Nuri Bilge Ceylan's The Wild Pear Tree, which premiered this year in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, was selected as Turkey’s submission into this year’s Foreign Language Film Oscar race. It marks the fifth film from Ceylan chosen to rep the country, and the first since 2014’s Winter Sleep which won Cannes’ Palme d’Or.
Local media reports said 12 films were in the running for the slot and Pear Tree was chosen among film professionals and Culture and Tourism… Read
Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg have teamed on three real-life stories, the terrific Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon and the highly underrated Patriots Day. Now for their fourth collaboration with Mile 22, they have dumped the inspiring stories and gone for some nonstop down-and-dirty rat-a-tat action in the hope of starting a franchise a la the Jason Bourne movies their new Mile 22 most closely resembles.
Unfortunately the minute Walhberg’s character Jimmy Silva… Read
EXCLUSIVE:Alex Schack, who has spent the past seven years at Slate PR most recently as VP, is moving to Narrative as the entertainment public relations company continues to grow its staff. Schack’s roster of clients at Slate included Bryce Dallas Howard, Madeline Brewer, Katherine McNamara and Dove Cameron among many others, and all are expected to follow her, we hear.
Narrative was formed in December by Liz Mahoney, Megan Moss Pachon and Bryna Rifkin (from ID PR) and… Read
Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista has been among the leading critics of Disney’s firing of the franchise’s director James Gunn, and now he’s “thanking” the studio for the move. In a tweet today, the wrestler-turned-thespian also took a not-subtle swipe at the folks who dredged up Gunn’s old offensive tweets that kick-started the ruckus:
Bautista, who played Drax the Destroyer in the first two installments of the lucrative Marvel superhero franchise, spoke out… Read
Hal Ashby directing a string of acclaimed movies in the 1970s, scoring an Oscar nom for Coming Home, but he’s largely overshadowed by the filmmaking kings of the Me Decade. Now a new documentary turns the lens on the iconoclast who also helmed such enduring pics as Harold and Maude, The Last Detail, Shampoo and Being There.
Here’s the logline: Hal explores his curious historical oversight, using rare archival materials, interviews, personal letters and audio recordings… Read
A judge ordered a memorabilia dealer and one-time advisor to stay away from comic book mogul Stan Lee for three years, amid allegations of elder abuse.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Laura Hymowitz issued the restraining order this morning against Keya Morgan, who had inserted himself into Lee's affairs. Morgan was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Lee and his immediate family until Aug. 17, 2021.
Morgan took control of Lee's business affairs and… Read
EXCLUSIVE: Milo Gibson has signed with Alchemy Entertainment for management and is also joining Millennium Media's Rod Lurie-directed film The Outpost based on CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper’s novel.
Adapted by Oscar-nominated The Fighter writing duo Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, The Outpost tells the true story of the 53 U.S. soldiers who battled a force of some 400 enemy insurgents in northeastern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom… Read
EXCLUSIVE: Venture capitalist and entrepreneur David Carrico has launched Valparaiso Pictures, a Los Angeles-based film and TV development, production and finance company. It already has its first project in the works in After Perfect, a feature film based on Christina McDowell’s 2016 memoir that is being adapted by Elizabeth Chomko and produced with Matt Reeves' 6th & Idaho Productions and Joshua Thurston.
Carrico is co-founder of music and entertainment tech consulting… Read
BlacKkKlansmanis already being praised as one of Spike Lee’s best films and John David Washington, the film’s star, couldn’t agree more. He steps into the role of the real-life Ron Stallworth, the first black detective at the Colorado Springs Police Department that infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. And although he was fascinated by the stranger-than-fiction story, it was Lee’s filmmaking influence and Jordan Peele’s involvement as a producer that was a big draw to the… Read
Sony Pictures Classics expects summer blockbuster fatigue to help its weekend newcomer The Wife starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce, opening New York and Los Angeles Friday. The film is one of a fairly busy slate of limited release newcomers, perhaps hinting at another busy fall as awards season looms. Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate is bowing Juliet, Naked Friday in NYC and L.A., starring Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O'Dowd. Sundance favorite We The Animals by… Read
EXCLUSIVE: Utah-based distribution company Excel Entertainment has acquired distribution rights to the faith-based feature Jane & Emma, and released the first-look trailer. Directed by Chantelle Squires, the film touches on the Mormon Church’s early history of racially discriminatory practices, telling the story of two women: Emma Smith, the wife of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and Jane Manning, one of the church’s first black members.
The pic will bow in… Read
EXCLUSIVE:James Hong who has been acting since the 1950s has been fighting for parity for Asian actors for decades. With the success of Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians this weekend employing an Asian cast in all leading roles, the 89 year-old Hong said, “I never thought it would take this long.”
It is, indeed, a watershed moment for Hollywood as this now becomes only one of the few films ever released by a major studio that heralds a full Asian cast. Hong, who has around… Read
