AWARDS HEADLINES
Security Is Going To Be Pretty Fierce On Sunday Night, as the Oscars Will “Be Like a Military State”
This year’s Oscar show will be the first since the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Paris which, all told, took the lives of 144 people and injured 390. Law enforcement says there is “no specific information relative to threats” to this year’s Academy Awards, which is good news. Still, Sunday’s Oscars will be swarming with hundreds of law enforcement officers, plus SWAT teams, bomb-sniffing dogs and sophisticated surveillance equipment and lots more. (AL)
Black Artists Matter: an Oral History Of Black Actors and the Oscars
The 88-year history of the Oscars has always been complicated when it comes to matters of race, starting in 1940, when Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award, honored for her supporting role in Gone With the Wind, as a maid. In the 76 years since McDaniel picked up her Oscar, only 13 other black actors have taken home the award. (IC)
Curious About This Year’s VFX Nominees? Herein, a Quick Peek At Each Of Them
Visual effects behind movies have never been better, and the fact that they just keep getting better every year makes the Oscars’ Best Visual Effects category one to watch each year. Sure, performances, direction, writing, and every other award are still amazing year after year, but VFX continue to evolve through technological advances, stretching imaginations in new directions. (UR)
OTHER HEADLINES
Film & TV Deals for 2/24/16: Jessica Chastain Launches Freckle Films, eOne & Fox Home Ent. Partner Up, Wanda Rumored to Invest in Viacom
Canal Plus is up to some new business, PBS fires up a new, multiplatform service for the kids, and Madam Secretary creator Barbara Hall signs a brand new deal. There’s more, so click on the link to read on. (SSN)
Rep Moves for 2/24/16: Jane Lynch Snagged by UTA, Rose McGowan Moves to Londonderry Ent., CAA Picks up Actor/Comedian Ron Funches
A light week on the rep front includes an Indian actress finding new advocates, a YouTube celeb landing at CESD, and a few others odds and ends. For the full skinny, click on the link. (SSN)
Fox Searchlight Sees Awards Potential, Schedules ‘Birth of a Nation’ For October Release
The Oscars ceremony is mere days away, but it’s already time to start talking about next year’s awards. Hot on the heels of a record-breaking acquisition deal, Searchlight has set a prime, awards-friendly October 7th release date for Nate Parker’s film. Drama tells the true story of slave Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher who led a bloody uprising that had reverberations throughout the country. (COL)
Get Ready For a Third Take On ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’, as Michael B. Jordan Steps Into Those Pricey Shoes
The star of the boxing hit Creed is reteaming with MGM for a remake of the heist thriller. The project is in the nascent stages as there is no writer or director attached. Yet the call is out and MGM brass, very happy with how things turned out with Creed, is intent on developing a vehicle around the actor. (THR)
Chris Weitz In Talks To Helm MGM Film On The Hunt For Nazi War Criminal Adolf Eichmann
Rogue One writer is in early discussions to direct the untitled Matthew Orton-scripted drama about the team that hunted down and captured Adolf Eichmann, one of the major architects of the Holocaust. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Automatik is producing, and Matt Charman is exec producing. MGM made a preemptive buy for the script last November, and it is moving very quickly toward the start line. (DH)
Emily Blunt’s New ‘Mary Poppins’ Gets a Taste Of Broadway, as Lin-Manuel Miranda Joins the Cast
Miranda would play Jack, a lamplighter who has echoes of Bert, famously played by Dick Van Dyke in the 1964 original. Into The Woods‘ Rob Marshall is directing from a script by David Magee that draws from other books in Poppins author P.L. Travers’ range, which expand beyond the original tome across a series that ran between 1934 and 1988. (EMP)
Steve McQueen’s ‘Codes of Conduct’ Is Not Moving Forward At HBO
Cable net has shut down the six-episode series from the 12 Years a Slave director/producer. McQueen was set to direct all six episodes of the series, which was “an exploration of a young African-American man’s experience entering New York high society, with a past that may not be what it seems.” The show was set to star newcomer Devon Terrell along with Paul Dano, Helena Bonham Carter, and Rebecca Hall. (CDR)