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The San Quentin Film Festival — the first-ever film festival taking place inside of a prison — has added a new title to its lineup: “Four Letters,” a documentary short that was scored and executive produced by Common.

The festival marks the first industry and press screening of “Four Letters,” but its world premiere took place on screens across all state prisons administered by California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation in April as a part of Second Chance Month, an initiative led by justice reform nonprofit Prison Fellowship.

“Four Letters” tells the story of software engineer Charles Anderson before, during and after his incarceration to follow, per the official description, “his journey from the depths of the criminal justice system to the heights of global tech giants.” Anderson, who serves as a producer on “Four Letters,” first discovered coding in prison before using the skill to connect with recently incarcerated youth and discuss...

Exclusive: Mike Tollin, executive producer of Emmy-winning The Last Dance, today announced the launch of Mtp, a re-branding and restructuring of his Mike Tollin Productions, with a focus on expanded content.

The announcement follows the premiere last month of his six-episode docuseries Justice, USA on Max.

Under the re-brand, sports will remain a major component of Mtp’s content expansion, and has allowed Tollin to bring on new talent and reorganize the company structure. Jonathan Vogler has been elevated to President of Unscripted Productions and Ricky Cruz has been brought on as VP/Development. On the scripted side, Harry Wood is now VP Development and Sarah Alammuri has joined as Director/Development. Steve Tollin remains Director of Finance.

“I love the new team,” said Tollin. “They’re passionate and scrappy. Sports will continue to be our main lane, but we’ll follow the side streets as often as possible to tell stories with pro-social content.

Prime Video has announced a premiere date alongside a new trailer for its upcoming series Three Pines, starring Alfred Molina. The 8-episode, one-hour drama series follows Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (Molina) as he investigates several murder cases that are happening in an idyllic Quebec village, finding long-buried secrets and facing a few of his own ghosts. “Assisted by his trusted team—the combative and troubled Sergeant Jean-Guy Beauvoir (Rossif Sutherland), the intelligent Indigenous working mother Sergeant Isabelle Lacoste (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers), and the accident-prone rookie Agent Yvette Nichol (Sarah Booth)—Gamache and his group are initially treated suspiciously by the village’s residents,” according to the streaming service. “Yet despite the cool welcome, Gamache can’t help but find himself oddly drawn to this unusual place and its eccentric residents, including the owners of the bistro, Gabri (Pierre Simpson) and Olivier (Frédéric-Antoine Guimond), artists Peter (Julian Bailey) and Clara (Anna Tierney...

Alfred Molina is starring in the upcoming Prime Video series "Three Pines." It's an adaptation of the beloved and best-selling mystery novel series by Louise Penny, focused on Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. There are eight episodes in the season, though the novel series is 17 books long. That's a lot of story to mine from. It's set in Canada, and the production was filmed in both Montreal and rural Quebec. 

This is the first Canada-based production for Left Bank, which is the production company behind the Netflix series "The Crown," about the royal family of the United Kingdom. Production began on the Canadian Amazon Original drama series in September 2021. If you haven't heard of Armande Gamache, it's time to start reading, and watching when the series premieres. The Washington Post named Gamache the most beloved fictional detective in a 2021 reader survey. That puts him ahead of both Hercule Poirot from Agatha...

Alfred Molina is to star in Amazon police drama series Three Pines, which comes from The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures.

The Spider-Man star is to play Chief Inspector Armand Gamache in the Canadian original, which was first revealed by Deadline in May 2020.

The eight-part series has begun production in Montreal and rural Quebec. It will film through to December and launch on Amazon in a number of territories including Canada, the U.S. and UK.

Based on Louise Penny’s book series, Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is a man who sees things that others do not: the light between the cracks, the mythic in the mundane, and the evil in the seemingly ordinary. As he investigates a spate of murders in Three Pines, a seemingly idyllic village, he discovers long-buried secrets and faces a few of his own ghosts.

The cast also includes Rossif Sutherland, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers,...

Discovery+ has given a straight-to-series order to Justice, USA, a docuseries which takes a comprehensive insider 360-degree view of the criminal justice system. OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is overseeing production of the series for discovery+. The project hails from Oscar, Grammy and Emmy-winning Common, Humanitas Prize finalist Marshall Goldberg (Life Goes On), Emmy-winning executive producer Mike Tollin (The Last Dance) and Msm, with Think Common Entertainment’s Tamara Brown also executive producing. Justice, USA is slated to premiere in 2022 on discovery+.

“We knew from the start that Justice, USA is a series that must be made and brought to viewers,” said OWN president Tina Perry. “What Mike, Common, Tamara, and Marshall are creating is a compelling and shockingly honest documentary that lays bare the often-ugly and unfortunate truth about the treatment of those most vulnerable by a complex and overburdened system that fails more than it succeeds.”

OWN will oversee production for discovery+. Justice,...