Enter the race

Italy has become the latest territory to jump on the RuPaul’s Drag Race hype. Paramount+ has greenlit a version in the West European nation shortly after the unveiling of editions of the World of Wonder smash in Brazil, Germany and Mexico plus a Global Drag Race All Stars. The show will launch on Paramount+ in Italy before being rolled out to the U.S. and Latin America. “ Drag Race has become a global phenomenon and we were honored to be there from the beginning with the incredibly talented team of RuPaul and World of Wonder,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO of Showtime, MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks. “As we expand Paramount+’s global footprint, it was important to recapture Drag Race in key international markets and also build an interconnected competition series – with a new Global Drag Race All Stars – it’s like a global Super Bowl for Drag.” World of Wonder CEOs Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato said the Italian version will … [Read more...] about Paramount+ Greenlights Italian Version Of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

TMZ.com The men allegedly involved in the brutal beatdown of Tekashi 6ix9ine appeared to have had a plan in place to get to the rapper ... as evidenced in new surveillance footage from the gym. TMZ.com Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, showing one man already inside the South FL LA Fitness location chatting on his cell phone. The man approaches the front door of the gym to let another man in, and after a brief convo with the front desk employee, they beeline it to the gym's restroom and sauna area joined by a third man. TMZ.com It certainly looks like the two men were in on some sort of plan ... but it's still unclear if they knew Tekashi was going to be at the gym all along, or if one man possibly saw 6ix9ine and called his buddy to help. TMZ.com TMZ broke the story, Tekashi was rushed to a hospital Tuesday night after the attack, suffering from injuries to his face, back, ribs and jaw. Sources … [Read more...] about Tekashi 6ix9ine Alleged Gym Attackers Enter Front Door, Beeline to Sauna

EXCLUSIVE : Lion Forge Animation, the company behind the Oscar-winning Hair Love , has been rebranded as Lion Forge Entertainment as it is expanding its slate to include live-action in addition to animation. It has named veteran family entertainment executive Stephanie Sperber its President and chief Content Officer. Sperber is joining Lion Forge after recently leaving Imagine , where she was president of Imagine Kids+Family, a division she helped launch. She will report to CEO David Steward II, who founded Lion Forge Animation in 2019, and COO Edward Hamati. “Stephanie’s unparalleled experience, creative instincts, industry relationships, business acumen and work ethos will be a driving force for Lion Forge and pave the way for us to enter exciting new frontiers,” Steward said. “The Lion Forge brand has stood for diversity and representation in animation for the past four years, and I’m thrilled to take that brand and that mission into the live action series and feature … [Read more...] about Stephanie Sperber Named President & CCO Of Lion Forge As Animation Company Expands Into Live-Action

EXCLUSIVE : Anonymous Content has hired longtime literary agent and former UTA partner Bec Smith as a partner and manager in their Los Angeles-based lit team. We revealed Smith’s impending exit from UTA last month. The respected veteran has amassed a client roster including directors and writers such as Coline Abert, Levan Akin, Jane Anderson, Benedict Andrews, Emily Atef, Anthony Chen, Eva Husson, Ellen Kuras, Katrin Gebbe, Sebastian Junger, Julia Leigh, Phillip Noyce, Joshua Oppenheimer, Jennifer Peedom, Maria Schrader, Tali Shalom-Ezer, Dawn Shadforth, Kirsten Sheridan, Goran Stolevski, Warwick Thornton and Max Werner. The 16-year UTA veteran had been a partner in the Motion Picture Literary department but also worked closely with the UTA Independent Film Group. She worked on the packaging of projects including I Feel Pretty, Mary Magdalene, Brigsby Bear, The Circle, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Margin Call, The Spectacular Now, The Skeleton Twins, In a World, … [Read more...] about Longtime UTA Agent Bec Smith Joins Anonymous Content

Paramount+ is well ahead of its target to greenlight 150 non-U.S. originals by 2025 but international boss Marco Nobili wishes the streamer could have rolled out quicker. Addressing Series Mania this afternoon, Nobili said “if I could have accelerated our rollout then I would have” when questioned on how he would have done things differently over the past two years. “But you have to balance these things out,” he countered. “Sometimes staggering a launch proves to be the right recipe. If you show audiences the window you can get straight out the gate but could compromise on show quality.” Nobili added: “We could maybe have done an even faster rollout but looking back it was a challenge and we are proud of how it has worked out.” Paramount+ is now live in dozens of territories around the world and is well ahead of its target to greenlight 150 originals by 2025, Nobili revealed. He said half of streaming’s forecasted 8% growth over the next five years will come from … [Read more...] about Paramount+ International Rollout Could Have Been Speedier But Marco Nobili “Proud”

Extremely devastating news: MGM and United Artists Releasing distribution boss Erik Lomis died suddenly Wednesday at his home in Santa Monica, we have learned from sources. No details were provided in regards to his death. He was 64. Lomis was a towering figure behind many filmmakers’ hits including those from Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Adam McKay, Sylvester Stallone, Ryan Coogler, David O. Russell, Lee Daniels and Tom Hooper to name a few, and most recently Michael B. Jordan with Creed III . In the wake of Amazon’s purchase of MGM, Lomis, who made the jump, becoming an entrusted consigliere to Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke as the streamer looks to capitalize on more big-screen hits. Lomis gave Amazon a big taste of the box office with its first theatrical hit Creed III, which opened to more than $100 million worldwide and is currently grossing to $225M-plus at the global box office. It was Lomis’ bold decision to move Creed III out of … [Read more...] about Erik Lomis Dies: Veteran MGM Distribution Chief Was 64

This morning’s Tony Award nominations favored the familiar, with Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants leading the field with 12 nods apiece. The American debut of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child paced new plays with 10 nominations, and the revival of Angels in America had a strong showing with 11 nominations, most in Tony history for a play. (See the full list below.) Other shows posting impressive tallies included The Band’s Visit , with 11 nominations going to the original musical based on a 2007 Israeli film. An acclaimed revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel also scored 11 nominations, including one for Renée Fleming, who is better known for her career as one of the opera world’s most venerable stars. Lincoln Center’s posh reboot of My Fair Lady garnered 10 nominations, and the Denzel Washington-starring revival of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh received eight. Frozen , the latest Disney adaptation to head to Broadway , joining The … [Read more...] about Tony Award Nominations: ‘Mean Girls,’ ‘SpongeBob’ And ‘Harry Potter’ Lead New Crop; ‘Angels,’ ‘Carousel’ Top Revivals

Lingo is on the move. CBS has pushed the final four episodes of the RuPaul Charles-hosted quiz show’s first season to the 2023/24 season. The show was renewed for a second season last month and those four episodes will now air as part of that run. Lingo aired on Wednesdays at 9pm and has been replaced by repeats of FBI: Most Wanted, FBI, FBI: International and CSI: Vegas over the next four weeks. Survivor and True Lies remain part of the Wednesday lineup. The game sees teams of two contestants face off in fast-paced puzzle rounds to guess letters that reveal seemingly simple words. At the end of each one-hour episode, the two winning teams will make it through to a final showdown where one will walk away with an additional big cash prize. The series, which was created by Ralph Andrews, has previously aired three versions in the U.S. The first version premiered in syndication in 1987 and was hosted by Ronald Reagan’s son Michael Reagan. It later was … [Read more...] about ‘Lingo’s Final Four Episodes Of Season 1 Pushed To 2023-24 Season