EXCLUSIVE: Producer Amy Williams has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Waheed AlQawasmi, the writer and director of upcoming indie feature Jacir , starring Lorraine Bracco . The suit also names WAFilms, the production company behind the film. AlQawasmi has hit back, describing the complaint as “without merit”. In the complaint, filed in the Chancery Court for Shelby County, Tennessee, producer Williams claims that AlQawasmi wrongfully removed her name from the film as its lead producer and has failed to pay her the promised compensation for her work on the project. According to the filing, Williams says AlQawasmi approached her in 2016 to help produce the film originally titled My Friend Jacir . The suit claims that Williams procured funding and cast members for the movie, including Bracco, who stars in the film’s lead role. The film completed production in December 2020, at which point the suit claims that AlQawasmi “manufactured” a contract breach on … [Read more...] about Producer Amy Williams Files Lawsuit Against Filmmakers Behind Indie Drama ‘Jacir’ Starring Lorraine Bracco
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‘Gears Of War’ Netflix Movie Sets Jon Spaihts As Screenwriter
Netflix has tapped Academy Award nominee Jon Spaihts ( Dune : Part One & Two ) to pen its live-action Gears of War film, based on the hit video game series, Deadline can confirm. First announced by the streamer back in November, the project will be produced in partnership with The Coalition, with an adult animated series set in the world of the games to follow, and the potential for further stories going forward. Debuting on Xbox in 2006 and going on to sell 40M+ copies across six installments, Gears of War watches as a society divided and on the brink of collapse faces total extinction by the Locust, a monstrous threat from below. Delta Squad, a ragtag fireteam led by disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix, is then charged with leading humanity’s last stand. Hollywood has been attempting to adapt the games for the screen for many years, with Universal being the last studio attempting to get a film together in 2016, and New Line among others having … [Read more...] about ‘Gears Of War’ Netflix Movie Sets Jon Spaihts As Screenwriter
Good Fear Content Ups Scott Stoops To Partner
EXCLUSIVE : Scott Stoops has been elevated to Partner at management and production co. Good Fear Content , Partners Chris Bender and Jake Weiner announced on Tuesday. A manager at Good Fear since its 2015 founding, Stoops’ roster includes numerous prominent writers and directors across film and TV, a number of which have reached EP or Co-EP level. Among his most notable clients is Megan McDonnell, who was the first writer in on Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels , after serving as a staff writer on the Emmy-winning WandaVision and its forthcoming spin-off Agatha: Coven of Chaos , as well as Apple’s Dark Matter . Others include Rayna McClendon, who is currently working in the Star Wars universe after staffing on Obi-Wan and Willow for Lucasfilm; Aisha Porter-Christie, who is on Marvel’s Daredevil staff while writing Clifton for Peacock; Stephen Herman, who sold his horror spec The Culling to Lionsgate and is currently penning Sweet Tooth for New Line; … [Read more...] about Good Fear Content Ups Scott Stoops To Partner
HBO Content Chief Casey Bloys’ Heartfelt ‘Succession’ Sendoff, A Series That Weathered A Few Real-Life Corporate Mergers
The first premiere of Succession was in 2018 at the NYC complex formerly known as the Time Warner Center. “A lot has happened in those five years. We’ve had a couple of corporate mergers, a global pandemic, a few Emmys,” said Casey Bloys , chairman-CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content at the premiere of the series fourth and final season. HBO parent Warner Media was sold to AT&T in a deal that closed that year. The telecom giant then sold it to Discovery in 2022. At the Season 3 premiere in October of 2021 the deal to create Warner Bros. Discovery had been announced but not yet closed. “It’s been a wild ride. But we are so proud to be the home of Succession ,” Bloys said taking the stage at the event at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Succession happens to be a show where tortured M&A attempts and boardroom infighting by a charismatic ensemble led by Brian Cox as media mogul-patriarch Logan Roy are integral to the action. “It’s been a joy from day one,“ Bloys said … [Read more...] about HBO Content Chief Casey Bloys’ Heartfelt ‘Succession’ Sendoff, A Series That Weathered A Few Real-Life Corporate Mergers
College Ice Hockey Player Carson Briere Charged Over Wheelchair Push
College ice hockey player Carson Briere -- the son of Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere -- was hit with three criminal charges on Monday ... after he was seen on video pushing a woman's wheelchair down a flight of stairs earlier this month. According to court records, Briere was charged with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief. The records show he's due in court in May for a hearing on the matter. In court documents, obtained by the Associated Press , Erie City Police allege Carson -- a junior center on Mercyhurst Univ.'s hockey team -- put people at risk when he shoved a wheelchair down stairs at a bar near Mercyhurst's Pennsylvania campus on March 11. The AP reports the woman who owned the wheelchair, Sydney Benes , told police she had just bought the chair for $2,000 a year ago ... and Carson's push left it significantly damaged. According to the AP, Mercyhurst Univ. lacrosse player … [Read more...] about College Ice Hockey Player Carson Briere Charged Over Wheelchair Push
Stormy Daniels Getting Threats Ahead of Likely Trump Arrest, Taking Security Precautions
TMZ/Getty Stormy Daniels is feeling the effects of Donald Trump 's possible looming arrest ... we're told her life is being threatened, so she's beefing up her security. Stormy's attorney, Clark Brewster , tells TMZ ... his client recently received lots of "vitriolic messages" on social media, including some very concerning direct messages. The alleged threats come on the heels of Trump announcing Saturday he expects to be arrested Tuesday by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg over the notorious Stormy Daniels hush-money case. Stormy's attorney says she's taking extra precautions -- her team doesn't want to share specifics, for fear of tipping off someone who might want to do her harm. ... Brewster has only said in the past, "Stormy for years has had security when she needs to." As for some of the nasty online comments, Stormy's been called a "Worthless Whore," "degenerate prostitute" and an "extortionist who should be … [Read more...] about Stormy Daniels Getting Threats Ahead of Likely Trump Arrest, Taking Security Precautions
‘The Phantom Of The Opera’ Scores Record $3M; Jonas Brothers, ‘Parade’ & ‘Shucked’ Sell Out – Broadway Box Office
Broadway’s old and new teamed up last week to boost total box office nearly 20%, with The Phantom of the Opera (the old) posting a best-ever $3 million weekly gross and The Jonas Brothers (the new, to Broadway anyway) taking in $1.6 million for their five-concert residency. In all, Broadway’s 29 productions grossed a total $34,124,422 for the week ending March 19, a jump of 19.1% over the previous week. Total attendance was 259,832, a 13% increase (the previous week had two fewer shows on the roster). With Phantom now in its final weeks – the closing date (for now, anyway: Webber has teased the possibility of a return at some point) is April 16 – the musical posted the biggest weekly gross in its 35-year history: $3,029,826 for eight performances (its first $3M+ tally). That tops even previous nine-show weeks. Attendance at the Majestic was 101.71%, with a big average ticket price of $232.01. The Jonas Brothers on Broadway , the March 14 to March 18 residency … [Read more...] about ‘The Phantom Of The Opera’ Scores Record $3M; Jonas Brothers, ‘Parade’ & ‘Shucked’ Sell Out – Broadway Box Office
New DreamWorks Film ‘Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’ Casts Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Jane Fonda, Colman Domingo, Annie Murphy & More
DreamWorks Animation has unveiled its newest animated feature, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken , set for wide release via Universal on June 30th, and the roster of major names behind it. Lana Condor (Netflix’s To All the Boys franchise) will play the title role, with Oscar nom Toni Collette ( Knives Out ), Oscar winner Jane Fonda ( 80 for Brady ), Emmy winner Colman Domingo ( Euphoria ), Emmy winner Annie Murphy ( Schitt’s Creek ), Sam Richardson ( Veep ), Blue Chapman ( Council Of Dads ) and Jaboukie Young-White ( C’mon C’mon ) among the others set to star. The film directed by Oscar nom Kirk De Micco ( Vivo ), with Faryn Pearl ( The Croods: A New Age ) as co-director, is an action-comedy about a shy teenager who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens and that her destiny, in the depths of the oceans, is bigger than she ever dreamed. Sweet, awkward 16-year-old Ruby Gillman (Condor) is desperate … [Read more...] about New DreamWorks Film ‘Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’ Casts Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Jane Fonda, Colman Domingo, Annie Murphy & More
As T.J. Newman Is Set To Adapt Debut Novel ‘Falling’, Her Follow-up ‘Drowning: The Rescue Of Flight 1421’ Drops In Hollywood
EXCLUSIVE : Flight attendant-turned-tyro author T.J. Newman has been set to write the script for her debut bestselling novel Falling for Universal and Working Title. Now, her follow-up manuscript has leaked around town and could be the next hot auction title. The new one is Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 , and it will be shopped imminently. A plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean six minutes after takeoff and is flooded after an explosion during evacuation. A dozen survivors sink in a sealed part of the aircraft as it perches precariously on an undersea cliff 200 feet below the surface. Among them is an engineer and his 11-year-old daughter. His estranged wife and the girl’s mother is part of the elite rescue team that races to save the passengers before their air runs out. Newman is the flight attendant who filled the down time on flights scribbling an aviation thriller, only to see her get rejected by 41 agents before Shane Salerno and The Story Factory … [Read more...] about As T.J. Newman Is Set To Adapt Debut Novel ‘Falling’, Her Follow-up ‘Drowning: The Rescue Of Flight 1421’ Drops In Hollywood
Damon Lindelof & Justin Britt-Gibson Depart As Scribes For Secret ‘Star Wars’ Pic; Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Still Aboard As Director
Lucasfilm’s top-secret Star Wars movie to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has lost its screenwriters, Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson , Deadline can confirm. Details as to the film’s plot are still under wraps, though we understand that Obaid-Chinoy remains at the helm, with further details on the project to be unveiled at next month’s Star Wars Celebration. Sources suggest that the film is still in a solid position to be one of the first out of the gate for the franchise — if not the first — on the heels of 2019’s Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker . Disney has, in the interim, prioritized building out the Star Wars universe on the TV side, with hit shows like The Mandalorian . While the specific reasoning behind the departure of Lindelof and Britt-Gibson hasn’t been disclosed, the former hinted at the possibility in an i nterview with SlashFilm unveiled earlier this month. “I will just say, that for reasons that I can’t get into on … [Read more...] about Damon Lindelof & Justin Britt-Gibson Depart As Scribes For Secret ‘Star Wars’ Pic; Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Still Aboard As Director