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I always think of the Emmy nominations as a data dump. Where the Golden Globes focus on the glitziest categories across film and television and organizations like the Screen Actors Guild drill down on specific disciplines, the Emmys are faced with the impossible task of summing up an entire year’s worth of TV. In the past few years, the Television Academy has responded to this overload by training its focus on just a handful of shows. The 77th Emmy Awards, which unveiled their nominees on Tuesday morning, are thus far no exception. Commentators already knew this would be a big year for “Severance,” “The Pitt,” “The White Lotus” and “The Studio” — and, lo and behold, it was.

But the sheer volume of awards and individuals up for them means that one can and should spend hours parsing the fine print for less visible, but no less significant, breakthroughs. To preserve my own sanity,...

Variety won 16 first-place awards at the SoCal Journalism Awards Sunday night, more than any other entertainment outlet. The haul doubled Variety‘s tally of eight from last year, and set a new high mark for the publication at the awards, besting the previous peak of 14 achieved in 2023.

Among the wins were a top trophy for Variety.com as best website, and an honor for Chris Willman for entertainment journalist of the year.

The Los Angeles Press Club presented the awards at a sold-out banquet at the Millennium Biltmore attended by more than 550 journalists. The 2025 ceremony awarded work published during the 2024 calendar year. Variety went into the event with 93 nominations in 56 categories.

Variety staffers and contributors picking up first-place trophies included Daniel D’Addario, Jennifer Dorn, Owen Gleiberman, Angelique Jackson, Neil Jamieson, Ted Keller, Haley Kluge, Emily Longeretta, Jonny Marlow, J. Kim Murphy, Rebecca Rubin, Ramin Setoodeh, Tatiana Siegel, Greg Swales and Abbey White.

There’s no award show quite like IndieWire Honors. The star power is as bright as you’ll find anywhere, with creatives behind “Severance,” “Adolescence,” “Paradise,” “Poker Face,” “The Penguin,” “Ren Faire,” “1923,” “#1 Happy Family USA,” and “Matlock” in attendance. But it assembles those stars in an intimate setting that’s more about celebrating the human work that goes into our favorite shows than seeing and being seen. It’s the kind of event where host Robby Hoffman could convince Ben Stiller to roll up his sleeve and flex his forearms for the crowd, award recipients could playfully rib each other about their (real or imagined) nepo baby status all night, and attendees could easily mingle with their favorite stars in a relaxed environment.

More than anything, the 2025 TV IndieWire Honors, held at NeueHouse Hollywood on Thursday, June 5, was a celebration of our talented honorees.

“Matlock” star Kathy Bates received...

Documentarian Lance Oppenheim was recognized by IndieWire Honors on June 5 with the Magnify Award. Oppenheim’s work in “Ren Faire” certainly held a magnifying glass up to the Texas Renaissance Fair, ultimately documenting a story that played like a real-life “Succession,” captivating HBO viewers when it aired in 2024. It also created a folk legend of its late star George C. Coulam, or “King George” — who was so moved by the docuseries he reinstated an employee he was shown to have mistreated.

“We lost King George about two weeks ago … and I’ll forever remember him,” Oppenheim said. “And I hope that this documentary serves as a testament to the person he was … warts and all, [and] really just to capture how amazing and iconoclastic the guy was. He said one thing: ‘The highest glory is being in love,’ and I very much believe that, and I dedicate this [honor] to him.”

When accepting his award,...

If there was an underlying theme to the latest TV edition of IndieWire Honors, it would be that of support, and having your colleagues’ backs. Some of the ways that manifested were as simple as cinematographer and director Jessica Lee Gagné coaching her colleague and filmmaking mentor Ben Stiller through the Québécois pronunciation of “auteur” as they accepted the Auteur Award for their work on “Severance,” or as grand as Visionary Award winner Mara Brock Akil getting a chance to thank the stars of several of her shows, from “Girlfriends” to Netflix’s “Forever,” with members of those casts all in attendance.

Some more pairs accepted awards together, like “#1 Happy Family USA” co-creators Ramy Youssef and Pam Brady, who shared their awe for the animation medium while accepting the Spark Award, saying how it involves “as many people that are in this room working on the smallest details.” And “The Penguin...

Panels for shows like ‘House of the Dragon’ and others are launching on Max as it prepares its campaign to sway Emmy voters.

Last year, Max tried a unique tactic in order to win over more Emmy voters over: the platform made its For Your Consideration panels available for subscribers to stream on the service. Several shows on Max won big at the 2024 Emmy Awards, and the panels may have helped to sway some minds. That would explain why Warner Bros. Discovery is bringing back those panels in 2025, as announced on Tuesday.

Key Details: Available now: Max’s For Your Consideration panels are available as of Tuesday, June 3. Access galore: The panels offer access to talent both in front of and behind the camera. Best of the best: Panels for “Dune: Prophecy,” “The Pitt,” and more are available. Sign Up $9.99+ / month max via prime video

These For Your Consideration panels...

On June 5, the IndieWire Honors Spring 2025 ceremony will celebrate the creators and stars responsible for some of the most impressive and engaging work of this TV season. Curated and selected by IndieWire’s editorial team, IndieWire Honors is a celebration of the creators, artisans, and performers behind television well worth toasting. In the days leading up to the event, IndieWire is showcasing their work with new interviews and tributes from their peers.

Ahead, journalist and “Ren Faire” executive producer David Gauvey Herbert shares the story of his first meeting with Magnify Award winner Lance Oppenheim, and what he observed working alongside him on their critically acclaimed HBO three-part docu-drama.

Several years ago, after a brief Zoom courtship, I met Lance at Frank’s Wine Bar in Carroll Gardens and ordered him his first-ever martini. The waitress considered carding him, but then took me, I think, for a responsible, much older brother.

On June 5, the IndieWire Honors Spring 2025 ceremony will celebrate the creators and stars responsible for some of the most impressive and engaging work of this TV season. Curated and selected by IndieWire’s editorial team, IndieWire Honors is a celebration of the creators, artisans, and performers behind television well worth toasting. We’re showcasing their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles event.

The three-part HBO docu-drama “Ren Faire” is unlike anything we’ve seen on TV. The behind-the-scenes succession drama at one of the world’s largest Renaissance fairs in Todd Mission, Texas, is a Shakespearean tale that director Lance Oppenheim reached for a bold use of camera, light, sound, and editing to bring it to life. It uses a visual language that audiences don’t necessarily associate with nonfiction, which is fine by Oppenheim, who doesn’t associate documentary filmmaking conventions with the truth.

“Filmmakers...

We live in an escapist era. Nostalgic IP-mining reboots abound, large-scale video games are more popular every year, and escape rooms, immersive experiences, and other real-life novelties are now commonplace. Nowhere is this world-outside-the-world energy more prominent than the Texas Renaissance Festival. Founded by George Coulam in 1974, the Texas Renaissance Festival is the largest Renaissance festival in America, encompassing its own Texas town, with Coulam serving as both town mayor and festival king until his death on May 21.

Ren Faire, a three-part HBO docuseries created by Some Heaven and Spermworld director Lance Oppenheim, explores a tumultuous time in the fest’s long history, as Coulam looks to retire from the festival he’s long been synonymous with. Vying for control over the fest’s future are Coulam’s longtime right-hand man, Jeff Baldwin, ren faire tycoon Louie Migliaccio, and a host of other players. While there’s organic humor in...

George Coulam, the founder of the popular Texas Renaissance Festival, has died. He was 87.

The colorful “King George” was the subject of the HBO documentary series, Ren Faire, which aired on the service last year.

According to Grimes County Sheriff Donald Sowell, police received a 911 call early Wednesday from Coulam’s housekeeper, who found the festival pioneer dead in his bed. There’s no cause of death determination as of yet.

Coulam founded the festival in 1974. The event is held for six weekends each fall in Todd Mission, Texas.

The festival put out the following statement on Facebook following his death: “To our Texas Renaissance family and friends: We are deeply saddened by the loss of George Coulam, founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival. For more than 50 years, he built a community that has become a cherished tradition for generations of performers, staff, and guests. At this time, we ask...

George Coulam, the founder and longstanding owner of the Texas Renaissance Festival whose eclectic lifestyle and hunt for a successor were documented in the 2024 HBO docuseries “Ren Faire,” was found dead in his home in Todd Mission, Texas on Wednesday morning. He was 87. An investigation remains ongoing and a cause of death is not known at this time.

The Todd Mission Police Department was dispatched to Coulam’s residence, adjacent to the Renaissance Festival’s premises, on Wednesday morning. The Grimes County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers were present for assistance. Coulam was pronounced dead by authorities upon arrival.

“To our Texas Renaissance family and friends, we are deeply saddened by the loss of George Coulam, founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival,” the Texas Renaissance Festival wrote in a statement on social media. “For more than 50 years, he built a community that has become a cherished tradition for generations of performers,...

Elon Musk got his wish. Voters in the southern tip of Texas just approved his plan to incorporate Starbase as its own city, at the SpaceX boss’s behest.

But Musk isn’t the first magnate to get his own town in Texas. Long before him, George Coulam – creator the of the world’s largest Renaissance Fair – incorporated Todd Mission, TX, where he rules as King George surrounded by vassals, courtiers and other minions in medieval garb. The story of Coulam and his kingdom, and the succession battle over his throne, is told in the Emmy-contending HBO documentary series Ren Faire, directed by Lance Oppenheim.

“He has power, as the elected mayor of the town he incorporated,” reads a Ren Faire synopsis. “He has glory, as the undisputed employer and self-proclaimed ruler of thousands.”

But in his mid-80s, King George ponders whether to abdicate and devote his remaining days...

We will update this article throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2025 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting takes place from June 12 to June 23, with the official Emmy nominations announced Tuesday, July 15. Afterwards, final voting commences on August 18 and ends the night of August 27. The 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, September 14, and air live on CBS at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt.

The State of the Race

Although there wasn’t a blockbuster Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series contender this TV season like “The Last Dance,” “The Beatles: Get Back,” or “Beckham,” the series that are presently vying for the Emmy are mostly very strong.

For example, “100 Foot Wave” on HBO has been nominated twice already, and is surely hoping that the third season is the charm.

Before he heads back to Gotham City, it sounds like Robert Pattinson might be heading to Arrakis!

According to Deadline, Pattinson (The Batman; Mickey 17; Tenet) is being eyed for the primary antagonist role in Dune: Messiah, the third and final installment of director Denis Villeneuve's acclaimed Dune trilogy.

No formal offer has been presented to Pattinson's team just yet as both sides will likely have to first figure out his busy shooting schedule, since he's already scheduled to film both Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Matt Reeves' long-awaited The Batman Part II later this year. 

If a deal closes, it's expected that Pattinson will portray the film's lead villain, Scytale. 

In the novel Dune Messiah, Scytale is a Face Dancer - a shape-shifting operative - of the Bene Tleilax, a secretive and morally ambiguous faction known for genetic manipulation and subterfuge. He leads a conspiracy against Paul Atreides,...

“The Python Hunt” is that rare case where an indie film easily raises financing, grabs upbeat response from audiences and critics at a film festival, wins a prize, and launches multiple sales bids. After a rousing response at the big Alamo Drafthouse Lamar screening at SXSW, this colorful, populist portrait of a swath of python hunters — and by extension, America — could hit a commercial nerve.

Here’s how the filmmakers did it.

Work with your friends.

Filmmaker Lance Oppenheim brought an idea to his old Florida buddy Xander Robin (“Are We Not Cats”). They had been trying to make a movie together for years, and Robin had labored on his own film about the pet trade in the Florida Everglades that never got off the ground. The concept: cover the annual Python Challenge, a competition that pays $10,000 to the one hunter in 1,000 who brings in the most Burmese snakes, which...

In the criminally underrated Peacock comedy Killing It, the desperate protagonist (Craig Robinson) decides that the only way to make seed money for his start-up business is by participating in a python-hunting competition in the Florida Everglades. Over two seasons, herpetological misadventures and a scathing critique of the state of the American Dream ensue.

The audience for Killing It was sufficiently small — I’m not sure Peacock exactly canceled the show so much as the streamer simply forgot it existed — that the reaction to Xander Robin’s new documentary The Python Hunt won’t simply be, “Oh! It’s a real-life Killing It!”

Like an invasive Burmese python, the storylines in The Python Hunt prove a little bit too squirmy and erratic for the documentary to come into a focus in a wholly satisfying way. But it’s still a wild and generally empathetic journey into the swamp of the American soul.

Exclusive: Slithering into SXSW this afternoon at the Alamo Lamar, The Python Hunt is a documentary that might do for the Burmese Python what Jaws did 50 years ago for the Great White Shark.

The acquisition title is the third documentary backed by Artists Equity, the company hatched by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Redbird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale. Directed by Xander Robin from an idea by producer Lance Oppenheim, the docu lays out as a Hands on a Hardbody-type quest as amateurs and pros gather in the Everglades to hunt and kill the Burmese Pythons that local government maintain got into the waterways and has decimated the indigenous creatures that called the swamps home.

How does one capture a Burmese Python that grows as long as 20 feet with a propensity to coil around its enemies and squeeze the life out of them? Says one young hunter: “You grab the tail...

As we wind down the year with holiday cheer and comfort viewing, IndieWire’s craft team picks the best TV cinematography of 2024. We weren’t seeking the slickest-looking eye candy, nor even the most elegantly shot series (although many of these projects are striking), but instead sought titles in which the cinematography was integral to the vision of its creator and elevated the storytelling of some of the year’s best shows.

While the long and repeated grind of television production can make the art of cinematography more of a team sport working under the umbrella of a series’ visual bible, in the age of limited series, there were a number cinematographers on this list who shot a vast majority, if not the entire series, and this list features a number of director/cinematographer combinations whose collaboration is more commonly associated with feature film production. Which also might explain the...

Robert Pattinson might be one of the most famous and acclaimed actors of modern filmmaking, and yet some fans still only know the British actor because of his main role in the widely popular young adult vampire flicks in the Twilight series. Although The Batman actor has had a steady career since the beginning of his acting escapades, including films like Christopher Nolan's Tenet and Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse, some fans seem to have forgotten about his resume entirely.

In a recent interview with The New York Times Style Magazine, Pattinson recalled a funny moment that occurred while traveling with his fiancée Suki Waterhouse. Pattinson told the magazine that, while going through passport control at the airport, an immigration officer stopped the internationally famous actor, who she said she recognized from his work in Twilight, to ask why he'd stopped acting. The actor was stunned by the question, seeing...

Robert Pattinson is re-teaming with his “Tenet” director Christopher Nolan for the filmmaker’s closely guarded project at Universal Pictures, Variety has confirmed. Pattinson joins an impressive ensemble that already includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway and Zendaya.

Universal and Nolan’s follow-up to their Oscar-winning drama “Oppenheimer” is projecting a production start date sometime in the first half of 2025. Pattinson will be quite busy in the New Year. Warner Bros. is looking to film a sequel to his 2022 blockbuster “The Batman,” in which the actor would reprise his leading turn as the DC Comics superhero. Pattinson is also starring in A24’s “Primetime,” a thriller drawing inspiration from the reality show “To Catch a Predator” that will serve as the debut narrative feature of rising filmmaker Lance Oppenheim. That indie is planning to ramp up production early next year.

Additionally, Pattinson’s next feature, Bong Joon-Ho’s sci-fi comedy “Mickey 17,...

Exclusive: Hiro Murai, one of today’s most influential and in demand directors of television and music videos, has found his long-awaited first feature project in Bushido, an original samurai film to be financed by A24, which will produce alongside Square Peg and 2Am.

While plot details are being kept under wraps, Bushido is said to be a high-stakes action film set against the backdrop of feudal Japan.

Murai will direct from a script by Henry Dunham (The Standoff at Sparrow Creek), with the duo to produce alongside Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen for Square Peg, and the 2Am trio of Julia Oh, Christine D’Souza Gelb and David Hinojosa.

The project comes at a time when the samurai story has significant cultural cachet, given the outsized breakout success of FX’s Shōgun, an hour-long drama delving deep into samurai culture and the feudal politics of early 17th-century Japan. The winner of 18 Emmys,...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has signed on to star in Pendulum, a new feature produced by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and directed by Mark Heyman (Black Swan).

The film will start principal photography in March 2025 in New Mexico. Black Bear is repping international rights on the film and will introduce the project to buyers at the American Film Market next week. UTA Independent Film Group, CAA Media Finance, and WME Independent hold domestic rights.

Described as a “terrifying new genre film,” the film follows the young couple Patrick (Gordon-Levitt) and Abigail on a journey to a new-age retreat in New Mexico, drawn by the possibility of healing after a traumatic event. Patrick is willing to do anything to help his wife but becomes distrustful of the retreat’s enigmatic leader even as Abigail falls under her spell. As paranoia builds, the couple must determine if the group’s unconventional spiritual practices offer genuine...

Apple TV+’s Girls State and HBO’s Ren Faire scored three nominations apiece to lead all broadcast nominees announced Thursday for the 18th Cinema Eye Honors. The group, which recognizes the year’s outstanding nonfiction and documentary films and TV series, also revealed the 16-film longlist for its annual Audience Choice Prize, won last year by National Geographic’s Bobi Wine: The People’s President, which went on to get nominated for the Documentary Feature Oscar.

The past six winners of the Best Documentary Feature Oscar — this year’s winner 20 Days in Mariupol, Navalny, Summer of Soul, My Octopus Teacher, American Factory and Free Solo — were all Audience Choice Prize nominees. Fans voting will whittle the list to 10 beginning next week, with winners in that and all categories to be announced at an awards ceremony January 9 at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem.

The full list...

Cinema Eye Honors today shared a string of announcements, including the 16 films on its Audience Choice Prize Longlist, the unveiling of this year’s Unforgettables Honorees, nominees in its five Broadcast categories, and its annual Shorts List — spotlighting 11 of the year’s top documentary short films — at its 7th annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch in Downtown Los Angeles on October 24, 2024.

Spotlighted on the film side are several major Best Documentary Feature contenders including “Will & Harper,” “Black Box Diaries,” and “No Other Land,” which all also factored into the organization’s list of Unforgettables — standout on-camera collaborators from eight feature documentaries. This next ceremony will be the first time those honorees, like Harper Steele, Shiori Ito, and Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham for those respective films, receive a special medallion honoring their contribution to their Cinema Eye-winning films.

Highlights among the Broadcast nominees include filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, nominated for both...

The Apple TV+ documentary “Girls State” and the HBO doc series “Ren Faire” led all projects in nominations in the Cinema Eye Honors broadcast categories, which were announced on Thursday in Los Angeles.

“Girls State” was nominated in the Broadcast Film category and also for its editing and cinematography. “Ren Faire” was also nominated in those last two categories, as well as for Nonfiction Series.

Other broadcast films and series with multiple nominations included Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders,” Apple’s “The Enfield Poltergeist,” HBO’s “Telemarketers” and National Geographic’s “Photographer.”

At its annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch at Redbird in downtown Los Angeles, the New York-based organization also announced the Audience Choice Award Long List, 16 films that will compete for the audience-voted award; 11 semi-finalists in the short doc category; and “The Unforgettables,” its annual list of the year’s most interesting documentary subjects.

The Audience...

Robert Pattinson is now set to produce an upcoming A24 crime movie. Pattinson got his big break when he played the male lead Edward Cullen in the Twilight series. Since then, Pattinson has become a major star both in the indie and mainstream scene, acting in wide-ranging projects including Good Time, Tenet, and The Batman. Pattinson's past couple of years have been slow, but he did appear in a voice acting role in the English language dub of The Boy and the Heron last year. In early 2025, Pattinson will star in Bong Joon-ho's Mickey17.

As per Deadline, Pattinson has now set his next project with A24. The movie in question is titled Primetime, and will feature Pattinson as a producer. Primetime will be directed by documentarian Lance Oppenheim. A vague initial synopsis for the film says that it will "follow a journalist who takes on an underworld of crime and changes television forever.

Robert Pattinson is working behind-the-scenes on a new project!

The 38-year-old actor is helping producing a new movie from documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, which is set up at A24, according to Deadline.

Keep reading to find out more…

Currently titled Primetime, the movie is said to “follow a journalist who takes on an underworld of crime and changes television forever,” which is seemingly taking inspo from crime reporting television shows like Dateline and To Catch a Predator.

While some sources have said Robert would star in the movie, he does not have a deal to star in the feature at this time.

Lance is set to direct, with a script by Ajon Singh – they will both executive produce as well.

If you missed it, Robert is set to star in another movie, titled The Drama, and plot details, plus a new co-star, were just revealed last week – Get the scoop!

Robert Pattinson is rumored to star in a new film from A24 titled Primetime, said to take influence from NBC's To Catch a Predator. The 2004 real crime series was part of NBC's Dateline television news program and followed the host Chris Hansen as he caught pedophiles red-handed. Hansen would lure adult predators and capture their creepiness on camera, which would usually result in an arrest. While most of the plot of the upcoming A24 film is under wraps, per Deadline, it is said to be a fictional story of a journalist taking on a world of crime to change the television industry forever.

A few details about the production have been revealed. Still, Pattinson is confirmed to be part of the large production team under his production company, Icki Eneo Arlo, with Brighton McCloskey. Documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim is set to direct and executive produce Primetime alongside screenwriter and fellow executive producer Ajon Singh.

The rise of Lance Oppenheim continues unabated: within 12 months of Spermworld and Ren Faire comes the news he’ll be directing Primetime, a feature backed by A24 and Robert Pattinson’s Icki Eneo Arlo. Per sources (including some from which this writer’s heard directly), Ajon Singh’s script takes direct inspiration from NBC’s To Catch a Predator and its notorious host Chris Hansen; Deadline‘s article plays into that, noting rumors the film concerns “a journalist who takes on an underworld of crime and changes television forever.” Whether Pattinson also stars remains uncertain.

Meanwhile, Deadline also notes Colman Domingo will make his directorial debut with Euphoria co-star Sydney Sweeney playing none other than Kim Novak. The project, Scandalous, is scripted by Matthew Fantaci and concerns the fire-setting affair between Novak and Sammy Davis Jr. (David Jonsson). Cameras roll once the HBO series finishes shooting its third season.

The...

A24 is set to finance and produce “Primetime,” according to an insider with knowledge of the project. Robert Pattinson is set to produce through his production banner Icki Eneo Arlo alongside Brighton McCloskey, Range’s Brian Kavanaugh Jones and Fred Berger, Square Peg’s Lars Knudsen, Ari Aster and Tyler Campellone will also produce.

This project will be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Lance Oppenheim. The screenplay is written by Ajon Singh.

Project details are under wraps, but said to follow a journalist who takes on an underworld of crime and changes television forever.

Lance Oppenheim and Ajon Singh will executive produce, as well William Iannaccone and A.J. Bourscheid for Range and Emily Hildner for Square Peg.

Oppenheim most recently directed and produced the critically-acclaimed HBO Original hit series “Ren Faire,” and his sophomore feature documentary, “Spermworld,” for FX. Oppenheim’s first documentary feature, “Some Kind of Heaven,” produced by Darren Aronofsky & The New York Times,...

Lance Oppenheim, who recently directed the buzzy HBO documentary series “Ren Faire,” is working with A24 and Robert Pattinson to develop his first narrative feature film.

A24 is set to finance and produce “Primetime,” which follows a journalist who takes on an underworld of crime and ends up changing television forever. Additional details are under wraps but the project is said to be inspired by “To Catch a Predator,” the 2000s-era reality show in which host Chris Hansen aimed to expose alleged sexual predators. Hansen would use hidden cameras while orchestrating sting operations that lured culprits to homes under the pretense of having sex with a minor, only to have the suspect arrested.

Oppenheim, whose documentary credits also include “Some Kind of Heaven,” a look at the world’s largest retirement community, and “Spermworld,” following the story of sperm donors, recipients, and all that connects them, is directing from a screenplay by Ajon Singh.

Ren Faire director Lance Oppenheim is lining up his first scripted feature film, teaming up with producer Robert Pattinson and A24 for Primetime.

The project, which has a script by Ajon Singh, is said to center on a journalist who takes on the underbelly of crime in a unique way and changes television forever. At this stage, Pattinson does not have a deal to star, only produce.

Sources say that the film draws inspiration from To Catch a Predator, the popular and zeitgeist-buzzing 2000s reality TV show in which host Chris Hansen partook in sting operations luring adult men to homes under the pretense of sexual encounters with minors. A24 is not confirming any connection to the show.

Oppenheim will direct and exec produce with screenwriter Singh.

Sources say A24 is moving swiftly and could be in production in the early part of next year.

Pattinson produces via his Icki...

Exclusive: Veteran documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim (Ren Faire) is pivoting to fiction with his next project, Primetime, which will be financed and produced by A24, with Robert Pattinson among the producers.

While not much is known about the film’s genre or plot, it’s said to follow a journalist who takes on an underworld of crime and changes television forever. We’ve heard from multiple sources that the project takes inspiration from To Catch a Predator, the NBC program put on as part of Dateline, as well as its host Chris Hansen, though the studio wouldn’t confirm. Sources also had Pattinson attached to star, though others clarified that there’s no deal in that respect for the moment. Stay tuned.

Oppenheim will direct from a script by Ajon Singh. Pattinson produces through his production banner Icki Eneo Arlo alongside Brighton McCloskey, Range’s Brian Kavanaugh Jones and Fred Berger,...

Bad Bunny is the latest star to join Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming film, Caught Stealing, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The global superstar joins Zoë Kravitz and Austin Butler in the Sony Pictures crime thriller, based on Charlie Huston’s novel of the same name. It is unknown who the artist will portray in the film adaptation.

According to the logline, the story “follows Hank Thompson (Butler), a burned-out former baseball player, as he’s unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of ‘90s NYC.”

Earlier this summer, the Grammy-winning artist wrapped his Most Wanted Tour in support of his newest album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana.

Bad Bunny’s first acting role came in Narcos: Mexico. He portrayed Arturo “Kitty” Páez in four episodes. He followed that up when he appeared alongside Brad Pitt in Sony’s Bullet Train as an assassin named Wolf.

Zoë Kravitz is in talks to join Austin Butler in Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the script. The story, per the logline, follows Hank Thompson, a burned-out former baseball player, who’s unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of 1990s New York City.

Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures, which is based in New York, is producing the film, alongside his partner Ari Handel. Together, they’ve worked on the director’s π, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, Noah, Mother! and The Whale; as well as Tobias Lindholm’s The Good Nurse, Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, Lance Oppenheim’s Some Kind of Heaven, Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Catch the Fair One and Alex Pritz’s documentary The Territory.

Apparently, the succession plot twists at the Renaissance Fair in Todd Mission, Texas did not end with the conclusion of the three-part HBO docuseries “Ren Faire.” In fact, according to director Lance Oppenheim, it was the airing of the last two episodes on June 9 that actually led to the latest chapter in the saga.

“George [Coulam] watched Episodes 2 and 3, and he loved the series so much that he actually cleaned the office out again and he gave Jeff [Baldwin] his old job back, so now Jeff is the new general manager,” said Oppenheim on an upcoming episode of IndieWire’s Toolkit podcast. “Jeff is back in charge.”

This is the position Baldwin was in at the start of Episode 1 of “Ren Faire.” The loyal, dedicated employee of 43 years, had risen from being the festival’s long-serving entertainment director to its new general manager, in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the...

Quick Links What Is Ren Faire About? Flights of Fancy The Filmmakers' Approach to Ren Faire What Happens at the End of Ren Faire? Ren Faire is a wild, absurd, and cutthroat docuseries depicting the succession battle at the Texas Renaissance Festival. Blending fact and fiction, the series follows the retirement of King George at the Trf with exaggerated drama and truth. Despite the seemingly unbelievable events, the story ends with King George retaining control of the Trf after all the chaos.

Making its Max debut on June 2, 2024, Ren Faire is a wildly entertaining three-part docuseries that is so absurd and outlandish that it's hard to tell how truthful it is. Directed with stylish flair and heightened dramatic reenactments by Lance Oppenheim, the story concerns The Texas Renaissance Festival's succession plan following the retirement of its long-term leader, King George Coulam, when he becomes too ill to continue his leadership.

The nonprofit Sundance Institute has announced the 10 emerging filmmakers selected for the yearlong Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship, as IndieWire shares exclusively.

Now in its ninth year, the fellowship supports storytellers ages 18 to 25 with artist-centered support and professional development. The year-long program starts with the Ignite Lab at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, from June 16 to June 21. Fellows receive a $3,000 artist grant and a one-year complimentary membership to Adobe Creative Cloud. They also participate in monthly webinars focused on creative and professional development, a curated program at the Sundance Film Festival, and networking and relationship-building events with the Ignite community at workshops. Artist granting is supported by Adobe and Arison Arts Foundation.

The Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship cohort was selected from more than 900 global applicants.

“We are so appreciative to have partners like Adobe supporting the important work that the Ignite Fellowship makes possible,” said Toby Brooks, Sundance Ignite assistant director.

[Editor’s note: The following article contains spoilers for the ending of “Ren Faire.”]

It didn’t take director Lance Oppenheim long to realize his three-part docuseries about the Texas Renaissance Fair would become a succession drama. He was drawn to the project by the story of King George Coulam, a man who built this empire of make believe, which he ruled like an emperor: playing corporate overlord, elected mayor, and cosplay king of the festival and town he built from scratch. With Coulam being 86-years old and experiencing some health issues, Oppenheim knew there was at least the potential of a Game of Thrones-like storyline when he started making “Ren Faire.”

“I knew that the succession idea was existentially in the air,” said Oppenheim. “And by the end of our first shoot, like seven days into this, I had met everybody already, and knew fairly quickly, especially compare to previous projects, what this would be about.”

Oppenheim said that while...

Spoiler Alert: This article discusses the “Ren Faire” finale, now streaming on Max.

Long live the king. In his search for a worthy heir to buy out his stake in the Texas Renaissance Festival, theme park founder George Coulam has put his subordinates through some dark ages. But, after weighing his options, he’s finally figured out the right person to be in charge: himself.

“None of us ever really thought that there would be someone that would take over,” says Lance Oppenheim, director and executive producer of “Ren Faire.” “There’s no world in which George could ever give it up.”

The finale of the HBO docuseries sees the octogenarian rejecting yet another multi-million-dollar offer to purchase his festival, instead electing to maintain status quo as ruler of his kingdom. In fact, everyone seems to end up close to where they were at the start of the story: a...

[The following story includes spoilers from HBO’s Ren Faire.]

HBO’s Ren Faire was three episodes of — as one critic helpfully dubbed it — “Succession with turkey legs.” Or perhaps the documentary was better depicted — as director Lance Oppenheim has himself described it — as Vanderpump Rules meets There Will Be Blood. Either way, Oppenheim’s chronicle of a behind-the-scenes power struggle at the Texas Renaissance Festival was compulsively watchable and clearly demonstrated Oppenheim’s three-year immersion into his subject matter (along with his co-creator, journalist David Gauvey Herbert, and their producing team).

Still, some questions remain: Was “King” George Coulam ever going to retire? Is he still going on “Sugar Daddy” dates? How are Jeff and Bradi Baldwin doing now? Will there be more episodes? And how do you subsist for three years on a diet of kettle corn and empanadas? Below Oppenheim (whose previous films include Spermworld and Some Kind of Heaven) opens up about all of...

Max's Ren Faire documentary mirrors Succession with a dramatic portrayal of power, ambition, and legacy in a unique setting. Critics praise Ren Faire for its nuanced characters and compelling storyline, comparing it to the beloved series Succession. Viewers find Ren Faire perceptive, thrilling, and engaging, with unpredictability and intense courtly intrigue.

Max's new documentary with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes is an outlandish real-life version of Succession. For four seasons, the HBO series explored the Roy family's prolonged succession battle over Waystar Royco, the business conglomerate founded and run by Logan Roy for several decades. With the patriarch's declining health, his children, traumatized by a childhood of neglect and abandonment, scheme their way to take over the reign from their father. The Succession season 4 cast steered the finale to a messy, complex, yet ultimately satisfying ending to what is considered one of the best HBO original series of all time.

Created by Jesse Armstrong,...

At its core, documentary filmmaking is an intimate process. The filmmakers are asking their subjects to bring their truest selves to the table — and that can be difficult when those subjects are rock stars who are used to being asked probing questions.

“These music groups who have been around forever, they have the pat answer. They’ve been asked the same question a million times,” said director Frank Marshall, whose latest documentary “The Beach Boys,” chronicles the group’s six decades in the spotlight. “You have to spend the time with them and get their trust in order for them to dig down under and get the real authentic answers.”

Gotham Chopra — who joined Marshall, Lance Oppenheim (“Spermworld” director), Joie Jacoby (“Black Twitter: A People’s History” showrunner and executive producer) and Maria Wilhelm (“Secrets of the Octopus” executive producer) at Variety’s TV FYC Fest to discuss the documentary medium...

HBO Documentary’s new three-part series does not look, feel, or sound like any docuseries you’ve seen. Set against the backdrop of one of the world’s largest Renaissance fairs in Todd Mission, Texas, “Ren Faire” director Lance Oppenheim blends verite filmmaking with fantasy in capturing a cast of characters who are playing out a real-life succession drama.

At the center is King George Coulum, the 86-year-old visionary who built the festival and ruled his fiefdom with an iron fist as it exploded into a multi-million dollar business and (a la Disneyland) became its own town, for which Coulum is both the mayor and primary employer. In Episode 1, the King indicates he is finally ready to step aside, as he hits various online dating sites (including sugardaddy.com) looking for a pretty young woman to be his companion in his final years, which he envisions being filled with sex,...

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It’s been a largely unkind summer for movies based on the box office, but June could change that thanks to everything from big-name sequels and an ambitious western from Kevin Costner. Those choosing to stay home will have plenty to watch, too, thanks to the return of favorites like We Are Lady Parts, The Bear, House of the Dragon, and The Boys. But June also has a...

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About halfway through the first episode of the new HBO docuseries Ren Faire, Jeff Baldwin likens his workplace to Shakespeare’s King Lear. Baldwin sees himself as Cordelia, the king’s loyal daughter who is nevertheless banished by her misguided father. Baldwin views his office rivals as Albany and Regan, the duplicitous daughters who turn on Lear once they get their inheritance.

And Lear is 86-year-old George Coulam,...

Lance Oppenheim, a 2019 25 New Face who is something of a non-fiction poet laureate of contemporary loneliness, oddball institutional rituals, and the ways in which fantasy and reality commingle in American life, premieres his latest documentary series, Ren Faire, tonight on HBO. Produced by Elara Pictures, with executive producers including Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie and Ronnie Bronstein, the three-part series tells a Succession-like drama involving an aging “king,” George Coulam, in the midst of deciding which of his employees will take over his sprawling and lucrative Texas-based Renaissance theme park. The series follows Oppenheim’s excellent Spermworld, for which the […]

The post Trailer Watch: Lance Oppenheim’s HBO Documentary Series, Ren Faire first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Lance Oppenheim, a 2019 25 New Face who is something of a non-fiction poet laureate of contemporary loneliness, oddball institutional rituals, and the ways in which fantasy and reality commingle in American life, premieres his latest documentary series, Ren Faire, tonight on HBO. Produced by Elara Pictures, with executive producers including Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie and Ronnie Bronstein, the three-part series tells a Succession-like drama involving an aging “king,” George Coulam, in the midst of deciding which of his employees will take over his sprawling and lucrative Texas-based Renaissance theme park. The series follows Oppenheim’s excellent Spermworld, for which the […]

The post Trailer Watch: Lance Oppenheim’s HBO Documentary Series, Ren Faire first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Succession meets Game of Thrones in the documentary series Ren Faire, which premieres Sunday on HBO.

Lance Oppenheim directed the three-parter about the battle to take the reins of the Texas Renaissance Festival, the largest ren faire in the world. At outdoor festivals of this ilk — in case you’re unaware — performers suit up in medieval attire, musicians tootle on flutes and strum lyres, fire eaters consume flames, and fans devour massive turkey drumsticks and fistfuls of kettle corn.

The Logan Roy – or, if you prefer, King Aerys II – in this scenario is aging potentate George Coulam, founder and ruler of the Texas ren faire. He’s a colorful character, to say the least, and if you doubt that, consider how he describes himself on his website: “George Coulam is a healthy 6’2”, 173 lbs., 86-year-old sexually active Caucasian male entrepreneur.”

George Coulam in ‘Ren Faire’

“He has power, as the elected...

Documentarian Lance Oppenheim is like a maximalist Errol Morris.

He makes films that focus on eccentrics and oddballs and the communities they call home, documentaries that invite viewers to gawk at their subjects but do not, themselves, gawk.

In a documentary landscape that too frequently hues to the intentionally bland aesthetic conventions of “realism” — gritty, washed-out photography and hand-held framing masquerading as “objective” — Oppenheim’s films can be assaultive. They’re full of oversaturated colors, hallucinatory shifts in perspective, hyper-intimate close-ups and reenactments that blur lines between reality and subjective fiction.

I was legitimately shocked to look up the running times on Oppenheim’s 2020 Some Kind of Heaven and 2024’s Spermworld and see that both documentaries were under 85 minutes. It’s not exactly a criticism to say that I thought they were both longer. Lance Oppenheim documentaries feel like a lot.

At a solid three hours stretched over three episodes,...