News

Exclusive: Convexity Films, the production company of filmmaker Richard Dewey (Radical Wolfe), has optioned the Michael Lewis book The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story for development as a narrative feature.

The deal came together following Dewey’s collaboration with Lewis on his feature documentary Radical Wolfe, about author and journalist Tom Wolfe, which adapted an acclaimed Vanity Fair article from Lewis.

Published by W. W. Norton & Company in 1999, the bestseller is described as an insightful and engaging exploration of the dot-com boom and the technological innovations that fueled it. The book focuses on the life and ventures of Jim Clark, a Silicon Valley pioneer who founded three billion-dollar companies in the early days of the Internet: Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon. Through the prism of Clark’s work, Lewis provides a look at the culture of innovation, risk-taking, and entrepreneurship that defined the late 20th-century tech industry.

Two inmates from the Mississippi Raymond Detention Center were found missing on Monday. They were identified as Joseph Spring and Michael Lewis and law enforcement detected this break out during a headcount when they could not locate the two men. It is still unclear how they were able to escape, but it is possible they escaped through an air duct and then climbed the fence.

Spring still has not been located and there is currently a search underway to find him. Sheriff Tyree Jones has been updating the case on Twitter. The people in the nearby area were notified and asked to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity that could be related.

Update: Escaped detainee, Michael Lewis-31 is back in custody. He was captured moments ago by Hcso Deputies searching the area of Seven Springs Rd. and Springridge Rd. He faces additional escape charges. The search is still ongoing for Joseph Spring.

The rise and fall of cryptocurrency platform Ftx is getting the series treatment at Amazon.

The tech giant’s Prime Video streaming service has landed an eight-episode limited series about Ftx from Joe and Anthony Russo’s Agbo. Hunters creator David Weil will write the first episode, and the Russos are in talks to direct.

The project is one of several — both scripted and documentary — in the works about Ftx and founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Apple is near a deal for rights to a forthcoming book on Bankman-Fried and Ftx from The Big Short author Michael Lewis, and Vice Media and tech business publication The Information are collaborating on a documentary.

“We are excited to be able to continue our great working relationship with David, Joe, Anthony, and the Agbo team with this fascinating event series,” Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said in a statement.

South by Southwest Conference and Festivals has announced that legendary singer-songwriter Willie Nelson will keynote this year’s virtual event, along with an initial lineup of featured speakers and over 230 conference sessions.

SXSW Online, taking place March 16–20, 2021, will feature conference sessions, music festival showcases, film festival screenings, and more.

“No individual has had the cultural impact on, or been more synonymous with the creative vibrancy of Austin than Willie Nelson, and we are incredibly honored to have him as a SXSW Online 2021 Keynote,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In addition to dozens of incredible featured speakers, today’s announcement also includes more than 200 sessions curated from our global community via PanelPicker, and is a key part of the premium content you can expect from SXSW Online 2021.”

In addition to the Keynote and Featured Speakers announced today, SXSW has published over 230 programming sessions sourced from the community and curated by SXSW staff.

Like many festivals, South by Southwest (SXSW) is going online this year, which is a seamless transition considering the Austin-based festival has always included a large digital component. SXSW Online, which takes place March 16-20, has unveiled its initial wave of Featured Speakers and over 230 conference sessions and this includes music legend Willie Nelson as Keynote.

“No individual has had the cultural impact on, or been more synonymous with the creative vibrancy of Austin than Willie Nelson, and we are incredibly honored to have him as a SXSW Online 2021 Keynote,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In addition to dozens of incredible Featured Speakers, today’s announcement also includes more than 200 sessions curated from our global community via PanelPicker, and is a key part of the premium content you can expect from SXSW Online 2021.”

SXSW has also unveiled its robust roster of featured speakers which includes Samantha Bee, Cynthia Erivo,...

Exclusive: As 2020 winds to a close, talent reps are fighting with Warner Bros for back end compensation their clients would have earned had WarnerMedia waited out the pandemic instead of putting a year’s worth of theatrical films on HBO Max alongside U.S. theaters. And only telling filmmakers, casts and even financiers moments before the press release was issued, which went against the time tested discreet heads up rule that is a vital part of the give-and-take between reps and movie studio executives. The Little Things director John Lee Hancock, who discusses here the prospect of being the first movie in this hybrid release configuration, is more familiar than most with the concept of The Blind Side, after writing/directing the Warner Bros drama based on the Michael Lewis book about why the left offensive tackle is most vital to keeping a quarterback in one piece.

After Warner Bros...

The G Word with Adam Conover is coming to Netflix. The new comedy docu-series will be hosted by Conover and is coming from Barack and Michelle Obama and their production company, Higher Ground. The series will give viewers a look at the people working in the government, and it is based on The Fifth Risk book by Michael Lewis.

Read More…...

Adam Conover of truTV’s “Adam Ruins Everything,” and Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company, are teaming up for a new informational series at Netflix, the streamer announced Thursday.

Titled “The G Word With Adam Conover,” the series is described as a blend of sketch comedy and documentary elements. It is loosely based on the book “The Fifth Risk” by Michael Lewis, and will explore the profound power and complexity of the U.S. government, introduce viewers to the heroic civil servants who make it work, and take an incisive satirical look at its shortcomings.

Conover will serve as host and executive producer of the series.

Tonia Davis and Priya Swaminathan of Higher Ground Productions, and Jon Cohen and Jon Wolf of Conover’s Fair Point will also executive produce.

The project is the latest to arise from Higher Ground’s deal with Netflix, which has spawned a range of scripted,...

There are plenty of phenomenal movies to watch on Netflix, and the service does a good job of consistently updating its collection with both classic films and new original content. This month alone has seen the addition of some beloved flicks, such as Jim Carrey’s ridiculously funny Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Joaquin Phoenix’s cerebral drama Her, and the emotionally powerful Clint Eastwood flick Gran Torino – and that’s just scratching the surface of October’s selections.

This week we’ll get some more great movies, too, like the divisive but enjoyable animated pic Batman: The Killing Joke and the freaky horror film Unfriended. But there’s another huge title landing this week as well, and it’s one that you’re not going to want to miss.

Moneyball – based on the 2003 Michael Lewis novel of the same name – drops on Netflix in just a few days and...

Swing and a miss. Striking out. Fair or foul. Rounding the bases. Touching them all.

Baseball is back. The latest opening day in history is upon us but nonetheless it’s still opening day.

Baseball is as much a part of America as mom, apple pie, the flag – and the movies.

No sport has been romanticized on the silver screen as often as baseball. Hollywood has been betting on baseball for decades and it still delivers a winning performance. Diamonds Are Forever isn’t just a James Bond film. It perfectly describes the relationship between the Silver Screen and the American Pastime.

Grab your peanuts and Cracker Jack, because you’re about to get caught in a run down of the greatest baseball films ever made.

42 (2013)

A biopic of when Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier while wearing No. 42 for the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, hence the title. The film earned $27.3 million during its opening weekend.

Drama critics have a word for Covid-19, courtesy of the ancient Greeks: “nemesis.” In theater, this useful term applies to the inevitable downfall that awaits the wicked, the prideful and the overly confident. Decades from now, historians will look back on the coronavirus outbreak as the thing that derailed President Donald J. Trump, and perhaps the “re-greatening” America in the process.

Joining the situation in medias res, such dire predictions may seem premature — although that doesn’t stop investigative documentary superstar Alex Gibney (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”) from rushing his righteously compelling exposé “Totally Under Control” out before the election. That timing tells you everything about what Gibney hopes to achieve: The goal isn’t to be definitive so much as influential, without compromising the facts, which Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to obscure.

To get ’er done on schedule, Gibney enlisted co-directors Suzanne Hillinger and...

Amazon-owned Audible is continuing its effort to boost its entertainment quotient, hiring PopTV president Brad Schwartz as chief content officer.

Schwartz, who is leaving ViacomCBS after seven years at the helm of Pop and its predecessor TV Guide Network, will start June 15 and report to CEO Bob Carrigan, who joined Audible last December.

In addition to running Pop, the ViacomCBS cable network known for Schitt’s Creek, Schwartz also has held executive posts at Msg Media and Bell Media. As an Svp at Fuse (which was formerly owned by Msg), he shepherded shows including Billy on the Street.

“As Audible continues to expand its focus on premium audio storytelling and entertainment across all formats and genres, Brad’s highly successful track record, expertise and stellar relationships in the entertainment community will be integral to our aggressive content efforts and plans,” Carrigan said. “Brad brings not only a wealth of experience...

Tarence Ray and Tom Sexton from the Trillbilly Worker’s Party take Joe and Josh on a cinematic journey through the South.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011)

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Deliverance (1972)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Boogie Nights (1997)

In Bruges (2008)

The Birds (1963)

Cleopatra (1963)

The Blind Side (2009)

Moneyball (2011)

Next of Kin (1989)

Speed (1994)

Gravity (2013)

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

Hustle and Flow (2005)

Black Snake Moan (2007)

Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

Black Snake (1973)

Mandy (2018)

Sling Blade (1996)

One False Move (1992)

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

George Washington (2000)

Prince Avalanche (2013)

Halloween (1978)

Halloween (2018)

Halloween: H20 (1998)

Halloween (2007)

Joe (2014)

All The Real Girls (2003)

Chrystal (2005)

The Accountant (2001)

O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)

Wild River (1960)

The Ladykillers (2004)

The Ladykillers (1956)

Baywatch (2017)

Tin Men (1987)

52 Pick-Up (1986)

Gremlins (1984)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Mad Max (1978)

Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior (1980)

Alien (1979)

Aliens (1986)

Fire Down Below (1997)

Coal Miner’s Daughter...

Jesus is back — that is, John Turturro’s Jesus Quntana character from “The Big Lebowski” in a Screen Media’s trailer for the spinoff movie “The Jesus Rolls.”

The footage shows Turturro, who also directed, with his memorable licking of a bowling ball before sending it down a lane and into outer space.

“The Jesus Rolls” also stars Bobby Cannavale, Susan Sarandon, Jon Hamm, Audrey Tautou, and Christopher Walken. The trailer did not include an appearance by Jeff Bridges’ character Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski from the original 1998 movie, in which Turturro’s character taunted Lebowski and his bowling team at a bowling alley and referred to himself as “The Jesus.”

“The Jesus Rolls” follows a trio of misfits — Turturro, Cannavle and Tatou — whose sexually charged dynamic evolves into a surprising love story as their spontaneous and flippant attitude towards the past or future backfires time and again, even as they inadvertently perform good deeds.

Wedding bells are reportedly ringing for Lady Kitty Spencer.  The 29-year-old model, fashionista and famed niece of Princess Diana is engaged to her reported 60-year-old millionaire beau, Michael Lewis, according to The Daily Mail.  Citing an unnamed friend of Spencer, The Daily Mail reported Lewis proposed before Christmas. While the model has not shared any personal news with the public, she has been documenting her current trip to her native South Africa on Instagram, where fans have shared some well wishes on the purported engagement.  The couple was recently spotted in New York City together in May. In one photograph, Spencer was captured with her arm around Lewis as they...

Asia’s content boom heats up and Asian stories go global, but there’s an oversupply of platforms and China remains difficult.

This year’s Asia TV Forum & Market (Atf) in Singapore took place against the backdrop of a local-language content boom, the emergence of a myriad new streaming platforms, and massive consolidation amongst global broadcasters as they adjust to the realities of the new streaming landscape.

So far, not so different to anything that is happening in the West, but the five talking points below reveal some local nuances and variations.

Asia’s streaming market, including China, is estimated...

Exclusive: The moment that La La Land mistakenly won the best picture Oscar is one of a number of stories that will be featured in the latest podcast from Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries.

Cautionary Tales, hosted by Tim Harford, will feature re-enactments of true stories of things going wrong from Instinct’s Alan Cumming, Quantico and Years and Years star Russell Tovey and The Good Wife’s Archie Panjabi. It will also feature the acting debut of Gladwell.

Pushkin Industries, which also produces Gladwell’s music podcast Broken Record and Michael Lewis’ Against The Rules, has launched a trailer for the show here, which debuts on November 15.

Harford, known as the Undercover Economist, is a Financial Times columnist, BBC broadcaster and author as well as Ted speaker. He will host the show, which examines what can be learned from these mistakes.

Other episodes feature a heist in Berlin in...

Hot off a Sundance win and with the backing of both Netflix and newly-minted film producers Barack and Michelle Obama, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s non-fiction stunner “American Factory” is gearing up for a big showing during this year’s Oscar race. An eye-popping look at the differences between American and Chinese workers when they come together at a Chinese car-glass factory in Ohio, the film won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary after it debuted at Sundance in January, becoming a top early contender in the 2020 Oscar race in the process.

The Participant Media production focuses on the dramatic culture clash when a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Following its Sundance premiere, the film impressed the Obamas, who launched their Netflix-partnered Higher Ground Productions last spring “to harness the power of storytelling,...

Exclusive: Inception and Looper star Joseph Gordon-Levitt is to launch his own podcast that will explore a range of different aspects of the creative process.

The actor has partnered with podcast firm Cadence13 to launch Creative Processing with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which will launch on August 19. It will feature interviews with a range of guests including Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson and graphic artist Shepard Fairey.

He will debut new episodes every week through October 22 for the ten-part series. Other guests include Yuka Honda and Madisen Ward & The Mama Bear as well as casting director Mary Vernieu. Gordon-Levitt, who previously founded online artists community HitRecord, will also invite listeners to submit questions to the podcast, which will serve as a springboard for the discussion with his guests.

Cadence13 is the podcast company behinds shows such as Against The Rules With Michael Lewis,...

John Turturro’s “Big Lebowski” spinoff, “The Jesus Rolls,” which follows his “Lebowski” character Jesus Quintana, is scheduled to hit theaters in early 2020.

Screen Media purchased the rights to the film, which Turturro directed from his own script. “Jesus Rolls” also stars Bobby Cannavale and Audrey Tautou and features Jon Hamm, Susan Sarandon and Pete Davidson.

“The Jesus Rolls” follows a trio of misfits whose sexually charged dynamic evolves into a surprising love story as their spontaneous and flippant attitude towards the past or future backfires time and again, even as they inadvertently perform good deeds. When they make enemies with a gun-toting hairdresser, their journey becomes one of constant escape from the law, from society and from the hairdresser, all while the bonds of their outsider family strengthen.

The film, formerly titled “Going Places,” is produced by Robert Salerno, John Penotti, Fernando Sulichin, Sidney Kimmel and Paul-Dominique Win Vacharasinthu.

John Turturro’s long-buzzed-about “Big Lebowski” sequel has a fresh title, and a fast-approaching release date. Screen Media announced today that the boutique distribution company has picked up the North American rights to Turturro’s film, now known as “The Jesus Rolls” (and formerly known as “Going Places”), and is planning a release in early 2020.

Written, directed by, and starring Turturro, the new film sees the multi-hyphenate reprising his role of Jesus Quintana from the beloved Coen brothers film. He’ll be joined by a wide-ranging supporting cast that includes Bobby Cannavale, Audrey Tautou, Jon Hamm, Susan Sarandon, and Pete Davidson.

Per the film’s official synopsis, it follows “a trio of misfits whose irreverent, sexually charged dynamic evolves into a surprising love story as their spontaneous and flippant attitude towards the past or future backfires time and again, even as they inadvertently perform good deeds. When they make enemies with a gun-toting hairdresser,...

Dios mio, man, the Jesus is back. Screen Media has acquired the North American rights to “The Jesus Rolls,” the spinoff film based on John Turturro’s breakout character, Jesus Quintana, from the Coen Brothers’ “The Big Lebowski,” the company announced Monday.

Turturro wrote and directed the film (formerly titled “Going Places”) in which he reprises his role as Jesus Quintana, and Screen Media is planning to release “The Jesus Rolls” in early 2020.

Bobby Cannavale, Audrey Tautou, Jon Hamm, Susan Sarandon and Pete Davidson star in the film, which follows a trio of misfits whose irreverent, sexually charged dynamic evolves into a surprising love story. Their spontaneous and flippant attitude towards the past or future backfires time and again, even as they inadvertently perform good deeds. When they make enemies with a gun-toting hairdresser, their journey becomes one of constant escape from the law, from society and from the hairdresser,...

Screen Media has acquired North American rights The Jesus Rolls, the movie from John Turturro that returns his Big Lebowski character Jesus Quintana to the big screen more than 20 years later. Turturro wrote, directed and stars in the pic, which the indie distributor now plans to release in early 2020.

The movie — part Big Lebowski spinoff, part remake of Bertrand Blier’s 1974 pic Going Places (this film’s original name) follows a trio of misfits whose irreverent, sexually charged dynamic evolves into a surprising love story as their spontaneous and flippant attitude towards the past or future backfires time and again, even as they inadvertently perform good deeds. When they make enemies with a gun-toting hairdresser, their journey becomes one of constant escape from the law, from society and from the hairdresser, all while the bonds of their outsider family strengthen.

Bobby Cannavale and Audrey Tautou also star in the film,...

Cornerstone Films handles international sales.

Screen Media has acquired all North American rights to John Turturro’s The Jesus Rolls featuring the notorious character Jesus Quintana from The Big Lebowski.

Turturro wrote, directed and stars in the eagerly awaited spin-off (formerly Going Places), in which a trio of misfits go on the run when they make enemies with a gun-toting hairdresser.

Bobby Cannavale and Audrey Tautou also star with Jon Hamm, Susan Sarandon and Pete Davidson. Screen Media plans a release in early 2020, and Cornerstone Films handles international sales.

Robert Salerno, John Penotti, Fernando Sulichin, Sidney Kimmel, and Paul-Dominique Win Vacharasinthu...

“American Factory,” an eye-popping look at the differences between American and Chinese workers when they come together at a Chinese car-glass factory in Ohio, will open globally in 190 countries on Netflix and in select North American theaters on August 21. Netflix acquired Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s non-fiction feature out of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary and became a top early contender in the 2020 Oscar race.

The Participant Media production focuses on the dramatic culture clash when a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Following its Sundance premiere, the film impressed Barack and Michelle Obama, who launched their Netflix-partnered Higher Ground Productions last spring “to harness the power of storytelling,” as the former U.S. president described it at the time. This marks the first title from...

“American Factory,” an eye-popping look at the differences between American and Chinese workers when they come together at a Chinese car-glass factory in Ohio, will open globally in 190 countries on Netflix and in select North American theaters on August 21. Netflix acquired Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s non-fiction feature out of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary and became a top early contender in the 2020 Oscar race.

The Participant Media production focuses on the dramatic culture clash when a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Following its Sundance premiere, the film impressed Barack and Michelle Obama, who launched their Netflix-partnered Higher Ground Productions last spring “to harness the power of storytelling,” as the former U.S. president described it at the time. This marks the first title from...

The post-presidency endeavors of Barack and Michelle Obama have found another massive entertainment tech partner: Spotify. On Thursday, the audio subscription service announced that it had finalized a deal with the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company for a new set of creative projects that would exist on the platform.

The announcement explained that the new deal will see the production company “develop, produce, and lend their voices to select podcasts, connecting them to listeners around the world on wide-ranging topics. The multi-year agreement will be with Higher Ground Audio, an expansion of the Higher Ground production company that will oversee the move into podcasts.”

Higher Ground was created last year as part of the Obamas’ deal with Netflix to produce film and TV content for that platform as well as “produce powerful stories to entertain, inform and inspire, and to lift up new, diverse voices in the entertainment industry.” At the end of April,...

Modern Family‘s Jesse Tyler Ferguson has joined the cast of the Broadway-bound Take Me Out, the Richard Greenberg play being revived next spring with director Scott Ellis and starring the previously announced Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy).

The Second Stage Theater production will begin previews April 2, 2020, at the company’s Hayes Theater, with opening night set for April 23, 2020.

Ferguson will play the role of Mason Marzac, a “money manager who develops a surprising and all-encompassing love for baseball.” Denis O’Hare won a Featured Actor/play Tony Award for his performance in the original 2003 Broadway production.

The revival will mark Ferguson’s return to Second Stage after appearing in 2003’s Off Broadway production of Little Fish and 2005’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway.

Greenberg’s Take Me Out debuted in London in 2002 before opening Off Broadway at The Public Theater and then transferring in 2003 to Broadway,...

Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty Spencer has made a pretty public display of affection with her rumored beau Michael Lewis (not the Moneyball author). Lady Kitty and Lewis were seen out in New York City together on Wednesday and at one point, the 28-year-old wrapped her arm around the 60-year-old's shoulder. She wore a pastel pink turtleneck shirt and multi-colored pants, which she paired with large circular sunglasses and her hair in a low ponytail. She also wore a massive diamond ring, but before anyone gets too excited, it was on her right hand. Lewis went with a more business casual outfit. He donned a navy blue blazer with a light blue shirt and jeans. According to Daily...

If you thought the Obamas would be taking a break anytime soon, you haven't been paying attention! The former first lady has been booked and busy since her White House exit, and her husband is joining in on the fun. In March 2018, it was announced that the former Us president and Michelle were in talks to produce a collection of series exclusively for Netflix, and in May of that same year, the two finalized a multiyear agreement to produce a diverse mix of content under their Higher Ground Productions banner. Now, almost a year later, we're finally learning about the seven projects, currently in various stages of development.

"We created Higher Ground to harness the power of storytelling. That's why we couldn't be more excited about these projects," Barack said in a statement released by the streaming giant. "Touching on issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights, and much more,...

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground Productions, along with Netflix have unveiled their initial slate of upcoming projects. The former President and First Lady signed a multi-year deal with the streaming service last spring.

Seven projects are in the initial slate that span scripted and unscripted docuseries as well as feature-length films and documentaries. The offerings will reflect Higher Ground’s core values of resilience, determination, hope and unity while lifting new voices and stories that inspire change.

“We created Higher Ground to harness the power of storytelling.

Almost exactly a year after entering into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series with Netflix, former president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions has unveiled its initial slate of upcoming projects. Promising a diverse mix of content, including scripted and unscripted series, documentaries and features, the announcement was made by Priya Swaminathan and Tonia Davis, co-heads of the company.

“We created Higher Ground to harness the power of storytelling,” Obama said of the inspirational projects which touch on a variety of issues including race, class, democracy, civil rights and much more. “That’s why we couldn’t be more excited about these projects.”

Speaking on behalf of Netflix, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said, “President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and the Higher Ground team are building a company focused on storytelling that exemplifies their core values. The breadth of their initial slate across series, film,...

Roster includes postwar fashion world drama, non-fiction series Fifth Risk adapted from Michael Lewis book.

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground Productions has announced (30) an initial slate with Netflix, including Sundance entry American Factory, and scripted anthology series Overlooked.

The roster encompasses projects in various stages of development and production, covering fiction and documentary features and scripted, unscripted and documentary series, to be released over the next several years.

Participant Media’s Sundance documentary U.S. Documentary directing award winner American Factory from Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, about culture clashes when a Chinese billionaire...

Higher Ground Productions, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company in partnership with Netflix, has unveiled an initial slate of projects that include adaptations of Michael Lewis’ “The Fifth Risk,” a Frederick Douglass biopic and a period drama set in the fashion world penned by Callie Khouri.

The content comprises a range of scripted and unscripted projects for a range of audiences, as well as full-length features and documentaries. Priya Swaminathan and Tonia Davis, the co-heads of the organization, revealed the slate on Tuesday.

The announcement includes seven projects that are in various different stages of development, to be released over the next several years.

The former President and first lady launched Higher Ground last spring.

“We created Higher Ground to harness the power of storytelling. That’s why we couldn’t be more excited about these projects,” Barack Obama said. “Touching on issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights,...

Priya Swaminathan and Tonia Davis, co-heads of Higher Ground Productions, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company in partnership with Netflix, have set the company’s initial slate of upcoming projects. The content encompasses a wide range of fiction and nonfiction signature productions for all audiences including scripted, unscripted and documentary series, as well as full-length features and documentaries.

The Obamas launched Higher Ground last spring to create content that embodies the core values of celebrating the human spirit through struggles and triumph; facing adversity through resilience, determination, and hope; lifting up new voices and stories to bring about change; and transcending divides to bring us together. The projects selected are a reflection of these values and a commitment to quality storytelling. Higher Ground expects to make additional project announcements in the coming months.

They’ve been active in courting projects. That includes King Richard, the Will Smith...

Netflix unveiled the initial slate from Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, which includes a mix of scripted and unscripted, docuseries, documentaries and features.

The slate includes seven originals in total, the first of which will be “American Factory,” directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert. The film takes a deep dive into a post-industrial Ohio, where a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant and hires 2,000 blue-collar Americans.

Other projects include a scripted anthology series based on The New York Times’ popular “Overlooked” column, and “Bloom,” a drama series set in the world of fashion in post-wwii New York City. “Big Short” and “Moneyball” author Michael Lewis is adapting his book, “The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy,” into a nonfiction series.

“We created...

Talent agencies that signed the WGA’s new Code of Conduct aren’t being flooded with calls from writers seeking new representation now that they’ve been ordered by the guild to fire their agents who refused to sign. Deadline reached out to many of the 48 agencies that signed the Code and asked if they’ve been getting calls from writers who fired their agents on this the first business day since the Code went into effect.

“I have certainly had a few phone calls from writers who have fired their agents,” said Michael Lewis of Michael Lewis & Associates.

“I have not,” said Victoria Sanders, owner of the Victoria Sanders Literary Agency, which is based in Stone Ridge, NY. “I represent book writers and novelists. I’m a signatory to the WGA. I have a few clients who are members, but I’m not a film or television agent.

United Talent Agency has signed Cindy McCain in all areas, the agency announced Thursday.

McCain’s daughter, The View panelist Meghan McCain is another prominent client.

Cindy McCain, widow of the late Sen. John McCain, is an advocate of early childhood education and activist in the fight against human trafficking, UTA said in today’s announcement. McCain, meanwhile, said she is “thrilled to work with UTA to leverage my charitable passions” and carry on her husband’s legacy, hoping to reach new audiences.

McCain was in the news last month after President Trump renewed his attacks on her husband, complaining he gave the late Arizona Gop senator the kind of funeral he had wanted, but never got thanks for it. That was factually inaccurate in that it is not up to Potus if a deceased senator lies in state in the Capitol, and not up to Potus what funerals are held at National Cathedral,...

Exclusive: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay have mutually decided to branch out separately and refocus their creative efforts. This will wind down one of the longest creative partner relationships in town. The duo met when they were hired the same day on Saturday Night Live in 1995, and 13 years ago they formed with Chris Henchy the multi-platform comedy generating production company Gary Sanchez, later branching into a female-centric offshoot, Gloria Sanchez. They also teamed on a bunch of comedy classic hit movies, including Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers and The Other Guys. McKay directed those films and Ferrell starred in them.

I’m told they remain close friends, but it is expected that their Paramount-based production labels will wind down over time. They will continue to see through their existing projects to completion and develop them with the attached producers. They will work together on their extensive slate of shared projects,...

Let’s get into the spirit of the World Series excitement with some of the biggest baseball movies that all hit a commercial home run. These are the highest grossing baseball movies of all time, ranked from lowest to highest.

20. “Mr. 3000” – $21.8 million

Bernie Mac plays a former baseball great who returns to the league at age 47 after learning he was just a few hits shy of 3000.

19. “Major League II” – $30.6 million

Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen and Tom Berenger all came back for the sequel to “Major League,” but Wesley Snipes had become a bigger star, and his role of Willie Mays Hayes was taken over by Omar Epps.

18. “The Sandlot” – $32.4 million

“The Sandlot” performed modestly at the box office in 1993, but it found a second life as a cult film on VHS and on DVD a decade after its release.

17. “Bad News Bears” (2005) – $32.8 million

Billy Bob Thornton starred in Richard Linklater...

In a touching, funny and inspirational conversation with CBS Sunday Morning’s Tracy Smith, Linda Ronstadt opened up about her battle with Parkinson’s, the disease that robbed fans of Ronstadt’s remarkable singing voice.

From the classic rock hits “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave” and “You’re No Good,” to the acoustic country of “Telling Me Lies” and “To Know Him Is to Love Him,” performed with her Trio partners Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, Ronstadt’s range as an interpreter and vocal powerhouse earned her membership in...

Most Christmas movies are designed for audience-friendly, peak-holiday family appeal. And then there’s the more challenging year-end fare intended mainly to impress critics, arthouse patrons, and Academy voters. Some December openings launched at prestige fall film festivals; others are bonafide awards contenders (Adam McKay’s “Vice” and Rob Marshall’s “Mary Poppins Returns”); and some, like Robert Zemeckis’s “Welcome to Marwen” will skid into bad reviews, audience reaction, or both.

Herewith, a ranking of the Christmas Oscar hopefuls in order of their likely prospects.

“Mary Poppins Returns”

Metascore: 65.

Strengths: Set 25 years after the 1964 Disney classic, Rob Marshall’s heartfelt depression-era sequel hews close to the original. “Into the Woods” musical star Emily Blunt in the title role and Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” as an upbeat Cockney lamplighter carry the film, compensating for sad-sack grown-up siblings Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw), who are desperately trying to...

Most Christmas movies are designed for audience-friendly, peak-holiday family appeal. And then there’s the more challenging year-end fare intended mainly to impress critics, arthouse patrons, and Academy voters. Some December openings launched at prestige fall film festivals; others are bonafide awards contenders (Adam McKay’s “Vice” and Rob Marshall’s “Mary Poppins Returns”); and some, like Robert Zemeckis’s “Welcome to Marwen” will skid into bad reviews, audience reaction, or both.

Herewith, a ranking of the Christmas Oscar hopefuls in order of their likely prospects.

“Mary Poppins Returns”

Metascore: 65.

Strengths: Set 25 years after the 1964 Disney classic, Rob Marshall’s heartfelt depression-era sequel hews close to the original. “Into the Woods” musical star Emily Blunt in the title role and Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” as an upbeat Cockney lamplighter carry the film, compensating for sad-sack grown-up siblings Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw), who are desperately trying to...

In an age of political tomfoolery that reaches cartoonish heights on a regular basis, political satire has become an antiquated conceit. Few punchlines about American governance resonate as much as the real-life incidents that inspire it. In light of that shift, Adam McKay’s “Vice,” which reaches into the recent past to exhume a satiric portrait of Dick Cheney, has a peculiar kind of innocence: Buoyed by a brilliant transformation by Christian Bale, it offers a smart and detailed overview of Cheney’s elaborate ruse to exploit the country’s highest authority, but undercuts its authority with crass and often clunky humor that overstates the nature of Cheney’s villainy. Lame jokes just get in the way when the bad guys are hiding in plain sight.

Nevertheless, McKay’s rebooted career of more serious-minded and timely works follows his housing crisis breakdown “The Big Short” with a fascinating consolidation of two modes.

Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan knows how to play awards season. He moved the San Francisco Film Society’s annual awards fundraising night from April to December — in the awards corridor — knowing he could lure some awards players to San Francisco. What’s in it for them? Bay Area Academy members, who showed up for a Monday night pre-event cocktail party at The Palace of Fine Arts, including documentary filmmakers, costume designers, sound editors, animators, and visual effects artists. With Pixar and Lucasfilm based in San Francisco, it’s a crafts mecca.

This awards night belonged to Oakland filmmaker made good, Boots Riley, whose father beamed with pride along with novelist Ishmael Reed, who presented the Kanbar Award for Storytelling to the rookie director. Riley thanked Sffilm for making him a filmmaker in residence in 2014 and helping him to develop Sundance breakout “Sorry to Bother You,” which Annapurna turned into a summer hit.

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have optioned Michael Lewis’ recent nonfiction book, The Fifth Risk, to potentially develop into a series for Netflix, Deadline reports.

While it is being reported that the Obamas are exploring possible projects for their Netflix production deal, none of the projects are confirmed to have received the greenlight.

Released on October 2nd, New York Times bestseller The Fifth Risk exposes the chaos that followed during the transition between the Obama administration to the Trump administration in the Departments of Energy,...

Barack and Michelle Obama have made their first acquisition under their production deal with Netflix, and it's a pretty big one.

The former president and first lady have optioned author Michael Lewis' book The Fifth Risk to develop as a potential series, sources confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Obamas signed a deal with Netflix in May, with the goal to "cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world," as Barack Obama put it at the time.

Netflix declined ...

Deadline has learned that Michael Lewis’ latest book The Fifth Risk has been acquired by Barack and Michelle Obama under their Netflix production deal for a possible series aimed to help people better understand the inner workings of the government.

We understand that the Obamas are exploring projects but nothing specifically has yet gotten a greenlight. Lewis will reveal the news about the Obamas optioning The Fifth Risk on Katie Couric’s Thursday podcast.

The Fifth Risk, which hit shelves on Oct. 2 from W.W. Norton, follows the chaos and mismanagement that ensued in the departments of Energy, Agriculture and Commerce in the handoff from President Barack Obama to President Donald Trump. Lewis spoke with a number of federal workers from the Obama administration who worked in the Departments of Energy, Agriculture and Commerce. The previous administration created briefing books for the next staff, but those who showed up on...

AMC Theatres has renewed and extended its 3D agreement with RealD through 2024 and will be installing RealD 3D systems in all new-build theaters during the term of the extension. AMC is currently the largest RealD customer domestically with over 3,300 systems, but globally it has more than 4,900 RealD units installed.

The relationship between AMC and RealD began in 2005 when they became a part of the first 3D digital film Chicken Little. AMC plans to build out six more theaters through 2019 and already completed three new theaters earlier this year.

“Millions of movie fans enjoy the thrills and entertainment provided by RealD 3D, which has become an iconic part of the movie-going experience,” said Adam Aron, CEO and President, AMC Theatres. Aron announced the extension agreement with Michael Lewis, who is RealD’s founder and CEO. “(He) and his team are leaders in providing incredible movie experiences to millions of movie fans,...

AMC Theatres, the world’s largest movie exhibition company, has renewed and extended its 3D agreement with RealD for North America through 2024.

AMC also has committed to installing RealD 3D systems in all new facilities and in upgrades and renovations at existing AMC locations in North America during the term of the extension. The announcement was jointly made Thursday by Adam Aron, AMC’s chief executive officer and president, and RealD’s CEO Michael V. Lewis.

AMC is the nation’s largest RealD customer with over 3,300 system installs in North America. On a global basis, AMC and its subsidiaries have more than 4,900 RealD units installed. RealD has more than 30,000 RealD projection systems installed in theaters worldwide.

RealD announced on June 24 that 53% of the worldwide business of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” was attributed to 3D sales with $105 million of the $711 million in grosses from RealD equipped screens.

“Millions of movie fans...