SSN ORIGINALS
Exec Shuffle for 11/16/15: Stagwell Acquires Nielsen NRG, AMBI Launches $200M Film Fund, Multiple Moves at NatGeo Global Networks
In addition The Weinstein Company will lay off between 40 and 50 staffers, NextVR, a virtual reality live streaming start-up with a focus on live events, has raised $30.5 million and Lionsgate has made an ownership stake in Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios. (SSN)
OTHER HEADLINES
Today In Remake News: Apparently, Someone Thinks It’s Time To Get a New Take On ‘Memento’
This apparent new version is coming about because AMBI Pictures nabbed the rights recently and has decided that 15 years is long enough for a film to enjoy classic status without being remade. it doesn’t appear that Christopher Nolan is involved, and no other news about the project has been released yet. (EMP)
On the Verge Of a Potential Oscar Nomination, Lenny Abrahamson Finds His Next Project
The Irish director has just been set to direct a film about bisexual boxer Emile Griffith. Though a two-time world welterweight champion, Griffith is best known for beating his opponent Benny “The Kid” Paret to death in the ring in 1962 after the latter taunted him with a gay slur at weigh-in. Abrahamson will co-write the screenplay based on the Donald McRae book A Man’s World: The Double Life of Emile Griffith. (SF)
Julianne Moore and Todd Haynes Will Reunite Again For Kid’s Book Adaptation, ‘Wonderstruck’
Oscar-winner, who worked with Haynes on Safe and Far From Heaven, for which she earned a 2003 Oscar nod, in the adaptation of Brian Selznick’s book. Story follows two kids, both deaf, from different time periods, one from 1927, one from 1977, who run away to New York. Despite the chasm of decades, they are connected by a mystery waiting to be solved. Selznick, whose The Invention of Hugo Cabret was adapted into Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, wrote the script. (THR)
Vin Diesel and Universal Are Exploring the Idea Of ‘Fast and Furious’ Spinoffs
Franchise may take a page from Star Wars and Marvel and develop prequels and spin-offs from the franchise. Diesel, who is also a producer on the series, did not say which characters would get their own standalone films, but in the past, Dwayne Johnson has hinted that he’d like to see his character branch out into independent adventures. Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley confirmed that talks were taking place about ways to broaden the series’ reach. (VAR)
Robert De Niro’s Passion Project, ‘The Comedian’, Finds a Female Lead
Jennifer Aniston will star alongside De Niro in the film, the Art Linson-scripted drama directed by Taylor Hackford that has been a De Niro passion project for years. The film will shoot early next year in New York. De Niro plays a toxic insult comic on the order of a Don Rickles. Aniston meets him at a wedding, and they develop a close relationship. (DH)
John Travolta Becomes the Latest To Join the Star-Studded Cast Of ‘Little Mizz Innocent’
The actor is the latest to join the action/thriller. Travolta’s role in the thriller is kept under wraps, though the story follows a seemingly innocent UN interpreter who becomes pulled into a war between the FBI and a criminal dynasty. Oscar winner Christopher Plummer leads the developing cast, which consists of Carrie Anne Moss, Tyrese Gibson, Ben Kingsley, and Olga Kurylenko in the title role. Xavier Gens is directing. (TB)
Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus 2’ Now Officially Has a Confirmed Title and a Release Date
Twentieth Century Fox has confirmed the film’s new title Alien: Covenant and set an October 6th, 2017 release date for the picture. The studio also released a synopsis of the film, which will follow the crew of the colony ship Covenant, which discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. (COL)
Several Networks Postpone Episodes Of Shows In Light Of Paris Attacks
Among the episodes being pushed from their original air dates are tonight’s episode of Legends on TNT, Supergirl and NCIS:LA on CBS and Jekyll and Hyde on Britain’s ITV. The episode of Legends in question would have seen Sean Bean’s Martin racing against the clock in the search for a woman in Paris. (CB)
Three and Out: ABC Cancels Poorly Received and Barely Viewed ‘Wicked City’
Following three low-rated episodes, ABC has opted to pull anthology drama Wicked City from its schedule, effective immediately. Starting tomorrow, repeats of Shark Tank will take over the drama’s Tuesday at 10 p.m. slot. Production on Wicked City will conclude after episode eight, which is currently filming. It’s unclear when (or if) the five unaired episodes will be broadcast. (LF)