Franchise Wars, Film Development, Weekend Box Office, Comic-Con to Stay in SD, Melissa Leo in HBO’s LBJ Movie, Marisa Tomei to Star in Empire Season 2

SSN ORIGINALS

Franchise Wars: How Universal Broke Box Office Records with 'Jurassic Park' & 'Jurassic World'

Jurassic World grossed more money in the first weekend than any other in history. What’s startling about that sentence is it’s not just talking about Jurassic World, but at one time could be said for Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. How did Universal bring this franchise back from extinction? Read SSN's Franchise Wars: Jurassic Park to find out. (SSN)

Film Development for 7/2/15: Michael Neeson to Follow Dad Liam & Portray Michael Collins, Writer Abi Morgan Drafted for ‘Ashley’s War’

Amongst other development news this week are Theresa Palmer attaching to New Line's Lights Out, Paramount acquiring a novel for Joe Ballarini to adapt, Warner Bros. acquiring a novel for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to produce and Dreamworks acquiring a Michael Crichton novel. (SSN)  

OTHER HEADLINES

Box Office: 'Magic Mike 2' Beats 'Terminator 5' But Both Need Bigger Fireworks

The two films, opening Wednesday, are pacing to do less business than expected over the Fourth of July holiday and could lose the weekend to Inside Out and Jurassic World. (THR)

Comic-Con to Stay in San Diego Through 2018

Comic-Con organizers have reached a deal to remain in San Diego through 2018.  San Diego has been the home of Comic-Con since it first began in 1970, but with an average over 130,000 attendees in recent years, the event, held at the San Diego Convention Center, had begun to outgrow its Bayfront property. (VAR)

Melissa Leo To Play Lady Bird Johnson In HBO’s LBJ Movie ‘All The Way’

Melissa Leo will star opposite Bryan Cranston in All The Way, HBO’s adaptation of the Tony-winning Robert Schenkkan play. Directed by Jay Roach and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film covers LBJ (Cranston) from the moment the assassination of John F. Kennedy made Johnson the 36th president of the United States, and through a turbulent first year.  Leo will play LBJ’s wife, First Lady Claudia Alta Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson. (DH)

'Empire' Signs Marisa Tomei to Play Lesbian Billionaire in Season 2

Tomei will play Mimi Whiteman, a demanding venture capitalist who becomes embroiled in Lyon family drama. (TVL)

Ron Diamond's Animation Show of Shows Coming to Comic-Con, Getting Ready for Nationwide Debut

Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, this animation industry favorite will now transition from being an insider-only exclusive to becoming a program that film fans around the world can participate in and enjoy. (HP)

The 15 Indie Films You Must See This July: 'Amy,' 'The End of the Tour' and More

Woody Allen, James Ponsoldt and Bill Condon are just a few of the directors back in theaters this month. (IW)

The 17 Best TV Episodes of 2015 So Far

Collider culls together a list of the best TV episodes so far this year.  This list is about episodes that really stood out, not just within their series, but within the early 2015 TV landscape at large. (COLL)