Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television honored the winners of its inaugural Mfa Screenwriting Competition, a contest that engages industry leaders to evaluate the best work emerging from the student body.
The winning students were selected blindly by a panel of more than 40 experts from companies including Anonymous Content, Gotham Group, Macro, Verve, Entertainment 360, Temple Hill, Scott Free, Riot Games and more. Awards were presented Tuesday night by Lmu Sftv graduates Melissa Blake, who has written and produced series including Based on a True Story and One Mississippi, and Evan Romansky, creator of the four-time Emmy nominee Ratched, which he wrote as an Mfa thesis project.
The Mfa Screenwriting Competition highlights the best feature and pilot scripts written by second- and third-year graduate students from Lmu’s Writing for the Screen and Writing and Producing for TV programs. It is one of numerous Sftv initiatives designed to...
The winning students were selected blindly by a panel of more than 40 experts from companies including Anonymous Content, Gotham Group, Macro, Verve, Entertainment 360, Temple Hill, Scott Free, Riot Games and more. Awards were presented Tuesday night by Lmu Sftv graduates Melissa Blake, who has written and produced series including Based on a True Story and One Mississippi, and Evan Romansky, creator of the four-time Emmy nominee Ratched, which he wrote as an Mfa thesis project.
The Mfa Screenwriting Competition highlights the best feature and pilot scripts written by second- and third-year graduate students from Lmu’s Writing for the Screen and Writing and Producing for TV programs. It is one of numerous Sftv initiatives designed to...
- 5/8/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
After debuting at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival to great acclaim, Katherine Propper’s feature debut, the road movie Lost Soulz, is making its way to theaters. The film follows a young rapper who joins a band of musicians traveling throughout Texas on a journey of self-discovery. It’s a moving film with an excellent soundtrack, and we at FandomWire got to speak with Propper about it. Check out the interview here!
Lost Soulz Interview
FandomWire: I think one of the most impressive things about Lost Soulz is the amount of talent you could discover in this cast of mostly newcomers. How did you come to find these talented musicians-turned-actors?
Katherine Propper: I agree that they are very talented and compelling. I met the lead actor who plays Sol, Suave Sidel, actually a month into moving to Austin, Texas, for my Mfa film program at Ut. I met Suave Sidel from...
Lost Soulz Interview
FandomWire: I think one of the most impressive things about Lost Soulz is the amount of talent you could discover in this cast of mostly newcomers. How did you come to find these talented musicians-turned-actors?
Katherine Propper: I agree that they are very talented and compelling. I met the lead actor who plays Sol, Suave Sidel, actually a month into moving to Austin, Texas, for my Mfa film program at Ut. I met Suave Sidel from...
- 5/4/2024
- by Sean Boelman
- FandomWire
Magnify, the International sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to Taiwanese thriller “Pierce” from first-time feature filmmaker Nelicia Low. An official teaser has now been released for the title ahead of its sales launch at the upcoming Marche du Film in Cannes.
“Pierce” follows Jie, a young fencer reconnecting with his estranged older brother Han, who mysteriously returns after seven years in juvenile prison for killing an opponent during a fencing competition. Jie believes Han’s insistence that he is innocent and decides to help him, defying his mother’s efforts to erase Han from their lives. Han grows close to Jie in training him for the national championships, but his hostile past is triggered after an argument, leaving Jie to begin to question whether his beloved brother might be a violent sociopath after all.
The film stars Ding Ning (who won a...
“Pierce” follows Jie, a young fencer reconnecting with his estranged older brother Han, who mysteriously returns after seven years in juvenile prison for killing an opponent during a fencing competition. Jie believes Han’s insistence that he is innocent and decides to help him, defying his mother’s efforts to erase Han from their lives. Han grows close to Jie in training him for the national championships, but his hostile past is triggered after an argument, leaving Jie to begin to question whether his beloved brother might be a violent sociopath after all.
The film stars Ding Ning (who won a...
- 5/1/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Artists First has signed actress Brittany Bradford (Julia), as well as actress, comedian and digital creator Amanda McCants for management.
Bradford is coming off a two-season run on Max’s dramedy Julia, starring Sarah Lancashire as chef and television personality Julia Child, which came to an end in December. Created by Daniel Goldfarb, the show had her playing Alice Naman, an associate producer at broadcaster Wgbh who champions Child’s cooking show The French Chef.
Previously, Bradford has also been seen on series including Fire Country, Fear the Walking Dead, New Amsterdam, The Watcher, Prime Video’s Dead Ringers opposite Rachel Weisz, and Max’s The Gilded Age.
On stage, she was last seen starring in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play The Comeuppance at Signature Theater Off-Broadway, which earned her and her co-stars an Obie for ensemble performance. Bradford also won an Obie for her performance in the Alice Childress...
Bradford is coming off a two-season run on Max’s dramedy Julia, starring Sarah Lancashire as chef and television personality Julia Child, which came to an end in December. Created by Daniel Goldfarb, the show had her playing Alice Naman, an associate producer at broadcaster Wgbh who champions Child’s cooking show The French Chef.
Previously, Bradford has also been seen on series including Fire Country, Fear the Walking Dead, New Amsterdam, The Watcher, Prime Video’s Dead Ringers opposite Rachel Weisz, and Max’s The Gilded Age.
On stage, she was last seen starring in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play The Comeuppance at Signature Theater Off-Broadway, which earned her and her co-stars an Obie for ensemble performance. Bradford also won an Obie for her performance in the Alice Childress...
- 3/5/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Inevitable Foundation has revealed the winners of its Starz #TakeTheLead Elevate Collective Grants and the Winter 2024 Elevate Cohort, both of which support disabled TV writers to level up their careers.
Recipients of the Inevitable Foundation x Starz #TakeTheLead partnership include Kryzz Gautier, Hari Ziyad and writing partners Chris and Charlie Frazier. Each receives a $12.5k grant as well as mentoring and coaching from Starz creative executives.
For its Winter 2024 Elevate Collective Cohort, the winners are Andrew Reid, Roma Murphy, Obiageli Odimegwu and Cheryl Meyer. Each will receive $5k in funding for professional development, including career coaching, professional development, work-from-home equipment, script consultation and/or IP acquisition.
“We are excited to announce the awardees from our partnership with Starz #TakeTheLead given their commitment to supporting diverse creators in the premium cable space. We look forward to leveraging this partnership to support Kryzz, Hari and Chris and Charlie’s professional development and unique stories,...
Recipients of the Inevitable Foundation x Starz #TakeTheLead partnership include Kryzz Gautier, Hari Ziyad and writing partners Chris and Charlie Frazier. Each receives a $12.5k grant as well as mentoring and coaching from Starz creative executives.
For its Winter 2024 Elevate Collective Cohort, the winners are Andrew Reid, Roma Murphy, Obiageli Odimegwu and Cheryl Meyer. Each will receive $5k in funding for professional development, including career coaching, professional development, work-from-home equipment, script consultation and/or IP acquisition.
“We are excited to announce the awardees from our partnership with Starz #TakeTheLead given their commitment to supporting diverse creators in the premium cable space. We look forward to leveraging this partnership to support Kryzz, Hari and Chris and Charlie’s professional development and unique stories,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Adobe and the Adobe Foundation are committing $6 million to launch a film and television fund to help underrepresented creators starting out in their careers.
The Adobe Film & TV Fund will support the work of existing nonprofits that serve historically excluded communities, with the inaugural cohort of grantees including Easterseals, Gold House, Latinx House, NAACP, Sundance Institute and the India youth-focused Yuvaa. The goal is to help underwrite the organizations’ fellowships, apprenticeships, mentorships and other programs that offer hands-on industry exposure as well as helping them to directly finance the projects of their constituents.
“Diversity in front of and behind the camera is key to unlocking more diverse and more inclusive storytelling across TV and film,” Adobe vice president of marketing strategy and communications Stacy Martinet, who also is a member of the Adobe Foundation board, said in a statement. “Through our new Film & TV Fund, Adobe is looking to leverage...
The Adobe Film & TV Fund will support the work of existing nonprofits that serve historically excluded communities, with the inaugural cohort of grantees including Easterseals, Gold House, Latinx House, NAACP, Sundance Institute and the India youth-focused Yuvaa. The goal is to help underwrite the organizations’ fellowships, apprenticeships, mentorships and other programs that offer hands-on industry exposure as well as helping them to directly finance the projects of their constituents.
“Diversity in front of and behind the camera is key to unlocking more diverse and more inclusive storytelling across TV and film,” Adobe vice president of marketing strategy and communications Stacy Martinet, who also is a member of the Adobe Foundation board, said in a statement. “Through our new Film & TV Fund, Adobe is looking to leverage...
- 1/16/2024
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This article contains spoilers for episode 2 of Hulu’s “Black Cake.”
“Black Cake” director Natalia Leite carefully constructed the train crash scene in episode two of the Hulu drama series around a different kind of perspective than the typical action scene.
The show’s second episode watches Covey (Mia Isaac) attempt to run away from London with her new friend Eleanor, or “Elly,” in hopes of finding better lives in Scotland. Covey piggybacked off of Elly’s dream to study geology at a school in Scotland with a really good program for it, but before they could take a chance at establishing roots there together, a tragic train crash kills Eleanor.
“There were a few different versions in the script originally of how that train sequence was going to go and it felt to me that, like with a lot of the choices, I wanted to be with Covey. I...
“Black Cake” director Natalia Leite carefully constructed the train crash scene in episode two of the Hulu drama series around a different kind of perspective than the typical action scene.
The show’s second episode watches Covey (Mia Isaac) attempt to run away from London with her new friend Eleanor, or “Elly,” in hopes of finding better lives in Scotland. Covey piggybacked off of Elly’s dream to study geology at a school in Scotland with a really good program for it, but before they could take a chance at establishing roots there together, a tragic train crash kills Eleanor.
“There were a few different versions in the script originally of how that train sequence was going to go and it felt to me that, like with a lot of the choices, I wanted to be with Covey. I...
- 11/4/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Ever since audiences—at least according to myth—ran screaming from the premiere screening of Auguste and Louis Lumière’s 1895 short black-and-white silent documentary Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, the histories of filmgoing and horror have been inextricably intertwined. Through the decades—and subsequent crazes for color and sound, stereoscopy and anamorphosis—since that train threatened to barrel into the front row, there’s never been a time when audiences didn’t clamor for the palpating fingers of fear. Horror films remain perennially popular, despite periodic (and always exaggerated) rumors of their demise, even in the face of steadily declining ticket sales and desperately shifting models of distribution.
Into the new millennium, horror films have retained their power to shock and outrage by continuing to plumb our deepest primordial terrors, to incarnate our sickest, most socially unpalatable fantasies. They are, in what amounts to a particularly delicious irony,...
Into the new millennium, horror films have retained their power to shock and outrage by continuing to plumb our deepest primordial terrors, to incarnate our sickest, most socially unpalatable fantasies. They are, in what amounts to a particularly delicious irony,...
- 10/17/2023
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
The elite and prestitious graduate acting program of New York’s The Julliard School will go tuition-free beginning this fall, a massive shift in the economics of arts schooling and student opportunities.
The school announced the move today, explaining that the four-year masters program, which currently costs each student about $53,300 per year, will eliminate the tuition after having raised $15 million including key gifts from Broadway theater producers Stephanie P. McClelland and John Gore.
The fourth year of the four-year program has always been tuition free in order for the school to compete with the many three-year arts schools, but the switch to entirely tuition-free is a major change in the world of elite arts education.
In a statement, the school said this morning, “Today we announced that the Drama Division’s Mfa in Acting will join Julliard’s growing list of tuition-free programs. Beginning in fall of 2024, all four years...
The school announced the move today, explaining that the four-year masters program, which currently costs each student about $53,300 per year, will eliminate the tuition after having raised $15 million including key gifts from Broadway theater producers Stephanie P. McClelland and John Gore.
The fourth year of the four-year program has always been tuition free in order for the school to compete with the many three-year arts schools, but the switch to entirely tuition-free is a major change in the world of elite arts education.
In a statement, the school said this morning, “Today we announced that the Drama Division’s Mfa in Acting will join Julliard’s growing list of tuition-free programs. Beginning in fall of 2024, all four years...
- 9/27/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Juilliard’s Master of Fine Arts in Acting program will become tuition free for students starting in fall 2024.
The four-year program will then be free in perpetuity thanks to $15 million in existing scholarship funding, as well as a matching challenge grant from theater producer and Juilliard trustee Stephanie P. McClelland and her husband, Carter McClelland, a major gift from theater producer John Gore and gifts from the Jacques and Margot W. Kohn Foundation and several estates. This follows other acting programs that have stopped charging tuition, including the Yale School of Drama, which became tuition free for all students in the school starting in 2021 after a $150 million gift from David Geffen.
Juilliard’s four-year Mfa program was founded by Jim Houghton in 2012, with the goal of broadening employment opportunities for students, and has always had its fourth year of the acting program tuition free, alongside a living stipend. That stipend will remain in place.
The four-year program will then be free in perpetuity thanks to $15 million in existing scholarship funding, as well as a matching challenge grant from theater producer and Juilliard trustee Stephanie P. McClelland and her husband, Carter McClelland, a major gift from theater producer John Gore and gifts from the Jacques and Margot W. Kohn Foundation and several estates. This follows other acting programs that have stopped charging tuition, including the Yale School of Drama, which became tuition free for all students in the school starting in 2021 after a $150 million gift from David Geffen.
Juilliard’s four-year Mfa program was founded by Jim Houghton in 2012, with the goal of broadening employment opportunities for students, and has always had its fourth year of the acting program tuition free, alongside a living stipend. That stipend will remain in place.
- 9/27/2023
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Our ongoing Member Lens feature spotlights current Film Independent Members to see how they got started, where they are now and what being part of Film Independent means to them. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Film Independent’s Artist Development department, our summer 2023 series focuses on our incredible roster of Film Independent Fellows.
Film Independent is currently in the middle of a Matching Campaign to raise support for the next 30 years of filmmaker support. All donations make before or on September 15 will be doubled—dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000.
Growing up in New York’s historic Harlem neighborhood, filmmaker Thembi Banks considers herself fortunate to have been immersed in such an eclectic cultural environment during her formative years. With the support of family and an abundance of creative mentorship afforded to her by the Big Apple’s best and brightest, she chased her creative passions onto the stage as a dancer...
Film Independent is currently in the middle of a Matching Campaign to raise support for the next 30 years of filmmaker support. All donations make before or on September 15 will be doubled—dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000.
Growing up in New York’s historic Harlem neighborhood, filmmaker Thembi Banks considers herself fortunate to have been immersed in such an eclectic cultural environment during her formative years. With the support of family and an abundance of creative mentorship afforded to her by the Big Apple’s best and brightest, she chased her creative passions onto the stage as a dancer...
- 7/21/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
Bleecker Street Partners With New York Women in Film & Television on Scholarship Program (Exclusive)
Bleecker Street, the Oscar-nominated studio behind “Captain Fantastic” and “Trumbo,” has partnered with New York Women in Film & Television (Nywift) to award three scholarships to women attending film schools in the New York City area.
The grants are part of Nywift’s scholarship fund and will assist with educational costs associated with film production, living expenses, books, travel and tuition needs. Bleecker Street’s contribution will be officially acknowledged at Nywift’s upcoming Muse Awards on March 28, which recently announced a mix of film executives, actors and filmmakers — including Arianna Bocco, Danielle Brooks, Deborah Chow, Maria Hinojosa, Sandra Lee, Freida Pinto, Lauren Ridloff, Sharon Stone, and Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences president Janet Yang — as this year’s honorees.
Scholarship recipients will be announced in the fall and will meet with the Bleecker Street team at their New York headquarters.
“Supporting and highlighting female filmmakers and their work is our priority,...
The grants are part of Nywift’s scholarship fund and will assist with educational costs associated with film production, living expenses, books, travel and tuition needs. Bleecker Street’s contribution will be officially acknowledged at Nywift’s upcoming Muse Awards on March 28, which recently announced a mix of film executives, actors and filmmakers — including Arianna Bocco, Danielle Brooks, Deborah Chow, Maria Hinojosa, Sandra Lee, Freida Pinto, Lauren Ridloff, Sharon Stone, and Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences president Janet Yang — as this year’s honorees.
Scholarship recipients will be announced in the fall and will meet with the Bleecker Street team at their New York headquarters.
“Supporting and highlighting female filmmakers and their work is our priority,...
- 3/21/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
I know what we're doing next summer – or at least, sometime soon. The teen slasher "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is reportedly the next big horror saga to get the legacy sequel treatment, according to Deadline, and we might even be able to catch some of the original film's characters back in action.
The outlet reports that "Do Revenge" director and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is on board to direct the sequel for Sony, with both Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt in talks to reprise their roles from the 1997 film. This is far from the first time the story of a group of guilty teens being haunted by a hook-handed man has been revisited: the original was followed up by two sequels, and a now-canceled Prime Video series re-adapted the 1973 Lois Duncan novel in 2021.
Just as the original "I Know What You Did Last Summer" rushed...
The outlet reports that "Do Revenge" director and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is on board to direct the sequel for Sony, with both Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt in talks to reprise their roles from the 1997 film. This is far from the first time the story of a group of guilty teens being haunted by a hook-handed man has been revisited: the original was followed up by two sequels, and a now-canceled Prime Video series re-adapted the 1973 Lois Duncan novel in 2021.
Just as the original "I Know What You Did Last Summer" rushed...
- 2/6/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Lee Edward Colston II is difficult to neatly define, and that’s by design. A former prison guard and Mma fighter who graduated from Juilliard’s inaugural acting Mfa program in 2016, Colston has since pivoted to being an actor, writer, director and teacher. Now his play The First Deep Breath, a family drama set in Philadelphia that explores grief and the winding path toward healing, is making its West Coast debut Feb. 1 at the Geffen Playhouse.
The inspiration for the play — a drama about a Baptist pastor and his family — was a true story he read about: A family in Philadelphia, some 12 years ago, was plagued by tragedy during the holidays when a firearm the son had purchased for his father as a gift accidentally went off, killing the son. “At the time, I started asking questions like, ‘What creates the conditions for something like that to occur?’ ” Colston says.
The inspiration for the play — a drama about a Baptist pastor and his family — was a true story he read about: A family in Philadelphia, some 12 years ago, was plagued by tragedy during the holidays when a firearm the son had purchased for his father as a gift accidentally went off, killing the son. “At the time, I started asking questions like, ‘What creates the conditions for something like that to occur?’ ” Colston says.
- 1/28/2023
- by Evan Nicole Brown
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Lionsgate has acquired worldwide rights to Scrambled, written by and starring Leah McKendrick, who makes her feature directorial debut on the comedy, which just wrapped filming.
Produced by Jonathan Levine and Gillian Bohrer’s Megamix, along with Brett Haley and Amanda Mortimer, and executive producer Mariah Owen, the film stars McKendrick as Nellie Robinson, a broke, single 34-year-old, fresh off a breakup, who faces down an existential crisis when she decides to freeze her eggs. McKendrick wrote the script following her own egg-retrieval experience last year.
The ensemble cast includes Ego Nwodim, Andrew Santino (Dave), Clancy Brown, Laura Cerón, Adam Rodriguez, Yvonne Strahovski (Handmaid’s Tale), June Diane Raphael, Noah Silver (Tyrant), and Sterling Sulieman (Station 19). The cast also includes Max Adler, Mimi Kennedy, Camille Mana, and Matt Pascua.
Produced by Jonathan Levine and Gillian Bohrer’s Megamix, along with Brett Haley and Amanda Mortimer, and executive producer Mariah Owen, the film stars McKendrick as Nellie Robinson, a broke, single 34-year-old, fresh off a breakup, who faces down an existential crisis when she decides to freeze her eggs. McKendrick wrote the script following her own egg-retrieval experience last year.
The ensemble cast includes Ego Nwodim, Andrew Santino (Dave), Clancy Brown, Laura Cerón, Adam Rodriguez, Yvonne Strahovski (Handmaid’s Tale), June Diane Raphael, Noah Silver (Tyrant), and Sterling Sulieman (Station 19). The cast also includes Max Adler, Mimi Kennedy, Camille Mana, and Matt Pascua.
- 9/21/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The children of two Hollywood icons are set to collide in the cat-and-mouse thriller Clawfoot, which is coming to us from director Michael Day, screenwriter April Wolfe, and Yale Entertainment, the company behind the awesome Becky. Francesca Eastwood (Awake), a daughter of Clint Eastwood, and Milo Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), a son of Mel Gibson, star in the film, which is currently filming in Los Angeles.
Clawfoot sees Francesca Eastwood taking on the role of
an upper-class suburban housewife who is psychologically terrorized by a manipulative contractor, leading to a twisted battle of wits with deliciously unexpected results.
Milo Gibson is playing the manipulative contractor.
Clawfoot marks the feature directorial debut of Day, who previously directed multiple short films and episodes of the shows The News Tank and Sisters. This is the second feature written by Wolfe, as she previously co-wrote the poorly received 2019 version of Black Christmas.
Day is producing...
Clawfoot sees Francesca Eastwood taking on the role of
an upper-class suburban housewife who is psychologically terrorized by a manipulative contractor, leading to a twisted battle of wits with deliciously unexpected results.
Milo Gibson is playing the manipulative contractor.
Clawfoot marks the feature directorial debut of Day, who previously directed multiple short films and episodes of the shows The News Tank and Sisters. This is the second feature written by Wolfe, as she previously co-wrote the poorly received 2019 version of Black Christmas.
Day is producing...
- 9/20/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: Francesca Eastwood (Old) and Milo Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge) have been tapped to star in Clawfoot — a cat-and-mouse thriller from Yale Entertainment, which is currently in production in Los Angeles.
In the film penned by April Wolfe (Black Christmas), an upper-class suburban housewife (Eastwood) is psychologically terrorized by a manipulative contractor (Gibson), leading to a twisted battle of wits with deliciously unexpected results.
The film’s director Michael Day (As They Made Us) is producing alongside Yale’s Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman, with Kade Thomas, Scott Levenson, Jason Kringstein, Lee Broda and Colby Cote serving as exec producers. Yale’s recently launched sales banner Great Escape, led by Nick Donnermeyer, will handle worldwide sales.
Most recently appearing in M. Night Shyamalan’s Old for Universal Pictures, Eastwood has also been seen in such films as A Violent Separation, The Vault, M.F.A., Outlaws and Angels and Final Girl, among others.
In the film penned by April Wolfe (Black Christmas), an upper-class suburban housewife (Eastwood) is psychologically terrorized by a manipulative contractor (Gibson), leading to a twisted battle of wits with deliciously unexpected results.
The film’s director Michael Day (As They Made Us) is producing alongside Yale’s Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman, with Kade Thomas, Scott Levenson, Jason Kringstein, Lee Broda and Colby Cote serving as exec producers. Yale’s recently launched sales banner Great Escape, led by Nick Donnermeyer, will handle worldwide sales.
Most recently appearing in M. Night Shyamalan’s Old for Universal Pictures, Eastwood has also been seen in such films as A Violent Separation, The Vault, M.F.A., Outlaws and Angels and Final Girl, among others.
- 9/20/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Robert LuPone, a screen and theater actor who appeared for a small arc on The Sopranos, has died at 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His death was confirmed by the off-broadway theater he founded and ran for years, the Manhattan Class Company Theater.
In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died This Year!
“He is survived by his wife, Virginia, his son Orlando, sister Patti and brother William. He is also survived by the profound impact he had on us,” the McC noted.
If you recognize the last name, his sister is indeed the Broadway star Patti LuPone.
He played Tony Soprano’s neighbor, Dr. Bruce Cuasanamo, in a few episodes of the hit HBO crime drama and also appeared for short stints in shows like Ally McBeal, Billions and Law & Order.
Robert Francis LuPone was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 22, 1946, and raised on Long Island. He...
In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died This Year!
“He is survived by his wife, Virginia, his son Orlando, sister Patti and brother William. He is also survived by the profound impact he had on us,” the McC noted.
If you recognize the last name, his sister is indeed the Broadway star Patti LuPone.
He played Tony Soprano’s neighbor, Dr. Bruce Cuasanamo, in a few episodes of the hit HBO crime drama and also appeared for short stints in shows like Ally McBeal, Billions and Law & Order.
Robert Francis LuPone was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 22, 1946, and raised on Long Island. He...
- 9/3/2022
- by Jacob Linden
- Uinterview
"I'm a believer in art." Mubi has unveiled an official trailer for an intriguing art-house indie film titled The African Desperate, which will be opening later this month. It premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival earlier this year, and also played at New Directors/New Films in NYC. This electrifying film tracks one very long day for Palace Bryant, a newly minted Mfa grad whose final 24 hours in art school become a real trip. She is not going to the graduation party! She needs to get home, back to Chicago from upstate NY. But that means surviving a hazy, hilarious, and hallucinatory night-long odyssey, stumbling from academic critiques to backseat hookups. With a banging soundtrack and cinematography that references street photography, giddy gonzo cinema and 1990s high-school romcoms, The African Desperate ultimately chronicles the need for release and emancipation from mental slavery. Starring Diamond Stingily, Erin Leland, and Ruby McCollister.
- 8/31/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Sunita Mani will topline the horror Wilder Than Her from Bombo Sports & Entertainment, which has wrapped production in Guerneville, CA. The three other leads for the film, written and directed by Jessica Kozak, are Kate Easton (When They See Us), Kayla Foster (Call Jane) and Danny Deferrari (Oppenheimer).
Examining grief, gaslighting and female friendship with a thriller twist, Wilder Than Her picks up with tight-knit friends Emilia, Finn and Lucey as they attempt to reconnect on an annual camping trip, after the death of their best friend Bea. But things grow increasingly strange and uncomfortable in the isolated forest as their friendship unravels.
Kozak’s script for Wilder Than Her was selected for the 2020 Blood List as one of the best unproduced genre scripts of the year. Bombo’s Head of Development, Shannon Reilly, is producing the film alongside Chelsea Davenport and Kimberly Hwang, with...
Examining grief, gaslighting and female friendship with a thriller twist, Wilder Than Her picks up with tight-knit friends Emilia, Finn and Lucey as they attempt to reconnect on an annual camping trip, after the death of their best friend Bea. But things grow increasingly strange and uncomfortable in the isolated forest as their friendship unravels.
Kozak’s script for Wilder Than Her was selected for the 2020 Blood List as one of the best unproduced genre scripts of the year. Bombo’s Head of Development, Shannon Reilly, is producing the film alongside Chelsea Davenport and Kimberly Hwang, with...
- 8/30/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
After a fairly quiet summer––outside of a few gems––the fall movie season is near and there’s much to anticipate. As we do each year, after highlighting the best films offered thus far, we’ve set out to provide an overview of the titles that should be on your radar––and while some dates will certainly shift and some films added, it’s quite a promising lineup.
Featuring 40 films, the below preview includes both the best we’ve already seen (with full reviews where available) and the anticipated with (mostly) confirmed release dates over the next four months. A good amount will premiere over the next few weeks at Telluride, Venice, TIFF, and NYFF, so check back for our reviews.
The Cathedral (Ricky D’Ambrose; Sept. 2)
What makes the fabric of our upbringing? The memories we’ll reflect on after those years have passed are often not what we...
Featuring 40 films, the below preview includes both the best we’ve already seen (with full reviews where available) and the anticipated with (mostly) confirmed release dates over the next four months. A good amount will premiere over the next few weeks at Telluride, Venice, TIFF, and NYFF, so check back for our reviews.
The Cathedral (Ricky D’Ambrose; Sept. 2)
What makes the fabric of our upbringing? The memories we’ll reflect on after those years have passed are often not what we...
- 8/25/2022
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Graduate student Yi-wen gets on the wrong train and meets a former classmate from her past, Wei-chiang, who is now a university lecturer. The two alight together at the same station when they both find themselves having boarded the metro headed for the wrong direction. The two end up going to dinner and bumble about in awkward, fair-weather catching up when they both realise something about themselves that they have never openly admitted over the years. [Source: CathayPlay]
Director Tan Jingliang from Malaysia studied filmmaking at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and is currently an Mfa candidate majoring in fiction film directing at Taipei National University of the Arts.
Screening on CathayPlay from June 10, 2022.
Director Tan Jingliang from Malaysia studied filmmaking at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and is currently an Mfa candidate majoring in fiction film directing at Taipei National University of the Arts.
Screening on CathayPlay from June 10, 2022.
- 5/30/2022
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Academy Awards-winning actor Troy Kotsur will deliver the commencement keynote address at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s upcoming commencement ceremony.
Writer-producer Amy Aniobi (Insecure) will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award at the event.
Brian Kite, interim dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, gave the details today for the school’s 75th annual commencement ceremony. Kite will preside over the event on Friday, June 10, 2022 from 2 Pm to 4:00 Pm. at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
“It is an honor to welcome Mr. Kotsur to deliver the commencement keynote address following his sublime and hilarious performance in Coda,” said a statement from Kite. “Mr. Kotsur’s groundbreaking achievements as member of, and advocate for, the Deaf community serve to remind us that the perspectives and stories of individuals from all backgrounds and abilities are not only important but vital to the future of the arts.
Writer-producer Amy Aniobi (Insecure) will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award at the event.
Brian Kite, interim dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, gave the details today for the school’s 75th annual commencement ceremony. Kite will preside over the event on Friday, June 10, 2022 from 2 Pm to 4:00 Pm. at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
“It is an honor to welcome Mr. Kotsur to deliver the commencement keynote address following his sublime and hilarious performance in Coda,” said a statement from Kite. “Mr. Kotsur’s groundbreaking achievements as member of, and advocate for, the Deaf community serve to remind us that the perspectives and stories of individuals from all backgrounds and abilities are not only important but vital to the future of the arts.
- 5/27/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Early into Martine Syms’ The African Desperate, Mfa finalist Palace (Diamond Stingily) sits for her last exam in an upstate New York art school tucked deep in the woods. It’s the end of a three-year voyage, the kind of moment that should trigger swaths of pride and relief. But Palace, a Black student in an exceedingly white college, is frustrated, tired, on the verge of a breakdown. Her art has already shown at the Venice Biennale, a feat her all-Caucasian examiners don’t really know how to respond to. Even after they christen her a Master of Fine Arts, the mix of animosity and envy lingers acridly in the room. “There are lots of female artists your age and race making the same stuff you’re doing,” a professor chides her over drinks, “how are you going to differentiate yourself?”
Rollicking, piercing, and wildly entertaining, The African Desperate is...
Rollicking, piercing, and wildly entertaining, The African Desperate is...
- 5/3/2022
- by Leonardo Goi
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: As NBC’s This Is Us prepares to say its final goodbye on May 24, the cast and creator are leaving behind a legacy that will include a scholarship fund supporting Latinx students with big Hollywood dreams.
Jon Huertas, his costars Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Chris Sullivan, and Susan Kelechi Watson, as well as series creator Dan Fogelman, have partnered with the art advocacy group Nosotros on the creation of the Somos Nosotros Fund (that’s Spanish for This Is Us). It will be used to bolster the quality of inclusion from a creative perspective.
The Latinx-focused scholarship fund is the culmination of a conversation that started over parity late last year when Huertas was given a lower bonus than his costars, as Deadline reported, This Is Us original cast members offered to pool together a portion of their final season bonuses when...
Jon Huertas, his costars Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Chris Sullivan, and Susan Kelechi Watson, as well as series creator Dan Fogelman, have partnered with the art advocacy group Nosotros on the creation of the Somos Nosotros Fund (that’s Spanish for This Is Us). It will be used to bolster the quality of inclusion from a creative perspective.
The Latinx-focused scholarship fund is the culmination of a conversation that started over parity late last year when Huertas was given a lower bonus than his costars, as Deadline reported, This Is Us original cast members offered to pool together a portion of their final season bonuses when...
- 4/28/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
It's the end of the week for composers Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinell. It's a Friday when we speak, but their work is far from over. The composing duo rarely ever stop, and they wouldn't have it any other way. They're the musical duo behind NBC's new series "The Thing About Pam," Amazon's "The Romanoffs," and maybe one of the most listened-to scores of the last few years, Netflix's "The Witcher." They've also scored films that some genre fans will recognize: "Darling," "Like Me," and "M.F.A."
Belousova and Ostinell got range.
They were also accomplished musicians long before composing for...
The post Composers Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinell on Their Career, Ranging From The Thing About Pam to The Witcher [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
Belousova and Ostinell got range.
They were also accomplished musicians long before composing for...
The post Composers Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinell on Their Career, Ranging From The Thing About Pam to The Witcher [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
- 4/21/2022
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
Video Version of this Article Photo: Ryan Coogler Ryan Coogler - Just a Kid with a Dream One should never forget where one comes from, because like it or not it plays a formative role in who we become. Ryan Coogler, the multi-hyphenate rockstar Director, certainly embodies the previous sentiment in everything he does. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Coogler has masterfully taken his life experiences and worldview from growing up in the Bay Area and infused its many lessons into every film he makes. A truly authentic and genuine filmmaker, I wanted to highlight the work of his career to date, and why I cannot wait to see what comes next for him and his singular voice. You Want to be a What Now? With a highly prolific and impressive resume as a football player in high school and college, I would imagine this phrase coming out of many a teacher,...
- 2/25/2022
- by Mark Raymond
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
Exclusive: Apb alumna Tamberla Perry has booked a major recurring role on the upcoming CW spinoff All American: Homecoming. Written by All American showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll and directed by Michael Schultz, All American: Homecoming follows a young tennis hopeful from Beverly Hills, Simone Hicks (Geffri Maya) and an elite baseball player from Chicago, Damons Sims (Peyton Alex Smith) as they contend with the high stakes of college sports, while also navigating the highs, lows and sexiness of unsupervised early adulthood at a prestigious Historically Black College. Perry will play Keena Sims, the always on momager who wants her future MLB star son back on track to The Show after choosing Bringston. However, once she sees how much Bringston is changing her son for the better, she’s forced to re-examine their relationship and choices she’s made. Perry can next be seen in Netflix’s They Cloned Tyrone and...
- 1/28/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Anamnesis [Part One] director Neville Elder: “The footage that I did shoot in the film was absent of people because it was May or June of the pandemic [in 2020].”
When I met with Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers, we discussed the Doc NYC U programme which includes films from Hunter College’s Mfa Program in Integrated Media Arts. Thom told me: “I think of the filmmakers who’ve passed through this program over the years and have come back in later years with their first film.” Neville Elder’s Anamnesis [Part One], screening in the Doc NYC U: Hunter strand is a highlight of the 12th edition of Doc NYC overall.
Neville Elder with Anne-Katrin Titze: “The guitar and the spacey noisy music was mine and a French musician Sourdure [aka Ernest Bergez], he was very gracious and let me use his music.”
A boyhood trauma. An attempt to fish in time for a...
When I met with Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers, we discussed the Doc NYC U programme which includes films from Hunter College’s Mfa Program in Integrated Media Arts. Thom told me: “I think of the filmmakers who’ve passed through this program over the years and have come back in later years with their first film.” Neville Elder’s Anamnesis [Part One], screening in the Doc NYC U: Hunter strand is a highlight of the 12th edition of Doc NYC overall.
Neville Elder with Anne-Katrin Titze: “The guitar and the spacey noisy music was mine and a French musician Sourdure [aka Ernest Bergez], he was very gracious and let me use his music.”
A boyhood trauma. An attempt to fish in time for a...
- 11/17/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Shaina Ghuraya and writing partners Greg Machlin and Aoife Baker are the latest screenwriting fellows awarded by Inevitable Foundation, whose mission is to fund and mentor mid-career disabled screenwriters.
The foundation’s funders include Warner Media/AT&T Foundation, Ford Foundation and the Conrad Hilton Foundation.
Ghuraya, along with Machlin and Baker will be awarded a $25,000 grant and access to six months of mentorship, workshops and networking opportunities with entertainment industry leaders. They join Shani Am. Moore and Kalen Feeney, the program’s spring 2021 fellows.
Ghuraya, a wheelchair user, is a Netflix writing apprentice and writer on the streamer’s show “Boons and Curses.” She graduated from USC’s Mfa Film and Television Production program and Academy Gold and received a SFFilm Rainin Grant.
Machlin and Baker, who both identify as neurodiverse, have written on the PBS Kids series “Pandemic Playhouse,” which includes a segment on a disability both writers share.
The foundation’s funders include Warner Media/AT&T Foundation, Ford Foundation and the Conrad Hilton Foundation.
Ghuraya, along with Machlin and Baker will be awarded a $25,000 grant and access to six months of mentorship, workshops and networking opportunities with entertainment industry leaders. They join Shani Am. Moore and Kalen Feeney, the program’s spring 2021 fellows.
Ghuraya, a wheelchair user, is a Netflix writing apprentice and writer on the streamer’s show “Boons and Curses.” She graduated from USC’s Mfa Film and Television Production program and Academy Gold and received a SFFilm Rainin Grant.
Machlin and Baker, who both identify as neurodiverse, have written on the PBS Kids series “Pandemic Playhouse,” which includes a segment on a disability both writers share.
- 11/3/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s upcoming debut novella, “My Monticello,” is set to receive a film adaptation from Chernin Entertainment for Netflix.
The streamer has acquired the rights to Johnson’s novella, which will be published on Oct. 5 in the U.S. through Henry Holt and Co., and via Harvill Secker in the U.K. on Nov. 4.
“My Monticello” is set in the near future, after an ecological disaster leads to societal collapse and bands of white nationalist militias run rampant across the country. A young woman who’s descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings leads a group of refugees to take shelter in Monticello.
A finalist for the 2021 Kirkus Prize, the work has been called “a badass debut by any measure — nimble, knowing, and electrifying” by Colson Whitehead, “absolutely unforgettable” by Roxane Gay, “stunning” by Charles Yu, and “vital and unlike anything else you’ve known before … a voice...
The streamer has acquired the rights to Johnson’s novella, which will be published on Oct. 5 in the U.S. through Henry Holt and Co., and via Harvill Secker in the U.K. on Nov. 4.
“My Monticello” is set in the near future, after an ecological disaster leads to societal collapse and bands of white nationalist militias run rampant across the country. A young woman who’s descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings leads a group of refugees to take shelter in Monticello.
A finalist for the 2021 Kirkus Prize, the work has been called “a badass debut by any measure — nimble, knowing, and electrifying” by Colson Whitehead, “absolutely unforgettable” by Roxane Gay, “stunning” by Charles Yu, and “vital and unlike anything else you’ve known before … a voice...
- 9/23/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
With Netflix’s Top 10 littered with true crime and documentaries breaking Sundance sales records, nonfiction films have never been more in demand. While narrative filmmaking remains the more popular subject of study, several universities offer robust programs for aspiring documentarians.
Stanford’s Mfa in documentary film and video production has garnered more Student Academy Awards in the documentary category than any other college or university. Admitting only eight students a year, the program culminates in a short thesis film, with past student works going on to screen at major festivals like SXSW and on such broadcasters as PBS. Also ...
Stanford’s Mfa in documentary film and video production has garnered more Student Academy Awards in the documentary category than any other college or university. Admitting only eight students a year, the program culminates in a short thesis film, with past student works going on to screen at major festivals like SXSW and on such broadcasters as PBS. Also ...
- 8/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
With Netflix’s Top 10 littered with true crime and documentaries breaking Sundance sales records, nonfiction films have never been more in demand. While narrative filmmaking remains the more popular subject of study, several universities offer robust programs for aspiring documentarians.
Stanford’s Mfa in documentary film and video production has garnered more Student Academy Awards in the documentary category than any other college or university. Admitting only eight students a year, the program culminates in a short thesis film, with past student works going on to screen at major festivals like SXSW and on such broadcasters as PBS. Also ...
Stanford’s Mfa in documentary film and video production has garnered more Student Academy Awards in the documentary category than any other college or university. Admitting only eight students a year, the program culminates in a short thesis film, with past student works going on to screen at major festivals like SXSW and on such broadcasters as PBS. Also ...
- 8/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
New York
City College of New York
The school’s Bfa film program picks 25 students a year for a two-year curriculum, with emphasis placed on single-camera narrative filmmaking and documentary production. At the end of the program, students complete a thesis project that is either a 10-minute film, 30-page screenplay or journal-ready academic research paper.
Suny Stony Brook
First-year students in the three-year program get a master class in independent film production from Killer Films’ Christine Vachon (who is artistic director of the Mfa film program) and business partner Pamela Koffler before embarking on their own short film productions.
New School
The ...
City College of New York
The school’s Bfa film program picks 25 students a year for a two-year curriculum, with emphasis placed on single-camera narrative filmmaking and documentary production. At the end of the program, students complete a thesis project that is either a 10-minute film, 30-page screenplay or journal-ready academic research paper.
Suny Stony Brook
First-year students in the three-year program get a master class in independent film production from Killer Films’ Christine Vachon (who is artistic director of the Mfa film program) and business partner Pamela Koffler before embarking on their own short film productions.
New School
The ...
- 8/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
New York
City College of New York
The school’s Bfa film program picks 25 students a year for a two-year curriculum, with emphasis placed on single-camera narrative filmmaking and documentary production. At the end of the program, students complete a thesis project that is either a 10-minute film, 30-page screenplay or journal-ready academic research paper.
Suny Stony Brook
First-year students in the three-year program get a master class in independent film production from Killer Films’ Christine Vachon (who is artistic director of the Mfa film program) and business partner Pamela Koffler before embarking on their own short film productions.
New School
The ...
City College of New York
The school’s Bfa film program picks 25 students a year for a two-year curriculum, with emphasis placed on single-camera narrative filmmaking and documentary production. At the end of the program, students complete a thesis project that is either a 10-minute film, 30-page screenplay or journal-ready academic research paper.
Suny Stony Brook
First-year students in the three-year program get a master class in independent film production from Killer Films’ Christine Vachon (who is artistic director of the Mfa film program) and business partner Pamela Koffler before embarking on their own short film productions.
New School
The ...
- 8/13/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Watch the Short Film The Lonely Host: "‘The Lonely Host’, starring Lulu Antariksa (‘Legacies’), Emily C. Chang (‘Babysplitters’) and Katie Featherston (‘Paranormal Activity’) made its international online debut this week on Gunpowder & Sky's hit Horror YouTube Channel Alter. The short was written and directed by Lisa J Dooley and produced by Supersight Media, Inc.
Nightmarish Conjurings praised 'The Lonely Host', saying "From compelling characters to a clever plot, 'The Lonely Host' is the total package" (Adrienne Clark), and Morbidly Beautiful raved "Lisa J Dooley's horror short 'The Lonely Host' is a sharp and gripping ride that'll have you hooked until the very last frame." (Claire L. Smith). 'The Lonely Host' also won 'Best Horror Comedy Short Film' at the 2020 Seattle Film Festival, and 'Best Actress in a Horror Comedy Short Film' (Emily C. Chang) at the 2020 Fright Night Horror International Film Festival.
Dooley, who recently graduated from USC’s Mfa Film/TV program,...
Nightmarish Conjurings praised 'The Lonely Host', saying "From compelling characters to a clever plot, 'The Lonely Host' is the total package" (Adrienne Clark), and Morbidly Beautiful raved "Lisa J Dooley's horror short 'The Lonely Host' is a sharp and gripping ride that'll have you hooked until the very last frame." (Claire L. Smith). 'The Lonely Host' also won 'Best Horror Comedy Short Film' at the 2020 Seattle Film Festival, and 'Best Actress in a Horror Comedy Short Film' (Emily C. Chang) at the 2020 Fright Night Horror International Film Festival.
Dooley, who recently graduated from USC’s Mfa Film/TV program,...
- 2/5/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Director Darren Aronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique naturally gravitated toward one another when they arrived on the American Film Institute campus in the fall of 1990. “We just had a lot of similar aesthetic and things that connected us,” said Aronofsky. “We met on the third day at AFI. I think Matty was probably the youngest guy in his DoP program, and I was one of the youngest guys in the directing program; Matty’s from Queens, I’m from Brooklyn, and we both grew up listening to hip hop.”
The emergence of the New York City underground hip hop scene wasn’t the only thing that impacted the two future collaborators as teens, it was also when independent film started to rise out of Hollywood’s 1980s nadir. “I stumbled into ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ at a local movie theater in Brooklyn,” said Aronofsky of Spike Lee’s 1986 indie breakout.
The emergence of the New York City underground hip hop scene wasn’t the only thing that impacted the two future collaborators as teens, it was also when independent film started to rise out of Hollywood’s 1980s nadir. “I stumbled into ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ at a local movie theater in Brooklyn,” said Aronofsky of Spike Lee’s 1986 indie breakout.
- 1/20/2021
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television have cast the new group of teenagers (and a couple of adults) at the center of the I Know What You Did Last Summer series reboot.
Madison Iseman (Jumanji: The Next Level), Brianne Tju (Light as a Feather), Ezekiel Goodman, Ashley Moore (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), Sebastian Amoruso (Solve), Fiona Rene (Stumptown), Cassie Beck (Connecting), Brooke Bloom (Homecoming) and Bill Heck (I’m Your Woman) are set to star in the YA horror series, a modern take on the hit 1997 slasher film. Production will begin this month in Hawaii.
Written by Sara Goodman (Preacher) based on the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan, the I Know What You Did Last Summer series has the same premise as the movie adaptation: In a town full of secrets, a group of teenagers are stalked by a mysterious killer a year after a fatal accident on their graduation night.
Madison Iseman (Jumanji: The Next Level), Brianne Tju (Light as a Feather), Ezekiel Goodman, Ashley Moore (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), Sebastian Amoruso (Solve), Fiona Rene (Stumptown), Cassie Beck (Connecting), Brooke Bloom (Homecoming) and Bill Heck (I’m Your Woman) are set to star in the YA horror series, a modern take on the hit 1997 slasher film. Production will begin this month in Hawaii.
Written by Sara Goodman (Preacher) based on the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan, the I Know What You Did Last Summer series has the same premise as the movie adaptation: In a town full of secrets, a group of teenagers are stalked by a mysterious killer a year after a fatal accident on their graduation night.
- 1/11/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: David Henry Hwang, the Tony Award-winning M. Butterfly playwright currently writing the script for a live-action musical film adaptation of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, has signed with CAA.
Hwang, the first and to-date only Asian American playwright to win the Tony Award for Best Play, is a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. His most recent show, Soft Power, written with composer Jeanine Tesori and directed by Leigh Silverman, premiered at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and opened in New York at the Public Theater. A finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Soft Power won six Ovation Awards for the Los Angeles production. The cast album was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
His other play credits include the Obie Award winning Golden Child, Chinglish and, his third Pulitzer finalist, Yellow Face. Hwang wrote a new book for for the 2002 revival...
Hwang, the first and to-date only Asian American playwright to win the Tony Award for Best Play, is a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. His most recent show, Soft Power, written with composer Jeanine Tesori and directed by Leigh Silverman, premiered at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and opened in New York at the Public Theater. A finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Soft Power won six Ovation Awards for the Los Angeles production. The cast album was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
His other play credits include the Obie Award winning Golden Child, Chinglish and, his third Pulitzer finalist, Yellow Face. Hwang wrote a new book for for the 2002 revival...
- 1/7/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar nominated and Golden Globe winning actress Taraji P. Henson is making her feature directorial debut the Bron Studios’ drama Two-Faced in which she’ll also star.
Two-Faced, written by Cat Wilkins, follows Joy, a Black high school senior whose chances to attend the college of her dreams are threatened by her wildly popular and charismatic school principal, Jerald, after she confronts him with evidence of his racist past. With the help of her friends, Joy sets out to expose Jerald for who he truly is but quickly learns that he is not above waging all-out-war against the students trying to take him down. Henson will play Gina Robinson, Joy’s mother.
Wilkins recently graduated from the Mfa Screenwriting Program at UCLA. Her Two-Faced screenplay won first place in the feature comedy category at the 2020 UCLA Screenwriters Showcase. Henson and her Tph Entertainment will produce with Aaron L. Gilbert on behalf of Bron, Tim Story on behalf of The Story Company and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett. EPs are Wilkins, Christine Conley and Trent Hubbard.
Said Henson: “After two decades spent in front of the camera, I’m thrilled to finally jump behind it for my feature directorial debut! What first attracted me to this project was Joy – she is the character I needed to see in films growing up, but never had. It’s important that stories be told from a woman’s point of view and partnering with Bron Studios and the amazingly talented Tim Story – both who use their platforms to help elevate women and people of color – feels like the perfect match. I can’t wait to bring this hilariously heartfelt script by Cat Wilkins to life!”
Added Gilbert: “Taraji is an important voice in the world and Bron is thrilled to support her directorial debut, of a script from Cat Wilkins, that through its comedic elements examines race and culture in America. We also look forward to working with Taraji’s long-time collaborator Tim Story and the rest of the team behind the film.”
Said Story: “I could not be more excited to support one of the most talented people I have ever known. Taraji and I have done three movies together and I knew it was only a matter of time before she would make this leap to directing and I am honored to produce this film along with Bron Studios. Taraji is like family to me and I cannot wait for everyone to see her directorial vision of this hilarious script by Cat Wilkins brought to the screen.”
Bron Releasing and UTA Independent Film Group will oversee film sales and distribution.
Henson won a Golden Globe in 2016 in the Best Actress TV Series Drama category for her turn on Fox’s Empire. She was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Oscars in 2009 for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She’s also a 2017 SAG Ensemble winner for the feature Hidden Figures. Henson directed the 2020 episode “Come Undone” of Empire. Her Executive Producer feature credits include No Good Deed, Proud Mary and What Men Want.
She is represented by M88, UTA, Ziffren Brittenham and The Lede Company. Wilkins is represented by UTA and Echo Lake Entertainment. Story and The Story Company are repped by UTA, Ziffren Brittenham and The Collins Jackson Agency.
Two-Faced, written by Cat Wilkins, follows Joy, a Black high school senior whose chances to attend the college of her dreams are threatened by her wildly popular and charismatic school principal, Jerald, after she confronts him with evidence of his racist past. With the help of her friends, Joy sets out to expose Jerald for who he truly is but quickly learns that he is not above waging all-out-war against the students trying to take him down. Henson will play Gina Robinson, Joy’s mother.
Wilkins recently graduated from the Mfa Screenwriting Program at UCLA. Her Two-Faced screenplay won first place in the feature comedy category at the 2020 UCLA Screenwriters Showcase. Henson and her Tph Entertainment will produce with Aaron L. Gilbert on behalf of Bron, Tim Story on behalf of The Story Company and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett. EPs are Wilkins, Christine Conley and Trent Hubbard.
Said Henson: “After two decades spent in front of the camera, I’m thrilled to finally jump behind it for my feature directorial debut! What first attracted me to this project was Joy – she is the character I needed to see in films growing up, but never had. It’s important that stories be told from a woman’s point of view and partnering with Bron Studios and the amazingly talented Tim Story – both who use their platforms to help elevate women and people of color – feels like the perfect match. I can’t wait to bring this hilariously heartfelt script by Cat Wilkins to life!”
Added Gilbert: “Taraji is an important voice in the world and Bron is thrilled to support her directorial debut, of a script from Cat Wilkins, that through its comedic elements examines race and culture in America. We also look forward to working with Taraji’s long-time collaborator Tim Story and the rest of the team behind the film.”
Said Story: “I could not be more excited to support one of the most talented people I have ever known. Taraji and I have done three movies together and I knew it was only a matter of time before she would make this leap to directing and I am honored to produce this film along with Bron Studios. Taraji is like family to me and I cannot wait for everyone to see her directorial vision of this hilarious script by Cat Wilkins brought to the screen.”
Bron Releasing and UTA Independent Film Group will oversee film sales and distribution.
Henson won a Golden Globe in 2016 in the Best Actress TV Series Drama category for her turn on Fox’s Empire. She was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Oscars in 2009 for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She’s also a 2017 SAG Ensemble winner for the feature Hidden Figures. Henson directed the 2020 episode “Come Undone” of Empire. Her Executive Producer feature credits include No Good Deed, Proud Mary and What Men Want.
She is represented by M88, UTA, Ziffren Brittenham and The Lede Company. Wilkins is represented by UTA and Echo Lake Entertainment. Story and The Story Company are repped by UTA, Ziffren Brittenham and The Collins Jackson Agency.
- 12/10/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Taraji P. Henson will make her feature film directorial debut on the high school comedy “Two-Faced” for Bron Studios, in addition to producing and starring in the movie.
“Two-Faced” follows Joy, a Black high school senior whose chances to attend the college of her dreams are threatened by her wildly popular and charismatic school principal after she confronts him with evidence of his racist past. With the help of her friends, the student sets out to expose the principal but quickly learns that he is not above waging all-out-war against the students trying to take him down.
Henson will star in the film as the mother of the student. She will direct from a script by Cat Wilkins, who recently graduated from the Mfa Screenwriting Program at UCLA and won first place in the feature comedy category at the 2020 UCLA Screenwriters Showcase for “Two-Faced.”
Henson and her Tph Entertainment will...
“Two-Faced” follows Joy, a Black high school senior whose chances to attend the college of her dreams are threatened by her wildly popular and charismatic school principal after she confronts him with evidence of his racist past. With the help of her friends, the student sets out to expose the principal but quickly learns that he is not above waging all-out-war against the students trying to take him down.
Henson will star in the film as the mother of the student. She will direct from a script by Cat Wilkins, who recently graduated from the Mfa Screenwriting Program at UCLA and won first place in the feature comedy category at the 2020 UCLA Screenwriters Showcase for “Two-Faced.”
Henson and her Tph Entertainment will...
- 12/10/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Pinewood Atlanta Studios, production home for Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” is rebranding itself as Trilith Studios as part of a 935-acre master development.
The name change was announced Wednesday, seven months after the owners of Pinewood Atlanta unveiled plans for a 220,000 square-foot expansion due to be completed in the spring of 2022. The six-year-old facility, located south of Atlanta, currently occupies 700 acres and houses more than 50 production-related businesses. Its first movie production was “Ant-Man” and it was also home to “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”
The owners said the name Trilith is emblematic of the three pillars of creativity of storytelling, purpose-built places and emerging technology — and pays home to its British roots. The three-stone structures at the Stonehenge monument near Salisbury in the U.K. are known as trilithons or triliths.
“A trilith is an appropriate symbol for our new identity as it represents a nod to our U.
The name change was announced Wednesday, seven months after the owners of Pinewood Atlanta unveiled plans for a 220,000 square-foot expansion due to be completed in the spring of 2022. The six-year-old facility, located south of Atlanta, currently occupies 700 acres and houses more than 50 production-related businesses. Its first movie production was “Ant-Man” and it was also home to “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”
The owners said the name Trilith is emblematic of the three pillars of creativity of storytelling, purpose-built places and emerging technology — and pays home to its British roots. The three-stone structures at the Stonehenge monument near Salisbury in the U.K. are known as trilithons or triliths.
“A trilith is an appropriate symbol for our new identity as it represents a nod to our U.
- 10/7/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
ABC has put in development In The End, a drama from Pose co-creator Steven Canals and his Story Ave. Productions, and 20th Television, where Canals is under a deal.
Written and executive produced by Canals, centers on Kiona Brown, who, incapable of living life to the fullest, makes the only logical choice – to embrace death as an end-of-life doula. With an eclectic list of patients – including cancer survivor Mariana Cortez – Kiona soon discovers the secret to a new beginning is to embrace what happens…in the end.
20th Television is the studio.
In The End is among the first projects for Canals under his overall deal with 20th TV. Canals co-created and executive produces the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated and Peabody Award-winning drama series Pose, named one of the Best TV Programs of the Year by the American Film Institute in 2018 and 2019. It will return for a third season in...
Written and executive produced by Canals, centers on Kiona Brown, who, incapable of living life to the fullest, makes the only logical choice – to embrace death as an end-of-life doula. With an eclectic list of patients – including cancer survivor Mariana Cortez – Kiona soon discovers the secret to a new beginning is to embrace what happens…in the end.
20th Television is the studio.
In The End is among the first projects for Canals under his overall deal with 20th TV. Canals co-created and executive produces the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated and Peabody Award-winning drama series Pose, named one of the Best TV Programs of the Year by the American Film Institute in 2018 and 2019. It will return for a third season in...
- 9/10/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Paramount’s plan to tell you more, tell you more about the crucial amorous 1950s-set teen backstory to its iconic 1978 musical, Grease, appears to be coming to fruition. The project, a prequel movie titled Summer Lovin’, went into development last year and has just procured a director in Brett Haley.
Summer Lovin’ is officially moving forward with Haley in the director’s chair, reports Deadline. A surging indie talent for whom the film will serve as a potential mainstream breakthrough, Haley will work off a script by Leah McKendrick, a surging talent poised to break out in her own right. They will be joined here by producers in Temple Hill and Picturestart. Interestingly, the report points to studio enthusiasm strong enough for the project to serve as a potential franchise-launcher.
As the title implies, Summer Lovin’ will chronicle Grease’s plot-establishing 1958-set California teen romance between local greaser Danny Zuko...
Summer Lovin’ is officially moving forward with Haley in the director’s chair, reports Deadline. A surging indie talent for whom the film will serve as a potential mainstream breakthrough, Haley will work off a script by Leah McKendrick, a surging talent poised to break out in her own right. They will be joined here by producers in Temple Hill and Picturestart. Interestingly, the report points to studio enthusiasm strong enough for the project to serve as a potential franchise-launcher.
As the title implies, Summer Lovin’ will chronicle Grease’s plot-establishing 1958-set California teen romance between local greaser Danny Zuko...
- 7/20/2020
- by Joseph Baxter
- Den of Geek
When horrific scenes of rape and abuse are filmed by women, are they emulating misogynist male directors, or bringing empathy and new perspectives?
About one hour into Holiday, the writing-directing debut of Swedish film-maker Isabella Eklöf, there’s a scene in which a young woman who has joined her drug dealing boyfriend and his entourage in a Turkish resort on the Aegean is subjected to harrowing sexual abuse. Another young woman is raped, twice, in the opening scenes of The Nightingale, second film from Australian writer-director Jennifer Kent, of The Babadook (2014) fame. In the last few years we’ve also seen the heroine of Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge (2017), violated and left for dead by her lover and his buddies, an art student sexually abused in Natalia Leite’s M.F.A. (2017), and a medical student raped in Jen and Sylvia Soska’s American Mary (2012).
What these films have in common is not...
About one hour into Holiday, the writing-directing debut of Swedish film-maker Isabella Eklöf, there’s a scene in which a young woman who has joined her drug dealing boyfriend and his entourage in a Turkish resort on the Aegean is subjected to harrowing sexual abuse. Another young woman is raped, twice, in the opening scenes of The Nightingale, second film from Australian writer-director Jennifer Kent, of The Babadook (2014) fame. In the last few years we’ve also seen the heroine of Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge (2017), violated and left for dead by her lover and his buddies, an art student sexually abused in Natalia Leite’s M.F.A. (2017), and a medical student raped in Jen and Sylvia Soska’s American Mary (2012).
What these films have in common is not...
- 8/2/2019
- by Anne Billson
- The Guardian - Film News
A Violent Separation starring Brenton Thwaites, Ben Robson, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Claire Holt, Ted Levine, Francesca Eastwood, Gerald McRaney, and Peter Michael Goetz will be released in theaters and On Demand on May 17th. Also: Zombie Apocalypse Live's run in Austin, Texas and David Moody's All Roads End Here novel.
A Violent Separation Theatrical and On Demand Release Details: "In Theaters and On-Demand May 17, 2019
Directed by: Kevin and Michael Goetz (A Scenic Route)
Starring:
Brenton Thwaites
Ben Robson
Alycia Debnam-Carey
Claire Holt
Ted Levine
Francesca Eastwood
Gerald McRaney
Peter Michael Goetz
Please join us for an advance screening:
Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at 6:00 Pm Et
Digital Arts
In a quiet midwestern town, a deputy named Norman Young is faced with an impossible decision; arrest his older brother Ray for murder or help him cover it up. Norman chooses family. As the ensuing investigation withers, neither of the brothers are prepared for...
A Violent Separation Theatrical and On Demand Release Details: "In Theaters and On-Demand May 17, 2019
Directed by: Kevin and Michael Goetz (A Scenic Route)
Starring:
Brenton Thwaites
Ben Robson
Alycia Debnam-Carey
Claire Holt
Ted Levine
Francesca Eastwood
Gerald McRaney
Peter Michael Goetz
Please join us for an advance screening:
Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at 6:00 Pm Et
Digital Arts
In a quiet midwestern town, a deputy named Norman Young is faced with an impossible decision; arrest his older brother Ray for murder or help him cover it up. Norman chooses family. As the ensuing investigation withers, neither of the brothers are prepared for...
- 4/22/2019
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Through its initial airings and reruns of Dark Shadows, generations of horror fans spent afternoons in the formative years at the Collinwood mansion, where the vampire Barnabas Collins crossed paths with devious humans and all manner of monsters. In 2016, Dark Shadows celebrated its 50th anniversary, and now Mpi Media Group has wrapped production on Master of Dark Shadows, a new documentary featuring interviews with fans of the series and the cast members themselves.
Masters of Dark Shadows is slated for release this spring, and we'll be sure to keep Daily Dead readers updated as more details are revealed. In the meantime, we have the official press release with more details:
Press Release: Mpi Media Group today announced it has completed production on the highly anticipated Master Of Dark Shadows, a comprehensive celebration of the legendary Gothic daytime series Dark Shadows and its visionary creator, Dan Curtis. The feature documentary, which was shot in New York,...
Masters of Dark Shadows is slated for release this spring, and we'll be sure to keep Daily Dead readers updated as more details are revealed. In the meantime, we have the official press release with more details:
Press Release: Mpi Media Group today announced it has completed production on the highly anticipated Master Of Dark Shadows, a comprehensive celebration of the legendary Gothic daytime series Dark Shadows and its visionary creator, Dan Curtis. The feature documentary, which was shot in New York,...
- 1/18/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
We may only have several home entertainment releases for this Tuesday, but as the saying goes, “quality over quantity,” because this bunch of Blu-rays and DVDs are a stellar lot of films. One of my favorite horror films of 2017, Mark Duplass’ Creep 2, makes its way home on November 28th courtesy of The Orchard, and Scream Factory has given Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery the Collector’s Edition treatment (and deservedly so).
For you cult film fans, both Death Laid an Egg and Deathdream (aka Dead of Night) get the HD treatment this week, and other notable releases this Tuesday include M.F.A., Rememory, Super Dark Times, Woodshock, and Trailer Trauma 4: Television Trauma.
Creep 2 (The Orchard, DVD)
Sara, a video artist primarily focused on creating intimacy with lonely men, thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams after coming across a stranger’s online post.
For you cult film fans, both Death Laid an Egg and Deathdream (aka Dead of Night) get the HD treatment this week, and other notable releases this Tuesday include M.F.A., Rememory, Super Dark Times, Woodshock, and Trailer Trauma 4: Television Trauma.
Creep 2 (The Orchard, DVD)
Sara, a video artist primarily focused on creating intimacy with lonely men, thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams after coming across a stranger’s online post.
- 11/28/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
As scary as a cabin in the woods can be, one of the most disturbing backdrops for a film can be the college campus culture, where horrors all too real take place all too often. Such is the case in Natalie Leite’s M.F.A., which made its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival (read Heather's review here) and is coming to Blu-ray and DVD soon following its October theatrical release:
Press Release: Dark Sky Films proudly announces the release date of M.F.A., a critically acclaimed powerful thriller starring Francesca Eastwood in a stand out role. The film, from female director and female screenwriter, takes on the searing current issue of sexual violence on campus and was released theatrically in October of 2017. M.F.A. will be released on blu-ray and DVD November 28, 2017.
M.F.A., which was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at the 2017 SXSW festival, tells a gripping story of a...
Press Release: Dark Sky Films proudly announces the release date of M.F.A., a critically acclaimed powerful thriller starring Francesca Eastwood in a stand out role. The film, from female director and female screenwriter, takes on the searing current issue of sexual violence on campus and was released theatrically in October of 2017. M.F.A. will be released on blu-ray and DVD November 28, 2017.
M.F.A., which was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at the 2017 SXSW festival, tells a gripping story of a...
- 11/17/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
We’ve spoken very highly, and rightfully so, of Natalia Leite’s M.F.A. (review), which sees Francesca Eastwood as a University student who is sexually assaulted and raped. After this traumatic event, she accidentally kills her rapist and becomes a campus vigilante… Continue Reading →
The post Exclusive: Feel the Pursuit With This M.F.A. Soundtrack Song Premiere appeared first on Dread Central.
The post Exclusive: Feel the Pursuit With This M.F.A. Soundtrack Song Premiere appeared first on Dread Central.
- 10/26/2017
- by Jonathan Barkan
- DreadCentral.com
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