Movie Studios Pull Injunction Demand in MovieTube Lawsuit
In the face of objections raised by prominent tech companies, the Motion Picture Association of America is declaring that it has already accomplished its primary mission in its lawsuit against the anonymous operators of various MovieTube websites. Paramount, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Universal and Disney brought copyright and trademark claims against John and Jane Does as well as XYZ Corporations on July 24th. (THRE)
Toronto Adds Some Star Power, Puts New Sandra Bullock and Robert Redford Films On the Program
David Gordon Green’s Our Brand Is Crisis, starring Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton; James Vanderbilt’s CBS scandal film Truth, starring Cate Blanchett and Redford; and Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke’s Miss You Already, starring Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette, will world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Natalie Portman’s A Tale of Love and Darkness will receive its North American premiere following its debut at Cannes. (VAR)
Jerry Bruckheimer’s New Show Misses Out At Fox, Gets Picked Up By TNT
Kevin Reilly is bringing one of his former Fox dramas home. The TNT and TBS president has handed out a pilot pickup to drama Home. From exec producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Home is described as a dramatic thriller that delves into the secrets lingering behind the facade of a seemingly idyllic suburban family. The drama, from writer Aron Eli Coleite, was previously developed by Reilly during his “no pilots” period at Fox. (TLF)
NBCU Invests $200M In BuzzFeed, Continuing Its Digital Expansion Effort
This is the company’s second major digital media investment this month, following last week’s purchase of a $200 million equity stake in Vox Media. The Comcast-owned entertainment company’s $200 million stake in Buzzfeed gives it entree into one of the Internet’s most popular, and often controversial, news sites. (DH)
‘Annabelle’ Director John Leonetti Has His Next Film Lined Up, and It’s a Comic Adaptation
The latest graphic novel to be picked up for an adaptation into a movie is Boom! Studios’ Tag, created and written by Keith Giffen and drawn by Kody Chamberlain and Chee, with Leonetti attached to helm from a screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. Story is about a man “tagged” by a random stranger, who then discovers his body is decomposing, forcing him to figure out the origins of the curse and decide whether to pass it onto someone else. (CS)
Summit Gets Starry Eyes For Horror Filmmakers, Sets Them Up For ‘Exorcism Diaries’
Mini-studio has been developing the film for a couple years, originally recruiting Barbara Marshall to write back in 2013, with other writers tackling it in the meantime. The film was originally said to be based on a book that purports to chronicle the true stories behind the film The Exorcist. Now Exorcism Diaries the two people who made Starry Eyes, Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch, have been brought on to rewrite and direct. (SF)
Universal Brings In ‘Ben and Kate’ Creator To Write a New Romantic Comedy
Dana Fox will pen Best Thing That Ever Happened for the studio and producer Marc Platt. The plot centers around a woman who works as a sort of ‘break-up artist’, professionally helping other women move past their failed relationships. But when she goes through a terrible break-up of her own, the therapist becomes her own worst client. (TB)
Increasing Your Workflow: Five Ways Weekends Can Boost Your Productivity Monday Through Friday
A long, stress-filled workweek can drain all your energy and leave you exhausted by Friday afternoon. Then on Monday morning, you know you have to start the whole cycle all over again. You need rest, relaxation and rejuvenation to be refreshed and ready to work. Weekends are an ideal time to recharge your depleted energy reserves by reconnecting with the power sources that fuel your mind, body and spirit. (EC)
Looking Forward To New TV Next Month? Here Are the 10 Most Anticipated Shows
We have officially hit the summer dead zone. There’s not much going on in the world of television right now. That will all change in September, when the fall season returns, late-night television gets a couple of new faces, and we get to sample a lot of new series, many of which will probably fail by December. What do we have to look forward to the most, beyond Fear the Walking Dead, which premieres this Sunday? Read on. (UR)
Online Film School: Five Filmmaking Tips From the Five ‘Mission: Impossible’ Directors
Key to the variation component of this franchise’s formula is the fact that each film has been helmed by a different director, with each helmer offering certain sensibilities while also making good on whatever they and star/producer Tom Cruise agree a Mission: Impossible film to be. Together, these films have constructed a fascinating case for examining the end results of a repetition-and-difference formula, where a star actor-producer is the series’ architect. (FSR)