Editor’S Note: The following article originally ran in 2016 and is being republished here – the Deadpool reference still works! With the 2024 edition of the Olympics in full swing in Paris, we thought it was only appropriate to look back on some all-time Olympic docs. We’ve also updated the list with a few new titles that have come out post-2016.
Where to watch each film has been updated for 2024.
Forget your Deadpools, Batmans and Captains America. The only superheroes anyone cares about this week are the ones running, jumping, swimming and gymnastic-ing their way through the 2016 Summer Olympics, which kicked off last Friday in Rio de Janeiro for 17 action-packed days of elite international competition, syrupy NBC athlete profiles and more daily Costas than is typically recommended by physicians. So step aside Jason Momoa—right now Michael Phelps is the only Aquaman anyone gives a damn about.
And as anyone who...
Where to watch each film has been updated for 2024.
Forget your Deadpools, Batmans and Captains America. The only superheroes anyone cares about this week are the ones running, jumping, swimming and gymnastic-ing their way through the 2016 Summer Olympics, which kicked off last Friday in Rio de Janeiro for 17 action-packed days of elite international competition, syrupy NBC athlete profiles and more daily Costas than is typically recommended by physicians. So step aside Jason Momoa—right now Michael Phelps is the only Aquaman anyone gives a damn about.
And as anyone who...
- 7/30/2024
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
Außerhalb des Wettbewerbs der Mostra wird Andres Veiels Dokumentarfilm „Riefenstahl“ zu sehen sein und dort seine Weltpremiere feiern. In den Wettbewerb wurde u.a. Pablo Larrains „Maria“ eingeladen, bei dem Komplizen Film als Koproduzent an Bord war.
Andres Veiel ist mit seinem Dokumentarfilm „Riefenstahl“ nach Venedig eingeladen worden
Andres Veiels Dokumentarfilm „Riefenstahl“ wird im Rahmen der 81. Mostra (28. August bis 7. September) außerhalb des Wettbewerbs zu sehen sein und dort seine Weltpremiere feiern. Das gab Festivaldirektor Alberto Barbera heute bekannt.
In den Wettbewerb wurden insgesamt 21 Titel eingeladen, zwei weniger als im vergangenen Jahr: Pablo Larrains Maria Callas gewidmeter „Maria“, bei dem Komplizen Film wie schon zuvor bei Larrains „Spencer“ als Koproduzent fungiert hat, Todd Phillips‘ „Joker: Folie A Deux“, dessen Vorgänger „Joker“ 2019 den Goldenen Löwen gewonnen hatte, Pedro Almodovars „The Room Next Door“, Gianni Amelios „Campo di Battaglia“, „Leurs Enfants Apres Eux“ von Ludovic und Zoran Boukherma, Brady Corbets „The Brutalist“, „Jouer avec le Feu...
Andres Veiel ist mit seinem Dokumentarfilm „Riefenstahl“ nach Venedig eingeladen worden
Andres Veiels Dokumentarfilm „Riefenstahl“ wird im Rahmen der 81. Mostra (28. August bis 7. September) außerhalb des Wettbewerbs zu sehen sein und dort seine Weltpremiere feiern. Das gab Festivaldirektor Alberto Barbera heute bekannt.
In den Wettbewerb wurden insgesamt 21 Titel eingeladen, zwei weniger als im vergangenen Jahr: Pablo Larrains Maria Callas gewidmeter „Maria“, bei dem Komplizen Film wie schon zuvor bei Larrains „Spencer“ als Koproduzent fungiert hat, Todd Phillips‘ „Joker: Folie A Deux“, dessen Vorgänger „Joker“ 2019 den Goldenen Löwen gewonnen hatte, Pedro Almodovars „The Room Next Door“, Gianni Amelios „Campo di Battaglia“, „Leurs Enfants Apres Eux“ von Ludovic und Zoran Boukherma, Brady Corbets „The Brutalist“, „Jouer avec le Feu...
- 7/23/2024
- by Jochen Müller
- Spot - Media & Film
Canadian rockers, your favorite headbanger is coming back in the comedy Deaner ‘89! As you can tell from the title, this one is set in 1989, and it stars Paul Spence (Fubar and Fubar 2) as his legendary character Dean Murdoch – who, in ’89, was a teenager growing up in suburban Manitoba. A press release lets us know that Deaner is “Captain of the hockey team, with a pretty girlfriend and a great adoptive family – he’s got it all… until a gnarly trunk of his recently deceased birth father’s belongings arrives. Deaner’s life changes when he learns about his heritage and identity in one fell swoop.“ Deaner ’89 will be reaching theatres across Canada on September 6th – and today, we here at JoBlo are proud to premiere the new trailer for the film! You can check it out in the embed above.
Directed by Sam McGlynn from a screenplay by Spence,...
Directed by Sam McGlynn from a screenplay by Spence,...
- 7/10/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Despite the fact that it was ripped apart by critics, tanked at the box office and was pretty much a misery to make for all involved, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy is still one of the funniest movies ever made. I mean, name one other movie that contains conversations about toast-fucking and a villain who’s basically Big Pharma Lorne Michaels.
But unless you bought a physical copy of Brain Candy, it’s been pretty tough to watch since it wasn’t available on streaming. But now, finally, Paramount has announced that the movie is available to rent or buy on digital. Or you could just buy the Blu-ray since physical media is arguably better anyway.
According to Paramount’s Todd Sokolove, the holdup was related to some of the film’s music rights. Brain Candy is full of licensed music and original compositions, such as “I’m Gay.
But unless you bought a physical copy of Brain Candy, it’s been pretty tough to watch since it wasn’t available on streaming. But now, finally, Paramount has announced that the movie is available to rent or buy on digital. Or you could just buy the Blu-ray since physical media is arguably better anyway.
According to Paramount’s Todd Sokolove, the holdup was related to some of the film’s music rights. Brain Candy is full of licensed music and original compositions, such as “I’m Gay.
- 7/3/2024
- Cracked
“Dungeons and Drag Queens” star Monét X Change has landed her own variety talk series at “Dimension 20” streamer Dropout.
Titled “Monét’s Slumber Party,” the show is described as an “edgy, playful and queer variety show” where “Monét X Change will welcome friends, comedians and other celebrities to an adult sleepover.”
“Combining honest conversation with a little mischief, ‘Monét’s Slumber Party’ will tackle taboo subjects like sex, dating and relationships with openness and humor,” per Dropout.
Think “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse,” because that’s the show entertainment company formerly known as CollegeHumor invoked in the variety series’ concept details: “The set comes to life with in-universe characters who transition us to new segments, do interstitial bits, commentate on what’s happening, and serve as general helpers and friends in Monét’s world.” The recurring characters part of this season include Priscilla Davies, Jonathan Kidder and Kevin McDonald.
Alongside the “Playhouse” element,...
Titled “Monét’s Slumber Party,” the show is described as an “edgy, playful and queer variety show” where “Monét X Change will welcome friends, comedians and other celebrities to an adult sleepover.”
“Combining honest conversation with a little mischief, ‘Monét’s Slumber Party’ will tackle taboo subjects like sex, dating and relationships with openness and humor,” per Dropout.
Think “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse,” because that’s the show entertainment company formerly known as CollegeHumor invoked in the variety series’ concept details: “The set comes to life with in-universe characters who transition us to new segments, do interstitial bits, commentate on what’s happening, and serve as general helpers and friends in Monét’s world.” The recurring characters part of this season include Priscilla Davies, Jonathan Kidder and Kevin McDonald.
Alongside the “Playhouse” element,...
- 6/28/2024
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
A24’s psychological thriller Love Lies Bleeding by director Rose Glass starring Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Jena Malone and Anna Baryshnikov, with Dave Franco and Ed Harris, opens in limited release on five screens in New York and L.A., expanding next week. A reclusive gym manager Lou (Stewart) falls hard for Jackie (O’Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family. Written by Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilskav. Premiered at Sundance, see Deadline review.
(A24’s The Problemista by Julio Torres staring Torres and Tilda Swinton expands to 20 screens.)
Glitter & Doom from Music Box Films, a fantastical queer romance told through the music of the Indigo Girls, opens at the Quad in NYC and Laemmle LA. The film, which has played gala slots at over 50 LGBTQ+ festivals globally,...
(A24’s The Problemista by Julio Torres staring Torres and Tilda Swinton expands to 20 screens.)
Glitter & Doom from Music Box Films, a fantastical queer romance told through the music of the Indigo Girls, opens at the Quad in NYC and Laemmle LA. The film, which has played gala slots at over 50 LGBTQ+ festivals globally,...
- 3/8/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
When filmmakers suffer disappointments at the box office, they often take comfort in other theatrical flops that still stood the test of time, such as Blade Runner and The Shawshank Redemption. Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World now has the surprisingly good fortune of being one of those examples. In the summer of 2010, despite significant buzz and rapturous responses from sneak previews at San Diego Comic-Con, the inventive and engaging action-comedy based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novels opened to just $10.6 million en route to a disheartening $49.2 million.
But even before the end of that calendar year, Wright could sense that a cult audience had already developed through specialty screenings and the rare DVD press tour for a box office failure. He then felt that word of mouth grow even more over the years, and it soon proved itself in tangible form, as merchandise and additional home releases kept getting made.
But even before the end of that calendar year, Wright could sense that a cult audience had already developed through specialty screenings and the rare DVD press tour for a box office failure. He then felt that word of mouth grow even more over the years, and it soon proved itself in tangible form, as merchandise and additional home releases kept getting made.
- 11/17/2023
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Will Sasso, Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall) and Paul Spence are set to star in Deaner ’89, an action comedy from director Sam McGlynn that has started production in Winnipeg.
Sasso recently starred in the comedy Loudermilk from creators Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort. He has also starred in MADtv, TV’s $#*! My Dad Says and Less Than Perfect. Star Slade, Maddy Foley and Mary Walsh are part of the ensemble cast for the feature that has Spence, who also wrote the film, reprising his original character, Dean “Deaner” Murdoch from two Fubar movies and a TV series.
Michael Dowse’s 2002 headbanger movie Fubar, about two beer-loving heavy metal musicians, Dean and Terry, played by Spence and Dave Lawrence, debuted at Sundance and was followed by the Fubar TV series and the 2010 movie sequel, Fubar 2.
Indigenous film and TV producer Eagle Vision, a co-producer on Capote, and PSA Productions...
Sasso recently starred in the comedy Loudermilk from creators Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort. He has also starred in MADtv, TV’s $#*! My Dad Says and Less Than Perfect. Star Slade, Maddy Foley and Mary Walsh are part of the ensemble cast for the feature that has Spence, who also wrote the film, reprising his original character, Dean “Deaner” Murdoch from two Fubar movies and a TV series.
Michael Dowse’s 2002 headbanger movie Fubar, about two beer-loving heavy metal musicians, Dean and Terry, played by Spence and Dave Lawrence, debuted at Sundance and was followed by the Fubar TV series and the 2010 movie sequel, Fubar 2.
Indigenous film and TV producer Eagle Vision, a co-producer on Capote, and PSA Productions...
- 5/30/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran media executive Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann took over as CEO of Telepool in January, barely a year after Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook took full control, in December 2021, of the German rights giant.
The appointment was a bit of a coup. The Japan-born, Germany-educated Higuchi-Zitzmann has more than a quarter century of experience in some of Europe’s biggest media companies. She was an acquisitions exec for Constantin Film — scoring Olivier Dahan’s Oscar winner La Vie En Rose for the German market among other deals — and producer at renowned German groups Ziegler Cinema — where she delivered sleeper hit My Blind Date With Life, a romantic comedy that earned more than $5 million at the German box office for distributor StudioCanal — and Studio Hamburg, where her hits included Herzogpark, a Desperate Housewives-style series for leading German network Rtl. She joined Telepool from Matthias Schweighöfer’s production outfit Pantaleon Films...
The appointment was a bit of a coup. The Japan-born, Germany-educated Higuchi-Zitzmann has more than a quarter century of experience in some of Europe’s biggest media companies. She was an acquisitions exec for Constantin Film — scoring Olivier Dahan’s Oscar winner La Vie En Rose for the German market among other deals — and producer at renowned German groups Ziegler Cinema — where she delivered sleeper hit My Blind Date With Life, a romantic comedy that earned more than $5 million at the German box office for distributor StudioCanal — and Studio Hamburg, where her hits included Herzogpark, a Desperate Housewives-style series for leading German network Rtl. She joined Telepool from Matthias Schweighöfer’s production outfit Pantaleon Films...
- 5/19/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
German film and TV distribution and licensing company Telepool, which is owned by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook, is moving into lead producing movies and series, its CEO Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann tells Variety exclusively in her first interview since joining the company in January.
Munich-based Telepool is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Wednesday, and although it has a barrel-load of experience in selling, distributing, licensing, financing and co-producing movies and series, this shift into initiating and lead producing represents a significant step for the company. It also forms part of Westbrook’s broader strategy for international expansion, which – in part – lay behind its acquisition of Telepool in December 2021.
Higuchi-Zitzmann seems ideally suited to the task as she has worked for several leading German film and TV companies, giving her experience in both distribution and production. Most recently, she served as the managing director of Pantaleon Films, whose founders include German star Matthias Schweighöfer,...
Munich-based Telepool is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Wednesday, and although it has a barrel-load of experience in selling, distributing, licensing, financing and co-producing movies and series, this shift into initiating and lead producing represents a significant step for the company. It also forms part of Westbrook’s broader strategy for international expansion, which – in part – lay behind its acquisition of Telepool in December 2021.
Higuchi-Zitzmann seems ideally suited to the task as she has worked for several leading German film and TV companies, giving her experience in both distribution and production. Most recently, she served as the managing director of Pantaleon Films, whose founders include German star Matthias Schweighöfer,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Saturday Night Live is the show everyone thinks of when they think about sketch comedy. Though not the first and certainly not the last, SNL has been on NBC live since 1975. So it has dominated a lot of pop culture real estate. If you are looking for more sketch comedy with a different point of view, or just a different cast, here are 12 other options.
L-r: Mike Myers and Dana Carvey | Raymond Bonar/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images ‘Sctv’ was the Canadian sketch comedy competition to ‘Saturday Night Live’
The Second City comedy troupe got into the sketch comedy TV business one year after SNL. Their premise was that the Second City Television network would air different sketches. Comedy legends John Candy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin, Martin Short and more starred in the show’s five seasons.
Moranis and Thomas’s Strange Brew McKenzie brothers began here.
L-r: Mike Myers and Dana Carvey | Raymond Bonar/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images ‘Sctv’ was the Canadian sketch comedy competition to ‘Saturday Night Live’
The Second City comedy troupe got into the sketch comedy TV business one year after SNL. Their premise was that the Second City Television network would air different sketches. Comedy legends John Candy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin, Martin Short and more starred in the show’s five seasons.
Moranis and Thomas’s Strange Brew McKenzie brothers began here.
- 3/20/2023
- by Fred Topel
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Zach Galifianakis has been cast in Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” feature, TheWrap has confirmed. We’ve heard he will be playing Pleakley, the alien character originally voiced by Kevin McDonald and animated by Ruben A. Aquino.
Dean Fleischer Camp, the Oscar-nominated director of last year’s “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” will be directing the new adaptation. Originally, Jon M. Chu was on board to direct but exited in 2020; that version of the movie had a script by Mike Van Waes. It’s unclear if that version of the screenplay will be utilized for this version. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who produced the live-action “Aladdin” for Disney (which grossed more than 1 billion worldwide), are aboard as producers.
The original film, released in 2002, was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. The film followed an extraterrestrial experiment (voiced by Sanders) who escapes his cosmic prison...
Dean Fleischer Camp, the Oscar-nominated director of last year’s “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” will be directing the new adaptation. Originally, Jon M. Chu was on board to direct but exited in 2020; that version of the movie had a script by Mike Van Waes. It’s unclear if that version of the screenplay will be utilized for this version. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who produced the live-action “Aladdin” for Disney (which grossed more than 1 billion worldwide), are aboard as producers.
The original film, released in 2002, was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. The film followed an extraterrestrial experiment (voiced by Sanders) who escapes his cosmic prison...
- 2/18/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Newen Connect CEO Rodolphe Buet is happy to be back in person at the Berlinale’s European Film Market after the three-year Covid-19 hiatus.
“It’s fun to be in Berlin. When I started in the industry in 2005, my first market was Berlin with Studiocanal,” he says.
In the interim, Buet rose through the Studiocanal ranks to become president of distribution and marketing from 2015 to 2017, overseeing the rollout strategies for Paddington and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy among other major films.
He was appointed CEO of Paris-based Newen Connect in 2020, piloting its creation in the wake of TF1’s 100 acquisition of Newen Studios out of the merger of their distribution arms TF1 Studio, Newen Distribution and Reel One International.
He has spent the last three years steadily putting in place a structure in step with the convergence between the audiovisual and cinema worlds, appointing Leona Connell as Chief Commercial Officer...
“It’s fun to be in Berlin. When I started in the industry in 2005, my first market was Berlin with Studiocanal,” he says.
In the interim, Buet rose through the Studiocanal ranks to become president of distribution and marketing from 2015 to 2017, overseeing the rollout strategies for Paddington and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy among other major films.
He was appointed CEO of Paris-based Newen Connect in 2020, piloting its creation in the wake of TF1’s 100 acquisition of Newen Studios out of the merger of their distribution arms TF1 Studio, Newen Distribution and Reel One International.
He has spent the last three years steadily putting in place a structure in step with the convergence between the audiovisual and cinema worlds, appointing Leona Connell as Chief Commercial Officer...
- 2/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Kevin MacDonald Strikes Factual Deal With Workerbee
Oscar-winning director and producer Kevin Macdonald has struck a multi-project creative partnership with the Workerbee Group. Macdonald, whose credits include “One Day in September,” “Touching the Void” and “Marley,” is executive producing a major feature documentary for a streaming platform as the first element of his two-year Workerbee deal. Details are yet to be announced of the film or the other premium factual projects which are expected to include those he directs and executive produces.
Manchester-based Workerbee recent credits including “Janet” for Lifetime and A&e, “Bruno Vs Tyson” (Sky), “The Bridge” for Channel 4 and HBO Max, “Peter Crouch: Save Our Beautiful Game” for Discovery and “Idris Elba’s Fight School” for BBC Two.
The company has recently been revamped into a clear films and formats divisional structure. The Macdonald deal is the first creative partnership to be announced by the newly formed Workerbee Group,...
Oscar-winning director and producer Kevin Macdonald has struck a multi-project creative partnership with the Workerbee Group. Macdonald, whose credits include “One Day in September,” “Touching the Void” and “Marley,” is executive producing a major feature documentary for a streaming platform as the first element of his two-year Workerbee deal. Details are yet to be announced of the film or the other premium factual projects which are expected to include those he directs and executive produces.
Manchester-based Workerbee recent credits including “Janet” for Lifetime and A&e, “Bruno Vs Tyson” (Sky), “The Bridge” for Channel 4 and HBO Max, “Peter Crouch: Save Our Beautiful Game” for Discovery and “Idris Elba’s Fight School” for BBC Two.
The company has recently been revamped into a clear films and formats divisional structure. The Macdonald deal is the first creative partnership to be announced by the newly formed Workerbee Group,...
- 2/8/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Whitney director Kevin Macdonald has struck a multi-project deal with rebranded Banijay label Workerbee Group.
Macdonald, whose past credits include the celebrated Houston doc, Oscar winner One Day in September and Marley, will work closely with Workerbee’s new Films division to jointly identify premium unscripted projects to collaborate on.
The pair have previously collaborated on hit A+E Janet Jackson doc series Janet and the new partnership has already spawned a major feature doc for a streamer, which will be announced shortly.
“On a personal level I’m huge fan of Kevin’s approach to storytelling and his partnerships with our lead Director Ben Hirsh have produced our most exciting documentary projects to date,” said Workerbee CEO Rick Murray. “Knowing we are going to forge more high-profile films together is a great way to kick start our Workerbee Films division.”
Macdonald added: “I’ve had a rewarding time working...
Macdonald, whose past credits include the celebrated Houston doc, Oscar winner One Day in September and Marley, will work closely with Workerbee’s new Films division to jointly identify premium unscripted projects to collaborate on.
The pair have previously collaborated on hit A+E Janet Jackson doc series Janet and the new partnership has already spawned a major feature doc for a streamer, which will be announced shortly.
“On a personal level I’m huge fan of Kevin’s approach to storytelling and his partnerships with our lead Director Ben Hirsh have produced our most exciting documentary projects to date,” said Workerbee CEO Rick Murray. “Knowing we are going to forge more high-profile films together is a great way to kick start our Workerbee Films division.”
Macdonald added: “I’ve had a rewarding time working...
- 2/8/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Neal McDonough (Yellowstone), Sean Astin (Stranger Things) and Rose Reid (Finding You) will join Kristoffer Polaha, John Billingsley, Jason Marsden, Nolan North, Emily Rose and more in the sci-fi thriller The Shift, which has entered production in Birmingham, Al.
The film written and directed by Brock Heasley marks the first original theatrical effort from Angel Studios, the studio behind the crowdfunded streaming series The Chosen. Plot details are under wraps. But Liz Tabish, Paras Patel and Jordan Walker Ross will also feature in the cast of the pic from Ken Carpenter’s Nook Lane Entertainment.
McDonough is repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Astin by Luber Roklin, Stewart Talent and Brecheen Feldman Breimer; and Reid by Innovative Artists and attorney Jared Bloch.
Thomas Haden Church and Dianna Agron in Acidman
Exclusive: Brainstorm Media has acquired U.S. rights to the sci-fi drama Acidman, starring Dianna Agron...
The film written and directed by Brock Heasley marks the first original theatrical effort from Angel Studios, the studio behind the crowdfunded streaming series The Chosen. Plot details are under wraps. But Liz Tabish, Paras Patel and Jordan Walker Ross will also feature in the cast of the pic from Ken Carpenter’s Nook Lane Entertainment.
McDonough is repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Astin by Luber Roklin, Stewart Talent and Brecheen Feldman Breimer; and Reid by Innovative Artists and attorney Jared Bloch.
Thomas Haden Church and Dianna Agron in Acidman
Exclusive: Brainstorm Media has acquired U.S. rights to the sci-fi drama Acidman, starring Dianna Agron...
- 2/3/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Ryan Heller has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Film & Documentary at Topic Studios, the award-winning studio from First Look Media.
In his new role, he will continue to lead the feature film group, while adding feature-length documentaries to his purview, formalizing an area in which he had already been operating. He will oversee the doc arena with Vice President, Nonfiction, Christine Connor, continuing to report to CEO Michael Bloom.
A key player in the launch and critical successes of Topic Studios, who has since 2018 built and managed its feature film slate through development, financing, production and distribution, Heller most recently served as Senior Vice President of Film and Acquisitions.
He has long been a champion for new directorial voices, in recent years shepherding such breakout projects as the psychological horror Nanny and the acclaimed buddy comedy, The Climb. The former title from rising star director Nikyatu Jusu was...
In his new role, he will continue to lead the feature film group, while adding feature-length documentaries to his purview, formalizing an area in which he had already been operating. He will oversee the doc arena with Vice President, Nonfiction, Christine Connor, continuing to report to CEO Michael Bloom.
A key player in the launch and critical successes of Topic Studios, who has since 2018 built and managed its feature film slate through development, financing, production and distribution, Heller most recently served as Senior Vice President of Film and Acquisitions.
He has long been a champion for new directorial voices, in recent years shepherding such breakout projects as the psychological horror Nanny and the acclaimed buddy comedy, The Climb. The former title from rising star director Nikyatu Jusu was...
- 1/12/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Distributor says appointment signals its ambition to drive the value of its film rights.
Newen Connect, the distribution arm of Newen Studios, has promoted Leona Connell, from EVP distribution to the newly-created role of chief commercial officer (Cco).
Based between London and Paris, Connell will focus on international and French markets across film and TV.
Connell joined Newen Connect in 2020 and leads the fiction and non-fiction TV sales team in France and internationally and supports the financing of Newen Connect projects. Connell also develops co-production partnerships and pre-sales.
As Cco, she will broaden her remit to oversee a team of...
Newen Connect, the distribution arm of Newen Studios, has promoted Leona Connell, from EVP distribution to the newly-created role of chief commercial officer (Cco).
Based between London and Paris, Connell will focus on international and French markets across film and TV.
Connell joined Newen Connect in 2020 and leads the fiction and non-fiction TV sales team in France and internationally and supports the financing of Newen Connect projects. Connell also develops co-production partnerships and pre-sales.
As Cco, she will broaden her remit to oversee a team of...
- 1/9/2023
- ScreenDaily
Paramount is set to produce Scott’s follow-up to the 2001 Best Picture Oscar winner.
Paul Mescal is in talks to star in Ridley Scott’s sequel to Gladiator, according to reports, a role that would give the fast-rising Irish actor his first lead in a big studio film.
Scott will direct the film for Paramount Pictures from a script by David Scarpa.
Mescal is set to play Lucius, son of Lucilla, the one-time romantic interest of the original film’s central character Maximus, played by Russell Crowe.
The original film won both the Best Picture Oscar and the Best Film...
Paul Mescal is in talks to star in Ridley Scott’s sequel to Gladiator, according to reports, a role that would give the fast-rising Irish actor his first lead in a big studio film.
Scott will direct the film for Paramount Pictures from a script by David Scarpa.
Mescal is set to play Lucius, son of Lucilla, the one-time romantic interest of the original film’s central character Maximus, played by Russell Crowe.
The original film won both the Best Picture Oscar and the Best Film...
- 1/7/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
The Serpent and The Mauritanian star Tahar Rahim will preside over the 48th edition of France’s Cesar Awards, taking place at Paris’s historic l’Olympia concert venue on February 24.
France’s Cesar Academy noted that Rahim has a long history with the Césars, having won best actor and most promising actor in 2010 for his breakthrough performance in Jacques Audiard’s The Prophet.
“Since then, Tahar Rahim has continued his career with finesse, opting for rich, diverse and complex characters, and new experiences,” said the César Academy in a statement announcing his appointment as ceremony president.
Highlighting Rahim’s ability to move between French and international productions, the body cited past credits spanning Lou Ye’s Love and Bruises, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Black Gold, Asghar Farhadi’s The Past, Rebecca Zlotowski’s Grand Central as well as Kevin Macdonald’s The Mauritanian and BBC-Netflix hit The Serpent,...
France’s Cesar Academy noted that Rahim has a long history with the Césars, having won best actor and most promising actor in 2010 for his breakthrough performance in Jacques Audiard’s The Prophet.
“Since then, Tahar Rahim has continued his career with finesse, opting for rich, diverse and complex characters, and new experiences,” said the César Academy in a statement announcing his appointment as ceremony president.
Highlighting Rahim’s ability to move between French and international productions, the body cited past credits spanning Lou Ye’s Love and Bruises, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Black Gold, Asghar Farhadi’s The Past, Rebecca Zlotowski’s Grand Central as well as Kevin Macdonald’s The Mauritanian and BBC-Netflix hit The Serpent,...
- 1/5/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
2022 has been an extraordinary year for television. The pandemic forced many shows down to shorter schedules or Zoom-based episodes in 2020, which had lasting effects well into 2021, but this year feels almost like a roaring television comeback. There were so many great shows this year that I genuinely had a difficult time narrowing the list down to just 20 entries. We have been blessed with a wealth of excellent entertainment from regular networks, cable, and streaming, and now it's time to celebrate (and rank) the best of the best.
This has been an especially great year for genre TV, with an abundance of extraordinary new science fiction, fantasy, and horror shows, plus terrific new seasons from returning favorites like "What We Do in the Shadows" and "The Boys." There were so many good shows that I had to leave out some greats, like "Star Trek: Lower Decks," "Mythic Quest," and "The White Lotus.
This has been an especially great year for genre TV, with an abundance of extraordinary new science fiction, fantasy, and horror shows, plus terrific new seasons from returning favorites like "What We Do in the Shadows" and "The Boys." There were so many good shows that I had to leave out some greats, like "Star Trek: Lower Decks," "Mythic Quest," and "The White Lotus.
- 12/23/2022
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
Plot: The life of Whitney Houston (Naomi Ackie), from her early days as an up-and-comer to her eventual run as a superstar and drug-fuelled decline.
Review: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a mixed bag as far as music biopics go. While it follows the familiar beats and doesn’t shy away from the darker side of Houston’s life and career, the film is perhaps too devoted to Houston’s music to work as a compelling drama. Of the 144-minute running time, conservatively, forty (or more) minutes are devoted to lengthy restagings of Houston’s live performances. Given that Houston’s real vocals were used, that means star Noami Ackie is given little to do but mime to these performances. While Houston’s once-in-a-generation voice obviously can’t be imitated, it leaves Ackie too little time to inhabit the part effectively.
Ackie’s performance suffers partly because Houston is...
Review: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a mixed bag as far as music biopics go. While it follows the familiar beats and doesn’t shy away from the darker side of Houston’s life and career, the film is perhaps too devoted to Houston’s music to work as a compelling drama. Of the 144-minute running time, conservatively, forty (or more) minutes are devoted to lengthy restagings of Houston’s live performances. Given that Houston’s real vocals were used, that means star Noami Ackie is given little to do but mime to these performances. While Houston’s once-in-a-generation voice obviously can’t be imitated, it leaves Ackie too little time to inhabit the part effectively.
Ackie’s performance suffers partly because Houston is...
- 12/22/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Naomi Ackie is excellent in the title role and the film delivers all the singer’s big hits, but it swerves the difficult questions
Whitney Houston has already been the subject of two startling and effectively competing documentaries: Nick Broomfield’s Whitney: Can I Be Me? from 2017 and Kevin Macdonald’s Whitney, which was released a year later. Each in its own way was hamstrung by legal issues and family pressure, although Broomfield’s was perhaps the more judicious and insightful. Now here is a music biopic on very traditional lines from screenwriter Anthony McCarten and director Kasi Lemmons: a smoothly watchable and well performed piece of work. It is almost a 144-minute narrative montage, and very avoidant on key issues – seemingly deferring to everyone who is still alive and suing.
British actor Naomi Ackie is very strong in the role of Houston (though with Whitney’s original singing...
Whitney Houston has already been the subject of two startling and effectively competing documentaries: Nick Broomfield’s Whitney: Can I Be Me? from 2017 and Kevin Macdonald’s Whitney, which was released a year later. Each in its own way was hamstrung by legal issues and family pressure, although Broomfield’s was perhaps the more judicious and insightful. Now here is a music biopic on very traditional lines from screenwriter Anthony McCarten and director Kasi Lemmons: a smoothly watchable and well performed piece of work. It is almost a 144-minute narrative montage, and very avoidant on key issues – seemingly deferring to everyone who is still alive and suing.
British actor Naomi Ackie is very strong in the role of Houston (though with Whitney’s original singing...
- 12/21/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Click here to read the full article.
At the first British Independent Film Awards ceremony back in 1998, among the nominees for best British independent film was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the directorial debut of a young(ish) Guy Ritchie and a film that propelled him (plus Jason Statham and producer Matthew Vaughn) straight into the big league. It was Ritchie’s first brush with film awards. A few months later, Lock, Stock would land three BAFTA nominations. Within two years he had married Madonna.
Almost a quarter-century on and — with the possible exception of the marrying Madonna part — this is still what the BIFAs are doing best: providing rising talent with a very early (and often crucial) career boost and giving them a moment to celebrate their achievements in the often difficult world of independent film (Lock, Stock took 15 months to secure financial backing).
Heading into the 25th BIFAs on Sunday,...
At the first British Independent Film Awards ceremony back in 1998, among the nominees for best British independent film was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the directorial debut of a young(ish) Guy Ritchie and a film that propelled him (plus Jason Statham and producer Matthew Vaughn) straight into the big league. It was Ritchie’s first brush with film awards. A few months later, Lock, Stock would land three BAFTA nominations. Within two years he had married Madonna.
Almost a quarter-century on and — with the possible exception of the marrying Madonna part — this is still what the BIFAs are doing best: providing rising talent with a very early (and often crucial) career boost and giving them a moment to celebrate their achievements in the often difficult world of independent film (Lock, Stock took 15 months to secure financial backing).
Heading into the 25th BIFAs on Sunday,...
- 12/1/2022
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Marrakech – Chain smoking in a green, pleated Issey Miyake outfit, paired with cream loafers, his hair tied neatly back, Tahar Rahim, 41, speaks, between puffs, in such a convincing, powerful American accent, that you would never imagine that the actor grew up in the Paris banlieue, in a poor French-Algerian family packed with children.
His cinema education was as much as popping into the multicultural neighbor’s houses, to chat and drink tea, as watching films, when he could afford to, on local screens.
“France has changed,” he says. “I grew up in a suburb where we were all together. French, Egyptians, gypsies. You would go to each other’s houses. Drink tea. Chat. The conversations you have. It made me. Boundaries are just an imaginary line because to discover a new culture is rich.”
Serving as a jury member at this year’s Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov. 11-19), Rahim...
His cinema education was as much as popping into the multicultural neighbor’s houses, to chat and drink tea, as watching films, when he could afford to, on local screens.
“France has changed,” he says. “I grew up in a suburb where we were all together. French, Egyptians, gypsies. You would go to each other’s houses. Drink tea. Chat. The conversations you have. It made me. Boundaries are just an imaginary line because to discover a new culture is rich.”
Serving as a jury member at this year’s Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov. 11-19), Rahim...
- 11/15/2022
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Screen is rounding up the key projects launched before and during this year’s American Film Market.
Screen International is rounding up the key projects launched before and during this year’s American Film Market.
Refresh the page for latest updates.
From the US
The Pack
Alexander Skarsgard marks his feature directing debut with this psychological thriller starring Florence Pugh. Production begins in March 2023. CAA Media Finance and 30West jointly represent US rights.
International sales: The Veterans
Immaculate
Sydney Sweeney produces (with Fifty-Fifty films) and stars in this psychological horror set in the Italian countryside. Michael Mohen will direct with...
Screen International is rounding up the key projects launched before and during this year’s American Film Market.
Refresh the page for latest updates.
From the US
The Pack
Alexander Skarsgard marks his feature directing debut with this psychological thriller starring Florence Pugh. Production begins in March 2023. CAA Media Finance and 30West jointly represent US rights.
International sales: The Veterans
Immaculate
Sydney Sweeney produces (with Fifty-Fifty films) and stars in this psychological horror set in the Italian countryside. Michael Mohen will direct with...
- 10/31/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Paul Mescal‘s breakout role may have been in 2020’s “Normal People,” but 2022 is the year the actor showcases his talents on the big screen. With starring roles in “God’s Creatures,” “Aftersun,” and “Carmen” this year, Mescal’s star is no longer just a rising talent but a bonafide star. And now he has yet another upcoming project: “A Spy By Nature,” helmed by “The Mauritanian” and “The Last King Of Scotland” director Kevin Macdonald.
Continue reading ‘A Spy By Nature’: Paul Mescal Stars In Spy Thriller From ‘State Of Play’ & ‘The Last King Of Scotland’ Director Kevin Macdonald at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘A Spy By Nature’: Paul Mescal Stars In Spy Thriller From ‘State Of Play’ & ‘The Last King Of Scotland’ Director Kevin Macdonald at The Playlist.
- 10/27/2022
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Paul Mescal will lead modern espionage thriller “A Spy By Nature,” to be directed by Oscar and BAFTA winner Kevin Macdonald (“The Mauritian”).
HanWay Films is launching worldwide sales at the upcoming American Film Market. CAA is co-representing domestic rights.
The film is an adaptation of the first novel in Charles Cumming’s bestselling Alec Milius spy series, adapted by BAFTA winner John Hodge (“Trainspotting”) and Joseph Charlton (“Industry”). It will follow Milius, a disillusioned twenty-something whose gift for deception catches the eye of MI6. Caught up in the thrusts of a geopolitical war on commodities involving the British and the Americans, at home he struggles to preserve his relationship with his girlfriend and build a future together. As his web of lies grows, Milius is forced to confront his own nature – whether he can be a good man as well as a good spy.
The film is produced by...
HanWay Films is launching worldwide sales at the upcoming American Film Market. CAA is co-representing domestic rights.
The film is an adaptation of the first novel in Charles Cumming’s bestselling Alec Milius spy series, adapted by BAFTA winner John Hodge (“Trainspotting”) and Joseph Charlton (“Industry”). It will follow Milius, a disillusioned twenty-something whose gift for deception catches the eye of MI6. Caught up in the thrusts of a geopolitical war on commodities involving the British and the Americans, at home he struggles to preserve his relationship with his girlfriend and build a future together. As his web of lies grows, Milius is forced to confront his own nature – whether he can be a good man as well as a good spy.
The film is produced by...
- 10/27/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
HanWay Films is launching worldwide sales on A Spy By Nature, a thriller starring Paul Mescal (Normal People) at AFM next month. CAA is co-repping domestic rights.
The film is directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Mauritanian) and is an adaptation of the first novel in Charles Cumming’s bestselling Alec Milius spy series adapted for the screen by John Hodge (Trainspotting), with the most recent draft by Joseph Charlton (Industry).
The pic follows Alec Milius, a disillusioned twenty-something whose gift for deception catches the eye of MI6. Caught up in the thrusts of a geopolitical war on commodities involving the British and the Americans, at home he struggles to preserve his relationship with his girlfriend and build a future together. As his web of lies grows, Alec is forced to confront his own nature – whether he can be a good man as well as a good spy.
The film is...
The film is directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Mauritanian) and is an adaptation of the first novel in Charles Cumming’s bestselling Alec Milius spy series adapted for the screen by John Hodge (Trainspotting), with the most recent draft by Joseph Charlton (Industry).
The pic follows Alec Milius, a disillusioned twenty-something whose gift for deception catches the eye of MI6. Caught up in the thrusts of a geopolitical war on commodities involving the British and the Americans, at home he struggles to preserve his relationship with his girlfriend and build a future together. As his web of lies grows, Alec is forced to confront his own nature – whether he can be a good man as well as a good spy.
The film is...
- 10/27/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Paul Mescal is stepping into the spy world for the first time.
The Emmy and BAFTA-winning Normal People breakout, recently seen in festival favorite Aftersun and last year’s The Lost Daughter, is set to lead A Spy By Nature for Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (The Mauritanian, The Last King of Scotland, State of Play). HanWay Films is launching the project at the American Film Market, with CAA co-repping U.S. rights.
Described as a smart, modern espionage thriller, A Spy By Nature explores a young spy’s growing talent for lying and subterfuge, and the consequences this has on his professional and private lives. The film is adapted by BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee John Hodge (Trainspotting, The Beach) from the first novel in Charles Cumming’s bestselling Alec Milius spy series, with the most recent draft by Joseph Charlton (Industry.
Paul Mescal is stepping into the spy world for the first time.
The Emmy and BAFTA-winning Normal People breakout, recently seen in festival favorite Aftersun and last year’s The Lost Daughter, is set to lead A Spy By Nature for Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (The Mauritanian, The Last King of Scotland, State of Play). HanWay Films is launching the project at the American Film Market, with CAA co-repping U.S. rights.
Described as a smart, modern espionage thriller, A Spy By Nature explores a young spy’s growing talent for lying and subterfuge, and the consequences this has on his professional and private lives. The film is adapted by BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee John Hodge (Trainspotting, The Beach) from the first novel in Charles Cumming’s bestselling Alec Milius spy series, with the most recent draft by Joseph Charlton (Industry.
- 10/27/2022
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Worldwide sales to launch at AFM.
Paul Mescal will lead the cast of A Spy By Nature, a thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald and written by Trainspotting writer John Hodge.
HanWay Films is launching worldwide sales on the film at next week’s American Film Market; CAA is co-representing US rights.
A Spy By Nature is adapted by Hodge from the first novel in Charles Cumming’s Alec Milius spy series, with the most recent draft of the script by Joseph Charlton.
Chris Clark is producing for UK outfit RedRum Films, with Quentin Curtis; with HanWay and Ingenious Media as executive producers,...
Paul Mescal will lead the cast of A Spy By Nature, a thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald and written by Trainspotting writer John Hodge.
HanWay Films is launching worldwide sales on the film at next week’s American Film Market; CAA is co-representing US rights.
A Spy By Nature is adapted by Hodge from the first novel in Charles Cumming’s Alec Milius spy series, with the most recent draft of the script by Joseph Charlton.
Chris Clark is producing for UK outfit RedRum Films, with Quentin Curtis; with HanWay and Ingenious Media as executive producers,...
- 10/27/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Cornerstone to launch sales on project at AFM.
Damian Lewis is attached to star in supernatural black comedy The Radleys, directed by Bafta-winning director Euros Lyn, whose credits include Netflix hit show Heartstopper and feature Dream Horse.
Cornerstone is handling worldwide sales and distribution and will launch sales at the AFM next month.
Based on Matt Haig’s novel, The Radleys is a Genesius Pictures production, produced by Debbie Gray with Lewis as executive producer through his production company, Ginger Biscuit Entertainment. Gray most recently produced Emma Thompson-starrer Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.
Cornerstone and Genesius most recently...
Damian Lewis is attached to star in supernatural black comedy The Radleys, directed by Bafta-winning director Euros Lyn, whose credits include Netflix hit show Heartstopper and feature Dream Horse.
Cornerstone is handling worldwide sales and distribution and will launch sales at the AFM next month.
Based on Matt Haig’s novel, The Radleys is a Genesius Pictures production, produced by Debbie Gray with Lewis as executive producer through his production company, Ginger Biscuit Entertainment. Gray most recently produced Emma Thompson-starrer Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.
Cornerstone and Genesius most recently...
- 10/21/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
For any actor, playing a villain or just a plain bad person can be a true joy, because it lets them flex their imagination and acting muscles to play someone (hopefully) unlike themselves. That has also led many of those performances to winning Oscars. Even so, if you ask many actors (especially Christoph Waltz) about “playing a villain,” they’ll probably tell you that they couldn’t look at their character in that way, since they needed to create a believable motivation for their character to do all the awful things they do. And yet, so many actors have won Academy Awards for playing generally bad people, as you can see in the gallery above (or click here for direct access). Read on to see all of the Oscar-winning villains from the past 30 years.
SEE2023 Best Picture Oscar predictions
Tommy Lee Jones as U.S. Marshall Samuel Gerard in ‘The Fugitive...
SEE2023 Best Picture Oscar predictions
Tommy Lee Jones as U.S. Marshall Samuel Gerard in ‘The Fugitive...
- 10/14/2022
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Oprah Winfrey and Apple are winding down their content deal.
Winfrey and the streamer struck a “multi-year content partnership” in January 2018, but sources have confirmed that their deal is ending.
The news comes two days after the premiere of Sidney, the Winfrey-exec produced documentary about Sidney Poitier, on the service.
Although Winfrey and the tech giant are winding down their official partnership – not renewing the deal – sources suggest that they will continue to work together on a project-by-project basis.
While Winfrey made The Oprah Conversations and mental health special The Me You Can’t See for Apple TV+, as well as Oprah’s Book Club, which is available via Apple Books, it’s clear that the deal didn’t produce a huge swathe of content.
Winfrey also had high-profile projects such as Oprah with Meghan and Harry and Adele One Night Only, which she produced via Harpo and interviewed the British popstar,...
Winfrey and the streamer struck a “multi-year content partnership” in January 2018, but sources have confirmed that their deal is ending.
The news comes two days after the premiere of Sidney, the Winfrey-exec produced documentary about Sidney Poitier, on the service.
Although Winfrey and the tech giant are winding down their official partnership – not renewing the deal – sources suggest that they will continue to work together on a project-by-project basis.
While Winfrey made The Oprah Conversations and mental health special The Me You Can’t See for Apple TV+, as well as Oprah’s Book Club, which is available via Apple Books, it’s clear that the deal didn’t produce a huge swathe of content.
Winfrey also had high-profile projects such as Oprah with Meghan and Harry and Adele One Night Only, which she produced via Harpo and interviewed the British popstar,...
- 9/26/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Prodded on by Jean Seberg’s Patricia, halfway through Breathless, a director played by Jean-Pierre Melville says his greatest ambition is “to become immortal, and then die.” It’s a line that might as well sum up the extraordinary career of Breathless’s own helmer and French New Wave doyen, Jean-Luc Godard, who died of assisted suicide at his home in Rolle, Switzerland, on September 13. He was 91. His longtime lawyer told The New York Times the director suffered from “multiple disabling pathologies,” while a relative told the press he “was not sick—he was simply exhausted.” The tributes that have since poured in from all corners of the world are as gargantuan and scholarly as his output. But though “the practice of honoring our artistic giants is one that thrives on analysis,” Justin Chang notes at the L.A. Times, “what feels more fitting to offer at this still-early moment...
- 9/22/2022
- MUBI
One topic of conversation you'll never hear Saoirse Ronan talking about is her love life. The actor, who won fans over in 2017's "Lady Bird" and again in 2019 in "Little Women, is very tight-lipped when it comes to disclosing details about her romantic relationships.
Of Ronan's suitors, only one has been confirmed - though, it wasn't her who spilled the tea. Ronan and fellow actor George MacKay reportedly started dating while filming their 2013 movie "How I Live Now." The film's director, Kevin Macdonald, confirmed that his two lead stars "fell in love" in a 2013 interview with the Irish Mirror. "What happened during the course of film, and I'm hoping that I'm not speaking out of turn, is that they fell in love and it was very easy," he said of Ronan and MacKay. "It was Saoirse's first proper boyfriend and, in a way, I think she was living...
Of Ronan's suitors, only one has been confirmed - though, it wasn't her who spilled the tea. Ronan and fellow actor George MacKay reportedly started dating while filming their 2013 movie "How I Live Now." The film's director, Kevin Macdonald, confirmed that his two lead stars "fell in love" in a 2013 interview with the Irish Mirror. "What happened during the course of film, and I'm hoping that I'm not speaking out of turn, is that they fell in love and it was very easy," he said of Ronan and MacKay. "It was Saoirse's first proper boyfriend and, in a way, I think she was living...
- 9/19/2022
- by Emily Weaver
- Popsugar.com
He also previously worked at documentary distributor Piece Of Magic.
Charlie Kemball has been appointed head of acquisitions and packaging at UK financier Head Gear Films.
In his newly created role, Kemball will focus on supporting projects earlier in development and guiding them through to production.
Kemball joins Head Gear from documentary distributor Piece Of Magic, where he was head of acquisitions and business development since January 2021.
Prior to that, he was the director of international sales at Altitude where he worked on titles including Asif Kapadia’s Diego Maradona, Sarah Gavron’s Rocks and Kevin Macdonald’s Whitney. He...
Charlie Kemball has been appointed head of acquisitions and packaging at UK financier Head Gear Films.
In his newly created role, Kemball will focus on supporting projects earlier in development and guiding them through to production.
Kemball joins Head Gear from documentary distributor Piece Of Magic, where he was head of acquisitions and business development since January 2021.
Prior to that, he was the director of international sales at Altitude where he worked on titles including Asif Kapadia’s Diego Maradona, Sarah Gavron’s Rocks and Kevin Macdonald’s Whitney. He...
- 7/19/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
Multiple documentary Emmy contenders this season turn their focus on the people who have made us laugh — and the complicated legacies of their place in comedy history. Four doc titles examine the careers and controversies of stand-ups George Carlin and Bill Cosby, Canadian sketch troupe the Kids in the Hall and I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Here’s what The Hollywood Reporter’s critics had to say about each.
George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)
George Carlin both transcended and changed the parameters of his chosen profession. It’s been nearly 14 years since Carlin died, but based on his continued social media ubiquity, his words have lived on and remained crazily specific, as if every unanticipatable catastrophe of human culture was somehow anticipated by only one man. On any given day, whether the trending topic relates to reproductive rights...
Multiple documentary Emmy contenders this season turn their focus on the people who have made us laugh — and the complicated legacies of their place in comedy history. Four doc titles examine the careers and controversies of stand-ups George Carlin and Bill Cosby, Canadian sketch troupe the Kids in the Hall and I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Here’s what The Hollywood Reporter’s critics had to say about each.
George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)
George Carlin both transcended and changed the parameters of his chosen profession. It’s been nearly 14 years since Carlin died, but based on his continued social media ubiquity, his words have lived on and remained crazily specific, as if every unanticipatable catastrophe of human culture was somehow anticipated by only one man. On any given day, whether the trending topic relates to reproductive rights...
- 6/22/2022
- by Tyler Coates
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
U.K. independent production company Genesius Pictures is debuting in the television space with a brace of projects, complementing its robust film slate.
“Shetland” writer David Kane is developing “The Messenger,” a series based on author Anne Zouroudi’s bestselling Greek Detective novels. Genesius has also optioned the rights for Neil Jordan’s seminal 1986 film “Mona Lisa,” starring Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson and Michael Caine. Emerging actor/writer Isis Davis (“Killing Eve”) is developing for television, adapting it by taking the female protagonist from the film and making it her story.
On the film front, “Late in Summer,” novelist Talitha Stevenson’s directorial debut set in rural Cornwall during WWII, about finding love in middle age, is set for a late summer shoot. It stars Emily Watson and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. “The Iceman,” directed by Kevin Macdonald, will commence principal photography in the first quarter of 2023, including a schedule in the...
“Shetland” writer David Kane is developing “The Messenger,” a series based on author Anne Zouroudi’s bestselling Greek Detective novels. Genesius has also optioned the rights for Neil Jordan’s seminal 1986 film “Mona Lisa,” starring Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson and Michael Caine. Emerging actor/writer Isis Davis (“Killing Eve”) is developing for television, adapting it by taking the female protagonist from the film and making it her story.
On the film front, “Late in Summer,” novelist Talitha Stevenson’s directorial debut set in rural Cornwall during WWII, about finding love in middle age, is set for a late summer shoot. It stars Emily Watson and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. “The Iceman,” directed by Kevin Macdonald, will commence principal photography in the first quarter of 2023, including a schedule in the...
- 6/16/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Maria Zuckerman, the president of indie Topic Studios, is exiting her role after being with the studio since 2019.
It’s unclear where the executive will land or who her immediate replacement will be. Zuckerman joined Topic in 2019 as EVP and head of Topic Studios reporting to Topic’s parent company First Look Media CEO Michael Bloom, and she was elevated to president at Topic last July.
“Maria has a fantastic creative sensibility with a keen commercial sense to match. Over the past three years, she and the studio team have accelerated Topic Studios’ growth into a world-class independent studio, attracting stellar talent, exciting voices, and spear-heading award-winning films, documentaries, series, and podcasts. We are grateful for all she did and wish her the very best in the future,” Bloom said in a statement.
Also Read:
Peter Rice, Toby Emmerich and the Hollowing Out of Hollywood’s C-Suites
Zuckerman had led the company’s film,...
It’s unclear where the executive will land or who her immediate replacement will be. Zuckerman joined Topic in 2019 as EVP and head of Topic Studios reporting to Topic’s parent company First Look Media CEO Michael Bloom, and she was elevated to president at Topic last July.
“Maria has a fantastic creative sensibility with a keen commercial sense to match. Over the past three years, she and the studio team have accelerated Topic Studios’ growth into a world-class independent studio, attracting stellar talent, exciting voices, and spear-heading award-winning films, documentaries, series, and podcasts. We are grateful for all she did and wish her the very best in the future,” Bloom said in a statement.
Also Read:
Peter Rice, Toby Emmerich and the Hollowing Out of Hollywood’s C-Suites
Zuckerman had led the company’s film,...
- 6/14/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
It starts with one of them casually saying, “Write what you know” — it may be Mark McKinney, slightly leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling, or it might be Bruce McCulloch, who’s wandering around the conference room, checking his phone as it charges and idly munching on a pastry. Whoever said it first, it’s definitely Kevin McDonald who quickly jumps in and, as if on cue, immediately chants, “Write what you know!” He says it again, at which point Dave Foley joins in as well.
- 5/14/2022
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Age certainly hasn’t mellowed the Kids in the Hall. The freewheeling Canadian comedy geniuses are as fearless and shameless as ever in the eight new episodes of their self-titled sketch comedy series. Why did it take more than a quarter-century to get a sixth season of The Kids in the Hall? “We never really thought that we could do sketch comedy again because we thought, ‘How could we improve? We can’t really touch what we’ve done,’” says Scott Thompson, whose groundbreaking gay raconteur Buddy Cole is among several memorable characters making a return appearance. But as Thompson, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney took their classic material on the road, they began writing new sketches. Says McKinney, who recently starred on the sitcom Superstore, “We were going, ‘God, it would be fun to put this up,’ and then suddenly there was a door to walk through with Amazon Canada.
- 5/13/2022
- TV Insider
Though an enormous number of beloved, bygone TV shows have been revived for the streaming era, there isn’t a whole lot of precedent for this kind of revival in the area of sketch comedy. It makes sense: There are fewer hit sketch comedy shows than straight sitcoms or dramas, and many of the most famous lineups would now be incomplete (like “Sctv” or “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”), or have featured too many incarnations to reunite properly (like the many casts of “Saturday Night Live”).
There’s also the matter of how sketch comedy is often fueled by youthful vitality. “The Carol Burnett Show,” for example, was a huge 11-season hit in the ’60s and ’70s, but a 1991 revival quickly floundered despite arriving just 13 years after its original finale—about the same amount of time that’s elapsed since Canadian comedy troupe the Kids in the Hall last appeared on television.
There’s also the matter of how sketch comedy is often fueled by youthful vitality. “The Carol Burnett Show,” for example, was a huge 11-season hit in the ’60s and ’70s, but a 1991 revival quickly floundered despite arriving just 13 years after its original finale—about the same amount of time that’s elapsed since Canadian comedy troupe the Kids in the Hall last appeared on television.
- 5/11/2022
- by Jesse Hassenger
- The Wrap
For a generation of comedy nerds, The Kids in the Hall are spoken of in the reverent tones usually reserved for the original cast of Saturday Night Live, Mr. Show’s Bob and David, or Key and Peele. The Canadian comedy troupe, who headlined one of the most influential and groundbreaking sketch shows of all time, are back for a revival of their eponymous series on Amazon Prime beginning May 13, 2022. On May 20th, Amazon will also drop the documentary, The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks.
Directed by Reg Harkema (Super Duper Alice Cooper), the doc screened at the SXSW festival last month in a 95-minute cut, but Amazon has since broken it up into two parts. While that’s unnecessary, it does provide a clean arc for each installment: part one chronicles the formation of the group in Toronto’s punk scene through the first season of their CBC/HBO show,...
Directed by Reg Harkema (Super Duper Alice Cooper), the doc screened at the SXSW festival last month in a 95-minute cut, but Amazon has since broken it up into two parts. While that’s unnecessary, it does provide a clean arc for each installment: part one chronicles the formation of the group in Toronto’s punk scene through the first season of their CBC/HBO show,...
- 5/11/2022
- by Chris Williams
- CinemaNerdz
Viewers before them had first-generation “Saturday Night Live” and “Sctv.” But five Canadian lads turned out to be “kind of the only comedy group that reflected Gen X,” as fan Fred Armisen puts it in “The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks.” Reg Harkema’s documentary is a breezy, worthy overview of a collective career now approaching its 40th anniversary.
While best enjoyed by the already converted, it provides enough showbiz insight and interpersonal drama to entertain newbies. It will provide both camps with an appetizer for the Kids’ limited-run reboot of their original sketch series, which new episodes (featuring an array of name guest stars) launch May 13 on Amazon Prime, followed by this doc a week later (on May 20).
While all in their early twenties, Mark McKinney and Bruce McCulloch met in 1981 via a Calgary comedy-improv group, as did Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald in Toronto the next year.
While best enjoyed by the already converted, it provides enough showbiz insight and interpersonal drama to entertain newbies. It will provide both camps with an appetizer for the Kids’ limited-run reboot of their original sketch series, which new episodes (featuring an array of name guest stars) launch May 13 on Amazon Prime, followed by this doc a week later (on May 20).
While all in their early twenties, Mark McKinney and Bruce McCulloch met in 1981 via a Calgary comedy-improv group, as did Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald in Toronto the next year.
- 4/30/2022
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
The "Kids in the Hall" sketch comedy show didn't debut on Canadian television until October of 1988, but the Kids themselves — Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mike McKinney, Kevin McDonald, and Scott Thompson — first met and formed in Toronto in 1984. The story goes, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia, that McCulloch and McKinney, working with their troupe The Audience, met and fused with Foley and McDonalds, who were already calling themselves Kids in the Hall. Thompson joined in 1985, and the quintet worked the Toronto stand-up scene performing sketches live on stage for about a year. The Kids split...
The post Kids In the Hall Were Already Ahead of Their Time When They Started In the '80s appeared first on /Film.
The post Kids In the Hall Were Already Ahead of Their Time When They Started In the '80s appeared first on /Film.
- 4/29/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The Kids in the Hall is coming to Prime Video soon. The revival of the Canadian sketch comedy series arrives in May, and the streaming service has released two trailers. Eight episodes were ordered for the revival. Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson are all returning for the revival. Guest stars include Paul Bellini, Pete Davidson, Catherine O'Hara, Kenan Thompson, Brandon Ash-Mohammed, Will Forte, Catherine Reitman, Samantha Bee, Fred Armisen, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jay Baruchel, Eddie Izzard, Tracee Ellis Ross, Mark Hamill, and Colin Mochrie.
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- 4/15/2022
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
It’s not as well known as it was in Canada, but during the ’80s and ’90s, “The Kids In The Hall” was one of the most beloved sketch comedies up North, the heir apparent of Sctv. Consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson, “The Kids In The Hall” aired for five seasons from 1988 to 1995, then there was the 1996 movie, “Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy.” But besides reunion tours, one-offs, and the 2010 “Death Comes to Town” mini-series, that was basically the extent of the ‘Kids.’ Members found success in Hollywood and scattered around to different projects (Dave Foley was notably the first breakout star who had a long run on the American sitcom “NewsRadio”).
Continue reading ‘Kids In the Hall’ Trailer: The Canadian Kings of Comedy Are Back May 13 On Prime Video at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Kids In the Hall’ Trailer: The Canadian Kings of Comedy Are Back May 13 On Prime Video at The Playlist.
- 4/14/2022
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Comedy sketch show The Kids in the Hall is returning after nearly three decades. The Canadian series, starring Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Scott Thompson, and Mark McKinney, originally ran from 1988 to 1995 and has been resurrected by Prime Video. And in the trailer, the group literally emerges from a grave. “The original Emmy-nominated The Kids in the Hall was an alternative comedy sensation that developed a die-hard fanbase while influencing countless comedians and performers,” Prime Video said in a statement. “The new season marks the return of The Kids, with eight new episodes featuring all-new sketches from the beloved comedy troupe.” “What an amazing gift to put on our old wigs, and even get some new ones…,” the Kids in the Hall themselves added. The Kids in the Hall premieres May 13 on Prime Video and will launch in Canada and more than 240 other countries and territories worldwide. Check out...
- 4/14/2022
- TV Insider
It's been almost 30 years since "The Kids In The Hall" TV series went off the air and Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson went off to fulfill solo careers. They may not be kids anymore, but the Canadian kings of sketch comedy are back. In the years following the end of their eponymous show, they put out the film "Brain Candy," have reunited a handful of times for tours and comedy festivals, and in 2010 released the eight-part miniseries, "Death Comes to Town." But now, The Kids are back for a full-blown, eight-episode revival season...
The post The Kids In The Hall Trailer: The Sketch Comedy Revival Arrives in May appeared first on /Film.
The post The Kids In The Hall Trailer: The Sketch Comedy Revival Arrives in May appeared first on /Film.
- 4/13/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
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