Exec Shuffle For 4/18/16: Nylon Media Partners with UTA, Paul Hilepo Launches PH Entertainment Group, Multiple Shifts at 51 Minds
Also on this week’s docket, the USA Network has made a change to its tagline and brand image, Al Jazeera America officially shuts its doors, and the president officially supports the FCC’s plans on set top box alternatives to cable and satellite deals. As usual, there’s plenty more, so click the link to read on. (SSN)
In the Wake Of 2016’s Brouhaha Over ‘The Martian’ Winning Best Comedy, Golden Globes Make Rules Changes For 2017
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association today announced the 74th annual ceremony will be held January 8th, 2017, while the organization also unveiled tweaks to eligibility rules in multiple categories, including the definition of comedy vs. drama. The HFPA also changed rules about campaigning and advertising. (VAR)
Kurt Russell, Mel Gibson and Kate Hudson Set for Gold Rush TV Series From Mark Gordon Company
Trio is set to star in The Barbary Coast, a new TV drama about the 1849 Gold Rush, inspired by the book from Gangs of New York author Herbert Asbury. Show begins with the Gold Rush of 1849, which saw the biggest influx of gold-seekers, gamblers, thieves, harlots, politicians and other parasites to the young city of San Francisco, which then carried on as a unique criminal district for almost 70 years. Russell and Hudson will headline, with Gibson set to recur. (LF)
‘Castle’ Shocker! Stand Katic Will Not Be Returning For the Series’ Ninth Season
The series co-lead will not be a part of the show moving forward, the victim of a cast shake-up that reportedly is designed to help cut costs for the aging procedural. Katic, whose one-year extension has expired, was not asked back for the fall (in the event the series gets renewed). Nor will longtime cast member Tamala Jones return as M.E. Lanie Parish. (TVL)
Naomi Watts to Star In Netflix Psychological-Thriller Series ‘Gypsy’
Netflix’s slate of original programming continues to grow with today’s announcement that Watts will star in the psychological-thriller series premiering next year. The drama’s first season will consist of 10 episodes, the first two of which will be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson; other key players include Universal Television, Working Title and writer Lisa Rubin. (IW)
Get Ready For a Brand New Version Of ‘The Twilight Zone’, and This One Will Be Interactive
Your next stop: The Twilight Zone. Now you choose what happens next. The iconic sci-fi TV series is being resurrected with a new dimension, as digital video company Interlude has secured a deal with CBS to turn it into a project marrying television with gaming. Interlude is known for making videos that play like sophisticated choose-your-own-adventure films, using its technology to help filmmakers, music artists and brands craft interactive online videos. (TW)
Todd Haynes’ New Flick Adds Another Oscar Nominee, as Michelle Williams Joins ‘Wonderstruck’
The actress has joined Julianne Moore in the film, based on Hugo author Brian Selznick’s award-winning book, it tells a story split in two different time periods — 1927 and 1977 — that follows the interconnected lives of deaf children, Ben and Rose. Williams will play Ben’s mother in the movie, that will be produced and released by Amazon Studios. (TP)
Kevin Bacon Is Returning To TV With a New Amazon Show, In Which He Will Play the Title Role
Actor is in final negotiations to star in Jill Soloway’s Amazon comedy I Love Dick, a show based on the 1997 Chris Kraus novel by the same name. The show centers on Chris (Kathryn Hahn) and Sylvere, a struggling married couple in Marfa, Texas, and their obsession with a charismatic professor, Dick (Bacon, of course). (VUL)
‘Riddick’ Helmer David Twohy Stays In the Sci-Fi Realm, Will Direct ‘Ice Moon Rising’
Project is an American-Chinese co-production that Twohy will write and direct. The film involves a Chinese and American task force on a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa to defrost another astronaut from cryogenic stasis. The sleeping spaceman was attacked 24 years previously by aliens from Europa’s icy seas, but wakes to face a new challenge: a daughter he’s never met before. (EMP)
Trailer Buzz: ‘Jason Bourne’
Universal Pictures has released a pair of teaser trailers for the latest edition of the popular franchise starring Matt Damon, ahead of the release of the longer, full-length trailer, which will drop on Thursday. Directed by Paul Greengrass and also starring Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassel and Julia Stiles, the new film hits theaters July 29th. (COL)