EXCLUSIVE : Eiza González ( Baby Driver ) and Aaron Paul ( Breaking Bad ) are attached to star in sci-fi thriller Ash , the sophomore feature from producer, rapper and filmmaker Flying Lotus ( Kuso ). Paul and González will replace Tessa Thompson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt who were previously announced last summer. Gonzalez will play a woman who wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. She must decide whether she can trust the man (Paul) sent to rescue her. Flying Lotus is also set to compose an original score, with production due to start in New Zealand in May. Based on an original screenplay by Jonni Remmler, XYZ Films and GFC Films are producing, with Neill Blomkamp ( District 9 ) and Echo Lake onboard as exec producers. XYZ Films is co-financing alongside IPR.VC. Baby Driver and Ambulance actress González will next be seen in Benioff and Weiss series Three Body Problem for Netflix and is currently … [Read more...] about Eiza González & Aaron Paul To Star In Flying Lotus’s Sci-Fi ‘Ash’; “We ‘Bout To Kill This”, Says Director Ahead Of Filming
Oscar winner paul
Denzel Washington Reuniting With Ridley Scott On ‘Gladiator’ Sequel At Paramount
EXCLUSIVE: Almost 16 years ago Denzel Washington and Ridley Scott wowed audiences with their hit crime drama American Gangster, and now it looks like the the two A-listers are ready to get back together in a big way. Sources tell Deadline that Washington is in final negotiations to co-star in Scott’s sequel to his Oscar Best Picture winner Gladiator for Paramount. Paul Mescal is on board to star opposite Washington, with Scott returning to the director’s chair. Scott also will produce with Scott Free president Michael Pruss as well as Doug Wick & Lucy Fisher via Red Wagon Entertainment. David Scarpa penned the script. Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald are executive producing. Also returning from the original film are costume designer Janty Yates and production designer Arthur Max. The first film was co-production between Universal and DreamWorks, and while DreamWorks will not be involved in the sequel, Universal has the right to partner again when the … [Read more...] about Denzel Washington Reuniting With Ridley Scott On ‘Gladiator’ Sequel At Paramount
Olga Kurylenko, Jenny Seagrove, Anna Friel, Ben Miles & David Bradley Lead Bill Kenwright Thriller ‘My Sister’s Bones’; First-Look Images
EXCLUSIVE : Olga Kurylenko ( Black Widow ), Jenny Seagrove ( The Guardian ), Anna Friel ( Marcella ) and Ben Miles ( The Crown ) have wrapped production on the under-the-radar psychological thriller My Sister’s Bones , whose first-look images we can reveal today. Bill Kenwright’s BKStudios is behind the project, adapted from Nuala Ellwood’s novel of the same name. Supporting cast includes Harry Potter and Game of Thrones actor David Bradley, who recently voiced Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar winner Pinocchio , and Maggie Steed ( Ten Percent ). Shooting took place on location in Whitstable, Herne Bay, London and Morocco. The project marks the second film from director Heidi Greensmith, whose debut feature Winter garnered three awards at the New York Film Festival, including Best Director, as well as a BIFA nomination in the Discovery Award category. The film was adapted for the screen by Naomi Gibney ( Devils ). The film opens in a bleak police … [Read more...] about Olga Kurylenko, Jenny Seagrove, Anna Friel, Ben Miles & David Bradley Lead Bill Kenwright Thriller ‘My Sister’s Bones’; First-Look Images
No Shockers Among DGA Awards Film Nominees: Cuaron, Greengrass, McQueen, Russell, Scorsese
Today’s eagerly awaited DGA nominations are out and there are no surprises in the bunch. Gravity’s Alfonso Cuaron , Captain Phillips’ Paul Greengrass , 12 Years A Slave’s Steve McQueen , American Hustle’s David O. Russell and The Wolf Of Wall Street ‘s Martin Scorsese were all odds-on favorites to make the five — and they did. Some might have questioned Scorsese’s chances since the film has become a lightning rod for controversy and was the last major release of the year, meaning the 15,000-member guild voters would have to see it in time to cast their ballot. But c’mon, he’s Martin Scorsese. There would be no denying this achievement among his fellow directors. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the guild and 10 other nominations with 3 wins in 3 different categories ( The Departed in film, Boardwalk Empire in TV a nd George Harrison: Living In The Material World in documentary). He’s a god to this guild. Greengrass, McQueen and … [Read more...] about No Shockers Among DGA Awards Film Nominees: Cuaron, Greengrass, McQueen, Russell, Scorsese
NatGeo Doc On Dramatic Find Of Shackelton’s Ship Endurance To Be Directed By Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin And Natalie Hewit
EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and BAFTA-nominated director Natalie Hewit are boarding the National Geographic documentary Endurance (working title), the incredible story of “the epic search to find the lost ship of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.” The announcement comes almost exactly a year after Shackelton’s ship Endurance was discovered eerily intact on the Weddell Sea floor near the northernmost part of the Antarctic, more than a hundred years after the vessel sank. The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust organized and funded the mission to find the historic wreck. Shackelton and his crew of 27 set sail in late 1914 on an exploratory mission endorsed by Winston Churchill, then Britain’s First Lord of the Admiralty. The ship became trapped in sea ice, forcing the crew to quit the vessel and set up camp on an ice floe. Then, on November 27, 1915, Endurance sank. As one crewman wrote, “She went down bow first, her stern … [Read more...] about NatGeo Doc On Dramatic Find Of Shackelton’s Ship Endurance To Be Directed By Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin And Natalie Hewit
‘The Sticky’: Margo Martindale, Chris Diamantopoulos & Guillaume Cyr To Star; EP Jamie Lee Curtis To Guest Star In Amazon Series
Three-time Emmy winner Margo Martindale , Chris Diamantopoulos and Guillaume Cyr are set to star in The Sticky , Prime Video’s Canadian comedy series from Blumhouse Television, Jamie Lee Curtis ’ Comet Pictures, Jonathan Levine’s Megamix and Sphere Media. Newly minted Oscar winner Curtis will guest star in the series, inspired by the true story dubbed the “Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist,” which made headlines around the world in 2011 when 70% of the global maple syrup supply — about CAN$18 million worth — was stolen. The English-language series is starting production in Quebec for a 2024 premiere and will film in and around Montreal with Canadian directors Michael Dowse ( Goon, Stuber ) and Joyce Wong ( Wexford Plaza, Sort of ). The Sticky revolves around Ruth Landry (Martindale), a tough, supremely competent maple syrup farmer who’s had it with being hemmed in by the polite, bureaucratic conventions native to her country’s identity. Especially now … [Read more...] about ‘The Sticky’: Margo Martindale, Chris Diamantopoulos & Guillaume Cyr To Star; EP Jamie Lee Curtis To Guest Star In Amazon Series
Erik Lomis Dies: Veteran MGM Distribution Chief Was 64
Extremely devastating news: MGM and United Artists Releasing distribution boss Erik Lomis died suddenly Wednesday at his home in Santa Monica, we have learned from sources. No details were provided in regards to his death. He was 64. Lomis was a towering figure behind many filmmakers’ hits including those from Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Adam McKay, Sylvester Stallone, Ryan Coogler, David O. Russell, Lee Daniels and Tom Hooper to name a few, and most recently Michael B. Jordan with Creed III . In the wake of Amazon’s purchase of MGM, Lomis, who made the jump, becoming an entrusted consigliere to Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke as the streamer looks to capitalize on more big-screen hits. Lomis gave Amazon a big taste of the box office with its first theatrical hit Creed III, which opened to more than $100 million worldwide and is currently grossing to $225M-plus at the global box office. It was Lomis’ bold decision to move Creed III out of … [Read more...] about Erik Lomis Dies: Veteran MGM Distribution Chief Was 64
Imagine That: Ron Howard And Brian Grazer To Give This Year’s USC School Of Cinematic Arts’ Commencement Address
Imagine Entertainment co-founders, Oscar winners and USC School of Cinematic Arts alums Brian Grazer and Ron Howard will deliver the school’s commencement address in May, the university said Thursday. Grazer, who also serves on the School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors, received a BA in Psychology at USC in 1974. Howard attended courses at the School of Cinematic Arts. Both received honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from USC in 2022. The pair, who have teamed on the likes of Oscar Best Picture winner A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 , 8 Mile and 24, Parenthood and Friday Night Lights among other hits join a list of previous commencement addressees that includes Matt Reeves last year along with Ryan Coogler, Jon M. Chu, Donna Langley, Ron Meyer, Paul Feig and more. The ceremony, to be held Friday, May 12 at the Shrine Auditorium, will also see producer-writer-director Tracy Oliver honored with the Mary Pickford Alumni Award, an award Grazer also has … [Read more...] about Imagine That: Ron Howard And Brian Grazer To Give This Year’s USC School Of Cinematic Arts’ Commencement Address
‘Squid Game’ Star Hoyeon Joins Michael Fassbender & Alicia Vikander In Korean Thriller ‘Hope’
EXCLUSIVE : A hot project just got hotter. Emmy-nominated Korean actress and model Hoyeon , who made waves with Netflix’s Squid Game , is set to make her feature debut in director Na Hong-Jin ’s Korean thriller Hope , which we revealed earlier today . She joins Oscar winner Alicia Vikander and Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender. This is the first project from acclaimed Korean director Na since 2016 hit The Wailing , and it’ll mark Hoyeon’s first starring role in a Korean project since she made her screen debut in Squid Game . The largely Korean-language film will follow the residents of Hopo Port, where a mysterious discovery is made on the outskirts of the remote harbor town. Before long, the residents find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against something they have never encountered before. Hoyeon will play a policewoman. Additional casting and pre-production is underway for a shoot later this year in Korea. We understand husband and wife … [Read more...] about ‘Squid Game’ Star Hoyeon Joins Michael Fassbender & Alicia Vikander In Korean Thriller ‘Hope’
A24 Sets Disaster Comedy ‘Y2K’, To Be Directed By ‘SNL’ Alum Kyle Mooney; Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison & More To Star
EXCLUSIVE : Hot on the heels of their historic Oscars sweep with Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Whale , A24 has set the cast for Y2K , a dial-up disaster comedy to be directed for the studio by SNL alum Kyle Mooney . Jaeden Martell ( It ), West Side Story breakout Rachel Zegler and Julian Dennison ( Deadpool 2 ) lead a stacked ensemble that also includes Lachlan Watson ( Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ), Mason Gooding ( Scream VI ), 5x Billboard Music Award-winner The Kid Laroi, Tim Heidecker ( Us ), Eduardo Franco ( Stranger Things ), Miles Robbins ( Blockers ), Alicia Silverstone ( The Killing of a Sacred Deer ), Fred Hechinger ( Fear Street Trilogy ) and Daniel Zolghadri ( Funny Pages ). In the film penned by Evan Winter , which is set on New Year’s Eve 1999, two high school nobodies (Martell, Dennison) decide to crash the last big party before the new millennium. When the clock strikes midnight, the night … [Read more...] about A24 Sets Disaster Comedy ‘Y2K’, To Be Directed By ‘SNL’ Alum Kyle Mooney; Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison & More To Star