Big fat

Ashim Ahluwalia, known as a director of edgy films such as John & Jane and Miss Lovely that have premiered at Toronto and Cannes film festivals, is not an obvious choice to direct a young adult drama series for Netflix . But when local production house Bodhitree Multimedia approached him with a proposal for a Hindi remake of Spanish show Elite , he jumped at the chance. “I’ve always been interested in making something on teenagers, especially wealthy urban teenagers, because that’s a world that I know,” says Ahluwalia, who grew up in the tony neighborhoods of south Mumbai. “I went to a school that was very different to the school in Elite , or in this series, but had the same elements of class conflict. So while I’d never thought about doing a series before, I thought this would be an interesting project to do.” Created by Carlos Montero and Dario Madrona, Elite follows three scholarship kids from a modest socioeconomic background who get placed in an … [Read more...] about Ashim Ahluwalia On Portraying The Extremes Of India’s Wealth Gap In Netflix Young Adult Drama ‘Class’

UPDATED with content spend stats from annual report: Giant Amazon said its total expenses for video and music came to $16.6 billion last year, up from $13 billion in 2021. Video and music expense includes licensing and production costs associated with content offered within Amazon Prime memberships, and costs associated with digital subscriptions and sold or rented content, according to the company’s latest annual report that followed fourth quarter financials yesterday. On an earnings call Thursday, CFO Brian Olsavsky noted that Amazon spent $7 billion on originals, live sports and licensed content in 2022, up from $5 billion the year before. It’s unclear if those figures include all worldwide video content, which is increasingly central to Amazon’s strategy in driving membership for Prime, the biggest loyalty program in the world and the beating heart of the company. Amazon (which acquired MGM last year for $8.5 billion in cash) carefully evaluates its return on … [Read more...] about Amazon Praises Video As Key Driver Of Prime; 2022 Content Spend, Including Music, Hit $16.6 Billion

Sony Pictures Classics has taken North American on Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version which won the Audience Award (U.S. Dramatic Competition) and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award (U.S. Dramatic Competition) at this year’s Sundance. Keshavarz is the first filmmaker to have two films win the Sundance Audience Award in the Dramatic Competition category. This is the second title that SPC has snapped out of Sundance, Deadline first telling you about their acquisition of A Little Prayer, which they took global rights on. Logline: Coming from two countries at odds with each other, Iranian-American Leila (Layla Mohammadi) strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures, while boldly challenging the labels society is so quick to project upon her. When her family reunites in New York City for her father’s heart transplant, Leila navigates her relationships from arm’s length in an effort to keep her “real” life separate from her family life. However, when her secret … [Read more...] about Sony Pictures Classics Picks Up Sundance Winner ‘The Persian Version’

Leave it to a sitcom vet like Melissa Rauch to remind the industry that everything old can be new again. After persuading Warner Bros. TV to dust off the Night Court IP and revive it for NBC, multi-cams are suddenly hot again, with every broadcast network — and even a few streamers like Netflix (home to new hit That ’90s Show , which just got renewed ) are putting studio audience comedies in development. While no one is straight-up abandoning single-cams — the success of CBS’ Ghosts and ABC’s Abbott Elementary have certainly made sure of that — there’s no beating the cost-effectiveness of one of TV’s most tried and true genres. “Everybody had a hunch they should probably be doing more of them,” says one high-powered comedy agent. “Night Court is a good sign there is an appetite for that. Everything I’m hearing out of CBS, for example, is that they have pretty hard caps they are trying to hit on these multi-camera shows. The Conners is an exception because … [Read more...] about Thanks, ‘Night Court’! How Multi-Cams Are Having A Moment … Again

Getty Win or lose, some Eagles fans won't have to stress about waking up early for math class the day after the Super Bowl ... 'cause one school district has already implemented a two-hour delay in honor of the big game. The Gloucester City School District in South Jersey announced its plans to have a late start on Monday, Feb. 13 .. allowing kids and teachers to either celebrate -- or mourn -- the result of the game a bit longer before hitting the hay. "It is a rare and special time for families to watch our local professional football team compete in the Super Bowl," school superintendent Sean Gorman said about the decision. "We feel that it's important to give students and staff the opportunity to enjoy the game with the families and still attend school and work the next day safely and well-rested." FYI, Gloucester City is located in Camden County in New Jersey ... and is located about 12 minutes from Lincoln Financial Field in Philly, where the Eagles play … [Read more...] about Eagles Fans Get Two-Hour School Delay Day After Super Bowl LVII

TMZ.com Latto seemingly wasn't phased by the fact she can't sell her panties ... she got back into her MC bag performing for Spotify's Best New Artist on Thursday!!! The "Big Energy" rapper was among several performers at the event inside Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood ... and blitzed through a melody of hits dropped by her own DJ Von . She and her backup dancers also put on a twerking display right before wooing the crowd with her signature "Big Energy" banger, which is up for Best Melodic Rap Performance at this year's Grammys!!! Gallery Launch Gallery Getty Latto is also up for Best New Artist at the upcoming awards ... and we can safely say she's capping off a crazy week after nearly becoming $100K richer after attempting to pawn her used underwear on eBay. TMZ.com As we told you, eBay removed the sale of the cheetah-print panties just as it was hitting the six-figure mark, -- potentially giving her manager … [Read more...] about Latto Performs Melody Of Hits At Spotify’s Best New Artist Party

TMZ.com E-40 was doing it “too big” like his Mount Westmore anthem at his alma mater Grambling State University on Friday … donating a massive $100K check to the HBCU’s music department for invaluable upgrades for generations of students to come. The legendary rapper was flanked by his wife, GSU President Rick Gallot and Dr. Nikole Roebuck … Grambling’s Music Department Chair and Director of Bands and graciously addressed the crowd during his coronation. TMZ.com The GSU Tigers flipped the script and surprised E-40 with the unveiling of The Earl “E-40” Stevens Sound Recording studio … a commemorative installation to inspire students’ music hustle just like the Bay Area OG!!! 40 attended GSU all the way back in 1986 which paved the road he walked to become a hip hop icon — and told onlookers it was an honor to stand at the university for the full-circle moment. He explained growing up in his impoverished Vallejo, CA neighborhood led … [Read more...] about E-40 Donates $100K to Grambling State, Honored With ‘Earl Stevens’ Studio