![NIGHTCRAWLER, from left: Jake Gyllenhaal, director Dan Gilroy, on set, 2014. ph: Chuck]()
SSN AWARDS ORIGINALS
THE WRITER’S GUILD AWARDS
Since 1948, the Writer’s Guild of America has honored exceptional accomplishments in film, television, and radio writing at their annual awards show, which is seen by many as a precursor to the Oscars. In each of the Adapted and Original Screenplay categories, eight of the last ten WGA winners have gone on to win an Oscar.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
A bunch of moves from all over the agency scope this week, with UTA and ICM both making multiple moves, and lots of other places around town getting in on the action. Click the link for more info.
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Cable net will launch its highly anticipated standalone digital service later this year, but the premium cabler remains tightlipped about what programs it will offer and how much it will cost. Network has said it is launching the over-the-top service as a way to crack the 10 million households in the U.S. that are broadband-only and don’t have cable packages.
(VAR)
The peer-to-peer file sharing platform, which has been trying to rid itself of its associations with piracy, has partnered with Rapid Eye Studios to produce and distribute projects via its Bundle platform, to be known as BitTorrent Originals. First project from the new banner will be
Children of the Machine, a sci-fi series announced last year, with additional projects to be announced in the next few months.
(IW)
National Treasure helmer Jon Turtletaub will take the reins of the adaptation of the popular movie series, originally directed by Brett Ratner. Ratner will act as an executive producer on the series, which is still casting its two leads. Turtletaub has directed multiple pilots in the past, the last three of which,
Jericho,
Harper’s Island (both for CBS) and
Common Law (USA) have gone to series.
(COL)
The Emmy-nominated transgender actress has been cast in the legal drama
Doubt, created by married writing duo Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, who will pen the script and executive produce the CBS Television Studios drama alongside prolific producers Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly. Cox will play a transgender lawyer, a role specifically created for a transgender actress.
(THR)
Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo have joined the star of the original film trilogy, who will return in
Ash Vs. Evil Dead, a 10-episode series to premiere on Starz towards the end of this year. Campbell reprises his role as Ash, who is forced to face his demons, personal and literal, when a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind. Santiago will play Ash’s loyal sidekick, while DeLorenzo is a moody wild child trying to outrun her past.
(DH)
In the 1990s, Marvel Comics began selling off the movie rights of its characters, so only certain studios could use them. When Marvel started getting its rights back, it created its own studio to launch a shared universe of films, but doesn’t have them all back yet. The graphic you will find by following this link shows which studio owns which character as of now.
(BI)
The maiden trailer for the upcoming live action take on the classic fairy tale, starring Lily James in the title role, with Cate Blanchett as her glamorously evil stepmother, Richard Madden as the Prince, Stellan Skarsgård as the Grand Duke determined to keep the Prince and Cinderella apart and Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother. Kenneth Branagh directs the film, due in theaters March 13th.
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The first look at Amy Schumer’s cinematic debut, in which the comedian-actress plays a journalist struggling to deal with monogamy. The film, which Schumer also wrote, also stars Bill Hader, Brie Larsen, Tilda Swinton and LeBron James (!), was directed by Judd Apatow and hits theaters July 17th.
(EMP)
