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Charles W. Fries, the prolific producer and executive who was known as the “Godfather of the Television Movie,” died Thursday in Los Angeles, his family announced. He was 92.

In 1974, he formed Charles Fries Productions, which later became Fries Entertainment. By one estimate, he and his company produced and/or supervised more than 275 hours of telefilms, miniseries and series.

Fries had his greatest impact during the period he described in his autobiography as “the golden days of the television movie” — the 25-year period from 1968-93.

His projects included The Amazing Spider-Man series of the late 1970s; the ...

Charles W. Fries, the prolific producer and executive who was known as the “Godfather of the Television Movie,” died Thursday in Los Angeles, his family announced. He was 92.

In 1974, he formed Charles Fries Productions, which later became Fries Entertainment. By one estimate, he and his company produced and/or supervised more than 275 hours of telefilms, miniseries and series.

Fries had his greatest impact during the period he described in his autobiography as “the golden days of the television movie” — the 25-year period from 1968-93.

His projects included The Amazing Spider-Man series of the late 1970s; the ...

Who's ready to go glamping in Beverly Hills? E! News can confirm that Tri-Star has greenlit a sequel to the cult classic film, Troop Beverly Hills. Producer Laurence Mark, who has credits on Jerry Maguire, Julie & Julia, The Greatest Showman and more, will produce the movie based off of screenwriter Aeysha Carr's script, which is going through a rewrite by Tamara Chestna. And Oran Zegman will make her directorial debut with the project, following the success of her short film, Marriage Material.  Additionally, the screenwriter of the original film, Ava Fries, and Charles W. Fries will executive produce, as they did in the 1980s. All that's to...

Sony’s TriStar Pictures is making a sequel to the 1989 comedy “Troop Beverly Hills” that starred Shelley Long, and the studio has set Oran Zegman to make her feature directorial debut on the project.

Aeysha Carr, who is the showrunner on “Woke” and is currently writing Paramount’s “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” remake starring Will Smith and Kevin Hart, wrote the script, and it’s now undergoing a remake by Tamara Chestna (“Moxie”), who will also have a producing role. It’s unclear if any of the original cast will return.

“Troop Beverly Hills” is the story of a pampered Beverly Hills housewife who tried to prove to her daughter that she could rough it as a Wilderness Girls leader and care for a group of girls. The film provided early roles for Carla Gugino and musician Jenny Lewis, among others, and has become a cult classic thanks to its feminist themes and warm heart.

Book your blowout at Christophe and pop your luxury tents — Sony Pictures has ordered a sequel to the 1989 comedy “Troop Beverly Hills.”

The film, about a pampered Los Angeles housewife (Shelley Long) who roughs it as Wilderness Girls scout to bond with her daughter, is getting an update from director Oran Zegman, Variety has learned.

The Los Angeles-based Israeli director will mark her feature debut with the untitled sequel, set to release under Sony’s TriStar Pictures banner. “The Greatest Showman” producer Laurence Mark is on board to produce.

“Troop Beverly Hills” is perhaps Long’s most memorable movie turn, scoring laughs as a precious fish out of water who applies her Rodeo Drive street skills to the great outdoors. The original film has seen decades of repeat viewing, praised for its feminist themes and tightly embraced by the LGBTQ community.

The sequel’s screenplay is from Aeysha Carr, the...

Tri-Star has set a sequel to the 1989 Shelley Long feature Troop Beverly Hills with AFI Conservatory grad Oran Zegman making her feature directorial debut.

Oscar nominated Laurence Mark will produce the film off a screenplay by Aeysha Carr with a rewrite by Tamara Chestna, who will also have a producerial role.

The original movie was based on the life events of Ava Fries. Long played a pampered Beverly Hills housewife trying to prove to her daughter that she can rough it as a Wilderness Girls leader. Fries produced the original movie and wrote the story which had a screenplay by Pamela Norris and Margaret Oberman and was directed by Jeff Kanew, produced by Weintraub Entertainment. Fries is returning with Charles W. Fries to executive produce. Nicole Brown and Shary Shirazi will oversee for the studio.

Zegman is an Israeli filmmaker based in Los Angeles.

Screaming, flying ‘Autonomous Mobile Swords’ have decimated the enemy in a war on a far-off planet, but now the pesky smart weapons are self-evolving into ever more cruel and deadly new iterations. Peter Weller and Jennifer Rubin head a cast of desperate soldiers in this adaptation of an early story by Philip K. Dick — that perhaps addresses an aspect of the arms race? The show remains a cult favorite of fans of violent sci-fi adventures. Disc extras interview the filmmakers on Screamers’ decade-long path to the screen.

Screamers

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date January 29, 2019 / 29.99

Starring: Peter Weller, Roy Dupuis, Jennifer Rubin, Andrew Lauer, Charles Edwin Powell, Ron White, Michael Caloz.

Cinematography: Rodney Gibbons

Film Editor: Yves Langlois

Original Music: Normand Corbell

Written by Dan O’Bannon, Miguel Tejada-Flores

From the short story ‘Second Variety’ by Philip K. Dick

Produced by Charles W. Fries, Antony I. Ginnane,...

The Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors’ former ties to Hollywood’s unions are coming into question in light of its recent decision to stand by its award to ultra-conservative presidential hopeful Senator Ted Cruz.

The decision to give the Texas Republican its American Spirit Award had polarized the caucus’ membership, with internal objections leading to an emergency meeting of the executive committee Monday, which upheld the decision to honor Cruz. The caucus traditionally hands out American Spirit Awards to a Republican and a Democrat (California Governor Jerry Brown appears to be the choice on the liberal side this year, though it is unclear whether the Cruz controversy would affect his decision to accept it). Other prominent conservatives have received the award in the past, including include Congressmen Darrell Issa (R-ca) and Eric Cantor (R-va), but none has been as polarizing or anti-union as Cruz.

Co-founded in 1977 by Hollywood liberal icon Norman Lear,...

Lifetime has ordered a TV movie adaptation of V.C. Andrews' "Flowers in the Attic," which will star Heather Graham and Ellen Burstyn, The Wrap reports.

Graham will play the recently widowed Corrine, who takes her four children (Chris, Cathy, Cory and Carrie) to stay with her parents at their mansion in Virginia. Because of a dark family secret, Corrine's mother, Olivia (Burstyn) insists that the four children must be kept locked in the attic where their grandfather won't see them, leaving them to care for themselves after Corrine's visits become increasingly infrequent. After years trapped alone together, the eldest children, Chris and Cathy, start taking a page out of Cersei and Jaime Lannister's playbook, if you know what we mean ...

The TV movie will be executive produced by Merideth Finn ("The Rite"), Michele Weiss ("Little Children") and Charles W. Fries ("Screamers"), Deborah Chow ("The High Cost of Living") is...

Children of the ’80s, gothic horror queen V.C. Andrews isn’t done with you yet.

Heather Graham has been tapped to star in Lifetime’s recently green-lit Flowers in the Attic, TVLine has learned. The made-for-tv movie will be based on Andrews’ popular 1979 novel (which was adapted into a feature film in 1987).

The creepy Lifetime flick will tell the story of Corrine (Graham), a recent widow who puts her four children into a pretty terrible situation at her parents’ mansion after their father’s death. A disturbing family secret causes the children’s grandmother, Olivia — played by Ellen Burstyn (Political Animals...

David Gerber, a seminal figure in American and international television for a half-century as a producer, studio executive, industry statesman and philanthropist, died Saturday at Los Angeles County-usc Medical Center. He was 86.

Gerber earned an Emmy (and six other Emmy noms), a Golden Globe, a Peabody award and a Christopher award -- not to mention honors from the American Film Institute, the Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors and others -- by taking on serious, often controversial subjects.

He was a pioneer of multiracial programming and an industry innovator with such series as "Police Woman," "Batman," "Room 222," "thirtysomething," "In the Heat of the Night," "Medical Story" and dozens of TV movies, including his last longform effort, the critically acclaimed "Flight 93" in 2006.

His miniseries included "George Washington," winner of a Peabody award; "The Lindberg Kidnapping Case"; "Nothing Lasts Forever"; and "Beulah Land."

In 1974, Gerber produced "Police Woman," the first successful...

The patriarch of Hollywood's Berg family, Dick Berg, has died after a fall at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87.

A TV and movie writer and producer, Berg died on Tuesday.

Born in New York in 1922, he arrived in Hollywood in the early 1940s and became a dialogue coach for movie cowboy Roy Rogers.

But writing was his first love and many of his early scripts were turned into dramas for the Kraft Television Theatre and Robert Montgomery Presents series in the U.S.

By the late 1950s, Berg was an in-demand writer in Tinseltown and enjoyed careers at leading studios MGM, 20th Century Fox and Universal, where he created detective drama Johnny Staccato starring John Cassavetes.

He moved into TV production in the 1960s at Universal and was the man behind shows like Checkmate and Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, which offered aspiring writers the chance to get their original teleplays aired.

By the end of the 1960s, Berg was producing films like House of Cards and Counterpoint and TV movies and mini-series such as Wallenberg,The Martian Chronicles and Elmore Leonard's Pronto.

A former president of the Hollywood Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Berg was presented with the American Film Institute's Charles Fries Producer of the Year Award in 2000.

Berg also succeeded as a father - his sons are A. Scott Berg, who is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Jeff, who is chairman of International Creative Management (Icm) talent agency; Tony, a record producer and executive; and Rick, a manager and producer.

Jeanne Tripplehorn will star in the indie feature "Morning," which will mark the directorial debut of her husband, Leland Orser, who wrote the original screenplay.

Laura Linney also is joining the cast, which includes Elliott Gould, Kyle Chandler, Julie White, Jason Ritter, Charlie McDermott and Orser.

In the film, Tripplehorn will play a mother mourning the loss of her child, while Linney will appear as a grief counselor.

Todd Traina and Minor Childers are producing through their Red Rover Films with Fries Film Group, whose principals, Jon Fries and Charles Fries, will serve as exec producers.

The feature was developed from a short Orser wrote and directed.

Principal photography will begin this month in Los Angeles.

Linney is repped by Icm and Brillstein Entertainment. Tripplehorn is repped by Gersh and Brillstein. Orser is repped by Gersh and the Burnstein Co.

Lawrence Lyttle, president of Big Ticket Television and a widely recognized proponent of diversity in the television industry, will be the first recipient of the newly created Diversity Award from the Caucus for Television Producers. Announcing the award Friday, Caucus co-chair Charles Fries said, "Since its inception, Big Ticket has been at the forefront of employing minority talent both in front of and behind the camera." Co-chair Lee Miller joined in the announcement. The award honors an industry executive for his or her significant contribution to creating diversity in front of and behind the camera. It will be presented at the Caucus' 20th annual black tie dinner slated for Jan. 10 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. A significant portion of the proceeds from the evening will go to the Caucus Foundation, which provides completion grants for student films supporting diversity in the entertainment industry.