‘Parasite’ Producer Barunson E&A Outlines Global Ambitions; Sets New Execs, Projects – AFM

Norman Blumenthal, a longtime producer of the classic TV game show Concentration and kids show Wonderama, died Sept. 23 of multiple organ failure on Long Island, New York. He was 97.

A Philadelphia native and a graduate of Long Island University, Goldman got his start as a booker for the William Goldman Theatre Company. In 1978, he began his career in film distribution at Embassy Pictures, starting with east coast distribution in New York City before becoming vice president of the studio’s division four years later.

‘Survivor UK’ Maker Remarkable Entertainment Sets New Top Team

Israel’s Sam Spiegel International Film Lab has appointed a new director and unveiled the projects selected for its 11th edition, running from now until the early summer.

EXCLUSIVE: The new structure of Amazon Studios’ US/Global content operations under Head of Television Vernon Sanders is coming into focus. It involves the creation of three creative development teams shepherding programming across SVOD, AVOD and FAST channels. They will be led by Laura Lancaster, Nick Pepper and Lauren Anderson who all are adding new responsibilities while reporting to Sanders, as well as the split of developing scripted content for Prime Video into projects produced solely by Amazon Studios and those coming from outside studios as co-productions.

The Good Nurse director Tobias Lindholm and producer Scott Franklin joined Deadline’s Contenders Film: New York awards-season event to talk about their Netflix pic and especially the film’s two Oscar-winning stars: Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne.

Jennifer Lawrence’s Excellent Cadaver producing partner Justine Ciarrocchi said the Oscar-winning actress was “itching to do something small and intimate” after years of doing bigger studio movies when she signed on to make Lila Neugebauer’s Causeway.

EXCLUSIVE: Jim Biederman, who produced Kids in the Hall and Jodi Lennon, who produced At Home with Amy Sedaris, are teaming up and have struck a first-look deal with Truly Original.

The new Kander & Ebb stage musical New York, New York, inspired by the 1977 Martin Scorsese film starring Liza Minnelli and ‎Robert De Niro, will begin performances Friday, March 24, 2023 and officially open Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at Broadway’s St. James Theatre.

Award-winning producer Ben Feigin, who served as an executive producer on Schitt’s Creek, died Monday of pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

Amazon Studios has unveiled the first stills from its holiday romantic comedy Something from Tiffany’s, starring Zoey Deutch (Not Okay) and Kendrick Sampson (Insecure), which is poised to launch globally on Prime Video on December 9th.

Jules Bass, whose work as a producer and director of stop-motion and animated television specials such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town and The Year Without A Santa Claus has become an integral part of the holiday season for generations, died today in Rye, New York, of age-related illnesses. He was 87.

Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara are set to star in Pawel Pawlikowski’s next feature The Island (working title), a dramatic thriller scheduled to start shooting next year. FilmNation Entertainment will launch international sales next month at the American Film Market. 

EXCLUSIVE: Documentary+, the free streaming service launched by non-fiction studio XTR, has launched its latest slate of original feature docs.

Taylor Swift’s fans have channeled Sally Field to deliver a message: they really, really like her.

House Party,” a raunchy, genre-bending comedy adventure co-produced by basketball legend LeBron James. Starring actors Jacob Latimore and Tosin Cole, the trailer gives glimpses at some of the hilarity and mayhem to come in the upcoming release, including a scene where the duo find themselves in James’ house, talking to a hologram the athlete created to shower him in words of affirmation. “He got a hologram of himself, just to give him compliments?” Latimore quips in the trailer. The feature is a remake of a 1990 comedy by the same title, though the plot has been adapted for a new, modern audience. As opposed to the two leads being high-schoolers in search of a fun night, Latimore and Cole play two aspiring club promoters who decide to host a massive party to distract from their financial troubles after being fired from their day-jobs as house cleaners.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor CANNES — International TV sales veteran Jim Packer has set a multi-year deal with Lionsgate that will keep him on the senior management team as president of worldwide TV distribution. News of his contract extension was revealed Oct. 17, just as the Mipcom content marketplace kicks off this week in Cannes, bringing the global TV community together for the first full time in three years. Packer has been with Lionsgate since 2011. The news that he has re-upped comes at a time of uncertainty for the studio. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has said the company, which is home to the Lionsgate studio and Starz pay TV platform, is considering options for separating those assets, possibly by selling off the studio to focus on building up Starz.