News

In today’s TV News Roundup, the Paley Center for Media is hosting a “West Side Story” celebration event and Fox is partnering with Turnaround Arts for a new social media campaign.

Dates

Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights for the rom-com “California No” and is set to release the film Dec. 4 on VOD, DVD and Blu-ray. Written and directed by Ned Ehrbar, the film follows a Hollywood junketeer named Elliot (Noah Segan) who discovers that his wife (Ursula Mills) believes they are involved in an open marriage. Ehrbar also produced the film alongside Samantha Kern, Coco Quinn, Segan and Chad Nicholson, in association with Lost Colony Films and Birthday Suit Productions. Jordan Hinson and Jesse Stern are executive producers.

Executive News

Viacom Inc. has appointed Megan Ring as its new executive vice president of production at Viacom Media Networks. In the newly created position, Ring will manage domestic production for scripted,...

“Fuller House” premiered on Netflix Friday after critics welcomed it to the streaming service with mostly negative reviews. “Excruciating,” “tinged with the sickly-sweet of rot” and bordering “on the obscene” are just a few of the unkind words critics had for the “Full House” sequel series, which currently holds a score of 39 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. One critic even wrote, “There’s a point where nostalgia becomes more like necrophilia, and ‘Fuller House’ immediately crosses that line.” TheWrap’s Ned Ehrbar agreed and wrote, “in practice, it’s just a stark example of how nostalgia looks best at a hazy distance.

If you’ve seen Mad Max: Fury Road then you, like everyone else, are probably still reeling from George Miller’s cinematic masterpiece. The only problem? You want more. The jury is still out on whether Fury Road will make enough money to warrant a sequel—a sequel that Miller has already written and titled Mad Max: The Wasteland—and even if it does get the greenlight, we’ll have to wait a few years until it’s unleashed on the big screen. But a temporary solution arrived this evening in the form of a video that puts a delightful new spin on the movie that’s already out there. Ladies and gentlemen, behold the mashup you didn’t know you needed: The Unbreakable Furiosa (h/t Ned Ehrbar). One of the great things about Fury Road (of which there are many) is how it swaps the traditional gender roles of contemporary blockbusters.

So, Tom Daley has a boyfriend. That means two things: 1) He is subject to a grudge match against Matthew Mitcham for our eternal love; 2) The gay men of Twitter have been responding. Here are my favorite ten responses so far. (Caution: Nph should be notified that there’s nothing “misguided” about lusting after Olympians of any sexual orientation. We consider it a pastime here.)

I’m relieved to know that all of my panting over @TomDaley1994 at the Summer Olympics wasn’t completely misguided.

— Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) December 2, 2013

Imagine if Matthew Mitcham and Tom Daley had a baby. It would literally come out as a rainbow flag performing a perfect swan dive. — Brendan Maclean (@macleanbrendan) December 3, 2013

Congrats Tom! I’m glad Someone understood the message of “Frozen” this weekend! https://t.co/O2wvHHcEGm — Chris Schleicher (@cschleichsrun) December 2, 2013

It’s important to tell a guy who comes out that you “knew all along.

We return with the latest edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes release information for the Reaper Reunion Cast Special, a look at the opening sequence from Ten, photos from The Stanley Film Festival, and more:

Premiere Date Set for Reaper Reunion Cast Special: “FEARnet’s Reaper reunion special was shot on Wednesday, April 24, at the Medusa Lounge in Los Angeles. In attendance for the special—hosted by TV and web personality Angie Greenup—were series stars Ray Wise, Tyler Labine and Bret Harrison, as well as Rick Gonzalez, Ken Marino, Christine Willes and series creators Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas.

The reunion special will air on Tuesday, May 28th at 9 p.m. Et.

“I’m so happy that FEARnet is doing this,” said Ray Wise, who played the Devil on Reaper. “It really warms my heart having us all back together again.

We return with the latest edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes news on Herschell Gordon Lewis’s next film, Zombificador, details on a feature-length version of The Little Mermaid short film, a Truth or Dare teaser trailer, and much more:

Feature-Length Version of The Little Mermaid Announced: “The Little Mermaid is a live-action, supernatural thriller set in the 1930s Oklahoma dust bowl. This dark fantasy centers around a sideshow of “living aquatic oddities” in which the Little Mermaid herself is both a captive victim, and an incredibly powerful catalyst. As a character-driven thriller, the film transcends traditional indie “pick ‘em off in the dark one by one” offerings. Impacting each of the ensemble cast in a unique way, this is not the Little Mermaid you remember from your childhood!

In 2011, the principals of Done Four Productions produced a...

Ned Ehrbar, creator of the My Damn Channel series "Co-op of the Damned" (previously featured in Backstage) is throwing a fundraising bash Saturday, March 30, in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles to raise money for his new post-apocalyptic romantic comedy short-film project "Bunker." In exchange for a $20 donation, Ehrbar and his co-creators promise "live entertainment, DJs, special guests, and sexy, sexy dancers, plus plenty of beer and Bunker Punch to get you in the giving spirit." And hey, how many times do actors get the opportunity to share something called "Bunker Punch" with the creator of a successful web series? The party begins at 9 p.m. at the Mime Workspace, 1840 Glendale Blvd. Visit the "Bunker" on Facebook for more info.