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Fred Schepisi is set to direct Israel-based thriller “The Dimona Affair,” Variety has learned exclusively.

The project is based on the story of a whistleblower who claimed Israel was building a nuclear weapons program. (The country has always denied it has nuclear weapons).

After giving The Sunday Times of London a detailed interview about the program in the 1980s, causing an international scandal, “low level” Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu fled the country. He was then reportedly lured to Rome by a female Israeli secret service agent in a honeytrap operation where he was kidnapped and repatriated to Israel. Vanunu eventually stood trial for espionage and treason before being convicted and jailed.

Schepisi, whose last feature project was “Words and Pictures” starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binochein 2013, is set to direct from a script penned by screenwriter and investigative journalist Morrie Rosmarin.

The director is best known for 1993 pic “Six Degrees of Separation...

With an eye to star, Ethan Hawke has boarded a series adaptation of Angie Kim’s New York Times bestseller Happiness Falls as an executive producer.

Scott Steindorff’s Stone Village Television landed rights following a competitive bidding situation, in a six-figure deal, with Hawke’s Under the Influence Productions then coming aboard. Ryan Hawke, Ethan Hawke, and Mickey Schiff will exec produce for Under the Influence, alongside Dylan Russell, with Maria Breese-McLain, Bill Way and Elliott Whitton producing.

Published by Hogarth, a boutique imprint of Random House, Happiness Falls is a tale of a family in crisis when a father goes missing, forcing them to question everything they thought they knew about him and each other.

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Scott Steindorff, Dylan Russell, and the entire team at Stone Village, as well as Ethan Hawke and Under the Influence Productions’ team to bring Happiness Falls to the screen,...

Oscar-winning legend Paul Newman appeared in dozens of films throughout his lengthy career, but how many of those titles are classics? Let’s take a look back at 20 of Newman’s greatest movies, ranked worst to best.

For years Newman was the perpetual Oscar bridesmaid, racking up failed Best Actor nominations for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958), “The Hustler” (1961), “Hud” (1963), “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), “Absence of Malice” (1981), and “The Verdict” (1982), as well as a Best Picture bid for producing “Rachel, Rachel” (1968). The Academy handed him an Honorary Award in 1985, only to give him a competitive prize the very next year for “The Color of Money” (1986). He scored subsequent bids in lead for “Nobody’s Fool” (1994) and supporting for “Road to Perdition” (2002).

The actor enjoyed a lengthy career behind the camera as well, winning the Golden Globe and competing at the Directors Guild Awards for helming “Rachel, Rachel,” which brought his wife,...

In Ed Harris‘s over-40-year career he has surprisingly never won an Oscar or an Emmy, despite four nominations from the motion picture academy and two from the TV academy. Let’s take a look back at some of his best big-screen performances. Tour through our photo gallery above of Harris’s 15 greatest films, ranked from worst to best.

Harris received his first Oscar nomination in 1995 after almost two decades in front of the camera: Best Supporting Actor for “Apollo 13.” He subsequently competed for “The Truman Show” (Best Supporting Actor in 1998), “Pollock” (Best Actor in 2000), and “The Hours” (Best Supporting Actor in 2002). He didn’t win any of those, and he hasn’t been nominated since, despite acclaimed performances in such films as “A History of Violence” (2005) and “Mother!” (2017).

On the TV side, Harris contended for Emmys for his work in “Empire Falls” (Best Movie/Mini Actor in...

Among the dozen Emmy Awards “Game of Thrones” collected in 2019 for its final season was one for casting, which made it the first drama program to achieve a third victory in that category. Each time it was honored there, it also won Best Drama Series, setting a precedent that “Succession” could emulate this year after having taken both prizes in 2020 and 2022. Although it is heavily favored to clinch the top honor again, its potential casting win might not come as easily or at all, given the remarkably stiff competition it faces from “The White Lotus.”

After winning 10 Emmys in 2022 while classified as a limited series, “The White Lotus” is now competing in seven specific drama series categories, including casting. Its genre shift was triggered by its second season’s incorporation of previously established characters. As it goes against “Succession” in this race, it will also have to fend off two-time winner “The Crown,...

Producer recently wrapped doc about autism; in post on Adhd project.

Scott Steindorff, whose producing credits include The Lincoln Lawyer, Love In The Time Of Cholera, and Station Eleven, is lining up the feature documentary In Search Of Love and preparing to commence production in Paris in July.

The project is being produced by Steindorff’s Stone Village Films and will encompass locations in France, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Portugal, and Spain.

In Search Of Love will explore the complexities of love through personal narratives and insights from experts in the field, exploring the neuroscience behind the emotion, the enchantment of romantic love,...

Ed Harris is hoping to contend at the Emmys one last time for the HBO sci-fi series “Westworld,” which signed off last year after four seasons. Based on Michael Crichton‘s 1973 movie of the same name, the show comes from Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan and follows a collection of people indulging themselves at a highly-sophisticated theme park that depicts the wild west and is populated by advanced AI.

The show continued to build on its theme with each season and features some wonderful actors, not least including Harris. Harris plays the Man in Black, a sadistic and brutal man who is determined to find out the secrets of the theme park. In the final seasons, Harris also plays William, who is a host who replaces the original Man in Black. In his viciousness and snarling performance, Harris is clearly having a great time on screen and critics have noted...

U.S. actor Robin Wright will be awarded the President’s Award at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s closing ceremony. In honor of Wright, it will screen “The Princess Bride.”

Wright is best known for her performance in Netflix series “House of Cards.” She earned three Golden Globe nominations and a win in 2014. She earned five Screen Actors Guild award nominations for the show, and received five consecutive Emmy nominations.

In 2017, Wright played Lieutenant Joshi in “Blade Runner 2049,” and Amazon warrior General Antiope in “Justice League” and Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman.” The following year, she reprised her role as Antiope in “Wonder Woman 1984.” She will be seen this Fall starring opposite Millie Bobby Brown in the fantasy film “Damsel,” and co-starring with Tom Hanks in “Here,” directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Her first two nominations, a Golden Globe and a SAG, came as early as 1995 for her...

Actress and director Robin Wright will be honored with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s President’s Award, a lifetime achievement honor, during the event’s closing ceremony next month, organizers said on Tuesday. They also unveiled that Bobby Farrelly’s Champions, starring Woody Harrelson, would close the festival’s 57th edition and that it would pay homage to legendary independent film producer Christine Vachon.

This year’s edition of the Czech festival runs Friday, June 30-Saturday, July 8.

“Robin Wright is an award-winning actress and philanthropist who is carving an indelible mark in Hollywood,” the festival said. “She recently directed, and starred in, her first feature film, Land, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Shortly after the release of Land, she directed several episodes of the award-winning drama series Ozark and Tell Me Lies. Wright found her love of directing on the hit Netflix series House of Cards,...

Six TV costume designers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2023 Emmy Awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, May 23, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following Emmy contenders:

The Boys (Amazon Prime)

Synopsis: A group of vigilantes set out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers.

Bio: Laura Jean Shannon’s career has included “Elf,” “Iron Man,” “Black Lightning,” “Titans” and “Doom Patrol.”

Daisy Jones and the Six...

Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell of Stone Village Television are developing a multi-part TV series based on Brian Muraresku’s book, “The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion With No Name.” Stone Village’s plans come after a competitive bidding war for the rights to the New York Times bestseller.

Published in 2020, “The Immortality Key” organizes a decade of research into the history of psychedelics and how substances may connect to humanity’s discovery of God, chronicling practices such as psychedelic beer that dates back to sixth century B.C. to psychedelic wine consumed in ancient Greece.

Stone Village bills the upcoming production as “‘Game of Thrones’ but with psychedelics,” teasing an “epic” scale for the project.

Steindorff, a founder of Stone Village, served as an executive producer on HBO’s “Station Eleven” and the 2005 miniseries “Empire Falls.” He is currently working on a project exploring doctors who prescribe psychedelic therapy.

Some of the best television shows are about whip-smart operators and the political nuances of their professional worlds. So why then is it so challenging to make a satisfying series about academia? It’s not only difficult to think of a television show that has succeeded in lifting the veil of a university, it’s tough to think of shows that have even tried. The most recent swipe at it was Netflix’s “The Chair,” a thin but charming dramedy starring Sandra Oh that ended after a single season. Even as college campuses remain a go-to battleground for American culture wars, the inner lives of the professors caught in the crossfire are usually reserved for novels.

The latest such attempt to animate the tenured life is AMC’s “Lucky Hank,” which is built from just such a novel. It’s an adaptation of “Straight Man,” the Richard Russo novel that...

Since her work on “The Dropout” has already brought her an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Critics Choice Award, Amanda Seyfried only needs a Screen Actors Guild Award in order to complete her major industry TV prize sweep. Based on the fact that no woman who has been nominated for all four awards and won the Emmy first has failed to win the other three, her path to victory is arguably clearer than that of any other 2023 SAG Award contender. If she is successful on this final bid, she will be the 12th woman to win both a lead Emmy and a SAG Award for the same TV movie or miniseries performance.

Lead actresses make up the largest subset of non-continuing program Emmy-to-sag Award champions, followed by lead actors with seven examples, supporting actors with three, and supporting actresses with two. The group of female stars Seyfried is looking...

In the 30-year existence of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a total of 15 pairs and one trio of cast mates have directly challenged each other for the Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actor prize, with the latest dual nominees being Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser of “Black Bird.” These instances have resulted in eight wins, which is a far higher amount than in any of the other five solo TV categories. The first to triumph in one of these situations was Jack Lemmon, while the most recent was Michael Douglas.

Lemmon, who had previously gone up against his “12 Angry Men” costar George C. Scott, is one of five men who has been involved in more than one of this category’s cast mate showdowns. As the first member of said group, he has since been followed by Al Pacino, Paul Giamatti, Ed Harris, and John Turturro.

This category’s...

In the 30-year existence of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a total of 15 pairs and one trio of cast mates have directly challenged each other for the Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actor prize, with the latest dual nominees being Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser of “Black Bird.” These instances have resulted in eight wins, which is a far higher amount than in any of the other five solo TV categories. The first to triumph in one of these situations was Jack Lemmon, while the most recent was Michael Douglas.

Lemmon, who had previously gone up against his “12 Angry Men” costar George C. Scott, is one of five men who has been involved in more than one of this category’s cast mate showdowns. As the first member of said group, he has since been followed by Al Pacino, Paul Giamatti, Ed Harris, and John Turturro.

This category’s...

Just last year, Michael Keaton’s Screen Actors Guild Award victory for “Dopesick” made him the fifth man to win the organization’s Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actor prize after losing on his first lead film bid (for 2014’s “Birdman”). Now, since Taron Egerton has earned guild recognition for Apple TV+’s “Black Bird” after coming up short on his nomination for the 2019 film “Rocketman,” the group is already on the verge of gaining its sixth member. If he triumphs on this outing, the 33-year-old will also follow comedy champ Sean Hayes and limited series victor Darren Criss as the third youngest man to ever win an individual SAG Award for TV acting.

The four actors who preceded Keaton in eventually spinning their initial lead film losses into TV movie or miniseries wins were Paul Newman, Kevin Kline, Paul Giamatti and Bryan Cranston. Keaton and Giamatti stand apart from the...

Although no member of the Screen Actors Guild Award-nominated “Yellowstone” cast has yet been individually recognized by the organization, the team can now take pride in the fact that a performer within their recently expanded franchise has caught the attention of their guild peers. Four years after losing on his film ensemble and supporting bids for “A Star Is Born,” Sam Elliott is a Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actor nominee thanks to his work on the “Yellowstone” prequel program “1883.” If he succeeds on this outing, the 78-year-old will be the second oldest man to ever pull off a solo SAG Award win for TV acting.

Paramount+’s “1883” briefly tells the story of “Yellowstone” protagonist John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) ancestors as they migrate from Tennessee to Montana toward the end of the 19th century. The journey truly begins for his great-great-grandparents (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill) after they meet Elliott’s Shea Brennan,...

Slippin’ Jimmy slipped his way back onto AMC. Less than a year after closing out the saga of Saul Goodman on “Breaking Bad” prequel “Better Call Saul,” Bob Odenkirk is back on the channel for new series “Lucky Hank,” and the first full-length trailer for the college-set show dropped this Wednesday.

Alongside the trailer, AMC Networks also revealed that the series’ debut episode will also air on BBC America, IFC, and SundanceTV, in addition to AMC and its streamer AMC+.

Based on the 1997 novel “Straight Man” by Richard Russo, best known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Empire Falls,” “Lucky Hank” has a similar premise to 2021’s Netflix series “The Chair,” which starred Sandra Oh as the stressed-out chair of a college’s English department. Odenkirk takes on the role of William Henry Devereaux Jr., the English department chair at Railton College, a poorly funded university in the Pennsylvania rust belt.

Just last year Steve Martin’s best comedy actor SAG Award nomination for the inaugural season of “Only Murders in the Building” made him the oldest first-time contender in the history of the organization’s male TV categories. Now that he has been recognized for the Hulu series’s second batch of episodes, he has another chance to surpass Jeffrey Tambor as his solo category’s all-time oldest winner. At 77, he would also be the second oldest man to ever win any individual SAG Award for TV acting.

SEE2023 Emmys ceremony date is set for September

As was the case last year, all five current comedy actor SAG Award nominees are also competing for the comedy ensemble prize. Following their loss to Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”) last year, Martin is once again involved in a direct showdown with his “Only Murders in the Building” co-star, Martin Short. Included among their...

Two decades after he initially became a Screen Actors Guild Award nominee and 13 years after he won Best Film Actor for “Crazy Heart,” Jeff Bridges has received his first television acting notice from the organization. This Best TV Drama Actor recognition comes for his work on FX’s “The Old Man,” which constitutes the first regular small screen role of his 65-year career. If he succeeds on this bid, he will be only the sixth man to win individual SAG Awards for both film and TV performances.

Aside from his win, Bridges’ SAG Awards resume consists of four film nominations for “The Contender” (supporting), “Seabiscuit” (ensemble), “True Grit” (lead) and “Hell or High Water” (supporting). His challengers in this year’s TV drama actor contest are all, unlike him, also nominated in the corresponding ensemble category. Two of the four are “Better Call Saul” cast mates Jonathan Banks and Bob Odenkirk,...

After appearing in 85 “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” installments over a period of 13 years, Jonathan Banks has finally earned individual SAG Awards recognition for his portrayal of cop-turned-fixer Mike Ehrmantraut. The veteran performer’s overall first solo nomination from the acting guild is coupled with his third ensemble bid for the latter show, which aired its series finale in August 2022. This means that, nearly a decade after his early “Breaking Bad” departure excluded him from the Season 5B cast’s collective SAG Award victory, he now has a double shot at making up for it.

At 76, Banks can set a new precedent as the oldest man to ever win an individual SAG Award for a continuing TV series. He would surpass respective drama and comedy record holders John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor but still rank behind female champs Maggie Smith and Betty White. In the limited series categories, only...

Last winter, Steve Martin received his first Golden Globe nomination in a quarter century as one of the stars of the Hulu comedy series “Only Murders in the Building.” Just like his five preceding film acting bids, however, this one was unsuccessful, as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association decided instead to give Jason Sudeikis a second consecutive Best TV Comedy Actor award for “Ted Lasso.” Now that the current Golden Globe eligibility window is closing and Sudeikis is essentially out of the picture, Martin is, according to Gold Derby, the odds-on favorite in his category. Will he finally take the gold on his lucky seventh try?

On “Only Murders in the Building,” Martin plays the role of Charles-Haden Savage, a reclusive actor who teams up with his neighbors to solve untimely deaths that occur within his New York City apartment building. Included among his most serious challengers in this year...

In 2000, three-time film acting Golden Globe winner Jack Lemmon received his only TV prize from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his work in a Showtime production of “Inherit the Wind.” At 74, he became the oldest person to ever win a lead TV acting Golden Globe, breaking the record set in 1987 by Loretta Young (“Christmas Eve”) by a margin of 324 days. Now, after holding this distinction for almost a quarter century, Lemmon may soon be displaced by newly installed “The Crown” cast member Jonathan Pryce, who turned 75 in June and is seeking this year’s Best TV Drama Actor award.

Pryce is set to appear on the final two seasons of “The Crown” as Prince Philip, who was married to Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years. The British royal family patriarch was previously played for two seasons each by Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies, the latter of whom was nominated for...

Director Robert Benton and Paul Newman come through with an extremely pleasing small town story. Snowy North Bath New York would seem a pit of failures big and small, until we begin to appreciate its social web of ‘support relationships’ that fill in for broken family connections. Newman’s injured laborer can’t get a fair shake, but he begins to realize the importance of his neighbors and his grandson. The comic conflicts are wholly believable, with Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Philip Seymour Hoffman on board: this one is Mellow and Mature (and a little racy) without succumbing to Hallmark TV drama sentimentality.

Nobody’s Fool

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 145

1994 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date July 27, 2022 / Available from / aud 34.95

Starring: Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gene Saks, Josef Sommer, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Catherine Dent, Margo Martindale,...

Six top TV costume designers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards nominees. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, August 9, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 nominees:

Euphoria (HBO)

Synopsis: A look at life for a group of high school students as they grapple with issues of drugs, sex, and violence.

Bio: This year marks the third Emmy nomination for Heidi Bivens for “Euphoria.” Other projects have included “Inland Empire,...

Exclusive: Marcia Gay Harden (The Morning Show), Halston Sage (Paper Towns), Andrew Richardson (The Independent) and Aidan Quinn (Elementary) have signed on to star in Daughter of the Bride (w/t), an indie comedy from MarVista Entertainment and Particular Crowd, which has entered production

The film directed by Annette Haywood-Carter (Savannah) centers on Diane (Harden) and Kate (Sage) — mother and daughter and inseparable friends, whose lives are turned upside down when mom announces her engagement to a mystery man (Quinn) that she’s been dating for only a few weeks. In a series of comical events, Kate must come to terms with letting her mother be happy with someone else while she navigates her own love life and career aspirations. Kate subconsciously tries to sabotage the wedding plans, despite officiating the ceremony, and unexpectedly meets a mystery man (Richardson) of her own that seems too good to be true.

Karen Bloch Morse...

As AMC launches up the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul this month, the network is already plotting to stay in business with star Bob Odenkirk.

The cable network is developing a series adaptation of Richard Russo’s novel Straight Man with Odenkirk set to star as William Henry Devereaux, Jr., the unlikely chairman of the English department in a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt.

AMC has ordered scripts for the project, and if greenlit, is eyeing a 2023 bow.

The project comes from Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein, who are adapting the book and would serve as co-showrunners.

Zelman was a supervising producer on HBO’s Silicon Valley and a co-exec producer on series including Netflix’s Bloodline and AMC’s The Killing. He has also worked on series including Damages, Law & Order and Criminal Minds.

Lieberstein is best known for starring as embattled Hr...

Over the first 28 years of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, 13 pairs or trios have received nominations for the same TV movie or limited series. The ones who set this precedent were “A Cooler Climate” costars Judy Davis and Sally Field, who both vied for the 2000 Best TV Movie/Mini Actress prize against eventual winner Halle Berry (“Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”).

Since then, only four of the actresses placed in these situations have pulled off victories, leaving current contenders Jean Smart and Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”) with just a 33% chance of doing so. Smart and Winslet’s challengers are Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”), Cynthia Erivo (“Genius: Aretha”), and Margaret Qualley (“Maid”).

Judging by this category’s past eight instances of double or triple losses, it is most beneficial for someone nominated here against a set of costars to be younger than at least one of them. This has applied in...

Fresh off his Emmy win for his supporting turn on “Mare of Easttown,” Evan Peters is sitting pretty in first place in our Screen Actors Guild Awards odds for limited series/TV movie actor. Just like at the Emmys, this would be his first SAG Award nomination, and should he take home the prize on Feb. 27, he’ll become the category’s second youngest winner ever.

Peters turns 35 on Jan. 20 and would be just the second thirtysomething to win the award after Darren Criss, the youngest winner at 31 when he triumphed for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” in 2019. Prior to Criss, Gary Sinise was the youngest champ, having been 40 when he prevailed for “Truman” in 1996. Sinise nabbed a second statuette two years later for “George Wallace.”

The average winning age is 53.85. The two oldest champs are legends who never had a chance to win a SAG Award...

“Schitt’s Creek” director Jerry Ciccoritti has signed on to direct and produce a TV adaptation of “The Psychology of Stupidity” by Jean-Francois Marmion. Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell’s Stone Village Television, the producers behind NBC series “Las Vegas” and the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries “Empire Falls,” are teaming up with Herbert Kloiber’s Munich-based production outfit and finance firm Night Train Media to helm the book-to-screen project.

Per the half-hour comedy’s description, “The Psychology of Stupidity” follows neuroscientist psychologist Anthony, who opens a practice to try to cure people of stupid behavior under the mantra that until you accept your own stupidity, you can‘t expect others to stop acting so stupidly. Part survival guide, part self-help, the behavior of the characters will be recognizable to everyone who is truly honest with themselves. “The Psychology of Stupidity” is the first book in a series in...

Exclusive: In a competitive situation, Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell’s Stone Village has picked up film and television rights to Paul Theroux’s (The Mosquito Coast) latest novel Under The Wave At Waimea to adapt as a premium television series. The company is currently out to writers.

Per the book’s synopsis, “Set in the lush, gritty underside of an island paradise readers rarely see, Under the Wave at Waimea offers a dramatic, affecting commentary on privilege, mortality, and the lives we choose to remember. The story, set on the the big Island of Hawai’I, is about a big wave surfer named Joe Sharkey, who is past his prime and is losing his “stoke.” Joe learned to surf with with Eddie Aikau and to thrill seek with Hunter Thompson, as he chased the perfect wave around the world. The younger surfers around the breaks on the north shore...

David Fincher’s “Mank,” Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” and Pete Docter’s “Soul” were the big film winners at the 25th annual Art Directors Guild Awards Saturday evening, taking production design honors for period, fantasy, contemporary, and animated feature, respectively. Additionally, “The Mandalorian,” “Ozark,” and “The Queen’s Gambit” were among the TV winners at the ceremony, which bodes well for “The Mandalorian” and “The Queen’s Gambit’s” Emmy prospects in the craft category.

The annual awards fete the finest production design in movies, TV, commercials, music videos, and animated features in 12 categories.

The monochromatic “Mank” is the only film that took home an Adg award that is competing for Best Picture. Pixar’s “Soul” is the favorite for Best Animated Feature. Other Adg nominees included Oscar hopefuls “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

In terms of the Oscar race,...

Helen Hunt has signed on for a role in the upcoming “Blindspotting” series at Starz, Variety has learned.

Hunt joins previously announced series lead Jasmine Cephas Jones, who is reprising the role of Ashley from the film on which the series is based. Variety exclusively reported yesterday that Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Jaylen Barron, and Candace Nicholas-Lippman will also star in the eight-episode, half-hour dramedy.

“Blindspotting” centers on Ashley (Cephas Jones) who is nipping at the heels of a middle class life in Oakland until her partner Miles (Rafael Casal) is suddenly incarcerated, leaving her to navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis when she is forced to move in with Miles’ mother Rainey (Hunt).

Rainey is described as a woman who has strong opinions and holds family above all else.

“It is such an honor to have Helen Hunt in this series,” Casal said. “We became friends after...

MTV Commissions ‘Celeb Ex In The City’

MTV International is preparing the latest extension of its Ex On The Beach franchise in the shape of Celeb Ex In The City. Premiering on December 8, the series follows celebrity singletons as they attempt to find love in London. Filmed prior to the latest nationwide lockdown in the UK, Celeb Ex In The City features the likes of Calum Best and Michael Griffiths. The show is made by eOne-owned Whizz Kid Entertainment, with Lisa Chapman, Rachael Parker, and Jaime Brannan executive producing. Ex On The Beach first launched on MTV in the UK in 2014 and remains a strong brand for the channel after Celeb Ex On The Beach ranked as its highest-rated show of the year so far.

Stone Village, BlackBox Plan Latest ‘Frankenstein’ Adaptation

Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell’s Stone Village Television is partnering with international producer BlackBox Multimedia to adapt...

Imagine Documentaries and advertising juggernaut Procter & Gamble have brokered a significant co-financing deal for a slate of film and streaming projects, Variety can report exclusively.

The deal represents the latest foray into scripted for P&g, the 182-year-old consumer goods producer. The company is credited as the architect of the soap opera, which built narrative stories around its products in the age of radio.

There are multiple projects in various stages of development included in the deal, the first of which is “Mars 2080,” a future-set feature that will follow a family’s commute from Earth to the red planet and the adjustment to their new habitat. The film is being developed for theaters and is eyeing a late 2021 release date, though attached talent has not yet been announced.

While the arrangement does not directly envision product placement, both companies said the goal is “to create quality entertainment content that...

AT&T, Comcast and Walt Disney aren’t the only big companies eager to get into streaming-video. Procter & Gamble, one of the world’s most influential advertisers, is looking to do the same.

P&g. the maker of Pampers, Crest and Bounty, among other popular supermarket staples, has struck a partnership with Stone Village Television, the production company behind such projects as NBC’s “Las Vegas” and the HBO miniseries “Empire Falls,” to launch a long-form scripted series aimed at boosting themes of gender equality, diversity and inclusion. One series in development, based on “I Am Keats!,” a self-help book by Tom Asacker that presses readers to find their inner passion and shake off roles imposed on them by society, is being readied for streaming-video outlets.

“This is the first one we are doing, but we are planning to do many of these with them,” says Dylan Russell, a co-founder of Stone Village,...

Sorry, Darren Criss, but your reign as the youngest Screen Actors Guild Award winner for limited series/TV movie actor looks to be short-lived. “When They See Us” star and Emmy champ Jharrel Jerome is the frontrunner to take the prize in January, and like Criss just did, he’d destroy the record.

Criss was nine days shy of his 32nd birthday when he prevailed on Jan. 27 for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” becoming the first person in his 30s to win the award and shaving nine years off of the previous record held by Gary Sinise, who was 40 when he won for “Truman” in 1996. Sinise took home a second statuette two years later, for “George Wallace,” and currently occupies two spots in the top five youngest winners.

At 22, Jerome would, obviously, be the first twentysomething to win — just like he was at the Emmys — and knock off another nine years.

The limited series “Perpetual Grace Ltd” aired over the summer from June to August, so it might have fallen under the radar as the Emmys for the previous TV season were still being decided, but with the Golden Globes and SAG Awards approaching it might be time for awards voters to say “Grace,” especially with a showcase performance by Ben Kingsley at the heart of it.

Created by Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris (Amazon‘s “Patriot“), the series follows a young grifter (Jimmi Simpson) who tries to prey on Pastor Byron Brown (Kingsley), but the pastor is more dangerous than he bargained for. It’s a villainous role that has been compared to Kingsley’s turn in “Sexy Beast” (2001), which earned him one of his four Oscar nominations and one of his eight Golden Globe noms. He plays Pastor Brown “with a slight tinge of menace from the very beginning” that is “quickly” unleashed.

It was a bumpy ride, but “House of Cards” streamed its final season in November 2018. Despite the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding the firing of disgraced star Kevin Spacey, Netflix’s political drama managed three Emmy nominations for its farewell, including Best Drama Actress for Robin Wright. This is her sixth bid in this category for playing Claire Underwood, a calculating politician who manipulates her way into the presidency. She also competed in Best Drama Series as a producer on the show in 2016 and 2017.

For her Emmy submission, Wright has chosen the season’s fifth episode, “Chapter 70.” In this installment, Claire must tamp down rampant speculation that she’s unfit for office after disappearing from the public eye for three weeks. She stops her cabinet from invoking the 25th Amendment, fires them and replaces them with an all-female team.

See Hey Emmy voters, it’s your last chance to reward these 8 perennial...

The scale of “The Goldfinch” opening weekend fiasco overshadowed the reality. Making it a success at the box office was always going to be a long shot for Warner Bros. The adaptation of the Donna Tartt bestseller almost landed in the lowest-20 grossing titles opening in over 2,000 theaters. Its $2.7 million gross ranks with the worst performances ever for a film of its pedigree.

But that pedigree lessened its chances of becoming a hit. With a $45-million budget, a global marketing campaign took the bottom line north of $100 million. With openings in a few countries showing little initial strength, the worldwide theatrical take could struggle to get to $25 million. With Amazon holding streaming rights and a one-third stake, returns to the studio are reduced.

This debacle is bad news for any studio executives pushing for non-franchise content. In five weeks time, Warner Bros. released three original standalones: “The Kitchen,” “Blinded By the Light,...

It might be hard to believe, but Angela Bassett has never won an Emmy before. She’s now her fifth nomination after making the Best Narrator lineup for her work on Nat Geo’s “The Flood.” If she prevails, not only will she get her first statuette, but she and husband Courtney B. Vance will join the club of Emmy-winning married couples.

Vance has a perfect record at the Emmys, converting his first nomination into a win in 2016 in Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actor for his performance as Johnnie Cochran on “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” He gave a brief but memorable speech in which he dedicated the award to his wife of now nearly 22 years — or “the woman that rocks my chain.” #truelove

Bassett’s previous nominations were for “The Rosa Parks Story”, “American Horror Story: Coven”, “American Horror Story: Freak Show” and “Master of None”. In “The Flood,...

Showtime has given a series commitment to an untitled musical drama executive produced by multiple Grammy winner Alicia Keys and the Oscar, Tony and Grammy winning team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Pasek and Paul also will contribute music to the series, produced by Fox 21 Television Studios. Kyle Jarrow (SpongeBob SquarePants musical) will write the series and executive produce with Oscar-nominated producer Marc Platt, Emmy winner R.J. Cutler, and Emmy winner Adam Siegel (Grease: Live!)

The as-yet untitled series traverses generations to tell an emotionally complex family story that interweaves modern-day and 1959 Detroit, centering on a mystery uncovered by a young musician who moves back to her childhood home.

“We have always been intrigued by the prospect of doing a Showtime musical series,...

Darren Criss not only completed his awards sweep at Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” but he’s now the youngest winner ever in the limited series/TV movie actor category.

Criss, who turns 32 on Feb. 5, is the first person to win the award in his 30s and is nine years younger than the former record holder, Gary Sinise, who was 40 at the time of his victory for “Truman” in 1996. Sinise won a second statuette two years later for “George Wallace” and is twice in the top five youngest champs of all time.

Like the corresponding Emmy and Golden Globe categories, older actors rule this SAG Awards winners roll call, but the former two groups have given their awards to younger men. Criss is the second youngest Emmy champ behind Anthony Murphy (“Tom Brown’s Schooldays”), who was 17 at the 1973 Emmys,...

Paul Newman would’ve celebrated his 94th birthday on January 26, 2019. The Oscar-winning legend appeared in dozens of films throughout his lengthy career, but how many of those titles are classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of Newman’s greatest movies, ranked worst to best.

For years Newman was the perpetual Oscar bridesmaid, racking up failed Best Actor nominations for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958), “The Hustler” (1961), “Hud” (1963), “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), “Absence of Malice” (1981), and “The Verdict” (1982), as well as a Best Picture bid for producing “Rachel, Rachel” (1968). The Academy handed him an Honorary Award in 1985, only to give him a competitive prize the very next year for “The Color of Money” (1986). He scored subsequent bids in lead for “Nobody’s Fool” (1994) and supporting for “Road to Perdition” (2002).

SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History

The actor enjoyed a lengthy...

Darren Criss became the second youngest person to win the Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actor Emmy for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” in September. He could be the third youngest to win the Golden Globe equivalent next month. And if he wins the corresponding Screen Actors Guild Award, he’d set a new benchmark as the category’s youngest winner ever.

Criss, who will be nine days shy of his 32nd birthday at the Jan. 27 ceremony, wouldn’t just break the record; he’d smash it. No one has won that category while in their 30s. The youngest champ is Gary Sinise, who was 40 when he prevailed for “Truman” at the second SAG Awards in 1996; he won a second one two years later for “George Wallace,” so he occupies two of the top four youngest spots. Reigning champ Alexander Skarsgard (“Big Little Lies”), at 41 years and 149 days,...

Sandra Oh is co-hosting the Golden Globe Awards next month with Andy Samberg, but that won’t be the first time she’ll be up on the Globes stage. A Best TV Drama Actress nominee for “Killing Eve,” Oh won Best TV Supporting Actress in 2006 for her performances as Cristina Yang on “Grey’s Anatomy” — and she could hardly believe it.

“I feel like someone set me on fire!” Oh opened her speech (watch above) after collecting her Globe from presenters Teri Hatcher and then-future Superman Brandon Routh.

Oh defeated Candice Bergen (“Boston Legal”), Camryn Manheim (“Elvis”), Elizabeth Perkins (“Weeds”) and Joanne Woodward (“Empire Falls”) in the catch-all supporting category. At the time, “Grey’s” was in the middle of its peak second season and was weeks away from its post-Super Bowl episode — aka the bomb episode — which remains its most-watched and highest-rated hour.

A giddy Oh thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,...

After missing the cut in the Drama Supporting Actor category last year, Ed Harris made the leap to Best Drama Actor and scored a deserved Emmy nomination for his performance as William on HBO’s “Westworld.” This is his third Emmy nomination after previous bids for the miniseries “Empire Falls” and “Game Change.” The actor is also a four-time Academy Award nominee thanks to his roles in “Apollo 13,” “The Truman Show,” “Pollock” and “The Hours.” He has submitted the episode “Vanishing Point” for Emmy consideration.

In “Vanishing Point,” William remembers a time when his wife Juliet (Sela Ward) was still alive. Juliet must be taken home after drinking too much at a party, and their daughter Emily (Katja Herbers) suggests that she return to rehab. As William tucks his wife into bed, she asks him to stop lying and tell her “one true thing.” He admits there is some type of “stain” within him,...

Jessica Biel received her first career Emmy nomination last week, for Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actress for “The Sinner,” and her husband Justin Timberlake was just as pumped as she was. He tweeted his excitement and commented on her Instagram post. Proud hubby all around. And if Biel takes home the gold, she and Timberlake will join a long line of married couples who’ve won acting Emmys.

A four-time winner, Timberlake has “Saturday Night Live” to thank for all his statuettes. He won two for songwriting (“Dick in a Box” in 2007 and his 2011 monologue) and two for Best Comedy Guest Actor, in 2009 and 2011. He has an addition guest nomination for “SNL” and three other songwriting nominations, two for “SNL” and one for the 2008 ESPYs. Too bad he didn’t host “SNL” last season because then he and Biel could’ve been nominees in the same year (you know...

In Ed Harris‘s over-40-year career he has surprisingly never won an Oscar or an Emmy, despite four nominations from the motion picture academy and two from the TV academy. Emmy voters can start to make up for that this year as the second season of HBO’s “Westworld” premieres on Sunday, April 22. In honor of his return to the small screen, let’s take a look back at some of his best big-screen performances. Tour through our photo gallery above of Harris’s 15 greatest films, ranked from worst to best.

Harris received his first Oscar nomination in 1995 after almost two decades in front of the camera: Best Supporting Actor for “Apollo 13.” He subsequently competed for “The Truman Show” (Best Supporting Actor in 1998), “Pollock” (Best Actor in 2000), and “The Hours” (Best Supporting Actor in 2002). He didn’t win any of those, and he hasn’t been nominated since,...

While the majority of Gold Derby’s Emmy experts are convinced that John Lithgow (“The Crown”) will win Best Drama Supporting Actor, they also warn that Ed Harris (“Westworld”) could pull off an upset. The film star has a pair of Emmy nominations on his resume for “Empire Falls” (2005) and “Game Change” (2012), but this […]...