The British Film Institute, one of the UK’s most powerful movie funding bodies, admitted to a filmmaker of color last year that it is “systemically racist” after apologizing for how it handled his long-running complaint over alleged discrimination.
The BFI is making changes to its complaints procedures and has committed to continued anti-racism soul-searching after Faisal A Qureshi, a scriptwriter, producer and researcher, whose credits include Leaving Neverland and Four Lions, went on record for the first time to detail his experience.
Qureshi remains disturbed by his treatment. His case is unresolved after more than two years and, although the BFI has acknowledged his complaint could have been handled better, Qureshi told Deadline he is yet to receive the formal written apology he requested. >>>A Deadline Investigation |
|
| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
|
On The Books- In one of the wildest book rights auctions the town has seen in some time, Warner Bros. production co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy on Sunday landed screen rights to the upcoming T.J. Newman novel Drowning: The Rescue Of Flight 1421. The studio paid $1.5 million against $3 million, and there were five seven-figure bids on the table, sources said. >>>Author On A Roll
Renewal Report - Deadline's Nellie Andreeva breaks down the buzz on which CBS, NBC & Fox series will return including Blue Bloods, Law & Order: SVU and 9-1-1. >>>Three-Part Series
"Coolest Movie Ever" - John Wick director Chad Stahelski describes how seeing Burt Reynolds in Hooper cemented the idea of being a stuntman (or a scientist) in his 10-year-old mind, and how that turned into directing. >>>The Film That Lit My Fuse |
|
In the final season of Succession, it's a good bet there'll be a bloodbath. And who better to lead a postmortem than Logan Roy ally Greg, known in the real world as two-time Primetime Emmy nominated supporting actor in a drama series, Nicholas Braun. >>>The Interview |
|
More News
⚖ Jonathan Majors’ criminal defense lawyer maintains the Creed III actor is innocent of alleged assault charges and has evidence proving his innocence. “Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows,” attorney Priya Chaudhry said a statement.
🚦 Oscar winner Adam McKay has lined up Rob Pattinson, Amy Adams, Robert Downey Jr, Forest Whitaker and Till's Danielle Deadwyler to head the ensemble cast of his next directing vehicle. Titled Average Height, Average Build, the script and package is out to studios and streamers, and the intention is to get it into production by late summer or early fall.
🐴 A horse involved in the production of The Lord Of the Rings: The Rings Of Power died on the set of the Prime Video series in the UK last week. “We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse died on 21st March,” an Amazon Studios spokesperson said. “The incident took place in the morning whilst the horse was being exercised prior to rehearsals." An independent necropsy reportedly confirmed the horse died of cardiac failure.
👾 James Gunn is now running things at DC alongside Peter Safran but he has one final film at Marvel with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Word is out that the runtime for the third installment will be the longest of the trilogy clocking in at about two and a half hours. “It’s around that long, although that’s not yet exact,” Gunn clarified. “And, I promise, not a second is wasted."
In Brief - Adele plans a concert film and has extended her Las Vegas residency at Caesars Colosseum...Antonio Díaz, one of Europe's top-grossing illusionists, has set a two-week run on Broadway in August. |
|
Trending  The Daily Show has been ticking along nicely with its phalanx of guest hosts. Compared with the first quarter of 2022 when Trevor Noah was host, linear ratings are up 13%.
🔻 Elon Musk reportedly says Twitter is now worth $20 billion, less than half the $44 billion he spent last October to acquire the social media company. |
|
Obituaries
🕯 Claybourne Evans Jr., who lead Atlanta talent agency Rubicon Brand Management and was also the VP of Grand Hustle Records, died on Thursday, March 23, according to a post by his family. Evans represented Lil Duval, T.I., Travis Scott, JaySki, Erica Duchess and DJ MLK. 🕯 Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced the death of his eldest son Nicholas Lloyd Webber from gastric cancer. Nicholas was a Grammy-nominated composer, scoring and co-producing the original London Cinderella cast album in 2021. He also scored the film The Last Bus (2021), directed by Gillies McKinnon and starring Timothy Spall and Phyllis Logan. 🕯 Author Bill Zehme, the last person to interview Johnny Carson and biographer of Frank Sinatra and Andy Kaufman, has died. He was 65 and passed in Chicago after a long battle with colorectal cancer. Zehme was known for his ability to land interviews with hard-to-reach celebrities. 🕯 Xavier López Rodríguez, known as “Chabelo,” died at the age of 88. López was best known for hosting the long-running children’s Sunday variety show En Familia con Chabelo. The Televisa show made its debut in 1967 and ran for 48 years, ending in 2015. Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was among those expressing his condolences. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
|
On the Radar
Tue - Ben Affleck on Kimmel
Wed - Riverdale S7 premiere
Fri - NCAA Women's Final Four; PaleyFest starts
Sat - NCAA Men's Final Four |
|
Bloody Good - In a Broadway season that might be remembered for a lovely, pared-down minimalism – the intriguing starkness of A Doll’s House with Jessica Chastain, the less-is-more near-concert-style presentations of Into the Woods and Parade – director Thomas Kail’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will stand out for, among many other attributes, its full-on, unabashed ambition. The prodigious theatrical event, which opened last night with stars Annaleigh Ashford and Josh Groban, aims for greatness and achieves it. Says Deadline's Greg Evans: "This revival of the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler masterpiece is not to be missed." |
|
|
