31 Jan 2015

We will be providing briefs of what comes out of the studios or independent project development on a daily basis and summarizing them in daily posts.   These will be a quick way to attempt to keep everyone updated on movement of projects.   This post is updated throughout the day.  So check back for the latest updates.

Also See Sundance Film Festival Daily Blog

NON-SPECIFIC (NOT SPECIFIC TO A GIVEN ENTITY)

Variety:  Super Bowl Ads :  The Best, the Worst, The Movies and NBC

Variety:  “Broken Hollywood” Series from 22 top luminaries in the business

Deadline Interview:   Bart & Fleming:  James Dixon Wins; Katzenberg Woes; American Sniper Wows; Ghostbusters Cast, Whoa!

Variety:  Box Office:  American Sniper Sets Super Bowl Weekend Record with $31.8 Million

42nd Annual Annie Awards – Dreamworks Animation How To Train Your Dragon2 Top Winner! See Full List

19th Annual ADG Awards – Birdman, Grand Budapest Hotel, Guardians of the Galaxy, Game of Thrones, True Detective, The Big Bang Theory and More Wins

TheWrap:  ‘American Sniper’ Sacks Three Openers with $10 Million Friday at Box Office

Deadline:  Constantine & Shark Tank Ratings Down, Glee Even & 20/20 Jumps as ABC Wins Night In Demo

PopPolitics:  Parks & Rec Makes Final Trek to D.C.; Foxcatcher and The Truth of John du Pont (Listen)

ABC/DISNEY/AMC FAMILY

ABC has ordered a reboot of Uncle Buck to pilot, a comedy to be produced by Will Packer and will be a co-production with ABC Studios.  The series will be written by Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley who originally wrote the John Hughes film version that started John Candy.   The story centers on a childish man who learns how to be an adult by taking care of his nephews in a very childish way.   Cragg, Bradley and Packer will Executive Produce with Wil Packer Prods. head of TV Korin Huggins co-executive producing.   The project is hails from Universal TV.

ABC has also ordered a series called Family Fortune starring actor-comedian Fortune Feimster; Executive Produced by Matt Hubbard, Tina Fey, Robert Carlock,  and 3 Arts’ David Miner; co-star Feimster will serve as co-Executive Producer; the pilot created by Matt Hubbard.   Universal TV (where Hubbard, Fey and Carlock have overall deals) is producing.  Fortunate Fimster is about a popular gym teacher(played by Feimster) in Georgia who comes out of hte closet to her close-knit group of family and friends.   Unbeknownst to her, she will be dealing with her bickering and happily divorced parents also ‘coming out’ who are also sleeping together again.

AMC NETWORKS/AMC ENTERTAINMENT

CBS/CW/CBSFILMS/SHOWTIME

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION (AOL, AMAZON, HULU, NETFLIX, YAHOO)

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS (DISCOVERY CHANNEL)

FOX ENTERTAINMENT GROUP/FOX SEARCHLIGHT

HBO

HBO‘s Game of Thrones opened Friday at Imax Theaters to $686,000 US Box Office, screening at 205 Imax screens.  It is projected it could earn near $2 Mil for the weekend, bringing the average per-screen to a weekend high of $9,800.  Given it is Superbowl weekend, these numbers are very good.  If Game of Thrones-Imax had opened a different weekend, the numbers could have even been higher.  HBO remastered into Imax format the two-part Season 4 finale and added a Season 5 Trailer to the mix which premiered at a late night Thursday showing.  The Imax showing ends this Friday.

HBO‘s Game of Thrones debuted well at Imax but there were many lessons learned.   For one thing, content is important when considering collaborative efforts like HBO had with Imax, i.e., comedies such as The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family may not make for good subject material in an Imax theater.   There are other lessons learned as well.  See More

NBC/UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Deadline Hollywood –  Deadline reported a story on NBCUniversal’s Bruce Jenner “Story”.   You can find the story here.

LIONSGATE

PARAMOUNT STUDIOS/VIACOM

Paramont Animation, Nickelodeon Movies release of a United Plankton Pictures production of a SpongeBob movie has been reviewed by Variety.  Read their review: Variety:  Film Review:  The SpongeBob Movie:  Sponge Out of Water

SONY/TRISTAR

WARNER BROS.

Warner Bros. American Sniper’s writer, Jason Hall, answered questions today, during a screenwriters panel, fired at him regarding the controversy surrounding the film content at the 30th Santa Barbara International Film Festival.  He described his film as the story of Chris Kyle, veteran of four tours of duty in Iraq as a soldier who was “back home, but not ‘back'”   He elaborated that Kyle suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome after finding himself in a war where he reportedly targeted and killed 160 hits, the largest number in US military history.   Hall went on to say that the film wasn’t meant to be a portrait of a killer as some are saying.   “We know what we intended to do.  This is a movie about a soldier, exploring the archetype of a warrior and what that cost is and what that cost is to his family,” Hall explained.  Hall has been moved by all of the responses he has been getting from veterans and even those that raise controversy because he feels that it keeps veterans issues in the forefront.   American Sniper has been leading in the box office hitting close to $250 Mil.

INDIE

Weinstein Company‘s The Imitation Game screenplay writer Graham Moore and the author of the book from which the film was based, Andrew Hodges (book entitled ) were honored at the 27th Annual USC Libraries Scripter Award.   See More

Pure Flix will be releasing a new faith-based drama feature Do You Believe? for a March 20 release in more than 1, 000 USA locations.   They plan to sell to international markets next week at the Berlin Film Festival.   Producers of the film are Andrea Logan White, Michael Scott, Russell Wolfe and Elizabeth Travis.   Jonathan M. Gunn directed the film and the script was penned by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, who also wrote the Pure Flix released film God’s Not Dead.     Do You Believe? cast includes Mira Sorvino, Cybill Chepherd, Sean Astin, Lee Majors, Alexa Pena Vega, Andrea Logan White and Brian Bosworth.   The story is about a dozen different lives that intersect on the streets of Chicago, beginning with a local pastor (Ted MCGinley) being moved by the visible faith of an old, street-corner preacher played by Delroy Lindo.

30 Jan 2015 1:25 AM PT

We will be providing briefs of what comes out of the studios or independent project development on a daily basis and summarizing them in daily posts.   These will be a quick way to attempt to keep everyone updated on movement of projects.   This post is updated throughout the day.  So check back for the latest updates.

Also See Sundance Film Festival Daily Blog

NON-SPECIFIC (NOT SPECIFIC TO A GIVEN ENTITY)

Variety:   Oscar Ballot Guide – Visual Effects

Deadline:  ACE Eddie Awards Winners

Deadline:  Kickbacks and Roses:  Inside the SAG Pension & Health Funds Scandal – Exclusive

ABC/DISNEY/AMC FAMILY

ABC ordered  and additional seven (7) comedy pilots today.

• The King of 7B, Writer Producer Howard Franklin and Executive Produced by Dan Fogleman (Rhode Island Ave. Productions) is an ensemble comedy about an agoraphobic recluse, Prentiss Porter, who spies what could be his soul mate moving into a building across the street which lures him to venture outside the first time in 20 years.
• An Untitled NBA single-camera comedy Executive Produced by Dan Fogleman, Peter Guber & Mike Tomlin of Mandalay Sports Media and Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment.  The project is being developed with the cooperation of the NBA and it’s team Golden State Warriors which is co-owned by Guber.   The project is a buddy comedy penned and Executive Produced by Casey Johnson and David Windsor has attached a casting director and is already exploring options for the lead.   The show is about a rookie NBA player who doesn’t speak English and a translator who doesn’t speak basketball.   “It’s basically the international Odd Couple set in the NBA” claims Dan Fogelman.
• An Untitled Knoxville Family comedy will be narrated by Johnny Knoxville and based on his life.   Knoxville tells of the exploits of 12-year-old version of himself navigating the “outlaw culture” of his family living in the small hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.  It documents childhood experiences that inspired him to become one of the greatest pranksters of a generation.   Victor Fresco penned the script and is Executive Producing the project along with Knoxville and 3 Arts’ Michael Rotenberg for ABC Studios.
• Delores & Jermaine is a multi-camera comedy starring Jermaine Fowler, who the series is based on.   Fowler is a millennial with big ideas, but little drive, who moves in with his estranged grandmother, a strict, football-loving former DC cop who benefits from his youthful enthusiasm as much as he needs her old-school parenting.   Daniel Chun (Trophy Wife, Happy Endings, The Simpsons) co-wrote the script with Fowler and will Executive Produce with 3 Arts’s Michael Rotenberg and Avi Gilbert, and Fowler for ABC Studios.
• The 46 Percenters is an anti-romantic romantic comedy about 46 percent of the population who choose to stay married.  It will be told through the point of view of three coupls.   The 46 Percenters is written by Sherry Bilsing-Graham and Ellen Kreamer through their Gavin&Roxie&Hap Prods. and Warner Bros. Television.
• An Untitled Judah Miller, single-camera comedy written by Miller who is Executive Producing with 3Arts’ Tom Lassally and Jonathan Berry.  The story is about a Tony-award winning mother and a risk averse, cerebral father who are blssed with a son who is a natural born competitive athlete.   The parents find themselves completely out of their comfort zone and embroiled in the high octaine world of  youth sports.
• The Brainy Bunch is a single-camera comedy written and Executive produced by Windy & Lizzy Molyneux.  The series is inspired by the book The Brainy Bunch by Kip and Mona Lisa Harding.   Imagine TV is producing with 20th TV.   The story synopsis is of a couple, Kip and Mona Lisa Mitchell, who through a combination of genetics and dynamic homeschooling raise extraordinarily intelligent children.   When Kip returns home from military duty, he opts to be a stay-at-home dad and realizes the challenges of parenting kids to have genius IQs, but very limited social and life skills.

ABC ordered four drama pilots today from Producer Sallie Patrick:

• Kingmakers – Written and Executive Produced by Patrick for ABC Studios.   Kingmakers is the story of an elite Ivy League University rocked by a student’s sudden death.  Her brother, prompted by her death and wishing to investigate it, takes on a new identity in order to infiltrate the school and its century-old secret society which consists of privileged students, ambitious faculty and high-profile alums.
• Boom – Written by Josh Pate and Rodes Fishburne for ABC Studios.  The pilot will be Executive Produced by Tony Krantz and Josh Pate, with Fishburne co-Executive Producing.   Story takes place in North Dakota, which sees the greatest geopolitical shift and economic boom since the American Gold Rush of 1849 after a big oil discovery.  Set in a modern-day “Wild West”, Boom will follow the pilgrimage of a young, ambitious couple (who are seeking a better life) to the oil field of the Bakken where they encounter roughnecks, grifters, oil barons, criminals and fellow prospectors.
• The Adversaries – The Adversaries is written and Executive Produced by David Zabel (ER).  The patriarch of a New York legal dynasty becomes embroiled in a trial of his own, forcing his federal-prosecutor daughter to be confronted with which side for which she should fight.
• The Advocate – From Vendetta Productions in association with Warner Bros. TV.  Writer Sheldon Turner (X-men: First Class) will write and Executive Produce with Jennifer Klein.   Dr. Valerie Ulene and Byrdie Lifson-Pompan will act as consulting producers.   A type-A, tough, resourceful woman is at the top of her game when she is confronted with a medical scare and dangerously misdiagnosed and experiences the hazards of the healthcare system.  She leaves her career behind to become an advocate for those cuaught in the “chaotic and ever-changing maze” of modern medicine.

AMC NETWORKS/AMC ENTERTAINMENT

Deadline Hollywood’s Pete Hammond Reviews Open Road‘s The Loft.   See Review

CBS/CW/CBSFILMS/SHOWTIME

Production has begun on the new CBS Television Studios drama series, based on the best-selling novel by James Patterson of Zoo.   See More

CBS will be airing the 50th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 19.  Nominations were Announced Today.   See More

CBS ordered Bryan Crantson (Breaking Bad) and David Shore’s (House) Sneaky Pete.  Cranston and Shore will Executive Produce along with James Degus of Cranston’s Moon Shot Entertainment; and Erin Gunn of Shore’s Shore Z will co-Executive Produce. Sneaky Pete is about a 30-something con man who, upon leaving prison, takes cover from his past by assuming the identity of a cellmate, “Sneaky Pete”.   He hides out from his debtors while at the same time working for his new “family’s” bail bond business.   Charm and criminal prowess help him bring down bad guys (far worse than he), while partnering with a very attractive female “cousin” who has her own suspicions about his real motives.

A second pilot was ordered called For Justice, based on James Patterson’s debut crime novel, “The Thomas Berryman Number.”   Hailed from CBS Television Studios and  James Patterson Entertainment,which have a first-look deal and Tribeca,  For Justice is written by Rene Balcer.  Patterson’s Edgar Award winning book centers on a messianic hit-man hired to assassinate the first black mayor of Nashville, triggering a desperate manhunt.  For Justice will focus on the repercussions from the events in the novel to present day.  An FBI agent who works in the Criminal Section of the Department of Civil Rights  Division finds herself caught between the radical family she was born into and her chosen professional life.   Balcer will also serve as the Showrunner and Executive Produces with Tribeca’s Robert DiNiro and Jane Rosenthal, and James Patterson Entertainment’s James Patterson, Leopoldo Gout and Bill Robinson.  Tribeca’s Berry Welsh will serve as co-Executive Producer.

Earlier this week we reported that CBS ordered it’s first medical drama, Code Black to pilot.   Today it was announced CBS Television Studios have added a second medical drama to pilot, called LFE.   LFE will be Executive Produced by Dan Jinks (Emily Owens, MD) and co-Executive Produced by Paul Downs Colaizzo, who wrote the pilot.   A high-octane medical drama which follows the lives of second-year residents at New York City’s top hospital as they attempt to balance their “god complexes” with their humanity.

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION (AOL, AMAZON, HULU, NETFLIX, YAHOO)

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS (DISCOVERY CHANNEL)

FOX ENTERTAINMENT GROUP/FOX SEARCHLIGHT

HBO

HBO Released a Season 5  Trailer.  Watch below:

HBO has given the green-light to the 6-hour miniseries Lewis and Clark, as well as a nod to casting Matthias Schoenaerts (in upcoming Far From the Madding Crowd) to co-star with previously announced Casey Affleck (Interstellar).   The two will play William Clark (Schoenaerts)  and Meriwether Lewis (Affleck).   Lewis and Clark is being Executive Produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Tim Kelly and Adm Leipzig.   Production is to begin this summer.  The series, based on the book Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose, tells the story of America’s first contact with the land and native tribes west of the Mississippi River.  It will follow the epic journey of the Corps of Discovery and its captains, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, traversing through uncharted territory to deliver a message of sovereignty from President Jefferson, while they search for the all-water route to the Pacific.   It will cover not only their incredible achievements, but expedition challenges and tolls it takes on them spiritually, emotionally and physically.

NBC/UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Neil Patrick Harris’s NBC Variety series gets Superbowl commercial time.  Harris’ new variety show will feature comedy sketches, musical numbers, mini-game shows, hidden celebrity pranks and appearances by many of your favorite A-list stars.

Yesterday we reported that Universal Studio‘s N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton location shoot became a tragedy when a hit-an-run at the scene caused a death.   At that time Suge Knight was the alleged suspect.   Today we learned that Suge Knight has indeed been arrested and charged with murder for the hit-and-run and bail is set for $2 Million.   It is currently being reported that he has opted to remain in jail in lieu of the bail.   See More

LIONSGATE

Deadline Hollywood is now reporting that Pete Berg will replace JC Chandor and re-team with Mark Walberg on Deepwater Horizon.

JR Chandor is exiting Deepwater Horizon, a true-story account of the devastating 2010 BP oil spill  from Summit Entertainment.  Summit’s Lionsgate will begin to search for directors quickly.  Mark Wahlberg is attached to star in the film.  Participant Media and di Bonaventura Pictures set a September 30, 2016 release date.   Deepwater Horizon is beased on the New York Times article “Deepwater Horizon’s Final Hour“, highlighting the courage of the crew who worked on the oil rig when it blew, killing 11 and injurying 16 others.  Wahlberg is to play the Number Two Manager on the rig in the story as to what went on in the 48 hours leading up to the day of the disaster.

NBC released Deleted Scenes from Parenthood Finale. See Clip below:

PARAMOUNT STUDIOS/VIACOM

SONY/TRISTAR

WARNER BROS.

Warner Br.s TV and Ellen De Generes’ A Very Good Production are developing a single-camera half-hour comedy, Happy Time for the 2015-2016 season that will star Idina Menzel. The series will be written by Randi Barnes who will be Executive Producing with A Very Good Productions’ DeGeneres and Jeff Kleeman.  They are looking at a summer release.   The story is of a woman (Menzel) who is in the public eye who is ready to stop pretending that she is happy all the time. Menzel performed the Oscar-winning song from Frozen, “Let It Go” and recurred on Glee.

Warner Bros. successfully was able to get a dismissal today when a judge granted the motion to dismiss the claim against them by Rizzoli & Isles author Tess Gerristen.   Read More

INDIE

Sundance Film Festival film, The D Train directors Andrew Mogel and Jarred Paul, along with Jonah Hill will be developing a new project based on the Wired Magazine article “Finding a Vegas Poker Bug Made These Guys Rich- Then Vegas Made Them Pay.”  Hill, under his 75-year banner, is Executive Producing the project.  Mogel and Paul will Produce.