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Newswire: R.I.P. Jon Polito, a favorite of the Coen brothers
3 hours ago | avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news »
Jon Polito, the mustachioed, raspy-voiced character actor who squeezed both humor and surprising pathos from the many mobster and cop roles he played—most memorably for the Coen brothers—has died. The news was passed along by Polito’s friend, filmmaker John McNaughton, who directed Polito in the early episodes of Homicide: Life On The Street where Polito first earned attention as the pugnacious, philosophical Detective Steve Crosetti, as well as in the anthology series Masters Of Horror. No official cause of death has been given, though Polito was diagnosed with incurable blood cancer in 2010. Polito was 65.
Providing a comprehensive overview of Polito’s incredibly prolific, 35-year career would be an impossible task; his work stretched from off Broadway to Broadway to cop dramas to sitcoms to short films to arthouse indies to big-budget family films to cartoon voiceovers, encompassing more than 200 credits. Anyway, there is IMDb ...
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- Sean O'Neal
Charlie Hunnam’s ‘Lost City of Z’ Selling to Amazon for U.S.
19 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Amazon Studios is in negotiations to buy U.S. rights to Charlie Hunnam’s historical adventure “Lost City of Z.”
The film, directed by James Gray, also stars Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Sienna Miller. Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment is producing with financing from Mica Entertainment.
Sierra/Affinity began selling international markets last year at the Berlin Film Festival and will continue to sell remaining territories at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. CAA arranged financing and represents the domestic rights.
The project is based on David Grann’s 2009 book of the same name. Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner are producing through their Plan B Entertainment along with Dale Johnson and Anthony Katagas. Marc Butan is exec producing with Mica Entertainment’s Julie B. May and Glenn Murray.
Hunnam portrays Percy Fawcett, a British surveyor who disappeared in the 1920s while searching for a mythical city in »
- Dave McNary
Jon Favreau to join Robert Downey Jr. in Spider-Man: Homecoming
20 hours ago | JoBlo.com | See recent JoBlo news »
In addition to directing both Iron Man and Iron Man 2, Jon Favreau also made an appearance as Happy Hogan in each of the Iron Man flicks, so I guess you could say that where wherever Tony Stark goes, Happy Hogan follows...unless it's an Avengers or Captain America film, so I suppose it would be more accurate to say that wherever Tony Stark Goes, Happy Hogan occasionally follows. Variety... Read More »
- Kevin Fraser
‘Pitch Perfect 3’ Finds New Director in Trish Sie
23 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
With Elizabeth Banks no longer on board to direct “Pitch Perfect 3,” Universal has acted quickly to find a new helmer for its next installment in one of its most popular franchises: Trish Sie.
Variety first reported earlier this year that Banks would not return to direct the third installment. Banks explained at the Produced By conference that her parental duties drove her decision to leave the director’s chair.
Banks tweeted her support for the new director on Thursday afternoon. “#PitchPerfect has a new leader – so excited @bigbadtrish is directing #PP3!”
#PitchPerfect has a new leader – so excited @bigbadtrish is directing #PP3! pic.twitter.com/KRbTv5oBsi
— Elizabeth Banks (@ElizabethBanks) September 1, 2016
The studio recently moved back the release to Dec. 22, 2017, in order to have time to find Banks’ replacement, but it looks as though production should stay on schedule as it’s closed a deal with Sie.
- Justin Kroll
‘Devious Maids’ Canceled: No Season 5 For Lifetime Series
1 September 2016 12:46 PM, PDT | Deadline TV | See recent Deadline TV news »
Exclusive: Lifetime has opted not to renew Devious Maids for a fifth season. The decision comes a couple of weeks after the series ended its Season 4 run on the network. Devious Maids, developed by Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry based on a telenovela format, migrated to Lifetime after being developed and piloted at ABC. It got off to a strong start, with its freshman season peaking at 3 million Live+same day viewers for the season finale. The ratings have… »
Univision Blasts Commission on Presidential Debates for Not Choosing Hispanic Moderator
5 minutes ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Univision CEO Randy Falco sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates stating “disappointment” and “disbelief” that a Hispanic moderator was not chosen. “It’s an abdication of your responsibility to represent and reflect one of the largest and most influential communities in the U.S., the letter said. It also asks for the commission to “reconsider leaving a Spanish-language moderator out of the presidential debate panels.” The commission announced on Friday that Lester Holt, Martha Raddatz, Anderson Cooper and Chris Wallace were selected as the moderators for the upcoming Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton debates. Also Read: Presidential »
- Brian Flood
Leslie Jones’ Twitter Tormentor Claims: ‘I’m Doing God’s Work’
7 minutes ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Milo Yiannopoulos has no regrets about tormenting “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones. In fact, as he sees it, he’s merely following the wishes of the Almighty. “Trolling is very important,” Yiannopoulos told ABC’s “Nightline” in an interview that aired Thursday. “I like to think of myself as a virtuous troll, you know? I’m doing God’s work.” Not many would share Yiannopoulos’ self-assessment, including Twitter, which yanked the Brietbart editor’s account after he set his sights on “SNL” cast member Jones, encouraging his followers to send racist messages to her and trolling her himself. Also Read: Hollywood »
- Tim Kenneally
Cbsn’s Elaine Quijano Boosts Profile with Vice Presidential Debate Moderator Slot
18 minutes ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
CBS News’ streaming service scored a coup with the selection of Cbsn anchor Elaine Quijano as moderator for the Oct. 4 debate between vice presidential candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence.
Quijano becomes the first anchor of a digital news service to land a moderator slot in one of the national general-election debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
At 42, the Filipino-American native of Chicago is also the youngest journalist to moderate a national debate since Judy Woodruff served in the role at age 41 in 1988. Quijano’s solo outing in the 90-minute VP debate, to be held on the campus of Longwood University in Farmville, Va., will surely boost her profile with the general public.
Quijano is a rising presence at CBS News. She is the weekday anchor of Cbsn, the digital news network that launched in November 2014. She has been the face of Cbsn’s political coverage, serving as main anchor of the service’s extensive »
- Cynthia Littleton
‘Feed the Beast’ Canceled After One Season at AMC
23 minutes ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
AMC has closed the kitchen on “Feed the Beast,” after one season, Variety has learned.
The show, starring David Schwimmer and Jim Sturgess, centers around two best friends who take one last shot at their dream of opening a restaurant. Clyde Phillips (“Dexter,” “Nurse Jackie”) created the series.
“We have great respect and admiration for the entire team associated with ‘Feed the Beast’, starting with Clyde Phillips, David Schwimmer, Jim Sturgess and our studio partner, Lionsgate. We are thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with them and appreciative of their talents, dedication and care. Unfortunately, the show simply didn’t achieve the results needed to move forward with a second season,” AMC said in a statement, released to Variety.
“Feed the Beast,” which is based on the Danish drama “Bankerot,” ran 10 episodes from June to August this summer.
Despite the star power in “Friends” alum Schwimmer, who came fresh off of the buzzy “People V. O.J. Simpson »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
‘Feed the Beast’ Canceled by AMC After 1 Season
24 minutes ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
“Feed the Beast” has been canceled by AMC, the network announced on Friday. The series, an adaptation of the Danish series “Bankerot” from creator Clyde Phillips, starred David Schwimmer and Jim Sturgess as two best friends who take a chance on their dream of opening a restaurant in the Bronx. The series debuted in June to disappointing ratings, which sharply declined following the “Preacher”-assisted premiere episode. The series finale earned just a 0.1 rating among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen. Also Read: David Schwimmer, Jim Sturgess to Star in AMC's 'Feed the Beast' “We have great respect and »
- Reid Nakamura
NBC Developing a ‘Sexy, Contemporary’ Female-Led Adaptation of ‘Oliver Twist’
26 minutes ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
NBC and Silver Pictures Television announced on Friday a pilot-script deal for “Twist,” a modern-day adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 19th century novel “Oliver Twist.”
“Twist” will explore a “sexy, contemporary” take on the classic tale, according to the network. It will star a struggling, twenty-something female (Twist) who “finally finds a true sense of family in a strange group of talented outcasts who use their unique skills to take down wealthy criminals.”
Founder of Silver Pictures Television Joel Silver and president Rodney Ferrell will serve as executive producers on “Twist.” Writing team Chad Damiani and J.P. Lavin, known for the upcoming film adaptation of the game “Fruit Ninja,” have signed on to write the series’ pilot. Both Damiani and Lavin will also executive produce the project.
Apart from “Twist,” Silver most recently produced the film “The Nice Guys,” starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. He is is also currently producing “Suburbicon” by director-actor George Clooney, written »
- Arya Roshanian
‘Making a Murderer': Steven Avery’s Lawyer Hints at Brendan Dassey Decision
35 minutes ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Steven Avery’s lawyer Kathleen Zellner is teasing the media and “Making a Murderer” fans again, this time tweeting about the pending release of her client’s co-defendant and nephew Brendan Dassey, then deleting the tweet shortly after. According to local Wisconsin news outlet Wbay, Zellner, who doesn’t represent Dassey, tweeted a picture on Thursday evening of Ryan Ferguson, a man she helped exonerate after he was wrongly convicted of murder in Missouri. In the picture, Ferguson holds a sign saying “It is over,” mimicking the text of the attorney’s tweet. However, the tweet has since been deleted. »
- Beatrice Verhoeven
Univision Chief Asks for Hispanic Moderator to be Added to Trump-Clinton Debates
38 minutes ago | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news »
Univision CEO Randy Falco has written an open letter to the head of the Commission on Presidential Debates calling for the addition of a Hispanic moderator to the scheduled face-offs between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
On Friday, the commission announced that NBC’s Lester Holt would moderate the first debate, scheduled for Sept. 26, followed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC’s Martha Raddatz moderating the second debate Oct. 9 and Fox News’ Chris Wallace moderating the third Oct. 19. CBS’ Elaine Quijano is slated to moderate the Vice Presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence Oct. 4.
“I am writing to express disappointment, and frankly disbelief, that the Commission on Presidential Debates has not chosen a Hispanic journalist to moderate the presidential debates,” Falco wrote Friday in a letter to commission executive director Janet H. Brown. He added, “Simply put: it’s an abdication of your responsibility to represent and reflect one of the largest and most »
- Daniel Holloway
Venice Film Review: James Franco’s ‘In Dubious Battle’
1 hour ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
It’s easy to mock James Franco for the polymath showiness of all his extracurricular endeavors (actor! filmmaker! poet! collector of academic degrees! the world’s first and last postmodern Oscar host!). Yet if you leave the snark aside, there is something half-crazy/admirable about the scale of his ambitions. Besides, it’s no easy task to pull together a feature film, and Franco has directed close to a dozen of them. Up until now, he hasn’t been very good at it. Whether it’s a sexually “transgressive” (but actually cautious) documentary curio like “Interior. Leather Bar.” or one of his two (count ’em) Faulkner adaptations, Franco as a filmmaker has been more diligent than competent. At Cannes in 2013, as the audience sat dying through Franco’s “As I Lay Dying,” I tried to relieve the tedium by glancing to my left, and saw that half the people there were asleep. »
- Owen Gleiberman
[Forums] Did ‘UnReal’ & ‘Mr. Robot’ have sophomore slumps? What TV shows have bounced back?
1 hour ago | Gold Derby | See recent Gold Derby news »
The second seasons of Emmy-nominated dramas “UnReal” and “Mr. Robot” have been controversial this summer, but it’s not uncommon for breakout shows to get mixed reactions in year two. Indeed, second-season woes are so common in TV that “sophomore slump” is as common a showbiz idiom as “jumping the shark.” Sign up to get Gold Derby’s free newsletter with […] »
- Daniel Montgomery
Summer Box Office: Feast or Famine as Blockbusters Either Hit Big or Flop Spectacularly
1 hour ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
The movie business played a high stakes game of poker nearly every weekend this summer. Sometimes, as in the case of “Finding Dory” or “Captain America: Civil War,” the bets paid off spectacularly. But not every hand was a winner, with the likes of “Ghostbusters,” “The Bfg” and “Ben-Hur” racking up tens of millions of dollars in losses and illustrating the dangers of playing the wrong cards. It’s all part of the price of navigating a globalized, tentpole-obsessed movie landscape.
“These big films have become an obsession with Hollywood,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “Studios want to have their cake and eat it too. They want all the merchandising, video games, and spinoffs that can come with a hot property. It’s not just about box office. It’s about total pop culture domination.”
Reports of the movie business’ demise may be premature after the summer »
- Dave McNary and Brent Lang
Let's talk about Matthew McConaughey's huge box office flop 'The Sea of Trees'
1 hour ago | Hitfix | See recent Hitfix news »
Matthew McConaughey's movie career hit the skids for the better part of the 2000s, with the mega-star taking on roles in a series of generic (albeit occasionally financially successful) rom-coms (Fool's Gold, Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past), a quickly-forgotten Al Pacino sports-gambling drama (Two for the Money), a notorious big-budget flop (Sahara) and one totally inexplicable dud, the bizarre passion project that was Surfer, Dude. After spending the late '90s as one of Hollywood's premiere male sex symbols, America's favorite Texas golden boy hardly seemed to be trying anymore, and audiences responded in kind. Then he came back! The McConaissance, as it came to be known, arrived early the following decade, when the actor began taking roles in actual good movies: The Lincoln Lawyer, Magic Mike, Killer Joe, Mud. Then came True Detective and his Oscar-winning turn in Dallas Buyers Club, the twin jewels in his comeback crown. »
- Chris Eggertsen
‘American Horror Story’ Season 6 Promo Scares Up the Creepiest Doll Ever (Video)
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
There are dolls that wet themselves, and then there are dolls that make you wet yourself. “American Horror Story,” of course, prefers the latter. Just in case you were heading into the Labor Day weekend a little low on nightmare fuel, Ryan Murphy and company have cooked up a new teaser for the sixth season of the FX anthology series. “Baby Face,” the latest in a string of promos for the new season features ominous, tinkling piano music, a spooky vocal chorus, and one seriously creepy doll. Also Read: 'American Horror Story': Did Rotten Tomatoes Just Leak Season 6 Title? »
- Tim Kenneally
Emma Roberts Thriller ‘Nerve’ Returning to Theaters for $5 Per Ticket
1 hour ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Mobile movie ticketing platform Atom Tickets is partnering with Lionsgate to bring back the studio’s teen thriller “Nerve” to at least 600 theaters nationwide for $5 per ticket.
It’s the first time that Lionsgate has taken part in using Atom for one of its movies. The studio joined with Disney and Fox in January to announce a combined $50 million investment in the ticketing app.
“Nerve,” starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, centers around a high school senior who finds herself immersed in an online game of truth or dare, where her every move starts to become manipulated by an anonymous community of “watchers.” It has grossed nearly $37 million domestically since its July 27 release.
“This innovative promotion is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the opportunities that Atom Tickets creates for our exhibition partners and our moviegoers,” said Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns. “‘Nerve’ is the ideal film »
- Dave McNary
Roman Reigns’ ‘Illegal Vest’ Petition to WWE Reaches Change.Org Signature Goal
1 hour ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
Go back to the WWE locker room and change your shirt — that’s the message more than 2,500 people have sent (sort of) loud and (sort of) clear to Superstar Roman Reigns. The pro grappler, whose real name is Joe Anoaʻi, is known for wearing signature body armor in the form of a reinforced vest that many followers think is tantamount to cheating. A Change.org petition launched Tuesday campaigning to ban Reigns’ “illegal” gear reached its 2,500 signature goal on Friday. “Roman Reigns has been systematically breaking the rules of Admiral-Lord Mountevans Unified Rules of Professional Wrestling through the use of illegal body. »
- Tony Maglio
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