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Warning: This article discusses extreme violence and death.

True crime is one of the most popular television genres, and there are plenty of amazing books that desperately need to be adapted for the smaller screen. Films are already a significant medium for true crime novels, such as the recent release of The Strangers, based on a true story. However, multiple episodes are often a better way of recreating some of the most spine-chilling crime tales because each installment builds huge suspense for viewers, and many shows prove that TV is a better medium for book adaptations.

Certain TV shows are believed to be based on real-life events, but they arent. For example, a true crime case inspired The Fugitive, both the show and the film, but the two are actually fictional stories. Over the years, many incredible true crime novels have haunted readers with gritty and horrifying details, but these...

Fly Me to the Moon is a historical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Greg Berlanti from a screenplay by Rose Gilroy. The 2024 film follows a romantic entanglement between a marketing executive and a NASA official, as he prepares for the Apollo 11 moon landing while she is given the task of filming a fake moon landing in case the real mission fails. Fly Me to the Moon stars Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in the lead roles with Woody Harrelson, Anna Garcia, Ray Romano, Jim Rash, Nick Dillenburg, Jessie Mueller, Noah Robbins, and Bill Barrett starring in supporting roles. If you loved the fake moon landing aspect of Fly Me to the Moon, here are some similar movies you can check out next.

Moonwalkers (Starz & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Alchemy

Moonwalkers is a crime comedy film directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet from a screenplay by Dean Craig. Based on the Apollo Moon landing hoax,...

Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan’s 1990s all-female music festival Lilith Fair is the subject of a feature documentary from the CBC and director Ally Pankiw.

The first Lilith Fair, which McLachlan spearheaded to defy a male-dominated music industry that couldn’t envision more than one woman performing on a concert stage or on a radio playlist, kicked off on July 5, 1997.

Over a quarter-century later, Dan Levy’s Not a Real Production Company and Elevation Pictures are co-producing Lilith Fair, with interviews by McLachlan, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Natalie Merchant, Mýa, Jewel, Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, Brandi Carlile and Olivia Rodrigo.

The original ladies-first Lilith Fair tour from 1997 to 1999 attracted artists like Crow, Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple and Liz Phair from across the music world, and went on to help launch the careers of performers like Missy Elliott, The Chicks, Nelly Furtado and Christina Aguilera.

The documentary, authorized by McLachlan,...

Plot: The incredible true story of Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution: it’s a wild caper of Black Panther founder Huey Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the help of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan – involving a fake movie production — that goes wrong every way it possibly can. And somehow, it’s all true. Mostly.

Review: The stories of revolutionary political figures and social reformers have been popular for big and small screen adaptations for decades. There seems to be more focus on the 1960s and 1970s than any other period in American history. The 2021 film Judas and the Black Messiah looked at controversial figure Fred Hampton, while this year’s Shirley chronicled Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s run for United States President. While these and the stories of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X have made for acclaimed productions, the story of Black...

In the opening narration of The Big Cigar, actor André Holland, who portrays Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton in the Apple TV+ biographical drama, delivers a disclaimer about the events that will be portrayed onscreen: “The story I’m about to tell you is true, at least mostly true, at least how I remember it,” Holland says. “But it is coming through the lens of Hollywood, so let’s see how much of my story they’re really willing to show.”

The statement both echoes concerns Holland had about taking on the project and sets the tone for the element of humor that underlies the retelling of Newton’s first dealings with the Hollywood machine when bigtime producer Bert Schneider, in his zeal for social justice causes, nearly begs the revolutionary leader to help him spread his message of resistance. Biting off far more than he expected to chew,...

André Holland fights the power and impacts Hollywood’s framework in his role as real-life figure Huey P. Newton in Apple TV+’s “The Big Cigar,” which landed on the streamer on Friday and marks the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

The six-episode limited series is based on Joshuah Bearman’s (“Argo”) magazine article “The Big Cigar.” Per Apple TV+’s description of the show, it “tells the incredible true story of Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution. It’s a wild caper about Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan – involving a fake movie production – that goes wrong every way it possibly can.”

Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch.

When does “The Big Cigar” Premiere?

“The Big Cigar” premieres on Apple TV+ Friday,...

In “The Big Cigar,” contradictions weigh heavily on Huey P. Newton (played by the magnificent André Holland). He sees them everywhere. For instance, Huey notes that the NRA contradicted their general ideology by helping the GOP pass gun control laws in the 1960s, all because they were afraid of the group Newton co-founded: the Black Panthers. He’s also keenly aware of the contradiction inherent to a Black man being “set free” from a prison of bars and stone into the prison of the American way. “Contrary to propagated belief, I’m not living to die, but I am refusing to live without liberation,” Huey says during his opening voice-over narration.

He even acknowledges the contradiction inherent to “The Big Cigar” itself, saying, “The story I’m about to tell you is true. […] But it is coming through the lens of Hollywood, so let’s see how much of my...

Apple TV+ is about to debut its latest historical TV series, and it’s likely to be one of the wackiest titles yet from the service. “The Big Cigar” debuts on Thursday, May 16 on Apple TV+, and follows the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton and his flight from the FBI. Newton feels the need to get out of the country, and hatches an unlikely scheme with the help of a Hollywood film producer involving a fake movie in order to execute his exodus. You can watch The Big Cigar with a 7-Day Free Trial of Apple TV+.

How to Watch ‘The Big Cigar’ Premiere When: Thursday, May 16, 2024 Where: Apple TV+ Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Apple TV+. 7-Day Free Trial$9.99+ / month apple.com About ‘The Big Cigar’ Premiere

Based on the magazine article by Joshuah Bearman — who will also serve as executive producer for...

The Big Cigar, a new limited series on Apple TV+ that debuts on May 17, dramatizes a wild true story from the New Hollywood period of the 1970s.

Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of The Black Panther Party, had befriended a group of countercultural figures ruling Tinseltown at the time.

Bert Schneider and Steve Blauner were part of the generation that brought the values of the 1960s counterculture to the movie business through films such as Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces, as well as the work of The Monkees.

This also entailed bankrolling and supporting left-wing political causes, including the Black Panthers' work.

But that approach had its limits.

The series, which consists of six episodes lasting about 40 minutes each, was produced by Jim Hecht, an executive producer of Winning Time.

Don Cheadle is among the episode directors.

Revolution and cocaine

Early on in the Big Cigar, Schneider exclaims, “I want to finance the revolution!

At one point in the new Apple TV+ miniseries The Big Cigar, Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton (André Holland) attends a party and recalls the time he and film producer Bert Schneider (Alessandro Nivola) tried to write a movie about his life, which would have starred comedian Richard Pryor (Inny Clemons). The key, Schneider explains: “If it’s gonna be a biopic, you have to choose a moment in Huey’s life that means something. Don’t just make it womb to tomb.”

Though The Big Cigar features...

Adapted from Joshuah Bearman’s 2012 Playboy article of the same name, The Big Cigar brings another piece of culture writing to mind: New York Times critic James Poniewozik’s “The Comfortable Problem with Mid TV.” The series has some visual panache, a lively soundtrack, a great cast, and an important story to tell. And it makes for a really good thumbnail on the Apple TV+ app. But The Big Cigar lacks the craft and conviction of the “great” shows and films it imitates. It’s good in places, bad in others, but mostly just mid.

The series follows Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton (André Holland) as he attempts to flee the U.S. before the feds can arrest him on a bogus murder charge. Without many allies to call on, Newton enlists the help of sympathetic, if slightly harebrained, movie producers Bert Schneider (Alessandro Nivola) and Stephen Blauner...

The Big Cigar has a premiere date. Apple TV+ ordered the series in April 2022, and the streaming service has now announced the premiere date with the release of a trailer.

Starring André Holland, Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, P. J. Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie, and Glynn Turman, The Big Cigar series tells the story of how Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton (Holland) escaped to Cuba. The series is based on a magazine article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman.

Read More…...

Apple TV+ has revealed the trailer for ‘The Big Cigar,’ the upcoming limited series led by André Holland.

Based on the magazine article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman (“Argo”), who also serves as executive producer, The series tells the incredible true story of the Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution. It’s a wild caper about Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan – involving a fake movie production – that goes wrong every way it possibly can.

The upcoming six-episode drama which tells the incredible true story of Newton’s escape to Cuba is executive produced by NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois, Jim Hecht and Joshuah Bearman, with the first two episodes directed and executive produced by multi-award winner Don Cheadle.

The cast includes Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, Pj Byrne,...

Apple TV+ drops the riveting trailer for the historical thriller The Big Cigar, based on Huey P. Newton's escape plot to Cuba. The star-studded cast includes André Holland, Alessandro Nivola, and Tiffany Boone, promising an exciting story. The trailer teases a mostly true account of lesser-known aspects of the Black Panther leader's life in this biographical drama.

Apple TV+ drops the first official trailer for its new Argo-esque historical thriller, The Big Cigar, which is based on a true story. The series will premiere on the platform on May 17. It follows the incredible story of Huey P. Newton (André Holland), the founder of the Black Panther Party who once formed an elaborate plot to flee to Cuba while awaiting a murder trial in the United States. The show also has an impressive team behind it, with Don Cheadle, Janine Sherman Barrois, and Joshuah Bearman serving as executive producers.

Ahead...

Today, Apple TV+ revealed the trailer for “The Big Cigar,” the upcoming limited series led by André Holland, who stars alongside Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, P. J. Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie and Glynn Turman. “The Big Cigar” makes its global debut on May 17 with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Friday through June 14.

Based on the magazine article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman (“Argo”), who also serves as executive producer, “The Big Cigar” tells the incredible true story of Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution. It’s a wild caper about Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan — involving a fake movie production — that goes wrong every way it possibly can.

NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois is the showrunner of “The Big Cigar.

Apple TV+ has just unveiled the trailer for “The Big Cigar,” the six-part limited series about Black Panther party founder Huey P. Newton (André Holland). The show tells the remarkable true story of how Newton, a film producer, and a whole crew of people involved in a fake movie production helped the political activist while he tried to evade the FBI in 1974.

The trailer introduces Holland as Newton and his revolutionary accomplishments, along Alessandro Nivola as producer Bert Schneider. The cast includes Tiffany Boone, Pj Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie, and Glynn Turman (guest stars include Taylor Jackson as Candice Bergen and Inny Clemons as Richard Pryor). With upbeat ’70s music and the peppy fonts to go with it, the vibe is more upbeat than one would expect of a drama thriller — but as the premise underscores, there’s always more story to tell.

André Holland takes on the role of revolutionary Huey P. Newton in the trailer for Apple TV+’s The Big Cigar.

Far from a straight biopic about the founder of the Black Panther Party, the six-episode limited series based on Joshuah Bearman’s magazine article of the same name delivers the high-impact energy of a heist as it tells the story of how Newton escaped the FBI and fled to Cuba with the help of famed Hollywood producer Bert Schneider (played by Alessandro Nivola) in perhaps the most ambitiously staged and fake movie production of all time.

“You’re the hot-shot producer, man, produce this,” Newton tells Schneider as they begin to cook up an elaborate plan to help the political activist evade a murder charge, as police attempt to pin him for the death of a 17-year-old sex trafficking victim in 1974.

Tiffany Boone stars alongside Holland as Newton’s girlfriend Gwen Fontaine,...

Today, Apple TV+ revealed the trailer and key art for The Big Cigar, the upcoming limited series led by André Holland, who stars alongside Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, P. J. Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie, and Glynn Turman.

The first two episodes of The Big Cigar will make their global debut on May 17. They will be followed by new episodes every Friday through June 14.

Based on the magazine article by Joshuah Bearman (Argo), who also serves as executive producer, The Big Cigar tells the incredible true story of the Hollywood revolution and the social revolution.

It’s a wild caper about Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan — involving a fake movie production — that goes wrong every way it possibly can.

Award-winning actor, producer, and director...

Projects centered around the left-wing revolutionary group, the Black Panther Party, continue to fascinate popular culture. In 2022, Daniel Kaluuya won an Oscar for portraying the betrayed deputy chairman, Fred Hampton, in the bio-crime drama, “Judas and the Black Messiah.” Now, a new limited series, “The Big Cigar,” based on a Playboy Article by Joshuah Bearman (known for the Wired Article that inspired “Argo”), tells the too-good-to-be-true story of Black Panther co-founder Huey Percy Newton’s escape to Cuba with the assistance of a famous film producer.

Continue reading ‘The Big Cigar’ Trailer: André Holland Stars As Black Panther Huey Newton For Apple Series In May at The Playlist.

"I want to transform society. This is just the beginning." Apple TV has revealed an official trailer for a mini-series titled The Big Cigar, set to launch streaming this summer on Apple TV+. An unbelievable story of revolution through the eyes of a legend: Huey P. Newton. Based on an article by Joshuah Bearman, the same writer who wrote about the Argo story. The Black Panther Party, a fake movie production, and a nationwide manhunt. Chronicles the manhunt for Huey P. Newton, the founder of the Black Panther Party, who seeks the help of film producer Bert Schneider (also behind Easy Rider) as he tries to escape to Cuba. This stars André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton, with the first two episodes directed & executive produced by multi-award winner Don Cheadle. The six-episode drama chronicles the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton's escape, based on the monumental,...

Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton (played by Moonlight’s André Holland) is a wanted man in the upcoming caper The Big Cigar, premiering with the first two episodes Friday, May 17 on Apple TV+. New episodes will stream weekly through June 14.

A new trailer for the six-episode limited series previews Newton’s daring escape from the FBI, who viewed the thought leader as a threat and had been pursuing him for years.

More from TVLineNeuromancer: Callum Turner to Lead Apple's Series Adaptation of Sci-Fi ClassicJohn Travolta's Surprise Welcome Back, Kotter Reunion With Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs - WATCHRashida Jones...

Apple TV+ has unveiled a first look at ‘The Big Cigar,’ the highly anticipated limited drama series that chronicles the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba, and is based on the monumental, eponymous magazine article of the same name.

Legendary, award-winning actor, producer and director Don Cheadle serves as director and executive producer on the first two episodes.

Based on the magazine article by Joshuah Bearman (“Argo”), who will also serve as executive producer, “The Big Cigar” is the incredible true story of the Hollywood revolution meeting social revolution: it’s a wild caper of Black Panther founder Huey Newton escaping from the FBI to Cuba with the assistance of famed producer Bert Schneider in an impossibly elaborate plan – involving a fake movie production — that goes wrong every way it possibly can. And somehow, it’s all true. Mostly.

Also in news – Arnold Schwarzenegger...

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

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

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

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

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

Todd Lubin and Jack Turner will executive...

Exclusive: Radical, the Mexican true-life drama starring Coda‘s Eugenio Derbez that broke out of Sundance as the 2023 Festival Favorite, has secured a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement that will permit publicity efforts ahead of its October 20 nationwide release, Deadline has learned.

Agreements of the sort do not guarantee actor participation in PR campaigns, only opening up the possibility for it amidst the SAG-AFTRA strike. But Radical is precisely the kind of film that would most benefit from it, as a small, star-driven awards prospect looking to perform at the box office. And it is expected that Derbez now will be out promoting the movie, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Related: SAG-AFTRA Tells Members It’s Ok To Promote Their Movies With Interim Agreements At Film Festivals

Among other major titles to have secured publicity-focused agreements from the actors guild recently are Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Michael Mann’s Ferrari,...

Exclusive: Participant has partnered with TelevisaUnivision’s Pantelion Films and 3Pas Studios on Radical, the Eugenio Derbez-led film written and directed by Chris Zalla. Radical will be released in U.S. and Mexico theaters on October 20. Additionally, international sales have been made in several territories including the UK, Germany and Australia.

Radical will be distributed in the U.S. by Paul Presburger and Edward Allen’s Miercoles Entertainment on behalf of Pantelion Films. The announcement arrives following the film’s successful turn at the Sundance Film Festival where it earned the “Festival Favorite Award” from a field of 111 films.

“We are so excited to bring Radical to as wide an audience as possible, giving us the opportunity to share this powerful story with both Eugenio’s massive core audience as well as the specialty market. To reach these very different markets and audiences, we could not be more thrilled...

Paramount Network shared the official trailer for the fifth season of “Yellowstone,” which returns on Nov. 13 with two episodes. The new trailer opens with Kevin Costner’s John Dutton being sworn in as Governor of Montana, and previews the chaos that immediately follows.

“Yellowstone” comes from “Wind River” director Taylor Sheridan, and the show’s cast alongside Costner includes Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill, Forrie Smith, Denim Richards, Ian Bohen, Finn Little, Ryan Bingham and Gil Birmingham. Mo Brings Plenty, Wendy Moniz, Jen Landon and Kathryn Kelly have been upped to series regulars. The upcoming season will also feature the return of Josh Lucas as young John Dutton alongside Jacki Weaver, Kylie Rogers and Kyle Red Silverstein with Kai Caster, Lainey Wilson, Lilli Kay and Dawn Olivieri joining the cast.

Watch the trailer below.

Also in today’s television news:

Events

Netflix and...

Exclusive: Apple TV+’s Huey P. Newton series The Big Cigar has rounded out its cast, with Jaime Ray Newman (Dopesick), Noah Emmerich (Dark Winds), John Doman (City on a Hill), Chris Brochu (Zero Contact) and newcomer Brenton Allen coming aboard in recurring roles. André Holland leads the cast, with Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, Pj Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Jordane Christie, Moses Ingram, Olli Haaskivi and Glynn Turman also set to star, as previously announced.

The six-episode limited series, based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article by Argo‘s Joshuah Bearman, tells the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Black Panther leader Newton (Holland) relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Nivola) — the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider — to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

Newman will play Roz Torrance, with Emmerich as Schneider’s brother Stanley, and Doman as his father Abe.

Exclusive: Emmy winner Glynn Turman (Women of the Movement) has joined Apple TV+’s Huey P. Newton limited series The Big Cigar as a recurring guest star. He’ll be part of an ensemble led by André Holland, which also includes Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, Pj Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Jordane Christie, Moses Ingram and Olli Haaskivi, as previously announced.

Based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article by Argo‘s Joshuah Bearman, the six-episode series tells the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Black Panther leader Newton (Holland) relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Nivola) — the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider — to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

2022 Apple TV+ Pilots & Series Orders

Turman is set for the role of Huey’s ailing father, Walter — a man he reveres, who worked multiple jobs over the course of his life to support his family.

Exclusive: Olli Haaskivi (Oppenheimer) is the latest actor to join Apple TV+’s six-episode Huey P. Newton series The Big Cigar in a recurring role. He joins an ensemble fronted by André Holland, which also includes the previously announced Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, Pj Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Jordane Christie and Moses Ingram.

Based on the Playboy magazine article of the same name by Argo‘s Joshuah Bearman, The Big Cigar will tell the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Black Panther leader Newton (Holland) relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Nivola) — the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider — to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

Haaskivi will play Artie Ross, the screenwriter behind such titles as Brubaker and Creature from the Black Lagoon, who was at one point blacklisted as the Red Scare infiltrated Hollywood.

The Big Cigar‘s showrunner...

Exclusive: Emmy nominee Moses Ingram (Obi-Wan Kenobi) has joined Apple TV+’s Huey P. Newton series The Big Cigar in a recurring role. She joins an ensemble led by André Holland, which also includes Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, Pj Byrne, Marc Menchaca and Jordane Christie.

Based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article by Argo‘s Joshuah Bearman, the six-episode series will tell the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Black Panther leader Newton (Holland) relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Nivola) — the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider — to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI. Ingram is set for the role of Teressa Dixon, a former telephone operator turned rising star in the Black Panther Party and a close confidante of Huey.

NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois is serving as showrunner for The Big Cigar.

Exclusive: Jordane Christie (Why Women Kill) has signed on for a recurring role in Apple TV+’s limited series The Big Cigar. He joins an ensemble led by André Holland that also includes Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, Pj Byrne and Marc Menchaca.

The six-episode series based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article by Joshuah Bearman (Argo) tells the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton (Holland) relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Nivola) — the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider — to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

2022 Apple TV+ Pilot & Series Orders

Christie will play Newton’s friend and Black Panther Party co-founder, Bobby Seale, who bonded with Newton over repeated incarcerations and infiltration by the FBI before deciding to leave the party.

The Big Cigar‘s showrunner is NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois. Jim Hecht (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) penned the show’s first episode, with Don Cheadle directing and exec producing the first two. The show hails from Warner Bros. Television, where Barrois and her Folding Chair Productions are under an overall deal. Barrois and Hecht are exec producing alongside Bearman, Joshua Davis and Arthur Spector (Little America) through their production company Epic, a division of Vox Media Studios.

Christie has been seen on the Paramount+ dark comedy series Why Women Kill, along with such shows as The Haunting of Hill House, Atlanta, S.W.A.T., Underground, Chicago P.D. and Containment. He is repped by APA and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.

John Boyega reaches a breaking point in his latest true-story drama.

“Breaking” tells the powerful story of Marine Veteran Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega), who was denied support from Veterans Affairs and turned to taking an Atlanta bank hostage in 2017. In the trailer, Boyega is an apologetic bank robber who threatens the staff with a bomb. The late Michael K. Williams plays an officer determined to talk Brown-Easley down; Connie Britton also stars as an operative tasked with diffusing the situation.

Formerly titled “892,” “Breaking” premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is distributed by Bleecker Street. The ensemble cast also includes Nicole Beharie, Olivia Washington, and Selenis Leyva. The film premieres August 26.

In real life, Brown-Easley let everyone besides two bank employees flee the building and told police he had no intention of robbing the bank; he just wanted the 892 owed to him by the Va.

Directed by Abi Damaris Corbin, who...

Apple’s upcoming limited series “The Big Cigar” has cast P.J. Byrne in a series regular role, Variety has learned exclusively.

The six-episode series stars André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton. It is based on the Playboy magazine article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman and tells the true story of how Newton relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Alessandro Nivola), the Hollywood producer behind “Easy Rider,” to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

The cast also includes Tiffany Boone and Marc Menchaca.

Byrne will appear in the series as Steve Blauner. Blauner was a partner of Schneider’s and Bob Rafelson in Bbs Productions and was also well known as the manager of music superstar Bobby Darin. Blauner was previously played by John Goodman in the film “Beyond the Sea.”

Byrne recently appeared in...

Exclusive: Marc Menchaca (Ozark) has signed on to star alongside André Holland, Don Cheadle, Alessandro Nivola and Tiffany Boone in the six-episode limited series The Big Cigar, centered on Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton (Holland), for Apple TV+.

The series based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article by Joshuah Bearman (Argo) tells the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Newton relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Nivola), the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider, to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

Menchaca is set for the series regular role of Agent Sydney Clark. A former lawyer and Vietnam vet from Oklahoma, Clark lives undercover as a dirty hippie while pursuing Newton, who is wanted on charges of killing a teenage prostitute.

NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois is serving as The Big Cigar‘s showrunner.

Exclusive: Alessandro Nivola is set to co-star alongside André Holland in Apple TV+’s The Big Cigar, a six-episode limited series that will chronicle the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba.

The series will be showrun and executive produced by NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois, with Holland starring as Newton and Don Cheadle on board to direct and executive produce the first two episodes. The growing ensemble cast also includes Tiffany Boone.

2022 Apple TV+ Pilots & Series Orders

With the first episode written and executive produced by Jim Hecht and based on the eponymous Playboy article from Joshuah Bearman, The Big Cigar tells the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Newton relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Nivola), the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider, to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

The...

Tiffany Boone (Hunters) is set to star alongside Andre Holland in The Big Cigar, the Apple TV+’s limited series that chronicles the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba, from Claws showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois, Don Cheadle, Joshuah Bearman and Warner Bros. TV.

Written and executive produced by Jim Hecht (Winning Time) based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article by Bearman, the six-episode series tells the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Newton relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider, the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider, to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

2022 Apple TV+ Pilots & Series Orders

Boone will play Gwen Fontaine, Huey’s loyal girlfriend.

Sherman Barrois will serve as showrunner and exec produce, with Cheadle on board to direct and exec produce the first two episodes.

The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television,...

Tiffany Boone is set to star opposite André Holland in the Apple limited series “The Big Cigar.”

The series is based on the Playboy article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman. It tells the true story of how Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton (Holland) relied in his friend Bert Schneider, the Hollywood producer behind “Easy Rider,” to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba. Boone will star as Gwen Fontaine, Newton’s girlfriend.

Boone currently stars in the Amazon series “Hunters,” which was renewed for a second season in 2020. Season 2 of the show does not currently have a release date. Boone also recently starred in the first season of the Hulu series “Nine Perfect Strangers.” She is also known for her work in shows like “Little Fires Everywhere” and “The Chi.” On the film side, she has been in features like “The Midnight Sky,” “Beautiful Creatures,” and “Detention.

Apple TV+ on Thursday announced that André Holland (Moonlight, The Eddy) is poised to play Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton in the limited series The Big Cigar, with Don Cheadle (Black Monday) on board as director and executive producer.

Adapted from a Playboy magazine article by Joshuah Bearman (Argo) and written by Jim Hecht (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), the six-part series will tell “the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Newton relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider, the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider, to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being...

Apple has ordered the limited series “The Big Cigar” about Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton, Variety has learned.

The six-episode series hails from Warner Bros. Television, with André Holland in talks to star as Newton. Jim Hecht, who recently created “Winning Time” at HBO, serves as writer and executive producer. Janine Sherman Barrois, the showrunner for shows like “Claws” and “Self Made” and the creator and showrunner of “The Kings of Napa” at OWN, will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Don Cheadle is onboard to direct and executive produce the first two episodes.

Based on the Playboy article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman, “The Big Cigar” tells the true story of how Newton relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider — the Hollywood producer behind “Easy Rider” — to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

Hecht co-wrote the...

Apple TV+ announced Thursday that it has acquired “The Big Cigar,” a six-episode miniseries telling the story of Black Panthers co-founder Huey P. Newton’s years of exile in Cuba during the 1970s.

Oscar nominee Don Cheadle will executive produce and direct the first two episodes of “The Big Cigar,” with “Moonlight” star André Holland in discussions to star as Newton. NAACP Image Award-winner Janine Sherman Barrois (“Claws”) will serve as showrunner and an executive producer.

Written by “Winning Time” co-creator Jim Hecht, “The Big Cigar” is based on the Playboy article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman (writer of the story “Argo” is based on); the pair developed the story together.

Photo by Gloria Mesa / Photo by Scott Nathan / Photo courtesy of Apple

Per the official description, “The Big Cigar” will tell “the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Newton relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider, the Hollywood producer behind “Easy Rider,...

The wild story of how Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton was able to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI is being turned into a TV series for Apple.

The streamer has ordered six-part limited series The Big Cigar.

Moonlight and The Eddy star André Holland is in talks to star as Newton and the series comes from Claws showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois, Don Cheadle, Jim Hecht, Joshuah Bearman and Warner Bros. TV.

The series is based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article from Bearman, who will also serve as executive producer.

It tells how Newton escaped to Cuba to avoid prosecution for murder with the help of Bert Schneider, the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider, as well as a few other celebrity radicals.

Jim Hecht, who co-created HBO’s Winning Time, writes and exec produces, based on a story that he created with Bearman.

A month after abruptly exiting Netflix’s drama, Rebel Ridge, John Boyega has found a new project.

The actor is starring in 892, an indie drama being produced by Salman Al-Rashid and Sam Frohman of Salmira Productions and Joshuah Bearman and Mackenzie Fargo of Epic.

And while Boyega caused a shuttering of a production with his Ridge exit, here he seems to be saving one from falling apart.

Jonathan Majors was originally due to star in the project but had to bow out when 892’s shifting start dates came into conflict with Ant-Man 3, which shoots July in London. Shifting start dates is common in indie filmmaking due to ...

A month after abruptly exiting Netflix’s drama, Rebel Ridge, John Boyega has found a new project.

The actor is starring in 892, an indie drama being produced by Salman Al-Rashid and Sam Frohman of Salmira Productions and Joshuah Bearman and Mackenzie Fargo of Epic.

And while Boyega caused a shuttering of a production with his Ridge exit, here he seems to be saving one from falling apart.

Jonathan Majors was originally due to star in the project but had to bow out when 892’s shifting start dates came into conflict with Ant-Man 3, which shoots July in London. Shifting start dates is common in indie filmmaking due to ...

“Coda” and “Little America” director Siân Heder will expand her partnership with Apple, inking a multi-year overall deal to write and develop series exclusively for the tech giant’s streaming platform. Under the terms of the deal, Apple will also have a first look at features penned by the Sundance Grand Jury Prize award-winning writer.

Per the logline, the highly anticipated Apple Original film “Coda,” which is set to make its global premiere in theaters and on Apple TV Plus on Aug. 13, follows 17-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones), who’s the sole hearing member of a deaf family – a Coda, Child of Deaf Adults. Her life revolves around acting as an interpreter for her parents and working on the family’s struggling fishing boat every day before school with her father and older brother (Daniel Durant). But when Ruby joins her high school’s choir club, she discovers a gift for...

Jonathan Majors is set to star as a Marine and war veteran suffering from Ptsd in a drama titled “892.”

The film will be the directorial debut of Abi Damaris Corbin, who is a Sony Pictures Fellow for the studio’s Directors Program. Her short film “The Suitcase” made its premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and was shortlisted for a BAFTA award.

In “892,” Majors will play a man who suffers from mental scars and is struggling with his transition back to civilian life. Corbin wrote the script with Kwame Kwei-Armah, who also co-wrote Spike Lee’s upcoming feature about the invention of Viagra. “892” will begin shooting this summer.

The film was developed with Epic, part of Vox Media Studios, and Salmira Productions. The producers are Salman Al-Rashid and Sam Frohman of Salmira Productions and Joshuah Bearman and Mackenzie Fargo of Epic. Epic’s Arthur Spector and Joshua Davis, and Salmira...

Exclusive: Critics Choice Lovecraft Country Best Actor nominee Jonathan Majors is boarding 892 which will rep Abi Damaris Corbin’s feature directorial debut.

In the feature, Majors plays a Marine war veteran who suffers from mental scars, and struggles with his transition back to civilian life. Cameras will roll this summer.

Corbin and Kwame Kwei-Armah wrote the screenplay which was developed with Epic, part of Vox Media Studios, and Salmira Productions.

CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content are arranging financing for the film and will co-represent its distribution rights.

892 is produced by Salman Al-Rashid and Sam Frohman of Salmira Productions and Joshuah Bearman and Mackenzie Fargo of Epic. Epic’s Arthur Spector and Joshua Davis, and Salmira Productions’ Sims Frazier are EPs. Kevin Turen and Ashley Levinson of Little Lamb Productions are also attached to the project to produce.

After a star-making performance in HBO’s digital record-breaking hit series and...

Exclusive: Seoul Searching director, Benson Lee, is set to direct 20th Century Studios’ Untitled K-Pop feature film from Scooter Braun’s Sb Projects and Epic Magazine.

Story follows a young Asian- American college student from the U.S. who becomes a top competitor on South Korea’s toughest k-pop competition show and chases her dreams of becoming a K-Pop star, despite the disapproval of her family.

Elyse Hollander is attached to write. Braun and James Shin are attached as producers with Scott Manson as executive producer on behalf of Sb Projects. Joshua Davis and Arthur Spector are producing on behalf of Epic Magazine with Epic’s Joshuah Bearman executive producing. John Zaozirny is attached as executive producer on behalf of Bellevue Productions.

The Korean-American director recently received rave reviews for his coming-of-age dramedy Seuol Searching following his directing debut in Battle Of The Year. Lee is represented by WME, Marathon Management and Andrew Hurwitz.

When it premiered on Apple TV Plus in January, “Little America” brought a variety of stories to the streamer, with each episode dramatizing a different experience of immigrants in the United States.

In a conversation moderated by Variety senior TV reporter Elaine Low at Variety’s virtual TV summit, executive producers Kumail Nanjiani, Alan Yang, Lee Eisenberg, Emily V. Gordon, Sian Heder and Joshuah Bearman discussed their mission statement for the series and the challenges of executing its unique anthology format, with no episode quite like any of the others.

Nanjiani explained how the group decided on making “The Manager” the first episode of the series. The episode follows a twelve-year-old spelling bee whiz whose parents must tackle the gauntlet of the American immigration process in India.

“It’s in some ways our most issue-driven episode, in that it is explicitly about the immigration process and how dehumanizing and arbitrary and infuriating it can be,...

Last year horror fans discovered Issa López's Tigers Are Not Afraid on Shudder following its well-received run on the festival circuit, and now the thought-provoking filmmaker is teaming up with Blumhouse for Our Lady of Tears, based on Daniel Hernandez's "The Haunting of Girlstown" Epic Magazine article that was published online on Vox.

Press Release: Blumhouse recently acquired the rights and is developing the film, Our Lady of Tears, based on the recently published Epic Magazine article, “The Haunting of Girlstown,” written by Daniel Hernandez and published on Vox. (Article Link).

Issa López (Tigers Are Not Afraid) is set to write and direct the film adaptation of the article that focuses on a mass hysteria epidemic with supernatural roots, that in 2007 spread through Villa de las Niñas, an all girls, Catholic boarding school in the outskirts of Mexico City. The school recruited and isolated socially neglected girls coming from...

Blumhouse is developing “Our Lady of Tears,” a film based on a recent article about a mass hysteria epidemic that spread through an all-girls boarding school.

Issa López (“Tigers Are Not Afraid”) is set to write and direct the film. The project is an adaptation of a story published by Epic Magazine and Vox and written by Daniel Hernandez. The outbreak, which may have had supernatural roots, took place at a strict Catholic school on the outskirts of Mexico City and afflicted a group of young women who came from impoverished families.

Blumhouse is the producer of such horror hits as “Get Out,” “Us,” and “The Purge.” Epic’s journalism has inspired a number of big and small screen projects, including the Oscar-winning “Argo.”

“The moment I read the Epic article, I knew I wanted to tell this story,” Lopez said in a statement. “I myself attended a Catholic school in Mexico City.