AWARDS HEADLINES
A Look At How the Nominees For Best Picture Serve Up Clues To the Big Race
Since the indie revolution of the early ’90s, the Academy’s best picture nominees have come to represent a fairly wide spectrum of productions in terms of scope and style. But if you look back at all the winners since 2000, the connective tissue is a nomination in the two other key filmmaking categories: directing and writing. (IC)
Universal’s Donna Langley To Receive Pioneer Of The Year Award At CinemaCon
The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation will honor the Universal Pictures chairman April 13th in Las Vegas. Under Langley’s stewardship, Universal had the highest-grossing year ever in 2015 for a studio in industry history. The year marked the first time any studio tallied three films to cross a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, with Furious 7, Jurassic World and Minions all reaching that milestone. (AL)
OTHER HEADLINES
TV Development for 1/26/16: ‘Kicking & Screaming’ Heading to TV, ABC Developing Watergate Series, Orders Shondaland’s ‘Still Star-Crossed’
Among the other new stuff happening in TV Land is something new at Netflix from writer Laeta Kalogridis, a new project from Jason Katims, as well as something fresh from Carter L. Bays and Craig Thomas. Click on the link to get all the info. (SSN)
Abe Vigoda, the Man Behind Both Tessio and Fish, Has Died At the Age Of 94
According to his daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, Vigoda died this morning at his home in Woodland Park, New Jersey. In 1982, rumors of his death began to circulate due to an erroneous People Magazine article, and later a website was even created to track whether or not he was alive. The actor fully embraced this to maintain career momentum, and he frequently appeared on late-night talk shows to play this fact for laughs. This time, though, it’s real. (CB)
Relativity Television Relaunches After Post-Bankruptcy Split as Critical Content
From the ashes of the Relativity Media bankruptcy comes … Critical Content. That’s the new moniker for the Relativity Television division that was acquired in October by Relativity’s major creditors as part of the parent company’s bankruptcy brawl last fall. Critical CEO Tom Forman and president Andrew Marcus have spent the past three months re-engineering operations after the detachment from Relativity. (VAR)
Just Two Weeks Into Its First Season, ‘Billions’ Has Already Been Given a Second One By Showtime
Premium cable network has renewed the financial drama for a second season. Factoring in three days of delayed viewing, Billions premiered this month to 6.5 million viewers across multiple platforms, up 7 percent from Ray Donovan in 2013. Starring Homeland veteran Damian Lewis and Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti, the hourlong entry is set in the Manhattan world of high finance and tells a contemporary tale of power politics. (LF)
Delroy Lindo Will Play Adventure-Seeking Rogue Dominic Fortune in ‘Marvel’s Most Wanted’
ABC’s in-the-works Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-off series has booked Lindo in the role of Dominic Fortune. The spin-off will follow the continued adventures of Bobbi Morse, a.k.a Mockingbird (played by Adrianne Palicki), and Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) of the original Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series. (SAA)
‘Little House on the Prairie’ Movie Puts Down Stakes at Paramount
When Sony picked up the project back in 2012, it had Scott Rudin attached as a producer with David Gordon Green in talks to direct. Gordon Green then left the director’s chair vacant, which was filled by Sean Durkin in late 2014 just before the picture went into turnaround. Durkin is still attached to direct the adaptation of the Laura Ingalls Wilder book series, scripted by screenwriter Abi Morgan, but it’s now set up at Paramount. (COL)
Oscars Boycott Not Likely to Shake Up ABC’s Bottom Line as Sponsors Stay Put
Amovement to persuade viewers to boycott this year’s Oscars broadcast may be gaining steam, and while a mass tune-out could take a bite out of ABC’s ratings, it’s far less likely to have an impact on the network’s advertising business. (AA)
Ryan Kavanaugh and Relativity: The Epic Fail Of Hollywood’s Hottest Algorithm
When Kavanaugh wasn’t hanging out with Bradley Cooper, or leasing a horse for Kate Bosworth, or negotiating a Golden Globes shout-out from Christian Bale, or bringing a baby wold to the office, he was talking up the sweetest game in Hollywood: the chance to invest in movies that seemed certain to succeed. (VUL)