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Exclusive: “Something is changing in America,” says La-based Mexican megastar Eugenio Derbez. “Look at the success of Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther: that’s America today. There are a lot of people who want to see themselves reflected on screen. Now it’s time for Latinos. There are 58M Latinos in the U.S. so in Hollywood, it’s not about just hiring a Martinez or a Hernandez — screw that — it’s about telling stories that are interesting to different kinds of audiences.”

Multi-hyphenate Derbez and producing partner Ben Odell know this better than most given the success of their four year-old U.S. production company 3Pas Studios, which specializes in Spanish, English and dual-language movies and series and which has been at the forefront of the growing niche for commercially-minded, Latinx-oriented content with crossover appeal.

Hits for the company so far have included the 2018 dual-language remake Overboard [$92M global theatrical off an estimated $12 budget] and...

This is a topical project given the big healthcare debate at the moment. CBS has out in development The Advocate, a drama from CSI maven Carol Mendelsohn and Scandal co-exec producer Judy Smith, the crisis management consultant the series’ Olivia Pope was based on. Written by Ayelet Waldman, The Advocate centers on a former doctor who has found her calling as a medical advocate, where she works on behalf of patients and their loved ones, solving medical crises and mysteries, and guaranteeing people the care they deserve. CBS TV Studios and Carol Mendelsohn Prods produce, with Waldman, repped by the Rwsg Literary Agency, exec producing alongside Mendelsohn, Julie Weitz and Smith. This marks Wme-repped Carol Mendelsohn Prods.’ third sale this season, along with a 1960s Surf Project at the CW penned by Rebecca Sinclair, and Law Man written by Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin for NBC. Smith is with Wme.

NBC is developing the legal drama “Law Man” from one of the executive producers of “CSI,” based on the true story of a masterful jailhouse lawyer. Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin (“They Call Me Cuervo,” “Fun City”) are executive producing and wrote the script based on Shon Hopwood’s memoir of the same name. Hopwood, who will serve as a consultant, was a small-town basketball star who sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for committing five robberies. Behind bars he helped other inmates fight the law, and often won. Also read: ‘Dracula’ Review: Vampire Trades Blood for Oil in NBC.

NBC, the long-time home of the Law & Order franchise, has put in development another legal drama with “law” in the title. Law Man, from CBS TV Studios and studio-based Carol Mendelsohn Prods (The Defenders), is inspired by Shon Hopwood’s memoir and chronicles the journey of a small-town basketball star who goes from young bank robber to federal prison inmate, during which time he became the greatest jailhouse lawyer in American history. He went on to join the D.C. District Attorneys Investigative Unit where his life experience gives him insight into identifying the guilty from the innocent, as he struggles to fit back into the world that left him behind. Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin (They Call Me Cuervo) wrote and are executive producing alongside Carol Mendelsohn Prods’ Carol Mendelsohn, showrunner of the venerable CSI series, and Julie Weitz, while Hopwood serves as consultant. This marks the second sale...

The Wild

Directed by Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams

Written by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Mark Gibson, and Philip Halprin

Starring Kiefer Sutherland, James Belushi, William Shatner

Every movie, every television show, every book, every play, and every musical needs to have internal logic inherent in its creation. No matter how ridiculous the premise is—a man dresses as a bat to fight crime, a high-school teacher resorts to cooking methamphetamines to make money, and so on—there must be logic present. If there isn’t, the story falls apart as soon as you think about it. The real trick that some filmmakers or other creative types can employ is not making you think about the story while you’re experiencing it. As an example, while I loved Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and can’t wait to watch it over and over on Blu-ray, does it hold up to intense scrutiny?...

"Reno 911!" co-stars and "Night at the Museum" scribes Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant are re-teaming on the comedy "The Wee McGinty" for Summit Entertainment says Deadline.

The story revolves around a wish-granting Leprechaun who loses his memory and decides to join the local firefighting squad. He is soon in danger of being discovered by other Leprechauns who will ostracize him forever.

The pair will re-write Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin's pre-existing script while Garant will direct. Thomas Lennon will play a major supporting character though his role hasn't been divulged at present.

Katie Holmes is out to do another comedy (was 2008's Mad Money not enough?), joining forces with Adam Sandler for his latest project. THR reports that Holmes has been cast in Jack and Jill, a movie which sees Sandler playing both a twin brother and a sister during an awkward Thanksgiving visit.

Holmes will play one of the Sandler's wife, with Al Pacino playing himself. Dennis Dugan (Grown Ups) will direct the movie from a script by Steve Koren (Click).

Next Showing:

Link | Posted 8/27/2010 by Ryan

Adam Sandler | Al Pacino | Dennis Dugan | Katie Holmes | Steve Koren | Mark Gibson | Steve Carell | Philip Halprin...

Steve Carell finds A Boyfriend for My Wife Gearing up for his impending exit from the hit NBC sitcom The Office, comedic actor Steve Carell is wasting no time in finding other projects. According to Variety, Steve Carell has signed onto star in and produce the upcoming romantic comedy A Boyfriend for My Wife, a remake of the popular 2008 Argentine film Un Novio Para Mi Mujer.

Steve Carell will make the film through his own Carousel Productions, which will be distributed by Warner Bros. Writers Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin are adapting the original screenplay for American audiences.

The storyline revolves around a shy, dissatisfied husband (Steve Carell) who is too afraid to ask for a divorce, so instead, he sets out to find his wife a new lover. He eventually enlists the help of a legendary yet unlikely lothario, and things don't necessarily go according to the plan.

A Boyfriend for My Wife...

NEW YORK -- For Snoop Dogg, nothing comes easy -- even starting a youth football league.

New York-based Natural Resources Media & Technology Group has filed suit against the rapper's Snoop Youth Football League Foundation, alleging the foundation made a deal for a reality television series chronicling Snoop's involvement in the league in violation of a pre-existing deal with 20th Century Fox to develop a similar feature film.

According to the complaint, filed last week in New York Supreme Court, the June deal purportedly gave Natural Resources exclusive pay-per-view, cable, home video and other video footage rights for the league in exchange for raising and providing more than $100,000 for the production and splitting revenue with the foundation.

But when Fox got wind of the planned production, its senior vp legal affairs Michael Ross sent a letter to the parties involved -- which include Maryland-based production company TV One, Beverly Hills- based Strange Fruit Film and TV, and Jacksonville, Fla.-based Axcess Sports & Entertainment -- informing them of Fox's "exclusive rights to portray Snoop in any motion picture or television project or other production based on Snoop's involvement with his sons' football teams and leagues."

Fox is currently developing a feature entitled Coach Snoop with screenwriters Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin.

Las Vegas creator/executive producer Gary Scott Thompson has lined up two drama projects in development for next season -- one at CBS and one at NBC. Both shows are being produced by NBC Universal TV Studio, where Thompson has an overall deal. Protect and Serve at CBS is an ensemble drama about street cops in Los Angeles that follows them on the beat as well as off duty. "It has a procedural edge to it," Thompson said. "It's not serialized and yet it's character-driven." Thompson is writing the script with feature writers Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin. The three are executive producing the project, which has received a script commitment from the network.

Snoop Dogg will star in and executive produce a feature based on his real-life experience of coaching his son's youth football team. 20th Century Fox beat out several bidders, including Sony and Paramount, paying $1 million for the pitch titled Coach Snoop. Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin are penning the project, which will be produced by Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. Hutch Parker and Debbie Liebling will oversee the project for Fox. "This film is about how I learned to be a good father through coaching," Snoop Dogg said. "It's also about life lessons learned on and off the field. But most importantly during the football season, if you aren't wearing a helmet, get the f**k away from me. Football first; everything else second."...

It's easy to see why Warner Bros. chose to sneak "The In Crowd" into theaters during the middle of the week without any advance screenings for the nasty critics.

It's even easier to predict that this excruciatingly lame thriller will be out of circulation long before Labor Day.

Playing like "Girl, Interrupted: The 90210 Years" -- though it makes the recently departed Aaron Spelling series look like high art by comparison -- this tawdry, bubble-headed Morgan Creek production is a sorry underachiever on every level.

It isn't even bad enough to be considered good camp.

Directed with uninspired vapidity by music video director-turned-filmmaker-turned-music video director Mary Lambert ("Pet Semetary", Madonna's "Material Girl" clip), the story centers on efforts of attractive psychiatric hospital outpatient Adrien Williams (Lori Heuring) to re-enter society after seemingly coming to terms with a troubled past.

But leave it to her doctor Daniel Hugh Kelly) to put Adrien's emotional resolve to the test by getting her a job at an obnoxious country club filled with rich, young, pretty, vacuous white kids. As a matter of fact, sightings of any people of color are reserved for background serving staff or foaming-at-the-mouth mental patients. As co-worker Joanne (Kim Murphy) succinctly puts it, "This isn't life, it's a J. Crew catalogue."

Naturally, the inhabitants in question have nothing better to do with their time between the partying and the golf and tennis lessons than to pick on the new girl, who should know better than to allow herself to be taken under the highly suspect wing of resident bitch princess Brittany (Susan Ward).

Apparently unaware that it's never a wise idea for the help to fraternize with the guests, impressionable Adrien manages to find time to balance her pool cleaning with her hectic social life (carefully orchestrated by the conniving Brittany) while failing to heed the warnings of Brittany's resentful outcast lesbian girlfriend Kelly (Laurie Fortier) to steer clear.

The cheesy script by Mark Gibson ("Lush") and Philip Halprin is filled with dorky dialogue uniformly delivered by a young cast with all the commitment of Stepford teens.

Director Lambert, meanwhile, apparently adopted the work ethic, "When in doubt, go for the hackneyed music video effects," which are applied liberally with the willing compliance of DP Tom Priestly ("The Thomas Crown Affair").

As a curious footnote, Warner Bros. has made a "special request" to the very same press it opted to bypass to not reveal the ending of the film to an assumed audience, an ending that is surprising only in that there is absolutely no surprise involved whatsoever.

THE IN CROWD

Warner Bros.

James G. Robinson presents

a Morgan Creek production

a film by Mary Lambert

Producer: James G. Robinson

Director: Mary Lambert

Screenwriters: Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin

Executive producers: Jonathan A. Zimbert,

Michael Rachmil

Director of photography: Tom Priestly

Production designer: John D. Kretschmer

Editor: Pasquale Buba

Costume designer: Jennifer L. Bryan

Music: Jeff Rona

Color/stereo

Cast:

Brittany Foster: Susan Ward

Adrien Williams: Lori Heuring

Matt Curtis: Matthew Settle

Bobby: Nathan Bexton

Dr. Amanda Giles: Tess Harper

Kelly: Laurie Fortier

Joanne: Kim Murphy

Dr. Henry Thompson: Daniel Hugh Kelly

Running time - 104 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...