AWARDS HEADLINES
Looking For the Winners Of Today’s César Awards? We’ve Got Your Link Right Here
The French Oscars are being handed out this evening in Paris, and the more often you refresh the provided link, the more up to date the results will be. Leading the pack of contenders for the local equivalent to the Oscars are Arnaud Desplechin’s My Golden Days and Xavier Giannoli’s Marguerite with 11 nominations each. Also here is Deniz Gamze Erguven’s Mustang with nine. That film is also competing for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar on Sunday. (AL)
More Oscar Math: ‘The Revenant’ Looks Like a Good Bet To Take the Top Prize
After we ran a separate Oscar Math story this morning, here’s another one, that covers the more popular races. It looks like The Revenant is twice as likely as Spotlight to take the big prize of best picture at Sunday night’s 88th annual Oscars. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brie Larson are, statistically speaking, assured the top acting awards. But while many are predicting a Sylvester Stallone victory, that race is still looking like a close call. (HRA)
OTHER HEADLINES
SSN Box Office Trending Report for 2/26/16: ‘Deadpool’ to Win the Weekend While ‘Batman v Superman’ Presales Heat Up
In our weekly series, SSN Insider will take a deep dive into the film ticket sales of the week leveraging data from the powerhouse ticketing website, MovieTickets.com. Not only will the infographic pinpoint which movies are claiming the largest piece of the pie from day to day in terms of sales but also which film had the biggest uptick in terms of a percentage variance surge and which had the biggest downtick or steepest dive between any two points. (SSN)
On the Set for 2/26/16: Dwayne Johnson & Zac Efron Start Shooting ‘Baywatch’, Peter Dinklage & Julia Ormond Wrap ‘Rememory’
Additionally, a pair of ingenues get rolling with A Storm In the Stars, Edgar Wright gets Baby Driver going, and Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin reunite for The Comedian and director Taylor Hackford. As usual, there’s plenty more, so click on the link for the full skinny. (SSN)
Bill Block Signs First-Look Deal With Warner Bros., Developing Sam Raimi Film
Veteran independent financier-producer has found a home at Warner Bros. and is developing Sam Raimi’s World War 3. His Billblock Media has closed a first-look production deal with the studio, which will handle global distribution for all titles. The first film in development under the two-year deal is Raimi’s near-future feature, based on predictions in George Friedman’s non-fiction best-selling book The Next 100 Years. (VAR)
James Mangold Steps In For the Departed David Fincher To Helm ‘Captain Nemo’
Disney has resurrected the idea of reinvisioning 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the form of Captain Nemo, with The Wolverine director Mangold having signed on to take the helm. Fincher’s iteration had drafts by Scott Z. Burns and Andrew Kevin Walker, but the latest draft of Captain Nemo has Sebastian Gutierrez working on the script. The project is described as an origin story for the character as he creates his Nautilus. (COL)
Mark Wahlberg’s Getting Some Oscar-Winning Company In His Upcoming Boston Marathon Bombing Flick
With regular collaborators Wahlberg and Peter Berg confirmed as starring and directing, Boston Marathon bombing drama Patriots’ Day has started finding the rest of the cast. First up: J.K. Simmons. The film blends reality and cinematic invention to chronicle the events surrounding the bombing that happened at the finish line of the Boston race on April 15th, 2013. (EMP)
CBS Has Found Its Bad Cop For the Upcoming ‘Training Day’ Series, and His Name Is Bill Paxton
Actor will play Detective Frank Rourke, the “bad cop” with whom a young, idealistic officer is partnered. Antoine Fuqua, who directed the original film that starred Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, is also returning for the TV series, set to direct the pilot episode. Writer and former LAPD detective Will Beall is attached to provide the script. (CS)
Disney Keeps Moving Forward With Its ‘Small World’ Movie, Hires Writers To Develop a Script
Studio has hired screenwriting duo Tim Rasmussen & Vince Di Meglio for a movie based on the popular theme park ride It’s A Small World. Rasmussen and Di Meglio have been working in the industry for a decade now, and their list of credits include License to Wed, Marmaduke and the in development Three Men and a Baby sequel Three Men and a Bride. (SF)
Trailer Buzz: ‘Taboo’
FX has released the first trailer for its upcoming historical crime drama, starring Oscar nominee Tom Hardy. There is no premiere date yet, but word is the show will hit the airwaves in 2017. (UR)