‘Exmas’ Director Jonah Feingold Sets Romantic Comedy ’31 Candles’ With Jackie Sandler, Jared Freid and Dale Moss (EXCLUSIVE)

Back in 2004, during a press tour for Sideways — Alexander Payne’s wine-soaked buddy movie starring Paul Giamatti as a depressive divorcé — the filmmaker and the actor were in Omaha in front of an audience.

EXCLUSIVE: Producers Ian Collie and Rob Gibson are best known for helping bring an injured mongrel dog into the global consciousness in Colin From Accounts. Ahead of a busy 2024, the pair sat down with Deadline to chat about plans for their Easy Tiger Productions imprint, the state of TV in Australia and signing with CAA.

Wham! taking the lead for the peak position on the charts.The news follows a neck-and-neck race between the iconic ‘80s pop duo Wham! And Eurovision star Sam Ryder over the past week, with their respective songs ‘Last Christmas’ [1986] and ‘You’re Christmas To Me’ [2023].At the first look at the race last week, just 42 chart units stood between the two taking the top spot on the UK charts, however, this week it has been revealed by the Official Charts that Wham! are in pole position, and have widened the gap between Ryder’s Amazon Music original track – which remains at Number Two.However, it doesn’t seem likely that the charts will stay this way until Christmas, with Ryder set to play a fan-exclusive gig tonight (December 19) in Shoreditch, London, in a push to promote the song in time for Christmas Day.Similarly, today (December 19) The Pogues are sharing a special, limited-edition physical run of their own iconic Christmas song ‘Fairytale Of New York’ in a push to climb the charts.Originally released in 1988 and featuring Kirsty MacColl, the track is being reissued in memory of the band’s late singer Shane MacGowan, who died “peacefully” in hospital from pneumonia on November 30. He was 65 years old and his funeral took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary on December 8.All proceeds from the reissue will be donated to the Irish charity Dublin Simon Community, and the release also arrived alongside a fan campaign to get Fairytale of New York to Christmas Number 1 for the first time.The push for the top position on the charts has also been endorsed by Shane MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor You wouldn’t expect an animated film about a talking iguana to draw equal inspiration from Andy Kaufman and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but that just might help explain the wide appeal of Netflix’s smash hit “Leo.” It also makes perfect sense when you consider the creative minds behind Adam Sandler-led project, which includes his longtime collaborator and comedy’s not-so-secret weapon, Robert Smigel. Though perhaps best known to audiences for his work as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the foul-mouthed canine puppet who began life on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” where Smigel was the first head writer.

Olivia Wilde has set her next directorial feature!

For some, handcuffs, toys, and naughty lingerie help spice things up in the bedroom… But for one content-creating couple, opening up their relationship to over a dozen others did the job!

Addie Morfoot Contributor “SmartLess” began as a passion project during the pandemic and quickly turned into a multimillion-dollar empire for Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes. The high-profile trio launched the “SmartLess” podcast, which features their banter with fellow comedians and celebrities, in July 2020, little envisioning how big a media franchise it would become.

Google has released its annual list of the year’s top trending searches, and if you’re thinking Taylor Swift tops yet another chart, think again.

Apparently, Morgan Wade’s presence in Kyle Richards’ life isn’t just affecting her marriage…

A teenage boy has been charged with murder after a woman was shot dead in east London.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Justine Triet‘s “Anatomy of a Fall” missed out on being chosen as France’s Oscar entry, but the movie has been a critical and commercial hit — including in the U.S., where it’s become the highest-grossing specialized foreign-language release post-pandemic, according to distributor Neon. Released in the States on Oct. 13, “Anatomy of a Fall” has pulled in $3.5 million so far, putting it ahead of Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World” and on track to match last year’s Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness,” another Neon movie.

Selome Hailu Moonbug Entertainment, the studio behind “Cocomelon,” has set its first project in collaboration with game and toy company Toikido: animated preschool series “PeaKeeBoo.” “PeaKeeBoo” focuses on sounds and visuals from nature and draws inspiration from the children’s game peek-a-boo. Season 1 will debut on the Moonbug Kids YouTube channel in 2024.

Xolo Maridueña, Diego Boneta and Al Pacino will star in “Killing Castro,” a thriller film that follows the true story of Fidel Castro’s visit to New York City in the 1960’s, a moment in time that sparked a lot of debate in American society and world politics.Diego Boneta says Tom Cruise was like his mentor; does hilarious impressionMessi’s magic draws celebs to L.A.’s FC Match: from Prince Harry, Selena Gomez, Leonardo DiCaprio to LeBron JamesThe casting news were first broken by The Hollywood Reporter, which claims that it’ll co-star KiKi Layne, Alexander Ludwig, Ron Livingston, Kendrick Sampson, Nicole Beharie, Logan Marshall and Titus Welliver. The film is written by Leon Hendriz, Thomas DeGrezia and Colin Bateman, and marks the directorial debut of Eif Rivera, a filmmaker known for his work in music videos alongside artists like Mary J.

EXCLUSIVE: Al Pacino, Diego Boneta, Xolo Maridueña, KiKi Layne, Alexander Ludwig, Ron Livingston, Kendrick Sampson, Nicole Beharie, Logan Marshall Green and Titus Welliver will star in Killing Castro. Eif Rivera will direct from a script by Leon Hendrix, Thomas DeGrezia, and Colin Bateman. This will be Rivera’s first feature film.

Omniplex Cinema Group, Ireland’s largest cinema company, is crossing the Irish Sea. 

Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall has given her an experience unlike any other she’s had over her 15-year career — one that includes winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. “I would say that the job I’ve been doing since May is a job that I had never done before. It’s a new craft entirely,” she says. Anatomy of a Fall, which she co-wrote with her partner Arthur Harari, eschews the traditional courtroom drama to explore familial relationships when an ambitious, sexually self-assured novelist, played by Sandra Hüller, is put on trial for the suspicious death of her husband Samuel at their home in the French Alps.

Universal Destinations & Experiences is out with new details for Universal Kids Resort, its first theme park designed specifically for families with young children planned for Frisco, Texas. 

Ellise Shafer Amazon Prime Video’s automotive series “The Grand Tour” is not moving forward at the streamer — at least with its current hosts, former “Top Gear” trio Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. Sources tell Variety that Clarkson, May and Hammond have just returned from filming the show’s final special in Zimbabwe, which will launch at a later date next year and conclude the fifth season. A special set in Mauritania will launch before that, in February.

EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of a huge week for their Adam Sandler-led Netflix animated feature Leo, co-directed with Robert Smigel, David Wachtenheim and Robert Marianetti have signed with Independent Artist Group for representation.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy Award-winner Johan Renck has signed with WME.