Michael Shannon Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

It’s still open season on reexamining political and pop culture events that shaped recent history and offer an illuminating perspective on the current landscape. And at Showtime, “Waco” still provides plenty of food for thought.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday. Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Todd Gilchrist editor At Variety’s 10 Producers to Watch panel, held March 31 at the Sun Valley Film Festival, the first order of business was defining what it means to be a producer, a title — and a role — that encapsulates a number of responsibilities on a film. “The way that I describe it is you’ve got to know a little bit about a lot of things in filmmaking,” said Rachael Fung, whose film “Fremont” later won best narrative film in the festival’s One in a Million category, recognizing features made for less than $1 million. “You’ve got to be able to understand and talk to every single person that touches the film at every single stage. And also it’s about finding those directors and filmmakers and understanding their vision and figuring out the best way to get that to screen.”

Following, the 2018, star-studded six-part scripted limited series depicting the 1993 standoff, co-creators and brothers Drew and John Erick Dowdle are back with a sequel, , which chronicles the aftermath and subsequent trials that followed. The new Showtime series, which premieres April 16, is led by Michael Shannon, who reprises his role as FBI hostage negotiator Gary Noesner, while John Leguizamo and Shea Whigham return as ATF agent Jacob Vasquez and FBI agent Mitch Decker, respectively.While Taylor Kitsch does not return as Koresh, who ultimately died of a gunshot wound during the siege, actor Keean Johnson portrays a young version of the cult leader.   For the Dowdles, the sequel offers them a chance to connect the dots with what happened in Waco to acts of violence and domestic terrorism, including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, that have followed.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Jessica Chastain will star in the eight-episode limited series “The Savant” at Apple, Variety has learned. The series is inspired by a true story published in Cosmopolitan in August 2019. Exact plot details for the series are being kept under wraps, but the Cosmopolitan article tells the story of a real woman who has come to be known as “the Savant” as she infiltrates hate groups online to help stop large-scale public attacks. The series hails from Fifth Season and Anonymous Content. Melissa James Gibson (“Anatomy of a Scandal,” “The Americans”) will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner under her overall deal with Fifth Season. Matthew Heineman (“A Private War,” “Retrograde”) will direct and executive produce. Chastain will executive produce in addition to starring via Freckle Films. Kelly Carmichael of Freckle Films also executive produces along with Jessica Giles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan. Brian Madden, senior VP of development for Hearst Magazines, will produce. Andrea Stanley, writer of the original Cosmopolitan feature, will consult.

Neon has unveiled a raft of cast additions for Joshua Oppenheimer’s musical The End as principal photography begins in Ireland.

EXCLUSIVE: Range Media Partners has signed actor Jack Kesy, who recently set the internet ablaze with his lead casting in Millennium Media’s Hellboy reboot, The Crooked Man.

DC Studios dropped the first trailer for “The Flash” during this year’s Super Bowl to much anticipation.

Waco: The Aftermath, a sequel series to Paramount Network’s 2018 miniseries, has rounded out its cast, finding its Timothy McVeigh and adding the likes of Gary Cole.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Waco: The Aftermath” series at Showtime has added 10 new cast members, Variety has learned. The new cast members for the followup to Paramount Networks’ “Waco” include: Shea Whigham, who will reprise the role of Mitch Decker, the FBI agent who managed the situation leading up the siege; Annika Marks, who will reprise the role of Kathy Schroeder, one of the surviving Branch Davidians who was also called upon to testify; Alex Breaux, who will play Timothy McVeigh; Michael Cassidy, who will play Bill Johnston, the lead prosecutor in the trial of the Branch Davidians; Gary Cole, who will play Gordon Novel, described as an “intense private investigator;” Nicholas Kolev, who will play Paul Fatta, another one of the Davidians on trial after the Waco siege; Michael Luwoye, who will play Livingstone Fagan, described as “an extremely bright biblical scholar and one of the surviving Branch Davidians on trial;” Kali Rocha, who will play Ruth Riddle, one of the Branch Davidian survivors facing trial and the possibility of life in jail; Michael Vincent Barry, who will play George Roden, one of the early leaders of the Davidian sect; and Sasheer Zamata, who will play Angie Graham, described as “a smart, experienced ATF agent.”

In November, Austin Butler was in Cincinnati on the set of Jeff Nichols’ film, “The Bikeriders.” He was shooting a scene with co-stars Tom Hardy and Michael Shannon that involved Shannon delivering a two-page monologue. Butler found himself lost in the moment, watching his fellow actor. “Jeff called cut and Mike walks away,” Butler recalls. “And Tom turns to me goes, ‘It doesn’t get any better than that.’” Butler says Hardy was referencing Shannon’s performance, which he says, “wasn’t even watching an actor, it was watching a human being living in front of you.”  The 31-year-old actor could also be referring to the past year of his life, which found his career launched from roles in shows including “Zoey 101” and “The Carrie Diaries” into a bona-fide, world-famous movie star thanks to his turn in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.” And not just any movie star, but the kind of old-school throwback to a Golden Age that is becoming rarer and rarer in Hollywood where his talent is as recognized as his star quality. 

Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain left viewers shocked on Sunday evening as she slipped and fell on the stairs just moments after picking up an award for her performance in George and Tammy.The 45 year had just scooped the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series at this year’s SAG Awards when the unfortunate moment happened. After delivering a heartfelt speech in which she dedicated her award to costar Michael Shannon, Jessica also shared a piece of sage wisdom she had been told by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. According to the star, he had previously visited her university, Juilliard, while she was still a student and given her class of one piece of advice.

Charna Flam Showtime’s upcoming series, “Waco: The Aftermath,” will debut on the streaming service and on-demand April 14, followed by its linear premiere on April 16 at 10 p.m. A first-look image has been released in addition to the premiere date (see above). “Waco: The Aftermath” follows the 2018 limited series “Waco,” which retold the true story of the 51-day standoff between a small religious community and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “The Aftermath” stars Michael Shannon, who reprises his role as Gary Noesner, a FBI hostage negotiator suffering from PTSD after the failed negotiations in Waco. Shannon is rejoined by John Leguizamo as Jacob Vasquez, an undercover ATF agent. The upcoming five-episode series will document the fallout of the disaster, including the trials of the surviving Branch Davidian members and the rise of homegrown terrorist Timothy McVeigh.

DC’s long-anticipated superhero pic The Flash will be getting its first-ever public screening at the 2023 edition of CinemaCon, Deadline hears. The debut screening is set to take place on April 25, ahead of Warner Bros’ official slate presentation at the Las Vegas confab, showcasing the most promising, upcoming big-screen titles for theater owners.

The Paramount Global operation under Chris McCarthy continues to shift finished series to Showtime, which was added to his portfolio in November. The Waco sequel, Waco: The Aftermath, which had been produced for Paramount+, will now be carried by Showtime –debuting on streaming and on demand Friday, April 14, and on-air Sunday, April 16, at 10 PM.

Christopher Vourlias “Perpetrator,” director Jennifer Reeder’s provocative new horror noir that she describes as a “celebration of the girl gone wild,” world premieres Feb. 17 in the Panorama section at the Berlin Film Festival. Written and directed by Reeder, “Perpetrator” follows an impulsive teenage girl who must unlock a mysterious power to survive when the young women in her town continue to go missing. The film stars Kiah McKirnan (“Mare of Easttown”), Christopher Lowell (“My Best Friend’s Exorcism”), Melanie Liburd (“The Idol”), Ireon Roach (“Candyman”), and Alicia Silverstone (“Clueless”). It is produced by Gregory Chambet for WTFilms and Derek Bishé for Divide/Conquer.

If Pam Grier and David O. Russell work together, it will be tailor-made for the actress’ talents and not a simple cameo.

EXCLUSIVE: Writer, director and producer Ariel Vromen has signed with APA for representation.

EXCLUSIVE: Industry veteran Josh Kesselman is joining Sugar23 as a producer and manager in the company’s expanding management division.

EXCLUSIVE: Taissa Farmiga (The Gilded Age) will exec produce and star in the Ukrainian drama Anna, from producer Uri Singer (White Noise).

Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.

EXCLUSIVE: The Ana de Armas-led John Wick spinoff Ballerina continues to expand its troupe, with The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus boarding the Lionsgate film being directed by Len Wiseman.

Despite what you may read in the New York Times today, I nor anyone at Deadline ever wrote a review declaring that Showtime’s George & Tammy had an “intense storyline.”

George & Tammy, starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon, premiered Sunday with 3.3 million Live+Same Day linear viewers across Showtime, Paramount Network and CMT. Originally produced for Spectrum Originals with a second window on Paramount Network and Paramount+, the music drama was recently picked up by Showtime after Spectrum pulled away from original series.

A Doll’s House, the upcoming Broadway revival starring Jessica Chastain, will begin its 16-week limited engagement with previews at the Hudson Theatre on Monday, February 13, 2023 ahead of a Thursday, March 9 opening night.

Country music drama limited series George & Tammy, starring Oscar winner Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals), is headed to Showtime.