Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Adapted Screenplay Oppenheimer, from left: Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, 2023. © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Cord Jefferson stands on the brink of potentially making history in the adapted screenplay category with “American Fiction,” potentially becoming only the second...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Adapted Screenplay Oppenheimer, from left: Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, 2023. © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Cord Jefferson stands on the brink of potentially making history in the adapted screenplay category with “American Fiction,” potentially becoming only the second...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Sixteen fellows with a dozen projects will be headed to the mythic bunk beds and cabin life of Utah just prior to the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. Here their words on paper will be tested, tried and nurtured with valuable input from the likes of Michelle Satter, Ilyse McKimmie, Jessie Nelson and creative advisors Ritesh Batra, Linda Yvette Chávez, Scott Frank, Phil Hay, Marielle Heller, Walter Mosley, Nicole Perlman, Kemp Powers, Dee Rees, Howard Rodman, Dana Stevens, Joan Tewkesbury, Bill Wheeler, Tyger Williams, Virgil Williams, and Doug Wright. This year’s Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab folks include: Nikesh Shukla & Himesh Patel (Brown Baby), Kaitlin Fontana & Franchesca Ramsey (Cover Girl), Sylvia Khoury (Heather), Jane Casey Modderno (Here for the Weekend), Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (High Steel), Kristine Gerolaga (Lamok), Francesca Canepa & Miguel Ángel Papalini (La Otra Orilla), Diana Peralta (No Love Lost), Christian Moldes (Quince Kings), Hanna Gray Organschi (Rubber Hut), Sara Crow...
- 1/12/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on October 12th, 2023, reviewing “The Burial,” a courtroom drama featuring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jone. Streaming on Prime Video since October 13th.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
The film involves funeral home owner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones), who brings a lawsuit against the Lowewen Group, a Canadian company looking to corner the funeral market in the 1990s. This is a contract case, but in a unprecedented move O’Keefe decides to hire Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx) a flashy black personal injury lawyer. So in a counter movie, CEO Raymond Loewen (Bill Camp) hires Mame Downes (Jurnee Smollett), a female black lawyer from the more legitimate side of the legal world, to face off against Gary. Who is gonna out-lawyer the other?
”The Burial” is streaming on Prime Video since October 13th. Featuring Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones,...
Rating: 2.5/5.0
The film involves funeral home owner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones), who brings a lawsuit against the Lowewen Group, a Canadian company looking to corner the funeral market in the 1990s. This is a contract case, but in a unprecedented move O’Keefe decides to hire Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx) a flashy black personal injury lawyer. So in a counter movie, CEO Raymond Loewen (Bill Camp) hires Mame Downes (Jurnee Smollett), a female black lawyer from the more legitimate side of the legal world, to face off against Gary. Who is gonna out-lawyer the other?
”The Burial” is streaming on Prime Video since October 13th. Featuring Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones,...
- 10/17/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
When filmmaker Maggie Betts premiered her feature debut, the stunning period piece “Novitiate,” at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, the drama starring Margaret Qualley as a young nun took a path many other films had already followed. It showed to strong reviews (including from this writer), earned Betts a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Director, was bought at the festival by Sony Pictures Classics for an estimated 7-digit price, got a theatrical release in the heat of the fall season, and even picked up some awards buzz for co-star Melissa Leo.
These days, that once-traditional route is a vestige of the past, as the theatrical landscape continues to shift and festival buys grow slimmer. But while Betts readily admits she’s had to change her ambitions to suit the ecosystem, that hasn’t diminished her work. It has, however, altered it a bit. For one thing, it took her six years...
These days, that once-traditional route is a vestige of the past, as the theatrical landscape continues to shift and festival buys grow slimmer. But while Betts readily admits she’s had to change her ambitions to suit the ecosystem, that hasn’t diminished her work. It has, however, altered it a bit. For one thing, it took her six years...
- 10/10/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Burial is a legal drama film directed by Maggie Betts from a screenplay by Betts and Doug Wright. Loosely based on the true story of lawyer Willie E. Gary and his client Jeremiah Joseph O’Keefe, the Prime Video film follows the story of their lawsuit against the Loewen funeral company, as it was documented by Jonathan Harr in a New Yorker article. The Burial stars Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones in the lead roles. So, if you loved the Prime Video film here are some similar movies you could watch next.
Michael Clayton (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Warner Bros.
Synopsis: Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house “fixer” at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At the behest of the firm’s co- founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops, takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s dirtiest work.
Michael Clayton (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Warner Bros.
Synopsis: Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house “fixer” at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At the behest of the firm’s co- founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops, takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s dirtiest work.
- 10/9/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx in The BurialImage: Prime Video
The Jamie Foxx courtroom drama The Burial is inspired by the true story of African American lawyer Willie E. Gary, his funeral director client Jeremiah O’Keefe, and the seminal 1995 lawsuit they filed against the vast Canadian corporation The Loewen Group.
The Jamie Foxx courtroom drama The Burial is inspired by the true story of African American lawyer Willie E. Gary, his funeral director client Jeremiah O’Keefe, and the seminal 1995 lawsuit they filed against the vast Canadian corporation The Loewen Group.
- 10/6/2023
- by Timothy Cogshell
- avclub.com
There’s a story of thrillingly righteous indignation sitting at the core of Maggie Betts’s The Burial. This flashy legal melodrama is fitfully stirring but too flabby to deliver the walloping blow that it needs. The high points are delivered primarily by Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones, who make a good effort to fill in the gaps left by the spotty screenplay.
Based on a New Yorker article by A Civil Action author Jonathan Harr, the film works as hard to get its audience interested in contract law as Foxx’s high-octane personal injury lawyer, Willie Gary, does when whipping up a jury’s emotions about arcane legal matters. The case in question pits Mississippi funeral home director Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) against the Loewen Group, a funeral home and cemetery company, after the conglomerate stalled on an agreement to buy some of the man’s locations, possibly to run him out of business.
Based on a New Yorker article by A Civil Action author Jonathan Harr, the film works as hard to get its audience interested in contract law as Foxx’s high-octane personal injury lawyer, Willie Gary, does when whipping up a jury’s emotions about arcane legal matters. The case in question pits Mississippi funeral home director Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) against the Loewen Group, a funeral home and cemetery company, after the conglomerate stalled on an agreement to buy some of the man’s locations, possibly to run him out of business.
- 10/5/2023
- by Chris Barsanti
- Slant Magazine
Enter the contest below (be sure to enter the following code when prompted: Nerdzro) for the chance to win a pair of passes to attend an advance screening of The Burial on Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 7:00pm at the Emagine Royal Oak!
Synopsis: Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story. Based on The New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr.
About The Film Genre: Drama Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, with Bill Camp, Alan Ruck Director: Maggie Betts Screenplay: Doug Wright, Maggie Betts Producer: Jamie Foxx, Jenette Kahn, Celine Rattray, Adam Richman,...
Synopsis: Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story. Based on The New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr.
About The Film Genre: Drama Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, with Bill Camp, Alan Ruck Director: Maggie Betts Screenplay: Doug Wright, Maggie Betts Producer: Jamie Foxx, Jenette Kahn, Celine Rattray, Adam Richman,...
- 10/2/2023
- by Editor
- CinemaNerdz
In select theaters October 6 and streaming Globally on Prime Video October 13 is The Burial.
Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story. The cast includes Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, with Bill Camp, and Alan Ruck.
Rated R.
The Advance Screening is this Monday night, October 2, 7pm at Ronnies. Please arrive early as seating is not guaranteed.
Enter At The Link:
https://amazonscreenings.com/DUbbF97251
The Burial is directed by Maggie Betts, story by Doug Wright with the screenplay by Doug Wright and Maggie Betts. Based on The New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr.
Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story. The cast includes Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, with Bill Camp, and Alan Ruck.
Rated R.
The Advance Screening is this Monday night, October 2, 7pm at Ronnies. Please arrive early as seating is not guaranteed.
Enter At The Link:
https://amazonscreenings.com/DUbbF97251
The Burial is directed by Maggie Betts, story by Doug Wright with the screenplay by Doug Wright and Maggie Betts. Based on The New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr.
- 9/28/2023
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Updated with latest: The Toronto Film Festival began September 7 in Ontario with opening-night movie The Boy and the Heron, from Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. It kicked off a lineup for the fest’s 48th edition that included world premieres of GameStop pic Dumb Money, Netflix’s Pain Hustlers, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, Kristin Scott Thomas’ Scarlett Johansson pic North Star, Chris Pine’s Poolman, Michael Keaton-directed Knox Goes Away, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour, Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils, Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana, Grant Singer’s Reptile, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Lee Tamahori’s The Convert and Alex Gibney’s doc In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.
It ended Sunday when Cord Jefferson’s satire American Fiction won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award for best film, usually a steppingstone to a strong awards season to come.
The fest also...
It ended Sunday when Cord Jefferson’s satire American Fiction won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award for best film, usually a steppingstone to a strong awards season to come.
The fest also...
- 9/18/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury, Valerie Complex, Pete Hammond, Todd McCarthy and Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
The Burial tells the story of funeral home owner and former politician Jerry O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones) and his case against the Loewen Group, spearheaded by flashy personal injury lawyer Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx). The film, based on a real case in Hinds County, Mississippi, in 1995, is the sophomore narrative feature from Maggie Betts, with a screenplay by Doug Wright and Betts.
O’Keefe is the father of 13 children with 22 grandchildren and a mountain of debt he’s been hiding from everyone, including his wife (Pamela Reed). And at his age, his focus is on securing his legacy to make sure his large family is taken care of after he’s gone. Though he owns multiple funeral homes, debt has forced him to sell. His attorney and friend Mike Allred (Alan Ruck) sets up a meeting with Raymond Loewen (Bill Camp), the billionaire owner of the Loewen Group, who...
O’Keefe is the father of 13 children with 22 grandchildren and a mountain of debt he’s been hiding from everyone, including his wife (Pamela Reed). And at his age, his focus is on securing his legacy to make sure his large family is taken care of after he’s gone. Though he owns multiple funeral homes, debt has forced him to sell. His attorney and friend Mike Allred (Alan Ruck) sets up a meeting with Raymond Loewen (Bill Camp), the billionaire owner of the Loewen Group, who...
- 9/13/2023
- by Jourdain Searles
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While it’s easy to imagine lawyers screaming “objection, your honor!” to the exaggerated courtroom theatrics of “The Burial,” good luck convincing audiences that this David v. Goliath legal showdown between a small-time Southern funeral home operator and an unethical Canadian billionaire should have played out any other way. Demonstrating talents far beyond her 2017 indie debut, “The Novitiate,” director Maggie Betts has a rousing old-school crowd-pleaser on her hands with this truth-based (albeit strategically embellished) drama featuring the most entertaining performance yet from Jamie Foxx, who makes a day in court feel like going to church.
Foxx plays Willie E. Gary, a Southern Baptist personal injury lawyer who channels the spirit of evangelical preachers every time he practices law — hardly the counsel you’d expect to see representing Jeremiah “Jerry” O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones), a 75-year-old business owner in Biloxi, Miss. But then, that unlikely partnership between a charismatic...
Foxx plays Willie E. Gary, a Southern Baptist personal injury lawyer who channels the spirit of evangelical preachers every time he practices law — hardly the counsel you’d expect to see representing Jeremiah “Jerry” O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones), a 75-year-old business owner in Biloxi, Miss. But then, that unlikely partnership between a charismatic...
- 9/12/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The Burial is a not-so-great title; it sounds like a horror film. I hope it doesn’t keep people away from this highly entertaining, crowd-pleasing movie that otherwise is an example of what good old fashioned Hollywood filmmaking can still be all about in the right hands. It feels bigger than life, but it is based on some pretty big lives indeed.
This lively courtroom true story has taken awhile to get to its closeup. Inspired by a November 1999 New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, The Burial, which provides choice lead roles for Oscar winners Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx, has taken a long circuitous route to production. Directors like Jonathan Demme and Ron Howard were in and out along the way until it finally wound up in the hands of Maggie Betts, best known for 2017’s wildly different religious drama Novitiate.
With an initial draft script by Tony and Pulitzer winner Doug Wright,...
This lively courtroom true story has taken awhile to get to its closeup. Inspired by a November 1999 New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, The Burial, which provides choice lead roles for Oscar winners Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx, has taken a long circuitous route to production. Directors like Jonathan Demme and Ron Howard were in and out along the way until it finally wound up in the hands of Maggie Betts, best known for 2017’s wildly different religious drama Novitiate.
With an initial draft script by Tony and Pulitzer winner Doug Wright,...
- 9/12/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar winner Jamie Foxx (Ray) stars as a lawyer with an incredible track record and Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive) plays his newest client in Prime Video’s The Burial. And a word of warning for those who dislike spoilers: While the trailer’s entertaining, you may want to steer clear of the nearly three-minute video as it gives away a lot of the plot.
Joining Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx in the R-rated drama are Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country), Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World Dominion), Pamela Reed (NCIS: Los Angeles), Bill Camp (American Rust), and Alan Ruck (Succession). Maggie Betts and Doug Wright co-wrote the screenplay, based on Jonathan Harr’s The New Yorker article, with Betts directing.
Jamie Foxx, Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Datari Turner, Jenette Kahn, Adam Richman, and Bobby Shriver served as producers.
The Burial will open in select theaters on October 6, 2023 followed by...
Joining Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx in the R-rated drama are Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country), Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World Dominion), Pamela Reed (NCIS: Los Angeles), Bill Camp (American Rust), and Alan Ruck (Succession). Maggie Betts and Doug Wright co-wrote the screenplay, based on Jonathan Harr’s The New Yorker article, with Betts directing.
Jamie Foxx, Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Datari Turner, Jenette Kahn, Adam Richman, and Bobby Shriver served as producers.
The Burial will open in select theaters on October 6, 2023 followed by...
- 9/7/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Oscar winners Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones team up for a lighthearted drama in the trailer for Prime Video’s upcoming film The Burial.
The official description: “When a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.”
The film is inspired by a true story that was chronicled in a New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr (Doug Wright and Maggie Betts wrote the screenplay, with Betts directing).
The trailer comes months after the 55-year-old Foxx suffered a mysterious health scare in April.
The Burial is coming to select theaters Oct. 6, and streams globally on Prime Video beginning Oct. 13.
The official description: “When a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.”
The film is inspired by a true story that was chronicled in a New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr (Doug Wright and Maggie Betts wrote the screenplay, with Betts directing).
The trailer comes months after the 55-year-old Foxx suffered a mysterious health scare in April.
The Burial is coming to select theaters Oct. 6, and streams globally on Prime Video beginning Oct. 13.
- 9/7/2023
- by James Hibberd
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jamie Foxx may have had to bounce back from health issues this year, but the star has always been a worker. The trailer for his new comedy/drama has just been released from Amazon for its streaming platform, Prime Video. The Burial is a new legal movie that is based on true events and pairs Foxx up with Tommy Lee Jones. Foxx plays a charismatic lawyer named Willie E. Gary, who is a force to be reckoned with in court as he has not lost a case in 12 years.
The cast for the new courtroom film includes Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx, and they are joined by Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, with Bill Camp, and Alan Ruck.
The official synopsis from Amazon reads,
“Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E.
The cast for the new courtroom film includes Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx, and they are joined by Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, with Bill Camp, and Alan Ruck.
The official synopsis from Amazon reads,
“Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E.
- 9/7/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
An unlikely pair are taking on big business.
On Thursday, Amazon Studios dropped the official trailer for “The Burial”, the new courtroom drama starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.
Read More: Jamie Foxx Says He’s ‘Finally Starting’ To Feel Like Himself Again After Going On ‘Dark’ Journey Amid Health Scare
Amazon Studios
“Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral home owner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story,” the official description reads.
The trailer shows off the film’s combination of inspiring drama and comedic spirit.
Tommy Lee Jones as Jeremiah O’Keefe – Photo: Skip Bolen/Amazon Studios
“This fella tried to bully me out of business,” Jones’ O’Keefe says. “I don...
On Thursday, Amazon Studios dropped the official trailer for “The Burial”, the new courtroom drama starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.
Read More: Jamie Foxx Says He’s ‘Finally Starting’ To Feel Like Himself Again After Going On ‘Dark’ Journey Amid Health Scare
Amazon Studios
“Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral home owner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story,” the official description reads.
The trailer shows off the film’s combination of inspiring drama and comedic spirit.
Tommy Lee Jones as Jeremiah O’Keefe – Photo: Skip Bolen/Amazon Studios
“This fella tried to bully me out of business,” Jones’ O’Keefe says. “I don...
- 9/7/2023
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
Jamie Foxx is heading to the courtroom in legal drama “The Burial,” based on a true story.
The Oscar winner stars alongside Tommy Lee Jones for Maggie Betts’ follow-up to her 2017 breakout film “Novitiate.” Based on a New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, “The Burial” follows a Black personal injury lawyer who takes on an unusual case amid prejudices in the South.
Per the official synopsis, inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensue as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.
O’Keefe sued Canadian funeral home Loewen Group in a history-making case 15 years ago.
Doug Wright and director Betts adapted the New Yorker article, with Wright behind the story. In addition to lead stars Jones and Foxx,...
The Oscar winner stars alongside Tommy Lee Jones for Maggie Betts’ follow-up to her 2017 breakout film “Novitiate.” Based on a New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, “The Burial” follows a Black personal injury lawyer who takes on an unusual case amid prejudices in the South.
Per the official synopsis, inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensue as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.
O’Keefe sued Canadian funeral home Loewen Group in a history-making case 15 years ago.
Doug Wright and director Betts adapted the New Yorker article, with Wright behind the story. In addition to lead stars Jones and Foxx,...
- 9/7/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
“This fella tried to bully me out of business,” Jeremiah O’Keefe says. “I don’t think I should be expected to stand for it.” His wife reminds him, “You’ve never sued anybody before in your whole life.”
That’s about to change. Enter Willie E. Gary, a lawyer who “hasn’t lost a case in over 12 years.”
Here is the first trailer for Amazon Studios’ The Burial, in which Jones stars alongside fellow Oscar winner Jamie Foxx. Have a look above.
When a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner O’Keefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Gary (Foxx) to save his family business from a half-billion-dollar corporation whose brass are none too worried. “Who is this clown he’s hired as a lawyer?” one asks. The businessmen counter with a hotshot attorney of their own — one Mame Downes (Jurnee Smollett), who graduated at the top of her Harvard Law School...
That’s about to change. Enter Willie E. Gary, a lawyer who “hasn’t lost a case in over 12 years.”
Here is the first trailer for Amazon Studios’ The Burial, in which Jones stars alongside fellow Oscar winner Jamie Foxx. Have a look above.
When a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner O’Keefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Gary (Foxx) to save his family business from a half-billion-dollar corporation whose brass are none too worried. “Who is this clown he’s hired as a lawyer?” one asks. The businessmen counter with a hotshot attorney of their own — one Mame Downes (Jurnee Smollett), who graduated at the top of her Harvard Law School...
- 9/7/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
For the first time in the 76-year history of the Tony Awards, three Pulitzer Prize-winning original dramas have been nominated in the Best Play category in the same year. Only five of the 17 new plays from the 2022-2023 season made the cut in the extraordinarily competitive race, and three of the five had previously received the prestigious honor of the Pulitzer: James Ijames’ “Fat Ham,” Stephen Adly Guirgis’ “Between Riverside and Crazy,” and Martyna Majok’s “Cost of Living.”
This historic result was not a guarantee. Indeed, according to our final official odds, only two of the plays were anticipated to break through: “Fat Ham,” which ultimately nabbed five nominations, and “Between Riverside and Crazy,” which landed two. “Cost of Living,” which closed back in November, was ranked seventh, but its odds were bolstered by three of our Editors and two of our Experts correctly predicting it to break through.
This historic result was not a guarantee. Indeed, according to our final official odds, only two of the plays were anticipated to break through: “Fat Ham,” which ultimately nabbed five nominations, and “Between Riverside and Crazy,” which landed two. “Cost of Living,” which closed back in November, was ranked seventh, but its odds were bolstered by three of our Editors and two of our Experts correctly predicting it to break through.
- 5/5/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Marchánt Davis can’t seem to keep away from the Belasco Theatre. He starred in Jordan E. Cooper’s “Ain’t No Mo’” at the 44th street haunt in December, and now just a few months later he is featured in Doug Wright’s new play “Good Night, Oscar.” “It was a lot of feelings,” admits the actor, revealing that a flood of memories hit him as he stepped back into the space, “but the machine keeps going.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
As Oscar Levant’s doctor Alvin, Davis plays most of his scenes in “Good Night, Oscar” opposite Sean Hayes in the title role. “That character lives on a different beat, on a different metric, than the others,” explains Davis. Alvin’s beat is slow and steady like a metronome throughout the play, whereas Hayes’ Levant is more erratic and fast-paced. The actor describes this dynamic as...
As Oscar Levant’s doctor Alvin, Davis plays most of his scenes in “Good Night, Oscar” opposite Sean Hayes in the title role. “That character lives on a different beat, on a different metric, than the others,” explains Davis. Alvin’s beat is slow and steady like a metronome throughout the play, whereas Hayes’ Levant is more erratic and fast-paced. The actor describes this dynamic as...
- 4/27/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
The Drama League today announced the nominations for the 2023 Drama League Awards. Honoring achievements on and Off-Broadway, the nominations were announced this morning by Roger Bart (“Back to the Future: The Musical”) and Justin Guarini (“Once Upon A One More Time”) at the New York Library for the Performing Arts. Winners will be revealed at the 89th Annual Drama League Awards ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on Friday, May 19, 2023.
“I don’t think I’ve experienced a theater season in New York ever like this one,” noted Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks. “There’s been a range, a breadth, an expansion of possibility that has been truly astonishing to witness. Theater makers have inspired not only with their creativity, but also with their drive and determination to serve audiences with vision and talent. These nominees reflect the promise and greatness inherent in the work of theater folk, and I can’t help but be deeply proud.
“I don’t think I’ve experienced a theater season in New York ever like this one,” noted Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks. “There’s been a range, a breadth, an expansion of possibility that has been truly astonishing to witness. Theater makers have inspired not only with their creativity, but also with their drive and determination to serve audiences with vision and talent. These nominees reflect the promise and greatness inherent in the work of theater folk, and I can’t help but be deeply proud.
- 4/25/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
If ever a play had good reason to front-load itself with exposition, Good Night, Oscar is it. Once among America’s premiere wits and raconteurs, Oscar Levant has gone the way of many another once-famous wits and raconteurs. Which is to say, he needs lots of exposition.
Good Night, Oscar, the new bio-play by Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife) starring Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) as Levant, goes a long way in introducing this long-ago talk-show staple to modern audiences. Whether it justifies the effort is considerably less certain.
A talented pianist and occasional second-banana movie actor, Levant is better known today for his frequent talk- and game-show appearances of the 1950s and ’60s, his aptitude for the improvised zinger and no-holds-barred confessional humor making him a sought-after, if controversial, Golden Age presence. Others would follow in his wake – the Gore Vidals and Truman Capotes and Phyllis Newmans, but Levant was first.
Good Night, Oscar, the new bio-play by Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife) starring Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) as Levant, goes a long way in introducing this long-ago talk-show staple to modern audiences. Whether it justifies the effort is considerably less certain.
A talented pianist and occasional second-banana movie actor, Levant is better known today for his frequent talk- and game-show appearances of the 1950s and ’60s, his aptitude for the improvised zinger and no-holds-barred confessional humor making him a sought-after, if controversial, Golden Age presence. Others would follow in his wake – the Gore Vidals and Truman Capotes and Phyllis Newmans, but Levant was first.
- 4/25/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Tony Awards contest for the top honor of Best Play is the most crowded it has been in at least a decade. A whopping 17 new dramatic works will vie for only five slots that recognize the most stellar productions and playwrights on Broadway. This season, the plays in contention hail from renowned dramatists like Tony winners Tom Stoppard for “Leopoldstadt” and David Auburn for “Summer, 1976,” and past nominee Sharr White for “Pictures From Home.” Notably, there are also three winners of the Pulitzer Prize eligible this season: James Ijames’ “Fat Ham,” Stephen Adly Guirgis’ “Between Riverside and Crazy,” and Martyna Majok’s “Cost of Living.” If all three of these works land nominations, the Tonys will set a record for the most Pulitzer winners nominated for Best Play in one year in history.
According to our current combined odds, it is very possible that history will indeed be made this year.
According to our current combined odds, it is very possible that history will indeed be made this year.
- 3/28/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
The American Theatre Critics Association (Atca) announced that “Good Night, Oscar” by Doug Wright is a finalist for their 2023 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/Atca New Play Award. This prize honors plays which had their professional premiere outside of New York City, with this new work debuting at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago this past spring. With one awards body already giving their stamp of approval, is “Good Night, Oscar” headed for a Tony nomination for Best Play?
This new work will open on Broadway on April 24, just days before the eligibility window closes for the 2023 Tony Awards. The story is set in 1958 on the set of “The Tonight Show” hosted by Jack Parr. The host has booked his most coveted guest: the witty talk show staple Oscar Levant. Emmy winner and Tony nominee Sean Hayes portrays Levant after a string of rave notices in Chicago, making this one of the...
This new work will open on Broadway on April 24, just days before the eligibility window closes for the 2023 Tony Awards. The story is set in 1958 on the set of “The Tonight Show” hosted by Jack Parr. The host has booked his most coveted guest: the witty talk show staple Oscar Levant. Emmy winner and Tony nominee Sean Hayes portrays Levant after a string of rave notices in Chicago, making this one of the...
- 3/27/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
The Sundance Institute has named the participants and projects set for the 2023 editions of a pair of its flagship programs: the Screenwriters Lab and Screenwriters Intensive.
Lab participants will include Joseph Sackett (Cross Pollination), Sean Wang (Dìdi (弟弟)), Abinash Bikram Shah (Elephants in the Fog), Gabriela Ortega (Huella), Walter Thompson-Hernández (If I Go Will They Miss Me), Hadas Ayalon (In a Minute You’ll Be Gone), Bernardo Cubría, John Hibey & Joshua Penn Soskin (Kill Yr Idols), Dania Bdeir & Bane Fakih (Pigeon Wars), Rashad Frett & Lin Que Ayoung (Ricky), Farida Zahran (The Leftover Ladies), Masami Kawai (Valley of the Tall Grass) and Audrey Rosenberg (Wild Animals).
Those set for the Intensive are Keisha Rae Witherspoon & Jason Fitzroy Jeffers (Arc), Shireen Alihaji (Blue Veil), Spencer Cook & Parker Smith (Lame), Jesahel Newton-Bernal (Leche), Cynthia Lowen (Light Mass Energy), Rebin Zangana (Qareen), David Liu (Santa Anita), Urvashi Pathania (Skin), Ciara Leina`ala Lacy (Untitled...
Lab participants will include Joseph Sackett (Cross Pollination), Sean Wang (Dìdi (弟弟)), Abinash Bikram Shah (Elephants in the Fog), Gabriela Ortega (Huella), Walter Thompson-Hernández (If I Go Will They Miss Me), Hadas Ayalon (In a Minute You’ll Be Gone), Bernardo Cubría, John Hibey & Joshua Penn Soskin (Kill Yr Idols), Dania Bdeir & Bane Fakih (Pigeon Wars), Rashad Frett & Lin Que Ayoung (Ricky), Farida Zahran (The Leftover Ladies), Masami Kawai (Valley of the Tall Grass) and Audrey Rosenberg (Wild Animals).
Those set for the Intensive are Keisha Rae Witherspoon & Jason Fitzroy Jeffers (Arc), Shireen Alihaji (Blue Veil), Spencer Cook & Parker Smith (Lame), Jesahel Newton-Bernal (Leche), Cynthia Lowen (Light Mass Energy), Rebin Zangana (Qareen), David Liu (Santa Anita), Urvashi Pathania (Skin), Ciara Leina`ala Lacy (Untitled...
- 1/13/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Ten years ago, actor Sean Hayes and playwright David Adjmi were working together to develop a play based on the life of Oscar Levant, the actor, pianist and notorious wit of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Now Hayes is preparing to bring Good Night, Oscar to Broadway next spring. The play is written by Doug Wright.
Exactly how, why and when Hayes and Adjmi split up their partnership on the project is being disputed by both sides in an unusually public way. Adjmi wrote a long Facebook post detailing his perspective earlier this week, as publicity for Good Night, Oscar is just beginning to emerge. Theater twitter took note, as did The New York Times.
In response, Hayes, Wright and their producer Beth Williams have released their own extensive statement, obtained by Deadline. The two accounts of exactly how Levant came into Hayes’ life are notably different.
Adjmi, perhaps best known as the author of 3C,...
Exactly how, why and when Hayes and Adjmi split up their partnership on the project is being disputed by both sides in an unusually public way. Adjmi wrote a long Facebook post detailing his perspective earlier this week, as publicity for Good Night, Oscar is just beginning to emerge. Theater twitter took note, as did The New York Times.
In response, Hayes, Wright and their producer Beth Williams have released their own extensive statement, obtained by Deadline. The two accounts of exactly how Levant came into Hayes’ life are notably different.
Adjmi, perhaps best known as the author of 3C,...
- 10/7/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Sean Hayes will return to Broadway in a new play about the life of actor and pianist Oscar Levant.
In Good Night, Oscar, written by Doug Wright, Hayes plays Levant, who is booked on Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show in a 90-minute session that delights audience members, but also comes at a cost for the star.
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will play a 20-week engagement at the Belasco Theatre starting April 7, 2023. Opening night is set for April 24. The play comes to Broadway after a premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
“Though he’s somewhat forgotten by today’s audiences, Oscar Levant was a startling phenomenon in his own time; following a stellar concert and movie career, he became a celebrated pundit, holding forth on the chat shows of the 1950’s. A brilliant, often searing raconteur, he was the first...
Sean Hayes will return to Broadway in a new play about the life of actor and pianist Oscar Levant.
In Good Night, Oscar, written by Doug Wright, Hayes plays Levant, who is booked on Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show in a 90-minute session that delights audience members, but also comes at a cost for the star.
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will play a 20-week engagement at the Belasco Theatre starting April 7, 2023. Opening night is set for April 24. The play comes to Broadway after a premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
“Though he’s somewhat forgotten by today’s audiences, Oscar Levant was a startling phenomenon in his own time; following a stellar concert and movie career, he became a celebrated pundit, holding forth on the chat shows of the 1950’s. A brilliant, often searing raconteur, he was the first...
- 9/19/2022
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sean Hayes will return to Broadway this spring starring in Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright’s new play Good Night, Oscar, in which Hayes will play Hollywood Golden Age actor, pianist and wit Oscar Levant.
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will begin performances at the Belasco Theatre,on April 7, 2023, and an official opening set for April 24. The 20-week limited engagement will end on August 27, 2023.
The official synopsis: It’s 1958 and Jack Paar is hosting The Tonight Show. He’s booked his favorite guest, a pundit as hilarious as he is unpredictable: Oscar Levant, who once famously proclaimed, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity, and I have erased that line.” In 90 short minutes, Oscar will have audiences howling, censors scrambling, and – when it’s all over – America will be just a little less innocent than she was before.
Hayes said, “I’m thrilled for Broadway audiences to experience Good Night,...
Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will begin performances at the Belasco Theatre,on April 7, 2023, and an official opening set for April 24. The 20-week limited engagement will end on August 27, 2023.
The official synopsis: It’s 1958 and Jack Paar is hosting The Tonight Show. He’s booked his favorite guest, a pundit as hilarious as he is unpredictable: Oscar Levant, who once famously proclaimed, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity, and I have erased that line.” In 90 short minutes, Oscar will have audiences howling, censors scrambling, and – when it’s all over – America will be just a little less innocent than she was before.
Hayes said, “I’m thrilled for Broadway audiences to experience Good Night,...
- 9/19/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Madeleine George, playwright and writer on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, has been newly selected as the 2021 recipient of the Hermitage Major Theater Award, a national jury-selected prize that offers one of the largest non-profit theater commissions in the country.
George will receive a cash prize of 35,000, as well as a residency at the Hermitage in Sarasota County, Florida, as well as a developmental workshop in a major arts capital such as New York, Chicago, or London in the fall of 2023.
“I was surprised and thrilled to get the news about the Hermitage Major Theater Award,” said George in a statement. “It’s such an honor to be joining in the Hermitage’s awe-inspiring family of artists, and I’m excited to have resources and time to put towards my commissioned play, which has been on my mind for a while and which I’m eager to share with the world.
George will receive a cash prize of 35,000, as well as a residency at the Hermitage in Sarasota County, Florida, as well as a developmental workshop in a major arts capital such as New York, Chicago, or London in the fall of 2023.
“I was surprised and thrilled to get the news about the Hermitage Major Theater Award,” said George in a statement. “It’s such an honor to be joining in the Hermitage’s awe-inspiring family of artists, and I’m excited to have resources and time to put towards my commissioned play, which has been on my mind for a while and which I’m eager to share with the world.
- 9/7/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Patrick Herold, who served as Partner and Head of Theater at ICM Partners for nearly two decades, has moved to UTA as an agent in the Theatre division. He will be based in New York and report to Partner & Head of Theatre, Mark Subias. Herold is the latest ICM agent to leave following the agency’s acquisition by CAA.
Herold brings with him a stellar roster of long-term clients including the estates of Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill and Sam Shepard; writers Lisa Kron and Doug Wright; composers Cyndi Lauper and Stephen Trask; and directors Christopher Ashley, Michael Greif and Julie Taymor.
Additionally, his clients, all of whom are expected to join him at UTA, include the estates of Horton Foote, Moss Hart and Wendy Wasserstein; theater luminaries Athol Fugard and John Guare; playwrights Richard Nelson and Paul Rudnick; composers and lyricists Rosanne Cash, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie; directors Walter Bobbie,...
Herold brings with him a stellar roster of long-term clients including the estates of Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill and Sam Shepard; writers Lisa Kron and Doug Wright; composers Cyndi Lauper and Stephen Trask; and directors Christopher Ashley, Michael Greif and Julie Taymor.
Additionally, his clients, all of whom are expected to join him at UTA, include the estates of Horton Foote, Moss Hart and Wendy Wasserstein; theater luminaries Athol Fugard and John Guare; playwrights Richard Nelson and Paul Rudnick; composers and lyricists Rosanne Cash, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie; directors Walter Bobbie,...
- 8/15/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Northwestern University is playing a key role in bringing mental health stories to the world of film and TV. Its School of Communication features an innovative program that aims to shine a light on mental health and its role in filmed entertainment. Made possible by a gift from the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts creates, supports, and examines original narrative screenwriting, television writing and media making centered on mental health.
“Jessy Pucker is a graduate from Northwestern and she wanted to do something important with psychology and film, and I pitched this program for student filmmakers and screenwriters to think more deeply on how mental illness was being represented in film and television,” says David E. Tolchinsky, professor of radio-tv-film, and director, the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts.
Student filmmakers,...
“Jessy Pucker is a graduate from Northwestern and she wanted to do something important with psychology and film, and I pitched this program for student filmmakers and screenwriters to think more deeply on how mental illness was being represented in film and television,” says David E. Tolchinsky, professor of radio-tv-film, and director, the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts.
Student filmmakers,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Nick Clement
- Variety Film + TV
Michelle Williams was Academy Award-nominated for playing screen icon Marilyn Monroe and won an Emmy for transforming into Broadway star Gwen Verdon, but it seems that Williams will not take the mic to be singer Peggy Lee for an upcoming biopic anymore.
The “Showing Up” actress confirmed that the slated Peggy Lee biopic “Fever” with writer-director Todd Haynes is officially dead.
“It’s gone the way of the buffalo, I’m afraid,” Williams told Variety in a cover story. “But if anyone reading this story would like to resurrect it, Todd and I are on board for that.”
“The Many Saints of Newark” breakout Alessandro Nivola was set to play Dave Barbour, with Doug Wright penning the screenplay. Director Haynes, meanwhile, helmed the experimental Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There” and the documentary “The Velvet Underground.” The “Carol” director is currently readying for the drama “May December” with Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman.
The “Showing Up” actress confirmed that the slated Peggy Lee biopic “Fever” with writer-director Todd Haynes is officially dead.
“It’s gone the way of the buffalo, I’m afraid,” Williams told Variety in a cover story. “But if anyone reading this story would like to resurrect it, Todd and I are on board for that.”
“The Many Saints of Newark” breakout Alessandro Nivola was set to play Dave Barbour, with Doug Wright penning the screenplay. Director Haynes, meanwhile, helmed the experimental Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There” and the documentary “The Velvet Underground.” The “Carol” director is currently readying for the drama “May December” with Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman.
- 5/10/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Jai Rodriguez (Bosch: Legacy) has wrapped a role in Nicholas Stoller’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ rom-com Bros for Universal Pictures. He’s set to star alongside previously announced cast members including Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Ts Madison, Miss Lawrence, Symone, Guillermo Diaz, Guy Branum, Monica Raymund, Jim Rash, Harvey Fierstein, Bowen Yang, Amanda Bearse, Dot-Marie Jones and more.
Bros is the first romantic comedy from a major studio about two gay men. The film written by Eichner and Macfarlane is billed as a smart, swoony and heartfelt story about gay men—played by Eichber and Macfarlane—maybe, possibly, probably, stumbling towards love. Maybe. They’re both very busy. Pic is scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 30th.
Judd Apatow is producing the project alongside Stoller and Josh Church, with Eichner exec producing. The film is a co-production of Stoller’s Global Solutions and Apatow’s Apatow Productions. Universal’s...
Bros is the first romantic comedy from a major studio about two gay men. The film written by Eichner and Macfarlane is billed as a smart, swoony and heartfelt story about gay men—played by Eichber and Macfarlane—maybe, possibly, probably, stumbling towards love. Maybe. They’re both very busy. Pic is scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 30th.
Judd Apatow is producing the project alongside Stoller and Josh Church, with Eichner exec producing. The film is a co-production of Stoller’s Global Solutions and Apatow’s Apatow Productions. Universal’s...
- 5/4/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Billy Slaughter (The Card Counter) has boarded Amazon Studios’ film The Burial, which is currently in production in New Orleans.
He joins an ensemble that also includes Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Bill Camp, Dorian Missick, Pamela Reed, Amanda Warren, Jim Klock and Alan Ruck, as previously announced.
Director Maggie Betts’ film is based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr. It follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.
Details with regard to the character Slaughter is playing have not been disclosed.
He joins an ensemble that also includes Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Bill Camp, Dorian Missick, Pamela Reed, Amanda Warren, Jim Klock and Alan Ruck, as previously announced.
Director Maggie Betts’ film is based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr. It follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.
Details with regard to the character Slaughter is playing have not been disclosed.
- 3/29/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Succession‘s Alan Ruck is the latest addition to the cast of Amazon Studios’ film The Burial, which is currently in production. He joins an ensemble that also includes Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Bill Camp, Dorian Missick, Pamela Reed, Amanda Warren and Jim Klock.
The film from director Maggie Betts is based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr. It follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.
Doug Wright adapted the screenplay. Bobby Shriver is producing for Bobby Shriver Inc.
The film from director Maggie Betts is based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr. It follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.
Doug Wright adapted the screenplay. Bobby Shriver is producing for Bobby Shriver Inc.
- 3/14/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Dorian Missick (Shirley), Pamela Reed (Outside In), Amanda Warren and Jim Klock (The Underground Railroad) will round out the cast of Prime Video’s The Burial, which is currently in production.
They’re set to star alongside previously announced cast members including Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie and Bill Camp.
Based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, The Burial follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.
Maggie Betts is directing from a script by Doug Wright.
They’re set to star alongside previously announced cast members including Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie and Bill Camp.
Based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, The Burial follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.
Maggie Betts is directing from a script by Doug Wright.
- 3/8/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Bill Camp is the latest addition to the cast of Amazon Studios’ film The Burial, based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr.
He’ll star alongside previously announced cast members Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett and Mamoudou Athie.
Based on a true story, The Burial follows a bankrupt funeral home owner who decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong, hiring a flamboyant attorney to handle the case.
Maggie Betts is directing from a script by Doug Wright. Bobby Shriver is producing for Bobby Shriver Inc., with Double Nickel Entertainment’s Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn, Foxx and his producing partner Datari Turner, and Maven Pictures’ Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray.
Camp is an Emmy, Tony and SAG Award nominee best known for his performances in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, HBO’s The Night Of...
He’ll star alongside previously announced cast members Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett and Mamoudou Athie.
Based on a true story, The Burial follows a bankrupt funeral home owner who decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong, hiring a flamboyant attorney to handle the case.
Maggie Betts is directing from a script by Doug Wright. Bobby Shriver is producing for Bobby Shriver Inc., with Double Nickel Entertainment’s Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn, Foxx and his producing partner Datari Turner, and Maven Pictures’ Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray.
Camp is an Emmy, Tony and SAG Award nominee best known for his performances in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, HBO’s The Night Of...
- 2/10/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Black Box actor Mamoudou Athie is reteaming with Amazon Studios for their feature The Burial, based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr.
Athie will star alongside Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jurnee Smollett, with Maggie Betts directing from a script written by Doug Wright.
Based on a true story, The Burial follows a bankrupt funeral home owner, who decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong. The owner hires a flamboyant attorney to handle the case.
Producers include Bobby Shriver via his Bobby Shriver Inc. label, Double Nickel Entertainment’s Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn, Foxx and producing partner Datari Turner, and Maven Pictures’ Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray.
Athie was nominated for an Emmy last year in the Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category for Fxx’s Oh Jerome, No, which he also executive produced. He...
Athie will star alongside Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jurnee Smollett, with Maggie Betts directing from a script written by Doug Wright.
Based on a true story, The Burial follows a bankrupt funeral home owner, who decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong. The owner hires a flamboyant attorney to handle the case.
Producers include Bobby Shriver via his Bobby Shriver Inc. label, Double Nickel Entertainment’s Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn, Foxx and producing partner Datari Turner, and Maven Pictures’ Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray.
Athie was nominated for an Emmy last year in the Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category for Fxx’s Oh Jerome, No, which he also executive produced. He...
- 2/1/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Many Saints of Newark star Alessandro Nivola continues to stay busy as he is in talks to star opposite Michelle Williams in Todd Haynes’s Peggy Lee biopic Fever. Nivola will play Dave Barbour in pic. Set up at MGM the feature is written by Doug Wright and produced by Marc Platt, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler and Reese Witherspoon.
MGM had no comment.
Best known for her cover of the Little Willie John song “Fever,” to which she added her own additional lyrics, Lee was a product of the big band era, a singer, songwriter and composer whose career spanned nearly seven decades. She died in 2002 at the age of 81 but her legacy lives on as one of the first members of Capitol Records’ “old guard” to embrace the new rock ‘n’ roll sound. She was also an accomplished actor, earning an Oscar nom for best supporting actress...
MGM had no comment.
Best known for her cover of the Little Willie John song “Fever,” to which she added her own additional lyrics, Lee was a product of the big band era, a singer, songwriter and composer whose career spanned nearly seven decades. She died in 2002 at the age of 81 but her legacy lives on as one of the first members of Capitol Records’ “old guard” to embrace the new rock ‘n’ roll sound. She was also an accomplished actor, earning an Oscar nom for best supporting actress...
- 12/6/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Jurnee Smollett has landed the female lead in “The Burial,” a new courtroom drama from Amazon Studios.
The “Lovecraft Country” actor will star opposite Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones in the Maggie Betts-directed project. Based on a true story, the film follows a bankrupt funeral home owner who decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong. The owner hires a flamboyant attorney (Foxx) to handle the case.
Smollett will play Foxx’s opposing counsel, sources said. Betts is directing from a script written by Doug Wright. Producers on the film include Bobby Shriver via his Bobby Shriver Inc. banner and Double Nickel Entertainment’s Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn. Foxx will produce with partner Datari Turner, along with Maven Pictures’ Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray.
Smollett received critical claim and an Emmy nomination for lead actress in a drama series for her portrayal of Leti...
The “Lovecraft Country” actor will star opposite Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones in the Maggie Betts-directed project. Based on a true story, the film follows a bankrupt funeral home owner who decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong. The owner hires a flamboyant attorney (Foxx) to handle the case.
Smollett will play Foxx’s opposing counsel, sources said. Betts is directing from a script written by Doug Wright. Producers on the film include Bobby Shriver via his Bobby Shriver Inc. banner and Double Nickel Entertainment’s Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn. Foxx will produce with partner Datari Turner, along with Maven Pictures’ Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray.
Smollett received critical claim and an Emmy nomination for lead actress in a drama series for her portrayal of Leti...
- 11/18/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Tommy Lee Jones is being set to star alongside Jamie Foxx in Amazon’s The Burial, with Maggie Betts directing. Jones plays a lead role that was going to be filled by his The Fugitive co-star Harrison Ford, until he had to drop out. Doug Wright penned the screenplay.
Amazon Studios, Bobby Shriver Inc. and Double Nickel Entertainment are producing with Foxx the upcoming drama based on The New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr. Producers are Bobby Shriver and Double Nickel’s Adam Richman & Jenette Kahn. Datari Turner is also producing. The film is based on a true story: After a bankrupt funeral home owner decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong, the owner hires a flamboyant attorney to handle the case.
Betts wrote and directed Novitiate, which won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Director at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. She also received...
Amazon Studios, Bobby Shriver Inc. and Double Nickel Entertainment are producing with Foxx the upcoming drama based on The New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr. Producers are Bobby Shriver and Double Nickel’s Adam Richman & Jenette Kahn. Datari Turner is also producing. The film is based on a true story: After a bankrupt funeral home owner decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong, the owner hires a flamboyant attorney to handle the case.
Betts wrote and directed Novitiate, which won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Director at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. She also received...
- 10/13/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Twenty years after Ruben Santiago-Hudson first brought the town of Lackawanna, New York to life Off-Broadway, his autobiographical play “Lackawanna Blues” has arrived on Broadway. The solo show features playwright and director Santiago-Hudson inhabiting 25 different characters from the steeltown in the 1950s as he brings the memorable figures of his childhood to life. At the center of the play is Rachel Crosby, or “Nanny,” the boarding-house proprietor who takes these unforgettable characters under her wing. The play opened on Oct. 7 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
“Lackawanna Blues” marks Santiago-Hudson’s first Broadway performance in nearly a decade. He last starred on Broadway in “Stick Fly” (2011) and won a Tony Award for his featured role in August Wilson’s “Seven Guitars” (1996). In recent years, he has gravitated toward directing works on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for his mounting of Wilson’s “Jitney” (2017). He will also helm Dominique Morisseau’s “Skeleton Crew” later this season.
“Lackawanna Blues” marks Santiago-Hudson’s first Broadway performance in nearly a decade. He last starred on Broadway in “Stick Fly” (2011) and won a Tony Award for his featured role in August Wilson’s “Seven Guitars” (1996). In recent years, he has gravitated toward directing works on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for his mounting of Wilson’s “Jitney” (2017). He will also helm Dominique Morisseau’s “Skeleton Crew” later this season.
- 10/8/2021
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
James C. Nicola, whose tenure as artistic director of Off Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop included the development of such prominent stage works as Rent, Once, Hadestown, What the Constitution Means to Me, Slave Play and David Bowie’s Lazarus, will leave the post next year, the company announced today.
“In July of 2022, I will reach the age of 72,” Nicola said in a statement. “In my mind, that has always been the moment to interrupt whatever patterns there might be in my life, and to leap off a cliff into reinvention. So that is my plan.”
Nicola will depart Nytw on June 30, 2022. He has been the artistic director since 1988.
Under his stewardship, Nytw has cemented a reputation as an important force in the production and development of new theater work, many of which have gone on to Broadway runs. A partial list of important works developed at the Nytw includes Jonathan Larson’s Rent,...
“In July of 2022, I will reach the age of 72,” Nicola said in a statement. “In my mind, that has always been the moment to interrupt whatever patterns there might be in my life, and to leap off a cliff into reinvention. So that is my plan.”
Nicola will depart Nytw on June 30, 2022. He has been the artistic director since 1988.
Under his stewardship, Nytw has cemented a reputation as an important force in the production and development of new theater work, many of which have gone on to Broadway runs. A partial list of important works developed at the Nytw includes Jonathan Larson’s Rent,...
- 4/16/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Dramatists Play Service, the theatrical licensing and publishing agency formed in 1936 that represents scores the stage’s most prominent playwrights, has been acquired by Broadway Licensing in what the companies are calling a landmark agreement.
Broadway Licensing, a full-service theatrical licensing partner specializing in the development, production and worldwide distribution of new and established theatrical properties, will now house Dps under its slate of brands. Among the dramatists now represented under this newly formed umbrella are Ayad Akhtar, Edward Albee, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Christopher Durang, Horton Foote, Richard Greenberg, Katori Hall, Beth Henley, George S. Kaufman, Tracy Letts, Martyna Majok, Donald Margulies, Terrence McNally, Arthur Miller, Lynn Nottage, Eugene O’Neill, Susan-Lori Parks, John Patrick Shanley, Alfred Uhry, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, Tennessee Williams, Lanford Wilson, and Doug Wright.
The deal was announced today by Sean Cercone, CEO/President, Broadway Licensing, and David J. Moore, Acting President, Dramatists Play Service.
Broadway Licensing, a full-service theatrical licensing partner specializing in the development, production and worldwide distribution of new and established theatrical properties, will now house Dps under its slate of brands. Among the dramatists now represented under this newly formed umbrella are Ayad Akhtar, Edward Albee, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Christopher Durang, Horton Foote, Richard Greenberg, Katori Hall, Beth Henley, George S. Kaufman, Tracy Letts, Martyna Majok, Donald Margulies, Terrence McNally, Arthur Miller, Lynn Nottage, Eugene O’Neill, Susan-Lori Parks, John Patrick Shanley, Alfred Uhry, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, Tennessee Williams, Lanford Wilson, and Doug Wright.
The deal was announced today by Sean Cercone, CEO/President, Broadway Licensing, and David J. Moore, Acting President, Dramatists Play Service.
- 3/23/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Michelle Williams to Play Peggy Lee in Biopic for Director Todd Haynes, Billie Eilish Eyeing EP Role
Michelle Williams is on board to portray another entertainment icon, in the Peggy Lee biopic “Fever” for director Todd Haynes, Variety has confirmed. MGM is in talks to back the film. Marc Platt, Reese Witherspoon, and Killer Films’ Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon are producing. Doug Wright (“Quills”) is writing the screenplay.
Billie Eilish, her mother Maggie Baird, and Justin Lubliner, CEO of Eilish’s label Darkroom, are also in early discussions about possibly coming aboard the film as executive producers. Eilish has cited Lee as an inspiration; in December 2019, the singer-songwriter told Variety, “I used to listen to tons of old music — Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Etta James, Johnny Mathis and people like that — where all the songs had a perfect songwriting structure.”
Born Norma Deloris Egstrom in 1920, Peggy Lee is today likely best known for her sultry version of the song “Fever,” which became a sensation after she...
Billie Eilish, her mother Maggie Baird, and Justin Lubliner, CEO of Eilish’s label Darkroom, are also in early discussions about possibly coming aboard the film as executive producers. Eilish has cited Lee as an inspiration; in December 2019, the singer-songwriter told Variety, “I used to listen to tons of old music — Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Etta James, Johnny Mathis and people like that — where all the songs had a perfect songwriting structure.”
Born Norma Deloris Egstrom in 1920, Peggy Lee is today likely best known for her sultry version of the song “Fever,” which became a sensation after she...
- 2/4/2021
- by Adam B. Vary
- Variety Film + TV
A biopic of Peggy Lee that’s been kicking around Hollywood for nearly a decade is getting revived by “Far From Heaven” and “Carol” director Todd Haynes. Deadline has the scoop that Haynes will reunite with his “I’m Not There” and “Wonderstuck” star Michelle Williams, who will play the jazz chanteuse in the film. Williams is stepping in for Reese Witherspoon, who was attached when the project was first announced back in 2014. The script is written by Tony and Pulitzer winner Doug Wright.
Billie Eilish is also in talks to come on board as an executive producer, as she is an admirer of the vocalist, who burst out of the big band era and died in 2002. Lee is famous for her rendition of tracks like “Fever,” “I’m a Woman,” “Lover,” and “Is That All There Is?” Peggy Lee was also an actor onscreen and earned an Oscar nomination for...
Billie Eilish is also in talks to come on board as an executive producer, as she is an admirer of the vocalist, who burst out of the big band era and died in 2002. Lee is famous for her rendition of tracks like “Fever,” “I’m a Woman,” “Lover,” and “Is That All There Is?” Peggy Lee was also an actor onscreen and earned an Oscar nomination for...
- 2/4/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Michelle Williams has signed on to play Peggy Lee in a biopic for the legendary singer, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The biopic will be directed by Todd Haynes. Marc Platt, who produced Reese Witherspoon’s two Legally Blonde films, Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon will join Witherspoon in producing the project. Fever, based on a Nora Ephron screenplay, was delayed after Ephron died in 2012.
The film is now written by Doug Wright, who won the Tony and Pulitzer Prize for I Am My Own Wife and was nominated for an Golden Globe for Quills.
Williams, a four-time Oscar nominee, starred in Fosse/Verdon, an FX ...
The biopic will be directed by Todd Haynes. Marc Platt, who produced Reese Witherspoon’s two Legally Blonde films, Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon will join Witherspoon in producing the project. Fever, based on a Nora Ephron screenplay, was delayed after Ephron died in 2012.
The film is now written by Doug Wright, who won the Tony and Pulitzer Prize for I Am My Own Wife and was nominated for an Golden Globe for Quills.
Williams, a four-time Oscar nominee, starred in Fosse/Verdon, an FX ...
More than 200 theater writers – playwrights, composers, lyricists, librettists – have joined a nationwide letter writing campaign urging the incoming Biden-Harris Administration to prioritize its commitment to an arts community ravaged by Covid-19. Among other goals, many of the letters urge the administration to create a Department and Secretary of Arts & Culture.
Organized by the non-partisan grassroots coalition Be An #ArtsHero in partnership with The Dramatists Guild of America, the “Dear Mr. President and Madam Vice President” campaign asserts that “the Arts are vital to our nation’s soul and our collective humanity, as well as being an essential driver of the economy.”
Among those writing letters: Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play), Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown), Heidi Schreck (What The Constitution Means To Me) as well as V (formerly Eve Ensler), Craig Lucas, Theresa Rebeck, Sarah Ruhl, Marsha Norman, Lynn Ahrens, Zakiyyah Alexander, Jaclyn Backhaus, Bekah Brunstetter, Carla Ching, Vichet Chum, Paul Downs Colaizzo,...
Organized by the non-partisan grassroots coalition Be An #ArtsHero in partnership with The Dramatists Guild of America, the “Dear Mr. President and Madam Vice President” campaign asserts that “the Arts are vital to our nation’s soul and our collective humanity, as well as being an essential driver of the economy.”
Among those writing letters: Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play), Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown), Heidi Schreck (What The Constitution Means To Me) as well as V (formerly Eve Ensler), Craig Lucas, Theresa Rebeck, Sarah Ruhl, Marsha Norman, Lynn Ahrens, Zakiyyah Alexander, Jaclyn Backhaus, Bekah Brunstetter, Carla Ching, Vichet Chum, Paul Downs Colaizzo,...
- 1/14/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Jamie Foxx will produce and star in Amazon Studios’ “The Burial,” centered on the legal battle over a funeral home chain during the 1990s.
“The Burial” is based on Jonathan Harr’s 1999 article in the New Yorker about the contractual dispute case brought against funeral home executive Ray Loewen by Mississippi businessman Jeremiah O’Keefe, who hired the flamboyant attorney Willie Gary. The jury awarded O’Keefe a total of $500 million, an amount which would bankrupt Loewen’s company.
“Novitiate” helmer Maggie Betts has been signed to direct from a script by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright. Production companies are Amazon Studios, Bobby Shriver Inc. and Double Nickel Entertainment. Producers are Bobby Shriver, Double Nickel’s Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn along with Datari Turner.
Foxx won a best actor Oscar for “Ray” and was nominated in the supporting actor category for “Collateral.” He also starred in the legal drama “Just Mercy...
“The Burial” is based on Jonathan Harr’s 1999 article in the New Yorker about the contractual dispute case brought against funeral home executive Ray Loewen by Mississippi businessman Jeremiah O’Keefe, who hired the flamboyant attorney Willie Gary. The jury awarded O’Keefe a total of $500 million, an amount which would bankrupt Loewen’s company.
“Novitiate” helmer Maggie Betts has been signed to direct from a script by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright. Production companies are Amazon Studios, Bobby Shriver Inc. and Double Nickel Entertainment. Producers are Bobby Shriver, Double Nickel’s Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn along with Datari Turner.
Foxx won a best actor Oscar for “Ray” and was nominated in the supporting actor category for “Collateral.” He also starred in the legal drama “Just Mercy...
- 11/10/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
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