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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

The BBC has been told that it must be more transparent about its content acquisitions strategy after being accused by ITV of buying glossy U.S. shows to chase ratings. Ofcom , the UK’s media regulator, said the BBC must explain in its Annual Plan how buying content, as opposed to commissioning British originals, supports “distinctiveness” and engages different audiences. The BBC is funded by the British public to the tune of £3.8B ($4.7B), meaning it has an obligation to be distinct from commercial rivals like ITV and serve all audiences. Ofcom made the intervention as part of plans to update the BBC’s operating licence for a digital age from next month. A guiding principle of the changes is transparency, with Ofcom arguing that the BBC has not always provided proper “detail and clarity” on updates to its output and services. In a submission to Ofcom’s review, ITV said the BBC had “dramatically increased” its spend on acquired content over the past six years, … [Read more...] about BBC Must Explain Glossy U.S. Acquisitions After Being Accused By ITV Of Chasing Ratings

Oscar winner and Academy member Roger Ross Williams is saying publicly what many in the documentary community have stewed over privately – that the sums of money being spent on Oscar documentary campaigns has “gotten insane.” And Williams, a former Academy Governor representing the Doc Branch, says something may be done about it. “We in the Academy, in the Doc Branch, have a campaign finance reform committee… to sort of try to work through that and figure out solutions to that. It’s gotten insane. It’s gazillions of dollars to get seen and heard,” he said, “and that’s so troubling because it should be on the merit of the films.” His remarks, less than two weeks after the Academy Awards, came in a discussion with documentary programmer and Pure Nonfiction podcaster Thom Powers at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. Powers asked the filmmaker about “the escalating attention that awards season sucks up in our industry,” and Williams didn’t hold back. “We know it’s awards, it’s the … [Read more...] about Oscar Winner Roger Ross Williams: Spending On Oscar Doc Campaigns Has “Gotten Insane” — CPH:DOX

EXCLUSIVE : Matt Reeves ’ 6th & Idaho is teaming with ZQ Entertainment to produce God’s Country — a new genre film starring Scream VI’ s Melissa Barrera , which will mark the American directorial debut of Egor Abramenko ( Sputnik ). The film going into production this summer will have Barrera playing a young Salvadoran woman who travels to Kentucky to meet her fiancé. What she uncovers is something sinister beyond comprehension, as her American dream curdles into a nightmare of biblical proportions. Will Soodik ( Westworld ) wrote the script. Reeves ( The Batman ) and Rafi Crohn ( Tales from the Loop ) will produce for 6th & Idaho, alongside ZQ Entertainment’s Ara Keshishian and Petr Jákl (who financed the development), Adam Kassan ( End of Watch ), and Barrera. WME reps foreign and co-represents domestic rights with CAA Media Finance, and will introduce the project at EFM. “Egor is an exciting emerging talent,” Reeves told Deadline, “and … [Read more...] about Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho, ZQ Entertainment Team On ‘God’s Country’ Starring Melissa Barrera; Egor Abramenko Directing – EFM

Martin Wiley , a veteran producer and executive whose credits include Acts of Violence, Never Talk to Strangers and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, died March 20, his son Cameron told Deadline. He was 65. A USC alum who got his post-graduate degree from UCLA, Wiley served as a creative executive in charge of development on films produced at Warner Bros., Sony, Lionsgate and other studios and the supervising producer and/or unit production manager for more than a dozen theatrical features. Wiley began his career in the late 1980s, serving as a producer or co-producer on films including Mutator, Diving In and Little Sister. His first executive producing credit came on the Steven Seagal action sequel Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), and he was a producer on the Antonio Banderas-Rebecca DeMornay thriller Never Talk to Strangers the same year. Other feature credits as producer include Chill Factor, Tamara, Madison , Drive Thru, The Plague, Woodstock or Bust … [Read more...] about Martin Wiley Dies: Veteran Film Producer & Executive Was 65

EXCLUSIVE : UTA has signed Jonathan Roumie, the actor-producer best known for starring in the faith-based hits The Chosen and Jesus Revolution . The largest fan-supported entertainment project of all time, The Chosen is a drama series about the life of Jesus Christ (Roumie) and the calling of his initial disciples. The show from Dallas Jenkins, boasting a seven-series commitment, which is entering its fourth season in April, most recently took a trio of Season 3 episodes, along with the holiday special Christmas with The Chosen to movie theaters. While the show is also available online via Angel Studios’ website and dedicated app, and has been licensed by assorted major streaming platforms, the combined grosses of the theatrical releases put on with Fathom Events come out to around $34M, surpassing those of many recent studio features. Roumie can also currently be seen starring opposite Joel Courtney, Kelsey Grammer and more in Lionsgate ‘s faith-based … [Read more...] about ‘Jesus Revolution’ & ‘The Chosen’ Star Jonathan Roumie Inks With UTA

Getty Lil Nas X 's presence on social media has got him in some hot water once again ... with people saying his tweet about 'gays' in Africa is incredibly insensitive on the heels of serious anti-gay legislation in Uganda. The "Old Town Road" rapper was met with a ton of backlash Wednesday after he tweeted "where do the gays be in africa i wanna come there". The tweet came on the heels Uganda parliament passing one of the most sweeping anti-gay legislations in the world. The law punishes people with up to 10 years behind bars for simply identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or anything other than male or female. More shockingly, citizens can be sentenced to life behind bars for committing gay sex acts and be sentenced to death for "aggravated homosexuality" -- a broad term to include sex acts committed by force as well as incest. After LNX's tweet, folks quickly hopped on social media to express their disdain, for what … [Read more...] about Lil Nas X Slammed For ‘Gays’ in Africa Tweet Following Anti-LGBTQ Ugandan Law