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Frankie Muniz, best known for his days as a child actor starring in the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle and films like My Dog Skip, Agent Cody Banks, and Big Fat Liar, has signed on to star in the sci-fi thriller Renner alongside Violett Beane, whose credits include The Flash, God Friended Me, Flay, and Truth or Dare. Deadline notes that filming will take place at the newly formed Ascent Studios in Spring Hope, North Carolina this summer.

Robert Rippberger (Those Who Walk Away), who is a founding partner at Ascent Studios, will be directing Renner from a screenplay written by Martin Medina and David Largman Murray (who were working from a story crafted by Luke Medina). The film will center on a computer genius named Renner and played by Muniz as he looks to court his neighbor Jamie (Beane) with the help of an A.I. he develops named Salenus — only to realize,...

Exclusive: The production and management company Citizen Skull is expanding with the launch of a Btl division to represent cinematographers, production designers, costumers, editors and others.

Leading the charge will be Liz Williamson (formerly of Wpa), who is supported by Gerard George (formerly of Screen Talent Agency) and Mike Diaz. New signings at Citizen Skull that come with the expansion include Emmy winning cinematographer Petr Cikhart (The Amazing Race) and production designer Flora Ortega (God’s Country).

Citizen Skull has previously produced such titles as Collision, 12 Feet Deep, Heartthrob, Oak Room and Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, continuing to produce 5-7 titles a year, with writers, directors and actors also being repped on the management side.

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Taylor Gray

Exclusive: Taylor Gray (High Expectations) has signed on for a role opposite Frankie Muniz and Violett Beane in Robert Rippberger’s sci-fi thriller Renner, which is heading into production this summer.

Exclusive: Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle) and Violett Beane (The Flash) have signed on to star in Renner, a new sci-fi thriller from filmmaker Robert Rippberger (Those Who Walk Away). Production will kick off this summer at the newly formed Ascent Studios in Spring Hope, Nc, where Rippberger is a founding partner.

Written by Martin Medina and David Largman Murray, from a story by Luke Medina, Renner follows a computer genius of the same name, played by Muniz, as he looks to court his neighbor Jamie (Beane) with the help of an AI he develops named Salenus — only to realize, a bit too late, that he accidentally programmed his manipulative mother into it.

Rippberger will produce alongside Martin Medina, KT Kent, Devin Keaton, and Jay Burnley of Slated. Exec producers are Greg Gertmenian, Ali Baghdadi, Kyle Pritchard, Stan Hahnel, LeaAnne Hahnel, Anita Konka, Laura Winstead, Nathan Edwards, and Neuman Vong.

Exclusive: Ann Nguyen has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer at the online film packaging, financing and distribution marketplace Slated, with Greg Gertmenian being elevated to Head of Business Development. Nguyen and Gertmenian join longtime Head of Film Finance, Jay Burnley, to lead Slated’s strategy and operations going forward, setting the stage for new leadership at the company.

“I can’t think of three people more qualified to lead Slated into the future,” said Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Stephan Paternot. “Ann, Greg and Jay came into Slated at the ground level and built the core pillars of our business today – the technical infrastructure, analytics, and film finance operations. I’m incredibly proud of the work they’re doing to deliver value to our filmmaker community and am thrilled to see what they do next.”

Yair Landau, one of Slated’s advisors and the former Vice Chair of Sony Pictures...

Exclusive: Buffalo 8 has set a November 4 release date on Prime Video for James Hemings: Ghost In America’s Kitchen. The historical documentary follows the profound life of James Hemings, the first American to train as a chef in France, who at 8 years old was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson.

If you’ve ever eaten macaroni and cheese, French fries, crème brulée or ice cream you’ve enjoyed the contributions of Hemings, an older brother of Sally Hemings, who gave birth to six of Thomas Jefferson’s children. He also was a half-sibling of Jefferson’s wife Martha Jefferson, with whom he shared John Wayles as father.

When Jefferson was appointed Minister to France he selected, among others, Hemings to accompany him to Paris. There he trained to be a French chef and, in an era where enslaved people were purposefully kept illiterate, Chef Hemings learned to read, write and speak both English and French.