Jesse Lee Soffer has returned home to NBC ’s Chicago P.D. but not as Jay Halstead. Instead, he’s making his debut as a director in tonight’s episode “Deadlocked.” The actor announced in late August his 10-season run on the Dick Wolf drama would conclude, making his final appearance on October 5. News followed weeks later that he would reunite with the cast and crew in the director’s chair. “Deadlocked” is the continuation of “The Ghost Inside Of You” which aired on February 15. “This was the perfect episode for me to direct,” Soffer told Deadline during a recent interview. “I love this episode because it was like a throwback episode to old-school PD with Voight [Jason Beghe] going off the rails, Man on Fire kind of stuff, vigilante stuff, and living in the gray area off the books. That’s the story we’ve been telling, especially the foil between Halstead and Voight, for so long—it’s something I really know deeply. So to get to do that kind of story with Jason was really … [Read more...] about ‘Chicago P.D.’: Jesse Lee Soffer Reveals He Almost Made A Sneaky Cameo In Directorial Debut
Arginase structure and inhibition catalytic site plasticity reveals new modulation possibilities
Steven Knight Set As New Scribe For Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie
Academy Award nominee Steven Knight ( Peaky Blinders ) has taken over as the screenwriter for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars movie following the recently announced departure of scribes Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, Deadline can confirm. Little is known about the film, though new details should be unveiled at next month’s Star Wars Celebration in London. Sources tell us that the film will likely be one of the first out of the gate for the storied Lucasfilm franchise since 2019’s Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker , if not the first. It’s not clear what led to the departure of from the project of Lindelof and Britt-Gibson, though the former alluded to the move in a recent interview with SlashFilm . “I will just say, that for reasons that I can’t get into on this Sunday morning, on this day, the degree of difficulty is extremely, extremely, extremely high. If [the film] can’t be great, it shouldn’t exist,” said Lindelof. “That’s all I’ll … [Read more...] about Steven Knight Set As New Scribe For Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie
Tony Award Nominations: ‘Mean Girls,’ ‘SpongeBob’ And ‘Harry Potter’ Lead New Crop; ‘Angels,’ ‘Carousel’ Top Revivals
This morning’s Tony Award nominations favored the familiar, with Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants leading the field with 12 nods apiece. The American debut of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child paced new plays with 10 nominations, and the revival of Angels in America had a strong showing with 11 nominations, most in Tony history for a play. (See the full list below.) Other shows posting impressive tallies included The Band’s Visit , with 11 nominations going to the original musical based on a 2007 Israeli film. An acclaimed revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel also scored 11 nominations, including one for Renée Fleming, who is better known for her career as one of the opera world’s most venerable stars. Lincoln Center’s posh reboot of My Fair Lady garnered 10 nominations, and the Denzel Washington-starring revival of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh received eight. Frozen , the latest Disney adaptation to head to Broadway , joining The … [Read more...] about Tony Award Nominations: ‘Mean Girls,’ ‘SpongeBob’ And ‘Harry Potter’ Lead New Crop; ‘Angels,’ ‘Carousel’ Top Revivals
‘Mean Girls’ Review: Tina Fey Musical Makes Broadway Honor Roll
At least one of the characters in Broadway ’s Mean Girls would describe this musical adaptation of Tina Fey ’s 2004 not-for-teens-only film comedy as absolutely fetch. And fetch it is, whether that word ever happens or not. Vibrant, beautifully sung and visually splendid, this funny charmer – book by Fey, music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin – broadens the original Paramount movie – a bar-raiser for teen flicks – to full musical comedy scale without sacrificing any of the mordancy and compassion that made a superstar of Lindsay Lohan and a generational descriptor of the title. Directed and choreographed by The Book of Mormon ‘s Casey Nicholaw (and produced by, among others, Lorne Michaels , who surveyed this preview performance with the same inscrutable, puckered expression caught occasionally by the cameras of Saturday Night Live ) Mean Girls , at the August Wilson Theatre, stays true to the plot (and well-remembered jokes and catchphrases) … [Read more...] about ‘Mean Girls’ Review: Tina Fey Musical Makes Broadway Honor Roll
Kevin Garnett Says Kobe’s Death Made Him Squash Beef W/ Ray Allen
Getty Kevin Garnett revealed he squashed his beef with former teammate Ray Allen because of Kobe Bryant ... saying the tragic and unexpected death of the NBA icon made him realize life's too short to be angry. Quick refresher ... Allen, KG, and Paul Pierce were teammates with the Boston Celtics, where they won the NBA title together in 2008. Getty However, their Big 3 was split up when Ray left for the Miami Heat in 2012 ... a move that really pissed off KG, who felt some type of way when the 10-time All-Star chose their conference rival over him and Paul. "What made the Ray situation so prolific with us is because the structure we built in Boston, the three of us built that," Garnett told Kevin Hart on his "Cold as Balls" show this week. "So if it was one team we had an issue with, it was Miami." "I wasn't looking at it like, better business decision for Ray, [or] Ray has a chance to get another ring -- I ain't take … [Read more...] about Kevin Garnett Says Kobe’s Death Made Him Squash Beef W/ Ray Allen
‘Mean Girls’ Movie Musical From Paramount Finds Its Kevin G. In Mahi Alam; Connor Ratliff Also Set
EXCLUSIVE : Paramount Pictures ‘ new Mean Girls film, based on the Tony-nominated Broadway show and the classic film comedy that inspired it, has found its Kevin G. in up-and-comer Mahi Alam ( American Born Chinese ), with veteran comedic actor Connor Ratliff ( Search Party ) also coming on for a role. Alam’s character Kevin, portrayed in the original movie by Rajiv Surendra, is the Mathlete friend of protagonist Cady, who harbors a crush on her new friend Janis at North Shore High. Ratliff will play teacher Mr. Rapp. The pair join an ensemble that also includes Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, Avantika, Christopher Briney, Ashley Park and Bebe Wood, as previously announced. The 2004 Mean Girls film, adapted by Fey from the Rosalind Wiseman book Queen Bees and Wannabes , follows high school new girl Cady (Lindsay Lohan) in her attempt to fit in with A-list girl clique, The … [Read more...] about ‘Mean Girls’ Movie Musical From Paramount Finds Its Kevin G. In Mahi Alam; Connor Ratliff Also Set
‘A Good Person’ Review: Florence Pugh In Zach Braff’s Blunt And Honest Drama
A wily old pro teams up with one of the most exciting young actresses of the day in the emotionally loaded drama A Good Person . Zach Braff ’s third feature excels at taking the measure of how people cope with personal tragedy and does so in a vital and engaging way that’s far more invigorating than depressing. Braff essentially makes one feature film every 10 years ( Garden State and Wish I Was Here came before), and while he otherwise busies himself with music, television and other pursuits, his talent is such that you’d like to see him wade more frequently and deeper into film work than he so far has. This may be melodrama, but it’s melodrama of a pretty high order, one that benefits from a first-rate cast led by Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman , and shifts tones and moods that startle with their bluntness and honesty; that raucous laughs emerge from such an upsetting story is a testament to the filmmaker’s daring and dexterity. The film wrestles bravely … [Read more...] about ‘A Good Person’ Review: Florence Pugh In Zach Braff’s Blunt And Honest Drama
Longtime UTA Agent Bec Smith Joins Anonymous Content
EXCLUSIVE : Anonymous Content has hired longtime literary agent and former UTA partner Bec Smith as a partner and manager in their Los Angeles-based lit team. We revealed Smith’s impending exit from UTA last month. The respected veteran has amassed a client roster including directors and writers such as Coline Abert, Levan Akin, Jane Anderson, Benedict Andrews, Emily Atef, Anthony Chen, Eva Husson, Ellen Kuras, Katrin Gebbe, Sebastian Junger, Julia Leigh, Phillip Noyce, Joshua Oppenheimer, Jennifer Peedom, Maria Schrader, Tali Shalom-Ezer, Dawn Shadforth, Kirsten Sheridan, Goran Stolevski, Warwick Thornton and Max Werner. The 16-year UTA veteran had been a partner in the Motion Picture Literary department but also worked closely with the UTA Independent Film Group. She worked on the packaging of projects including I Feel Pretty, Mary Magdalene, Brigsby Bear, The Circle, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Margin Call, The Spectacular Now, The Skeleton Twins, In a World, … [Read more...] about Longtime UTA Agent Bec Smith Joins Anonymous Content
Murdaugh-Linked Teen Stephen Smith’s Death Now Investigated as Homicide
Sandy Smith Stephen Smith -- the 19-year-old who was friends with Alex Murdaugh 's son Buster and died 8 years ago -- was not killed in an accidental hit-and-run ... officials now say it was a homicide, and the change of heart has a link to the recent Murdaugh murder case. The 19-year-old was found dead in the middle of a South Carolina road nearly 9 years ago. At the time authorities called it a fatal hit-and-run, despite glaring evidence it was foul play. Among the evidence -- there were no car parts found at the scene, and Stephen's body had no injuries below the torso. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced they're reopening the case and investigating it as a homicide ... this based on new info they say they've gathered from the Murdaugh double murder case that just wrapped 2 weeks ago. Unclear what exactly they've found or who it implicates ... but there's been widespread suspicion Alex Murdaugh's surviving son, … [Read more...] about Murdaugh-Linked Teen Stephen Smith’s Death Now Investigated as Homicide
Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary Kicks Into High Gear With All April TCM Movie Programming Devoted To The Studio
Turner Classic Movies is devoting the entire month of April to celebrating the 100th anniversary of its landlord, Warner Bros ., with hundreds of films from every decade of the studio, plus a variety of interstitials, documentaries, shorts and Looney Tunes cartoons, as well as interviews with stars and directors focusing on the cinematic achievements of the storied movie factory. Viewers got a taste of the anniversary doings with a tribute reel of highlights of the first 100 years of WB on this year’s Oscar show . But that reel was nearly as much about the studio’s own homegrown output as it was about some classics it acquired ownership to through various transactions with the likes of MGM, New Line Cinema and others. Thus Oscar viewers saw such MGM movies as The Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain, Ben-Hur and 2001: A Space Odyssey, along with NL behemoths like the Lord of the Rings and Austin Powers franchises stirred in the same pot as actual Warners “product” as … [Read more...] about Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary Kicks Into High Gear With All April TCM Movie Programming Devoted To The Studio