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Writer-director Ethan Berger’s The Line wastes no time confirming all of our worst assumptions about Greek life. The opening credits play alongside photographs of American fraternities over the centuries, the fashions changing but the smirking white faces staying just the same. The very first interaction between Tom (Alex Wolff) and the rest of his modern-day fraternity brothers reveals them to be exactly the sort of big-mouthed, small-minded jackoffs that pop culture usually presents them as.

When Tom is with his fellow frat members, he’s all braggadocio and sexual innuendo. He even adopts an accent that his mother (Cheri Oteri) describes as a “faux Forrest Gump” in order to sound more like them. But while the other brothers are the scions of rich and powerful families—the fraternity loves to boast about how many future presidents and Fortune 500 CEOs the Kna has housed—Tom is a scholarship kid who...

he Purge franchise creator James DeMonaco directed the first three movies in that series, then when he decided to pass the helm over to another director for the fourth film, a prequel called The First Purge, the person chosen for the job was Gerard McMurray, who made his feature directorial debut with the 2017 Netflix drama Burning Sands. Earlier this month, we learned that McMurray is currently in production on his first movie since The First Purge was released six years ago: the horror film Goons, which has The Exorcism‘s Chloe Bailey and Power‘s Michael Rainey Jr. in the lead roles. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the names of five more cast members. They are: Serayah McNeill (Empire), SteVonté Hart (Bel-Air), rapper Yg, J. Alphonse Nicholson (P-Valley), and Tyler Lepley (Harlem). Details on the characters they’ll be playing have not been revealed.

Filming on Goons is taking...

The Purge franchise creator James DeMonaco directed the first three movies in that series, then when he decided to pass the helm over to another director for the fourth film, a prequel called The First Purge, the person chosen for the job was Gerard McMurray, who made his feature directorial debut with the 2017 Netflix drama Burning Sands. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that McMurray is currently in production on his first movie since The First Purge was released six years ago: the horror film Goons, which has The Exorcism‘s Chloe Bailey and Power‘s Michael Rainey Jr. in the lead roles.

Filming on Goons is taking place in New Orleans and nearby areas, and the story is said to be set amid the eerie backdrop of the state’s cane fields and plantations. McMurray wrote the script with Hodge K. Johnson, but details on the plot are being kept under wraps.

Power Book II: Ghost star Michael Rainey Jr. and Grammy Award-nominated singer and actress Chloe Bailey are set to star in a new horror film titled Goons. More on this upcoming movie below.

Production on Goons is currently underway in New Orleans, Louisiana. It's a movie from American filmmaker Gerard McMurray, who co-wrote the script with Hodge K. Johnson. He is also signed on to direct. McMurray is best known for co-writing the screenplay for and helming the Netflix drama film Burning Sands. In addition, he directed the action horror film The First Purge.

Film producer and director Tommy Oliver will produce and fully finance Goons via his Confluential Films banner, which will make the movie under its new genre label, New Fear Unlocked Productions. McMurray's Buppie Productions will also produce the film together with Confluential/New Fear Unlocked.

Sadly, plot details are being kept secret at the moment, but...

Exclusive: We have one final addition to Ryan Coogler’s supernatural thriller for Warner Bros, starring Michael B. Jordan: Bmf‘s Christian Robinson.

As with all roles in the film, his is under wraps, along with the logline. As previously announced, Michael B. Jordan leads the ensemble, which will also feature Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo, Omar Benson Miller, Jayme Lawson, Wunmi Mosaku, Hailee Steinfeld, Li Jun Li and Lola Kirke, along with newcomers yao, Miles Caton and Peter Dreimanis.

Coogler is joined in producing the film by Proximity Media’s Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian. The executive producers are Rebecca Cho, two-time Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson, and Will Greenfield. Pic is slated for release in theaters on March 7, 2025.

Bringing Jordan and Coogler back together following their collaboration on the Creed and Black Panther franchises and the acclaimed Sundance drama Fruitvale Station, the film is the second from the collaborators...

Exclusive: Adriyan Rae lands recurring role on Netflix’s Forever created by Mara Brock Akil.

Forever is a reimagination of the 1975 novel by Judy Blume and follows the epic love story of two Black teens exploring their identities through the awkward — and moving — journey of being each other’s firsts in 2018 Los Angeles. Like its inspiration, the show will examine “the idea of your first love being with you forever,” said Brock Akil, who created acclaimed stories of Black love and growth like sitcom Girlfriends and drama Being Mary Jane. She was also a writer on the YA comedy Moesha.

Oscar winner Regina King (One Night in Miami) will serve as executive producer and will direct the first episode.

Rae will portray Brittany, one of Keisha’s older cousins, and is described as a social climber who looks out for Keisha and her well-being like an older sister—even if...

House Party is a fresh and hilarious reboot of the classic 1990 comedy film, featuring a talented cast of comedy actors and A-list rappers and sports personalities in exciting cameos. The House Party cast delivers authentic and comedic performances, with each actor showcasing great comedic timing and bringing vibrancy to their roles. The movie captures the spirit of the original while introducing new dynamics and characters, set against a backdrop of lively music, dance battles, and comedic chaos.

House Party, a contemporary reimagining of the classic 1990 comedy film, brings a fresh and hilarious take on the party movie genre, and the House Party cast is full of comedy actors and cameos from A-list rappers and sports personalities. The story revolves around two friends, Kevin (Jacob Latimore) and Damon (Tosin Cole), who decide to throw the ultimate house party to achieve fame and success. Set against a backdrop of lively music, dance battles,...

Exclusive: Veteran producer Stephanie Allain has joined David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist, as executive producer. In addition, the first film in the trilogy from Blumhouse and Morgan Creek for Universal and Peacock has recently wrapped principal photography. The pic hits theaters on Oct. 13.

“I’ve known Stephanie for years — she’s the coolest and steadiest producer around, and I’m thrilled we’re finally able to work together,” said producer Jason Blum.

“I’m so delighted to join Blumhouse, Dgg, Leslie Odom, Jr., and this remarkable cast and crew on a frightening new iteration of one of my favorite films,” said Allain.

Allain and her Homegrown Pictures have produced such movies as Hustle & Flow, Something New, Black Snake Moan, Beyond the Lights, Dear White People, French Dirty, Burning Sands, Juanita and Really Love. She executive produced four seasons of Dear White People. From 2011-2016, she served as Director of the LA Film Festival,...

Exclusive: Trevor Jackson, known for his role as Aaron Jackson, the male lead opposite Yara Shahidi on Freefom’s Grown-ish, has signed with APA for representation.

Jackson’s Aaron Jackson character was introduced as a recurring guest star in mothership ABC series Black-ish. He has been with the spinoff Grown-ish since its launch. The series is now airing its fifth season and has been renewed for Season 6.

The rising actor previously starred as the lead in Sony Pictures’ remake of 1972 blaxploitation cult classic, Superfly alongside the late Michael K. Williams.

Jackson is also an accomplished musical artist and is set for a 26-state tour with fellow APA client Eric Bellinger on his headlining “Obsession Tour“ which kicks off February 2 in Seattle and wraps up in Las Vegas April 1st. Jackson will be supporting his latest EP, “Show Me Diamonds.”

Jackson’s career began with a three-year stint as Young Simba...

Exclusive: Christian Robinson has signed with Cultivate Entertainment Partners for representation.

Robinson is an American actor of Panamanian and African American descent, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.

He began his career co-starring in the Netflix original film Burning Sands, which was an official selection at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. He played Big Country in the drama project following students who pledge to a fraternity as illegal hazing has now moved underground. Additionally, he portrayed the character Capital A in the 2018 horror film The First Purge.

On the small screen, Robinson can currently be seen in Season 3 of the Starz hit drama series Bmf in the role of Tiny. He also recurred in the AMC+ series Interview With The Vampire portraying Levi. Other TV credits include HBO’s The Watchmen, IFC’s Brockmire, Tell Me A Story for CBS, and Tales for BET.

“Christian...

Exclusive: HBO is developing Sula, a limited series based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison’s novel. The project comes from writer Shannon M. Houston (Station Eleven), who has an overall deal at HBO, and Stephanie Allain’s Homegrown Pictures, under the company’s first-look deal with Warner Bros. Television Group and HBO.

Created and written by Houston based on the novel, Sula tracks the lives of two Black heroines from their close-knit childhood in a small Ohio neighborhood called The Bottom, through their sharply divergent paths of womanhood. Nel Wright has chosen to marry, raise a family and become a pillar of the Black community. Sula Peace has rejected the life Nel has embraced, escaping from The Bottom, submerging herself in city life, and coming into her own as a woman more intellectually and sexually free than anyone around her. Eventually, Sula and...

Director Gerard McMurray, who helmed "The First Purge" and the Netflix film "Burning Sands," is developing an adaptation of "Black," a comic book set in a world where only Black people have superpowers. The original "Black" comic, funded through Kickstarter in 2016, hailed from writer Kwanza Osajyefo, co-creator and designer Tim Smith 3, and artist Jamal Igle. Studio 8 is the production company behind "Black," and Warner Bros. will act as the film's distributor, with McMurray writing and directing.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Black" will "center on a young man who discovers his powers after surviving a violent crime." The main character...

The post The First Purge Director Making a Movie About a World Where Only Black People Have Superpowers appeared first on /Film.

Gerard McMurray (The First Purge) will write and direct an adaptation of the comic book Black for Studio 8 and Warner Bros., Deadline has confirmed.

The comic introduced in 2016 by Black Mask Studios hails from writers Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3 and illustrators Jamal Igle and Khary Randolph, examining a world in which Black people alone have superpowers. The upcoming film will center on a young man who discovers his powers after surviving a violent crime, soon finding himself in the middle of a war over the future of humanity, in a world in which a secret society seeks to control the empowered and their abilities.

Jeff Robinov and John Graham will produce for Studio 8, alongside Black Mask Studio’s Matteo Pizzolo, with Osajyefo and Smith co-producing, and Black Mask’s Brett Gurewitz serving as exec producer.

McMurray previously helmed The First Purge, as well as Sundance breakout Burning Sands.

Emmy-nominated producer Stephanie Allain has signed a new first-look deal with Warner Bros. Television Group and HBO. The new agreement continues Allain’s relationship with the Studio, where she and her Homegrown Pictures production company has been under a first-look pact since February 2020. Allain and her Homegrown Pictures team, including Director of Development Gabrielle Ebron, will develop original scripted programming to be produced by Warner Bros. Television for HBO and HBO Max, external streaming services, cable, and broadcast.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but both Wbtvg and HBO confirm it is a multi-year deal.

Allain produced the 2020 Academy Awards alongside Lynette Howell Taylor, making history as the first African American woman in the Academy’s 92-year history to do so. She received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for her work on the Oscars.

Allain founded female-led Homegrown Pictures in 2003, a company which produces content by and about women and people of color.

Warner Bros. Television Group and HBO have sealed a new first-look deal with producer Stephanie Allain (“Dear White People”) and her Homegrown Pictures banner. Allain already held a first-look pact with the studio, which she sealed in February 2020; this extends that relationship and includes a partnership with HBO.

Under the multi-year deal, Allain and her Homegrown Pictures team (which includes director of development Gabrielle Ebron) will develop original scripted programming for HBO and HBO Max, as well as other streaming services, cable and broadcast outlets. Warner Bros. Television will produce those projects.

Allain’s credits include producing the 2020 Oscars, alongside Lynette Howell Taylor. Allain was nominated for an Emmy Award, in the outstanding variety special (live) category. She also made history as the first African American woman in history to produce the Academy Awards.

Homegrown Pictures was founded by Allain in 2003; its credits include “Hustle & Flow,” “Something New,” “Peeples,...

Exclusive: Quentin Plair (The Good Lord Bird) is set to recur opposite Kumail Nanjiani and Nicola Peltz (Transformers: Age of Extinction) will guest star in Hulu limited series Immigrant (working title), from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel. Additionally, WandaVision and The Great director/executive producer Matt Shakman has joined as director and executive producer. He replaces originally announced Ramin Bahrani ahead of the series’ start of production.

Written and executive produced by Siegel, Immigrant (wt) is the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Nanjiani), the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. The series will detail the insane, darkly comedic, crime-ridden story behind the unique male revue that became a cultural phenomenon.

Plair will play Otis, the sole black dancer at Chippendales’ LA outpost until a dramatic falling-out with its owner Steve Banerjee (Nanjiani) over the club’s questionable admission policies regarding race.

Peltz will portray Dorothy Stratten. Both sexy and wholesome,...

The “Interview with the Vampire” series at AMC has added Christian Robinson in a recurring role, Variety has learned exclusively.

Robinson will appear in the role of Levi, an upstanding Baptist from the Louisiana country who has won the heart of Louis’s (Jacob Anderson) sister Grace (Kalyne Coleman). The cast for the series adaptation of the Anne Rice novel of the same name also includes Sam Reid, who will play Lestat, and Bailey Bass as Claudia.

Robinson’s recent TV credits include “Bmf” and “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” at Starz as well as “Tell Me a Story” and “Brockmire.” On the feature side, he has appeared in films such as “The First Purge” and the Netflix film “Burning Sands.”

He is repped by APA, Crimson Media Group, and Alexander White Agency.

AMC has given “Interview With the Vampire” an eight episode order with an eye toward a 2022 debut...

MGM’s Orion Pictures’ film “Till,” starring Danielle Deadwyler, Whoopi Goldberg and Jalyn Hall as Emmett Till, has rounded out its cast.

Frankie Faison, Jayme Lawson, Tosin Cole, Kevin Carroll, Sean Patrick Thomas, John Douglas Thompson and Roger Guenveur Smith have boarded the project, directed by Chinonye Chukwu. “Till” is currently filming in Atlanta, with the full cast pictured above.

“Till” tells the story of Mamie Till-Mobley (Deadwyler), chronicling her decision to have an open casket at Emmett’s funeral and allowing Jet magazine to publish David Jackson’s funeral photos in order to ensure people everywhere saw the true horrors of her son’s murder. The decision from the grieving mother was a galvanizing moment that led to the creation of the civil rights movement. Goldberg is set to portray Till’s grandmother, Alma Carthan.

Chuwku also wrote the screenplay for the film, about a mother’s pursuit of justice,...

Exclusive: Nafessa Williams has been tapped to play Robyn Crawford in the biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the upcoming feature about the late musical icon Whitney Houston. Williams steps in for Moses Ingram. who recently parted ways with the role.

Also joining the cast are Clarke Peters and Tamara Tunie, who will play John and Cissy Houston. Naomi Ackie will play Whitney Houston in the musical biopic that is being directed by Kasi Lemmons. The screenplay will be penned by Anthony McCarten, and will take audiences on an emotional, energetic journey through Houston’s career and music.

Crawford was Houston’s longtime assistant who would later become Houston’s creative director while also remaining one of her closest friends.

Alongside McCarten’s Muse of Fire Productions, the film is being produced by Pat Houston on behalf of the Houston Estate; Grammy-winning music producer Clive Davis; Larry Mestel on behalf...

The sheer number of films streaming on Netflix on any given day can make finding and deciding which films to watch an arduous journey through an overabundance of content, navigating with an interface that’s not exactly the most conducive to discovery.

To assist on this cinematic journey, IndieWire runs a monthly series that highlights movies and television shows worth streaming on every major platform in the U.S., including Netflix. But, as an extension of that popular ongoing series, we’ve also curated lists of films that specifically tell Black stories and are streaming on those same major streaming platforms.

Among August’s offerings on Netflix: several feature directorial debuts, including Stefon Bristol’s time-travel adventure, “See You Yesterday” (produced by Spike Lee), and Gerard McMurray’s fraternity hazing drama “Burning Sands,” as well as actors David Oyelowo (“The Water Man”) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind...

“The Spook Who Sat by the Door” pilot at FX has rounded out its main cast with four new additions.

Lucas Till, Nafessa Williams, Nathan Darrow and Tom Irwin have all joined the drama pilot alongside previously announced leads Y’lan Noel and Christina Jackson.

The story follows Dan Freeman (Noel), the fictional first African American CIA officer hired by the agency in the late 1960s. The story chronicles the quest of Freeman, who was recruited as part of an affirmative-action program. After a very competitive selection process he trains in high-level combat and espionage. However, following this arduous training, this model recruit is rewarded with a post in the reprographics (aka photocopying) department, “left by the door” as a token of the CIA’s “racial equality.” Jackson will star as his wife, Joy Freeman.

Till is set for the role of CIA agent Graham Renfroe. He most recently starred in the CBS reboot of “MacGyver,...

FX has cast the lead for its drama pilot The Spook Who Sat by the Door.

Insecure alum Y’lan Noel will star in the project from Lee Daniels, writer/showrunner Leigh Dana Jackson (Raising Dion, Foundation) and director Gerard MacMurray (Burning Sands, The First Purge). The drama, based on a 1969 novel by Sam Greenlee, follows Dan Freeman (Noel), the first Black officer in the CIA — a patriot, a Vietnam veteran and, secretly, a revolutionary.

Based in part on Greenlee’s own experience at the United States Information Agency, The Spook Who Sat by the Door is set in the 1960s and follows ...

Bradley Gibson, who currently recurs as Everett on the Starz series Power Book II: Ghost is set to join the forthcoming reboot of Kung Fu at the CW in a recurring role.

Gibson will play the character of Joe Harper in Kung Fu. He is described as a man in his 20s who is a graphic artist and community organizer in Oakland. Joe is “funny, sexy, hip — deeply serious about his work and his activism, but equally committed to the joys of life: friendship, art, love.”

Heis a social butterfly, having a foot in many of the San Francisco Bay Area’s communities including gay San Francisco, bohemian San Francisco, the Black community of Oakland — which is where he grew up. Joe is an idealist, but he’s profoundly realistic about the many obstacles to deep, systemic change. However, he can’t keep his guard up about is love. He...

FX has ordered a pilot for a series adaptation of Sam Greenlee’s spy novel “The Spook Who Sat by the Door,” Variety has learned.

The adaptation of the book will be written by Leigh Dana Jackson, who will also serve as executive producer and showrunner. Lee Daniels and Marc Velez will also executive produce on behalf of Lee Daniels Entertainment. The book was originally optioned through the Daniels’ Inclusion Fund. Gerard McMurray will direct the pilot in addition to executive producing. 20th Television will produce.

“’The Spook Who Sat By the Door’ was my dad’s favorite book,” said Daniels. “He’d be so proud that I’m doing this and even prouder that I’m doing this with Gerard and Dana—two bold and brilliant Black storytellers.”

“The Spook Who Sat By The Door” was previously adapted into a film in 1973 with Lawrence Cook in the lead role.

Gerard McMurray, whose director credits include The First Purge as well as the Netflix Original film Burning Sands, is teaming up with the streamer once again for The Formula, an upcoming film starring John Boyega and Robert De Niro. Directed, written, and produced by McMurray via his Buppie Productions label, The Formula will follow a Formula One racing…...

John Boyega and Robert De Niro will star together in a crime thriller called “The Formula” at Netflix, and Gerard McMurray, the director of “The First Purge” and Netflix’s “Burning Sands,” will direct.

McMurray will write, direct and produce the film based on an original idea but that’s reminiscent of “Drive” about a Formula One racing prodigy who becomes a getaway driver in order to care for and rescue his family.

De Niro will also produce “The Formula” along with Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh.

Rosenthal and Welsh have an overall deal with Netflix, and “The Formula” came together under that arrangement. Jason Michael Berman is executive producing the film, and Ephraim Walker, working under McMurray’s banner Buppie Productions, is co-producing, as is Sam Shaw.

Boyega, who broke out in the latest “Star Wars” trilogy, most recently starred in one of the five installments of Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology,...

Exclusive: Gerard McMurray, who directed Burning Sands, one of Netflix’s first original features for the streamer, has made his return to the studio and is set to direct The Formula with John Boyega and Robert De Niro attached to star. McMurray will write, direct, and produce the film via his recently formed production company Buppie Productions. Jane Rosenthal, De Niro and Berry Welsh will also produce.

The story will follow a Formula One racing prodigy who is forced to become a getaway driver to save the only family he has left. The project came together under Rosenthal and Welsh’s overall deal with Netflix. Jason Michael Berman is exec producer, with Sam Shaw and Buppie Productions’ Ephraim Walker on as co-producers.

Boyega most recently starred in Steve McQueen’s acclaimed anthology film series Small Axe starring in the Red, White and Blue installment. His previous credits include the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Detroit.

Prolific producer Stephanie Allain has inked a first-look film producing deal with Endeavor Content.

One of Hollywood’s most prolific African American producers, Allain’s filmography includes producing “Dear White People” (the film and series for Netflix), “Hustle & Flow,” Robert Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi & Desperado” and John Singleton’s “Poetic Justice,” “Higher Learning” and the late filmmaker’s directorial debut “Boyz ‘N the Hood.”

“Stephanie’s fierce advocacy for diverse filmmakers is matched only by her exceptional eye and discerning taste, and we are honored to be working with her to produce content that best reflects the world we live in,” Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, co-presidents, Endeavor Content, said in a statement.

“I am beyond excited to work with Graham, Chris, and everyone at Endeavor Content to produce movies that entertain and impact audiences around the world,” Allain added.

An Independent Spirit Awards, NAACP and Image Awards winner,...

Stephanie Allain, the veteran producer who championed John Singleton’s “Boyz N the Hood” and produced “Hustle & Flow,” has signed a first look producing deal with Endeavor Content.

Allain produced last year’s Oscars ceremony and recently served as an executive producer on the TV adaptation of “Dear White People.” She’s won multiple Independent Spirit Awards and NAACP and Image Awards, and is also Emmy-nominated for her work on the Oscars.

“I am beyond excited to work with Graham, Chris and everyone at Endeavor Content to produce movies that entertain and impact audiences around the world,” Allain said in a statement.

“Stephanie’s fierce advocacy for diverse filmmakers is matched only by her exceptional eye and discerning taste, and we are honored to be working with her to produce content that best reflects the world we live in,” said Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, co-presidents of Endeavor Content.

Exclusive: Endeavor Content has set a first-look producing deal with Stephanie Allain for feature films.

Allain is the producer who has won Independent Spirit Awards, NAACP and Image Awards, and who became the first woman of color to produce the Academy Awards when she teamed with Lynette Howell Taylor. They were Emmy nominated for their work producing last year’s 92nd Academy Awards. Her TV deal remains at Warner Bros.

“I am beyond excited to work with Graham, Chris and everyone at Endeavor Content to produce movies that entertain and impact audiences around the world,” Allain said.

“Stephanie’s fierce advocacy for diverse filmmakers is matched only by her exceptional eye and discerning taste, and we are honored to be working with her to produce content that best reflects the world we live in,” said Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, Co-Presidents of Endeavor Content.

The movie deal that started Allain...

Anthony Mackie will produce and star in Netflix’s upcoming action-adventure “The Ogun” from producer Jason Michael Berman.

“The Ogun” centers on Mackie’s character Xavier Rhodes, who takes his teenage daughter to Nigeria to find a cure for the rare genetic condition that he passed on to her. When his daughter is kidnapped, Rhodes goes on a rampage through the criminal underworld to find her before it’s too late.

No director is yet attached to “The Ogun,” written by stuntman-turned-screenwriter Madison Turner. Turner previously set up his Blacklist script “The Liberators” at Warner Bros. with Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society and Safehouse Pictures attached. He is currently rewriting an adaptation of Ed Brubaker’s “Kill or Be Killed” for Thunder Road.

Berman is producing “The Ogun” for Mandalay Pictures. He and Mackie collaborated on the sci-fi drama “Io,” which starred Margaret Qualley, Mackie and Danny Huston, and...

The CW has put in development Modern Austen, a contemporary reimagining of Jane Austen’s novels, from writer Eleanor Burgess (Perry Mason), Stephanie Allain’s Homegrown Pictures and Warner Bros TV, where Allain is under a deal.

Written by Burgess, Modern Austen is a one-hour anthology series that reimagines Austen’s beloved novels as six modern stories, offering a kaleidoscopic look at love and family in our time of inequality and disconnection. Each season is a different novel, beginning with Pride and Prejudice, set in contemporary San Francisco.

Burgess executive produces with Homegrown Pictures’ Allain. Gabrielle Ebron, creative executive at Homegrown, serves as a producer. Warner Bros TV is the studio.

Burgess is a writer on HBO’s Perry Mason reboot, which has been renewed for a second season. She is eith Management 360 and attorney Rob Szymanski.

Allain produced the 2020 Academy Awards alongside Lynette Howell Taylor and made history...

Firehouse 51 is getting a new paramedic. 

The NBC juggernaut has cast Vagrant Queen actress Adriyan Rae as Gianna Mackey for its ninth season, according to Deadline. 

What's more, Rae has been set as a series regular from the jump, so fans will have a lot of time to get to know Gianna. 

Mackey is described as "a lovable troublemaker with a twinkle in her eye", while also being "charming, scrappy, fun, witty and good-natured."

While best known for her role on Vagrant Queen, in which she played the lead actress of Elida in the one and done series, she has also appeared on Fatal Attraction, Atlanta, Star, Brockmire, American Soul, and Light as a Feather.

On the big screen, she has had roles on Burning Sands and Superfly. 

Vagrant Queen was canceled after a single season this year by Syfy amid low ratings, but the show did garner a vocal...

Stephanie Allain, who most recently co-produced the 2020 Academy Awards, has closed a multi-year first-look deal at Warner Horizon Scripted Television, marking her first TV studio deal. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the pact, Allain will develop new scripted programming for cable and on-demand/streaming services, as well as broadcast networks through the divisions of the Warner Bros. Television Group.

Allain produced the 2020 Academy Awards alongside Lynette Howell Taylor and made history as the first African American woman in the Academy’s 92-year history to do so.

Allain, a champion of diverse voices in cinema, founded female-led Homegrown Pictures in 2003, a company which produces content by and about women and people of color. She has since produced award-winning titles including Hustle & Flow, Something New, Peeples, Beyond The Lights, Dear White People, French Dirty, Burning Sands, Juanita and The Weekend. Collectively, Homegrown Pictures projects have been nominated for over 100 awards...

Stephanie Allain has inked a first-look deal with Warner Horizon Scripted Television, fresh off her recent gig producing the Oscars.

The multi-year agreement marks Allain’s first TV studio deal. Under the pact, Allain will develop new scripted programming for cable and broadcast networks, as well as streaming services, via the various divisions of the Warner Bros. Television Group.

Allain just made history as the first African American woman to produce the Academy Awards in the awards show’s history. She is credited with helping launch the careers of directors John Singleton, Robert Rodriguez, Craig Brewer, Sanaa Hamri and Justin Simien. In 2003, she founded her female-led production banner Homegrown Pictures, and has gone on to produce around a dozen features inclduing “Dear White People,” “Hustle & Flow,” “Peeples” “Beyond The Lights,” “Burning Sands” and most recently “Juanita.”

In 2019, Homegrown closed an overall deal with Adrienne Becker and Abigail Disney’s...

The 2020 Sundance Film Festival has broken a record weeks before it begins: Of the 16 films in Dramatic Competition, seven tell stories primarily about the lives of black characters: “The 40-Year-Old Version,” “Charm City Kings,” “Farewell Amor,” “Miss Juneteenth,” “Nine Days,” “Sylvie’s Love” and “Zola.”

Surveying the last 30 years of Sundance, there’s usually been at least one in-competition film with black leads. In 1992 and 1989, there was one black film in competition, while 1993 had two. But prior to 2020, there had never been more than five.

Black filmmakers saw a renaissance in the late ’80s and early ’90s, a period that introduced Spike Lee, Wendell B. Harris Jr, Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Julie Dash, Matty Rich, the Hudlin Brothers, Leslie Harris, and others. Some of their films premiered and competed at Sundance, but even then they never composed a significant presence.

Between 1989 and 1993, a total of 10 films with black leads...

Exclusive: Confluential Films has set Mel Jones as Evp, Production & Development. Jones will oversee the film and TV slates for the Confluential Films and Black Love Productions brands. She will report to Confluential Films founder, Tommy Oliver.

Prior to Confluential Films, Jones was the Head of Production for Stephanie Allain’s Homegrown Pictures for five years. Her credits include Gerard McMurray’s Burning Sands, Justin Simien’s Dear White, Netflix’s Juanita starring Alfre Woodard and Blair Underwood as well as Stella Meghie’s The Weekend, which premiered at Tiff. She recently produced Really Love starring Kofi Siriboe with Charles King’s MacRo. A graduate of Howard University, she earned her Mfa in Producing from AFI.

Confluential Films forthcoming slate includes The Perfect Find starring Gabrielle Union, Flint starring T.I. and John Ortiz and Season 3 of Black Love on Own. Oliver’s Confluential Films is devoted to championing projects that...

[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from “The Twilight Zone” Season 1, Episode 3, “Replay.”]

Over and over again, black motorists in America have been victims of the racial profiling and now this act has been brought to terrifying life on “The Twilight Zone.” In the latest episode “Replay,” director Gerard McMurray takes on that real-life recurring nightmare and dramatizes it through a camcorder that literally rewinds time.

Interpreting the black experience through the lens of horror brings to mind Peele’s directorial debut “Get Out,” which McMurray acknowledge is a fair comparison.

“It’s in the same universe for sure in a lot of ways, but it’s just across the universe,” he told IndieWire. “Ours pushes the boundaries in that it’s more pointed. We replay this over and over so you can understand this stuff happens in the real world, which we see replayed and replayed over and over again. I felt we made it more personal,...

The signpost ahead reads “The Twilight Zone,” ushering viewers to a realm that at once feels familiar and yet is almost entirely new. Executive producers Jordan Peele and Simon Kinberg have reimagined Rod Serling’s classic horror/science-fiction/fantasy series from the ‘60s for a whole new generation.

At an event in Hollywood this year, Kinberg revealed why it was the perfect time to bring back the show. “I think the world all of a sudden was in desperate need of ‘The Twilight Zone,’” he said. ‘If you said three, four years ago that like a reality star who had no political experience will be the leader of the free world with access to the nuclear button, you think that’s a crazy ‘Twilight Zone’ episode.”

Kinberg also said that the vision Peele and CBS All Access had meshed with how to tell stories while pushing it to the limits.

“Everything that happens in this universe has to be the way it is.” The next stop for CBS All Access is The Twilight Zone, and you can now watch the official trailer for the new take on Rod Serling's classic anthology series ahead of its April 1st premiere.

Hosted, narrated, and executive produced by Jordan Peele, the star-studded cast for the first season of the new Twilight Zone includes Adam Scott, John Cho, Allison Tolman, Jacob Tremblay, Rhea Seehorn, Kumail Nanjiani, Steven Yeun, Luke Kirby, Greg Kinnear, Sanaa Lathan, Ike Barinholtz, and Taissa Farmiga.

Additionally, one of the directors for the first season is Gerard McMurray.

You can watch the official trailer below, and we also have the previous press release with more information:

Previous Press Release: CBS All Access, the CBS Television Network’s digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, today announced the latest addition to its original programming slate,...

Gerard McMurray served as an associate producer on Fruitvale Station, one of Michael B. Jordan's first big films after Chronicle, and now the pair are set to reunite once again with The Silver Bear, an upcoming hitman drama based upon the best-selling novel by Derek Haas. [Seemore] The past several years have seen Gerard McMurray helm Burning Sands, The First Purge, and he's…...

McMurray shot The First Purge and worked with Jordan on Fruitvale Station.

The First Purge director Gerard McMurray has signed on to write and direct The Silver Bear, the Lionsgate action thriller with Black Panther’s Michael B Jordan as star and producer.

The two filmmakers previously worked together on 2013 Sundance prize-winner Fruitvale Station, with Jordan starring and McMurray serving as a producer. McMurray also directed 2017 Netflix drama Burning Sands and is one of the directors on the forthcoming Jordan Peele-produced Twilight Zone reboot series for CBS All Access.

To be produced by Lionsgate with Nickel City Pictures and Jordan’s Outlier Society,...

The First Purge filmmaker Gerard McMurray has boarded Michael B. Jordan’s upcoming hitman tale The Silver Bear as writer and producer. The Silver Bear reunites Jordan and McMurray who previously worked together on the 2013 critically acclaimed Sundance Grand Jury/Audience Award winning Fruitvale Station with the latter as an Associate Producer. McMurray’s The First Purge became the highest grossing pic in the Universal/Blumhouse franchise with close to $137M Ww. He also directed Netflix’s Burning Sands and is aboard the new Twilight Zone series. The Silver Bear is a film adaptation of Derek Haas’ best-seller about Columbus (Jordan), the most feared and respected hitman in the criminal underworld. The series of novels was optioned by Nickel City Pictures, who hired Frank Baldwin to adapt the first book and attached Jordan to star and produce before bringing the package to Lionsgate. Deadline exclusively reported that news back in October.

Gerard McMurray, who directed last year’s “The First Purge,” will write and direct Lionsgate’s “The Silver Bear,” starring Michael B. Jordan.

The film, a potential franchise launch for Lionsgate, is expected to be a high-octane action thriller, which reunites the “Creed” and “Black Panther” star with McMurray, who served as a producer on “Fruitvale Station,” the winner of the 2013 Sundance Grand Jury/Audience Award.

Jordan is producing through his Outlier Society production company alongside Nickel City Pictures.

Also Read: Inside Black Filmmakers' Record $1.5 Billion Year at the Box Office, From 'Black Panther' to 'First Purge'

“‘Fruitvale Station’ changed our lives. Six years later I’m reuniting with Michael in 2019 and directing him in one of the most exciting and intelligent kick-ass action projects Hollywood and Lionsgate has cooking. It’s beyond dreams,” McMurray said in a statement. “Michael is an amazing, one-of-a-kind talent. He will bring a chilling and unnerving edge,...

Gerard McMurray, the director behind The First Purge and the Sundance drama Burning Sands, has been tapped to write and direct the Michael B. Jordan action thriller The Silver Bear.

Lionsgate is behind the feature adaptation of Derek Haas’ best-selling book series that centers on Columbus (Jordan), the most feared and respected hitman in the criminal underworld that takes on everyone from drug dealers to Czech crime lords. Frank Baldwin did a first pass of the screenplay.

Vishal Rungta, Mark Fasano and Ankur Rungta will be producing for Nickel City Pictures, which first optioned the novels and brought the package to Lionsgate....

Gerard McMurray, the director behind The First Purge and the Sundance drama Burning Sands, has been tapped to write and direct the Michael B. Jordan action thriller The Silver Bear.

Lionsgate is behind the feature adaptation of Derek Haas’ best-selling book series that centers on Columbus (Jordan), the most feared and respected hitman in the criminal underworld that takes on everyone from drug dealers to Czech crime lords. Frank Baldwin did a first pass of the screenplay.

Vishal Rungta, Mark Fasano and Ankur Rungta will be producing for Nickel City Pictures, which first optioned the novels and brought the package to Lionsgate....

"That's the signpost up ahead. Your next stop: The Twilight Zone." If you've been excited for Jordan Peele's new version of Rod Serling's legendary anthology series, then you'll be happy to know that the wait is almost over, and it's no joke!

According to IndieWire, during the Television Critics Association Press Tour, CBS All Access Executive Vice President of Original Content Julie McNamara announced a Monday, April 1st premiere date for Peele's The Twilight Zone series. And it looks to be no April Fool's Day joke, as the show's official Facebook account shared the April 1st date in a new image (see above).

IndieWire reveals that two new episodes will premiere on the streaming service on April 1st, although it's not yet known which episodes they will be.

The star-studded cast for the first season of the new Twilight Zone includes Adam Scott, John Cho, Allison Tolman, Jacob Tremblay,...

After a development and casting news cycle that’s lasted for years, the premiere of a new version of “The Twilight Zone” is finally in sight.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association Press Tour on Wednesday, CBS All Access Executive Vice President of Original Content Julie McNamara revealed that the new version of the beloved anthology would be arriving on the service on April 1.

Read More: ‘The Twilight Zone’: Here’s Everything We Know About the CBS All Access Revival

That Monday release will see two new episodes, with successive installments arriving weekly on Thursdays.

Since executive producer Jordan Peele was revealed as the successor to Rod Serling in the “Twilight Zone” narrator/host role, a slew of casting announcements have followed. While some roles have been kept under wraps, we know that Adam Scott will star in an update of sorts of the classic Richard Matheson story “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,...

Exclusive: Luke Cage star Mike Colter and Nafessa Williams, who plays Thunder in the DC Comics-based CW series Black Lightning, have joined star Naomie Harris in the cop thriller, Black And Blue, which hails from Sony’s Screen Gems. Deon Taylor is directing the film from a script by Peter A. Dowling.

It centers on a rookie New Orleans cop (Harris) who rounds the corner just as corrupt narc officers are murdering a drug dealer, an event captured by her body cam. When they then fail to execute her and she escapes, the narcs pin the murder on her, and she is hunted both by the narcs who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage and the drug dealers out for revenge.

Frank Grillo, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp, and Tyrese Gibson are also set to co-star.

Sean Sorensen of Royal Viking Entertainment is producing with Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group production shingle.

“Scientist predicted what would happened, but it was too late,” says a voiceover in the newly released trailer for Io, a Netflix original film with Anthony Mackie (Avengers: Infinity War) and Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) starring as two inhabitants of a toxic and deserted Earth. Jonathan Helpert directed the film, which will be available to stream January 18.

Co-written by Clay Jeter, Charles Spano, and Will Basanta, the film follows Sam (Qualley), one of the last survivors on a post-cataclysmic Earth who is a young scientist dedicated to finding a way for humans to adapt and survive, rather than abandon their world.

But with the final shuttle scheduled to leave the planet for a distant colony, her determination to stay is rocked by the arrival of another survivor, Micah (Mackie). “I saw dozens of people starve to death because of hope. I won’t make the same mistake twice,” Micah asserts.