Studio Briefs & Project Development Briefs – Mar 25-26, 2015

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25 Mar 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.

 

NON-SPECIFIC (OR MULTIPLE ENTITES)

 

ABC/DISNEY/AMC FAMILY/LIFETIME

 

AMC NETWORKS/AMC ENTERTAINMENT/A&E/IFC

  • BBC has officially terminated Jeremy Clarkson’s contract and dropped him from Top Gear.  Both James May and Richard Hammond have contracts the end this year as well and it is unclear whether they will renew or not.  BBC is determined to move forward and continue to find a replacement for Clarkson, but whether it will be successful and the show will remain as popular is in question.   Fan outpouring for support for Clarkson was astronomical and many have vowed to never watch the show again without Clarkson.   J Lord Tony Hall’s statement is below:

    May and Hammond’s futures are also a bit unclear as both have stated they feel that the three (Clarkson, May and Hammond) of them are a package deal and their contracts are due this year as well.   One thing is certain, Clarkson is likely to land another job soon.  His popularity is wide and while he will not be able to bring the Top Gear format and title with him, he certainly can bring his creativity and talent to a fan base that was showed support through a recent petition to reinstate him at BBC.   It will be interesting to see where he lands and whether May and Hammond will follow.  Clarkson has yet to respond.

 

CBS/CW/CBSFILMS/SHOWTIME/Pop

  •  CBS’ Untitled comedy pilot, written by Dan O’Shannon (former Modern Family EP) and Peter Warren and directed by Pam Fryman, have cast Adam Brody to the lead role of the ensemble cast.   O’Shannon, Fryman, Dennis Erdman, Clark Peterson and Erc & Kim Tannenbaum will executive produce the project.  The comedy revolves around a group of friends and family at three different times in their lives.   Brody will play Andrew who sees the best in everything.   At age 40, his childhood crush, Holly, reappears, awakening his love of life and belief in happy endings.   Other cast include Tyler Labine and Kelly O’Sullivan.
  • Deadline Ratings:  James Corden’s Late Late Show Night 3:  Tops Households
  • The History Channel has just renewed it’s hit drama Vikings for a fourth season.   Season 4 will begin production in Ireland this Spring.  Vikings is the History Channel’s sole scripted drama, although the network has been looking  to launch new scripted series shows.

 

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

 

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS (DISCOVERY CHANNEL)/TLC

DREAMWORKS /DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

 

 

FOX ENTERTAINMENT GROUP/FOX SEARCHLIGHT/NEW REGENCY

 

LIONSGATE

  •  Lionsgate’s Zygi Kamasa signed a new long-term agreement to continue as CEO of Lionsgate United Kingdom and will pick up some additional responsibilities as CEO of Lionsgate’s European Office.   he will lead“strategic growth initiatives and new business development across Europe, including potential co-production arrangements, M&A initiatives, and entry into new lines of business.” “Zygi is one of the entrepreneurial executives playing a leadership role in moving Lionsgate forward around the world,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “He and his team have grown Lionsgate U.K. into a vibrant and diversified company, and his expanded mandate for Europe underscores our commitment to continue building Lionsgate into a next generation global content leader.”  See More

MGM, ORION, UNITED ARTISTS

 

NBC/UNIVERSAL STUDIOS/USA NETWORK/COMCAST/E!/SyFy

  •  THR Exclusive:  NBC News Chief Andrew Lack Targets MSNBC as Priorities Emerge
  • Fifty Shades Darker, the sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey, will be directed by someone other than Sam Taylor-Johnson who has decided to not return to direct the second installment of the franchise.   Universal will not only be looking for a new director, but the screenwriter of Fifty Shades of Grey, Kelly Marcel opted to not return as well.   The studio still expects Jamie Dorman and Dakota Johnson to return and production to begin first quarter of 2016.

SCRIPPS NETWORK

 

 

SONY/TRISTAR/COLUMBIA

  •  Variety Exclusive:  Sony takes Over Robotech, Plans Film Franchise
  • The Untitled animated Smurfs film from Sony Pictures Animation has been set to release globally on March 31, 2017.  Voice casting calls are out.  The week of the slated release does not have any specific films scheduled to release at the same week, however the following week 20th Century Fox’s animated Ferdinad is due to release, both targeting the same market.   The Smurfs film will be directed by Kelly Ashbury (Shrek 2), produced by Jordan Kerner (The Smurfs) and co-produced by Mary Ellen Bauder (Hotel Transylvania).

 

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

 

  • HBO has cancelled Looking. The season 2 finale aired on March 22, but the show will wrap up the series with a special in order to complete various storylines.  Looking followed a group of gay friends who live in San Francisco and ran for 18 episodes starring Jonathan Groff.  The friends explored love and lasting relationships.   Created by Michael Lannan, and produced by Fair Harbor Productions with HBO, other cast members included Frankie J. Alvarez, Murray Bartlett, Lauren Weedman, Russell Tovey and Raul Castillo.  Other notable names that starred or guest starred include Scott Bakula, Kelli Garner, Julia Duffy and Andrew Law.
  • Steven Spielberg has just signed on to direct Warner Bros.’ Ready Player One, an adaptation of the titular sci-fi novel by Ernie Cline.   Besides Spielberg, Donald De Line, Kristie Macosko Krieger, and Dan Farah will be producing with Village Roadshow co-financing and co-producing with Warner Bros. The adaptation has been penned by Zak Penn.  Jesse Ehrman and Racheline Beneveniste will oversee for the studio.  The story, set in a virtual world called Oasis, is about a teenager who finds himself competing in a treasure hunt against ruthless foes after the game’s founder dies and offers his fortune as a grande prize.
  • THR Exclusive:  New Lego Spinoff Movie in the Works from Jason Segel, Iron Man 3 Writer – Titled Billion Brick Race, the film is in addition to three Lego movies already on Warner Bros. release schedule.
  • Deadline Exclusive:  New Line Joins MGM And Will Release Barbershop 3

TRIBUNE/WGN AMERICA

 

 

VIACOM/COMEDY CENTRAL/PARAMOUNT/MTV

  •  Director Justin Lin along with Bad Robot and Skydance Productions are in talks with Idris Elba to play the villain in Star Trek 3.  JJ Abrams and his producing partner Bryan Burke, along with Skydance’s David Ellison are producing the film with Simon Pegg and Doug Jung penning the script.   Returning cast include Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and Anton Yelchin.   The exact role that Elba would be cast to play is not disclosed at this time.   Stay tuned.

INDIE

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

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