SSN ORIGINALS
Film & TV Deals For 3/9/16: AMC to Buy Carmike Cinema & Become the Largest U.S. Theater Chain, beIN Media Acquires Miramax & More
Meanwhile, Ben Silverman looks to make a big move, Richard Licata forms a full service TV awards company, Amazon inks a big new deal with National CineMedia, and plenty more. Click on the link to read on. (SSN)
Rep Moves For 3/9/16: ‘Vinyl’s’ Bobby Cannavale Shifts from ICM to WME, Abrams Snags Digital Stars Jack Baran, “Doctor Mike” and Jimmy DiResta
A standard week, rep-move-wise, as we also see Hail, Caesar!’s Alden Ehrenreich snag a new publicist and several other talents landing new representation. For the full skinny, click on the link and see it all. (SSN)
OTHER HEADLINES
If You’re Keeping Score, It’s Now Michael Keaton In, Bruce Willis Out Of ‘American Assassin’
Keaton has officially been cast to portray Stan Hurley in Michael Cuesta’s upcoming film adaptation of the novel by Vince Flynn. Hurley is a shady and grizzled veteran of the Cold War who teaches green CIA recruits about the art of war. He becomes the mentor to the series’ main character Mitch Rapp. Chris Hemsworth was linked to the role in 2012, but there is no news on Rapp casting for now. (CB)
After Jeff Wadlow’s Departure, Ryan Reynolds Action Movie ‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ Lands New Director
Reynolds’ first movie post-Deadpool hit a snag and then just as quickly got out of it, as Wadlow is in post on The True Memoirs of an International Assassin, an action comedy starring Kevin James and Genesis Rodriguez, and will be working on that deep into the spring. Netflix exercised its right to keep Wadlow firmly on its project and the director had to bow out. He has been been replaced by Patrick Hughes, the director of Millennium’s The Expendables 3. (HV)
Anna Paquin Returns To TV, Will Topline ABC Drama Pilot ‘Broken’ Produced By Reese Witherspoon
Former True Blood leading lady will star in the pilot formerly known as Untitled Meaghan Oppenheimer Project and Please Don’t Go. Written by Oppenheimer, Broken follows the personal and professional life of Gemma, a ruthless divorce attorney in Dallas, which begins to unravel when her emotionally damaged, love-addicted sister (Charity Wakefield) resurfaces. Oppenheimer executive produces alongside Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea. (DH)
Danny Boyle Partners with ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Writer for FX Limited Series on John Paul Getty
Described as one of the 20th century’s richest and most dysfunctional families, the story of John Paul Getty III and how his family dealt with his kidnapping in 1973 will be the focus of the first episode (directed by Boyle). As the heir to an oil fortune, the mafia captors expected millions in ransom for their hostage. What happened instead still leaves families everywhere bewildered to this day. Beauty wrote the 10-episode first season. (IW)
Good News For Wookie Fans, as Disney Confirms Chewbacca Will Appear In Han Solo Spin-Off Flick
At yesterday’s Bank 2016 Media, Internet & Telecom Conference, Studio CEO Robert Iger discussed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the Han Solo spin-off. Of the latter, he said, it’s “an origin story about Han Solo and Chewie. And that’ll come after ‘Star Wars 8’ in 2018.” Casting rumors about who would play a young Han Solo have circulated for weeks, but there is no news on who will fill the role. (SF)
It’s a ‘Seven Psychopaths’ Reunion, as Martin McDonagh Raids His Last Film To Cast His New One
Having landed Frances McDormand to star in his latest, Three Billboards Outside Of Ebbing, Missouri, writer/director McDonagh has added Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell to the cast. The three worked together on Psychopaths. McDonagh has said that the film concerns a 50-year-old woman whose daughter is murdered and ends up battling the local police because she feels they’re more interested in torturing black people than finding real justice. (EMP)
With the Founding Execs Gone, The Weinstein Company Plans To Reconfigure RADiUS
The team behind acclaimed films like It Follows and Citizenfour is no longer in business with Harvey Weinstein, but he still controls their company. As Tom Quinn and Jason Janego prepare to announce the name of their new distribution partnership with Alamo’s Tim League, The Weinstein Co. is reconfiguring the company they left behind, the three-year old multi-platform distributor. (TOH)
Netflix’s $5 Billion Budget Sets Off an Arms Race in Cable, but Spending Isn’t Improving TV Ratings Yet
Media companies have settled on a strategy to combat declining viewership at their TV networks: spend, spend, spend. Media executives, speaking on the latest round of earnings calls, say the spending is needed to maintain the supply of new programs that viewers are demanding today, and take advantage of growing markets online and internationally. Netflix., their chief online rival, plans to lay out almost $5 billion this year, more than any network. (AA)