Brian roberts

EXCLUSIVE : Venice Film Festival, Netflix and The Gotham Film & Media Institute are teaming up on a program of movies at iconic New York venue, the Paris Theater. Scroll down for program lineup in full. Titled Venice Film Festival Presents: Next Generation , the four day event (April 20-23) will showcase films from the first ten years of La Biennale di Venezia’s Biennale College Cinema. Screenings will be accompanied by in-depth discussions pairing new filmmakers with established directors, producers, and writers. The opening night will feature a screening of mystery-thriller Our Father, The Devil with remarks from Venice Director Alberto Barbera and Head of Programme Savina Neirotti. Indie Spirit winner Nikyatu Jusu, whose Sundance film Nanny was picked up by Amazon and Blumhouse, will serve as moderator for the opening night discussion with director Ellie Foumbi. Biennale College Cinema is an incubator program for low-budget films by emerging … [Read more...] about Venice Film Festival, Netflix & The Gotham Institute Team Up For ‘Next Generation’ Program At New York’s Paris Theater

EXCLUSIVE : Netflix is hoping to solve the legend of D.B. Cooper, the mystery man who hijacked a Northwest Airlines passenger jet in November 1971 and escaped with $200,000, never to be seen again. The streamer has ordered D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?! from Fulwell 73 Productions and director Marina Zenovich ’s PMZ Pictures. The four-part doc series, which launches on July 13, marks the first true-crime project for Fulwell 73, which is best known for producing The Late Late Show with James Corden and Hulu’s The Kardashians. The series looks at the 50-year quest to find Cooper, whose identity remains one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century and the only unsolved case of air piracy in commercial aviation history. There have been multiple suspects in the case over the years including the possibility that Cooper was a Boeing employee, that he was former WWII paratrooper Kenneth Peter Christiansen, former leather worker and Korean War vet Lynn Doyle … [Read more...] about D.B. Cooper Doc Series Parachutes Onto Netflix As Fulwell 73 Moves Into True-Crime; Marina Zenovich Directs

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan , who expanded scientific understanding of the universe and helped millions appreciate the wonders of the cosmos, will be the subject of an upcoming documentary feature from National Geographic Documentary Films . The Untitled Carl Sagan Film will be produced by Fuzzy Door ’s Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins, Emmy and Peabody winner Ann Druyan – Sagan’s life partner – and Academy Award nominee Nanette Burstein , with Burstein directing. Also producing is production company Hungry Man . Sagan’s contributions to planetary science were equaled only by his capacity to spread an infectious joy of the marvel and immensity of space. His 1980 book Cosmos became the best-selling science book ever published in English, and he appeared frequently on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (amusing the host and the viewing public with his emphasis on “billions and billions” of stars in reference to the quantity … [Read more...] about Documentary On Carl Sagan, Brilliant Astronomer And ‘Cosmos’ Author, In The Works From National Geographic & Seth MacFarlane

Roadside Attractions has nabbed North American rights to the drama Dreamin’ Wild , telling the true story of musician brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson, slating it for release in theaters nationwide on August 4th. The film starring Academy Award winner Casey Affleck ( Manchester by the Sea ), Noah Jupe ( Honey Boy ) and Emmy and Golden Globe nom Zooey Deschanel ( 500 Days of Summer ) puts Oscar- and Emmy-nominated writer-director Bill Pohlad back in business with Roadside, which with Lionsgate released his last acclaimed film Love & Mercy on Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson. Its central question is, what if a childhood dream suddenly came true — but 30 years later?  That’s what happened to singer-songwriter Donnie Emerson and his family when the album he and his brother recorded as teens was rediscovered after 30 years of obscurity and was suddenly hailed by music critics as a lost masterpiece. While the album’s rediscovery brings hopes of second chances, … [Read more...] about Roadside Attractions Acquires Emerson Brothers Drama ‘Dreamin’ Wild’ With Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe & Zooey Deschanel

EXCLUSIVE : CAA has signed filmmaker Jamie Dack , whose debut feature Palm Trees and Power Lines earned her the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The coming-of-age drama, based on Dack’s 2018 short film of the same name, tells the story of Lea (Lily McInerny), a disconnected teenage girl who enters a relationship with a man twice her age. She sees Tom (Jonathan Tucker) as the solution to all her problems, but his intentions are not what they seem. Dack co-wrote, directed and produced the pic, which was most recently nominated for Best First Screenplay and Best First Feature at the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards, also respectively landing McInerny and Tucker noms for Best Breakthrough Performance and Supporting Performance. Other notable accolades garnered by the film include Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay at the Torino Film Festival, as well as the Jury Prize at the Deauville Film Festival, to name just a few. Dack … [Read more...] about CAA Signs Sundance Prize-Winning ‘Palm Trees And Power Lines’ Filmmaker Jamie Dack

EXCLUSIVE : Steve Small and Gwen Osborne have today announced the launch of Convergence Entertainment Group , their new film production and financing company based in Los Angeles. Convergence will operate as an independent studio, developing, financing and producing features for theatrical, broadcast and streaming markets. The company will utilize private equity funding to acquire top-level material and package projects with respected actors and filmmakers. Convergence plans to produce around half a dozen theatrical features per year for now, with hopes to expand its volume of production and financing as it continues to reach its growth objectives. “Convergence aims to create a filmmaker and talent-friendly studio where artists can create and finance projects that ultimately get distributed to outlets looking for high quality, innovative and unique original content,” Small told Deadline. Osborne added that the company “is well-poised to take advantage of the … [Read more...] about Steve Small & Gwen Osborne Launch Convergence Entertainment Group

Gwyneth Paltrow did NOT cause her Utah ski accident ... so says the jury in her ski accident case. The jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours before reaching its verdict, that Dr. Terry Sanderson caused the accident on the ski slope. The jury awarded her what she sought in her countersuit -- $1. As she left the courtroom, she whispered something to Sanderson -- microphones didn't pick it up, but Sanderson's attorney, Robert Sykes, tells us it was 4 simple words ... "I wish you well." As we reported, Gwyneth got slapped with a lawsuit back in 2019 by Dr. Terry Sanderson ... who claimed she slammed into him at Deer Valley Resort in 2016. He says he suffered a concussion, broken ribs and brain damage. Sanderson initially asked for $3.1M, but a judge ruled he could only get a maximum of $300K. Gwyneth filed a countersuit against Terry for one dollar ... claiming he's the one who hit her, not the other way around. Gwyneth and … [Read more...] about Gwyneth Paltrow Wins Ski Crash Trial

When a character promises a life story so inspirational it’ll make a believer of an atheist, the tale better come through on some big-time convincing. Life of Pi , Lolita Chakrabarti’s stage adaption of Yann Martel’s heart-tugging 2001 novel opening tonight at Broadway ’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, won’t likely be churning out any religious converts, but renewed faith in the art of puppetry is all but guaranteed. Starring the winning young actor Hiran Abeysekera, reprising his Olivier Award-winning London turn as the title character, Life of Pi , directed by Max Webster, sticks closer to the novel than to Ang Lee’s 2012 film adaptation, building the plot around a maritime investigation rather than the writing of a book – and, of course, replacing CGI beasties with enough fully articulated life-size puppets to populate a zoo, or at least a lifeboat. All aboard, at one time or another, are a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, the odd sea turtle, a hyena-bait water rat and, most … [Read more...] about ‘Life Of Pi’ Broadway Review: A Boy And His Tiger Show Their Stripes