News

Exclusive: With Wimbledon in full swing, here’s some news about one of their greats. Skydance Sports is coming aboard Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group biopic about Wimbledon tennis champ and African American civil rights activist Arthur Ashe. The Inspection and By Any Means director Elegance Bratton is in talks to direct.

Deadline previously told you that BlacKkKlansman Oscar winner Kevin Willmott is already set to write.

In addition to Hyde Park Entertainment and Skydance Sports producing together, Warner Music Group is securing the music and providing creative guidance to the production, the pic planning to include singles of the era from such artists as Aretha Franklin, Prince, Curtis Mayfield and others.

The Ashe movie is one that’s close to Amritraj’s heart, the producer being a former Wimbledon pro himself. Hyde Park obtained the full support of the Arthur Ashe Estate in developing the project. Ashok...

Exclusive: Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and unscripted production company Get Me Out Productions (A Recipe For Murder) have partnered to produce two sport documentary projects which will be brought to buyers and sponsorship partners at NATPE.

Their docuseries Ultra will explore the endurance sport of ultra running, following some of the world’s notable male and female athletes in the sport as they compete –sometimes against each other – in races of 100 miles and more, often for days on end, without sleep, through deserts, up and down mountains, and in blizzard-like conditions around the globe. The runners to be featured are not only decorated professional athletes, but also hold diverse professional careers as software engineers, environmentalists, journalists, and more.

Where are the Kenyans? is developed by Hyde Park Entertainment and Adharanand Finn, the award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans and The Rise of the Ultra Runners and himself an experienced ultra-runner,...

Ryū Murakami’s cult 1990s Japanese horror thriller novel Audition is heading to the screen once again, courtesy of Speak No Evil writer Christian Tafdrup.

It is not hyperbole to say that Takeshi Miike’s Audition is easily one of the most memorable horror films of the 1990s. Miike is well known for his ultraviolent films, including Ichi The Killer and Imprint – the latter being an episode of the Masters Of Horror series deemed so gratuitously violent it was banned from broadcast, eventually surfacing on DVD. By contrast, Audition is a masterclass in restraint, the tension building to unbearable levels before its horrifying finale.

Based on the 1997 novel by Ryū Murakami and released on 1999, the plot follows Shigeharu Aoyama, played by Ryo Ishibashi, a lonely middle-aged widower who hatches a scheme to find a girlfriend by holding fake film auditions. Here he meets Asami, played by Eihi Shiina, a sweet,...

A new take on the cult horror classic “Audition,” one of the more influential modern horror films in the torture-porn genre, is coming to the screen.

Focus Features is nearing a deal to produce a feature adaptation of “Audition” based on the 1997 horror-thriller novel by Ryū Murakami, which was originally brought to the screen by Japanese master Takashi Miike in 1999 starring Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina.

Focus will produce the project alongside Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and Mario Kassar Productions, who have tapped Christian Tafdrup to write and direct the film. Tafdrup is the Danish director behind the original “Speak No Evil,” which was last year adapted into English by Blumhouse and Universal. Tafdrup is co-writing the script with his brother Mads Tafdrup.

“Audition” starts as a domestic drama of a widower who is holding mock auditions in order to find a new wife, only to discover that...

Danish filmmaker Christian Tafdrup brought the incredibly bleak film Gæsterne, a.k.a. Speak No Evil (read our review Here) into the world back in 2022 – and when the American remake was released last year, Tafdrup let it be known that he wasn’t impressed by the new take on his story, because it didn’t leave viewers traumatized like the original film did. Now, Deadline has revealed that Tafdrup is on board to direct a remake of director Takashi Miike’s dark and twisted 1999 Japanese film Audition… and we can probably rest assured that he’s not going to take it easy on viewers with his take on the material.

Based on a 1997 horror thriller novel by Ryū Murakami, Miike’s Audition was scripted by Daisuke Tengan and has the following synopsis: Widower Aoyama decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend, Aoyama uses auditions for a fake...

Exclusive: Focus Features, Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and Mario Kassar Productions are nearing a deal to produce a feature take of Ryū Murakami’s cult 1997 Japanese horror thriller novel, Audition.

The novel was previously adapted into a 1999 Japanese film of the same name, directed by 2x Cannes Palme D’Or nominee Takashi Miike.

The latest take on Audition is being written and directed by Danish multi-hyphenate Christian Tafdrup who is co-writing with his brother and frequent collaborator, Mads Tafdrup.

Focus is producing alongside Hyde Park’s Ashok and Priya Amritraj and Mario Kassar for Mkp. EPs include multi-media, technology company Cineverse’s Chris McGurk and Yolanda Macias, author Murakami, and Joyce Jun.

L to R: Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup.

Before being remade in English by Blumhouse and Universal, Tafdrup’s original Speak No Evil earned 11 nominations at the 2023 Danish Film Awards, with Christian Tafdrup himself nominated for Best Film,...

Mogul’S March

International film producer Ashok Amritraj will be honored with the Global Indian Cinematic Icon Award at the upcoming India International Film Tourism Conclave in Mumbai. The ceremony will host diplomatic representatives from more than 50 nations, including Norway, Sweden, Indonesia, Spain, and Ecuador.

The Hyde Park Entertainment Group founder, whose films have generated over $2 billion worldwide, is set to be recognized for his four-decade career spanning more than 100 productions. His notable credits include “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” “Bringing Down the House,” and “99 Homes,” alongside international co-productions like the Hindi-Tamil hit “Jeans.”

The International Emmy-winning producer, who chronicled his career transition from Wimbledon tennis player to Hollywood producer in his autobiography “Advantage Hollywood,” also serves as United Nations India goodwill ambassador. His accolades include France’s Chevalier De L’Ordre National Du Merite and an honorary doctorate from the University of East London.

“Over the past four decades,...

Indian tentpoles like “Rrr,” “Jawan” and “Pathaan” routinely get Imax releases in India, but not at the expense of Hollywood blockbusters. But when action star Salman Khan’s “Tiger 3” opens the weekend of Nov. 12 it will do just that. That means that Hollywood’s mid-November juggernauts “The Marvels” (opening Nov. 10) and “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snake” (opening Nov. 17) will not have those premium auditoriums.

Instead, all 23 Imax theaters in India will be taken by “Tiger 3,” a Hindi-language action thriller starring Khan, who plays an Indian spy fighting a group of terrorists to clear his name.

“Indian tentpoles have been outperforming a lot of Hollywood blockbusters,” Jatinder Singh, an Indian box office expert and journalist, told TheWrap.

The Maneesh Sharma-directed “Tiger 3,” set in the same “Yrf Spy Universe” as “Pathaan” and the 2019 action hit “War,” is expected to continue a winning streak for Bollywood (Hindu-language) films.

Exclusive: The rain in Cannes managed to stop for a few hours on Saturday when Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park International hosted an exclusive event for buyers on the Croisette for its upcoming project Night Boat to Tangier, with Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, director James Marsh and producers Andrew Eaton and Conor McCaughan all in attendance for the intimate event.

The project, which also stars Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Negga, follows Maurice (Fassbender) and Charlie (Gleeson), a colorful pair of gangsters from Ireland who are drug smugglers and partners with a long history of violence and intertwined personal lives. They’re back in southern Spain revisiting old haunts, old flames and dangerous local criminals all the while searching for Maurice’s estranged daughter Dilly.

Marsh told Deadline that it’s “a film driven by the female characters and their choices and decisions and the relationships they have with the men...

Exclusive: As all of the Cannes packages start to trickle through ahead of the big event on the Croisette next week, an early frontrunner in the hot package game is Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Negga starrer Night Boat to Tangier. Oscar-winning director James Marsh is directing the project, based on the novel of the same name from Kevin Barry’s New York Times Top 10 Book of the Year.

The story follows Maurice (Fassbender) and Charlie (Gleeson), a colorful pair of gangsters from Ireland who are drug smugglers and partners with a long history of violence and intertwined personal lives. They’re back in southern Spain revisiting old haunts, old flames and dangerous local criminals all the while searching for Maurice’s estranged daughter Dilly.

Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment is shopping the package to buyers next week and in advance of that, Deadline spoke with Fassbender (who...

Exclusive: Hyde Park Entertainment Group has won rights to the latest memoir by BlacKkKlansman author Ron Stallworth, From BlackKklansman to Hip Hop Cop, a project which will see that work back in the hands of scribe Kevin Willmott, who won an Oscar for adapting the author’s BlacKkKlansman.

BlacKkKlansman, directed by Spike Lee, alsowas based on Stallworth’s life.

From BlacKkKlansman to Hip Hop Cop continues Stallworth’s stranger-than-fiction true story as he goes undercover for the Salt Lake City Police Department, the only Black officer on the white Mormon force, to investigate the root cause of rising gang violence and a brand-new craze threatening local parents and taking their kids by storm: gangster rap. Over the course of one year in 1990-91, he navigates bias and bloodshed as he tries to bridge the gap in this culture war while also trying to catch Utah’s biggest criminal kingpin, with ramifications spanning across America.

Cinedigm CEO Chris McGurk says the company plans to buy back up to 10 million shares of its beleaguered stock over the next 12 months as it looks to avoid getting delisted from the Nasdaq.

In a letter to shareholders, the former senior exec at Universal, Disney and MGM who has been in the top job at Cinedigm since 2011 also said the company plans to rename itself in the coming months. Having recently wrapped a years-long effort to shift its strategic focus from cinema technology to streaming, the company sees the rebrand as helping it to “reflect this momentous turning point” and “accentuate our position and narrative,” McGurk wrote.

Shares in Cinedigm gained 5% on nearly triple their average trading volume to close at 52.5 cents. That’s roughly the mid-point of the stock’s range over the past year, but also well below the one-dollar threshold established by the Nasdaq for all companies listed on its exchange.

Producers targeting major festival slot this year.

Screen has obtained the exclusive first-look image to Hyde Park International’s (Hpi) EFM sales title Marianne starring Isabelle Huppert.

The English-language film from Dark Dreams Entertainment, Cine@, and Hyde Park Entertainment shot last November outside Paris at a location doubling for New England.

It is described as a radical piece of cinema which captures the zeitgeist and sees the sole character played by Huppert talking directly to the audience.

Hpi’s Carl Clifton will show EFM buyers a promo reel and producers Philippe Carcassonne, James Ireland, Alex Pettyfer, and Ashok Amritraj are...

Exclusive: Oscar nominated actress Isabelle Huppert is leading Marianne from Hyde Park International, Cine@ and James Ireland and Alex Pettyfer’s Dark Dreams Entertainment.

Writer and director Michael Rozek, who is a former journalist for such publications as Esquire and Rolling Stone, says, “Marianne is a true event. It’s not only Isabelle Huppert’s very first one-character project—a complete tour de force for one of the greatest actresses in the history of film—but also, in its breakthrough form, a zeitgeist movie, meant to exactly capture the moment we are all living in.”

The pic, though set in New England, was shot outside of Paris.

The movie was produced by Oscar Nominee Philippe Carcassonne, James Ireland and Alex Pettyfer (The Infernal Machine) and Ashok Amritraj.

EPs on the project are Magnus Rausing, Morten Lundin, Peter Dellgren...

Exclusive: Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Warner Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group’s film and television division, have announced the winner of the Hyde Park Entertainment & Warner Music Entertainment Fast Track Fellowship as part of their Asian Women Fellowship program.

Writer/director Tiffanie Hsu and producer Pin-Chun Liu were chosen from an initial set of ten finalists and have been awarded a 12,500 grant and development support. Their winning project, Wonderland, follows an intrepid ten-year-old who embarks on a journey to track down her mother, who disappears in Las Vegas with the family bankroll. With the help of a devious and ambitious magician, she hopes to bring her mother home in time for Christmas, before her father finds out.

The initiative, run in partnership with Film Independent, is designed to showcase women-identifying writers and writer-directors who are Asian or part of the Asian diaspora and are ready to...

Amy Tan's iconic exploration of identity, friendship, and womanhood is getting the sequel treatment. In collaboration with Oscar-winning screenwriter Ron Bass, the bestselling author is releasing a sequel to 1993's "The Joy Luck Club," inspired by her 1989 novel of the same name. Like the original movie, the new film - which will also be produced by Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment Group and producer Jeff Kleeman - will tell the multigenerational story of Chinese and Chinese American mothers and daughters as their lives intertwine. Expanding on the source material, the sequel will also see the daughters become mothers and the mothers become grandmothers, adding a new generation of women to the saga.

"Now more than ever it is important to share authentic stories about the Asian-American experience."

"I am thrilled to work with Amy, Ron and Jeff to bring this special film to the screen," Amritraj told Deadline.

Almost 30 years after the original’s 1993 release, a sequel to The Joy Luck Club is on the way. Amy Tan and Ron Bass will write the script, with Jeff Kleeman and Ashok Amritraj of Hyde Park Entertainment Group producing. The original film, directed by Wayne Wang, focuses on the life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters. Through their richly-detailed life experiences, the women pass their knowledge onto a new generation, hoping to shape them into strong and independent individuals. Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu, Ming-Na Wen, and Lauren Tom, who starred in the original, are in talks to reprise their roles for The Joy Luck Club sequel.

The Joy Luck Club is a well-respected film often credited with changing the face of Asian cinema. The heartfelt drama helped launch the career of Ming-Na Wen, the badass you know from Marvel’s Agents of S.

Decades after revolutionizing how we see Asian American women on screen, "The Joy Luck Club" will be meeting up once again. Deadline reports that the 1993 film, originally directed by Wayne Wang, will be getting a sequel that is sure to continue the themes of intergenerational struggles portrayed in the original. Amy Tan, who wrote the original 1989 novel, and Ron Bass will both return as screenwriters. Hyde Park Entertainment Group, headed up by Ashok Amritraj, will handle the majority of producing duties on the project.

"We are excited to be teaming with Hyde Park and ["The Judge" producer] Jeff Kleeman in bringing to life the next generation of these four families so close to our hearts," the duo wrote in a statement provided to Deadline.

Not much is known about the film's story, but what we do know is that it will be a true legacy sequel in every sense of the term.

“The Joy Luck Club” is reconvening for a sequel three decades after the adaptation of Amy Tan’s award-winning novel became a milestone for Asian American representation onscreen.

Tan and “The Joy Luck Club” screenwriter Ron Bass are teaming up to develop the project, with Tan, Jeff Kleeman and Hyde Park Entertainment Group’s Ashok Amritraj and Priya Amritraj producing. A director has not yet been named.

The original leading cast of the Wayne Wang-directed film – which included Rosalind Chao, Tamlyn Tomita, Lisa Lu, Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lauren Tom and Ming-Na Wen – are in talks to star.

Also Read:

Randall Park’s Directorial Debut ‘Shortcomings’ Sets Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki as Stars

Released in 1993, “The Joy Luck Club” revolved around a San Francisco-based group of Chinese immigrant mothers and their Chinese American daughters who navigate the push and pull of mother-daughter relationships, cultural...

Novelist Amy Tan and Oscar-winning “Rain Man” screenwriter Ron Bass are on board to deliver a sequel to “The Joy Luck Club,” the 1993 movie that broke new ground for Asian American representation.

The new film, “Joy Luck Club 2,” is set up at Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group, with Ashok and Priya Amritraj producing alongside Tan, Bass and Jeff Kleeman. A director hasn’t been announced yet.

The original “Joy Luck Club,” directed by Wayne Wang, was an epic, multigenerational saga of Chinese and Chinese-American mothers and daughters, whose histories, stories and lives interweave as they navigate life. Club members included characters played by Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu and Kieu Chinh. The ensemble cast also included Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao and Russell Wong.

In “Joy Luck Club 2,” the mothers become grandmothers and the daughters become mothers in their own right, introducing a new generation exploring their own relationships with culture,...

Exclusive: Nearly 30 years after The Joy Luck Club changed Asian and Asian American representation in cinema, a sequel is in development with author Amy Tan and Oscar-winning screenwriter Ron Bass continuing from the former’s bestselling novel.

Also producing are Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and The Judge producer Jeff Kleeman.

Amy Tan, Getty Images

The original leading cast are in talks to return to their roles, now the mothers and grandmothers of their families. The Wayne Wang-directed movie was a breakout role for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Mandalorian actress Ming-Na Wen and also starred Tamlyn Tomita, and Lisa Lu.

Ron Bass, Getty Images

The Joy Luck Club, released in 1993, tells the multigenerational saga of Chinese and Chinese-American mothers and daughters, whose histories, stories and lives interweave as they navigate life. The original Disney Touchstone theatrical paved the way for such Asian-led movies as Crazy Rich Asians...

Exclusive: Elin Hilderbrand’s best-selling novel The Hotel Nantucket is in development at Warner Bros. TV with Sue Kroll set to executive produce, Deadline has learned.

Warner Bros. TV declined to comment.

The series follows Nantucket sweetheart, Lizbet Keaton who is desperately seeking a second act fresh off a bad breakup with a longtime boyfriend. When she’s named the new general manager of the Hotel Nantucket, a once Gilded Age gem turned abandoned eyesore, she hopes that her local expertise and charismatic staff can win the favor of their new London billionaire owner, Xavier Darling, as well as that of Shelly Carpenter, the wildly popular Instagram tastemaker who can help put them back on the map.

Hilderbrand is a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author who has written over 25 novels, which have sold over 10 million copies collectively. Some of her works include the bestselling Paradise trilogy, 28 Summers, The Identicals,...

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It was an offer they couldn’t refuse.

APA has signed the estate of The Godfather author Mario Puzo for representation.

The agency will represent the media rights to the author’s novels with the goal of sales for motion picture and streaming minseries adaptations.

Puzo is best known for Godfather, his 1969 novel that was on the New York Times best-seller list for 67 weeks and reportedly sold 9 million copies in two years. The author gained further fame when Francis Ford Coppola adapted the book into the classic film starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. Paramount may own those rights, but APA is betting that in this age of insatiable hunger for stories, there will be plenty of interest in the author’s many other works.

The agency has already begun discussion with producers regarding Puzo’s as-yet-unadapted novels including: Fools Die, his first novel post-Godfather,...

Hyde Park Entertainment Group CEO Ashok Amritraj has joined the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai.

“I am pleased to welcome Ashok Amritraj to the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors. Ashok is a highly respected and engaged member of our community, and I look forward to working with him as we transform the landscape of medical research through innovation,” said David Sadkin, Chair of the Board of Governors.

“Cedars-Sinai’s tradition of excellence in advancing scientific breakthroughs, pioneering innovation and accelerating the pace of medical discovery is world renowned. It is an honor and privilege to join the Board of Governors and I look forward to working with them to build a stronger and healthier community,” said Amritraj.

Amritraj’s commitment to philanthropy worldwide includes the creation of diverse, inclusive and socially relevant content. In 2016, he was appointed a United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador, and two years later, by decree of the...

Exclusive: Calabasas Films + Media and Sterling Road Films are partnering to produce the first official documentary about former tennis player and actor Vijay Amritraj.

Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sami Khan (St. Louis Superman), the currently untitled feature is being executive-produced by Calabasas partners Kapil Mahendra and Paul Beahan, alongside Prakash Amritraj and Dhaval Desai.

The documentary will chart Amritraj’s rise from his childhood in India, overcoming serious health issues, to his emergence as a top player in the 1970s and 1980s, defeating Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, and John McEnroe in their primes.

Along with older brother Anand, Vijay Amritraj was an integral part of the Indian team that boycotted the 1974 Davis Cup Finals against South Africa to protest Apartheid. Vijay is also the older brother of Ashok Amritraj (himself a former tennis player), the long-time film producer who is currently CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment and was formerly CEO of National Geographic Films.

Ryan Gosling is tipped to star in “The Fall Guy,” a feature film adaptation of the iconic 1980s TV series, that will shoot in Sydney, Australia.

The original series, which ran 1981-1986, was created by Glen A. Larson and starred Lee Majors as a Hollywood stunt man. To make ends meet, he has a side hustle as a bounty hunter.

Australian local media has extensively reported that Gosling will take up the title role.

Australia’s federal government and the New South Wales state authorities will provide finance for the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group produced film. Some A30 million (21.1 million) will come from federal sources. The state government will kick in an additional A14.5 million (10.2 million).

Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Paul Fletcher, said the production is expected to inject more than A244 million (171 million) into the Australian economy.

“We are pleased to welcome ‘The Fall Guy...

Exclusive: Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Warner Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group’s film and television division have launched the Hyde Park Entertainment & Warner Music Entertainment Asian Women Fellowship.

The initiative, run in partnership with Film Independent, will showcase women-identifying writers and writer-directors who are Asian or part of the Asian diaspora. The Fellowship is aligned with Hyde Park Entertainment and Warner Music Group’s shared, ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion.

With guidance from leading industry advisors, the winners will continue to develop and package their feature projects, with the goal of shopping the final screenplays to major studios and streamers. Industry advisors and supporters include Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao; Gemma Chan; Independent Spirit Award winner Lulu Wang; and Gurinder Chadha.

Sari Arambulo, the program’s inaugural fellow, was chosen from an initial set of ten finalists and has been awarded a $12,5K grant and development support.

Rupi Kaur, Indian Canadian poet and New York Times bestselling author, has snagged a one-hour Amazon Original special. “Rupi Kaur Live,” which is described as a “distinctive fusion of poetry, humor, spoken word, music and compelling visuals inspired by her poetry collections,” will stream in North America exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Aug. 27.

“Rupi Kaur Live” promises to weave together Kaur’s passion and creative talent in one illustrious work as she guides the audience and fans through a vibrant and transcendent journey about growth and healing. Per the logline, the hourlong special is a cross-cultural celebration of love and identity from an artist who has been called “the voice of a generation” and “writer of the decade.” It hails from Andrews McMeel Universal in association with Hyde Park Entertainment and was written and performed by Kaur and directed by Liz Patrick.

“Sharing this show with the world is a dream come true,...

Exclusive: Independent streaming company Cinedigm has named Ashok Amritraj to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Amritraj is Chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Inc. and brings an exceptionally diverse resume that has seen him wearing the whites of Wimbledon, excelling as an award-winning producer and serving as a United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador. The former professional tennis player turned Hollywood producer has a feature career that has spanned more than 100 movies in a 35-year-plus career including such titles as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Bringing Down the House, Walking Tall and the SAG and Golden Globe nominated drama 99 Homes. Amritraj has worked with some of the biggest stars in the business including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Idris Elba, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield and Jennifer Aniston. He also established Hyde Park Entertainment Asia to produce films and television series from Asian and Indian creators.

Exclusive: Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and West Madison Entertainment’s Christina Papagjika and Matthew Salloway have partnered to produce the feature biopic Bury the Lede, based on the true story of Connie Lawn, who was the longest-serving White House correspondent ever with a tenure that spanned over 50 years.

Broadway director Anna D. Shapiro will helm the script written by Joy Gregory (Madam Secretary). Shapiro also serves as the Artistic Director of the celebrated Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago and will soon be directing the Broadway-bound musical The Devil Wears Prada with music by Sir Elton John.

Lawn started her career covering the 1968 Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign. From conducting one of the last interviews with Kennedy standing inches away during the assassination, living at the Watergate complex during the break-in and Nixon fallout, being abducted in Lebanon and staging her escape,...

Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani is set to helm a Netflix feature adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s Australian-set novel Amnesty.

The story follows Danny, an illegal immigrant who cleans houses in suburban Sydney and is exposed to information about the sudden murder of one of his employers.

Over the course of a summer day, Danny plays a cat-and-mouse game with the man he suspects to be the murderer, all the while knowing that if he speaks up, he will be deported.

The feature adaptation will being produced by Bahareh Azimi, Bahrani for Noruz Films and Ashok Amritraj for Hyde Park Entertainment.

Whether the production will take place in Australia is yet to be confirmed.

Bahrani, who also wrote, directed, and produced the recently released Netflix film The White Tiger based on Aravind Adiga’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel, says he is grateful to again partner with Netflix and Azimi.

“This novel...

Ramin Bahrani is set to adapt, direct and produce the film adaptation of the novel Amnesty for Netflix. The film is based on the novel by White Tiger author Aravind Adiga and will also be produced by Ashok Amritraj for Hyde Park Entertainment. Bahrani’s partner Bahareh Azimi will also produce through their Noruz Films banner.

“I am thrilled to adapt Aravind’s great new novel, ‘Amnesty.’ And very grateful to partner with Netflix and my lead creative producer Bahareh Azimi once again,” said Bahrani. “This novel gripped me from the first time Aravind shared a rough draft with me five years ago. I can’t wait to bring it to the screen.”

The story is set in Australia and follows an illegal immigrant who cleans houses, realizes he has information about sudden murder of one of his employers. Over the course of one tense summer day, Danny plays a...

Following the successful launch of “The White Tiger,” filmmaker Ramin Bahrani, author Aravind Adiga and Netflix have set their next collaboration. Bahrani will again write, direct and produce the film adaptation of Adiga’s work — this time bringing the author’s 2020 novel, “Amnesty,” to the screen.

“I am thrilled to adapt Aravind’s great new novel, ‘Amnesty.” And very grateful to partner with Netflix and my lead creative producer Bahareh Azimi once again,” Bahrani said in a statement. Bahrani and Azimi both served as producers on “The White Tiger,” Adiga’s New York Times bestseller and Man Booker Prize-winning novel, which was released by the streamer on Jan. 22.

Bahrani continued: “This novel gripped me from the first time Aravind shared a rough draft with me five years ago. I can’t wait to bring it to the screen.”

Set in Australia, the story centers on Danny, an undocumented immigrant who cleans houses.

Following the success of his epic “The White Tiger” on Netflix, Ramin Bahrani is sticking with the streamer for his next film and author Aravind Adiga. Bahrani is set to adapt, direct, and produce the film adaptation of “White Tiger” writer Adiga’s latest novel “Amnesty” for Netflix. Bahrani and Adiga have been close friends since college, and their collaboration will continue with the next film, to be written by Bahrani from the book published in February of 2020.

Here’s the synopsis, courtesy of Netflix: “Set in Australia, the story is compelling and timely. Danny, an illegal immigrant who cleans houses, realizes he has information about sudden murder of one of his employers. Over the course of one tense summer day, Danny plays a cat-and-mouse game with the man he suspects to be the murderer. But if he speaks up, he will be deported. He is in a moral crisis...

After directing an adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s book “The White Tiger” for Netflix, director Ramin Bahrani will next take on the author’s book “Amnesty” that’s also set up at the streamer.

Bahrani will write, direct and produce an adaptation of “Amnesty,” which was published in 2020 and is the story of an illegal immigrant in Australia, who realizes that he has information about the sudden murder of one of his employers. The book takes place over the course of one tense summer day as the man plays a game of cat and mouse with the suspected murderer, all while fearing that he will be deported if he speaks up.

Bahrani will produce “Amnesty” for Noruz Films alongside Ashok Amritraj for Hyde Park Entertainment and Bahareh Azimi.

The novel “The White Tiger” was a New York Times bestseller and won the Man Booker Prize; Bahrani’s film adaptation debuted...

Bahrani and Bahareh Azimi of Noruz Films, Ashok Amritraj of Hyde Park Entertainment producing.

Following Ramin Bahrani’s Netflix adaptation of awards contender The White Tiger by author Aravind Adiga, the parties are reuniting on Amnesty.

Bahrani will adapt the screenplay, direct and produce the story about Danny, a house cleaner and illegal immigrant in Australia who engages in a game of cat-and-mouse with a man he suspects has murdered one of his employers.

Over the course of one summer day, Danny must weigh up whether to keep quiet, or report the man to the authorities and risk being deported.

It was recently announced that the company behind the classic Rubik's Cube toy is gearing up to spawn an ambitious multi-media franchise under Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content. It will include, but not be limited to, a Rubik's Cube movie and game show that revolves around the multi-colored toy. The news of the upcoming Rubik's Cinematic Universe prompted Christopher Miller, who co-wrote and co-directed The Lego Movie, to deny any responsibility for inspiring the Rubik's team on Twitter.

"3 things: 1) it is theoretically possible to make a good movie based on almost anything 2) Doesn't mean you should 3) Let's not blame The Lego Movie for [the plans for the new Rubik's Cube franchise], pretty please."

Not much was expected of The Lego Movie when it first debuted in 2014. Based on the iconic children's building block toys, the film was created using only legos and CGI animation. Thanks to giant leaps in VFX, The Lego Movie...

A Rubik's Cube movie and game show are on the way from Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content. The iconic puzzle was invented and introduced in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, Erno Rubik. It was originally called the Magic Cube and Rubik came up with the idea while working for the Department of Interior Design at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest. It was originally believed that the puzzle was invented to help students understand 3D objects, though that was an unintended outcome.

Erno Rubik originally invented the Rubik's Cube to figure out a structural problem of moving the parts independently without the entire mechanism falling apart. It was only when he tried to put the invention back together that he realized that he had made a puzzle game. The upcoming Rubik's Cube movie will be about Professor Erno Rubik's toy and...

The Rubik’s Cube is getting the big screen treatment.

Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content have partnered with the eponymous brand for a feature film based on the best-selling puzzle toy. Hyde Park is also working with Endeavor Content-backed “The Wall” producer Glassman Media for a game show based on the Rubik’s Cube.

The film — details of which are still sparse — will be produced by Amritraj and executive produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park. Meanwhile, the game show will be executive produced by Amritraj and Andrew Glassman of Glassman Media.

One of the most recognizable global toys around, 450 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold around the world. Created by Hungarian sculptor and architecture professor Erno Rubik in 1974, the toy requires the player to unlock a web of six, mixed-up colors, twisting the cube to show just one color per side.

A movie based on the invention of the iconic, colorful 3D puzzle toy the Rubik’s Cube is in the works from Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content.

The film — produced by Amritraj and executive produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park — will be about how Professor Erno Rubik’s toy became a pop culture phenomenon in the ’80s and beyond. No specific logline was given.

Hyde Park is also developing a game show centered around the toy brand along with Glassman Media (“The Wall”), an Endeavor Content Company. The game show will be executive produced by Amritraj and Andrew Glassman of Glassman Media.

The Rubik’s Cube was invented by Erno Rubik in 1974 and was licensed as a toy in 1980. To date, over 450 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold around the world. Since 2018, amateur and professional “speedcubers” from all over the world have faced each other,...

Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content are teaming for a big feature take of famed global-selling toy, the Rubik’s Cube.

Hyde Park is also partnering with Glassman Media (The Wall), an Endeavor Content Company, to create a game show based on the global brand.

The combination puzzle was invented by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, Erno Rubik, in 1974. The puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980. To date, the Rubik’s Cube has sold over 450M cubes worldwide. Since 2018, amateur and professional speedcubers from all over the world have faced each other battling for the chance to prove their skills in the Rubik’s Cube World Championship Finals

at Boston.

The Rubik’s Feature Film will be produced by Amritraj and Executive Produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park. The Game Show will be Executive...

Hyde Park also partnering on game show with Endeavor Content-owned Glassman Media.

Endeavor Content and Hyde Park Entertainment are partnering on a feature adaptation based on the iconic Rubik’s Cube puzzle.

The project is out to writers and is being produced by Hyde Park chairman and CEO Ashok Amritraj (pictured), with Hyde Park’s Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr serving as executive producers.

Hyde Park is also partnering with Endeavor Content-owned Glassman Media on a game show, on which Ashok Amritraj and Andrew Glassman will serve as executive producers.

The Rubik’s Cube, invented in the 1970s by Hungarian architect Erno Rubik,...

Exclusive: Tomorrow Studios, the producer behind apocalyptic drama Snowpiercer, is working up a television adaptation of Dean Koontz’s latest thriller novel Devoted.

The company, which is a joint venture between Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios, is adapting the book as a television series. Adelstein and Tomorrow Studios President Becky Clements will executive produce the series, along with Koontz.

The book, which was published by Amazon Publishing in March 2020, tells the story of Woody Bookman, a boy who hasn’t spoken a word in his eleven years of life, and who believes a monstrous evil was behind his father’s death and now threatens him and his mother.

When Kipp, a uniquely gifted dog with a heart as golden as his breed, hears the boy, who communicates like he does without speaking, Kipp knows he needs to find him before it’s too late. Only a force greater than evil,...

Exclusive: Film Independent has unveiled their keynotes, conversations and panelists for the 15th annual Film Independent Forum. The Forum, which is traditionally a weekend event, will now be a week-long virtual event that will reach all corners of the globe from July 31 to August 7.

The event has set a roster of banner names in the industry, featuring a U.S. Filmmaker Keynote with Lulu Wang (The Farewell); a U.S. Executive Keynote with Elissa Federoff, President of Distribution at Neon; a Documentary Keynote with Dawn Porter; and a Global Executive Keynote with Ashok Amritraj, Chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment Group. Traditionally a weekend event, the Forum has expanded to a full week-long event accessible online to global audiences the week of July 31 to August 7.

In addition, panels will cover financing, production and distribution of films to digital content across diverse platforms...

A biopic on the life of tennis great Arthur Ashe is in the works from Warner Music Group and Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment that will be penned by Kevin Willmott, an Oscar winner for “BlacKkKlansman” and the writer of Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” it was announced Tuesday.

Amritraj will produce for Hyde Park Entertainment along with Charles Cohen for Warner Music Group. Ashe’s wife Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe is executive producing along with Hyde Park’s Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr, as well as Alexandra Dell.

Ashe was an activist for civil rights, for AIDS awareness and is the only black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. He died of AIDS-related pneumonia at age 49 in 1993 after retiring in 1980.

The film will incorporate the music of Ashe’s life, including Aretha Franklin, Prince and Curtis Mayfield. Warner Music...

A biopic about Wimbledon tennis champion and African American civil rights activist Arthur Ashe is in the works at Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Warner Music Group.

Academy Award winner Kevin Willmott, whose credits include “BlacKkKlansman” and “Da 5 Bloods,” will write the screenplay, which has the full support of the Arthur Ashe Estate.

Ashe’s inspirational story started on the public tennis courts in Richmond, Va., as he eventually rose to become the only Black man to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open, achieving a No. 1 ranking in the world. Ashe’s victory at the 1968 U.S. Open came as the nation struggled with the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., anti-Vietnam protests and the civil rights movement. Ashe was able to forge his role within the Black revolution in America, finding his own unique voice as he struck...

The story of legendary tennis champ Arthur Ashe, the first African-American player to be selected to the U.S. Davis Cup team and to win three Grand Slam singles titles, is heading to the big screen, with full support of the Arthur Ashe Estate.

Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Warner Music Group (Wmg) have partnered to adapt the story of the Wimbledon tennis champion and civil rights activist, with Academy Award winner Kevin Willmott penning the screenplay.

The biopic follows the sporting story of the African American tennis icon who defied all odds, from the public courts in Richmond, Virginia, to becoming the only black man to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open, and was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1968 — one of the most charged eras in American history as the nation struggled with the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

The story of legendary tennis champ Arthur Ashe, the first African-American player to be selected to the U.S. Davis Cup team and to win three Grand Slam singles titles, is heading to the big screen, with full support of the Arthur Ashe Estate.

Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Warner Music Group (Wmg) have partnered to adapt the story of the Wimbledon tennis champion and civil rights activist, with Academy Award winner Kevin Willmott penning the screenplay.

The biopic follows the sporting story of the African American tennis icon who defied all odds, from the public courts in Richmond, Virginia, to becoming the only black man to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open, and was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1968 — one of the most charged eras in American history as the nation struggled with the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

BlacKkKlansman Oscar winner Kevin Willmott is set to write the feature story of Wimbledon tennis champion and African American civil rights activist Arthur Ashe, a project on which Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Warner Music Group (Wmg) are teaming.

It’s a project that’s close to Amritraj’s heart, the Hyde Park producer being a former Wimbledon pro himself. Hyde Park obtained the full support of the Arthur Ashe Estate in developing the film. Warner Music Group will help secure the music and provide creative guidance to the filmmakers, which plan to tap into the extraordinary works of the era by such artists as Aretha Franklin, Prince, Curtis Mayfield and others.

“Arthur’s legacy reaches far beyond his greatness as a tennis player,” Amritraj said. “Always a gentleman; bold, graceful, and intellectual; while at the same time passionate in his fight against racial inequality and injustice,...

Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment, Warner Music Group and BlacKkKlansman co-writer Kevin Willmott have teamed for a biopic on Arthur Ashe, a civil rights activist and the only Black man to have won the men's singles title at Wimbledon, the Us Open and the Australian Open.

Oscar winner Willmott, a frequent collaborator of Spike Lee and co-writer of the filmmaker's latest, Da 5 Bloods, will pen the screenplay. Amritraj will produce for Hyde Park with Warner Music Group’s Charles Cohen.

Music from Ashe’s era will be a key component of the drama, which has the backing ...