Former Saturday Night Live castmember Melissa Villaseñor opened up this week about her decision to leave the show, and it doesn’t sound like it was an easy one. “It was my decision,” Villaseñor told The Daily Beast’s Last Laugh podcast. She went on to explain the terms on which she departed in September. “I gave […]
EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, we understand, Matt Dinniman, the author of bestseller Dungeon Crawler Carl has signed with WME. Dinniman’s bestselling series, Dungeon Crawler Carl, holds the No. 1 spot in the top 100 paid audiobooks for TV on Amazon. The series has sold over 400K copies across print, audio, and eBook. WME will […]
Political kingmaker Jeffrey Katzenberg said he thinks the 2024 presidential election will see President Joe Biden facing off, once again, with Donald Trump. “I believe our current president will run again,” the DreamWorks, Quibi and WndrCo co-founder said during a Q&A at the WSJ Tech Live conference. He said the chance of former President Trump […]
EXCLUSIVE: We have learned that Lionsgate has acquired the upcoming action-thriller One Ranger, which stars Thomas Jane and John Malkovich. The studio is handling sales at AFM. In One Ranger, a highly skilled Texas Ranger (Jane) is recruited by British Intelligence to track down an extremely dangerous terrorist and stop him from unleashing a major […]
Selena Gomez revealed she tested positive for Covid-19 and will be unable to visit NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this evening. “I’m not going to be on Fallon tonight. I ended up getting covid but am resting and feeling ok,” the Only Murders in the Building star shared via Instagram Story on Wednesday. […]
Aka Niviâna, Isabella Star Lablanc, and Joel D. Montgrand have joined HBO’s True Detective: Night Country, starring alongside leads Jodie Foster and Kali Reis for Season 4 of the crime anthology series. In True Detective: Night Country, from writer-director-showrunner Issa López, when the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the six men that operate the […]
As part of its ongoing efforts to push the industry towards greater diversity, the Directors Guild has graduate 34 members from its Television Director Mentorship Program, which pairs members who seek to expand their TV directing careers (protégés) with veteran directors (mentors) who serve as their professional guides to the working world of episodic TV. […]
Technicolor Creative Studios has teamed with state-of-the-art virtual production company NantStudios on the creation of a new virtual production stage, which will open as part of its 60,000 square-foot Creative Hub in Culver City in 2023. Technicolor has established the tech partnership and stage build as part of its investment in the future of filmmaking, […]
The Upshaws will be back for a third go-round. Netflix has renewed the comedy series from Regina Hicks and Wanda Sykes for a third season. Starring Sykes, Mike Epps and Kim Fields, the multi-camera comedy centers on a working-class African American family in Indiana struggling to make it work and make it right without the […]
EXCLUSIVE: Comedian, actor, producer and podcaster Andrew Schulz (Infamous) has signed with CAA. One of the biggest and most influential names in comedy today, the business-savvy Schulz has been credited with helping to spur democratization in comedy. He’s among those who have proven that comics looking to retain ownership of their material — by self-releasing […]
Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis has named five executives to new senior roles as the firm expands its leadership team across the company. Amelia Makin and Andrew Stein have been promoted to Executive Vice President roles, while Gabrielle Lee is being elevated into the role of Senior Vice President, Diversity Equity Inclusion & Accessibility & Multicultural Communications, […]
Mr. Mayor and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend alumna Vella Lovell has been cast as a series regular opposite Joel McHale on Fox’s straight-to-series workplace comedy, Animal Control. It’s slated for a mid-season premiere. Created by Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg and Dan Sterling, the comedy series follows a group of local Animal Control workers whose lives are complicated by the fact […]
CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht on Wednesday warned staffers that there would be “noticeable change” to the network that will affect employees, budgets and projects. In a memo, Licht wrote, “There is widespread concern over the global economic outlook, and we must factor that risk into our long-term planning. All this together will mean […]
Michael Kopsa, a Canadian actor whose roles on hit and cult-favorite like The X-Files, Highlander, Smallville and Stargate SG-1 made him an immediately recognizable TV presence, died Sunday, Oct. 23, of complications from a brain tumor. He was 66. His death was announced on Twitter by his ex-wife, actor Lucia Frangione. “The great Michael Kopsa, […]
Endeavor’s IMG global events group has sold The Miss Universe Organization to Thailand-based JKN Global Media. Financial details weren’t disclosed but JKN CEO Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip told local press the price tag was $14 million. The organization that oversees the annual Miss Universe competition has been part of IMG since 2015. Broadcast in 165 countries, […]
EXCLUSIVE: Antonia Thomas, former fan favorite on The Good Doctor, and Red Oaks’ Craig Roberts are leading an Apple TV+ British comedy series about insomniacs from I May Destroy You producer Various Artists Limited. Still Up follows the exploits of Lisa (Thomas), an impulsive and free-spirited aspiring illustrator whose questions over her daughter’s future start […]
EXCLUSIVE: Homeland star Mandy Patinkin is fronting a podcast about the history of German Jews in the 1930s. Exile is the Emmy and Tony Award-winners first foray into podcasts and the first six episodes will launch next week, followed by another six in 2023. Produced by Antica Productions and the Leo Baeck Institute, the 12-parter […]
East and west clash in Rheingold, the latest feature from Fatih Akin, which takes him back to the streets of urban Germany after 2019’s controversial serial-killer drama The Golden Glove. This too, though, is a biopic of sorts, with a similarly notorious subject matter: Kurdish rapper, record label boss and sometime jailbird Giwar Hajabi, AKA […]
EXCLUSIVE: France tv distribution has unveiled a first round of deals for best-selling French writer Gilles Legardinier’s feature directorial debut Mr. Blake At Your Service!, reuniting John Malkovich and Fanny Ardant on the big screen. The film has been acquired for Germany and Austria (MFA+ Film Distribution), Italy (Adler Entertainment), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Spain (A […]
EXCLUSIVE: Keshet UK scripted boss Howard Burch has departed, replaced by Keshet International-owned Greenbird CEO Jamie Munro in an expanded role. Experienced former Kudos exec Burch left several months ago and Munro had been filling in temporarily, before recently becoming the permanent Keshet UK MD. He is tasked with building up the Israeli powerhouse’s scripted […]
Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor John Fetterman and TV personality Mehmet Oz met for their only pre-election debate, in what was perhaps the most closely watched match ups of all U.S. Senate candidates this midterm cycle. Viewers were reminded that their high stakes race could determine who controls the upper chamber, but the debate was unusual in […]
Award-winning producer Ben Feigin, who served as an executive producer on Schitt’s Creek, died Monday of pancreatic cancer. He was 47. Feigin played a key role in the launch of Schitt’s Creek by crafting its unique business model. He sourced non-traditional financing and sold the series on a non-exclusive basis to multiple licensees worldwide. He also […]
Vladimir Putin may prefer that people forget about imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but the Cinema Eye Honors isn’t. The awards show dedicated to the art and craft of documentary film today announced its 2023 Unforgettables list of the most memorable subjects of nonfiction films this year, and Navalny’s name was front and center. […]
National CineMedia is suing Regal Cinemas, one of its founding partners, for hiding behind Chapter 11 to cancel a longstanding and legally binding contract – a twist in the bankruptcy saga of Regal parent Cineworld. Regal created National CineMedia with AMC and Cinemark in 2007 to provide in-theater advertising in and it still owns a […]
Amazon Studios has unveiled the first stills from its holiday romantic comedy Something from Tiffany’s, starring Zoey Deutch (Not Okay) and Kendrick Sampson (Insecure), which is poised to launch globally on Prime Video on December 9th. The Amazon Original, based on Melissa Hill’s novel of the same name, watches as a woman’s life is upended, […]
