Film Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

EXCLUSIVE: The comedy duo of Mimi Davila (Problemista) and Laura Di Lorenzo (Selena: The Series)—who perform as The Chonga Girls— are set to write, star and co-executive produce an eponymous multi-camera comedy series in development at CBS Studios, Deadline has learned exclusively.

EXCLUSIVE: The Daniel Hoff Agency has hired former KMR agent, Kate Lackey, in the firm’s Atlanta office.

UPDATED, 12:50 PM: Ishana Night Shyamalan’s debut film is on the move, again. And the new date is a familiar one. Two months after Warner Bros. shuffled The Watchers back by a week to the June 14-16 Fathers Day frame, the pic is headed back to its original June 7 date.

EXCLUSIVE: Lissette Feliciano (Women Is Losers) is attached to write and direct On Your Feet, a feature adaptation of the same-name Broadway musical that’s in early development at Sony Pictures, Deadline has learned.

EXCLUSIVE: The Wolper Organization has tapped Jordan Allen-Dutton (Robot Chicken) to pen the script for its recently announced Richard Simmons biopic produced by and starring Pauly Shore, Deadline has learned.

Netflix has released their monthly list of every movie and TV show that will be expiring from the streaming service soon.

We have some not-so-great news for fans who were hoping for a new episode of Chicago Fire tonight. There won’t be one airing on NBC this evening.

Emma Stone is responding to reports that she called Jimmy Kimmel a “prick” during the 2024 Oscars.

Selena Gomez poses for photos at the Time100 Summit held at Lincoln Center on Wednesday (April 24) in New York City.

Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney are opening up about Anyone But You, and the marketing strategy for the rom-com.

Quentin Tarantino wanted to bring back a number of his classic characters in what was to be his final planned film, The Movie Critic, according to reports.The film was meant to be the director’s tenth and last film after he previously vowed to retire after making the film. However, earlier this month, Deadline Hollywood reported that sources said Tarantino had “simply changed his mind” about making The Movie Critic and that the film had now been scrapped.Deadline‘s report also noted that Tarantino had re-written the script, and that the film’s production had been delayed due to last year’s writers’ and actors strikes.Now, The Hollywood Reporter have claimed that one idea in the script was to bring back characters from Tarantino’s earlier films.They report that Tarantino planned to “bring back some of the stars of his earlier work to reprise their iconic characters in ‘movie within a movie’ moments, or to play fictional versions of themselves as the actors who played those characters.” The publication say sources claimed it would have created a Tarantino “meta-verse” of sorts.Brad Pitt had been attached to The Movie Critic as its lead actor, with rumours of other actors who had in the past worked with Tarantino also starring which would fit in with the idea of the director bringing back previous characters.Tarantino is now seemingly focusing on an entirely new project for his final film.Tarantino has previously revealed that The Movie Critic would be about a real-life film journalist for a “porno rag”, who he often read growing up.“He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic,” Tarantino shared previously.

Billie Eilish has bangin’ on the brain.

Katcy Stephan Acclaimed writer John Logan will adapt Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian” novel into a feature film for director John Hillcoat. Hillcoat is also producing along with Keith Redmon for New Regency. Cormac McCarthy’s son, John Francis McCarthy, will serve as executive producer, while Cormac, who died in June 2023, will receive a posthumous executive producer credit.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Actors Access, the leading online platform for film and TV casting, was hit with a class action lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that it illegally charges performers for access to auditions. The lawsuit, filed in L.A. Superior Court, accuses the platform of predatory conduct, and of charging working actors hundreds of dollars a year for upgrades that they hope will get them noticed.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter AMC Theatres, the world’s largest cinema chain, is leaning into distribution. The company is expanding its distribution team with a key hire and promotion, underscoring its committment to releasing its own movies in addition to showcasing titles from traditional and independent studios. AMC Theatres launched its distribution team with the premieres of last year’s concert films, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” and “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.” Stephanie Terifay has joined AMC in the newly created position of VP of Distribution.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor UPDATE: Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan, whose film “Mommy” received the Cannes Jury Prize in 2014, will head the jury of Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. Joining him on the jury will be “Cuties” director Maïmouna Doucouré, “The Mother of All Lies” helmer Asmae El Moudir, “Phantom Thread” actor Vicky Krieps and film critic Todd McCarthy. “I am humbled and delighted to return to Cannes as President of the Un Certain Regard Jury,” he said in a statement.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Kent Sanderson has been promoted to president of Bleecker Street, the indie studio behind “Logan Lucky” and “Captain Fantastic.” The veteran executive previously served as the company’s head of acquisitions and ancillary distribution. Sanderson has been with Bleecker Street, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, since its inception in 2014. In his previous role, he led both the curation of Bleecker’s film slate and the company’s home entertainment strategy, including co-founding and co-running home entertainment label Decal, which Bleecker operates as a joint-venture with Neon.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Steve Carell is set to star opposite Tina Fey in the upcoming Netflix comedy series “The Four Seasons,” Variety has learned. The series is based on the 1981 film of the same name that was directed by and starred Alan Alda with Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Sandy Dennis, and Len Cariou also among the cast members. The series was first announced in January with an eight-episode order and is slated to begin production later this year.

Angelique Jackson The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has set its lineup of narrative and documentary features for its 28th edition, including Jussie Smollett’s return to acting in “The Lost Holliday,” filmmaker Christine Swanson’s latest drama “Albany Road” and the acclaimed Luther Vandross doc “Never Too Much.” This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF PLAY. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.

Variety curates a list of the top film school programs across North America. From universities that are as old (or older) than the moving picture itself, to budding programs, the schools on this list collectively offer an impressive array of educators, facilities and lessons to be learned. Countless alumni from these programs have become legendary names in the industry.

Hunter Ingram While filming a stunt for her new FX spy series “The Veil,” Elisabeth Moss fractured a vertebrae in her back, hurting herself seriously enough that it left her lying on a roof in Istanbul for two hours. The Emmy-winning actor spoke about the serious injury during an interview with Variety promoting the new series from creator Steven Knight, which premieres on Hulu on April 30. In the ticking-clock series, Moss plays Imogen, an undercover MI6 agent trying to stop an ISIS terrorist attack planned for the United States.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Game, set… but there’s not much of a match. “Challengers,” a steamy tennis drama starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino, is poised to lead the domestic box office without much in the way of competition. The film, from Amazon MGM, is projected to collect $12 million to $15 million from 3,400 North American theaters in its opening weekend.

Katcy Stephan Gersh has signed Scottish actor Thomas Doherty, known for starring as the salacious heartthrob Max Wolf in 2021’s “Gossip Girl” reboot. Doherty rose to prominence following his role as Harry Hook in Disney Channel’s “Descendants” franchise.

Sharareh Drury When prospective students of the University of Southern California visit the school, tour guides like to point out several noteworthy landmarks on campus: Heritage Hall and its multiple Heisman trophies on display, the symbolic Tommy Trojan statue and Norris Cinema Theatre, where students of all majors congregate each Thursday night to watch and discuss cinema with famed film critic Leonard Maltin. The class, officially titled CTCS-466: Theatrical Film Symposium, was founded by a fellow critic, Arthur Knight, in the early 1960s.

Steve Carell (The Morning Show) has been tapped to star opposite Tina Fey in The Four Seasons, the Netflix comedy series based on the 1981 Universal film of the same name, which she’s co-created with former 30 Rock colleagues Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield.

The Pickup.The incident, which took place in Atlanta, Georgia, involved a car colliding with a truck, while a scene was being shot on the upcoming film.According to The Guardian, two crew members were hospitalised and several injured as a result of the incident. The film’s stars – comprised of Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson and Keke Palmer – were reportedly not on set at the time.Amazon MGM Studios released a statement which explained how the accident happened.

EXCLUSIVE: M3GAN and Girls star Allison Williams is set to executive-produce and star alongside Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) in the murder mystery Kill Me, which will XYZ will be selling at the upcoming Cannes market.

EXCLUSIVE: Silverton Siege director Mandla Dube has landed major investment for his next six feature films.

EXCLUSIVE: AWA Studios, the three-year-old film and television division of Artists, Writers & Artisans, is stepping up in the world of film financing by appointing industry veteran Victoria Rossellini as a senior strategic advisor.

EXCLUSIVE: Charades and New Europe Films are joining forces to co-sell Oscar-winning Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes’ long-awaited new feature Orphan, as the production gears up to commence shooting in and around Budapest this June.