![Trouble Is a Friend of Mine book cover]()
SSN ORIGINALS
The 52
nd annual event kicks off today, bringing the latest and greatest YA, Middle Grade, and children’s books to Italy from until April 2nd. The festival is a showcase for up and coming talent and new work by established authors – and it’s also a great place to search for the next
Hunger Games or
The Fault in Our Stars. Check out our picks for titles to look out for this year.
(SSN)
Nicolas Cage’s
Army Of One, the comic book adaptation
Officer Downe, and Akiva Goldsman’s next directorial effort all are among the new films getting underway, while the
Now Your See Me sequel and
Love the Coopers also finish up principal photography.
(SSN)
TODAY’S HEADLINES
TWC is paying a minimum $15 million guarantee for the U.S. rights to the film, to be directed by Stephen Gaghan and starring McConaughey and Edgar Ramirez. There’s also a P&A guarantee north of $20 million to properly market a release on at least 2500 screens. That is one of the biggest commitments of it kind for a picture package that is ready to go into production. Black Bear Pictures’ Teddy Schwarzman is backing the film.
(DH)
Indie arm of 20th Century Fox has acquired Davis Guggenheim’s film,
He Named Me Malala, which follows Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban for promoting the education of young girls. No release date was announced, but the film will launch an international advocacy and fundraising campaign in partnership with Yousafzai's non-profit organization, The Malala Fund, to empower adolescent girls around the world.
(IW)
Project marks the cabler’s first scripted “saga-to-series,” based on the bestselling book series by Cassandra Clare. Story follows 18-year-old Clary Fray, who finds out on her birthday that she is not who she thinks she is, and she comes from a long line of Shadowhunters — human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons. When Clary’s mother Jocelyn is kidnapped, Clary is thrown into the world of demon hunting with mysterious Shadowhunter Jace and her best friend, Simon.
(VAR)
Actress Maisie Williams, best known for playing Arya Stark in
GoT, will appear on the upcoming ninth season of the sci-fi series, which stars Peter Capaldi as the doctor. Little is known about Williams' role besides the fact that she'll challenge the doctor and "give him exactly the right sort of hell," according to lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat.
(HP)
Mark Strong joins the project, which was acquired by the online streaming service at the Berlin International Film Festival. Set in 1961, the plot centers on the real-life siege of an Irish UN battalion by 3,000 Congolese troops, led by French and Belgian mercenaries working for mining companies. Strong will play negotiator Max Vernon, who was a chief inspector with the London police during the six-day siege that ended in a deadly 17-minute raid by British special forces.
(THR)
Director David Ayer’s comic book adaptation has just added both Scott Eastwood and Raymond Olubowale. There currently aren't any details available about the role either will be playing, though the rumor is that more information could come as soon as tomorrow. Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Cara Delvgine and Jay Hernandez also star in the film, which is about to go into production.
(CB)
During last night’s Season Five finale of ANC’s smash hit
The Walking Dead, the network released the first images from its spinoff series, set to take place in Los Angeles earlier in the apocalypse. New series stars Alycia Debnam Carey, Cliff Curtis, Kim Dickens, and Frank Dillane, and will premiere this summer.
(VUL)
A new TV spot has emerged for this latest installment in the dinosaur franchise, based on Michael Crichton’s novels. This one, directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Vincent D’Onofrio, BD Wong, Jake Johnson and Judy Greer, hits theaters June 12th.
(EMP)
