On the Set For 8/14/15: Marlon Wayans Starts ‘Fifty Shades of Black’, Bill Condon Wraps Up ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and More
Among the other projects that are now up and running are Damien Chazelle’s followup to Whiplash and Elijah Bynum directing his own Black List script, while the hostage thriller 6 Days and the drama The Free World both complete principal photography. (SSN)
DC Comics Continues Its Foray Into TV, Sets Up a Show About Non-Heroes At NBC
The series will be DC Entertainment’s first foray into comedy, with a half-hour series focusing on the regular people that call the DCU home. A to Z creator Ben Queen will executive produce the series which is described as “a workplace comedy set at one of the worst insurance companies in America.” The show is about “the reality of working life for a normal, powerless person in a world of superheroes and villains.” (CS)
Big Change At Universal: Co-President Of Production Steps Down To Join Forces With Joe Roth
Jeff Kirschenbaum is leaving his post as co-president of production to partner with Roth in Roth Kirschenbaum Films, a new producing shingle. This comes after Roth’s right hand man, Palak Patel, left to become an executive at Sony Pictures, and it ends long rumors that Kirsch, as he’s called, would be leaving after spending the past few years sharing the production president post with Peter Cramer. (DH)
The Rise Of Cobie Smulders — Movie Star Continues, as She Circles Female Lead In ‘Jack Reacher 2’
The Avengers co-star is in negotiations to star opposite Tom Cruise in the sequel to the 2012 adaptation of the Lee Child novel One Shot. The new film, said to be based on the 2013 novel Never Go Back, follows Reacher as he meets the new head of his old unit and the two try to solve a mystery together. Ed Zwick is directing the project, which will start shooting in New Orleans this fall. (SF)
Relativity Sale Postponed as a $2.5 Million Loan Is Approved
After a flurry of objections this week to the fast-tracked auction of bankrupt Relativity Media, the senior lenders controlling the company agreed to push the sale back two weeks, to October 1st, and to delay final arguments about the bid procedures until late August. Those moves in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan this morning meant that what could have been a contentious debate on the future of the entertainment company was postponed until August 25th. (VAR)
Two Years Ahead Of Its Release, We Know a Little Something About the Plot For ‘Toy Story 4’
Pixar release is set to arrive on June 16, 2017 – but more details have emerged about the film’s plot, straight from the mouth of director John Lasseter. “It’s something we’ve never done with Toy Story before. It’s a love story with Woody and – and this is news – Bo Peep.” Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, best known together as the writing duo behind the indie romance Celeste and Jesse Forever, were part of the initial brain trust behind the story. (EW)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn Scandal Getting Movie Treatment from Warner Bros.
Project about the scandal involving the French economist is from the spec script titled The Libertine by Ben Kopit. The deal also includes a blind script component in which Kopit will write another script for the studio in the near future. Strauss-Kahn was the managing director of the International Monetary Fund until 2011 when he resigned following allegations he had assaulted a hotel maid. The case fell apart due to the questions surrounding the credibility of the maid. (THR)
Today In Reboot News: 20th Century Fox’s ‘League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ Re-Do Will Be Female-Centric
Producer John Davis said this while doing press at the TCAs, but the only complicated thing about that is that the original comic book centers on characters like Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, and Allan Quartermain. Mina Murray, of Dracula fame, is the only central female character in the original story, though others do make appearances in later issues. No word on any kind of timeline for the new adaptation. (COL)
Web Publisher Refinery29 Launches New Influencer Network Called ‘Here and Now’
Company can now offer advertisers access to a hand-selected network of social media influencers across YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and other platforms. The collection of talent is something akin to a handcrafted multichannel network–though in this case, it’s not limited to YouTube talent. (WSJ)
Trailer Buzz: ‘Longmire’
Netflix has released the first teaser trailer from the upcoming fourth season of the hit western. After three seasons on A&E, the show was canceled by the cable net and picked up by the online streaming service, and will now debut its entire fourth season on September 10th. (YT)