Documentary Feature Focus: Oscars Lays Out The Welcome Mat To A Wide Range Of International Films

It appears the question of who would land the lead role in Antoine Fuqua’s recently announced Michael Jackson biopic, simply titled “Michael,” isn’t a mystery anymore. Not only that, the filmmaker didn’t have to look too far to find his star, as Michael Jackson’s nephew landed the job.

EXCLUSIVE: Tulsa King‘s Jay Will has landed the title role in Rob Peace — the second feature from Academy Award-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, on the heels of the Netflix-acquired The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, which he’s directing from his own script.

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Jackson will be played by the late icon’s 26-year old nephew Jaafar Jackson in the Antoine Fuqua-directed film biopic for Lionsgate. Fuqua just posted a confirmation on Instagram. The singer and songwriter is the son of Jermaine Jackson, who is the brother of Michael and member of The Jackson 5. Jaafar has been singing and dancing since age 12, and has showcased himself singing tunes from Sam Cooke to Marvin Gaye, along with originals.

EXCLUSIVE: Hercules Film Fund and Rhea Films have closed a deal to finance and produce a feature-length version of Power Signal — the sci-fi short from Oscar Boyson that had its world premiere in Sundance’s Midnight Shorts section last Friday.

Disturbing details have emerged about Aiden Fucci’s time in prison while he awaits trial for the brutal murder of 13-year-old cheerleader Tristyn Bailey.

MTV Documentary Films has landed rights to “The Eternal Memory” out of its debut at Sundance.Maite Alberdi’s sequel to “The Mole Agent,” nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2020 Academy Awards, chronicles an esteemed Chilean cultural commentator’s attempt to document his life as his memory recedes with Alzheimer’s disease.Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 loving years; eight years ago, she also became his caretaker after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Augusto, a television presenter and commentator, has devoted much of his career to building an archive of collective consciousness following the Pinochet dictatorship.

MTV Documentary Films has acquired worldwide rights to Sundance world-premiering love story The Eternal Memory, director Maite Alberdi’s follow-up to Oscar nominated doc The Mole Agent.

EXCLUSIVE: Range Media Partners has signed Jarreau Carrillo, the actor-filmmaker whose new short The Vacation has generated substantial buzz on the ground at Sundance 2023.

With the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences having expanded its shortlist for the Best International Feature Film Oscar to 15 in recent years, it’s inevitable that some deserving titles miss the nominations cut. However, several of the perceived frontrunners are in the mix after today’s announcement, including Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front which has nine nominations in total, including Best Picture, and is yet another sign of how foreign-language films are crossing over into other main categories. 

EXCLUSIVE: Searchlight Pictures is in final talks to acquire Theater Camp, in a worldwide deal that will land in the $8 million range, with a theatrical release guarantee. Directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, the film stars Gordon and Ben Platt as longtime best friends who return to an upstate run down theater camp which is imperiled when its founder lapses into a coma due to an unfortunate strobe light incident. Her son takes over, and he tries to stave off foreclosure even though he initially has little interest in greasepaint and the boards. The project grew out of Booksmart, another Gloria Sanchez production. Elbaum & Ferrell produced with PictureStart’s Erik Feig (who financed), Samie Kim Falvey, Julia Hammer, Ryan Heller, Maria Zuckerman, Noah Galvin, Gordon, Lieberman and Platt.

Cue the menacing tuba. And the Imperial March. And the rousing Indiana Jones theme. Five-time Oscar-winning composer John Williams is getting the feature documentary treatment, and his half-century collaborator is among those wielding the baton.

You know it was bound to happen, as nearly every major musical artist of the past 50 years gets a biopic at some point, but it appears that Michael Jackson is next up to get the big-screen treatment. But maybe more interesting than the fact that Jackson’s life and career will be highlighted in a new film is the fact that acclaimed filmmaker Antoine Fuqua is on board to direct.

EXCLUSIVE: Antoine Fuqua is set to direct Michael, a Lionsgate drama with script by telling the complex life story of the iconic singer Michael Jackson. A script is in by John Logan, and the film will be produced by Graham King, who turned the Freddie Mercury Queen story into the blockbuster Best Picture nominated Bohemian Rhapsody. GK Films will produce alongside co-executors of Jackson’s estate, John Branca and John McClain.

Earlier today, Netflix unveiled its teaser trailer for all of the major film releases the streamer will debut in 2023. Yes, there were the usual suspects, folks like Kevin Hart, Adam Sandler, and Chris Hemsworth all have new projects coming to Netflix, per usual.

EXCLUSIVE: The Euro 2020 Final, which featured a dramatic England penalty defeat to Italy and chaos as thousands of un-ticketed fans attempted to storm Wembley Stadium, is to be charted in a Netflix feature documentary from My Daughter’s Killer producer Rogan Productions.

Hector Ramirez, a cameraman known for live events and music and comedy specials who racked up 20 Emmys and scores of other nominations in a career spanning 44 years and 200-plus credits, has died. He was 78. His wife, Alma, posted the news on social media last week.

Oscar producers Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner no doubt have a number of wishes when it comes to the musical performances that will permeate throughout the upcoming 2023 Academy Awards telecast. Rihanna singing “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Lady Gaga belting out “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick” and even Taylor Swift singing “Carolina” from “Where The Crawdads Sing.” But in a massively competitive year, there would be something energetic about Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell recreating their number from the cheeky “Good Afternoon” in Sean Anders’ holiday movie musical, “Spirited.” READ MORE: Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and more make 2023 Oscars Best Original Song shortlist [Complete List] Written by former Oscar winners Justin Pasek and Benji Paul alongside Khiyon Hursey, Sukari Jones, and Mark Sonnenblick, “Good Afternoon” is a delightful romp through 19th century London where Ebenezer Scrooge (Ferrell) and his client, Clint Briggs (Reynlonds), insight the former’s countrymen with a decidedly sharp version of the aforementioned phrase, “Good Afternoon.” With voting extremely competitive, The Playlist asked Reynolds if he’d commit to performing a version of “Good Afternoon” live on the Oscars if the song was nominated.