Studio Briefs & Project Development Briefs – Feb 20, 2015

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20 Feb 2015

Studiobriefs00_OscarsPrep

 

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.

 

NON-SPECIFIC (NOT SPECIFIC TO A GIVEN ENTITY)

 

ABC/DISNEY/AMC FAMILY/LIFETIME

  • Reporting to ABC Entertainment Group President, Paul Lee, Robert Mills has been promoted to Senior Vice President Alternative Series, Specials & Late-Night Programming for ABC Entertainment effective imediately.   Mills has been runnign ABC’s Alternative department on an interim basis since the November departure of Executive Vice President Lisa Berger who previously helmed the group.  In his new capacity, Mills is is in charge of development of alternative series, current production and specials. “Rob is a passionate and creative executive with strong leadership skills,” Lee said. “His instincts and unparalleled knowledge of pop culture are certain to help invigorate our fantastic reality team.”
  • Deadline Exclusive:  Steven Spielberg Hops to Direct Chris Pratt in Indiana Jones Reboot

 

AMC NETWORKS/AMC ENTERTAINMENT/A&E

 

 

CBS/CW/CBSFILMS/SHOWTIME

  • CBS’s pilot Supergirl just cast Laura Benanti to play a recurring role of Alura Zor-El, the birth mother of Kara (Melisa Benoist).  Alura sends Kara to Earth to escape Krypton’s destruction, lending her wisdom and guidance across space and time, proving invaluable on the journey to transition Kara to Supergirl.  Supergirl, produced at Warner Bros. TV lot with Berlanti Productions is based on the DC comics.   Greg Berlanti and Ali Adler write and executive produce Supergirl.
  • TheWrap:  The DUFF‘s Winning Social Strategy Blurs Lines Between Movie Star and Marketer

 

 

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

  • Jason Biggs will not be in Season 3 of Orange is the New Black.  Biggs, who is in rehearsals on Broadway for The Heidi Chronicles which opens on March 19, says that his character Larry Bloom has been paroled by Netflix execs.  “They’re not focusing on Larry at the moment” Biggs told New York Daily News theater critic Joe Dziemianowicz, “Larry will not be in season three, but there’s always a possibility he can come back.”  Season 3 of Orange is the New Black will debut this summer on Netflix.

 

 

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS (DISCOVERY CHANNEL)

  •  Recently (last August) named Global Group President at Discovery Studios, Eileen O’Neill surprisingly announced she is leaving the company.  O’Neill has been an Executive at Discovery for 25-years and was assigned, in her new capacity as Global Group President at Discovery Studios, to lead its worldwide production division, overseeing all creative talent at Discovery Studios and international facilities.  As part of that role, O’Neill managed the company’s in-house production units and served on the Board of Directors at All3Media. Prior to her new role, she had been President of Discovery Channel and had overseen the growth of TLC.   In October, Rich Ross, former Disney Studios Chairman replaced O’Neill at Discovery Channel.  O’Neill had taken some time off before taking over her new role to Discovery Studios   This morning a memo went out to staff from O’Neill:

    I want you to know, effective May 1, 2015, I will no longer be at Discovery Communications. The date is significant as it marks my 25th anniversary with this truly amazing company (not including the four months of unpaid internship labor that preceded my hiring date!).

    I realize not everyone will miss my emoticon-laced memos, sent at all times of the night and day, but I know I will miss you guys.  Through incredible successes, and not a few nail-biting challenges, we always delivered as a team.

 

DREAMWORKS

 

 

DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

 

 

FOX ENTERTAINMENT GROUP/FOX SEARCHLIGHT

  • Mother Jones posted the list of questions they claim to have sent to both Fox News and Bill  O’Reilly before publishing an article by David Corn and Daniel Shulman which says it documented how Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has ‘mischaracterized his wartime reporting experience.”  Mother Jones is now claiming they fear for Bureau Chief’s safety after Bill O’Reilly called him to be in “kill zone”.   See More
  • Fox’s Untitled closed-ended procedural drama pilot (formerly Rosewood), written and executive produced by Todd Harthan and directed by Richard Shepherd has just cast Morris Chestnut as the lead.   The pilot is produced by 20th TV.   The story is about Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, Jr. (Chestnut) who is a gifted, charismatic, private pathologist who can read living an dead bodies like a book.
  • Deadine:   Bill O’Reilly Blasts Mother Jones Article on Tonight’s The O’Reilly Factor
  • Fox’s action comedy, Keeping Up with the Joneses are getting some new cast.   Gal Gadot is in early talks to join the Greg Mattola-directed project.  Jon Hamm, Isla Fisher and Zach Galifianakis are already attached, with script written by LeSieur, and Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald producing.   The premise is about a Type-A couple that live in a seemingly idyllic suburban neighborhood only to find out that their “perfect” neighbors are really undercover agents.  Since talks are still in very early stages,  anything can still happen and the deal could go south.  Stay tuned…

 

 

MGM, ORION, UNITED ARTISTS

  • Director Antoine Fuqua has just cast Haley Bennett as the female lead in the MGM remake of The Magnificent Seven, as part of an ensemble headed by Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt.  The screenplay is written by John Lee Hancock and Nic Pizzolatto.  The Magnificent Seven is about a town taken over by a ruthless gold mining baron and his thugs.   Bennett plays the widow of a man who was murdered.  She hires a bounty hunter to get rid of the baron and his thugs and provides enough funds to pay six gunmen to help him in the cause.

 

NBC/UNIVERSAL STUDIOS/USA NETWORK

  • Crossing Lines is adding Elizabeth Mitchell (Revolution, Lost) and Goran Visnjic (ER) to Season 3.   They join Donald Sutherland as cast leads, filling the void left by William Fitchner who will not return for Season 3.  Frant Spotnitz has been given the green light for 12 more episodes, joining Tandem Communications’ Rola Bauer as executive producer.   Wendy Battles co-executive produces and Rick McCallum is producing for Film United in Prague.  Season 3 is produced in association with Sony Pictures Television Networks and Germany’s SAT.1.  Crossing Lines revolves around a squad of European law enforcement officers who battle the explosion of international crime that accompanied the opening of borders by the European Union.   Mitchell will play Carine Strand and Visnjic Marco Corazza, new members of the team investigating the cross-border crimes.  Additional new series regulars include Stuart Martin (Babylon) and Naomi Battrick (Waterloo Road).  Sutherland reprises his role as Michel Dorn.   Tom Wlaschiha and Lara Rossi also are returning for Season 3.Filming of the action series begins next week in Prague, where the series will pick up six months after the conclusion of Season 2.  Dorn reactivates the ICC team, after one of his top prosecutors vanishes, leaving the team to struggle to re-establish itself and it’s identity.
  • TheWrap:  Ellen’s Oscar Pizza Shop Issues Hollywood A New Challenge to Feed the Homeless (Video)

 

LIONSGATE

 

 

SONY/TRISTAR/COLUMBIA

  • Sony is currently in negotiations for a Michael Finch and Alex Litvak script entitled Medieval to be produced by Neal Moritz under his Original Film banner.  Rumor is that Chad Stahelski is being considered to direct.   The project had been sold to New regency as a spec but the company let it go and it was reintroduced on the spec market, picking up a lot of interest.  Think Dirty Dozen set in the middle ages…full of big action pieces, castles, plagues and the whole nine yards.

 

 

TIME WARNER/WARNER BROS./HBO/ TURNER/TNT/TBS

 

 

VIACOM/COMEDY CENTRAL/PARAMOUNT

  • Production has suspended briefly on Mission:  Impossible V while a new ending is worked out.  Paramount announced recently that it was moving the release of the film from Christmas to July 31, but production shut down for a week or so in London for a new ending to be figured out as the ending had been deemed unsatisfactory.   Director Christopher McQuarrie was given extra time to improve the finale with an anonymous writer friend who will neither be paid nor credited.   According to a Paramount insider,”Chris, Tom [Cruise] and a third person wanted to take a minute to get from what they thought was a good place to a more perfect place” also noting that the studio is not all that concerned as they recently  moved up the release date.  Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol earned nearly $650Mil globally.

 

 

INDIE

Posted in: ABC, AMC, CBS, Film, FOX, NBC, News, Televsion ⋅ Tagged: abctag, , , , foxtag, nbctag,

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