Brent Lang Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

William Earl Netflix film chief Scott Stuber once ran Universal Studios – today he sometimes feels like the operator of “the AMC 6000” given the volume of movies that Netflix produces and acquires. From Greta Gerwig’s plans for Narnia adaptations to wooing Denzel Washington and Steven Spielberg, Stuber shared Netflix’s vision of film’s future in a wide-ranging Q&A with Variety executive editor Brent Lang that was held Nov. 8 as part of Variety’s Business Managers Elite Breakfast presented by City National Bank.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Archstone Entertainment has acquired worldwide sales rights to “Don Q,” a comedic tribute to mafia movies that stars Armand Assante, no stranger to the genre from his work in HBO’s “Gotti” and “American Gangster.” It was written and directed by Claudio Bellante. Sales for the film kicked off this week at AFM. The film follows Assante’s character, who thinks of himself as a Don Corleone but is really more of a Don Quixote.

Brent Lang Executive Editor David Arquette, Ethan Peck, Katrina Bowden and Gianni Capaldi are saddling up to join the cast of “Unholy Trinity.” The Western adventure, which received an interim agreement to go into production during the actors strike from SAG-AFTRA, has begun filming at Yellowstone Ranch in Montana. It is directed by Richard Gray and stars the previously announced Pierce Brosnan and Samuel L. Jackson.

William Earl Variety will host its annual Business Managers Breakfast, presented by City National Bank on Nov. 8 in Los Angeles.

Brent Lang Executive Editor David Robert Mitchell and Maika Monroe are reuniting on “They Follow,” a sequel to the 2014 cult horror hit, “It Follows.” Neon, the Oscar-winning studio behind “Parasite,” will co-produce the movie and release it domestically. The studio will introduce it to international buyers at this year’s American Film Market. Principal photography will commence in 2024.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Walt Disney Studios has removed “Magazine Dreams,” a dark drama starring Jonathan Majors off of the release calendar. The film, which Disney’s subsidiary Searchlight Pictures purchased out of Sundance, was slated to premiere on Dec. 8.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Andrew Haigh has described “All of Us Strangers,” a spectral meditation on love and loneliness, as a deeply personal film, one infused with his own feelings about parents and relationships. That’s not unique — write what you know is an adage for a reason. But “All of Us Strangers” may be one of the only major movies to have been shot in the childhood home of its creator.

Brent Lang Executive Editor FilmNation Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to Sean Baker’s new romantic dramedy film “Anora.” Following the acquisition, FilmNation sold rights internationally to Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel, Kismet in Australia and New Zealand and Focus Features and Universal Pictures International in the rest of the world, excluding North America. The film was written and directed by Baker, who is best known for directing “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project.” It shot on location at the beginning of the year in Brooklyn and stars Mikey Madison, who appeared as Manson Family follower Susan “Sadie” Atkins in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Plot details are being kept under wraps.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Christopher Nolan deserves a really nice fruit basket. The director’s latest blockbuster, “Oppenheimer,” was shot with Imax cameras, something that Nolan talked up during the film’s press tour last summer. That advocacy contributed to $180 million in global ticket sales for Imax venues, lifting the big screen company’s latest earnings results.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin will bring some Weimar decadence to Broadway. The pair will star as The Emcee and Sally Bowles in a new and immersive production of “Cabaret.” The show, dubbed “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” was a sensation when it debuted in London with Redmayne and Jessie Buckley. A Broadway transfer has been buzzed about almost as soon as the the production across the pond was first unveiled.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Amazon MGM Studios have landed rights to Benjamin Percy’s novella “American Criminal,” with Gavin O’Connor negotiating to direct. The film, which Hidden Pictures and NeoText will produce, follows a professional thief who, after being apprehended by an FBI agent, is coaxed into infiltrating a violent Midwestern gang with the goal of dismantling them from the inside.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Elle Fanning will make her Broadway debut in the upcoming production of “Appropriate,” a darkly comic family drama from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The show is directed by Lila Neugebauer, the director of the acclaimed 2018 revival of “The Waverly Gallery.” Fanning, best known for her work on Hulu’s “The Great” and “Super 8,” joins a previously announced ensemble that includes Natalie Gold, Alyssa Emily Marvin, Sarah Paulson and Corey Stoll. Jenkins is an Obie Award-winning playwright whose credits include “An Octoroon” and “Gloria.” “Appropriate” follows the Lafayette family as it returns to their late patriarch’s Arkansas home to deal with the remains of his estate.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Samuel Goldwyn Films has signed a worldwide catalog deal with Concord Originals for rights to three Rodgers & Hammerstein films. The distribution pact involves two classic Hollywood films, 1958’s “South Pacific” and 1955’s “Oklahoma.” It also includes a filmed Royal National Theatre production of “Oklahoma!” that was staged in 1998 and starred a pre-Wolverine Hugh Jackman.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Jonathan Dolgen, the former head of Viacom Entertainment and a former top 20th Century Fox executive, died Oct. 9 of natural causes in Los Angeles. He was 78.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Shucked” will embark on a North American tour in the fall of 2024, one that will see the charmingly corny Broadway musical make stops in the likes of Austin, Chicago and Los Angeles. The tour will begin performances at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Rhode Island before playing in over 30 cities in its first season. Currently, the show is scheduled to also hit Atlanta, Buffalo, Charlotte, Dallas, Durham, East Lansing, Fort Lauderdale, Greenville, Houston, Los Angeles, Madison, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, Schenectady, St.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Gillian Anderson paid tribute to Terence Davies, the British filmmaker who directed one of her most acclaimed performances for “The House of Mirth,” crediting him with giving her “my first ‘proper’ film job.” Davies died on Oct. 7 at the age of 77 following a short illness.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Madison Wells Livewill present a private industry reading of “Locker Room Talk,” a new play by Meghan Kennedy. Directed by Jessie Nelson, the reading will feature Sara Bareilles (“Into the Woods”), Sarita Choudhury (“And Just Like That”), Paige Gilbert (“Late Night”), Donna Murphy (“Passion”), Bonnie Milligan (“Kimberly Akimbo”), Gayle Rankin (“GLOW”), Havana Rose Liu (“Bottoms”), Cecily Strong (“SNL”) and Charlotte Surak (“Waitress”). The event will take place on Oct.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Madison Wells Live will present a private industry reading of “The Thing About Jellyfish,” a new play by Keith Bunin based on the best-selling novel by Ali Benjamin. The reading will take place on Oct. 6 in New York City.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Most people don’t get a text from Bono in the middle of the night. But Jon Kamen, the CEO, chairman and co-founder of RadicalMedia, found himself fighting off jet lag on a recent business trip to Japan as he fielded messages from the U2 frontman. That pair had worked together on the One campaign, the musician’s push to eradicate AIDS and poverty in Africa, and this time Bono needed help launching ticketing for the band’s upcoming residency at Las Vegas’ newly launched venue, the Sphere.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Bill Block is out as CEO of Miramax. The executive and film producer was hired in 2017. Block’s contract expired this week and was not renewed, sources said.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Alamo Drafthouse is closing its New York City locations due to a rainstorm that’s left streets and subways flooded across the five boroughs. The theater chain said its venues in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten “will be closed until further notice.” On social media, the company said, “Please everyone stay dry & stay safe, and we hope to have you back at the movies very soon.” Rain has blanketed the tri-state region throughout much of the week, but it intensified significantly on Friday, making the city and its surrounding area difficult to navigate and bringing traffic to a standstill.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Every year, Broadway brings an exciting group of emerging talents to the spotlight. This new season of theatrical talent and innovators are certain to wow audiences everywhere. Last year’s 10 Broadway Stars to Watch honored Jessica Stone of “Kimberly Akimbo” and Tony winner J.

Brent Lang Executive Editor DECO Entertainment, founded by Lascelles Stephens and Deborah Cox, will join the co-producing team of the all-new revival of “The Wiz.” The production will launch a national tour on Sept. 23, 2023 in Baltimore before returning to Broadway for a limited engagement in the 2023 t0 2024 season.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Ashley Brucks has been tapped to lead Screen Gems, the Sony Pictures division behind the “Resident Evil” and “Insidious” franchises. A deal hasn’t been finalized and several other candidates were up for the post, but insiders say the job is Brucks’ and expect a formal announcement to come soon. She joins the company from Paramount, where she worked as head of development for Paramount Players, a production label focused on making comedies and genre fare.

Brent Lang Executive Editor IFC Films has acquired North American and select International rights to “Stopmotion,” a psychological horror film that will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest this September. The indie distributor will release the movie in theaters in 2024, followed by a streaming debut on Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thrillers and other films about the supernatural.

Brent Lang Executive Editor New Works Provincetown, a developmental theatre lab founded by producer Mark Cortale with Jonathan Murray and Harvey Reese to create and develop new theatrical works, has commissioned its next slate of projects, including new shows about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s tumultuous marriage and an adaptation of Ira Sachs’ “Love Is Strange.” The shows are from creators like Mona Mansour, Hannah Corneau, Douglas Lyons, Craig Lucas, Daniel Messé, Nathan Tysen, Mindi Dickstein and Carmel Dean. Among the shows is “Beautiful Little Fool,” which is a new musical inspired by the Fitzgeralds’ relationship.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s satire of race and media, captured the Toronto International Film Festival’s people’s choice award, bolstering its Oscars chances. TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Casey Likes fully expected to be performing on Broadway this year, but the plan was for him to be riding shotgun with Stillwater instead of sitting behind the wheel of a DeLorean. He’d appeared as teen rock journalist William Miller in an acclaimed run of “Almost Famous: The Musical” at The Old Globe in San Diego and reprised the role when the show transferred in 2022 to Broadway. But New York critics were harsher, and “Almost Famous” struggled to draw crowds.

Brent Lang Executive Editor It’s been a Toronto Film Festival like few others. The writers and actors strikes meant that many A-listers opted not to touch down in Canada this year, depriving the gathering of film lovers of the star-studded red carpets and Q&As that make Toronto so memorable. Even if this year’s festival was starved for glamour, it was still a good opportunity to get a clearer picture of the awards race — and to check the pulse of Hollywood at a tumultuous time for the industry.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Rachel McAdams will star in the Broadway premiere of “Mary Jane,” a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog. Anne Kauffman, who recently oversaw an acclaimed revival of “The Sign in Sydney Brustein’s Window,” will direct.