AWARDS HEADLINES
‘Room’ Leads Canadian Screen Award Nominations
The powerful captivity drama, an Irish-Canadian co-production adapted from the bestselling novel by Emma Donoghue and one of this year’s Oscar nominees, led film contenders. It earned 11 nominations, including for the London, Ont.-based author’s screenplay, best motion picture and its leads: Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. (CBC)
David Oyelowo Becomes the Latest To Lash Out At the Oscars’ Lack Of Diversity
The actor, who was famously overlooked for playing Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma when the Oscar nominations were announced last year, broke off his prepared remarks to blast the Academy at a gala honoring Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs last night, saying, “This institution doesn’t reflect its president and it doesn’t reflect this room. I am an Academy member and it doesn’t reflect me, and it doesn’t reflect this nation.” (HRA)
Motion Picture Sound Editors To Honor ‘Evil Dead’ Filmmaker Sam Raimi
The writer/director whose credits include the Evil Dead franchise (including current Starz original series Ash vs. Evil Dead), The Hudsucker Proxy, three Spider-Man movies, and the modern noir A Simple Plan, will receive the Motion Picture Sound Editors’ Filmmaker Award at this year’s Golden Reel Awards ceremony, to be held February 27th in Los Angeles. (TOH)
OTHER HEADLINES
TV Development for 1/19/16: USA Orders Series From ‘Shades of Blue’ Creator Adi Hasak, Co-Creators Leave X-Men Spin-Off for ’24: Legacy’
Among the new projects moving forward this week are a period piece about Atlanta’s first black policemen, from Jamie Foxx, the USA Network ordering up a show that had been on the shelf for a year, and a brand new live musical production from Neil Meron and Craig Zadan. Click on the link to read on. (SSN)
CBS Films Gets Its Mitch Rapp Adaptation Going Again, Hires a Director For It
Michael Cuesta has signed on to direct American Assassin based on a script by Stephen Schiff, who’s adapting the Vince Flynn novel. The project will center on counterterrorism agent Mitch Rapp, who is recruited by the CIA after his girlfriend is killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The character was first introduced in Flynn’s 1999 book Transfer of Power, but it was the 2010 book American Assassin that explored how Rapp ended up as a CIA operative. (THR)
Casting Coup: Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly Sign Up To Play Laurel and Hardy in ‘Stan & Ollie’
Set in the twilight years of the comedy legends’ career, the film will focus on their farewell tour of Britain’s variety halls in 1953. With their golden era now a distant memory, they’re nevertheless still happy to be working together, and as they keep their partnership alive, they reconnect with legions of adoring fans. But there is a darker undercurrent to the success – their past comes back to haunt them and Hardy isn’t in the best of health. Jon S. Baird is directing. (EMP)
Former Studio Exec Fires Up His Own New Production Shingle
Experienced Hollywood executive Fred Bernstein has launched Los Angeles-based Astute Films as a motion picture financing and production company. Bernstein, who headed production at Columbia and Universal, has assembled an initial $50 million of private equity financing and is looking to back films with mid-range budgets rather than franchises. (VAR)
‘DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow’ Casts Its Old West Anti-Hero, Jonah Hex
Johnathon Schaech has been cast in The CW’s upcoming superhero team-up series as the famed Western character. The popular DC Comics character is slated to appear in the Old West-set episode 11, with the possibility to recur beyond that. (NR)
Celebrity Lip Syncers Rejoice! Spike Gives a Third Season To Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Lip Sync Battle’
To little surprise, Spike is keeping the show around for years to come. The Viacom-owned cable network has renewed the multi-platform hit for a third season consisting of 20 half-hour episodes. The new season will tape later this year, with a premiere date to be announced in the near future. The series, based on a Tonight Show sketch and exec produced by John Krasinski and Stephen Merchant (among others), ranks as Spike’s most-watched series in history. (LF)
Trailer Buzz: ‘Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising’
Universal Pictures has released the first look at the upcoming comedy sequel, once again starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, as well as newcomers Chloë Grace Moretz, Selena Gomez and Kiersey Clemons. It hits theaters May 20th. (TP)