Townsend harris high school

EXCLUSIVE : Avantika ( Senior Year ), Christopher Briney ( The Summer I Turned Pretty ) and Bebe Wood ( Love, Victor ) have landed major roles in Paramount Pictures’ film adaptation of the Tony-nominated Broadway hit, Mean Girls , which is itself based on the classic Paramount comedy of the same name. The actors join an ensemble for the Paramount+-bound feature that also includes Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey, as previously announced. The original film adapted by Tina Fey from the Rosalind Wiseman book Queen Bees and Wannabes follows high school new girl Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) in her attempt to fit in with A-list girl clique, The Plastics. The effort is sabotaged when she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George. Premiering on stage at Washington, D.C.’s National Theatre in 2017 and jumping to Broadway the following year, the Mean Girls musical was also written by Fey, with … [Read more...] about ‘Mean Girls’: Avantika, Christopher Briney & Bebe Wood Board Paramount Film Based On Tony-Nominated Musical Adaptation

TMZSports.com LeBron James ' childhood basketball coach says he's "honored" to be a part of the superstar's journey to becoming the top scorer in NBA history ... telling TMZ Sports he couldn't be happier for the King. Dru Joyce -- who first noticed LeBron's potential at just 10 years old -- played a huge part in shaping the 4-time NBA champ's career ... coaching James and the "Fab Five" to a state championship at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary in 2003. We spoke with Coach Dru about LeBron passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list ... and he couldn't help but reminisce about their earliest memories together. Getty LeBron James Becomes NBA's All-Time Leading Scorer, Passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar "It was an honor to know the little kid who used to be at my house, days on end, and young man I watched him grow into in high school, to now reach this historic moment in professional basketball ... I don't have the words to describe it." … [Read more...] about LeBron James’ H.S. Coach ‘So Proud’ After Breaking Scoring Record

The BFI today announced that it will hand out $16m (£14m) of National Lottery ‘good cause’ funding over three years to enhance film education for 5-18 year-olds across the UK. The cash award will be given to two UK-wide partners to deliver three targeted initiatives: BFI National Lottery Teaching with Film, BFI National Lottery Young Creatives, and BFI National Lottery Careers and Progression. Into Film, receiving $15m (£12.4m) over three years will work across all three programs, and National Saturday Club will receive $1.8 (£1.5m) for the same period to collaborate with Into Film to deliver Young Creatives. The BFI has said the $6m (£5m) award for Teaching with Film will result in a change of strategic focus for Into Film, the film education charity, seeing it prioritize introducing film education as a learning tool to be utilized across the entire school curriculum. Meanwhile, the $7m (£6m) Careers and Progression program will aim to provide and bolster the access … [Read more...] about BFI Sets $16m Cash Award To Fund New UK-Wide Film Education Strategy

EXCLUSIVE: Digital content indie Cowshed Social has rebranded to Cowshed Collective , signed a former YMU Chief Business Officer and split into four divisions. Cowshed, which creates content for Gen-Zs, will now operate with a Studios, Social, Creators and Ventures division. Studios will focus on producing content for broadcasters, Social on building brands, Creators on talent development and Ventures will be business-to-business. Hamizadeh is a signature hire who joins as Chief Business Officer. She is a former YMU Chief Business Officer and has also worked at UK publisher Haymarket. She joins soon after former Channel 4 and BBC Studios exec Matt Ford, while Cowshed Collective also recently hired former LADbible Group Head Of Production Joana Gutscher. “Cowshed is an impressive business that understands content, production, and how to deliver for clients to a high standard all within one agency,” said Hamizadeh. “I’m delighted to be involved in the next stage of … [Read more...] about Former YMU Business Exec Joins Rebranded Digital Content Indie Cowshed Collective

Editor’s note : Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films factoring in this year’s movie awards races. For her debut feature, filmmaker Georgia Oakley returns to 1980s Britain as Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government has introduced Section 28, a clause of the Local Government Act that seeks to prohibit “the promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities across the United Kingdom. At the time, protests were rife, but many gay women and men felt compelled to keep their sexuality a secret. Blue Jean , written and directed by Oakley, follows Jean, a school gym teacher who keeps her sexuality a secret from her colleagues. The threat is immediate and real: if exposed, her love life could cost her her job. However, Jean finds little sympathy from her girlfriend, Viv. Out and proud, Viv is part of a cooperative of similarly assertive lesbian women. Viv regards secrecy as a capitulation to an increasingly oppressive system. As … [Read more...] about ‘Blue Jean’: Read The Screenplay For Georgia Oakley’s BAFTA Nominated Debut

Whitney director Kevin Macdonald has struck a multi-project deal with rebranded Banijay label Workerbee Group. Macdonald, whose past credits include the celebrated Houston doc, Oscar winner One Day in September and Marley, will work closely with Workerbee’s new Films division to jointly identify premium unscripted projects to collaborate on. The pair have previously collaborated on hit A+E Janet Jackson doc series Janet and the new partnership has already spawned a major feature doc for a streamer, which will be announced shortly. “On a personal level I’m huge fan of Kevin’s approach to storytelling and his partnerships with our lead Director Ben Hirsh have produced our most exciting documentary projects to date,” said Workerbee CEO Rick Murray. “Knowing we are going to forge more high-profile films together is a great way to kick start our Workerbee Films division.” Macdonald added: “I’ve had a rewarding time working with Rick and the Workerbee team … [Read more...] about ‘Whitney’ Director Kevin Macdonald Partners With Rebranded Banijay Label Workerbee Group

EXCLUSIVE : Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi has traditionally been shy about revealing performance numbers for its movies, but today we can reveal that BAFTA and Oscar hopeful Aftersun has become the company’s most streamed release globally. We’re told the Paul Mescal -starrer has now far surpassed Mubi’s previous best-performers including Portrait Of A Lady On Fire , The Worst Person In The World , Drive My Car , Decision To Leave , Shiva Baby and Titane , some of which were released during the pandemic, a boom time for streamer engagement. The film started streaming in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Latin America and a handful of other markets on January 6, 2023, and has also become the top-viewed film all time in these individual territories. It will join the platform in Germany, Austria and Spain in March, and later in France. Writer-director Charlotte Wells’ acclaimed debut has also blazed a trail for Mubi at the theatrical box office, becoming … [Read more...] about ‘Aftersun’ Becomes Mubi’s Most Streamed Movie Ever & Crosses Box Office Milestones

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

EXCLUSIVE : Paul Giamatti is set to explore topics such as aliens, conspiracies, hoaxes and altered states of consciousness in Chinwag , a new weekly podcast series. The Billions star and author and philosopher Stephen Asma are hosting the series, which comes from Treefort Media and Giamatti’s own Touchy Feely Films. The series, which launches on April 5, will feature an eclectic lineup of guests and will see the pair delve into questions such as ‘Are we living in a simulation?’ ‘What’s the most perfect sentence in literature?’ and ‘Is Bigfoot interdimensional?’ as well as topics such as science, the occult, philosophy, and magic mushrooms. It will be available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube. Treefort Media, which was founded by CEO Kelly Garner, is behind podcasts such as Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood , scripted Sherlock Holmes audio drama Moriarty, Killing Hollywood: The Cotton Club Murder and Killer Psyche. Touchy … [Read more...] about Paul Giamatti To Dive Deep Into Aliens, Conspiracies & Hoaxes In Weekly Podcast Series ‘Chinwag’

Warner Bros Discovery has ditched plans for a 100% merger of streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ and will continue offering the latter as a stand-alone product. Insiders confirmed the strategic shift with Deadline after it was initially reported by The Wall Street Journal . The WSJ cited unidentified people familiar with the decision, saying they felt Discovery+ subscribers could balk at paying a higher price for a combined service. HBO Max costs $16 a month, or $10 with ads, compared with $7 and $5 for the respective equivalents of Discovery+. Over the past several months, WBD execs have talked of combining the two into a single offering. HBO Max has already been featuring Discovery titles more prominently of late, even though the ultimate fit between prestige HBO fare and Discovery mainstays like 90-Day Fiancé has been questioned both inside and outside of the company. The plan now is to continue to have Discovery+ in the market even as a newly … [Read more...] about Warner Bros Discovery Abandons Plan To Shut Down Discovery+ As Stand-Alone Service As It Moves Ahead With HBO Max Merger