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Mark O’Brien has come aboard Jennifer Yuh Nelson’s teen supernatural drama The Darkest Minds from 2oth Century Fox. The film, adapted from Alexandra Bracken’s YA trilogy, follows 16-year-old Ruby (Amandla Stenberg) who, gifted with psychic abilities, breaks out of the rehabilitation camp and joins a small group of gifted escapees on the run. Chad Hodge wrote the screenplay, which is being produced by Shawn Levy ‘s 21 Laps Entertainment. O’Brien recently wrapped supporting roles in Andrew Niccol’s film Anon, alongside Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried, and State Like Sleep with Michael Shannon and Luke Evans. O’Brien repped by Thruline Entertainment, The Characters Agency and Don Buchwald & Associates, was last seen in the Oscar-nominated Arrival.

NBC has given its first new series orders for the 2017-18 season to dramas “For God and Country” and “Rise.”

Both shows hail from Universal Television.

“For God and Country,” from Keshet Studios, revolves around an elite team of military operatives who use advance surveillance techniques to help execute dangerous missions around the world to save innocent people from harm. Dean Georgaris wrote and exec produced the pilot. Brad Anderson directed and is an exec producer along with Keshet’s Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan.

The ensemble cast includes Anne Heche, Mike Vogel, Sofia Pernas, Tate Ellington, Natacha Karam, Demetrius Grosse, Noah Mills and Hadi Tabbal. “Rise,” exec produced by Jason Katims, centers on a dedicated teacher, played by Josh Radnor, who takes over a flagging theatrical program at a school in a working-class city. Rosie Perez, Marley Shelton, Auli’i Cravalho, Damon J. Gillespie, Amy Forsyth, Rarmian Newton, Ted Sutherland, Casey Johnson, Taylor Richardson, Joe Tippett and Shirley Rumierk also star.

Katims penned the pilot and is exec producing with director Michael Cahill, Michelle Lee, Jeffrey Seller and Flody Suarez.

The NBC orders are the cap gun going off on the last lap of pilot season. The broadcast networks will order several dozen new series during the next two weeks leading up to the marathon of upfront presentations in New York to be held the week of May 15. NBC Universal is the first up on May 15 with its broadcast and cable omnibus event at Radio City Music Hall.

EXCLUSIVE: Zero Gravity Management has added veteran manager/producer Craig Baumgarten to its management group. Baumgarten comes over from LINK Entertainment, where he has been a partner for the past three years and brings with him all of his clients including: Dolph Lundgren who is in the new James Wan film Aquaman; the seven-time Grammy winner and TV star Toni Braxton; director Rob Cohen, who is in post on his new film Category 5; Roland Joffe, who recently wrapped The Forgiven (starring Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana) as well as the TV series Sun Records; iconic writer Joe Eszterhas (who scripted The Lady of Guadalupe for Mark Burnett and Roma Downey at MGM); and multi-hyphenate Michael Jai White.

China-backed Cristal Pictures has acquired Twin Blades, a female buddy action spec from new writer Ingrid Eskeland-Adetuyi. Logan and Deadpool producer Lauren Shuler Donner is aboard to produce the project, which Cristal will fully finance as a Chinese co-production and take it out to directors soon ahead of an eyed fourth-quarter 2017 production start.

The plot follows an unlikely pair of alpha females — Zoe, an American tech entrepreneur who relocates her company to China, and Maylin, a local female bodyguard hired to protect her – as they struggle to coexist in their daily routine. When Zoe’s life is threatened, the two must put aside their differences and join forces to survive.

The Donners’ Company president Jack Leslie will also produce. Cristal EVP Production Nick D’Angelo brought in the spec from Eskeland-Adetuyi, a recent graduate of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. She is repped by APA and Zero Gravity Management who made the sale.

#EskelandAdetuyi #ZeroGravityManagement

Chris McKay will helm a film based on the DC character Dick Grayson, best known as a member of the Batman family.

Warner Bros. is plotting a new DC superhero film based on the Batman-centric character Nightwing.

Chris McKay, who most recently directed The Lego Batman Movie for Warner Bros., is in negotiations to helm the new live-action film, and Bill Dubuque (The Accountant) is writing the script.
#Nightwing #BillDubuque

Angela Lansbury, who has starred in a number of Disney films over her long career, has just joined the cast of Rob Marshall’s sequel Mary Poppins Returns, which is filming at Shepperton Studios. She will portray the Balloon Lady. The film is scheduled for release Christmas Day 2018.

Ray Donovan is adding to its season cast cast. Adina Porter, Brian White and Lili Simmons are boarding the Showtime drama starring Liev Schreiber.

Porter, an alum of The 100 and American Horror Story, has been tapped to play the role of Vicky Delgatti, a fixer like Ray. She will appear in at least four episodes. White (Scandal, Chicago Fire, The Family Stone) will play Jay, a rapper-actor-producer who is one of the biggest stars in the world. Like Porter, he will appear in at least four episodes.

#RayDonovan #BrianWhite

David L.G. Hughes will direct the film about a young Norse girl who is the rightful heir to the Viking kingdom.

Terence Stamp will play Norse god of war and wisdom Odin in the film Viking Destiny.

The adventure film, which was written and will be directed by David L.G. Hughes, will explore the lives and legendary crusades of Scandinavian explorers. It centers on a young Norse girl, the rightful heir to the Viking kingdom, who is banished after she’s framed for the murder of her father, the king. She travels the world with Odin to build up the army she needs to reclaim the throne.

“I wrote the part of Odin with Terence Stamp’s photo on my desktop as inspiration,” said Hughes. “So actually having Terence play Odin in the movie is mind-bogglingly exciting.”

Andee Ryder and Hughes are producing the film from Misfits Entertainment, Fatal Black and Six Mile Hill. Kwesi Dickson, Clay Epstein and Tony Krantz are executive producing.

Film Mode Entertainment is handling worldwide rights on Viking Destiny, which will begin production in April in Northern Ireland, and is presenting the project in Berlin.

“Viking Destiny is a dream come true for the broad fan base of high-stakes fantasy-adventure films, and the addition of the world-renowned, multiple-award-winning actor Terence Stamp brings the film to a whole new level,” said Clay Epstein, president of Film Mode Entertainment.

Stamp has starred in more than 60 films in his prolific career, ranging from Superman II to Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, Get Smart and Tim Burton’s recent Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. He is represented by United Agents.

#ErnieHudson #APB

EXCLUSIVE: Empire star Taraji P. Henson has found a feature to follow her Hidden Figures turn. She is set to star in Proud Mary, with production slated to start in April in Boston. John Stewart Newman and Christian Swegal wrote the script, and Paul Schiff and Tai Duncan are producing.