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Ratings: Lifetime’s Toni Braxton Movie ‘Unbreak My Heart’ Draws 3.6 Million Viewers
31 minutes ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
January continues to be a good month for Lifetime original movie premieres, with the network’s Saturday night debut of “Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart” becoming ad-supported cable’s top-rated movie in key demos in one year.
In Nielsen’s preliminary national estimates, “Unbreak My Heart” averaged 3.6 million viewers, including 1.7 million adults 18-49 (1.3 rating) and 1.8 million adults 25-54 (1.5 rating). It stands as cable’s No. 1 original movie with adults 25-54, women 25-54 and women 18-49 since the January 2015 premiere of “Whitney” (1.7 rating in 18-49, 4.5 million viewers overall), also on Lifetime. The most-watched original cable movie of the past year is Disney Channel’s “Descendants” from last summer (6.55 million).
Lifetime’s top-rated movie of the last few years came in January 2014 with “Flowers in the Attic” (1.9 rating in 18-49, 6.1 million viewers overall).
Immediately after the movie at 10 p.m., the special “Beyond the Headlines: Tony Braxton,” drew 2.8 million viewers for Lifetime, »
- Rick Kissell
‘Making a Murderer’ Prosecutor Writing Book About Steven Avery Case
34 minutes ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
Ken Kratz, the lawyer whose prosecution of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey was chronicled on Netflix’s wildly popular docu-series “Making a Murderer,” is writing a book about the case.
Kratz told Wbay-tv, ABC’s Green Bay, Wis. affiliate, that he’s penning a book to give a voice to Teresa Halbach, the woman who Avery and Dassey were ultimately convicted of murdering. He admitted to the outlet that he’s felt obliged to defend the Halbach family since the Dec. 18 release of the documentary and is “finally grateful to tell the whole story.”
“The one voice forgotten to this point is Teresa Halbach,” said Kratz, the former district attorney of Wisconsin’s Calumet County.
Filmed over a 10-year period, “Making a Murderer” documents Avery’s 1985 imprisonment, his later exoneration for the crime in 2003, and his subsequent controversial arrest and trial for the 2005 murder of Halbach, a photographer who was »
- Alyssa Sage
Directors Guild President Paris Barclay on Academy Rule Changes: Treats a 'Symptom,' not the 'Root Cause'
44 minutes ago | Thompson on Hollywood | See recent Thompson on Hollywood news »
Barclay, a prolific television director, had stern words for Hollywood's "'old boy' network and word-of-mouth hiring," calling on executives to offer a clear plan for employing more diverse talent rather than vague promises to change. "Statements, statistics, pleas, and calls for action have done little to move the needle," Barclay writes, describing structural inequalities as an "industry plague." Read More: "Academy Members React to Rule Changes to Deal with Nominations Controversy" The news comes as the dramatic changes to the Academy's membership rules, announced Friday following sharp criticism of this year's lily white Oscar nominees, continue to reverberate through Hollywood and beyond. While seeking to double the number of women and people of color in the Academy by 2020, the body will also rescind voting privileges from members who haven't worked within the last decade. (Those who have worked for a span of three decades after »
- Matt Brennan
Wrap-Ranker Oscar Poll: Who Should Win Best Supporting Actor?
46 minutes ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Lead actors and actresses are often promoted as a movie’s muscle, but the supporting players are usually the film’s backbone. Without a strong supporting cast, the whole project has a chance of falling apart. Would Leonardo DiCaprio‘s revenge request in “The Revenant” resonate as strongly without an equally fierce performance from Tom Hardy? Would “Creed” have packed as much of a punch without Sylvester Stallone‘s returned presence to the iconic franchise’s once-main-but-now-supporting character? Also Read: Two-Time Oscar Winner Rips Awards: 'They're Not as Important as Everyone Thinks They Are' Would “Spotlight” have captured the moral »
- Matt Hejl
Espn Producer Dies While Covering Australian Open (Video)
48 minutes ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Espn graphics producer Ted Brown died on Sunday while away from home working the cable channel’s Australian Open coverage. He was 36. Anchor Chris Fowler took a few moments on Monday to remember Brown in a touching and tough tribute. “Ted Brown suffered a heart attack and could not be revived,” a choked-up Fowler said into camera. Also Read: Tom Brady Sacked on Twitter, Can't Shake Deflategate Fowler later added that Brown was in good health. Brown’s work extended well-beyond tennis — he had recently provided graphics for ABC’s “College Football Primetime” and the National Championship Game. “You’ve »
- Tony Maglio
Jesse Plemons' brush with 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' fame kinda sounds like torture
54 minutes ago | Hitfix | See recent Hitfix news »
Remember when everyone thought Jesse Plemons was doing Star Wars Episode VII? I do, because at the 2014 SAG Awards I asked him about it on the red carpet. "No, yeah, I think it's just one of those crazy rumors," he told me uncomfortably. It's hard to know at what point during the process I caught him -- whether before or after being turned down for the role that was ultimately played by John Boyega -- but at some critical juncture that year, questions like mine became the bane of his existence, as Plemons told Vulture in a new interview out of Sundance. "Even after the movie was filmed, I would get calls from people like, 'Heard about Star Wars, congratulations!'" said the actor, who said he was "never a huge Star Wars fan" anyway. "It’s like, 'You heard some different information …'...I had gone in and read, »
- Chris Eggertsen
Why Macklemore Name-Dropped Iggy Azalea and Miley Cyrus in ‘White Privilege II’
58 minutes ago | Vulture | See recent Vulture news »
Macklemore's latest mea culpa, "White Privilege II," is barely three days old, but the internet has wasted no time mining every lyric for think pieces galore. One verse in particular has raised eyebrows among Macklemore's peers: In the song, he calls out Iggy Azalea and Miley Cyrus for being just as guilty of cultural appropriation as critics have accused him of being. Replying to a fan on Twitter who interpreted the line as a diss, Azalea initially responded, "He shouldn't have spent the last 3 yrs having friendly convos and taking pictures together at events etc if those were his feelings." The comment then incited a daylong Twitter feud with Talib Kweli, who strongly felt that Azalea missed Macklemore's point. Ultimately, Azalea said she wasn't offended by Macklemore's words, but that hasn't stopped the controversy. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Macklemore has clarified why exactly he referenced Iggy and »
- Dee Lockett
Wonder Woman takes flight — on a plane — no, Not the invisible jet — in new trailer
59 minutes ago | Hitfix | See recent Hitfix news »
Earlier today a couple of TV spots were released for the upcoming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” film. But Warner Bros. wasn’t finished yet! A new trailer also arrived today. Though “new” may be a bit of a stretch as nearly all of the footage is recycled. One of the most interesting never-before-seen bits involved Wonder Woman and flight. The boring human kind. On a boring old plane. If you don't want to watch the full trailer, I've packaged the important part into a handy Gif. You're welcome. Gif Credit: DC Films What Does It Mean? It means Wonder Woman has a secret identity. Full stop. But let’s speculate anyway! We now know Diana has been kicking around Man’s World since the 1910s, as “Wonder Woman” is set during Wwi. But this doesn’t mean she’s continuously lived on Earth. Comic book Wonder Woman treks »
- Donna Dickens
Sony Classics Acquires ‘Equity,’ Female-Driven Wall Street Saga
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to “Equity,” a female-driven Wall Street tale starring Anna Gunn, James Purefoy, Sarah Megan Thomas and Alysia Reiner. The company made the announcement hours before the film’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday night in Park City, Utah. “Equity” follows senior investment banker Naomi Bishop (Gunn), who thrives in the fierce world of big money dealings. When a controversial Ipo threatens her fragile balance of power and confidentiality, Naomi finds herself entangled in a web of politics and deception. Also Read: Sundance Scene and Heard: Matt Damon, Kate Beckinsale, »
- Todd Cunningham
Straight Outta Compton’s Corey Hawkins Will Star in New 24
1 hour ago | Vulture | See recent Vulture news »
Straight outta Compton ... and straight into CTU: Fox today announced that Corey Hawkins, who played Dr. Dre in the Oscar-nominated film, has been cast as the lead in the pilot for the network's planned 24 sequel series, 24: Legacy. Hawkins won't be playing Jack Bauer — instead he'll take the role of Eric Carter, an Army veteran "from a very rough background" who is "pulled back into action as his past comes looking for him." Sounds masculine! Hawkins is the first of a brand-new cast for 24: Legacy, but the network has said that if the pilot goes to series, characters from the original may pop up eventually. As Fox's Gary Newman (not him) told reporters at the TCA tour, the role was planned from the start for a "diverse actor," which is maybe not the best way of saying that, but okay. »
- Nate Jones
Sundance: Sony Pictures Classics Buys Anna Gunn’s ‘Equity’
1 hour ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed worldwide rights to “Equity” on the eve of its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The film puts a female spin on “The Big Short” and “Margin Call” by focusing on a group of women caught up in the world of high finance. The movie centers on an investment banker (Anna Gunn) who gets entangled in a controversial public offering.
James Purefoy (“The Following”), Sarah Megan Thomas (“Backwards”) and Alysia Reiner (“Orange Is the New Black”) co-star. Meera Menon (“Farah Goes Bang”) directs from a screenplay by Amy Fox.
Fox wrote the story with Thomas and Reiner. Both women serve as producers.
The deal was negotiated on behalf of the producers by CAA. This is the second Sundance deal for Sony Pictures Classics. Last weekend, the indie label bought “Eat That Question – Frank Zappa in His Own Words,” a documentary about the iconoclastic musician. »
- Brent Lang
‘The Fosters’ Showrunner Teases What’s Ahead for Big Romances
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
The Adams-Foster family will have a lot going on when “The Fosters” returns to Freeform Monday night. Several of the show’s central relationships were thrown into question in the August midseason finale, with Connor moving away from Jude — and the two sharing a much-talked-about kiss, the youngest in TV history between two men — and Callie’s official adoption. But according to executive producer Peter Paige, that doesn’t really mean what’s done is done. Because much like in real life, things aren’t that simple on “The Fosters.” Also read: 'The Fosters' Star Gavin MacIntosh on »
- Reid Nakamura
Meet New ’24’ Star Corey Hawkins: 5 Things to Know
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Move over, Kiefer Sutherland: Jack Bauer has been replaced. Fox has cast Corey Hawkins in its new reboot, “24: Legacy,” in the role of Eric Carter. Hawkins will be most familiar to audiences who saw him as Dr. Dre in “Straight Outta Compton,” but here are five others things to know about the man who will be taking over Bauer’s clockwatching. Also Read: 'Straight Outta Compton' Star Corey Hawkins Lands Male Lead in '24' Spinoff 1. He’s already a breakout star Hawkins played the role of Dr. Dre in Universal’s hit hip-hop epic “Straight Outta Compton. »
- Linda Ge
Ben Stiller Set to Direct ‘Super Sad True Love Story,’ in Development at Showtime
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Showtime is developing a television version of “Super Sad True Love Story” with Ben Stiller attached to direct, TheWrap has learned. The show will be based on the 2010 book of the same by Gary Shteyngart. The book is a satire of American materialism and commercialism, as told from the perspective of an unremarkable man named Leonard who falls in love with a Korean-American girl named Eunice. An epistolary novel, the novel centers around digital correspondence between Leonard and Eunice, set against the backdrop of dystopian future in which America is on the verge of an economic collapse. Also Read: 'Billions' Bows to. »
- Joe Otterson
‘Certain Women’ Sundance Review: Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams Endure the Montana Chill
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
As American movies get louder and louder – seriously, outside of “The Revenant,” good luck finding anything in theaters that isn’t blasting you with wall-to-wall music and dialogue – the exquisite films of Kelly Reichardt become more powerful and more necessary. Following the haunting “Wendy and Lucy” and the bleakly satirical “Meek’s Cutoff,” Reichardt teams once again with Michelle Williams for “Certain Women,” another low-key but powerful examination of women under duress doing their best to strive and survive. Based on a trio of short stories by author Maile Meloy (“Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It”), “Certain. »
- Alonso Duralde
Directors Guild President Calls for ‘Structural Changes’ to Promote Diversity
1 hour ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Paris Barclay, president of the Directors Guild of America, has blasted Hollywood executives for failing to take enough action to address the lack of employment for women and minorities.
“The current Oscar controversy has put a spotlight on a condition that has long shamed this industry: the lack of women and people of color across all aspects of opportunity and employment,” he said. “The Directors Guild believes that the industry and the community should be responsible for telling all people’s stories and reflecting the diverse lives we lead.”
Barclay issued the statement Monday, four days after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took steps aimed at doubling the numbers of minorities in the Academy by 2020. The diversity issue has been at the forefront of Hollywood since the Jan. 14 announcement of Oscar nominations, which didn’t include a non-white actor.
“Many times, with the best of intentions, a »
- Dave McNary
DGA President Paris Barclay: Academy Changes Are Not Enough
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Paris Barclay, the President of the Directors Guild of America, said Monday that while changes proposed by the Academy may help increase diversity in Hollywood, they “alone will do little to create more choices and get more films and television made that reflect the diversity we all deserve.” “The Academy’s decisions — to broaden its leadership and membership, and to limit voting rights for those no longer active in the industry — are important actions and may lead to greater acknowledgement of more diverse films and people who make them,” Barclay said in a statement. “But this alone will do little. »
- Beatrice Verhoeven
Showtime Developing Novel ‘Super Sad True Love Story’ with Ben Stiller Directing (Exclusive)
1 hour ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
Nearly one year after Ben Stiller began developing the 2010 novel “Super Sad True Love Story” for a television series with writer Karl Gajdusek, Showtime has nabbed the project with Stiller attached to exec produce and direct, Variety has learned.
Currently in development at the premium cabler, the book’s author Gary Shteyngart will serve as an exec producer with Stiller and Gajdusek, who is penning the television adaptation. Media Rights Capital is producing.
“Super Sad True Love Story” is a satire of contemporary American values and trends, including the erosion of American political values, the obsession with youth, and the urge to publish personal information through social networking. A unique blend of comedy, tragedy, absurdity and neurosis, the epistolary novel is built around the diaries of protagonist Lenny Abramov and the online posts of Eunice, telling their love story against the backdrop of an American dystopia.
For Stiller, the dramedy »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
Watergate Event Series in Development at ABC
1 hour ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
ABC is in the early stages of development on a Watergate-themed event series focused on White House whistleblower John Dean.
Jon Maas is penning the teleplay from source material that includes Dean’s most recent Watergate tome, 2014’s “The Nixon Defense: What He Knew, and When He Knew It,” among other books. Bob Cooper’s Storyscape Entertainment is producing with Dean and author Jason Grote serving as consulting producers.
The project is in keeping with the current mania in TV for historical dramas revisiting events in the recent past, from FX’s upcoming “The People V. O.J. Simpson” to HBO’s Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas telepic “Confirmation.” ABC is diving into the Bernie Madoff financial scandal with the miniseries “Madoff” airing Feb. 3-4.
Dean served as White House general counsel during the Nixon administration and was a pivotal player in the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon that led to »
- Cynthia Littleton
Sundance Film Review: ‘Lovesong’
1 hour ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Conceived in the same delicate minor key as her earlier films (“In Between Days,” “Treeless Mountain” and “For Ellen”), So Yong Kim’s fourth feature dances nervously but gracefully around a love that not only dares not speak its name, but can barely even figure itself out. Anchored by Riley Keough’s lovely, wistful performance as a mom in her 20s who gets back in touch with an old childhood bestie (a sharp Jena Malone), “Lovesong” makes a virtue of restraint as it traces a complex emotional history in two parts, and innumerable (and sometimes quite literal) shades of gray. The result may not significantly broaden the audience for Kim’s subdued, perceptive work but nevertheless stands as her most accessible feature to date, and deserves a listen from discerning arthouse distributors.
Recently seen in a very different role as Capable, the aptly named, ginger-haired female escapee in “Mad Max: Fury Road, »
- Justin Chang
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