Karen Pittman (The Morning Show) and The Wire alum Wood Harris are set as leads opposite Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone in Forever, Netflix’s upcoming drama series from Girlfriends and Being Mary Jane creator Mara Brock Akil.
A reimagining of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation, the series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.
Pittman plays Dawn, a college-educated, top executive in corporate finance with an easy elegance that belies her loving but paranoid form of parenting, Justin’s (Cooper Jr.) mother Dawn might be strict at times, but it’s always out of love. She’s worked hard to give him the things he needs to succeed in life and...
A reimagining of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation, the series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.
Pittman plays Dawn, a college-educated, top executive in corporate finance with an easy elegance that belies her loving but paranoid form of parenting, Justin’s (Cooper Jr.) mother Dawn might be strict at times, but it’s always out of love. She’s worked hard to give him the things he needs to succeed in life and...
- 3/7/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Matthew Lillard has signed With Verve for representation.
Lillard can currently be seen in the Universal/Blumhouse box office and streaming hit, Five Nights At Freddys’, which opened to an astounding $80 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend — even with a day-and-date release on Peacock.
His breakthrough came in Wes Craven’s horror classic, Scream along with memorable turns in Hacker’s, She’s All That and Summer Catch. In 2002 he portrayed Shaggy Rogers in the live-action adaptation of Scooby -Doo and reprised the role in the 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Other notable feature credits include Alexander Payne’s The Descendants opposite George Clooney, Trouble With The Curve with Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams and Stephen Belber’s Match opposite Carla Gugino.
In 2012, he directed his first feature film, Fat Kid Rules The World, a coming-of-age drama that received critical acclaim for its authentic portrayal of adolescence...
Lillard can currently be seen in the Universal/Blumhouse box office and streaming hit, Five Nights At Freddys’, which opened to an astounding $80 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend — even with a day-and-date release on Peacock.
His breakthrough came in Wes Craven’s horror classic, Scream along with memorable turns in Hacker’s, She’s All That and Summer Catch. In 2002 he portrayed Shaggy Rogers in the live-action adaptation of Scooby -Doo and reprised the role in the 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Other notable feature credits include Alexander Payne’s The Descendants opposite George Clooney, Trouble With The Curve with Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams and Stephen Belber’s Match opposite Carla Gugino.
In 2012, he directed his first feature film, Fat Kid Rules The World, a coming-of-age drama that received critical acclaim for its authentic portrayal of adolescence...
- 11/22/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Peter Chernin’s North Road Company has hired Amy Israel in the role of president of television.
Israel was most recently the head of scripted for Showtime, though it was announced in September she would be stepping down from that role by year’s end. In her new role, Israel will oversee all of North Road’s scripted television development and production. The role reunites her with fellow Showtime alum David Nevins, who currently serves as North Road’s CEO and to whom Israel will report.
“Amy is among the best in the business, the driving force behind a long list of the most impactful shows in our time,” Nevins said. “I know first-hand the value of her unique combination of creative leadership and producorial drive, and I am fully confident she will make a fantastic addition to North Road’s leadership and the ongoing expansion of our industry-leading content portfolio.
Israel was most recently the head of scripted for Showtime, though it was announced in September she would be stepping down from that role by year’s end. In her new role, Israel will oversee all of North Road’s scripted television development and production. The role reunites her with fellow Showtime alum David Nevins, who currently serves as North Road’s CEO and to whom Israel will report.
“Amy is among the best in the business, the driving force behind a long list of the most impactful shows in our time,” Nevins said. “I know first-hand the value of her unique combination of creative leadership and producorial drive, and I am fully confident she will make a fantastic addition to North Road’s leadership and the ongoing expansion of our industry-leading content portfolio.
- 10/27/2023
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Est N8, a recently-established finance, production and rights sales company, has added a Hong Kong remake of classic film “Tape” and the LGBT comedy-drama “Asog” to its bulging sales slate at the Afcm market that accompanies the Busan Intenational Film Festival.
“Tape” tells the story of three best friends who, following an event at a graduation party that transforms their lives, reunite 15 years later where a case of blackmail forces them to confront a terrible secret from their past.
The original film starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard and played at the Sundance, Toronto and Rotterdam festivals.
In the Cantonese-language remake directed by Bizhan Tong, Selena Lee, Kenny Kwan, and Adam Pak play the contemporary characters while Mason Fung, Summer Chan, and Angus Yeung portray the characters’ younger versions.
The script is written by Stephen Belber, Tong, Lee and Bonnie Lo, and is an adaptation of Belber...
“Tape” tells the story of three best friends who, following an event at a graduation party that transforms their lives, reunite 15 years later where a case of blackmail forces them to confront a terrible secret from their past.
The original film starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard and played at the Sundance, Toronto and Rotterdam festivals.
In the Cantonese-language remake directed by Bizhan Tong, Selena Lee, Kenny Kwan, and Adam Pak play the contemporary characters while Mason Fung, Summer Chan, and Angus Yeung portray the characters’ younger versions.
The script is written by Stephen Belber, Tong, Lee and Bonnie Lo, and is an adaptation of Belber...
- 10/8/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Amy Israel, the respected Showtime Scripted chief, might be headed to Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company.
There is increased speculation that Israel, whose departure from Showtime after 12 years was just announced at the Paramount Global network, may be reuniting with her former boss, David Nevins, who joined The North Road in July as CEO.
Israel, who has an extensive background in both TV and film, has been in talks with North Road, I hear, but sources stressed that there is no deal in place. A rep for The North Road Company declined comment.
Israel joined Showtime Networks in 2011 as SVP, Original Programming and most recently served as EVP, Scripted Programming, overseeing for the development and creative oversight of original scripted series, including drama, comedy and limited series. She was the highest-level Showtime content executive to remain in her role following the major restructuring earlier this year when...
There is increased speculation that Israel, whose departure from Showtime after 12 years was just announced at the Paramount Global network, may be reuniting with her former boss, David Nevins, who joined The North Road in July as CEO.
Israel, who has an extensive background in both TV and film, has been in talks with North Road, I hear, but sources stressed that there is no deal in place. A rep for The North Road Company declined comment.
Israel joined Showtime Networks in 2011 as SVP, Original Programming and most recently served as EVP, Scripted Programming, overseeing for the development and creative oversight of original scripted series, including drama, comedy and limited series. She was the highest-level Showtime content executive to remain in her role following the major restructuring earlier this year when...
- 9/28/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
David Nevins is back in business.
Nevins, who left Paramount Global last year after a 12-year run in charge of Showtime, has been named CEO of Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company. He was most recently Chairman and CEO of Paramount Premium Group and Chief Creative Officer of Paramount+ Scripted Series.
It comes a year after Chernin launched the company, bringing together Chernin Entertainment, the U.S. assets of Red Arrow Studios, which includes Love Is Blind producer Kinetic Content, and Connor Schell’s non-scripted business Words + Pictures.
Nevins and Chernin have known each other for years; Nevins was EVP, Programming at Fox during Chernin’s time there, where he oversaw development and current programming for series including Malcom in the Middle, The Bernie Mac Show and the first season of 24. When he was President of Imagine TV, between 2002 and 2010, the company also had a first-look deal with Fox.
Nevins, who left Paramount Global last year after a 12-year run in charge of Showtime, has been named CEO of Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company. He was most recently Chairman and CEO of Paramount Premium Group and Chief Creative Officer of Paramount+ Scripted Series.
It comes a year after Chernin launched the company, bringing together Chernin Entertainment, the U.S. assets of Red Arrow Studios, which includes Love Is Blind producer Kinetic Content, and Connor Schell’s non-scripted business Words + Pictures.
Nevins and Chernin have known each other for years; Nevins was EVP, Programming at Fox during Chernin’s time there, where he oversaw development and current programming for series including Malcom in the Middle, The Bernie Mac Show and the first season of 24. When he was President of Imagine TV, between 2002 and 2010, the company also had a first-look deal with Fox.
- 7/6/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Marsha Stephanie Blake (When They See Us), Gabrielle Graham (Twenties), John Ortiz (Promised Land) and Tamsin Topolski (Slow Horses) have been cast opposite Colman Domingo in Netflix’s The Madness limited series. The conspiracy thriller hails from Chernin Entertainment via its first-look deal with Netflix, creator and co-showrunner Stephen Belber (O.G., The Laramie Project) and co-showrunner VJ Boyd (Justified, S.W.A.T.)
Related: 2023 Netflix Pilot & Series Orders
In The Madness, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive.
Blake will play Elena Daniels, the mother of Muncie’s 15-year-old son.
Graham portrays Kallie, the adult daughter of Muncie.
Ortiz plays Franco Quinones, a longtime FBI field agent with strong convictions and a relentless approach to his work.
Related: 2023 Netflix Pilot & Series Orders
In The Madness, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive.
Blake will play Elena Daniels, the mother of Muncie’s 15-year-old son.
Graham portrays Kallie, the adult daughter of Muncie.
Ortiz plays Franco Quinones, a longtime FBI field agent with strong convictions and a relentless approach to his work.
- 3/8/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
They’re back. Rlje Films presents the Stephen King reboot Children of the Corn by Kurt Wimmer on 500+ screens. It’s a redo of the classic 1984 slasher-horror film about kids possessed by a demonic spirit in a dying cornfield, with bloody, rampaging results.
King’s iconic short story features a 12-year-old Nebraska girl who recruits the kids in her small town for a killing spree of all the adults, and anyone else who opposes her. A bright high schooler who won’t go along with the plan is the town’s only hope of survival. There are some new twists, in Wimmer’s version, the corn is genetically modified. Starring Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, Callan Mulvey and Bruce Spence.
The story is great, spawning numerous spinoffs beginning with Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice in 1992 followed by Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest in 1995. Most went direct to video.
King’s iconic short story features a 12-year-old Nebraska girl who recruits the kids in her small town for a killing spree of all the adults, and anyone else who opposes her. A bright high schooler who won’t go along with the plan is the town’s only hope of survival. There are some new twists, in Wimmer’s version, the corn is genetically modified. Starring Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, Callan Mulvey and Bruce Spence.
The story is great, spawning numerous spinoffs beginning with Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice in 1992 followed by Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest in 1995. Most went direct to video.
- 3/3/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
US theatrical release set for March 3.
Blue Fox has come on board to sell worldwide rights on the crime thriller What We Do Next starring Corey Stoll and will launch sales talks at EFM this week.
Stephen Belber (Match starring Patrick Stewart) wrote and directed the completed feature, which also stars Karen Pittman (The Morning Show) and Michelle Veintimilla (Gotham) and gets a US theatrical release on March 3 via Small Batch Studio Entertainment.
What We Do Next centres on a New York City politician (Pittman) climbing the political ladder who is forced to navigate her complicated past with a young...
Blue Fox has come on board to sell worldwide rights on the crime thriller What We Do Next starring Corey Stoll and will launch sales talks at EFM this week.
Stephen Belber (Match starring Patrick Stewart) wrote and directed the completed feature, which also stars Karen Pittman (The Morning Show) and Michelle Veintimilla (Gotham) and gets a US theatrical release on March 3 via Small Batch Studio Entertainment.
What We Do Next centres on a New York City politician (Pittman) climbing the political ladder who is forced to navigate her complicated past with a young...
- 2/13/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto Black Film Festival is back for the 11th year of amplifying Black voices in cinema, with this year’s edition featuring 125 movies from 20 different countries.
Presented by Td Bank Group in collaboration with Global News, this year’s Tbff is celebrating the return of in-person programming while maintaining an online component, with a goal of inspiring the next generation of Black artists in film and beyond!
The 2023 edition of Canada’s largest celebration of Black History Month through film features a star-studded roster of talent that includes Letitia Wright, Josh O’Connor, Columbus Short, Keith David, Ledisi, Colin Kaepernick, Rickey Jackson, Don Lemmon, Ossie Davis, Karen Pittman, Corey Stoll, Cesária Évora and many more.
Read More: The 10th Annual Toronto Black Film Festival To Start With Keke Palmer, Common’s ‘Alice’
The Festival’s opening night will take place on Wednesday, Feb 15 at the Isabel Bader Theatre with the...
Presented by Td Bank Group in collaboration with Global News, this year’s Tbff is celebrating the return of in-person programming while maintaining an online component, with a goal of inspiring the next generation of Black artists in film and beyond!
The 2023 edition of Canada’s largest celebration of Black History Month through film features a star-studded roster of talent that includes Letitia Wright, Josh O’Connor, Columbus Short, Keith David, Ledisi, Colin Kaepernick, Rickey Jackson, Don Lemmon, Ossie Davis, Karen Pittman, Corey Stoll, Cesária Évora and many more.
Read More: The 10th Annual Toronto Black Film Festival To Start With Keke Palmer, Common’s ‘Alice’
The Festival’s opening night will take place on Wednesday, Feb 15 at the Isabel Bader Theatre with the...
- 2/11/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Netflix is teaming up with Colman Domingo for the forthcoming limited series The Madness. The Emmy-winning actor known for Euphoria and Fear the Walking Dead will lead the conspiracy thriller from Chernin Entertainment’s first look deal. Domingo will take on the role of Muncie Daniels, a media pundit who must fight for his innocence and life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls begin to close in on him, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family, as well as his lost ideals, in order to survive the road ahead. The Madness will follow an eight-episode limited series format with The Laramie Project‘s Stephen Belber serving as creator of the series as he co-showruns with Justified‘s VJ Boyd. (Credit: Netflix) The Madness is executive produced by Belber, Boyd, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and Kaitlin Dahill with Clément Virgo who directs...
- 2/8/2023
- TV Insider
Colman Domingo signs on to star in Netflix’s ‘The Madness’
Fear the Walking Dead‘s Colman Domingo will star in The Madness, a limited series just greenlit at Netflix. The conspiracy thriller was created by Stephen Belber (The Laramie Project) and is part of Chernin Entertainment’s first look deal with the streaming service.
Belber and VJ Boyd (Justified) are co-showrunners of the eight-episode series, and both serve as executive producers along with Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and Kaitlin Dahill.
“Stephen Belber and VJ Boyd thrive in creating suspense-driven emotional stories that connect with broad audiences. We look forward to seeing them bring this timely conspiracy thriller to life and to continue our partnership with Netflix,” stated Chernin Entertainment President Jenno Topping.
Executive producer Clément Virgo (Greenleaf) will direct the first two episodes as well as the last two episodes. Quyen Tran (Maid) and Jessica Lowrey (Perry Mason) will each direct two episodes each.
Fear the Walking Dead‘s Colman Domingo will star in The Madness, a limited series just greenlit at Netflix. The conspiracy thriller was created by Stephen Belber (The Laramie Project) and is part of Chernin Entertainment’s first look deal with the streaming service.
Belber and VJ Boyd (Justified) are co-showrunners of the eight-episode series, and both serve as executive producers along with Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and Kaitlin Dahill.
“Stephen Belber and VJ Boyd thrive in creating suspense-driven emotional stories that connect with broad audiences. We look forward to seeing them bring this timely conspiracy thriller to life and to continue our partnership with Netflix,” stated Chernin Entertainment President Jenno Topping.
Executive producer Clément Virgo (Greenleaf) will direct the first two episodes as well as the last two episodes. Quyen Tran (Maid) and Jessica Lowrey (Perry Mason) will each direct two episodes each.
- 2/8/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Fear the Walking Dead may be ending, but Colman Domingo is staying booked and busy.
The Emmy-winning actor is set to headline The Madness, a new Netflix limited series.
"In The Madness, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods," the logline teases.
"As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive."
The series is set to comprise eight episodes and was created by Stephen Belber, who will serve as showrunner alongside VJ Boyd.
Jenno Topping, President of Chernin Entertainment, said of the pickup:
"Stephen Belber and VJ Boyd thrive in creating suspense driven emotional stories that connect with broad audiences."
"We look forward to seeing them bring this timely conspiracy thriller to life and to continue our partnership with Netflix."
Peter Friedlander,...
The Emmy-winning actor is set to headline The Madness, a new Netflix limited series.
"In The Madness, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods," the logline teases.
"As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive."
The series is set to comprise eight episodes and was created by Stephen Belber, who will serve as showrunner alongside VJ Boyd.
Jenno Topping, President of Chernin Entertainment, said of the pickup:
"Stephen Belber and VJ Boyd thrive in creating suspense driven emotional stories that connect with broad audiences."
"We look forward to seeing them bring this timely conspiracy thriller to life and to continue our partnership with Netflix."
Peter Friedlander,...
- 2/8/2023
- by Paul Dailly
- TVfanatic
Colman Domingo has officially lined up his next project with Netflix’s just-announced conspiracy thriller The Madness.
In the eight-episode limited series from Stephen Belber (The Laramie Project), media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) “must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods,” reads the streamer’s official description. “As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family — and his lost ideals — in order to survive.”
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In the eight-episode limited series from Stephen Belber (The Laramie Project), media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) “must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods,” reads the streamer’s official description. “As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family — and his lost ideals — in order to survive.”
More from TVLineThe Night Agent Adaptation From Shield Creator Shawn Ryan Gets Netflix Release Date and Teaser -- WatchNetflix's African Queens: Njinga...
- 2/8/2023
- by Nick Caruso
- TVLine.com
Netflix has ordered the limited series “The Madness” with Colman Domingo set to star, Variety has learned.
“The Madness,” which will consist of eight episodes, is described as a conspiracy thriller. It centers on “media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo), who must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive.”
“‘The Madness’ is a fresh take on the conspiracy thriller — turning the genre on its head with its multi-layered characters, propulsive action and swift pace,” said Peter Friedlander, vice president of scripted series at Netflix for the US and Canada. “We are proud to have such a powerhouse team assembled to bring this dynamic story to life for Netflix viewers around the world, and to continue producing great entertainment with team Chernin.
“The Madness,” which will consist of eight episodes, is described as a conspiracy thriller. It centers on “media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo), who must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive.”
“‘The Madness’ is a fresh take on the conspiracy thriller — turning the genre on its head with its multi-layered characters, propulsive action and swift pace,” said Peter Friedlander, vice president of scripted series at Netflix for the US and Canada. “We are proud to have such a powerhouse team assembled to bring this dynamic story to life for Netflix viewers around the world, and to continue producing great entertainment with team Chernin.
- 2/8/2023
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Emmy winner Colman Domingo will star in Netflix’s upcoming limited conspiracy thriller “The Madness,” which has just received a series order under Chernin Entertainment’s (The North Road Company) first-look deal at the streamer.
In the eight-episode drama, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and livelihood after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family — and his lost ideals — in order to survive.
The project hails from co-showrunners VJ Boyd and Stephen Belber, who also serves as creator. The duo will also executive produce alongside Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Kaitlin Dahill. As previously reported, Clément Virgo (“Greenleaf”) will direct and executive produce the first two and concluding two episodes. Quyen Tran (“Maid”) and Jessica Lowrey (“Perry Mason”) will each direct two middle episodes.
Also Read:
Apple TV+ Renews ‘Tehran...
In the eight-episode drama, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and livelihood after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family — and his lost ideals — in order to survive.
The project hails from co-showrunners VJ Boyd and Stephen Belber, who also serves as creator. The duo will also executive produce alongside Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Kaitlin Dahill. As previously reported, Clément Virgo (“Greenleaf”) will direct and executive produce the first two and concluding two episodes. Quyen Tran (“Maid”) and Jessica Lowrey (“Perry Mason”) will each direct two middle episodes.
Also Read:
Apple TV+ Renews ‘Tehran...
- 2/8/2023
- by Natalie Oganesyan
- The Wrap
Netflix has cast Emmy winner Colman Domingo to star in a limited series titled The Madness.
The eight-episode thriller, which the streamer has picked up to series, comes from creator Stephen Belber (The Laramie Project, HBO’s O.G.) and Chernin Entertainment, which has a first-look deal with Netflix.
“The Madness is a fresh take on the conspiracy thriller — turning the genre on its head with its multi-layered characters, propulsive action and swift pace,” said Peter Friedlander, vp scripted series for Netflix in the United States and Canada. “We are proud to have such a powerhouse team assembled to bring this dynamic story to life for Netflix viewers around the world, and to continue producing great entertainment with team Chernin.”
Domingo (Euphoria, Fear the Walking Dead) will star in The Madness as media pundit Muncie Daniels, who stumbles on a murder scene deep in the woods of the Poconos. As the walls close in,...
The eight-episode thriller, which the streamer has picked up to series, comes from creator Stephen Belber (The Laramie Project, HBO’s O.G.) and Chernin Entertainment, which has a first-look deal with Netflix.
“The Madness is a fresh take on the conspiracy thriller — turning the genre on its head with its multi-layered characters, propulsive action and swift pace,” said Peter Friedlander, vp scripted series for Netflix in the United States and Canada. “We are proud to have such a powerhouse team assembled to bring this dynamic story to life for Netflix viewers around the world, and to continue producing great entertainment with team Chernin.”
Domingo (Euphoria, Fear the Walking Dead) will star in The Madness as media pundit Muncie Daniels, who stumbles on a murder scene deep in the woods of the Poconos. As the walls close in,...
- 2/8/2023
- by Rick Porter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix has given a series order to The Madness, a conspiracy thriller starring Emmy winner Colman Domingo. The eight-episode limited series hails from Chernin Entertainment via its first-look deal with Netflix, creator and co-showrunner Stephen Belber and co-showrunner VJ Boyd
In The Madness, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive.
Belber and Boyd executive produce with Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Kaitlin Dahill for Chernin Entertainment (The North Road Company). Clément Virgo (Greenleaf) will direct and executive produce the first two and final two episodes. Quyen Tran (Maid) and Jessica Lowrey (Perry Mason) will each direct two middle episodes.
Related: 2023 Netflix Pilots & Series Orders
“Stephen...
In The Madness, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive.
Belber and Boyd executive produce with Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Kaitlin Dahill for Chernin Entertainment (The North Road Company). Clément Virgo (Greenleaf) will direct and executive produce the first two and final two episodes. Quyen Tran (Maid) and Jessica Lowrey (Perry Mason) will each direct two middle episodes.
Related: 2023 Netflix Pilots & Series Orders
“Stephen...
- 2/8/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Jeremy Strong as Irving Graff and Anne Hathaway as Esther Graff in ‘Armageddon Time’ (Photo Courtesy of Focus Features)
Writer/director James Gray’s Armageddon Time will open the 2022 San Diego International Film Festival on October 19th and writer/director Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light has been selected as the festival’s closing night film. The 21st annual SDiFF’s lineup will also include the San Diego premiere of Taurus as well as screenings of Close, Good Night Oppy, and The Banshees of Inisherin.
This year’s festival will honor Taurus star Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) with the Spotlight Award. Baker, who made his acting debut in the Showtime series Roadies, will be presented with the honor following a special Spotlight Screening of Taurus from writer/director Tim Sutton on October 23rd.
“This year, our slate has been curated from over 3000 film submissions from 82 countries with compelling Social...
Writer/director James Gray’s Armageddon Time will open the 2022 San Diego International Film Festival on October 19th and writer/director Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light has been selected as the festival’s closing night film. The 21st annual SDiFF’s lineup will also include the San Diego premiere of Taurus as well as screenings of Close, Good Night Oppy, and The Banshees of Inisherin.
This year’s festival will honor Taurus star Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) with the Spotlight Award. Baker, who made his acting debut in the Showtime series Roadies, will be presented with the honor following a special Spotlight Screening of Taurus from writer/director Tim Sutton on October 23rd.
“This year, our slate has been curated from over 3000 film submissions from 82 countries with compelling Social...
- 9/7/2022
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Filming set to begin on Cantonese-language remake in September.
Hong Kong stars Selena Lee, Kenny Kwan and Adam Pak are to take the lead roles in an Asian remake of Richard Linklater’s 2001 drama Tape, which is set to begin filming next month.
The film will be directed by Bizhan Tong as a co-production between Tong’s Phoenix Waters Productions, Marvion and Agog Films.
The original starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard and took place in real time. The remake – also titled Tape – centres on three friends who, following an event at a graduation party that transforms their lives,...
Hong Kong stars Selena Lee, Kenny Kwan and Adam Pak are to take the lead roles in an Asian remake of Richard Linklater’s 2001 drama Tape, which is set to begin filming next month.
The film will be directed by Bizhan Tong as a co-production between Tong’s Phoenix Waters Productions, Marvion and Agog Films.
The original starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard and took place in real time. The remake – also titled Tape – centres on three friends who, following an event at a graduation party that transforms their lives,...
- 8/12/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Selena Lee, Kenny Kwan, and Adam Pak lead the cast of “Tape,” a Cantonese-language remake of the Richard Linklater drama film that debuted in 2001. The new film is to be directed by Bizhan Tong with cameras set to roll next month in Hong Kong.
“Tape” tells the story of 3 best friends who, following an event at a graduation party that transforms their lives, reunite 15 years later where a case of blackmail forces them to confront a terrible secret from their past.
The original film starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard and played at the Sundance, Toronto and Rotterdam festivals.
In Tong’s remake, Kwan, Lee, and Pak play the contemporary characters while Mason Fung, Summer Chan, and Angus Yeung portray their younger versions.
The script is written by Stephen Belber, Tong, Lee and Bonnie Lo, and is an adaptation of Belber’s own scripts from both the original film and stage play.
“Tape” tells the story of 3 best friends who, following an event at a graduation party that transforms their lives, reunite 15 years later where a case of blackmail forces them to confront a terrible secret from their past.
The original film starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard and played at the Sundance, Toronto and Rotterdam festivals.
In Tong’s remake, Kwan, Lee, and Pak play the contemporary characters while Mason Fung, Summer Chan, and Angus Yeung portray their younger versions.
The script is written by Stephen Belber, Tong, Lee and Bonnie Lo, and is an adaptation of Belber’s own scripts from both the original film and stage play.
- 8/12/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Hong Kong actors Selena Lee, Kenny Kwan and Adam Pak have been cast in the Asian remake of Richard Linklater’s Tape, scheduled to start shooting in Hong Kong in September.
Stephen Belber, who wrote both the original film and stage play, has co-written the remake with Bizhan Tong, Selena Lee and Bonnie Lo. Belber is also on board as a producer with Tong and Lee, while Tong directs. The film is a co-production between Hong Kong’s Phoenix Waters Productions and Agog Films and Singapore-based Marvion.
The original film starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard in the story of three friends who are reunited 15 years after a life-changing event and forced to confront painful secrets from their past.
Belber said: “I’m excited to be part of a project that Bizhan has pursued with integrity, passion, intelligence and care, which the subject matter obviously requires. Bringing...
Stephen Belber, who wrote both the original film and stage play, has co-written the remake with Bizhan Tong, Selena Lee and Bonnie Lo. Belber is also on board as a producer with Tong and Lee, while Tong directs. The film is a co-production between Hong Kong’s Phoenix Waters Productions and Agog Films and Singapore-based Marvion.
The original film starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard in the story of three friends who are reunited 15 years after a life-changing event and forced to confront painful secrets from their past.
Belber said: “I’m excited to be part of a project that Bizhan has pursued with integrity, passion, intelligence and care, which the subject matter obviously requires. Bringing...
- 8/12/2022
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Cary Elwes (Mission: Impossible 7), Corey Stoll (Billions), Michiel Huisman (The Flight Attendant) and Alfonso Herrera (Ozark) have joined the cast of Zack Snyder’s Netflix film Rebel Moon, Deadline can confirm. The quartet will star alongside Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Rupert Friend and Stuart Martin.
The sci-fi pic is set in a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy that finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius. They dispatch a young woman (Boutella) with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them make a stand.
Snyder is directing from the script he wrote with Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead) and Kurt Johnstad (300), which was based on his and Johnstad’s story. Snyder is also producing alongside Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller for The Stone Quarry, with Eric Newman of Grand Electric. Bergen Swanson...
The sci-fi pic is set in a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy that finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius. They dispatch a young woman (Boutella) with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them make a stand.
Snyder is directing from the script he wrote with Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead) and Kurt Johnstad (300), which was based on his and Johnstad’s story. Snyder is also producing alongside Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller for The Stone Quarry, with Eric Newman of Grand Electric. Bergen Swanson...
- 4/8/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Japanese Action Star Rina Takeda Among Cast In Talks For Hong Kong Zombie Movie ‘Chungking Mansions’
Exclusive: Japanese action star Rina Takeda, Korean actress and model Go Joon-hee, Hong Kong actress Wiyona Yeung, and Singaporean actors Desmond Tan and Rebecca Lim are in discussions to join Hong Kong zombie movie Chungking Mansions.
Chungking Mansions tells the story of a disparate group of people from across the globe who must climb the iconic Chungking Mansions building amidst a zombie outbreak in Hong Kong.
The action-thriller will film primarily in English – the lead character is an American desperately striving to save his wife and child who are holed up in Chungking Mansions – but we’re told the film will feature a number of languages including Japanese, Cantonese, and Korean to reflect the multi-cultural nature of both the production and Chungking Mansions itself.
Go Joon-hee would play a high profile model attending the launch of a new fashion campaign when the outbreak occurs. Wiyona Yeung plays a wellness guru...
Chungking Mansions tells the story of a disparate group of people from across the globe who must climb the iconic Chungking Mansions building amidst a zombie outbreak in Hong Kong.
The action-thriller will film primarily in English – the lead character is an American desperately striving to save his wife and child who are holed up in Chungking Mansions – but we’re told the film will feature a number of languages including Japanese, Cantonese, and Korean to reflect the multi-cultural nature of both the production and Chungking Mansions itself.
Go Joon-hee would play a high profile model attending the launch of a new fashion campaign when the outbreak occurs. Wiyona Yeung plays a wellness guru...
- 9/6/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Amm Global, a production and investment company spun out of Hong Kong’s Asia Television, and Phoenix Waters Productions have announced “Crypto Keepers,” which they claim will be Asia’s first Nft drama series.
NFTs or non-fungible tokens, which aim to lock in the value of digital intellectual property, have taken the art and music worlds by storm and are now being expanded into more traditional media spheres.
The drama, an English and Cantonese language hybrid, is planned to shoot across multiple countries with the fictional narrative taking place against a backdrop of real events, with figures in the cryptocurrency space appearing on the show. It will be presented as 12 episodes, executive directed by Philip Ma, and delivered in 2022. The producers have not yet finalized a distribution company.
The story follows a group of young Hongkongers competing with a team of American bankers to create the next Bitcoin-like digital currency.
NFTs or non-fungible tokens, which aim to lock in the value of digital intellectual property, have taken the art and music worlds by storm and are now being expanded into more traditional media spheres.
The drama, an English and Cantonese language hybrid, is planned to shoot across multiple countries with the fictional narrative taking place against a backdrop of real events, with figures in the cryptocurrency space appearing on the show. It will be presented as 12 episodes, executive directed by Philip Ma, and delivered in 2022. The producers have not yet finalized a distribution company.
The story follows a group of young Hongkongers competing with a team of American bankers to create the next Bitcoin-like digital currency.
- 7/4/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Michelle Veintimilla (The Baker and the Beauty) and Sebastian Roché (The Man in the High Castle) are set for recurring roles on David E. Kelley’s hit freshman ABC drama series Big Sky. Both will be introduced in the back half of Season 1.
The crime thriller series, created by Big Littles Lies‘ Kelley based on C.J Box’s book, follows private detective Cassie Dewell, played by Kylie Bunbury, and ex-cop Jenny Hoyt, played by Katheryn Winnick, who join forces to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken.
Veintimilla will play Rosie Amaya, the tough as nails daughter of Gil Amaya, the Kleinsasser family’s ranch manager.
The crime thriller series, created by Big Littles Lies‘ Kelley based on C.J Box’s book, follows private detective Cassie Dewell, played by Kylie Bunbury, and ex-cop Jenny Hoyt, played by Katheryn Winnick, who join forces to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken.
Veintimilla will play Rosie Amaya, the tough as nails daughter of Gil Amaya, the Kleinsasser family’s ranch manager.
- 4/6/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Asia Television, previously Hong Kong’s number two free-to-air broadcaster, may no longer be visible on local TV screens. But the ex-broadcaster is now being recast as a content studio, with its new offshoot Amm Global leading the charge.
The division is headed by Bizhan Tong, a Chinese-British former banker turned filmmaker (“The Escort”). He joined the company after directing “Lockdown,” a U.K.-Hong Kong co-venture film produced and co-financed by Tong’s Phoenix Waters Productions, Hong Kong asset management firm Yg Capital, and Amm Global. International sales are handled jointly by Amm Global and US firm OneTwoThree.
The movie, being launched at FilMart, is a pandemic-era thriller in which an actor must keep passing devious tests set by a casting director in order to keep the people around him alive. As events escalate and more people are trapped the actor must confront his past, overcome his present, and...
The division is headed by Bizhan Tong, a Chinese-British former banker turned filmmaker (“The Escort”). He joined the company after directing “Lockdown,” a U.K.-Hong Kong co-venture film produced and co-financed by Tong’s Phoenix Waters Productions, Hong Kong asset management firm Yg Capital, and Amm Global. International sales are handled jointly by Amm Global and US firm OneTwoThree.
The movie, being launched at FilMart, is a pandemic-era thriller in which an actor must keep passing devious tests set by a casting director in order to keep the people around him alive. As events escalate and more people are trapped the actor must confront his past, overcome his present, and...
- 3/15/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
First project, suspense thriller Lockdown, was filmed across five countries during the pandemic.
Hong Kong’s oldest broadcaster Asia Television (Atv) is returning to production with a slate of film and TV projects developed in partnership with UK production company Phoenix Waters Productions.
The first project, suspense thriller Lockdown, has already wrapped and is in post-production after shooting during the pandemic in the UK, US, Hong Kong, Italy and Japan. The primarily English-language film revolves around an actor who enters a video audition and must pass a series of tests to keep those around him alive. Some of his alt-right...
Hong Kong’s oldest broadcaster Asia Television (Atv) is returning to production with a slate of film and TV projects developed in partnership with UK production company Phoenix Waters Productions.
The first project, suspense thriller Lockdown, has already wrapped and is in post-production after shooting during the pandemic in the UK, US, Hong Kong, Italy and Japan. The primarily English-language film revolves around an actor who enters a video audition and must pass a series of tests to keep those around him alive. Some of his alt-right...
- 12/23/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Verve Ventures & UTA Independent Group Team For Stephen Belber’s Corey Stoll Movie ‘What We Do Next’
Exclusive: Verve Ventures and UTA Independent Film Group have come together to represent domestic sales on the feature film What We Do Next, from filmmaker and playwright Stephen Belber.
The movie, starring Corey Stoll, Karen Pittman (The Morning Show) and Michelle Veintimilla was shot in Louisville, Ky, during the pandemic and wrapped last month.
The emotional drama follows a local New York City politician who is forced to navigate a complicated past as she climbs the political ladder. Power constantly shifts among the three characters as they fight for their version of the truth.
Chris Mangano, Merry-Kay Poe and Max Neace produced the film, which is a co-production between Poe’s Unbridled Films and Mangano’s Mangano Movies & Media. Belber, Brian Tanke, Steve Poe and Matt Bronson are EPs and Pulitzer-winning author Lynn Nottage is serving as co-producer.
The movie, starring Corey Stoll, Karen Pittman (The Morning Show) and Michelle Veintimilla was shot in Louisville, Ky, during the pandemic and wrapped last month.
The emotional drama follows a local New York City politician who is forced to navigate a complicated past as she climbs the political ladder. Power constantly shifts among the three characters as they fight for their version of the truth.
Chris Mangano, Merry-Kay Poe and Max Neace produced the film, which is a co-production between Poe’s Unbridled Films and Mangano’s Mangano Movies & Media. Belber, Brian Tanke, Steve Poe and Matt Bronson are EPs and Pulitzer-winning author Lynn Nottage is serving as co-producer.
- 11/11/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The story of former Philadelphia police officer Jeffrey Walker is headed to the screen. The Nacelle Company, Stone Canyon Entertainment and producer Devon Shepard (Being Mary Jane) have optioned Walker’s life rights for possible TV or film development, with Stephen Belber (The Laramie Project) attached to pen the script.
Per producers, over the course of a 20-year career as a narcotics officer with the Philadelphia Pd, Walker, an African American, became co-opted by a system that harasses, unfairly arrests and often kills those in the very community from which he came. This is the story of Walker’s redemption, as he hits bottom and then begins the courageous work of helping dismantle that same system he helped to thrive. Walker’s story goes to the heart of our moment, in which people want answers to a problem we’re all part of: how did we get here, and where can we go now?...
Per producers, over the course of a 20-year career as a narcotics officer with the Philadelphia Pd, Walker, an African American, became co-opted by a system that harasses, unfairly arrests and often kills those in the very community from which he came. This is the story of Walker’s redemption, as he hits bottom and then begins the courageous work of helping dismantle that same system he helped to thrive. Walker’s story goes to the heart of our moment, in which people want answers to a problem we’re all part of: how did we get here, and where can we go now?...
- 7/8/2020
- by Denise Petski and Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Jeffrey Wright walked out of his cell when the man locked up next door asked him for a favor. Wearing his tan prison onesie, the Emmy-winner and “Westworld” star looked like everyone else inside Indiana’s Pendleton Correctional Facility — an active maximum security prison. Just another guy, in another cell (cell No. 5), serving another sentence. Wright was used to people thinking this. Throughout the shoot, prison guards and the men they’re guarding mistook him for a convict. Most of the time, Wright said they “would literally look directly through me,” but his neighbor on the block was different.
“He said, ‘Hey man, you got any books?'” Wright recalled. “‘I read all my books.'”
So Wright walked back to his cell and picked out some books he thought this guy would appreciate. “[He was an] older tall and lanky white guy, so I got him some Louis L’Amour, I got him ‘Moby Dick,...
“He said, ‘Hey man, you got any books?'” Wright recalled. “‘I read all my books.'”
So Wright walked back to his cell and picked out some books he thought this guy would appreciate. “[He was an] older tall and lanky white guy, so I got him some Louis L’Amour, I got him ‘Moby Dick,...
- 2/28/2019
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Known for her eye-opening documentaries, Emmy-winning producer/director Madeleine Sackler had not one but two films in 2018’s Tribeca Film Festival: It’s a Hard Truth, Ain’t It and O.G. They’re an effective pairing, almost a prequel-sequel combo: both were filmed in Pendleton Correctional Facility in Indiana in Indiana; Hard Truth is a doc, O.G. is a narrative. The doc came first, almost a research project for the fictional film. In addition to interviewing inmates, Sackler taught a comprehensive filmmaking workshop in the prison. Needless to say, their their real stories served as inspiration for Stephen Belber’s screenplay. Even more impressively, Sackler used the real inmates as actors in O.G.…...
- 2/23/2019
- by Dylan Kai Dempsey
- IONCINEMA.com
Jeffrey Wright plays an incarcerated man on HBO’s “O.G.” And the actor was, for all intents and purposes, somewhat of an incarcerated man himself for the duration of filming, which was done entirely on location at an active, maximum-security prison in Indiana.
Premiering on HBO this Saturday after debuting at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, “O.G.” was shot over a five-week period in the summer of 2016 at Pendleton Correctional Facility. Several of the staff and men incarcerated at the prison are featured as first-time actors in the film, which was written by Stephen Belber and directed by Madeleine Sackler.
But Wright, who is obviously not actually imprisoned himself, tells TheWrap that he became so comfortable shooting inside a prison cell that it was a “little unsettling.”
Also Read: 'Westworld': Jimmi Simpson Tells Us He Has 'Not Been Invited' Back for Season 3
“It was funny, during breaks I actually went into Louis’ [Wright’s character’s] cell,...
Premiering on HBO this Saturday after debuting at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, “O.G.” was shot over a five-week period in the summer of 2016 at Pendleton Correctional Facility. Several of the staff and men incarcerated at the prison are featured as first-time actors in the film, which was written by Stephen Belber and directed by Madeleine Sackler.
But Wright, who is obviously not actually imprisoned himself, tells TheWrap that he became so comfortable shooting inside a prison cell that it was a “little unsettling.”
Also Read: 'Westworld': Jimmi Simpson Tells Us He Has 'Not Been Invited' Back for Season 3
“It was funny, during breaks I actually went into Louis’ [Wright’s character’s] cell,...
- 2/22/2019
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
HBO enters 2019 preparing for the ending to end all endings: “Game of Thrones” final season is set for March, but closing such a key chapter to the premium cable network’s history only invites questions for its future. What’s next for the franchise? What’s next for HBO? And ultimately, what else can HBO produce to drive viewership, subscriptions, and awards in a crowded TV landscape?
The coming year will hold even more answers, starting with the series listed below. In 2019, HBO is expanding even further — more foreign language series to appeal globally, more TV movies to attract a burgeoning cinematic fan base, and more original programs overall, big and small, to fill the increasing demand for high-quality content. It’s not a question of which series will be the next “Game of Thrones,” but which series (plural) can help HBO retain its premium status. Here’s a few...
The coming year will hold even more answers, starting with the series listed below. In 2019, HBO is expanding even further — more foreign language series to appeal globally, more TV movies to attract a burgeoning cinematic fan base, and more original programs overall, big and small, to fill the increasing demand for high-quality content. It’s not a question of which series will be the next “Game of Thrones,” but which series (plural) can help HBO retain its premium status. Here’s a few...
- 12/27/2018
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
HBO has acquired “O.G.,” a feature film starring Jeffrey Wright and directed by Madeleine Sackler. Written by Stephen Belber, the film was shot in its entirety on location at Indiana’s maximum-security Pendleton Correctional Facility.
“O.G.” premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, where Wright won the award for best actor in a U.S. narrative feature film. In it Wright plays Louis, once the head of a prominent prison gang, in the final weeks of his 24-year sentence. His impending release is upended when he takes a new arrival under his wing. Theothus Carter and William Fichtner also star.
“We are proud to bring filmmaker Madeleine Sackler’s film to HBO audiences,” said Len Amato, president, HBO Films. “Groundbreaking in being filmed at an actual prison, with many of the men incarcerated there cast in acting roles, O.G. takes an intimate and unflinching look at the journey...
“O.G.” premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, where Wright won the award for best actor in a U.S. narrative feature film. In it Wright plays Louis, once the head of a prominent prison gang, in the final weeks of his 24-year sentence. His impending release is upended when he takes a new arrival under his wing. Theothus Carter and William Fichtner also star.
“We are proud to bring filmmaker Madeleine Sackler’s film to HBO audiences,” said Len Amato, president, HBO Films. “Groundbreaking in being filmed at an actual prison, with many of the men incarcerated there cast in acting roles, O.G. takes an intimate and unflinching look at the journey...
- 10/12/2018
- by Daniel Holloway
- Variety Film + TV
HBO has picked up O.G., a narrative feature starring Jeffrey Wright that was filmed entirely in a maximum-security prison. Directed by Emmy winner Madeleine Sackler and also starring Theothus Carter and William Fichtner, it premiered in April at the Tribeca Film Festival, where Wright won Best Actor in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film.
The premium cabler also said today that it has acquired It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It, a documentary shot at Pendleton during the same production period as O.G. More on that film below.
Shot on location at Indiana’s Pendleton Correctional Facility, O.G. follows Louis (Wright), once the head of a prominent prison gang, in the final weeks of his 24-year sentence. His impending release is upended when he takes under his wing new arrival Beecher (Carter), who is being courted by gang leadership. Coming to grips with the indelibility of...
The premium cabler also said today that it has acquired It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It, a documentary shot at Pendleton during the same production period as O.G. More on that film below.
Shot on location at Indiana’s Pendleton Correctional Facility, O.G. follows Louis (Wright), once the head of a prominent prison gang, in the final weeks of his 24-year sentence. His impending release is upended when he takes under his wing new arrival Beecher (Carter), who is being courted by gang leadership. Coming to grips with the indelibility of...
- 10/12/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO announced on Friday that it has acquired the Jeffrey Wright-led film “O.G.”
The film was directed by Emmy-winner Madeleine Sackler (“Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus”) from a script penned by Stephen Belber, who won an Emmy for HBO’s “The Laramie Project.”
“O.G.,” which was filmed entirely at an Indiana max security prison, follows Louis (Wright), once the head of a prominent prison gang, in the final weeks of his 24-year sentence. His impending release is upended when he takes new arrival Beecher (Theothus Carter), who is being courted by gang leadership, under his wing. Coming to grips with the indelibility of his crime and the challenge of reentering society, Louis finds his freedom hanging in the balance as he struggles to save Beecher.
Also Read: Jeffrey Wright Hunts Wolves in 'Incredibly Tight' Thriller 'Hold the Dark' (Video)
“Over the past four years,...
The film was directed by Emmy-winner Madeleine Sackler (“Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus”) from a script penned by Stephen Belber, who won an Emmy for HBO’s “The Laramie Project.”
“O.G.,” which was filmed entirely at an Indiana max security prison, follows Louis (Wright), once the head of a prominent prison gang, in the final weeks of his 24-year sentence. His impending release is upended when he takes new arrival Beecher (Theothus Carter), who is being courted by gang leadership, under his wing. Coming to grips with the indelibility of his crime and the challenge of reentering society, Louis finds his freedom hanging in the balance as he struggles to save Beecher.
Also Read: Jeffrey Wright Hunts Wolves in 'Incredibly Tight' Thriller 'Hold the Dark' (Video)
“Over the past four years,...
- 10/12/2018
- by Trey Williams
- The Wrap
HBO has acquired a new film.
The premium cable network has snatched up the rights to the narrative feature O.G., starring Westworld star Jeffrey Wright. The film, directed by Emmy-winner Madeleine Sackler and written by Stephen Belber, first premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, where Wright won the award for best actor in a U.S. narrative feature film.
O.G., which also stars Theothus Carter and William Fichtner, was filmed entirely on location at Indiana’s maximum-security Pendleton Correctional Facility. It follows Louis (Wright), once the head of a prominent prison gang, in the final weeks ...
The premium cable network has snatched up the rights to the narrative feature O.G., starring Westworld star Jeffrey Wright. The film, directed by Emmy-winner Madeleine Sackler and written by Stephen Belber, first premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, where Wright won the award for best actor in a U.S. narrative feature film.
O.G., which also stars Theothus Carter and William Fichtner, was filmed entirely on location at Indiana’s maximum-security Pendleton Correctional Facility. It follows Louis (Wright), once the head of a prominent prison gang, in the final weeks ...
- 10/12/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Exclusive: Stephen Belber has been hired to script The Needle and The Damage Done for Mike Tollin and Peter Guber which is based on journalist Paul Solotaroff’s article on the opioid epidemic. The project is now being done at USA Networks through Ucp. The rights for the project were picked up last fall.
The story goes in-depth about the fentanyl epidemic which is currently devastating the suburban communities of New England. The 8,000-word article appeared last October in Men’s Journal delves into a local DEA bureau chief’s relentless pursuit to fight the war on drugs.
“When you look at the numbers, it’s an epidemic of unprecedented proportion,” Tollin told Deadline. “And we have a chance to raise awareness. The man’s whose life we are focusing the story on understands that awareness is one of his priorities, his job. He’s a superstar DEA agent who recognizes this and welcomes it.
The story goes in-depth about the fentanyl epidemic which is currently devastating the suburban communities of New England. The 8,000-word article appeared last October in Men’s Journal delves into a local DEA bureau chief’s relentless pursuit to fight the war on drugs.
“When you look at the numbers, it’s an epidemic of unprecedented proportion,” Tollin told Deadline. “And we have a chance to raise awareness. The man’s whose life we are focusing the story on understands that awareness is one of his priorities, his job. He’s a superstar DEA agent who recognizes this and welcomes it.
- 8/8/2018
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
Neil Patrick Harris and Mary Louise Parker will take part in Laramie: A Legacy, a one-night benefit reading in September of The Laramie Project, set to honor Matthew Shepard on the 20th anniversary of his murder.
Presented by Tectonic Theater Project, Laramie: A Legacy is scheduled for Monday, September 24, at the Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College in Manhattan.
Also confirmed for the event is Tony Award-winner Billy Porter (Kinky Boots). Harris, Parker and Porter will join the original company of The Laramie Project – Stephen Belber, Amanda Gronich, Mercedes Herrero, Andy Paris, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts McAdams and Kelli Simpkins – with Tectonic Theater Project founder and Artistic Director Moisés Kaufman directing.
Additional cast members will be announced at a later date.
In advance of the reading, The Matthew Shepard Foundation and Tectonic Theater Project are filming a PSA video featuring Parker, Porter, Kaufman, Michael Urie, Harvey Fierstein, Zachary Quinto,...
Presented by Tectonic Theater Project, Laramie: A Legacy is scheduled for Monday, September 24, at the Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College in Manhattan.
Also confirmed for the event is Tony Award-winner Billy Porter (Kinky Boots). Harris, Parker and Porter will join the original company of The Laramie Project – Stephen Belber, Amanda Gronich, Mercedes Herrero, Andy Paris, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts McAdams and Kelli Simpkins – with Tectonic Theater Project founder and Artistic Director Moisés Kaufman directing.
Additional cast members will be announced at a later date.
In advance of the reading, The Matthew Shepard Foundation and Tectonic Theater Project are filming a PSA video featuring Parker, Porter, Kaufman, Michael Urie, Harvey Fierstein, Zachary Quinto,...
- 5/15/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Set in a maximum-security prison, O.G. gets many of the details right about incarceration, from the mutual respect amongst inmates who have accepted why they’re there, and the guards and vocational staff who have a job to do. The opening exchange is startling for a prison picture; as the doors of Louis’ (Jeffrey Wright) cell open a corrections officer makes small talk with him, asking him if he’s seen the game. Later, when he’s the subject of an investigation he’s pressed for information by Danvers (William Fichtner), a special investigations detective with whom he’s had a long history. They banter like old friends until he crosses a line, admitting to a consensual sexual relationship with a vocational staff member that Danvers will pretend he didn’t hear. Prisons are indeed a strange place, where the violent offenders break off into packs. Louis was once...
- 4/29/2018
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Top honors at the 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival have gone to Diane for the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature, Smuggling Hendrix for Best International Narrative Feature, and Island of the Hungry Ghosts for Best Documentary Feature. On the acting side, Alia Shawkat won Best Actress in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film for Miguel Arteta’s Duck Butter, and Jeffrey Wright took the Best Actor honor for O.G.
First-time narrative director and writer Kent Jones (who is also the executive director of the New York Film Festival) won two prizes at Tribeca for Diane, and the film starring Mary Kay Place won three. Estelle Parsons, Andrea Martin, Deirdre O’Connell and Jake Lacy co-star in the film, about a widowed, altruistic seventysomething woman whose life is dictated by the needs of others, and who finds herself forced to look at her own identity.
Screenings of...
First-time narrative director and writer Kent Jones (who is also the executive director of the New York Film Festival) won two prizes at Tribeca for Diane, and the film starring Mary Kay Place won three. Estelle Parsons, Andrea Martin, Deirdre O’Connell and Jake Lacy co-star in the film, about a widowed, altruistic seventysomething woman whose life is dictated by the needs of others, and who finds herself forced to look at her own identity.
Screenings of...
- 4/26/2018
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
Five years ago, documentary filmmaker Madeleine Sackler started the process of making “O.G.” and “It’s A Hard Truth Ain’t It” – both feature-length films premiering at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival – with the goal of capturing the experience of living in a prison. While there are millions of people incarcerated throughout the U.S., gaining access to a group of prisoners (and a prison) would prove extremely difficult. The only state Sackler was even able to engage in conversation about her films, after numerous inquiries, was Indiana.
“In certain ways, what I learned was that the walls are there to keep us out more than to the keep [the prisoners] in,” said Sackler in an interview with IndieWire.
Yet once Sackler finally was able to visit the Pendleton Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Indiana, and sat down to interview dozens of the inmates and staff, she discovered nearly all...
“In certain ways, what I learned was that the walls are there to keep us out more than to the keep [the prisoners] in,” said Sackler in an interview with IndieWire.
Yet once Sackler finally was able to visit the Pendleton Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Indiana, and sat down to interview dozens of the inmates and staff, she discovered nearly all...
- 4/24/2018
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Jay Roach is set to direct 67 Shots, a drama based on the 1970 shootings at Kent State University, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The indie will be financed by Indian-American film investor Shivani Rawat and her ShivHans Pictures shingle. The project also continues a collaboration between Roach and Rawat following ShivHans financing Trumbo, the Bryan Cranston-starring biopic about blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo.
67 Shots will revisit the protest and shootings on May 4, 1970 at Kent State, where the Ohio National Guard fired at students and left four dead. Stephen Belber is adapting the Howard Means book 67 Shots:...
The indie will be financed by Indian-American film investor Shivani Rawat and her ShivHans Pictures shingle. The project also continues a collaboration between Roach and Rawat following ShivHans financing Trumbo, the Bryan Cranston-starring biopic about blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo.
67 Shots will revisit the protest and shootings on May 4, 1970 at Kent State, where the Ohio National Guard fired at students and left four dead. Stephen Belber is adapting the Howard Means book 67 Shots:...
- 10/13/2017
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Jay Roach has been set to direct 67 Shots, a film that recaptures the circumstances behind the fatal shootings at Kent State University in 1970. Shivani Rawat's ShivHans Pictures, which backed Roach’s lauded Bryan Cranston starrer Trumbo, will finance development after winning a competitive auction for a package that has award-winning playwright Stephen Belber writing the script, based on the Howard Means book 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocen…...
- 10/13/2017
- Deadline
Austin, Texas filmmaker Richard Linklater helped define the 1990s American indie scene with “Slacker,” a loose collection of conversations with real and invented personalities from the local Austin scene. That first film set a pattern for the filmmaker, who often employs large casts to create sprawling slice of life portraits. The lineup in “Dazed and Confused” could overwhelm a “best characters” list from many other filmmakers, and then there are the “Before” trilogy, “Boyhood,” and the new “Everybody Wants Some!!” to consider, among many others. Read More: SXSW Review: Richard Linklater’s ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ With Blake Jenner, Tyler Hoechlin, Zoey Deutch & More While often an author of his own scripts, Linklater has adapted material by Eric Bogosian (“SubUrbia”), Eric Schlosser (“Fast Food Nation”), Stephen Belber (“Tape”), Philip K. Dick (“A Scanner Darkly”), and Bill Lancaster (“Bad News Bears”). Even in those cases, the director’s methods and style...
- 4/4/2016
- by Russ Fischer
- The Playlist
London Lgbt film festival records biggest box office to date.
BFI Flare: London Lgbt Film Festival concluded on Sunday (March 29) with the European premiere of Malcolm Ingram’s new documentary, Out To Win, celebrating the battle for equality by Lgbt sports people. Special guests included director Malcolm Ingram and basketball star John Amaechi.
The closing night screening broke all box office records in the festival’s 29 years, with audiences of more than 23,500 recorded over the 11-day festival - up by 6.8% on the previous year.
This year’s festival also saw a step-change in industry attendance with a substantial increase in delegate accreditation, including 120 film-makers and more than 200 other industry attendees.
An expanded industry offering included a series of daily workshops on all aspects of film-making, fund-raising, marketing and the creative process.
Mentorship
The inaugural BFI Flare Mentorship programme in association with Creative Skillset was launched with five film-makers.
A partnership between BFI Flare and the British Council...
BFI Flare: London Lgbt Film Festival concluded on Sunday (March 29) with the European premiere of Malcolm Ingram’s new documentary, Out To Win, celebrating the battle for equality by Lgbt sports people. Special guests included director Malcolm Ingram and basketball star John Amaechi.
The closing night screening broke all box office records in the festival’s 29 years, with audiences of more than 23,500 recorded over the 11-day festival - up by 6.8% on the previous year.
This year’s festival also saw a step-change in industry attendance with a substantial increase in delegate accreditation, including 120 film-makers and more than 200 other industry attendees.
An expanded industry offering included a series of daily workshops on all aspects of film-making, fund-raising, marketing and the creative process.
Mentorship
The inaugural BFI Flare Mentorship programme in association with Creative Skillset was launched with five film-makers.
A partnership between BFI Flare and the British Council...
- 4/2/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The award-winning, nationally-renowned Ma-Yi Theater Company – one of the country’s leading producers of new works for the stage by Asian-American writers – will continue its 2014-15 season this spring with the world premiere of Soldier X by Rehana Lew Mirza, with preview performances set to begin March 24 prior to an official opening night on March 31 at Here (145 Sixth Avenue, enter on Dominick Street, one block south of Spring) in NYC. Soldier X is directed by Lucie Tiberghien.
Soldier X follows a young biracial social worker, Monica, who falls for a returning veteran, Jay, and the subsequent love triangle that ensues when he decides he is in love with his fallen buddy’s Muslim sister. The play tallies the emotional scars inflicted on our young men and women returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. How exactly do you rejoin a society that remains as conflicted about its wars as it is...
Soldier X follows a young biracial social worker, Monica, who falls for a returning veteran, Jay, and the subsequent love triangle that ensues when he decides he is in love with his fallen buddy’s Muslim sister. The play tallies the emotional scars inflicted on our young men and women returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. How exactly do you rejoin a society that remains as conflicted about its wars as it is...
- 3/13/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
20th Century Fox
I heard a very, very long time ago that somebody from the “original” or older X-Men would appear in Apocalypse. In the meantime, this has been denied, and more than once.
But not any longer. In fact, Patrick Stewart seems pretty sure that Ian McKellen will be appearing in the film and has been happy to tell the world. He was speaking to Oregon Live (via Coming Soon), ostensibly about his role in Stephen Belber’s Match but also, as I’m sure is always the case, a little bit about the X-Men movies.
“Yes, I understand that it seems to be very unlikely that I will be in the next X-Men movie, which is almost getting ready to start shooting in Montreal…. But Magneto, Ian McKellen, is certainly going to be in it. And what I’m very excited about is that we have been talking about a Wolverine movie,...
I heard a very, very long time ago that somebody from the “original” or older X-Men would appear in Apocalypse. In the meantime, this has been denied, and more than once.
But not any longer. In fact, Patrick Stewart seems pretty sure that Ian McKellen will be appearing in the film and has been happy to tell the world. He was speaking to Oregon Live (via Coming Soon), ostensibly about his role in Stephen Belber’s Match but also, as I’m sure is always the case, a little bit about the X-Men movies.
“Yes, I understand that it seems to be very unlikely that I will be in the next X-Men movie, which is almost getting ready to start shooting in Montreal…. But Magneto, Ian McKellen, is certainly going to be in it. And what I’m very excited about is that we have been talking about a Wolverine movie,...
- 2/10/2015
- by Brendon Connelly
- Obsessed with Film
Stripped down and heartfelt essay on what it takes to love and be loved.No hold is barred in Stephen Belber’s short and sweet essay on love and commitment. Mike and Lisa show up on Tobi’s doorstep with an odd request. They have travelled from Seattle to New York to interview Tobi for Lisa’s dissertation. In the first ten minutes of the film it is obvious they came for another reason entirely. Mike is sniffing around the house, looking at all the pictures. Every hair on his head is searching for clues about the past and present of the man with […]...
- 1/30/2015
- by Ron Wilkinson
- Monsters and Critics
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