Casting du jour

SAG-AFTRA is working on what will be the first truly comprehensive picture of the employment landscape for women and minority actors and hopes to release it within a year. SAG used to release the reports annually, then in 2004 it started issuing them every other year. After 2009, it stopped releasing the reports altogether. The problem was that AFTRA never released comprehensive casting reports on actors employed under its jurisdiction – which included daytime soaps and some primetime and basic cable shows, and new pilots – so the employment picture SAG presented was never really complete. And in the years leading up to their 2012 merger, AFTRA launched a concerted campaign to sign more pilots and cable shows to its contract by offering more favorable terms than SAG’s – a move that sparked a bitter feud between the two unions. Related: SAG-AFTRA Sets May 5 For Start Of New Contract Talks With AMPTP As AFTRA’s share of the TV jurisdiction ballooned, the missing piece … [Read more...] about SAG-AFTRA Working On Wide-Ranging Report About Casting Diversity

With one day to go before its current 3-year contract expires, the WGA said today that its members ratified the new agreement by a huge margin — the ones who actually voted, that is. “The WGA membership overwhelmingly voted in favor of ratifying the contract by 98.5 percent,” the union said in a statement. Ballots were to be cast online, by mail or at membership meetings in New York and Los Angeles on April 29. Not that a lot of the union’s members turned out to actually vote on the deal that was struck on April 2 with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers . Of the 8,218 eligible WGA voters, only 1,193 valid votes were actually cast. That’s just 14%. Of those actually voting, there were 1,175 “Yes” votes and 18 “No” votes, according to the union. Last time round in 2011 , 1,952 votes were cast with 90.7% voting in favor of the agreement. Having said that, at least the WGA revealed how many members voted. When DGA members ratified their new deal earlier this year , … [Read more...] about WGA Members Approve New Contract; Less Than 15% Of Eligible Voters Cast Ballots

Romanian boxer Romanian boxer Florian Munteanu has joined the cast of Creed 2 . He will star alongside Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone ; it was Stallone who confirmed the casting of the boxer as Ivan Drago’s son. Drago, of course, was the character portrayed by Dolph Lundgren who killed Apollo Creed in the ring. Jordan plays Creed’s son. The picture, which Deadline confirmed will pit the two sons against each other in the ring, is scheduled to start this spring, will be directed by Steven Caple, Jr. from a screenplay by Stallone and Cheo Hodari Coker. Creed 2 will be prodduced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, and Kevin King-Templeton while executive producers will be Jordan and Guy Riedel. Also starring in the film is Tessa Thompson who returns to the sequel. Here is Stallone’s tweet announcing the casting of Munteanu: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd_ib_1jeuy/ The boxer is repped by The Gersh Agency. … [Read more...] about ‘Creed 2’ Casts Boxer Florian Munteanu To Play Ivan Drago’s Son

Filming for Yellowjackets Season 2 has wrapped for the cast in the 90s timeline. Samantha Hanratty, young Misty Quigly, shared the news in an Instagram post. “Last day on set of season 2! Extremely grateful to the incredible crew of @yellowjackets so much hard work went into this season and I can’t wait for you all to see it! Buzz buzz buzz baby,” she shared alongside a photo with a snowy background. In the comments, Warren Kole, who plays Jeff Sadecki, replied saying, “Cast and crew have logged intense work in harsh conditions to put out this show. They have really been out in it. Props to them.” Melanie Lynskey, who portrays adult Shauna, took to Twitter to share a message of gratitude to everyone involved in the show. “Sorry to be sappy but the 90s cast of Yellowjackets wrapped yesterday and we all sat and watched episode 201 together… and other than my siblings, I have never felt this level of pride and respect and adoration for a group of people. I can’t … [Read more...] about ‘Yellowjackets’: ’90s Cast Wraps Season 2 Filming Amid “Intense Work In Harsh Conditions”

EXCLUSIVE : Ahead of the EFM , Blue Finch Films has boarded international sales, excluding North America, on horror The Outwaters . The film follows four friends who set out to make a music video whilst camping in the sun-drenched Mojave desert. Their trip starts off like any other, but the group soon realizes something is not right. Mysterious sounds haunt them, and when a menacing force descends, their horrifying journey begins. North American rights have been acquired by Cinedigm who plan to release The Outwaters in theaters on February 9 followed by a launch on its horror streaming service Screambox, which is powered by studio Bloody Disgusting. Written and directed by Robbie Banfitch, The Outwaters has screened at Chattanooga and Panic Fest, and also took home the Jury Prize for Best Feature at Unnamed Footage Festival and Dead of Night Film Festival. Cast includes Angela Basolis, Michelle May, Scott Schamell and Banfitch and features original music by Salem … [Read more...] about Blue Finch Boards Mojave Desert Horror ‘The Outwaters’ Ahead Of U.S. Release — EFM

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’

Prime Video has confirmed Deadline’s report that hit MRC Television conspiracy thriller The Terminal List , headlined by Chris Pratt , has been renewed for a second season , and that the streamer also has ordered an untitled prequel series focusing on fan-favorite Ben Edwards, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch . Season 2 of The Terminal List , whose first installment was based on Jack Carr’s bestseller of the same name, will be based on Carr’s novel True Believer. Additionally, it has been revealed what other Carr characters the prequel series, co-created by Carr and Season 1 creator-showrunner David DiGilio, will feature opposite Kitsch’s Ben in addition to James Reece (Pratt) and Raife Hastings, which Deadline had already reported. The list includes Mohammed Farooq and Ernest “Boozer” Vickers, played in Season 1 by Pratt’s longtime coach, former Navy SEAL and series producer Jared Shaw. The untitled prequel is described as an elevated espionage thriller that takes … [Read more...] about ‘The Terminal List’: More Details Revealed About Season 2 Of Prime Video Series Starring Chris Pratt & Taylor Kitsch-Led Prequel

Benedict Cumberbatch is to lead and EP Netflix ’s Eric , playing a puppeteer whose son goes missing in 1980s Manhattan. Netflix has set cast on the Abi Morgan -penned show from Chernobyl producer Sister and the likes of Gaby Hoffman, McKinley Belcher II, Dan Fogler and Phoebe Nicholls will star opposite Cumberbatch. Cast is rounded out by Clarke Peters, Ivan Morris Howe, David Denman, Bamar Kane, Adepero Odyue, Alexis Molnar and Roberta Colindrez. The six-parter follows Vincent Anderson (Cumberbatch), a grief-stricken puppeteer on a leading TV show whose young boy goes missing and who finds solace through his friendship with Eric, the monster that lives under his son’s bed. The Split scribe Morgan’s Little Chick is producing with Sister and Morgan EPing alongside Cumberbatch, Jane Featherstone, Lucy Dyke and Lucy Forbes. “Eric is a dark and crazy journey into the heart of 1980’s New York, and the good bad and ugly world of Vincent,” said Morgan. “The chance … [Read more...] about Benedict Cumberbatch To Lead & EP Netflix’s ‘Eric’ From Abi Morgan & Sister

Universal’s M. Night Shyamalan R-rated thriller Knock at the Cabin opened its doors last night to $1.45 million in previews off showtimes that began at 5 p.m. That number is just under the preview figure of Shyamalan ‘s Old, which did $1.5M before a $16.8M opening. Knock at the Cabin ‘s previews makes sense as the tracking outlook for the movie is between $15M-$17M at 3,643 theaters. It also has the fuel from PLF and Dolby ticketing. The pic cost $20M before P&A. While Old ‘s opening was at a time when moviegoers were making their way back to the cinema from the pandemic, when it comes to Shyamalan the theatrical business of his films boils down to his endings. Old put many off with a C+ CinemaScore and critics at 50% Rotten, the pic legging out to $48.2M. That was a different scenario from his recent Universal highpoints, Split ($40M opening, $138.2M domestic) and Glass ($40M opening, $111M domestic), which were connected to his 2000 thriller … [Read more...] about ‘Knock At The Cabin’ Grabs $1.45 Million In Thursday Screenings, ‘80 For Brady’ $1.27M In Total Previews – Friday AM Box Office

Netflix has released a first look teaser for Unstable , starring Rob and John Owen Lowe , and announced a March 30 release date for the father-son comedy. Unstable follows an introverted son (John Owen Lowe) who goes to work for his very successful, wildly eccentric father ( Rob Lowe ) in order to save him and his successful biotech company from disaster. It is inspired by Rob and John Owen Lowe’s social media relationship, in which John Owen often humorously trolls his dad. Rob Lowe’s Ellis Dragon is a universally admired, eccentric, narcissist-adjacent biotech entrepreneur working to make the world a better place. He’s also in emotional free-fall. His son Jackson Dragon (John Owen Lowe) is… none of those things. So the question is: Can Jackson save Ellis and his company and salvage their estranged relationship while also doing what may actually be impossible: escaping the shadow of his larger-than-life father? The series is co-created and executive produced … [Read more...] about ‘Unstable’: Rob Lowe & John Owen Lowe Netflix Comedy Gets Premiere Date – Watch The Teaser