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Stage 32, the online platform for film, TV and digital content creation education, and Women in Film and Television International (Wifti) have unveiled what they called “a transformative partnership” that makes Stage 32 the official education provider for all 57 Women in Film chapters and affiliates worldwide.

The partnership was unveiled during the Cannes Film Festival and celebrated with an exclusive black-tie villa event.

“As filmmaking expands globally, driven by untapped talent and a surge in tax incentives, this partnership addresses vital skill gaps for women in film chapters and affiliates worldwide,” the partners said. “Stage 32’s extensive online library, offering over 3,000 hours of webinars, classes and labs, will provide training in above-the-line and below-the-line skills. Courses are led by industry luminaries, including Oscar, Emmy and BAFTA winners such as Meg LeFauve (Inside Out 1 & 2), Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), David Seidler (The King’s Speech), Alec Sokolow (Toy Story) and Christopher Anthony (The Jungle...

The Oscars will continue their long-running tradition of honoring celebrated filmmakers with their "In Memoriam" segment on Sunday. ABC will broadcast the event hosted by Conan O'Brien with Hulu streaming the ceremony live at 7 p.m. Et; 4 p.m. Pt.

Among the Oscar winners and nominees who will have their lives celebrated are Teri Garr, Louis Gossett Jr., James Earl Jones, Jon Landau, David Lynch, Joan Plowright, Gena Rowlands, Albert S. Ruddy, David Seidler, Richard M. Sherman, Maggie Smith, Robert Towne, and honorary recipients Roger Corman, Quincy Jones, and Donald Sutherland.

There are more than 100 movie professionals who died since the last Academy Awards ceremony. Each person who was an Academy member is designated below with **. Keep in mind that producers usually choose between 40 and 50 for the segment and that a performer has not yet been confirmed.

Edited to add two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman.

Jim Abrahams — Director/Writer

Anouk Aimée...

Max has revealed the official trailer and key art for the documentary Louder: The Soundtrack of Change, directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Kristi Jacobson (HBO’s Solitary and No Accident) and debuting on Thursday, October 17.

Multi-platinum recording artist, actress, and entrepreneur Selena Gomez and New York Times bestselling author and political activist Stacey Abrams formed a unique bond during the 2020 presidential election. On the eve of another election, this film marks a new collaboration for the duo.

The documentary champions the brave, bold, and unapologetic actions, both sung and spoken, of some of the most iconic female musicians of all time. The film is an emotional and inspiring journey filled with stunning archival footage, revealing interviews, and personal accounts from a powerful group of fearless female artists.

Featured are present-day Rhiannon Giddens summoning deep-rooted emotions on a banjo, H.E.R. processing her grief through her powerful 2020 ballad “I Can’t Breathe, Melissa Etheridge...

Producers for the 76th annual Emmy Awards have been editing the special “In Memoriam” segment to be featured on Sunday’s ABC ceremony. Since the most recent ceremony was delayed until mid-January, there are only eight months of TV legends who have died instead of the typical 12 months.

We have assembled a list of people below who might be selected. Members of the academy’s TV Hall of Fame are host and producer Phil Donahue, anchor and journalist Robert MacNeil, lighting designer Bill Klages and actor and comedian Bob Newhart. Some of the previous Emmy winners and nominees include previous academy president Leo Chaloukian, actor Bill Cobbs, actor Dabney Coleman, actress Shelley Duvall, actor and writer Joe Flaherty, director Jerry Foley, actor Louis Gossett Jr., actor Bill Hayes, actor James Earl Jones, host Peter Marshall, actor and comedian Martin Mull, actress Gena Rowlands, actor James B. Sikking, actor Donald Sutherland and actor Carl Weathers.

Falkor flies again!

“The Neverending Story” — the beloved children’s fantasy novel from late German author Michael Ende that was famously adapted into the cult 1984 film — is being revived for the big screen once more, with a new joint-venture partnership between Michael Ende Productions and prestige tastemakers See-Saw Films bringing the world of Fantastica back to cinemas over multiple live-action films.

The news brings to an end the race for one of the hottest fantasy properties yet to be tapped for modern audiences. Variety hears that Ende’s estate had been fielding interest from across the globe over the last few years, including from studios and streamers.

See-Saw — no stranger to adapting well-known literature for screen having been behind features including “Lion” and “The Power of the Dog” and recent TV hits “Heartstopper” and “Slow Horses” — has now teamed with Michael Ende Productions to develop and produce the films. The...

Screenwriter whose Oscar at the age of 73 for The King’s Speech came after 40 years in the film business

At 73 the oldest ever recipient of the best original screenplay Oscar for his script for the period drama The King’s Speech, David Seidler became an overnight spokesman for two beleaguered groups: stutterers and senior-age screenwriters. Finally receiving recognition from the youth-fixated entertainment industry after more than 40 years of service, Seidler, who has died aged 86, joked in his acceptance speech: “My father always said that I would be a late bloomer.”

That he voiced his satisfaction in flawless, actorly cadences was further testimony to Seidler’s persistence. The film – about King George VI’s struggle to overcome his speech impediment and rally the British nation against Hitler – was a labour of love born from his attempts to overcome his own stutter. These began in 1940, when a terrified Seidler, not quite three years old,...

The King’s Speech screenwriter David Seidler has died aged 86.

London-born Seidler had a stammer, as had King George VI, the subject of his Bafta and Oscar-winning 2010 feature, produced by See-Saw Films and Bedlam Productions and directed by Tom Hooper, with Colin Firth playing the future king. Seidler won the Oscar and Bafta for best original screenplay.

A stage adaptation of the film opened in the West End in 2012, also written by Seidler.

According to reports, Seidler died while on a fly fishing trip in New Zealand.

“David was in the place he loved most in the world – New Zealand...

David Seidler, the London-born playwright and screenwriter best known for “The King’s Speech,” has died while on a fly-fishing vacation in New Zealand, as per a report in The Guardian. His spokesperson said he was in the location he most revered, doing the activity he most loved when he passed: “It is exactly as he would have scripted it.” The winner of the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay for the Colin Firth-led film was 86 years old.

Seidler’s career began in Australian television in the late 1960s. He came to the United States in the early 1980s, working for the soap opera “Another World,” then writing television movies like “Malice in Wonderland,” something of an early version of the series “Feud” as it concerned Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons starring Jane Alexander and Elizabeth Taylor. He also wrote “Onassis: The Richest Man in the World” starring...

Screenwriter who had stammer as a child wrote script about George VI, played by Colin Firth, overcoming speech impediment

David Seidler, best known for his Oscar-winning writing on The King’s Speech, has died aged 86, according to reports.

The London-born screenwriter, who had a stammer growing up, was inspired to write about the true story of how King George VI overcame his speech impediment with a speech and language therapist.

David Seidler has sadly passed away.

The British screenwriter, who won an Oscar in 2011 for his work on The King’s Speech, was 86 years old.

Keep reading to find out more…

David’s manager Jeff Aghassi told The Hollywood Reporter, that he died on Saturday (March 16) during a fly-fishing trip in New Zealand.

“David was in the place he loved most in the world — New Zealand — doing what gave him the greatest peace, which was fly-fishing,” Jeff shared with the outlet. “If given the chance, it is exactly as he would have scripted it.”

David‘s other projects include Francis Ford Coppola’s 1988 film Tucker: The Man and his Dream, as well as TV shows such as Days of Our Lives and General Hospital.

His cause of death has not been confirmed.

Our thoughts go out to David Seidler‘s loved one’s during this difficult time.

So many stars have...

David Seidler, who won an Academy Award for writing the 2010 film The King’s Speech, died on Saturday at age 86. Longtime manager Jeff Aghassi said that Seidler died while fly-fishing, one of his favorite activities. “David was in the place he loved most in the world — New Zealand — doing what gave him the greatest peace, which was fly-fishing,” Aghassi said in a statement, per Variety. “If given the chance, it is exactly as he would have scripted it.” Seidler’s screen career started nearly 60 years ago when he wrote episodes for the Australia television series Adventures of the Seaspray. In the 1980s, he scripted episodes of the Days of Our Lives, Another World, and General Hospital. Seidler is also renowned for his biopic work, having co-written the TV movies Malice in Wonderland (starring Elizabeth Taylor) and Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (starring Raul Julia) and the feature film Tucker: The Man and His Dream...

David Seidler, the Academy Award-winning writer of the 2010 film “The King’s Speech,” died on Saturday. No cause of death was given. He was 86 years old.

Seidler’s film took home both Best Original Screenplay and several other Academy Awards at the 2011 ceremony, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. The movie told the story of King George VI (Colin Firth), who battled a stutter, and his relationship with speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).

Telling the story of George VI was a longtime dream of Seidler’s because he also grew up with a stutter. As relayed by the Stuttering Foundation, Seidler contended with the condition from his third birthday until the age of 16. He explained, “I had huge trouble with the ‘H’ sound, so when the telephone rang, I would break into a cold sweat, because I couldn’t say ‘hello.'”

“I don’t know if school still works this way,...

David Seidler, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “The King’s Speech,” died Saturday while on a fly-fishing expedition in New Zealand. He was 86.

“David was in the place he loved most in the world — New Zealand — doing what gave him the greatest peace which was fly-fishing,” his longtime manager Jeff Aghassi said in a statement. “If given the chance, it is exactly as he would have scripted it.”

Seidler won the Academy Award for best original screenplay for 2010’s “The King’s Speech,” directed by Tom Hooper and starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. The historical drama also went on to win best picture, best director and best actor.

The stage version of “The King’s Speech” has been translated to more than a half-dozen languages and has been performed on four continents. After being staged at the Wyndham’s Theatre on London’s West End in 2012, the play was supposed to head to Broadway,...

David Seidler, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind 2010’s The King’s Speech, has died. He was 86.

The London native died Saturday during a fly-fishing trip in New Zealand, his manager, Jeff Aghassi, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“David was in the place he loved most in the world — New Zealand — doing what gave him the greatest peace, which was fly-fishing,” Aghassi said. “If given the chance, it is exactly as he would have scripted it.”

The King’s Speech told the true story of King George VI (Colin Firth) who overcame his severe stutter with the help of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). When George’s brother abdicated the throne in 1936, Logue helped the king prepare for his first wartime radio message after the start of World War II.

Seidler’s script was motivated by his experience overcoming a stutter as a child. He won an Oscar for original screenplay at the 2011 Academy Awards,...

David Seidler, best known for his Academy Award-winning writing on The King’s Speech, died on Saturday, March 16 while on a fly-fishing expedition in New Zealand. He was 86 and no cause was given.

“David was in the place he loved most in the world – New Zealand – doing what gave him the greatest peace which was fly-fishing. If given the chance, it is exactly as he would have scripted it,” said longtime manager Jeff Aghassi.

Seidler’s The King’s Speech went on to win Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. The film focused on the story of King George VI (Colin Firth) overcoming his severe stutter, and his unexpected friendship with speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) in the lead up to World War II.

The project, which he also intended as a stage play, was a labor of love for the screenwriter, who had a profound stutter as a child.

“Anatomy of a Fall” is the clear favorite to win Best Original Screenplay this year but nominees “The Holdovers,” “Past Lives,” “Maestro,” and “May December” are all hoping to spoil the party. But is “Anatomy of a Fall’s” status as frontrunner as solid as it seems? It’s won a bunch of precursor awards, sure, but what about the academy?

What movies do they like best in this category? Let’s take a look at the last 10 winners of Best Original Screenplay to see what they can tell us about the academy’s tastes in this category, and how that affects “Anatomy of a Fall” and this year’s nominees.

As you can see, drama is the order of the day for academy voters. Five out of the last 10 winners here have been serious fare: Kenneth Branagh‘s “Belfast,” Emerald Fennell‘s “Promising Young Woman,” and Kenneth Lonergan‘s...

‘Oppenheimer’ director Christopher Nolan finally won a BAFTA trophy, two as a matter of fact, on Sunday, breaking what some admirers had lovingly described as a “curse”, writes The Hollywood Reporter (THR).

The director, one of the most prolific and best-known British film exports, had previously lost out on picking up a BAFTA trophy.

Nolan, notes THR, had received three nominations for his 2010 hit ‘Inception’, but the movie lost out to ‘The King’s Speech’ in the best film race. David Fincher earned the best director honour for ‘The Social Network’ and David Seidler won the best original screenplay BAFTA for ‘The King’s Speech’.

In 2018, Nolan was also in the running for the best picture and director awards from the British Academy for his 2017 film ‘Dunkirk’. In that case, ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ was honoured as the best film, and Guillermo del Toro walked away with the director trophy for...

Christopher Nolan finally won a BAFTA Film Awards honor on Sunday, two as a matter of fact, breaking what some admirers had lovingly described as a “curse.”

After all, the director, one of the most prolific and best known British film exports, had previously lost out on picking up a BAFTA trophy. Nolan had received three nominations for his 2010 hit Inception, but the movie lost out to The King’s Speech in the best film race, while David Fincher earned the best director honor for The Social Network and David Seidler won the best original screenplay BAFTA for The King’s Speech.

In 2018, Nolan was also in the running for the best picture and director awards from the British Academy for his 2017 film Dunkirk. In that case, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was honored as the best film, and Guillermo del Toro walked away with the director trophy for The Shape of Water.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is one of the few films in Oscars history to win Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing plus prizes for acting and writing. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won Best Director and Best Original Screenplay while they shared in the Best Picture win with Jonathan Wang. Paul Rogers took home Best Film Editing while the film claimed three acting victories: Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, and Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan.

“Forrest Gump” was the last movie to win these top awards. it won Best Picture in 1995 for Wendy Finerman, Steve Starkey, and Steve Tisch while Robert Zemeckis won Best Director, Tom Hanks won Best Actor, Eric Roth won Best Adapted Screenplay, and Arthur Schmidt won Best Editing.

Several other movies have come close to achieving this feat, with “American Beauty” (2000), “A Beautiful Mind” (2002), ” “No Country For Old Men...

Both Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay are full of beautiful writing, with a variety of genres and writers being acknowledged for their work this year.

We have previous Oscar winners nominated, such as Josh Singer, who co-wrote “Maestro” with Bradley Cooper; previous nominees such as “Oppenheimer” scribe Christopher Nolan and “Poor Things” penman Tony McNamara; and we have a whole bunch of first-time nominees such as “Past Lives” writer and director Celine Song.

But… could we have two first-time nominees win both writing categories? Oscar history says this is unlikely; this has not happened a single time in the last 10 years. There have, however, been five instances in both categories where rookie contenders have won the Oscar.

Best Original Screenplay

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” in 2023 Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” in 2021 Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won for “Parasite” in 2020 Brian Currie,...

Christopher Nolan is one of Britain’s best filmmaking exports, having made many movies adored by fans and critics alike. “Memento,” “The Prestige,” “The Dark Knight,” “Inception,” “Interstellar,” and “Dunkirk” all wowed cinema fans and he continued his hot streak with another epic — this time in the form of Universal’s historical biopic “Oppenheimer.”

The film follows Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in his quest to create the atomic bomb while he gets caught up in the political machinations of Robert Downey Jr.’s Lewis Strauss. “Oppenheimer” is currently predicted to do well at the Oscars but how about on Nolan’s home soil?

Nolan has never won a BAFTA. His first three nominations all came in 2011 for “Inception,” for Best Picture (shared with Emma Thomas), Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Nolan and Thomas lost Best Picture to “The King’s Speech,” while Nolan lost his writing bid to...

As of this writing the frontrunner to win this year’s Oscar for Best Original Screenplay is “The Holdovers” with 69/20 odds based on the combined predictions of Gold Derby users. What was previously behind it in second place was “Barbie,” yet the Academy recently declared that script to be adapted despite Warner Bros. campaigning it as original. With “Barbie” out of the way, “Past Lives” is now in second place in this category with 4/1 odds. But I think it actually has a shot of taking down “The Holdovers” for the win.

When it comes to Alexander Payne movies at the Oscars, they’ve so far gone one of two ways. They’ve either only won one award for screenplay (as was the case for “Sideways” and “The Descendants”), or they’ve gone home empty-handed. Many are currently predicting “The Holdovers” will fall into that first category, though it’s also...

Christopher Nolan has made a career for himself for his unconventional narrative structures of storytelling. His 11 films have ranged from psychological thrillers to science fiction epics to “The Dark Knight” trilogy, and have garnered a total of 36 Academy Award nominations, five of which for Nolan individually. With his latest directed epic “Oppenheimer” breaking box office records and gathering massive awards buzz since its release on July 21 by Universal Pictures, let’s break down Nolan’s five Oscar nominations for three of his movies.

Nolan’s first recognition at the Oscars came for his second feature “Memento,” based on his brother Jonathan Nolan’s short story “Memento Mori,” both released in 2001. The psychological mystery thriller written and directed by Nolan stars Guy Pearce as a man with anterograde amnesia and short-term memory loss as he tries to solve the murder of his wife. The neo-noir was lauded for its original storytelling...

One might think that the only path to winning an Oscar is to do good enough work to be respected and appreciated by your academy member peers – or just have the right friends in the academy’s actors branch, huh? But there’s something that’s almost as important in getting through the months and months of awards campaigning, and that’s a narrative.

Narratives are something that are often mentioned as we get closer to Oscar night, but it’s something that runs throughout the life of a movie from whenever or wherever it debuts through whatever junkets or interviews are done over the course of a movie’s life on the way to Oscar night.

For instance, how many times had we heard the story of “The King’s Speech” screenwriter David Seidler on the way to that movie’s four Oscar wins, including for Best Picture? Born in...

Selena Gomez and Stacey Abrams are teaming up to produce a music documentary for Discovery+.

Won’t Be Silent, directed by Kristi Jacobson, will celebrate songs from female artists that have impacted the world on a variety of issues. “The film is a love letter to the women in music who have used their voices to change the course of history with their art and activism,” the logline reads.

Production on the documentary began on Wednesday.

“The powerful women we will be highlighting are not only talented but have been on the frontline of pushing culture forward and holding a mirror up to political and social injustices,” Gomez said in a statement.

Abrams added: “Throughout history, women in music have used their art as activism by bringing attention to issues impacting our nation and world. “Won’t Be Silent is a celebration of the artists who have contributed to bettering...

Won't Be Silent is coming to Discovery+.

The streaming service announced today that it is beginning production on the new music documentary feature produced by singer, actress and activist Selena Gomez and author, entrepreneur and political leader Stacey Abrams, and directed by Kristi Jacobson.

Won't Be Silent "will celebrate songs that have impacted the world on a variety of issues and the incredible female artists behind them," according to a press release from Discovery+.

"The film is a love letter to the women in music who have used their voices to change the course of history with their art and activism."

“The powerful women we will be highlighting are not only talented but have been on the frontline of pushing culture forward and holding a mirror up to political and social injustices,” said Gomez.

“Throughout history, women in music have used their art as activism by bringing attention to issues impacting our nation and world.

The Gersh Agency has promoted literary agent Sandra Lucchesi and talent agent Matt Vioral to partners, expanding its total leadership to 28 people.

Gersh, which ranks as the lone privately-owned full service agency, makes the move amid consolidation and rapid ground-shifting in the representation landscape. A spokesperson told Variety the elevations serve to “highlight the strength and history of our resources while taking advance of our business around multi-hyphenate clients.”

Agency co-presidents David and Bob Gersh, along with managing partner Leslie Siebert, said they were “very proud of the leadership Sandra and Matt have brought to the agency and their respective departments and how well respected they are by their industry peers. We are thrilled to promote them both to partner.”

Lucchesi has been involved with award winning films, representing notable writers and writer-directors such as Andrea Arnold, Oscar winner Kevin Willmott (“BlacKkKlansman”), Richie Mehta (“Amal”), Anna Konkle (“Plus One”), Vera Herbert...

Click here to read the full article.

Gersh is expanding the ranks of its partner class with the promotion of two agents.

The Beverly Hills-based talent firm upped literary agent Sandra Lucchesi and talent agent Matt Vioral to partners, the company said Thursday. The promotions bring Gersh’s partners to 28, out of the 150 agents in its ranks across Los Angeles and New York locations.

“We are very proud of the leadership Sandra and Matt have brought to the agency and their respective departments and how well respected they are by their industry peers. We are thrilled to promote them both to partner,” said co-presidents David and Bob Gersh and managing partner Leslie Siebert in a joint statement.

Vioral started as an exec assistant at Gersh in 2006, became an agent four years later and was named to The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Next Gen” executive list in 2018. This June, he was part...

What do singer Carly Simon, comedian Wayne Brady, journalist John Stossel, many top lawyers, President Joe Biden, and King George VI have in common? All speak or spoke with a pronounced stutter from their early childhood days.

Despite this, each achieved a meaningful and highly visible career in music, comedy, law, and leadership, where speech and communication are imperative to success.

Simon, Brady, Stossel, and attorney Eric R. Dinallo were among the public figures who discussed their personal experiences with stuttering at the American Institute for Stuttering’s 15th annual “Freeing Voices, Changing Lives” celebration. The King’s Speech screenwriter David Seidler also shared his insight into how King George VI worked with early speech therapists to manage his stutter.

The Gala raised funds to provide free or reduced cost speech therapy to qualifying children and adults throughout the country.

“Stuttering is a neurological condition that, if not treated properly,...

It was the year of “The King’s Speech” versus “The Social Network,” a couple of memorable (not in a good way) hosts and some exceptional acceptance speeches. The 83rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony was held on February 27, 2011, and there were some noticeable changes as the Academy tried to attract a younger audience, including a revamped website, the opportunity for people to post questions on Twitter or Facebook for any celebrity on the red carpet and a new design for the winners’ envelopes.

SEEOscars flashback 60 years to 1961: Academy chooses Elizabeth Taylor, ‘The Apartment,’ but snubs ‘Psycho,’ ‘Spartacus’

In their effort to appeal to a younger demographic, the Academy chose James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host the broadcast. They were the first male-female duo to co-host the event in 54 years, when another odd pairing – Jerry Lewis and Celeste Helm – reigned over the 29th ceremony. Hathaway, who was 28 at the time,...

Desus Nice and The Kid Mero of Desus & Mero fame are set to announce 16th annual Black List. Yup, you heard that right, The Bodega Boys are set to blow our minds as they host the unveiling of The Black List, which is a collection of Hollywood’s best unproduced scripts written by the most talented screenwriters that you may — or may not know.

The list will be revealed on December 14 starting at 10am Pst. The full list will be available on the Black List website at 11am Pt.

Since the launch of the first Black List in 2005, at least 440 Black List scripts have been produced, grossing over $30 billion in box office worldwide. Black List movies have won 54 Academy Awards from 267 nominations, including four of the last twelve Best Picture Oscars and eleven of the last 28 Best Screenplay Oscars.

Best Picture winners from the annual Black List include Slumdog Millionaire...

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces today the cast and creative team for the North American Premiere production of The King's Speech, beginning September 12 in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare. Writer David Seidler brings the remarkable true story that inspired the Academy Award-winning film back to the stage in a new production of the play, directed by Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-winner Michael Wilson. Following the play's North American premiere in Chicago, the production is slated for engagements at other theaters across the country.

The story about the murder of JFK’s lover, American painter Mary Pinchot Meyer, is being developed by Warner Bros TV as a potential limited series. The project hails from Oscar-winning writer David Seidler (The King’s Speech) and Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell’s Safehouse Pictures.

Written by Seidler and based on Peter Janney’s book Mary’s Mosaic, the drama/murder mystery explores different theories about the killing of Meyer while also exploring her secret romantic relationship with President John F. Kennedy.

Seidler executive produces for Studio Seven 13, which he co-founded with Clara Hendon, along with Tunnell and Harold for Safehouse. Studio Seven 13’s Hendon is a producer. Safehouse, Studio Seven 13, and Warner Bros TV co-produce.

Meyer, who lived in Washington, D.C., was married to Central Intelligence Agency official Cord Meyer for 13 years and became romantically involved with Kennedy after her divorce from Meyer in 1958. She was...

Bit by bit, the cool, overlooked films of previous decades are finally being spruced up and released on Blu-ray. The most recent example comes from Lionsgate and is Francis Ford Coppla’s terrific Tucker: The Man and His Dream. Starring Jeff Bridges, it tells the story of Preston Thomas Tucker, a man who saw a different, better way to design, build, and sell cars. Many of his inventions attracted attention and were clearly ahead of their time.

Ever see a Tucker Torpedo? Not a surprise the answer is a no since only 50 true Tuckers were ever manufactured. Tucker (1903-1956) was an inventor and engineer, including auto racecars, a combat car and gun turret during World War II, and even aircraft. Once the war ended, he was determined to build cars, dreaming of models, as Detroit’s Big Three were content with the models form 1941.

The 1988 film shows how Tucker was...

Compare the movies that have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards to those that have taken home Best Original Screenplay and you’ll find that, as often as not, the latter is the more impressive list. Sometimes they overlap, but when they don’t — “Pulp Fiction” and “Forrest Gump,” “Talk to Her” and “Chicago,” “Melvin and Howard” and “Ordinary People” — it almost feels like a tacit admission that the Academy is throwing a bone to the film that’ll be more fondly remembered than the ultimate winner.

It only makes sense, then, that any number of great filmmakers have been honored in this category without ever winning Best Director or Picture: Quentin Tarantino, Sofia Coppola, Spike Jonze. These wordsmiths are worth celebrating, and these are the best — and worst — of them since 2000.

17. “Crash” (2005)

It likely comes as little surprise that Paul Haggis’ surprise Best Picture winner takes last place on this list,...

An operatic thriller about the staging of an opera in contemporary Moscow, The Queen of Spades feels at times almost like a Russian-language remake of Darren Aronofsky’s lurid ballet-themed psychodrama Black Swan. Director Pavel Lungin co-wrote the screenplay with David Seidler, who earned an Oscar for The King’s Speech. They borrow their title, key characters and selective plot elements from two related sources: Alexander Pushkin’s supernatural short story, first published in 1834, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s 1890 opera of the same name.

A film festival regular and one-time best director prize-winner in Cannes, Lungin has penned librettos for operas and orchestral pieces...

Exclusive: Oscar-winning The King’s Speech scribe David Seidler and Ken Pisani are writing a feature inspired by the 2012 docu Rising From Ashes. Pic tells the true story of the national cycling team of Rwanda and the fallen American cyclist Jonathan "Jock" Boyer who struggled to build a competitive team from survivors from both sides of the Rwandan genocide. T.C. Johnstone directed the docu and will make his narrative directing debut on the feature. Greg Kwedar produced…...

The Mark Gordon Company and The Koch Company are partnering with Chinese studio Pegasus Media Group and China Film Group on the English-language Edge Of The World.

David Seidler and Jacqueline Feather wrote the action-filled transcontinental love story based on events from the 1930s when New York socialite Ruth Harkness went to China in search of her missing fiancé.

Seidler won the Oscar in 2011 for writing The King’s Speech.

Pegasus and China Film Group will finance the project and Gordon, Hawk Koch, and Jianjun “Jay” Sun will serve as producers.

Jeff Aghassi is on board as executive producer. Production is anticipated to start in China later this year.

CAA’s Jonah Greenberg brokered the project.

The Mark Gordon Company, Koch Company, China’s Pegasus Media Group and the China Film Group are teaming with The King’s Speech scribe David Seidler and Jacqueline Feather on English-language feature Edge of the World. Pegasus and China Film Group will finance the action-filled transcontinental love story, which will be produced by Mark Gordon, Hawk Koch and Jianjun "Jay" Sun. Jeff Aghassi will serve as an exec producer. The project will shoot in China later this year. The…...

'The Fighter' movie: Mark Wahlberg as boxer Micky Ward. 'The Fighter' movie review: 'Smart' filmmaking from a business standpoint David O. Russell's The Fighter is a smart film; smart in the way it's constructed and executed as a means to appeal to a wide audience. People tend to like sports movies. They also tend to like movies where the good guys win and where the hardships the characters go through can all get tidily worked out by the time the credits start rolling. The Fighter is smart from a business standpoint. That also means Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson's screenplay is predictable and much too “safe” as well. Russell and the screenwriters don't tread any new territory; in fact, they don't even try. On the positive side, The Fighter offers several solid performances that make up for some of what's lacking elsewhere. 'The Fighter'...

Annette Bening and Warren Beatty on the Oscars' Red Carpet Best Actress nominee Annette Bening and husband Warren Beatty Smiling radiantly, Best Actress Academy Award nominee Annette Bening and husband Warren Beatty are seen above as they arrive at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, held on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre, located in the world-renowned (but locally not all that prestigious) Los Angeles suburb of Hollywood. Annette Bening was in the running for her performance as a lesbian companion/wife to Julianne Moore and mother/adoptive mother of Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson in Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right. Bening lost the Best Actress Oscar to Natalie Portman for her mentally unbalanced ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. See also: Pregnant Natalie Portman on the Oscars' Red Carpet. Annette Bening: Four Oscar nominations The Kids Are All Right was Annette Bening's fourth Academy Award nomination.

Mark Ruffalo and wife Sunrise Coigney on the Red Carpet Mark Ruffalo and wife Sunrise Coigney Oscars photo Mark Ruffalo and wife Sunrise Coigney arrive at the 83rd Academy Awards on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre at (almost) the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in downtown Hollywood. Ruffalo was a 2011 Best Supporting Actor nominee for his role as a chauvinistic male slob who disrupts the family life of a lesbian couple in Lisa Cholodenko's Best Picture contender The Kids Are All Right. The dramatic comedy co-stars Best Actress nominee Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, and Mia Wasikowska. This was Ruffalo's first Academy Award nomination. As it turned out, The Kids Are All Right didn't win a single statuette on Sunday night. But at the 2011 Spirit Awards held the day before, Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg's screenplay was chosen as the best of the year among independent films.

When Colin Firth is good, he's very, very good. And when he's bad, he's in Mamma Mia!. Or Gambit. Or St Trinian's. You can really take your pick.

Judging by the reviews to date, this week's true crime drama Devil's Knot - which stars Firth as a private investigator looking into the case of the West Memphis Three - falls into the latter category. Which, given that Firth's co-stars include Reese Witherspoon, Amy Ryan and Dane DeHaan, is a pretty substantial disappointment.

But why linger on the negative? Instead, we've taken a look back on five of Firth's finest hours across the big and small screens.

1. Tumbledown

Four years after his breakthrough role in Another Country (which just barely missed out on a spot in this list), Firth earned the first of many BAFTA nominations in Richard Eyre's Falklands War drama. He gives a raw and unflinching central performance...

Anthony Mackie ("Captain America: The Winter Soldier") and "We Are Marshall" writer Jamie Linden have teamed up to shop around a biopic about Olympian runner Jesse Owens which would star Mackie.

Mackie and Linden will produce the film which George Olson scripted. The pair will shortly shop the script around in hopes of fast tracking the feature focusing on the lead-up to the 1936 games where Owens' performance shook the world.

Unfortunately the film is entering a crowded field with several projects vying to bring the story to the screen first. One is Stephen Hopkins' "Race" which John Boyega was slated to star in and now has scored Stephan James as Owens. Another is Disney's "Triumph" which David Seidler ("The King's Speech") is scripting.

Mackie himself has also made headlines for dropping out of a long in the works film about famed coronet player Buddy Bolden. Anthony Mackie played the...

Anthony Mackie is planning a Jesse Owens biopic.

The Captain America: The Winter Soldier star wants to produce and star in a film about the Olympic gold medal-winning legend, reports Deadline.

Us sprinter Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, humiliating Adolf Hitler and his claims of German racial superiority.

Hitler had attempted to ban black and Jewish athletes from the games, but backed down in the face of a threatened boycott.

Owens also faced prejudice in his home country.

Mackie has teamed with his We Are Marshall writer Jamie Linden and writer George Olson in the hopes of fast-tracking the movie.

The film is one of several projects about Owens in the works, including one by Disney and another from The King's Speech writer David Seidler.

Mackie was previously attached to an Owens biopic in 2006. He recently signed back on for revived Jimi Hendrix biopic Jimi.

A couple updates on competing biopics centered around Jesse Owens, the Olympian legend who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin games: John Boyega was set to star in Race, but needs to drop out to star in Star Wars: Episode VII. The Wrap reports Stephan James is now in talks to play Owens. Stephen Hopkins (House of Lies) will direct Race. Deadline reports Anthony Mackie "badly wants to play Jesse Owens" and is putting together a passion project to do so. Mackie and Jamie Linden (We Are Marshall) are producing and supervised a script by George Olsen that focuses on the lead-up to the 1936 Olympics. They will shop the project to distributors soon. There is a third Owens project, too! Last we checked, Antoine Fuqua signed on to direct a biopic scripted by David Seidler (The King's Speech) for Disney, but Fuqua has many irons in the fire. More after the jump.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier star Anthony Mackie is getting ready to shop his Untitled Jesse Owens Biopic out to distributors. When we spoke with the actor during the Captain America: The Winter Soldier junket, the actor revealed he was taking some time off of acting to get this project off the ground.

"I've been really focused and working on my Jesse Owens project, trying to get that off the ground. That's been my little brainchild for awhile, so I'm taking some time off to just focus on that. Yeah, we finally have a draft, and we finally have it to where we want it, and now it's at the point where we're trying to figure out the next move, who's the best director, stuff like that, because this is a story that has to be told."

Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, a...

• Stephan James (The L.A. Complex) is in talks to star as famed Olympian Jesse Owens in Race. He’d be replacing John Boyega in the role, who had to drop out due to his Star Wars: Episode VII commitments. Stephen Hopkins is directing the biopic, which will follow Owens from his humble beginnings to the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he won four gold medals. Not quite yet a household name, James has a number of higher profile projects coming up, including the football pic When the Game Stands Tall and Ava DuVernay’s civil rights drama Selma. [The Wrap]

• Anthony Mackie (Captain America: The Winter Soldier...

This Week:

Antoine Fuqua will direct a Jesse Owens biopic; David Dobkin signs on for the Hugh Hefner biopic; Warcraft adds two more; I Saw the Devil is getting a U.S. remake; and Brad Pitt may reunite with Tom Cruise.

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Olympus Has Fallen and Training Day director Antoine Fuqua has signed on to direct a forthcoming biopic about the life of Olympian Jesse Owens.

The film, which is being written by David Seidler (The King’s Speech), is an adaptation of the book Triumph by Jeremy Schaap. Triumph follows Owens’ rise through the track-and-field ranks, including his historic 4 gold medals in the 1936 Olympics. In addition to breaking down racial ...

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After Legendary Pictures’ Jackie Robinson biopic 42 hit it out of the park earlier this year, other studios are moving fast to develop their own movies about iconic sports figures. Disney announced today that it plans to get in on the action with a biopic centered on Jesse Owens, an African-American track star who competed at the infamous 1936 Olympics in Nazi-controlled Germany.

Disney has set Antoine Fuqua (Olympus Has Fallen) to direct the biopic, while The King’s Speech scribe David Seidler will adapt a screenplay from Jeremy Schaap’s bestseller Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics.

At the 1936 Olympics, which German dictator Adolf Hitler manipulated as a propaganda tool to showcase his military might, Owens became an unlikely hero for African-American athletes, winning four gold medals. Hitler had hoped to showcase white supremacy at the Games that year, but Owens upset those plans by winning medals in the 100m sprint,...