Big News For ‘Gilmore Girls’ Fans, as Melissa McCarthy Confirms She Will Be Returning For the Netflix Series
She joins the entirety of the returning original cast (RIP Edward Herrmann), including Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, along with David Sutcliffe, Liza Weil, Kelly Bishop, Sean Gunn, Keiko Agena,Yanic Truesdale, Scott Patterson, Jared Padalecki, Milo Ventimiglia and Matt Czuchry. Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino will write and direct the revival series with her husband Daniel Palladino. (COL)
Paramount, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Land ‘The Corporation’ With Benicio del Toro Starring
The studio and Paramount-based production company won an auction for T.J. English’s upcoming book The Corporation: An Epic Story of the Cuba American Underworld. The nonfiction book will be published in 2017 by William Morrow. David Matthews, a writer on the HBO series Vinyl, will adapt the book. Story centers on Jose Miguel Battle Sr., the leader of “The Corporation.” Battle served as key operative for Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista. (VAR)
Martin McDonagh Continues To Put Together an Amazing Cast For His Next Film
The In Bruges helmer already has Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell and Abbie Cornish aboard, and he’s adding Peter Dinklage, John Hawkes and Lucas Hedge to Three Billboards Out Of Ebbing, Missouri. The film finds McDormand as an anguished mother whose daughter has been raped and murdered. Angered that the local police aren’t eager to find the killer, she pays for the three billboards of the title, lambasting law enforcement. (EMP)
Cohen Media Group’s Daniel Battsek Confirmed As Film4 Boss
Battsek will join the corporation as Director of Film4 in July, following David Kosse’s departure to STX Entertainment. He will relocate to the UK from New York after fulfilling his contract as President of Cohen Media Group — where he has overseen the acquisition and release of projects including Timbuktu and Mustang, as well as a development and production slate of films that includes John Williams’ renowned novel Stoner, a co-production with Film4. (THR)
The Weinstein Company Signs Antoine Fuqua To a First-Look TV Deal
In yet another sign that the two-hour movie is fighting for survival, Bob and Harvey Weinstein announced that they’ve signed an exclusive first look deal with the filmmaker. This is their first deal since announcing their plans to expand more into TV, where they have long produced such shows as Project Runway. (TOH)
That ‘Kingsman’ Sequel Adds a Taste Of ‘Game Of Thrones’ To the Cast
Pedro Pascal, who so flamboyantly played Oberyn Martell on the HBO series before meeting an infamously grisly end, has joined Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Pascal’s character is believed to be called Jack Daniels. Vaughn’s second installment of the stylish spy caper, the original of which grossed over $415 million for Fox, is casting up ahead of starting production later this year. (DH)
Hugh Dancy Takes The Path To a Role In the Upcoming ‘Fifty Shades’ Sequel
Actor has signed on to play Dr. John Flynn, psychiatrist to Christian Grey, in Fifty Shades Darker. Dancy joins Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson, Kim Basinger, Tyler Hoechlin, Rita Ora, and Marcia Gay Harden in the film, which is directed by James Foley. Darker premieres on February 10th, 2017. (VUL)
In the Wake Of Fox’s Successful ‘American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson’, CBS Is Moving Forward With a True Crime Series Of Its Own
First season will focus on the high-profile murder of 6-year-old beauty pageant participant JonBenét Ramsey. The plan for the unscripted series, which doesn’t have a title just yet, is to, like ACS and the podcast Serial, center on a different mainstream criminal case each season. 48 Hours producer Tom Forman will be working behind the scenes with the company Critical Content for it, with each season expected to get a limited run of ten episodes or so. (CB)
How Did They Do That? ‘Hardcore Henry’ and That Crazy, Explosive Highway Chase
Call it GoPro Noir —a high-tech “Lady in the Lake” meets “Death Wish” — since Hardcore Henry” succeeds as a first-person POV actioner as a result of its audacious technique and emotional power. Thankfully, it was thoroughly road-tested by first-time director Ilya Naishuller to make sure it worked as a compelling narrative without making us nauseous. (IW)
Screenwriters: ‘Lost In Transalation’
The 75-page, Oscar-winning screenplay by Sofia Coppola, dated September 2, 2002. (DS)