Notícias

Exclusive: Matt Cornett (Summer of 69), Ramon Reed (Incoming), and Chris Klein (Fear Street: Prom Queen) are about to wrap on the North Carolina shoot for Bad Counselors, a new indie from director Chris Dowling (Where Hope Grows).

The project is described as a fish-out-of-water comedy that follows two hard-partying fraternity brothers who pose as middle school camp counselors to work off community service and salvage their senior year. Written by Dexter Masland, Ryan Gunnarson, and Taylor Grabowsky, the film also stars Missi Pyle (Captain Fantastic), Brec Bassinger (Final Destination: Bloodlines), McKaley Miller (Dexter: Resurrection), Nathan Gamble (The Dark Knight), Ja’Marion Kennedy and Markiel Cockrell.

Loam Entertainment is fully financing the pic and producing alongside Zero Gravity and Narrow Gate Entertainment. Producers include Loam Entertainment CEO Robert Crotty, director of development Kristopher Galuska, and Chris Fenton, alongside Houston Bradley for Zero Gravity, Chris Roark for Narrow Gate, and Dowling. Thomas Evans...

Shane Black's 2013 film "Iron Man 3" (or "Iron Man Three" as it is titled on-screen) is handily one of the best films in the long-running and now-pretty-much-dead Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is a clever, witty film that forces Tony Stark to solve a mystery and face off against bad guys without a fully functioning Iron Man suit. It displayed how capable Stark was as a wise human being as opposed to a mere superhuman. The end of the trilogy also brought the "Iron Man" story to an effective conclusion. We'll simply have to ignore that Iron Man appeared in other films after it.

Additionally, Black invented a clever twist with the film's villain. In the original Iron Man comics, the hero frequently faced off against a nemesis called the Mandarin, a racist Fu-Manchu-like caricature — armed with ten magical rings — born of pulp cliches of the 1960s. "Iron Man 3...

Producer Chris Fenton has joined the international advisory council of Apco Worldwide, the advocacy and consultancy firm.

Fenton, the former president of China’s Dmg Entertainment Motion Picture Group, has been an informal adviser to the House’s Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wi). That included a roundtable dinner in Los Angeles that included committee members of both parties talking to industry professionals on the challenges of working in China.

At the international advisory council, Fenton will work with clients on the hurdles in markets including China and the Middle East, in areas of expertise like strategic communications and business strategy.

In a statement, Fenton said, “Global capitalism is facing a new normal, resulting from a permanent, bipartisan climate of hawkishness in order to protect American interests. I’m looking forward to teaming with other Iac members to help multinational corporations and...

Back in 2019, “Iron Man 3” production executive Chris Fenton filed an explosive lawsuit against former employer Dmg Entertainment, a once-highflying company that bridged Hollywood movies and Chinese distribution.

After a legal back and forth that included a Dmg countersuit that was later tossed, Fenton’s case is finally headed to trial next week and is expected to expose some of the opaque ways China did business in Hollywood before tensions between the U.S. and the communist superpower boiled over in 2021, leading studios to reassess their plans for the market. On Oct. 23, Fenton v. Dmg is scheduled to begin in California Superior Court, with Robert Downey Jr. and tentpole producer Neal Moritz expected to be on the witness list.

Although Fenton, a former William Morris agent who worked at Dmg for 17 years, is a respected member of the Hollywood community with a Washington, D.C., presence as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,...

A movie about the United States’ entry into the Atomic Age might not seem like a straightforward sell in an increasingly nationalistic China, but “Oppenheimer” got off to a strong start there, earning $39 million in 10 days.

That’s amid solid word of mouth (an 8.9 from Douban) and a local press tour by director Christopher Nolan. His in-person promotional visit marked the first such event for a Hollywood film since pre-covid times.

The puzzle now is whether Nolan’s popularity in China is a one-of-a-kind factor or if there’s a broader lesson about what can make for a blockbuster in the country. It’s a crucial question about a once-lucrative market for Hollywood superhero movies and other action-driven tentpoles that has lately proven far more challenging for film marketers.

Robert Pattinson and John David Washington star in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ The Nolan factor

“Christopher Nolan has a strong following among Chinese moviegoers,...

You’d think the box office “Fast X” is pulling in China — $77 million in the first five days — would be encouraging news. It’s the best-performing Hollywood movie in a market that’s been resistant to the American dream factory’s charms as of late, and the haul for the latest installment of Universal’s “Fast Saga” nearly matched the five-day domestic total of $81 million.

But that ignores a critical factor: The “Fast & the Furious” series has been bigger in China than in the U.S. since 2015, routinely earning 25%-30% of its global box office in the country and arguably making it the emblem of Hollywood’s ambitions for one of the world’s largest and increasingly affluent pool of moviegoers.

Some plugged-in observers are holding out hope that China will snap back and become a steady contributor to theatrical revenue once more. “I don’t think it’s back to normal,...

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wi), the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led a delegation of lawmakers last week for meetings in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, with an eye toward gathering information on how the two California-centric industries interact with Beijing.

Their agenda in the entertainment industry included a meeting with Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, and later a meeting with Chris Fenton and other producers, executives and content creators who have done business in China.

A topic raised: The editing of movies to appease Chinese film authorities, as well as the practice of “self-censorship,” or producers crafting their movies with an eye for what will make it into the country’s marketplace.

Gallagher has previously said that planned to call on Iger, along with other figures like NBA commissioner Adam Silver, to testify at an upcoming China committee hearing. The congressman, though, now...

Exclusive: Members of a House select committee on China met with Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and later with a group of Hollywood filmmakers and executives Wednesday, amid concerns over industry business practices in engaging with Beijing.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-wi), was joined by nine other members, including its ranking member, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-il).

According to a source close to the committee, the hourlong meeting “was constructive and it was candid.”

Gallagher expressed concerns around censorship, and Iger spoke about “the relationship with the Chinese Communist party and how it has changed,” among other topics, the source said.

Iger was joined by other Disney executives, and they spoke about how “their goal is not to change the stories,” the source said, adding that the executives conveyed how they tried to walk the line between cultural and political requests from Chinese censors. “They admitted it...

On Nov. 20, Disney shocked Hollywood when it announced that Bob Iger would return as CEO after less than a year away. Two days later, Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” landed a coveted China release. Then, the sci-fi film received a rare release extension in China that allowed it to run through Feb. 14, enabling it to gross more than 240 million in the country.

Though Disney insiders say China’s embrace of “Avatar” was unrelated to Iger’s return, its success and a string of good fortune for the company has raised eyebrows at rival studios. That’s because after seeing its Marvel releases denied entry to China for nearly four years, Disney recently announced that “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” were being waved into the country. And if things seem cozier between Disney and China, there’s no missing that a recent “Simpsons” episode...

After a down year for the second-biggest moviegoing marketplace, China’s theatrical industry may be back with or without Hollywood’s help. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” earned just 7.5 million after four days in China, but the Middle Kingdom’s two biggest Lunar New Year releases continued to soar. “The Wandering Earth 2,” a prequel to the early-2019 disaster epic, topped 518 million, while Zhang Yimou’s period-piece suspense comedy “Full River Red” sailed past 609 million.

“This is a great reminder of what the Chinese box office looks like when it’s firing on all cylinders — strong results driven by a broad, diverse offering of films across genres from local and Hollywood filmmakers alike,” IMAX China CEO Daniel Manwaring told TheWrap.

That “The Wandering Earth 2” is not the season’s top Chinese tentpole and probably won’t match its 699 million-grossing predecessor is a slight surprise. There is a recent pattern in...

Exclusive: The furor over a Chinese spy balloon that flew over U.S. airspace has further chilled D.C.-Beijing tensions, but the entertainment industry already has been swept up in the heightened atmosphere of American hawkishness.

Hollywood studios and producers are poised to get a new level of scrutiny over their dealings with China — reflecting a bipartisan hardline toward Beijing and escalating concerns over its influence.

A little publicized provision of a recently passed defense bill restricts the U.S. government from spending funds on movies that, to gain entry into the Chinese marketplace, are altered in the face of Chinese government dictates.

The provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, approved in a bipartisan vote of Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in December, is the latest example of an increased focus on China’s role, not just in the entertainment industry but also in sports and social media.

India may be slowly positioning itself as Hollywood’s next international target for a box office boost.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” has set another box office record in India with a 55 million-and-counting running total. The U.S. gross is still second behind “Avengers: Endgame” and its 62 million gross in 2019. However, it has earned more in Indian currency than the MCU sequel, making it the most successful Hollywood movie ever in India.

While James Cameron’s 3D sequel has rebounded in China, with 193 million-and-counting and a just-announced extension through the Lunar New Year on Jan. 22, it continues a pattern of Hollywood films earning far less than previously expected pre-covid in what is still the biggest overseas marketplace.

Disney

“The financial allure of China is waning, and Hollywood is a few steps behind,” Asian Studies professor Deepak Sarma of Case Western Reserve University told TheWrap. We’ve already seen rumblings of...

With 661 million worldwide as of Thursday, and a possible end-of-weekend cume over/under 900 million global, Walt Disney and 20th Century Studios’ “Avatar: The Way of Water” is on its way to potentially becoming the year’s biggest global grosser. However, with just 80 million from China in eight days from a 57 million opening weekend (including a 78 drop on its second Friday), according to individuals with knowledge, James Cameron’s underwater 3-D epic is the latest big Hollywood movie to stumble in China. It’s also the latest Hollywood tentpole, think “Top Gun: Maverick” (1.49 billion sans China) or “The Batman” (just 20 million out of 770 million from China), to earn top-tier global box office with almost no help from the Middle Kingdom.

There was an implicit hope that China might help make “Avatar 2” a hit there to continue the narrative that Hollywood could find fortune and glory in China. Covid-specific variables (which...

When the Elton John biopic Rocketman opened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019, expectations were sky-high. Just months earlier, Bohemian Rhapsody, another rock-music biopic, this one centered on Queen’s Freddie Mercury, had pulled off a surprise box-office coup, raking in 911 million worldwide. Paramount Pictures had taken a big gamble with Rocketman, spending 41 million on the production and entrusting the lead role to an actor who wasn’t quite a household name (Taron Egerton), but the success of Bohemian — for which Rami Malek had won a Best Actor Oscar in March — augured good things.

The tea leaves aren’t difficult to read: China and Hollywood can bid adieu to any attempts at in-depth cultural collaboration for the foreseeable future as relations between Tinseltown and the world’s largest film market enter a new, unprecedented chapter.

In wide-ranging interviews conducted by Variety, a dozen producers, studio executives and industry org representatives have said that 2022 will be a chapter marked not only by bilateral friction between the two superpowers, but by the Chinese film industry’s decoupling from the broader global film industry as a whole, as the country turns inward under President Xi Jinping.

Under the veil of Covid-19 isolationism, the past two years have seen Beijing unwinding the Deng Xiaoping-era policies of reform, opening up its economy and shifting back towards a top-down management system for content creation in ways that will affect Chinese creatives in the years to come.

In this new frontier,...

In early June, UTA began shopping a redhot documentary project based on Chris Fenton’s 2020 book Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, & American Business, with Oscar winner Alex Gibney producing and Emmy nominee Gabe Polsky writing and directing. But instead of the film being greeted by a bidding war, sales agents faced closed doors. Sources say the major players in the doc space, including Netflix and HBO, declined even to see the project pitch, which touts “a character-driven essay film exploring how the United States and Western countries helped to build an ultra-powerful rival ...

In early June, UTA began shopping a redhot documentary project based on Chris Fenton’s 2020 book Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, & American Business, with Oscar winner Alex Gibney producing and Emmy nominee Gabe Polsky writing and directing. But instead of the film being greeted by a bidding war, sales agents faced closed doors. Sources say the major players in the doc space, including Netflix and HBO, declined even to see the project pitch, which touts “a character-driven essay film exploring how the United States and Western countries helped to build an ultra-powerful rival ...

The Avengers almost included another Marvel villain. Sounds routine, doesn’t it? Well, not quite, as this one’s got a fascinating geopolitical bent to it.

At the time of its release, boardroom man Chris Fenton was President of the Chinese-based Dmg Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a studio that was in talks to co-produce a movie with Marvel. In his new book Feeding the Dragon, Fenton revealed that Dmg were offered the chance to tease a character from that film in the post-credits scene for The Avengers, and one of the options discussed was to feature Iron Man’s arch nemesis The Mandarin in the teaser.

For a variety of reasons, however, it never happened. Dmg were deeply apprehensive about agreeing to portray a villainous Chinese character out of fears that such a move would fall foul of the Communist Party. They favoured showcasing Shang-Chi – a heroic character – instead, but...

Chris Fenton, a longtime Hollywood executive who witnessed and assisted in the birth of the mega-rich marriage between Hollywood and China, is set to release a tell-all book about the process.

Fenton will publish the memoir “Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, and American Business,” at Simon & Schuster imprint Post Hill Press. It’s expected on shelves this July.

Fenton served as the president of Dmg Entertainment and general manager of Dmg North America, a multi-billion-dollar global media company headquartered in Beijing. He has produced or supervised twenty-one films, grossing $2 billion in worldwide box-office.

Currently the CEO of an outfit called Media Capital Technologies, Fenton’s experience goes beyond infrastructure and operations. He has hosted U.S. Congressional member delegations on diplomatic missions to China focused on trade, media, and investment. He is a trustee of the U.S.-Asia Institute and serves on several company boards.

It wasn’t just “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” — with its dismal $12 million opening weekend — that was a Middle Kingdom misfire for Hollywood in 2019. When year-end figures for the China box office are confirmed next week, it’s likely that only two Hollywood titles will be among the 10 top-grossing titles of 2019, compared to five out of 10 last year and overwhelming market domination not so long before that.

“This has to be the worst performance for Hollywood in China since 2008,” said Chris Fenton, previously China-based head of motion pictures at Dmg and now senior advisor to Idw Media Holdings and a trustee of the U.S.-Asia Institute. As recently as 2012 and 2013, Fenton recalls, there were weekends “when 90% of the box office in China was from foreign films… China used to tax its exhibitors if they generated more than 50% box office from foreign films. That’s not needed anymore.”

Instead,...

Dmg Entertainment has fired back against Chris Fenton, the former head of its motion picture group who filed a $30 million breach of contract suit in February.

In a counterclaim, Dmg blasts Fenton as a disloyal employee who advanced his own interests at the company’s expense. The suit alleges that Fenton “cultivated his persona of a ‘player'” in the industry even while losing millions of dollars.

“Fenton was terminated for his poor performance, gross mismanagement, and fraud on the companies he served,” the counterclaim states.

Fenton departed in February 2018, and alleges in his lawsuit that he was wrongfully cut out of the profits from the company’s Ipo. Fenton claims his put his reputation on the line to defend Dmg from an SEC investigation into possible bribery of Chinese officials.

He also says he lost faith in founders Dan Mintz, Wu Bing, and Peter Xiao, concluding that they were engaged...

ReFrame, the coalition formed by Women in Film, the Sundance Institute and IMDbPro, has designated a total of 20 films among 2018’s 100 highest-grossing titles to receive the ReFrame Stamp, which recognize standout, gender-balanced films.

The list released Wednesday includes Fox Searchlight’s Oscar Best Picture-nominated The Favourite, Paramount’s Transformers pic Bumblebee, Disney’s A Wrinkle In Time, Stx’s I Feel Pretty and Lionsgate’s The Spy Who Dumped Me. Nine additional films outside the top 100 were awarded stamps after applying (see the full lists below).

The stamp, launched last June, awarded 12 film stamps in 2017. But the group’s 2018 study found continued disparities in female representation and women of color, with just 4% of the top 100 films directed by a female (down from 6% a year ago), and 23% written by a female. A total of 37% featured female leads, with only 9% being women of color.

“While 2017 saw an uptick in films directed by women,...

Chris Fenton, the former head of Dmg Entertainment’s motion picture group, has filed a $30 million suit against the company, accusing the founders of cutting him out of wealth generated by an Ipo and then running the company into the ground.

Fenton left the company in February 2018, after helping to position it as a key distributor of U.S. studio films in China. In the lawsuit, he says he was fired after complaining that the founders had reneged on their promise to make him “rich” after the Ipo of the Chinese portion of the group.

At one point after it was listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange in 2014, Dmg was worth $5 billion. But the company’s stock has fallen sharply in the past year. Listed as Yinji Entertainment & Media Company, the company saw its shares close Tuesday at RMB3.53 apiece, giving a market capitalization of $930 million (RMB6.26 billion.)

Fenton’s...

Exclusive: Montreal-headquartered WatchMojo has signed with ICM Partners for representation as the company looks to accelerate growth and financing strategies in media and entertainment. At the same time, the video content producer, publisher and syndicator has added former Dmg Entertainment exec Chris Fenton to its board as advisor.

WatchMojo was founded by Ashkan Karbasfrooshan and launched its first YouTube channel just over 10 years ago. Since then, it has built an audience of over 25M subscribers and 115M monthly unique views. It boasts over 19,000 original videos on pop culture and infotainment and its Top 10 lists have generated over 12B all-time views, per the company. With offices in Montreal, New York, Los Angeles and London, WatchMojo maintains 35 wholly-owned channels on YouTube, along with growing audiences on Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat.

Fenton is the former Motion Picture Group President and General Manager of Dmg who exited the company in February. He has since...

Exclusive: Chris Fenton, the former Motion Picture Group President and General Manager of Dmg, has joined the board of Wasabi, a cloud based storage company looking to answer the growing needs of the media and entertainment industry. Wasabi was co-founded by former Carbonite co-founder and CEO, David Friend.

Storage services are interesting to the industry as it moves from tape to cloud and de-archives content as well as archiving work-in-progress and other solutions. Wasabi presents itself as taking cloud storage to the next generation, breaking speed records and mitigating costs, while providing studios “the most efficient way possible to store and deliver their content.”

Says Friend, “We now have a well-respected media executive to open doors for Wasabi to tap that opportunity.”

Fenton, a former William Morris TV and film agent, exited global media company Dmg in February after 17 years. He has since been advising Congress on Cfius and China...

Hysterical and over-the-top parental trio John Cena, Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz will do anything to foil their daughters’ prom night sex pact in Blockers, the uproarious hit coming to Digital and the all-new digital movie app Movies Anywhere on June 19, 2018, and Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand on July 3, 2018 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Hailed as the “perfect comedy for the current era” by Vanity Fair, Blockers is a gender-swapped spin on the classic teen sex comedy, filled with outrageous antics from the parents as their daughters take control of their epic prom night. The Blu-ray, DVD and Digital feature unrated bonus content with even more wild shenanigans including deleted scenes, gag reel, line-o-rama and more!

Making her directorial debut, Kay Cannon (writer of the Pitch Perfect series), along with the producers of Neighbors and This Is the End, bring laugh-out-loud moments in the outrageous comedy Blockers. When three parents...

John Krasinski’s thriller “A Quiet Place” is set to make a loud debut at the box office this weekend with $45 million from 3,508 North American theaters.

The film, which premiered at SXSW to favorable reviews, stars Krasinski and Emily Blunt as parents trying to keep their children safe in a world where alien creatures can hunt you if you make a sound.

“A Quiet Place,” from Paramount, is crushing early forecasts, which had placed it in the $30 million range. It earned around $19 million on Friday, with an impressive $4.3 million from Thursday previews, and is sitting at a 97% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The thriller marks the first Paramount title to outperform expectations since Jim Gianopulos took over the studio a year ago and should be highly profitable, given the $17 million price tag. Andrew Form and Brad Fuller produced via Platinum Dunes.

In second place is the sophomore frame of...

Horror-thriller “A Quiet Place” is dominating domestic moviegoing with at least $40 million for its opening weekend, early estimates showed Friday.

The Paramount title is blowing past estimates, which had been in the $30 million range, with several estimates placing “A Quiet Place” above $45 million. Paramount was adhering to the $35 million to $40 million range as of early Friday afternoon.

“A Quiet Place” opened with an impressive $4.3 million at 2,740 North American locations in Thursday night preview showings, while “Blockers” took in $1.5 million at 2,650 sites in previews.

The R-rated comedy “Blockers” is performing in line with expectations and should wind up the weekend with about $18 million. The second weekend of Warner Bros.’ “Ready Player One” will battle the raunchy comedy for second place.

“A Quiet Place,” starring real-life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, expanded Friday to 3,508 locations. The film, which launched last month at South by Southwest to rave reviews, currently boasts a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Blockers” director Kay Cannon admitted Tuesday night at the Universal film’s premiere that she’s enjoying the increased attention being paid in Hollywood to the female point of view.

“Luckily for me in a way, it’s been very beneficial,” she said on the red carpet at the Regency Village in Los Angeles. “Hopefully, if the movie does well, it’ll shine a light to say women can direct all sorts of things.”

#Blockers director Kay Cannon on the timeliness of the film: "If the movie does well, it'll shine a light to say women can direct all sorts of things" pic.twitter.com/Cu6UWNq1T2

— Variety (@Variety) April 4, 2018

Cannon said she’s pleased to hear comparisons of “Blockers” to landmark raunchy teen comedies.

“This story was so under-served for women,” she said. “So now that we have one, it’s being compared to ‘Superbad’ and ‘American Pie,...

It was announced on The Today Show this morning that the Blockers filmmakers and cast are giving away Free tickets to special Spring Fling screenings for fans this Wednesday, April 4th!

Find participating locations and more information at BlockersSpringFling.

When three parents discover their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal. Leslie Mann (The Other Woman, This Is 40), Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors, Suicide Squad) and John Cena (Trainwreck, Sisters) star in Blockers, the directorial debut of Kay Cannon (writer of the Pitch Perfect series).

The comedy is produced by Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen and James Weaver, under their Point Grey Pictures banner (Neighbors, This Is the End), alongside Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg (Harold & Kumar series) and Dmg Entertainment’s Chris Fenton (47 Ronin).

Good Universe’s Nathan Kahane and Joseph Drake (Don’t Breathe, Juno...

Chris Fenton, the former Dmg general manager and Motion Picture Group president, is in discussions to head Saudi Arabia's film and content initiative including a $10 billion fund that would fall under the kingdom’s General Authority for Culture. Fenton confirmed the talks to Deadline, but had no further comment. Deadline understands the fund would cover film, fine arts, theater and music. It is separate from Saudi's previously announced intention to invest $64B in the ente…...

Chris Fenton, the general manager and motion picture group president of media company Dmg, is exiting the company after a 17-year run.

Fenton’s latest five-year contract expired and the executive will transition to a consultant role. He will also point his energies to his role as a trustee of the Washington, D.C. based Us-Asia Institute. The latter is a diplomatic organization that deals with Ustr and Wto trade negotiations between the Us and China.

The executive found himself at the intersection of Hollywood, China and Wall Street in the early 2000s just as Chinese media was going through a massive...

Exclusive: Chris Fenton, the General Manager and Motion Picture Group President of Dmg, has opted not to re-up with the Beverly Hills-based global media company after his latest contract expired last month. Fenton will instead plan to transition to a consultant role for the company and focus on his near-term responsibilities as trustee of the D.C.-based Us-Asia Institute. That org is in the process of creating a diplomatic backdrop for crucial ongoing Ustr and Wto trade…...

Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for the upcoming comedy Blockers, which is slated for release on April 6, just in time for prom season. The story centers on three parents who discover their daughters' pact to lose their virginity at prom, as they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal. In addition to the new trailer, Universal has also released the first poster and five photos from this outrageous comedy, which could be one of the surprise hits off 2018.

Leslie Mann (The Other Woman, This Is 40), Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors, Suicide Squad) and John Cena (Trainwreck, Sisters) star as the three parents who try to stop their daughters from having sex at prom in Blockers. The cast also includes Sarayu Blue as Marcie, the wife of John Cena's character Mitchell, Geraldine Viswanathan as Mitchell and Marcie's daughter Kayla, Kathryn Newton as Julie, the...

TheWrap’s annual TheGrill media conference took place at the Montage Beverly Hills on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3. TheWrap’s CEO and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman greets attendees at the 8th annual TheGrill conference. Audience members listen to panels on the first day of TheGrill. Sky Moore, partner at Greenberg Glusker, Cindy Lin, CEO of Infotainment China, and President of Dmg Entertainment, Chris Fenton at TheWrap’s annual TheGrill conference. David Grinberg, partner at Sidley Austin Llp, speaks onstage at TheWrap’s 8th Annual TheGrill. Stanley Rosen, professor of political science at USC, speaks with Sharon Waxman on stage. Catherine Zhang of...

Perhaps you haven't heard of Father Figures? That's because when the first trailer dropped more than a year ago, it was called Bastards. The team behind this comedy wised up, changing the title and giving you some time to forget. Now, they have cobbled together a new trailer, for better or worse, and here we are.

Arriving from Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment, the latest footage from Father Figures promises a Christmas comedy that will bring you back home. The movie opens on December 22, and it stars two heavy weights in the genre who've not been so busy lately. The movie teams the great Ed Helms with the always welcome Owen Wilson for the right amount of charm. It doesn't really matter how good or bad the script is, these guys will probably carry the material pretty far on their own.

Wilson and Helms play Kyle and Peter Reynolds, brothers...

Tang Media Partners founder and CEO Donald Tang, Youku Tudou Inc. director of international content cooperation Catherine Zhang and Hollywood lawyer Sky Moore, a partner at Greenberg Glusker, will be featured at a brand-new China Track when TheWrap’s eighth annual TheGrill kicks off on Monday, October 2 at Montage Beverly Hills. They will be joined by Stanley Rosen, China expert and professor of political science at the University of Southern California; Chris Fenton, president of Dmg Entertainment Motion Picture Group & General Manager, Dmg North America and Dan Clivner, co-managing partner, Sidley Austin Llp for three panel discussions addressing some...

HBO has acquired Evgeny Afineevsky’s Sundance selection and follow-up to Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom in a deal with executive producer David Dinerstein.

Cries From Syria chronicles the Middle East country’s civil war and draws on hundreds of hours of war footage as well as testimony from child protestors, human rights activists, citizens and high-ranking army generals who have defected from the Army.

The film receives its world premiere in Park City this month in the Documentary Premieres strand and will debut on HBO on March 13.

Annapurna Television is partnering with the Coen Brothers on Western anthology The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs. Annapurna issued a press release saying it intended to pursue “an innovative television and theatrical integrated approach” without elaborating. Joel and Ethen Coen wrote the script and will direct and produce through their Mike Zoss Productions label. Ellison and Annapurna Television president of television Sue Naegle are executive producers. UTA represents...

Two brothers go on a quest to find the father they always thought was dead in the first trailer for Bastards, arriving in theaters January 27, 2017. Ed Helms (The Hangover films) and Owen Wilson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Zoolander 2) star in Alcon Entertainment's comedy Bastards, under the direction of Lawrence Sher. The film marks the directorial debut of the veteran cinematographer, who had worked on The Hangover trilogy and, most recently, War Dogs, starring Miles Teller and Jonah Hill.

Helms and Wilson play Peter and Kyle Reynolds, two brothers whose eccentric mother raised them to believe their father had died when they were young. When they discover this to be a lie, they set out to find their real father, learning more about their mother than they probably ever wanted to know. This R-rated comedy was originally in development at Paramount Pictures five years ago, before it shifted over to Warner Bros.,...

Sierra/Affinity has acquired international sales rights to the Ted Kennedy project starring previously announced Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms and Bruce Dern.

Principal photography is set to commence in Boston on September 7. Wme Global represents Us rights.

Apex Entertainment’s Chappaquiddick recounts events in summer 1969 when Kennedy fled the scene of a fatal accident after the car he was driving crashed and resulted in the drowning of teacher and political campaigner Mary Jo Kopechne.

The Us Senator grappled with his conscience for nine hours before reporting the incident. Clarke plays Kennedy and Mara portrays Kopechne.

Gaffigan, who will next be seen in Toronto world premiere The Bleeder, will play District Attorney Paul Markham.

Thirlby stars in Amazon Studios’ upcoming Goliath and is on board as a member of the ‘boiler room girls’, a group of single party workers who attended the party on Chappaquiddick preceding the accident.

Apex Entertainment finances the project and Mark Ciardi and Campbell McInnes...

Jason Clarke.

John Curran (Praise, The Painted Veil) is in final talks to direct Chappaquiddick, in which Jason Clarke (The Great Gatsby) will star as Senator Ted Kennedy.

As first reported by Deadline, Fifty Shades of Grey's Sam Taylor-Johnson was attached but departed to direct the first two episodes of Netflix pilot Gypsy, starring Naomi Watts..

Chappaquiddick examines the car accident that took the life of Mary Jo Kopechne when Senator Ted Kennedy was at the wheel in the summer of 1969..

After driving off a bridge, Kennedy left the scene of the accident, leaving the 28 year-old Kopechne to drown. Kennedy didn.t report the accident for nine hours..

.Jason Clarke is the perfect choice to take on the complexities of this role,. said producer Mark Ciardi..

.He has unwavering passion and commitment to this project. We.re equally pleased to bring on John Curran to direct. John.s body of work speaks for itself,...

(Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Apex Entertainment is in talks with Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty, Everest, upcoming HHhH) to star as Ted Kennedy in the movie “Chappaquiddick” and with John Curran (The Painted Veil, Tracks) to direct. Apex Entertainment’s Mark Ciardi and Campbell McInnes are producing. Dmg’s Chris Cowles and Chris Fenton are executive producing. Apex is financing the film.

Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan wrote the screenplay which was featured on the 2015 Black List. They also serve as executive producers. The biographical drama takes place the eve of the moon landing when Senator Ted Kennedy becomes entangled in a tragic car accident that results in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. Over the course of the next seven days, the Senator struggles to decide between following his own moral compass or using his power and influence to protect the family legacy.

“Jason Clarke is the perfect choice...

The star from Everest, Zero Dark Thirty, and Terminator Genisys is in negotiations to play the late politician in Chappaquiddick.

California-based Apex Entertainment will finance the project, which is scheduled to shoot this summer under the direction of John Curran, who replaces Sam Taylor Johnson after she left to shoot the Netflix pilot, Gipsy.

Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan wrote the 2015 Black List screenplay, which follows the struggles of the then 37-year-old Kennedy the week after 28-year-old Robert Kennedy campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne died in a car accident.

Kopechne drowned when the car that Kennedy was driving went off a bridge into a tidal channel near his family’s Martha’s Vineyard estate.

According to his own testimony, Kennedy swam free and did not report the accident for nine hours.

The conflict between his conscience and political ambitions will drive the story. Apex said Clarke was the “perfect choice to take on the complexities of the...

Point Grey, Good Universe and Hurwitz & Schlossberg Productions have hired Pitch Perfect screenwriter Kay Cannon to make her directorial debut on the feature comedy.

The Pact tells of three parents who discover their daughters have made a deal to lose their virginities on prom night and set out to stop them before it is too late.

Point Grey’s Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver will produce alongside Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg and Dmg Entertainment’s Chris Fenton.

Eben Russell is doing a re-write on the screenplay, whose writers include Hurwitz and Schlossberg and brothers Brian and Jim Kehoe.

Nathan Kahane, Joe Drake and Chris Cowles will serve as executive producers and Josh Fagen will oversee the project for Point Grey and Spencer Wong for Good Universe.

Cannon wrote Pitch Perfect and is an award-winning writer on 30 Rock. She co-produced Universal’s comedy Baby Mama and was a co-executive producer on Fox’s New Girl.

Russell...

Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect) is making her directorial debut on feature comedy The Pact, with Point Grey’s Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver producing alongside Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg and Dmg Entertainment's Chris Fenton. Good Universe’s Nathan Kahane, Joe Drake and Chris Cowles will executive produce. Along with brothers Brian and Jim Kehoe, Eben Russell and Hurwitz & Schlossberg (Harold and Kumar) wrote the script about three parents who scheme to…...

J.K. Simmons and American Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw are to join Ed Helms and Owen Wilson on the Alcon Entertainment comedy.

Larry Sher makes his feature directorial debut and production is scheduled for September in Atlanta and Miami.

Bastards centres on two brothers whose unconventional mother raised them to believe their father died young. Now grown-up, they set out find their progenitor. Simmons and Bradshaw, who plays himself, portray the potential father figures. Justin Malen wrote the screenplay.

Alcon finances the project and produces with Montecito Picture Company, whose Ivan Reitman serves as producer with Tom Pollock and Ali Bell as well as Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Chris Fenton and Chris Coles are executive producers.

Warner Bros will distributor in the Us via its output deal with Alcon.

Shohreh Aghdashloo has joined Survival Pictures’ epic love story The Promise.

Terry George directs the love triangle story set in the last...

Updated With Full List Of Scripts, Writers, And Reps: Catherine The Great, about the rise and life of the famous (sometimes notorious) 18th-Century Russian monarch, was the top vote-getter among 70 scripts chosen for the 2014 Black List of the year’s best un-produced scripts. The screenplay, by Los Angeles writer and producer Kristina Lauren Anderson, was announced as part of an hour-plus process on Twitter and YouTube this morning.

Each of the 70 screenplays on this 10th annual list was chosen by a group of 250 development executives, agents and other Hollywood insiders as among the year’s best un-produced scripts in a process overseen by Franklin Leonard of http://www.blcklst.com. Anderson’s screenplay received 51 votes.

Other notables in the list include writer/actor/director Kenneth Lonergan with Manchester-By-The-Sea, which is being produced by Matt Damon and Chris Moore. Randall Green had two scripts make the list, The Swimsuit Issue and Cartoon Girl.

Alcon Entertainment is in negotiations to finance and produce “Bastards,” an R-rated comedy written by Justin Malen that Paramount has put into turnaround, TheWrap has learned. Veteran cinematographer Larry Sher (“The Hangover”) remains attached to direct, and should a deal close, Warner Bros. would distribute the film under its output deal with Alcon. Also read: Alcon Acquires Christian Worship Band Documentary ‘Hillsong – Let Hope Rise’ Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock and Ali Bell will produce via their Montecito Picture Company, while Chris Fenton and Chris Cowles will executive produce. It was Fenton who steered the project Alcon's way due to the company's pre-existing.

Joel Silver thriller also starring Nicholas Hoult gets underway Monday in Germany.

Anticipated action-thriller Autobahn has received a potent injection of talent and finance as it heads into production on Monday (May 5).

Felicity Jones, Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley have joined Nicholas Hoult on Eran Creevy’s action-thriller, which follows young Us couple Casey (Hoult) and Juliette (Jones) who are plunged into a game of cat-and-mouse across Germany when they find themselves caught between two ruthless criminals (Hopkins, Kingsley).

Creevy is the British director behind Shifty and Welcome to the Punch.

Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures has also boarded the hot Im Global sales title ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, with additional financing coming from Sycamore Pictures and Dmg Entertainment.

Silver produces F. Scott Frazier’s screenplay with Ben Pugh and Rory Aitken of 42, Brian Kavanaugh Jones of Automatik and Daniel Hetzer. Hands on Producers are co-producers.

Silver Pictures’ Steve Richards and Aaron Auch are executive...

Joel Silver thriller also starring Nicholas Hoult gets underway Monday in Germany.

Anticipated action-thriller Autobahn has had a potent injection of talent and finance as it heads into production on Monday.

Felicity Jones, Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley have joined Nicholas Hoult on Eran Creevy’s action-thriller, which follows young American couple Casey (Hoult) and Juliette (Jones) who are plunged into an adrenaline-pumping game of cat and mouse across Germany when they find themselves caught between two ruthless criminals (Hopkins and Kingsley).

Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures has also boarded the hot Im Global sales title ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, with additional financing coming from Sycamore Pictures and Dmg Entertainment.

Silver produces F. Scott Frazier’s screenplay with Ben Pugh of 42, Brian Kavanaugh Jones of Automatik and Tom Rice and Ben Nearn of Sycamore.

Silver Pictures’ Steve Richards and Aaron Auch are executive producing, along with Ford and Matt Jackson of Im Global. Additional executive...