Exclusive: Veteran industry executive Negeen Yazdi has joined Tom Harper’s Popcorn Storm Pictures as Partner. Yazdi, who was formerly SVP of Film Development & Production at Fifth Season, will oversee Popcorn Storm’s film and TV development slate in a move that reunites her with Harper after the pair previously collaborated on 2016 BBC miniseries War & Peace.
Popcorn Storm is a London-based, talent-led firm founded in 2018 by Harper. His diverse portfolio spans two decades with credits including directing the first season of Peaky Blinders (2013), BBC miniseries War & Peace (2016) and features Wild Rose (2018), The Aeronauts (2019) and Heart of Stone (2023). Harper and Yazdi previously collaborated on the Emmy-nominated War & Peace which laid the foundation for this new partnership.
Yazdi’s appointment comes at an exciting time for Popcorn Storm which is building on the success of its current Paramount+ series A Gentleman in Moscow, exec produced by Harper and the...
Popcorn Storm is a London-based, talent-led firm founded in 2018 by Harper. His diverse portfolio spans two decades with credits including directing the first season of Peaky Blinders (2013), BBC miniseries War & Peace (2016) and features Wild Rose (2018), The Aeronauts (2019) and Heart of Stone (2023). Harper and Yazdi previously collaborated on the Emmy-nominated War & Peace which laid the foundation for this new partnership.
Yazdi’s appointment comes at an exciting time for Popcorn Storm which is building on the success of its current Paramount+ series A Gentleman in Moscow, exec produced by Harper and the...
- 4/24/2024
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Shortly after it revealed a buzzy remake of The War Of The Roses, it emerges that Adler Entertainment Trust (Aet), the production company dedicated to adapting the works of Warren Adler, is partnering with Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Todd Lieberman (The Fighter) and his production company, Hidden Pictures, on an initial two-project production deal.
Both projects under the partnership will be produced by Lieberman under his Hidden Pictures banner and will be executive-produced by Aet’s Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler, sons of the late author and playwright. Alex Young, Hidden Pictures President, will help oversee the partnership.
The two projects being adapted are:
“Untitled Fiona Fitzgerald Detective Series is an hour-long crime drama series based on the eight-book Fiona Fitzgerald Mystery series written by Warren Adler, set in the streets of Washington DC and its political backrooms. Fiona Fitzgerald, born into an illustrious family of DC insiders,...
Both projects under the partnership will be produced by Lieberman under his Hidden Pictures banner and will be executive-produced by Aet’s Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler, sons of the late author and playwright. Alex Young, Hidden Pictures President, will help oversee the partnership.
The two projects being adapted are:
“Untitled Fiona Fitzgerald Detective Series is an hour-long crime drama series based on the eight-book Fiona Fitzgerald Mystery series written by Warren Adler, set in the streets of Washington DC and its political backrooms. Fiona Fitzgerald, born into an illustrious family of DC insiders,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Isaach De Bankolé (Godfather of Harlem), Phoebe Fox (The Great), Silvia Dionicio (Wu-Tang: An American Saga), and Coral Peña (For All Mankind) are the newest recurring cast members set for HBO’s Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project (working title).
De Bankolé will play Father Daniel Georges, the oldest and best friend of lead Mark Ruffalo’s FBI Agent Tom, who went to seminary with him. Fox portrays Tom’s biological daughter, Sara, who is deep in grief, with Dionicio as his adopted daughter, grappling with a family tragedy. Peña portrays Meg Coyle, the guidance counselor who works at Emily’s high school.
Others previously cast in the crime drama from the creator of Mare of Easttown include Tom Pelphrey as Robbie; Emilia Jones as Maeve; Thuso Mbedu as Aleah; Raúl Castillo as Cliff; Jamie McShane as Perry; Sam Keeley as Jayson; Fabien Frankel as Anthony; Alison Oliver as...
De Bankolé will play Father Daniel Georges, the oldest and best friend of lead Mark Ruffalo’s FBI Agent Tom, who went to seminary with him. Fox portrays Tom’s biological daughter, Sara, who is deep in grief, with Dionicio as his adopted daughter, grappling with a family tragedy. Peña portrays Meg Coyle, the guidance counselor who works at Emily’s high school.
Others previously cast in the crime drama from the creator of Mare of Easttown include Tom Pelphrey as Robbie; Emilia Jones as Maeve; Thuso Mbedu as Aleah; Raúl Castillo as Cliff; Jamie McShane as Perry; Sam Keeley as Jayson; Fabien Frankel as Anthony; Alison Oliver as...
- 3/19/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Alchemist” by Paolo Coelho is set to be adapted for the screen.
Legendary Entertainment has acquired the film, TV, and ancillary rights to the acclaimed book, Variety has learned. The company will lead development of a film adaptation along with Sony’s TriStar Pictures and Palmstar, with TriStar set to distribute under their distribution partnership with Legendary.
Jack Thorne is attached to write the film. Thorne is known for writing films like both “Enola Holmes” Netflix features as well as “The Swimmers” and “The Aeronauts.” He also recently developed the series adaptation of “His Dark Materials” and wrote the critically-acclaimed miniseries “National Treasure.” In theater, he is known for writing “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” as well as “The Motive and the Cue.” He has won multiple BAFTAs and an Olivier and Tony Award.
He is repped by UTA, Sloane Offer and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates in the UK.
Legendary Entertainment has acquired the film, TV, and ancillary rights to the acclaimed book, Variety has learned. The company will lead development of a film adaptation along with Sony’s TriStar Pictures and Palmstar, with TriStar set to distribute under their distribution partnership with Legendary.
Jack Thorne is attached to write the film. Thorne is known for writing films like both “Enola Holmes” Netflix features as well as “The Swimmers” and “The Aeronauts.” He also recently developed the series adaptation of “His Dark Materials” and wrote the critically-acclaimed miniseries “National Treasure.” In theater, he is known for writing “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” as well as “The Motive and the Cue.” He has won multiple BAFTAs and an Olivier and Tony Award.
He is repped by UTA, Sloane Offer and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates in the UK.
- 10/3/2023
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
If you’re looking for something new to watch on Netflix in August, you’ve come to the right place. From older classics to newer animation and comedy, there should be something for everyone on our curated list of the best movies newly streaming this month. Family films include “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2,” “Paddington” and “The Monkey King,” and Adam Sandler’s “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” marks a bona fide new release.
Those in the mood for more action can dive into Gal Gadot’s new action movie “Heart of Stone.” Adventures of all kinds await. Here are our picks for some of the best new movies on Netflix in August 2023.
Paramount Pictures
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Life comes at us pretty fast, so why not stop and watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?” Perfect for anyone heading back...
Those in the mood for more action can dive into Gal Gadot’s new action movie “Heart of Stone.” Adventures of all kinds await. Here are our picks for some of the best new movies on Netflix in August 2023.
Paramount Pictures
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Life comes at us pretty fast, so why not stop and watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?” Perfect for anyone heading back...
- 8/27/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
It’s turning out to be quite a summer for superspies and supercomputers.
A month after the action feast of “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part I”, in which Tom Cruise faced off with an AI supervillain called “the Entity,” comes a very “Mi”-like international espionage thriller with an equally fancy and powerful machine.
“Heart of Stone” stars Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone, an agent for an elite and clandestine intelligence agency called the Charter. Like “Mission: Impossible”, “Heart of Stone” hits glamorous global destinations and features lengthy actions sequence including a wingsuit skydive.
Read More: ‘Heart Of Stone’ Trailer: Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan And Alia Bhatt Star In Thrilling Spy Film
Enzo Cilenti as Mulvaney in “Heart Of Stone”. — Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023. Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone in “Heart Of Stone”. — Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.
Whereas “Dead Reckoning” pushed old-school filmmaking to extremes for a gripping theatrical experience,...
A month after the action feast of “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part I”, in which Tom Cruise faced off with an AI supervillain called “the Entity,” comes a very “Mi”-like international espionage thriller with an equally fancy and powerful machine.
“Heart of Stone” stars Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone, an agent for an elite and clandestine intelligence agency called the Charter. Like “Mission: Impossible”, “Heart of Stone” hits glamorous global destinations and features lengthy actions sequence including a wingsuit skydive.
Read More: ‘Heart Of Stone’ Trailer: Gal Gadot, Jamie Dornan And Alia Bhatt Star In Thrilling Spy Film
Enzo Cilenti as Mulvaney in “Heart Of Stone”. — Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023. Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone in “Heart Of Stone”. — Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.
Whereas “Dead Reckoning” pushed old-school filmmaking to extremes for a gripping theatrical experience,...
- 8/12/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Director Tom Harper’s feature films have seen him tackle all manner of unique environments, from the upper stratosphere in “The Aeronauts” to his latest venture, Netflix’s “Heart of Stone,” which sees Gal Gadot’s character, Rachel Stone, go from mountains to desert.
As Gadot told TheWrap, in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike, she’d “never eaten that much sand” in her life while making the movie. But to talk to Harper, he found a different element of the production challenging. For him, it was the film’s big opening set piece, wherein Gadot’s double agent, Rachel Stone, has to zipline down a mountain.
Harper told TheWrap that prior to shooting, the Swiss location where production was meant to take place saw a massive change in the weather. “On our tech scout, when we went up there to look to the location with all the crew before we started shooting,...
As Gadot told TheWrap, in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike, she’d “never eaten that much sand” in her life while making the movie. But to talk to Harper, he found a different element of the production challenging. For him, it was the film’s big opening set piece, wherein Gadot’s double agent, Rachel Stone, has to zipline down a mountain.
Harper told TheWrap that prior to shooting, the Swiss location where production was meant to take place saw a massive change in the weather. “On our tech scout, when we went up there to look to the location with all the crew before we started shooting,...
- 8/11/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Plot: An intelligence operative for a shadowy global peacekeeping agency races to stop a hacker from stealing its most valuable and dangerous weapon.
Review: We have entered the strange period of the SAG-AFTRA strike, where big movies are being released with minimal marketing from the film stars. At any other time, Heart of Stone would get a substantial push on every platform you can imagine. Instead, there are a few interviews filmed several weeks in advance that try to promote the new film. With Wonder Woman herself in the lead, Heart of Stone is designed to be Netflix‘s equivalent of Mission: Impossible, even boasting their shared producers in the trailers. While the film shares more in common with the James Bond franchise, some spectacular chase sequences echo the most recent entries in Tom Cruise’s hit franchise. Heart of Stone is an action-packed movie that would have played well...
Review: We have entered the strange period of the SAG-AFTRA strike, where big movies are being released with minimal marketing from the film stars. At any other time, Heart of Stone would get a substantial push on every platform you can imagine. Instead, there are a few interviews filmed several weeks in advance that try to promote the new film. With Wonder Woman herself in the lead, Heart of Stone is designed to be Netflix‘s equivalent of Mission: Impossible, even boasting their shared producers in the trailers. While the film shares more in common with the James Bond franchise, some spectacular chase sequences echo the most recent entries in Tom Cruise’s hit franchise. Heart of Stone is an action-packed movie that would have played well...
- 8/11/2023
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
If Heart of Stone has any distinctive visual moments, they all involve a supercomputer called the Heart. The Heart appears in the form of holographic images surrounding operator the Jack of Hearts (Matthias Schweighöfer), who moves around digital objects and zooms in on key details by waving his hands and touching objects. Yes, we’ve seen many similar depictions of supercomputers ever since Tom Cruise stared intensely at future crimes in 2002’s Minority Report and Tony Stark threw hot rod red on his suit in 2008’s Iron Man. Heck, we’ve seen Jeff Goldblum wave his shockingly large hands around cg-landscapes in apartment commercials.
To his credit though, director Tom Harper doesn’t treat the visuals as anything groundbreaking or particularly exciting. It’s just shorthand for superspy technology. In fact, everything in Heart of Stone is superspy shorthand—a recitation of ideas and characters that we’ve seen time and again.
To his credit though, director Tom Harper doesn’t treat the visuals as anything groundbreaking or particularly exciting. It’s just shorthand for superspy technology. In fact, everything in Heart of Stone is superspy shorthand—a recitation of ideas and characters that we’ve seen time and again.
- 8/11/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Gal Gadot leads the streamer’s latest ambitious franchise-starter that delivers just about enough dumb summer fun to have us curious for more
There were some impossible calculations made this summer in the making and marketing of Tom Cruise’s seventh mission as Ethan Hunt, the gambit of a gargantuan almost $300m budget yet to prove a decision well-made, the sequel heading for a somewhat destructive financial reckoning. But before the final tally is in, the film’s production company Skydance is hoping for a far easier win with similarly themed thriller Heart of Stone, a potential Netflix franchise-starter, cushioned by lower costs and lower stakes.
There’s also, predictably, a lower level of enjoyment to be had here but given the sky-high bar Cruise has set for the Mission: Impossible series, that doesn’t mean that the streamer’s copycat caper is as unrewarding as one might expect. Netflix...
There were some impossible calculations made this summer in the making and marketing of Tom Cruise’s seventh mission as Ethan Hunt, the gambit of a gargantuan almost $300m budget yet to prove a decision well-made, the sequel heading for a somewhat destructive financial reckoning. But before the final tally is in, the film’s production company Skydance is hoping for a far easier win with similarly themed thriller Heart of Stone, a potential Netflix franchise-starter, cushioned by lower costs and lower stakes.
There’s also, predictably, a lower level of enjoyment to be had here but given the sky-high bar Cruise has set for the Mission: Impossible series, that doesn’t mean that the streamer’s copycat caper is as unrewarding as one might expect. Netflix...
- 8/11/2023
- by Benjamin Lee
- The Guardian - Film News
Netflix clearly is determined to play the major-studio game of big, star-driven action franchises. Extraction, its current sequel, another Russo Brothers’ franchise The Gray Man (with the promise of more), Red Notice and many others represent big-screen-type entertainment designed ultimately for people to watch on their couches at home.
This kind of stuff, while skillfully and expensively executed, still works best at Imax rather than your living room, but the streamer is convinced that it will goose subscriptions, so expect more of movies like Heart of Stone, a convoluted spy thriller loaded with James Bond-style action set pieces but with a wonder woman in the name of Gal Gadot in the center of it all. Taking a cue from Charlize Theron’s Netflix franchise The Old Guard, this is a female-driven enterprise where the men, namely Jamie Dornan’s complicated bad guy, take a back seat for the most part.
This kind of stuff, while skillfully and expensively executed, still works best at Imax rather than your living room, but the streamer is convinced that it will goose subscriptions, so expect more of movies like Heart of Stone, a convoluted spy thriller loaded with James Bond-style action set pieces but with a wonder woman in the name of Gal Gadot in the center of it all. Taking a cue from Charlize Theron’s Netflix franchise The Old Guard, this is a female-driven enterprise where the men, namely Jamie Dornan’s complicated bad guy, take a back seat for the most part.
- 8/11/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Gal Gadot has made her fair share of action films, from her role as the Amazonian princess Diana in “Wonder Woman” and the DC universe to Netflix’s “Red Notice” to the long-running “Fast and Furious” franchise. But after those films, Gadot was eager to do more in the action space — specifically from a female point of view. So she willed “Heart of Stone” into being.
With Gadot’s new Netflix movie, the actress and producer on the project wanted to do more. “I grew up watching ‘Bond,’ and ‘Mission: [Impossible],’ and ‘Bourne Identity’ and ‘Die Hard,'” Gadot told TheWrap in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike. “I love these movies. I love the action, and the twists and turns and drama, the scope. I want to make movies that the audience can come in and we can take them through a journey for two hours, and make...
With Gadot’s new Netflix movie, the actress and producer on the project wanted to do more. “I grew up watching ‘Bond,’ and ‘Mission: [Impossible],’ and ‘Bourne Identity’ and ‘Die Hard,'” Gadot told TheWrap in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike. “I love these movies. I love the action, and the twists and turns and drama, the scope. I want to make movies that the audience can come in and we can take them through a journey for two hours, and make...
- 8/7/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Blue Whales: Return Of The Giants 3D takes viewers on a journey of a lifetime to explore the world of the magnificent blue whale, a species rebounding from its near extinction. Following two scientific expeditions—one to find a missing population of blues off the exotic Seychelles Islands, the other to chronicle whale families in Mexico’s stunning Gulf of California—the film transforms our understanding of the largest animal ever to have lived. From its almost incomprehensible size to its spectacular feeding habits; from the surprising role it plays in the health of our oceans to its awesome long-distance communications, the film provides an unforgettable window into the lives these animals live—and the extremes scientists must endure to study them. Joined by a cast of supporting characters—from dolphins and sperm whales to sea lions and orcas—the blue whale finally gets its star turn … in life size,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
eOne is shutting down its U.K. theatrical distribution business, owner Hasbro confirmed to TheWrap.
Hasbro acquired eOne for $3.8 billion in late December 2019. The studio’s theatrical exhibition in the U.K. produced hits like “The Aeronauts” and “Sorry We Missed You,” and early 2020 saw the towering $57 million U.K. gross (out of $359 million worldwide) of Sam Mendes’ acclaimed World War I thriller “1917.”
However, cost-cutting began in 2021, with 10% of eOne’s film and television staff being laid off. They sold their music division to The Blackstone Group for $385 million.
Hasbro was selling off its media assets by August of 2022 and by November had put eOne on the auction block. As recently as this week, Lionsgate has emerged as a prime contender to buy the studio. Meanwhile, Hasbro laid off an additional 20% of eOne’s employees just under a month ago.
eOne has released three theatricals in the U.K.
Hasbro acquired eOne for $3.8 billion in late December 2019. The studio’s theatrical exhibition in the U.K. produced hits like “The Aeronauts” and “Sorry We Missed You,” and early 2020 saw the towering $57 million U.K. gross (out of $359 million worldwide) of Sam Mendes’ acclaimed World War I thriller “1917.”
However, cost-cutting began in 2021, with 10% of eOne’s film and television staff being laid off. They sold their music division to The Blackstone Group for $385 million.
Hasbro was selling off its media assets by August of 2022 and by November had put eOne on the auction block. As recently as this week, Lionsgate has emerged as a prime contender to buy the studio. Meanwhile, Hasbro laid off an additional 20% of eOne’s employees just under a month ago.
eOne has released three theatricals in the U.K.
- 7/20/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
eOne is shutting down its U.K. theatrical distribution business, owner Hasbro has confirmed to Variety.
Hasbro acquired eOne in 2019 for $3.8 billion. The theatrical business in the U.K. was robust at that point with titles like “The Aeronauts,” “Sorry We Missed You” and “Official Secrets” displaying decent legs at the box office.
In early 2020, eOne scored a mighty box office success with Sam Mendes’ awards season darling “1917,” which grossed more than $57 million in the U.K. There was a steady flow of releases in the months following.
From 2021, a series of cost-cutting measures began, with eOne announcing that it would be laying off 10% of its film and television staff. This was followed by eOne selling its music division to The Blackstone Group for $385 million.
By August 2022, Hasbro was looking to sell off its media assets. In November 2022, Hasbro put eOne on the block less than three years after acquiring it.
Hasbro acquired eOne in 2019 for $3.8 billion. The theatrical business in the U.K. was robust at that point with titles like “The Aeronauts,” “Sorry We Missed You” and “Official Secrets” displaying decent legs at the box office.
In early 2020, eOne scored a mighty box office success with Sam Mendes’ awards season darling “1917,” which grossed more than $57 million in the U.K. There was a steady flow of releases in the months following.
From 2021, a series of cost-cutting measures began, with eOne announcing that it would be laying off 10% of its film and television staff. This was followed by eOne selling its music division to The Blackstone Group for $385 million.
By August 2022, Hasbro was looking to sell off its media assets. In November 2022, Hasbro put eOne on the block less than three years after acquiring it.
- 7/20/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The first look of Alia Bhatt’s Hollywood debut film, Heart of Stone, has been released by Netflix and it promises to be a high-octane action spy thriller. The film stars Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone, a spy who embarks on a dangerous mission that will test her loyalty and courage. Alia Bhatt plays a pivotal role in the film, whose details are still under wraps. The film also features Jamie Dornan, who is best known for his role in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise.
Heart of Stone is directed by Tom Harper, who has previously helmed films like The Aeronauts and Wild Rose. The film is produced by Skydance Media, which has also backed blockbuster films like Mission: Impossible, Terminator, and Star Trek. The film is slated to release on Netflix in 2023.
Heart of Stone Poster
Alia Bhatt, who is one of the most popular and versatile actors in Bollywood,...
Heart of Stone is directed by Tom Harper, who has previously helmed films like The Aeronauts and Wild Rose. The film is produced by Skydance Media, which has also backed blockbuster films like Mission: Impossible, Terminator, and Star Trek. The film is slated to release on Netflix in 2023.
Heart of Stone Poster
Alia Bhatt, who is one of the most popular and versatile actors in Bollywood,...
- 7/18/2023
- by amalprasadappu
- https://thecinemanews.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_4649
Bollywood A-lister Alia Bhatt will become the first woman to headline a film in leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ spy universe, Variety has learned.
The film, where Bhatt is due to play a “super agent,” will commence production in 2024, Variety understands.
Bhatt is one of India’s top actors who had a stellar 2022. “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” in which she played the central, title role, had its world premiere as a Berlinale gala screening, was a box office success and was the #1 non-English film and the #1 film in 25 countries on Netflix globally. “Rrr,” in which she was one of the leads, was one of the biggest Indian hits of the year and went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
“Darlings,” Bhatt’s debut as producer, via her Eternal Sunshine Productions, was a hit for Netflix. And Disney magnum opus “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” was a success too.
Next...
The film, where Bhatt is due to play a “super agent,” will commence production in 2024, Variety understands.
Bhatt is one of India’s top actors who had a stellar 2022. “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” in which she played the central, title role, had its world premiere as a Berlinale gala screening, was a box office success and was the #1 non-English film and the #1 film in 25 countries on Netflix globally. “Rrr,” in which she was one of the leads, was one of the biggest Indian hits of the year and went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
“Darlings,” Bhatt’s debut as producer, via her Eternal Sunshine Productions, was a hit for Netflix. And Disney magnum opus “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” was a success too.
Next...
- 7/14/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Gal Gadot, star of the “Wonder Woman” movies and periodic ensemble player in The “Fast” Saga, is getting her crack at a Netflix female-led actioner.
In “Heart of Stone,” Gadot stars as an MI6 agent who secretly works for a covert peacekeeping organization known as The Charter. However, things go awry, as they often do in these films, leaving the professional badass comparatively isolated from her MI6 life and having to save the day with little backup. What follows is the expected assortment of action stunts (including a snowy mountaintop skydiving escape) and more conventional sky-high fight scene amid fisticuffs and shootings.
So, no, “Heart of Stone” doesn’t seem to reinvent the wheel, but if it works on its own terms then that will be enough for most Netflix viewers. Whether it spawns a new franchise, well, there’s a long road between “This is the start of a new franchise!
In “Heart of Stone,” Gadot stars as an MI6 agent who secretly works for a covert peacekeeping organization known as The Charter. However, things go awry, as they often do in these films, leaving the professional badass comparatively isolated from her MI6 life and having to save the day with little backup. What follows is the expected assortment of action stunts (including a snowy mountaintop skydiving escape) and more conventional sky-high fight scene amid fisticuffs and shootings.
So, no, “Heart of Stone” doesn’t seem to reinvent the wheel, but if it works on its own terms then that will be enough for most Netflix viewers. Whether it spawns a new franchise, well, there’s a long road between “This is the start of a new franchise!
- 6/17/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
The Blue Angels, a feature documentary from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Imax about the storied U.S. Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron from the cockpit, has landed at Amazon Studios.
The documentary, also from Glen Powell’s Barnstorm Productions, Zipper Bros Films and Dolphin Entertainment, has not yet set its release plans after Amazon Studios picked up the worldwide rights. But The Blue Angels will screen in Imax theaters at some point, while the doc is also expected to get play on Amazon’s Prime Video.
The Blue Angels uses Imax cameras to follow a year in the life of the Blue Angels from training through their touring show season. Imax got its start in making films for museums, science centers and other institutional partners before the Canadian-based company branched out into digitally remastering and screening Hollywood tentpoles on its large format screens after they were often shot using its proprietary cameras.
The documentary, also from Glen Powell’s Barnstorm Productions, Zipper Bros Films and Dolphin Entertainment, has not yet set its release plans after Amazon Studios picked up the worldwide rights. But The Blue Angels will screen in Imax theaters at some point, while the doc is also expected to get play on Amazon’s Prime Video.
The Blue Angels uses Imax cameras to follow a year in the life of the Blue Angels from training through their touring show season. Imax got its start in making films for museums, science centers and other institutional partners before the Canadian-based company branched out into digitally remastering and screening Hollywood tentpoles on its large format screens after they were often shot using its proprietary cameras.
- 5/1/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Oscar-nominated producer David Hoberman (Shotgun Wedding) today announced the launch of Hobie Films, a new production company whose development and acquisitions will be overseen by VP Julie Meschko.
While overseeing Hobie Films, Hoberman will continue to develop for Mandeville Films, the storied production company that he founded in 1995 and co-owns with Todd Lieberman. Meschko joins from Mandeville, where she most recently served as creative executive.
“Hobie Films will focus on a wide range of titles, telling stories that not only entertain but reflect the world we live in and our lives today,” Hoberman told Deadline. “Additionally, I am pleased to have Julie at the helm with me as we continue to work together. Her relationships, insights, and creative instincts have been invaluable.”
Landing his first Oscar nomination in 2011 as the producer of David O. Russell’s The Fighter, Hoberman has most recently produced titles including Prime Video’s rom-com...
While overseeing Hobie Films, Hoberman will continue to develop for Mandeville Films, the storied production company that he founded in 1995 and co-owns with Todd Lieberman. Meschko joins from Mandeville, where she most recently served as creative executive.
“Hobie Films will focus on a wide range of titles, telling stories that not only entertain but reflect the world we live in and our lives today,” Hoberman told Deadline. “Additionally, I am pleased to have Julie at the helm with me as we continue to work together. Her relationships, insights, and creative instincts have been invaluable.”
Landing his first Oscar nomination in 2011 as the producer of David O. Russell’s The Fighter, Hoberman has most recently produced titles including Prime Video’s rom-com...
- 2/21/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The screenwriter is also being recognised for his work as an advocate for the disabled community
The UK’s National Film and Television School (Nfts) is awarding screenwriter Jack Thorne with its annual honorary fellowship.
The fellowship will be presented at the Nfts graduation ceremony on March 3 and is given in recognition of Thorne’s work in screenwriting. His credits include Wonder, The Swimmers, Enola Holmes 2 and The Aeronauts.
He is also the creator of BBC series His Dark Materials and wrote the TV films Help and When Barbara Met Alan.
The award also recognises Thorne’s work as an advocate for the disabled community.
The UK’s National Film and Television School (Nfts) is awarding screenwriter Jack Thorne with its annual honorary fellowship.
The fellowship will be presented at the Nfts graduation ceremony on March 3 and is given in recognition of Thorne’s work in screenwriting. His credits include Wonder, The Swimmers, Enola Holmes 2 and The Aeronauts.
He is also the creator of BBC series His Dark Materials and wrote the TV films Help and When Barbara Met Alan.
The award also recognises Thorne’s work as an advocate for the disabled community.
- 2/14/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Some great news for exhibition Monday morning: Amazon Studios is getting back into the wide theatrical-release business with Ben Affleck’s Nike movie Air, starring his fellow Good Will Hunting co-Oscar winner Matt Damon.
Air will get a global theatrical release on Wednesday, April 5, heading into the lucrative Easter weekend. This is the first wide theatrical release from Amazon since its Sundance acquisition, Mindy Kaling’s Late Night, which had a wide summer release in 2019.
I hear Air will have a longer theatrical window than Amazon Studios’ recent limited theatrical releases, before hitting Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories. It truly is a first-of-its-kind arrangement for the studio as Amazon will distribute the film globally, with Warner Bros. Pictures handling international as part of its distribution pact with Amazon’s MGM. Amazon Studios only had U.S. on Late Night, not global rights.
Air reveals the unbelievable game-changing...
Air will get a global theatrical release on Wednesday, April 5, heading into the lucrative Easter weekend. This is the first wide theatrical release from Amazon since its Sundance acquisition, Mindy Kaling’s Late Night, which had a wide summer release in 2019.
I hear Air will have a longer theatrical window than Amazon Studios’ recent limited theatrical releases, before hitting Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories. It truly is a first-of-its-kind arrangement for the studio as Amazon will distribute the film globally, with Warner Bros. Pictures handling international as part of its distribution pact with Amazon’s MGM. Amazon Studios only had U.S. on Late Night, not global rights.
Air reveals the unbelievable game-changing...
- 1/23/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
On Thursday evening The Swimmers received a four minute standing ovation after its premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
This soaring epic dramatizes the true story of two sisters who left their home in war-torn Syria for a new life in Europe — and the chance to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
An epic adventure drawn from the most pressing of global stories, The Swimmers tells the remarkable true tale of sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini, who fled their home in war-torn Damascus to seek a new life in Europe and earn the chance to compete in the Olympics. Directed by Sally El Hosaini (My Brother the Devil) and written by Jack Thorne (TIFF ’19’s The Aeronauts), this is a moving story of two young women refugees, and their inspiring reach for a better life.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Etan Vlessing writes: “It’s an inspirational story,” director El-Hosaini said...
This soaring epic dramatizes the true story of two sisters who left their home in war-torn Syria for a new life in Europe — and the chance to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
An epic adventure drawn from the most pressing of global stories, The Swimmers tells the remarkable true tale of sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini, who fled their home in war-torn Damascus to seek a new life in Europe and earn the chance to compete in the Olympics. Directed by Sally El Hosaini (My Brother the Devil) and written by Jack Thorne (TIFF ’19’s The Aeronauts), this is a moving story of two young women refugees, and their inspiring reach for a better life.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Etan Vlessing writes: “It’s an inspirational story,” director El-Hosaini said...
- 9/12/2022
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Bollywood A-lister Alia Bhatt is enjoying a roaring 2022.
“Gangubai Kathiawadi,” in which she played the central, title role, had its world premiere as a Berlinale gala screening, was a box office success and was the #1 non-English film and the #1 film in 25 countries on Netflix globally. “Rrr,” in which she’s one of the leads, is one of the biggest Indian hits of the year.
And now, “Darlings,” Bhatt’s debut as producer, via her Eternal Sunshine Productions, is set for a worldwide debut on Netflix on Aug. 5. The film, where Bhatt also stars as a victim of domestic abuse who decides to take matters into her own hands, manages the feat of treating a serious subject with a dark comedy filter, without it being insensitive. It is directed by feature debutant Jasmeet K. Reen and written by Reen, Parveez Sheikh (“Queen”) and Vijay Maurya (“Gully Boy”).
“The minute you’re...
“Gangubai Kathiawadi,” in which she played the central, title role, had its world premiere as a Berlinale gala screening, was a box office success and was the #1 non-English film and the #1 film in 25 countries on Netflix globally. “Rrr,” in which she’s one of the leads, is one of the biggest Indian hits of the year.
And now, “Darlings,” Bhatt’s debut as producer, via her Eternal Sunshine Productions, is set for a worldwide debut on Netflix on Aug. 5. The film, where Bhatt also stars as a victim of domestic abuse who decides to take matters into her own hands, manages the feat of treating a serious subject with a dark comedy filter, without it being insensitive. It is directed by feature debutant Jasmeet K. Reen and written by Reen, Parveez Sheikh (“Queen”) and Vijay Maurya (“Gully Boy”).
“The minute you’re...
- 8/1/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Mandeville Films and Television partners and co-owners David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman could be ending their 20-plus-year run together.
Deadline understands that the pair, who are behind feature films including Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast and Amazon’s The Aeronauts and have racked up more than $4 billion in domestic box office receipts, are in talks to go their separate ways.
The company, which also was behind USA Network’s hit series Monk, was founded in 1995 by former Disney president of production Hoberman, with Lieberman becoming his partner in 2001.
The duo are considering a number of possible scenarios in which they pursue their own projects, while still occasionally partnering on films. Reps for the company declined comment.
It would mark a split at one of Hollywood’s longest-running film and television partnerships. The company, which had a long-running deal on the film side at Disney Studios Motion Pictures since the 1990s,...
Deadline understands that the pair, who are behind feature films including Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast and Amazon’s The Aeronauts and have racked up more than $4 billion in domestic box office receipts, are in talks to go their separate ways.
The company, which also was behind USA Network’s hit series Monk, was founded in 1995 by former Disney president of production Hoberman, with Lieberman becoming his partner in 2001.
The duo are considering a number of possible scenarios in which they pursue their own projects, while still occasionally partnering on films. Reps for the company declined comment.
It would mark a split at one of Hollywood’s longest-running film and television partnerships. The company, which had a long-running deal on the film side at Disney Studios Motion Pictures since the 1990s,...
- 2/25/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”) has joined the cast of “Heart of Stone,” a spy thriller starring Gal Gadot in what could be an action franchise in the vein of the “Mission: Impossible” series for Skydance Media and Netflix, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.
“The Old Guard” writer Greg Rucka penned the screenplay with Allison Schroeder. Tom Harper, known for “The Aeronauts” and “Wild Rose,” will direct.
Plot details are being kept under wraps.
Gadot is producing through her Pilot Wave banner along with Jaron Varsano, Mockingbird’s Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lyn, and Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger will also produce.
Patty Whitcher, Harper and Rucka are the executive producers.
Skydance has already found success with the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, and Skydance’s “The Old Guard” starring Charlize Theron and “6 Underground” also proved to be big hits for Netflix.
Dornan is currently starring in “Belfast,...
“The Old Guard” writer Greg Rucka penned the screenplay with Allison Schroeder. Tom Harper, known for “The Aeronauts” and “Wild Rose,” will direct.
Plot details are being kept under wraps.
Gadot is producing through her Pilot Wave banner along with Jaron Varsano, Mockingbird’s Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lyn, and Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger will also produce.
Patty Whitcher, Harper and Rucka are the executive producers.
Skydance has already found success with the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, and Skydance’s “The Old Guard” starring Charlize Theron and “6 Underground” also proved to be big hits for Netflix.
Dornan is currently starring in “Belfast,...
- 2/1/2022
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Felicity Jones is set to star in and produce New Regency’s upcoming film Blood Mother, sources tell Deadline. Kelly Marcel and Steve Zissis will also produce the project alongside Jones’ brother, Alex Jones. The film is written by Zissis and is based on an original story by Marcel and Zissis.
The film follows an Oxford professor who discovers her baby is inhuman and finds herself doing the unimaginable to keep him alive.
Best know her roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Theory of Everything, which earned her an Oscar nom, Jones was most recently seen George Clooney’s Midnight Sky. Prior to that she starred in The Aeronauts and On the Basis of Sex.
Marcel is coming off the global hit Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which she wrote; it delivered the year’s biggest domestic box office opening. Marcel also has a story by...
The film follows an Oxford professor who discovers her baby is inhuman and finds herself doing the unimaginable to keep him alive.
Best know her roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Theory of Everything, which earned her an Oscar nom, Jones was most recently seen George Clooney’s Midnight Sky. Prior to that she starred in The Aeronauts and On the Basis of Sex.
Marcel is coming off the global hit Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which she wrote; it delivered the year’s biggest domestic box office opening. Marcel also has a story by...
- 10/27/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Helena Bonham Carter will rejoin Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill for a new “Enola Holmes” mystery from Legendary and Netflix.
Bonham Carter plays Eudoria Holmes, the matriarch of the famous sleuthing family, in the series that is based on Nancy Springer’s beloved books. The films tell the story of Enola (Brown), the rebellious teen sister of Sherlock Holmes (Cavill), who is a gifted super-sleuth in her own right and often outsmarts her famous siblings.
Rounding out the ensemble cast alongside Brown, Cavill and Bonham Carter are David Thewlis, Susan Wokoma, Adeel Akhtar, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Hannah Dodd, Abbie Hern, Gabriel Tierney and Serrana Su-Ling Bliss. During Saturday’s Tudum global fan event, Netflix announced that Louis Partridge would reprise his role as Tewksbury.
Emmy and BAFTA-winning director Harry Bradbeer and BAFTA and Tony-winning writer Jack Thorne are also returning for the sequel.
Released in 2020, “Enola Holmes” was a massive hit for Netflix,...
Bonham Carter plays Eudoria Holmes, the matriarch of the famous sleuthing family, in the series that is based on Nancy Springer’s beloved books. The films tell the story of Enola (Brown), the rebellious teen sister of Sherlock Holmes (Cavill), who is a gifted super-sleuth in her own right and often outsmarts her famous siblings.
Rounding out the ensemble cast alongside Brown, Cavill and Bonham Carter are David Thewlis, Susan Wokoma, Adeel Akhtar, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Hannah Dodd, Abbie Hern, Gabriel Tierney and Serrana Su-Ling Bliss. During Saturday’s Tudum global fan event, Netflix announced that Louis Partridge would reprise his role as Tewksbury.
Emmy and BAFTA-winning director Harry Bradbeer and BAFTA and Tony-winning writer Jack Thorne are also returning for the sequel.
Released in 2020, “Enola Holmes” was a massive hit for Netflix,...
- 9/28/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Jack Thorne, one of the most prolific and celebrated British writers working in film and TV today with credits including His Dark Materials, The Eddy, The Aeronauts, Enola Holmes and the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play, has given a damning indictment of how the British TV industry has dealt with disability, both in front of and behind the camera.
In giving the keynote MacTaggart Lecture at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, Thorne said that “TV has failed disabled people, utterly and totally,” adding that the TV world was “stacked against the telling of disabled stories with disabled talent.”
Thorne ...
In giving the keynote MacTaggart Lecture at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, Thorne said that “TV has failed disabled people, utterly and totally,” adding that the TV world was “stacked against the telling of disabled stories with disabled talent.”
Thorne ...
- 8/23/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Jack Thorne, one of the most prolific and celebrated British writers working in film and TV today with credits including His Dark Materials, The Eddy, The Aeronauts, Enola Holmes and the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play, has given a damning indictment of how the British TV industry has dealt with disability, both in front of and behind the camera.
In giving the keynote MacTaggart Lecture at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, Thorne said that “TV has failed disabled people, utterly and totally,” adding that the TV world was “stacked against the telling of disabled stories with disabled talent.”
Thorne ...
In giving the keynote MacTaggart Lecture at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, Thorne said that “TV has failed disabled people, utterly and totally,” adding that the TV world was “stacked against the telling of disabled stories with disabled talent.”
Thorne ...
- 8/23/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The past isn’t just a different country, but a different movie entirely, in “The Last Letter From Your Lover,” a lushly mounted pair of love stories — one present, one past — that are faintly enmeshed but almost entirely disparate in tone, style and emotional impression. In the first, Shailene Woodley and Callum Turner fall hard for each other in an obstacle-strewn, 1960s-set romance of chance encounters, missed connections and moist-eyed rendezvous on railway platforms, channeling the vintage Hollywood melodrama of “An Affair to Remember.” In the second, Felicity Jones is a cut-glass hybrid of Carrie Bradshaw and Bridget Jones, falling only incidentally for the awkward archivist who assists her in piecing together the former story, before the narratives merge in a more British, neatly calligraphed rewrite of “The Notebook.”
Having previously made her name with the spiky, Sundance-stamped girls-gone-wild comedy “Never Goin’ Back,” director Augustine Frizzell doesn’t seem an...
Having previously made her name with the spiky, Sundance-stamped girls-gone-wild comedy “Never Goin’ Back,” director Augustine Frizzell doesn’t seem an...
- 7/23/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
As was inevitable for a film that scored so well on Netflix, a sequel to the film “Enola Holmes” is officially in the works. The followup to Netflix’s smash hit film about the sister of the world’s greatest detective is being developed and produced by Legendary in partnership with the streamer. Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill will return to their roles of Enola and Sherlock Holmes from the original.
“I can’t wait to collaborate again with my Enola Holmes family!” Brown said. “Enola holds a special place in my heart — she’s strong, fearless, intelligent and brave. I look forward to fans seeing how her journey continues!”
Also back at the helm will be director Harry Bradbeer and writer Jack Thorne, who penned the first film.
Based on the beloved Edgar-nominated book series by Nancy Springer, the films tell the story of Sherlock Holmes’ rebellious teen sister Enola,...
“I can’t wait to collaborate again with my Enola Holmes family!” Brown said. “Enola holds a special place in my heart — she’s strong, fearless, intelligent and brave. I look forward to fans seeing how her journey continues!”
Also back at the helm will be director Harry Bradbeer and writer Jack Thorne, who penned the first film.
Based on the beloved Edgar-nominated book series by Nancy Springer, the films tell the story of Sherlock Holmes’ rebellious teen sister Enola,...
- 5/13/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Five top TV casting directors will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Btl Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Emmy contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Friday, May 21, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a group chat with Joyce and all of the group together.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Emmy contenders:
“Bridgerton”: Kelly Valentine Hendry
Hendry’s career has included “Brave New World,” “Grantchester,” “Episodes” and “Broadchurch.”
“I May Destroy You...
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Emmy contenders:
“Bridgerton”: Kelly Valentine Hendry
Hendry’s career has included “Brave New World,” “Grantchester,” “Episodes” and “Broadchurch.”
“I May Destroy You...
- 5/13/2021
- by Chris Beachum and Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Director Harry Bradbeer, writer Jack Thorne also reprising roles.
Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill will reprise their roles on the action adventure sequel to Enola Holmes set up at Legendary and Netflix.
Netflix acquired worldwide rights excluding China to the first film from Legendary last year, and the companies are developing and producing the follow-up.
Also reprising their roles on the female-led twist on the Sherlock Holmes property are director Harry Bradbeer and writer Jack Thorne.
The films are based on Nancy Springer’s book series about the celebrated detective’s (Cavill) rebellious teen sister Enola, a gifted sleuth...
Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill will reprise their roles on the action adventure sequel to Enola Holmes set up at Legendary and Netflix.
Netflix acquired worldwide rights excluding China to the first film from Legendary last year, and the companies are developing and producing the follow-up.
Also reprising their roles on the female-led twist on the Sherlock Holmes property are director Harry Bradbeer and writer Jack Thorne.
The films are based on Nancy Springer’s book series about the celebrated detective’s (Cavill) rebellious teen sister Enola, a gifted sleuth...
- 5/13/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
China’s $1.2 billion Lunar New Year box office broke world records earlier this month, but Chinese film buyers and sales agents are not jumping to interpret that as a sign of lasting market recovery, particularly for arthouse productions and indie firms.
Despite astonishing ticket sales, some 80% of the six-day holiday box office went to just the top two out of seven titles — “Detective Chinatown 3″ and ‘Hi, Mom” (pictured) — causing the others to underperform.
This, coupled with the fact that the Chinese New Year release window is uniquely popular, means that the trumpeted success “is therefore no indication that after the holiday, the theatrical market will return to what it was before the pandemic,” says Cindy Lin, CEO of indie distributor Infotainment China, which imports foreign arthouse fare.
Numerous insiders observed that one of the big impacts of the pandemic on the Chinese film market has been a greater polarization. Like the wider global economy,...
Despite astonishing ticket sales, some 80% of the six-day holiday box office went to just the top two out of seven titles — “Detective Chinatown 3″ and ‘Hi, Mom” (pictured) — causing the others to underperform.
This, coupled with the fact that the Chinese New Year release window is uniquely popular, means that the trumpeted success “is therefore no indication that after the holiday, the theatrical market will return to what it was before the pandemic,” says Cindy Lin, CEO of indie distributor Infotainment China, which imports foreign arthouse fare.
Numerous insiders observed that one of the big impacts of the pandemic on the Chinese film market has been a greater polarization. Like the wider global economy,...
- 3/1/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Let it be known that Netflix is not fooling around when it comes to scooping up some of the hottest film projects up for auction as the Streaming Wars rage on. Netflix today has secured the worldwide rights to Heart of Stone, an espionage thriller from director Tom Harper starring Gal Gadot. Developed by SkyMedia, Heart of Stone hopes…...
- 1/15/2021
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Netflix has acquired in an auction the worldwide rights to “Heart of Stone,” a spy thriller that will star Gal Gadot in what could be an action franchise in the vein of the “Mission: Impossible” series for Skydance Media.
“The Old Guard” writer Greg Rucka wrote the screenplay with Allison Schroeder. Tom Harper, known for “The Aeronauts” and “Wild Rose,” will direct.
Plot details are being kept under wraps.
Gadot would also produce through her Pilot Wave banner along with Jaron Varsano, Bonnie Curtis, and Julie Lyn, and Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger will also produce.
Gadot returned to her superhero franchise with “Wonder Woman 1984” back on Christmas Day, and she’ll also reunite with her director on that film Patty Jenkins for a new take on the “Cleopatra” story, as well as a third “Wonder Woman” movie that’s being fast-tracked. She’ll also...
“The Old Guard” writer Greg Rucka wrote the screenplay with Allison Schroeder. Tom Harper, known for “The Aeronauts” and “Wild Rose,” will direct.
Plot details are being kept under wraps.
Gadot would also produce through her Pilot Wave banner along with Jaron Varsano, Bonnie Curtis, and Julie Lyn, and Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger will also produce.
Gadot returned to her superhero franchise with “Wonder Woman 1984” back on Christmas Day, and she’ll also reunite with her director on that film Patty Jenkins for a new take on the “Cleopatra” story, as well as a third “Wonder Woman” movie that’s being fast-tracked. She’ll also...
- 1/15/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Netflix has nabbed worldwide rights to “Heart of Stone,” a Gal Gadot-led espionage thriller that was developed by Skydance Media.
Tom Harper, best known for “The Aeronauts” and “Wild Rose,” directed the action epic.
“Heart of Stone” marks the second major movie that Skydance has siphoned off this week. On Tuesday, Amazon Studios emerged as the frontrunner for “The Tomorrow World,” a science-fiction spectacle starring Chris Pratt. Amazon is reportedly shelling out $200 million for global rights, but insiders stress the sale hasn’t been finalized.
Skydance has been an active seller during the pandemic, recently auctioning off is upcoming animated features “Luck” and “Spellbound” to Apple. Streaming services has been something of a salvation for traditional Hollywood studios and production companies, which rely on box office dollars to turn a profit on expensive movies. With U.S. cinemas mostly closed due to Covid-19, the few films that have opened...
Tom Harper, best known for “The Aeronauts” and “Wild Rose,” directed the action epic.
“Heart of Stone” marks the second major movie that Skydance has siphoned off this week. On Tuesday, Amazon Studios emerged as the frontrunner for “The Tomorrow World,” a science-fiction spectacle starring Chris Pratt. Amazon is reportedly shelling out $200 million for global rights, but insiders stress the sale hasn’t been finalized.
Skydance has been an active seller during the pandemic, recently auctioning off is upcoming animated features “Luck” and “Spellbound” to Apple. Streaming services has been something of a salvation for traditional Hollywood studios and production companies, which rely on box office dollars to turn a profit on expensive movies. With U.S. cinemas mostly closed due to Covid-19, the few films that have opened...
- 1/15/2021
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Netflix has prevailed in a competitive auction for worldwide rights on Heart of Stone, the espionage thriller developed by Skydance Media with Gal Gadot starring. Tom Harper, who helmed The Aeronauts and Wild Rose, will direct a film that aspires to hatch a female-centric franchise with the action and global scale of films like Mission: Impossible and 007.
It is the second major deal with a streamer this week for a Skydance-generated tentpole-sized film, after Amazon acquired the Chris Pratt starrer The Tomorrow War.
The deal brings Gadot back into the Netflix fold. The actress, who just opened in Wonder Woman 1984 for WarnerMedia, will star with Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds in Netflix tentpole Red Notice, the Rawson Marshall Thurber-directed heist film.
Deadline revealed Skydance Media film in December, when David Ellison and team at Skydance signed an eight-figure deal for Gadot to star in Heart of Stone.
It is the second major deal with a streamer this week for a Skydance-generated tentpole-sized film, after Amazon acquired the Chris Pratt starrer The Tomorrow War.
The deal brings Gadot back into the Netflix fold. The actress, who just opened in Wonder Woman 1984 for WarnerMedia, will star with Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds in Netflix tentpole Red Notice, the Rawson Marshall Thurber-directed heist film.
Deadline revealed Skydance Media film in December, when David Ellison and team at Skydance signed an eight-figure deal for Gadot to star in Heart of Stone.
- 1/15/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Five acclaimed film composers will reveal details behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Btl Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Oscar contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to be published on Thursday, January 21, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a group chat with Joyce and all of them together.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Oscar contenders:
“Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix): Terence Blanchard
Blanchard was an Oscar nominee for “BlacKkKlansman.” Other projects have included “One Night in Miami,...
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Oscar contenders:
“Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix): Terence Blanchard
Blanchard was an Oscar nominee for “BlacKkKlansman.” Other projects have included “One Night in Miami,...
- 1/13/2021
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Gal Gadot made her feature film debut in the fourth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise back in 2009, and over the following decade, she’s steadily risen towards the top of the A-list by largely remaining in the action or thriller genres. The 35 year-old will next be seen when Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters and HBO Max simultaneously on Christmas Day, while her other completed Warner Bros. role in Kenneth Branagh’s mystery sequel Death on the Nile was recently pulled from the calendar and is still awaiting a new release date.
The actress wrapped Netflix’s mega budget blockbuster Red Notice alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds just a couple of weeks ago, but she’s already signed on to another major project. According to Deadline, Gadot has inked an eight-figure deal that will see her become one of the highest-paid female names in Hollywood to headline Heart of Stone,...
The actress wrapped Netflix’s mega budget blockbuster Red Notice alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds just a couple of weeks ago, but she’s already signed on to another major project. According to Deadline, Gadot has inked an eight-figure deal that will see her become one of the highest-paid female names in Hollywood to headline Heart of Stone,...
- 12/3/2020
- by Scott Campbell
- We Got This Covered
According to Deadline, Wonder Woman 1984 star Gal Gadot is slated to take the lead of Heart of Stone, an international spy thriller from Skydance Media that looks to be a female-centric spin on action franchises such as Mission: Impossible and James Bond. Tom Harper, director of Peaky Blinders and The Aeronauts, is currently in talks to helm Heart of Stone from a screenplay…...
- 12/2/2020
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: In an eight-figure deal that puts her at the upper levels of the actress salary scale, Gal Gadot has been set to star in Heart of Stone, an original international spy thriller hatched by Skydance Media that endeavors to put a female spin on action franchises like Mission: Impossible and 007. Tom Harper, who helmed The Aeronauts and Wild Rose, is in talks to direct.
The script is by Greg Rucka (The Old Guard) and Allison Schroeder, latter of whom was Oscar nominated for Hidden Figures. The film will be produced by Skydance Media’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger, along with Gadot and her Pilot Wave producing partner Jaron Varsano, Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn. Skydance Media is keeping options open on whether this will be a theatrical or streaming bow.
Gadot, whose next Patty Jenkins collaboration Wonder Woman 1984 has been set to debut Christmas Day on HBO Max,...
The script is by Greg Rucka (The Old Guard) and Allison Schroeder, latter of whom was Oscar nominated for Hidden Figures. The film will be produced by Skydance Media’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger, along with Gadot and her Pilot Wave producing partner Jaron Varsano, Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn. Skydance Media is keeping options open on whether this will be a theatrical or streaming bow.
Gadot, whose next Patty Jenkins collaboration Wonder Woman 1984 has been set to debut Christmas Day on HBO Max,...
- 12/2/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Here’s a hot one: Killing Eve star Jodie Comer and The Irishman actor Stephen Graham are on the brink of signing up for a Channel 4 drama that will be set in a UK care home during the coronavirus crisis, Deadline can reveal.
The four-part series is housed at All3Media-backed production outfit The Forge, which has reunited the stellar team behind the BAFTA-winning National Treasure to make the topical drama, including writer Jack Thorne and director Marc Munden.
Details on the plot are being closely guarded by those involved, but we hear that the action will be set in and around a British care home in 2020. The show was originally called Home, but producers are now rethinking this title.
UK care homes have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 19,000 residents dying because of the disease. As a result, they are now at...
The four-part series is housed at All3Media-backed production outfit The Forge, which has reunited the stellar team behind the BAFTA-winning National Treasure to make the topical drama, including writer Jack Thorne and director Marc Munden.
Details on the plot are being closely guarded by those involved, but we hear that the action will be set in and around a British care home in 2020. The show was originally called Home, but producers are now rethinking this title.
UK care homes have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 19,000 residents dying because of the disease. As a result, they are now at...
- 11/17/2020
- by Jake Kanter and Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s soon to be February again at the Chinese box office, where older pre-pandemic Hollywood titles are preparing to hit local theaters amidst a relative dearth in new foreign content.
The psychological horror film “The Invisible Man,” which debuted more than eight months ago Stateside on Feb. 28, is now set to screen in the mainland on Dec. 4. Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios’ “Call of the Wild,” which first hit U.S cinemas Feb. 21, and “The Aeronauts,” not-so-fresh off its early December 2019 release, are prepared to hit Chinese theaters this Friday, Nov. 13.
Both of the latter two titles had curtailed theatrical runs in the U.S. and became box office flops, and so will have their fingers crossed for strong China returns to bolster their bottom line.
“The Invisible Man,” produced by Blumhouse, was already extremely profitable without China in the mix, having earned $64.9 million in North America and $130.5 million worldwide...
The psychological horror film “The Invisible Man,” which debuted more than eight months ago Stateside on Feb. 28, is now set to screen in the mainland on Dec. 4. Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios’ “Call of the Wild,” which first hit U.S cinemas Feb. 21, and “The Aeronauts,” not-so-fresh off its early December 2019 release, are prepared to hit Chinese theaters this Friday, Nov. 13.
Both of the latter two titles had curtailed theatrical runs in the U.S. and became box office flops, and so will have their fingers crossed for strong China returns to bolster their bottom line.
“The Invisible Man,” produced by Blumhouse, was already extremely profitable without China in the mix, having earned $64.9 million in North America and $130.5 million worldwide...
- 11/11/2020
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Monday Update, writethru after Sunday 10:49Am post: With cinemas in the bulk of the European majors now dealing with a second wave of closures amid the Covid-19 crisis, international box office is again led by Asia this weekend — and should continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
Japan’s runaway smash Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train is still racing along at No. 1 with a cume approaching $200M in Japan after 24 days. The total through Sunday is 20.48B yen ($197.9M).
The Toho/Aniplex anime adaptation has become the No. 5 highest grossing film ever in Japan, where Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away remains the top all-time pic with 30.8B yen. Demon Slayer is also the No. 5 biggest title at the international box office for 2020, as well as the No. 8 biggest worldwide for the year so far based solely on Japan. Funimation releases domestically in early 2021.
In IMAX, Demon Slayer dropped just 23% in Japan, adding another $1.44M for a $12M total to date. The movie is closing the gap with all-time IMAX Japan record holder, Bohemian Rhapsody ($13.4M). IMAX also debuted Demon Slayer in Taiwan this weekend, which was the film’s second overall frame locally. The IMAX opening yielded $343K from only 9 screens, a per-screen average of $38K — the format’s best opening of the year in the market (15.5% ahead of Tenet), despite beginning rollout during the sophomore session.
In China, The Sacrifice is still leading play after its third weekend, grossing another estimated $14.4M this session and taking Rmb 888.2M to date ($134.4M). Maoyan is predicting a finish of Rmb 1.08B ($163M). IMAX’s portion is now $7.1M.
Millennium’s 2019 Hellboy releases in China via Jl Vision on Monday after a few days of previews. On deck in the coming Middle Kingdom weeks are Amazon’s The Aeronauts (specially formatted for IMAX screens) on November 13, followed by DreamWorks Animaion/Universal’s The Croods: A New Age on November 27 and Zhang Yimou’s One Second that same day. That’s before an onslaught of local titles timed to the holidays.
Elsewhere, Korea saw a new local title top the charts as Collectors grossed $4.7M from Wednesday-Sunday. Director Park Jung-bae’s crime pic centers on a hunt for an ancient royal treasure in the heart of Seoul.
On the studio front, there’s not much happening, particularly given the lack of European majors. In all, European markets now shuttered for the next weeks include France, Germany, Italy, UK, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Netherlands, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia. There are also renewed regional closures in Spain and Denmark.
Warner Bros’ The Witches conjured $3.5M in 26 offshore markets this weekend, bringing the international cume to $10.1M. Russia continues to be the lead play at $3.3M after two frames while Taiwan opened at No. 2 with $491K and behind Demon Slayer. Thailand was a new launch, landing No. 1 with $273K. The next major market to open will be Brazil on November 19.
Also from WB, and after its late-August release, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is approaching $300M internationally ($295.6M estimated through Sunday). Solid market drops were seen in Brazil (-27% in the sophomore session), Russia (-20%), Netherlands (-28%) and Japan (-33%). A further 16 markets have yet to go, including Argentina, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The worldwide total is now $350.8M ($40.3M from IMAX).
Focus/Amblin’s PG-13 horror movie Come Play, which debuted last weekend, scared up an estimated $609K from nine markets, including openings in the Middle East The international cume now stands at $1.36M, from 15 markets. Come Play will resume its run begun in markets last session that have subsequently re-closed when safety restrictions are lifted.
Japan’s runaway smash Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train is still racing along at No. 1 with a cume approaching $200M in Japan after 24 days. The total through Sunday is 20.48B yen ($197.9M).
The Toho/Aniplex anime adaptation has become the No. 5 highest grossing film ever in Japan, where Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away remains the top all-time pic with 30.8B yen. Demon Slayer is also the No. 5 biggest title at the international box office for 2020, as well as the No. 8 biggest worldwide for the year so far based solely on Japan. Funimation releases domestically in early 2021.
In IMAX, Demon Slayer dropped just 23% in Japan, adding another $1.44M for a $12M total to date. The movie is closing the gap with all-time IMAX Japan record holder, Bohemian Rhapsody ($13.4M). IMAX also debuted Demon Slayer in Taiwan this weekend, which was the film’s second overall frame locally. The IMAX opening yielded $343K from only 9 screens, a per-screen average of $38K — the format’s best opening of the year in the market (15.5% ahead of Tenet), despite beginning rollout during the sophomore session.
In China, The Sacrifice is still leading play after its third weekend, grossing another estimated $14.4M this session and taking Rmb 888.2M to date ($134.4M). Maoyan is predicting a finish of Rmb 1.08B ($163M). IMAX’s portion is now $7.1M.
Millennium’s 2019 Hellboy releases in China via Jl Vision on Monday after a few days of previews. On deck in the coming Middle Kingdom weeks are Amazon’s The Aeronauts (specially formatted for IMAX screens) on November 13, followed by DreamWorks Animaion/Universal’s The Croods: A New Age on November 27 and Zhang Yimou’s One Second that same day. That’s before an onslaught of local titles timed to the holidays.
Elsewhere, Korea saw a new local title top the charts as Collectors grossed $4.7M from Wednesday-Sunday. Director Park Jung-bae’s crime pic centers on a hunt for an ancient royal treasure in the heart of Seoul.
On the studio front, there’s not much happening, particularly given the lack of European majors. In all, European markets now shuttered for the next weeks include France, Germany, Italy, UK, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Netherlands, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia. There are also renewed regional closures in Spain and Denmark.
Warner Bros’ The Witches conjured $3.5M in 26 offshore markets this weekend, bringing the international cume to $10.1M. Russia continues to be the lead play at $3.3M after two frames while Taiwan opened at No. 2 with $491K and behind Demon Slayer. Thailand was a new launch, landing No. 1 with $273K. The next major market to open will be Brazil on November 19.
Also from WB, and after its late-August release, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is approaching $300M internationally ($295.6M estimated through Sunday). Solid market drops were seen in Brazil (-27% in the sophomore session), Russia (-20%), Netherlands (-28%) and Japan (-33%). A further 16 markets have yet to go, including Argentina, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The worldwide total is now $350.8M ($40.3M from IMAX).
Focus/Amblin’s PG-13 horror movie Come Play, which debuted last weekend, scared up an estimated $609K from nine markets, including openings in the Middle East The international cume now stands at $1.36M, from 15 markets. Come Play will resume its run begun in markets last session that have subsequently re-closed when safety restrictions are lifted.
- 11/9/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Local war epic Sacrifice held on to the top spot and has reached a cume of $134.2m since opening on October 23.
Local war epic Sacrifice held on to the top spot at the China box office over the weekend (November 6-8), grossing $14.3m, according to figures from Artisan Gateway, while Li Xiaofeng’s Back To The Wharf came in second with $7.1m in its opening three days.
Sacrifice, was produced to celebrate the 70th anniversary of China’s entry into the Korean War, has grossed a cumulative total of $134.2m since opening on October 23.
Executive produced by leading actor-producer Huang Bo,...
Local war epic Sacrifice held on to the top spot at the China box office over the weekend (November 6-8), grossing $14.3m, according to figures from Artisan Gateway, while Li Xiaofeng’s Back To The Wharf came in second with $7.1m in its opening three days.
Sacrifice, was produced to celebrate the 70th anniversary of China’s entry into the Korean War, has grossed a cumulative total of $134.2m since opening on October 23.
Executive produced by leading actor-producer Huang Bo,...
- 11/9/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
The His Dark Materials TV series is massive in scope—not only in terms of film production, but in the sheer ambition of the story it is trying to tell. Adapted from the trilogy of the same name from Philip Pullman, the children’s fantasy saga brings together different worlds and the very different kinds of people and creatures who live in them. It’s an enormous project for one storyteller to undertake. In Season 1, the ridiculously prolific Jack Thorne wrote all eight episodes of His Dark Materials by himself. In Season 2, he has help.
Up-and-coming British writers Namsi Khan, Francesca Gardiner, Sarah Quintrell, and Lydia Adetunji joined Thorne in writing Season 2 of His Dark Materials, and in the monumental process of adapting The Subtle Knife from book to screen.
“They really did bring scope and challenged us in really interesting ways,” Thorne said during a BBC press junket of...
Up-and-coming British writers Namsi Khan, Francesca Gardiner, Sarah Quintrell, and Lydia Adetunji joined Thorne in writing Season 2 of His Dark Materials, and in the monumental process of adapting The Subtle Knife from book to screen.
“They really did bring scope and challenged us in really interesting ways,” Thorne said during a BBC press junket of...
- 11/3/2020
- by Kayti Burt
- Den of Geek
Editor’s note: Todd Lieberman, who with David Hoberman co-owns Mandeville Films and Television, has been a prolific producer of films from Beauty and the Beast to The Aeronauts, Wonder, Stronger, The Fighter, The Muppets and The Proposal. Like most in Hollywood, he spends time in the pandemic prepping projects for the cautious rebound in production starts, and discussing presidential politics — sometimes in equal measure. Here he describes how this prompted him to reach back to his Cleveland hometown in search of real discussion about the high stakes of the upcoming election. Since most in the Hollywood community came here from elsewhere, it sounds like a pretty effective way to engage in some real dialogue that isn’t about preaching to the converted on social media.
Several months ago a friend was complaining to me about the state of politics and wondering how we got here — he couldn’t believe...
Several months ago a friend was complaining to me about the state of politics and wondering how we got here — he couldn’t believe...
- 9/29/2020
- by Todd Lieberman
- Deadline Film + TV
The Force is strong with this new mama! Felicity Jones has given birth to her first child. In photos obtained by The Daily Mail, the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actress was spotted pushing a baby stroll while out in London on Friday, Sept. 11. E! News reached out to her rep for comment, but have not heard back. The news comes nine months after E! News confirmed the British actress and her husband, director Charles Guard, were expecting a baby. At the time, Felicity, 36, revealed the first glimpse of her growing baby bump when she walked the red carpet at the premiere for The Aeronauts. And as celebrities' private lives go, Felicity's is an...
- 9/11/2020
- E! Online
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