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The new limited series The Eagles of Newark has cast Andy Allo in its lead role. The actress is known for her role as Nora Antony in the Prime Video series Upload, as well as Chicago Fireand Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Per Variety, the series is coming from Mike Flynn (East New Work), who will write, produce, and showrun The Eagles of Newark.

Anya Adams, who has directed Yellowjackets, will direct The Eagles of New York. The project is coming from Alcon Television Group, which plans to shop the show to outlets soon. The show is being adapted from a non-fiction book titled Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, by author James Overmyer.

Allo is Playing a Trailblazing Baseball Executive

Allo will portray Effa Manley, who is the only woman to have ever been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. She was also a trailblazing civil rights activist.

Actress and musician Andy Allo (“Upload”) has signed on to star in writer-producer-showrunner Mike Flynn’s upcoming limited series “The Eagles of Newark.” Anya Adams will direct the series, which comes from Alcon Television Group and is adapted from the non-fiction book “Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles,” written by James Overmyer.

Allo will play Effa Manley, a trailblazing civil rights activist and the only woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. According to a press release, the series chronicles “the dramatic efforts of Effa and her husband Abe as they embark upon a risky business venture—starting their own ball club in the raucous world of the Negro Baseball Leagues. Effa Manley, in addition to serving as the team’s business manager, was a formidable social rights advocate whose impact extended far beyond baseball.”

Alcon plans to shop the show to outlets shortly.

The BFI is investing £36.6m of National Lottery funding in fiction feature support over three years.

The British Film Institute (BFI) National Lottery Filmmaking Fund has laid out plans for four new funds as part of its £54m support strategy for UK films and talent over the course of three years, as teased under the BFI Screen Culture 2033 10-year funding roadmap unveiled in September of last year.

This £54m, which represents almost 40% of the BFI’s National Lottery ‘good cause’ funding, is divided into £36.6m for production and development funding across three years via four funds: Development (60-70 projects per...

Senior British Film Institute team members Editor-at-Large Lizzie Francke, Head of Production Fiona Morham and Head of Editorial Natascha Wharton have announced their decision to leave the BFI Film Fund later this year.

The trio has led the BFI’s National Lottery funding for the development and production of UK films, providing guidance and support to filmmakers and their teams throughout the life journey of a film and initiatives for developing emerging filmmaking talent.

They will step down in late spring to early summer 2023. In the interim, they will continue to support their slate of projects, working with the Filmmaking Fund team as it transitions to a new structure.

Francke, Morham and Wharton put out a joint statement saying: “It has been such a huge privilege to work for the Film Fund over the years and to champion an extraordinary range of filmmakers. With the 2023-33 strategy and the Filmmaking Fund being launched this week,...

Senior execs will step down later this year.

Three senior executives at the UK’s BFI Film Fund, editor-at-large Lizzie Francke, head of production Fiona Morham, and head of editorial Natascha Wharton, will step down later this year.

The trio has helped to lead the BFI’s National Lottery funding for the development and production of UK films, and supported films including Rye Lane, Aftersun, Girl, Triangle Of Sadness and Rocks.

The news comes ahead of details of the latest iteration of the fund, to be announced tomorrow (Tuesday March 20), which forms part of Screen Culture 2033, the BFI’s 10-year strategy.

Senior execs will step down later this year.

Three senior executives at the UK’s BFI Film Fund, editor-at-large Lizzie Francke, head of production Fiona Morham, and head of editorial Natascha Wharton, will step down later this year.

The trio has helped to lead the BFI’s National Lottery funding for the development and production of UK films, and supported films including Rye Lane, Aftersun, Girl, Triangle Of Sadness and Rocks.

The news comes ahead of details of the latest iteration of the fund, to be announced tomorrow (Tuesday March 20), which forms part of Screen Culture 2033, the BFI’s 10-year strategy.

The Dillinger Escape Plan’s 2013 album One of Us Is the Killer has inspired a new graphic novel of the same name, arriving in the near future via Sumerian Comics.

Rock & Roll Hell creators Sam Romesburg and Ben Roberts were inspired by the album title to pen the original story, which was then influenced by various concepts within the LP’s songs and lyrics. Visual artist Greg Di Angilla (Rock & Roll Hell) and colorist Warnia Sahadewa (Doctor Who) are credited with the cover art and colors, respectively.

The plot synopsis reads: “A string of assassinations made by a politically-motivated killer known only to the public as The Quill serves as the spark to ignite a full scale revolution. Set in a technologically advanced American City in the not too distant future, Vertical Integration Corp. has seized all means of production and capital available, creating a financial synergy unlike any that has ever existed.

Lizzie Francke, editor-at-large, Fiona Morham, head of production and Natascha Wharton, head of editorial will leave the BFI Film Fund later this year.

The three senior team members have led the BFI’s national lottery funding for the development and production of U.K. films. Acclaimed titles supported by them include “Rye Lane,” “Aftersun,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Blue Jean” and “After Love,” among many others.

Francke, Morham and Wharton will depart in late spring/early summer. They will continue to support their slate of projects, working with the filmmaking fund team as it transitions to a new structure. The news comes on the eve of details of the new fund, which will be revealed on March 21.

The BFI’s Screen Culture 2033 10-year strategy, published in 2022, earmarks £54 million ($66 million) over the next three years for filmmakers. The new BFI filmmaking fund is part of that. The BFI said it is is...

Amazon has ordered a live-action Blade Runner series called “Blade Runner 2099" according to a scoop by variety.

Exact plot details are under wraps, but the title indicates the show will take place fifty years after the events of “Blade Runner 2049,” the 2017 sequel to the original “Blade Runner.”

Silka Luisa serves as showrunner and executive producer, with Ridley Scott also executive producing under his Scott Free Productions banner.

Michael Green, the co-writer of “Blade Runner 2049,” will also executive produce with Alcon Entertainment co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Alcon’s head of television Ben Roberts, David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger of Scott Free, Cynthia Yorkin, Fr...

Blade Runner 2099, Amazon Studios’ live-action series set in the Blade Runner universe, has been picked up to series for Prime Video.

Ridley Scott, who directed the original 1982 Blade Runner movie, is executive producing the series, a follow-up to the feature film sequel Blade Runner 2049, which was released in 2017 and directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Silka Luisa (Shining Girls) wrote the script and is exec producing Blade Runner 2099, which comes from Alcon Entertainment in association with Scott Free Productions and Amazon Studios.

The project, which marks the first Blade Runner live-action series, had been in priority development at Amazon Studios.

“The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce Blade Runner 2099 to our global Prime Video customers,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television, Amazon Studios. “We are honored...

It’s official: The next chapter in the Blade Runner franchise is headed to Amazon.

Prime Video announced Thursday that it has formally ordered the new live-action limited series Blade Runner 2099, with Ridley Scott on board as an executive producer. Silka Luisa (Shining Girls) will serve as showrunner, while Michael Green (Blade Runner 2049) will serve as a non-writing EP.

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Amazon has formally ordered a “Blade Runner” sequel series, Variety has learned.

The live-action project, titled “Blade Runner 2099,” was first announced as being in development at the streamer back in February, while Ridley Scott first revealed the show was in the works in November 2021.

Exact plot details are being kept under wraps, but the title indicates the show will take place fifty years after the events of “Blade Runner 2049,” the 2017 sequel to the original “Blade Runner.” Silka Luisa serves as showrunner and executive producer, with Ridley Scott also executive producing under his Scott Free Productions banner.

Michael Green, the co-writer of “Blade Runner 2049,” will also executive produce with Alcon Entertainment co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Alcon’s head of television Ben Roberts, David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger of Scott Free, Cynthia Yorkin, Frank Giustra, and Isa Dick Hackett. Tom Spezialy has joined the writers room...

The “Blade Runner” live action limited series “Blade Runner 2099,” with Ridley Scott as executive producer and Silka Luisa as showrunner, is a go at Amazon Studios.

The series, which is coming to Prime Video, will be a continuation of the film franchise.

“The original ‘Blade Runner,’ directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce ‘Blade Runner 2099’ to our global Prime Video customers,” Vernon Sanders, head of global television for Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “We are honored to be able to present this continuation of the ‘Blade Runner’ franchise, and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley, Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, and the remarkably talented Silka Luisa, ‘Blade Runner 2099’ will uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors.”

No casting details were immediately available. The last...

The world of Blade Runner is expanding.

Amazon’s Prime Video has given the green light to Blade Runner 2099, a limited series sequel to the iconic sci-fi film franchise. The series comes from Amazon Studios and Alcon Entertainment, which holds the rights to Blade Runner. Ridley Scott, who directed the classic 1982 film, will executive produce through his Scott Free Productions, while Silka Luisa (Apple TV+’s Shining Girls) will serve as showrunner.

“The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce Blade Runner 2099 to our global Prime Video customers,” said Amazon studios head of global television Vernon Sanders. “We are honored to be able to present this continuation of the Blade Runner franchise, and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley,...

Immediately after news of French New Wave icon Jean-Luc Godard’s death broke on Tuesday (September 13), tributes started pouring in from world leaders, fellow filmmakers, artistes and cinephiles around the world, reports ‘Variety’.

The first off the block was French President Emmanuel Macron, who described Godard as “the most iconoclastic of New Wave filmmakers, who had invented a resolutely modern, intensely free art. We are losing a national treasure, a look of genius.”

Godard was also celebrated by Edgar Wright, the writer-director of ‘Last Night in Soho’, who wrote on social media that Godard was “one of the most influential, iconoclastic filmmakers of them all.” Wright added that “perhaps no other director inspired as many people to just pick up a camera and start shooting”.

Actor, comedian, director and writer Stephen Fry said he had watched Godard’s debut film ‘Breathless’ for the “umpteenth time again” two weeks ago and...

The British Film Institute (BFI) has published its initial findings on how film productions in the U.K. have applied its “Diversity Standards,” a framework introduced in 2016 to address underrepresentation in the country’s film and TV industries.

The standards cover several aspects of diversity including gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender reassignment, age and pregnancy and maternity, as well as people from lower socioeconomic echelons.

Drawing on analysis of 235 movies produced in the U.K. over a three-year period, the report found that the framework has helped to drive inclusion, both in terms of on-screen content and recruitment practices. But the findings also highlighted areas where improvements are sorely needed, particularly when it comes to providing more opportunities for underrepresented groups behind the camera, especially in leadership roles.

“From this report, and what we hear from industry, we can see the Standards are having a positive impact...

A California appellate panel has ruled that actor Robert Wagner may be the owner of rights in the Charlie's Angels television series but he is not entitled to profits from the Columbia Pictures movie franchise based thereon.

In an opinion issued Monday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected Wagner's claims that he and his children are contractually entitled to net profits earned by 2000's Charlie's Angels and 2003's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, which starred Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu.

Wagner and his former wife Natalie Wood developed the popular 1970s TV series with producers Aaron Spelling, Leonard Goldberg and their Spelling-Goldberg Prods. Under an agreement with the production company, Wagner and Wood were entitled to 50% of the net profits Spelling-Goldberg received "for the right to exhibit photoplays of the series and from the exploitation of all ancillary, music and subsidiary rights in connection therewith."

Years after Spelling-Goldberg sold both its rights and obligations relating to Charlie's Angels to Sony Pictures Television, Columbia purchased theatrical motion picture rights from heirs of the show's writers, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, to whom film rights had reverted under Writers Guild of America "separated rights" rules. Both Columbia and Sony Pictures Television are Sony-affiliated companies.

Wagner argued that under his contract with Spelling-Goldberg, the "subsidiary rights" provision meant he and his children with Wood, who died in 1981, were entitled to share in 50% of the income "from all sources," including the films.