Film Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Amazon Prime Video is releasing content to diversify and celebrate the Asian & Pacific Islander communities. The selected material will include AAPI-led Amazon originals & exclusives, and added titles included with Prime. As well as content available to rent or buy, and films and TV series accessible with add-on subscriptions or for free with ads on Amazon Freevee.

Alex Ritman With vibrant green carpets no doubt already having been sourced for its various global premieres, “Wicked” is expected to be one of the biggest movie events this winter. It certainly ticks all the necessary boxes — a major musical adaptation of one of the world’s most successful stage shows and featuring an all-star cast led by the almost-EGOT Cynthia Erivo and, in her first feature-film lead role, pop princess Ariana Grande.

After two “Extraction” films, both hits for Netflix, it’s clear that Sam Hargrave is one of the best action filmmakers working today. So, even though the idea of a “Matchbox” film seems silly, you have to give it the benefit of the doubt with Hargrave attached.

K.J. Yossman International Wrestling Syndicate, which celebrates its 25th anniversary, is set to be the subject of a new feature documentary from the Generation Iron Network. Vlad Yudin (“Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer”) will direct the documentary film about the Canadian wrestling promotion company as its founders prepare for their anniversary “super event.” IWS was founded by Edward Dorozowsky (also known as SeXXXy Eddy) and Manny Eleftheriou (Crazy Manny) along with their friends.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly will take audiences behind-the-scenes on the unlikely and tumultuous production of “Rocky,” the boxing drama that catapulted Sylvester Stallone into stardom. “I Play Rocky,” the upcoming film, will follow Stallone long before his action hero days. Here, he’s a struggling actor whose partially paralyzed face and a speech impediment hasn’t left him in demand by Hollywood.

Janet Maslin Ron Howard has been part of our collective consciousness for as long as I can remember. Or at least he looms large in mine. Born in 1954, he was on many of the TV series I grew up watching and had his own starring role on “The Andy Griffith Show” by 1960.

Marta Balaga The Blood Window Showcase will scare Cannes once again. This time, with six new features, currently in progress. During an exclusive screening on May 19, in Palais K, industry guests will get to see “The Tree House,” “1978,” “Fifteen,” “Eyes of the Abyss,” “Parvulos” and “Remanence: A Voltage Cosmic Tale.” “One of the highlights this year is the quality of projects and their diversity,” said the head of the program Javier.

Marvel will be cutting back on the amount of content released per year after seeing a dip in interest.

Grease star Susan Buckner, who played Sandy's best friend Patty Simcox in the hit film, has died at age 72. Her family revealed Susan died peacefully surrounded by loved ones in Miami on Thursday 2 May according to Deadline. Susan is survived by her son Adam Josephs, daughter Samantha Mansfield, grandchildren Oliver, Riley, Abigail and Ruby as well as her sister Linda.

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is one of the world's most famous women, largely down to her becoming a member of the Royal Family when she married Prince Harry in 2018. But before she met Harry, 39, Meghan, 42, was already well-known in her own right, as she played Rachel Zane on US show, Suits, for seven seasons. Rumours have often swirled about a potential return to the screen for Meghan, but it seems that respect for her new life as a Royal put a pause on any official offers.

EXCLUSIVE: After landing the villain role in Ryan Coogler‘s next project, Jack O’Connell continues to full out his future dance card. Sources tell Deadline that he is set to join the cast of 28 Years Later, a sequel to the original 28 Days Later. Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes are also on board the pic, part of a planned trilogy.

George Miller might have done it again. Nearly a decade after the Oscar-winning “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the director has returned to his post-apocalyptic world for “Furiosa,” and according to the early social media reactions, Miller delivers another incredible film.

Harmony Korine is definitely a filmmaker who marches to the beat of his own drum. His films are often wild and subversive, toying with audience’s expectations of what the medium is capable of.

Oscar winner Peter Farrelly will direct and former Warner Bros Motion Picture Boss Toby Emmerich will produce I Play Rocky, a film about how Sylvester Stallone bet on himself to play the star-making title role in Rocky. CAA Media Finance and FilmNation are selling at Cannes.

EXCLUSIVE: Danny Huston (The Dead Don’t Hurt) has signed on to star alongside Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser and Kevin Durand in the untitled Naked Gun reboot from Paramount Pictures.

EXCLUSIVE: After successfully launching the Extraction film franchise at Netflix, director Sam Hargrave has his eyes set on another potential franchise with a piece of IP that is revving its engines to get out the gate. Sources tell Deadline that Skydance and Mattel Films have closed a deal with Hargrave to direct a live-action movie based on Matchbox, Mattel’s iconic real-world die-cast toy vehicle line. David Coggeshall and Jonathan Tropper are penning the script.

Anya Taylor-Joy is opening up about her latest projects, as well as her love life.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly will take audiences behind-the-scenes on the unlikely and tumultuous production of “Rocky,” the boxing drama that catapulted Sylvester Stallone into stardom. “I Play Rocky,” the upcoming film, will follow Stallone long before his action hero days. Here, he’s a struggling actor whose partially paralyzed face and a speech impediment hasn’t left him in demand by Hollywood.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Robert Downey Jr. will make his Broadway debut this fall in the new play, “McNeal.” Written by Ayad Akhtar and directed by Bartlett Sher (“To Kill a Mockingbird”), “McNeal” will star Downey as a talented writer who struggles with family issues as he works on his next novel. According to the official synopsis, “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.

Brent Lang Executive Editor When Peter Kujawski, the chairman of Focus Features, saw “The Holdovers” at a screening held for potential distributors at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, he knew the movie had all the makings of an arthouse hit. There was an Oscar-winning filmmaker, Alexander Payne, behind the camera, as well as a beloved character actor, Paul Giamatti, playing a meaty role that complemented his sardonic gifts. Add in a heart-warming coming-of-age story, and the film had the potential to be an awards season player.

Fans of the “Dune” novel series were not shocked by much in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation. However, even if you read the original book, you were probably shocked to see the inclusion of Anya Taylor-Joy in the film.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Primates will rule (the box office) again! Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is aiming for $50 million to $55 million from 3,700 theaters in its domestic debut, which will easily be enough to tower over the box office chart. Those ticket sales are roughly even with two of the three prior installments in 20th Century’s rebooted “Planet of the Apes” franchise: 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” opened to $56.2 million and 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opened to $54.8 million, while 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” notched a series-best $72 million.

Susan Buckner, best known to moviegoers as Grease‘s bubbly cheerleader Patty Simcox, died peacefully surrounded by loved ones in Miami on May 2.

Coronation Street star Andy Whyment has said he was 'sad to hear' about the death of one of his former co-stars Bernard Hill. The news of the actor's death was revealed over the weekend by his agent.

Thania Garcia Kobalt has signed singer-songwriter Imani “Mocha” Lewis, co-writer of Tyla’s Grammy winning “Water,” and eight other tracks on the South African singer’s self-titled debut album. “Mocha is a phenomenally gifted and versatile songwriter whose power to create lyrics and melody are only just now being recognized in the creative community,” said Genevieve Jackson Huguely, creative manager at Kobalt.

Universal Pictures presentation and Donna Langley — chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and the newly minted chief content officer of NBCUniversal Studio Group — had yet to step on stage. Her team showed off glimpses of the sexy, action-packed tornado sequel “Twisters,” the Gen Z-leaning creepfest “Nosferatu” from Robert Eggers and an extended sequence from the latest installment of Illumination’s “Despicable Me” series.

Lexi Carson NewFilmmakers Los Angeles has released the nominees and jury for its 12th annual awards that recognize the top rising talent in independent film across the globe. This year’s awards will honor 130 nominees over 16 categories.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Ron Howard first attended the Cannes Film Festival with his 1988 fantasy-adventure “Willow,” and he’ll never forget his first walk up the stairs at the Palais des Festivals, where the film premiered out of competition. “I remember that first time so vividly,” he says, more than 25 years later. “And what I really remember is how fun it was.” Howard would return over the years as an Oscar-winning director and super-producer (with Brian Grazer) behind Imagine Entertainment.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Steven Quale, best known for his work on “Into the Storm” and “Final Destination 5,” has been tapped to direct Capstone Studios and Hammerstone Studios’ “Black Box (Flight 298).” The upcoming supernatural thrilleris based on an original screenplay from Stephen Susco, a horror writer whose many genre credits include “The Grudge,” “The Grudge 2,” “Texas Chainsaw 3D” and “Hell Fest.” According to the logline, the film follows the supernatural events surrounding Vero Airlines Flight 298 from New Orleans to Seattle. Hammerstone Studios’ Alex Lebovici (“Barbarian”) and Jon Oakes (“The Guilty”) will produce alongside Capstone’s Christian Mercuri and David Haring (“Bill & Ted Face the Music”), Warren Zide (“The Final Destination” and Susco.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Global talent, entertainment, sports and advisory company UTA has signed composer Laura Karpman for representation in all areas. The signing comes on the heels of her Oscar-nominated score for best picture nominee “American Fiction.” In a statement, Karpman who has won five Emmys said, “While I’m at my core a musician and composer, there are so many things that spark me creatively.