New ‘Jason Bourne’ Movie in the Works at Universal

Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event launches Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. PT, the latest in our series of showcases that this time turns the focus toward global cinema via discussions with the casts and creatives of 12 movies submitted by their countries for the 2024 Academy Awards’ International Feature race.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Apple Studios has emerged victorious in a bidding war for “Two For The Money,” a hot package that has attached Oscar-winner Charlize Theron and ex-007 Daniel Craig. Justin Lin, who oversaw several “Fast & Furious” films, is set to direct and produce.

Ariana Grande is back in the studio. The musician and performer has shared various photos of herself working on some new music, getting her friends and fans excited over the possibility of a new record. Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater are living together in New York: ReportAriana Grande’s alleged surprise return to the recording studio amid ‘Wicked’ commitmentsA post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande)The photos were shared on Instagram and featured no caption.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has been confirmed for a theatrical release in Japan. Although it did not specify an exact date, local distributor Bitters End said today that the biographical epic will be in Japanese cinemas in 2024. The decision was made “following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese,” Bitters End said in a statement (read it in full below.)

Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula” stars The Boulet Brothers, Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet, as hosts and judges in a drag competition. Contestants specialize in the themed four pillars of “Horror,” “Drag,” “Filth” and Glamor.” The competition sees the drag artists tackle a variety of challenges, from creating costumes to performing live, in the hopes of being crowned “Dragula, The World’s Next Drag Supermonster” and winning a $100,000 cash prize.

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh Produce Media, the podcast company behind Jon Hamm and Kate Mara-fronted scripted series The Big Lie, has renewed its first-look deal with Audible.

Shrek have been reacting in shock to a clip of a NSFW joke from the film that has been circulating on social media.The scene from the original 2001 film, featuring the antagonist character Lord Farquaad (voiced by John Lithgow), has been viewed over 2million times, and has been causing fans to question their love for the family classic.In the scene, Farquaad asks his magic mirror to show him an image of his bride-to-be, Princess Fiona. The mirror conjures a picture of her looking through the window of her castle, causing Farquaad to sigh.As TikTok user @kathy_martinez05’s viral video seems to indicate, shortly afterwards, a small bump appears from underneath Farquaad’s sheets, and the character shoots an awkward look towards the ‘camera’.Several users on TikTok have reacted to the video, with one saying, “I hate that they added that detail”.Another said, “If this is real, no longer my favorite movie.”One YouTube commenter noted: “This makes me never wanna see shrek next to my parents ever again”.Another said: “I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall the day the animators were working on this scene, as they tried out just how much “under-cover” willy-movement wouldn’t be “too much of a good thing”.”Created by DreamWorks Animation, the mainline Shrek film series spans four films in total, with the last being 2010’s Shrek Forever After.

If there was ever a Hollywood BFF duo that people could confuse for brothers, it’s Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

Chris McCarthy has a big decision to make.

K.J. Yossman Raw TV, the production company behind “The Tinder Swindler,” have set a new true crime documentary with Amazon Prime Video about the 1978 murders of Chris Farmer and Peta Frampton. Titled “Dead in the Water,” it follows the story of Farmer and Frampton, a young British couple who went missing in 1978 after going backpacking in Central America.

Sex and the City is getting the reality dating treatment.

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with first-timer Alex Convery’s screenplay for the Ben Affleck-directed Air. 

A new The Boys spinoff series is currently in the works!

EXCLUSIVE: Paul Greengrass has been set by Warner Bros to adapt, direct and produce Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 421. The T.J. Newman bestselling novel was the subject of a fevered bidding battle, with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy landing the novel for $1.5 million against $3 million. There were four other seven-figure bids on the table. The project reunites De Luca and Greengrass, who worked together on Captain Phillips.

Jeff Shell, whose tenure running NBCUniversal came to an abrupt end last spring, is in advanced talks to join private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners.

I got scooped. Sorta.

Deadline, All Quiet At The Western Front director Edward Berger is in talks to helm the project, which would be the sixth film in the series. The last was 2016’s Jason Bourne, which saw Matt Damon reprise the role after almost ten years.The currently-untitled film is said to be in early development at Universal, with no script.

Netflix will showcase a collection of short films chosen by Wes Anderson. On Dec. 9, the Aero Theatre will show Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” and “Ready, Steady, Zoom” at 12 p.m.

The gods of I.P. demand that a good franchise cannot die.

EXCLUSIVE: After his World War I epic All Quiet On The Western Front took home the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, director Edward Berger may have found his follow-up project with one of the biggest action heroes of this century. Sources tell Deadline Universal Pictures is looking to get back in business with Jason Bourne as the studio has begun early development on a new installment in the Jason Bourne franchise and that Berger is in negotiations to oversee development and direct the pic.