News

Ben Affleck has replaced his lifelong friend, Matt Damon, in the upcoming Netflix thriller ‘Animals.’

Affleck was set to remain behind the camera, serving as director, Damon was originally set to lead the film but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic ‘The Odyssey.’

Gillian Anderson has also joined the cast.

Also in news – Mark Strong set for series adaptation of ‘Neuromancer’

Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray have penned the script. Affleck and Damon are producing the project with Dani Bernfeld through their company Artists Equity.

Brad Weston and Collin Creighton are producing ‘Animals’ with Fifth Season. Michael Joe and Kevin Halloran from Artists Equity are executive producing.

The post Ben Affleck replaces Matt Damon for Netflix thriller ‘Animals’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The “Big Bang Theory” spinoff series in the works at Max has found its first three cast members.

Variety has learned from sources that Brian Posehn, Lauren Lapkus, and Kevin Sussman will all star in the potential show, which was originally announced as being in development at Max back in April 2023. Exact plot details remain under wraps but all three actors would reprise their roles from the original series.

The show remains in development and has not been greenlit to series at this time, with Posehn, Sussman, and Lapkus currently under talent holding deals. “Big Bang Theory” co-creator Chuck Lorre is executive producing the new project via Chuck Lorre Productions, with Lorre currently under an overall deal with series studio Warner Bros. Television.

Reps for Wbtv and Max declined to comment.

Sussman famously played comic book store owner Stuart Bloom on “The Big Bang Theory” beginning in the show’s second season,...

Long-term friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are set to reunite yet again for Netflix thriller ‘Animals.’

Affleck will remain behind the camera at the helm on the project whose plot details are being kept locked up but the story will focus on a kidnapping. Damon will star.

Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray have penned the script. Affleck and Damon are producing the project with Dani Bernfeld through their company Artists Equity.

Also in news – Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza set for dark comedy ‘Honey Don’t!’

Brad Weston and Collin Creighton are producing ‘Animals’ with Fifth Season. Michael Joe and Kevin Halloran from Artists Equity are executive producing.

The pair have most recently paired up for Amazon Studios’ ‘Air,’ in which Damon starred as Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro opposite Affleck in a supporting role as Nike founder Phil Knight. Affleck also directed the picture. The movie was the first time Affleck directed Damon.

Wild Bunch Distribution has pre-bought French rights and will release the film in cinemas in 2024.

London and Paris-based sales outfit Film Constellation has boarded sales on French filmmaker Emma Benestan’s revenge feature Animale.

Wild Bunch Distribution has pre-bought French rights and will release the film in cinemas in 2024.

The film is set in the Camargue region of France, known for traditional bull fighting. In this male-dominated environment, a woman trains to fulfil her dream of wining the annual competition. When she is mauled after a drunken celebration, she starts to notice disturbing changes, while young men begin to be murdered.

Stars: Julian Sands, Anthony Skordi, Maria Ioannou, Mark Huberman, Marianna Rosset, Kristina Godunova, Flavia Watson, Elva Trill | Written by Francesco Cinquemani, Andy Edwards, Barry Keating, Mark Thompson-Ashworth | Directed by Francesco Cinquemani

The Hotel Gula, stately, luxurious and abandoned for over twenty years since the food for a party’s banquet was seasoned with rat poison leading to the painful death of everyone in attendance as well as the owner’s suicide. It’s hardly the kind of place that would need help to appear haunted.

But less than ten minutes into The Ghosts of Monday that’s exactly what Bruce the host of a ghost hunting show, is suggesting to the property’s new owners, Frank and Rosemary. This does not sit well with the show’s director Eric. And the last thing this production needs is more tension, Eric’s ex-wife, and Bruce’s daughter, Sofia is also part of the show’s crew.

The “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series at Disney+ has added Jay Duplass and Timothy Omundsen in guest star roles, Variety has learned exclusively.

The pair will appear in the series alongside Walker Scobell as Percy as well as Aryan Simhadri as Grover and Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth. Additional cast members include Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally and Timm Sharp as well as Dior Goodjohn, Olivea Morton, Charlie Bushnell, and recent additions like Adam Copeland, Suzanne Cryer, Jessica Parker Kennedy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Duplass will play Hades, the god of the Underworld. Per the official character description, “Hades feels like an outcast from his family and a misunderstood genius. He holds a grudge for past wrongs and plays his cards close to the chest.”

Omundson will play Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths. “Hephaestus became disabled when he was thrown off Mount Olympus as a babe,” his character description states.

Peacock has commissioned a sketch comedy special from Kate Berlant and John Early, Variety has learned exclusively.

The special is titled “Would It Kill You to Laugh? Starring Kate Berlant & John Early” and is slated to debut on Peacock this summer. The one-hour special will see Berlant and Early playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they reunite after suffering a public falling out many years earlier. They will also play a variety of other characters. In addition, veteran TV journalist Meredith Vieira is set to appear in the special as well.

“We are beyond excited that Kate and John are bringing their comedic talents to Peacock,” said Katie Hockmeyer, executive vice president of late night programming and comedy specials for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “This one-of-a-kind special is so brilliant and fun and we can’t wait for our audience to see this magic.”

Berlant and Early will also serve...

HBO‘s acclaimed “Room 104” series will soon have no more vacancy. Created by Mark and Jay Duplass (HBO’s “Animals.” and “Togetherness”), the late-night, half-hour anthology series, which began back in 2017, is winding things down with a final season that begins in July. Known for its versatility in genre and form—anthology series akin to Netflix’s “Black Mirror” and “The Twilight Zone” from CBS, “Room 104”— by its very premise, “Room 104” has given itself a lot of flexibility in the area of storytelling.

Continue reading ‘Room 104’ Trailer: The Final Season Features Dave Bautista, Jillian Bell & Arrives This July at The Playlist.

Almost one month after the June 24th premiere of the new season of The Twilight Zone on CBS All Access, another mind-bending anthology series, Room 104, will return for its fourth and final season on HBO:

Press Release: Room 104 returns for its fourth and final season Friday, July 24 at 11:00 p.m. Et/Pt, exclusively on HBO. Created by Mark and Jay Duplass (HBO’s “Animals.” and “Togetherness”), the late-night, half-hour anthology series returns with 12 new episodes, each telling a unique and unexpected tale of the characters who pass through a single room of a typical American chain motel. While the setting stays the same, every episode of the series features a different story, with the tone, plot, characters, and even the time period, changing with each installment.

The series will also be available on HBO Now, HBO Go, HBO On Demand and partners’ streaming platforms.

Exploring a variety of genres,...

Last Year’s Winner: “Archer”

Still Eligible: Yes.

Hot Streak: “South Park” has been nominated four years in a row, 12 of the last 13 years. “The Simpsons” has been nominated two years in a row, but previously had a 24-year hot streak before it missed out on a nod in 2014.

Fun Fact: “The Simpsons” and “South Park” have been duking it out in this category for as long as the latter has been in existence. Fox’s iconic comedy has 10 awards and 25 nominations, while Comedy Central’s most heralded series of all time has five wins and 15 nods.

With one of last year’s nominees no longer eligible — “Phineas and Ferb,” which aired its final episode in 2015 — there’s at least one open slot in the Outstanding Animated Program category. That’s good news for the newcomers and those denied entry for past season. We’re hoping that bodes well for “BoJack Horseman,...

Ahead of tonight’s Season 2 finale, HBO has picked up a third season of its critically praised adult animated series Animals. Created by Phil Matarese & Mike Luciano, from Duplass Brothers Productions, Animals focuses on the downtrodden creatures native to Earth's least-habitable environment: New York City. Whether it's lovelorn rats, gender-questioning pigeons or aging bedbugs battling a midlife crisis, the awkward small talk, moral ambiguity and existential woes of…...

Raven-Symone still likes to sit back and enjoy The View.

Et's Brice Sander caught up with the 31-year-old actress backstage at the Radio Disney Music Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, where she opened up about her continued friendship with her former View co-stars, after leaving the talk show last year.

Related: Raven-Symone Hits the Radio Disney Music Awards Red Carpet With the Cast of 'Raven's Home'

"I stay in touch with my ladies," Raven revealed. "It's bittersweet. I miss them. I'm happy to be in L.A., but I miss them dearly, and hopefully you'll see some of them on [Raven's Home]."

"It was fun and I enjoyed being an adult on television, which I had never done before, and I really learned a lot from the ladies on The View, especially Whoopi [Goldberg] and all of the producers behind the scenes," she continued. "I'm still friends with them."

"They treated us so well with the reunion...

Mike Luciano and Phil Matarese on ‘Animals… by Uinterview Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano, the creators of HBO’s new hit animated series, Animals., are as free as the birds they do voice overs for. While working together in an ad agency, Matarese and Luciano looked out the window to find two pigeons resting on the ledge. Presumably bored with […]

Source: uInterview

The post ‘Animals’ Creators Phil Matarese & Mike Luciano Talk HBO, Duplass Brothers – And Bee Penises [Video Exclusive] appeared first on uInterview.

I know what you’re thinking. A movie where Jessica Chastain snuggles adorable animals and manages a zoo. The Zookeeper’s Wife is a surefire feel-good critter drama – Oh My God, A Saving Private Ryan Scene Recreated With Animals. Bring me back to Chastain nuzzling a lion cub, please. It couldn’t possibly get – oh, nope. Ok. Cue Holocaust depression brought on by Warsaw’s Jewish ghetto, and a heavy German presence in WWII Poland. Granted, those of you who’ve read Diane Ackerman’s bestselling novel already know the story of Antonina Zabinski and her family’s Jewish refugee smuggling. Don’t expect director Niki Caro to take it easy on her audience. The Warsaw Zoo initiative helped save almost 3,000 lives from extermination, but not without sacrifice. This is how.

Jessica Chastain plays the titular zookeeper’s wife, Antonia. Before Germany’s invasion, she and husband Jan (Johan Heldenbergh...

In just a few short years, Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano have gone from working at an ad agency in New York to writing about the animals that live in New York on HBO’s “Animals.” At their panel at SXSW this year, moderated by IndieWire’s Eric Kohn and accompanied by producer Jen Roskind, the three of them detailed how a small independent pilot managed to get picked up by HBO. They also offered some sneak peeks into what the unpredictable series has to offer, going into Season 2.

When the first episode was created, with only Matarese and Luciano on board hoping to turn it into a full-fledged web series, screenings of “Animals” was kept exclusively to small crowds in and around their native New York. After being featured at a festival though, they were found by the Duplass brothers, who decided to go ahead and fund the show independently.

Meeting with reporters Sunday to promote Season 3 of Amazon’s “Transparent,” Jay Duplass also shared some tidbits about “Room 104” — the new series he and his brother Mark are producing for HBO.

As announced last week, “Room 104” is an anthology series set inside a hotel room. Different characters pass through it in each episode.

Duplass revealed to IndieWire that the show would be set in a corporate hotel located near the Cleveland airport. “It’s the most boring place, the most boring location,” he said. “Just a corporate, $100 hotel outside of the airport.”

Why such a nondescript locale? “What we’re interested in mining is the magic in the mundane,” he said. “That is something that we have always worked on in our filmmaking. We find regular life to be really special and we like to go deep and find the intricacies there.”

Read More: Duplass Brothers Reteam With HBO For...

Jay and Mark Duplass will continue to work alongside HBO for a new anthology comedy series, “Room 104.” The filmmaking brothers will serve as executive producers and showrunners of the upcoming project.

Set in a single room of an average American hotel, “Room 104” tells a different story of the assorted characters who pass through it in each episode.

Read More: ‘The League’: Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll Pull One Final Prank in Exclusive Video

“We’ve all seen stories set in seedy motels and high-class international resorts, but for years we’ve been fascinated by the funny, weird, sad, scary, absurd things going down in that corporate chain hotel near the airport,” said the Duplass brothers in a statement. “That’s what ‘Room 104’ is after… finding some magic in the seemingly mundane.”

HBO president of programming Casey Bloys added, “Jay and Mark Duplass are two of the most inventive talents in TV today.

HBO is not feeling that "Togetherness." The network has decided to consciously uncouple with the comedy created by Jay and Mark Duplass and Steve Zissis, and the season 2 finale on April 10 will serve as the series finale.

"Although we have decided not to proceed with another season of 'Togetherness,' we look forward to continuing our strong creative collaboration with the talented Jay and Mark Duplass," HBO said in a statement.

Mark Duplass and Zissis also starred in the dramedy, along with Melanie Lynskey and Amanda Peet. Mark Duplass reacted to the cancellation on Twitter:

pic.twitter.com/47RE2j30AO

— Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) March 25, 2016

The show was a critical hit, earning excellent reviews, but never scored big ratings. Episodes averaged around 330,000 viewers on live and same-day viewings. That puts it far below fellow HBO comedies like "Silicon Valley," which averages around 1.8 million viewers.

As the statement indicated, this...

Read More: Watch: Amanda Peet and Steve Zissis Try 'Togetherness' in This Exclusive Deleted Scene Remember that time you fell in love with Mark Duplass? Some audiences first discovered the comedic mastermind in 2005 with his independent film, "The Puffy Chair," where he drove cross-country to deliver a gigantic purple La-z-Boy to his father on his birthday. Although the film only grossed a total $194,523, domestically, it was enough to launch Mark and Jay Duplass into a writing-directing frenzy that would include "Mumblecore," "Baghead," "Cyrus," and "Jeff Who Lives at Home" — and now "Togetherness," their HBO comedy set to start its second season this Sunday. The two Duplass' have reached the point where they have mega production deals with Netflix and multiple shows on HBO, thanks to their executive producer credits (and voice work) on the animated comedy "Animals." But before they moved from indie...

Read More: 'Animals' Creators on Mark Duplass and If Film Fests are the Future of Indie TV After premiering at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Mike Luciano and Phil Matarese's animated comedy "Animals." is set to make its worldwide debut via HBO, just over a year later. Set in New York, NY, "Animals." tracks the lives of the city's voiceless population of pets, service animals and general wildlife as they go about their business. Be it awkward parties, making babies, complaining about work or surviving a prison sentence, each silent creature is allowed to have his or her say in this half-hour comedy series. And boy did they grab some great voices. Joining creators Luciano and Matarese is an all-star cast of actors, including Eric Andre, A$AP Ferg, A$AP Rocky, Katie Aselton, Jessica Chastain, Rob Corddry, Jay and Mark Duplass (who also executive produced), Ellie Kemper, Nick Kroll,...

Created by Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano and produced by Duplass Brothers Television, the new animated series Animals. focuses on the downtrodden creatures native to Earth’s least-habitable environment: New York City.

Whether it’s lovelorn rats, gender-questioning pigeons or aging bedbugs in the midst of a midlife crisis, the awkward small talk, moral ambiguity and existential woes of non-human urbanites prove startlingly similar to our own.

Animals. made its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and will premiere exclusively on HBO on February 5th @11:30Pm Et/Pt

The series features the voices of Rob Corddry, Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll, Jason Mantzoukas, Molly Shannon and more.

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