Month: May 2021

Allan Ungar, who directed ‘Gridlocked,’ is set to direct the project that will sell at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Andy Garcia, Frank Grillo and Teen Wolf star Tyler Posey are teaming up to star in Decoy, an action thriller to be directed by Allan Ungar.

13 Films is handling international sales and will introduce the film to buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival. Andrew Gunn (Sky High) and Michael Bien (Billionaire Boys Club) are on board to produce.

Written by David Benullo, the script centers on a young identity thief (Posey) who finds himself being hunted by the NSA after he unwittingly steals the identity of a wanted man. Grillo will play the head of a task force hunting Posey while Garcia will play the CEO of a private defense contractor who is the architect of all of Posey’s troubles.

Decoy was featured on the 2014 Hit List, which tracks well-liked spec scripts.

Gunn will produce under his Gunn Films banner while Bien produces via his Cedarvale Pictures shingle. Angela Donald is also producing.

HLP+ Partners Henry Less and Sissy Federer, Tom North, along Tannaz Anisi and Greg Schenz of 13 Films will serve as executive producers.

Ungar wrote and directed Gridlocked, an action movie throwback that starred Dominic Purcell and Stephen Lang. It was acquired by Netflix last year.

Garcia will next be seen in Dean Devlin’s environmental disaster movie Geostorm with Gerard Butler and Ed Harris. He is repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Grillo is having a unique moment this summer, co-starring in Wolf Warrior II, the surprise Chinese hit that has made headlines as the second-biggest grossing movie in China ever with $810 million (and counting!). The actor was a key villain in the Captain America movies and will be seen in Joe Carnahan’s Netflix movie, Wheelman. He is repped by CAA and Management 360.

Posey, best known for toplining Teen Wolf for six seasons, recently wrapped the Blumhouse horror movie Truth or Dare, directed by Jeff Wadlow. He is repped by Gersh and 3 Arts.

Ungar is repped by APA, Zero Gravity, and The Characters Talent Agency. Benullo is repped by APA and Quattro Media.

Universal Pictures has retitled the fourth chapter of its Insidious horror franchise. After two films about a couple whose son becomes a vessel for ghosts and a 2015 prequel, Insidious: The Last Key returns Lin Shaye as Dr. Elise Rainier, the brilliant parapsychologist who faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet — in her own family home.

Director Adam Robitel’s film is keeping its January 5 release date, after having been moved in April from the pre-Halloween October 20 slot. The Last Key has that date to itself for now.

Angus Sampson, Whannell, Josh Stewart, Caitlin Gerard, Kirk Acevedo, Javier Botet, Bruce Davison, Spencer Locke, Tessa Ferrer, Ava Kolker and Marcus Henderson also star in the pic, which is written by Insidious co-creator Leigh Whannell (Saw), who wrote the trilogy and directed Chapter 3. It is produced by Insidious regulars Jason Blum (The Purge series, Get Out), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity) and co-creator James Wan (The Conjuring, Furious 7).

Steven Schneider, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, Bailey Conway Anglewicz, Couper Samuelson and Whannell serve as executive producers. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions produced and financed Insidious: The Last Key. U.S. theatrical distribution will be handled by Universal Pictures, and Sony Pictures Releasing and SPWA’s Stage 6 Films will distribute the film outside of the U.S.

Well, it’s about time for this woman’s story to be told. She was a known figure throughout New York in 1920s Harlem. She fought against other mobsters to maintain her independent business and was also considered an activist for the black community at the time. Her name was Stephanie St. Clair and now Tim Story and Zero Gravity Management are developing a pic at HBO Films about her life.

Nicole Asher has been hired to script the story about the woman who was an immigrant from the Caribbean and ended up running something known as the Policy Bank — which really was the precursor to the American lottery system.

Yes, it was in the time of organized crime and the money flowed, but when mobsters Dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano and a corrupt police force tried to take over her criminal enterprise she fought fiercely against them and won those battles.

The project is based on book The World of Stephanie St. Clair: An Entrepreneur, Race Woman and Outlaw in the Early Twentieth Century Harlem by Shirley Stewart. Asher, an African American screenwriter, as we noted is penning the screenplay about the woman known as “Madame Queenie” or just “Queenie.” Story (through his The Story Company), Mark Holder and Christine Holder via Zero Gravity and Jeff Field are all executive producers. The co-executive producer is Doug Griffin (The Story Company).

St. Clair, who was portrayed by Cicely Tyson in the 1997 movie Hoodlum , was scrappy and smart and used her education and persistence to rebuff becoming a domestic and went into business for herself: running the numbers game. Bumpy Johnson was her right-hand man.

This is the second project based on St. Clair. Janet Jackson also had one in development at Lifetime with noted director Kenny Leon (Hairspray Live!, The Wiz Live!).

Asher (Coco) is the same writer who wrote the Madame CJ Walker story — a limited (10-episode) series with LeBron James and Octavia Spencer. She is repped by by Frank Wuliger at Gersh, Todd Schulkin at Schulkin Managment and Ron Levin of Levin Law Corp.

Zero Gravity Management also has on its slate Guantanamo Diary, based on the acclaimed international bestseller based on the life of Guantanamo prisoner Mohamadu Slahi, and Kennedy Women, a series based on the NY Times bestseller by Laurence Leamer. The company also is enjoying the success off the Netflix TV series Ozark which stars Jason Bateman.

Sanaa Lathan has been tapped to star in the Netflix original film Nappily Ever After, with Wadjda helm Haifaa Al-Mansour attached to direct. Ernie Hudson also has been cast of the pic, which is based on the book by Trisha R. Thomas. Tina Chism drafted the script with rewrites from Lisa Loomer, Adam Brooks and most recently filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood.

Nappily Ever After centers on Violet Jones (Lathan), who has a seemingly flawless life until an accident at the hair dresser causes things in her life to unravel and she begins to realize that she was living the life she thought she was supposed to live, not the one that she really wanted. She starts to put the pieces back together with a little help from a soulful barber and his young daughter. Violet finds the courage to cast off some of the things that she didn’t really need, starting with the perfectly straightened hair, and find a life that has real meaning.

Hudson portrays Lathan’s father, Richard, who makes big change in his life to become a male model.

Tracey Bing (Southside With You), Marc Platt, Jared Leboff and Lathan are producing the film, which will begin shooting this month in Atlanta. Exec producers are Benedict Carver, Vincent Cirrincione and Mark Moran.

The pic marks a reunion for Prince-Bythewood and Lathan, as the two recently worked together on the Fox miniseries Shots Fired and Lathan starred in Prince-Bythewood’s 2000 sports drama Love & Basketball. She next will been seen in CBS Films’ Michael Cuesta-helmed American Assassin, with Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton and Taylor Kitsch. Lathan is repped by ICM and attorney Stephen Barnes.

Hudson, who recurs on the Neflix series Grace and Frankie and recently signed on to star in indie film The Family Business, is repped by APA and Zero Gravity Management.

Repped by UTA and attorney Craig Emanuel, Al-Mansour directed Mary Shelley, with Maisie Williams and Elle Fanning, which will premiere at Toronto next month.

In a competitive situation, ABC has landed Kristy Kottis, a comedic hourlong drama, from The Strain executive producer Regina Corrado, American Crime alumna Felicity Huffman, Dallas Buyers Club producer Rachel Winter and Working Title. NBC Universal International Studios is the studio.

Written by Corrado, Kristy Kottis is inspired by the real-life Vespa riding, shit kicking, former New York City public school teacher-turned-FBI agent, Kristy Kottis. The is a darkly comedic drama seen through the eyes of a real woman — not a super hero, not first in her class, but fiftieth, who found her calling in a place she never imagined; as the first female supervisor in charge of the Guardian Squad, the division responsible for uniting the NYPD, Homeland Security, Secret Service, Amtrack and Port Authority Police in New York City.

Corrado executive produces with Working Title’s Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Andrew Stearn and Liza Chasin as well as Huffman and Winter. There are no current plans for Huffman to star.

Three years ago, Winter and Huffman teamed for another FBI drama project that was set up at ABC with a put pilot commitment, which had Huffman attached to star as a special agent leading the New York City Joint Terrorism Task Force. At ABC, Huffman starred in the seriesDesperate Housewives and American Crime and also headlined the comedy pilot Libby & Malcolm this past season.

Corrado, who adapted the 2016 financial thriller feature Equity as a TV series for ABC last development season with Amy Pascal producing, is coming off a three-year stint on FX’s The Strain, last two as an executive producer, working alongside executive producer/showrunner Carlton Cuse who also recruited her as a writer-producer on his A&E drama series The Returned. Corrado started her career on David Milch’s Deadwood and John Fran Cincinnati and also worked on FX’s Sons of Anarchy for four seasons. She is repped by CAA and Zero Gravity Management.

NBA superstar LeBron James is continuing to make moves off the court. James’ production company, SpringHill Entertainment, is adding the first scripted drama to its growing slate. The project also boasts Oscar-winning talent: Octavia Spencer.

Spencer is attached to star in the limited series about entrepreneur and social activist Madam C.J. Walker’s life, with James exec producing along with his company’s co-founder, Maverick Carter.

Sources tell Variety that Netflix is interested in the series and is the likely destination. The steaming service had no comment on their involvement in the project.

Nicole Asher is on board to write and co-exec produce and “Black Nativity” helmer Kasi Lemmons will direct the pilot and also exec produce.

The series is based on the book “On Her Own Ground” by A’Lelia Bundles, Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, who will also serve as a consultant on the series.

Walker, the daughter of slaves, was orphaned at age seven, married at 14, and widowed at 20. She spent two decades laboring as a washerwoman, earning $1.50 a week. However, everything changed following Walker’s discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women. By the time she died in 1919, she had built a beauty empire from the ground up, amassing wealth unprecedented among black women. She counted W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington among her friends.

Zero Gravity Management’s Mark Holder and Christine Holder optioned the book from Bundles in early 2016. Spencer got wind of the project and aggressively pursued the part. Once word spread that Spencer was attached, WME, who reps both Spencer and James, pitched the series to James as his production company’s entryway into the prestige genre.

SpringHill president Jamal Henderson brought the project to Carter’s attention and the two moved quickly to land the property.

With Nicole Asher set to write, Spencer starring, and James and Springhill on board as producers, the package was presented to potential buyers, with Netflix acting fast and the favorite to land the series.

“I am really proud of this project and that SpringHill will be partnering with Octavia to tell this important story,” James said. “Every American should all know the story of Madam C.J. Walker. She was an innovator, entrepreneur, social activist, and total game changer whose story has been left out of the history books. I hope this project lives up to her legacy with a story that will educate and inspire.”

Zero Gravity and Warner Bros. will partner on the production.

The Holders (through Zero Gravity), James and Carter (through SpringHill), and Spencer (through her production company Orit Entertainment) will all serve as exec producers with Asher on board as a co-exec producer.

“It’s so exciting for all of us to keep building SpringHill, see it mature, and continue to find its voice. We are really focused on growing with authenticity and substance,” Carter said. “For us, this is totally about great stories and great partners. Partnering with Octavia to tell the story of Madam C.J. Walker is the ideal first project for SpringHill to take an important step into scripted drama.”

The film is in line with SpringHill’s mission to spotlight the hidden African-American figures who helped shape American history. The company recently donated $2.5 million to the Smithsonian’s Muhammad Ali exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Launched in 2013, SpringHill has quietly become a big force in the entertainment industry. Although the company, which partnered with Warner Bros. in 2015, didn’t produce any series that were picked up this pilot season, they sold three pilot pitches to broadcast networks while producing the hit Starz series “Survivor’s Remorse.” The company is also producing a comedy for HBO set in an L.A. sneaker store.

Spencer’s hit film “Hidden Figures” earned her an Oscar nomination. She followed up the role with Summit Entertainment’s “The Shack” and Fox Searchlight’s “Gifted.” The actress can be seen next in Guillermo del Toro’s Cold War fantasy “The Shape of Water,” which is already gaining award season buzz.

Zero Gravity Management is an exec producer on the hit Netflix series “Ozark” starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney.

Less than a month after its release, new Netflix crime drama series Ozark, starring, directed and executive produced by Jason Bateman, has been renewed for a 10-episode second season.

Created/executive produced by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams and written/executive produced by Chris Mundy, Ozark revolves around financial planner Marty (Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) and their family’s sudden relocation from the suburbs of Chicago to a summer resort community in the Missouri Ozarks. The series explores capitalism, family dynamics, and survival through the eyes of (anything but) ordinary Americans.

Ozark, produced by Bateman’s Aggregate Films, MRC, which is behind Netflix’s first original drama series, House Of Cards, and Zero Gravity, joins several other 2017 Netflix series that have been renewed, including 13 Reasons Why, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Marvel’s Iron Fist, One Day At a Time, Santa Clarita Diet, Dear White People and GLOW. Only two so far, Girlboss and Gypsy, did not make it to a second season.

Bateman also stars in comedy Arrested Development, whose revival also has been picked up for a second season by Netflix.

Jill Hennessy, Patrick St. Esprit, Ian Bohen and Denim Richards are set for recurring roles opposite Kevin Costner in Yellowstone, Paramount Network’s straight-to-series period drama set to premiere in 2018.

From Oscar-nominated writer/executive producer Taylor Sheridan (Hell Or High Water, Sicario) and the Weinstein Company, Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Costner), who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, under constant attack by those it borders — land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park. It is an intense study of a violent world far from media scrutiny — where land grabs make developers billions, and politicians are bought and sold by the world’s largest oil and lumber corporations.

Hennessy is Senator Huntington, an ally of Chief Rainwater (Gil Birmingham). St. Esprit will play Attorney General Stewart. Bohen and Richards will play Ryan and Colby, respectively, both cowboy wranglers.

Hennessy, best known for her starring roles on Crossing Jordan and Law & Order, most recently recurred on Shots Fired and Madam Secretary. Hennessy is repped by APA and More/Medavoy Management.

St. Esprit was recently cast in a multi-episode arc on CBS’ S.W.A.T and will be seen in an upcoming guest role on The Last Ship. He was last seen in Big Little Lies and The Fate Of The Furious. He’s repped by Abrams Artists Agency and Justice & Ponder.

Bohen can currently be seen in Sheridan’s recently released Wind River and will next be seen in Sheridan’s upcoming Sicario followup Soldado. He’s repped by Joseph Le Talent Agency and Zero Gravity Management.

As an actor, Richards played Jack Brown in Chickasaw Rancher, and was the keyboardist in The New Edition Story. He also was a writer/producer for The Forgotten Ones. He’s repped by DDO Artists Agency and Pink Hammer Entertainment.

Sony Pictures is in talks with Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll and Taylor Russell to star in The Maze, the Adam Robitel-directed thriller. The film is in the vein of The Game, an elevated psychological thriller about six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, who must use their wits to survive. Bragi Schut wrote the first script draft and Maria Melnik did the rewrite. Neil Moritz and Ori Marmur are producing for Original Film. Robitel is CAA and Zero Gravity Management.

EXCLUSIVE: Sinqua Walls has been cast in Client Eastwood’s upcoming biopic The 15:17 To Paris from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow. It’s based on the novel The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroesby Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Jeffrey E. Stern about the 2015 thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris.

Dorothy Blyskal penned the screenplay that follows the course of the friends’ lives, from the struggles of childhood through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack. Walls will play Marine Chris O’Neil. The pic will feature the real-life heroes, Salder, Skarlatos, and Stone, portraying themselves, as well as Judy Greer, Jenna Fischer, Ray Corasani, Paul-Mikél Williams, Max Ivutin, Bryce Gheisar, Cole Eichenberger and William Jennings.

Eastwood is producing with Tim Moore, Jesssica Meier, and Kristina Rivera. Bruce Berman is serving as exec producing of the film, which is currently in production. Walls recurred as Sir Lancelot on ABC’s Once Upon A Time, and has appeared in previous seasons of MTV’s Teen Wolf and Power on Starz. He’s repped by APA and Zero Gravity Management.