Deadline disruptors

Sarah Elizabeth Mintz moved back to New York this month after a seven-year stint in Los Angeles while she was working out Good Girl Jane , her debut feature that just landed with a splash, winning Best Narrative Film at the Tribeca Festival as well as Best Actress for star Rain Spencer. In a conversation with Deadline, Mintz describes the long path and motivation behind the drama of teenage alienation and addiction inspired by her real-life freshman year in high school. “Substance abuse carries a lot of shame a lot of misconception,” she said. “What mattered was to shed some light on the isolation I felt. I know that had I seen that type of isolation on the screen, it would truly have affected me, made me feel less alone.” The film follows lonely L.A. teenager Jane (Spencer), struggling to fit in at a new school after being bullied in the old one and reeling from the fallout of her parents’ recent divorce. She falls in with a druggy crowd and is smitten with their … [Read more...] about ‘Good Girl Jane’ Director Sarah Elizabeth Mintz On Tribeca Festival Win, Teenage Alienation And Mentor Joachim Trier

As the choreographer of Legendary , Tanisha Scott ’s job is to ensure every house’s moves look polished and ready to wow the judges. With only three days of prep with a house before the ball begins, she needs to make sure they are ready and up to the task. Legendary is an HBO reality competition where ten houses from the ballroom scene compete in nine balls for a $100,000 prize. Each ball has a theme, like Animal Queendom or Hip-Opera, and a challenge where the choreography must highlight a specific specific element of vogue. The competition is presented by Dashaun Wesley and judged Jameela Jamil, Leiomy Maldonado, Law Roach, and Keke Palmer. Each judge has something special that they are looking for in every ball, so Scott knows that each performance she choreographs needs to be clean, skilled, fashionable and entertaining. DEADLINE: We only see you briefly in each episode, how long do you actually get with each house? TANISHA SCOTT : I’m with them a … [Read more...] about ‘Legendary’ Choreographer Tanisha Scott On Getting The Houses Into “Performance Mode” To Wow The Judges

Opa! Nia Vardalos revealed the start of production on My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 in Athens yesterday in an Instagram video shot in her hotel near The Plaka. Vardalos will be pulling double duty as the film’s lead Toula Portokalos and its director. Sources tell Deadline that Greece will be the setting for Toula and Ian’s ( John Corbett ) daughter Paris’ wedding. Vardalos originally announced My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was in development last April but was facing challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The third installment will be dedicated to Michael Constantine who died in August of 2021. My Big Fat Greek Wedding tells the story of Toula, a single woman working at her family’s restaurant who is constantly pushed by her very Greek parents to find a Greek man to marry and start a family with. Much to their chagrin, she meets an American teacher who she falls in love with and marries. Her family is unhappy at first that she didn’t marry a fellow Greek, but … [Read more...] about ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3’ Begins Production; Find Out Who’s Getting Married

Jason Katims approached As We See It with a personal connection: his son is on the autism spectrum. He decided to go fully authentic with the casting, hiring three autistic actors that had an understanding of what it means to be on the spectrum. The choice has led to critical acclaim for the Amazon Prime Video series for its well-rounded characters. The pilot script of As We See It is the latest installment of It Starts on the Page , Deadline’s annual series that highlights the scripts that serve as the creative backbones of the buzzy shows that will define the TV awards season. The scripts in our series are all being submitted for Emmy Awards consideration this year and have been selected by Deadline using criteria that includes critical acclaim, selecting from a wide range of networks and platforms and a mix of established and lesser-known shows. Created by Katims and based on the Israeli series On the Spectrum , this comedy-drama from Universal Television … [Read more...] about It Starts On The Page: Read Jason Katims’ Pilot Script For ‘As We See It’

Cinco Paul had the idea to create a series that is both a parody of, and an homage to, the Golden Age musicals of the 1940s and ’50s. With his writing partner Ken Daurio , the two created Schmigadoon! as a musical comedy with inside jokes about theater and a talented ensemble of singers. Paul also wrote the original music for the series, with inspirations from musicals like Oklahoma! , The Sound of Music and The Music Man . The series premiered in July 2021 and has been renewed for a second season on Apple TV+. The pilot episode, “Puddin'”, is the latest installment of It Starts on the Page , Deadline’s annual series that highlights the scripts that serve as the creative backbones of the buzzy shows that will define the TV awards season. The scripts in our series are all being submitted for Emmy Awards consideration this year and have been selected by Deadline using criteria that includes critical acclaim, selecting from a wide range of networks and platforms and a mix … [Read more...] about It Starts On The Page: Read The Pilot Script For ‘Schmigadoon!’

Lionsgate has acquired Breeders , an upcoming horror project that has Olivia Cooke ( Slow Horses ) attached to star, Deadline can confirm. The studio is keeping the film’s logline under wraps. But veteran horror helmer Kelsey Bollig will direct in her feature debut, with Adam McKay and Todd Schulman producing for Hyperobject Industries. Brian Steele wrote the script, which was based on his and McKay’s original idea. Scott O’Brien bright the project to Lionsgate and will oversee it for the studio with Brady Fujikawa. Cooke can currently be seen on Apple TV+’s spy series Slow Horses with Gary Oldman and will next be seen on HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon . Shorts previously directed by Bollig which have garnered awards and critical acclaim on the festival circuit include Asking for a Friend , The Fourth Wall and Kickstart My Heart . Cooke is represented by CAA, The Artists Partnership in the UK, Grandview and Hansen, … [Read more...] about Olivia Cooke To Star In Kelsey Bollig’s Feature Directorial Debut ‘Breeders’ For Lionsgate; Adam McKay Producing Horror Pic

Douglas Mackinnon , director and exec producer of Amazon series Good Omens and Anansi Boys , has urged the upkeep of a “chain of productions” in Scotland, as landmark research finds the Scottish screen sector generated more than £500M ($613M) and created 10,000 jobs in 2019. Mackinnon, who has also directed episodes of Line of Duty and Doctor Who, issued a word of warning that a “boom and bust” effect will infect Scotland’s TV and film industry unless producers keep up a pipeline of projects. He has “confidence” that the nation’s skills base has improved greatly over the past few years and skilled execs who had initially left the country are returning to work on projects, while a wealth of training schemes are bringing the next generation through. “We need to keep spinning plates to make sure there are a chain of productions coming into Scotland in the future, giving continuity for cast and crew,” he told Deadline. “We’ve got world class crews in Scotland … [Read more...] about ‘Good Omens’ Director Douglas Mackinnon Urges “Chain Of Scottish Productions” As Research Shows $700M Generated In 2019 In The Nation

As China rushes to lockdown the deadly coronavirus epidemic, which has claimed at least 25 lives and infected more than 800 people, thousands of the country’s cinemas have been forced to close their doors. Yesterday, all local film releases scheduled for the highly lucrative Chinese New Year holiday were pulled by distributors . In response, widespread cinema closures are being reported. At the time of writing, it wasn’t clear how many of the country’s roughly 70,000 screens across 10,000 venues had shuttered, but it stands to reason that few will remain open without the key product available. According to a source, no directive has been served at state level, but provincial-level governments have advised closing, and all of the major cinema owners in China including UME, Wanda, Jinyi, Bona, Emperor, and Lumiere have announced that they are shutting their venues for four days from today. As Deadline reported yesterday, the closures could cost the global box … [Read more...] about Coronavirus: China Shutters Cinemas, Blockbuster ‘Lost In Russia’ To Stream Free Online After Deal With TikTok Owner

The weekend’s Snowmageddon on the East Coast likely had a depressing influence on the box office, though some holdovers still managed to overcome the blizzard with solid numbers even as they expanded. Sony Classics’ The Lady In The Van , Sundance Selects’ 45 Years and Paramount’s Anomalisa held their own in additional theaters this weekend, even as the industry turned its eyes to Park City to catch the core of the year’s next crop of Specialty offerings awaiting acquisition. Oscar nominees Brooklyn, Room and Spotlight continued to lure audiences with added locations, while the weekend’s reporting newcomers had mostly soft starts, though Ip Man 3 showed zest. Well Go USA opened Hong Kong title Ip Man 3 in over a hundred locations Friday, easily grossing the weekend’s best numbers among the newcomers. The feature grossed $762,400, averaging $7,402. The distributor noted that grosses were up 20% Friday to Saturday despite losing key theaters due to the … [Read more...] about Specialty Box Office – Newcomers Mostly Slow In The Snow; ’45 Years’ & ‘Lady In The Van’ Solid

EXCLUSIVE : Don’t Let Go creator Jacob Aaron Estes has enlisted his wife and kids for latest horror thriller He’s Watching. Scroll down for the trailer. XYZ Films ’ feature, which is written and directed by Estes, features Estes’ musician wife Gretchen Lieberum and their children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes. Starting off as a project to stave off the boredom of lockdown, He’s Watching was filmed during the height of COVID-19 and quickly turned into a fully-fledged horror film. When the happy-go-lucky siblings are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. As the incoming messages become increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas realize something sinister has taken root in their home. Estes said “After a year in lockdown making a movie with my family on my phone, never knowing if what we were doing night … [Read more...] about ‘He’s Watching’: ‘Don’t Let Go’ Creator Jacob Aaron Estes Enlists Wife & Kids For Latest Horror Film