Catherine z jones films

EXCLUSIVE : AGBO , the film and TV company founded by Anthony and Joe Russo , has a new President of Film. Michael Disco , fresh from producing superhero film The Flash , has joined the company in that role. He will oversee the creative and business strategy for AGBO’s film activities. He reports to AGBO’s Chief Creative Officer Angela Russo-Otstot, who was promoted to that role in November. It comes eight months after the company expanded its senior team with hires including Scott Nemes as President of Television. AGBO is behind films including Oscar nominated Everything Everywhere All At Once and Ryan Gosling-fronted The Gray Man as well as the upcoming Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt film The Electric State. For the last couple of years, Disco has been running his own production banner The Disco Factory, in addition to producing The Flash , alongside the Muschietti siblings. Before that he had a 20-year run at New Line, including as EVP, … [Read more...] about Michael Disco Joins Russo Bros’ AGBO As President Of Film

Belgian directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne , Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, French filmmaker Alice Diop and Romanian director Cristian Mungiu have demanded that Iran ’s Fajr International Film Festival remove their films from the line-up of its current edition, running from February 1 to 11. The filmmakers said in separate statements that they discovered by chance that their respective films Tori And Lokita , Saint Omer , Rebel and R.M.N. had been included in Fajr’s selection without their personal permission. The issue only came to light as the festival kicked off because it had kept its line-up under wraps in a bid to head off boycotts by directors and producers, due to the brutal crackdown of ongoing protests related to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September. Paris-based sales agent Wild Bunch International which handles the titles said their inclusion in the Fajr line-up was also a surprise to them. Two other … [Read more...] about Dardennes, Alice Diop, Cristian Mungiu, Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah Demand Iran’s Fajr Film Fest Remove Titles From Line-Up

EXCLUSIVE: The Kinoteka Polish Film Festival has set the lineup for its 21st edition, running March 9 — April 27 at venues across London. The festival will open at the Institute of Contemporary Arts with the UK Premiere of Polish filmmaker Damian Kocur’s debut feature, Bread and Salt . Inspired by true events, the pic follows Tymek, a young and talented student of the Warsaw Academy of Music who returns to his provincial hometown for vacation. Upon his return, he discovers that the central meeting point for local youth is a newly created kebab bar. Tymek witnesses a growing conflict between the shop workers, who are Arabs, and his friends from the neighborhood, leading to a conflict that will turn out to be tragic. The film debuted at Venice last year. The festival will close with a gala screening of the 1977 film Top Dog (Wodzirej) at the Cine Lumiere in South Kensington. Causing much debate in Poland on its original release, Top Dog follows the story of … [Read more...] about London’s Kinoteka Polish Film Festival Unveils 2023 Lineup Including BFI-Backed Jerzy Skolimowski Retrospective

Bleecker Street has picked up North American rights to Laurel Parmet ’s feature directorial debut The Starling Girl following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, slating it for release in theaters later this year. Financials weren’t disclosed. The film written and directed by Parmet follows 17-year-old Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen), who struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy — the church dance group — is tempered by worry that her love of dance is actually sinful, and she’s caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and an instinctive resistance to her mom’s urging that the time has come to begin courting. She finds respite from her confusion in the encouragement of her youth pastor Owen (Lewis Pullman), who is likewise drawn to the blossoming Jem’s attention. Jimmi Simpson ( Westworld ), Wrenn Schmidt ( For All Mankind ) and Austin Abrams ( Paper Towns … [Read more...] about ‘The Starling Girl’: Bleecker Street Acquires Laurel Parmet’s Feature Directorial Debut – Sundance

Oscar-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger has launched a production outfit and struck a first-look deal with Fremantle. Berger has forged Nine Hours with partner Luke Rivett ( The Tomorrow Man) and producer Jeanne Tremsal ( So Long Daddy, See You in Hell) and the indie will make global TV and film projects. Fremantle will house Nine Hours’ TV projects for the next two years as well as being given second-look access to Berger’s new film pipeline. Berger is fresh off the back of nine Oscar nominations for critically-acclaimed Netflix adaptation All Quiet on the Western Front , which has also secured a record 14 BAFTA noms. Other high-profile credits include Patrick Melrose, Your Honor, The Terror and Deutschland 83 , the latter of which he made with Fremantle. “Great drama comes from filmmakers who have an undeniable urge to tell their story,” said Berger. “We intend to find and nourish these filmmakers in their endeavors to … [Read more...] about ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’s Edward Berger Launches Production Outfit & Partners With Fremantle

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’

A Pinellas County, Florida medical examiner’s report indicates that Fame star Irene Cara ’s official cause of death was Arteriosclerotic and Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease. In layperson’s terms, she had a hardening of the arteries and stress on her heart as a result of high blood pressure. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The report, received by Deadline, also noted Cara was diabetic. The Oscar-winning singer who died at 63 was best known for the Flashdance theme “What A Feeling” and for playing Coco in Fame and singing that film’s unforgettable title song. Cara got her Oscar for Best Original Song for the Flashdance tune “What A Feeling,” and also won two Grammys for the lively chart topper that perfectly captured the underdog journey of the welder-turned-dancer played by Jennifer Beals. Her Grammy wins included Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A … [Read more...] about Irene Cara’s Cause Of Death Revealed By Medical Examiner

Mafia Mamma and Knives Ou t star Toni Collette and Odessa Young ( The Staircase, Mothering Sunday, Shirley ) have signed to co-star in writer and director Nathan Silver’s twisted revenge thriller The Prima Donna . Collette and Young previously worked together on HBO’s award-winning series The Staircase . The drama revolves around dysfunctional family dynamics, the dangers of ambition, and the lengths we will go to make our mark on the world. Set in contemporary Rome, Collette will play a legendary opera diva who is about to step into the role of a lifetime just as her estranged daughter (Young) shows up at her doorstep, right out of rehab. An aspiring opera singer herself, the daughter summons up the courage to ask to be her mother’s understudy.  When her mother callously dismisses the suggestion, she snaps and starts mulling the ultimate revenge, igniting a cut-throat battle of wills. Silver, whose previous credits include Thirst Street, Uncertain … [Read more...] about Toni Collette & Odessa Young Reunite On Nathan Silver’s Revenge Thriller ‘The Prima Donna’; Cornerstone Launching At The EFM

There was a moment last November when Channel 4 ’s senior executives breathed a sigh of relief. Sat at the top table of Channel 4’s 40th birthday party, Chief Executive Alex Mahon was flanked by her friend Elisabeth Murdoch and doyens of UK broadcasting, including BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive. They were raising a glass to a British success story in a rare public display of unity. On the same table was Thérèse Coffey, a senior government minister who had survived three prime ministers in the space of little more than three months. Her presence at the V&A Museum event bemused others, who believed the government only had hostile intentions for Channel 4 after sanctioning a sale of the broadcaster against its wishes. Things soon got weirder. Coffey turned to Mahon and asked if she could raise a glass to Channel 4. She then proceeded to surprise the room full of TV luminaries by serenading her hosts with a rendition of happy … [Read more...] about Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television

The closure of Israeli public broadcaster Kan by Benjamin Netanyahu ’s new government has been delayed indefinitely, according to a spokesman for the Communications Minister. The Israeli TV community will be breathing a cautious sigh of relief, for now, after the representative for Shlomo Karhi told local press that the plan has been delayed “until further notice” in order for the government to focus on passing legal reform. A public broadcasting blueprint was initially set to be delivered by Karhi next week. He had sparked outrage when he told the country’s non-public-service Channel 12 TV station “there is no place for public broadcasting in Israel ” last month, while arguing that the TV market should be opened up fully to competition. Lobbying has been taking place behind the scenes since from local TV unions and producer groups. Deadline understands organizations being lobbied to oppose the closure included the U.S. Democratic Party. Israel has three public … [Read more...] about Israeli Public Broadcaster Closure Postponed “Until Further Notice,” Says Benjamin Netanyahu Government