News

The Gotham announced today that Theresa Peters, Partner in the Talent department at UTA, will join the organization’s Board of Directors.

As a Board member, Peters will work with The Gotham to advance its mission of celebrating and nurturing independent film and media creators by providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers, and pathways to wider recognition.

Peters joined UTA in 2008 from the William Morris Agency, where she was an agent for 14 years. She is a fixture within the entertainment industry, having cultivated a roster of long-time clients both in front of and behind the camera.

Notable clients include Kirsten Dunst, James McAvoy, Viggo Mortensen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander, Theo James, Sam Claflin, George MacKay, Tahar Rahim, Thomasin McKenzie, Zoe Kazan, Sam Heughan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Antony Starr, Jessica Biel, Haley Bennett, Hugh Dancy, Finn Cole, Ben Hardy, Harry Lawtey, Alba Baptista, Kyle MacLachlan, Letitia Wright, Rafe Spall, and Jamie Dornan,...

Isabel May, best known for Taylor Sheridan’s mini-series “1883” for Paramount+, is in final discussions to star in “Wild World,” the upcoming revenge thriller from Emmy-nominated husband and wife duo Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly (“Queenpins.” “Beneath the Harvest Sky”).

The feature — based on a script by Gaudet and Pullapilly — follows a young woman who must use her survival skills to track down her little sister and exact revenge on the men who abducted her. Principal photography is expected to start in Fall/Winter 2025 in Australia.

International sales on “Wild World” are being launched at the American Film Market next week by Mark Gooder and Alison Thompson’s Cornerstone Films. CAA Media Finance is handling the North American rights.

The producing team for “Wild World” includes Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff under the Krasnoff/Foster Productions banner; Joe Micucci, Dan Crown and Yoni Liebling from Red Crown; and Kim Hodgert...

Exclusive: Hot on the heels of an Academy Award nomination for his starring turn in Netflix’s civil rights drama Rustin, Colman Domingo has been appointed to the Board of Directors of The Gotham Film & Media Institute.

As the newest member, he will work with The Gotham on their mission to celebrate and nurture independent film and media creators by providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers, and pathways to wider recognition.

Domingo joins a board that includes Focus Features Vice Chairman Jason Cassidy and multi-hyphenate Riley Keough, whose additions were announced in November. Other members include Nancy Abraham, Anthony Bregman, Jeb Brody, Gerry Byrne, Alina Cho, Dan Crown, Mark D’Arcy (Director Emeritus), Amy Emmerich, Philipp Engelhorn, Kai Falkenberg, James Janowitz, Franklin Leonard, Stephanie March, Soledad O’Brien, Dee Poku, Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar, John Schmidt, Lisa Taback, Teddy Schwarzman, Drew Wilson, and Celia Winchester.

“As long-time admirers of Colman’s brilliant...

The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced that Focus Features Vice Chairman Jason Cassidy and actor, producer, and director Riley Keough will join the organization’s Board of Directors. The newest Board members will help advance The Gotham’s mission of celebrating and nurturing independent film and media creators.

“We are so excited to add Jason, one of the most respected and innovative film executives, and Riley, an extraordinarily talented actress and critically acclaimed filmmaker, to The Gotham’s already incredible Board of Directors,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “With their genuine passion for championing independent creatives, we are confident that the organization will amplify its positive impact on the media industry through their expertise and perspectives.”

Jason and Riley will join The Gotham’s existing board members including, Nancy Abraham, Anthony Bregman, Jeb Brody, Gerry Byrne, Alina Cho, Dan Crown, Mark D’Arcy (Director Emeritus), Amy Emmerich,...

Freeform dropped a teaser for Season 5 of “Good Trouble,” which premieres March 16 and will stream on Hulu the next day.

The series is a spin-off of “The Fosters,” and has followed the characters Callie and Mariana to Los Angeles. In the fifth season of the drama series, the roommates find relationship challenges as well as career opportunities, and “The Coterie” group must support each other as they navigate adulthood.

Season 5 features Cierra Ramirez, Tommy Martinez, Emma Hunton, Sherry Cola, Zuri Adele, Josh Pence, Bryan Craig and Booboo Stewart. Maia Mitchell, who left the show last season, will return for a short arc. The series is executive produced by showrunner Joanna Johnson as well as Christine Sacani, Greg Gugliotta, Jennifer Lopez, Benny Medina, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Cierra Ramirez.

Check out the teaser below.

Also in today’s TV news:

Trailers

Prime Video Sports dropped the official trailer for the new documentary “Reggie,...

Baseball fans are getting a first look at “Reggie,” a new documentary which chronicles the life and career of MLB Hall of Fame player Reggie Jackson.

Described as the “definitive, first-hand account of the five-time World Series Champion, beloved New York icon and one of baseball’s most influential superstars,” “Reggie” will premiere March 24 on Prime Video.

Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Alexandria Stapleton (“Shut Up and Dribble” and FX’s “Pride”), the documentary chronicles the ’70s sports megastar’s story, in his own words, as he contemplates his legacy as a “trailblazing Black athlete fighting for dignity, respect and a seat at the table.”

Before Jackson became a five-time World Series champion and 14-time All-Star, he started his professional career in Birmingham at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. He then moved to Oakland during the rise of the Black Panther Party before landing in New York City as...

Red Crown Productions, the shingle behind films including “Honey Boy,” “Hello My Name is Doris” and “Beasts of No Nation,” is expanding into television — starting with a project based on the advent of the “if it bleeds, it leads” local TV news format.

Red Crown has optioned the television rights to “Lights Camera Crime,” a story for the Philadelphia Inquirer that was written by Layla A. Jones and ran on March 29, 2022 as part of the newspaper’s “A More Perfect Union” series.

The scripted project will adapt the story as a fictionalized scripted account, with Daniel Colameco set to write and Yance Ford (“Strong Island”) on board to direct. Red Crown’s Daniel Crown and Yoni Liebling will produce.

“A More Perfect Union was promoted as “a special project from The Inquirer examining the roots of systemic racism through institutions founded in Philadelphia,” and the article “Lights Camera Crime” looked...

Click here to read the full article.

The Gotham Film & Media Institute has added four high-profile figures to its board of directors, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

The group behind the Gotham Awards has added actors Jonathan Majors and Stephanie March, entertainment marketing and PR executive Lisa Taback and entrepreneur and women’s advocate Dee Poku to its board.

The new additions join existing board members Nancy Abraham, Anthony Bregman, Jeb Brody, Gerry Byrne, Alina Cho, Dan Crown, Mark D’Arcy (director emeritus), Amy Emmerich, Philipp Engelhorn, Kai Falkenberg, James Janowitz, Franklin Leonard, Soledad O’Brien, Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar, John Schmidt, Teddy Schwarzman, Drew Wilson and Celia Winchester.

“We are thrilled that these four brilliant media and entertainment veterans are bringing their unique perspectives and expertise to The Gotham’s board,” Gotham executive director Jeffrey Sharp said in a statement. “As we find new and innovative ways to advance our mission and expand our impact,...

Exclusive: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American and UK/Ire rights to the political comedy The Hater, from writer-director Joey Ally, in which she stars alongside Bruce Dern, Meredith Hagner, D’Angelo Lacy (aka musical artist Black Gatsby), Ian Harding, Ali Larter, and Nora Dunn. The independent distributor has slated it for a day-and-date release on March 18.

In the film, Ally plays Dorothy, a liberal speechwriter on a U.S. Senate campaign, who finds herself unemployed and living back in her conservative Texas hometown with her estranged grandfather (Dern), after a political protest goes wrong. Dorothy soon learns that her childhood nemesis, Brent (Harding), is running for office as the sole Republican candidate. Determined to thwart him at any cost,...

Exclusive: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Celine Held and Logan George’s feature directorial debut Topside, slating it for a day-and-date release on March 25.

The award-winning drama starring Held, Zhaila Farmer, Jared Abrahamson and musician Fatlip is inspired by true events. It follows five-year-old Little (Farmer) and her mother Nikki (Held), who live underneath the streets of New York City, in a community that has claimed long-abandoned subway tunnels as its home. When the pair are forced to flee above ground into a cold winter night, they are plunged into a challenging world of chaos and tragedy that makes their uncertain underground life seem idyllic by comparison.

Topside claimed SXSW’s Special Jury Award for Narrative Feature when it premiered there in 2020, subsequently going on to win the Venice Film Festival’s Mario Serandrei Award for Best Technical Achievement. Held and George penned the film, with Anthony Bregman,...

Exclusive: Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has bought all international rights to writer-director Nikole Beckwith’s second feature, Together Together, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Starring in the comedy are The Hangover star Ed Helms, A Simple Favor actress and Big Mouth writer Patti Harrison, One Mississippi star Tig Notaro and SNL scribe Julio Torres along with Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed.

Bleecker Street acquired North American rights ahead of its virtual Sundance world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section.

The film charts how when a young loner named Anna is hired as the surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s, the two strangers come to realize the unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.

The deal was brokered between Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions with UTA Independent Film Group and Eugene Pikulin of Bruns,...

Bleecker Street has acquired the North American rights to “Together Together,” the film from Nikole Beckwith that stars Ed Helms and Patti Harrison and is set to premiere in competition at Sundance next month.

“Together Together” is Beckwith’s second feature after “Stockholm, Pennsylvania” and stars “The Office” star Ed Helms alongside Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro, Julio Torres, Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed.

The film will play in the U.S. Dramatic section of the festival, which just announced its lineup on Tuesday. Bleecker Street has yet to set a release date.

“Together Together” is the story of a young loner named Anna who is hired as a surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s. The two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.

The film was produced by Tango Entertainment,...

“Together Together,” a comedy staring Ed Helms and Patti Harrison that’s set to premiere at Sundance Film Festival, has been acquired by Bleecker Street.

Written and directed by Nikole Beckwith, “Together Together” follows the unexpected relationship that unfolds between a young loner named Anna, who is hired as the surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s. The cast also includes comedian and actor Tig Notaro and “Saturday Night Live” alum Julio Torres. It will compete in the U.S. dramatic competition section at the 2021 edition of Sundance.

“I couldn’t be happier to partner with Bleecker Street on the life of this movie,” Beckwith said. “‘Together Together’ has been my heart for a while now and as a long-time admirer of Bleecker’s work and philosophy, it’s exciting to know I get to pin it to the right sleeve.”

Tango Entertainment, Stay Gold Features, Wild Idea...

Ahead of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Together Together in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, Bleecker Street has acquired North American rights to Nikole Beckwith’s second feature which stars Ed Helms, Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro and Julio Torres.

Pic follows young loner Anna (Harrison) who is hired as the surrogate for Matt (Helms), a single man in his 40s. The two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love. Anna Konkle, Sufe Bradshaw, Rosalind Chao, Nora Dunn and Fred Melamed also star in the movie, which Beckwith also wrote.

The film was produced by Tango Entertainment, Stay Gold Features, Wild Idea and Kindred Spirit. Anthony Brandonisio, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Tim Headington produced, with Lia Buman, Anita Gou, Rebecca Cammarata, Bill Benenson, Beckwith, evin Mann, Chris Boyd, Toby Louie for Haven Entertainment and Daniel Crown...

Exclusive: Producer Daniela Taplin Lundberg’s Stay Gold Features (Harriet) says it has secured $10 million in funding from undisclosed private investors for film and TV projects.

Stay Gold Film Fund II will back in-house development and production and be managed by New York-based Taplin Lundberg, who with head of development Rebecca Cammarata oversees Stay Gold Features’ slate of film and TV projects. Partners in Stay Gold Features include Bill and Laurie Benenson and Nnamdi Asomugha.

Stay Gold is currently in post-production on Good Joe Bell, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and starring Mark Wahlberg and Connie Britton. Films currently in development include The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Edmund Morris; Black Lion, which the company is developing with Andrew Garfield; and previously unannounced project The Mysterious Tadpole, based on the children’s book by Steven Kellogg.

Launched in 2016, the company has produced or co-produced eight features.

Exclusive: We hear that Blockers filmmaker and Pitch Perfect franchise scribe Kay Cannon will direct the biopic Del & Charna about Charna Halpern and her partnership with the late legendary improv maestro Del Close. Together they built Chicago’s Improv Olympic, a prestigious comedy training ground for Saturday Night Live players and scribes, as well as the New York and Hollywood showbiz scene that boasts an all-star award-winning alum roster of Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Chris Farley, Jon Favreau, Adam McKay, Stephen Colbert, Rachel Dratch, Cecily Strong, Seth Meyers, Matt Walsh, Vanessa Bayer, Bob Odenkirk, David Koechner, Andy Dick, Cannon herself and many more.

Del & Charna will follow the unlikely pairing and tumultuous 19-year relationship of Close and Halpern, the latter who continues to own, run and teach at the Io theater. Together as friends, saviors and soulmates, the duo helped each other overcome his addiction, financial ruin, and...

Kay Cannon, who directed Blockers and wrote the Pitch Perfect movies, is set to direct the upcoming comedy industry biopic film Del & Charna for Red Crown Productions.

Rich Talarico and Alex Fendrich will pen the screenplay about the unlikely pairing of Chicago improv legend Del Close and comedy theater owner Charna Halpern. The film will recall the partners overcoming adversity to establish improv comedy in Chicago as an art form and launching the careers of many Second City comedy performers, writers and directors.

Del & Charna will be produced by Daniel Crown, Yoni Liebling, Cannon and Laverne McKinnon and executive produced ...

Kay Cannon, who directed Blockers and wrote the Pitch Perfect movies, is set to direct the upcoming comedy industry biopic film Del & Charna for Red Crown Productions.

Rich Talarico and Alex Fendrich will pen the screenplay about the unlikely pairing of Chicago improv legend Del Close and comedy theater owner Charna Halpern. The film will recall the partners overcoming adversity to establish improv comedy in Chicago as an art form and launching the careers of many Second City comedy performers, writers and directors.

Del & Charna will be produced by Daniel Crown, Yoni Liebling, Cannon and Laverne McKinnon and executive produced ...

In today’s film news roundup, financing has been secured for a Nicolas Cage police drama, feature drama “Topside” is unveiled and the late Tom Snyder is getting a tribute from his daughter.

Financing Completed

Dcr Finance Corp. has signed a deal to complete the financing for Nicolas Cage’s upcoming crime drama “10 Double Zero.”

The project, which begins shooting on July 29 in Louisiana, is directed by Christian Sesma (“Vigilante Diaries”) from a script he co-wrote with “Green Book” writer Nick Vallelonga about a pair of officers who set out to avenge the killings of several fellow officers in a public shootout with bank robbers. As they get closer to solving the crime, they find themselves the targets of a conspiracy in the ranks of the police force.

“10 Double Zero” was unveiled in May during the Cannes Film Festival with Wonderfilm and Ton of Hats producing. Dcr Finance...

Husband-and-wife team Celine Held and Logan George wrote, directed feature debut.

Endeavor Content will handle worldwide sales on the New York-set drama Topside, produced by Likely Story, K Period Media, Level Forward and Red Crown Productions.

Husband-and-wife team Celine Held and Logan George wrote and directed the feature debut, about a five year-old girl and her mother who live under the streets of New York City and are forced to go above ground when they are evicted by police.

Topside shot recently in New York City and Rochester, New York, and is being produced by Anthony Bregman and Peter Cron of Likely Story,...

Exclusive: Trans activist and model Corey Rae is getting a second crown — so to speak. Red Crown Productions has acquired the rights to Harry Tarre’s screenplay Queen which is based on Rae’s article “How I Became the World’s First Transgender Prom Queen — A Personal Essay.”

As the title of the article suggests, the screenplay is based on the true story of Rae’s real-life high school transition process and how she became the world’s first openly transgender prom queen. The film will be produced by Daniel Crown and Yoni Liebling of Red Crown Productions, and executive produced by Corey Rae and Harry Tarre, along with Amanda Crown, the Creative Executive, who brought the picture to Red Crown.

Rae first shared her story publicly on her blog in 2016 after transitioning (2009-2012). She looks to help break social stigmas surrounding transgender women. “I couldn’t be more excited...

Amazon Studios will release Alma Har’el’s critically acclaimed “Honey Boy” in select theaters on November 8, 2019, and will expand in the following weeks. Shia Labeouf wrote and stars alongside A Quiet Place’s Noah Jupe and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Lucas Hedges. Har’el received the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Vision and Craft at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

From a screenplay by Labeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. Labeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing...

Exclusive: Amazon Studios will launch Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy in limited theaters on Nov. 8 and expand thereafter.

The film which stars and was written by Shia Labeouf based on his own experiences won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Vision and Craft at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Amazon snapped up worldwide rights to Honey Boy for a reported $5M

Filmmaker Alma Har’el, whose feature doc work Labeouf has produced, brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. Labeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father,...

Exclusive: Funny or Die creative director and former Saturday Night Live head writer Andrew Steele is penning The Last Shot, a comedy set in the basketball world that is being produced by Red Crown Productions and Funny Or Die. Sports Illustrated writer Lee Jenkins, who has covered the NBA extensively over the last 11 years, will be making contributions to the script.

Pic will be produced by Daniel Crown and Yoni Liebling of Red Crown Productions, and Mike Farah and Joe Farrell of Funny Or Die.

“This is as close as I’ll ever get to my lifelong dream of ever playing in the NBA,” said Steele.

“We are thrilled to announce our involvement with The Last Shot and to have the incredible writing of Andrew Steele and the NBA knowledge and expertise of Lee Jenkins to help bring this story to the screen,” said Crown, Founder of Red Crown Productions.

Canada’s Bron Studios is joining forces with Tonik Productions and Get Lifted Film Co to finance and co-produce Monster, feature debut of music video and commercials director Anthony Mandler.

The contemporary drama begins principal photography this week in New York City with an ensemble cast including The Birth of a Nation’s Kelvin Harrison Jr, Dreamgirls’ Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Ehle, A$AP Rocky and Nas.

Colen C Wiley and Janece Shaffer wrote the script, based on the novel by Walter Dean Myers about an elite Harlem high school student charged with murder and facing a complex legal battle.

Aaron L Gilbert, co-founder of Bron (whose recent productions include The Birth of a Nation), will produce with Tonik’s Nikki Silver and Tonya Lewis Lee, Get Lifted’s Mike Jackson and Edward Nahem of Charlevoix. Bron, Tonik and Get Lifted are producing in association with Charlevoix as well as Red Crown and Creative Wealth Media.

Executive producers...

Canada’s Bron Studios is joining forces with Tonik Productions and Get Lifted Film Co to finance and co-produce Monster, feature debut of music video and commercials director Anthony Mandler.

The contemporary drama begins principal photography this week in New York City with an ensemble cast including The Birth of a Nation’s Kelvin Harrison Jr, Dreamgirls’ Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Ehle, A$AP Rocky and Nas.

Colen C Wiley and Janece Shaffer wrote the script, based on the novel by Walter Dean Myers about an elite Harlem high school student charged with murder and facing a complex legal battle.

Aaron L Gilbert (pictured), co-founder of Bron (whose recent productions include The Birth of a Nation), will produce with Tonik’s Nikki Silver and Tonya Lewis Lee, Get Lifted’s Mike Jackson and Edward Nahem of Charlevoix. Bron, Tonik and Get Lifted are producing in association with Charlevoix as well as Red Crown and Creative Wealth Media.

Executive...

Sally Field bounces back in this story of mismatched love - or a romantic delusion... that is 3/4 charm and 1/4 wishful thinking. The May-October romance isn't an outright farce like Harold and Maude, so a few of the comic situations are somewhat wince-inducing. Or am I just feeling my own 'October' discomfort? Field fans should love it anyway. Hello, My Name Is Doris Blu-ray Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2015 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date June 14, 2016 / 26.99 Starring Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Tyne Daly, Beth Behrs, Elisabeth Reaser, Peter Gallagher, Stephen Root, Wendi McLendon-Covey. Cinematography Brian Burgoyne Film Editor Robert Nassau Original Music Brian H. Kim Written by Laura Terruso, Michael Showalter, from her short film Doris & the Intern Produced by Daniel Crown, Kevin Mann, Riva Marker, Jordana Mollick, Daniela Taplin Lundberg Directed by Michael Showalter

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

I've always liked Sally Field. Her personality made a dumb 'sixties TV show...

Todd Haynes is in the running for best director and both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are in contention for best female lead alongside Room’s Brie Larson as Carol earned six 2016 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations in Los Angeles on Tuesday.Scroll down for full list of nominations

Close behind were Spotlight and Beasts Of No Nation on five apiece, followed by indie darling Tangerine and Anomalisa on four each.

Not even a glitch that saw the list of nominees temporarily appear on the Film Independent website prior to the official announcement could spoil what turned out by and large to be a recognition of independent film in its myriad forms.

Besides the more predictable contenders like Carol, Spotlight and Room, there was plenty of love for Tangerine, shot on an iPhone, and Beasts Of No Nation from Netflix, whose day-and-date release (and what that portends) infuriated large swathes of the exhibition sector but has clearly...

Todd Haynes is in the running for best director and both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are in contention for best female lead alongside Room’s Brie Larson as Carol earned six 2016 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Close behind were Spotlight and Beasts Of No Nation on five apiece, followed by indie darling Tangerine and Anomalisa on four each.

Not even a glitch that saw the list of nominees temporarily appear on the Film Independent website prior to the official announcement could spoil what turned out by and large to be a recognition of independent film in its myriad forms.

Besides the more predictable contenders like Carol, Spotlight and Room, there was plenty of love for Tangerine, shot on an iPhone, and Beasts Of No Nation from Netflix, whose day-and-date release (and what that portends) infuriated large swathes of the exhibition sector but has clearly impressed critics.

Magnolia Pictures earned...

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the La Film Festival and Film Independent at Lacma, announced nominations for the 2016 Spirit Awards this morning. Film Independent President Josh Welsh presided over the press conference held at W Hollywood, with actors John Boyega and Elizabeth Olsen presenting the nominations.

Nominees for Best Feature included Anomalisa, Beasts of No Nation, Carol, Spotlight and Tangerine.

“This year’s nominees are a testament to the strength, vitality and diversity of independent, artist-driven filmmaking,” said Film Independent President Josh Welsh. “It’s an astonishingly strong group of films and performances this year and we look forward to celebrating them all at the Spirit Awards.”

Spotlight was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman...

The distributor has licensed the Nazi thriller starring Jason Clarke, Rosamund Pike, Jack O’Connell, Jack Reynor and Mia Wasikowska that is currently shooting in Budapest.

HHhH is one of two projects on the market about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the architect of The Final Solution who was killed by a Czech and a Slovak.

Cedric Jimenez directs and adapted the screenplay with David Farr and Audrey Diwan from Laurent Binet’s 2012 book of the same name.

Alain Goldman of Paris and Los Angeles-based Légende Films and Daniel Crown of Red Crown are the producers and Goldman and Wme Global brokered the deal with TWC.

FilmNation co-financed with Echo Lake Entertainment and kicked off talks with international buyers in Cannes. HHhH stands for Himmlers Hirn Heisst Heydrich, or Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich.

The other Heydrich assassination project on the market is Sean Ellis’ Anthropoid starring Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan that began filming in the...

With the London Film Festival well underway, the Beasts Of No Nation gala in Leicester Square saw director Cary Fukunaga joined by cast and crew on the red carpet. Uzodinma Iweala, writer of the 2005 novel of which the film is based, actor Abraham Attah and producer Daniel Crown all ran the press gauntlet on Thursday evening. Idris Elba was absent, presumably busy with villain duties in Star Trek Beyond​.Fukunaga, who made the Mexican-American thriller Sin Nombre before switching gears for his more recent work on Jane Eyre and series one of True Detective, here creates tension and tragedy in a film about the brutality of war and the effects of conflict in an African state.Beasts Of No Nation follows nine year-old Agu (Attah) who escapes the slaughter of his family and is recruited to the rebel militia of an unnamed country ripped apart by civil war. Elba plays the commander of that militia,...

Exclusive: Netflix has firmed plans to release its first batch of theatrical-quality films. The streaming service’s feature film initiative begins with the October 16 release of Beasts Of No Nation, the drama about a child soldier torn from his family and pressed into fighting a civil war in an African country. The film is directed by True Detective‘s Cary Fukunaga and stars Idris Elba as a warlord who mentors the young man (played by Abraham Attah). Based on the novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala, Beasts will be released on Netflix in all territories, and on the same day it will be released in select U.S. theaters by distributor Bleecker Street. That will qualify the film for awards-season consideration. Amy Kaufman and Fukunaga produced with Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker, Dan Crown and Elba. Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Laura Bickford and Donna Guiliatti are executive producers.

The second...

The New York-based distributor is moving into development on the project for the in-demand director of True Detective.

Cary Fukunaga will direct the untitled story from a screenplay by Brokeback Mountain writers Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana.

A24 are producing along with Fukunaga’s Parliament Of Owls production company, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker of Red Crown Productions and Eva Maria Daniels of VisionChaos Productions. Daniel Crown of Red Crown is executive producer.

The project is based on the true story of Oregonian Joe Bell who embarks on a walk across America to promote the consequences of prejudice after his bullied, openly gay 15-year-old son Jadin committed suicide.

“Joe and Jadin Bell’s story is a poignant reminder of how precious life is and a life-affirming example of love transcending the prejudice and victimisation familiar to many,” said A24.

“Cary is a truly exceptional filmmaker. We are honoured to help bring his vision of this incredible...

Exclusive: Sally Field will star in the indie comedy Hello, My Name Is Doris, opposite New Girl’s Max Greenfield and 2 Broke Girls’ Beth Behrs. Michael Showalter will direct a script he wrote with Laura Terruso. Jack Antonoff is also part of the ensemble. Field will play an isolated 60-year old woman who is motivated by a self-help seminar to romantically pursue a younger coworker. This causes her to stumble into the spotlight of the local hipster social scene. The film is a co-production between Haven Entertainment and Red Crown, with Haven’s Jordana Mollick and Kevin Mann producing with Red Crown’s Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker, and Daniel Crown executive producer. Haven and Red Crown teamed on Life Partners, which premiered at Tribeca. Field is coming off The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and if Greenfield and Behrs have their eyes on feature careers after they wrap their series turns,...

When not busy making high end commercials for luxury brands (I caught the underwhelming video installation of Sleepwalking in the Rift in Karlovy Vary (see fest pic of the filmmaker above) or tinkering around with television ( True Detective – see below) Cary Fukunaga has been attached to a fair share of projects, but none appear to have been close to his filmmaking sensibilities (his Malick-like approach in African settings) until now. Deadline reports that Red Crown Productions is pairing actor Idris Elba (who happens to be a producer on the venture and the young filmmaker of Sin Nombre on Beasts of No Nation – a project that has been in the works for the better part of the last decade. Red Crown Productions’ Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker, Fukunaga’s Parliament Of Owls’ and Amy Kaufman’s Primary Productions are producing while Daniel Crown and Bill Benenson will serve as executive producers.

Exclusive: Red Crown Productions has set Idris Elba to star and Cary Fukunaga to direct Beasts of No Nation, an adaptation of Uzodinma Iweala’s bestselling novel. The story follows the journey of a young boy, Agu, who, when civil war engulfs his West African country is forced to join a unit of mercenary fighters. Not only must Agu face the death of his father and disappearance of his mother and sister, but must also join a life of violence and brutality. Agu befriends a mute boy named Strika and together they face the crimes and hardships of war. Elba will play the lead role of Commander and he will serve in a producing capacity as well. Elba joins Red Crown Productions’ Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker, Parliament Of Owls’ Cary Fukunaga and Primary Productions principal Amy Kaufman as producers on the film. Daniel Crown and Bill Benenson will serve as executive producers.

Reese Witherspoon will reunite with her "Walk the Line" director James Mangold on "Three Little Words" for Lime Orchard Production.

An adaptation of the memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter, the story centers on the relationship between a young Florida girl who entered the child welfare system when she was four, and the unpaid volunteer who discovers her nine years later.

The volunteer must search for and convince the biological mother to surrender her parental rights so the teen can begin a new life. Witherspoon will play the volunteer, while Amanda Seyfried is in talks to co-star as the biological mother.

Lewis Colick and Michael Petroni penned the script, while Mangold, Jami Gertz, Cathy Konrad, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker and Daniel Crown will produce.

Filming begins in September in Florida.

Source: THR...

Reese Witherspoon will star in "Three Little Words" for her "Walk the Line" director James Mangold. Amanda Seyfried is in negotiations to co-star, Red Crown Productions said Monday. Red Crown is producing the indie film, which will start production in September in Florida. Cathy Konrad will produce via her Tree Line Films banner along with Jami Gertz and her Lime Orchard Production banner. Red Crown principals Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker and Daniel Crown are also producing. Also read: Reese Witherspoon on Arrest: I'm Embarrassed, Had One Drink Too Many "Three Little Words" will be...

Exclusive: Gossip Girls‘ Leighton Meester, Community‘s Gillian Jacobs and Adam Brody are set to star in Life Partners, a comedy that marks the directorial debut of Susanna Fogel. Fogel co-wrote with Joni Lefkowitz. Also in the ensemble are Gabourey Sidibe, Abby Elliott and Beth Dover. Myriad Pictures will handle foreign sales for the film at Cannes. The comedy is about a codependent friendship between two very different girls — type-a Paige (Jacobs) and lesbian slacker Sasha (Meester). Paige has vowed that she won’t get married until Sasha has the same legal right and that works out fine until Paige meets Tim (Brody), a young and charming doctor. As a crucial vote on gay marriage approaches, the threesome struggle with issues of love, friendship, and loyalty. Jordana Mollick and Brendan Bragg of Black Sheep Management & Productions are producing alongside Riva Marker and Daniela Taplin Lundberg. Daniel Crown will executive produce...

Leighton Meester, Gillian Jacobs and Adam Brody are set to star in the new comedy Life Partners , the directorial debut of Susanna Fogel, co-written by Fogel and writing partner/producer Joni Lefkowitz. The film will also star Academy Award nominee Gabourey Sidibe, Abby Elliott and Beth Dover. Myriad Pictures will handle the foreign sales for the film, and will introduce it to buyers at next month's Cannes Marche du Film. Jordana Mollick and Brendan Bragg of Black Sheep Management & Productions are producing along with Riva Marker and Daniela Taplin Lundberg. Daniel Crown will executive produce with Anne O'Shea of Minerva Productions and Peter Touche of Sandia Media. Said D'Amico, "This is a timely and delightful comedy, which explores contemporary friendships...

We have the new poster for What Maisie Knew starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård, Onata Aprile, Joanna Vanderham and Steve Coogan. Based on the novel by Henry James, The Millennium Entertainment release directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, finds release in May this year. Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne adapted the script for the film produced by Charles Weinstock, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Daniel Crown. The dramatic story's set in New York City and follows a young girl who is caught in the middle of the bitter divorce of her parents. Also in the cast are Henry Kelemen, Emma Holzer, Diana Garcia, Trevor Long and Samantha Buck.

We have the new poster for What Maisie Knew starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård, Onata Aprile, Joanna Vanderham and Steve Coogan. Based on the novel by Henry James, The Millennium Entertainment release directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, finds release in May this year. Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne adapted the script for the film produced by Charles Weinstock, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Daniel Crown. The dramatic story's set in New York City and follows a young girl who is caught in the middle of the bitter divorce of her parents. Also in the cast are Henry Kelemen, Emma Holzer, Diana Garcia, Trevor Long and Samantha Buck.

Another adaptation is heading our way, this time from McG, whose Wonderland Sound & Vision and Red Crown Prods. are calling School of Fear into session, partnering on a feature adaptation of the children’s book series by Gitty Danveshari.

McG, who is producing, will have a first look to direct. Mary Viola and Scott Fischer will also produce for Wonderland with Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Daniel Crown and Riva Marker producing for Red Crown. Mike Saunders and Danveshari will exec produce.

“The first book in the trilogy was published in 2010 and follows four children, all suffering from phobias, who are sent to the exclusive, yet secretive school where they conquer their fears and survive a perilous final test.”

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Wonderland Sound & Vision and Red Crown Productions are teaming for a film adaptation of Gitty Danveshari's children's book series "School of Fear."

Based on the 2010 release first book in the trilogy, the story follows four phobia-ridden children who are sent to an exclusive yet secretive school where they must conquer their fears and survive a dangerous test.

McG ("Terminator Salvation," "Charlie's Angels") is producing and will have a first chance to direct, while Daniel Mackey ("Aim High") is penning the script.

Mary Viola, Scott Fischer, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Daniel Crown and Riva Marker are producing.

Source: Variety...

"What Maisie Knew," directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel ("Bee Season," "Uncertainty"), has gone to Millennium Entertainment for Us distribution. Starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård and Steve Coogan, the film is a contemporary adaptation of Henry James' 1897 novel, about a young girl stuck between the drama of her divorcing parents. "What Maisie Knew" debuted at Toronto. Here are early reviews from THR, Indiewire and The Guardian. The screenplay was adapted by Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne; Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Daniel Crown, William Teitler and Charles Weinstock produced.

In the latest pick-up of a popping Toronto market, Millennium Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to “What Maisie Knew,” starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård and Steve Coogan. The contemporary version of the Henry James novel, directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, had its world premiere Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival. “Maisie” tells the story of a young girl trapped in the drama of her distracted, divorcing parents and the new partners they bring into her life. Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne adapted the screenplay. Read More: Tiff Capsule Review: 'What Maisie Knew' Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Daniel Crown, William Teitler and Charles Weinstock produced; Riva Marker is an executive producer. Millennium acquisitions exec Tristen Tuckfield negotiated the deal with Wme Global, which repped the filmmakers. Since its launch in 2010, Millennium has acquired and released “Little...

Exclusive: Though the 2012 Sundance Film Festival is starting to fade from memory, buyers and sellers continue to make unhurried deals for the films that premiered there. Image Entertainment has just acquired U.S. rights to Christopher Neil’s coming-of-age stoner film Goats for what I’m hearing was near $1 million. The film premiered January 24 at the Eccles Theater and buyers sparked to the performances by David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Ty Burrell and Graham Phillips. Christopher Neil directed and Mark Jude Poirier wrote the script. The film is based on the Mark Jude Poirier novel, in which a guy leaves his unconventional desert home to attend the disciplined and structured Gates Academy. There, he re-connects with his estranged father and for the first time questions the family dynamics. The film was produced by Red Crown Productions’ Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Shannon Lail and Eric Kopeloff. Executive Producers include Peter Touche, whose Sandia Media partially financed the film,...

The film adaptation of Alex Robinson's award-winning graphic novel Too Cool To Be Forgotten takes another step closer to reality this week, as screenwriters Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko have signed on to write the script. Red Crown Productions' Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Daniel Crown are producing with Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman. Stefanie Azpiazu and Riva Marker will be executive producers on the film. Bregman commented "Too Cool To Be Forgotten is a story that demonstrates that comic books can be as profound and moving as they can be funny and entertaining, and that is exactly what this team hopes to replicate on the screen." Andy Wicks is a forty-something father of two who’s tried everything to quit smoking -- from going cold turkey, to the latest patches and nicotine chewing...

Albert Torres has been hired to pen a script for a feature for Silver Pictures based on the Cartoon Network series "Ben 10" reports Variety.

The story revolves around Ben Tennyson, a boy who can transform into ten different alien creatures with the help of a glovelike device called the Omnitrix.

Joel Silver, Andrew Rona and Steve Richards are producing with Warner Bros. Pictures likely to distribute.

Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko have been hired to pen a feature adaptation of the graphic novel "Too Cool to Be Forgotten" at Red Crown Productions and Likely Story.

The story centers on a man whose hypnotherapy session seemingly transports him back into his 15-year-old body in 1985. Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Daniel Crown and Anthony Bregman will produce.