Viola Davis stars in the title role of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” as the 1920s blues singer who did things her own way.(David Lee / Netflix) Given Viola Davis’ near-perfect straight white teeth and smooth skin, it’s no small feat morphing the actress into early 20th century blues singer Ma Rainey in George C. Wolfe’s “Ma […]

Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson’s “Man From Toronto” is set for an early 2022 release. Hart, Harrelson, and Kaley Cuoco star in the action-comedy from Columbia Pictures, which will open on Jan. 14, 2022. The film revolves around a case of a mistaken identity after the world’s deadliest assassin, known as the “Man from Toronto,” (Harrelson) and a stranger, […]

After King glowingly tweeted about Shyamalan’s Apple TV+ series, Shyamalan immediately scanned some of the comments underneath the tweets. Thanks to Stephen King, Oscar-nominated M. Night Shyamalan broke his personal rule of never reading what’s written about his work online. The iconic horror scribe posted a pair of glowing tweets about Shyamalan’s latest Apple TV+ […]

Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Clark Gregg and more have rounded out the cast of Being the Ricardos, a biopic of sorts of I Love Lucy stars and real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz that stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem. Aaron Sorkin wrote and is directing the Amazon Studios drama, which has now started principal photography. The film is set during one production […]

Starzplay has picked up a bunch of international rights for Peacock’s true-crime limited series Dr. Death, starring Joshua Jackson, Alec Baldwin, and Christian Slater. The Lionsgate-backed international streamer will carry the UCP-produced series, based on the hit Wondery podcast of the same name, in the UK, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and throughout Latin America, including […]

EXCLUSIVE: Actress Tamara Tunie has joined the cast of Sony’s Journal for Jordan, the feature adaptation based on Dana Canedy’s 2008 best-selling memoir, which is being directed by Oscar-winner Denzel Washington. Michael B. Jordan and Chante Adams star in the film, which tells the true story of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Canedy’s (Adams) love affair with First Sgt. Charles Monroe […]

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has picked up the Robbie Fox spec script Uncoupled with Escape Artists Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal producing. The script penned by Fox, is a comedic thriller about a married couple, on the eve of their divorce, who are wrongly accused of murder… and instead of splitting up, go on the run together, trying to solve the murder, without killing […]

 Robert Wisdom, Johnny M. Wu and newcomer Jalon Christian have joined Michael B. Jordan and Chante Adams in Sony’s Journal For Jordan, directed by Denzel Washington. Written by Academy Award nominee Virgil Williams, the film is based on Dana Canedy’s best-selling 2008 memoir. Todd Black, along with his Escape Artists partners Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, are […]

EXCLUSIVE: Claws and The Good Wife actress Carrie Preston has joined the cast of Peacock’s true-crime limited series Dr. Death, starring Joshua Jackson, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater. Preston will play defense attorney Robbie McClung to Jackson’s character Dr. Duntsch. Written by Patrick Macmanus, who serves as showrunner, Dr. Death is based on the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a rising star in the Dallas medical community. […]

J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda are in negotiations to join Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in Aaron Sorkin’s drama centered on television icons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz of I Love Lucy fame. The project, titled Being the Ricardos, is set up as a feature at Amazon Studios. Kidman and Bardem are in negotiations to portray Ball and Arnaz, the […]

Although he had been nominated for a slew of awards throughout his career, Wednesday marked the first time the beloved actor got a nod for a Globe. Chadwick Boseman on Wednesday was posthumously nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.  The late, beloved actor died during post-production of the film, which is […]

The actor talks up a new partnership and how he’s adjusted to new normals: “I’m a hugger, I like giving hugs so I have to remind myself to social distance and respect that personal bubble.” Michael B. Jordan is back to work. The actor, producer and head of Outlier Society linked up with Jennifer Lopez, Lady […]

On the TV side, the American Film Institute recognized ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘The Good Lord Bird,’ ‘Lovecraft Country,’ ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ and ‘Ted Lasso,’ among other titles. The American Film Institute has picked its 2020 award winners for the 10 best movies and TV shows of the year. The titles, presented in alphabetical order, are works AFI’s […]

George C. Wolfe’s Netflix production also was awarded best actor (the late Chadwick Boseman), best actress (Viola Davis) and best adapted screenplay (Ruben Santiago-Hudson). Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was the big winner in voting for the 10th annual Black Film Critics Circle Awards, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. George Wolfe‘s film, which was adapted from August Wilson‘s 1984 play and […]

By Justin Kroll EXCLUSIVE: Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are in negotiations to play Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Amazon and Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos, the film about the relationship between the I Love Lucy stars. Having penned the screenplay, Academy Award winner Sorkin also will direct the film from Amazon Studios and Escape Artists. The film is set during one production week of I […]

The filmmaker also reflects on ‘Unbreakable’ and debunks a fan theory about one of its most memorable scenes. By the time a TV show or movie wraps production, the cast and crew often feel like a family, but in the case of M. Night Shyamalan’s second season of Servant, he’s taken that notion a step further. […]

Apple TV+ has handed an early Season 3 renewal to psychological thriller series Servant from Oscar-nominated director M. Night Shyamalan. The third-season pickup comes ahead of the series’ Season 2 premiere on January 15. This is the fourth Apple TV+ original series to receive an early Season 3 renewal, joining For All Mankind, Dickinson and Ted Lasso. Directed by Shyamalan and created […]

Before Billie, before Ella, there was Ma. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is a new Netflix film inspired by the true-life story of the blues legend. And like Ma herself, the movie is big, bawdy, and – spoiler alert – the music alone is worth the price of admission. The story is one of talent marred […]

“I hope that you will consider me as a responsible and moral guardian for your son.” That’s the opening line in the new official season two trailer of Servant, the Apple TV+ psychological thriller. Couple that with creepy slow piano music and the fact that the series is executive produced by Academy Award-nominated director M. Night […]

Cleveland Berto has booked roles in the upcoming Sony drama “A Journal for Jordan” opposite Michael B. Jordan and as a series regular in the NBC drama “Chicago P.D.,” Variety has learned exclusively. Denzel Washington will direct and produce “A Journal for Jordan,” which is written by Academy Award nominee Virgil Williams and based on Dana Canedy’s New […]

by David Rooney Powerhouse performances in a bluesy hymn of sorrow.  Chadwick Boseman makes his final screen appearance starring opposite Viola Davis in this adaptation of August Wilson’s play about a fraught recording session with the “Mother of the Blues” in jazz-age Chicago. Viola Davis burns a hole in the screen projecting the indomitable pride and […]

Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman astonish in August Wilson’s timelier-than-ever study of Black culture’s influence on popular American music. By Peter Debruge In “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” introductions matter. Whether or not audiences know the real Ma Rainey’s reputation as “mother of the blues,” August Wilson ensures that this musical pioneer is a larger-than-life character even before she […]

By JUSTIN CHANG Where to begin? It seems an appropriate question to ask of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the gale-force whirlwind of a film adapted from August Wilson’s 1982 play. Sweepingly directed by George C. Wolfe and incisively adapted by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, it’s a story of Black lives and Black music in the early 20th century […]

BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS The late Chadwick Boseman took on many Black men of honor, integrity and nobility in his too-brief career. When the material allowed him some interpretive leeway, he infused those men — some real, like Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall, others mythic, such as T’Challa in “Black Panther” — with the stuff of life […]

By Pete Hammond If Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom indeed is the final film of the late Chadwick Boseman‘s career, he is going out the way he came in: as an actor of unquestionable talent and power. And to see him teamed with Viola Davis in this film version of the first of August Wilson’s 10-play “Century Cycle” is to […]

EXCLUSIVE: Hubert Point-Du Jour (The Good Lord Bird) and Maryann Plunkett (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) have joined the cast of Peacock’s limited series Dr. Death, starring Joshua Jackson, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater, from UCP. Written by Patrick Macmanus, who serves as showrunner, Dr. Death is based on the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch (Jackson), a rising star in the […]

EXCLUSIVE: Following a lengthy search, Roxanne, Roxanne star Chante Adams has landed the female lead opposite Michael B. Jordan in Sony’s A Journal For Jordan, directed by Denzel Washington. Written by Academy Award nominee Virgil Williams, the film is based on Dana Canedy’s best-selling memoir, which was published in 2008. Todd Black, along with his Escape Artists partners Jason Blumenthal and Steve […]

EXCLUSIVE: Ellen Barkin has rounded out the cast of the Sony Pictures’ action comedy Man From Toronto starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson. Kaley Cuoco is also on board. The film revolves around a case of mistaken identity after the world’s deadliest assassin, known as the “man from Toronto,” and a stranger, played by Hart, run into each other at an Airbnb. […]

EXCLUSIVE: Jasmine Mathews is joining Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson in Sony’s action-comedy Man From Toronto. Kaley Cuoco and Melanie Liburd are also on board. The film revolves around a case of mistaken identity after the world’s deadliest assassin, known as the “man from Toronto,” and a stranger, played by Hart, run into each other at an Airbnb. Chaos soon […]

The ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ star takes over the title role after Dornan drops out due to scheduling conflicts. Joshua Jackson has taken on a killer new part. The former Dawson’s Creek and The Affair star will play the title role in Peacock’s Dr. Death, based on the Wondery podcast of the same title. He takes over for Jamie Dornan, who […]

by Trilby Beresford The drama, also starring Viola Davis, premieres Dec. 18 on the streamer. Netflix on Wednesday released first look images from its upcoming drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring Chadwick Boseman in his last role. Directed by George C. Wolfe and based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s 1982 play, the film explores racial tensions in […]

By Bruce Haring The final film of Chadwick Boseman’s incandescent career has released its first images of the late star. Director George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s stage play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom stars Viola Davis in the title role, with Boseman as a band member. The film centers as a recording session in Chicago by the “Mother of […]

By Janet W. Lee Netflix has unveiled first look images of the late Chadwick Boseman’s final film, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” set for release on Dec. 18. In the photos released via Twitter, the late “Black Panther” star is suited up in a tuxedo, performing music on stage with co-star Viola Davis. Based on August Wilson’s award-winning play of […]

Opposite Boseman in his final film, Davis delivers a star turn in another August Wilson adaptation produced by Denzel Washington, this time directed by George C. Wolfe.By Kyle Buchanan In the new Netflix adaptation of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” it’s a sweat-slicked summer day in Chicago 1927 and everybody wants something. White music-industry bigwigs want a […]

By Nellie Andreeva EXCLUSIVE: Maggie Kiley (Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, Riverdale) is set to direct and executive produce the first two episodes of Peacock’s limited series Dr. Death, starring Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater. Kiley replaces Stephen Frears, who had signed on for the project in January but had to step away due to scheduling conflicts given the shift of […]

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Sony Pictures has acquired the film rights to AfterShock Comics’ upcoming comic book series The Kaiju Score, from writer James Patrick (Grimm Fairy Tales, Death Comes to Dillinger, The Monsters of Jimmy Crumb) and artist Rem Broo (The End Times of Bram and Ben, Terminal Protocol). Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch will produce, along with […]

EXCLUSIVE: Gael García Bernal will don the mask and the tights of Cassandro, an independent feature from Oscar winning and two-time Emmy nominee filmmaker Roger Ross Williams. Cassandro tells the true story of Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who rises to international stardom after he creates the “exotico” character Cassandro, the “Liberace of Lucha Libre,” and in […]

After a heated bidding war, Apple has landed Emancipation, the action film that will star Will Smith and is set to be directed by Antoine Fuqua. Many of the major studios were vying for the package being sold out of the Cannes virtual market. Warner Bros and Apple were the final two bidders, with Apple taking the […]

Melanie Liburd has joined Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson in Sony’s action-comedy “Man From Toronto.” Harrelson recently replaced Jason Statham in the pic. Kaley Cuoco is also on board. The film revolves around a case of mistaken identity after the world’s deadliest assassin, known as the “man from Toronto,” and a stranger, played by Hart, run […]

By Mike Fleming Jr EXCLUSIVE: In what I believe will become one of the hottest film packages for the upcoming Cannes Virtual Market, Antoine Fuqua will direct Will Smith in Emancipation, a Willam N. Collage-scripted action thriller about the harrowing escape of Peter, a runaway slave forced to outwit cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on a tortuous journey North. […]

Pierson Fodé (Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List) has been cast in Sony’s Patrick Hughes-directed action-comedy Man From Toronto, starring Kevin Hart, Woody Harrelson, and Kaley Cuoco. Written by Robbie Fox and Chris Bremner, from a story by Fox and Jason Blumenthal, the film follows the world’s deadliest assassin, known as “The Man from Toronto” and a […]

By Dino-Ray Ramos The Big Bang Theory alum Kaley Cuoco is set to join Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson in the forthcoming action-comedy Man From Toronto from Sony Pictures, Deadline has confirmed. The movie will be released on September 17, 2021. Patrick Hughes is directing the script by Robbie Fox, from a story by Fox and Jason Blumenthal, while Escape Artists’ (The Equalizer franchise, The Upside), Todd Black, […]

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures has acquired the Daniel Suarez sci-fi thriller novel Influx, and has set Bloodshot helmer David S.F. Wilson to direct it. Zak Olkewicz is adapting the book, which won the Prometheus Award. Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Steve Tisch, Jason Blumenthal and Tony Shaw will produce. The book tells a big scale sci-fi tale in a futuristic setting, focused on a protagonist who is a particle physicist perfecting a […]

Patrick Hughes, who directed the 2017 Ryan Reynolds-Samuel L. Jackson starrer ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard,’ is on board to helm the Columbia Pictures project. Woody Harrelson is booking a flight to Toronto. Harrelson has signed a deal to replace Jason Statham in The Man From Toronto, joining Kevin Hart in the action-comedy from Columbia Pictures. Statham was in talks […]

Grace Gummer (Mr. Robot) and Molly Griggs (Prodigal Son) have joined the cast of Dr. Death,a limited series for NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform starring Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater. The UCP-produced drama is based on Wondery’s hit podcast of the same name. Dr. Death explores the twisted mind of a sociopath and the failures of the system designed to protect […]

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning British director Stephen Frears (The Queen, A Very English Scandal) is set to direct the first two episodes of Peacock’s limited series Dr. Death, starring Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater. The UCP-produced series, based on Wondery’s hit podcast of the same name, will start production this spring. Dr. Death explores the twisted mind of a sociopath […]

EXCLUSIVE: We’ve learned that Escape Artists, the Sony-based production company run by partners Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, and David Bloomfield, has inked New York based production company ShowKat Productions, run by producer Jonathan Shukat, to a first look deal covering both film and TV projects. Escape Artists and ShowKat already have multiple projects in development including the […]

EXCLUSIVE: Epix’s noir drama series Perpetual Grace, LTD will not be renewed for a second season but will get a proper ending. We have learned that the premium network is planning a short limited run as a followup to the first season of the Ben Kingsley and Jimmi Simpson-fronted drama. Talks are still in early stages, with the […]

Hollywood action and comedy heavyweights Jason Statham and Kevin Hart are in talks to star in The Man From Toronto,  which is being directed by The Expendables 3 and The Hitman’s Bodyguard helmer Patrick Hughes.  The action-comedy is slated for release November 20 via Sony Pictures. Robbie Fox (Playing for Keeps) penned the script based on a story he originated with Jason Blumenthal. Frequent Sony collaborators Todd […]

In a few short weeks it’ll be 2020, and the interwebs is awash in Best TV Shows of the Decade lists (including ours). But we can’t end the year without celebrating the great TV series of 2019. Read on for a look at the 20 best shows of the year — first a top 10 […]

The thriller joins the tech giant’s first batch of scripted series to earn a pickup. Apple’s nascent streaming platform is in the renewal business. After giving second seasons to each of the first four scripted series on Apple TV+, the tech giant has handed out an early pickup to a fifth show: Servant, a thriller executive […]

By DANIELLE TURCHIANO Tony Basgallop’s latest television venture is a tense family drama with a twist. In Apple TV Plus’ “Servant,” married couple Sean (Toby Kebbell) and Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) experience a trauma with their newborn, but rather than deal with it head-on, they use a reborn doll (a realistic baby doll that they treat […]

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon’s original feature Troop Zero, which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, will be released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on Jan. 17, 2020. Pic is the first feature title being announced for the Amazon Prime streaming 2020 film slate. Previously reported exclusively by Deadline, Amazon opted to release its Scott Z. Burns […]

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has acquired an action/comedy feature pitch by screenwriter Michael Diliberti that he will write as a vehicle for Glen Powell (Set It Up) and Jay Ellis (Insecure), who will be seen together in the upcoming Paramount sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Diliberti, whose credits include 30 Minutes Or Less, will write a film that revolves around two young Secret Service agents who […]

By Anthony D’Alessandro EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage and Hereditary‘s Alex Wolff have boarded Michael Sarnoski’s Pig. The feature project, which began production today, follows a truffle hunter, played by Cage, who lives alone in the Oregonian wilderness. When his beloved foraging pig is kidnapped, he must journey into Portland – and his long-abandoned past – to recover her. Sarnoski based his script off a […]

Discovery Channel has set Oct. 13 as the global premiere date for Steven Spielberg’s and Alex Gibney’s docuseries, “Why We Hate,” TheWrap has learned exclusively. We’ve also got your first look at the six-part investigation into the motivation behind hatred. “Why We Hate” hails from Spielberg’s Amblin Television and Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions in association with […]

“First do no harm.” Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater are set to star in Dr. Death, a limited drama series from UCP based on the Wondery podcast about a sinister doctor who treats his Hippocratic Oath about the same way he treats his patients. With the high-caliber talent on board, UCP is shopping the project to networks and streaming platforms. The studio […]

MGM Television has struck an exclusive first-look deal with Escape Artists, the company behind Epix’s original series Perpetual Grace LTD and box office hits such as The Equalizer 2 and The Upside. Under the agreement, the company founded by Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch and David Bloomfield, will work with Escape Artists Head of Television, Taylor Latham and her team to develop […]

Sharon Maguire, the director of ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary,’ is in negotiations to helm the project for Sony. Hailee Steinfeld will star in Voicemails for Isabelle, a romantic comedy preemptively picked up by Sony. Sharon Maguire, the director of Bridget Jones’ Diary and Bridget Jones’ Baby, is in negotiations to helm the project, which will be produced by Escape Artists’ Todd […]

EXCLUSIVE: Sharon Maguire is in talks to direct Voicemails For Isabelle, a romantic comedy that will star Hailee Steinfeld for Sony Pictures. Sony preempted the spec by Leah McKendrick. The film is about a young woman trying to navigate her dating life in Los Angeles. Though it is 21st Century, there is a bit of You’ve Got Mail in that technology is […]

Noah Centineo’s take on Mattel warrior He-Man is coming to theaters in spring of 2021. Sony Pictures has set a March 5, 2021 release date for its fantasy adventure “Masters of the Universe,” which Centineo will lead as the Most Powerful Man in the Universe. “Masters of the Universe” is based on the highly successful He-Man […]

EXCLUSIVE: TriStar Pictures has picked up Daniel Kunka’s pitch about a female-driven sci-fi thriller, based on the CAGN short story by Christian Cantrell. Originally self-published under the title Anansi Island, the “Michael Crichton-esque” story centers on a mysterious island where a secret government project has unleashed a terrifying new reality. A female entomologist and a group of Special Forces soldiers then must […]

Noah Centineo, who gained wide recognition for his roles in Netflix film To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Freeform’s The Fosters, is in talks to take on the lead role of He-Man in Masters of the Universe, the film adaptation Mattel Films is developing with Sony Pictures. It’s based on the bestselling toy line from the 1980s that spawned an […]

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s the first official trailer for Perpetual Grace, LTD, the upcoming 10-episode Epix original series from Patriot mastermind Steve Conrad and Bruce Terris. The premium network showed this off in the room during last month’s winter TCA press tour panel that featured stars Ben Kingsley, Westworld‘s Jimmi Simpson and Jacki Weaver. The series premieres June 2. After turning the spy genre on its ear for two seasons with […]

Michael B. Jordan is in talks to star in Sony’s “Journal for Jordan,” a drama that will be directed by Denzel Washington. The movie, penned by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Virgil Williams, is based on the true story of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Dana Canedy’s love affair with First Sergeant Charles Monroe King. King kept a journal full of […]

EXCLUSIVE: Mr. Turner star Timothy Spall is set for a recurring role opposite Ben Kingsley, Jimmi Simpson and Jacki Weaver in Epix’s Our Lady, LTD, a 10-episode modern noir drama series, from Patriot creator Steve Conrad and Epix’s sister studio MGM Television. Shooting is currently underway in New Mexico. Written by Conrad and Patriot co-producer Bruce Terris, Our Lady, LTD (fka Our Lady of Perpetual Grace), follows […]

Writers Art Marcum & Matt Holloway are in final talks to write the new draft of Masters of the Universe, which Adam Aaron Nee will direct. Pic is based on the bestselling He-Man toyline from the 1980s that  spawned an animated TV show and a 1987 feature from Cannon Films starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man; back in the day it made […]

Toby Kebbell has been cast in a main role in the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan thriller series at Apple, Variety has learned. The exact details of the plot are being kept under wraps, but sources say the show follows a married couple that hires a young woman to serve as the nanny to their child. […]

EXCLUSIVE: Harry Potter star Rupert Grint has signed on for a supporting role in Apple’s upcoming psychological thriller series from M. Night Shyamalan (Unbreakable, Split) and British TV writer Tony Basgallop (24, To The Ends of the Earth). He joins previously announced Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) and Nell Tiger (Game of Thrones). The plot […]

Damon Herriman (100 Bloody Acres), Chris Conrad (Patriot) have been cast as series regulars, Terry O’Quinn (Castle Rock) will recur and Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect) will guest in Our Lady, LTD, the upcoming 10-episode modern noir drama on Epix. Ben Kingsley, Jimmi Simpson and Jacki Weaver star in the series from Patriot creator Steve […]

Jacki Weaver is set to co-star opposite Ben Kingsley and Jimmi Simpson in Our Lady, LTD, a 10-episode modern noir drama series, from Patriot creator Steve Conrad and Epix’s sister studio MGM Television. Written by Conrad and Patriot co-producer Bruce Terris, Our Lady, LTD (fka Our Lady of Perpetual Grace), follows James (Simpson), a young […]

Narcos alum Luis Guzmán is set as a series regular and Kurtwood Smith (Patriot) will recur opposite Ben Kingsley, Jimmi Simpson and Jacki Weaver in Epix’s Our Lady, LTD, a 10-episode modern noir drama series, from Patriot creator Steve Conrad and Epix’s sister studio MGM Television. Written by Conrad and Patriot co-producer Bruce Terris, Our […]

Universal Cable productions is looking to take another popular podcast to the small screen. The studio has put in development Dr. Death, a TV series based on true crime podcast from Wondery. Happy! showrunner Patrick Macmanus will pen the adaptation and executive produce as part of his overall deal with UCP. The potential series will […]

Epix has given a formal 10-episode series order to Our Lady, LTD, a modern noir drama starring Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, from Patriot creator Steve Conrad and Epix’s sister studio MGM Television. Production is slated to begin this fall in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with an eye toward a 2019 premiere. Written by Conrad and […]

EXCLUSIVE: Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) and Nell Tiger Free (Game of Thrones) have been cast as two of the three leads in Apple’s upcoming psychological thriller series from M. Night Shyamalan and British TV writer Tony Basgallop. While the plot of the series has not been revealed, I hear it follows parents Dorothy and […]

EXCLUSIVE: The most prominent of the Weinstein Co. leftover titles The Upside is landing with STX Entertainment, who is partnering with Lantern Entertainment to handle worldwide distribution on Neil Burger’s remake of the French hit The Intouchables. We heard that others were circling to distribute this title, including Aviron, with some majors expressing interest, but […]

Arthur Miller failed a profound moral test. What should we now think of his plays? By Steve Tisch, Opinion contributor His plays prodded many to examine their moral fiber, yet Arthur Miller abandoned a Down syndrome son. Much like today’s #MeToo revelations, that failure colors his art. After winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1949, Arthur […]

“How do you erase a child?” Bernard Weinraub, a former reporter for The New York Times, is sitting in the green room at the Huntington Theatre Company, asking this question again and again and again. A father of three who once chronicled Hollywood for the Times, Weinraub is pondering this dilemma because it is at […]

Angelina Jolie and Escape Artist Productions’ Todd Black and Steve Tisch will produce “Bright Path: The Jim Thorpe Story,” the upcoming feature about legendary Native American athlete Jim Thorpe. Martin Sensmeier will executive produce and star as the world-renowned athlete. Abraham Taylor is also on board to produce. Taylor, Alex Nibley and Sterlin Harjo penned […]

EXCLUSIVE: Sony has acquired the Gideon Sterer children’s book The Night Knights, with Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton writing the script. The scribes pitched the project, and Sony won it in a competitive situation. Ian Bryce is producing through his Ian Bryce Productions banner alongside Escape Artists partners Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch. […]

While Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington team often, Equalizer 2 marks the first sequel for each. “He’s a mysterious character,” Fuqua said of Washington’s problem solver Robert McCall. “You don’t really get to see these types of films where you have an amazing actor like Denzel Washington playing a role like this; where he is […]

Josh Stamberg (The Affair, Parenthood) will take on the role of playwright Arthur Miller in Fall, a new play written by Bernard Weinraub, the former film reporter for The New York Times, and produced by Todd Black and Steve Tisch of Escape Artists, the film production company behind such movies as Southpaw and The Pursuit […]

He-Man has found new masters. Sony Pictures and Mattel have tapped the directing duo of Aaron and Adam Nee to helm the He-Man movie “Masters of the Universe,” sources tell Variety. Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch will produce with DeVon Franklin. The movie will be based on the beloved Mattel toyline, […]

Filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Alex Gibney have teamed to produce a docu-series for Discovery Channel examining the origins and dangers of hate. The two Oscar winners will executive produce the six-part series tentatively titled “Why We Hate.” Spielberg’s Amblin Television partnered with Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions on the project, which began production earlier this year and […]

S.B. Divya’s sci-fi thriller “Runtime” is being developed as a movie with Escape Artists and John Sacchi attached to produce. “Runtime,” published in 2016, is the story of the Minerva Challenge, a cybernetic race across the Sierra Nevadas, and how one underprivileged young woman cobbles together enough technology to compete against rivals with corporate sponsors. […]

EXCLUSIVE: Sony-based Escape Artists has hired Becky Sanderman as veep of Production, a role in which she will oversee development of feature film and TV projects at the company. Sanderman will work alongside production VP Tony Shaw. Sanderman had been director of development at Dimension Films since May 2016, having helped oversee MTV’s Scream . […]

Apple has landed a series package from M. Night Shyamalan and British TV writer Tony Basgallop, which recently hit the premium/digital marketplace. The untitled half-hour psychological thriller has received a 10-episode straight-to-series order from the tech giant. The project was created by Basgallop (24, To The Ends of the Earth), who will write and executive […]

David S. Goyer, the prolific writer behind the “Dark Knight” trilogy, is in talks to direct “Masters of the Universe” for Sony, TheWrap has exclusively learned. Goyer wrote the most recent draft of the script. Sony has set “Masters of the Universe” to be released on December 18, 2019. Set on the planet Eternia, the […]

EXCLUSIVE: The hot project du jour is Let Her Speak, a Mario Correa script that just got Sandra Bullock attached, subject to landing a director she likes. Bullock will play Democratic Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis, who on June 25, 2013, hit the national spotlight when, against extraordinary odds, she singlehandedly staged a 13-hour filibuster. […]

Pedro Pascal is in negotiations to play the antagonist in Sony and Escape Artists’ “The Equalizer 2” starring Denzel Washington. Antoine Fuqua is returning to direct. Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Washington, Steve Tisch, Alex Siskin, Michael Sloan, Tony Eldridge and Mace Neufeld are producing. Plot details are currently scarce, other than that Washington will reprise […]

Oh, Luuucy! Your biopic is home. “Lucy and Desi,” Aaron Sorkin’s feature project about iconic small-screen stars Lucille Ball and her former husband Desi Arnaz, has been acquired by Amazon Studios, according to Deadline. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett has been attached to play the beloved, Emmy-winning comedian in the authorized telling of the sitcom stars’ […]

Amazon Studios has acquired the Lucille Ball biopic “Lucy and Desi,” with Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett attached to star. Aaron Sorkin has written the script. Escape Artists is the production company with Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch producing. The producers are seeking a star to play Ball’s husband Desi Arnaz as well as Vivian […]

The authorized biopic is being produced by Ball and Desi Arnaz’s children. Amazon has scooped up the rights to the Lucille Ball biopic that has a script by Aaron Sorkin. Cate Blanchett is in talks to star. The film will center on the life of the iconic actress, who starred on the TV sitcoms I […]

EXCLUSIVE: Sony is fast tracking a remake of the 2015 French film Disorder, with Logan helmer James Mangold now attached as director after reading the script by Taylor Sheridan. Escape Artists partners Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch are producing with Tony Shaw, and David Beaubaire is overseeing it for the studio. The Alice […]

Amazon Studios has acquired Linda And Monica, the Black List script by Flint Wainess that details the budding friendship between D.C. pals Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky that imploded when it led to the revelation of the scandalous relationship between the White House intern and President Bill Clinton. The film will be produced by Todd […]

Miramax has landed the black list script “The Secret Ingredients of Rocket Cola,” with “My Week with Marilyn” helmer Simon Curtis in talks to direct. Mike Vukadinovich penned the script with Todd Black, Steve Tisch and Jason Blumenthal on board to produce through their Escape Artists banner. Jenna Block, who used to work for Escape […]

Afraid of dying? Don’t be. Over a period of three years, I stood by my friend’s side while he became homeless and obese, got disfiguring plastic surgery, had a stroke, became an alcoholic, and got busted for insider trading. Then I watched him die — seven different ways. And, truthfully, it may have been the […]

EXCLUSIVE: Taylor Sheridan, the writer who followed Sicario with Hell Or High Water, has just been set by Sony Pictures and Escape Artists to script Disorder. Pic is a remake of the 2015 French film, which starred Matthias Schoenaerts as an ex-soldier with PTSD hired to protect the wife and child of a wealthy Lebanese […]

The director, whose classic Western remake opens the Toronto film fest Thursday, also discusses how he’s pushing for more diversity in Hollywood and working with composer James Horner on his final film. Antoine Fuqua has loved Westerns since he was a young boy, watching them at home with his family. But it was the possibility […]

I can’t think of a better place, or a better crowd for the film’s world premiere,” Fuqua told a Toronto press conference on Tuesday via video. The filmmaker earlier brought Training Day (2001) and The Equalizer (2014) to Toronto for launches. Fuqua’s classic Western drama from MGM and Columbia Pictures features outlaws, bounty hunters and […]

EXCLUSIVE: Escape Artists is adding another executive to its roster. Tony Shaw, who had been director of development at Captivate Entertainment for the past seven years, has left to join the production company behind such films as Southpaw, The Equalizer and The Magnificent Seven, which will be released in September. He joins Escape Artists as […]

Smash alum Jack Davenport is set to topline Prototype, Syfy’s sci-fi thriller drama pilot written by Tony Basgallop (24: Live Another Day). It centers on three unlikely cohorts who inadvertently stumble upon an invention that challenges the very nature of quantum physics – a discovery which in turn puts their lives in grave danger. Davenport will play […]

Syfy has given a pilot order to Prototype, a sci-fi thriller drama written by Tony Basgallop (24: Live Another Day). It centers on three unlikely cohorts who inadvertently stumble upon an invention that challenges the very nature of quantum physics – a discovery which in turn puts their lives in grave danger. Oscar nominee Juan Carlos […]

EXCLUSIVE: Escape Artists’ just optioned Wallace Stegner’s critically-acclaimed novel Crossing to Safety, a semi-autobiographical tome about two academic couples who meet in Madison, Wisconsin and follows their marriages and friendship over the course of several decades. The book itself, published in 1987 by Random House, debuted critical raves in the New York Times and the […]

Cate Blanchett is attached to star in an authorized biopic of Hollywood legend Lucille Ball that Aaron Sorkin is set to write for Escape Artists, TheWrap has learned. The film will chronicle Ball’s 20-year marriage to Desi Arnaz, with whom she starred on the classic TV sitcom “I Love Lucy.” Ball had two children with […]

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ writer Christopher Yost will also write for ‘He-Man’ movie reboot Rodney Rafols “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” has been an 80s cartoon series hit for Filmation and Mattel. Originally a toy line from Mattel, it has become a hit cartoon series. Now Sony Pictures Entertainment is said set to produce a […]

Jake Gyllenhaal made a startling physical metamorphosis for the upcoming boxing drama Southpaw, about a widowed prizefighter looking for another shot in the ring. But the 34-year-old actor, seen in this exclusive poster above as fighter Billy Hope, didn’t just get righteously ripped: He also had to learn the technique of a pro brawler. Gyllenhaal’s […]

Matthew McConaughey has become attached to star in The Billionaire’s Vinegar, the Sony Pictures film about the scandal that ensued when an auctioned cache of wine bottles purported to have been owned by Thomas Jefferson were called fakes. Script is by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, the team behind Wanted, 3:10 To Yuma and Chicago […]

Sony Pictures has come on to co-finance “The Magnificent Seven” with MGM, sources tell Variety. Sony and MGM are splitting the cost evenly between the two with Sony distributing the pic. MGM will oversee production. The film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Haley Bennett. Antoine Fuqua is on board to direct. The […]

It’s been over a decade since Ethan Hawke, Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua patrolled the mean streets of Los Angeles in “Training Day,” and it looks like that team is looking to head to the Wild West for their next collaboration. Sources say the Oscar-nominated Hawke is in final negotiations to join Washington in […]

EXCLUSIVE: Landing a star-making role a lot of actresses chased, Haley Bennett has been set to play the female lead opposite an ensemble headed by Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt in the Antoine Fuqua-directed The Magnificent Seven for MGM. Bennett most recently co-starred with Washington in the Fuqua-directed The Equalizer, and she just wrapped The […]

FX Productions has closed a two-year first-look production deal with Escape Artists, the independent production company of Todd Black, fxpJason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch. This marks the first TV deal for Escape Artists, founded in 2001 by Black, Blumenthal and Tisch, whose feature credits include The Weather Man, The Pursuit Of Happyness, Hope Springs and […]

Denzel Washington found there are certain perks to playing a retired government operative trying to live a humble life as a home-store employee. “They decked out this store (on set) like it was a regular Kmart, including the candy bars at the register,” says Washington of the set of The Equalizer, due out Sept. 26. “There were […]

As The New Republic turns 100 years old, Sony Pictures and Escape Artists have made a pre-emptive acquisition of “The Year Of The Pigskin,” a just-published feature by Christopher Beam about the unlikely success of the Chongqing Dockers, one of the first teams in the very first American football league to form in China. The catalyst was a 26-year-old American, the son […]

Sony Pictures has acquired an untitled pitch from Kate Angelo. Escape Artists‘ Steve Tisch, Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal will produce, with Hannah Minghella overseeing for the studio. Both Sony and Escape Artistscompleted the Angelo-scripted Sex Tape with Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz, which Sony releases July 25. Jake Kasdan directed. They are keeping Angelo’s new pitch under wraps, but it’s […]

Seven months before the film hits theaters, Sony Pictures and Escape Artists are feeling confident in their Denzel Washington thriller “The Equalizer,” as screenwriter Richard Wenk has closed a deal to write the sequel, TheWrap has learned. “The Equalizer” has been testing through the roof, prompting Sony to move quickly on a sequel so the […]

Summer movie-goers will get their erotic fix despite the fact that “Fifty Shades of Grey” has now been moved to Valentine’s Day 2015. Sony Pictures said Wednesday that it will move “Sex Tape” from July 18, 2014 to August 1, 2014 — the date that the big screen adaptation of E.L. James’ kinky novel just […]