Directors fortnight

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Television Group has announced the seven directors selected for the 2022 WBTV Directors’ Workshop. The 2022 edition will be the first in-person class of the workship since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The WBTV Directors’ Workshop launched in 2013 with the aim to discover new and innovative talent, to prepare directors from other creative fields (motion pictures, commercials, music videos, shortform content, etc.) for the transition to television, and to provide increased opportunities for women helmers and those from underrepresented groups. Since its founding, the Directors’ Workshop has helped to launch or further the TV directing careers of more than 60 women and/or people of color, according to WBTV. This year’s class was instructed by directors Bethany Rooney and Stacey K. Black. Prior Directors’ Workshop graduates include Bola Ogun ( Shadow & Bone, The Witcher, Walker, Lucifer ), Stacey Muhammad ( Queen Sugar, Harlem, … [Read more...] about WBTV Sets 2022 Television Directors Workshop Participants

Warner Bros Television Group on Tuesday revealed the 12 directors selected for the 2020 Warner Bros Television Directors’ Workshop, which will be held virtually this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The redesigned program has been condensed into two weeks (from the usual nine) of online learning, with lectures led by co-teachers Bethany Rooney and Mary Lou Belli along with various showrunners, directors, cinematographers and editors. The practical directing work normally done on Warners’ sets will now be done using co-habitating actors, with the directors work with them remotely. The program launched in 2013 with the aim to directors from other creative fields for the transition to TV, and to spur equity and inclusion by providing opportunities for female helmers and those from underrepresented groups. It has seen 100% of the graduates from the past four classes go on to direct episodes of Warner Bros–produced series. Alums include Pamela Romanowsky, Marcus … [Read more...] about WBTV Sets 2020 Television Directors’ Workshop Participants

Members of the Directors Guild of Canada in British Columbia have voted overwhelmingly – 89.5% to 10.5% – to ratify a new three-year film and TV contract with the AMPTP and the Canadian Media Producers Association-BC. The guild said Thursday that 64% of eligible members and permittees took part in the vote “to make their voices heard.” The agreement on a new contract, reached June 8 after 15 months of on-again, off-again bargaining , ends an unusual labor dispute that saw the guild issue its first “strike notice” back in April. The guild, however, never actually went on strike because of a quirk in Canadian labor law that gives “safe harbor” to production companies so that they can keep shooting as long as they agree to sign a new contract when it’s finalized. All those companies that had been filming in the province had signed safe harbor agreements and are now bound by the terms of the new contract. “Today is a momentous day,” said Allan Harmon, District Council … [Read more...] about Directors Guild Of Canada BC Ratifies New Film & TV Contract

After a long gap, Neetu Kapoor is all set to make her comeback on the big screen with Raj Mehta's upcoming family drama Jugjugg Jeeyo which also stars Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani and Anil Kapoor in pivotal roles. Her last screen appearance was in the 2013 film Besharam alongside her late husband Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor. Jug Jugg Jeeyo Trailer | Jug Jugg Jeeyo Trailer Review | कैसा है Kiara-Varun की फिल्म का Trailer ? Director Raj Mehta in his latest interview with ETimes has opened up on how he convinced Neetu Kapoor to be a part of his film Jugjugg Jeeyo. The filmmaker said that the veteran actress was a bit nervous and unsure about doing the movie immediately after her actor-husband Rishi Kapoor's demise. However, she loved the story and agreed to do it. The tabloid quoted Raj as saying, "Thankfully, Karan (Johar) had done half my job before I met ma'am. Karan told her that you have to come back. She was a little nervous and unsure … [Read more...] about Jugjugg Jeeyo Director Raj Mehta Reveals How He Convinced Neetu Kapoor To Do The Film

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

STXfilms has set Katie Holmes to star in The Boy 2 , the sequel to director William Brent Bell ’s 2016 horror thriller. Brent Bell is returning to helm and Stacey Menear returns to script the follow-up along with original producer Lakeshore Entertainment. Shooting is set to start in January in Victoria, BC, after Brent Bell wraps up Separation , a horror thriller starring Rupert Friend that gets underway next month in New York. The Boy grossed $64.2 million worldwide for STX on a $15 million budget and starred Lauren Cohan and Rupert Evans in the tale of a nanny who believes the boy she’s hired to look after is an actual doll come to life. In the sequel, Holmes will play the matriarch of a young family who moves into Heelshire Mansion, where their young son soon makes an unsettling new friend — an eerily life-like doll he calls Brahms. Lakeshore’s Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Eric Reid are producers along with Matt Berenson, Jim Wedaa and Roy Lee. … [Read more...] about ‘The Boy’ Sequel A Go At STX With Katie Holmes, Original Director William Brent Bell

EXCLUSIVE : Novel , the growing British podcast studio behind the likes of The Superhero Complex, has made one its most significant hires yet, bringing in PRX and Radiotopia exec Julie Shapiro as Executive Creative Director. Shapiro will steer Novel’s creative output, coming a few weeks after the outfit hired The Daily Senior Audio Producer Austin Mitchell as Creative Director, Production and Today in Focus ‘ Joint Exec Mythili Rao as Managing Editor. Shapiro has spent the past six years overseeing the growth and evolution of independent podcast studio Radiotopia, where she was instrumental in developing Peabody-nominated and Pulitzer-finalist Ear Hustle. She also co-founded the Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2000 and has been a vocal advocate of women in the podcast and radio industries. She said she is “deeply impressed by [Novel’s] creative ambitions and dedication to craft,” adding: “ I’m keen to bring my experience and artistic vision … [Read more...] about British Podcast Studio Novel Continues Hiring Spree By Signing PRX & Radiotopia Exec Julie Shapiro As Executive Creative Director

EXCLUSIVE : Michael Rooker is reteaming with his Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer director John McNaughton for the first time in nearly four decades on a new film titled Road Rage , which is intended to be the first in a series. The film in the vein of Dexter and the great avenger films of the ’70s will center on a serial killer who only kills those who deserve to die—presenting a modern hero who is a bad guy gone good, protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Tim Perell will produce the vigilante thriller through his banner, Process Media. In addition to the film, Process Media will partner with the BAFTA-nominated entertainment studio entertainment studio, iNK Stories, to develop a Road Rage video game—providing an interactive experience in which audiences can participate in the expanded story world. “I’d wanted to work with Michael Rooker again since, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, but we never got the chance. Finally, I wrote a story … [Read more...] about Michael Rooker Reteaming With ‘Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer’ Director John McNaughton For Vigilante Pic ‘Road Rage’

EXCLUSIVE: One of the more highly sought after open directing jobs may have just been filled as Sources tell Deadline that Leigh Whannell is in negotiations to direct The Green Hornet And Kato for Universal. Execs have been meeting with directors over the past couple of weeks but insiders close to the meetings felt as soon as Whannell threw his name in the mix he had the edge as the studio has wanted to get back in business with him after he delivered Invisible Man pic to critical acclaim and box-office success. The studio got a script in from David Koepp early this year they are high on and once a deal closes the film should be fast-tracked to the pre-production stages. Universal optioned rights to The Green Hornet from Amasia in the spring of 2020, after co-founders Michael Helfant and Bradley Gallo acquired control of the motion picture franchise from the family of the original creator George W. Trendle in a competitive bidding war that January. Helfant, … [Read more...] about ‘Invisible Man’ Director Leigh Whannell Eyeing ‘Green Hornet And Kato’ Pic At Universal

Netflix has hired Jordan Moblo to be Director of Literary Scouting. He will be based in Los Angeles and will oversee book and IP scouting for Netflix, reporting to Brian Pearson, VP of Creative Services. While Netflix has been a dominant force in acquiring finished films and ready to shoot packages for films and series, the move signals an effort to bolster the effort to grow projects from the ground up. Moblo has been the Director of Creative Acquisitions Walt Disney Television and co-head of Before that Moblo was the manager of casting at 20th. He began in the CAA mailroom and left to become first assistant to Walt Disney Television chairman Dana Walden. He also runs @jordys.book.club on Instagram, which has 68,000 followers looking to find good books to read. … [Read more...] about Netflix Hires Jordan Moblo As Director Of Literary Scouting; Leaves Walt Disney Television