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“Adults,” FX’s newest comedy, has officially landed and gives viewers a comedic inside look at life for Gen Z as they enter the real world.

The eight-episode series comes from “The Tonight Show” writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw and focuses on a group of five friends who are all trying to figure their lives out while taking up space in their friend Samir’s (Malik Elassal) childhood home.

“We’re so grateful to be telling this story about a group of friends navigating the hardest, horniest time of life together,” Kronengold and Shaw said in a joint statement last year after the show was greenlit. “FX comedies have defined our generation, and we can’t wait to show them the consequences.”

“Adults” is executive produced by Kronengold, Shaw, Nick Kroll, Stefani Robinson, Sarah Naftalis and Jonathan Krisel. Under Kroll’s Good At Business banner, Alicia Van Couvering also serves as an executive producer.

Is there a better month to have Disney+ than May, the Star Wars fandom’s holy month? May 2025 is extra special, with the second and final season of “Andor” in full swing on the streamer, along with tons of other Star Wars series, films, and specials.

The platform’s annual May the Fourth celebrations will including the premieres of “Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld,” a six-episode series about villains from throughout the galaxy; “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” and “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance” — two immersive P.O.V. journeys inside rides at Disneyland Resort.

For Hulu subscribers, the Star Wars celebration includes the three original films and 2016’s “Rogue One,” the perfect post-“Andor” viewing to segue right into that trilogy. And, of course, there’s no shortage of brand new series and beloved films joining the Hulu library, including “Nine Perfect Strangers” Season 2 and 2024’s “The Last Showgirl.

Poster for FX’s ‘Adults’

FX’s Snowflakes has a new title and a confirmed premiere date. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon‘s Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw’s new ensemble comedy is now titled Adults and will debut with the release of its first two episodes on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 9pm Et/Pt.

The eight-episode season stars Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao, and Owen Thiele. Just announced guest stars include Charlie Cox, Julia Fox, D’Arcy Carden, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, John Reynolds, and Ray Nicholson.

“The show puts a slightly heightened twist on the wins, losses, and humiliations of starting out in the adult world. Whether they’re trying to get ahead at work, navigating the healthcare system, hosting a dinner party, or dating in the age of Find My Friends, the group is finding that nothing about the real world is simple, and all their best...

FX’s Adults, a new comedy series created by Ben Kronengold & Rebecca Shaw, will premiere on Wednesday, May 28. The series features a creative team loaded with FX comedy veterans, including Nick Kroll (The League), Stefani Robinson under her overall deal with FX, Sarah Naftalis (What We Do in the Shadows), and Jonathan Krisel.

Adults will premiere on Wednesday, May 28 at 9 p.m. Et/Pt on FX with its first two episodes. The entire eight-episode first season will become available the next day on Hulu and FX On Demand via television providers. FX will continue to air two episodes each Wednesday for the following three weeks.

FX’s Adults is an ensemble comedy series about a group of twenty-somethings in New York trying to be good people, despite being neither “good” nor “people” yet.

“Samir” (Malik Elassal), “Billie” (Lucy Freyer), “Paul Baker” (Jack Innanen), “Issa” (Amita Rao) and “Anton” (Owen Thiele...

FX has set a premiere date for Adults, its new comedy from The Tonight Show scribes Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw.

The ensemble series, which was formerly titled Snowflakes, premieres May 28 with two episodes. It follows five friends — Samir (Malik Elassal), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), Issa (Amita Rao) and Anton (Owen Thiele) — who crash together in Samir’s childhood home. FX says “the show puts a slightly heightened twist on the wins, losses and humiliations of starting out in the adult world. Whether they’re trying to get ahead at work, navigating the healthcare system, hosting a dinner party or dating in the age of Find My Friends, the group is finding that nothing about the real world is simple, and all their best intentions tend to make things worse.”

Charlie Cox, Julia Fox, D’Arcy Carden, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, John Reynolds and Ray Nicholson will guest star in the first season.

Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw’s “Adults” has set a May 28 premiere date on FX.

The half-hour comedy series, which stars Malik Elassal as Samir, Lucy Freyer as Billie, Jack Innanen as Paul Baker, Amita Rao as Issa and Owen Thiele as Anton, follows a group of twenty-somethings in New York trying to be good people, despite being neither “good” nor “people” just yet. The five friends crash together in Samir’s childhood home, where they share their meals, anxieties and, occasionally, toothbrushes.

The show puts a slightly heightened twist on the wins, losses and humiliations of starting out in the adult world. Whether they’re trying to get ahead at work, navigating the healthcare system, hosting a dinner party or dating in the age of Find My Friends, the group is finding that nothing about the real world is simple, and all their best intentions tend to make things worse.

The FX comedy series “Adults” (fka “Snowflakes”) has set its premiere date and guest star lineup.

The series will launch with its first two episodes on May 28 at 9 p.m. Et/Pt on FX. The entire eight-episode season will then be available to stream on Hulu and FX On Demand on May 29. FX will continue to air two episodes per week on Wednesdays through June 18.

Variety has learned that Julia Fox, Charlie Cox and Ray Nicholson are set to guest star in the first season.

Additional guest stars include D’Arcy Carden, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, and John Reynolds.

“Adults” was originally ordered to series in July 2024. The ensemble comedy follows a group of five twenty-something friends living in New York. The official description states that “the show puts a slightly heightened twist on the wins, losses and humiliations of starting out in the adult world. Whether they’re trying to get ahead at work,...

Nick Grad, president of FX Entertainment, has announced that Snowflakes has been picked up as a series. The first season will premiere next year.

The half-hour series was created by Ben Kronengold & Rebecca Shaw (The Tonight Show), who wrote the pilot and serve as executive producers with comedy veterans Nick Kroll, Jonathan Krisel, who directed the pilot, and Stefani Robinson.

Snowflakes is a twenty-something ensemble comedy about a group of codependent housemates who try to be good people despite being neither “good” nor “people” yet. The series stars Malik Elassal as Samir, Lucy Freyer as Billie, Jack Innanen as Paul Baker, Amita Rao as Issa, and Owen Thiele as Anton.

“We are excited about the exceptional cast and powerhouse comedy team we’ve assembled for Snowflakes,” said Grad. “Not only does it give us a chance to introduce our audience to Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw’s brilliant comedic voice,...

FX is picking up “Snowflakes” for a series order. The upcoming comedy from executive producers Nick Kroll, Jonathan Krisel and Stefani Robinson is set to premiere next year.

The half-hour series comes from Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw (“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”) and follows a group of 20-something housemates “trying to be good people, despite being neither ‘good’ nor ‘people’ yet,” a press release for the series reads. The comedy stars a relatively unknown cast that includes Malik Elassal (“Joe Pickett”) as Smir, Lucy Freyer (“Paint”) as Billie, Jack Innanen (“The Dessert”) as Paul Baker, Amita Rao (“Emperor of Ocean Park”) as Issa and Owen Thiele (“Theater Camp”) as Anton. The pilot was written by Kronengold and Shaw and directed by Krisel.

“We are excited about the exceptional cast and powerhouse comedy team we’ve assembled for ‘Snowflakes,'” Nick Grad, president of FX Entertainment, said in a statement to press.

FX has greenlit the comedy series “Snowflakes,” Variety has learned.

The half-hour show was originally picked up to pilot at FX back in January. It is slated to premiere in 2025. The official logline states that “Snowflakes” is a “twenty-something ensemble comedy following a group of codependent housemates trying to be good people, despite being neither ‘good’ nor ‘people’ yet.”

Former “Tonight Show” writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw wrote the pilot and serve as executive producers. Nick Kroll and Alicia Van Couvering executive produce via Good at Business, with Jonathan Krisel and Stefani Robinson also executive producing. Krisel directed the pilot as well. FX Productions is the studio.

“We are excited about the exceptional cast and powerhouse comedy team we’ve assembled for Snowflakes,” said Nick Grad, president of FX Entertainment. “Not only does it give us a chance to introduce our audience to Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw’s brilliant comedic voice,...

FX has picked up half-hour comedy pilot Snowflakes to series for a 2025 premiere. The project was created by The Tonight Show writers Ben Kronengold & Rebecca Shaw, and the order puts the 20-somethings among the youngest series creators, having both graduated from college in 2018.

Snowflakes is a twenty-something ensemble comedy following a group of codependent housemates — — Billie (Lucy Freyer), Samir (Malik Elassal), Anton (Owen Thiele), Issa (Amita Rao) and Paul Baker (Jack Innanen) — trying to be good people, despite being neither “good” nor “people” yet.

On the series, Kronengold and Shaw, who wrote the pilot and serve as executive producers, are partnered with comedy veterans Nick Kroll, Jonathan Krisel, who directed the pilot, and Stefani Robinson.

“We are excited about the exceptional cast and powerhouse comedy team we’ve assembled for Snowflakes,...

FX, which is about to say goodbye to one of its comedies, is adding another to its lineup.

The Disney-owned outlet has handed a series order to Snowflakes, an ensemble comedy about “a group of codependent housemates trying to be good people, despite being neither ‘good’ nor ‘people’ yet,” as the show’s logline puts it.

The series, for which FX ordered a pilot in January, comes from FX Productions and writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon). Nick Kroll (who has a first-look deal with FX Productions), Baskets co-creator Jonathan Krisel and Atlanta and What We Do in the Shadows alum Stefani Robinson are among the executive producers. Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao and Owen Thiele play the five twentysomething housemates.

“We are excited about the exceptional cast and powerhouse comedy team we’ve assembled for Snowflakes,” said FX Entertainment president Nick Grad.

Exclusive: Lucy Freyer (Paint), Malik Elassal, Owen Thiele (Dollface), Amita Rao and Jack Innanen (The Dessert) have been cast as the leads of FX’s ensemble comedy pilot Snowflakes, written by former The Tonight Show scribes Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw and to be directed by Jonathan Krisel (Baskets).

Snowflakes is a twenty-something ensemble comedy following a group of codependent housemates — Billie (Freyer), Samir (Elassal), Anton (Thiele), Issa (Rao) and Paul Baker (Innanen) — trying to be good people, despite being neither “good” nor “people” yet.

Nick Kroll and Alicia Van Couvering, who runs his Good at Business production banner, executive produce alongside Kronengold, Shaw, Krisel and Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens showrunner Karey Dornetto. FX Productions, where Good at Business is under a first-look deal, is the studio.

Freyer is repped by Gersh and Mj Management; Elassal by UTA and Strig Artist Management; Thiele by UTA, Entertainment 360 and Hansen...

Nine months ago, it was announced that Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), and Kaia Gerber (Babylon) had signed on to star in the “sexy psychological thriller” Shell, with Teen Spirit‘s Max Minghella directing from a screenplay written by Jack Stanley (Lou). Now production on Shell has just wrapped in Los Angeles, and along with the end of filming comes to the reveal that Moss, Hudson, and Gerber are joined in the cast by Arian Moayed (Succession), musician and composer Este Haim (Licorice Pizza), Lionel Boyce (The Bear), author/comedian Ziwe (Ziwe), Amy Landecker (Transparent), Peter MacNicol (Ally McBeal), Blake Lee (Cruel Summer), Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek), Peri Gilpin (Frasier), and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24).

Shell is “set in a near future, when humanity’s cultural obsession with youth and beauty has been taken to new extremes“. Here’s the synopsis: Struggling actress Samantha (Elisabeth Moss...

Exclusive: SAG and Tony Award nominee Arian Moayed (Succession), Grammy-nominated musician and composer Este Haim (Licorice Pizza), actor-writer Lionel Boyce (The Bear), and actor-comedian Ziwe (Ziwe) are among cast to have joined Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson, and Kaia Gerber in psychological thriller Shell.

Filming recently wrapped in Los Angeles on the movie which marks the sophomore directorial effort from The Handmaid’s Tale and The Social Network star Max Minghella.

Cast is rounded out by SAG-award nominee Amy Landecker (Transparent), Emmy winner Peter MacNicol (Ally McBeal), Blake Lee (Cruel Summer), Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek), Peri Gilpin (Frasier), and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24).

In Shell, struggling actress Samantha (Moss) is given an opportunity to get a free trial at Shell, a pioneering health and beauty company which promises to keep its clients looking young forever. Samantha’s life and career is transformed by the treatment, and she develops a burgeoning friendship with Shell’s CEO,...

FX has ordered a pilot for the half-hour comedy “Snowflakes.”

The project boasts an impressive lineup behind the camera. Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw are the writers and executive producers, with Nick Kroll executive producing under his first-look deal with FX Productions. Karey Dornetto will also executive produce along with Alicia Van Couvering, president of Kroll’s Good at Business production banner, and Jonathan Krisel, with Krisel also directing. FX Productions will produce.

The logline for “Snowflakes” describes it as a “twenty-something ensemble comedy following a group of codependent housemates trying to be good people, despite being neither ‘good’ nor ‘people’ yet.”

Kronengold and Shaw were writers for four years on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” on which they were the youngest writers in the show’s history. They also published the book “Naked in the Rideshare: Stories of Gross Miscalculations,” a collection of comedy short stories, with HarperCollins...

FX has ordered its latest comedy pilot.

The network has ordered Snowflakes from former The Tonight Show writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw to be exec produced by Nick Kroll and Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens showrunner Karey Dornetto.

It is the latest pilot for the Disney-owned network alongside Peep Show, the Minnie Driver and Amandla Jahava-fronted remake of the cult British classic, which is still in the works. It comes after English Teacher, a comedy starring and created by Brian Jordan Alvarez, was picked up to series in November after its pilot was ordered in 2022.

FX is coming off the Golden Globes success of its comedy The Bear, which is also a favorite for a number of Emmys on Monday.

Snowflakes is a twenty-something ensemble comedy following a group of codependent housemates trying to be good people, despite being neither “good” nor “people” yet.

Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw...

FX is looking to add to its comedy roster.

The Disney-owned outlet has ordered a pilot for Snowflakes, a comedy about a group of twentysomethings. The project comes from writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon) and has assembled a creative team that also includes director Jonathan Krisel and executive producers Nick Kroll, Karey Dornetto and Alicia Van Couvering.

Snowflakes, which hails from FX Productions, is described as an ensemble show “following a group of codependent housemates trying to be good people, despite being neither ‘good’ nor ‘people’ yet.”

The pilot order comes as FX prepares to say goodbye to What We Do in the Shadows, which will end with its upcoming sixth season. Long-running animated series Archer and the critical favorite Reservation Dogs also bowed out in 2023.

Kronengold and Shaw were the youngest writers on The Tonight Show during their tenure there, which ran...

Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson and Kaia Gerber have been tapped to star in the sexy, psychological thriller “Shell”.

The film, directed by Max Minghella, is “set in a near future when humanity’s cultural obsession with youth and beauty has been taken to new extremes,” as per the official logline.

Black Bear International will be introducing the project to international buyers in Cannes and will distribute directly in the U.K. and Ireland.

Read More: Kate Hudson Is Wrongly Told She’s Won An Oscar In Awkward Red Carpet Moment

The synopsis for the upcoming thriller reads: “Struggling actress Samantha (Elisabeth Moss) is given an opportunity to get a free trial at Shell, a pioneering health and beauty company which promises to keep its clients looking young forever. Samantha’s life and career is transformed by the treatment, and she develops a burgeoning friendship with Shell’s CEO, the ultra-glamorous...

More and more acclaimed actors from across the industry are coming together these days to collaborate on some truly unique projects, and yet another new one is about to hit the docket. Per an exclusive report from Deadline, Max Minghella is set to direct a new thriller feature titled Shell, with Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson, and Kaia Gerber set to co-star in the project.

Related: How Elisabeth Moss Became the Embodiment of Elevated Horror

Shell is set to be a captivating new drama thriller helmed by Max Minghella, which will be his second stint in the director's chair after musical drama Teen Spirit (2018). The film is currently being shopped at Cannes by Black Bear International, CAA Media Finance, and WME Independent. Automatik's Fred Berger (La La Land) is serving as co-producer on the feature alongside Minghella, Elisabeth Moss, Lindsey McManus, and Alicia Van Couvering. Jack Stanley is serving as the scriptwriter,...

Elisabeth Moss will star alongside Kate Hudson and Kaia Gerber in the psychological thriller “Shell” from director Max Minghella.

Black Bear International will introduce the project to international buyers at the Cannes Film Festival while also distributing the picture in the UK and Ireland. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent will handle domestic rights.

The film will be produced by Automatik’s Fred Berger and Brian Kavanugh Jones alongside Minghella for Blank Tape, Elisabeth Moss and Lindsey McManus for Love & Squalor Pictures and Alicia Van Couvering. It is penned by Jack Stanley who recently wrote the Allison Janney-led actioner “Lou.” Jamie Bell will executive produce. The deal was negotiated on behalf of Black Bear International by Jill Silfen.

Minghella said: “Shell” packs a wildly entertaining genre movie with iconic characters and universal themes that are bound to have people talking long after they leave the theater. I’m...

Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), and Kaia Gerber (Babylon) have signed on to star in the “sexy psychological thriller” Shell, which is set to be directed by Teen Spirit‘s Max Minghella from a screenplay written by Jack Stanley (Lou). Black Bear International will be presenting the project to potential international distributors at the Cannes Film Festival, and will be handling distribution themselves in the UK and Ireland. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent co-represent the domestic rights.

Shell is “set in a near future, when humanity’s cultural obsession with youth and beauty has been taken to new extremes“. Here’s the synopsis: Struggling actress Samantha (Elisabeth Moss) is given an opportunity to get a free trial at Shell, a pioneering health and beauty company which promises to keep its clients looking young forever. Samantha’s life and career is transformed by the treatment, and...

Exclusive: Emmy-winner Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) will star alongside Oscar-nominee Kate Hudson (Glass Onion) and actress and model Kaia Gerber (Babylon) in psychological thriller Shell from director Max Minghella (Teen Spirit).

The film, which will reunite The Handmaid’s Tale co-stars Moss and Minghella, is set in a near future when humanity’s cultural obsession with youth and beauty has been taken to new extremes.

Black Bear International will be introducing the project to international buyers in Cannes and distributing directly in the UK and Ireland. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent are co-repping domestic rights.

Pic is being produced by Automatik’s Fred Berger (La La Land) and Brian Kavanaugh Jones (Insidious), alongside Minghella for Blank Tape (Teen Spirit), Elisabeth Moss and Lindsey McManus for Love & Squalor Pictures (Shining Girls) and Alicia Van Couvering (Cop Car), from a script penned by Jack Stanley (Lou). Jamie Bell will be executive producer.

Focus Features has landed rights to “Silent Twins,” a thriller starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance.

Based on the book by Marjorie Wallace, the film marks the English language debut of director Agnieszka Smoczynska (“The Lure”). Andrea Seigel wrote the screenplay.

Set in the 1970s and ’80s, the story follows June and Jennifer Gibbons (portrayed by Wright and Lawrance), twins from the only Black family in a small town in Wales. Feeling isolated from that unwelcoming community, the pair turn inward and reject communication with everyone but each other, retreating into their own fantasy world of artistic inspiration and adolescent desires. After a spree of vandalism inspired by an American boy they both idolize, the girls, now teenagers, are summarily sentenced to Broadmoor, an infamous psychiatric hospital, where they face the choice to separate and survive or die together.

Focus Features will distribute the film in the U.S., with Universal Pictures handling international distribution.

Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to feature Silent Twins, which marks the English language debut of director Agnieszka Smoczynska (The Lure).

Starring Letitia Wright (Black Panther) and Tamara Lawrance (The Long Song) as the title twin sisters, the film is based on the haunting true story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, twins from the only Black family in a small town in Wales in the 1970s and ’80s. Feeling isolated from that unwelcoming community, the pair turn inward and reject communication with everyone but each other, retreating into their own fantasy world of artistic inspiration and adolescent desires. After a spree of vandalism inspired by an American boy they both idolize, the girls, now teenagers, are summarily sentenced to Broadmoor, the infamous UK psychiatric hospital, where they face the choice to separate and survive or die together.

Pic is written by Andrea Seigel and is based on book The Silent Twins by Marjorie Wallace.

Focus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to “Silent Twins,” a film starring “Black Panther” actress Letitia Wright.

“Silent Twins” is the English-language debut of “The Lure” director Agnieszka Smoczynska and stars Wright and Tamara Lawrance as twin sisters in Wales who are mute to everyone but themselves.

The film recently wrapped production in Poland. Focus plans to distribute the film in the U.S., while Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally.

“Silent Twins” is based on the book “The Silent Twins” by Marjorie Wallace. It tells the haunting story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, twins from the only Black family in a small town in Wales in the 1970s and ’80s.

Feeling isolated from that unwelcoming community, the pair turn inward and reject communication with everyone but each other, retreating into their own fantasy world of artistic inspiration and adolescent desires. After a spree of vandalism inspired by an American boy they both idolize,...

Production has wrapped in Poland.

Focus Features has taken worldwide rights to Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska’s (The Lure) English-language debut Silent Twins starring Letitia Wright from Black Panther and Tamara Lawrance from Kindred.

Andrea Seigel adapted the screenplay from Marjorie Wallace’s novel The Silent Twins, about June and Jennifer Gibbons, identical twins from the only Black family in Wales in the 1970s who dealt with a hostile community by only communicating with each other.

The sisters retreated into a fantasy world of artistic inspiration and adolescent desires, writing fiction and embarking on a vandalism spree inspired by an American boy they idolised,...

Exclusive: Multi-hyphenate Nick Kroll is launching his first production company, Good At Business and tapped Alicia Van Couvering as is his first exec. Under his new banner, Good At Business is developing and adaptation of Calvin Kasulke’s Several People Are Typing as a TV series.

Several People Are Typing is the first novel narrated entirely through Slack chats. Kasulke’s darkly funny debut upends our new modern workplace—the virtual office.

The story follows, Gerald, an employee of a New York-based PR firm, is working in a spreadsheet when he finds his consciousness uploaded into the company’s Slack channel. Despite his posts for help, his colleagues assume it’s an elaborate strategy to work from home. Gerald enlists his co-worker Pradeep to care for his body while they figure out how to reintegrate his consciousness. Plunging deeper into the Slack workspace—and becoming a more productive employee by...

Exclusive: HBO Max has acquired Shell, a spec script by Jack Stanley that comes with Max Minghella (Teen Spirit) attached to direct. Logline for the is the script is under wraps but sources said it is a satirical horror tale with sci-fi elements, set in the health and beauty industry.

Pic will be produced by Automatik’s Fred Berger (La La Land and Teen Spirit), and Alicia Van Couvering, and Minghella through his Blank Tape production banner. Jamie Bell and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones are executive producers. The film is for HBO Max under the WarnerMax label.

Stanley just did a rewrite of Lou for Netflix and Bad Robot, which stars Allison Janney. Production on that project was shut down because of the pandemic but will get going again when restrictions are lifted. Stanley also landed two scripts on The Black List: Sweetheart and Possession: A Love Story.

Minghella made his directorial debut on Teen Spirit,...

It’s been a year of change for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has responded not only to the pandemic, pushing back the global ABC Oscars telecast from February 28 to April 25, 2021 — setting a new award season calendar as other award shows have followed suit — but the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.

In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...

It’s been a year of change for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has responded not only to the pandemic, pushing back the global ABC Oscars telecast from February 28 to April 25, 2021 — setting a new award season calendar as other award shows have followed suit — but the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.

In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...

Exclusive: Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War star Letitia Wright is set to lead cast in Agnieszka Smoczynska’s (Fugue) English-language debut The Silent Twins.

Wright will star alongside rising Brit actress Tamara Lawrance (The Long Song) in the movie which is being produced by Kindred Spirit’s Anita Gou (The Farewell), 42’s (Ironbark) Ben Pugh and Joshua Horsfield, and Madant’s Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska (High Life).

Andrea Seigel’s (Laggies) script is based on the well-received book The Silent Twins by investigative journalist Marjorie Wallace. The chilling true story follows twin sisters who were entirely silent, communicating only to each other in a private language. They became obsessed with writing fiction, boys, and crime in their teens but their intense bond ultimately turned into something more dangerous.

The drama, which is due to shoot in April, is being financed by Kindred Spirit and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute and Moderator Inwestycje.

The Amazon drama “Homecoming” will see another big change going into its second season.

In addition to Julia Roberts not returning to star, Sam Esmail will not direct any episodes for Season 2, Variety has learned. Both Esmail and Roberts will remain on the show as executive producers, however.

Amazon declined to comment.

Esmail directed all 10 episodes of the show’s first season, helping to define the show’s unique visual style as he did on the USA Network show “Mr. Robot.” Esmail is also credited as a co-creator of “Homecoming” along Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg, who created the podcast on which the show is based and serve as co-showrunners.

The show received considerable critical praise upon its release, holding a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In her review for Variety, Caroline Framke wrote that Esmail “uses his signature long takes and off-center framing shots to disquieting effect, adding Hitchcockian angles...

Julia Roberts will not be starring in “Homecoming” Season 2 at Amazon, Variety has confirmed.

The Oscar-winning actress will remain on the show as an executive producer, however. “Homecoming” was picked up for two seasons when it was initially ordered at Amazon, but Roberts only had a one-year deal to star on the show, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation.

The role marked the first series regular role of Roberts’ career. Other cast members include Bobby Cannavale, Stephan James, Sissy Spacek, Shea Whigham, and Alex Karpovsky.

“Homecoming” is an adaptation of the fiction podcast of the same name from Gimlet Media. It is about staffers at a secret government agency where some are desperate to rejoin civilian life. Written by “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail, the political thriller centers on a caseworker (Roberts) at a secret government facility, her supervisor and a soldier.

The show hails from Anonymous Content and Universal Cable Productions,...

When in 2017 Julia Roberts signed on to star in her first series, Homecoming, she made a one-year acting deal for the project, from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and Universal Cable Prods. It has been the case for many big stars who have ventured into television over the past couple of years, and the storyline of her character was crafted with that in mind.

Homecoming, which has a two-season order from Amazon, is currently breaking stories for the upcoming second season, which will deviate from the popular Gimlet Media’s podcast Season 1 was based on. It is unclear exactly who from the original cast would come back, but I hear Bobby Cannavale will likely return, breakout star Stephan James also will probably be back, along with Hong Chau and maybe Shea Whigham.

The series is expected to introduce new characters and cast members next season.

Roberts, who remains an executive producer,...

Exclusive: Focus Features has secured the rights to develop and produce a feature version of Chris Adrian & Eli Horowitz’s eponymous novel The New World. Sharon Horgan, who created HBO’s Divorce and co-created Pulling and Motherland for BBC, will make her feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Sarah Ruhl. Alicia Van Couvering and Olivia Wilde will produce.

In The New World Jane’s husband Jim has just died — or, not quite as he had assigned his head to be frozen with a shadowy organization that promises to do away with mortality forever. Awake in a bucolic retreat – an afterlife of sorts – Jim learns that the cost of eternal life is higher than he ever could have imagined. Meanwhile, stranded in the realm of the living and reeling from the loss of her husband, Jane sets out to get back his head.

Horgan previously directed the award-winning short The...

Amazon Studios used its big Comic-Con presentation today to unveil the premiere date for Homecoming, its psychological thriller starring Julia Roberts in her TV series-starring debut and directed by Mr. Robot‘s Sam Esmail. The half-hour series will bow Friday, November 2, on Prime Video.

The streaming service also showed fans a first-look teaser from the series, which is based on the popular Gimlet Media podcast. (Check out the video above and the teaser art below.) It acquired rights to the project a year ago with a two-season pickup.

Roberts plays Heidi Bergman, a caseworker at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center, a Geist Group facility helping soldiers transition back to civilian life. Walter Cruz (Stephan James) is one of these soldiers, eager to begin the next phase of his life. Overseeing Heidi and the facility is Colin Belfast (Bobby Cannavale), an ambitious company man whose manic demands point to questionable motives.

Unlike Sundance or Cannes, the SXSW Film Festival has undergone rapid changes over the past decade. Tied in with the swirling chaos of its Interactive and Music sections, the Austin-based event is known for the discovery of low-budget features and as a launch pad for edgy studio projects favored by the city’s hipsters.

Much of SXSW’s identity took shape during the early aughts, when current iTunes independent film coordinator Matt Dentler brought a range of new American talent into the program. When he left in 2008 for a job in New York, incoming SXSW film producer Janet Pierson was a programming newcomer but a veteran of scene. With her husband, John Pierson, she shepherded the careers of independent filmmakers like Kevin Smith, Spike Lee, and Errol Morris. With SXSW, she was tasked with funneling that experience into the ever-changing ecosystem of film and television.

To commemorate her 10th year...

Universal Cable Productions and Anonymous Content to produce.

Amazon Studios has prevailed in the race to secure global rights to the upcoming psychological thriller series Homecoming starring Julia Roberts.

Sources confirmed to Screen that Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail will direct and serve as executive producer on the half-hour drama being produced by Universal Cable Productions and Mr. Robot producer Anonymous Content.

Amazon is understood to have ordered two seasons of Homecoming, which is based on a fiction podcast by Gimlet Media about caseworker at a top secret government facility and a soldier.

Roberts would play the caseworker in what has become another TV project on her to-do list after HBO made a development deal last month for Annapurna Television’s limited series Today Will Be Different.

Podcast creators Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg are adapting the screenplay from the source material, which starred Catherine Keener and Oscar Isaac.

Esmail is producing via his Esmail Corp alongside...

A series based on the thrilling fiction podcast “Homecoming” and starring Julia Roberts has been picked up for a two-season order at Amazon. “Homecoming” is a six-party political thriller centering on a caseworker at a secret government facility. Roberts will play that caseworker’s supervisor. Catherine Keener, Oscar Isaac and David Schwimmer starred in the original podcast, which was produced by Gimlet Media and launched in Nov. 2016. Sam Esmail of “Mr. Robot” fame helped develop the series and is serving as an executive producer, alongside Chad Hamilton of Anonymous Content, Horowitz, Bloomberg and Alicia Van Couvering. Chris Giliberti, Alex Blumberg...

Buyers return to Cannes like swallows to the Capistranos, but this year they’ll find a hostile landscape. Too many buyers, too few titles, and streaming-service disruptors are driving up prices all the while, making North American prebuys increasingly necessary.

That’s hazardous terrain: Witness the Weinstein Company’s $6 million bid for transgender drama “3 Generations” (aka “After Ray”). Two years later, after a title change and poor reviews on and off the festival circuit, the drama starring Elle Fanning and Susan Sarandon finally received a May 5 release. Total domestic gross to date: $46,421.

That was in 2015, the last year that TWC held its then-annual dog-and-pony show for buyers and press at the Majestic Hotel. This year, like the last, they’ll hold court on their yacht, which also serves as their offices — still tony, but on a budget; it’s a lot less expensive than that prime Croissette real estate. Meanwhile,...

Sundance Survival Guides are a tradition here at Filmmaker. Producer and Contributing Editor Alicia Van Couvering wrote one in 2009 and again in 2012, and producer Mynette Louie offered her advice in ’15. This year, producer Alexandra Byer (Dark Night) remembers her own rituals for making it safely through the Park City gauntlet. Ignore these at your own peril. — Editor 1. Dress warmly, leave the heels at home. You are headed to the snowy mountains of Utah! Most people traveling to Park City in the winter months are headed to ski or snowboard, but you are just planning to […]...

“Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail seems to have something against vacations. In addition to developing a “Metropolis” miniseries, Deadline reports that Esmail is also planning to tackle a TV adaptation of the popular Gimlet Media podcast “Homecoming.”

“Homecoming,” which debuted November 16, is presented as a collage of telephone calls, therapy sessions, and overheard conversations. The podcast features Catherine Keener, David Schwimmer and Oscar Isaac and tells the story of a caseworker at a secret government facility, her ambitious supervisor, and a soldier who are desperate to rejoin civilian life. Ucp, where Esmail has a first-look deal, and “Mr. Robot” producer Anonymous Content secured the rights.

Read More: After ‘Mr. Robot’ Comes ‘Metropolis’: Sam Esmail Wants to Turn Fritz Lang’s Classic Into a Miniseries

The small-screen adaptation will be produced by Esmail and his manager, Chad Hamilton of Anonymous Content, as well as with the creators of the podcast,...

Read More: Sundance Announces Competition and Next Lineups, Featuring Returning Favorites and a Secret Director Getting the call from the Sundance Film Festival that your film has been accepted can be one of the most exhilarating moments indie filmmakers will ever experience, but it can also be one of the most sobering ones. With approximately two months between acceptance letters and premieres, filmmakers are faced with having to finish editing their films, completing sound design (including sound effects, score and mix) and mastering the picture (including color correction and special effects), often on a shoestring budget while over 100 other indies face the same deadline. Speeding to the Finish Line "The Sundance announcement is an especially hard win to fully enjoy,” said producer Alicia Van Couvering, whose Sundance-premiering credits include last year's "Cop Car" and "Digging For Fire." “You don't ever want to turn down a major festival, but...

If Cannes’ Thierry Frémaux doesn’t snag it away first, we might be chalking this unsettling piece of cinema as yet another Park City homecoming for the Borderline films crew. Ever since Afterschool was launched in Cannes back in 2008, their string of feature films Martha Marcy May Marlene (Sean Durkin), Antonio Campos‘ sophomore film Simon Killer, James White (Josh Mond) plus the award-winning short Mary Last Seen all got their starts at this January set fest. While creative collaborators such as dp Joe Anderson and composers Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans return to the fold, Campos’ third film is a departure of sorts as he works from a screenplay other than his own, and very busy filmmakers in their own right in Durkin and Mond are on board in the executive producer roles. Production on Christine took place last May, so this will indeed to fit to go. Rebecca Hall...

Spanish horror film Para Elisa (For Elisa) will arrive on DVD and VOD on September 1st. But, the DVD-palooza doesn't stop there. Also in this round-up: Honeyspider and Cop Car DVD release details and Howl-o-Scream 2015 details.

Para Elisa: Press Release: "A job at a magnificent house owned by a famous musician seems too good to be true – and it is – in the tension-filled horror film Para Elisa. The acclaimed new Spanish film comes to DVD and VOD on September 1, 2015, from Dark Sky Films.

Desperate for some post-graduation cash, party girl Ana (Ona Casamiquela, Eva) answers a babysitting ad. She arrives for an interview at the elegant home of Diamantina (Luisa Gavasa, Flesh Memories), a former child prodigy pianist who is now an eccentric old woman who collects antique toys and dolls. Ana is disturbed by Diamantina’s odd behavior and horrified to discover that her child, Elisa (Ana Turpin,...

What are the boundaries between a making a movie where you don’t have to answer to anyone, and one where you have to answer to everyone? That’s what Jake Johnson and Alicia Van Couvering, producers of Joe Swanberg’s “Digging For Fire,” discuss in this week’s episode of Indiewire Influencers. “Joe’s mentality on the whole film business is different than anyone else’s,” said Johnson, who also stars in the film. “The way (he talks) about movies, is not the way other kids talk. I’m interested in producing with him; I’m not necessarily interested in being a film producer.” Read More: Joe Swanberg's Excellent 'Digging For Fire' Marks a New Stage of His Career Johnson is also featured in this summer’s billion-dollar juggernaut, “Jurassic World,” and said director Colin Trevorrow (with whom he also worked on Trevorrow’s debut, “Safety Not Guaranteed...

A corrupt small-town sheriff is on the hunt for two runaway kids who took his car on a joy ride in Cop Car, an unnervingly funny thriller now available on Digital HD and On Demand, and debuting on Blu-ray and DVD on September 29, 2015, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Starring Golden Globe-winner Kevin Bacon (Footloose, Mystic River) and directed by Jon Watts (the upcoming Untitled Spiderman Reboot), Cop Car is “A midnight movie blast!” according to Russ Fischer of Slashfilm.

When a pair of 10-year-olds find an abandoned cop car in a field and take it for a joyride, it seems like they could kill themselves at any moment. But things only get worse when the small-town sheriff goes looking for his missing car—and the illicit cargo he left in the trunk—and the kids find themselves at the center of a deadly game of cat and mouse they don’t understand.

In its second Sundance deal, newbie The Orchard is buying North American rights for about $2 million to Sundance Premiere title "Digging for Fire." (Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has international rights.) Co-written by Swanberg and his "Drinking Buddies" star Jake Johnson ("New Girl"), the 35 mm portrait of married Angelenos stars Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt tracks the anxious couple after they come across a bone and a gun.  Produced by Swanberg, Alicia Van Couvering (Lena Dunham's "Tiny Furniture," Sundance 2015 title "Cop Car") and Johnson,  the film is about how marriage should be "two individuals agreeing to be in a relationship, rather than two people melting into one thing," said Swanberg at the Sundance Q&A. According to Johnson, actors love working with Swanberg because he allows them to participate in the...

[Exclusive Update 12:45 p.m.: Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has bought international rights to “Digging for Fire,” which means the film will be distributed worldwide.]

Earlier Exclusive

The Orchard is acquiring North American rights to Joe Swanberg’s “Digging for Fire,” which Swanberg co-wrote with star Jake Johnson. The duo also produced the movie with Alicia Van Couvering.

An individual with knowledge of the negotiations told TheWrap that the deal is worth around $2 million.

The film, which made its world premiere earlier this week at Sundance, co-stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Orlando Bloom, Brie Larson, Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick and Mike Birbiglia. The supporting cast includes Sam Elliott, Judith Light, Ron Livingston, Melanie Lynskey Jenny Slate, Timothy Simons and Jane Adams.

“Digging for Fire” follows the discovery...