AWARDS HEADLINES
Looking For Some Inside Dope On Who Will Win the SAG Awards on Saturday Night? This Might Help
The 22nd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are set for Saturday night, as industry thespians gather to celebrate their own and tell those awkward “I’m an actor” stories to the camera. Trumbo led the way with film nominations, while Game of Thrones and House of Cards led for TV. Here, some fearless predictions of who will walk away a winner. (IC)
It’s Time To Ask That Inevitable Question: Which Sundance Films Could Score With Oscar Next Year?
We’ve still got a month to go until Chris Rock hosts the Academy Awards, but after several major films popped over the last week at the Sundance Film Festival, we’re beginning to get a glimpse of what next year’s Oscars might look like, too. (VUL)
OTHER HEADLINES
Film Development for 1/28/16: All the Sundance Acquisitions in One Place Including the Huge Deals for ‘Birth of a Nation’ & ‘Manchester By The Sea’
Among all the various Sundance deals, including a WWE Studios and Blumhouse combining to pick up the sci-fi/magic drama Sleight, and The Orchard picking up The Wilderpeople, there are also lots of other moves in Hollywoodland. Click on the link to get all the info. (SSN)
Raine Group to Invest $100 Million-Plus in Imagine, Partners Eye Expansion
Imagine Entertainment, the production powerhouse led by longtime partners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, is poised for a significant expansion, powered by a new investment under a new partnership agreement. The arrangement anticipates building Imagine into a major media player with other investors as part of the transaction, said two individuals familiar with the pact. The deal has yet to be signed but is just days away from being finalized. (VAR)
All Your Favorite Nickelodeon Characters Are Coming Together In a Single Movie
Cable network is going to ambitiously put characters from all their ’90s shows into a single movie, NickToons, with Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess to helm the project. The worlds of Doug, Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy and Ahh! Real Monsters will collide (and, potentially, Hey Arnold!) for what’s being described as a Who Framed Roger Rabbit?-esque film. Hess is also writing the project with regular collaborator Jerusha Hess. (TP)
Martin Scorsese Teams With ‘Amy’ Director for ‘Silver Ghost’
Legendary filmmaker is teaming up with Amy Winehouse doc director Asif Kapadia on the narrative feature film, which Kapadia will direct and Scorsese will produce with Anthony Haas. Movie tells the epic story of the iconic Rolls Royce car, marking the genesis of aviation and all the courage and daredevilry that went with it. Running alongside this sweeping narrative, the film tells the story of a passionate and highly charged affair. (THR)
Tony Kushner Comes Aboard Denzel Washington’s ‘Fences’ For Paramount
The award-winning playwright and writer has been brought aboard to help pull together a screenplay for a film based on August Wilson’s play. The project, which Washington will direct and hopefully star in with his Fences Broadway co-star Viola Davis (schedules pending), is trying to get before the cameras as soon as possible in order to be ready for the big screen this year — in time for Academy Award consideration. (DH)
That ‘American Gods’ TV Adaptation Just Took Another Big Step Forward, With Casting Of Lead Character
Ricky Whittle has been cast as Shadow Moon in the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed contemporary fantasy novel, which will begin shooting in April. The show is produced by FremantleMedia North America and will run on the Starz network. Bryan Fuller and Michael Green are writers and showrunners, with David Slade directing the pilot and additional episodes. (SAA)
Comcast Says ‘Minions’ Is Universal’s Most Profitable Movie Ever, as Animated Film Brings In $1.16 Billion In Worldwide Ticket Sales
The animated summer film starring the yellow creatures that don’t speak a discernible language is the most profitable film in the studio’s history. Steve Burke, chief executive officer of Comcast Corp.’s NBC Universal division, told employees in a memo last weekend that the picture was among three movies that each grossed more than $1 billion worldwide in 2015. That was also a first, he said. (AA)
Trailer Buzz: ‘Nine Lives’
Europa Corp. has released the first official look at the upcoming comedy, starring Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Malina Weissman, Cheryl Hines, Christopher Walken and Robbie Amell, and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. It hits theaters on August 5th. (COL)