Neuigkeiten

Exclusive: Christopher Lowell (Promising Young Woman), Jeanine Mason (Upload), and Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) have wrapped on the Colorado production of The Man Who Changed the World, a drama spanning generations that’s inspired by the story of visionary entrepreneur Lawrence “Bud” Stoecker.

In the film directed by Greg Pritikin (The Last Laugh), Lowell and Mason play a young couple navigating the trials of marriage, parenthood, and personal legacy. Shawn co-stars as legendary futurist and systems theorist Buckminster Fuller, the architect of the geodesic dome, whose philosophies echo through the picture. The story spans the 1940s, 1960s, and present day, with Illeana Douglas (Goodfellas), Fred Stoller (Everybody Loves Raymond), Ted Lange (The Love Boat), and Matt Wood (Saturday Night) rounding out the cast.

“This is a story about how one family’s spirit of invention, resilience, and love rippled through generations,” Pritikin told us. “We’re thrilled to bring...

Rock fans are in luck: This week’s digital releases involve Sonic Youth, Indigo Girls, and The Beatles. Get ready for a toe-tapping triple feature.

The contender to watch this week: “Uncropped”

A perfect companion piece to “The Freaks Came Out to Write,” Tricia Romano‘s new book about the history of The Village Voice, “Uncropped” profiles one of the iconoclastic newspaper’s signature photographers. James Hamilton captured the streets of New York, musicians like Patti Smith and the Beastie Boys, wartime conflicts in China and the Philippines, and production stills for the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and Wes Anderson. His juicy career is detailed in this unconventional documentary directed by D.W. Young (“The Booksellers”), who stages a handful of intimate conversations between Hamilton and his collaborators, including Anderson and Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore. Following a limited theatrical release in April, “Uncropped” is available on VOD.

Other contenders:...

If you’ve been anywhere near a television in the last couple of years, odds are you’re already familiar with Dominic Burgess. The British actor broke through in 2017’s “Feud: Bette and Joan” as actor Victor Buono, before popping up in a number of memorable appearances — playing everything from serial killer John Wayne Gacy in “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” to an accident-prone man on “The Good Place” whose hideous red boots create an existential crisis for Chidi.

Most recently, the actor has been stealing scenes as Grayman, the stylist to the grande dames (including Kristen Wiig and Allison Janney) on Apple TV’s “Palm Royale” — and as Hamish Moss, a director on the rise on “American Horror Story: Delicate.” That is, he was on the rise before the April 3 episode, in which Moss met a gruesome death at the hands of Kim Kardashian’s devilish publicist.

Mila Kunis is set to star in 'The 47 Night Stand'.The 40-year-old actress will also produce Skydance's new movie, which is being written by 'Friends' and 'How I Met Your Mother' writer Greg Malins.As reported by Deadline, the film is still in its early stages with a synopsis and logline being kept closely under wraps for now.However, the outlet noted that it's been described as a "fresh and funny take on romance in the tradition of classic favorites".Kunis will serve as producer through her Orchard Farm Productions, along with Ruben Fleisher and Skydance trio David Eillson, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger.It won't be former 'That 70s Show' star's first foray into a big screen romantic comedy, having previously appeared in the likes of 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' and 'Friends With Benefits'.Her next movie role will be in indie comedy 'Goodrich',...

Exclusive: Jimmi Simpson (Pachinko) and Clancy Brown (Dexter: New Blood) have boarded Audrey’s Children — the biopic that Ami Canaan Mann (Texas Killing Fields) is directing for Amasia Entertainment (Wild Mountain Thyme) and Resonate Entertainment (Sitting in Bars with Cake) — with Brandon Micheal Hall (Search Party), Julianna Layne (Prodigal Son), Ben Chase (The Thing About Pam) and Evelyn Giovine (The Crowded Room) also signing on for roles.

The film currently in production in Philadelphia tells the story of Dr. Audrey Evans (Natalie Dormer), the revolutionary pediatric oncologist best known as the co-founder of Ronald McDonald House Charities — the world-famous organization that provides housing and support to millions of families in 62 countries around the world. Pic’s set in 1969 and follows her as she bursts onto the scene as the Chief of Pediatric Oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, when the survival rate for children with cancer was less than 10. In...

Wanda Sykes has a very specific memory of hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2009. “I shushed the first lady,” Sykes tells me, laughing. “I was sitting next to Michelle Obama and going over my notes, and she was trying to make conversation. I’m looking over my cards and I gave her like a look like, ‘Uhhh, don’t you see I’m working? Stop talking.’ ”

She tells this story to prove that she won’t be intimidated by the star wattage in the Dolby Theatre on March 27 when she makes her Academy Awards hosting debut alongside Amy Schumer and Regina Hall. “I don’t think I’ll get star-struck because I’m working,” she says. “When I’m focused and there to do a job, it’s all about getting the work done.”

It all began for Sykes 35 years ago when she was just 23 and performed her first...

Juliette Lewis has been tapped for a key role opposite Kumail Nanjiani and Murray Bartlett in the Hulu limited series Immigrant (working title), from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel.

Immigrant is the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Nanjiani), the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. The series will detail the insane, darkly comedic, crime-ridden story behind the unique male revue that became a cultural phenomenon.

Lewis will play the series regular role of Denise. Straight-talking, no-nonsense Denise goes from Chippendales groupie to loyal right-hand consigliere to its choreographer, Nick De Noia (Murray Bartlett). She looks after the New York club, as well as the Chippendales national tours, and weathers the increasingly volatile relationship between De Noia and Chippendales founder Steve Banerjee (Nanjiani).

The cast of Immigrant also includes Annaleigh Ashford as well as recurring/guest stars Quentin Plair, Andrew Rannells, Nicola Peltz.

Siegel and Nanjiani executive produce alongside Dylan Sellers,...

Exclusive: Matthew Modine is the latest addition to the cast of Christopher Nolan’s anticipated film Oppenheimer for Universal Pictures.

He joins an ensemble led by Cillian Murphy which will also feature Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Dane DeHaan and Jack Quaid, as previously announced.

In Nolan’s latest, which is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, Murphy will play the theoretical physicist of the same name, whose work on the Manhattan Project led to the invention of the atomic bomb. Details with regard to the character Modine is playing have not been disclosed.

Nolan is directing from his own script, with production taking place in New Mexico. He is also producing with Emma Thomas...

Apple TV Plus has greenlit “Mrs. American Pie,” a new comedy series starring Kristen Wiig. Laura Dern executive produces and is eyeing a key role.

Set in the early ‘70s, “Mrs. American Pie” follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) as she attempts to secure her place within the high society of Palm Beach. As she navigates the line between the haves and the have-nots, the series focuses on questions of who gets a seat at the table and what people will sacrifice to get there.

The series, which has received a 10-episode order, is based on Juliet McDaniel’s novel “Mr. & Mrs. American Pie.” Abe Sylvia will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Tate Taylor serves as director and executive produces with John Norris under their Wyolah Entertainment banner. Dern developed and will executive produce with Jayme Lemons under their Jaywalker Pictures banner. Katie O’Connell Marsh executive produces for Boat Rocker.

Beanie Feldstein, Regina Hall, and Naomi Watts will serve as the 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards announcers, Variety has exclusively learned. The three acclaimed actors will announce the best of independent cinema on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 7:00 am Pt on Film Independent’s YouTube channel.

The three actors will announce the nominees in the categories of best feature, first feature, director, screenplay, first screenplay, male lead, female lead, supporting male, supporting female, cinematography, editing, international film, documentary and John Cassavetes Award. In addition, they’ll also announce the recipients of the Robert Altman Award, which is given to a film’s cast.

The nominees for five television categories will also be announced, which include best new scripted series, new non-scripted or documentary series, male performance in a scripted series, female performance in a scripted series and ensemble cast in a scripted series.

Film Independent will continue to honor emerging filmmakers...

As the Hollywood blockbuster machine continues to dust itself off and release some early winter hits, Hulu is going in a bit of a different direction with its list of new releases for November 2021.

There are no big Hulu original films of note this month. Instead there’s a whole host of original series. The TV parade starts on Nov. 5 with the release of Animaniacs season 2. Also getting a second season this month is monarchal comedy The Great on Nov. 19. The most intriguing series, however, is animated Marvel comedy Marvel’s Hit Monkey. As its name so graciously implies, this is a show about a hit monkey…as in monkey assassin. Naturally the hit monkey is haunted by the ghost of Jason Sudeikis because it’s important that everything make sense.

Though Hulu doesn’t have any original movies in November, its list of library movie titles is quite vast.

Chris Lowell is set to star opposite Hilary Duff on Hulu’s “How I Met Your Mother” spinoff series, “How I Met Your Father,” TheWrap has learned.

Here’s the official description for the show, which received a straight-to-series order at the streaming service: In the near future, Sophie (Hilary Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.

Lowell will play Jesse, who is described as “smart, a bit of an edge and cynical about love. He’s an aspiring musician who works as an Uber driver to make ends meet and lives with his best friend Tom.

Matthew Modine is running for president of SAG-AFTRA again as the leader of Membership First, the union’s opposition party. Joely Fisher, a former national board member, is running for secretary treasurer as his running mate.

Modine was defeated for the presidency by Gabrielle Carteris in a highly contentious election in 2019. In that race, Carteris received 13,537 votes to Modine’s 10,683, with a third candidate, former SAG-AFTRA secretary-treasurer Jane Austin, receiving 5,048 votes. Only 21.2% of the union’s eligible members cast ballots last time.

“The union spends exorbitant amounts of our own members’ money attempting to convince us that our contracts have been successfully negotiated,” Modine said. “The truth is they fall far short of the economic conditions facing performers today. I’m running to ensure that each of the locals across the United States are truthfully and transparently represented.

“One of the biggest issues on the minds of our membership today...

WarnerMedia has partnered with the Black List on a program designed to open doors for writers from historically underrepresented communities by offering free access to the social media platform that showcases screenwriters.

WarnerMedia will work with HBCUs and range of established organizations to identify up to 600 writers who will receive vouchers to use Black List for a month and to receive a script evaluation from an industry professional. The Black List charges $30 a month for non-guild members to host a script on the platform, where it can be viewed by industry insiders, and $75 for an evaluation of a feature-length film script or hourlong TV pilot. Evaluations of half-hour pilot scripts run $50, per the Black List website.

The vouchers will be distributed by the partner organizations, described as entities that are focused on supporting talent from underrepresented backgrounds in Hollywood.

“In addition to helping WarnerMedia find extraordinary new writing talent, this...

Mila Kunis is set to star in Netflix’s film adaptation of “Luckiest Girl Alive,” which is based on author Jessica Knoll’s 2015 bestselling novel.

Mike Barker will direct the film, and Knoll herself is adapting the screenplay based on her book.

In “Luckiest Girl Alive,” Kunis will play Ani FaNelli, a sharp-tongued New Yorker who appears to have it all: a sought-after position at a glossy magazine, a killer wardrobe and a dream Nantucket wedding on the horizon. But when the director of a crime documentary invites her to tell her side of the shocking incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.

The book is told through Ani’s perspective and was heralded for its examination of the pressure faced by women to have it all and put on appearances,...

As the weeks go by and the pandemic begins to lift at a very, very glacial pace we are hearing some more coins drop into the bank of the specialty box office space.

Edward Hall’s adaptation of Noel Coward’s play Blithe Spirit is one of a handful of films that made its way to theaters and digital this weekend. The IFC Films pic starring Dan Stevens, Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann and Judi Dench had a noteworthy opening in 239 theaters across the U.S., grossing an estimated $98,100. The film also managed to hit Apple Movies’ indie movie chart. It also broke the top five in the comedies section top 10 overall. Not too shabby.

“Counter-programming the comedic Blithe Spirit has clearly connected with audiences on all platforms this weekend,” said Arianna Bocco, President, IFC Films of the film’s opening. “We’re looking forward to an ethereal run.”

Lionsgate’s...

When you have a group of actors that include an impressive list like Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Juliette Lewis, Awkwafina, Ellen Barkin, Jimmi Simpson, Clifton Collins Jr., Matthew Modine, and more, it's beyond just a little exciting. It's even better when the movie happens to be delightfully funny, have a healthy amount of brutal shenanigans, and it's all wrapped up in a dark as f*ck comedy like Breaking News in Yuba County. Directed by Tate Taylor and written…...

Neglected banker’s wife Sue Buttons (Allison Janney) finds all the attention she’s been missing from her marriage in the glow of the local media in “Breaking News in Yuba County.” A surprisingly violent small-town satire from director Tate Taylor that feels every bit as much a period piece as his 2011 hit “The Help,” despite taking place in the present day, “Breaking News” suggests a cross between such dark comedies as “To Die For” and “Fargo,” minus those films’ pitch-perfect balance between eccentricity and outrageousness. Here, Taylor wrings laughs from weird wigs and even wonkier carnage, rather than trusting his promising (if outdated) premise.

It’s Sue’s birthday, and nobody seems to care. Not her self-interested half-sister (Mila Kunis); not her suicide-hotline co-workers, who add insult to injury by celebrating a colleague’s birthday instead; and most hurtfully, not her husband Karl (Matthew Modine), who buys a bouquet of flowers … for his mistress.

February is the cruelest month for new film releases, and director Tate Taylor’s “Breaking News in Yuba County” is easily one of the worst cinematic gestures of the year so far. Allison Janney, Regina Hall, Juliette Lewis, and a cast of many more familiar (and typically welcome) faces lead a big ensemble of unlikable, unsympathetic characters in . It’s the kind of movie that seems to suck your soul out while you’re watching it, variably crass and slapstick humor landing with a bloody thud.

Perhaps some audiences will jive to the plot holes visible from outer space that perforate this movie written by “South Park” story editor Amanda Idoko, but Taylor does not understand how to make a pileup of errors and misunderstandings amid a folksy collective work the same way that, say, the Coen brothers do. Still, actors clearly enjoy working with the “Get on Up” and “The Help” filmmaker,...

In the middle of the closing credits for Tate Taylor’s new film, the director inserts a minute-long postscript scene. It’s an exchange between the lead character, played by Allison Janney, and a talk show host portrayed by Juliette Lewis. Their eyes are wild with a delicious madness, and that brief coda contains all the satiric snap that the preceding 90 minutes so sorely lack.

The story of a woman who rises out of her put-upon anonymity by spinning a tabloid-fodder lie, Breaking News in Yuba County features a pitch-perfect Janney at the center of a game cast of well-knowns....

Breaking News in Yuba County is a new film with a comic/tragic premise and an all-star cast. Mila Kunis stars alongside Allison Janney, Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, Awkwafina, and Juliet Lewis in a story about trying to keep a big secret in a small town. Is it a comedic drama? A dramatic comedy? Kunis isn’t […]

The post Mila Kunis: You’ll Be Breaking Down & Breaking Up During ‘Breaking News’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

In 2021 Sky and Now TV are ramping up their slate of TV shows and films with a whopping 125 new Sky Originals.

For the first time ever, Sky will drop 30 new Sky Original films and 30 new

Sky Original documentaries, on top of new drama, comedy, entertainment and arts

series. Altogether that’s 50% more original TV and film than last year. Movie fans are in for a treat as Sky Cinema becomes the home of Sky Original film with at

least two new original films every month which will feature a host of A list actors from Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent to Janelle Monae.

Sky Original films will include ‘A Boy Called Christmas’, the origin story of Father

Christmas, re-imagined in Gil Keenan’s live-action adaptation of Matt Haig’s best-selling novel, and family favourites such as ‘Extinct’ and ‘Monster Family 2’. There are films inspired by true...

UK broadcaster Sky has landed rights to a host of upcoming features, packing its film slate for 2021 with titles including the Allison Janney-starring Breaking News in Yuba County and the Irvine Welsh-penned Creation Stories.

The company says it will release two ‘original’ films every month this year and one per week from next year. The full list of 14 newly-announced originals is below, they join previously announced pics on the slate such as Twist with Michael Caine, the animation Dragon Rider voiced Felicity Jones and Patrick Stewart, and To Olivia starring Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes.

In the past, Sky has released its original titles day-and-date with UK cinemas. Once venues are able to re-open post-lockdown this could once again come into play.

Asked if Sky is being opportunistic about its film slate in light of cinema closures and delayed movie releases, Zai Bennett, Sky’s managing director of...

If there was any question about the original content ambitions of Comcast-backed pay-tv operator Sky under its new leadership, a 125-title film and TV slate for 2021 reflects a company poised to build a distinct, autonomous service that can compete with its deep-pocketed SVOD rivals.

Sky in late 2019 renewed its output deal with HBO — which allows the business to offer the U.S. cabler’s top shows on its Sky Atlantic channel — for “multiple years,” but the company is clearly planning for a future where WarnerMedia pulls the plug on international licensing in favor of its own platform, HBO Max, which is now getting its house in order in Latin America and Europe.

The contract has “quite a few years to run,” says Zai Bennett, Sky U.K.’s managing director of content, “but you can put two and two together: where people are going direct-to-consumer, we have to have our own unique content…...

Even without a bunch of movies coming to theaters, there are still many trailers to sort through. That’s why every now and then we put a trailer round-up together to call attention to some of the lesser known movies that might be worth seeking out. This time we’ve got a documentary about how difficult it […]

The post Trailer Round-Up: ‘Clapboard Jungle’, ‘Breaking News in Yuba County’, ‘The Sinners’, ‘Adverse’ & More appeared first on /Film.

You had to know it was going to happen eventually. Someone in a small town was going to watch “Gone Girl” and try to figure out how to stage a crime scene and become a local celebrity after their spouse goes missing. And while we’re not sure if the main character in “Breaking News in Yuba County” recently watched the David Fincher film, but one thing is clear – she’s a terrible liar.

Continue reading ‘Breaking News In Yuba County’ Trailer: Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Regina Hall & More Star In A New Small Town Comedy at The Playlist.

"I can't trust you to handle my business if people don't fear you." MGM & American International Pictures (Aip) have revealed the first official trailer for a dark comedy titled Breaking News in Yuba County, from director Tate Taylor. After her husband Carl suddenly goes missing, Sue Buttons played by Allison Janney, an underappreciated suburban wife, gets a taste of being a local celebrity as she embarks on a search to find him. She quickly finds herself in over her head, dodging cops, criminals and local reporters all aiming to uncover the truth. After being overlooked for so long, Sue goes to exaggerated lengths to prolong her "15 minutes of fame" and also keep the truth from coming out. Definitely sounds like a very American story. The cast features Awkwafina, Mila Kunis, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, Jimmi Simpson, Juliette Lewis, Matthew Modine, Ellen Barkin, Samira Wiley, Bridget Everett, Clifton Collins, Jr., ...

In her new movie “Breaking News In Yuba County,” Allison Janney plays Sue Buttons, a suburban housewife whose husband has just gone missing. And as the media, the cops, a mobster and her brother-in-law all come knocking, something is definitely fishy — but Janney has “done nothing wrong.” Honest.

“Ma” and “The Help” filmmaker Tate Taylor directs “Breaking News In Yuba County,” and the first trailer shows a wacky, madcap crime film in the vein of a Coen Brothers satire.

For instance, it’s generally not a good idea to go to the media first instead of the police if someone is really missing. And though Janney’s character might appear panicked, she’s certainly enjoying the newfound attention as everyone hunts for the truth.

“I am strong. I am important. I am enough. Don’t you think so?” a frazzled Janney says in the trailer. “I’ve done nothing wrong.

Warner Bros. and DC Films have tapped writer Cat Vasko to script “Plastic Man” as a female-led action-adventure.

DC-based film production president Walter Hamada and exec Chantal Nong are overseeing for the studio as it shifts the focus of the two-year-old project.

The studio unveiled the initial “Plastic Man” pic in 2018, based on DC Comics’ quirky character that debuted in 1941. Amanda Idoko, who wrote “Breaking News in Yuba County,” was hired to pen the movie.

An orphan forced to live on the streets, Patrick “Eel” O’Brian was shot during a heist and exposed to an unknown chemical liquid that gave his body the properties of rubber, allowing him to stretch, bounce and mold himself into any shape. Thanks to a monk who tended to him while he was shot, he turned to law and order, and began capturing criminals as Plastic Man. Plastic Man wasn’t initially a DC character,...

Awkwafina and Sandra Oh will portray sisters in a comedy for Netflix that will be written by the woman behind the upcoming “Hocus Pocus” sequel and produced by Will Ferrell.

The untitled film is about a lonely recluse whose life is upended when her train wreck of a sister vows to mend their relationship by helping her fulfill her lifelong dream: to be a contestant on her favorite game show.

Jen D’Angelo, who is writing the “Hocus Pocus” sequel for Disney+ and is a co-executive producer on the NBC series “The Young Rock” with Dwayne Johnson, is writing the screenplay.

Ferrell will produce with Jessica Elbaum for their Gloria Sanchez banner, as will Itay Reiss and Maggie Haskins from Artists First. D’Angelo; Awkwafina and Oh will also all produce.

Awkwafina and Oh are both Golden Globe winners, with Oh becoming the first Asian woman to win for Lead Actress...

The Liverpool-based company is backed by AGC Studios founder Stuart Ford.

White Star Productions, a recently launched UK film and TV production venture based in Liverpool and backed by AGC Studios founder Stuart Ford, has announced its initial slate of projects.

Film and TV writer, author and journalist Kevin Sampson co-owns and operates the company, whose mission is to champion stories from the north of England and bring them to the screen. It has a first-look deal with Los Angeles-based AGC Studios.

White Star is currently casting the feature Giant from writer-director Rowan Athale (The Rise), based on the meteoric...

Showtime has signed a first-look TV deal with “Black Monday” star Regina Hall.

Hall will develop and produce TV projects under her production company Rh Negative. Already in the works is a one-hour special that Hall will star in and executive produce.

Showtime recently renewed “Black Monday” for a third season. Along with her starring role on the dark comedy, Hall will star in and executive produce the film “Masters” and star in Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers” adaptation. She can next be seen in “Breaking News in Yuba County,” set for release January 29.

“I am excited to call Showtime home,” Hall said. “Working with Amy has been such a delightful and organic experience. I am thrilled to expand our partnership to create smart, meaningful and impactful stories.”

“Regina is an undeniable and brilliant force in Hollywood, both in front of and behind the camera,” said Amy Israel, executive vice president,...

Co-founded in the 1950s by Samuel Z. Arkoff, American International Pictures used a simple acronym, the Arkoff formula, to help guarantee the success of the independent production company’s films: Action, Revolution, Killing, Oratory, Fantasy, and Fornication.

While, as Vanity Fair put it, the youth-oriented company during its 26-year run was known for churning out “disposable B movies you could make out to,” some of those same kitschy, low-budget, teen-focused films went on to change the course of American cinema: launching the careers of Roger Corman and protege Martin Scorsese, birthing franchises like “The Fast and the Furious” and “Max Max” and inspiring the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.

Now, 40 years after releasing its last movie, Aip is back: MGM announced Wednesday that it is reviving the label. Its first acquisition is Tate Taylor’s “Breaking News in Yuba County,” which will be released by MGM’s United...

The North American rights to Allison Janney’s drama-comedy “Breaking News in Yuba County” have been bought by MGM, which will release the film on Jan. 29, 2021 through its relaunched American International Pictures label.

Janney stars as an overlooked pencil pusher who catches her husband in bed with another woman, which causes him to die of a heart attack. Janney’s character buries his body and takes advantage of the growing celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband. But she quickly finds herself in over her head while trying to keep the truth from her half-sister (Mila Kunis), a local news anchor who’s desperate for a story, and a relentless local policewoman (Regina Hall)

Awkwafina, Wanda Sykes, Matthew Modine, Ellen Barkin, Samira Wiley, Bridget Everett, Clifton Collins Jr., Jimmi Simpson and Juliette Lewis round out the cast. Tate Taylor directed the film from a script by Amanda Idoko.

Tate Taylor’s “Breaking News in Yuba County” starring Allison Janney has been acquired by MGM’s Worldwide Distribution and Acquisitions, and the studio will release the film under the newly relaunched banner American International Pictures. “Breaking News in Yuba County” stars Janney alongside Mila Kunis, Regina Hall, Awkwafina, Wanda Sykes, Matthew Modine, Ellen Barkin, Samira Wiley, Bridget Everett, Clifton Collins Jr., Jimmi Simpson and Juliette Lewis, and the film will open in theaters on Jan. 29, 2021. The Aip label will release “Breaking News in Yuba County,” the first under the banner, though MGM’s United Artists Releasing will handle the theatrical rollout. In the future, Aip will be reserved for limited and digital acquisitions, and all the films under the Aip banner will be overseen by MGM across all downstream media. Also Read: Will 'Mom' Remain a Ratings Hit After Anna Faris Divorced Herself From CBS' Current Longest-Running Sitcom? “Breaking News in Yuba County...

Actors who worked with Christopher Nolan have plenty of stories about the methods to his madness. Earlier this year, comments from “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Interstellar” star Anne Hathaway got blown out of proportion when she said the filmmaker doesn’t allow chairs on his sets. (What she meant was Nolan doesn’t keep directors’ chairs clustered around the video-village monitors.) Now, “The Dark Knight Rises” co-star Matthew Modine, who played Commissioner Gordon’s second-in-command Foley, shared the major similarity between Nolan and director Stanley Kubrick. Modine starred in Kubrick’s 1987 war classic “Full Metal Jacket.”

The similar approach between the legendary filmmakers, Modine told Hollywood Reporter, is in the intimacy of the set despite the massiveness of the project. “Sometimes on ‘Full Metal Jacket,’ there weren’t more than 10 or 15 people on the set,” he said. “And as big as ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ was, with all of...

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to Antoine Fuqua and Jake Gyllenhaal’s package “The Guilty,” a dramatic thriller based on the Danish drama, “Den Skyldige,” directed by Gustav Moller.

“True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto wrote the script. The film will be produced by Gyllenhaal and his Nine Stories partner Riva Marker, along with Fuqua and Kat Samick through his Fuqua Films; Scott Greenberg; Michel Litvak, Gary Michael Walters, David Litvak and Svetlana Metkina for Bold Films; and Amet Entertainment’s David Haring.

The film will take place over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch call center, where call operator Joe Bayler (Gyllenhaal) tries to save a caller in grave danger. However, he soon discovers that nothing is as it seems.

Annie Marter, Moller and Lina Flint will executive produce with Christian Mercuri and Jon Oakes. Bold Films financed the drama with Amet Entertainment.

Fuqua and Gyllenhaal first collaborated on 2015’s “Southpaw.

Amazon Studios has acquired the rights to develop a script package for an action comedy called “Shelly” that will star Awkwafina and Karen Gillan, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

Awkwafina and Gillan, who both starred in “Jumanji: The Next Level,” will star in the film from director Jude Weng based on the script by Michael Doneger and Liz Storm.

The story involves Awkwafina as an assassin whose next target is her high school bully played by Gillan. Gillan’s prank at their high school prom was responsible for turning Awkwafina into a hardened killer, but she finds it difficult to complete her job when the two become friends, and she’s now forced to protect Gillan from other would-be assassins.

Ian Bryce on behalf of his Ian Bryce Productions will produce “Shelly.” Will McCance will executive produce, and Katie Malott will co-produce.

Awkwafina will be seen...

Apple Studios has acquired the rights to adapt the thriller “Snow Blind,” a thriller based on a graphic novel of the same name that will star Jake Gyllenhaal, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

Gustav Möller (“The Guilty”) will direct the film based on the story by Ollie Masters and published by Boom! Studios in 2017. Patrick Ness is writing the screenplay.

“Snow Blind” tells the story of a high school student in Alaska whose life is turned upside down when he posts a photo of his dad online. He soon thereafter learns that he and his family are in the Witness Protection Program and are now being hunted by not only the FBI but also a man out for revenge who invades their small town.

Also Read: How John Mulaney Got Jake Gyllenhaal for 'The Sack Lunch Bunch' (Video)

Gyllenhaal is producing along with his partner at Nine Stories,...

Ridley Scott will executive produce a thriller called “Panopticon” that is based on a script that landed on the Black List in 2017, and Agc Studios will finance and co-produce the film, the studio’s chairman and CEO Stuart Ford announced Thursday.

Andrés Baiz (“Narcos”) will direct “Panopticon” from the Black List script by Emily Jerome, and production is slated to begin this fall, with casting already underway.

The word “panopticon” refers to a prison designed in a round such that all the prisoners can be watched at once by a single guard, and because they can’t see when they’re being watched, they’re motivated to use good behavior.

Also Read: Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions Signs First-Look Deal at Apple

The film “Panopticon” though follows rising hedge fund manager Chase, who hears about a little known financial gold mine called Pcc Correctional, an Arizona based private prison system that racks up huge profits.

Actor-singer-songwriter Nick Jonas and Laurence Fishburne are set to star in “The Blacksmith” which, financed and produced by Agc Studios, signals a potential early top title with the makings of a new action thriller movie franchise at June’s Cannes virtual markets.

Jonas and Fishburne were unveiled Tuesday by Stuart Ford, Agc Studios chairman and CEO, who also said that the producers would “soon be announcing an equally outstanding young female actor to play across from Nick.”

“Taken’s” Pierre Morel will direct from a screenplay adaptation by Ben Ripley of the acclaimed 2011 graphic novel from Kickstart Comics by Malik Evans and Richard Sparkman.

“Pairing“ an exhilarating young talent like Nick with seasoned heavyweights such as Pierre and Laurence” means that after the female lead’s casting, “we will have all the ingredients for a major new film franchise built around a very modern breed of action hero,” Ford added.

“Little America,” an upcoming Sylvester Stallone-starring sci-fi-action thriller, has proven to be a strong attraction for sales powerhouse Agc International.

With Rowan Athale writing and directing, the project was introduced earlier this week at the Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market. Athale was in Berlin and met with distributors.

His story is set in a dark future where America has gone bankrupt and turned into a war zone. Stallone plays a mercenary hired by an Asian billionaire to find his daughter somewhere within a walled city inside Hong Kong, where many Americans have fled.

Major pre-sales deals were announced by Agc’s president of worldwide distribution, Michael Rothstein.

Completed sales have been made with Metropolitan in France; Leonine in Germany and Switzerland; Wild Bunch in Italy; Sun Distribution for pan-Latin America, Spain and Portugal; Spi in Benelux, Turkey and pan-Eastern Europe; Parakeet in Cis; Odeon in Greece; Lionsgate...

Rowan Athale to direct; production scheduled for summer.

Sylvester Stallone action sci-fi Little America has been a big seller for Agc International at the Efm, with major independents taking territories.

Deals have closed for France (Metropolitan), Germany and Switzerland (Leonine), Italy (Wild Bunch), pan-Latin America, Spain and Portugal (Sun Distribution), Cis (Parakeet), and Middle East (Selim Ramia).

Rights have also gone in South Korea and Vietnam (Joy N Cinema), Benelux, Turkey, and pan-Eastern Europe (Spi), Taiwan (MovieCloud), Thailand (Sahamongkolfilm), Indonesia (Pt Prima), Greece (Odeon), India (Lionsgate India), Israel (United King), South Africa (Empire), and Asia pay-tv (Fox International).

Agc Studios...

Exclusive: Girls Trip and Black Monday star Regina Hall has set her latest project with Amazon Studios. The actress and comedian will serve as executive producer well as star in Master, an occult drama written and to be directed by Mariama Diallo.

The film follows two African American women at a predominantly white college in Massachusetts – one head of students (aka Master) and one a freshman – who start to experience haunting activities ingrained in the history of the school.

Hall will play Gail Bishop, the queer, black master of the Belleville house at Ancaster, a liberal arts college outside Boston. She must manage her campus as instances of racism cause tensions while students and faculty are haunted by sinister supernatural forces.

Andrea Roa, Brad Becker-Parton and Josh Astrachan will produce through their Animal Kingdom label.

Diallo is the writer and director of the Sundance-winning short film Hair Wolf, a horror-comedy...

Exclusive: Oscar-nominee Juliette Lewis, Grace Van Patten, and Mia Goth have signed on to star in Mayday, an indie film written and directed by first-time feature helmer Karen Cinorre. Soko (Her) and Havana Rose Liu also co-star in the pic, which is currently in production.

Described as a fantastical female-driven action film, the plot focuses on a young woman named Ana (Van Patten) who is transported to a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins up with a band of female soldiers engaged in a never-ending war along a rugged coast. Though she finds strength in this exhilarating world, she comes to realize that she’s not the killer they want her to be and must use her newfound power to try to fight her way back to life.

Cinorre will produce the project via her Queen’s Army label alongside Jonah Disend of Complementary Colors, Sam Levy, and Lucas Joaquin of Secret Engine.

There’s no shortage of eye-catching projects on offer at the 40th American Film Market, but will the event, much-maligned by the industry as a schlockfest in recent years due to a paucity of high-profile deal making, rediscover some of its former buzz?

Hot titles include FilmNation’s road movie comedy Dog starring Channing Tatum as an Army Ranger, a pic that will also mark the actor’s directing debut, Miramax’s Cash Truck with Jason Statham, which sees Guy Ritchie return further to his filmmaking roots after Disney summer hit Aladdin, MadRiver International’s Zac Efron-starring comedy King Of The Jungle, See-Saw’s A Special Relationship, which stars Rachel Weisz as Elizabeth Taylor, and Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi Inferno with Taylor Kitsch for Agc Studios. And there’s plenty more notable packages – see our full rundown of 25 of this year’s hot Afm titles for a more extensive list.

Taylor Kitsch will star in “Inferno,” Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming science-fiction thriller.

Agc Studios has boarded the project and agreed to fully finance and produce the film. Blomkamp is best known for his Oscar-nominated debut “District 9.” He also oversaw “Elysium” and “Chappie,” both of which were less financially and critically successful.

Kitsch’s credits include “Lone Survivor,” “Savages,” and “Battleship.” He will star as a cop who is called to investigate a seemingly ordinary murder in the New Mexico desert. There he uncovers a deeper conspiracy and begins to suspect that the killer he’s trying to find may be a humanoid beast.

Agc Studios was founded by veteran sales agent Stuart Ford. Its films include Roland Emmerich’s WWII action drama “Midway,” as well as the comedy “Breaking News in Yuba County” with Allison Janney and Mila Kunis, and the Noomi Rapace thriller “The Secrets We Keep.”

“Over...

Project fast-tracked for early 2020 production start.

In the run-up to Afm, Agc Studios has added another heavyweight project to its slate and will fully finance and produce sci-fi thriller Inferno from writer-director Neill Blomkamp with Taylor Kitsch attached to star.

The project is being fast-tracked for an early 2020 start. Blomkamp has written the screenplay about a police officer assigned to investigate a seemingly ordinary murder in the New Mexico desert.

The arrival of the FBI confirms his suspicions that something much bigger – perhaps even extra-terrestrial – is at play. The hunt for the killer soon puts him face-to-face with a humanoid...

Jon Shestack (Air Force One) to produce action thriller.

Action specialist Pierre Morel has been hired to direct thriller The Blacksmith, which Agc Studios will finance and introduce to buyers at the Afm next month.

Agc Studios head Stuart Ford and Air Force One producer Jon Shestack announced the project on Thursday (10), and have earmarked a 2020 production start.

Ben Ripley adapted the screenplay from the graphic novel by Malik Evans and Richard Sparkman. Shestack will produce with Jason Netter (Wanted), and Jeremy Stein, with Ford serving as executive producer alongside Samantha Shear and Bob Sobhani.

The Blacksmith follows a go-to...

“Taken” director Pierre Morel has signed to helm “The Blacksmith,” an action thriller that will be financed by Stuart Ford’s Agc Studios.

The deal was announced Thursday as part of Agc’s slate at the American Film Market, which opens Nov. 6 in Santa Monica, Ca. UTA, who will co-represent Us distribution rights with Agc.

“The Blacksmith” follows Wes Loomis, who operates as a “Blacksmith” – the intelligence community’s go-to weapons expert. When his clandestine lab is destroyed and his colleagues murdered, he must go on the run with only his unique set of technological skills to keep him alive, in a journey that takes him to the heart of his own dark profession. Production will commence in 2020.

Ben Ripley, whose credits include “Source Code” and “Flatliners,” is adapting the script from the graphic novel by Malik Evans and Richard Sparkman. Jon Shestack (“Air Force One”) will produce with Jason Netter (“Wanted”) and Jeremy Stein,...