Novel

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: AWA Studios has tapped Elle Callahan to direct a feature film adaptation of the company’s original graphic fiction series Hotell . She will also co-adapt the script with Anthony Ruff. AWA Studios president Zach Studin is producing. “I’m very excited to be working with AWA to adapt John Lees’ terrifying graphic novel Hotell ,” Callahan said. “I aim to tell stories that push the horror genre in new directions — and my plan for this piece involves a very unique approach to the storytelling. This horror will feel all too relatable, and no doubt keep you up at night.” The graphic novel presents a story of dread and intrigue and a mosaic of characters, set in the mysterious and frightening backdrop of the Pierrot Courts Hotel. It was written by well-known comic book creator Lees, drawn by artist Dalibor Talajic, and edited by AWA co-founder and chief creative officer Axel Alonso. The story is set at a mysterious roadside hotel where lost souls make … [Read more...] about Elle Callahan To Write And Direct Adaptation Of Graphic Novel ‘Hotell’ As AWA Studios Ramps Up Slate

Before Legendary Entertainment Godzilla franchise scribe Max Borenstein became attached as showrunner to Winning Time : The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty series, it took co-creator Jim Hecht some years after optioning Jeff Pearlman’s 2014 book, S howtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, to get HBO to sign on. And that’s because there hadn’t been a series quite like it before. Sure, there were sports dramas like Friday Night Lights; football always is an easy sell to a home or theatrical audience. But as far as detailing the rise of a notable NBA team, told against the shifting racial and gender politics of the 1980s era and featuring its gambler owner Dr. Jerry Buss (played by John C. Reilly) and underdog coaches, Winning Time was a TV show anomaly. “No one has taken a dynasty sports team and given it a treatment of an ongoing drama,” Borenstein tells Crew Call about creating Winning Time. The first season … [Read more...] about ‘Winning Time’ Co-Creator Max Borenstein On Creating “A Great American Novel” Show & Going Beyond Season 2 – Crew Call Podcast

Riley Cote ’s journey to enlightenment began in earnest when a hulking man punched him in the face. Cote, now 40 and retired from professional hockey, remembers the moment with a dark laugh. He’d gotten into this particular bust-up one night during the 2009 season with one of the NHL ’s most vicious fighters, and took the worst of it, waking the next day with his left eye blackened shut. “What,” he asked himself, “am I doing?” He drove to the Philadelphia Flyers training facility and got into the shower. Feeling congested, he reached for a tissue. He didn’t realize he’d suffered a cracked sinus, so what happened next was physics. When he blew his nose, the air — rather than coming out of his nostrils — inflated his face. The pressure surged instantly behind his good eye and closed it tight. Team trainer Derek Settlemyre heard Cote scream. “His whole face had swollen up,” Settlemyre recalls. “We tell them, if they think they have a fracture, ‘Don’t blow your nose’ — and he … [Read more...] about How an NHL Enforcer Broke His Body — and Turned to Psychedelics to Heal His Brain

EXCLUSIVE: During Sundance, Jeremy Blacklow, Director of Entertainment Media at GLAAD and The Black List ’s Kate Hagen revealed the second annual catalog for the GLAAD List which is a roster of the most promising unmade LGBTQ -inclusive film scripts. From stories about Tennessee Williams to the bohemian ‘80s arts scene in NYC to a family fighting for survival as the world might be ending, the scripts on The GLAAD List represent the type of stories that GLAAD would like to see studios producing. With the proper attention, and with the collaboration of the right directors and actors, these scripts show tremendous promise and should one day become films that will both entertain audiences and change hearts and minds around the world. “GLAAD is thrilled to present this incredible list of unmade LGBTQ-inclusive scripts to the entertainment industry at large for a second year in a row,” said Blacklow. “We have read a lot of scripts this past year, in order to settle on … [Read more...] about The GLAAD List: The Black List And GLAAD Unveil Second Annual Roster Of Unmade LGBTQ-Inclusive Film Scripts

Euphoria ’s Hunter Schafer has joined the cast of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes opposite Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler. Schafer will play Tigris Snow, Coriolanus’s cousin and confidante, who advises him in everything – from his role as mentor to the core of his moral compass. Francis Lawrence is directing. The prequel is set years before Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) becomes the fierce President of Panem. The 18-year-old is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and … [Read more...] about ‘Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer Latest To Join ‘Hunger Games: Ballad Of The Songbirds And Snakes’

Brad Pitt holds forth on what he calls “this last semester or trimester” of his career in a thoughtful and somewhat elegiac interview for the cover of GQ’s August issue. “I consider myself on my last leg,” the Academy Award winner says in the piece, “this last semester or trimester. What is this section gonna be? And how do I wanna design that?” Pitt, 58, has long been thoughtful about the arc of his career — he called his production banner Plan B , after all. His plan B would have made a good plan A for most in the business, with the shingle earning billions at the box office as well as winning three Best Picture Oscars in the past 20 years. So it means something when Pitt tells GQ that the upcoming Women Talking , “It’s as profound a film as anything made this decade.” The film, directed by Sarah Polley and set for release December 2, is an adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel about a group of Mennonite women who struggle to reconcile their faith with a series … [Read more...] about Brad Pitt Says He’s On The “Last Leg” Of His Career & Asking Himself, “How Do I Wanna Design That?”

5th Update Sunday AM FINAL writethru w/chart after Saturday 10:41PM : In the back and forth for No. 1 between Disney/ 20th Century Studios ’ The Call of the Wild and Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog , the blue critter is back on top. Paramount is reporting this morning a $26.3M 3-day (-55%) after a Saturday of $12.1M , +89% over Friday. That will bring Sonic to a 10-day gross of $106.6M . worldwide at $203.1M , Sonic is the clear global winner for the second weekend in a row with a deafening roar of $64.6M, powering over The Call of the Wild . In weekend 2 exits, Sonic remains a great 4 stars with general audiences, parents, and kids under 12. Sonic ‘s Saturday was higher than the feature adaptation of the Jack London novel, which is estimated to have made $10M yesterday, +24% over Friday, for a 3-day of $24.8M . Disney sees those exact numbers this morning as well, with an overall $40M global in 40 material markets, including … [Read more...] about ‘Hedgehog’ Bites Back At ‘Wild’ Dog As ‘Sonic’ Speeds To No. 1 With $26M+; $203M+ WW – Sunday AM Update

5th UPDATE Monday, 2:49 PM: As expected, Sunday’s NFL championship games prior to the big Super Bowl negatively impacted box office , as did the continuing woes on the East Coast, where theaters reopened among several inches (and in some cases feet) of snow. The many hopeful estimates the studios made yesterday just didn’t come to pass. Box office was off 8%-12% across the board, observers noted. The winter doldrums at the box office will be lifted in a big way next weekend with the return of the beloved franchise in Kung Fu Panda 3 , with the third installment of the DreamWorks Animation family film playing in 3D. The way things look right now, it could have an opening of about $45M. Also in wide release will be spoof comedy Fifty Shades Of Black , written by and starring Marlon Wayans and released by Open Road, as well as Disney’s The Finest Hours . The maritime drama, which contains visuals along the lines of A Perfect Storm, will be bolstered by its … [Read more...] about ‘The Revenant’ Leads Box Office Through Historic 2016 Snowstorm

Write-thru at 8:30AM on PREVIOUS 7:46 AM post: The Zac Efron, Robert De Niro starring comedy Dirty Grandpa , which opened last night at 7 PM in about 2,00o theaters pulled in a respectable $660K. Good enough for the Lionsgate/Bill Block Media R-rated offering. This one’s comp is The Family which opened in September 2013 to a $14M three-day. Different genre, but starred De Niro, too, and the same is expected on this one — if, and this is a big If — the entire East Coast is not shut down by the monster storm. We are expecting mid-teens. Meanwhile, The 5th Wave , the Chloe Grace Moretz vehicle based on a YA novel, took in $475K from 2,297 locations in early shows this weekend, playing strongly to a teenage girl audience. This weekend is will be a fairly blah weekend and could get even dimmer as the East Coast braces for one of the worst storms of the season which will impact moviegoing. This is the time of year that the box office reporters and distribution executives … [Read more...] about Box Office Thursday Late Nights: ‘Dirty Grandpa’ Knocks In $660K, ‘The Fifth Wave’ Crashes In With $475K