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Pending Woody Allen’s final and absolute cancellation, few directors have emerged to take his place as an erudite and literary artist whose work combines snappy wordplay, base sex jokes and a philosophical willingness to stare into the abyss. Jesse Eisenberg staked a tentative claim to that throne with his 2022 debut When You Finish Saving the World, an amiable but scrappy political satire about a left-wing mother and son, but his follow-up makes a stronger case, being much more adult, less broadly scripted, and as depressing as Woody Allen circa Stardust Memories.

Key to its success is a career-high performance from Succession star Kieran Culkin, whose enigmatic presence bookends the movie. In either case, he is sitting motionless at JFK airport, watching the world go by. He plays Benji, and he is waiting for...

Dirty Dancing was one of the highest-grossing films in 1987. It's about an idealistic young woman, Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Gray) going on probably the last family vacation she will ever take with her parents and sister when she meets a man who changes the way she looks at the world. This man is older and is in a different class of society, and it shapes the rest of her young life to be exposed to his world. As the story is told from Baby's perspective, we learn that the role of her father, Doctor Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach),is mainly relegated falling off his daughter’s pedestal by the second act.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match is a throwback to '80s action films, inspired by classics like Big Trouble in Little China and Lethal Weapon. The movie loosely fits into the larger Mortal Kombat universe, incorporating elements of the multiverse concept seen in Marvel and DC comics. Joel McHale delivers a pitch-perfect performance as Johnny Cage, bringing wit, sarcasm, and physical presence to the beloved character in this Elseworlds-style story.

Mortal Kombat goes full '80s in Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match, which tackles Johnny Cage's R-rated origin story in animated form. Written by video game co-creator Ed Boon and directed by Ethan Spaulding, the latest outing in the world of Mortal Kombat focuses on Johnny's (voiced by Joel McHale) Hollywood fame and eventual rise to becoming a legendary combatant. Jennifer Gray co-stars in the film, and her character's disappearance is the catalyst for his journey, alongside Kelly Hu as Ashrah.

Sitcoms do a funny thing -- no pun intended -- when they get things right. They make us care.

Night Court Season 1 Episode 15 doesn't surprise us, but it manages to innovate within the format's parameters.

With a finale on the horizon, character exits are expected, but I don't think Gurgs going to Scotland Yard was on anyone's Binga card.

She's demonstrated savant tendencies throughout her hijinks and is easily the most chaotic character on the team in terms of objectives and distractibility.

But she's always guided by a good heart and a keen -- if scattered -- intellect.

I'm not sure what Olivia is angling at by schmoozing Emily since I'm pretty sure her law credentials won't transfer to the UK.

Maybe having a barrister on her contacts list is a bucket list item? Or she'd like to snag one of those wigs.

Gurgs: She’s a lawyer visiting from England.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Richard Madden are set to headline Amazon Studios’ Killer Heat, from director Philippe Lacôte.

The film follows twin brothers who are caught in a violent love triangle on a remote Greek island. A damaged detective, known as “The Jealousy Man,” is called in to investigate.

Pic is based on Jo Nesbø’s short story The Jealousy Man, off a script written by Roberto Bentivegna (House of Gucci), with revisions by Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies; Treason). Makeready’s Brad Weston is producing the film, with Nesbø (bestselling Harry Hole book series), Niclas Salomonsson, Gordon-Levitt, Tom Karnowski and Makeready’s Collin Creighton executive producing. Makeready’s Oscar Montemayor will associate produce.

Cameras roll in May in Crete, with Faliro House serving as the local production entity.

Gordon-Levitt recently appeared in Rian Johnson’s Poker Face and will next be seen...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Richard Madden are set to star in the thriller “Killer Heat,” from Amazon Studios.

“Night of the Kings” filmmaker Philippe Lacôte has signed on to direct the movie, which is based on Jo Nesbø’s 2021 short story “The Jealousy Man.” The film centers on twin brothers (Madden) caught in a violent love triangle on a remote Greek island, and a damaged detective known as “The Jealousy Man” (Gordon-Levitt), who is called in to investigate.

Lacôte will direct from a script penned by Roberto Bentivegna (“House of Gucci”), with revisions by Oscar and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Matt Charman.

Makeready’s Brad Weston is producing the film, which begins production next month in Crete, with Faliro House serving as the local production entity.

In addition to starring in the film, Gordon-Levitt will also executive produce the project alongside Nesbø, Niclas Salomonsson, Tom Karnowski and Makeready’s Collin Creighton.

Jennifer Gray has opened up about her on-set relationship with her late Dirty Dancing co-star Patrick Swayze.

Swayze starred in the 1987 romantic drama as a dance instructor at a holiday resort in 1963, while Grey plays a visitor who falls in love with him.

The actors had first met on the set of the 1984 action thriller Red Dawn.

In an interview with The Guardian, Grey said: “Patrick was a really good guy and really cared about me. He was always there for me and I would’ve done anything for him… but we were also a little oil and water.”

According to Grey, the “crackle” of their relationship ended up bolstering the characters’ relationship on screen.

“The difference was beautiful because it created a kind of static,” she said. “There’s a push and pull. We were both trying to assert ourselves.”

Swayze died of pancreatic cancer on 14 September 2009.

Elsewhere in the interview,...

Exclusive: 2021 Academy Nicholl Fellow scribe Laura Kosann has been hired to adapt the female-driven comic book Mercy Sparx for MGM, The Picture Company and Assemble Media.

Created by Josh Blaylock, the title protag is a female demon sent from Hell to Earth on a mission, which she must complete while hiding among humans. On Earth, Mercy has an existential crisis and begins to see the gray area between good and evil. It forces her to choose her place within it and compromises her mission. The comic debuted ten years ago via Devil’s Due Publishing, and the IP has been seen by the studio as a franchise with an empowering female character at the center.

Jack Heller of Assemble is producing along with The Picture Company partners Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona. Comic creator Blaylock is serving as EP along with Assemble’s Scott Veltri. Heller and Assemble developed the script...

Exclusive: Filmmaker Nick Cassavetes and Sunset Blvd Films are developing a movie about iconic 70s rock group The Allman Brothers Band.

Cassavetes, known for box office successes John Q, The Notebook and The Other Woman, will write and direct the film based on Scott Freeman’s book. The Untitled Allman Brothers biopic will revisit the tale of Gregg and Duane Allman, two brothers raised by a single mother, whose shared love for blues and R&b music evolved into a career marked by platinum-selling records, sold-out stadium concerts, a marriage to Hollywood royalty (Cher) and a relationship with president Jimmy Carter. The feature will tell of the brothers’ difficult childhood, their impressive self-education in the world of Southern blues and R&b, their unsuccessful early musical incarnations and their triumph as they rose to great wealth and success. It will explore Gregg’s marriage to Cher and his commitment to...

The Patricia Arquette-led Apple comedy series “High Desert” has added six new cast members, Variety has learned.

Matt Dillon, Rupert Friend, Weruche Opia (“I May Destroy You”), Brad Garrett, Bernadette Peters and Christine Taylor will all star alongside Arquette in the half-hour series.

The series follows Peggy (Arquette), an addict, who decides to make a new start after the death of her beloved mother with whom she lived in the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California. She makes a life-changing decision to become a private investigator. It was originally ordered at Apple in September 2020.

Dillon will play Denny, Peggy’s ex, and an undeniably charming parolee and a relentless operator. Friend will play Guru Bob, a local ex-anchorman, who, after a trauma, rebrands himself as a mystic desert personality. Opia stars as Carol, Peggy’s closest friend — the bored fiancé of an ER doctor, and a permissive new...

Apple TV+’s comedy series High Desert is adding to its cast. Matt Dillon, Rupert Friend, Weruche Opia, Brad Garrett, Bernadette Peters and Christine Taylor will star opposite Patricia Arquette in the half-hour series, which is exec produced by Ben Stiller and directed by Jay Roach.

Arquette plays Peggy, an addict who decides to make a new start by becoming a private investigator after the death of her beloved mother with whom she lived in the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California.

Crash and Wayward Pines star Dillon will play Denny, Peggy’s ex, an undeniably charming parolee and a relentless operator. Homeland’s Friend will play Guru Bob, a local ex-anchorman, who, after a trauma, rebrands himself as a mystic desert personality. I May Destroy You’s Opia stars as Carol, Peggy’s closest friend, the bored fiancé of an ER doctor and a permissive new stepmother — who...

Exclusive: We hear that Susan Johnson, the director of Netflix’s hit teen dramedy To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, has boarded Paramount Players’ Bounce based on the Megan Shull YA novel and starring YouTube personality JoJo Siwa. The feature is in early development.

Bounce tells the story of a teenage girl who wishes she could trade her family for a new one on Christmas Eve. Her wish is granted and she finds herself “bouncing” into the lives of other girls and living Christmas Day on repeat — learning the value of family, finding your voice and the power of love. Josann McGibbon, the writer and EP on Disney Channel’s Descendants franchise, and the scribe on such movies as Runaway Bride, Three Men and a Little Lady and the Co-ep of ABC’s Desperate Housewives, is adapting Shull’s novel.

Paramount won the rights to Bounce last summer after a competitive bidding war,...

Exclusive: Director of the Netflix hit teen dramedy To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Susan Johnson, has signed with Verve.

The filmmaker joins an eclectic and diverse roster of female directors at Verve including Kim Peirce, Hanelle Culpepper, directing duo Bert & Bertie, Cristina Gallego, Leigh Janiak, Tanya Wexler and Gigi Saul Guerrero.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before premiered on Netflix in the summer of 2018 becoming reportedly one of the most re-watched films that year. The feature followed a teenage girl whose secret love letters are exposed and wreaked havoc on her love life. Critics loved it at 96% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Johnson executive produced the pic’s sequel last year, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You.

Next up, Johnson is attached to direct Rabbit Cake for Amazon starring McKenna Grace, a heart-wrenching dramedy based on the NY Times best-selling book by Annie Hartnett.

Exclusive: Imagine a world where a dating app matches you with your perfect partner. Now, imagine you are one of four people who opt out of finding their perfect partner and decide to just live their best promiscuous life. That’s exactly what the Quibi comedy Unmatched is all about.

Created by Allen Strickland Williams, the mobile short-form streaming platform is currently developing the series which takes place in a comedic future where the most powerful company ever has created a dating app that matches you with your perfect soulmate. Unmatched follows four roommates who live in this brave new world who decide to live a life of hooking up instead of settling down.

“This show is my dystopian love letter to non-monogamy, anti-capitalism and, most importantly, sex,” said Williams.

He will executive producer of Unmatched alongside Scott Aukerman and David Jargowsky. Comedy Bang! Bang! will produce.

A stand-up comedian and writer,...

Exclusive: Francesa Gregorini, whose directing credits include the films Tanner Hall and the Sundance pic The Truth About Emanuel and TV series from AMC’s Humans to Amazon’s Electric Dreams, has signed with ICM Partners.

The move comes as Gregorini, also a writer, is developing with producing partners Wendy Haines and Olga Segura a limited series titled The Delivery Girl, about the life of director Dorothy Arzner. She also is adapting the 1959 Dorothy Strachey novel Olivia to direct as a feature film.

Also on the TV side, she is set to direct upcoming episodes of BBC America’s newly Emmy-nominated Killing Eve, Netflix’s Chambers and Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle.

Gregorini remains managed by David Unger of Artist International Group and repped in the UK by Cynthia Okoye of Curtis Brown. Her attorney is Jennifer Gray at Bloom Hergott.

Now that we’ve had a full day to digest Monday night’s eight-course tribute to Uncle Sam(ba) — complete with “Urban Cowboy” and “Stars & Stripes” attire — is anyone else feeling gobsmacked that we’re already halfway to crowning a successor to season 11 champ Jennifer Gray? Funny how time flies when you’re pondering Ralph Macchio’s secrets to eternal youth. Then again, doesn’t it feel like six seasons (or at least six months) since “Psycho” Mike Catherwood (more about him in a minute!) stumbled his way through the jive? Such is the power of Dancing With The Stars...