AWARDS HEADLINES
Don’t Put Too Much Stock In the SAG and Golden Globe Noms, as Oscar Voters Probably Won’t Line Up With Them
It’s partly because 2015 awards attention has been all over the map. But, more important, it’s because members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences are a unique group, who always manage to offer surprises and contradict the early “bellwethers.” (IC)
And, With the Announcement Of the Golden Globe Nominations, There Also Comes a List Of the Snubbed
The thing about the Globes is that everyone in Hollywood giggles at the self-important show, and yet everyone takes it seriously. So this morning’s announcement of the noms for the 73rd annual Hollywood Foreign Press Association shindig undoubtedly left some rather glum as their awards hopes were Scrooged by the 100 or so members of the HFPA. (AL)
OTHER HEADLINES
Film Development for 12/10/15: Benedict Cumberbatch to be ‘The War Magician’, Dwayne Johnson Boards New Line Action Flick, Studio 8 Picks Up Ang Lee Project
A whole passel of new attachments this week, including a new directorial effort for Barbra Streisand, new writers for the Ant-Man, a host of impressive names joining Josh Leonard’s directorial debut, and a new project for Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt. Click the link to read the whole list. (SSN)
Inaugural DGA Diversity Report Comes Out, Reveals Women Make Up Only 6.4% of Film Directors
The DGA’s inaugural Feature Film Diversity Report confirms what was already known: the employment numbers for women directors are deplorably low. The DGA crunched the numbers for the 376 features released in 2013 and 2014 and found that women helmed just 6.4% of those works. That number plummets to 3.1% when considering films with a $10+ million box office. (WAH)
Good News For ‘The Leftovers’ Fans: There Will Be a Third and Final Season
The Damon Lindelof drama drew critical raves this year for its slightly retooled and creative run, but the show lost a significant amount of viewers in between the first and second seasons, meaning it was really a toss up whether HBO would renew the show. Lindelof returns to act as showrunner for the show’s third and final season alongside Tom Perrotta, the author whose novel served as the source material for the series in the first place. (COL)
Netflix Also Gives ‘Grace and Frankie’ a Third Season, Before Season Two Even Premieres
Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda-starring show, which earned Tomlin a Golden Globe nomination, premiered May 8th to mixed reception. Though Netflix doesn’t divulge view counts, the extra 13 episodes for 2017 tacked on indicates it’s more than pleased with its performance. In comparison, House of Cards’ third-season pick-up occurred right before the season 2 debut. (EW)
‘Rogue One’ Writer Chris Weitz to Tackle ‘Mountain Between Us’ for Fox 2000
Weitz will do a rewrite on the drama, which stars Charlie Hunnam and Rosamund Pike as a pair who fall in love while stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash. J. Mills Goodloe and Scott Frank penned earlier drafts of the screenplay. Weitz has been brought in to get the film in shape for an early summer shoot somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, where it will be winter and snowing. Hany Abu-Assad is, based on the 2010 novel by Charles Martin. (THR)
TNT Greenlights Michelle Dockery’s ‘Good Behavior’ & ‘Animal Kingdom’
Behavior, starring Dockery and Juan Diego Botto, tells the story of Letty Dobesh, a thief and a con artist fresh out of prison. When she overhears a hitman being hired to kill a man’s wife, she sets out to derail the job, launching her on a collision course with the killer. Kingdom stars Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Robson, Jake Weary, Finn Cole and Daniella Alonso, and is based on the 2010 Australian film of the same name. (VAR)
No End in Sight For TV Ratings Free Fall, but These Three Shows Are Growing
As the broadcast networks settle in for their long winter’s nap, there is little evidence to suggest that the coming year will spell an end to the ongoing ratings crisis. Through the first 11 weeks of the 35-week regular-season TV schedule, only three legacy programs have improved upon their year-ago ratings numbers, while no fewer than 39 returning series have suffered double-digit percentage declines: Sunday Night Football, Empire, and The Middle. (AA)
Trailer Buzz: ‘The Brothers Grimsby’
Sony Pictures has released the new trailer for the spy spoof, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong, Penelope Cruz, Isla Fischer and Gabourey Sidibe. Louis Leterrier directs from a script by Baron Cohen and Phil Johnston. It hits theaters March 11th, 2016. (CS)