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EXCLUSIVE: Silver Tree ( The Flight Attendant , You ) is set to direct and executive produce on the upcoming Paramount+ series Fatal Attraction . The project is a reimagination of the classic 1980s psychosexual thriller film starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. 2022 Paramount+ Pilots & Series Orders Written by Alexandra Cunningham from a story she co-wrote with Kevin J. Hynes, the Paramount Television Studios and Amblin Television series explores the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders and coercive control. Lizzy Caplan portrays Alex, who becomes obsessed with her lover after a brief affair. The object of her affection, Dan, is played by Joshua Jackson. Cunningham serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Hynes as well as Amblin Television presidents Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. Tree served as the executive producer and director on the … [Read more...] about ‘Fatal Attraction’: Silver Tree To Direct And Executive Produce On Season 1

Julian Dennison ( Godzilla vs Kong ), Minnie Driver , James Rolleston ( The Dark Horse ) and Erana James are set to star in New Zealand coming-of-age tale One Winter from directors Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett . The title is based on a story by Middleditch, Keith Aberdein and Sonia Whiteman with Bennett and Whiteman adapting the screenplay. Story is set in New Zealand in 1981 when the arrival of the South African rugby team sets off nationwide protests against apartheid and racism. Josh Waaka (Dennison), a 17-year-old boy of mixed race who has been a passive bystander all of his life, is suddenly forced to stand up for himself, his family and his future. The film, which is set to begin shooting this summer in New Zealand, is produced by Emma Slade, Sandra Kailahi, Angela Cudd, Angela Sullivan and Alberto Marzan. Troy Lum is an exec producer. Blue Fox is launching international sales here in Cannes this week. Dennison, a young New Zealand … [Read more...] about Paul Middleditch & Hamish Bennett To Direct Julian Dennison, Minnie Driver & James Rolleston In Kiwi Rugby Drama ‘One Winter’ — Cannes

EXCLUSIVE : After a seven-year stint at the studio, John Friedberg , President of STXinternational, is set to transition to a consultancy role with the company as he pursues new opportunities, we can reveal. We understand STX will continue to work with Friedberg on a non-exclusive consultancy basis. No immediate replacement is expected to be named. The hard-charging exec has been integral to STX’s international acquisitions and distribution business, including worldwide sales and direct theatrical distribution in the UK. Friedberg was instrumental in the company’s acquisition of films including Greenland, The Interpreter and The Mauritanian, and upcoming releases including Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre , Ferrari , Greenland: Migration , Devotion , and The Marsh King’s Daughter. The move comes amid a period of restructure for STX, which was recently acquired by The Najafi Companies. STX’s Adam Fogelson said: “International has been … [Read more...] about STX’s John Friedberg Exiting As President Of International

EXCLUSIVE : Brad Anderson , the multi-hyphenate behind the iconic Christian Bale thriller The Machinist , has signed with Paradigm for representation. Anderson is a writer, director and producer whose 2004 breakout feature told the story of industrial worker Trevor Reznik (Bale), who began to doubt his own sanity after going without sleep for a year. He recently directed an episode of HBO Max’s acclaimed DC series Peacemaker , and two installments (including the pilot) of Netflix’s chart-topping thriller Clickbait , most recently wrapping production on the horror-thriller Blood , starring Michelle Monaghan and Skeet Ulrich. That upcoming film follows Jess (Monaghan), whose son Owen (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) is hit with a mysterious infection after being bitten by a dog at the old farmhouse the family has just moved back into. Anderson has also directed features including the thriller Fractured , starring Sam Worthington, Lily Rabe and Stephen Tobolowsky, … [Read more...] about Paradigm Signs ‘The Machinist’ And ‘Clickbait’ Filmmaker Brad Anderson

SAG Award-nominee Alexandra Billings ( Transparent ) will star in, and executive produce the upcoming trans revolutionary indie feature, Queen Tut . Fae Pictures is financing and producing the film in association with Hawkeye Pictures with the participation of Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates. The producing team will be attending the Cannes Market meeting with international sales prospects. Queen Tut will be directed by Egyptian-Canadian up-and-coming filmmaker Reem Morsi ( The Last Mark ), and is based on a script from Bryan Mark, Kaveh Mohebbi, and Abdul Malik. The story follows a shy Egyptian teenager who is discovering a new life in Toronto after his seamstress mother passes away in Cairo. He befriends a trans mother, played by Billings, who inspires him to resurrect his mother’s soul in himself by sewing and donning the magnum opus dress that she never completed making. Production is expected to begin in August at and in partnership with … [Read more...] about ‘Transparent’ Actress Alexandra Billings To Star And Executive Produce Trans Revolutionary Indie Feature ‘Queen Tut’

British broadcaster Andrew Neil and former Director General Greg Dyke have torn apart the BBC licence fee, with Neil calling it a “straitjacket” and urging the corporation to think about new models. Speaking to a UK House Lords of Committee, Neil, who presented BBC shows for 25 years, said questions need to be asked over whether a funding mechanism that was created “when Lenin was rolling out his economic plan and Warren Harding won a landslide in the U.S. presidential election” still works. Neil set out his alternative to the £159 ($198.45) annual licence fee, which makes around £3.75BN ($4.7BN) per year but is being frozen for the next two years – a move by the UK government that is set to lose the corporation around £1.5BN ($1.9BN) by 2027. A Commission For Public Service Broadcasting would be directly financed by the UK taxpayer acting “as a gate between politicians and broadcasters,” according to Neil’s plan, with the Commission’s pot used to fund less … [Read more...] about British Broadcasting Veterans Andrew Neil & Greg Dyke Tear Apart “Straitjacket” BBC Licence Fee, Suggest New Models

In 1971, the Cannes Film Festival opened with a screening of Gimme Shelter by Albert and David Maysles, an immersive, vérité depiction of two weeks in the touring life of the Rolling Stones . If that was all it did, it might have been forgotten by now. But by a terrible freak of chance, the filmmakers followed the band to the most notorious concert of their entire career — the Altamont Speedway Free Festival in Livermore, CA, where the Stones, along with Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, were set to perform a free concert for 300,000 people on Dec. 6, 1969. “We didn’t know what it was going to be,” Albert said later. “We just had a childish faith that having seen the Stones and getting along with them, there might be a feature film there.” At the apparent suggestion of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead (who were originally set to perform at the festival but ended up steering clear due to serious … [Read more...] about Cannes Film Festival Has Had Its Musical Moments From The Stones To The Spice Girls

Top Gun : Maverick ’s Cannes Film Festival premiere marks another high point in the movie star career of Tom Cruise . The actor turns 60 on July 3, and unlike most leading men of that age who become quicker to call for the stunt double, Cruise shows little evidence of slowing down after 43 films. If anything, his Mission: Impossible stunts seem to grow more ambitiously dangerous, not to mention the fact that he and director Doug Liman will become the first to actually shoot a space film in space for real—aboard one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX crafts with the cooperation of NASA. So how does Cruise continue to carve such a path? “I’ve gotten to work with a number of actors who’ve had great success and long careers, Tom being at the top of the heap,” says Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski. “He approaches every day with the enthusiasm that it’s his first movie, and at the same time puts the effort into it like it’s his last movie. That’s a good attitude … [Read more...] about What Makes Tom Cruise’s Star Shine So Brightly? Directors Share Their Insights – Cannes Disruptors

Visual effects and animation firm DNEG has extended its deal with Netflix through 2025. Film and TV titles produced under the partnership include Stranger Things and The Adam Project . The non-exclusive pact is worth $350 million, according to an SEC filing. DNEG’s ReDefine division will also supply VFX services and top-end creative supervision for select Netflix programming. Along with the upcoming fourth season of Stranger Things, other projects covered by the agreement include Knives Out 2, The School for Good and Evil and Avatar: The Last Airbender ; The Witcher: Blood Origin ; and upcoming fantasy comedy-adventure Slumberland for director Francis Lawrence. DNEG Animation is also working on the feature film Nimona , which will be released by Netflix in 2023. Among previous Netflix titles with DNEG contributions are Locke & Key , Shadow & Bone , The Irregulars , Cursed , Black Mirror and The Dark Crystal: Age of … [Read more...] about Netflix Reups With Visual Effects And Animation Firm DNEG In $350M Extension

EXCLUSIVE : “Things have changed a little bit,” Omar Sy admits about life after Lupin . He laughs. “My parents do know what I do now.” That’s how the actor and his family like it. Low key. The Frenchman’s move to LA a decade ago was in part driven by a desire for more anonymity. In his home country, Sy is a superstar. In America, picking his kids up from school didn’t need to be a drama. “It’s still different being in LA,” he says, despite his growing fame. “Even if things have changed a bit, there’s still less attention here than it might have been in France. The guy from Lupin is not a big deal in LA.” In truth, “the guy from Lupin ” is becoming a big deal all over the world. Sy was already an established comic in France when The Intouchables took the world by storm in 2011. The film made an astonishing $426 million at the global box office and is still the biggest French film of all time. Sy became the first Black man to win a César award and the … [Read more...] about French Trailblazer Omar Sy On Making Waves, Cannes Movie ‘Father & Soldier’ & The Battle For Diversity — Deadline Disruptors