Coming up as a TV and not a movie executive finally seems to have caught up to Jennifer Salke at Amazon MGM Studios. Her inability to mesh with the gatekeepers of the James Bond movies might well have sealed her fate. While her exit from the executive suites officially is being regarded as an exit by choice into a producing deal, sources in town say it is closer to a firing. It was evident Salke had lost luster in the executive suite when she largely was absent from the deals that brought in Amy Pascal and David Heyman as the new producers of the next iteration of James Bond films, sources said. Those deals were made by veteran Warner Bros film executive Courtenay Valenti, who came in under Salke as Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical. We've heard that a condition of Pascal and Heyman signing on was that they report to Valenti, and not Salke, even before the latter lost her job. The 007 keepers of the flame, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, sold creative control over the franchise for around $1 billion in February. Sources said that Broccoli did not get on well with Salke. When the Wall Street Journal detailed the disregard that Broccoli felt for Salke, owner Jeff Bezos took notice. >>> Filmmaker Clashes |
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'Sinners' Should Find Easter Redemption - Warner Bros.’ Ryan Coogler directed/written/produced period horror movie Sinners hit three-week tracking today and it’s looking like a $40M-plus opening for the $90M feature production over the Easter weekend. >>>Vital Title For Warners
Disney Eyes Leo-Rock Luau - Disney is about to land the package for a Martin Scorsese-directed drama that would star Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt. The thumbnail description: Imagine Robert De Niro’s Jimmy the Gent character from Goodfellas but as a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss, also based on a real figure, who battled encroaching rivals for control of organized crime on the islands. >>> Pricey Package "Truly Sorry" - The producers of Simon Pegg indie film Angels in the Asylum have sent a profuse apology to unpaid crew after Deadline revealed that the Simon Pegg indie film had to halt shooting amid funding issues. In an email to colleagues this morning, producers Rob Sorrenti and Heather Greenwood said they were “truly sorry that we find ourselves in this terrible situation.” They added: “It was never what we could possibly have imagined when we started this journey.” >>>Back Story In Dispute Shingle Taken Down - Sony Pictures Television is closing Stolen Picture, the production company founded by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in 2016. Deadline understands that Sony will keep the Stolen Picture brand and creative IP alive within its family of labels, but is liquidating the legal entity. No employees are impacted. >>>Ties Date To 2017
Fake Film Trailer Frenzy - Deadline dives into YouTube's weird world of fake movie trailers and discovers that studios are secretly making money out of AI-fuelled knockoffs of mega brands including Superman and Spider-Man. Actors' union SAG-AFTRA is not happy. >>>Billions Of Views
Broadway Transfer - The American Play Company, most recently led by Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas and his business partner, Mark Shankman, is being acquired by the theatrical division of International Literary Partners. With roots dating to the 1880s, APC was once an agency representing clients like George Bernard Shaw, Jerome Kern and J.M. Barrie. >>>'Chicago' Connection
Sundance's Boulder Dash - After over 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival is leaving Park City, UT for a new and lucrative home in Boulder, CO. “Part of the decision-making process was around opportunity for growth,” bluntly said Acting Sundance Institute CEO Amanda Kelso to Deadline. >>>$34M In Tax Incentives Dorian Dazzles - If only Oscar Wilde were alive to offer up a pithy description of Broadway’s playful The Picture of Dorian Gray starring the remarkable Succession actor Sarah Snook, because this is a production that most of us will need more than a few words to convey all of its exuberant theatrical dazzle. >>>Greg Evans' Review
Dafoe Doubts Trump's Intentions - In an exclusive interview pegged on the Venice Biennale Theater Festival, Willem Dafoe laments Donald Trump's "invasive" interference in art and culture. >>>"I Don't Mind Trouble"
'Italianna' Cooks Up Cast - Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page will star in Italianna for Universal Pictures, with Kat Coiro set to direct. Ryan Engle wrote the screenplay for the film based on an original idea by Ryan Engle and Kristin Engle. >>>Plot Under Wraps |
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By the third episode of Hulu’s Good American Family, audiences may very well be wondering how anyone can dispute that Natalia Grace terrorized her adopted family, the Barnetts, in the three years she lived with them.
But, as co-showrunner Sarah Sutherland warns, no one should jump to conclusions just yet. “This episode is basically setting bread crumbs that will then get paid off in the end,” she tells Deadline.
In the interview below, Sutherland broke down the episode with Deadline and explained why viewers should watch to the very end of the series before making up their minds about this bizarre case. >>>Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+ is adding Lili Taylor to its Season 2 cast. She will recur as a political foe of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk.
Alyssa Milano has signed on to join the cast of the Bobby Farrelly-directed comedy Driver’s Ed. This will be Milano’s third collaboration with Farrelly. The film is currently in production.
Exclusive
Jasmine Cephas Jones (Blindspotting) has joined the cast of Lanterns, HBO’s upcoming drama series based on the Green Lantern DC comic. In a key guest-starring role, Cephas Jones plays "Young Bernadette," Stewart’s resilient mother and the family fixer.
Josh Brolin is in negotiations to join Austin Abrams in 20th Century’s adaptation of the Daniel Kraus novel Whalefall, with Brian Duffield directing. Duffield will co-write the script with Kraus.
Exclusive
Billy Eichner has joined the cast of an untitled comedy from writer and director, Nicholas Stoller, for Amazon MGM Studios, alongside previously announced stars Will Ferrell, Zac Efron, Regina Hall, and Jimmy Tatro. Stoller will direct.
Exclusive
Strange Darling's Willa Fitzgerald is starring opposite Russell Crowe and Harry Lawtey in Walden Media’s Cold War thriller Billion Dollar Spy, we can tell you first. Fitzgerald will play Mae Lenihan, wife of CIA agent Tom Lenihan (Lawtey). |
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More News
👀 The eyes of the world’s news media are trained on Thailand and Myanmar, where a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake has left hundreds feared dead. The United States Geological survey reported that the earthquake struck around four hours ago at a rare magnitude that is described as “major” with the potential for “serious damage.”
🏆 The 36th GLAAD Media Awards have been handed out in recognition of achievements across LGBTQ media over the past year. Streaming April 12 on Hulu, the awards show hosted by Michael Urie bestowed accolades to Hacks, Agatha All Along, Baby Reindeer, Doechii, Will & Harper, The View, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Advocate, NBC News and more.
👀 President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” Naming the Smithsonian Institution specifically, the directive’s purported purpose is “to remove improper ideology from such properties,” including the Institution’s museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo.
⚖️ A male photographer alleges in a sexual battery lawsuit filed in New York that Sean “Diddy” Combs demanded fellatio in exchange for professional advancement.
🏈 Patrick Whitesell has made his first investment under a just-created venture backed by Silver Lake, acquiring a minority stake in Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. |
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Trending
 Love Is Blind raked in 1.2B minutes viewed from February 24 to March 2, making it the top unscripted streaming show of all time, per Nielsen
🔻 According to the latest Otis College Report on the Creative Economy, overall entertainment employment remains 25% below its 2022 peak |
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On the Radar
Fri - Mid-Century Modern series premiere; Gavin Newsom on Maher
Sat - PaleyFest LA begins; Mikey Madison hosts SNL
Mon - CinemaCon begins
Tue - IAB PlayFronts; We Love LA concert at the Bowl |
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Men In Black - Noah Centineo, Will Poulter, Charles Melton, Kit Connor, Taylor John Smith, Adain Bradley, Evan Holtzman, Michael Gandolfini, Joseph Quinn, Cosmo Jarvis, Finn Bennett, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Henry Zaga attend the L.A. premiere of A24's Warfare at the DGA. |
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