AWARDS HEADLINES
Black Film Critics Names Their Top Ten Films of the Year
The Black Film Critics Circle has voted Creed as the best film of 2015, but which nine films also made their list? Click here to find out. (BBC)
OTHER HEADLINES
Just How Much Money Did ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Actors Earn to Join a Galaxy Far, Far Away?
Harrison Ford picked up a reported $25 million to reprise his role, but Daisy Ridley didn’t come close to that payday. Stars will also have to wait until the film crosses $1 billion at the box office to collect back-end bonuses. (VAR)
11 Shows Given Holiday Presents in the Form of California Tax Credits
ABC’s Mistresses, rookie dramas Code Black and Rosewood and the Syfy telepic Sharknado 4 are among the 11 TV projects that received an early Christmas gift from the state of California today. (DL)
Need Money for Your Film? Head to New Zealand as Cloud 9 Launches $100 Million Film Fund
Indus Media and Entertainment is teaming with Raymond Thompson’s Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group — best known for The Tribe — to develop and produce motion picture, TV and animation titles. (VAR)
ABC Greenlights ‘When We Rise’ Eight-Part Mini from Gus Van Sant & Dustin Lance Black
Two and a half years after it was put in development, ABC has given an order for When We Rise, an eight-hour miniseries exploring the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community’s civil rights movement. (THR)
‘Harry Potter’ Director Mike Newell Enchants Amazon Pilot to Lift its Contingency
Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell has been tapped to direct Amazon drama pilot The Interestings, an adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s bestselling book. The pilot, originally picked up as director-contingent, is now cleared for production. (DL)
Reese Witherspoon’s Pacific Standard on a Roll at ABC With Another Script Sold
ABC has picked up a script for Please Don’t Go. Meaghan Oppenheimer will exec produce the ABC Studios entry alongside Witherspoon and her studio-based Pacific Standard topper Bruna Papandrea. The project follows the personal and professional life of a ruthless divorce attorney in Dallas. (THR)
The 10 Most Creative Micro Films of the Year (Hint, They’re Commercials)
Ad agencies have pushed to imaginative new heights in an attempt stand apart from the fray. The most innovative commercials this year surpassed the usual branded gimmicks and contrived viral stunts with clever or moving conceits that sometimes packed a powerful punch. (MB)
Online Film School: Watch a Video Essay On the Importance Of Settings and Locations In Film
A film can take place inside a haunted, centuries-old manse, or on an alien planet, or maybe in a slightly under-furnished Brooklyn apartment… it all matters. A perfectly chosen setting can highlight or pervert a particular character’s frame of mind — in some cases, it can also provoke a nervous, borderline physical reaction reaction. (TP)
Radical Candor — The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss
Kim Scott, an acclaimed coach for companies like Twitter, Shyp, Rolltape, and Qualtrics, has spent years distilling her experiences into some simple ideas you can use to help the people who work for you love their jobs and do great work. (FR)