Exclusive: Actor Winston Duke has signed with M88 for representation.
Most recently starring opposite Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, Duke rose to global stardom in Marvel’s critically acclaimed Black Panther franchise, seeing his character, M’Baku, be named King of Wakanda in sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
To date, the actor has also been seen in such notable films as Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War, Peter Berg’s Netflix crime drama Spencer Confidential, Jordan Peele’s Us, and Sony Picture Classics’ Nine Days, which he also exec produced.
Over the course of his career, Duke has received numerous accolades, including the Advanced Imaging Society’s Social Justice Lumiere Award for his work as the star and executive producer of The Messy Truth VR Experience, a VR documentary short which provides viewers with a look at the timely themes of race, mercy, and...
Most recently starring opposite Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, Duke rose to global stardom in Marvel’s critically acclaimed Black Panther franchise, seeing his character, M’Baku, be named King of Wakanda in sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
To date, the actor has also been seen in such notable films as Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War, Peter Berg’s Netflix crime drama Spencer Confidential, Jordan Peele’s Us, and Sony Picture Classics’ Nine Days, which he also exec produced.
Over the course of his career, Duke has received numerous accolades, including the Advanced Imaging Society’s Social Justice Lumiere Award for his work as the star and executive producer of The Messy Truth VR Experience, a VR documentary short which provides viewers with a look at the timely themes of race, mercy, and...
- 6/3/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix believes in the power of faith-based film… and in the power of Tyler Perry.
Netflix has extended its creative deal with mega-producer Tyler Perry, in which he’s meant to write, direct, and produce films and series for the streamer, to now include faith-based movies. Perry and Netflix as part of the deal will recruit one of the original hit makers in the current wave of faith-based movies, DeVon Franklin (“Miracles from Heaven”).
Together, Franklin and Perry will produce several faith-based films for Netflix as part of a new multiyear and multi-picture first-look film deal, Netflix announced on May 6.
The first project under the deal will be “R&b,” a modern-day retelling of the story of Ruth and Boaz, one of the Bible’s iconic love stories. Set in Tennessee, “R&b” tells the story of a young woman who escapes the Atlanta music scene to care for an...
Netflix has extended its creative deal with mega-producer Tyler Perry, in which he’s meant to write, direct, and produce films and series for the streamer, to now include faith-based movies. Perry and Netflix as part of the deal will recruit one of the original hit makers in the current wave of faith-based movies, DeVon Franklin (“Miracles from Heaven”).
Together, Franklin and Perry will produce several faith-based films for Netflix as part of a new multiyear and multi-picture first-look film deal, Netflix announced on May 6.
The first project under the deal will be “R&b,” a modern-day retelling of the story of Ruth and Boaz, one of the Bible’s iconic love stories. Set in Tennessee, “R&b” tells the story of a young woman who escapes the Atlanta music scene to care for an...
- 5/6/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Tyler Perry and DeVon Franklin are teaming up to produce faith-based films under a multi-year and multi-picture first-look deal at Netflix.
The films will be produced by the duo in conjunction with Tyler Perry Studios in the latest expansion of Perry’s creative partnership at Netflix, inked as a first-look film deal in October 2023 and has broadened to include scripted and unscripted TV projects.
“I’m so excited to be working with DeVon on this and future projects,” said Perry in a statement announcing the partnership. “I think in this polarizing world, and at a time where the world seems to be growing colder everyday, we both share the common goal of wanting to spread some good. And there’s no better place than Netflix.”
Added Franklin, “Tyler and I have been great friends for over 15 years, so when he called me to team up on movies that can uplift the human spirit,...
The films will be produced by the duo in conjunction with Tyler Perry Studios in the latest expansion of Perry’s creative partnership at Netflix, inked as a first-look film deal in October 2023 and has broadened to include scripted and unscripted TV projects.
“I’m so excited to be working with DeVon on this and future projects,” said Perry in a statement announcing the partnership. “I think in this polarizing world, and at a time where the world seems to be growing colder everyday, we both share the common goal of wanting to spread some good. And there’s no better place than Netflix.”
Added Franklin, “Tyler and I have been great friends for over 15 years, so when he called me to team up on movies that can uplift the human spirit,...
- 5/6/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Tyler Perry Studios and DeVon Franklin (Flamin’ Hot) are partnering with Netflix to produce faith-based films under a multiyear, multipicture first-look deal. It marks the latest extension of Perry and Netflix’s creative partnership that sees him write, direct and produce films and series, but films under the new deal will be produced by Franklin and Perry in conjunction with Tyler Perry Studios.
The first film under the new partnership will be R&b, written by Mike Elliott (Brown Sugar) & Cory Tynan (Play’d). Most recently the writing duo penned the faith-based romantic comedy Relationship Goals for Franklin and Amazon MGM Studios.
R&b is a modern retelling of the story of Ruth and Boaz, one of the most iconic love stories in the Bible. Set in Tennessee, R&b tells the story of a young woman who escapes the Atlanta music scene to care for an elderly widowed woman...
The first film under the new partnership will be R&b, written by Mike Elliott (Brown Sugar) & Cory Tynan (Play’d). Most recently the writing duo penned the faith-based romantic comedy Relationship Goals for Franklin and Amazon MGM Studios.
R&b is a modern retelling of the story of Ruth and Boaz, one of the most iconic love stories in the Bible. Set in Tennessee, R&b tells the story of a young woman who escapes the Atlanta music scene to care for an elderly widowed woman...
- 5/6/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The upcoming Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” is embracing the Motown sound — announcing key castings including Larenz Tate as Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Kat Graham as the legendary Diana Ross.
As the film chronicles Jackson’s rise to prominence — first as a member of the Jackson 5, then as a solo artist — the record label will factor in significantly. “Power” franchise star Tate (who coincidentally played “Thriller” producer Quincy Jones in 2004’s “Ray”) takes on the Motown impresario Gordy, who redefined American music by platforming such acts as the Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Diana Ross & the Supremes.
Graham portrays Ross, who, as lead singer of the chart-topping group, was asked to officially introduce the Jackson 5 to the world and remained a lifelong influence on Michael Jackson.
Other new cast members of the Lionsgate...
As the film chronicles Jackson’s rise to prominence — first as a member of the Jackson 5, then as a solo artist — the record label will factor in significantly. “Power” franchise star Tate (who coincidentally played “Thriller” producer Quincy Jones in 2004’s “Ray”) takes on the Motown impresario Gordy, who redefined American music by platforming such acts as the Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Diana Ross & the Supremes.
Graham portrays Ross, who, as lead singer of the chart-topping group, was asked to officially introduce the Jackson 5 to the world and remained a lifelong influence on Michael Jackson.
Other new cast members of the Lionsgate...
- 3/25/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: DeVon Franklin is staying in business with CBS Studios and has sold his latest show.
The founder of Franklin Entertainment is developing detective drama Grace for CBS after reupping his deal with the studio for another two years.
Franklin, who was behind the Eva Longoria-directed Flamin’ Hot movie, signed his first deal with CBS Studios in 2020 and it was renewed in 2022.
Grace follows a true-blue detective known for his brash, cynical style and a passionate, community-focused pastor who wears her heart on her sleeve reluctantly partner to solve complex crimes as they debate their divergent beliefs while attempting to ignore their growing chemistry.
It is being written by Devon Greggory, showrunner of Paramount+’s revival of The Game who also has a deal at the studio, and Corey Moore, who has written on series including All Rise and NCIS: New Orleans. The pair will exec produce alongside Franklin.
The founder of Franklin Entertainment is developing detective drama Grace for CBS after reupping his deal with the studio for another two years.
Franklin, who was behind the Eva Longoria-directed Flamin’ Hot movie, signed his first deal with CBS Studios in 2020 and it was renewed in 2022.
Grace follows a true-blue detective known for his brash, cynical style and a passionate, community-focused pastor who wears her heart on her sleeve reluctantly partner to solve complex crimes as they debate their divergent beliefs while attempting to ignore their growing chemistry.
It is being written by Devon Greggory, showrunner of Paramount+’s revival of The Game who also has a deal at the studio, and Corey Moore, who has written on series including All Rise and NCIS: New Orleans. The pair will exec produce alongside Franklin.
- 3/15/2024
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Filming is due to get underway next week in Canada on indie feature Morningside, which will star singer-songwriter and two-time Juno Award winner Fefe Dobson, Lovell Adams-Gray (Power Book II: Ghost), Kiana Madeira (Fear Street series), Alex Mallari Jr. (Ginny and Georgia), Joanne Jansen (Shadowhunters), Olunike Adeliyi (The Porter) and Brandon McKnight (The Flash).
Writer-director Ron Dias (Bite of a Mango) and actress-writer Joanne Jansen, both of Toronto-based production company Ron & Aussie, are teaming up on Morningside which will chart the intertwining lives within Scarborough’s Morningside community center. The film will chart personal struggles, relationships, and societal challenges faced by the diverse set of characters amid the looming threat of gentrification.
The project will be distributed in the U.S. on SVOD by AMC’s All Blk, which contributed funding, alongside private investors.
“Our commitment to reshaping the narrative and authentically portraying the resilience of the Scarborough community remains steadfast within Morningside,...
Writer-director Ron Dias (Bite of a Mango) and actress-writer Joanne Jansen, both of Toronto-based production company Ron & Aussie, are teaming up on Morningside which will chart the intertwining lives within Scarborough’s Morningside community center. The film will chart personal struggles, relationships, and societal challenges faced by the diverse set of characters amid the looming threat of gentrification.
The project will be distributed in the U.S. on SVOD by AMC’s All Blk, which contributed funding, alongside private investors.
“Our commitment to reshaping the narrative and authentically portraying the resilience of the Scarborough community remains steadfast within Morningside,...
- 11/30/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Jacob Romero (Greenleaf) and Kyle Bary (Ginny & Georgia) have joined the Season 2 cast of Issa Rae’s Max series Rap Sh!t in key recurring roles.
Rap Sh!t follows two estranged high school friends from Miami, Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion), who reunite to form a rap group. In their rise to fame, Shawna and Mia find themselves at a pivotal moment in their rap career as they are forced to decide if they will stay true to themselves or conform to the demands of the music industry.
Romero will play Lord Ak, a notable musician/rapper from Los Angeles who is headlining a U.S. tour.
Bary will portray Courtney Taylor, an up-and-coming rapper who opens for his friend, Lord Ak.
Rap Sh!t is created and executive produced by Rae for Hoorae. Syreeta Singleton serves as showrunner and executive produces alongside Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry...
Rap Sh!t follows two estranged high school friends from Miami, Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion), who reunite to form a rap group. In their rise to fame, Shawna and Mia find themselves at a pivotal moment in their rap career as they are forced to decide if they will stay true to themselves or conform to the demands of the music industry.
Romero will play Lord Ak, a notable musician/rapper from Los Angeles who is headlining a U.S. tour.
Bary will portray Courtney Taylor, an up-and-coming rapper who opens for his friend, Lord Ak.
Rap Sh!t is created and executive produced by Rae for Hoorae. Syreeta Singleton serves as showrunner and executive produces alongside Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry...
- 7/7/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
“Snowfall” lead Damson Idris is set to star opposite Brad Pitt in his untitled Formula One racing feature from Joseph Kosinski, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Plan B Entertainment, Apple Original Films announced on Friday.
Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) is set to direct as well as produce.
Academy Award-nominee Ehren Kruger (“Top Gun: Maverick”) wrote the script.
The F1 film stars Pitt as a former driver who returns to the sport. Idris joins the movie in a role as his teammate.
Also Read:
Apple Acquires Brad Pitt’s Formula One Drama, Adds Lewis Hamilton as Producer
Hailing from Apple Studios, the film is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Kosinski, Mercedes driver and seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton from his Dawn Apollo Films banner, and Plan B Entertainment (“World War Z”).
Copper CEO Penni Thow serves as executive producer.
This marks Apple Studios second feature...
Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) is set to direct as well as produce.
Academy Award-nominee Ehren Kruger (“Top Gun: Maverick”) wrote the script.
The F1 film stars Pitt as a former driver who returns to the sport. Idris joins the movie in a role as his teammate.
Also Read:
Apple Acquires Brad Pitt’s Formula One Drama, Adds Lewis Hamilton as Producer
Hailing from Apple Studios, the film is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Kosinski, Mercedes driver and seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton from his Dawn Apollo Films banner, and Plan B Entertainment (“World War Z”).
Copper CEO Penni Thow serves as executive producer.
This marks Apple Studios second feature...
- 4/7/2023
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
“Snowfall” star Damson Idris will appear opposite Brad Pitt in a new Formula One racing film from “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski. The untitled movie is being made by Apple Original Films and will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment.
Kosinski will produce the feature alongside seven-time Formula One champion Sir Lewis Hamilton under his Dawn Apollo Films banner, and Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Ehren Kruger, who did similar honors on “Top Gun: Maverick,” is writing the screenplay.
The racing feature stars Pitt as a former driver who returns to the sport. Idris will play his teammate. Aside from that, engines will be revved, finish lines will be crossed, cars will collide… Ok, we really have no idea what happens on or off the track. But since the movie is being made in cooperation with Formula One, the...
Kosinski will produce the feature alongside seven-time Formula One champion Sir Lewis Hamilton under his Dawn Apollo Films banner, and Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Ehren Kruger, who did similar honors on “Top Gun: Maverick,” is writing the screenplay.
The racing feature stars Pitt as a former driver who returns to the sport. Idris will play his teammate. Aside from that, engines will be revved, finish lines will be crossed, cars will collide… Ok, we really have no idea what happens on or off the track. But since the movie is being made in cooperation with Formula One, the...
- 4/7/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Following months of meetings, auditions and even several days of driving tests, Apple Studios, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer look to have found their race car driver to steer their anticipated racing film set in the world of F1. Sources tell Deadline that Damson Idris has been tapped to co-star opposite Brad Pitt. Kosinski is directing.
Kosinski will produce his untitled feature alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films (Top Gun: Maverick), seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton through his Dawn Apollo banner and Plan B, with Copper CEO Penni Thow serving as executive producer.
Producers have been meeting with prospects for the role going all the way back to November, with Kosinski, Bruckheimer and Apple execs seeing dozens of actors. At the top of the year the lists were cut down to a handful of actors, with Idris making the final cut. Besides doing a number of screen tests,...
Kosinski will produce his untitled feature alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films (Top Gun: Maverick), seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton through his Dawn Apollo banner and Plan B, with Copper CEO Penni Thow serving as executive producer.
Producers have been meeting with prospects for the role going all the way back to November, with Kosinski, Bruckheimer and Apple execs seeing dozens of actors. At the top of the year the lists were cut down to a handful of actors, with Idris making the final cut. Besides doing a number of screen tests,...
- 4/7/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Prolific producer and actor DeVon Franklin has set up two new scripted development projects at BET+ under his overall deal with CBS Studios, which is the studio for both.
The first project, Played, is a comedy in which Franklin would star. The second project, Closure, for BET and BET+, is a family drama inspired by the life of baseball Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson turned funeral home owner. Franklin would executive produce both projects via his Franklin Entertainment.
Written by Devon Shepard (The Ms. Pat Show), in Played, Franklin stars as a TV personality in the comedy which chronicles the trials of a dysfunctional dater.
Here’s the official logline: “What if the life of a dysfunctional dater is punctuated by his conscience being a fully-produced talk show hosted by real-life tv personality and producer DeVon Franklin? Every time our guy is faced with one of life’s many dilemmas, he...
The first project, Played, is a comedy in which Franklin would star. The second project, Closure, for BET and BET+, is a family drama inspired by the life of baseball Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson turned funeral home owner. Franklin would executive produce both projects via his Franklin Entertainment.
Written by Devon Shepard (The Ms. Pat Show), in Played, Franklin stars as a TV personality in the comedy which chronicles the trials of a dysfunctional dater.
Here’s the official logline: “What if the life of a dysfunctional dater is punctuated by his conscience being a fully-produced talk show hosted by real-life tv personality and producer DeVon Franklin? Every time our guy is faced with one of life’s many dilemmas, he...
- 2/27/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Yetide Badaki Developing Nigerian Vampire TV Series & Comic With Prentice Penny & Sebastian A. Jones
Exclusive: Yetide Badaki, who starred in Starz’ American Gods, is biting into the comic book world.
Badaki is developing a Nigerian vampire story as a TV series and a comic and has teamed with Payback Entertainment, the company founded by Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny and Stranger Comics President Sebastian A. Jones.
Naija Vamp is about a Nigerian vampire’s hunger for eternal love, beyond the flesh. It is described as an irreverent love letter to all those who have ever felt othered, wrapped in a blood-sucking coming-of-age self-discovery romp.
The story follows Bisi, who is turning 40 years old. Again. In fact, Bisi turned 40 many years ago when she became a vampire as part of her Nigerian undead family heritage. Struggling to find herself in the New World amidst navigating her family’s Old World vampiric expectations and unable to keep a partner for fear of eating them, Bisi’s (after...
Badaki is developing a Nigerian vampire story as a TV series and a comic and has teamed with Payback Entertainment, the company founded by Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny and Stranger Comics President Sebastian A. Jones.
Naija Vamp is about a Nigerian vampire’s hunger for eternal love, beyond the flesh. It is described as an irreverent love letter to all those who have ever felt othered, wrapped in a blood-sucking coming-of-age self-discovery romp.
The story follows Bisi, who is turning 40 years old. Again. In fact, Bisi turned 40 many years ago when she became a vampire as part of her Nigerian undead family heritage. Struggling to find herself in the New World amidst navigating her family’s Old World vampiric expectations and unable to keep a partner for fear of eating them, Bisi’s (after...
- 12/7/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Bmf star Russell Hornsby has signed with APA for representation in all areas. Hornsby is the second prominent client to follow longtime agent Andrew Rogers there, joining Regina Hall who also recently signed with APA. Veteran ICM Partners agent Rogers last month became the head of Global Talent at APA.
Hornsby headlines the Starz series Bmf (aka Black Mafia Family) and will next be seen starring as Don King in Hulu’s limited series Mike about the rise of Mike Tyson. APA also reps Bmf executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and fellow star Demetrius “lil meech” Flennory Jr.
Hornsby’s resume includes the feature Fences opposite Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in which he reprised his role from the Tony-winning Broadway production, the Fox 2000 film The Hate U Give with Amandla Stenberg and Regina Hall, Creed II opposite Michael B. Jordan as well as series Seven Seconds opposite Regina...
Hornsby headlines the Starz series Bmf (aka Black Mafia Family) and will next be seen starring as Don King in Hulu’s limited series Mike about the rise of Mike Tyson. APA also reps Bmf executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and fellow star Demetrius “lil meech” Flennory Jr.
Hornsby’s resume includes the feature Fences opposite Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in which he reprised his role from the Tony-winning Broadway production, the Fox 2000 film The Hate U Give with Amandla Stenberg and Regina Hall, Creed II opposite Michael B. Jordan as well as series Seven Seconds opposite Regina...
- 8/8/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
“Insecure” actress Christina Elmore has joined the cast of the upcoming HBO Max series “Girls on the Bus.”
Elmore will star alongside Melissa Benoist and Natasha Behnam, who were previously announced, as Kimberlyn Kendrick, an Ivy League–educated Reagan Republican and campaign reporter for Liberty News.
The series will follow Benoist’s Sadie McCarthy, “a journalist who romanticizes the original ‘Boys on the Bus’ and who scrapped her whole life for her own shot at covering a presidential campaign for the paper of record,” per a logline from Warner Bros. TV. “Sadie hits the trail and eventually bonds with three female competitors — Grace, Lola (Behnam) and Kimberlyn (Elmore). Despite their differences, these women become a found family with a front-row seat to the greatest soap opera in town: the battle for the White House.”
Also Read:
‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ Trailer Reveals a New Generation Haunted by The Past...
Elmore will star alongside Melissa Benoist and Natasha Behnam, who were previously announced, as Kimberlyn Kendrick, an Ivy League–educated Reagan Republican and campaign reporter for Liberty News.
The series will follow Benoist’s Sadie McCarthy, “a journalist who romanticizes the original ‘Boys on the Bus’ and who scrapped her whole life for her own shot at covering a presidential campaign for the paper of record,” per a logline from Warner Bros. TV. “Sadie hits the trail and eventually bonds with three female competitors — Grace, Lola (Behnam) and Kimberlyn (Elmore). Despite their differences, these women become a found family with a front-row seat to the greatest soap opera in town: the battle for the White House.”
Also Read:
‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ Trailer Reveals a New Generation Haunted by The Past...
- 7/11/2022
- by Katie Campione
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Universal Pictures has rounded out the musician-heavy cast for its film Praise This, starring Grown-ish‘s Chloe Bailey, with Anjelika Washington, Quavo, Druski, Koryn Hawthorne, Tristan Mack Wilds and Jekalyn Carr among those signing on for roles. Other new cast members include newcomers Kiara Iman Heffner and Ilario Grant, Birgundi Baker, Loren Lott, Crystal Renee Hayslett, Cocoa Brown, Vanessa Fraction and Kountry Wayne.
Praise This is a music-competition feature comedy set in the world of youth choirs, announced earlier this year as one of three Universal films coming to Peacock in 2023. Tina Gordon (Little) is directing, having penned the latest draft of the script, which was based off an original idea by The Story Company. Earlier drafts were written by Camilla Blackett and Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana and Jana Savage—the trio otherwise known as Murder Ink.
The film falls under Will Packer Productions’ first-look deal with Universal,...
Praise This is a music-competition feature comedy set in the world of youth choirs, announced earlier this year as one of three Universal films coming to Peacock in 2023. Tina Gordon (Little) is directing, having penned the latest draft of the script, which was based off an original idea by The Story Company. Earlier drafts were written by Camilla Blackett and Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana and Jana Savage—the trio otherwise known as Murder Ink.
The film falls under Will Packer Productions’ first-look deal with Universal,...
- 7/7/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Y’lan Noel (The First Purge), Mikey Madison (Better Things) and Brett Gelman (Stranger Things) are set as leads opposite Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o in Lady In The Lake, Apple TV+’s limited series adaptation of Laura Lippman’s book, created and directed by Alma Har’el (Honey Boy) and produced by Endeavor Content.
The limited series, which has started production, takes place in 60s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother, Maddie Schwartz, played by Portman, to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood, played by Nyong’o, a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.
Lady in the Lake is produced by Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America, and is executive produced by Har’el alongside producing partner Christopher Leggett through her new production company, Zusa. In addition to starring,...
The limited series, which has started production, takes place in 60s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother, Maddie Schwartz, played by Portman, to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood, played by Nyong’o, a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.
Lady in the Lake is produced by Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America, and is executive produced by Har’el alongside producing partner Christopher Leggett through her new production company, Zusa. In addition to starring,...
- 4/26/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: In the wake of doing double duty this year at Sundance in the movies 892 and Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul., actress Nicole Beharie has inked with WME.
Honk for Jesus: Save Your Soul was snapped up by Focus Features and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions for a theatrical day-and-date release on Peacock later this year. Beharie stars opposite Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown in the comedy which follows Trinitie Childs (Hall), the first lady of a prominent Southern Baptist Mega Church in the wake of a scandal as she attempts to help her pastor-husband, Lee-Curtis Childs (Brown), rebuild their congregation.
892 was acquired by Bleecker for late summer theatrical release. The thriller follows the devastating true story of Brian Brown-Easley, a disgruntled Marine veteran who held up an Atlanta Wells Fargo Bank out of desperation to bring attention to his plight after not receiving his monthly disability check of $892. John Boyega,...
Honk for Jesus: Save Your Soul was snapped up by Focus Features and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions for a theatrical day-and-date release on Peacock later this year. Beharie stars opposite Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown in the comedy which follows Trinitie Childs (Hall), the first lady of a prominent Southern Baptist Mega Church in the wake of a scandal as she attempts to help her pastor-husband, Lee-Curtis Childs (Brown), rebuild their congregation.
892 was acquired by Bleecker for late summer theatrical release. The thriller follows the devastating true story of Brian Brown-Easley, a disgruntled Marine veteran who held up an Atlanta Wells Fargo Bank out of desperation to bring attention to his plight after not receiving his monthly disability check of $892. John Boyega,...
- 3/1/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Prentice Penny (Insecure, Uncorked) has signed on to direct an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling graphic novel New Kid for Universal Pictures, tapping Eli Wilson Pelton to adapt the script. His production company A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment has also come aboard to develop and produce the film alongside The SpringHill Company.
New Kid tells the story of Jordan Banks, who experiences culture shock as one of the few kids of color when his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school, struggling both to start over and to fit in. The graphic novel from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft was published by HarperCollins in 2019 and subsequently became the first to win the coveted Newbery Medal, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award.
Universal Pictures acquired the rights to New Kid in 2020 as part of its four-year, first-look deal with The SpringHill Company, which optioned...
New Kid tells the story of Jordan Banks, who experiences culture shock as one of the few kids of color when his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school, struggling both to start over and to fit in. The graphic novel from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft was published by HarperCollins in 2019 and subsequently became the first to win the coveted Newbery Medal, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award.
Universal Pictures acquired the rights to New Kid in 2020 as part of its four-year, first-look deal with The SpringHill Company, which optioned...
- 2/1/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Prentice Penny, who served as showrunner on HBO’s popular series “Insecure,” is stepping behind the camera to direct a feature film for Universal Pictures.
Penny has been hired to adapt “New Kid,” a movie version of Jerry Craft’s bestselling graphic novel. The children’s story follows a Black pre-teen named Jordan Banks, who experiences culture shock when his parents enroll him at an elite private school.
LeBron James will produce “New Kid” through his production house The SpringHill Company, along with SpringHill executive Maverick Carter. Jamal Henderson, Spencer Beighley and “New Kid” author Craft will be executive producers. In addition to directing, Penny will also executive produce through his shingle A Penny for Your Thoughts Entertainment with president and partner Chris Pollack.
Eli Wilson Pelton, whose credits include “Insecure” and “Brigerton,” will write the screenplay. After they collaborated on “Insecure,” where Wilson Pelton worked as writer and executive story editor for two seasons,...
Penny has been hired to adapt “New Kid,” a movie version of Jerry Craft’s bestselling graphic novel. The children’s story follows a Black pre-teen named Jordan Banks, who experiences culture shock when his parents enroll him at an elite private school.
LeBron James will produce “New Kid” through his production house The SpringHill Company, along with SpringHill executive Maverick Carter. Jamal Henderson, Spencer Beighley and “New Kid” author Craft will be executive producers. In addition to directing, Penny will also executive produce through his shingle A Penny for Your Thoughts Entertainment with president and partner Chris Pollack.
Eli Wilson Pelton, whose credits include “Insecure” and “Brigerton,” will write the screenplay. After they collaborated on “Insecure,” where Wilson Pelton worked as writer and executive story editor for two seasons,...
- 2/1/2022
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Prentice Penny will direct Universal Pictures’ “New Kid,” based on the graphic novel of the same name. Penny joins the project with his production banner A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment, which will develop and produce alongside The SpringHill Company.
Eli Wilson Pelton will adapt the graphic novel and write the script.
Based on the New York Times bestseller, “New Kid” tells the story of Jordan Banks, who experiences culture shock as one of the few kids of color when his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school.
From author-illustrator Jerry Craft and published by HarperCollins, “New Kid” is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real. “New Kid” became the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award.
Universal Pictures acquired the rights to...
Eli Wilson Pelton will adapt the graphic novel and write the script.
Based on the New York Times bestseller, “New Kid” tells the story of Jordan Banks, who experiences culture shock as one of the few kids of color when his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school.
From author-illustrator Jerry Craft and published by HarperCollins, “New Kid” is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real. “New Kid” became the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award.
Universal Pictures acquired the rights to...
- 2/1/2022
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Cobra Kai‘s Xolo Maridueña is set to star in and executive produce The Ledger, an action drama series from veteran showrunner and producer Juan Carlos Coto and Will Packer Media.
Coto will write and serve as showrunner. Will Packer will produce through Will Packer Media and Alvie Hurtado, Director of Development, Wpp will oversee the project for Will Packer Media. Brandon Guzmán will executive produce.
The series will be shopped to streaming networks and premium cablers.
Maridueña stars as Miguel Diaz on Netflix’s Cobra Kai which is heading into its fourth season. He is also set to star as Blue Beetle for Warner Bros and DC. Maridueña is represented by UTA, Valor Entertainment and John Meigs of Hanson Jacobson.
Best known for his work as showrunner on Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Coto currently is executive producer on Ryan Murphy,...
Coto will write and serve as showrunner. Will Packer will produce through Will Packer Media and Alvie Hurtado, Director of Development, Wpp will oversee the project for Will Packer Media. Brandon Guzmán will executive produce.
The series will be shopped to streaming networks and premium cablers.
Maridueña stars as Miguel Diaz on Netflix’s Cobra Kai which is heading into its fourth season. He is also set to star as Blue Beetle for Warner Bros and DC. Maridueña is represented by UTA, Valor Entertainment and John Meigs of Hanson Jacobson.
Best known for his work as showrunner on Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Coto currently is executive producer on Ryan Murphy,...
- 10/1/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Dying for more “Cobra Kai”? Well, this is about as close as we can get you — for now. Xolo Maridueña and Jacob Bertrand, stars of the “Karate Kid” sequel series on Netflix, are launching a new podcast together titled “Lone Lobos,” TheWrap has learned exclusively.
“Lone Lobos” will exist on iHeartMedia’s new My Cultura podcast network, which is dedicated to elevating Latinx voices and creators, and sharing the Latinx experience with millions of listeners. The talk show will center on the two young actors and best buds discussing all things pop culture and bringing on the occasional guest. “Lone Lobos” debuts on Sept. 21.
“Representation of authentic voices is super important to Jacob and me, and we know it’s important to our partners at iHeart Media,” Maridueña and Bertrand told TheWrap on Tuesday via a joint statement. “We’re really excited about the opportunity to invite you all into our conversations and smack talking.
“Lone Lobos” will exist on iHeartMedia’s new My Cultura podcast network, which is dedicated to elevating Latinx voices and creators, and sharing the Latinx experience with millions of listeners. The talk show will center on the two young actors and best buds discussing all things pop culture and bringing on the occasional guest. “Lone Lobos” debuts on Sept. 21.
“Representation of authentic voices is super important to Jacob and me, and we know it’s important to our partners at iHeart Media,” Maridueña and Bertrand told TheWrap on Tuesday via a joint statement. “We’re really excited about the opportunity to invite you all into our conversations and smack talking.
- 9/14/2021
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Toronto born actress Kiana Madeira, who broke out recently in the Netflix hit trilogy Fear Street, has inked with Verve.
The movies, based on R.L. Stine’s acclaimed horror book series were shot back-to-back by director Leigh Janiak, with Madeira playing two different characters across three different time periods, Deena and Sarah.
The franchise broke the mold not only with the shooting schedule but for Netflix with a weekly release schedule, and eventized outdoor premieres at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Next up, Madeira is set to star as Nora in the next installments of the After film franchise, After We Fell and After Ever Happy, based on the best-selling books by Anna Todd.
Previously, on the television side, Madeira led the cast of the Daytime Emmy Award winning Netflix series Trinkets for two seasons, starred in the Facebook Watch series Sacred Lies, before starring on The Flash for the CW.
The movies, based on R.L. Stine’s acclaimed horror book series were shot back-to-back by director Leigh Janiak, with Madeira playing two different characters across three different time periods, Deena and Sarah.
The franchise broke the mold not only with the shooting schedule but for Netflix with a weekly release schedule, and eventized outdoor premieres at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Next up, Madeira is set to star as Nora in the next installments of the After film franchise, After We Fell and After Ever Happy, based on the best-selling books by Anna Todd.
Previously, on the television side, Madeira led the cast of the Daytime Emmy Award winning Netflix series Trinkets for two seasons, starred in the Facebook Watch series Sacred Lies, before starring on The Flash for the CW.
- 8/31/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: BET+ has given a series order to Kingdom Business, a music-driven drama executive produced by DeVon Franklin (Miracles From Heaven), Holly Carter (The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel), multi-Grammy-award-winner Kirk Franklin and Michael Van Dyck. The eight-episode series explores the gospel music industry through the lenses of family, faith, love and the redemptive power of music.
Written by John Sakmar and Kerry Lenhart, co-creators of Mr. & Mrs. Smith the series, Kingdom Business is centered around the reigning Queen of Gospel Denita Jordan, and her ex-producer/songwriter/lover, Caesar, who created her sound and launched her career. Denita, who also runs an in-house record label and megachurch, is determined to guard her family and its many secrets at all costs to retain her place on the throne. Things seem to be unfolding in Denita’s favor until an unsuspecting young woman on the rise with a checkered past enters the scene.
Written by John Sakmar and Kerry Lenhart, co-creators of Mr. & Mrs. Smith the series, Kingdom Business is centered around the reigning Queen of Gospel Denita Jordan, and her ex-producer/songwriter/lover, Caesar, who created her sound and launched her career. Denita, who also runs an in-house record label and megachurch, is determined to guard her family and its many secrets at all costs to retain her place on the throne. Things seem to be unfolding in Denita’s favor until an unsuspecting young woman on the rise with a checkered past enters the scene.
- 8/23/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Breakthrough and Miracles From Heaven producer DeVon Franklin and his Franklin Entertainment are developing a feature film based on Michael Todd’s New York Times bestseller Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex with Amazon Studios. Michael Elliot (Brown Sugar) and Cory Tynan (Woman Thou Art Loosed) will write the script.
Relationship Goals is a candid, inspiring guide to finding lasting love and sustaining a healthy relationship that encourages readers to get real about their goals. The book is based on Todd’s viral, multimillion-view sermon series about dating, marriage and sex. Relationship Goals spent 13 straight weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list and debuted at No. 1 on Amazon. The musical single “Relationship Goals (Revelation)” reached No. 10 on Billboard’s R&b chart.
Franklin is producing the project under his Franklin Entertainment. Katarina Hicks will oversee for the project for the company.
Franklin has a first-look deal at Paramount Pictures.
Relationship Goals is a candid, inspiring guide to finding lasting love and sustaining a healthy relationship that encourages readers to get real about their goals. The book is based on Todd’s viral, multimillion-view sermon series about dating, marriage and sex. Relationship Goals spent 13 straight weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list and debuted at No. 1 on Amazon. The musical single “Relationship Goals (Revelation)” reached No. 10 on Billboard’s R&b chart.
Franklin is producing the project under his Franklin Entertainment. Katarina Hicks will oversee for the project for the company.
Franklin has a first-look deal at Paramount Pictures.
- 8/10/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“Corba Kai” breakout Xolo Maridueña is in talks to star in the lead role of Jaime Reyes in “Blue Beetle” for HBO Max, Warner Bros. and DC Films first superhero movie starring a Latino character, TheWrap has exclusively learned.
“Charm City Kings” director Angel Manuel Soto is set to direct.
The screenplay is from Mexican-born writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, who wrote Universal’s “Scarface” remake and Sony’s “Miss Bala.”
In DC Comics, Blue Beetle is the superhero alter ego used by three different heroes, but the film will focus on Mexican-American teenager Jaime Reyes, the third character to assume the Blue Beetle mantle.
While DC has had Latino characters in its movie universe,, and cast Latina Sasha Calle to play Supergirl in “The Flash,” this will be the first stand-alone title to feature a Latino lead. Also of note, “In the Heights” breakout star Leslie Grace, who is Dominican American,...
“Charm City Kings” director Angel Manuel Soto is set to direct.
The screenplay is from Mexican-born writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, who wrote Universal’s “Scarface” remake and Sony’s “Miss Bala.”
In DC Comics, Blue Beetle is the superhero alter ego used by three different heroes, but the film will focus on Mexican-American teenager Jaime Reyes, the third character to assume the Blue Beetle mantle.
While DC has had Latino characters in its movie universe,, and cast Latina Sasha Calle to play Supergirl in “The Flash,” this will be the first stand-alone title to feature a Latino lead. Also of note, “In the Heights” breakout star Leslie Grace, who is Dominican American,...
- 8/2/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Prentice Penny has exited his overall deal at HBO and signed a new multiyear pact with Disney General Entertainment’s Onyx Collective, the studio said Monday.
Per Onyx Collective, “Under the terms of the agreement, Penny will produce, write and direct new projects through his production company, A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment, across all Disney platforms, including Hulu, which serves as the primary home for Onyx Collective titles.”
Penny and A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment will have the ability to develop projects that he would produce, write and/or direct himself, as well as develop and supervise projects from other writers, according to the “Insecure” showrunner’s new home studio. A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment President and Partner, Chris Pollack, will continue in his role, leading the company alongside Penny under the new deal. The company’s development team, led by Alex Soler, will also make the move,...
Per Onyx Collective, “Under the terms of the agreement, Penny will produce, write and direct new projects through his production company, A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment, across all Disney platforms, including Hulu, which serves as the primary home for Onyx Collective titles.”
Penny and A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment will have the ability to develop projects that he would produce, write and/or direct himself, as well as develop and supervise projects from other writers, according to the “Insecure” showrunner’s new home studio. A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment President and Partner, Chris Pollack, will continue in his role, leading the company alongside Penny under the new deal. The company’s development team, led by Alex Soler, will also make the move,...
- 8/2/2021
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny has struck a high-end, multi-year overall deal with Disney General Entertainment’s Onyx Collective.
It will see Penny and his A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment company develop and produce projects for all Disney platforms, including Hulu, which serves as the primary home to Onyx projects. Terms have not been disclosed but according to sources, it is for four years and well into the eight figures.
Penny will develop projects that he will produce, write and/or direct himself as well as develop and supervise other writers. The agreement will see A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment to continue to create and champion premium comedy, drama and late-night series, while also expanding their work into new areas of content.
He is the latest top-tier talent to sign with the fledgling brand; Ryan Coogler’s Proximity will produce all non-Marvel titles through Onyx and Penny’s Insecure...
It will see Penny and his A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment company develop and produce projects for all Disney platforms, including Hulu, which serves as the primary home to Onyx projects. Terms have not been disclosed but according to sources, it is for four years and well into the eight figures.
Penny will develop projects that he will produce, write and/or direct himself as well as develop and supervise other writers. The agreement will see A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment to continue to create and champion premium comedy, drama and late-night series, while also expanding their work into new areas of content.
He is the latest top-tier talent to sign with the fledgling brand; Ryan Coogler’s Proximity will produce all non-Marvel titles through Onyx and Penny’s Insecure...
- 8/2/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Peabody and Golden Globe winner Prentice Penny has signed a new eight-figure, multi-year overall deal with Disney General Entertainment’s Onyx Collective.
Under the new deal, Penny will produce, write and direct new projects through his A Penny for Your Thoughts Entertainment banner across Disney platforms, including Hulu, which is the primary home for Onyx Collective titles.
“I could not be more excited to partner with Onyx Collective for the next phase of my career,” Penny said in statement announcing the new deal. “The second I sat down with Dana [Walden, chairman of entertainment at Walt Disney Television] and Tara [Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective] I knew I wanted to work with them and make this my new home. To be at the ground floor of what Tara and the entire Onyx Collective team wants to be is an honor.”
In addition to the projects Penny helms himself, A Penny for Your Thoughts Entertainment will also...
Under the new deal, Penny will produce, write and direct new projects through his A Penny for Your Thoughts Entertainment banner across Disney platforms, including Hulu, which is the primary home for Onyx Collective titles.
“I could not be more excited to partner with Onyx Collective for the next phase of my career,” Penny said in statement announcing the new deal. “The second I sat down with Dana [Walden, chairman of entertainment at Walt Disney Television] and Tara [Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective] I knew I wanted to work with them and make this my new home. To be at the ground floor of what Tara and the entire Onyx Collective team wants to be is an honor.”
In addition to the projects Penny helms himself, A Penny for Your Thoughts Entertainment will also...
- 8/2/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Marjan Kamali’s novel The Stationery Shop, which tells the story of star-crossed lovers in 1953 Tehran, is getting a television adaptation at HBO.
Prentice Penny’s A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment has teamed up with writer and actress Mozhan Marnò and author Kamali for the small-screen adaptation.
The book, which was published in 2019, tells story of teenagers Roya and Bahman, star-crossed lovers in 1953 Tehran, who are separated on the eve of their marriage by the dramatic events of a coup d’etat that changes the course of history. Sixty years later, an accident of fate leads Roya and Bahman back to each other in the United States and offers them a chance to examine the ghosts of their youth and learn the truth about the fateful day that changed their destiny.
Marnò, who has appeared in House of Cards and The Blacklist and will feature in Hulu’s...
Prentice Penny’s A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment has teamed up with writer and actress Mozhan Marnò and author Kamali for the small-screen adaptation.
The book, which was published in 2019, tells story of teenagers Roya and Bahman, star-crossed lovers in 1953 Tehran, who are separated on the eve of their marriage by the dramatic events of a coup d’etat that changes the course of history. Sixty years later, an accident of fate leads Roya and Bahman back to each other in the United States and offers them a chance to examine the ghosts of their youth and learn the truth about the fateful day that changed their destiny.
Marnò, who has appeared in House of Cards and The Blacklist and will feature in Hulu’s...
- 7/16/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO has put in development a half-hour series based on Vanessa R. Panfil’s book The Gang’s All Queer: The Lives of Gay Gang Members, from Jaboukie Young-White (The Daily Show) and Issa Rae and her Hoorae productions.
Written by Young-White, in the Untitled Gang’s All Queer Project, grieving a gang-related death, a closeted twenty-something in Chicago ditches college to find reckless closure.
The Gang’s All Queer book was published in 2017 by New York University Press.
Young-White executive produces with Rae and Montrel McKay for Hoorae and Jonathan Berry, Olivia Gerke and Dave Becky for 3 Arts. Hoorae’s Sara Rastogi serves as co-executive producer.
The project falls under Rae’s overall deal with her Hoorae media label at WarnerMedia.
Young-White, a stand-up comic, joined The Daily Show in 2018 as Senior Youth Correspondent. He has written for Netflix’s American Vandal and served as story editor on season...
Written by Young-White, in the Untitled Gang’s All Queer Project, grieving a gang-related death, a closeted twenty-something in Chicago ditches college to find reckless closure.
The Gang’s All Queer book was published in 2017 by New York University Press.
Young-White executive produces with Rae and Montrel McKay for Hoorae and Jonathan Berry, Olivia Gerke and Dave Becky for 3 Arts. Hoorae’s Sara Rastogi serves as co-executive producer.
The project falls under Rae’s overall deal with her Hoorae media label at WarnerMedia.
Young-White, a stand-up comic, joined The Daily Show in 2018 as Senior Youth Correspondent. He has written for Netflix’s American Vandal and served as story editor on season...
- 6/10/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Jaboukie Young-White is set to develop the book “The Gang’s All Queer: The Lives of Gay Gang Members” by Vanessa R. Panfil at HBO with Issa Rae attached as an executive producer.
In the half-hour series, a closeted twenty-something in Chicago, grieving a gang-related death, ditches college to find reckless closure.
Young-White will write and executive produce the project. Rae will executive produce under her Hoorae banner along with Montrel McKay. Hoorae’s Sara Rastogi will co-executive produce. Jonathan Berry, Olivia Gerke, and Dave Becky of 3 Arts will also executive produce. Variety exclusively reported in March that Rae and Hoorae had signed a sizable new overall deal with WarnerMedia.
Young-White broke out when his Twitter and Instagram posts began going viral. He is an accomplished stand up comedian and has written for shows such as “Big Mouth” and “American Vandal” at Netflix. He is also known for his work...
In the half-hour series, a closeted twenty-something in Chicago, grieving a gang-related death, ditches college to find reckless closure.
Young-White will write and executive produce the project. Rae will executive produce under her Hoorae banner along with Montrel McKay. Hoorae’s Sara Rastogi will co-executive produce. Jonathan Berry, Olivia Gerke, and Dave Becky of 3 Arts will also executive produce. Variety exclusively reported in March that Rae and Hoorae had signed a sizable new overall deal with WarnerMedia.
Young-White broke out when his Twitter and Instagram posts began going viral. He is an accomplished stand up comedian and has written for shows such as “Big Mouth” and “American Vandal” at Netflix. He is also known for his work...
- 6/10/2021
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Chris Pollack is segueing out of management and joining long-time client Prentice Penny’s A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment as President and Partner.
With Pollack transitioning into his new role, Penny has re-teamed with his former agent-turned-manager Theresa Kang-Lowe, bringing the well-respected rep and her company Blue Marble Management on board to manage Penny and A Penny For Your Thoughts.
In the newly created President role, Pollack will work alongside Penny overseeing all aspects of the A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment’s creative endeavors in film, television and alternative entertainment. The move marks an evolution in Penny and Pollack’s longstanding business relationship, which began with Pollack serving as Penny’s manager and later expanded into a decade-long producing partnership.
Pollack’s hire comes amid an expansion of A Penny For Your Thoughts’ film and television slate over the past several years. The company’s executive ranks also include Alex Soler,...
With Pollack transitioning into his new role, Penny has re-teamed with his former agent-turned-manager Theresa Kang-Lowe, bringing the well-respected rep and her company Blue Marble Management on board to manage Penny and A Penny For Your Thoughts.
In the newly created President role, Pollack will work alongside Penny overseeing all aspects of the A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment’s creative endeavors in film, television and alternative entertainment. The move marks an evolution in Penny and Pollack’s longstanding business relationship, which began with Pollack serving as Penny’s manager and later expanded into a decade-long producing partnership.
Pollack’s hire comes amid an expansion of A Penny For Your Thoughts’ film and television slate over the past several years. The company’s executive ranks also include Alex Soler,...
- 6/4/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Issa Rae will lend her voice for Sony Pictures Animation’s sequel to the studio’s Oscar-winning feature, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” to be directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.
The sequel to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is set to release in theaters on Oct. 7, 2022. Plot details are being kept under wraps however, it is being reported that Rae will voice Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman.
The original “Spider-Verse” film from 2018 was critically acclaimed for its animation style and story, which followed Shameik Moore as the voice of Miles Morales, who becomes the next Spider-Man and recruits the help of a lazier Peter Parker from another universe along with an array of other Spider-Men and even Spider-Pigs.
Returning as producers on the new “Spider-Verse” are Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad and Christina Steinberg. Alonzo Ruvalcaba will co-produce.
The sequel to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is set to release in theaters on Oct. 7, 2022. Plot details are being kept under wraps however, it is being reported that Rae will voice Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman.
The original “Spider-Verse” film from 2018 was critically acclaimed for its animation style and story, which followed Shameik Moore as the voice of Miles Morales, who becomes the next Spider-Man and recruits the help of a lazier Peter Parker from another universe along with an array of other Spider-Men and even Spider-Pigs.
Returning as producers on the new “Spider-Verse” are Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad and Christina Steinberg. Alonzo Ruvalcaba will co-produce.
- 6/4/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Devon Greggory, showrunner and writer of Paramount+’s newly greenlit series revival of The Game, has signed a multi-year overall deal with CBS Studios, the studio behind the half-hour dramedy. Under the pact, via his production shingle The Inphiniti Company, Greggory will write, direct and produce content for CBS, Paramount+, The CW and various ViacomCBS-owned platforms.
Greggory wrote and will executive produce The Game reboot with original series creator Mara Brock Akil, Salim Akil and original executive producer Kelsey Grammer and Tom Russo of Grammnet Nh Productions. Original cast members Wendy Raquel Robinson and Hosea Chanchez are returning to reprise their roles.
Greggory has penned two produced features, Sacred and Hair Show, written several pilots including, Black Wall Street, an event series about the Tulsa Race Riots, for HBO Max and Marlowe, a music-driven Pi drama executive produced by Aaron Kaplan for The CW.
His credits also include...
Greggory wrote and will executive produce The Game reboot with original series creator Mara Brock Akil, Salim Akil and original executive producer Kelsey Grammer and Tom Russo of Grammnet Nh Productions. Original cast members Wendy Raquel Robinson and Hosea Chanchez are returning to reprise their roles.
Greggory has penned two produced features, Sacred and Hair Show, written several pilots including, Black Wall Street, an event series about the Tulsa Race Riots, for HBO Max and Marlowe, a music-driven Pi drama executive produced by Aaron Kaplan for The CW.
His credits also include...
- 5/14/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: As HBO’s Insecure heads into its fifth and final season, showrunner and executive producer Prentice Penny has lined up his latest project at HBO. The premium cabler has put in development a single-camera half-hour comedy from Penny and his A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment and Janine Nabers (Atlanta).
Written by Penny and Nabers, in the Untitled Prentice Penny/Janine Nabers Project, convicted felon T.R. “The Brick” Johnson who once was one of America’s most beloved athletes, grovels at the feet of America and charms his way back into our hearts.
Penny and Nabers executive produce with Chris Pollack (Upscale with Prentice Penny). Alex Soler (Queens) is co-executive producer.
Penny’s A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment is behind the upcoming late-night talk series Pause with Sam Jay, which premieres on HBO on May 21. It’s also wrapping up the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated series Insecure at HBO,...
Written by Penny and Nabers, in the Untitled Prentice Penny/Janine Nabers Project, convicted felon T.R. “The Brick” Johnson who once was one of America’s most beloved athletes, grovels at the feet of America and charms his way back into our hearts.
Penny and Nabers executive produce with Chris Pollack (Upscale with Prentice Penny). Alex Soler (Queens) is co-executive producer.
Penny’s A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment is behind the upcoming late-night talk series Pause with Sam Jay, which premieres on HBO on May 21. It’s also wrapping up the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated series Insecure at HBO,...
- 5/5/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Issa Rae is sticking with HBO.
Rae has reupped her commitment, inking an new five-year overall deal that brings her Hoorae media label in partnership with WarnerMedia. The pact gives HBO, HBO Max and Warner Bros. television exclusive rights to Rae’s work in TV, plus a first-look film deal that spans WarnerMedia brands, including Warner Bros. Pictures Group, New Line and HBO Max.
Rae previously signed an two-year overall deal with HBO in 2016, ahead of the debut of “Insecure,” renewing the pact in 2018 for three more years.
“It’s really exciting to have that flexibility and just deepen the relationship that we already have,” Rae tells Variety as part of the magazine’s March cover feature. “Hoorae already had at least 15 projects in various stages of development with them, so we’d been working with them on the drama side, the unscripted side, and the documentaries side for a couple years now.
Rae has reupped her commitment, inking an new five-year overall deal that brings her Hoorae media label in partnership with WarnerMedia. The pact gives HBO, HBO Max and Warner Bros. television exclusive rights to Rae’s work in TV, plus a first-look film deal that spans WarnerMedia brands, including Warner Bros. Pictures Group, New Line and HBO Max.
Rae previously signed an two-year overall deal with HBO in 2016, ahead of the debut of “Insecure,” renewing the pact in 2018 for three more years.
“It’s really exciting to have that flexibility and just deepen the relationship that we already have,” Rae tells Variety as part of the magazine’s March cover feature. “Hoorae already had at least 15 projects in various stages of development with them, so we’d been working with them on the drama side, the unscripted side, and the documentaries side for a couple years now.
- 3/24/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Y’lan Noel has been cast as Dan Freeman, the protagonist in the FX adaptation of Sam Greenlee’s spy novel, “The Spook Who Sat By the Door,” which is being executive produced by Lee Daniels. The project is in pilot production at the premium cabler.
In “Spook,” the fictional Freeman is the first Black CIA officer hired by the agency in the late 1960s, who has trained in high-level combat and espionage. He is described as “a patriot, a Vietnam vet, and secretly, a Black Revolutionary.”
Noel, known for playing Daniel in Issa Rae’s “Insecure” on HBO, was most recently in the Stella Maghie romantic drama “The Photograph” from Universal Pictures last year alongside Rae, Lakeith Stanfield and Chelsea Peretti. He can also be seen in the upcoming Mo McRae-directed “A Lot of Nothing” opposite Cleopatra Coleman and Lex Scott Davis. Noel was previously in Meghie’s indie...
In “Spook,” the fictional Freeman is the first Black CIA officer hired by the agency in the late 1960s, who has trained in high-level combat and espionage. He is described as “a patriot, a Vietnam vet, and secretly, a Black Revolutionary.”
Noel, known for playing Daniel in Issa Rae’s “Insecure” on HBO, was most recently in the Stella Maghie romantic drama “The Photograph” from Universal Pictures last year alongside Rae, Lakeith Stanfield and Chelsea Peretti. He can also be seen in the upcoming Mo McRae-directed “A Lot of Nothing” opposite Cleopatra Coleman and Lex Scott Davis. Noel was previously in Meghie’s indie...
- 3/22/2021
- by Elaine Low
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Writer Syreeta Singleton is expanding her relationship with HBO and HBO Max, signing a one-year overall deal with the premium cabler and streaming platform. Under the pact, Singleton will develop new material for the networks and showrun the upcoming HBO Max series, Rap Sh*t.
Rap Sh*t is a half-hour comedy from Insecure co-creator Issa Rae and her Hoorae Productions and City Girls hip hop duo Yung Miami and Jt. It follows two estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap group.
Singleton most recently wrote on HBO’s Insecure. Her other writing credits include Showtime’s Black Monday and Apple TV+’s Central Park.
Singleton is repped by UTA, ColorCreative and attorney John Meigs at Hansen Jacobson.
Rap Sh*t is a half-hour comedy from Insecure co-creator Issa Rae and her Hoorae Productions and City Girls hip hop duo Yung Miami and Jt. It follows two estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap group.
Singleton most recently wrote on HBO’s Insecure. Her other writing credits include Showtime’s Black Monday and Apple TV+’s Central Park.
Singleton is repped by UTA, ColorCreative and attorney John Meigs at Hansen Jacobson.
- 3/18/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The Wonder Years has found its new Kevin Arnold. Elisha “Ej” Williams has been tapped to star as Dean, the new Kevin in ABC’s The Wonder Years single-camera comedy reboot pilot, from Dave exec producer Saladin Patterson, Fred Savage and Empire co-creator Lee Daniels.
Savage, who played Kevin in the original dramedy series, has officially passed the torch to a new generation. You can watch of clip of Savage and Patterson delivering the good news to Williams below.
Written by Patterson and directed by Savage, the reboot of the classic 1980s family comedy-drama is set in the same era as the original. It looks at how the Williamses, a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Al, in the turbulent late 1960s made sure it was the Wonder Years for them too.
Williams’ Dean is an inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old kid coming of age in a turbulent time. It’s 1968 in Montgomery,...
Savage, who played Kevin in the original dramedy series, has officially passed the torch to a new generation. You can watch of clip of Savage and Patterson delivering the good news to Williams below.
Written by Patterson and directed by Savage, the reboot of the classic 1980s family comedy-drama is set in the same era as the original. It looks at how the Williamses, a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Al, in the turbulent late 1960s made sure it was the Wonder Years for them too.
Williams’ Dean is an inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old kid coming of age in a turbulent time. It’s 1968 in Montgomery,...
- 3/15/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Elisha “Ej” Williams has been cast in the main role of “The Wonder Years” pilot at ABC, Variety has learned.
The project will show how a black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama in the turbulent late 1960s, made sure it was The Wonder Years for them too.
Williams will star in the role of Dean, described as an inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old kid coming of age in a turbulent time. It’s 1968 in Montgomery, Alabama and Dean is trying to figure out his place within his Black family and the world at large. Though a little insecure, a tad awkward and a bit self-conscious, he is determined to make his mark on the world around him.
Fred Savage, who played the lead in the original “Wonder Years,” broke the news to Williams via Zoom, which can be seen above.
Williams most recently lent his voice to the Disney Jr. animated series “Puppy Dog Pals.
The project will show how a black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama in the turbulent late 1960s, made sure it was The Wonder Years for them too.
Williams will star in the role of Dean, described as an inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old kid coming of age in a turbulent time. It’s 1968 in Montgomery, Alabama and Dean is trying to figure out his place within his Black family and the world at large. Though a little insecure, a tad awkward and a bit self-conscious, he is determined to make his mark on the world around him.
Fred Savage, who played the lead in the original “Wonder Years,” broke the news to Williams via Zoom, which can be seen above.
Williams most recently lent his voice to the Disney Jr. animated series “Puppy Dog Pals.
- 3/15/2021
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
In a competitive situation, ABC Signature has optioned Rebekah Taussig’s memoir Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body.
It will be developed for television by ABC Signature and studio-based Mandeville Films and director-producer Randall Einhorn’s Sad Unicorn banner. Taussig will co-write the adaptation with another writer. She will executive produce, along with Laurie Zaks, David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman from Mandeville Films as well as Einhorn, who is attached to direct. Jeremy Stern and Lea Cuello will oversee on behalf of Sad Unicorn and Mandeville, respectively.
Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body was published in August 2020 by HarperOne. Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the 90s and early 2000s, Taussig only saw disability depicted as something monstrous (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), inspirational (Helen Keller), or angelic (Forrest Gump). None of this felt right; and as she got older, she...
It will be developed for television by ABC Signature and studio-based Mandeville Films and director-producer Randall Einhorn’s Sad Unicorn banner. Taussig will co-write the adaptation with another writer. She will executive produce, along with Laurie Zaks, David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman from Mandeville Films as well as Einhorn, who is attached to direct. Jeremy Stern and Lea Cuello will oversee on behalf of Sad Unicorn and Mandeville, respectively.
Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body was published in August 2020 by HarperOne. Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the 90s and early 2000s, Taussig only saw disability depicted as something monstrous (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), inspirational (Helen Keller), or angelic (Forrest Gump). None of this felt right; and as she got older, she...
- 3/4/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
We're very excited to see that Aisha Tyler, who recently completed directing an episode of Fear the Walking Dead, is going to be helming Silent John, with plans for production to begin this summer:
"Hidden Empire Film Group (Hefg) announced today that actor/director Aisha Tyler has been tapped to direct the upcoming film Silent John. Production is set to begin in Summer 2021 and will take place in County Galway, Ireland. Casting will begin soon.
A young couple comes to stay at a rustic B&b in Ireland in the weeks before their first child is born. At first charmed by their Irish host, they soon discover he and his mute groundskeeper share a viciously harrowing secret. Soon they cannot discern friend from foe, and their dream getaway becomes a nightmare they cannot escape. Fueled by the historic abuses of the Catholic church against unwed mothers, this socially conscious psychological...
"Hidden Empire Film Group (Hefg) announced today that actor/director Aisha Tyler has been tapped to direct the upcoming film Silent John. Production is set to begin in Summer 2021 and will take place in County Galway, Ireland. Casting will begin soon.
A young couple comes to stay at a rustic B&b in Ireland in the weeks before their first child is born. At first charmed by their Irish host, they soon discover he and his mute groundskeeper share a viciously harrowing secret. Soon they cannot discern friend from foe, and their dream getaway becomes a nightmare they cannot escape. Fueled by the historic abuses of the Catholic church against unwed mothers, this socially conscious psychological...
- 3/3/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
“Criminal Minds” and “Fear the Walking Dead” star Aisha Tyler is set to direct a psychological thriller called “Silent John” that will begin filming this summer.
“Silent John” is Tyler’s second feature after “Axis” from 2017. The new film is set in County Galway, Ireland, and casting will begin soon.
The film follows a young couple who visit a rustic B&b in Ireland ahead of the birth of their first child, only to discover that their host and his mute groundskeeper share a viciously harrowing secret. Emmett Hughes wrote the script for the socially conscious thriller, which focuses on the historic abuses of the Catholic church against unwed mothers and explores how a man gets lost between his faith, the church and his own sanity.
“Silent John” is a production of Hidden Empire Film Group. Tyler developed the film along with John Doherty and David Jacobson. Hefg’s Roxanne...
“Silent John” is Tyler’s second feature after “Axis” from 2017. The new film is set in County Galway, Ireland, and casting will begin soon.
The film follows a young couple who visit a rustic B&b in Ireland ahead of the birth of their first child, only to discover that their host and his mute groundskeeper share a viciously harrowing secret. Emmett Hughes wrote the script for the socially conscious thriller, which focuses on the historic abuses of the Catholic church against unwed mothers and explores how a man gets lost between his faith, the church and his own sanity.
“Silent John” is a production of Hidden Empire Film Group. Tyler developed the film along with John Doherty and David Jacobson. Hefg’s Roxanne...
- 3/2/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Aisha Tyler has signed with CAA for representation.
Multi-hyphenate Tyler, host of the CW’s Whose Line Is It Anyway, is known for her acting turns on Friends, 24 and Criminal Minds. She has voiced the character of Lana for 11 seasons on Fxx’s Emmy Award-winning animated series, Archer, and is currently recording season 12. She is also providing her voice talents to the upcoming Disney+ series, Monsters at Work.
Behind the camera, Tyler is currently directing AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead. She received critical acclaim for her feature directorial debut, Axis, an indie psychological thriller that won awards at numerous festivals. She also has directed episodes of Criminal Minds and The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico.
Tyler has hosted The CW’s reboot of Whose Line Is It Anyway? since 2013, contributing to the network’s highest unscripted debut in five years. She was twice-nominated for a Daytime Emmy award,...
Multi-hyphenate Tyler, host of the CW’s Whose Line Is It Anyway, is known for her acting turns on Friends, 24 and Criminal Minds. She has voiced the character of Lana for 11 seasons on Fxx’s Emmy Award-winning animated series, Archer, and is currently recording season 12. She is also providing her voice talents to the upcoming Disney+ series, Monsters at Work.
Behind the camera, Tyler is currently directing AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead. She received critical acclaim for her feature directorial debut, Axis, an indie psychological thriller that won awards at numerous festivals. She also has directed episodes of Criminal Minds and The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico.
Tyler has hosted The CW’s reboot of Whose Line Is It Anyway? since 2013, contributing to the network’s highest unscripted debut in five years. She was twice-nominated for a Daytime Emmy award,...
- 2/22/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Sony Pictures has closed a deal to acquire rights to Tracy Yvonne Productions’ reunion comedy Homecoming. Pic will be written by Tracy Oliver, Kevin A. Garnett & Dewayne Perkins. Oliver and Joy Ganes are producing.
Homecoming is based on an original pitch, the project born out of a virtual roundtable at Sony Pictures that Oliver led, which included a group of comedy writers. The film re-teams Oliver with both Garnett and 3Peat comedy troupe member Dewayne Perkins. Garnett, currently a supervising producer for the CW series Republic of Sarah, wrote Made In America with Oliver at Paramount. With Perkins, Oliver is currently developing The Blackening, a feature for MRC based on a Comedy Central short that originated from a variety show sketch Perkins wrote at Second City Chicago.
Perkins is a WGA-nominated writer whose writing credits include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Amber Ruffin Show and Saved by the Bell.
Garnett is represented by Artists First,...
Homecoming is based on an original pitch, the project born out of a virtual roundtable at Sony Pictures that Oliver led, which included a group of comedy writers. The film re-teams Oliver with both Garnett and 3Peat comedy troupe member Dewayne Perkins. Garnett, currently a supervising producer for the CW series Republic of Sarah, wrote Made In America with Oliver at Paramount. With Perkins, Oliver is currently developing The Blackening, a feature for MRC based on a Comedy Central short that originated from a variety show sketch Perkins wrote at Second City Chicago.
Perkins is a WGA-nominated writer whose writing credits include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Amber Ruffin Show and Saved by the Bell.
Garnett is represented by Artists First,...
- 2/17/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
UTA has signed Xolo Maridueña, who plays Miguel Diaz in Cobrai Kai, The Karate Kid sequel series.
Maridueña, who also featured in NBC drama Parenthood, has signed with agency in all areas.
This comes as Maridueña is set to star in season three of the karate drama, which has moved from YouTube to Netflix. The series, in which he plays Diaz, the top student at the Cobra Kai Dojo, recently debuted its first two seasons on Netflix following the shift and will launch the third season in January.
On Parenthood, which aired for six seasons on NBC between 2010 and 2015, he played Victor Graham, the adopted son of Erika Christensen’s Julia Braverman-Graham and Sam Jaeger’s Joel Graham.
His other television credits include guest roles on Major Crimes, Twin Peaks, Rush Hour and Mack and Moxy.
In film, he featured in Dealin’ with Idiots, directed and starring Jeff Garlin alongside...
Maridueña, who also featured in NBC drama Parenthood, has signed with agency in all areas.
This comes as Maridueña is set to star in season three of the karate drama, which has moved from YouTube to Netflix. The series, in which he plays Diaz, the top student at the Cobra Kai Dojo, recently debuted its first two seasons on Netflix following the shift and will launch the third season in January.
On Parenthood, which aired for six seasons on NBC between 2010 and 2015, he played Victor Graham, the adopted son of Erika Christensen’s Julia Braverman-Graham and Sam Jaeger’s Joel Graham.
His other television credits include guest roles on Major Crimes, Twin Peaks, Rush Hour and Mack and Moxy.
In film, he featured in Dealin’ with Idiots, directed and starring Jeff Garlin alongside...
- 11/18/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Erik Feig’s Picturestart and Mike Jackson and John Legend’s production company Get Lifted Film Co. are teaming to bring the critically acclaimed S.A. Cosby novel “Blacktop Wasteland” to the big screen.
The former Lionsgate film honcho and the Egot-chasing Legend have tapped “Mudbound” co-screenwriter Virgil Williams. who was nominated for an Academy Award for the Netflix original film, to adapt the heist drama.
Jessica Switch and Royce Reeves-Darby are overseeing for Picturestart, with MacKenzie Marlowe for Get Lifted Film Co., and Ty Stiklorius serving as executive producer.
“Blacktop” follows Beauregard “Bug” Montage, a hardworking family man in the American South, who happens to be a most skilled driver for people up to no good. As Bug tries to go legit, the pangs of the straight-and-narrow weigh on him — a rival auto business lures his customers away, his daughter eyes a fancy college, his wife eager to upgrade from their mobile home.
The former Lionsgate film honcho and the Egot-chasing Legend have tapped “Mudbound” co-screenwriter Virgil Williams. who was nominated for an Academy Award for the Netflix original film, to adapt the heist drama.
Jessica Switch and Royce Reeves-Darby are overseeing for Picturestart, with MacKenzie Marlowe for Get Lifted Film Co., and Ty Stiklorius serving as executive producer.
“Blacktop” follows Beauregard “Bug” Montage, a hardworking family man in the American South, who happens to be a most skilled driver for people up to no good. As Bug tries to go legit, the pangs of the straight-and-narrow weigh on him — a rival auto business lures his customers away, his daughter eyes a fancy college, his wife eager to upgrade from their mobile home.
- 10/27/2020
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Sam Jay is getting a weekly late-night show on HBO.
The Saturday Night Live writer will host the currently untitled show starting in 2021. It will be exec produced by Insecure’s Prentice Penny.
Jay joined the writing staff of the NBC comedy in October 2017 and Jay’s first hour-long comedy special, 3 In The Morning, was released on Netflix in August 2020.
The 30-minute show, which joins Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in the weekly late-night space on the premium cable network, will see Jay tackle the top trending topics in urban and world culture for the week – including race, politics, sexual identity, science, celebrity, religion, and more – and examines them from her unique and subversive point of view.
The series will be executive produced by Jay, Penny for A Penny For Your Thoughts, Chris Pollack and David Martin and Kara Baker for Avalon. Alex Soler will also serve as co-executive...
The Saturday Night Live writer will host the currently untitled show starting in 2021. It will be exec produced by Insecure’s Prentice Penny.
Jay joined the writing staff of the NBC comedy in October 2017 and Jay’s first hour-long comedy special, 3 In The Morning, was released on Netflix in August 2020.
The 30-minute show, which joins Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in the weekly late-night space on the premium cable network, will see Jay tackle the top trending topics in urban and world culture for the week – including race, politics, sexual identity, science, celebrity, religion, and more – and examines them from her unique and subversive point of view.
The series will be executive produced by Jay, Penny for A Penny For Your Thoughts, Chris Pollack and David Martin and Kara Baker for Avalon. Alex Soler will also serve as co-executive...
- 9/29/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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