EON Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson will lead the voice cast of “Transformers One,” an animated prequel about the epic rivalry between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Hemsworth is playing young Optimus Prime, Henry is voicing young Megatron in the origin story about how the brothers-in-arms turned into sworn enemies. Additional cast members include Johansson as Elita, Keegan-Michael Key as Bumblebee, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime and Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. “Toy Story 4” filmmaker Josh Cooley is directing the film from a screenplay by Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. It’s set to release in theaters on July 19, 2024.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International “Succession” star Brian Cox will control the fate of contestants on James Bond reality show “007’s Road to a Million.” The Golden Globe winner has been cast as the enigmatic “Controller” on the forthcoming Prime Video series, which will see contestants competing in teams of two on a global adventure to win a £1 million cash prize. Filmed in many Bond locations — from the Scottish Highlands to Venice and Jamaica — contestants must correctly answer questions hidden in the different locations around the world to advance to the next challenge. From the sounds of Prime Video’s description of Cox’s character, it seems the streamer is leaning into the actor’s recent turn as “Succession” patriarch Logan Roy. “The Controller is villainous and cultured, and revels in the increasingly difficult journeys and questions the contestants must overcome,” reads the synopsis. “He has millions of pounds to give away — up to £1m per couple — but he doesn’t make it easy. Whilst he lurks in the shadows, he is watching and controlling everything.”

Succession star Brian Cox has lined up a new gig now that he's wrapped up with Logan Roy.

After partnering with eOne on the BAFTA and Golden Globe-nominated drama Stan & Ollie, director Jon S. Baird is reteaming with the studio on Everything’s Going to Be Great, a new film on which it’s partnered with Astute Films. Set to star in the pic, heading into production around the Toronto area tomorrow, are Bryan Cranston (Your Honor), Allison Janney (To Leslie), Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (The Haunting of Bly Manor) and Jack Champion (Avatar: The Way of Water).

Dune producer Legendary Entertainment has secured an $800 million five-year credit facility led by J.P. Morgan, replacing an existing agreement with “improved and market-leading terms” that reflect its “profitability and success in executing its business plan,’ the company said.

Here is the latest I hear on eOne. Lionsgate and Legendary (with Apollo) are still in contention to acquire a majority stake in the indie film and TV studio, which has been put up for sale. I hear there are two other suitors, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and distributor GoDigital Media Group. Deadline reported a month ago that Fremantle also was among the bidders. According to sources, the indie is no longer pursuing eOne as the target price has climbed up beyond what they were willing to pay for the assets.

Freeform is kicking off its summer slate with the return of its hit series Cruel Summer and the final season of grown-ish.

Refresh for latest…: Coming in higher than expected, Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves took a $71.5M global bow this weekend; that includes $33M from 60 offshore markets which is nicely above the $25M+ projected ahead of the frame.

J. Kim Murphy Hark! “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” looks to reach the top of box office charts in its opening weekend, besting the sophomore outing of “John Wick: Chapter 4.” “Honor Among Thieves” scored $15.3 million in its opening day, a figure that includes $5.6 million from Thursday screenings and specialty previews. Playing in 3,855 venues, the fantasy comedy is projecting a finish around $40 million, which would come in at the higher end of estimates heading into the weekend. That’s a solid figure for “Honor Among Thieves,” which Paramount has thrown support behind with a sweeping press tour and a premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. Along with the studio, Entertainment One (eOne) covered a good fraction of the production budget for the film, which totals about $150 million between the two banners. eOne is a subsidiary of Hasbro, which controls the “Dungeons & Dragons” intellectual property.

Prior to Friday’s official theatrical release of “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”, the new fantasy flick had already garnered $5.6 million in previews at the domestic box office.

Jordan Moreau Paramount and eOne are launching their new fantasy film “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” this weekend, and the adaptation of the popular role-playing game picked up $5.6 million in previews at the domestic box office. It opens in 3,855 theaters on Friday. After rolling for initiative, it will prepare for combat against “John Wick: Chapter 4,” last weekend’s box office champion — and it’ll be a close battle. Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, “Dungeons and Dragons” is hoping to conjure up $30 million to $40 million in its opening weekend, and Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick 4” is muscling its way to around $36 million in its sophomore outing.

Paramount and Hasbro eOne with the greatest of intentions have created an extremely fun, broad-audience appealing feature take on the classic roleplaying game, entitled Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which already is 90% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes –not an easy feat with a genre movie of this caliber– and 94% with moviegoers.

Yellowjackets has returned to our screens for a second season, with the mystery thriller continuing its intense, traumatic and compelling dual timeline narrative.The second instalment of the Showtime series kicked off last week (March 24), with new episodes set to air weekly until May 14.A synopsis for season two of Yellowjackets reads: “The Yellowjackets barely made it through summer, but now as winter begins to bite, we’ll see if hunger and desperation turn into full-on psychosis.“Meanwhile, 25 years later, each survivor must determine if the darkness is coming for them or from them.”Yellowjackets airs on Showtime in the US, but viewers in the UK can watch the show on Paramount+.You can watch the second season premiere episode of Yellowjackets, titled ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen’, on the streaming service now, along with every episode of the first season of the series, which originally aired between November 2021 and January 2022.Paramount+, which is the current home of Yellowjackets, costs £6.99 a month.There was good news for fans of Yellowjackets back in December when it was confirmed that the show had already been renewed for a third season.“With Yellowjackets’ runaway success in season one and the pent-up anticipation for season two, we wanted to maximise the momentum by fast tracking season three now,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media Networks, said in a statement.“The show’s ambition is only exceeded by its execution, and I thank the incredible creative team behind it, including Ashley, Bart, Jonathan, eOne and the Showtime team, for turning this into such a success.”

EXCLUSIVE: The cast is coming together on Paramount+ and Showtime’s upcoming limited series A Gentleman in Moscow.

EXCLUSIVE: Sharp Objects developer/executive producer Marti Noxon is reuniting with eOne, the indie studio behind the Emmy-nominated HBO drama, with a two-year exclusive first-look deal for television and new media.

Naman Ramachandran Distribution and production company Signature Entertainment has revealed four new executive roles across the U.K. and U.S. Kristin Ryan joins Signature’s London office as marketing director. Ryan was most recently head of home entertainment marketing at Studiocanal where she led the home entertainment releases of both films in the Paddington franchise, “The Railway Children Return” and “Another Round.” She had previous stints in the marketing departments at eOne and Momentum Pictures. Meanwhile, after seven years in the U.K. marketing team, most recently as acting head of U.K. marketing, Emilie Barra is moving into a new role as head of international marketing. Barra will look after the marketing for international acquisitions and distribution as well overseeing marketing for the company’s in-house productions.

As the cost of living crisis continues to bite more retailers are holding sale events throughout the year to offer consumers help with their next buy, with Amazon being a major contender.

EbonyLife CEO Mo Abudu and execs from Starz, DreamWorks Animations and Universal International Studios are leading the jury for the Banff World Media Festival, which has unveiled nominations for its Rockie Awards.

As co-director Johnathan Goldstein put it, “nobody had done it justice,” but tonight when it came to the big screen take of Dungeons & Dragons by the filmmaker, his co-director John Francis DaleyParamount, eOne did as the movie received a rock-concert reception on the opening night of SXSW.

CBS is set to air a primetime special titled “A Salute to ‘NCIS: Los Angeles'” immediately after the two-part conclusion of the long-running crime show on May 21. Capping off 14 seasons of programming, the first part of the series finale airs May 14 (10-11 p.m. ET) on CBS. The second part will be released May 21 (9-10 p.m. ET), followed by the one-hour farewell special at 10 p.m. ET. “Wrapping up a series is always bittersweet. We were blessed to have 14 seasons together, so bringing it to a satisfying end was extremely challenging after so many years,” said showrunner and executive producer R. Scott Gemmill. “Fortunately, CBS was gracious enough to give us an extra episode in order to send off our characters in a way befitting their stories that hopefully the fans find both satisfying and hopeful.”

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have been to the SXSW Film Festival twice before — for 2013’s “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” which they wrote, and 2019’s “Stuber,” which they produced. But when the pair debut the action-comedy “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” as the opening film of the annual Austin event this Friday, it will be the first time they’ve done so as directors. They couldn’t be more excited. “It’s the perfect setting for this movie,” Goldstein says, sitting in the Paramount lot office he shares with Daley, for an interview with Variety about the release of their latest movie. “It feels like the quintessential South By film,” Daley adds. “It’s big and all-encompassing but there’s also something a little bit subversive about it.”

BreAnna Bell Hulu Originals has ordered three unscripted series “Love in Fairhope,” “Royal Rules of Ohio,” and “Secrets & Sisterhood: The Sozahdahs.” “Love in Fairhope” is a reality TV romantic drama set in the small town of Fairhope, Alabama. It follows the lives of five generations of women. “In this community, everyone knows everyone else’s business, but no one knows where hopelessly romantic dreams, passions and inspiration will take them all,” reads the official logline. Reese Witherspoon executive produces alongside Sara Rea, Alex Baskin, Lauren Weber, Brian McCarthy, Joe Kingsley, and Benton Bohannon. Evolution Media, Hello Sunshine, and Tremont Road are the studios behind the production.

Hulu Originals has ordered the unscripted series Love in Fairhope, Royal Rules of Ohio, and Secrets & Sisterhood: The Sozahdahs.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Mary Elizabeth Winstead has signed on to star opposite Ewan McGregor in the upcoming Showtime & Paramount+ series “A Gentleman in Moscow,” Variety has learned exclusively. McGregor was first reported to be starring in the show back in August 2022. It is an adaptation of the Amor Towles novel of the same name. Production on the limited series is now underway. It will debut on Showtime in the U.S. and on Paramount+ in additional markets around the world. Per the official logline, the series “follows Count Alexander Rostov (McGregor) who, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, finds that his gilded past places him on the wrong side of history. Spared immediate execution, he is banished by a Soviet tribunal to an attic room in the opulent Hotel Metropol, threatened with death if he ever sets foot outside again. As the years pass and some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history unfold outside the hotel’s doors, Rostov’s reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. As he builds a new life within the walls of the hotel, he discovers the true value of friendship, family and love.”

Entertainment One (eOne) will sell Sky History’s drama-doc Royal Mob internationally. The agreement doesn’t cover the UK, Germany and Italy, where Sky has pay-TV services.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Atlas V, the Emmy-award winning VR company, is expanding into the U.S. with the strategic appointment of Michael Masukawa. The banner has just been signed by CAA and is aiming to build a presence in the U.S. Atlas was just nominated for three Emmy awards and won one with its interactive animation “Madrid Noir.” Atlas V’s track record in the North American festival circuit also includes multiple selections at Sundance’s New Frontier, Tribeca and SXSW (where it won two awards). The company also previously won two Peabody prizes and two Webby awards. Masukawa is joining Atlas V from Secret Location, an immersive content studio owned by Hasbro and eOne. At Atlas V, he will be in charge of developing partnerships, raising project financing, producing projects and negotiating distribution deals for Atlas V’s content. He will also find opportunities for sister companies Astrea and Albyon, the first being focused on distribution and the second one on development of immersive experiences.

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said the toymaker is seeing “strong interest” from bidders on the company’s eOne subsidiary, a majority of which was put on the block last fall amid a host of financial and strategic challenges.

EXCLUSIVE: Momentum Pictures has picked up domestic rights to the starry ensemble dramedy Wildflower, marking the directorial debut of Matt Smukler. The film starring Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jean Smart (Hacks), Emmy nominee Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus) and many more is slated for release on March 17th.

Paramount has entered a first-look, multi-year deal with GoldDay, the newly formed production company of filmmakers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The “Game Night” and “Vacation” writer-director-producer duo has teamed up with the studio and eOne on “Dungeons & Dragons: Honors Among Thieves,” which hits theaters on March 31.According to a release, GoldDay will focus on “telling unique stories that defy easy genre classification,” with the intention of creating “entertainment that takes viewers on a journey they haven’t been on before.