Getty/IMAGN UPDATE 2:30 PM PT -- 1/3 -- Tom Brady is also pitching in to help Damar Hamlin -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB just gave $10k to the GoFundMe account, making it the top 3 donations. UPDATE 2:20 PM PT -- 1/3 -- Currently, the Chasing M's Foundation Community Toy Drive has $4,856,300 and still counting. UPDATE 9:04 AM PT -- 1/3 -- The donations continue to flow in ... with another MILLION dollars going to Damar's fundraiser since this morning -- resulting in $4,486,340 so far!! UPDATE New Orleans Saints quarterback Andy Dalton is contributing to the fundraiser ... giving $3,000 to the cause -- a nod to Damar's jersey number. UPDATE Remember, Bills fans donated more than $400k to the QB's foundation back in 2018 ... after Dalton's Bengals helped Buffalo make the playoffs. UPDATE Dalton and his wife were super appreciative at the time ... and eventually donated the money back to a local Buffalo … [Read more...] about Damar Hamlin’s Toy Drive Fundraiser Almost At $5 Mil, Tom Brady Donates $10K!
Tom stoppard
Fox Eyes M&A After Merger With News Corp. Scrapped: “Scale Is Important” – Lachlan Murdoch
Fox will be actively pursuing M&A opportunities now that it won’t be merging with News Corp. Outside shareholders of both of the Murdoch family holdings had protested after patriarch Rupert last fall asked the respective boards to explore a combination . In January, he took that off the table, opening a door to other possibilities. Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch stressed a few times today on the company’s quarterly conference call with Wall Streeters that other deal or deals are likely because “I do think scale is important.” Fox reported strong numbers for its fiscal second quarter and a solid balance sheet. Its defined focus on sports and news helped boost ad revenue in a soft market, and has been keeping the stock a favorite with investors. But it’s smaller than some of its media peers since it was spun out on its own after the rest of 21st Century Fox was sold to Disney for years ago. Major media transactions slowed after Amazon/MGM and Warner Bros. Discovery, … [Read more...] about Fox Eyes M&A After Merger With News Corp. Scrapped: “Scale Is Important” – Lachlan Murdoch
‘Splash’ Remake Hooks Disney; Channing Tatum, Jillian Bell Star; Grazer & Howard, Free Association Producing
EXCLUSIVE : Disney is moving full speed ahead with a re-imagining of Splash , the 1984 sleeper hit film that launched the stars of Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, along with Imagine partners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer , the latter of whom hatched the idea for the fish wish-fulfillment story that Howard directed. They’ve got an intriguing take: It’s being developed for Channing Tatum to take role that Hannah played, with Jillian Bell in the role that Hanks played. I’m told the pitch was hatched by Bell, who worked with Tatum in 22 Jump Street, most recently wrapped Office Christmas Party and next stars in Rock That Body . They’ve hired Marja-Lewis Ryan to write the script. She most recently wrapped the Timur Bekmambetov-produced Liked , which she wrote and directed. The scribe also is writing for HBO and Tatum’s Free Association the college-set Unsupervised , which just hired a writers room and is looking good to go to a pilot. She also adapted the Sheryl … [Read more...] about ‘Splash’ Remake Hooks Disney; Channing Tatum, Jillian Bell Star; Grazer & Howard, Free Association Producing
Haley Bennett First Image In Champagne Drama ‘Clicquot’ Revealed As WME Independent Sets EFM Sales Launch
EXCLUSIVE: WME Independent has unveiled the first image of Haley Bennett in the upcoming 19th Century champagne drama Clicquot ahead of launching sales on the title at the European Film Market . Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, who is popularly known in France as the “Grande Dame of Champagne”. This real-life historic figure defied convention to take over her late husband’s fledgling wine business in Reims in 1805 after being widowed at the age of 27. The production, announced on Deadline last year, is based on the 2008 novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo. Filming took place the French regions of Chablis and Reims last fall. Thomas Napper ( Jawbone) directs from a screenplay by Erin Dignam ( Land, Submergence ) and Christopher Monger ( Temple Grandin ). Other previously announced cast members include Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and … [Read more...] about Haley Bennett First Image In Champagne Drama ‘Clicquot’ Revealed As WME Independent Sets EFM Sales Launch
‘Presumed Innocent’: Renate Reinsve, Peter Sarsgaard & O-T Fagbenle Join Apple TV+ Limited Series
EXCLUSIVE : Renate Reinsve ( The Worst Person in the World ), Peter Sarsgaard ( Dopesick ), and O-T Fagbenle ( The Handmaid’s Tale ) have joined the main cast of Presumed Innocent , Apple TV+ ’s upcoming limited series from David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV, where the company is based. They join previously cast Jake Gyllenhaal, who also executive produces, Ruth Negga, Bill Camp and Elizabeth Marvel. Inspired by Scott Turow’s courtroom thriller, Presumed Innocent is the story of a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorneys’ office when one of its own is suspected of the crime. The book was published in 1987 and was turned into a 1990 feature starring Harrison Ford in the role Gyllenhaal is taking on. As reimagined by Kelley, who is an attorney by trade, Presumed Innocent the TV series will be exploring obsession, sex, politics, and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and … [Read more...] about ‘Presumed Innocent’: Renate Reinsve, Peter Sarsgaard & O-T Fagbenle Join Apple TV+ Limited Series
EFM Hot Package: Steve Coogan Stars In Peter Cattaneo-Helmed ‘The Penguin Lessons’
EXCLUSIVE : Steve Coogan is set to star in The Penguin Lessons , with The Full Monty ’s Peter Cattaneo to direct the Jeff Pope -scripted adaptation of the Tom Michell nonfiction bestseller. The management/production company 42 partners Rory Aitken and Ben Pugh will produce alongside Robert Walak. Rocket Science is handling international sales and will introduce the film at the European Film Market , with CAA Media Finance repping U.S. distribution rights. The Penguin Lessons is the true story of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, he discovered instead a complicated and divided nation – and a class of practically unteachable young boys. When he finds a small penguin washed up on an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside down – and the penguin becomes not only a valued friend, but also a teacher of life’s most important lessons, for Tom, the boys and many others. “We were captivated by … [Read more...] about EFM Hot Package: Steve Coogan Stars In Peter Cattaneo-Helmed ‘The Penguin Lessons’
‘Splash’ Redo With Jillian Bell Sets ‘Sleepover’s Sarah Rothschild As Scribe
EXCLUSIVE: We hear that Sarah Rothschild , the writer of the Netflix movie Sleepover, will be writing the latest draft of Disney/Imagine/Free Association’s Splash remake. Deadline first told you about the remake back in 2016 with the 22 Jump Street and Inherent Vice actress attached. The original Splash in 1984 was a huge hit for Disney at a near $70M stateside, the first of its adult-demo features released at the time under its Touchstone label, and the first major hit for director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer which led to the creation of their Imagine in November 1985. The original starred Tom Hanks and Darryl Hanna as a man and a mermaid, respectively, who fall in love after being reunited years after she saved his life as a boy. Marja-Lewis Ryan wrote an earlier draft of the Splash remake. Rothschild, an award-winning screenwriter, recently adapted The Love Hypothesis for MRC and Elizabeth Cantillon and wrote 24/7 – a modern day take … [Read more...] about ‘Splash’ Redo With Jillian Bell Sets ‘Sleepover’s Sarah Rothschild As Scribe
Filmmaker Leslie Zemeckis Signs With Buchwald
EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker, writer and actress Leslie Zemeckis has inked with Buchwald for representation in the directing arena. Zemeckis will film a new role in Here , the Robert Zemeckis adaptation of the Richard McGuire graphic novel starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for Miramax. Production on Here is underway on location in London. Zemeckis, an award-winning documentarian and novelist recently received critical acclaim for Grandes Horizontales , an in-depth look at the culture of the courtesan. Among other accolades, Grandes Horizontales won Best Documentary at the London Independent Film Festival and Best Editing and Best Documentary at the Independent Shorts Festival. Her previous directing efforts were Behind the Burly Q, Bound by Flesh , and Mabel, Mabel, Tiger Trainer . In addition, Zemeckis realized success in the book arena with such best-sellers as Behind the Burly Q, Goddess of Love Incarnate and Feuding Fan Dancers . She starred in such … [Read more...] about Filmmaker Leslie Zemeckis Signs With Buchwald
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Named Best Film Of 2022 By Rotten Tomatoes
The highest grossing movie of 2022 at the domestic B.O. in pure calendar days and second highest grossing worldwide, Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick ($718.3M U.S., $1.488 billion) has been named the best movie of last year by Rotten Tomatoes . The news comes in the wake of Top Gun: Maverick scoring six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Editing, Sound, VFX, Adapted Screenplay (from Ehren Kruger, Christopher McQuarrie, Eric Warren Singer, Peter Craig and Justin Marks) as well as Lady Gaga and BloodPop’s original song “Hold My Hand”. The pic landed a 96% certified fresh grade from critics off 464 reviews and a 99% fresh on their audience meter. The Tom Cruise starring, Joseph Kosinski directed sequel which was held through the pandemic for a big screen release, notched a rare A+ CinemaScore, too. Rotten Tomatoes’ top pics of 2022 was ranked by the media site. Other movies in the top ten include Searchlight’s The Banshees of Inisherin (97% certified fresh), … [Read more...] about ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Named Best Film Of 2022 By Rotten Tomatoes
Damar Hamlin Wins Prestigious Award At Super Bowl Event, Gives Speech
NFLPA Damar Hamlin just received an incredible honor from the NFL Players Association ... and in his speech accepting the award, he told a throng of reporters that he was thankful to God "for being here." The NFLPA presented Hamlin with the Alan Page Community Award at a ceremony at a Super Bowl event Wednesday afternoon ... recognizing him as a player who went above and beyond to perform community service in his team city and/or hometown. Hamlin hopped on the mic after taking the trophy -- and spoke publicly for one of the first times since he went into cardiac arrest during a game last month. Damar Hamlin wins Alan Page Community Award— and accepts it in person. pic.twitter.com/PvvZN7X9kY — Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) February 8, 2023 @LATimesfarmer "First, I just want to say, 'Thank you,'" Hamlin said. "Just thank God for being here and thank the other guys who were nominated for the award as well who did the work in their communities … [Read more...] about Damar Hamlin Wins Prestigious Award At Super Bowl Event, Gives Speech