Which rap superstar joined popular video game streamer

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

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

EXCLUSIVE: Marc Maron ( GLOW ), Jean Yoon ( Kim’s Convenience ), Judy Reyes ( Succession , Better Things ), and Jeffery Self ( Search Party ) have joined the cast of Amazon ’s The Horror of Dolores Roach in recurring roles. They join series lead Justina Machado who plays the titular masseuse Dolores Roach, as well as previously announced Alejandro Hernandez, Kita Updike, and K. Todd Freeman. Maron will play “Gideon Pearlman”, Luis and Dolores’ Long Island-based landlord who is the new owner of the building where they reside and is the home of Empanada Loca. Yoon will play “Joy,” who has owned the laundromat next door to Empanada Loca for nine years and becomes Dolores’ frequent customer. Reyes will play “Marcie.” Marcie runs the neighborhood weed business and at first offers Dolores an opportunity to work for her, but when Dolores declines quickly becomes her nemesis. Self will play “Caleb,” an “up-and-coming influencer”/podcaster living in the … [Read more...] about ‘The Horror of Dolores Roach’: Marc Maron, Jean Yoon, Judy Reyes & Jeffery Self To Recur On Amazon Series

EXCLUSIVE: The Hulu comedy Up Here starring Mae Whitman ( Good Girls ) and Carlos Valdes ( Gaslit ) has completed casting on several of the leading and recurring roles. The musical romantic comedy from 20th Television and Old 320 Sycamore Prods. is set in New York City in  1999 and follows an ordinary couple (Whitman as Lindsay and Valdes as Miguel) as they fall in love while discovering the single greatest obstacle to finding happiness together might just be themselves. Original songs for the series are from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Series regulars include Kate Finneran ( The Gilded Age ) as Joan, the unfailingly proper, appearance-fixated mother of Lindsay; John Hodgman ( Blindspot ) as Tom, Lindsay’s danger-obsessed father and chief coroner of Chittenden County, Va.; Andréa Burns ( West Side Story ) as Rosie, Miguel’s mother; Sophia Hammons ( Under Wraps ) as Celeste, Lindsay’s rule-following, risk averse best friend from seventh grade; and … [Read more...] about Hulu Musical Series ‘Up Here’ Casts Kate Finneran, John Hodgman, Brian Stokes Mitchell & More

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”

After two years on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, VidCon — the annual convention for fans, creators, and online platform industry types — returned to the Anaheim Convention Center last week. But it looked a little different than usual. For starters, the ear-piercing shrieks of fans lining up to meet their favorite creators were just a little quieter. With 50,000 attendees as opposed to 2019’s 75,000, the convention was somewhat smaller than it previously had been. Further, unlike VidCons of years past, some attendees were wearing masks, albeit an infinitesimally small number among the hordes of preteens angling for photo ops with their favorite creators (days later, several attendees of VidCon, which required proof of vaccination or a recent Covid test for entry, began reporting on social media that they had tested positive for COVID after the event). Perhaps most importantly, however, TikTok , the short-form video platform that dominated the app store starting in … [Read more...] about VidCon 2022 Was a Candy-Colored, Covid-Spreading, Content-Creating Extravaganza

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

Hallyu is an invented term used to describe the rising global popularity of Korean culture, but it also has never been more applicable in Hollywood than at this moment. Welcome to Deadline Hallyuwood , a new podcast dedicated to giving listeners the inside scoop behind some of the most popular and beloved Korean TV series and films. Each week, host Brandon Choe will talk with prominent actors, creators and other players at the growing intersection of Hollywood and Korea about what’s hot today and what’s coming next. For our inaugural episode, we’re joined by Yoo Ji-tae and Park Hae-soo , stars of the new Netflix La Casa de Papel spinoff Money Heist – Korea: Joint Economic Area . The series is set in an alternate timeline where South and North Korea are being reunified in the year 2025. The Joint Security Area becomes the Joint Economic Area and the two nations have established the Korean Unified Mint to start a new currency. A man named The Professor (Yoo) … [Read more...] about Deadline Hallyuwood Podcast: Yoo Ji-tae, Park Hae-soo Talk Netflix’s ‘Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area’

EXCLUSIVE : Andrew Mittman ’s production company 1.21 , which is behind series including Netflix’s Wednesday , has promoted Kai Dolbashian . Dolbashian has been upped to Head of Development at the company, which has a deal with MGM. He was previously Director of Development, having been with Mittman since he launched the company in early 2020. Prior to joining 1.21, Dolbashian worked in MGM’s scripted television division, having started at the studio as an intern out of college. He will now oversee all film and scripted development for the company. Veteran MGM exec Mittman, who exec produced Baz Luhrmann’s smash hit biopic Elvis , set up 1.21 with an exclusive MGM/UA Television production and first-look MGM fIlm deal. The company has recently wrapped production on two series for MGM; Wednesday and The Consultant. Wednesday is Tim Burton’s The Addams Family spinoff series for Netflix that stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams. Created by Al Gough and … [Read more...] about Andrew Mittman’s MGM-Based 1.21 Promotes Kai Dolbashian To Head Of Development

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