Latest in Universal Pictures

AMC boss Adam Aron has just fired off a letter to Universal Studios Chairman Donna Langley in response to NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell’s statements in the Wall Street Journal this morning about the $95M PVOD success of Trolls World Tour.  As Aron explains to Langley in the letter (read it below), he initially got it…

Comedian Jo Koy is about to bring his brand of funny to the big screen. Deadline has confirmed that Amblin Partners and Dan Lin’s Rideback are set to collaborate on Easter Sunday, a comedy inspired by the Filipino stand-up’s life experiences. The film, which will be very much a Filipino narrative written by Ken Cheng…

Kung fu, a flower-bedecked van, Mad magazine, a Slip ‘n’ Slide, a sissy bar and a Pet Rock. Welcome (back) to the 1970s — and the Me Decade is the perfect place for a self-focused young wannabe supervillain. Here is the first full trailer for Minions: The Rise of Gru, the bitchin’ sequel to the spinoff of the…

When composer Thomas Newman was approached for 1917, he was excited about the notion of working on a film unlike any that had been made before. "That was compelling all on its own," Newman reflects. "'What am I in for? What is he in for?' We'll know as we do it, and not before." An epic war thriller constructed to…

On 1917, production designer Dennis Gassner faced the monumental challenge of crafting epic World War I sets for a film that would appear as one take. Based on stories told to director Sam Mendes by his grandfather, the thriller centers on Lance Corporals Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), two…

UPDATED WITH VIDEO: In one of the biggest surprises of tonight's Golden Globes ceremony, 1917 helmer Sam Mendes won the award for Best Director of a Motion Picture. Parasite's Bong Joon-ho was heavily favored to take home the statuette, following the film's win for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language, such that…

Sam Mendes’ World War I drama 1917 is set to open in limited release this weekend. Moviegoers may be skeptical as they ask themselves, “Do we really need another World War I movie?” but with a certified fresh Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 93%, 1917 is proving to be a must-see film, awards season or…

If you watched Cats on opening night, you may have seen a different version than others who saw it later in the weekend as sources tell Deadline that Universal Pictures sent out a memo to theaters saying that they will be sending out a new version of the big-screen adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Weber Broadway musical…

Sky is to develop a major new UK studio for TV and film productions at Elstree with the backing of its parent company Comcast. The cost of the investment was not disclosed. The British broadcaster will open Sky Studios Elstree by 2022 and it will work in collaboration with Elstree Studios, the famous home of films…

EXCLUSIVE: A short film reuniting the creature from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Henry Thomas, who played Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg film, is premiering Thursday on NBC, Syfy and on the website of Comcast Xfinity. You can watch it above. Titled A Holiday Reunion, the film has a running time of a bit more…

Melina Matsoukas is known for directing some of the most compelling and visually striking music videos including Rihanna’s “We Found Love” and Beyonce’s game-changing “Formation” — both earned her an MTV Video Music Award. This year, she made her foray into the feature space with Queen and Slim. Written by Emmy winner…

The Fast & Furious franchise is speeding to Netflix with the new original animated series Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, and Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation have released the first images and the cast of the new series that debuts December 26. Keeping it in the Fast & Furious family, Spy Racers features…