Prime Video has confirmed Deadline’s report that hit MRC Television conspiracy thriller The Terminal List , headlined by Chris Pratt , has been renewed for a second season , and that the streamer also has ordered an untitled prequel series focusing on fan-favorite Ben Edwards, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch . Season 2 of The Terminal List , whose first installment was based on Jack Carr’s bestseller of the same name, will be based on Carr’s novel True Believer. Additionally, it has been revealed what other Carr characters the prequel series, co-created by Carr and Season 1 creator-showrunner David DiGilio, will feature opposite Kitsch’s Ben in addition to James Reece (Pratt) and Raife Hastings, which Deadline had already reported. The list includes Mohammed Farooq and Ernest “Boozer” Vickers, played in Season 1 by Pratt’s longtime coach, former Navy SEAL and series producer Jared Shaw. The untitled prequel is described as an elevated espionage thriller that takes … [Read more...] about ‘The Terminal List’: More Details Revealed About Season 2 Of Prime Video Series Starring Chris Pratt & Taylor Kitsch-Led Prequel
Original album series
Hello Sunshine Shuts Down Kids & Animation Division
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that Hello Sunshine is shuttering its kids and animation business as part of a strategic decision to focus Candle Media ’s kids and animation efforts under Moonbug , the family production studio the corp snapped up for a near $3 billion in November 2021. Hello Sunshine will collaborate with Moonbug on future kids and animation projects. As a result, a few individuals will be departing Hello Sunshine over the coming weeks. The Blackstone-backed Candle Media, which is also co-run and co-founded by Tom Staggs, acquired Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine in August 2021 for $900M. At last April’s MIP TV , Candle Media co-founder Kevin Mayer spoke about synergies between both Hello Sunshine and Moonbug. The latter is the production company behind popular kids shows like CoComelon. CoComelon was one of the top three streaming programs in 2022 with 37.8 billion minutes viewed on Netflix per Nielsen, behind Stranger Things (52B) on … [Read more...] about Hello Sunshine Shuts Down Kids & Animation Division
Irene Cara’s Cause Of Death Revealed By Medical Examiner
A Pinellas County, Florida medical examiner’s report indicates that Fame star Irene Cara ’s official cause of death was Arteriosclerotic and Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease. In layperson’s terms, she had a hardening of the arteries and stress on her heart as a result of high blood pressure. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The report, received by Deadline, also noted Cara was diabetic. The Oscar-winning singer who died at 63 was best known for the Flashdance theme “What A Feeling” and for playing Coco in Fame and singing that film’s unforgettable title song. Cara got her Oscar for Best Original Song for the Flashdance tune “What A Feeling,” and also won two Grammys for the lively chart topper that perfectly captured the underdog journey of the welder-turned-dancer played by Jennifer Beals. Her Grammy wins included Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A … [Read more...] about Irene Cara’s Cause Of Death Revealed By Medical Examiner
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
Ashim Ahluwalia On Portraying The Extremes Of India’s Wealth Gap In Netflix Young Adult Drama ‘Class’
Ashim Ahluwalia, known as a director of edgy films such as John & Jane and Miss Lovely that have premiered at Toronto and Cannes film festivals, is not an obvious choice to direct a young adult drama series for Netflix . But when local production house Bodhitree Multimedia approached him with a proposal for a Hindi remake of Spanish show Elite , he jumped at the chance. “I’ve always been interested in making something on teenagers, especially wealthy urban teenagers, because that’s a world that I know,” says Ahluwalia, who grew up in the tony neighborhoods of south Mumbai. “I went to a school that was very different to the school in Elite , or in this series, but had the same elements of class conflict. So while I’d never thought about doing a series before, I thought this would be an interesting project to do.” Created by Carlos Montero and Dario Madrona, Elite follows three scholarship kids from a modest socioeconomic background who get placed in an … [Read more...] about Ashim Ahluwalia On Portraying The Extremes Of India’s Wealth Gap In Netflix Young Adult Drama ‘Class’
‘1923’ Renewed For Second Season By Paramount+
If you didn’t like how 1883 ended after just one season, you’re going to love this news: Paramount+ has ordered a second season of 1923 . Just as Deadline first reported in October, Creator Taylor Sheridan needs another season to finish telling the origin story of the Dutton family he made famous in Yellowstone . Besides, there’s always the chance season two could attract the same number of people who first tuned into the premiere of 1923 in December: The prequel that stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren was the most watched Paramount+ premiere ever in the U.S. and drew in 7.4M total viewers across Paramount+ and linear previews. 1923’ s linear sampling preview on Paramount Network made it the biggest series premiere on cable for 2022. After a painful hiatus, 1923 returns this Sunday with a new episode. The series explores the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, and the end of Prohibition all plague the mountain west, … [Read more...] about ‘1923’ Renewed For Second Season By Paramount+
Melinda Dillon Dies: ‘Close Encounters’, ‘A Christmas Story’ & ‘Absence Of Malice’ Actress Was 83
Melinda Dillon , a two-time Oscar nominee for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Absence of Malice who also played Ralphie’s mom in A Christmas Story , has died. She was 83. Her family said she died January 9 in Los Angeles but did not give other details. Dillon probably is best known for playing a mother whose young son is abducted by the aliens in Steven Spielberg’s 1977 epic Close Encounters of the Third Kind. She and Roy (Richard Dreyfuss) inexplicably are drawn to Devils Tower in Wyoming as they struggle to make sense of what has happened to them. She earned a Supporting Actress Oscar nom for the role. She also played the mother of the young lead Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) in the 1983 holiday classic A Christmas Story , memorably warning the boy who wants a BB rifle that, “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Dillon would earn a second Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for 1981’s Absence of Malice, playing a close friend of Paul Newman’s … [Read more...] about Melinda Dillon Dies: ‘Close Encounters’, ‘A Christmas Story’ & ‘Absence Of Malice’ Actress Was 83
DGA Board Approves New Contract With Producers; 2.5% Wage Increase For 1st Year, 0.5% Pension Increase, Some SVOD & AVOD Increases
Related: DGA, Producers Reach Tentative Deal On New Contract As expected, the Directors Guild of America Board today unanimously rubber-stamped the new three-year deal its negotiating committee finalized with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers on Friday. With the board’s approval, the agreement now goes to the DGA ’s 15,000 members for ratification to succeed the current Basic Agreement and the Freelance Live and Tape TV Agreement, which expire on June 30, 2014. No word yet on when that voting deadline will be but the DGA expect to announce a date just before the voting packages go out in the next week or so. The board meeting started around 9 AM today at the DGA HQ on Sunset and went into the early afternoon. The deal, which took just two and a half weeks to reach, sees wage increases of 2.5% the first year and 3% for the second and third years of the agreement. It also sees a 0.5% raise up to 16% overall to the Pension Plan, though the DGA can divert … [Read more...] about DGA Board Approves New Contract With Producers; 2.5% Wage Increase For 1st Year, 0.5% Pension Increase, Some SVOD & AVOD Increases