Exclusive: Four years after he left TV producing to focus on feature directing, former Imagine TV topper Tony Krantz re-entered TV last summer. In his first year back, he landed a series on the air, NBC’s upcoming Dracula starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and a pilot order at ABC for Scruples. Now Krantz has set up six more series projects at cable and broadcast networks through his independent production company Flame Ventures. All are executive produced by him, with Flame’s Reece Pearson co-executive producing. At NBC, Flame is finalizing a deal for Cuba, a drama written by Jorge Zamacona (Homicide) and executive produced by CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria and former CNN President Jonathan Klein. The project, which will be produced by Universal TV, tells the story of American and Cuban families at the dawn of post-Castro Cuba with an entire nation up for grabs. At Showtime, Krantz is in negotiations for Kings Of Midnight,...
- 10/10/2012
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Exclusive: Rain Management Group has hired Anne Damato as a manager to focus primarily on TV. She worked for James Cameron at Lightstorm Entertainment and as a VP Motion Pictures at Brillstein Grey before segueing to the TV side with a stint at Patricia Heaton’s 4 Boys Films before her most recent gig at Rabiner/Damato Entertainment. Her clients are writers and directors expected to follow her from her previous post at Rabiner/Damato: writers Dee Harris Lawrence (Zero Hour), Marc Halsey (Brothers & Sisters, The Carrie Diaries), Robert Chiappetta & Glen Whitman (Fringe), Sandy Isaac (Franklin & Bash), Ayanna Floyd (Private Practice), Keto Shimizu (Being Human), Ali Laventhol & Tawnya Bhattacharya (Fairly Legal), Tom Donaghy (The Whole Truth), Eric Haywood (Private Practice), and Monica Macer (Infamous); and directors Wendey Stanzler (The Client List, Nine Lives Of Chloe King pilots) J Miller Tobin (Revenge, Covert Affairs, The Vampire Diaries), Ron Lagmarsino (Pretty Little Liars,...
- 7/2/2012
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
New York -- Cartoon Network is taking a big step into live-action, prepping a slew of programs that represent the channel's largest slate in a long time.
The channel has more than a dozen projects in development including projects from writers David Titcher ("The Librarian"), Paul Dini ("Lost") and Mike Werb ("Face/Off," "The Mask"), among others. Chief content officer Rob Sorcher said that the network could possibly go to pilot with three of the projects this year, then launch a night of live-action programming sometime in 2010.
"That would absolutely be a win for us," Sorcher said Thursday.
The channel opened a Burbank-based scripted development series about a year ago. Last year, the network said it would pursue two avenues with live-action scripted series -- one in fantasy, action and adventure and the other in comedy.
"This is part of the overall expansion of programming at Cartoon Network," Sorcher said.
The channel has more than a dozen projects in development including projects from writers David Titcher ("The Librarian"), Paul Dini ("Lost") and Mike Werb ("Face/Off," "The Mask"), among others. Chief content officer Rob Sorcher said that the network could possibly go to pilot with three of the projects this year, then launch a night of live-action programming sometime in 2010.
"That would absolutely be a win for us," Sorcher said Thursday.
The channel opened a Burbank-based scripted development series about a year ago. Last year, the network said it would pursue two avenues with live-action scripted series -- one in fantasy, action and adventure and the other in comedy.
"This is part of the overall expansion of programming at Cartoon Network," Sorcher said.
- 1/15/2009
- by By Paul J. Gough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'Never Been Kissed'
While "Never Been Kissed" isn't the first comedy about revisiting high school, it's the only one lucky enough to have Drew Barrymore in the lead.
A delightful, cringe-inducing trip back to one of the most awkward times in most people's lives -- except, perhaps, the captain of the football team and the head cheerleader -- the Fox release gets crowd-pleasing marks thanks largely to Barrymore's winning, fearlessly geeky performance.
Departing from traditional date-movie demos, "Kissed" should have men and women enthusiastically puckering up to big boxoffice effect.
Barrymore plays Josie Geller, a smart Chicago Sun-Times copy editor and charter member of the grammar police who's aching to have a Page 1 byline, not to mention her first real head-over-heels, toe-curling love affair.
She manages to get a shot at both thanks to an undercover assignment that has her returning to high school eight years after she graduated to report on the lives of today's teens.
Fear of being found out is significantly superseded by her terror of reliving a particularly painful adolescence. Not only was she a card-carrying, braces-wearing, first-class nerd, but her cruel classmates used to call her "Josie Grossie", a name incidentally coined by her cool brother Rob (David Arquette).
It appears history is about to repeat itself as Josie, eager to be accepted by any group, befriends the nice but geeky Aldys (Leelee Sobieski). Fortunately, thanks to a little push from her take-no-prisoners editor (Garry Marshall), the supportive presence of her cute and sensitive English teacher (Michael Vartan) and intervention from her brother, Josie ultimately prevails.
While the picture is essentially another Cinderella story for Barrymore, she makes it fresh thanks to her seemingly innocent ability to be thoroughly adorable without a trace of preciousness or cloying cuteness.
Her willingness to plumb the murkier depths of geekdom will have countless viewers squirming along with her when not laughing themselves silly.
She is surrounded by a very capable cast. Arquette puts in one of his most satisfying performances as her ever-popular brother. Sobieski, who could easily play Linda Hunt's kid sister, adeptly plays the part of the much-maligned overachiever who wears her glasses like a sheet of armor.
Also good is Marshall as Josie's big-stick-wielding editor; John C. Reilly as her weary, immediate boss; Molly Shannon as her guy-hungry co-worker; and Vartan as her smitten teacher.
Debuting screenwriters Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein exhibit knowing comic promise, while editor-turned-director Raja Gosnell ("Home Alone 3") gives everything just-right, appealing weight.
Although some of the serious passages can get a little squishy in the dialogue department, including an exchange between Barrymore and Vartan that unintentionally conjures up the name Lolita, the situations generally ring all too true.
Behind-the-camera performances are across-the-board pleasing, including great song cues -- a bit of Madonna here, a slice of Pat Benatar there, a marching band wrestling with the opening strains of "The Simpsons" theme -- that neatly sum up the eternally surreal high school experience.
NEVER BEEN KISSED
20th Century Fox
Fox 2000 Pictures presents
A Flower Films/Bushawood Pictures production
Director: Raja Gosnell
Screenwriters: Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein
Producers: Sandy Isaac, Nancy Juvonen
Executive producer: Drew Barrymore
Director of photography: Alex Nepomniaschy
Production designer: Steven Jordan
Editors: Debra Chiate, Marcelo Sansevieri
Costume designer: Mona May
Music: David Newman
Music supervisors: Mary Ramos-Oden & Michele Kuznetsky
Casting: Justine Baddeley & Kim Davis
Color/stereo
Cast:
Josie Geller: Drew Barrymore
Rob Geller: David Arquette
Anita: Molly Shannon
Gus: John C. Reilly
Rigfort: Garry Marshall
Sam Coulson: Michael Vartan
Aldys: Leelee Sobieski
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
A delightful, cringe-inducing trip back to one of the most awkward times in most people's lives -- except, perhaps, the captain of the football team and the head cheerleader -- the Fox release gets crowd-pleasing marks thanks largely to Barrymore's winning, fearlessly geeky performance.
Departing from traditional date-movie demos, "Kissed" should have men and women enthusiastically puckering up to big boxoffice effect.
Barrymore plays Josie Geller, a smart Chicago Sun-Times copy editor and charter member of the grammar police who's aching to have a Page 1 byline, not to mention her first real head-over-heels, toe-curling love affair.
She manages to get a shot at both thanks to an undercover assignment that has her returning to high school eight years after she graduated to report on the lives of today's teens.
Fear of being found out is significantly superseded by her terror of reliving a particularly painful adolescence. Not only was she a card-carrying, braces-wearing, first-class nerd, but her cruel classmates used to call her "Josie Grossie", a name incidentally coined by her cool brother Rob (David Arquette).
It appears history is about to repeat itself as Josie, eager to be accepted by any group, befriends the nice but geeky Aldys (Leelee Sobieski). Fortunately, thanks to a little push from her take-no-prisoners editor (Garry Marshall), the supportive presence of her cute and sensitive English teacher (Michael Vartan) and intervention from her brother, Josie ultimately prevails.
While the picture is essentially another Cinderella story for Barrymore, she makes it fresh thanks to her seemingly innocent ability to be thoroughly adorable without a trace of preciousness or cloying cuteness.
Her willingness to plumb the murkier depths of geekdom will have countless viewers squirming along with her when not laughing themselves silly.
She is surrounded by a very capable cast. Arquette puts in one of his most satisfying performances as her ever-popular brother. Sobieski, who could easily play Linda Hunt's kid sister, adeptly plays the part of the much-maligned overachiever who wears her glasses like a sheet of armor.
Also good is Marshall as Josie's big-stick-wielding editor; John C. Reilly as her weary, immediate boss; Molly Shannon as her guy-hungry co-worker; and Vartan as her smitten teacher.
Debuting screenwriters Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein exhibit knowing comic promise, while editor-turned-director Raja Gosnell ("Home Alone 3") gives everything just-right, appealing weight.
Although some of the serious passages can get a little squishy in the dialogue department, including an exchange between Barrymore and Vartan that unintentionally conjures up the name Lolita, the situations generally ring all too true.
Behind-the-camera performances are across-the-board pleasing, including great song cues -- a bit of Madonna here, a slice of Pat Benatar there, a marching band wrestling with the opening strains of "The Simpsons" theme -- that neatly sum up the eternally surreal high school experience.
NEVER BEEN KISSED
20th Century Fox
Fox 2000 Pictures presents
A Flower Films/Bushawood Pictures production
Director: Raja Gosnell
Screenwriters: Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein
Producers: Sandy Isaac, Nancy Juvonen
Executive producer: Drew Barrymore
Director of photography: Alex Nepomniaschy
Production designer: Steven Jordan
Editors: Debra Chiate, Marcelo Sansevieri
Costume designer: Mona May
Music: David Newman
Music supervisors: Mary Ramos-Oden & Michele Kuznetsky
Casting: Justine Baddeley & Kim Davis
Color/stereo
Cast:
Josie Geller: Drew Barrymore
Rob Geller: David Arquette
Anita: Molly Shannon
Gus: John C. Reilly
Rigfort: Garry Marshall
Sam Coulson: Michael Vartan
Aldys: Leelee Sobieski
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 3/29/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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