Three finalists for HBO ’s fifth annual Asian Pacific American Visionaries short film competition have been announced, and include filmmakers Jess X. Snow ( Little Sky ), Jesse Gi ( Neh ), and Urvashi Pathania ( Unmothered ). HBO said the three films exemplify this year’s competition theme of “Taking the Lead.” The film competition showcases cinematic storytellers of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, and the finalists were selected from hundreds of submissions and judged by a panel of HBO executives, industry leaders and fellow APA filmmakers. The three winning filmmakers will premiere their films during the 2021 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, on Saturday, September 25. In addition to the festival premiere, HBO Max will debut the films on September 27. Snow is a non-binary film director, artist, poet and community arts educator who creates queer Asian immigrant stories that transcend borders, binaries and time. …
‘Come From Away’ Film Adaptation Gets Apple TV+ Premiere Date On Eve Of 9/11
Come From Away , the Apple Original Films adaptation of the Broadway hit musical, will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 10 – the eve of 9/11’s 20th anniversary – with an ensemble cast that includes members of the original and current Broadway casts. Watch a new teaser below. Directed by the musical’s Tony Award-winning director Christopher Ashley, the live performance was filmed at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in May before an audience that included 9/11 survivors and front-line workers. The musical tells the true story of 7,000 people stranded in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland after all flights into the US are grounded on September 11, 2001. As the people of Newfoundland graciously welcome the “come from aways” into their community in the aftermath, the passengers and locals alike “process what’s happened while finding love, laughter, and new hope in the unlikely and lasting bonds that they forge.” The cast of the filmed …
Mel Brooks Memoir ‘All About Me!’ Set By Ballantine Books For November 30 Publication
EXCLUSIVE : The Random House imprint Ballantine Books has acquired and set a November 30 publication date in the U.S. for the Mel Brooks memoir All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business . The iconic director, producer, writer, and actor has also recorded an audiobook version that will be released simultaneously by Penguin Random House Audio. Century, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, will publish in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. The world publishing rights for the book were acquired by Ballantine Books Executive Editor Pamela Cannon from Jonny Geller of Curtis Brown. This is a long awaited memoir from a comic genius whose career includes the trailblazing irreverent films Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World Part I and Spaceballs , TV shows like Get Smart and Your Show of Shows , and bringing The Producers to screen and stage, winning an Oscar for Best Screenplay and the Tony Award for the effort. He is among a few entertainers …
TIFF Unveils Docs, Midnight Madness & Wavelengths Lineup With Palme d’Or Winner ‘Titane’, Liz Garbus’ ‘Becoming Cousteau’ & More
Toronto International Film Festival announced its section of TIFF Docs presented by A&E IndieFilms, Wavelengths and Midnight Madness sections, and confirmed additions to the Special Presentation and Contemporary World Cinema programs of the fest. “We’re so proud to present the films selected for the popular programmes TIFF Docs, Wavelengths and Midnight Madness,” stated Joana Vicente, Executive Director and Co-Head. “Always provocative, exhilarating and engaging, this year’s offerings are guaranteed to thrill Festival audiences.” “As an audience-first film festival, mesmerizing film lovers with boundary-pushing stories is pivotal,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director and Co-Head. “It’s exciting that even in this exceptional time in our industry, we’re able to bring such thought-provoking selections to these coveted TIFF programmes.” Of note today in the lineup is the international premiere of National Geographic’s documentary Becoming …
‘My Octopus Teacher’ Outfit Off The Fence Takes International Rights On Eco Doc ‘Last Of The Right Whales’
EXCLUSIVE: Last Of The Right Whales , Nadine Pequeneza‘s recently completed documentary about the fight to save the titular sea mammal, has been picked up by Off The Fence , the distribution and production company behind Oscar winning doc My Octopus Teacher . The South African outfit has taken all international rights excluding territories where deals have been concluded, namely Germany (SWR), France (ARTE) and Canada (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Producer HitPlay Productions has retained U.S. rights. A theatrical release is being planned via IndieCan Entertainment in Canada for the fall. CBC will air in 2022. The doc is the story of a disparate group of people – a wildlife photographer, a marine biologist, a whale rescuer, and a crab fisherman – united in their cause to save the North Atlantic right whale. Shot in 4K, the team had unprecedented access to film the migration of the whales from their breeding ground off the coast of Florida to their …
‘For Sama’ Director Waad Al-Kateab To Helm Feature Doc On IOC Refugee Olympic Team
The IOC Refugee Olympic Team competing in the Tokyo Olympics is set to be the subject of a feature documentary from For Sama director Waad Al-Kateab . Al-Kateab, who was nominated for an Oscar for her Syrian Civil War documentary, is helming the doc, which is produced by The White Helmets and Virunga producer Joanna Natasegara, who runs Violet Films, and Bryn Mooser and his non-fiction studio XTR . The doc is backed by Airbnb founder Joe Gebbia, who exec produces alongside Jason Ropell and Nevine Mabro and XTR’s Justin Lacob and Kathryn Everett. Al Kateab and Natasegara have had unprecedented access to the IOC Refugee Olympic Team before, during and after the 2020 Games, which saw 29 athletes competing in Tokyo, originating from 11 countries, and residing in 13 host nations. “I am so honored to have the opportunity to capture the stories of these inspirational athletes on their way to competing at the biggest sports event in the world,” said Waad …
Netflix Takes Global Rights To Alloy Entertainment’s Nicholas Galitzine-Sofia Carson Romance Pic ‘Purple Hearts’
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has scooped up global rights to the Alloy Entertainment Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum-directed romance feature Purple Hearts which will begin shooting in California later this summer with Nicholas Galitzine and Sofia Carson starring. Adapted from Tess Wakefield’s novel of the same name by Tony Award-nominee Kyle Jarrow ( Valor ) and Liz Garcia ( The Lifeguard ), Purple Hearts follows an aspiring singer-songwriter Cassie (Carson) and marine Luke (Galitzine), who in spite of their many differences and against all odds, fall hopelessly in love. Carson, the star of Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists and Disney’s Descendants franchise will co-write and perform Purple Hearts ‘ original soundtrack. She will also serve as EP. Galitzine most recently starred as Prince Robert in Amazon’s Cinderella , opposite Camila Cabello; and his previous credits include the Netflix series Chambers , in which he starred opposite Uma Thurman, Pippa Bianco’s …
Rob Reiner Says He’s Working On TV Project About Donald Trump & Vladimir Putin
Archie Bunker might call this “Meathead vs. MAGA.” Rob Reiner said in an interview today that he is working on a “10- to 13-episode” TV project about the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin . Watch a clip from the sit-down above. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind films ranging from This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride and A Few Good Men to LBJ and Shock and Awe told SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah that he is prepping a project called The Spy and the Asset . “It’s all about Putin and Trump, and it takes them from their childhoods up to the point where they cross and what happens to democracy as a result of this convergence,” he said on the satcaster’s The Dean Obeidallah Show. Reiner later added: “I wanna do it because, for me, it’s like … taking the first real cut in history.” Reiner noted that he “hasn’t gotten the go-ahead yet” for the project — in fact, Reiner said, “I haven’t told anybody about it yet.” Watch on …
Inner Voice Artists & Immaterial Agents Set The Munoz Brothers To Adapt YA Novel ‘Iceland’s Mountain Factory’ For TV
EXCLUSIVE: Mexican filmmaking duo the Munoz Brothers, who made the 2019 comedy-drama Paper Boats , have been set to adapt Kristín Helga Gunnarsdóttir’s young adult novel Iceland’s Mountain Factory. The book was inspired by the Greta Thunberg movement. It follows a group of young graduates from a mountaineering academy in the south-east of Iceland who get stuck in a fierce storm, taking refuge in an old hut, where they decide to set up a free state dedicated to nature and sustainability. When one of the girls in the group, an established environmental activist and influencer, is found dead one morning, everything changes. The project, titled The Mountain Factory , comes from Los Angeles and Oslo-based management company Inner Voice Artists and Nordic literary agency Immaterial Agents , which recently struck a partnership to co-rep book rights for film and TV adaptations. Inner Voice Artists will produce the TV series, while also co-selling book rights …
Constantin & UFA Fiction Underway On Julia Von Heinz Drama Series ‘Eldorado KaDeWe’; Fremantle Boards Distribution
Constantin Television ( We Children from Bahnhof Zoo ) and UFA Fiction ( Deutschland 83 ) are underway on new German-language drama series Eldorado KaDeWe (w/t), which will be directed by Julia von Heinz , director of Germany’s 2020 Oscar entry And Tomorrow the Entire World . Made in co-production with ARD Degeto and RBB, the series is set in Berlin during the Roaring Twenties. The city is dominated by political unrest, inflation and increasing political radicalization but is also a modern metropolis in whose vibrant nightlife emancipation, sexual diversity and social utopias blossom. The drama focuses on the famous luxury department store, KaDeWe at Wittenbergplatz, founded and successfully run by the Jewish entrepreneurial family Jandorf. It is here that the lives of Hedi, Fritzi, Harry and Georg cross paths. The six-part high-end series is being filmed in Budapest and Berlin and above is a first-look image. Starring are Valerie Stoll, Lia von Blarer, Joel …