House
Network: Bravo Media
Production Company(s): True Entertainment, Left Hook Media
Executive Producer(s): Matt Odgers, Scott Teti, Steven Weinstock, Glenda Hersh, Lauren Eskelin
Logline: For years this group of friends has spent their weekends from Memorial Day through Labor Day in one of the most exclusive beach areas on the East Coast. These professionals may keep it together during the week, but as soon as they hit the beach on the weekend, they let loose in a big, aspirational way that is exclusive to this high-end lifestyle.
SSN Insight: Bravo gave a series order. In September 2003, Endemol acquired a 51% stake in True Entertainment.

The Handmaid’s Tale
Network: Hulu
Studio: MGM Television Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Bruce Miller, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Warren Littlefield
Writer(s): Bruce Miller
Logline: The drama tells the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the U.S. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted religious fundamentalism that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred is a handmaid in the commander’s household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world. She is forced to navigate between commanders, their cruel wives, domestic marthas and her fellow handmaids where anyone could be a spy for Gilead all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.
Details: Based on the 1990 movie, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which was based on the novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” written by Margaret Atwood and published in the United States by 1st Anchor Books.
SSN Insight: Hulu has given a series order of ten episodes.

The Lesser Dead
Production Company(s): City Entertainment, IM Global
Executive Producer(s): Joshua Maurer, Alixandre Witlin
Logline: Set among a colony of vampires in 1978 Manhattan when the City that Never Sleeps was still a gritty, dangerous place above ground, and much, much worse below.
Details: Based on the novel, “The Lesser Dead,” written by Christopher Buehlman and published by Berkley on October 7, 2014.
SSN Insight: Alixandre Witlin also executive produced the Rosemary Baby’s miniseries on NBC.

The Lodge
Network: Bravo Media
Executive Producer(s): Andrea Gorfolova, Jameel Bharmal, Jeffrey Hevert, Bruce Toms
Logline: Viewers will go for a wild downhill ride inside an ultra luxurious Whistler ski lodge. This new series follows the hard working lodge staff, whose demanding jobs require catering to the every whim of their vacationing rich clientele. From creating high octane heli-ski adventures or white water rafting to dining at the most exclusive restaurants and being whisked away to remote glacial hot springs, this seasoned staff knows how to make their clients’ dream vacations a reality. However, while living, working, and partying together in close quarters on the lodge property, these sexy staffers are sure to bump heads and break hearts as they navigate the resort hierarchy as well as their outrageous clients.
Details: Ordered to series.
SSN Insight: Bravo gave a series order. Andrea Gorfolova is also an EP on Apres Ski for Bravo, Hollywood Cycle for E!, Human Resources for Pivot, Mission: 4Count for TeenNick and Power & Ice for History.

The Punisher
Network: Netflix
Studio: ABC Studios, Marvel Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Steve Lightfoot
Writer(s): Steve Lightfoot
Logline: The alter ego of military veteran Frank Castle, who wages a one-man war against crime after his wife and children are killed during a shootout by rival mob outfits.
Details: Conceived as a spinoff of the Netflix series, “Daredevil .”
SSN Insight: Marvel’s “The Punisher” marks the sixth series ordered as part of the collaboration between Netflix and Marvel Television. Jon Bernthal will reprise his role.

Then and Now
Network: Bravo Media
Executive Producer(s): Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Andy Cohen
Logline: Andy Cohen turns back the pop-culture clock to 1989, 1994 and 2000 by reviewing nostalgic moments and exploring the legacy of events and developments from those three years.
SSN Insight: Bravo gave a series order. Andy Cohen is also an EP on the Real Housewives series and spin-offs as well as an EP on Top Chef.

These Broken Stars
Studio: MGM Television Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Eric Balfour, Stephanie Varella, Warren Littlefield, Martin Berneman
Writer(s): Simon Davis Barry
Logline: A massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux — the daughter of the richest man in the universe — and Tarver Merendsen — a young war hero who comes from nothing — are the only survivors and must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.
Details: Based on the novel, “These Broken Stars,” written by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner and published by Disney- Hyperion in 2013.
SSN Insight: The project is reportedly being considered for development by Freeform in the U.S. and Sky in the U.K.
Truthing
Network: ITV 1
Production Company(s): Big Talk Productions
Executive Producer(s): Courteney Cox
Writer(s): Mark Chappell
Logline: The series is set in the Clear-Path Institute, a six-day healing retreat that promotes personal growth, transformational experience and inner well-being. It follows the valiant efforts of its charismatic American founder and leader as she struggles to enlighten a fresh intake of truth-seekers.
SSN Insight: ITV ordered the pilot on April 27.

Untitled Amber Rose Talk Show Project
Network: VH1 Network
Production Company(s): Stage 29 Productions, Behind Her Shades Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Amber Rose, Walter Mosley, Dr. Phil McGraw, Jay McGraw, Carla Pennington
Logline: Amber Rose conducts interviews with celebrity friends about pop culture, motherhood, relationships, friendships, race and entrepreneurship.
SSN Insight: VH1 gave a series order on May 3. Amber Rose has been seen on Inside Amy Schumer, Selfie and Fashion Police.

Watership Down
Network: BBC 1
Production Company(s): Biscuit Filmworks, 42, Brown Bag Films
Executive Producer(s): Benjamin Pugh, Rory Aitken, Noam Murro, Josh Varney, Eleanor Moran
Writer(s): Tom Bidwell
Logline: The story follows a group of rabbits who are forced to leave their warren and find new dwellings. Based on the novel.
Details: Based on the novel, “Watership Down,” written by Richard Adams and published by Macmillan in 1972.
SSN Insight: The project will air as a 4-part miniseries. John Boyega, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley and Gemma Arterton have all been cast in the series.

Yours, Mine or Ours
Network: Bravo Media
Production Company(s): JV Productions Inc.
Executive Producer(s): Courtney Campbell, Kirk Hipkiss, Ryan Seacrest
Logline: Committed couples looking to cohabitate enlist the help of boisterous real estate agent Reza Farahan and interior designer and decorator Taylor Spellman to figure out which residence they should call home. Taylor will present stunning design renderings showcasing how to transform their existing spaces while Reza tempts them with brilliant new properties they can make all their own. The couples will have to weigh their options before making the ultimate decision of yours, mine or ours.
Details: Ordered to series. (4/27/2016)
SSN Insight: Bravo has given a series order. Seacrest is also an EP on the CBS pilots Squad Goals, The Doctor’s Brother and The Down Beat.

Zero K
Network: FX Network
Production Company(s): Scott Rudin Productions
Executive Producer(s): Scott Rudin
Logline: Billionaire Ross Lockhart’s younger wife, Artis Martineau, has a terminal illness. Lockhart is a significant investor in a secretive, remote compound where death is controlled and bodies are preserved until medical advances can restore individuals to improved lives. He hopes Artis can benefit from this pioneering science. Based on the novel.
Details: Based on the novel, “Zero K,” written by Don DeLillo and published by Scribner on May 3, 2016.
SSN Insight: FX has optioned the novel. DeLillo has written 15 novels including Cosmopolis which was adapted as a film starring Robert Pattinson and premiered at Cannes in 2012.

Refinery29’s Slate, ScarJo’s Funny Castmates, WB’s ‘Monsterpocalypse’ Helmer, SSN Events Calendar, TV Development For 5/3/16

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SSN ORIGINALS

TV Development For 5/3/16: John Krasinski is the Next Jack Ryan, Johnny Depp Developing ‘Muscle Shoals’, John Boyega in for ‘Watership Down’

Among the other moves happening this week, a new series with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer on board as EPs of a new Nat Geo series, a new role for Alec Baldwin as game show host, and Sylvester Stallone taking his first ever TV role. As usual, there’s plenty more, so click on the link to read on. (SSN)

SSN Events Calendar: Cannes, BookExpo America As Well As ‘Captain America’, ‘X-Men’ & ‘Angry Birds’ Battling At the Box Office in May

Welcome to the merry month of May. Summer movie season officially opens this year with the hotly awaited Captain America: Civil War, releasing on Friday, May 6th. May is also the month of Cannes, which will runs in France this month. But that’s not all as SSN has compiled a list of events for you including all the film releases, TV premieres, events around LA and NYC, book fairs and film festivals. (SSN)

OTHER HEADLINES

NewFronts: Kristen Stewart, Gabourey Sidibe, America Ferrera Join Refinery29’s New Programming Slate

Company announced the partnerships and unveiled more than a dozen original series at its Digital Content NewFronts presentation last night. Refinery29 also announced the launch of VR29 Studios, a virtual-reality production studio, along with two dedicated YouTube channels — comedy channel RIOT and Brawlers, covering women in sports — as well as programming queued up for Facebook Live and Instagram. (VAR)

Scarlett Johansson Gets a Lot Of Very Funny Company In Her New Comedy, ‘Rock That Body’

Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell and Ilana Glazer are all aboard the project, which ollows five friends who rent a beach house in Miami for a bachelorette weekend that builds to an insane crescendo. Sony has Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello, collaborators with Glazer on Broad City, writing the script. In addition, Downs will appear in the film and Aniello will direct. Zoe Kravitz is also part of the cast, and the cameras should be rolling this August. (EMP)

Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston Land Lead Roles In New Thriller, ‘Above Suspicion’

Philip Noyce will direct the film, adapted from the book of the same name by New York Times columnist Joe Sharkey and based on a true story. Film tells the chilling true story of a newly married FBI poster-boy assigned to an Appalachian mountain town in Kentucky. There he is drawn into an illicit affair with an impoverished local woman who becomes his star informant. She sees in him her means of escape; instead, it’s a ticket to disaster for both of them. (CS)

Warner Bros. Finds a New Director For ‘Monsterpocalypse’

Fede Alvarez — who helmed 2013’s Evil Dead remake — is set to take the helm, and now Warner Bros. has won a bidding war is underway over DreamWorks, and Sony to acquire the package, which has Alvarez set to direct and co-write with his writing partner Rodo Sayagues. Project is apparently similar to Pacific Rim in that it features humans in robot suits fighting monsters. (COL)

‘Twilight’ Author Stephenie Meyer Casts Her New YA Film Franchise

Meyer is returning to the world of YA supernatural romance with the new film franchise Anna Dressed in Blood starring Maddie Hasson and Cameron Monaghan. Meyer, who saw wild success as her Twilight series was adapted into five movies, is developing a new film franchise based on Kendare Blaker’s popular two-book series through her production company Fickle Fish Films. (EW)

Miles Teller’s Boxing Film ‘Bleed For This’ Lands Fall Release Date

Movie tells the true story of boxer Vinny Pazienza, who won two world title fights only to be taken down in the prime of his career by a car accident that severed his spine. Trainer Kevin Rooney (played by Aaron Eckhart) works with Vinny to not only get him to walk again, but get him in the ring. It will get a limited release on November 4th, followed by a wider one on the 23rd. (THR)

Financiers Spark To Edison-Westinghouse Pic ‘The Last Days Of Night’; Graham Moore & Morten Tyldum To Reteam

Bids are expected to start coming in today on a hot package sent out to financiers earlier this week. Moore has adapted his upcoming novel and Tyldum has attached himself to direct. Moore won the Oscar for scripting and Tyldum was Oscar nominated for directing The Imitation Game. Moore has adapted his own book, which Random House has set for September 20th publication as a lead fall title. Nora Grossman and Ido Ostrowsky are attached as producers. (DH)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2’

Paramount Pictures has dropped the latest look at the upcoming sequel. Starring Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Danny Woodburn, Tony Shalhoub, Stephen Amell, Tyler Perry, Gary Anthony Williams, Stephen “Sheamus” Farrelly, Fred Armisen, it hits theaters June 3rd. (SF)

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