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Consider this a “world” record for the studio. It announced yesterday that it has set a personal-best global take for a single year with $3.82 billion, wiping out its previous high of $3.69 billion in 2013. The bounty is fueled, of course, by the blinding success of
Jurassic World, as well as a little film in the spring called
Furious 7. Factor in such other hits as
Fifty Shades Of Grey and
Pitch Perfect 2, and Universal is having quite a half-year, er, year.
(DH)
Under dire financial strain, Relativity is asking lenders for a yearlong extension on roughly $350 million in debt that is due this Thursday. The so-called “amend and extend” on the studio’s agreement with its creditors comes as its founder, Kavanaugh, is scrambling to come up with a means of paying off the debt — or else risk losing control of the company he founded 11 years ago. Company’s lenders have yet to vote on the proposal, but must unanimously approve it.
(VAR)
The Peacock network has cancelled Bryan Fuller’s acclaimed, lush thriller. The show’s current third season — slated to wrap up in late August — will be its last. NBC’s decision to pass on a Season 4 hardly comes as a surprise, given
Hannibal’s eroding ratings. The June 11 episode notched a series-low 1.7 million viewers and a 0.5 in the demo.
(TVL)
Mark and Jay Duplass' production banner has closed a multi-picture distribution deal with the independent film distributor. Under the terms of the deal, The Orchard will take worldwide theatrical and ancillary rights to seven upcoming feature films produced by the duo. All seven films are a part of the exclusive SVOD Netflix partnership that Duplass Brothers Productions inked in January, which includes a four-picture deal for the new titles.
(IW)
Studio preemptively picked up the film rights to book proposal
Chasing Phil: The World’s Greatest Con Man, Two Undercover FBI Agents, and Their Amazing Around The World Adventure for Robert and Susan Downey's production company. RDJ might star in the film, which is based on the true story about the FBI’s first foray into white collar crime-fighting.
(THR)
A prop company has let the gigantic adamantium-clawed cat out of the bag. Literally. KikaNY, a leather goods store in New York, posted a design schematic to Instagram with the caption “We were just asked to make a special duffle backpack for Hugh Jackman who is filming the new 'X-Men’ movie in Montreal.” The snap has since been taken down, probably after the company realized the immense secrecy of Jackman’s involvement.
(GR)
Chris Provenzano is looking to dip back into the Leonard oeuvre for a new project. Provenzano is working on a new AMC series called
Gunsights, based on Leonard’s Western novel set in 1893 Arizona. Writer is developing show as part of an overall deal he recently signed with AMC. The network has been looking to launch a new Western series to follow up
Hell on Wheels, which wraps up in summer 2016.
(SF)
Come And Find Me sees Paul as David, who becomes desperately worried when his girlfriend Claire (Wallis) vanishes. But his mission is given even more impetus when he realizes that she has been lying to him, and pretending to be someone she’s not. Whedon wrote the script and will direct the film, which is scheduled to kick off filming next month in Vancouver.
(EMP)
Michael Gambon will play Churchill, with Lindsay Duncan, Romola Garai, Matthew Macfadyen, Daisy Lewis, Rachael Stirling and Tara Fitzgerald joining him for the story, which is set during the summer months of 1953. Churchill, who has been elected Prime Minister for the second time, suffers a life-threatening stroke, which is kept secret from the world. The story is told from the point-of-view of his young nurse (Garai) as Churchill battles to recover.
(TOH)
While the filmmaker’s
The Descent is understandably referenced most frequently and fondly, his first film,
Dog Soldiers, is much beloved as one of the better werewolf movies to grace the screens. Now, it’s getting a new life on Blu-ray. In addition to a newly remastered picture — which, while grainy, looks quite good for a film originally shot on 16mm — the disc includes a thorough making-of, a short film and a newly recorded commentary track.
(FSR)
