NETWORKS, OFFICIALS AND MARKETERS START BLOWING THEIR VUVUZELAS FOR SOCCER SPECTACULAR |
Blue-skying ruled the day at “The Global Game: The Future Of Soccer, Tech & Media,” a conference featuring stakeholders in the sport as it approaches a milestone in 2026.
Speakers throughout Thursday’s event had to invent new superlatives to describe their expectations for next summer’s World Cup, to be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy proclaimed that the championship game next July will be “the most watched event in human history – not sporting event. Event.”
New Jersey is expecting an economic boon in the mid-single-digit billions, while Fox Sports set out plans to put Mauricio Pochettino's U.S. Men’s National Team at the heart of marketing efforts. >>>"Peak Football Moment" |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Invitation Opens Doors - Tonia Davis, Will Graham and Max Linsky are opening the doors to Invitation Media. The production company starts with a first-look TV deal at Amazon MGM Studios and an upcoming film: the Vietnam War thriller Trust the Man with Daniel Radcliffe and Lucas Hedges. >>>LA & New York Offices 'Wolf's Financial Bite - Months after Deadline broke the news of funding trouble on conspiracy thriller Lone Wolf, starring Bryan Cranston and Lily Gladstone, many of the crew, vendors and some of the cast say they remain out of pocket. The movie is still facing a shortfall of around $2M and there is still filming to be done with the lead actors before post-production can start. The financiers have been trying to get on the same page and close the funding gap for months, looking into various paths to funding. >>> Trouble Started Early Super Start - Count gravitational pull as a superpower for James Gunn‘s Superman as the first movie under the filmmaker’s co-run DC Studios with Peter Safran is heading to a massive $21M+ in overall previews, sources tell us tonight. >>>Record For Gunn Peter Bart Column - This summer’s glowing box office numbers have put smiles on Hollywood’s corporate faces, if also a hint of concern. The message: The mythic summer blockbuster is alive and well, but is someone missing from the party? >>>Don't Forget Summer Surprises
True Crime Time - Hulu is examining the death of Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old teacher, was found dead on the kitchen floor of her apartment in 2011 with 20 knife wounds and 11 bruises. >>>Dakota Fanning & Blackfin Investigate
Amazon Cops Comedy - Prime Video will play Good Cop/Bad Cop. The Amazon streamer has taken the comedic crime procedural for the U.S. where it is already available on The CW broadcast network and Roku. All eight episodes from Season 1 launch on Prime Video on July 11. >>>Season 2 Hopes
Comic-Con 2025 Bookings - Comedy Central is bringing the laughs to San Diego Comic-Con with an adult animation panel featuring South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. >>>First Appearance In A Decade
Flight Fright - Gary Dauberman‘s Coin Operated has launched development on Human Remains. The film watches as a flight carrying the body of a priest who died during an exorcism experiences some unexpected turbulence. >>>Zachary Donohue Writes |
With Natasha Lyonne‘s Charlie Cale on the run once again in the Season 2 finale of Poker Face, here’s hoping Patti Harrison‘s Alex isn’t far behind.
Ahead of Thursday’s episode ‘The End of the Road’, the comedian spoke to Deadline about taking on the “dream role” of the mysterious Alex, at first introduced as a quirky friend and potential Watson for the troubled protagonist Charlie’s Sherlock, but revealed in the finale to be the Moriarty of the story. >>>Read The Interview |
Quotable "How woke is Hollywood going to make this character?" — Dean Cain, who played the Man of Steel on Lois & Clark, responding to Superman director James Gunn calling the character an “immigrant.” |
ExclusiveAfter battling vampirism in the box office smash Sinners, Hailee Steinfeld now has her sights set on a gold medal for her follow-up project as sources tell Deadline she is set to star opposite Miles Teller in Paramount’s Olympics film Winter Games.
Exclusive Oscar winner Dianne Wiest and Oscar nominee Stockard Channing are set to return for Practical Magic 2, Warner Bros. Pictures’ sequel to the 1998 romantic fantasy starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock.
ExclusiveMeagan Good (Think Like A Man) is reteaming with Lifetime. She will next star as Emily Westover and executive produce the thriller I’ll Never Let You Go, premiering Saturday, August 16 at 8/7c.
Exclusive Malachi Beasley is starring opposite Jamie Foxx in the upcoming Netflix sports drama movie Fight for ’84.
Exclusive M. Night Shyamalan‘s new supernatural romantic thriller, Remain, has added award-winning actor, producer, director and recording artist Ashley Walters (Adolescence), Julie Hagerty (Airplane), Jay O. Sanders (His Three Daughters) and Tracy Ifeachor (The Pitt).
Exclusive Nicola Peltz Beckham (Lola), Jazzy De Lisser (Too Much), and Mary Stuart Masterson (Fried Green Tomatoes) have commenced production on Pretty Ugly, a dramatic thriller written and directed by multiple DGA Award nominee Erica Dunton (Ted Lasso).
Taylor Kitsch (Lone Survivor) is set to star in Eleven Days, an indie hostage pic from filmmaker Peter Landesman (Parkland) that’ll shoot in Texas in September.
John Behlmann, who just finished a starring role in the recently closed Broadway musical Smash, has been cast as Dolly Parton‘s late husband Carl Dean in Dolly: A True Original Musical, the Parton-produced stage production making its world premiere in Nashville Friday July 18.
Netflix‘s Sam Bankman-Fried limited series The Altruists is rounding out its cast with 10 additions, including Madison Hu, Matt Rife & Paul Reiser. |
Renewals, Cancellations & pickups |
by the numbers 1.1 billion - Number of minutes Love Island USA was streamed on Peacock in a single week, from June 9-15 |
More News
😂 Here’s an unlikely pairing: Larry David and President Barack Obama are making a sketch comedy for HBO. The network has ordered the series, which will focus on American history, and will feature cast members of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
👩🏿⚕️ There will be no Dr. Collins in Season 2 of The Pitt. Tracy Ifeachor, who portrayed Dr. Collins in Season 1, won’t be returning for the second season of the hit HBO Max medical drama.
🏆 The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has revealed all the nominees for the 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys, which are set for October 17 in Pasadena.
🥊 Guy Ritchie is no longer directing Amazon MGM Studios‘ Road House 2, the sequel to the Jake Gyllenhaal 2024 movie that pulled in over 50M viewers on Prime Video.
👽 San-Diego Comic-Con is right around the corner, and the programming schedule is rolling out. If you thought this might be a sleepy year without Marvel’s signature Hall H panel, think again. From fan-favorite returners like Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire and South Park to anticipated new projects like The Long Walk and Alien: Earth, the 2025 schedule is already jam-packed with intriguing panels and activations.
👨⚖️ The Justice Department won’t try to block T-Mobile‘s acquisition of U.S. Cellular, but the chief of the Antitrust Division is warning of industry concentration.
🗳️ Donald Trump said that he will withhold support or endorsements for any lawmaker who votes against a White House effort to roll back funding for foreign aid and public media.
✖️ A San Francisco judge ruled that Don Lemon has met the threshold to continue his lawsuit against Elon Musk‘s X on claims including fraud, misappropriation of name and likeness and breach of implied contract.
🪓 French distributor and exhibitor Sophie Dulac has announced the end of the Champs-Élysées Film Festival championing independent American and French cinema, following a tumultuous 14th edition in June in the wake of accusations of deteriorating staff conditions at her cinema group.
⌨️ Luma AI, a Silicon Valley startup whose backers include Nvidia and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, is launching an L.A. studio and appointing two seasoned execs to key roles. |
Obituaries 🕯️ James Carter Cathcart, a prolific voice actor whose credits included the Pokémon franchise and TV’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, died July 8 of throat cancer. He was 71. 🕯️ David L. Hamilton , who co-founded and played keyboards for the prog-rock group Pavlov’s Dog before pivoting to a composing career and earning an Emmy nom, has died. He was 74. 🕯️ 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries |
On The Radar
Fri - Dexter: Resurrection series premiere on Showtime
Sat - Wimbledon women's singles final
Sun - Wimbledon men's singles final
Tue – Primetime Emmy nominations |
Sealed With A Kiss - Actor Glenn Turnman, whose 65-year career includes co-starring on The Wire and House of Lies, with Ava DuVernay at his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony Thursday, alongside Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. |
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