SSN ORIGINALS
Film & TV Deals for 3/16/16: eOne Signs Deals with Sony & Reality Producer Chris Deaux, Smithsonian Earth Launches Camp Zambia
In other news TV producer Rick Eid has signed a two-year overall deal he has signed with Universal TV and Sony Pictures Television acquired a minority stake in UK’s Fable Pictures. (SSN)
Rep Moves for 3/16/16: WME Scoops up SXSW Filmmaker Anne Hamilton, Gina Gershon Moves to Abrams, Vine Star Nash Grier Signs with UTA
In other news, YouTuber Amanda Steele has inked with WME and IMG Models and production company Original Media, a subsidiary of Endemol Shine North America, has shifted from ICM Partners to CAA. (SSN)
OTHER HEADLINES
Maple Leaf Films Backing Relativity to the Tune of $400 Million
The agreement will finance 75 percent of future Relativity films for the next five years. With Relativity Media facing reviews of its plan to exit bankruptcy by courts, the company said it has secured $400 million in equity film financing from Michael Wexler and Tove Christensen’s Maple Leaf Films. (THR)
Is That for Real? The Fuzzy Math Behind the $3.5B Legendary Purchase
With the hiring of Mary Parent as vice chair of worldwide production at Legendary Entertainment, China’s Dalian Wanda Group has added some steak to the sizzle of the company it acquired in January for $3.5 billion. Or at least that’s the number widely reported. Like much about the deal, the reality of that figure is far from clear. (THR)
‘Walking Dead’s’ Steven Yeun to Fight a Different Kind of Zombie in the Action Flick ‘Mayhem’
Steven Yeun will star in the action movie Mayhem about a virus that infects a corporate law office that is capable of making people act out their wildest impulses. Trapped in the quarantined building, the hero is forced to savagely fight for not only his job but his life. (VAR)
NAPTE Takes Aim at Sean Parker’s Home Movie Plan
The National Association of Theatre Owners said that movie theater chains will individually decide whether or not to back Screening Room, but in a statement, the exhibition industry lobbying group dismissed the startup, while reaffirming its commitment to theatrical release windows. (VAR)
Affleck & Damon’s Epic Team-Up Continues as their Reality Series ‘The Runner’ Will Launch on Verizon Go90
Sixteen years after they first pitched the concept, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s reality competition series The Runner finally is coming to fruition with a pickup by Verizon’s recently launched free, ad-supported video platform, go90. (DL)
Forget Another ‘Mean Girls’- TV Land is Developing ‘Heathers’ as a Black Comedy
TV Land is developing an anthology based on the 1989 cult feature film Heathers. The original film centered on Veronica and rebel boyfriend J.D. and their trials and tribulations dealing with the social order in high school. TV Land’s take is described as a black comedy that takes place in the present day. (THR)
The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet
Time released their second annual roundup of the most influential people on the Internet. They sized up their contenders by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news. Here’s who made this year’s unranked list. (TIME)
Trailer Buzz: ‘Ben-Hur’
What once was old is new again, this time the MGM and Paramount have teamed with Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, who previously brought the popular miniseries The Bible to History Channel on a retelling of the epic story. (WD)