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Universal Pictures has firmed up plans to a sequel to
another one of its crazy-performing follow-ups of 2015. After last week’s announcement that the film had been greenly and screenwriter Kay Cannon was coming back for a third time to pen the script, now comes word of Kendrick and Wilson’s return, and a July 21, 2017 release date. It will open one week after the new
Planet of the Apes movie and one week before Sony and Marvel’s
Spider-Man reboot.
(CS)
Angelina Jolie is expected to reprise her role as the title character. The first film opened last summer and did more than more than $758 million worldwide and made the live-action reboot trend a viable option. Linda Woolverton, who wrote that film, is returning to pen the sequel. Jolie is not signed for a sequel and would require a new deal, but that is not seen as a major hurdle.
(COL)
The actress is set to star in the online streaming service’s untitled eight episode supernatural thriller. In the ’80s-set series, a young boy vanishes into thin air. As friends, family, and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl. Ryder will play the mother of the missing 2-year-old.
(TVL)
With pre-production apparently underway, Huston has had to exit the film over scheduling issues. Apparently, Nicholas Hoult (currently filming
X-Men: Apocalypse) and Jack O'Connell are being eyed as possible replacements, but it's not clear if that's just studio wishlist names or if actual talks are happening. It couldn't come at a worst time for Relativity, which is currently in the midst of some serious financial woes as it aims to restructure and stay afloat.
(TP)
Oscar-winning creator of
American Crime anthology series has sold a new show called
Presence, which will follow a former Army Counter Insurgency Operative named Presence Foster, beginning a new career as a private investigator in Los Angeles. Ridley will write, direct and exec produce the show, which ABC Studios will produce.
(SAA)
The actor is in negotiations to join the first
Star Wars anthology picture, directed by Gareth Edwards. No details on who Whitaker would play in the ensemble action-adventurer, and Disney and Lucasfilm are not commenting on the casting. Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, and Riz Ahmed are all already on board the project.
(CB)
Movies covered under the deal, which will also get limited theatrical distribution, will be available for purchase on Vimeo on Demand for 30 days. They include thriller
The Chosen, which will premiere on Vimeo next month. Led by Max Benator and Marc Hustvedt, Supergravity launched last year with the intent of creating long-form movies and other premium content starring digital-native talent.
(VAR)
Director is in final talks with MadRiver Pictures to direct
Norco, which has a script by Adair Cole. The picture is inspired by the 1980 Norco bank robbery shootout. Five perpetrators, armed with shotguns, assault rifles, and homemade bombs, led police on a 25-mile chase. In the end, one sheriff’s deputy and two of the five robbers were killed. Over 30 cop cars and one helicopter were damaged by gunfire. Marc Butan and Mason Novik are producing.
(SF)
Author Wednesday Martin's controversial book about wealthy Upper East Side women sparked a bidding war with multiple bidders in the mix to pick up the memoir about the lives of rich young mothers in New York City. Published June 2nd, it attracted considerable pre-publication buzz off of a
New York Times op-ed by Martin revealing that some of these East Sider one-percenters said they received a “wife bonus," akin to the year-end bonus investment bankers get.
(THR)
During the heyday of practical, indexical special effects, Stan Winston proved to be one of Hollywood’s most consequential talents, with many of his creations – the T-1000, the Queen Alien, the T-Rex – producing some of the most iconic characters of late-20
th century blockbuster movie-making. So here’s a bit of free film school (for fans and filmmakers alike) from the architect of
Jurassic Park.
(FSR)
