‘American Sniper’ Producer Peter Morgan Launches Production Company TantrumPM

Charna Flam Paramount’s MTV Entertainment Studios and film and TV producer Lashan Browning have announced a new joint venture, Antoinette Media. The company is described as a full-service production company working on unscripted titles, scripted features, and documentaries. Browning currently produces seven series for MTV Entertainment Studios, including “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta,” “Love & Hip Hop Miami,” “Love & Hip Hop Family Reunion,” “Couples Retreat,” “Caught in the Act: Unfaithful,” “Shaunie & Keion: Destination I Do,” and “Run it Back.”

Screw and The Victim producer STV Studios has optionedupcoming feminist thriller Good Girls Die Last and is adapting for TV.

Out of the sewers and onto the screen: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back, with a new look and a first trailer for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem from Paramount Pictures and Seth Rogan.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The American Society of Cinematographers handed out its best visual storytelling in feature film award to “Elvis” on Sunday night, and in doing so, Mandy Walker has become the first woman to win the top prize in the society’s history. Walker triumphed over Greig Fraser (“The Batman”), Darius Khondji (“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”), Claudio Miranda (“Top Gun: Maverick” and Roger Deakins (“Empire of Light”) in a very competitive race.  Walker‘s win comes as Oscar voting ends on March 7, where she is also nominated. She became only the third woman ever nominated for cinematography for her work on “Elvis.” Rachel Morrison (“Mudbound”) made history as the first female DP to land a nom in 2018, while Ari Wegner was nominated last year for “The Power of the Dog.”

Katie Reul editor Jay Weston, producer of films like “Lady Sings the Blues” and “Buddy Buddy,” died of natural causes Feb. 28 at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 93. Weston first met Billie Holiday at the Newport Jazz Festival — a chance encounter that would ultimately lead to Weston producing a biopic about her starring Diana Ross in 1972. “Lady Sings the Blues” marked Ross’ feature debut and went on to score five Academy Award nominations, including best actress for Ross and original screenplay. “I read the book and I said to [Holiday’s] agent, ‘I want to make a movie out of it,’” Weston said in a 2011 interview with the Los Angeles Business Journal, referring to the jazz singer’s autobiography. “He said, ‘Give me $5,000, and I’ll think about it.’ So I gave him $5,000, and it took 13 years and many $5,000 payments to keep the rights because everybody wanted it.”

Jay Weston, a veteran producer of Hollywood films including 1972’s “Lady Sings the Blues” starring Diana Ross and 1968’s “For Love of Ivy” starring Sidney Poitier, has died at the age or 93.Weston, who also built a respected career as a restaurant critic, died at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California.Weston’s most notable producing efforts likely came on “Lady Sings the Blues,” which was nominated for five Academy Awards. Other features included “Buddy Buddy” (notable for being Billy Wilder’s final film), “Chu Chu and the Philly Flash” and “W.C.

Jay Weston, who was working as a publicist when a chance meeting with Billie Holiday at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival would lead to the producing of her 1972 biopic Lady Sings the Blues, died February 28 of natural causes at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, CA. He was 93.

EXCLUSIVE: Rachael Ray is expanding her purview with the launch of her own production studio. The author, TV host and philanthropist has teamed with her longtime collaborator Brian Flanagan and his partners Anthony Amoia and Sean Lee of Intentional Content to launch Free Food Studios. The studio will focus on producing, owning, and distributing “in the kitchen” content created by Ray and serve as a platform for the introduction and development of new and upcoming epicurean talent. It also will focus on developing and creating long and short form content across various platforms.

EXCLUSIVE: Rachael Ray is expanding her purview with the launch of her own production studio. The author, TV host and philanthropist has teamed with her longtime collaborator Brian Flanagan and his partners Anthony Amoia and Sean Lee of Intentional Content to launch Free Food Studios. The studio will focus on producing, owning, and distributing “in the kitchen” content created by Ray and serve as a platform for the introduction and development of new and upcoming epicurean talent. It also will focus on developing and creating long and short form content across various platforms.

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor Lawrence Pitkethly, who produced and directed multiple documentary series shown on PBS and other broadcasters, died Feb. 24 at Albany Medical Center near his home in Hudson, N.Y., of cardiopulmonary arrest linked to complications from Parkinson’s. He was 79. Pitkethly is best known for “American Cinema” (1995), a 10-part, $7 million series for PBS, BBC and Canal Plus covering U.S. filmmaking that he produced, co-wrote and co-directed. It examined film genres, the rise and fall of the studio system, the creation of stars and other aspects of American movies through interviews with Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Sydney Pollack, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Joel Coen and other major players. John Lithgow served as host; Matthew Modine, Kathleen Turner and Cliff Robertson narrated.

which debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and is now streaming on Hulu; “Banana Split”starring Hannah Marks, Liana Liberato and Dylan Sprouse; “The Binge,” which stars Skyler Gisondo, Dexter Darden, Eduardo Franco and Vince Vaughn; “Looks That Kill” starring Brandon Flynn; Josh Friedlander’s “Holly Slept Over;” “The Ultimate Playlist of Noise” starring Emmy-nominee Madeline Brewer and Keean Johnson; Natalie Morales’ solo feature directorial debut “Plan B;” Talia Osteen’s “Sex Appeal;” Sammi Cohen’s directorial debut “Crush”starring Rowan Blanchard and Auli’i Cravalho; and “It’s A Wonderful Binge,” the sequel to the original “Binge”title, which stars Kaitlin Olson, Danny Trejo, Nick Swardson and Tim Meadows and released in November.In addition to producing multiple films per year, American High aims to finance and acquire a number of third-party films that align with the mission of its brand.

Julia MacCary editor Carl Reed, one of the producers of the Oscar-winning short “Hair Love,” and co-founder of Lion Forge Animation has launched Composition Media, an animation studio headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.for a global audience that highlights minority and underrepresented communities. “I am incredibly excited to finally unveil our animation studio and showcase the incredible work our team has been pouring their hearts and souls into,” said Reed. “Our aim is to break the mold and elevate the art of animation by producing content that truly represents our audiences. But more than that, we want to push the boundaries of what animation can be. It’s time to move past the limitations of animation as just a genre and explore the limitless possibilities of this medium.”

EXCLUSIVE: Kino Lorber has struck a deal with Paris-based sales firm Wide for North American distribution rights to Carlos Conceição’s Locarno Film Festival war drama Tommy Guns.

Black Broadway: A Proud History, A Limitless Future is the latest program produced for PBS by the American Pops Orchestra and its founding Music Director Luke Frazier, this time also featuring members of the Howard University and Morgan State University choirs as performed and recorded last October at Howard’s Cramton Auditorium.The program focuses on iconic songs made famous on Broadway by Black artists, and among the many standout performances, Payton gets to shine twice, including closing the show with “And I’m Telling You” from Dreamgirls.Earlier in the program, she sings “I’m Here,” the anthem she sang every night last fall as Miss Celie in Signature’s phenomenal The Color Purple, which earned her one of two nominations as Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards, set for May 22 at the Anthem.Her second nomination came from her starring turn in Grace, a world premiere presented last year at Ford’s Theatre.After winning a 2012 Helen Hayes Award her first time at bat, when she played Motormouth Maybelle in Signature’s Hairspray, Payton had racked up five more nominations prior to this year, but is still waiting to scoop up a much-deserved second trophy. Here’s hoping Mars might serve as a kind of good luck charm for her this year.Wednesday, March 1.

The production company behind the film Rust has agreed to pay a fine of 100,000 US dollars to the New Mexico Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB) following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on October 21, 2021, The bureau issued a fine of 136,793 US dollars (£104,810) to the production company last April, the maximum allowable by state law in New Mexico. Under the settlement, which is pending approval, the bureau downgraded its claim from “wilful-serious” to a “serious” violation.

Aamu Film Company will invest in Jenni Jauri’s new production company Silmu Films, Variety has found out exclusively. Aamu, founded in 2001 and co-owned by Jussi Rantamäki and Emilia Haukka, has become a local arthouse powerhouse thanks to its festival-friendly slate, especially Juho Kuosmanen’s “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” and Golden Globe-nominated “Compartment No. 6,” awarded the Grand Prix in Cannes. “We had a good film with decent sales and we started to think about what we should do next,” Rantamäki said. “Aamu’s brand is simple and clear: we only work with a select few directors. We don’t want to change that; we don’t want to turn into a factory where you don’t know what is happening and with whom. So first we decided not to grow, and then realized we could invest in a new company instead.”

Sophie Morgan has joined forces with SNP MP Marion Fellows for a campaign to allow the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) the powers to fine airlines unable to adequately look after Disabled passengers and their equipment.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-nominated producer David Hoberman (Shotgun Wedding) has today announced the launch of Hobie Films, a new production company whose development and acquisitions will be overseen by VP Julie Meschko.

EXCLUSIVE: Pig and Manodrome producer Ben Giladi is formally launching his production banner Liminal Content at this year’s Berlin Film Festival where Manodrome debuted in Competition.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Madrid-based Buenapinta Media, a producer on Maite Alberdi’s Oscar-nominated “The Mole Agent” and Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby,” has unveiled a development slate that includes new features by Ruiz de Azúa, Cinéfondation alum Guillermo García López, and Borja Cobeaga and Victor García León. The slate announcement comes one week after “Lullaby,” hailed by Pedro Almodovar as “undoubtedly the best debut in Spanish cinema for years,” triumphed at the 2023 Spanish Academy Awards, winning best first feature, actress (Laila Costa) and supporting actress (Susi Sánchez)   The 2023-24 production slate at Buenapinta Media, headed by Marisa Fernández Armenteros, also features Isabel Coixet’s just-announced “Un Amor.”