Producers looking for scripts 2018

EXCLUSIVE : Roku has quickly found its new scripted boss. The free-ad supported streaming service has promoted Brian Tannenbaum to oversee scripted content following news of Colin Davis’ departure to Sony Pictures Television. Deadline understands that he will initially take on the role on an interim basis, but sources suggest that he will likely get the job on a permanent basis. Deadline revealed earlier this afternoon that Davis, who was Head of Scripted Originals, is joining the studio as EVP, Comedy Development. Tannenbaum has spent the last couple of years as Head of Alternative Originals and will now oversee all original programming for the service. It’s believed that he will become Head of Originals, after David Eilenberg was upped to Head of Content at Roku Media, following the departure of Rob Holmes earlier this year. Tannenbaum has overseen Roku Originals such as Ellie Kemper-fronted The Great American Baking Show , Chrissy Teigen’s Chrissy’s Court … [Read more...] about Roku’s Brian Tannenbaum To Oversee Scripted Content As Colin Davis Moves To Sony Pictures Television

EXCLUSIVE: Sharp Objects developer/executive producer Marti Noxon is reuniting with eOne , the indie studio behind the Emmy-nominated HBO drama, with a two-year exclusive first-look deal for television and new media. Under the pact, Noxon will write and serve as showrunner on projects, which she will be producing through her production company Tiny Pyro, with producing partner and company president Maria Grasso. “Building upon our previous partnership with Marti, whose talent and passion spans across multiple genres, is an incredible moment for us, and we look forward to all the exciting things to come,” said Pancho Mansfield, President of Global Scripted TV at Entertainment One . Jacqueline Sacerio — eOne’s Co-Head, Development, Scripted TV, US — will oversee the day-to-day activities of Tiny Pyro as part of her overall management of eOne Television’s first-look and overall deals “Marti is one of the most prolific writers working in television today, and her … [Read more...] about Marti Noxon Inks First-Look Deal With eOne For Television & New Media

EXCLUSIVE : Rising comedian, writer and actor Mary Beth Barone is set to exec produce and star in Good Girl , an indie erotic thriller to be directed by Lauren Garroni , in her feature debut. The feature scheduled to launch production in April watches as an enterprising Sugar Baby, offered ten grand to move in with her Sugar Daddy, comes to discover the dark secrets trapped within his home. Pic is described as part biting dark comedy, part erotic thriller — but above all, a story about sex work through a feminist and queer lens. Bree Essirig and Garroni penned the script, with Kelly Parker’s Mary Ellen Moffat to produce. Additional exec producers will include Garroni, Essrig, Simon Brook and Brook Productions. The New York-based Barone landed her feature script You’re My Best Friend on the 2022 edition of The Black List and is currently developing a half-hour comedy series titled Dicks with Jax Media and Fox. She has appeared on That Damn Michael Che for … [Read more...] about Mary Beth Barone To Exec Produce & Star In Indie Erotic Thriller ‘Good Girl’

EXCLUSIVE: Ilkkas’ Creative Studio (ICS), the Nordic creative hub launched last year, is planning to shake up Finland ’s approach to international scripted content. This morning at Series Mania in Lille, France, the Tampere-based ICS unveiled a strategic deal with Finland’s largest publisher, WSOY. At the center of the pact is a plan to “rethink the development of Finnish scripted content for international audiences,” and the partners are billing the agreement as a “landmark.” The pair will work on several projects and invite WSOY-affiliated authors to have a stake in the development. They say the collaborative approach to “internationalize and renew development and production methods hand in hand with authors” is a “unique” strategy. ICS has begun a “round of negotiations” with international partners on jointly selected projects, details of which are under wraps for now. Ilkka Hynninen, co-founder of Finnish producer Aito Media, and former SBS and YLE exec Ilkka … [Read more...] about Ilkkas’ Creative Studio Signs Deal With Publisher WSOY Designed To “Rethink Development” On Finnish Scripted Content — Series Mania

EXCLUSIVE: Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place Part II and Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy is embarking on his next project with the feature adaptation of Claire Keegan’s acclaimed novel Small Things Like These . Murphy will star in and produce the film that’s been greenlighted by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon ’s Artists Equity , which will finance the project. Principal photography is underway in Ireland. Ciarán Hinds and Emily Watson are also starring in the drama whose source material has been likened to a Dickens tale. The story takes place over Christmas in 1985, when devoted father Bill Furlong (Murphy) discovers the startling secrets being kept by the convent in his town, and some shocking truths about his own life as well. The project reunites director Tim Mielants and Murphy, who previously worked together on the BAFTA-winning Peaky Blinders . Enda Walsh, a longtime collaborator of Murphy’s, wrote the script. Murphy and producer Alan Moloney … [Read more...] about Cillian Murphy To Star In & Produce ‘Small Things Like These’ Backed By Ben Affleck & Matt Damon’s Artists Equity

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

Yesterday my colleague Pete Hammond said there were “no surprises” in the DGA Awards Film nominees. Well, today the Directors Guild of America delivered even less of a shock as its members ratified the new three-year deal its negotiating committee reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers in late November (after you finish that yawn, read their release below). Same as three years ago , no specific numbers were given just that the approval was by an “overwhelming margin,” according to the DGA .  ( UPDATE, 11 AM: As you would expect, AMPTP praised the ratification today, though with slightly ominous tones.“We are pleased that the DGA membership has ratified the new contracts. These new agreements will contribute to the stability of the industry by ensuring that feature film and television production – and the jobs dependent on it – can continue without interruption,” said the producers’ group in a statement Wednesday.) The Guild sent … [Read more...] about DGA Members Approve New Deal With Producers

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros Pictures Group has inked a multi-year first-look directing and producing agreement with two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan , whose movies have grossed $3.3 billion at the box office. In a career spanning four decades, Shyamalan has the rare distinction of having film open at No. 1 in each of those decades. Most recently, he saw his seventh No. 1 opening at the box office with Universal’s Knock at the Cabin, which currently counts $40 million worldwide off a $20M production cost. The pact with Shyamalan comes amid a string of talent deals made recently by Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy; previous first looks include with Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road as well as two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann , both first reported by Deadline. Under the new agreement, Shyamalan and his Philadelphia-based production company Blinding Edge Pictures, run by president of production … [Read more...] about M. Night Shyamalan Signs Multi-Year First-Look Deal at Warner Bros, Sets ‘Trap’ At Studio

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Gordon and Will Speck have signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop and produce feature films. The news comes in the wake of their feature take of the children’s book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile grossing over $104 million at the global box office. The movie, which stars Javier Bardem and Constance Wu and has songs by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul and Shawn Mendes, is set for a China release April 15. Speck and Gordon are attached to direct a film based on the AfterShock comic The Kaiju Score for Columbia Pictures. Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal at Escape Artists are producing along with AfterShock Media’s Lee and Jon Kramer; that project is in development. The duo are also attached to direct the A24 TV thriller Silverlake starring Zach Quinto and written by Samuel D. Hunter ( The Whale ). They also are the creators and showrunners of the Hulu/Marvel animated series Hit Monkey , which was recently ordered for a second season and … [Read more...] about ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ Filmmakers Josh Gordon & Will Speck Ink First-Look Deal With Sony

EXCLUSIVE: The Black List and Women in Film said Monday that they have set the participants for their 2023 Episodic Lab, with seven television pilots from eight writers selected. Now in its seventh year, the lab focuses on preparing women writers and writers of underrepresented genders for careers in writing for TV. More than 40 scribes have participated since its launch in 2016, with the organizations saying half currently have jobs in the industry. This year’s list features Bev Chukwu, Deanna Esposito, Eudie Pak, Laura Malatos & Helen Sun, Katherine Ruppe, Lorin Williams and Thea Rodgers. The lab, supported by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Shivhans Pictures, meets twice a week in March for sessions that include masterclasses, pitch workshops and lectures from guest mentors. This year’s mentors list includes Monica Beletsky ( Parenthood ), Jane Becker ( Ted Lasso ), Glen Mazzara ( The Dark Tower ), Sono Patel ( The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ) … [Read more...] about The Black List And Women In Film Set 2023 Episodic Lab Writers