Jason Blum minted his reputation as a Hollywood producer with wildly lucrative genre franchises including Paranormal Activity, The Purge and Insidious, so it feels unexpected to find him in the thick of things this awards season with a legitimate contender. But, really, how unexpected can something be if it keeps…

Ted Sarandos' loss is Jason Blum's early Christmas present with Karen Barragan set to move from the streaming giant that House of Cards built to the home of Get Out and BlacKkKlansman in 2019. Netflix's long serving Vice-President of original series publicity will be taking over from the departing Teri Everett at the…

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions' The First Purge has cleaned up over $100M globally, becoming the third film in the micro-budget franchise to reach the milestone. Through yesterday, The First Purge has also become the highest-grossing title in the franchise at the international box office. It’s…

UPDATED with special screening: Season 2 of Crypt TV’s The Look-See has set its premiere as a special screening at RTX Austin on August 4. The Rooster Teeth-hosted fan convention runs August 3-5 at the Austin Convention Center with a focus on animation, gaming and entertainment, and panels and live shows with top…

Entertainment One (eOne) is set to scour its film development slate to find the next Sharp Objects as the producer and distributor prepares for the launch of the Amy Adams-fronted drama on HBO. The eight-part thriller, which is based on the 2006 book by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, launches on the premium cable…

Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions and China’s Tang Media Partners have set an agreement to co-develop and co-finance a series of Chinese-language horror/thriller features beginning with American Nightmare, an LA-based project. The films will be made in both the Middle Kingdom and the U.S. and released in China, the…

Naomi Watts and Frank Grillo have been tapped to star in Once Upon a Time in Staten Island, a coming of age family drama from Blumhouse Productions and Man in a Tree Productions. Bobby Cannavale will also co-star in the film, which Purge helmer James DeMonaco wrote and will direct with production slated to begin later…

Oscar-winner and current nominee Octavia Spencer is set to reteam with her The Help director Tate Taylor for Blumhouse Productions’ twisted thriller, Ma. Production starts this month on the film that will also star Juliette Lewis and Luke Evans. Jason Blum and John Norris are producing. Plot details are sparse, but…

In the onslaught of awards season, it’s a rare thing to see a horror film make it to the upper echelons of contention. This is a shame, given the way in which films in the genre are put together. As execution-dependent as anything, a standout horror film requires a visionary director, committed performers and a team…

EXCLUSIVE: Andi Matichak has joined Judy Greer in the reboot of David Gordon Green and Danny McBride’s Halloween reboot for Blumhouse, Universal Pictures, and Miramax. Matichak will play Allyson, the daughter of Judy Greer’s character. The film is prepping for an October 2018 release date. Jamie Lee Curtis is…

Veep regular Reid Scott has landed a role in Sony’s Marvel movie Venom. No details about his character in the film starring Tom Hardy as the Spider-Man supervillain. Ruben Fleischer is directing the pic from a screenplay from Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. Sony has set a release date for October 5, 2018. Scott…

With tentpoles and low-budget movies holding up disparate ends of the industry, is there still a place for the middle-ground budget in filmmaking? Universal’s studio head Donna Langley certainly thinks so. “There’s a market for it absolutely,” she said, speaking at the Vanity Fair Summit in Beverly Hills on Tuesday…