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Free ad-supported streamer The Network has acquired the timely documentary “War Game,” which will premiere July 4 as its next original. Deal comes as The Network pickes up the film from distributor Boat Rocker; the project will now be branded a Network original in association with Boat Rocker Studios and Anonymous Content.

Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber directed “War Game,” which follows “a bipartisan group of U.S. defense, intelligence, and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations who participate in an unscripted role-play exercise in which they confront a political coup backed by rogue members of the U.S. military, in the wake of a contested presidential election.”

Described as a look at what could have happened during the tragic Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, “War Game” was organized by Vet Voice Foundation and takes place in a simulated Situation Room.

“We’re excited that ‘War Game’ is reaching new audiences...

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Netflix serves up the perfect cinematic recipe for moms (and their devoted sons) with Nonnas.

The title is Italian for grandmothers, and this warm, old-fashioned feel-good comedy in the Moonlight tradition and based on true events is tailor-made for its Mother’s Day weekend debut. Writer Liz Maccie provides some irresistible material for her real-life husband, director Stephen Chbosky, that is guaranteed to touch the heart and make no apologies for doing so. It also will make you very hungry.

A well-cast Vince Vaughn, miles away from his Swingers and Wedding Crashers past, plays the real-life dreamer Jody Scaravella (who goes by Joe or Joey), born and living in Brooklyn, who works for the Mta and always has been a loving son to his mom. When she dies, he is lost — until coming up with a plan to honor her and her mother,...

Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for Nonnas, Vince Vaughn's star-studded new comedy that promises to serve up some big laughs when it hits the streaming service on May 9. The dramedy centers around Joe Scaravella (Vaughn), who opens a restaurant following the loss of his mother and hires four Italian grandmothers, aka "nonnas," as chefs. The plot is based on the real-life owner of the Staten Island eatery Enoteca Maria, whose story is brought to the screen by Liz Maccie, who penned the script, and her husband Stephen Chbosky, who directed the feature.

The trailer (seen below) seems to have all the right ingredients for a heartwarming comedy, with a storytelling recipe that includes a cup of wit, a heavy sprinkling of nostalgia, and a pinch of reality. The quartet of nonnas responsible for serving up this classic blend — Roberta (Lorraine Bracco), Antonella (Brenda Vaccaro), Teresa (Talia Shire), and...

Vince Vaughn is cooking up a plan to share other families’ cherished recipes in the trailer for Netflix’s movie Nonnas.

Stephen Chbosky directed the fact-based comedy feature that begins streaming May 9. Rounding out the cast are Linda Cardellini, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Joe Manganiello and Campbell Scott.

Nonnas centers on Joe Scaravella, who decides to alter his life path by starting an Italian restaurant that hires Italian grandmothers, aka “nonnas,” as the chefs. The story is based on the real-life Scaravella, the owner of Staten Island eatery Enoteca Maria and author of the 2015 cookbook Nonna’s House.

“I want them to make the dishes that they were passed on from their family,” Vaughn says in the trailer. “I want to share it with everybody.”

Later in the footage, Sarandon tells Vaughn, “The only thing that you’re gonna regret are the moments that you did not take.

Netflix is serving up a new trailer for their culinary comedy Nonnas. Vince Vaughn stars as an aspiring restauranteur who recruits the neighborhood nonnas (grandmothers) to staff his kitchen. The film, which is based on the real-life story of Joe Scaravella, will premiere on the streamer on May 9, 2025.

In the trailer, Vaughn plays Scaravella, an Mta employee grieving the loss of his mother. While looking through her recipes, he comes up with the idea of honoring her memory by opening his own Italian restaurant, and hiring elderly women with decades of home-cooking experience to staff it. Bruno (Joe Manganiello) thinks he's crazy, but is he? To the strains of Billy Joel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," we see him struggling with kitchen fires, staff disputes, and some internecine conflict from the titular nonnas, including Susan Sarandon(Bull Durham), Lorraine Bracco(Goodfellas), Talia Shire (Rocky), and Brenda Vaccaro (Midnight Cowboy...

A delicious and authentic meal can be a great unifier, and few settings compare to a spread prepared by Italian artisans. I might be allergic to tomatoes, but I know where most people’s garlic bread is buttered. Today, Vince Vaughn embarks on a business venture that places several personalities in a kitchen and turns up the heat with Netflix’s Nonnas trailer.

Inspired by the life story of Jody Scaravella, today’s Nonnas trailer finds Joe Scaravella (Vince Vaughn) grieving the loss of his mother and looking for a way to heal. He’s spent years wasting his life at a dead-end job and years for a second chance. To give himself a new lease on life, he opens a restaurant and hires a group of Italian grandmothers as chefs. Soon, Joe discovers he might have bit off more than he can chew as the four women clash while...

In Nickel Boys, filmmaker and artist RaMell Ross has created one of the most surprising awards-season movies for some years. His radical approach to form and content is unlike anything usually campaigned for and championed in the mainstream. However, the film is precisely the type of work we’ve come to expect from Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner’s Plan B Entertainment.

The company, co-run by Brad Pitt, has been here before. There was Terrence Malik’s Palme d’Or-winning Tree of Life, which Ross has cited as an inspiration; Steve McQueen’s sprawling American epic 12 Years a Slave; and the quieter but no less impactful Moonlight from Barry Jenkins. The last two made industry-shifting gains when they clinched the Best Picture Oscar, and Nickel Boys has the chance to do the same in the Dolby on March 2 with a nom in the top Oscar category alongside one for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Tom Green is heading to Prime Video with a trio of projects – a documentary, a comedy special and an unscripted series.

This Is The Tom Green Documentary launches January 24 on Prime Video. The Amazon Original follows Green’s early beginnings in Canada to Hollywood stardom and a full-circle return from L.A. to a rural farm in Canada.

The Amazon Original unscripted series Tom Green Country follows Green’s life on his country farm, which includes his 1,500-pound mule, a donkey and six chickens. It launches January 31.

His comedy special Tom Green: I Got A Mule!, which premieres January 28, was taped during his most recent sold-out stand-up tour across North America.

Green directed all three projects and executive produces via his Tom Green Productions Canada with Rory Rosegarten. Jack Turner and Leah Culton Gonzalez of Matador Content’s Boat Rocker produced This Is the Tom Green Documentary. Tom Green Productions Canada produced the series.

Prime Video will become a Green space — as in Tom Green — in late January.

The Amazon-owned streaming platform will debut three separate projects later this month featuring the comedian and 1990s MTV star. The trio of programs — a stand-up special, a feature documentary (which Green directed) and an unscripted series about his life on a 100-acre farm in Ontario, Canada — were announced as part of a slate of Canadian content for Prime Video last year (they’ll be available to Prime subscribers worldwide).

First to launch is This Is the Tom Green Documentary on Jan. 24. The film will trace Green’s early life and the start of his comedy career in Canada, followed by his rise to stardom via MTV in the mid-’90s and early 2000s (and several attendant controversies) and his return to Canada, where he now lives on a farm.

Green’s current living situation is the subject of the unscripted show,...

Robert Eggers is considered one of the best horror writer-directors of our time. With movies like The Witch and The Lighthouse behind him, his latest idea to remake Nosferatu had horror fans with high expectations. And although the story behind Nosferatu is well-known, from Bram Stoker's book dating back to 1897 to the countless Dracula adaptations over the decades since 1922, this 2024 iteration was able to change some key elements in how it's told. Most notably, it drastically updated how Count Orlok looks and sounds.

Bill Skarsgård definitely deserves a lot of credit for the effectiveness of this new version of the vampire. While the art and makeup departments also did an incredible job on their end, the actor managed to bring a much-needed freshness to the role. His Orlok strongly contrasts with previous versions of the villain and further cements Skarsgård's reputation as a good choice when recasting iconic horror monsters,...

Back in 2015, it was announced that The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman writer/director Robert Eggers (who was, at that time, had only made The Witch) was planning to remake F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu (watch it Here). It took Eggers several years to get to Nosferatu, though, and we’ll finally have the chance to see his take on the concept when his movie reaches theatres on Wednesday, December 25th. About eight and half months after Eggers’ Nosferatu was first announced, we heard that filming had begun on a separate Nosferatu remake. Or, as the director referred to it, a remix. That was David Lee Fisher’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror… and that movie has now made its way out into the world! Fisher’s movie is available for purchase on Prime Video, going for the price of $4.99. It will also be released through Apple TV tomorrow,...

Back in 2015, it was announced that The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman writer/director Robert Eggers was planning to remake F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu (watch it Here). It took Eggers several years to get to Nosferatu, though, and we’ll finally have the chance to see his take on the concept when his movie reaches theatres on Wednesday, December 25th. About eight and half months after Eggers’ Nosferatu was first announced, we heard that filming had begun on a separate Nosferatu remake. Or, as the director referred to it, a remix. That was David Lee Fisher’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror… and we hadn’t heard anything about the movie since it started filming eight years ago. Until now. Our friends at Bloody Disgusting have learned that Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror will be released through Apple TV+ on October 18th!

Fisher has experience “remixing” silent classics.

Guess which well-known actor is about to make his Netflix debut soon? Well, it's none other than Vince Vaughn, an actor known for starring in many comedy flicks. And guess what? The new Netflix movie he's set to star in is a comedy movie as well. It's titled Nonnas, and we're about to tell you everything there is to know about it down below.

After a competitive bidding war, Netflix came out securing the worldwide rights to the comedy film. The streamer reportedly paid $20 million+ for the rights. The movie was initially going to be part of the Toronto International Film Festival, but with Netflix snagging the rights, it will be released on its platform instead in 2025.

Nonnas is based on a true story. It was written by Liz Maccie and directed by Stephen Chbosky. Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane produce for Madison Wells and Jack Turner for Matador Content.

Netflix has picked up director Stephen Chbosky’s feature comedy Nonnas, which stars Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro.

The feature portrays a man after the loss of his mother opening up an Italian restaurant with a group of local grandmothers as chefs.

Chbosky wrote the screenplay for Disney’s live action Beauty and the Beast and the film adaptation of R.J. Palacio’s Wonder, and directed the screen adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen and penned and directed the film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the acclaimed 2012 teen drama that starred Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.

Rounding out the ensemble cast for Nonnas are Linda Cardellini, Drea De Matteo, Joe Manganiello, Michael Rispoli and Campbell Scott. The film is written by Liz Maccie and produced by Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane for Madison Wells and Jack Turner for Boat Rocker’s Matador Content.

Exclusive: Netflix has won an auction for the Stephen Chbosky-directed comedy Nonnas in a deal Deadline hears is $20 million-plus for worldwide rights. Several bidders were in the mix on a film that had been invited to be part of the Toronto International Film Festival slate. That has changed and the film won’t make the trip. Netflix will release the film globally in 2025.

Scripted by Liz Maccie, and based on a true story, Nonnas stars Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Linda Cardellini, Drea De Matteo, Joe Manganiello, Michael Rispoli, and Campbell Scott.

Vaughn plays Joe, a single man in a dead-end job whose mother has spoiled him with her cooking. When she dies, he tries to pull himself out of grief mode by risking everything to open an Italian restaurants and honor his mother. He enlists a group of Italian grandmothers, who feed his love for home cooking, and they become surrogate moms. Chbosky has a knack for this kind of material, directing Wonder and The Perks of Being a Wallflower among others.

Nonnas is produced by Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane for Madison Wells, and Jack Turner for Matador Content. The exec producers are Alexis Garcia, Scott Budnick and Ameet Shukla for 1Community, Vince Vaughn, Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin for Matador Content, Amanda Morgan Palmer and Stacy Calabrese for Madison Wells.

Related: The 7 Best Vince Vaughn Movies To Stream From ‘The Break-Up’ To ‘Swingers’

Netflix confirmed the deal, and offered reaction from Nonnas‘ filmmaking team:

Gigi Pritzker, whose Madison Wells originated the film, said she was “delighted that Nonnas has found a great home at Netflix, where it will be widely seen and enjoyed. The film focuses on family, food and community, and in this turbulent time those are things we can all celebrate.”

Said Fifth Season Head of Film Christopher Slager: “Once again Stephen Chbosky has brought magic to the screen in this heartfelt and joyous film. We cannot wait for audiences everywhere to sit down at the table with us and share this fantastic film thanks to our partners at Netflix.”

Scott Budnick, 1Community Executive Producer added that “Nonnas is a celebration of family – the ones you’re born into and the ones you create. We are thrilled to bring this family to Netflix.”

Related: Jimmy Tatro Joins Vince Vaughn In 20th Century’s ‘Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice’

The deal was brokered by WME Independent and Fifth Season, latter of which was the studio on the film. It marks the third deal in the run-up to a Toronto Festival that is chock full of acquisition titles, including some titles that played Telluride. This after the Dito Montiel-directed Riff Raff was acquired for US by Roadside Attractions, and Sony Pictures Classics acquired Jane Austen Wrecked My Life before its TIFF premiere.

The available titles that buyers saw at Telluride include September 5, about how ABC Sports team broadcasting the 1972 Olympics in Munich, German rose to the moment and covered the kidnap and massacre of 11 members of the Israeli team in real time. The twists and turns and split-second decisions they made under Roone Arledge make for a harrowing thriller. Also in that mix is The Friend. In that film, Bill Murray plays an acclaimed writer whose companion is a Great Dane named Apollo. When he dies, the dog is adopted by one of the writer’s protegees (Naomi Watts) who tries to stash the oversized high-maintenance pooch in her Manhattan rent-controlled apartment, which has a firm no dogs allowed policy. Scott McGehee and David Siegel direct a film that was one of the buzz titles of Tellurides.

While recent TIFF deal making has been slow going each year since the pandemic, the abundance of plum titles with strong casts, and an expected buyer appetite could portend a strong atmosphere for deals. TIFF begins tomorrow night.

Related: ‘Dodgeball’ Sequel In Works At 20th With Vince Vaughn Returning; Jordan VanDina To Write The Script...

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Executive producers Jack Turner & Bradley Cramp spoke with MovieWeb about developing and producing the surprising new docuseries for Apple TV+, K-Pop Idols. The two spoke about the Korean music and idol industry, building trust with performers and music companies, and the immense amount of painful effort these young people put into becoming stars. K-Pop Idols is now streaming on Apple TV+.

Glitz meets grit in this backstage pass to artists from around the world. Through trials and triumphs, Jessi, Cravity, and Blackswan give everything theyve got to an art form that demands nothing less than perfection. Over the course of six episodes, the series follows the superstars through trials and triumphs as they break down cultural and musical barriers in K-pop with passion, creativity and determination while they chase their dreams.

K-Pop Idols is produced for Apple TV+ by Boat Rockers Matador...

Today, Apple TV+ announced the new six-episode documentary event, K-Pop Idols, and revealed a first look at the new series, which will premiere globally on August 30, 2024.

K-Pop Idols offers fans an unprecedented backstage pass to the world’s biggest musical phenomenon. It features beloved artists Jessi, Cravity, and Blackswan and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the highly competitive reality of K-pop stardom.

Glitz meets grit as K-pop artists Jessi, Cravity, and Blackswan give everything they’ve got to an art form that demands perfection. Over the course of six episodes, the series follows the superstars through trials and triumphs as they break down cultural and musical barriers in K-pop with passion, creativity, and determination while chasing their dreams.

K-Pop Idols is produced for Apple TV+ by Boat Rocker’s Matador Content with Emmy Award-winning executive producer Todd Lubin (Billy Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry) and Jack Turner (War Game...

Apple TV+ is jumping on the K-pop train.

The streamer is launching the six-part documentary series K-Pop Idols on August 30.

The series will offer fans a backstage pass to the world’s biggest musical phenomenon, with a behind-the-scenes look at the highly competitive reality of K-pop stardom, featuring artists Jessi, Cravity and Blackswan.

It will follow the K-poppers through trials and triumphs, breaking down cultural and musical barriers in K-pop as they chase their dreams.

Jessi was born in New York, raised in New Jersey and moved to South Korea when she was 15. She is behind hits such as “Nunu Nana” and “Don’t Touch Me.”

Cravity is composed of nine members: Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung and Seongmin. The group, which was formed by Starship Entertainment, has scored with singles as “Groovy,” “Break All the Rules” and “Gas Pedal.”

Blackswan, formed by Dr Music, features Fatou,...

Exclusive: The Christmas tree trade in New York City is big business. Every holiday season, hundreds of thousands of trees are sold on the sidewalks of New York, and competition is fierce.

This is the foundation for a new feature documentary from Call Me Miss Cleo director Celia Aniskovich.

Aniskovich is directing and producing The Merchants of Joy (w/t), which comes from Boat Rocker, the company behind War Game, which just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Hulu’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Aniskovich’s company Dial Tone Films and Epic Magazine.

The doc will follow five families, who are equal parts street corner capitalists and Christmas die-hards, as they source, bargain, and hustle to sell as many trees as they can in the city that never sleeps.

It started as an article in Epic magazine, which was published in December 2022.

Todd Lubin and Jack Turner will executive...

The much-anticipated HBO original documentary film, “Bs High,” is set to premiere on Wednesday, August 23 at 9:00-10:40 p.m. Et/Pt on HBO and will also be available to stream on HBO Max. Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmakers Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe, and executive produced by Adam McKay, the documentary delves into the perplexing world of high school football and an astonishing scandal that captured national attention.

“Bs High” centers around the shocking events that unfolded during a nationally televised high school football game on August 29, 2021. The game pitted the well-known Img Academy against the lesser-known Bishop Sycamore High School. The match concluded in a staggering 58-0 victory for Img Academy, but the real drama was just beginning. The ensuing media frenzy questioned the legitimacy of Bishop Sycamore High School and its enigmatic head coach, Roy Johnson.

The documentary unravels the captivating narrative behind one of...

From Executive Producers Adam McKay And Michael Strahan

Academy Award®-Winning Directors Travon Free And Martin Desmond Roe Chronicle Infamous Bishop Sycamore High School Football Team

HBO Original documentary film Bs High, directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe (“Two Distant Strangers”), and executive produced by Adam McKay (HBO’s “Succession” and “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”) and Todd Schulman for Hyperobject Industries, Smac Entertainment’s Michael Strahan and Constance Schwartz-Morini, and Matador Content’s Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin debuts Wednesday, August 23 (9:00-10:40 p.m. Et/Pt) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.

Synopsis: On August 29, 2021, a nationally televised high school football game between top-ranked Img Academy and unknown Bishop Sycamore High School ended with multiple injuries on the field and a 58-0 blowout win for Img Academy.

Vince Vaughn will headline Stephen Chbosky’s original comedy “Nonnas,” based on the true story of a man who, after his mother’s death, opens an Italian restaurant staffed by grandmothers, TheWrap confirmed.

Vaughn will be joined by Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Drea De Mattea, Brenda Vaccaro, Linda Cardellini, Joe Manganiello and Michael Rispoli. Campbell Scott, who co-directed the ’90s indie “Big Night” with the film’s costar Stanley Tucci, also costars.

It’s based on the true story of Brooklyn native Joe Scaravella who launched Staten Island’s Enoteca Maria. “Siren” scribe Liz Maccie wrote the script and co-developed with Madison Wells and Boat Rocker’s Matador Content.

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Fifth Season, the film and TV studio behind “Severance,” “80 for Brady” and “Normal People,” is the lead co-financer.

Gigi Pritzker...

Exclusive: Vince Vaughn (Bad Monkey) will topline Nonnas, an original comedy that Stephen Chbosky (Wonder) has been tapped to direct for Fifth Season (80 for Brady), 1Community (Just Mercy) and Madison Wells (The Eyes of Tammy Faye).

Among those joining Vaughn in the film, which wrapped production last month in New Jersey, are Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon (Blue Beetle) and Academy Award nominees Lorraine Bracco (Goodfellas), Talia Shire (Megalopolis) and Brenda Vaccaro (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). Others in the cast include Emmy nominee Linda Cardellini (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Emmy winner Drea De Matteo (The Sopranos), Joe Manganiello (The Kill Room), Michael Rispoli (Power Book III: Raising Kanan) and Campbell Scott (Jurassic World Dominion).

Written by Liz Maccie, Nonnas is based on the true story of Brooklyn native Joe Scaravella (Vaughn), who, after losing his beloved mother, realizes he’s wasted...

“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” is the most-watched program out of all ABC News launches to ever debut on Hulu, Variety has learned exclusively.

According to ABC News, “Pretty Baby” ranks No. 1 in total hours streamed in its first week compared to all previous ABC News premieres on the streamer. Specific viewership data was not provided.

Described as a “galvanizing look at actor, model and icon Brooke Shields as she transforms from a sexualized young girl to a woman discovering her power,” the two-part doc debuted April 3 on Hulu, following its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. “Holding a mirror up to a society that objectifies women and girls, her story shows the perils and triumphs of gaining agency in a hostile world.”

“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” is executive produced by Matador Content’s Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin and Bedby8’s Ali Wentworth, George Stephanopoulos and Alyssa Mastromonaco. Jacqueline Glover...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.

“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” a documentary about Brooke Shields and the sexual objectification she endured as a child actor, arrives on Hulu today.

In the two-part documentary, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the actor and model opens up for the first time about her earliest experiences in Hollywood. The film tracks her rise as a child advertising model to her sexualization in movies, starting at age 12, in “Pretty Baby” (1978), and then at 15, in “The Blue Lagoon” (1980).

“I spent my life owing people things and doing whatever they wanted,” Shields says in a new teaser dropped Wednesday morning. “I finally asked myself, ‘What will I be if I don’t allow that anymore?'”

Shields’ experience with older men on set as a child is a common theme in her recollections.

Nothing can get between Brooke Shields and her self-worth.

The former child star, infamous Calvin Klein supermodel, and Hollywood icon is at the center of two-part documentary “Pretty Baby,” directed by Lana Wilson (“Miss Americana”). The film debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where executive producer Ali Wentworth encouraged pioneering creatives to not “listen to ‘no, you can’t.”

“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” is a galvanizing look at the actress, model, and icon as she transforms from a sexualized young girl to a woman discovering her power, per an official synopsis. Holding a mirror up to a society that objectifies women and girls, her story shows the perils and triumphs of gaining agency in a hostile world.

The documentary is produced by ABC News Studios in partnership with Matador Content and Bedby8. The film marks the debut project from BedBy8, the newly formed production company by Ali Wentworth, George Stephanopoulos,...

Anonymous Content and Boat Rocker have partnered to co-finance and co-sell an untitled political thriller feature documentary by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Jesse Moss (“Boys State”) and Tony Gerber (“The Notorious Mr. Bout”).

Produced by Boat Rocker’s Matador Content, the project was shot over the course of two days last month in Washington, D.C.

While details on the project are being kept under wraps, Moss teased it as a “an utterly unique story that is equal parts political thriller, dystopian science fiction and intimate cinema vérité.”

“It expands the form of non-fiction filmmaking in exciting ways and is of enormous significance to our political future. We can’t wait to share it,” Moss continued.

Moss and Gerber previously co-directed “Full Battle Rattle,” a critically acclaimed film about life inside the U.S. Army’s Iraq simulation in the California desert. Moss’s credits also include “Boys State” which won a...

Click here to read the full article.

HBO has begun production on a documentary about the Bishop Sycamore football scandal. Meanwhile, one of the film’s producers is being told to stop payment to a key participant who’s involved in a fraud case.

A refresher: A year ago, ESPN broadcast a game between powerhouse Img Academy — a Florida prep school for top-level high school athletes — and Bishop Sycamore of Columbus, Ohio, which claimed to have a number of sought after recruits on its own roster. Img won the game 58-0, and during the broadcast ESPN’s crew expressed concern for the safety of the Sycamore players. “Bishop Sycamore told us they had a number of Division I prospects on their roster, and to be frank, a lot of that we could not verify,” play-by-play announcer Anish Shroff said during the game.

After the game, reporting from a number of...

Exactly one year ago today, the Bishop Sycamore high school football team took the field in a nationally televised game on ESPN, and proceeded to suffer a horrible 58-0 pounding by elite Img Academy. That was just the beginning of the program’s problems. Investigations and dismissals followed, amid allegations Bishop Sycamore wasn’t even a legitimate high school and, indeed, operated more like a scam.

HBO announced today it is in production on Bs High, a documentary about the scandal-plagued school in Columbus, Ohio, with a premiere expected next year on the cable network and streamer HBO Max. Filmmakers Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe, who earned Academy Awards last year for their live action short Two Distant Strangers, are directing.

Hyperobject Industries’ Adam McKay and NFL Hall of Famer-turned GMA host Michael Strahan are among the project’s executive producers.

After the Centurions’ lopsided loss to Img Academy,...

HBO is jumping into production on the upcoming “Bs High” documentary. Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe (“Two Distant Strangers”) have been named to direct the film, which will debut on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max in 2023.

According to the documentary’s synopsis, the story follows the investigation that ensued after August 29, 2021, when the Bishop Sycamore Centurions, a presumed high school football team from Columbus, Ohio, took on perennial prep powerhouse Img Academy.

The nationally televised game ended in the Centurions 58-0 loss, causing fans and audiences to question the legitimacy of the Bishop Sycamore program and the activities of now-fired head coach Roy Johnson. However, the final score and a fired head coach turned out to be just the beginning of the story.

Roe, who shares an Academy Award with Free for their 2020 short film, has a list of documentary credits which includes “Heist,” “We Are the Champions,...

Updated, 12:23 Pm: South by Southwest Conference and Festivals today announced the Audience Award winners for the 29th SXSW Film Festival, with the Patton Oswalt comedy I Love My Dad, FX’s comedy series Atlanta, Sony Pictures Classics’ music doc The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile and AMC’s drama series 61st Street coming in as notable recipients.

I Love My Dad was previously awarded the Narrative Feature Competition Grand Jury Award, and today took home the Narrative Feature Competition Audience Award. Atlanta won out in the Headliners section, with The Return of Tanya Tucker prevailing in 24 Beats Per Second, and 61st Street taking the Audience Award for Episodic Premieres.

The SXSW Audience Awards follow the previously-announced 2022 Jury Awards, as well as the 40 Years of Massive Talent Award, which was presented to Nicolas Cage at the festival screening of his Lionsgate pic The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent on Saturday night.

The Bishop Sycamore high school football scandal is one of the stranger sports stories of recent years.

The presumed high school football team from Columbus got whooped 58-0 by Img Academy and the game was televised by ESPN. However, the game turned out to be just the beginning of the story.

HBO Sports has now landed a documentary telling the tale.

The network has picked up the TV and streaming rights to a feature doc from Michael Strahan and Constance Schwartz-Morini’s Smac Entertainment, Adam McKay’s Hyperobject Industries, Boat Rocker’s Matador Content, and The Athletic.

The film, which will debut in 2022, will ask how the Bishop Sycamore Centurions were even playing the elite NFL feeder team after it emerged that the school isn’t even in Ohio. The coach Roy Johnson was subsequently fired and Gov. Mike DeWine called for an investigation.

The producers have scored exclusive access to Johnson.

TV’s former MacGyver has fashioned himself a new job.

Lucas Till has boarded FX’s The Spook Who Sat by the Door drama pilot, along with Nafessa Williams (of the also-recently-ended Black Lightning), Nathan Darrow (House of Cards) and Tom Irwin (Devious Maids).

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Based on the novel by Sam Greenlee, the 1960s-set Spook stars Y’lan Noel (Insecure) as Dan Freeman, the first Black operative in the CIA. A patriot, Vietnam veteran and, secretly, a revolutionary, Freeman goes through high-level combat and espionage training,...

Lucas Till (MacGyver), Nafessa Williams (Black Lightning), Nathan Darrow (Preacher) and Tom Irwin (The Morning Show) have joined the cast of Lee Daniels’ FX pilot The Spook Who Sat by the Door.

They join previously announced cast members Y’lan Noel and Christina Jackson in the TV adaptation of Sam Greenlee’s spy novel. Production is underway.

The potential series will tell the fictional story of Dan Freeman (Noel), a patriot and Vietnam vet, who is recruited as the only Black operative in the CIA as part of an affirmative-action program in the late 1960s. After a very competitive selection process he trains in high-level combat and espionage. However, following this arduous training, this model recruit is rewarded with a post in the reprographics (aka photocopying) department, “left by the door” as a token of the CIA’s “racial equality.”

Till is set for the role of CIA agent Graham Renfroe,...

“The Spook Who Sat by the Door” pilot at FX has rounded out its main cast with four new additions.

Lucas Till, Nafessa Williams, Nathan Darrow and Tom Irwin have all joined the drama pilot alongside previously announced leads Y’lan Noel and Christina Jackson.

The story follows Dan Freeman (Noel), the fictional first African American CIA officer hired by the agency in the late 1960s. The story chronicles the quest of Freeman, who was recruited as part of an affirmative-action program. After a very competitive selection process he trains in high-level combat and espionage. However, following this arduous training, this model recruit is rewarded with a post in the reprographics (aka photocopying) department, “left by the door” as a token of the CIA’s “racial equality.” Jackson will star as his wife, Joy Freeman.

Till is set for the role of CIA agent Graham Renfroe. He most recently starred in the CBS reboot of “MacGyver,...

"Baby, let's go kill some sinners." Saints & Sinners + Strike Media has released this new official trailer for a gritty British thriller titled Red Rage, formerly known as Red Devil. Despite the title seemingly being a wink to hating Russians ("those red devils!") it's really a reference to the designer drug called "Red Devil", which is ruining the city. A murderous vigilante couple tear through the town, serving vengeance to dealers of the drug. "An intertwining tale of sex, drugs, rock and woe," is how they sell it. Red Rage stars Fernanda Diniz, Jack Turner, Adam Deacon, Steven Berkoff, Ian Reddington, and Vas Blackwood. This looks like it has way more weed in it than any other drug, but I dig the style and the craziness of it. Not that we haven't seen this so many times before; it's almost like Trainspotting crossed with The Boondock Saints. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Savvas D.

Explosive British thriller Red Rage release date announced Starring Fernanda Diniz, Jack Turner, Adam Deacon and Steven Berkoff Red Rage will be available on DVD & Digital Download from 19th April 26th February, London, UK: Saints & Savages has revealed that Red Rage, the explosive British thriller will be released in the UK on 19th …

The post Red Rage – Explosive British thriller release date announced appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

In today’s TV news roundup, TBS announced the premiere date of “Wipeout,” and Netflix released the first look at Michelle Obama’s new children’s cooking show “Waffles + Mochi.”

Dates

TBS announced that its newly re-imagined version of the extreme obstacle course series, “Wipeout,” will premiere on April 1 at 9 p.m. The game show will be hosted by superstars John Cena and Nicole Byer, with Camille Kostek serving as field host. The 20-hour series “takes viewers on a white-knuckle ride, featuring new course elements that will push contestants’ athleticism, endurance and determination to even greater extremes as they fight to win the grand cash prize.” Endemol Shine North America has produced the series for TBS. Cena; Sharon Levy; DJ Nurre; Shyam Balsé; Keith Geller and Matt Kunitz, who also created the original series and serves as showrunner, executive produce. Watch a trailer below.

HBO Max announced that the first...

When you’ve had a big hit, it’s often all anybody wants from you. To artists, that level of success can feel like a trap. Fearful that the breadth of their creative genius may go unacknowledged, a singer might spend years trying to shake off a number one single, turning their back on requests for the old stuff and attempting to captivate fans with their Fresh New Sound. In such instances, results vary.

A saner alternative is to embrace what made that success happen, and try to repeat it. That’s what The Inbetweeners creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris have done in new BBC sitcom The First Team. Bar the cast, they’ve got the old band back together – the same writer-directors uniting with the same script editor and executive producer under the same comedy controller. Instead of breaking the mould and wasting energy simply to demonstrate versatility,...

Filmmaker Adam Barton’s “The Boy Who Sold The World” documentary was set to premiere this Sunday at SXSW.

Two weeks ago, Barton thought there was a zero chance the film festival would be canceled and as each day passed, the odds went up. “I had a brief moment thinking it was going to be a zombie zone,” Barton says until the City of Austin, Texas pulled the plug. “It’s definitely tough,” he said.

Barton scrambled to finish the film, working hard to make the deadline so hearing about the cancellation was a disappointment. “In the filmmaking world, we spend hours in a dark room with one or two people. Eventually, you live for that moment knowing it will be shown in a bigger dark room and there’s a part with people talking about the whole film,” Barton says describing the feeling of having the rug pulled from out under him.

MourneQuest, originally a book from author Garry McElherron, is a fantasy themed board game that combines Irish mythology with thematic, cooperative gameplay to create a board game that feels pretty unique. The game is set in the land of Mourne, which is a fantasy world inhabited by clurichauns (definitely not leprechauns) and bogbeans, as well as the four nightmares that serve the awful shimnavore. In each game of MourneQuest, hero Jack Turner and his rag-tag band of friends and family must do battle with all variety of lesser creatures, collecting relics and items along the way, before one final climactic battle against the shimnavore.

Now, if a lot of those references mean nothing to you, that’s fine, because they didn’t mean much to me when I first dived into MourneQuest. The good news is that Backspindle Games take on McElherron’s IP is very strong and deeply immersive,...

We already know that the process of getting a pilot to series is difficult.

We also know that even when a major network commissions a pilot for a series they're considering, most of them don't get greenlit for series.

So can you imagine how difficult it might be for an independent pilot to get seen by networks and find it's way to series?

SeriesFest is a non-profit organization dedicated to championing artists at the forefront of episodic storytelling.

Each June, SeriesFest culminates in a highly-curated and celebrated Denver-based festival and marketplace.

Dedicated to showcasing innovative episodic content, the annual festival also includes a musical performance and network screening at the world-renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre, in-competition independent pilot screenings, panels, workshops, live reads, parties and network television premieres.

This year, Stevie Wonder played Red Rocks for the first time ever in conjunction with SeriesFest, and Usher joined him on stage. So,...

SeriesFest has wrapped its fifth edition in Denver after handing out juried awards to 15 winners.

Beyond the pilot competition, highlights of the June 21-26 festival, inlcuded panels featuring Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos and a team of executives and collaborators from Shondaland. NBC fall drama Bluff City Law had its world premiere, and Starz rolled out the first episode of The Rook. Stevie Wonder and Usher performed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside Denver, continuing the mostly TV-focused festival’s annual music undercurrent.

Currency, a drama imagining a “green-out” that threatens the capitalist system, captured Best Drama Pilot honors as well as the Audience Award. Best Comedy Pilot went to Brooklyn Moving Company, which depicts movers who burst into song and dance.

Jurors screened 53 pilots at the Sie FilmCenter, the arthouse multiplex that is the year-round home of Denver Film. (See the full list of winners below.)

“This year’s pilots...

SeriesFest has announced selections for its TV pilot competition as well as jury members for its upcoming fifth edition of its annual TV festival in Denver.

Dubbing this “The Year of Innovation,” organizers have identified 53 pilots across the categories of Independent Pilot, Digital Short Series and Late Night. The competition titles star and/or are created or directed by notables including Kyra Sedgwick, Jillian Bell and musician Aloe Blacc.

Randi Kleiner, Founder and CEO of SeriesFest described the pilot competitions as “the heart of SeriesFest,” which recently announced its main lineup. Slated for this year are a conversation between Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries as well as a concert by Stevie Wonder and the premiere of Starz’s The Rook. “We created the festival as a discovery platform for innovative and imaginative creators to share their unique and diverse stories,” Kleiner said. “We’re truly...

Shout! Studios, the distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, has picked up the North American rights to In Harm’s Way (a.k.a. The Chinese Widow), a World War II period drama starring Emile Hirsch and Crystal Yifei Liu, star of Disney’s upcoming live-action Mulan film. Directed by Bille August (The House of the Spirits), In Harm’s Way will get a day-and-date release sometime this fall.

Written by Greg Latte, the pic is set after the attack on Pearl Harbor when a unit of the U.S. Air Force is forced to make an emergency landing in Zhejiang Province, China. Its commander Jack Turner (Hirsch) barely survives but gets rescued by Ying (Liu), a young Chinese widow who will stop at nothing to hide him from the Japanese military occupants and the atrocities committed during World War II. The two eventually develop a heart-wrenching relationship that transcends cultural and language barriers.

‪Tiffany Bartok‬ at Lincoln Center on Kevyn Aucoin when he worked with performers that included Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston: "Each person was reflected in him." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

In the first installment of my conversation with Tiffany Bartok, the director of Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story, we start out with her fascination for impostors, the recent deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, and how each person was reflected in Kevyn Aucoin and "when there was no one left, then he had to just look at himself."

Bartok's revelatory documentary on the famous make-up artist's life and legacy is alluringly illustrated through interviews with Brooke Shields, Cher, Tori Amos, Paulina Porizkova, Carol Alt, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Veronica Webb, Isaac Mizrahi, and the footage shot by Eric Sakas.

Isabella Rossellini in ‪Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story...

Exclusive: Emile Hirsch's exploits in China will finally be seen around the world after international sales agent Vmi Worldwide picked up global rights to Chinese period war drama The Chinese Widow. The company, fresh off the back of a deal with Nic Cage's action thriller The Humanity Bureau will launch the Bille August-directed drama at the Efm in Berlin, which kicks off today. Hirsch stars as commander Jack Turner in the film, which is set in 1941 following the Japanese…...

Oh, lord. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow run into another famous face tonight at 9/8c, in the CW series’ penultimate Season 2 hour. What will future novelist J.R.R. Tolkien have to say about Rip & Co.’s “fellowship”?

RelatedThe CW Renews Legends, The Flash and 6 Others

In the episode “Fellowship of the Spear,” the Legends must devise a plan to retrieve the last remaining fragments of the Spear of Destiny from the Legion of Doom. To that end, they find themselves in France at the height of World War I, where/when they enlist the help of soldier John Ronald Reuel Tolkien...

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The CW has released a new batch of images from the March 21st episode of Legends of Tomorrow and they feature a first look at the shocking return of Wentworth Miller’s Captain Cold. The method of his resurrection isn’t clear, but fans will no doubt be very happy to see the villain back amongst the living.

When we last saw Captain Cold, he sacrificed himself to save the team and time in general, a heroic ending for this member of the Flash’s rogues gallery. Since then, the prospect of a return has been teased but was quickly dropped earlier in Legends of Tomorrow‘s second season when Mick abruptly stopped seeing his old partner in what we later learned were time travel related hallucinations (it’s all very complicated). His return here could have something do to with that, though considering the fact...