Hot Auction Going For Janis Joplin Pic With Michelle Williams

An auction is going on right now for Janis, a package for the long-awaited film about iconic ’60s singer Janis Joplin.  Sean Durkin is directing, and Michelle Williams is firmly set to play the singer. (DH)

Apocalyptic Comedy ‘Good Omens’, From ‘American Gods’ Author, Coming To Amazon As Limited Series Event

Amazon announced that it has ordered to series Good Omens, a six-part comedy based on the acclaimed fantasy novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. (TVL)

2017 People’s Choice Awards: See The Complete Winner’s List

Ellen DeGeneres was the night’s biggest honoree, winning her record-breaking 20th People’s Choice Award after a fun introduction from fellow winner Justin Timberlake. (PP)

Nick Cassavetes Going On ‘Honeymoon With Harry’

Nick Cassavetes has come on board New Line Cinema’s drama-comedy Honeymoon with Harry, based on the Bart Baker novel. (VAR)

Fox & DeVon Franklin Set Miracle Tale ‘The Impossible’

2oth Century Fox and Miracles From Heaven producer DeVon Franklin have preemptively acquired The Impossible, a book proposal by Joyce Smith that tells the inspiring true story of John Smith. (DH)

Pixar Video Reveals Hidden Easter Eggs And How All Of Their Movies Are Connected

The clip shows Nemo making a cameo in Monsters Inc, Riley from Inside Out in Finding Dory and many other fun connections.  (IW)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Logan’

Hugh Jackman is back in the film’s second trailer.  The Fox film opens March 3. (FOR)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Power Rangers’

Dean Israelite directed the Lionsgate reboot, and it stars RJ Cyler, Becky G., Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott and Dacre Montgomery as the Rangers. (THR)

Paramount Pictures Gets A $1 Billion Infusion From China

A $1 billion financing deal with two Chinese firms promises Viacom Inc.’s struggling Paramount Pictures some much-needed funds and a foothold in the world’s second-largest box-office market. (WSJ)

‘Fun Mom Dinner’ Racks Up Near $5M In WW Deals As Momentum & Netflix Buy Sundance Film

In yet another preemptive deal before Sundance, eOne’s Momentum Pictures has closed North American theatrical distribution and Netflix got multi-territory SVOD rights to Fun Mom Dinner. (DH)

Anne Hathaway Joining Rebel Wilson In ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ Remake

Anne Hathaway is in talks to join Rebel Wilson in MGM’s remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to be titled Nasty Women.  (THR)

ABC Orders Pilots For Greg Berlanti Magician Drama, Dan Dworkin-Jay Beattie Time-Travel Show

ABC has ordered two drama pilots — Deception from Greg Berlanti and The Crossing from Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie. (VAR)

Shazam Split Into Two Movies With Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam Getting His Own

Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam will now get his own standalone film in the DC Universe. This will be in addition to the Shazam movie. (IGN)

Stephen Gaghan Takes On Video Game Adaptation ‘The Division’ For Ubisoft

Oscar-winning writer/director Stephen Gaghan is set to direct the cinematic adaptation of the dystopian video game The Division. The film will also star Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal. (IW)

Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco & Thomas Mann Head To Nicole Holofcener’s ‘The Land Of Steady Habits’

Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco and Thomas Mann have been set to star in Nicole Holofcener’s new project, The Land of Steady Habits. The film, based on Ted Thompson’s novel, will be produced by Anthony Bregman through his New York-based banner Likely Story with Stefanie Azpiazu. (DH)

‘Sneaky Pete’ Renewed By Amazon For Season 2

Amazon has renewed Sneaky Pete for a second season, less than one week after Season 1 actually arrived. (WRAP)

Trailer Buzz: ‘Colossal’

Colossal stars Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens and Tim Blake Nelson, and is slated to land in US theaters on April 7, 2017. (COLL)

Rooney Mara-Ben Mendelsohn Pic ‘Una’ Lands At Swen 

Swen is launching its U.S. arm, snagging rights to Una, the drama that stars Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn and Riz Ahmed based on David Harrower’s provocative Olivier-winning play Blackbird. (DH)

‘Vikings’ Star Travis Fimmel To Develop Wyatt Earp Series For History

Fimmel is teaming up with the network to develop a scripted anthology series about Wyatt Earp.  The actor, who brought the idea to the network and A+E Studios, wrote the first episode and will executive produce and star. (VAR)

Berlin Festival Rounds Out Lineup With Stanley Tucci, Catherine Deneuve Titles

The Berlin International Film Festival finalized its competition lineup of films that will compete for this year’s Gold and Silver Bears. (THR)

Casting Society Of America: Artios Awards Winners Include ‘La La Land,’ ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Manchester By The Sea’

Casting Society of America handed out the Artios Awards in Beverly Hills, winners included all three Oscar frontrunners for Best Picture: La La Land, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea. (GD)

‘Wind River’ Partners Riverstone Pictures & Thunder Road Make Overall Deal 

Riverstone Pictures and Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road Pictures have made a multi-year financing, production and development deal to generate an annual output of three to five films. (DH)

‘Black-ish’ Spinoff Eyed At ABC

ABC is looking to expand its black-ish franchise via a spinoff centered on eldest daughter Zoey, played by Yara Shahidi. (TVL)

6 TV Power Players To Watch In 2017

Meet the muscle behind the scenes of some of the new favorite shows, including Riverdale and The Handmaid’s Tale. (VF)

HEADLINES

‘Split’ Stuns With $40.2 Million Opening Weekend

At 3,038 theaters, Split premiered to a solid B+ grade on CinemaScore and an astounding $40.2 million in ticket sales — more than the debut grosses of The Sixth Sense ($26.7 million) and Unbreakable ($30.3 million). (EW)

James Cameron And Tim Miller Teaming On A New ‘Terminator’ Movie

SUNDANCE ROUNDUP

Sundance: Amazon Acquires ‘The Big Sick’ For $12 Million

In what appears to be the first major sale of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Amazon has acquired U.S. rights for The Big Sick for a reported $12 million. A bidding war between executives at Fox Searchlight, Netflix, Focus Features and Amazon began shortly after the film’s premiere. (FOR)

Focus Features To Acquire ‘Thoroughbred’

Focus Features is closing in on acquiring Thoroughbred, after some competitive bidding. The deal is reportedly in the $5 million range and drew interest from buyers that included The Orchard and Netflix. (WRAP)

The Orchard Acquires ‘The Hero’ Starring Sam Elliott

Brett Haley’s drama premiered Saturday in the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition. (IW)

Neon In Mid-7 Figure NA Rights Deal For ‘Ingrid Goes West’: Sundance

Tom Quinn and Tim League’s upstart distribution company Neon has made a NA rights deal for around $3 million on Ingrid Goes West, the Matt Spicer-directed drama that premiered Friday night. (DH)

Bleecker Street Nabs ‘Nostalgia’ With Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn

Bleecker Street has nabbed North American distribution rights to Nostalgia. Mark Pellington directs with a cast that includes Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, Catherine Keener, Bruce Dern, Nick Offerman, Amber Tamblyn, John Ortiz, and James LeGros.  (VAR)

Sundance: Sony Classics Nabs 1960s Nun Drama ‘Novitiate’

Sony Classics is heading to the convent with Novitiate. The specialty label has acquired worldwide rights to the Maggie Betts-helmed film for mid-seven figures.  (THR)

The Orchard And CNN Acquire Documentary ‘Trophy’

The doc that premiered at Sundance Friday looks at the evolving relationship between big-game hunting and wildlife conservation. (IW)

ACADEMY AWARDS SPECIAL EDITION

Nominations for the 89th annual Academy Awards will be announced bright and early tomorrow morning, so in preparation here is SSN’s rundown of all you need to know.

2017 Oscar Nominations Predictions By Film: ‘La La Land’ Will Make History With Record-Tying 14 Bids

La La Land will tie the record for the most Oscar nominations ever according to predictions. Gold Derby is predicting a whopping 14 bids for the modern-day musical romance, which would tie the record shared by All About Eve and Titanic. (GD)

Final Oscar Predictions: 5 Lingering Questions With Nominations On The Way

Ballots were due on Friday and the nail-biting will finally cease at 5am on Tuesday, Jan. 24. It’s been another jam-packed phase one for Oscar season, though one that didn’t have quite as many twists and turns as you’d expect.  (VAR)

Deadline’s Pete Hammond & Gold Derby’s Tom O’Neil Predict Final Best Picture Nominees In Latest Smackdown (Watch)

Gold Derby’s Tom O’Neil and Deadline’s Pete Hammond go at it again, trying to determine exactly how it will all fall into place in the hotly contested Best Picture race this year. (AW)

2017 Oscar Predictions By Indiewire

Academy voters have turned in their nominations ballots. Get a rundown on frontrunners in each category here. (IW)

Oscar Watch: Heading For The Last Roundup Before Nominations

Time for another edition of Oscar Watch, as we puzzle through the latest news and developments leading up to the academy’s revealing of its nominees on Jan. 24. (LAT)

2017 Oscar Nominations Predictions: Who Will Make the Cut?

Colliders’ predictions for the nominees in all of the categories using every piece of possible information to predict what they think will land on the Academy’s shortlist. (COLL)

Oscar Nominations: How Will The Newest Members Affect The Results?

Now that group of 683 people, which is 46 percent women and 41 percent people of color, is getting its first say in the Oscars, just how much these new members will affect the taste culture at the Academy?  (VF)

Oscar Ballots 2017: Here’s What’s Happens Next

What, exactly, are those guys from PricewaterhouseCoopers doing with the choices that 6,687 potential voters have made in 24 different categories? (WRAP)

Oscar Nominations 2017: 14 For ‘La La Land,’ And 6 For Black Actors

Oscar voters showered the neo-musical La La Land with 14 nominations on Tuesday, a tie with Titanic and All About Eve for the most in Academy Award history. (NYT)

Oscars: The Biggest Snubs And Surprises From This Year’s Nominations

The nominations for the 89th Academy Awards were announced, and just as there are every year, there were a few surprises. In terms of genuine snubs, there was maybe one or two, but nothing shockingly egregious. (COLL)

Oscar Leaderboard: ‘La La Land’ Dominates Nominations, ‘Arrival’ And ‘Moonlight’ Shine

Buoyed by La La Land, Hacksaw Ridge, and Deepwater Horizon, Summit Entertainment led the distributors with 22 noms. It was followed by Paramount, whose films includes Arrival, Fences, and Florence Foster Jenkins. (VAR)

Not So White After All: Oscar Nominations End Diversity Drought With New Honorees

After a two-year diversity drought in its acting categories, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences showered nominations on six African-American themed films, at least ten black actors and filmmakers, and an Indian adventure, Lion. (DH)

ABC Orders ‘Good Doctor’ Pilot From House EP, ‘Five-0’s’ Daniel Dae Kim

ABC has given a pilot order to The Good Doctor and for Doomsday, a drama from CSI producer Carol Mendelsohn and Justified  writers Mark Bianculli and VJ Boyd. (TVL)

Netflix Acquires Documentary About Hulk Hogan’s Fight With Gawker

Netflix is continuing its splurge on new movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, acquiring the worldwide rights for legal documentary Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press, helmed by Brian Knappenberger. (VER)

Sundance: Netflix Acquires ‘The Incredible Jessica James’

Netflix has purchased the worldwide rights for The Incredible Jessica James, the closing night film of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The deal reportedly went for over $3 million. (FOR)

Alan Cumming Stars In ‘Killer Instinct’ Pilot From James Patterson Picked Up By CBS

CBS keeps up its procedural game with orders for two new pilots, including Killer Instincts starring Alan Cumming. (VUL)

Amazon Scraps ‘Highston’ Comedy Series From Bob Nelson & Sacha Baron Cohen

The streaming service picked up to series the pilot — written by Oscar-nominee Bob Nelson, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and executive produced by Sacha Baron Cohen — in December 2015. (DH)

Paramount Buys Spy Novel ‘A Woman Of No Importance’ For ‘Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley

Paramount Pictures has acquired the Sonia Purnell book A Woman Of No Importance, and has attached Star Wars‘ Daisy Ridley to star. (DH)

Sundance: ‘Patti Cake$’ Nabbed By Fox Searchlight For $10.5M

Annapurna Pictures, The Orchard, Amazon and Neon were also among the distributors who had pursued the hip-hop-inspired film fronted by newcomer Danielle Macdonald. (THR)

Amazon Studios Acquires Jenny Slate Sundance Hit ‘Landline’

Amazon Studios has acquired the U.S. rights to Landline, a comedy starring Jenny Slate set in the 1990s, The deal was in the mid-seven figure range. (WRAP)

ABC Developing Comedy From Gabriel Iglesias, Ryan Seacrest

ABC is developing an untitled comedy from comedian Gabriel Iglesias and Ryan Seacrest. Nina Wass and Andrea Shay, Joe Meloche, Jay Lavender and Anthony Edwards, and Cheryl Dollins serve as executive producers. (VAR)

‘The Librarians’ Renewed For Season 4

The cable network announced today that it had renewed the fantastical drama for a fourth season. (TVL)

Seth Meyers, Mike O’Brien, And Lorne Michaels Are Bringing Their ‘SNL’ Chops To NBC In New Pilot

Seth Meyers, Mike O’Brien, and Lorne Michaels have been given the green light to make a comedy pilot for NBC. (VUL)

‘Every Which Way But Loose’ Remake Planned

Anthony G. Cohen has been tapped to direct a remake of the iconic 1978 Clint Eastwood comedy Every Which Way but Loose. (DAR)

Ice Cube Partners With Hong Kong Investor Kelvin Wu

Ice Cube is expanding into Asia as his Cube Vision production company has entered into a strategic partnership with Kelvin Wu’s AID Partners, a Hong Kong media investment company. (VAR)

Screenwriters: The Three Reasons You Haven’t Sold A Script

If you’re still in the “aspiring” category – that ever-so-polite euphemism for writers who are working away, wishing and hoping for a tangible sign of their progress toward becoming a professional – how do you become a “real” writer? (SM)

Tribune Media CEO Peter Liguori To Step Down

Tribune Media Co. Chief Executive Officer Peter Liguori is resigning after four years at the helm, during which time he slimmed the media company down to focus more on its broadcast and cable-programming holdings. (WSJ)

Universal Wins Bidding War For Michael Bay-Produced Script About Trump-Like Dystopia

Little America is set in a future where a U.S. president has bankrupt America and China has called in its debts. (THR)

Netflix Buys Anorexia Drama ‘To The Bone’, Starring Lily Collins And Keanu Reeves

Netflix has added drama To the Bone to its film-festival shopping cart. Written and directed by Marti Noxon and based on her own experiences living with an eating disorder, the movie stars Lily Collins. (VUL)

Fox Searchlight Takes Sundance Doc ‘Step’

Fox Searchlight Pictures announced that the company has acquired worldwide distribution and remake rights to director and producer Amanda Lipitz’s inspiring documentary Step. (CS)

Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Investment Venture WndrCo Raises $591.5 Million

Jeffrey Katzenberg, after exiting DreamWorks Animation following Comcast’s acquisition of the studio, has raised nearly $600 million for his next act: a digital media and technology investment firm called WndrCo. (VAR)

Michelle Williams Joins Jonah Hill’s Directorial Debut

Michelle Williams is in negotiations to join Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, Mid-90s. Hill wrote the coming-of-age tale and has won the chance to direct it for producer Scott Rudin and production company A24. (EMP)

Netflix Wins Bidding War For ‘Eggplant Emoji’ From Ben Stiller, ‘Workaholics’ Creators

Netflix has risen to the occasion to win a bidding war for The Eggplant Emoji, a spec by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, the creators of digital animated series Gentlemen Lobsters. (THR)

Last Big Sundance Auction? 4 Bids For ‘Roxanne Roxanne’

There are four distributors vying for Roxanne Roxanne, the Michael Larnell-directed pic. The bidding is near $3 million for North American rights, with Amazon, Lionsgate, Miramax and Neon in the mix right now. (DH)

Bryan Cranston To Star in ‘Network’ Stage Adaptation

Bryan Cranston will be sitting at the news desk of Howard Beale in Ivo van Hove’s stage adaptation of the 1976 satirical classic, Network. (BW)

Paula Patton To Star In ABC Thriller ‘Somewhere Between’

Paula Patton will star in a summer drama series for ABC called Somewhere Between, which has a 10-episode straight-to-series order from the network. (TVG)

‘The Passage’ Pilot Greenlit

Fox has ordered a pilot for a TV series version of vampire tale The Passage from executive producer Ridley Scott. Writer Elizabeth Heldens is tackling the script.  (EW)

Adam Scott/Craig Robinson Comedy ‘Ghosted’ Scares Up Pilot Order At Fox

The network has ordered a pilot for Ghosted, starring TV vets Adam Scott and Craig Robinson as a pair of L.A.-based ghost hunters. (TVL)

Amazon Acquires ISIS Documentary ‘City of Ghosts’ — Sundance 2017

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Matt Heineman’s film premiered last Saturday in Sundance’s U.S. Documentary Competition section. (IW)

Fox 2000 Wins $2M Pitch Deal For ‘The Beauty Inside;’ GOT’s Emilia Clarke To Star

In a $2 million deal, Fox 2000 beat out five other bidders for The Beauty Inside, a pitch that will be written by The Fault in Our Stars scribes Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, as a star vehicle for Emilia Clarke. (DH)

ABC Picks Up Comedy Pilot ‘The Trustee’ From Elizabeth Banks, Max Handelman

ABC has picked up The Trustee, a comedy pilot from writers Jay Scherick and David Ronn, plus executive producers Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman. (VAR)

Mindy Kaling To Co-Star In, Produce Comedy Pilot For NBC

NBC has ordered a single-camera comedy from the Mindy Project star/creator and Charlie Grandy. (TVL)

Sony Classics Picks Up Global Rights To ‘Brigsby Bear’

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to Brigsby Bear, a dark comedy from Dave McCary. (WRAP)

‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Is Aiming For Broadway, As A Musical

The pop star Elton John and the playwright Paul Rudnick have signed on to write a musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada. (NYT)

Terrence Malick Plans To Release ‘Radegund’ & Perfume Commercial With Angelina Jolie In 2017

Terrence Malick has directed a commercial for Guerlain perfumes starring Angelina Jolie, and that the commercial will be released sometime in March. (COLL)

Critics’ Picks: The 15 Best Films At Sundance 2017

A stunning gay romance (Call Me by Your Name), an epic Southern saga (Mudbound) and an unusual take on the JonBenet Ramsey case (Casting JonBenet) are among the fest’s standouts. (THR)

Passion Projects Like ‘La La Land’ Make For Great Stories, But Hollywood’s Not Yet Buying It

Got a dream and a killer movie idea? It will make a great story in your Oscar speech—if you can find anyone to make it, that is. (VF)

Sony Warns Of $962 Million Goodwill Loss, Says Studio Is Not For Sale

Sony Corp. has revealed that its Pictures Division will take an “impairment loss” of $962 million in the three months to December, the third quarter of its financial year. (VAR)

Max Minghella Directing ‘Teen Spirit’

Max Minghella is stepping up to direct one of his own scripts entitled Teen Spirit, and has La La Land‘s producer, Fred Berger, aiding him. (EMP)

CW Takes Sky Adventure Series ‘Hooten & The Lady’ For U.S.

Sky Vision, the international production and distribution arm of Sky, says the deal marks its first one with the U.S. network. (THR)

Gina Rodriguez Signs Overall Deal With CBS Studios

Jane The Virgin star Gina Rodriguez and her production company I Can and I Will Productions have signed a multi-year overall deal with CBS Studios. (WRAP)

‘Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger': Olivia Holt, Aubrey Joseph Cast In Freeform Series

Disney Channel alum Olivia Holt and The Night Of‘s Aubrey Joseph have landed the leads in Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger, an upcoming series at Freeform. (TVL)

NBC Gives ‘The Good Place’ A Second Season

NBC has picked up The Good Place for a 13-episode second season. The half-hour sitcom from Parks and Recreation vet Mike Schur follows Kristen Bell’s adventures in the afterlife alongside a mysterious supernatural being with an affinity for bowties played by Ted Danson. (VUL)

Steve Shill On Board To Direct ‘All The Queen’s Men’ Historical Series

Steve Shill has been tapped to direct the epic series All the Queen’s Men from a script written by Stewart Harcourt. The series is being developed for Tayox TV and Ingenious Media. (DH)

OWN Orders A New Tyler Perry Comedy, Cancels 2 Others

The Paynes will join the schedule, while Love Thy Neighbor and For Better or Worse are set to end after their upcoming seasons. (THR)

CN Greenlights ‘Summer Camp Island’ Based On Julia Pott Short

Cartoon Network has given the greenlight to an animated series based Julia Pott’s original short, Summer Camp Island. The short film just completed a hot run at the Sundance Film Festival. (AM)

Ben Affleck Quits As ‘The Batman’ Movie Director

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Ben Affleck has confirmed he will not direct the planned upcoming superhero movie The Batman. (FOR)

‘Scarface’ Remake Loses Director Antoine Fuqua

The director has already invested a lot of time in a sequel to The Equalizer, and Sony and Denzel Washington want Fuqua busy prepping the film. That leaves him no time to work on Scarface, which Universal wants to start shooting by the spring. (COLL)

Saoirse Ronan Reunites With ‘Brooklyn’ Producer For ‘Sweetness In The Belly’ — Berlin

Saoirse Ronan is attached to star in Sweetness in the Belly, based on the bestselling novel by Camilla Gibb. (DH)

CBS Picks Up Pilot For Mexican-American Family Cop Drama From Paul Attanasio

CBS has ordered a pilot for a Mexican-American family drama from Paul Attanasio who will serve as writer and executive producer, along with Leonard Goldberg, David Barrett and Rodrigo Garcia, who will direct the pilot.  (VAR)

Paramount Sets ‘Daddy’s Home 2′ For November Release

Mel Gibson and John Lithgow are eyed to join Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in the sequel. (THR)

Rapunzel Returns In March For ‘Tangled’ TV Movie & Series

Disney Channel has dated the small-screen debut of the all-new animated movie and TV series set in the world of Disney’s Tangled for March 10, leading into the premiere of Tangled: The Series on March 24. (AM)

Fox Adds Pair Of Workplace Comedy Pilots

Type A is from Life in Pieces duo Lesley Wake Webster, while L.A. to Vegas is produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy. (THR)

Memo To Distributors: Buy These 2017 Sundance Film Festival Movies

It was a strong year for distribution deals at Sundance, but a few highlights still need homes. (IW)

Leonardo DiCaprio To Star In, Produce Paramount Adaptation ‘The Black Hand’

Leonardo DiCaprio will star in and produce an adaptation of Stephan Talty’s book The Black Hand for Paramount Pictures. (VAR)

Hot Package: ‘This Is Us’ Creator Dan Fogelman Casts ‘Life Itself’

FilmNation Entertainment is about to hit the market with a hot package to be written/directed by Dan Fogelman. Fogelman previously set Oscar Isaac to star in Life Itself, and joining him will be Olivia Wilde, Olivia Cooke, Antonio Banderas, Laia Costa and Samuel L. Jackson. (DH)

SXSW 2017 Film Festival Lineup Announced

The lineup for this year’s slate of films was announced and includes titles like Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, the Brie Larson-starring action-comedy Free Fire, and recent Sundance breakout The Big Sick.  (EW)

A24 Acquires Sundance Drama ‘Menashe’ In First Foreign-Language Buy

The Sundance entry was filmed in secret and is one of the first films to be performed almost entirely in Yiddish in nearly 70 years. (IW)

Michael Pena To Star In Alien Invasion Flick ‘Extinction’

One of the movies hoping to happen out of the Berlin Film Festival is Extinction, which just landed Michael Pena to star. The story was written by Eric Heisserer as well as Spenser Cohen and Brad Caleb Kane. (AC)

Lucy Hale’s ‘Life Sentence’ Among Latest Pilot Orders From The CW

Pretty Little Liars‘ Lucy Hale is set to serve a Life Sentence as the lead of a drama pilot picked up by The CW. (TVL)

Courtney Love To Star In Menendez Brothers Movie For Lifetime

The female-skewing cable network has tapped singer-actress Courtney Love to star in a TV movie about the Menendez family. (BILL)

Johnny Knoxville And Paramount Get Started On ‘Jackass’-Style Comedy, ‘Action Park’

Dickhouse Productions, is collaborating with Paramount to produce a new Knoxville-centered flick called Action Park. (WRAP)

‘Hamilton’ Producer, Jason Katims Team For NBC High School Drama Pilot

Drama High will be written by former Parenthood and Friday Night Lights showrunner Katims. (THR)

Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn Reteam For Thriller ‘Dragged Across Concrete’

S. Craig Zahler wrote the script and will direct the crime thriller, which will be introduced to buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market. (THR)

Dane DeHaan Joins Voice Cast Of ‘The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island’

Dane DeHaan has just joined Martin Sheen and J.K. Simmons in the voice cast for the upcoming animated feature The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island from Legacy Classics and Shout! Factory Kids. (DH)

‘HIMYM’ Creators’ Workplace Comedy Pilot Ordered At CBS

CBS is back in business with How I Met Your Mother creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, having ordered a pilot for a workplace comedy they’re executive-producing. (TVL)

Open Road Buys Animated Comedy ‘Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad’

Open Road Films has acquired all U.S. rights to the animated comedy Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad from Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Ambi Media Group. (VAR)

Cary Fukunaga Netflix Series ‘Maniac’ Gets Start Date

Fukunaga will direct the 10-episode dark comedy series Maniac for Netflix, with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill starring. Filming is now set to begin on August 15th in New York City.  (COLL)

ABC Orders Spy Dramedy Starring Toni Collette, Heist Drama From ‘Zoo’ Producers

ABC has given pilot orders to Unit Zero, from Black-ish producers Kenya Barris and Lindsay Shockley with Toni Collette attached to star and Salamander, from the four executive producers behind the CBS summer drama Zoo. (WRAP)

Oxygen To Rebrand As Crime Network

Oxygen is rebranding itself as a crime network for women. The cable network recently expanded its “Crime Time” weekend block to Friday-Monday and will continue to increase its crime-oriented programming leading up to a summer rebrand. (BC)

Who Wants To Be A Studio Chief? Legendary Ouster Sparks Hollywood Exec Scramble

Wanda’s decision to part ways with CEO Thomas Tull could trigger a domino effect of top executive moves as several studios may be impacted and one person — ousted Fox film chief Jim Gianopulos — sits in the middle of the speculation. (THR)

John Lennon, Yoko Ono Love Story Movie In The Works

Producer Michael De Luca is working with Ono on an untitled feature that would track her relationship with the Beatle. Scribe Anthony McCarten will pen the feature and act as a producer on the project, along with Ono, De Luca and Immersive Pictures’ Josh Bratman. (THR)

Amazon Wins ‘Unfit’ Auction; Dakota Johnson Circling RatPac Drama

Amazon Studios just won a multi-studio bidding battle and has paid mid-six figures for Unfit, a spec script by Melissa London Hilfers that RatPac will produce, with Fifty Shades of Grey‘s Dakota Johnson circling. (DH)

Carol Burnett May Return To TV In Amy Poehler ABC Comedy Pilot

ABC has given a pilot order to Household Name, a multi-camera comedy from Amy Poehler starring iconic actress Carol Burnett. (EW)

Corin Hardy Directing ‘The Nun’

Director Corin Hardy has accepted a new job, taking on the latest spin-off to emerge from James Wan’s Conjuring films, The Nun. (EMP)

Former STX Production Head Cathy Schulman Launches Welle Entertainment

Former STX President of Production Cathy Schulman has launched a new production and finance company called Welle Entertainment and entered a co-venture with Primary Wave Entertainment. (WRAP)

‘The Goldbergs’ Spinoff Set In ’90s Snags Formal Pilot Order At ABC

ABC is moving forward with a ’90s-set spinoff of its ’80s-set hit The Goldbergs, with the network officially handing the project a pilot order.  (TVL)

Greg Berlanti’s ‘Black Lightning’ Might Move To The CW, Join The Arrowverse

Another comic book show executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Black Lightning, is reportedly eyeing a move from FOX to The CW to presumably take place within the shared DC Universe/multiverse of Supergirl, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow. (CB)

The CW Orders Army Pilot ‘Valor’

The younger-skewing network has greenlit a pilot for Valor, written by scribe Kyle Jarrow who will serve as an executive producer with Bill Habor. CBS Television Studios is producing. (VAR)

Zoe Saldana To Master Even More Ways To Kill People For New Role In ‘Hummingbird’

The movie comes from a Black List script by John McClain, and Saldana will play a black-ops level killer for hire whose latest contract forces her to confront who she really is. (VUL)

Melissa McCarthy-Produced Family Comedy Snags Fox Pilot Pickup

The network handed out a pilot pickup to the Melissa McCarthy- and Ben Falcone-produced comedy Amy’s Brother. (THR)

Andrea Wong Exits As President Of Sony Pictures TV International Production

Andrea Wong is leaving her post as president, international production for Sony Pictures Television and president, international for Sony Pictures Entertainment. (DH)

‘The LEGO Movie Sequel’ Hires ‘Trolls’ Director Mike Mitchell

Rob Schrab was previously making his feature debut on The LEGO Movie 2. However, it now turns out that he’s off the project, and the studio has brought in Trolls helmer Mike Mitchell. (COLL)

John Lithgow Boards ‘Pitch Perfect 3′

Edie Falco Snags Key Role In NBC’s ‘Law & Order’ Menendez Brothers Drama

She’ll play attorney Leslie Abramson in the anthology Law & Order: True Crime. (THR)

‘Charmed’, ‘The Lost Boys’ Reboots Delayed Until 2018 At The CW

The network’s previously announced reboots of Charmed and The Lost Boys will be redeveloped with an eye towards launching them in the 2018-19 season. (TVL)

Greg Berlanti’s Superhero Series ‘Black Lightning’ Gets CW Pilot Order

Black Lightning has a pilot order at The CW. Wife-and-husband team Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil will write and co-produce it. (VUL)

New Line Taps German Helmer Christian Ditter For Pic Pair

Germany-born director Christian Ditter has set his original treatment States Of Emergency at New Line with a first option to produce and direct. (DH)

Weekend Box Office: ‘Split’ Is A Bonafide Hit, Crosses $100 Million

Split is already Shyamalan’s best domestic opening of the decade; in only its second weekend, having dropped just 34%, Split has already crossed $100 million globally. (COLL)

Damien Chazelle Wins DGA Award For ‘La La Land’

La La Land continued its charmed run through awards season, this time at the Directors Guild of America Awards. There, Damien Chazelle claimed the top prize, winning Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film. (EW)

Annie Awards 2017 Winners: The Complete List

Disney’s Zootopia and Moana are just two of of the many animated flicks who won an Annie, the highly-coveted accolade being handed out during the annual festivities at UCLA’s Royce Hall Saturday. Bob’s Burgers was among the television winners. (EO)

‘Lion’ Roars Over Competition For Top Cinematography Prize

Lion won the top prize at the American Society of Cinematographers Awards on Saturday.  The award went to DP Greig Fraser. (WRAP)

DGA Names Russ Hollander To Succeed Jay Roth As New Chief Executive

Russ Hollander will be the DGA’s next chief executive succeeding Jay Roth, who is retiring in May after leading the guild for more than two decades. (DH)

Kristin Scott Thomas To Direct ‘Sea Change’

Kristin Scott Thomas will make her directorial debut with the romantic drama film adaptation of Elizabeth Jane Howard’s acclaimed novel The Sea Change. (DAR)