Exclusive: Morning Moon Productions has named Ethan Lazar as CEO. Lazar will now oversee all aspects of the company, including its slate of film and television projects, and music arm. Kyle Owens and Austen Rydell, who co-founded Morning Moon, have been named Co- Presidents, with Dan Lotti appointed as Head of Music. Billie Lourd will continue as a partner and producer under the Morning Moon banner.
Morning Moon’s latest release was Matt Smukler’s Wildflower, starring Kiernan Shipka, Jean Smart, Alexandra Daddario, Jacki Weaver, Charlie Plummer, Dash Mihok, Reid Scott, and Samantha Hyde. The film was developed and produced by Lazar, Owens, Rydell, and Lourd alongside Hunting Lane, and co-financed by eOne and Limelight. Wildflower premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2022 and was released by Momentum and Hulu in 2023.
Over the past decade, Lazar has served as a producer on over fifteen films that have premiered at major festivals including Sundance,...
Morning Moon’s latest release was Matt Smukler’s Wildflower, starring Kiernan Shipka, Jean Smart, Alexandra Daddario, Jacki Weaver, Charlie Plummer, Dash Mihok, Reid Scott, and Samantha Hyde. The film was developed and produced by Lazar, Owens, Rydell, and Lourd alongside Hunting Lane, and co-financed by eOne and Limelight. Wildflower premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2022 and was released by Momentum and Hulu in 2023.
Over the past decade, Lazar has served as a producer on over fifteen films that have premiered at major festivals including Sundance,...
- 2/27/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
This article contains spoilers for season 1 of "Poker Face."
"Poker Face" is a formulaic show, and that's not a complaint. In a TV landscape where everything feels increasingly serialized, there's something refreshing about a simple case-of-the-week style detective show. Every episode has the same basic format: we watch as a murder scenario plays out, we cut back to reveal how the on-the-run drifter Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) was nearby at the time, and then we watch as Charlie slowly figures out the situation. Once she does, she then has to figure out how to get justice without putting herself back on the grid.
That might sound repetitive, but "Poker Face" always seems to find a fresh way to play with the formula. Sometimes the victim in the opening sequence turns out to be Charlie herself (long story there), or sometimes another character figures out the mystery before Charlie does. Perhaps the biggest twist to the format,...
"Poker Face" is a formulaic show, and that's not a complaint. In a TV landscape where everything feels increasingly serialized, there's something refreshing about a simple case-of-the-week style detective show. Every episode has the same basic format: we watch as a murder scenario plays out, we cut back to reveal how the on-the-run drifter Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) was nearby at the time, and then we watch as Charlie slowly figures out the situation. Once she does, she then has to figure out how to get justice without putting herself back on the grid.
That might sound repetitive, but "Poker Face" always seems to find a fresh way to play with the formula. Sometimes the victim in the opening sequence turns out to be Charlie herself (long story there), or sometimes another character figures out the mystery before Charlie does. Perhaps the biggest twist to the format,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Momentum Pictures has picked up domestic rights to the starry ensemble dramedy Wildflower, marking the directorial debut of Matt Smukler. The film starring Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jean Smart (Hacks), Emmy nominee Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus) and many more is slated for release on March 17th.
Coming on the heels of an acclaimed 2020 documentary of the same name directed and produced by Smukler, Wildflower is a coming-of-age film inspired by a true story. Pic follows Bea Johnson from birth to graduation, as she navigates life with two neurodivergent parents and an extended family who can’t quite agree on the best way to help. Also starring in the title, which world premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival, are Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver (Yellowstone), Dash Mihok (Ray Donovan), Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete), 3x Emmy winner Brad Garrett (Everyone Loves Raymond), Reid Scott...
Coming on the heels of an acclaimed 2020 documentary of the same name directed and produced by Smukler, Wildflower is a coming-of-age film inspired by a true story. Pic follows Bea Johnson from birth to graduation, as she navigates life with two neurodivergent parents and an extended family who can’t quite agree on the best way to help. Also starring in the title, which world premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival, are Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver (Yellowstone), Dash Mihok (Ray Donovan), Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete), 3x Emmy winner Brad Garrett (Everyone Loves Raymond), Reid Scott...
- 2/14/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Morning Moon Productions has optioned the rights to award-winning author Michael Frank’s novel What Is Missing with Frank on board to also adapt.
What Is Missing is a powerful drama about a father, son, and the woman they both love. Costanza Ansaldo, an Italian-American translator, thinks she has made peace with her childlessness. A year after the death of her husband, she returns to the pensione in Florence where she lived in her youth. There she has a chance encounter with Andrew Weissman, a sensitive 18-year-old, and, soon afterward, his father, Dr. Henry Weissman, a charismatic New York physician who specializes in reproductive medicine. When the characters reunite months later in New York City, they become tangled in a web of lies, family secrets, and buried desires. In time, the truth finally surfaces, and it will change them forever.
The film will be produced by Ethan Lazar, Kyle Owens,...
What Is Missing is a powerful drama about a father, son, and the woman they both love. Costanza Ansaldo, an Italian-American translator, thinks she has made peace with her childlessness. A year after the death of her husband, she returns to the pensione in Florence where she lived in her youth. There she has a chance encounter with Andrew Weissman, a sensitive 18-year-old, and, soon afterward, his father, Dr. Henry Weissman, a charismatic New York physician who specializes in reproductive medicine. When the characters reunite months later in New York City, they become tangled in a web of lies, family secrets, and buried desires. In time, the truth finally surfaces, and it will change them forever.
The film will be produced by Ethan Lazar, Kyle Owens,...
- 8/31/2022
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Morning Moon Productions has optioned the rights to Mallory Weggemann’s memoir Limitless. Morning Moon plans to adapt the book into a narrative film showcasing Weggemann’s extraordinary journey to becoming a three-time Paralympic gold medalist in swimming and global champion of disability advocacy. The film will be produced by Ethan Lazar, Kyle Owens, and Austen Rydell. Executive Producers are Weggemann, Jeremy Snyder, and Peter Friedland.
The memoir, written by five-time Paralympic swimming medalist Weggemann, follows the empowering journey of the athlete’s life after a routine epidural injection for back pain left her paralyzed from the waist down at 18 years old.
“Limitless serves as a reminder that, while we all navigate through circumstance, we are more than,” says Weggemann. “It is about empowering others to honor their own journey and realize that our ‘now’ doesn’t define what’s to come. I’m proud that my story can...
The memoir, written by five-time Paralympic swimming medalist Weggemann, follows the empowering journey of the athlete’s life after a routine epidural injection for back pain left her paralyzed from the waist down at 18 years old.
“Limitless serves as a reminder that, while we all navigate through circumstance, we are more than,” says Weggemann. “It is about empowering others to honor their own journey and realize that our ‘now’ doesn’t define what’s to come. I’m proud that my story can...
- 2/15/2022
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Two-time Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kannon Omachi, Brad Garrett, Victor Rasuk, Reid Scott, Erika Alexander and Chris Mulkey round the cast of Limelight and eOne’s Wildflower.
They join Jean Smart, Kiernan Shipka, Alexandra Daddario, Dash Mihok, Charlie Plummer and Samantha Hyde. Limelight and eOne are fully financing, with Matt Smukler directing and Jana Savage writing.
Based on Smukler’s family, Wildflower is a coming-of-age dark comedy that follows Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with a parent with an intellectual disability and an extended family that can’t quite agree on the best way to help.
Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker of Limelight are producing along with Jamie Patricof and Katie McNeill of Hunting Lane Films and Ethan Lazar, Kyle Owens, Austen Rydell and Billie Lourd of Morning Moon Productions.
Jen Gorton and Jillian Share are overseeing for eOne. Cj Barbato of Limelight will co-produce.
They join Jean Smart, Kiernan Shipka, Alexandra Daddario, Dash Mihok, Charlie Plummer and Samantha Hyde. Limelight and eOne are fully financing, with Matt Smukler directing and Jana Savage writing.
Based on Smukler’s family, Wildflower is a coming-of-age dark comedy that follows Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with a parent with an intellectual disability and an extended family that can’t quite agree on the best way to help.
Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker of Limelight are producing along with Jamie Patricof and Katie McNeill of Hunting Lane Films and Ethan Lazar, Kyle Owens, Austen Rydell and Billie Lourd of Morning Moon Productions.
Jen Gorton and Jillian Share are overseeing for eOne. Cj Barbato of Limelight will co-produce.
- 10/27/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Limelight and eOne have set an all-star cast for its upcoming drama Wildflower including Jean Smart, marking her the first film project she has signed on to since winning her Best Actress Emmy. Starring alongside Smart are Kiernan Shipka, Alexandra Daddario, Dash Mihok, Charlie Plummer and Samantha Hyde.
Limelight and eOne are fully financing with Matt Smukler directing and Jana Savage writing.
Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker of Limelight are producing along with Jamie Patricof and Katie McNeill of Hunting Lane Films and Ethan Lazar, Kyle Owens, Austen Rydell and Billie Lourd of Morning Moon Productions. Morning Moon has been developing the project since 2020, when it optioned Savage’s script. The company is in post-production on the doc Watershed.
Based on Smukler’s family, Wildflower is a coming-of-age dark comedy that follows Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with a parent with an intellectual disability...
Limelight and eOne are fully financing with Matt Smukler directing and Jana Savage writing.
Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker of Limelight are producing along with Jamie Patricof and Katie McNeill of Hunting Lane Films and Ethan Lazar, Kyle Owens, Austen Rydell and Billie Lourd of Morning Moon Productions. Morning Moon has been developing the project since 2020, when it optioned Savage’s script. The company is in post-production on the doc Watershed.
Based on Smukler’s family, Wildflower is a coming-of-age dark comedy that follows Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with a parent with an intellectual disability...
- 10/12/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
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