The gift of years

EXCLUSIVE: James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has revealed that it will be “at least two years“ before the next 007 movie begins filming and that the task of finding an actor to replace Daniel Craig hasn’t begun “because it’s a reinvention of Bond.” Speaking to us at a star-studded private event in central London to honor Broccoli and her brother Michael G. Wilson for their BFI Fellowships, Broccoli wouldn’t be drawn on who would play Bond next but did offer an update on the decision-making process. “Nobody’s in the running,” she disclosed. “We’re working out where to go with him, we’re talking that through. There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.” The private dinner was held at Claridge’s Hotel in central London and was hosted by British Film … [Read more...] about Barbara Broccoli Says Next James Bond Film Is Two Years Away From Production: “We’re Reinventing Him”

EXCLUSIVE: Entertainment PR firm Relevant has promoted Alex Kahn to Senior Vice President, Julia Scorupco to Junior Publicist and has added Alexa Tombs as a Senior Publicist in the New York office. “We are so proud to be expanding our company by both promoting from within, which has always been important to us, and by finding someone new who we feel is a perfect addition,” Relevant’s partners said. “Alex Kahn has been with us from the beginning and shares our unique vision. We are excited for her to continue to grow in her leadership role within the company. Alexa Tombs’ studio background offers a fresh perspective to our strategy, and Julia Scorupco is one of the rising stars in our company.” Kahn, based in New York, has been with Relevant since its inception and has led campaigns for clients including Saoirse Ronan, Margaret Qualley, Murray Bartlett, Jonathan Bailey, Odessa Young, Josh O’Connor, Zachary Quinto and Michael Gandolfini. She moved to New York in … [Read more...] about Relevant Promotes Alex Kahn To SVP And Expands Teams In Los Angeles And New York

The Toronto Film Festival said Wednesday that Netflix ’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery , Rian Johnson ’s follow-up to his hit 2019 murder mystery pic, will world premiere at this year’s edition of the festival, which runs September 8-18. No firm date has been set for the premiere. Knives Out , which grossed $311.6 million worldwide when it bowed in November 2019, also had its world premiere that year at TIFF. Daniel Craig returns to the film franchise as gentleman detective Benoit Blanc, who this time travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects. The A-list cast this time includes Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline along with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista. Johnson directed and wrote the pic and produces with his producing partner Ram Bergman. Netflix has been slowly rolling out info for its franchise since it landed it a blockbuster deal … [Read more...] about Rian Johnson’s ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ To World Premiere At Toronto Film Festival

Amazon Prime Video is matching moves by streaming rivals by rolling out Watch Party , a new feature allowing simultaneous viewing of film or TV titles up to 100 Prime subscribers. The feature, available for Prime members in the U.S. at no cost, started to slowly roll out Monday on laptops only. Apple’s Safari browser will not support the the native social viewing tool. It is unclear when — or if — it will arrive on other platforms beyond laptops, like gaming consoles, connected-TV devices or smart TVs. Hulu said in May it is testing a feature it also calls Watch Party on its ad-free tier. Many Netflix users have spent time in recent months using the “Netflix Party” extension for Chrome web browsers. A Seattle-based startup called Scener has also announced ventures with HBO, Netflix and other programmers to enable social viewing. Kast is a more recent successor to predecessors like Rabbit, which folded in 2019. All have sought to build out the community dimensions of … [Read more...] about Amazon Prime Video Rolling Out ‘Watch Party’ Social Viewing On Laptops

BritBox International, the streamer run by the BBC and ITV, has restructured, talked up U.S. growth and communicated its desire to avoid “transatlantic puddings” to a room of some of the UK’s most successful drama producers. The streamer, which is behind the likes of Hugh Laurie -starring Agatha Christie adaptation Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, has hired NBCUniversal and Discovery alum Kerry Ball in the newly-created post of Chief Acquisitions & Commercial Officer, while moving to a two-region structure: BBI North America (covering the U.S. and Canada) and BBI International Markets (covering Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland and future new markets). Meanwhile, BritBox’s Moira Hogan has been promoted to EVP International Markets & General Manager APAC and Neale Dennett is upped to SVP International Markets & General Manager EMEA. An EVP North America & General Manager Group Marketing Services will join soon. Reporting to … [Read more...] about BritBox International Restructures, Targets U.S. Growth & Steers Clear Of “Transatlantic Puddings”

Most of the 38-member cast of the upcoming Broadway production of Tom Stoppard ’s Olivier Award-winning Leopoldstadt was announced today, with four members of the original West End company making the move and newcomers to the show set to include Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, Seth Numrich and David Krumholtz. Twenty-three of the cast members announced today will be making their Broadway debuts with Leopoldstadt, according to producers Sonia Friedman Productions, Roy Furman, and Lorne Michaels. Patrick Marber, who directed the West End staging, will direct for Broadway as well. Leopoldstadt ’s limited Broadway engagement will begin previews Wednesday, September 14, with an official opening on Sunday, October 2, at the Longacre Theatre. Set in Vienna, Leopoldstadt begins in the last days of 1899 and follows one extended family well into the 20th Century. The title takes its name from Vienna’s Jewish quarter, and the play is described by the production as … [Read more...] about Broadway Cast Announced For Tom Stoppard’s ‘Leopoldstadt’

Eastern Promises , the popular industry strand of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival , has spent the last two years relegated to an online only event due to Covid-19, but the upcoming seventh edition of the event is now gearing up for what it hopes to be a vintage year as it returns in a physical capacity on Sunday, June 3. The three-day event, which looks to promote regional and international filmmakers with distributors, sales agents, producers and festival programmers, will unveil 35 selected film projects – all at various stages —  through its Works in Progress, Works in Development – Feature Launch, First Cut+ Works in Progress and Odesa International Film Festival Works in Progress presentations. The most promising projects will receive awards totalling up to €125,000 ($151,850). “The most important thing right now is that we’re back in a physical and on-site situation,” says head of film industry office Hugo Rosák. “We tried the online edition in the … [Read more...] about Festival In Focus: Karlovy Vary’s Industry Strand Eastern Promises Set To Up Its Game For The 56th Edition

Peacock has revealed premiere dates for eight new and three returning series coming in 2022. The list includes rookie dramas Vampire Academy and Everything I Know About Love , freshman comedy Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin — whose title is new — limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters and A Friend of the Family and the sophomore runs of One of Us Is Lying and The Capture . See the full list below. Summer Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming Also coming to the NBCUniversal streamer later this year are new dramas Last Light , Irreverent and The Missing (working title) and Season 4 of kids animated series Dragons Rescue Riders: Heroes of the Sky. Fall 2022 Primetime TV Grid: Fox Finally Unveils Schedule & Gives ‘Monarch’ A Sweet Post-NFL Launch Perch; Nets Overall Play It Very Safe Here are all of the newly announced Peacock premiere dates for 2022: August 25: … [Read more...] about Peacock Premiere Dates: ‘Vampire Academy’, ‘Pitch Perfect’ & ‘Best Man’ Series, ‘Last Light’, More

EXCLUSIVE: Verve has upped coordinators Jessica Zou and Noah Liebmiller to Agents in the Motion Picture Literary Team. The agency, which has a tradition of surprising staffers with promotions, last week tasked Liebmiller and Zou with putting together a video as part of a signing exercise. I understand they were told that the video was not only important but needed to convey the theatrical gravitas of the signing pursuit. During a recent all-company staff meeting, the video was played to great reception and the promotions were announced by the co-heads of the Motion Picture Lit Team who reflected on how deserving both Liebmiller and Zou were of their new titles. Zou, who holds a Master’s in Communications from USC, began her career in the UTA mailroom before joining Verve in February 2020 where she worked for Motion Picture Lit Agents Pamela Goldstein and Sara Nestor. Liebmiller, a Middlebury College graduate and another homegrown agent, joined Verve’s mailroom in … [Read more...] about Verve Promotes Noah Liebmiller & Jessica Zou To Agents

The BBC and BritBox have commissioned a spin-off of BBC drama favorite Death in Paradise , with Kris Marshall ’s DI Humphrey Goodman character making a return in the UK. Marshall played the lead role in the show’s third-to-sixth season before being replaced by Ardal O’Hanlon and Beyond Paradise will spotlight his return to being a DI in his home nation. Beyond Paradise will be distributed internationally by BBC Studios and be available in all Britbox international markets outside of Australia. Having recently entered its 11th season, Asacha Media Group-backed Sanditon producer Red Planet Pictures’ Death in Paradise is one of the BBC’s most popular dramas of the past decade and was one of the first shows to return to production after the COVID-induced production hiatus in 2020. The idea for a spin-off has been floating around for several years and BritBox Chief Creative Officer Diederick Santer, who used to run Broadchurch indie Kudos, described the … [Read more...] about ‘Death In Paradise’ Spin-Off ‘Beyond Paradise’ Greenlit By BBC & BritBox; Kris Marshall To Star