Leading questions in surveys

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

EXCLUSIVE: 1091 Pictures has acquired the U.S. rights to the new romantic drama Under My Skin . The film marks the feature debut of Australian writer-director David O’Donnell and is produced by Raynen O’Keefe and Alex Russell. 1091 Pictures is planning a June 6 on-demand release. The story follows Denny, a free spirit and artist who falls for Ryan, a strait-laced lawyer. When Denny questions gender, their love is tested. The lead character, Denny, is played by four different actors who identify as non-binary, or trans non-binary: Liv Hewson, Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Kylo Freeman and Lex Ryan. Producer Alex Russell and Alexis Denisof also star. “ Under My Skin follows four wonderfully gender diverse humans, all rolled into one – they inhabit the same role,” said O’Keefe, who also identifies as trans non-binary. “Where it is still an uphill battle and obstacle to argue for the sake of actors to be able to play characters who, at least in part, represent them, casting … [Read more...] about 1091 Pictures Acquires Romantic Drama ‘Under My Skin’, Sets Release Date

EXCLUSIVE : Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown has signed with M88 for management, becoming the first athlete to join the company’s roster of artists and cultural leaders. M88 will now look to create and develop opportunities for Brown in both the entertainment and strategic partnership spaces. The No. 3 pick overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brown joined the Celtics at just 19 after negotiating his own contract. The two-time All-Star in 2019 became the youngest member of the National Basketball Players Association’s executive committee, joining as Vice President and being reelected this year. Brown aided, as VP, in the creation of THINK450, which helps NBA players gain control of their name and likeness. He’s also has proven a community builder as the host of a rookie event put on during the NBA summer league in an effort to build connection among players. Brown dedicates himself off the court to social justice, with a particular focus on changing inequity … [Read more...] about M88 Sets Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown As First Athlete Client

EXCLUSIVE : Amazon Studios has begun setting the supporting cast for its Paul Feig -helmed action-comedy Grand Death Lotto , with Ayden Mayeri ( Somebody I Used to Know ), Seann William Scott ( Welcome to Flatch ), Dolly de Leon ( Triangle of Sadness ) and Donald Elise Watkins ( Project Artemis ) signing on for roles. John Cena, Awkwafina and Simu Liu lead the ensemble of the pic now in production, as previously announced. The Amazon Original Movie is set in a very near future, in which a Grand Lottery has been established in economically challenged California. The only catch? You’ll need to kill the winner before sundown in order to legally claim their prize. New L.A. transplant Katie (Awkwafina) accidentally finds herself with the winning ticket and must join forces with amateur jackpot protector Noel (Cena) to make it to sundown in order to claim her multi-billion-dollar prize, all while dealing with Noel’s protection rival Louis Lewis (Liu), who also … [Read more...] about ‘Grand Death Lotto’: Ayden Mayeri, Seann William Scott, Dolly De Leon & Donald Elise Watkins Join Amazon Action-Comedy

EXCLUSIVE: The UK Asian Film Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and today, Deadline can share the official lineup for the jubilee edition, running at venues across the UK from May 4 — 14. The running theme for this year’s edition is ‘Celebrating Our Stories,’ which will see the festival screen a series of films that center on the British Asian experience. The festival will open with the UK Premiere of the Hindi-language pic Sanaa at BFI Southbank. The film follows the eponymous Sanaa, a 28-year-old financial advisor working in Mumbai, who discovers she is pregnant. Clear on her decision to terminate her pregnancy, the process of getting the abortion forces Sanaa to re-evaluate her life and if the choices she has been making have really been her own. Lead actor Radhika Madan ( Pataakha ) and director Sudhanshu Saria ( Loev ) will attend the screening. The festival’s closing gala takes place on May 13 at the Kiln Theatre in North West London with the … [Read more...] about UK Asian Film Festival Sets Programme For 25th Anniversary Edition

A project from Finland and a Belgium-Uruguay co-production have won the Seriesmaker initiative here at Series Mania . The projects, Yours, Margot and The Invisible Ink , both bag €50,000 ($54,000) each after winning the Beta Development Awards. They were announced minutes ago at Lille’s Series Mania Forum event, which is into its second day. Yours, Margot is an eight-part drama from Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen and producer Jussi Rantamäki. The logline is: “After discovering her father’s letters to an unknown lover, Vilja unearths her family’s traumatic past in 1980s East Berlin.” Kuosmanen’s 2021 road movie Compartment No 6 won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival official competition, and his biographical film The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki won Prix Un Certain Regard at Cannes Film Festival. The Invisible Ink comes from director César Díaz and producer Fernando Epstein, and also runs to eight parts. It follows a former Uruguayan … [Read more...] about Finland’s ‘Yours, Margot’ And Belgium-Uruguay Co-Pro ‘The Invisible Ink’ Win Beta And Series Mania Seriesmakers Initiative

DKC , the public relations, digital communications and content production agency, has officially moved into its new West Coast headquarters in Century City. The firm, which specializes in music, TV, film, talent, consumer brands, culture, sports/esports, technology, social media, influencer and event production, spent the past 10 years in its offices in West Hollywood. The new offices, located on the ground floor at 1801 Century Park East, feature open-concept workspaces and multiple high-design meeting rooms. There is also a product showroom, viewing lounge, barista bar, 30-foot floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a landscaped outdoor terrace. The 6,021-square-foot space was built and designed from the ground up with input from the DKC teams. The L.A. team is led by executive director Wendy Zaas, with her group including EVP Ivy Mollenkamp heading the entertainment division focused on film, TV, music and production; EVP Taryn Owens overseeing the consumer brand … [Read more...] about PR Firm DKC Opens Doors On New L.A. Headquarters

Smash is finally heading to Broadway . In an announcement long awaited by fans of the 2012 NBC series, a stage musical adaptation is planned to arrive on Broadway during the 2024-25 season, with a lead producing team of Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron and Steven Spielberg . A top flight creative team is attached, including director Susan Stroman, composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman , book writers Rick Elice and Bob Martin, and the TV series’ choreographer Joshua Bergasse. Spielberg, whose original idea led to the NBC series, said in a statement, “ Smash is near and dear to my heart, and it was always my hope that a musical inspired by the show would eventually come to the stage. We now have an incredible creative team, and I’m looking forward to completing the Smash journey which began with my producing partners over ten years ago.” In addition to new music, the stage version will include many of the Shaiman-Wittman songs from the TV series, including the … [Read more...] about ‘Smash’ Musical Heading To Broadway With Steven Spielberg, Neil Meron & Robert Greenblatt Producing

EXCLUSIVE : The story of the murder of six Black girls in the Washington, D.C. area in the 1970s is to be turned into a podcast and scripted series. Jay Ellis , who starred in Top Gun: Maverick and HBO’s Insecure , is behind both projects. The podcast series, Freeway Phantom , will launch May 17. It comes from Ellis’ Black Bar Mitzvah, Tenderfoot TV and iHeartPodcasts and is hosted by public radio veteran Celeste Headlee. It will tell the story of how Carol Spinks, Darlenia Johnson, Brenda Crockett, Nenomoshia Yates, Brenda Woodard and Diane Williams were murdered between 1971-1972 and discarded alongside D.C. highways. The killer taunted police with a chilling note claiming responsibility, and terrorized victims’ families with calls to their homes. Five decades later, their killer has never been brought to justice. Freeway Phantom will share the stories of the six victims and explore new evidence that could crack the cold cases wide open. Headlee has … [Read more...] about Jay Ellis Sets True-Crime Podcast ‘Freeway Phantom’ & Plans Scripted Series

BAFTA has celebrated the number of older white women nominated for best actress at its Television Awards amid a steep decline in ethnic diversity in performance shortlists. All six nominees in the Leading Actress category are white and have been nominated for BAFTAs across film and TV multiple times in the past. Asked if BAFTA had hoped for a different outcome, CEO Jane Millichip said: “There is representation in that category in the fact that if you look at the age of the actresses and the roles written for them, it is extraordinary. This is something that we’ve discussed for a long time in the television and film world: Are the roles written for women over the age of 40? That is a really impressive result.” BAFTA later clarified that Millichip was referring to “representation” for older women as a separate issue from diversity, which it considers to relate to ethnicity and socio-economic background among other factors. Imelda Staunton (aged 67) has been nominated … [Read more...] about BAFTA Defends All-White Best TV Actress Shortlist Amid Big Drop In Nominations For People Of Color