Director Tina Gordon is warming up her vocal cords to helm Universal Pictures’ musical comedy Praise This, a music-competition feature set in the world of youth choirs. The film is slated for release on September 25, 2020. Gordon will rewrite the script for Praise This, which is based on an original idea by Tim…

Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury has teamed with Night School and Girls Trip producer Will Packer for a new half-hour multicultural entertainment news magazine show Central Ave. The series will air live from Atlanta and is set to launch Nov. 4 on select Fox Television Stations for a five-week preview. Central Ave looks to…

UPDATED with new release date: Universal has dated its Paul Feig-directed romantic comedy Last Christmas starring Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding and Emma Thompson for November 8, 2019. That’s ahead a week from its originally announced November 15 date. Deadline broke the news about the project back in June. Last Christma…

EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea Peretti, best known for her role as Gina Linetti on Fox/NBC's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has come aboard Universal’s The Photograph, a romantic drama written and directed by Stella Meghie with Will Packer and James Lopez producing for Packer's eponymous production company. Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield…

EXCLUSIVE: Will Packer Productions, the company behind 100+ million grossing comedies Girls Trip and Night School, has named Heather Washington as Director of Development, after previously serving a Creative Executive for the past two years. Washington’s new role involves identifying content, filmmakers, and talent…

Will Packer is to produce a documentary series about the murder of 29 African American children in Atlanta for Investigation Discovery. The Girls Trip and Night School producer is making The Atlanta Child Murders for the Discovery-owned network. The three-part special will air on the cable network on March 23. The doc…

Universal has just announced that an untitled Will Packer romance feature will open next year on Valentine’s Day. The movie will square off with a Disney untitled live action movie, Fox’s Blue Sky Animation feature Nimonia and MGM’s Bond 25, the latter of which Uni is handling overseas. Traditionally, Bond films get…

Will Packer has appointed Shayla Cowan as Chief of Staff of Will Packer Productions and Will Packer Media. She will be tasked with managing and overseeing all operational and administrative activities of both companies, continuing in her role of advising Packer and supporting the development and production of his…

EXCLUSIVE: After an auspicious directorial breakout on the 2014 comedy Top Five, Chris Rock is getting back behind the camera. He is in negotiations to direct Kevin Hart in Co-Parenting, a Will Packer-produced comedy for Universal Pictures. Script is being written by Yamara Taylor (black-ish) and the film revolves…

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures has just closed a deal to acquire Beast, an action-thriller for Will Packer to produce. The logline is being kept under wraps, but the film will show what happens when man is forced to go head-to-head with a beast. The pitch comes from Jamie Primak-Sullivan, and it will be scripted by…

OWN is bringing more romance to Saturday nights, unveiling three new unscripted series focusing on love, relationships and marriage and setting a date for its previously announced dating series from Will Packer. Chad Loves Michelle, which will bow on November 3, focuses on the engagement-to-marriage path of Destiny’s…

Will Packer Productions (WPP) announced today that it has named James F. Lopez President. In his promotion, Lopez will continue to grow and oversee all aspects of film production, as well as lead efforts to expand & diversify the company's slate. Previously, Lopez was Head of Motion Pictures at Packer’s WPM, where he…