From One Reboot To Another: Denis Villeneuve Now In Talks To Helm ‘Dune’ Re-Do For Legendary
Director of this year’s awards-contender Arrival and the upcoming Blade Runner 2049, had earlier this year revealed that it was an old dream of his to take on another Sci-Fi classic, Frank Herbert‘s Dune. Well, lo and behold, Legendary got their hands on the Film and TV rights last month and now, the studio is in early talks with Villeneuve to direct. (COL)
Just Two Days After the Title and Art of Wes Anderson’s New Film Was Released, Fox Searchlight Picked It Up
Indie film arm of 21st Century Fox announced it has acquired worldwide rights to Academy Award nominee Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, which Indian Paintbrush is currently producing in London. This will be director Anderson’s second animated film – the first being the Academy Award-nominated Fantastic Mr. Fox. Set in Japan, new film follows a boy’s odyssey in search of his dog. (CS)
Scripted Originals Hit Record 455 in 2016, FX Study Finds
Cable net, whose president John Landgraf coined the “Peak TV” name for the explosion in scripted originals, has released new research to indicate that the growth is far from over. A study released yesterday found that the number of scripted originals hit a record 455 in 2016, up from 421 in 2015. Of that tally, online services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon represent 93 series, with the streaming originals category growing 1,450 percent since 2011. (LF)
Mireille Soria Steps Down as DreamWorks Animation Co-President
Exec is leaving the studio in order to focus on producing, leaving Bonnie Arnold as sole president of the studio. Soria’s move comes four months after Comcast Corp. closed its $3.8 billion acquisition of DWA. Arnold and Soria were named co-presidents of feature animation in early 2015, then became co-presidents of the studio after Ann Daly exited as president on the day after the Comcast acquisition closed. (VAR)
Amazon Studios Launches Virtual Reality, Hires Former Tribeca Film Festival Director Genna Terranova
Terranova resigned from Tribeca in November, announcing that she was moving to Los Angeles with her family. At Amazon, she will report to Joe Lewis, the head of original programming for comedy and drama. Amazon’s specific plans in the VR realm are unclear, though the company will both license VR content and develop original projects. (IW)
Exhaustive List Alert: Wondering How Many Films Are Eligible For Best Picture?
Herein, a list of all 336 films that are eligible to be nominated for the highest honor the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can bestow. This number is up from 305 films last year, which was down from the 323 in 2014, which was up from the 289 in 2013. The nominees will be announced January 24th. (AS)
Anonymous’ Barrett Brown Is Free — And Ready to Pick New Fights
Actor and filmmaker Alex Winter’s new documentary short about the leader of the once mighty hacker army is now available for viewing. (WD)
Trailer Buzz: ‘Lost City of Z’
Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street have released the first teaser trailer of the upcoming real life adventure movie, starring Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland, Sienna Miller, and Robert Pattinson, and directed by James Gray. The movie will come out in April. (VUL)
Screenwriters: Navigating Hollywood: Writing Partnerships – When Tragedy Strikes
On February 28, 2014, Manny Fonseca’s writing partner suffered a ruptured aneurysm in her brain. The doctor’s were amazed she even made it to the hospital due to the fact that this type of aneurysm rupture was a sure-fire killer. This is the story of what happened next. (SM)