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Last week, more than 400 TV creators and showrunners — all of them women — sent letters to top executives at Hollywood studios demanding that specific safety protocols be put in place for pregnant employees in states where abortion has been outlawed, or soon will be. Now, letters of support signed by 594 men — including J.J. Abrams, Jordan Peele, Greg Berlanti, Donald Glover, Aaron Sorkin, David E. Kelley, Taika Waititi and Ryan Murphy — have been sent to the same companies.

The text of the letter is short, simply saying the undersigned stand with their “female, trans & non-binary showrunner colleagues in demanding a response from our employers regarding the imminent crisis” at hand. It was delivered by replying-all to the first letter, and was sent to Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Apple, NBC Universal, Amazon, Lionsgate and AMC.

These activist correspondences have been instigated by the Supreme Court’s June 24 Dobbs decison, which overturned Roe v.

Exclusive: Olivia DeJonge (Elvis) has been set as the female lead for The Trashers—the latest feature from Sundance prize-winning director Cooper Raiff (Cha Cha Real Smooth), which will have her starring alongside David Harbour and Cooper Hoffman.

The film will center on Hoffman’s character Aj—the teenage son of Connecticut trash magnate and Genovese crime family associate Jimmy Galante (Harbour). In 2004, Galante bought the city’s minor-league hockey team and assigned A.J. to run it. The two had bonded over their love for the game when A.J. played, with his crooked father hoping to hold onto their bond. The kid did well, watching the team gain notoriety for its rough and violent style of play but also developing a wide fan base as it started to win more and more games. The team’s success and fame all came to an abrupt end with Galante’s arrest on 72 criminal charges.

Cooper Hoffman has found his next role in Cooper Raiff’s “The Trashers,” playing son to David Harbour’s father.

The “Cha Cha Real Smooth” writer-director’s third film takes a page from the real story of Jimmy Galante (Harbour), a Connecticut trash tycoon and member of the Genovese crime family who purportedly inspired the character Tony Soprano. In 2004, Galante took over his city’s minor-league hockey team and put his teenage son A.J. (Hoffman) in charge of running it. Under A.J.’s command, the team quickly gains notoriety for its violent but effective playing style, racking up one win after another. However, it all comes crashing down when Galante is arrested on 72 criminal charges.

“The Trashers” will mark Raiff’s first time solely behind the camera, as he wrote, directed and starred in his first two projects. Adam R. Perlman will make his feature film writing debut,...

Exclusive: Cooper Hoffman has been set to star opposite Stranger Things’ David Harbour in The Trashers, the next film by Sundance Festival winning director Cooper Raiff.

Hoffman, son of the late Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, made a splashy debut in the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed Licorice Pizza. The Trashers, which is Raiff’s follow to Cha Cha Real Smooth, a Connecticut trash magnate and associate of the Genovese crime family. In 2004, Galante bought the city’s minor-league hockey team and assigned his teenage son A.J. to run it. The two had bonded over their love for the game when the youth played, and the crooked father didn’t want to let that bond go. The kid did well. team...

Following his SXSW winner Shithouse and Sundance winner Cha Cha Real Smooth, the latter of which was picked up for a June release by Apple TV+ to the tune of 15 million, director Cooper Raiff has now found his next project.

The director, who turns 25 this year, will helm The Trashers, a new drama scripted by Adam R. Perlman (Billions) set to star David Harbour. The film will tell the rise and fall of Jimmy Galante (Harbour), a Danbury, Connecticut trash magnate and the purported inspiration for the character of Tony Soprano. In 2004, Galante bought the city’s minor league hockey team and assigned his teenage son to run it. The team gained notoriety for their rough and violent style of play, but also developed a wide fan base as they started to win more and more games. The team’s success and fame all came to an abrupt end with...

David Harbour is set to star in the next film from “Cha Cha Real Smooth” filmmaker Cooper Raiff called “The Trashers,” which 30West is financing with filming hoping to kick off this fall.

“The Trashers” tells the true story of the rise and fall of Jimmy Galante (Harbour), a Danbury, Connecticut, trash magnate and the purported inspiration for the character of Tony Soprano. In 2004, Galante bought the city’s minor league hockey team and assigned his teenage son to run it. The team gained notoriety for their rough and violent style of play, but also developed a wide fan base as they started to win more and more games. The team’s success and fame all came to an abrupt end when Galante was arrested on 72 criminal charges.

“The Trashers” will be Raiff’s third feature after “S—house” and “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” which won the Audience Prize at...

Exclusive: Stranger Things and Black Widow star David Harbour will lead cast of Cooper Raiff’s The Trashers, which is on course to shoot this fall.

Raiff is coming off Sundance darling Cha Cha Real Smooth, starring Dakota Johnson, with the movie snapped up by Apple TV+ in a 15 million worldwide deal.

His next film will chart the rise and fall of Jimmy Galante (Harbour), a Connecticut trash magnate and associate of the Genovese crime family (which has been cited as an inspiration for The Sopranos). In 2004, Galante bought the city’s minor-league hockey team and assigned his teenage son to run it. The team gained notoriety for their rough and violent style of play but also developed a wide fan base as they started to win more and more games. The team’s success and fame all came to an abrupt end with Galante’s arrest on 72 criminal charges.

Exclusive: Cooper Raiff is set to direct, and 30West to finance The Trashers, a drama based on the true story of a Connecticut-based businessman who bought the city’s minor-league hockey team in 2004 and assigned his teenage son to run it. The team’s unexpected rise ended when the teen’s father, Jimmy Galante, was arrested on 72 criminal charges. The hockey saga is profiled in an episode of Netflix’s new docuseries Untold.

Raiff, whose directorial debut Shithouse won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature (it’s much better than the title indicates), will direct from a script by Adam R. Perlman (Billions), with current revisions by Raiff. They’ll drop the puck on this one and start production in the first half of 2022.

Raiff is currently in production on PictureStart’s Cha Cha Real Smooth which he wrote, directs, and co-stars in alongside Dakota Johnson and Leslie Mann.

The Harvardwood Writers Competition announced the winners of this year’s competition as well as those who made the Most Staffable TV Writers List. The winning writers will be mentored by A-list TV and film professionals including Dr. Neal Baer, Colleen McGuinness, and Jeff Schaffer.

The writers’ work will also be read by some of the industry’s top producers and will be considered for representation at established talent agencies and management companies. Each writer will receive a one-on-one mentorship while competition winners will score a handsome cash prize.

The winners of the Harvardwood Writers Competition in each category are:

TV Comedy Winner: Katie O’Hanlon – Branching Out (Half-Hour Comedy) TV Drama Winner: Alison McKenzie – Dirty Business (One-Hour Drama) Shorts Winner (tied): Myles McDonagh – Bardo (Animated Short) Shorts Winner (tied): Justin Monticello – City of Angels (Sketch Comedy)

The Most Staffable TV Writers selected from Havardwood Writers Program were...

Let’s start with this bit of good news: Paul Schrader‘s Dog Eat Dog will begin its U.S. release on November 4, courtesy of Rlj Entertainment. Although our review out of Cannes was a bit lukewarm — we started with “Paul Schrader might want to consider expanding his thematic scope a little” and didn’t get much nicer from there — one must work hard to tamper my excitement for a hardcore crime tale starring Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe.

More good news: Christine Vachon‘s Killer Films will back Schrader’s next feature, First Reformed, which is set to star Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried. Per a press release, the picture concerns “an ex-military chaplain Toller (Hawke) who is tortured by the loss of a son he encouraged to enlist in the armed forces.” After discovering the dark truth of “his church’s complicity with unscrupulous corporations,” he “embarks on...

Septillion To One, the FBI rom-com in the works at Stx Entertainment and OddLot Entertainment, has found its director in Mark Romanek.

Deadline has the scoop, confirming that the filmmaker – best known for One Hour Photo and Never Let Me Go – will now direct from a treatment pitched by Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack. Having cut his teeth in the music industry, crafting high-profile videos for the likes of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” and, more recently, Justin Timberlake’s catchy hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” today’s news marks the welcome return of Romanek into the realm of feature films, and Deadline also outlined the premise at hand.

In what can be seen as a slightly more ambitious venture for the filmmaker, Septillion to One chronicles the story of an “overzealous former FBI agent who has been relegated to the fraud unit of the Texas State...

Exclusive: Mark Romanek has been set to direct Septillion to One, the romantic comedy spec script by Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack that is being made by Stx Entertainment and OddLot Entertainment, the latter of which is financing. An overzealous former FBI agent who has been relegated to the fraud unit of the Texas State Lottery begins investigating a beautiful and shrewd woman who had inexplicably defied all odds and hit the lottery jackpot three times. He realizes the…...

Literary/talent manager George Heller has joined Brillstein Entertainment Partners. For the past five years, Heller led the Los Angeles management operations of Denis Leary and Jim Serpico’s Apostle. Before that, he was a manager at Principato-Young. Heller will bring all of his clients with him to Bep. The list includes Randall Green (Scooby Doo), Seth Owen (Peepers), Adam Perlman (The Good Wife, Billions), Johnny Rosenthal (Bad Santa 2), Rebecca Drysdale (Key & Peele, Ba…...

Film execs have voted for their favourite unproduced Us screenplays.

A script about Michael Jackson’s pet chimp Bubbles and a Moon-based roadtrip adventure are both on this year’s Black List of “most liked” unproduced screenplays in Hollywood.

The annual list, which was first published in 2005, surveys around 500 film executives on their favourite unmade scripts, with a typical response rate of 60%.

This year’s list features 81 screenplays, and was revealed in a series of Youtube videos hosted by the likes of Channing Tatum, Ava DuVernay and Lily James.

2015’s top screenplay is Isaac Adamson’s Bubbles, the story of the late pop star Michael Jackson’s life told through the narration of his pep chimp Bubbles.

Previous films on the list include Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech and Ben Affleck’s Argo, all of which went on to win best picture Oscars.

Spotlight and The...

Rounding up the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, as voted on by hundreds of film executives, The Black List has been a strong resource to clue one in on projects to potentially anticipate, but first, to kickstart Hollywood on bringing them to screen. Last year’s chart-topper Catherine the Great is still waiting to be produced and today we have this year’s editiong

Topping the 2015 edition, we have Isaac Adamson‘s Bubbles, which tells the story of Michael Jackson through the strange perspective of his adopted baby chimp. Also included is the Boston Marathon bombing drama Stronger, which Jake Gyllenhaal was circling, and Miss Sloane, which has Jessica Chastain attached. So, as an early look for some potential upcoming films to keep on your radar, take a looked at the full, detailing list below, along with the number of votes each earned.

Bubbles by Isaac Adamson 44

A baby chimp...

Recently, CBS served up the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "The Good Wife" episode 8 of season 7. The episode is entitled, "Restraint," and it turns out that we're going to see some very interesting and high drama stuff go down as a very heated case has Diane personally conflicted. Alicia and Lucca get desperate for new business, and more! In the new, 8th episode press release: Diane Is Personally Conflicted When She Is Forced To Argue A Heated Case In Order To Keep An Important Client, On "The Good Wife," Sunday, Nov. 22. Press release number 2: Diane is going to be personally conflicted when she is forced to argue a heated case between pro-choice and pro-life advocates in order to retain an important client, represented by attorney Ethan Carver (Peter Gallagher). Also, Alicia and Lucca will be desperate for new business and will attempt to poach clients from Louis...

With films like Sideways, The Descendants, and Nebraska, director Alexander Payne has proven himself a master at deftly balancing comedy and drama in his chosen projects. Now, if all goes according to plan, it looks like he has found yet another vehicle to allow him to do what he does best. That's because he is now in talks to helm a romantic comedy inspired by a true story about a woman who won the Texas State Lottery an impressive four times. The new project is titled Septillion to One, and while Payne is not officially attached just yet, The Wrap says that the film has definitely caught his eye. The script he would be working from is written by Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack, and described as "a cross between Silver Linings Playbook and Ocean.s 11." The story centers on an ambitious former FBI agent working in the fraud...

The script itself prompted a high stakes bidding game – from which OddLot Entertainment emerged victorious – and now, Academy Award winner Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants) is considering taking a chance on Septillion To One. Penned by The Newsroom writer Adam R. Perlman and newcomer Graham Sack, the true tale of a mysterious serial lottery winner has sparked the imaginations of several production companies – all keen to get behind OddLot in pushing the project through to production as soon as possible.

Septillion To One is inspired by the real, and suspiciously fortunate activities of Joan Ginther, who won large sums of money playing the lottery in Texas, and also happens to have a PhD in Statistics from Stanford University. Ginther’s first big win came in 1993, when she picked up half a Lotto Texas jackpot, amounting to $5.4 million. She reportedly moved to Las Vegas in 2001, but continued to return to her...

The next film from Alexander Payne will be Downsizing, a comedy starring Matt Damon that will be a social satire which follows a man (Damon) who realizes his life would be much better if he were to shrink himself. The film will also reunite Payne with his Election star Reese Witherspoon, and it's supposed to shoot after Damon is done with the next installment of the Jason Bourne franchise. And now Payne is circling a project that could follow Downsizing as The Wrap reports he wants to direct Septillion to One, a romantic comedy spec script by Adam R. Perlman & Graham Sack that OddLot Entertainment landed. Reportedly there was a heated auction for the script, and while Payne is not formally attached, it currently has his interest. The story is said to be inspired by the true tale of Joan Ginther, a woman who won the Texas State Lottery a whopping four times,...

Alexander Payne is currently in pre-production on his next film, Downsizing, but he might already be looking ahead to a future project. According to The Wrap, OddLot has just won a bidding war on the spec script Septillion to One and Payne is circling the director’s chair. The story is based on the true story of Joan Ginther, who won the Texas State Lottery four times, taking home more than $20 million thanks in part to a PhD in statistics from Stanford. The Wrap describes Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack’s script as “a cross between Silver Linings Playbook and Ocean’s 11. Per the Wrap: The film focuses on an overzealous former FBI agent who has been relegated to the fraud unit of the Texas State Lottery. He begins investigating a beautiful and shrewd woman who had inexplicably defied all odds and hit the lottery jackpot three times. He...

"It's like a cross between 'Silver Linings Playbook' and 'Ocean's 11' " an executive probably said. That description emerged via The Wrap with respect to a developing project that has seen a big name director kicking the tires. Alexander Payne is circling the Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack penned "Septillion To One." It tells the true story of Joan Ginther, who used what she learned earning her PhD in Statistics from Stanford to win the Texas State Lottery four times, totalling over $20 million dollars. She's soon pursued by an ex-fbi agent who works in the fraud department for the Texas State Lottery as he tries to figure out if she's done anything illegal. But oops, they fall in love instead.  It's not certain that Payne will direct, and production company OddLot have put this on the fast-track which may clash with his planned shoot of the long developing "Downsizing."...

OddLot Entertainment has picked up Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack's romantic comedy spec script "Septillion to One" which Alexander Payne is circling (but not officially attached) to direct. Tom McNulty, Gigi Pritzker and Linda McDonough are producing.

The film is inspired by the true story of Joan Ginther, who won the Texas State Lottery four times and took home more than $20 million thanks parrtly to a PhD in statistics from Stanford.

The story follows an overzealous former FBI agent who has been relegated to the fraud unit of the Texas State Lottery. He begins investigating a beautiful and shrewd woman who had inexplicably defied all odds and hit the lottery jackpot three times.

He realizes the odds are over one in a billion for this to happen, creating a game of cat-and-mouse with the suspect, with whom he ultimately falls head over heels in love.

Scheduling is reportedly an issue for Payne,...

OddLot Entertainment has acquired rights to Septillion To One, a romantic comedy spec script by Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack. It will be fast-tracked and financed by OddLot. The logline: an over-zealous former FBI agent who has been relegated to the fraud unit of the Texas State Lottery begins investigating a beautiful and shrewd woman who had inexplicably defied all odds and hit the lottery jackpot three times. He realizes the odds are over one in a billion for this…...

OddLot Entertainment has won a heated auction for rights to Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack’s spec script “Septillion to One,” which has Alexander Payne circling to direct, TheWrap has learned. OddLot will produce and finance the romantic comedy, which the company intends to fast-track as its slate is thin and the deal featured aggressive progress-to-production language. Tom McNulty will produce through his MC2 banner along with Linda McDonough of Marquee Entertainment and OddLot’s Gigi Pritzker. Payne is not officially attached to direct at this time but the story has drawn his interest, according to multiple sources. Scheduling may prove to be.

Jeff Daniels

The Newsroom, Season 2, Episode 2: “The Genoa Tip″

Written by Dana Ledoux Miller, Adam R. Perlman, and Aaron Sorkin

Directed by Jeremy Podeswa

Airs Sundays at 10:00 Pm Et on HBO

The second season premiere of The Newsroom last week hinted at a major catastrophe that engulfs the station, but buried amidst the discussions of the events that led to lawyerly intervention was the question of why Will McAvoy and the news crew would take on such a volatile story in the first place. This week’s episode dives deeper into the psyche of the individuals who comprise the news team, and their emotional and psychological state leading up to the Genoa revelation, in an episode that unfortunately brings back large chunks of previously problematic storylines, but nonetheless gives a better idea of what makes certain characters tick.

The varied professional scenarios that engulfed Will, Don, and Maggie...