News

Gabrielle Beaumont, who may have directed more primetime hours of television than any other women in history, died peacefully on October 8th at her home in Spain, her brother Christopher Toyne confirmed to Deadline.

Beaumont was the first woman director on many ’80s and ’90s TV hits. Her resume includes stints on Hill Street Blues, The Waltons, Miami Vice, Cagney & Lacy, M*A*S*H, L.A. Law, Baywatch, Archie Bunker’s Place, Remington Steele, The Dukes of Hazard, Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman, Doogie Howser, M.D., Touched by an Angel and three different iterations of Star Trek.

Her big break came when she landed a meeting with Aaron Spelling, who was under pressure to hire women and other minorities behind the camera. According to Beaumont’s brother, actor-producer Christopher Toyne, Spelling didn’t bother to look at any of the footage she had brought along. He asked Beaumont, “Can you goddamn direct?...

Click here to read the full article.

Gabrielle Beaumont, the British director who broke ground for women in Hollywood by helming episodes of series including M*A*S*H, The Waltons, Hill Street Blues and Dynasty during her five-decade career, has died. She was 80.

Beaumont died peacefully Oct. 8 at her home in Fornalutx, Mallorca, Spain, her brother, actor-producer Christopher Toyne, announced Wednesday.

As one of the most prolific female directors in the history of primetime television, the Emmy-nominated Beaumont also handled installments of Knots Landing, The Dukes of Hazzard, Miami Vice, Cagney & Lacey, Doogie Howser, M.D., L.A. Law, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Law & Order and three Star Trek series, among many other shows.

After her British horror film The Godsend (1980) opened in the U.S., Beaumont came to Hollywood seeking work and got a meeting with Aaron Spelling, bringing with her two cans of films that she had worked on.

*full disclosure: a screener was provided by Mr. Freeman. **mild spoilers ahoy! Director/Writer: Todd E. Freeman Cast: Robert McKeehen, Haley Talbot and Christopher Toyne Plenty of Portland, Oregon talent can be found in Cell Count, a film by Todd E. Freeman, also a native resident. Not only does the movie feature cast members who appeared in NBC's "Grimm," but it also showcases this director's other talents like penning a very thoughtful screenplay. This movie is set to make its world premiere at the Fantaspoa, the biggest genre film festival of South America, in Porto Alegre, Brazil this weekend. Portuguese subtitles will be added and the directors of this show see tons of potential for this indie film. They are not alone. Among story analysts, they will find that Freeman crafted a product that will tantalize audiences in many ways. The movie tugs at the heart string with a powerful...

The Saw-esque sci-fi/horror film Cell Count from Polluted Pictures, in association with Wooden Frame Productions, has a new poster, created by Tom Hodge at The Dude Designs, one of the hottest artists in the genre today. Come take a look at the poster as well as a trailer for this interesting new film.

Written and directed by Todd Freeman, Cell Count is the story of an experimental treatment gone horribly wrong. The film stars Robert McKeehan, Haley Talbot and Christopher Toyne. Check out the official Cell Count website and like the Cell Count Facebook page.

From the Press Release

The announcement earlier this week that Cell Count was chosen as the Closing Night Film and to also have its World Premiere at this year's Fantaspoa Film Festival in Brazil made the filmmakers think this would be a great time to show the new poster from the amazing Tom Hodge at The Dude Designs.