What’s been a bad stretch for Disney Parks’ self-declared “Inclusion” initiative got a little worse this week as video surfaced online of a high school cheer team from Texas performing a routine at Walt Disney World that contained racist stereotypes of Native Americans. The Port Neches-Groves “Indianettes” High School drill team wore fringed costumes and […]
EXCLUSIVE: Established TV Literary agent Zach Carlisle is leaving ICM Partners to join TFC Management, the company launched in 2020 by senior TV lit agents Ben Jacobson and David Stone, which represents creators, showrunners, filmmakers and producers. Carlisle’s exit from ICM is amicable, with many of his clients planning to remain at ICM and join […]
Thursday primetime finally broke free of four-way ties for the top spot after three consecutive weeks. The latest episode of NBC Law & Order: SVU led the charge in both demo ratings and audience among non-sports titles. Helping to break the weeks-long tie was CBS’ coverage of March Madness Round 1 games. Among the victors of […]
UPDATED with quotes: California’s Film & Television Tax Credit 2.0 Program generated nearly $21.9 billion in economic output in the state over five years at a projected cost to taxpayers of little more than $1.5 billion, according to a new study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association, using data from the California Film Commission. The […]
ABC is heading off into the national parks, only this time without Kevin Costner. The Disney-owned network has handed a pilot order to its untitled national parks project, which comes from A+E Studios. Rashad Raisani, an exec producer on Fox’s 9-1-1: Lone Star, is now writing and exec producing. It comes after the network passed […]
Following the $8.5 billion sale of MGM to Amazon, two town hall meetings were held today, the first with MGM employees and the second with Amazon Studios and Prime Video staffers. Both led by Amazon Studios and Prime Video SVP Mike Hopkins detailed a new organization structure: MGM Motion Picture Group Chairman Michael De Luca, […]
Pixar’s forthcoming Toy Story prequel Lightyear has put a same-sex kiss back in following an internal backlash to Disney’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. A source familiar with the production confirmed the change to Deadline. Variety was the first to report the move. The embrace is between Hawthorne, a character voiced by Uzo […]
The Oscars on Friday set some of the musicians who will perform on the live ABC ceremony on March 27 from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Oscarcast producers Will Packer and Shayla Cowan said an “all-star band” will feature the show’s music director Adam Blackstone, blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, percussionist and singer Sheila E. and […]
Emmy nominee Adina Porter (Underground) and Clark Backo (Letterkenny) are set as leads opposite LaKeith Stanfield in The Changeling, Apple TV+’s upcoming drama series based on Victor LaValle’s bestselling book of the same name. The Changeling, from Annapurna and Apple Studios, is a fairytale for grown-ups. A horror story, a parenthood fable and a perilous […]
Film Independent has set Lanre Olabisi (A Storybook Ending), Sari Arambulo (Family Style), Sanford Jenkins (Joy and Pain), Rob Connolly (Lavender Country), Elise H. Greven (Silent Spring) and Phumi Morare (There is Salt in the Water) as the participants and projects for its 2022 Screenwriting Lab/ All of of this year’s participants are from communities […]
This is one of the best weekends for new indie releases in some time — a bit of space in theaters to run and audiences slowly, but increasingly, willing to return. Focus Features’ The Outfit – the directorial debut of Oscar-winning screenwriter Graham Moore (The Imitation Game) — opens nationally on over 1,200 screens with Mark […]
Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman released in China today, getting off to an RMB 23.3M ($3.7M) start, including previews. The inauspicious bow was expected given that about 35% of the market’s cinemas have been temporarily shuttered amid a new Covid spike. The good news is that the film has a strong 9 score on platforms Tao […]
Good afternoon Insiders and it’s Max Goldbart here with your weekly dose of the biggest headlines across the film and TV world. Highway To The Palais Need for speed: Tom Cruise will bring some star power to Cannes Film Festival this year when he heads to the Riviera to premiere his upcoming movie Top Gun: Maverick. Rumored […]
French major Canal Plus has finalized an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Netherlands-based broadcaster SPI International. The deal, first reported in September 2021, sees the Vivendi-owned French outfit acquire 70% of SPI. It has now been cleared by regulatory authorities and can be made official. SPI operates 42 TV channels across six continents. […]
HBO Max Unveils ‘The Thaw’ Trailer EXCLUSIVE: HBO Max has unveiled a trailer for Polish thriller The Thaw from writer/director duo Marta Szymanek and Xawery Żuławski. The Thaw will launch in all HBO Max territories on April 1 and the trailer comes a week after the streamer launched in Poland. The show starts with the body […]
EXCLUSIVE: The streaming revolution has finally gifted European creatives the opportunity to write sci-fi and other genres, according to Quoc Dang Tran, the creator of Disney+’s first French-language drama Parallèles. Speaking exclusively to Deadline on the eve of the teen drama’s launch, Netflix’s Marianne creator said he came up with the idea more than a decade […]
Russian news channel RT’s licence to broadcast in the UK has been revoked with immediate effect by the regulator Ofcom, which said it “cannot be satisfied that RT can be a responsible broadcaster in the current circumstances.” RT has already been pulled by some UK platforms, by EU networks and on YouTube across the continent […]
UPDATED with delay news: Blue Origin said Thursday night that it has delayed the launch of its 20th mission, which was scheduled to take place March 23. The shift, the company said, means SNL‘s Pete Davidson “is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission.” No reason was immediately given for him […]
Japanese actor Akira Takarada, the star of the original 1954 Godzilla film, has died at the age of 87. No cause or date of death was given by Toho Studios, which produced that film and announced his death. Takarada starred as Hideto Ogata in Godzilla, a sailor. His character was the liaison with the Japanese […]
Grey’s Anatomy consulting producer Elisabeth Finch has been placed on administrative leave following an allegation that she may have fudged details about her medical and personal history while writing for the ABC drama, Deadline has confirmed. Finch’s claims are currently under review. The revered writer, who is 44, is best known for penning “Silent All […]
The Los Angeles Police Department is facing a $20 million racial-profiling lawsuit from a Grey’s Anatomy driver after officers used “excessive force” against him in an incident on location last year that played out in front of the crew of the medical drama. Occurring during a Tarzana, CA location shoot for the Shonda Rhimes-created series […]
The Bachelorette will be making history this summer when it features not one but two women on rose duty, but executive producer Mike Fleiss seems to be downplaying any possibility of a pending catfight between the single ladies. Fleiss responded to a fan on Twitter who wondered whether Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey would be […]
The Nevada Gaming Commission today sent IAC Chairperson Barry Diller and CEO Joey Levin’s gambling license applications back to the Nevada Gaming Control Board for “further fact finding and investigation”. IAC has a 14% stake in MGM Resorts, after an initial $1 billion investment back in August 2020. Diller and Levin are part of the […]
EXCLUSIVE: Just days after she became available following the cancellation of NBC’s Ordinary Joe, Natalie Martinez has been tapped as a series regular opposite Vince Vaughn in the Apple TV+ drama series Bad Monkey, written and executive produced by Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence. Martinez replaces Ana Villafañe who had originally been cast in the role. Recastings are […]
So you’re telling us there’s a chance, Daniel Radcliffe? The actor, whose starring role in the Harry Potter film franchise enthralled a generation, told the New York Times that he’s not interested “right now” in being a part of a potential film adaptation of the Broadway play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. But he didn’t […]
