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Sean Durkin is swapping wrestling for romance. The “Iron Claw” director is set to write and helm the feature adaptation of novel “Deep Cuts.” Saoirse Ronan and Austin Butler will co-lead the film that centers on a love story between two music-obsessed twenty-somethings as they navigate the messy realities of ambition, belonging, and adulthood in the 2000s. Both Ronan and Butler are Academy Award-nominated actors.

IndieWire can confirm the feature. Deadline first reported the project.

“Deep Cuts” is Holly Brickley’s debut novel, and was just published earlier this week, on February 25. Durkin will both direct and adapt the book, with co-lead star Ronan producing. Central’s Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, and Josh Safdie are also producing the A24. Durkin’s “The Iron Claw” was among the highest grossing A24 films of 2023.

“Deep Cuts” isn’t Durkin’s first foray into music-centric features: The “Martha Marcy May Marlene” filmmaker was...

The best Nicole Kidman movies and TV shows feature decades' worth of great releases that showcase the Australian actress' talents. After getting her start in smaller Australian films in the '80s, Kidman picked up her first major crossover role in the 1989 psychological thriller Dead Calm and this won her the attention of Hollywood, where her first big break came in the Tom Cruise action movie Days of Thunder in 1990. That led her on the path to becoming one of Hollywood’s top leading ladies.

Throughout her decades-long career, Nicole Kidman has won an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and several Golden Globes Awards. She was also the first Australian actor to ever earn the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2024. She has taken on roles in just about every genre imaginable, from comedies and biopics to action movies, superhero fare, and even musicals. Kidman has worked with famed directors Stanley Kubrick,...

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The Lincoln Lawyer is a thrilling legal ride with an unlikely protagonist. The Netflix series is based on Michael Connelly‘s books and has also been adapted into a film starring Matthew McConaughey. The series follows an idealistic lawyer Mickey Haller as he works from the back of his Lincoln car taking on big and small cases in Los Angeles. The Lincoln Lawyer stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in the lead role with Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, Angelica Maria, and Christopher Gorham starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the complex legal cases, thrilling courtroom drama, and compelling characters in The Lincoln Lawyer here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Goliath (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

Goliath is a legal thriller drama series created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro. The...

Oscar winner J.K. Simmons and Tony winner Nina Arianda have joined the ensemble cast of magical realism dramedy “109 Billion Followers” from writer and director Ela Thier.

“109 Billion Followers,” which begins filming this November in New York City, also stars J.K. Simmons’ daughter Olivia Simmons (“You Can’t Run Forever”) and Jake Ryan.

The movie follows a film student (Olivia Simmons) who makes a documentary about a homeless man (J.K. Simmons) who is convinced that he’s the Grim Reaper. Her cameraman and unlikely love interest (Jake Ryan) adds laughs and heart, while her broken but loving mother (Nina Arianda) adds drama and mess.

It’s a “Being the Ricardos” reunion for J.K. Simmons and Arianda, who portrayed William Frawley and Vivian Vance in Aaron Sorkin’s 2021 Lucille Ball biographical drama.

Simmons earned an Academy Award in 2015 for his role as a merciless jazz instructor in “Whiplash.” He will...

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Matlock is a mystery legal comedy-drama series created by Jennie Snyder Urman. Based on the 1980s iconic series of the same name created by Dean Hargrove, the CBS series follows the story of Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a brilliant lawyer who decides to rejoin the workforce in her 70s. She begins working in a prestigious law firm alongside a few highly competitive lawyers but soon we discover that Madeline is hiding some secrets that her colleagues don’t know. Matlock stars the always-brilliant Kathy Bates in the titular role with Jason Ritter, Skye P. Marshall, Leah Lewis, David Del Rio, Nicole de Boer, and Eme Ikwuakor starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the interesting storyline, thrilling courtroom scenes, and compelling characters in the Matlock reboot series here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Suits...

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A new Janis Joplin biopic is in the works. And this time it’s Shailene Woodley who’s attached to play the legendary singer and musician.

The project was revealed — oddly enough — in a press release issued by the California Film Commission announcing which movies and TV shows would receive its coveted tax credits. As such, the details are pretty scant. Woodley is set to star and produce, and the production company backing the film is Temple Hill Entertainment, which has done the Twilight movies,...

Well into the new dark crime comedy Greedy People, I had to check IMDb to make sure this wasn’t some movie one or both of the Coen brothers had actually made and somehow I didn’t realize before diving in. Nope, it was Potsy Ponciroli who directed, and Mike Vukadinovich who wrote it. No Coens anywhere in sight except as the clear inspirations for this entertaining movie of which the masters behind Blood Simple and Fargo would probably approve, and might even have made at the beginning of their illustrious careers.

So get this for a plot.

New and very inexperienced cop Will (Himesh Patel) arrives in the small East Coast town of Providence for his new job as a deputy, partnered with quirky vet Terry (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). With a pregnant wife (Lily James) and their loving dog in tow it seems like a good career move. However, Will...

“Don’t kill anybody unless you have to,” a rookie cop is told on his first day on the job in Greedy People. Not long afterward, he accidentally does just that, setting off a spiral of lethal events that give the the darkly comic thriller an impressive body count. Unfortunately, the proceedings become increasingly tiresome the more the characters are killed off, with the result that despite an impressive cast, the film comes to feel like a Coen brothers rip-off.

Set on a small island town rather than the snowy Midwest, this Fargo-like tale includes a wide array of characters, nearly all of whom prove either gleefully immoral or just plain dumb. The convoluted plot is set in motion when the aforementioned cop, Will (Himesh Patel), responds to an emergency call and nearly shoots a woman (Traci Lords, giving you an idea of the film’s irreverence) simply going about her business in her kitchen.

One would think the good people at Lionsgate might be trying to hide Greedy People by quietly announcing its release in theaters this month, just last week. The Lily James and Joseph Gordon-Levitt vehicle came out on August 23rd with very little fanfare. Not to mention, August (and January) are known as the dumping grounds for films studios are ashamed of.

However, I am relieved to set the record straight: Greedy People is a bloody good time. The film is full of quirky characters, ominous motivations, and moral ambiguity, exploring how ordinary people can be driven to acts of money lust and even murder—all while maintaining the core value of these types of films, where almost no one gets away clean.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel in Greedy People (2024) | Image via Lionsgate Entertainment. RELATEDThe Crown Star Dominic West Claims His “Deeply Stressful” Pda Scandal with Co-star Lily James Helped...

Get your first look at ‘Coen brothers-style’ comedy Greedy People, starring Himesh Patel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and more. Here’s a trailer:

Lionsgate has revealed the trailer comedic crime movie, Greedy People, starring Himesh Patel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lily James, Tim Blake Nelson, Uzo Aduba, Nina Arianda, Jim Gaffigan, Joey Lauren Adams and Simon Rex.

Potsy Ponciroli directs the film which opens on the 23rd August, and we have to admit, we’re more than a little intrigued by the undoubted quality of that ensemble cast. And also more than a little intrigued by Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s facial hair too (he also flirted with beard usage in this year’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F – this is turning into a trend).

Here’s the synopsis for the film:

‘The feature explores what happens when the eccentric residents of a small, picturesque island town are faced with a sensational murder and the...

The return of Joseph Gordon-Levitt is just getting started.

After the actor took a hiatus from Hollywood, Gordon-Levitt has starred in musical “Flora and Son,” “Super Pumped,” and “Poker Face,” all in 2023. Now, the actor is bringing back his comedic timing for darkly funny crime thriller “Greedy People.”

Gordon-Levitt plays an outrageously corrupt cop who helps convince a rookie (Himesh Patel) to steal one million dollars. The official synopsis reads: “Will (Patel) and his rogue partner Terry (Gordon-Levitt) upend their small island town when they accidentally discover one million dollars at a crime scene (of their own making). After the duo unwisely decides to steal the money, the community’s quirky residents are lured into the mad dash for cash — ranging from an expectant mom (Lily James) to a masseur (Simon Rex) to a shrimp company owner (Tim Blake Nelson) — and everyone learns just how far they are willing to go for the almighty dollar.

"People are dead. There's too much loss for it to just be a coincidence." Lionsgate has unveiled an official trailer for a dark comedy thriller titled Greedy People, the latest from Old Henry director Potsy Ponciroli. It's set for a release in select theaters in August, though there's not much buzz about it yet. Perhaps with more time? The "darkly comedic crime thriller" film follows the residents of a small island town who must navigate a sensational murder and the discovery of a million dollars (at the crime scene), leading to a series of increasingly terrible decisions that upend the once peaceful community. "A million dollars. A million bad decisions." Starring Himesh Patel, Lily James, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, along with Simon Rex, Traci Lords, Tim Blake Nelson, Joey Lauren Adams, Uzo Aduba, Nina Arianda, & Jim Gaffigan. This seems a bit too erratic and messy, jumping all over place with these wacky townspeople.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are only two viable career options for retired boxers: selling plastic kitchen crap in infomercials, and drinking yourself into a lonely death of despair until you get talked into training a smart-ass young fighter and rediscover your thirst for life. If anyone is on the fence about which path to choose after hanging up their gloves, Vincent Grashaw’s “Bang Bang” provides a good illustration of both paths.

In the 1980s, the city of Detroit was enthralled by the boxing rivalry between Darnell Washington (Glenn Plummer) and Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Tim Blake Nelson), two hometown heroes whose eventual fight was among the decade’s most highly anticipated sporting events. Not only did Washington win the fight, he’s won pretty much everything else since. After making a fortune selling his trademarked juicers, he now presides over a Detroit business empire and...

The genre-bending detective fiction series that is quickly becoming everybody’s favorite of the year is Sugar. The Apple TV+ series created by Mark Protosevich is set in Los Angeles and it follows the story of a private detective John Sugar as he is hired by a big-time film producer Jonathan Siegel to find his missing granddaughter Olivia. While, trying to find Olivia, Sugar stumbles into something far more dangerous than he could have anticipated. Sugar stars Colin Farrell in the lead role with Amy Ryan, James Cromwell, Sydney Chandler, Nate Corddry, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Dennis Boutsikaris starring in supporting roles. If you loved the mystery and thrill of Sugar here are some similar shows you could check out next.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Showtime

The Man Who Fell to Earth is a sci-fi drama series created by Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman.

Following the showcase for his sophomore film Old Henry (2021) at the Venice Film Festival, Potsy Ponciroli next landed on Greedy People (formerly titled The Problem with Providence) back in May of this year. Shot in North Carolina, Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel topline what is being coined as a American comedy mystery film. Traci Lords, Joey Lauren Adams, Uzo Aduba, Jim Gaffigan, Simon Rex, Nina Arianda, Neva Howell, José María Yazpik and a return appearance of Tim Blake Nelson make up the rest of the shot in North Carolina ensemble. Ponciroli has a long rap sheet with several shorts, music videos and commercials under his belt.…...

The American Film Market kicks off Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 5 in its new headquarters at the Le Meridien Delfina in Santa Monica. Industry screenings are set at theaters throughout the city and AFM’s conference series, the AFM Sessions, will take place at the Hilton Santa Monica Hotel. More than 245 companies and organizations are exhibiting at this year’s AFM, with national pavilions from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Thailand and the U.K. In all, buyers from more than 65 countries are registered at the film market.

Here are some of the buzziest titles at AFM 2023:

Alphas

Director: Liam O’Donnell

Producers: Pierre Morel, Renee Tab, Christopher Tuffin, Matthew Chausse, Drew Bailey

Key cast: Martin Henderson

Story is set in a quiet surfing community where killer whales are enlisted to fend off great white sharks after a series of attacks. When the alpha great white shark proves too powerful to stop,...

Mister Smith Entertainment has hired Augusta Charlton as Director, International Sales & Acquisitions.

Charlton joins the company from Great Point Media (Gpm), where she was an Associate Director in their Investments team, responsible for sourcing and structuring film and TV production finance opportunities in the UK and international markets. Prior to that, she was a sales executive at Gpm, representing the company at international markets. Charlton started her entertainment career in development and production, working for CrossDay Productions and BBC Studios.

During her previous tenure at Gpm, Charlton oversaw multiple film projects, including Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City; the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, Scrapper, starring Harris Dickinson; Blue Jean, starring Rosy McEwen, who won the Best Lead Performance Award for the film at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards; and Rogue Agent starring James Norton and Gemma Arterton.

Charlton’s first sales market for Mister Smith Entertainment will be the upcoming AFM,...

To fully grasp the dire state of theatrical distribution of independent films, consider the words of John Sloss, founder and CEO of Cinetic Media, who recently told Variety:

“It’s imperative for all of us to get behind reigniting the theatrical experience because I don’t think the streamers are ever going to be behind the new voices and independent films. The only way to really get them out in the world is to put them in a theater where they can be reviewed and where they can sit long enough for word of mouth to really support them. That’s really the dangerous moment we are in, in terms of getting people back in the theaters.”

Suppose there’s a way out of the “dangerous moment” for independent cinema that Sloss describes. In that case, it will probably come about because of talented indie filmmakers like director Potsy Ponciroli and his experienced,...

Jeremy Allen White is one of the most talented and charming actors working in the film and TV industry. The American actor started his acting career with a small role in the 2006 drama film Beautiful Ohio. Since then he has been a part of some of the most brilliant movies and TV shows ever including the smash hit comedy drama series Shameless. So, if you love Allen White’s performances here are the 10 best movies and TV shows starring Jeremy Allen White that should be on your watchlist.

Rob the Mob Credit – Millennium Entertainment

Synopsis: An enthralling and high-octane crime-thriller, Rob the Mob stars Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Ray Romano and Andy Garcia. Based on a true story, it chronicles two lovers whose daring heists of Mafia social clubs in New York result in a discovery that forever changed the face of organized crime in America. Now the feds, family members,...

The Venture Bros. is finally back in a new movie, titled The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart, and the most recent news only deepens the hype. First debuting in 2004, the program became one of the longest-running original series on Adult Swim before its unexpected cancelation in 2020. In order to answer the myriad of questions created by the season 7 finale, Adult Swim and Max have produced a feature-length movie to act as a concluding chapter.

The Venture Bros. has birthed a strong fanbase and is often considered to be among the best Adult Swim shows. Created as a send-up of 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoons, the series followed members of the Venture family, including disappointing super-scientist and father Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture and his twin sons Hank and Dean Venture. It was created by Chris "Jackson Publick" McCulloch (The Tick) and musician Doc Hammer, who return to co-write...

Ahead of the anticipated animated movie's release on Digital and Blu-ray, Adult Swim provided a new sneak peek at The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of a Baboon Heart.

The clip, shared on YouTube by Adult Swim, features Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas) enlisting Dr. Orpheus (Steven Rattazzi) to help in his search for Hank. A new photo from the scene was also unveiled, featuring Dr. Orpheus using hid mystical abilities to search for Hank as Dean looks on. The image can be seen above while the new clip from the film can be watched below.

Related: Venture Bros. Movie, Babylon 5 and More to Premiere at Sdcc

In the animated movie, per the synopsis, "Doc’s latest invention will either bankrupt Team Venture or launch them to new heights, as Hank searches for himself, Dean searches for Hank, The Monarch searches for answers, and a mysterious woman from their...

The new animated comedy feature "The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart", pinning off from the 'Adult Swim' TV series, directed by Jackson Publick, is available July 21, 2023 on digital:

"... the latest invention from 'Doc' will either bankrupt 'Team Venture' or launch them to new heights, as 'Hank' searches for himself, 'Dean' searches for Hank, 'The Monarch' searches for answers, and a mysterious woman from their pasts threatens to bring their entire world crashing down on them..."

Cast includes James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton, Michael Sinterniklaas, Chris McCulloch, Nina Arianda, Clancy Brown, John Hodgman, Hal Lublin, Jane Lynch, Charles Parnell, Jay Pharoah, Steven Rattazzi, Jk Simmons and Dana Snyder.

Click the images to enlarge...

Adult Swim has debuted the official trailer for the upcoming film continuation of the beloved animated series, The Venture Bros.

In the upcoming film, which picks up after the explosive events of Season 7, Team Venture is forced to fight their way through conspiracies, mysteries, and plenty of villains to find Hank and restore the world as they once knew it. Adult Swim also unveiled when fans could get their hands on The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart, announcing that the film would arrive on Digital on July 21 and DVD and Blu-ray on July 25, from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

Related: Who Is The Venture Bros.'s Mother?

The Venture Bros. originally premiered on Adult Swim in August 2004, running for seven seasons and 82 episodes. Following The Venture Bros.' cancellation, Adult Swim announced in May 2021 that a direct-to-video film was in the works which would serve...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

Updated: June 1, 2023

2023 Emmy Predictions:

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Shirley MacLaine in “Only Murders in the Building”

Weekly Commentary: Stephanie Hsu picked up a deserving Oscar nomination in supporting actress for her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” That goodwill may carry over into an Emmy nomination,...

[This story includes major spoilers for the series finale of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.]

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ended the only way it ever could have: Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) and Susie (Alex Borstein) still friends and laughing together 50 years after they met.

The final episode, “Four Minutes,” of the Emmy-winning series from creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino saw Midge finally achieve the success she had always dreamed of, with the support of her longtime manager and friend. When Midge is invited to be a guest on The Gordon Ford Show, she thinks Gordon (Reid Scott) is giving her her big break. Instead, he brings onto the show, sits her on a stool and asks her about being the show’s “resident lady writer.”

With four minutes left on the broadcast, and Gordon eager to get Midge off the stage, the comedian tells her manager she’s thinking about doing “something reckless” that could end both of their careers before...

[This story includes major spoilers for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel series finale, “Four Minutes.]

Miriam “Midge” Maisel officially became the “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” in the series finale titled “Four Minutes.”

The final episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel saw Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) take the biggest risk of her career when she finally got the chance to make an appearance on The Gordon Ford Show — against Gordon Ford’s (Reid Scott) wishes.

When Gordon’s wife, Hedy (Nina Arianda), forces the talk show host to put Midge on his show, he begrudgingly obliges and breaks his rule that employees can’t appear as guests on the show. But, instead of introducing her as a comic, he introduces her as the show’s “resident lady writer,” while the two sit on stools instead of the couch his guests usually sit on.

With four minutes left in the broadcast, Gordon cuts to commercial, much to Mike Carr’s (Jason Ralph) dismay.

The Venture Bros. fans will be able to get their hands on the complete series DVD box set earlier than initially expected.

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has announced that all 82 episodes of Adult Swim's award-winning original adult animated series will be available to purchase on Digital and DVD on June 13, one week earlier than the previous June 20 release date. The digital purchase will retail for $79.99, while the DVD box set will go for $134.99 ($129.99 Canadian). The complete series will also come with all the previously released special features.

Related: Before Velma, The Venture Bros. Had Its Own, Twisted Scooby-Doo Gang

Created by Christopher McCulloch and Doc Hammer, The Venture Bros. is a parody of retro cartoons and Silver Age comics, most notably shows like Johnny Quest and Scooby-Doo. The series features the voice talents of James Urbaniak as Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture, Christopher McCulloch as Hank, Michael Sinterniklaas as Dean Venture,...

Midge's post-divorce life hasn't always been a fairy tale, but here, she gets not just a princess but also a benevolent fairy godmother.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5 Episode 8 is a reminder that this is indeed one of the best shows on television. How wonderful it is when a show can go out on its own terms, and how lucky we have been to have watched Midge's journey.

"The Princess and the Plea" covered a lot of ground, from Joel and Midge's memories to Midge's reunion at Bryn Mawr, the Princess Margaret storyline, Abe's epiphany, and, of course, Susie's confrontation with Midge and a subsequent plea to Hedy.

Joel and Midge's memories were a telling way to see how they viewed their relationship.

Midge's memory was of them fighting but making up when he admitted he was wrong. His memories were of introducing her to his parents and realizing she was the one,...

The Venture Bros. series ended in 2018 after seven seasons, but the characters are coming back for more. Adult Swim has announced the premiere of a new movie -- The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart -- with the release of a trailer.

James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton, Michael Sinterniklaas, Chris McCulloch, and co-creator Doc Hammer starred in the action-adventure comedy series, which follows the Venture family on adventures and battles against their self-proclaimed nemesis, The Monarch.

The voice actors are returning for the movie and will be joined by Nina Arianda, Clancy Brown, John Hodgeman, Hal Lublin, Jane Lynch, Charles Parnell, Jay Pharoah, Steven Rattazzi, Jk Simmons, and Dana Snyder.

Read More…...

The twist The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel‘s fifth and final season had been dancing around has now been unequivocally confirmed: Gordon Ford’s wife of convenience, Hedy (played by Billions actress Nina Arianda), has a romantic history with Susie (Alex Borstein).

The ex-college besties with bennies had an incendiary reunion on (and off) the set of The Gordon Ford Show in Episode 4, which dropped Friday on Amazon.

More from TVLineThe Wheel of Time Announces Castings for Chiad, Bain and More in Season 2May TV Calendar: 110+ Finales, Series Finales, Premieres, Returns and MoreAmazon Adds Dialogue Boost Option to Select Original Series and Movies

In a nutshell,...

When “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” emerged in 2017 as a pilot for Amazon’s Prime Video, I wrote it was a look at “neurosis, nutty family dynamics, comedy laced with heartache — my new favorite show. I would binge watch the series right now — but there’s only the pilot!”

Now, as we welcome the show’s fifth and final season, which premieres Friday, April 14, I’m carrying a lot of baggage, all matched and color-coordinated.

What can you say about Rachel Brosnahan’s breakout standup Miriam “Midge” Maisel and creator Amy Sherman-Palladino? They got it right — and then some, with 20 Emmys and 66 nominations to back up their success.

Also Read:

‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Lands Hank Azaria, Darren Criss and Sutton Foster as Final Season Guest Stars

Midge has evolved from the hyper, heartbroken Upper West Side Jewish mama of two who side-stepped into the standup comedy spotlight, bolstered by her...

Tim Blake Nelson is ready to put his dukes up for Bang Bang, an upcoming boxing drama from director Vincent Grashaw. Written by Will Janowitz (The Sopranos), the story focuses on Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Nelson), a disgruntled, retired boxer in charge of caring for his grandson. While making ends meet, Bernard encounters a chance to settle an old grudge, but he’ll need to show his kin around the ropes to come out swinging like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.

Joining Nelson for Grashaw’s hard-hitting drama are Glenn Plummer, Andrew Liner, Erica Gimple, Nina Arianda, Daniella Pineda, and Kevin Corrigan.

“This project hits the most personal to me. I grew up loving the sport of boxing, but the script tackled elements I hadn’t seen before in a movie; the aftermath of a troubled fighter’s career,” said Grashaw. “I found it an incredibly moving, tragic story,...

Exclusive: Tim Blake Nelson (Old Henry) will topline the boxing drama Bang Bang from director Vincent Grashaw (What Josiah Saw), which has wrapped production in Kentucky. (A first-look still from the pic can be found above.)

The film written by The Sopranos actor Will Janowitz follows Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Nelson), a bitter, retired boxer who’s tasked with caring for his grandson. He uses the opportunity to settle his oldest grudge by forcing his kin into embracing the sweet science. Others set to star include Glenn Plummer (Gifted), Andrew Liner (Vampire Academy), Erica Gimpel (Veronica Mars), Tony Award winner Nina Arianda (Being the Ricardos), Daniella Pineda (Jurassic World franchise) and Kevin Corrigan (The Departed).

Bang Bang marks Grashaw’s second production with Randomix Productions, which also produced his critically acclaimed Shudder Original, What Josiah Saw. The film is produced by Ran Namerode and Angelia Adzic (Randomix Productions), and Cole Payne...

Tim Blake Nelson, Uzo Aduba, Simon Rex, Nina Arianda, Jim Gaffigan, José María Yazpik and Joey Lauren Adams have rounded out the cast of, Providence, a comedy from Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker’s Limelight and David Boies and Zack Schiller’s Boies Schiller Entertainment. Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel are set to star with Potsy Ponciroli directing. Michael Vukadinovich penned the script. Limelight and Bse will fully finance and produce, along with Shannon Houchins’ Hideout Pictures.

Between the previous three stars already announced and this new round, Limelight and Bse look have put together quite the cast for this comedy.

The story follows the eclectic residents of a small, picturesque island town who must navigate a sensational murder and the discovery of a million dollars as a series of increasingly bad decisions upends the once-peaceful community. Principal photography begins this week in North Carolina.

Sellers, Parker, Houchins,...

Everybody in the industry seems to like and admire J.K. Simmons, and why wouldn’t they? He’s talented, versatile, dependable and affable. The fan club includes Aaron Sorkin, writer-director of Amazon’s “Being the Ricardos,” for which Simmons is Oscar-nominated as supporting actor.

Sorkin’s last seven screenplays have centered on real people, but he tells Variety he doesn’t picture the person, or any actor, when writing. “But in the case of William Frawley, there was only one actor I wanted. Frawley and J.K. is the closest I’ve come to writing a part for an actor.”

Sorkin’s appreciation began 30 years ago, when his “A Few Good Men” was a big Broadway hit. In a dual phone interview, Sorkin relates, “J.K. understudied the Colonel, which Jack Nicholson played in the movie. I heard J.K. was going on so I went to see, and he...

Everything old is new again, or at least worthy of deeper exploration. Consider two of this year’s biggest awards contenders, one at the Oscars and the other at the Emmys, thanks to a pair of backward-looking examinations of some of pop culture’s biggest modern obsessions: The Beatles and “I Love Lucy.” On the surface, “The Beatles: Get Back,” Peter Jackson’s six-hour saga of bedraggled young Beatles on deadline in 1969, and “Being the Ricardos,” Aaron Sorkin’s take on the comic mastermind Lucille Ball as she works in the mid-1950s alongside her great enabler Desi Arnaz might not sound simpatico, but both offer compelling explorations of creation.

The first is a 2022 documentary Emmy contender, while the second has given three Oscar winners a second shot at a gold statue. Almost as a reward for taking on the role of a wildly gifted comedienne, Nicole Kidman also scored a Golden Globe Drama win,...

J.K. Simmons just earned his second Oscar nomination, for his performance as sitcom actor William Frawley in “Being the Ricardos.” Simmons won for his first Oscar bid, for the 2014 film “Whiplash.”

The actor spoke with Gold Derby editor Christopher Rosen in December about what he knew about Frawley before taking the part, working alongside such actors as Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem and Nina Arianda and what he would tell skeptical fans of “I Love Lucy” about the film. Watch the exclusive chat above read the complete transcript below.

SEEJavier Bardem interview: ‘Being the Ricardos’

Gold Derby: J.K., congratulations on the performance in the film. What was your awareness level of William Frawley before taking this part?

J.K. Simmons: Well, as the only cast member who was actually born during the original run of “I Love Lucy,” I was, I think, more familiar than a lot of them. And...

"Being the Ricardos" is the Oscar-nominated Amazon Original Movie set in the 1950's written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, starring Nicole Kidman as 'Lucille Ball':

"...over the  course of a week during production of the 1950's sitcom "I Love Lucy", 'Lucy' and 'Desi' encounter a crisis that could jeopardize their careers and marriage..."

Cast also includes J. K. Simmons as 'William Frawley', Nina Arianda as 'Vivian Vance', Tony Hale as 'Jess Oppenheimer'...

... and Alia Shawkat as 'Madelyn Pugh'. 

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Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”) was born during the fourth season of “I Love Lucy.” And now 66 years later, he’s portraying actor William Frawley who was Fred Mertz on the classic in Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos.” It stars Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball, Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz and Nina Arianda as Vivian Vance. “Weirdly as a young kid, watching it on mom and dad’s old black-and-white TV or maybe when grandma and grandpa had it on TV, I sort of identified with Fred Mertz,” observed Simmons during a recent Deadline Zoom interview with Bardem. “I just thought he was a delightful and amusing guy. And here we are 60 years later, I got to inhabit that guy for a while.”

When the series started in 1951, Frawley had appeared in vaudeville and dozens of movies. “It really wasn’t a giant stretch for Bill to play Fred Mertz,...

J.K. Simmons was reluctant to appear in “Being the Ricardos.” But reading Aaron Sorkin’s script, “I was able to see the gift that Aaron was giving to each of the actors.”

It’s a gift exchange: Simmons is so versatile and talented that he brings gifts to any filmmaker he works with.

Oscar voting runs Jan. 27-Feb. 1. Simmons has been getting some awards buzz, but deserves more: As an actor, he has the blessing/curse of always making it look easy so he’s sometimes taken for granted. But with “Ricardos,” as with everything else, he seems so perfect that you can’t imagine anyone else playing the part. He’s definitely a supporting-actor contender.

Simmons and Sorkin go back to 1990, when the actor was an understudy in the Broadway production of Sorkin’s breakthrough “A Few Good Men.” When Simmons stepped into the role, a producer urged Sorkin to come watch.

While the Best Supporting Actress Oscar is often awarded to an ingenue, it can also be a way to reward a more season performer. Consider last year when Youn Yuh-jung, who is renowned in her native South Korea, won at age 73 for her first English film, “Minari.” In 2020, the academy honored past nominee Laura Dern who finally took home an Oscar for her scene-stealing performance in “Marriage Story.” (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2022 Oscars predictions for Best Supporting Actress.)

While Dern was clearly a featured player in her picture, two of her rival nominees, Florence Pugh and Margot Robbie, could easily have submitted themselves in lead for their roles in “Little Women” and “Bombshell” respectively. But the studios decided to campaign only their co-stars, Saoirse Ronan and Charlize Theron, in the top race and this proved to be a winning strategy as all four reaped bids.

In 2019, Emma Stone...

Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.

I Love Lucy was just about the most famous show in the history of television, but the dramatic behind-the-scenes story stayed off screen, until now. Amazon Studios’ Being the Ricardos incorporates several of the true stories of Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman), Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) and their staff. Only writer-director Aaron Sorkin sets them all in one week.

In Season 2 of I Love Lucy, Ball gets two pieces of troubling news on a Monday: A magazine reports that Arnaz has been seen around town with another woman, and Walter Winchell discovers that Ball had once applied to be a member of the Communist party, sharing that news with his audience.

Ball and Arnaz show up to work to start the episode; Lucy fans will...

J.K. Simmons seemed destined to star in an Aaron Sorkin film and he finally does in Amazon Studios’ “Being the Ricardos.” But the two actually crossed paths years earlier.

“My first Broadway play, I was an understudy replacement in ‘A Few Good Men,’” Simmons tells Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. Simmons played the role of the Doctor (which is not in the film version) but also had the opportunity to play the role of Col. Nathan Jessup – the role Jack Nicholson made infamous in Rob Reiner’s film version.

“It remains to this day maybe the best role I’ve ever had,” Simmons says. “Television, film, stage. It was an absolute genius piece of writing. And at this point, Aaron was just some kid from Scarsdale who miraculously got a play on Broadway.”

Simmons also appeared on “The West Wing” but it was after Sorkin had left the show. But...

Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons has very vivid memories of watching the classic TV sitcom I Love Lucy when he was a child.

“I can’t say I remember the first time I saw it,” he recalls. “But as I’ve said before, I’m the only cast member who was born when I Love Lucy was still on the air, the original series. I think I was born during Season 4 and absolutely grew up on it. It was on my parents’ crappy little black and white TV when I was a preschooler and in elementary school. And of course the show’s never been off the air. So I think everybody, even people who are my kids’ age, have been able to say that they grew up watching I Love Lucy because it’s always been there.”

Decades later, Simmons–who’s also in theaters this month in Spider-Man: No...

2021 was a great year for TV.

There was some great programming to get us through a difficult year.

But there were also some terrible returning dramas that squandered excellent opportunities to tell good storylines.

We spoke to the entire TV Fanatic staff to get insight into what worked and didn't work for returning dramas in 2021.

Have a look below.

Succession - HBO - Best

King Lear meets Desperate Housewives may be a silly comparison, but it seems to fit.

The narrative, the acting, the nuance, the close-to-home-ness of the struggles of the rich -- all is insane, and all is superb.

Season 3 is just as outrageous as its prior seasons, and we can't get enough. As is the case for every Succession season finale, the third one is enough to keep us up at night... again.

American Crime Story: Impeachment - FX - Best

Having Monica Lewinsky as a producer...

For Variety‘s Writers on Writers, Marlo Thomas pens a tribute to “Being the Ricardos” (screenplay by Aaron Sorkin).

There is a wonderful scene in “Being the Ricardos” — Aaron Sorkin’s wrenching chronicle of the pioneering TV comedy series “I Love Lucy” — in which Lucy drags two of her co-stars to the studio at 2 a.m., during a thunderstorm, to re-block a comic moment in a dinner scene that hadn’t gone well in rehearsal. It wasn’t even her bit — it was between her two fellow actors — but she knew it wasn’t good enough, funny enough. And so we watch Lucy push them to rehearse it — position them, instruct them — and they comply, even though their expressions reveal that they think she’s gone mad.

But Lucille Ball knew where the funny was. She could envision it. She could hear it. And she knew what to add to it to make it better.

Following a limited theatrical release and a well-received bow to awards voters,”Being the Ricardos” finally dances its way to Amazon Prime Video subscribers on Tuesday.

While Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem topline the Aaron Sorkin drama, one of the major takeaways in both critical reviews and early audience reaction has been the unexpected potency and drama of Vivian Vance — portrayed by “Goliath” and “Billions” star Nina Arianda.

Vance was best friend to Lucy Ricardo on the formative TV show, portraying the long-suffering neighbor Ethel Mertz. In Sorkin’s telling, though, Vance’s daily struggles were not simply relegated to mounting housework and a curmudgeonly husband.

Arianda’s Vance is a formidable stage and screen star struggling to find her place in the orbit of both Lucys: the searing physical comedian and the steel-toed creative executive running the show.

Warning: Minor spoilers for “Being the Ricardos” ahead.

While Arianda contends...

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“Being the Ricardos” is officially streaming on Amazon Prime Video. After debuting in theaters earlier this month, the biopic chronicling the complex romantic and professional relationship between Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), was released on the platform December 21.

Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, “Being the Ricardos” takes audiences behind closed doors, into the writer’s room, and onto the soundstage during a critical production week of the groundbreaking hit series “I Love Lucy.” The film, set in 1952, follows Ball and Arnaz through a series of personal and professional crises that includes everything from personal accusations to a political smear campaign, all of which threaten the power couple’s marriage and careers.

Producers: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch.

Executive producers: Jenna Block, Stuart Besser, David Bloomfield, Lauren Lohman, Lucie Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr.

Director: Aaron Sorkin.

Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin.

Camera: Jeff Cronenweth.

Editor: Alan Baumgarten.

Music: Daniel Pemberton.

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Linda Lavin, Ronny Cox, John Rubinstein, Clark Gregg, Nelson Franklin, Jeff Holman, Jonah Platt, Christopher Denham, Brian Howe, Ron Perkins.

…...

I Love Lucy remains the single most influential series in television history; there is perhaps not a single sitcom in the medium’s long existence that doesn’t owe some stylistic debt to the program, and its creation and development were groundbreaking in ways that we are still trying to catch up with in 2021. Yet the one thing you won’t really get from Being the Ricardos, writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s look at a week in the life of Lucy creators and stars, and real-life couple, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, is a true sense of what the show was like, and how it was produced and written from week to week.

Oh sure, Being the Ricardos ostensibly takes place during the production of one episode, from the Monday table read of the script to the Friday taping of the show in front of a live audience, but it’s almost incidental to the many,...