Oscars: Steven Spielberg Among Candidates In Academy’s First Open Elections For Board
James L. Brooks, Laura Dern, indie producers Stephanie Allain and Cassian Elwes, Disney-Pixar president Ed Catmull, Imagine Entertainment co-chair Michael Rosenberg and hundreds of others have also thrown their hats in the ring. (THR)
Macro Launching America Ferrera-Backed Latino Dramedy As Its First Web Series
Macro, the multi-platform media company founded by former WME partner Charles D. King, has set up its first digital series: the dramatic comedy Gente-Fied, which will feature an all-Latino cast and counts America Ferrera among its executive producers. (DH)
Directors Guild Reports ‘Slight’ Improvement in TV Hiring Practices of Women, Minorities
The Directors Guild of America has reported “slight” improvements in the hiring of women and minorities during the 2015-16 TV season. More than 4,100 episodes were analyzed, a 5% increase from last year. (VAR)
‘This Is Us’ Trailer Most Popular Among New Fall Shows
This Is Us is already fall’s most popular new show – at least according to online video views. On Facebook alone, the trailer for NBC’s dramedy series has garnered over 17 million views in less than three days — a record for a new fall show. (EW)
Comics At BEA: New Books From Raina Telgemeier, Jessica Abel, Box Brown
The show featured new fall books from acclaimed graphic novel authors Raina Telgemeier, whose Ghosts will be published by Scholastic, and Jessica Abel, creator of Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars, which will be published by Papercutz in November. (PW)
GKIDS Picks Up North American Rights To Laudenbach’s “The Girl Without Hands”
GKIDS has announced today that it has entered into a distribution agreement for all North American rights to the upcoming animated feature, The Girl Without Hands, following the film’s premiere screening at the Cannes Film Festival. (IW)
Spec Book 2015: The State Of The Spec Market
2015 saw the second highest amount of specs sold over the last six years. 375 specs that went out last year, 129 were set up, an significant increase over the year before, in which just 101 of 369 found a home. (TB)
Trailer Buzz: New ‘Sausage Party’ Trailer
Sony has released a new Sausage Party trailer and poster. The animated comedy is a parody of Pixar films, specifically Toy Story, and focuses on a group of supermarket food that learns the terrible truth about the fate they’ve dreamed of: being taken home and eaten. (COLL)