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Jacqueline Lesko has been promoted to President of Production at Word Games — the production company founded by multiple Emmy-winning writer, producer and director Craig Mazin , which is best known for its work on HBO’s smash hit series Chernobyl and The Last of Us . Lesko co-exec produced The Last of Us Season 1 and will exec produce the second season of the post-apocalyptic zombie show, co-created by Mazin and Neil Druckmann. She was also a co-producer on Mazin’s 2019 limited series Chernobyl , examining the fallout of the Soviet nuclear disaster, prior to Word Games producing the award-winning short George Lucas in Love , as well as the award-winning feature doc Spinning Plates . “Jacqueline has been an integral part of our company’s growth and success for a decade now, and the proof of her value is right there on the screen for everyone to see,” said Mazin in a statement. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner as we continue our journey with my own … [Read more...] about ‘The Last Of Us’ Producer Word Games Ups Jacqueline Lesko To President Of Production

EXCLUSIVE: A ban on drag performances in public places has been enacted in Tennessee, and more than a dozen other states may follow suit, a movement predicated on the fear that children who might glimpse such a show would be scarred by it. But an upcoming documentary defies that demonization by portraying drag performers as a force for good in their community. Emmy-winning media company World of Wonder ( RuPaul’s Drag Race , The Eyes of Tammy Faye ) and Gatekeeper Productions today announced they have wrapped production on The Little Pageant That Could , a feature documentary that chronicles the journey of L.A.’s Best in Drag Show to support the Alliance for Housing and Healing. “The event, which started as a spur-of-the-moment spoof of Miss America thrown by a few twenty-something friends in a tiny West Hollywood apartment in 1990, grew to become L.A.’s longest-running drag benefit including appearances by A-list actors, playing before thousands of people … [Read more...] about Drag Is A Force For Good, Shows Upcoming Documentary ‘The Little Pageant That Could’ From World Of Wonder & Gatekeeper Productions

Matthew Antonucci , who played an instrumental role in restarting film and TV production after the early days of Hollywood’s Covid lockdown, has been promoted from VP to SVP Production Affairs & Safety at Contract Services . Contract Services is the entertainment industry trust fund that administers the safety, training and roster provisions of the collective bargaining agreements between the AMPTP and IATSE’s West Coast studio locals, Teamsters Local 399 and the Basic Crafts. Antonucci, who also serves as management’s co-chair of the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee, oversaw its special Task Force in the drafting the White Paper that got the industry back to work in early June of 2020. Presented to government and public health agencies across the country, the White Paper enabled the industry to secure approval to return to work and paved the way for the companies and the industries’ guilds and unions to negotiate their Return-to-Work Agreement. … [Read more...] about Matthew Antonucci, Who Helped Restart Production After Covid Lockdown, Promoted To SVP Safety At Contract Services

EXCLUSIVE : Ben Browning is returning to FilmNation Entertainment as President of Production. He comes aboard at month’s end. Browning will be responsible for developing the studio’s film slate. He last served as head of content for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio, working on Harry and Meghan , which became Netflix’s biggest ever docuseries debut. He was EP on that and Spotify’s hit podcast Archetypes with Meghan . Browning will report to CEO Glen Basner and will be based in Los Angeles. Prior to Archewell, Browning won the BAFTA Award and was Academy Award and PGA nominated, overseeing and producing dozens of successes for FilmNation Entertainment when he previously led the production team.  Films included the Academy Award winning Promising Young Woman , directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Carey Mulligan; Michael Showalter’s The Big Sick starring Kumail Nanjiani, Sean Baker’s Red Rocket starring Simon Rex, and … [Read more...] about Ben Browning Returns As FilmNation President Of Production; Oversaw ‘Harry and Meghan’ Docuseries In Archewell Stint

Saudi Cultural Development Fund has officially launched its Film Sector Financing Program , offering financial support to local and international film companies that want to get involved in the country’s burgeoning cinema industry. The initiative, with a portfolio of $233 million (879M Saudi Riyal), was first unveiled in early 2022 as part of the country’s $1.1 billion IGNITE Digital Content Program, then teased again during the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah in December. The program officially launched against the backdrop of the film-focused the Ignite the Scene event in Riyadh last week, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The CDF said in a release that the initiative is open to local and international companies and that its aim is to support the growth of a sustainable local film industry by empowering the private sector with financing packages that support local content and promote filmmaking. The … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia Officially Launches $233M Film Sector Financing Program Aimed At Local & Int’l Companies

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros Pictures Group has inked a multi-year first-look directing and producing agreement with two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan , whose movies have grossed $3.3 billion at the box office. In a career spanning four decades, Shyamalan has the rare distinction of having film open at No. 1 in each of those decades. Most recently, he saw his seventh No. 1 opening at the box office with Universal’s Knock at the Cabin, which currently counts $40 million worldwide off a $20M production cost. The pact with Shyamalan comes amid a string of talent deals made recently by Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy; previous first looks include with Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road as well as two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann , both first reported by Deadline. Under the new agreement, Shyamalan and his Philadelphia-based production company Blinding Edge Pictures, run by president of production … [Read more...] about M. Night Shyamalan Signs Multi-Year First-Look Deal at Warner Bros, Sets ‘Trap’ At Studio

EXCLUSIVE: Los Angeles-based Russian-Kazakh director and producer Timur Bekmambetov has secured Turkish backing for his animated feature about iconic Middle Eastern, Balkan and Asian folk hero Hodja Nasreddin. Bekmambetov’s company Bazelevs has signed an agreement with Yeni Dusler Animation, a production company and content provider for the national public broadcaster of Turkey , the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. The previously announced English-language production marks Bekmambetov’s first foray into animation and is underway for a planned 2024 release. The voice actors will be attached later this year. Nasreddin is a wandering philosopher and prankster who gets into absurd situations, but ultimately always emerges victorious thanks to his wit, wisdom, and humor. He appears in thousands of folk tales across the Middle East and Asia, dating back to the 13th century. “For people from the Middle East and Asia, he has superhero status. In this part of … [Read more...] about Timur Bekmambetov’s Passion Project About Muslim World Folk Hero Nasreddin Hodja Secures Turkish Backing

The British Film Institute ( BFI ) today announced that it will grant $44m (£36.6m) in cash awards over three years to support fiction feature films as part of its new National Lottery Filmmaking Fund. The cash will be available through four distinct funds: Discovery – The discovery fund will be dedicated to directorial debuts and aim to support six feature films per year, each budgeted below $4m (£3.5m). The first deadline for applications is April 24 for fully-developed projects seeking to shoot this year. Applications will reopen in July and November. Impact — The impact fund will be a rolling fund focused on projects from second-time filmmakers and beyond or debuts budgeted over £3.5m. The cash pot will aim to support five projects a year with an emphasis on scale and audience impact. Development — The development fund will cover costs at all stages of the development process. The fund will aim to support around 60-70 projects per year. Creative … [Read more...] about BFI Unveils New $66m National Lottery Filmmaking Fund

EXCLUSIVE : Acrophobia sufferers look away now, the makers of vertigo thriller Fall are plotting a sequel after the film became an unexpected hit on Netflix internationally. British producer Tea Shop Productions and director Scott Mann are discussing ideas for a second movie, which will look to unsettle audiences with another terrifying tale set at a great height. Fall premiered last August and stars Grace Caroline Currey ( Shazam! Fury of the Gods ) and Virginia Gardner ( Gaslit ) as friends who scale and get stuck up a 2,000-foot radio tower in the desert. The indie thriller grossed close to $22M after being made on a $5M budget and has enjoyed word-of-mouth success on streaming services including Netflix, where it has scored top-10 rankings in four territories. It is available on Starz in the U.S. Fall has been Netflix’s second most-watched movie in the UK for two consecutive weeks, with only Idris Elba’s Luther: The Fallen Sun performing … [Read more...] about ‘Fall’ Sequel In The Works After Vertigo-Inducing Thriller Becomes Surprise Netflix Hit

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Gordon and Will Speck have signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop and produce feature films. The news comes in the wake of their feature take of the children’s book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile grossing over $104 million at the global box office. The movie, which stars Javier Bardem and Constance Wu and has songs by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul and Shawn Mendes, is set for a China release April 15. Speck and Gordon are attached to direct a film based on the AfterShock comic The Kaiju Score for Columbia Pictures. Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal at Escape Artists are producing along with AfterShock Media’s Lee and Jon Kramer; that project is in development. The duo are also attached to direct the A24 TV thriller Silverlake starring Zach Quinto and written by Samuel D. Hunter ( The Whale ). They also are the creators and showrunners of the Hulu/Marvel animated series Hit Monkey , which was recently ordered for a second season and … [Read more...] about ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ Filmmakers Josh Gordon & Will Speck Ink First-Look Deal With Sony