EXCLUSIVE : Matt Reeves ’ 6th & Idaho is teaming with ZQ Entertainment to produce God’s Country — a new genre film starring Scream VI’ s Melissa Barrera , which will mark the American directorial debut of Egor Abramenko ( Sputnik ). The film going into production this summer will have Barrera playing a young Salvadoran woman who travels to Kentucky to meet her fiancé. What she uncovers is something sinister beyond comprehension, as her American dream curdles into a nightmare of biblical proportions. Will Soodik ( Westworld ) wrote the script. Reeves ( The Batman ) and Rafi Crohn ( Tales from the Loop ) will produce for 6th & Idaho, alongside ZQ Entertainment’s Ara Keshishian and Petr Jákl (who financed the development), Adam Kassan ( End of Watch ), and Barrera. WME reps foreign and co-represents domestic rights with CAA Media Finance, and will introduce the project at EFM . “Egor is an exciting emerging talent,” Reeves told Deadline, … [Read more...] about Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho, ZQ Entertainment Team On ‘God’s Country’ Horror Film Starring Melissa Barrera; Egor Abramenko Directing – EFM
Foreign direct investment in mexico
David Kushner’s ‘Players Ball’ Book About Sex.com Rights Fight Acquired By David Permut & Clockwork Films
EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominated producer David Permut and Jamie Cohen of Australian-based Clockwork Films have acquired the narrative motion picture and television rights to award winning journalist and author David Kushner ’s book, The . The book tells the true story of the birth of the internet and two men’s ensuing battle over who controlled the rights to the multi-million dollar domain name: “sex.com.” This epic, decade long war took them from the boardrooms of Silicon Valley to a gun fight on the bordellos of Mexico – and to the edges of their sanity. Along the way involving the likes of an eclectic cast of porn stars and programmers, billionaires and brainiacs, goons and gangsters. In one corner is the hapless in-love, visionary tech entrepreneur Gary Kremen, who in 1994 used a $2,500 loan to create the first online dating service, Match.com, in hopes of driving love and connection over the internet. Seeing the value of domain names, he quickly bought several … [Read more...] about David Kushner’s ‘Players Ball’ Book About Sex.com Rights Fight Acquired By David Permut & Clockwork Films
Amazon Praises Video As Key Driver Of Prime; 2022 Content Spend, Including Music, Hit $16.6 Billion
UPDATED with content spend stats from annual report: Giant Amazon said its total expenses for video and music came to $16.6 billion last year, up from $13 billion in 2021. Video and music expense includes licensing and production costs associated with content offered within Amazon Prime memberships, and costs associated with digital subscriptions and sold or rented content, according to the company’s latest annual report that followed fourth quarter financials yesterday. On an earnings call Thursday, CFO Brian Olsavsky noted that Amazon spent $7 billion on originals, live sports and licensed content in 2022, up from $5 billion the year before. It’s unclear if those figures include all worldwide video content, which is increasingly central to Amazon’s strategy in driving membership for Prime, the biggest loyalty program in the world and the beating heart of the company. Amazon (which acquired MGM last year for $8.5 billion in cash) carefully evaluates its return on … [Read more...] about Amazon Praises Video As Key Driver Of Prime; 2022 Content Spend, Including Music, Hit $16.6 Billion
Writers Rail As Talks Resume – Second Question In A Deadline Survey
As talks are about to resume Monday on the final elements that many hope will lead to a new deal for the Writers Guild Of America, we wanted to lend some perspective and give voice to the TV and feature writers whose fortunes will be tied directly to the deal their union makes. This is the second in a quick succession of five questions we asked a panel of 10 writers. Here are their responses, and hopefully other writers will be moved to comment about the issues that worry them most as their work is monetized in this fast-changing digital age. Related: WGA: Why Gains, Lessons From 2008′s Strike Will Keep Hollywood From Another War DEADLINE: As a working writer, what is the biggest hardship right now facing you (i.e., one-step deals for feature writers, exclusivity clauses for TV writers), the one that gives you the greatest amount of worry for you and your WGA brethren? WRITER #1: I think the biggest setback from the strike was one-step deals. One-step deals were a … [Read more...] about Writers Rail As Talks Resume – Second Question In A Deadline Survey
State Of The Union Speech: How To Watch Biden’s Address To Congress On TV & Online
President Joe Biden is set to deliver his second State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday: “The president will underscore the progress we have made during one of the most challenging times…in history.” The speech will be carried live at 9 p.m. ET by every major broadcast and most cable news outlets. It can also be livestreamed via the player embedded below. The Republican response to Biden’s address, delivered directly after, will also be available via the player. This is Biden’s first address to a divided Congress and Kevin McCarthy’s first State of the Union as Speaker of the House. NETWORK COVERAGE PLANS ON TV & ONLINE ABC News will have special coverage of the 2023 State of the Union and the Republican response from 9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET on ABC, and streaming on ABC News Live. World News Tonight anchor David Muir will lead primetime coverage from Washington, … [Read more...] about State Of The Union Speech: How To Watch Biden’s Address To Congress On TV & Online
Hollywood’s China Predicament: New Law Restricts U.S. Cooperation On Projects Modified To Appease Beijing
The furor over a Chinese spy balloon that flew over U.S. airspace has further chilled D.C.-Beijing tensions, but the entertainment industry already has been swept up in the heightened atmosphere of American hawkishness. Hollywood studios and producers are poised to get a new level of scrutiny over their dealings with China — reflecting a bipartisan hardline toward Beijing and escalating concerns over its influence. A little publicized provision of a recently passed defense bill restricts the U.S. government from spending funds on movies that, to gain entry into the Chinese marketplace, are altered in the face of Chinese government dictates. The provision in the National Defense Authorization Act , approved in a bipartisan vote of Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in December, is the latest example of an increased focus on China’s role, not just in the entertainment industry but also in sports and social media. While Republicans have led attacks on … [Read more...] about Hollywood’s China Predicament: New Law Restricts U.S. Cooperation On Projects Modified To Appease Beijing
After ‘I, Tonya,’ 30WEST Skates Into Majority Stake Deal With Distributor NEON
30WEST has acquired a majority stake in NEON , the upstart distribution company formed by Tom Quinn and Alamo Drafthouse’s Tim League . The two parties got into an altared state after kindling a relationship on the awards-season sleeper I, Tonya , the Craig Gillespie-directed black comedy which was acquired out of Toronto. The film broadens its release heading into the Winter Olympics, a timely slot for a film about disgraced Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) and her rivalry with Nancy Kerrigan. Formed by Dan Friedkin — the All the Money in the World producer who separately operates Imperative Entertainment — and former longtime CAA independent film agent Micah Green , 30WEST has been broadening its investment in progressive companies in the content space. The company buys out initial NEON investor Sparkle Roll, the China-based company which walks away with a tidy profit, per sources. For Sundance, it also sets up a new and more formidable … [Read more...] about After ‘I, Tonya,’ 30WEST Skates Into Majority Stake Deal With Distributor NEON
‘American Pain,’ Premiering on CNN Tonight, Documents Twin Brothers Who Became Florida’s Opioid Kingpins
The Sacklers of OxyContin infamy have become indelibly tied to the opioid crisis in America. But the truth is they were far from the only contributors to a drug epidemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in recent years. Take Chris and Jeff George, for instance. The steroid-jacked twin brothers opened their first pain medication storefront in Florida in 2007 and before long, as they put it, “We were the Disneyland of pain clinics.” Their exploits are told in the CNN Films documentary American Pain , directed by Darren Foster , which premieres on CNN tonight. “The George brothers did not start the opioid crisis,” retired FBI agent Kurt McKenzie notes in the film. “But they sure as hell poured gasoline on the fire.” Foster, an Emmy-winning filmmaker, first crossed paths with the Georges more than a decade ago. “In 2009 I went down to Florida to report on the pill mills. One pain clinic had a reputation above all the others as being the biggest, the … [Read more...] about ‘American Pain,’ Premiering on CNN Tonight, Documents Twin Brothers Who Became Florida’s Opioid Kingpins
Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium Teams With South Korea’s Climax Studio To Develop Jason Kim’s ‘The Monster Tale’
EXCLUSIVE: Following the global success of Netflix original series D.P. and Hellbound , and the Netflix original film Jung-E , South Korea’s Climax Studio is developing filmmaker Jason Kim ’s The Monster Tale along with Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s Imaginarium Productions. Serkis and Cavendish will serve as executive producers on the project alongside Climax’s Byun Seung-Min. The Monster Tale brings together a warring group of three infamous East Asian monsters, an unlikely team of enemies who must unite to defeat a menacing invasion by a monster from across the seas in Europe. Kim, who has the upcoming Netflix original series Bloodhounds , is alsoknown for his Korean box office hit Midnight Runners , will write and direct The Monster Tale . “Bringing brilliant, flawed and complex characters to the screen is at the heart of what we do at the Imaginarium and we cannot wait to work with Climax Studio and their talented team to develop this … [Read more...] about Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium Teams With South Korea’s Climax Studio To Develop Jason Kim’s ‘The Monster Tale’
In ‘Murf The Surf,’ Director R.J. Cutler Explores Dashing Jewel Thief-Turned Murderer Who Became A Proto-True Crime Celebrity
Jack Roland Murphy just about had it all: Kennedy-esque good looks, charm to burn, athletic talent and even a musical gift. Still, he wanted more. The man who became a legendary jewel thief – he bagged the priceless Star of India from a New York museum – before graduating to murder is the focus of the documentary series Murf the Surf : Jewels, Jesus and Mayhem in the USA , which premieres on MGM+ on Sunday. Renowned filmmaker R.J. Cutler directed and executive produced the four-part series. “ Murf the Surf tells the story of one of the most complicated and notorious American crime figures ever, Jack Roland Murphy,” Cutler has explained in a director’s statement, “who became America’s very first true crime television superstar in 1964, a mere few months after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.” In episode 1 of the series, Murf describes his upbringing as “storybook.” It was hardly that, unless the book in question is Grimm’s Fairytales. When Jack was six, … [Read more...] about In ‘Murf The Surf,’ Director R.J. Cutler Explores Dashing Jewel Thief-Turned Murderer Who Became A Proto-True Crime Celebrity