‘Ajoomma’ Writer and Director He Shuming Signs With Sugar23 (EXCLUSIVE)

Sony’s Screen Gems has moved up the domestic release for its rom-com Love Again, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Heughan and Celine Dion as herself, from May 12th to May 5th.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Elsa Zylberstein (“Simone: Woman of the Century”) will star as the French feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir in a feature film that will be penned by Oscar-winning writer Christopher Hampton and directed by Anne Fontaine. Zylberstein’s Sonia Films will produce the film with Philippe Carcassone’s banner Cine@ and Master Movie, the production vehicle of Marco and Lola Pacchioni. Rather than a biopic, the movie will revolve around the passionate transatlantic romance between de Beauvoir and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Nelson Algren. Zylberstein has scooped the adaptation rights of de Beauvoir’s “Lettres à Nelson Algren” from Gallimard. Through those letters, the film will chart the pair’s affair, which spanned nearly two decades from 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, to 1964. Two-thirds of the movie will take place in Chicago, and the reminder will unfold in Paris.

Fred again.. is NPR's latest guest on Tiny Desk.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West,” a documentary that shines a harsh spotlight on the U.S. government’s treatment of wild horses. The non-fiction film was written, directed, and edited by Ashley Avis, who is best known for making 2020’s “Black Beauty” for Disney+. Gravitas Ventures will release the documentary in select theaters and on demand on May 12, 2023. The film looks at the reasons why wild horses in the Western part of the U.S. are fast disappearing and could be eradicated. At its core, the film argues, is a divisive battle over land and special interests, one in which horses are collateral damage. They are rounded up by helicopters, and facing encroachment on their natural habitat. Often, officials separate them from their families, a wrenching experience for the animals.

A.V. Rockwell — the writer and director of her hit feature film debut “A Thousand and One,” which is continuing to run up numbers at the box office in addition to earning a 96% from Rotten Tomatoes.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Carmelo Anthony has come on as an executive producer of “The Harder They Come,” a new stage musical that is about to finish a sold-out run at New York’s Public Theater. In addition, Anthony’s long-time business partner Asani Swann, who co-founded the basketball star’s production company Creative 7, will also serve as an executive producer on the show. They are joining the production as it looks to find a regional theater where it hopes to fine-tune the show before possibly mounting a Broadway return. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, best known for “Topdog/Underdog,” penned the adaptation of the 1972 Jamaican crime film. That movie and now the show feature music from Reggae icon Jimmy Cliff. Also involved is Justine Henzell, whose father Perry Henzell co-wrote and directed the movie.

Last month, Steven Yeun joined the ever-growing ensemble cast of the upcoming Marvel film “Thunderbolts.” Now the creator of Yeun’s latest buzzy project, Netflix‘s “Beef,” out April 6, joins the MCU, too. Variety reports that “Beef” creator Lee Sung Jin joins “Thunderbirds” as a writer.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Haunting of Hill House” writer Jeff Howard has been hired to develop Junji Ito’s manga “Bloodsucking Darkness” into a live-action feature film. Fangoria Studios, a genre film and TV company, is backing the film. It’s set to be the first of three projects that Fangoria plans to adapt from Ito’s hit vampire series “Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection.” “Fangoria Studios is going to adapt my manga! I’m so excited to see how it will turn out,” said Ito, who is serving as a producer. “I hope I get to see the trailer in my dreams tonight.” Ito began his career as a manga horror writer while working as a dental technician. Manga became his full-time job in the late 1980s and in 1998 as he began writing and illustrating “Uzumaki” in Big Comic Spirits. Since then, he has continued to publish works such as “Gyo” and “Smashed.”

Naman Ramachandran British Asian actor and writer Ambreen Razia has secured a development deal with Expectation Entertainment (BAFTA-winning series “Alma’s Not Normal”) to write an original comedy drama series about addiction and postpartum depression between a South Asian mother and daughter. The series, which has the working title “Wasted,” will follow the story of a junior doctor and the ancestral legacy which looms over today’s generation of Muslim immigrants. As an actor Razia most recently played Shandy Fine in hit Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso.” Razia’s previous writing credits include “Hounslow Diaries” for BBC Three, which was adapted from the stage play “Diary of a Hounslow Girl,” a project that looked at the lives of modern Muslim girls in London. Recent stage plays include “POT” and “Favour.” She has also been part of the writers’ room for Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning series “We Are Lady Parts,” directed by Nida Manzoor, and Disney+ show “Extraordinary.”

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International “Blue Jean” director Georgia Oakley has signed with CAA. The up-and-coming British filmmaker made her debut feature with the Venice-premiering “Blue Jean,” which bowed to wide acclaim on the Lido in September. Set in northeast England in the 1980s, the pic is centred on a closeted gym teacher (played by Rosy McEwen) who is forced to confront her sexuality after taking a gay student under her wing. The film tackles the Margaret Thatcher era’s controversial Section 28 law, which prohibited British schools and councils from “promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” The law was passed in 1988 and stayed in place until 2003.

Marta Balaga New York-based conglomerate Big Media has signed with RCTV International Corp. to become the exclusive distribution partner to parent company RCTV’s catalog for FAST and AVOD platforms worldwide.   Under the terms of the agreement, Big Media will distribute over 7,000 hours of telenovelas to streaming platforms around the world. It will also serve as the exclusive distributor of RCTV’s catalogue for all forms of broadcast in Europe and Asia.  “Our partnership with RCTV International is one of the most significant in our company’s 14-year history. RCTV’s catalog of telenovelas is unparalleled, both in terms of quality and quantity,” said Juan Fernández, Big Media’s head of Latin America and Spanish-speaking U.S. distribution. 

Naman Ramachandran Writer-director Jesper Ganslandt has signed with CAA for representation. Ganslandt made his debut with “Falkenberg Farewell” in 2006. The coming-of-age film followed a group of friends who grew up in the titular town of Falkenberg and spend a last summer there before moving to the big city. The film debuted at Venice and had a stellar festival run including Toronto, Reykjavik, Tallinn Black Nights and Goteborg. It was nominated for the Nordic Council’s Film Prize, chosen as Sweden’s submission for the Academy Awards, and was nominated in several categories at the Guldbagge Awards in 2007, including best film, best direction and best screenplay. It won the FIPRESCI Award at the IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Leigh Bardugo has signed with WME for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. WME will now rep the New York Times bestselling author for film and TV rights services. New Leaf Literary & Media represents Bardugo for publishing and will now co-represent her with WME in all other areas. Bardugo is best known for writing the so-called Grishaverse novels, which consists of nine books total beginning with the “Shadow and Bone” trilogy. Her books have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Netflix currently airs the series version of “Shadow and Bone,” which is based on the three books of the trilogy as well as Bardugo’s “Six of Crows” duology. The cast of the series includes Jessie Mei Li, Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young, Danielle Galligan, Calahan Skogman, and Ben Barnes. The series launched on Netflix in April 2021 and was renewed for a second season in June. Season 2 premiered on March 16 of this year and remains in the Netflix Top 10 at the time of this publishing. Bardugo is an executive producer on the series.

BreAnna Bell Kamie Crawford has signed with CAA for representation. She continues to be represented by Range Media Partners and Brecheen, Feldman, Breimer, Silver, and Thompson. Perhaps most known for her role as a host on MTV’s “Catfish: The TV Show” (which she’s hosted since 2018), Crawford recently inked an overall deal with MTV Entertainment Studios in January and has since been named as the host of Paramount+’s “Are You The One?” and MTV’s “Ex on the Beach.” The former series, which ran for 8 seasons on MTV before jumping to the streamer, returned after three years off the air in January. She also hosted HBO Max’s “Sweet Life: Los Angeles” reunion special.

DEALSSony Music Publishing and Chosen Music have partnered to sign singer-songwriter Caity Baser. “I am so delighted to be a part of the Sony family”, she says. “Also a huge thanks to Chosen who have worked with me since the very start of my songwriting journey.

Fred Again.., Skrillex and Four Tet have teamed up once again for a new song, ‘Baby Again..’‘Baby Again..’ samples Lil Baby and DaBaby‘s 2019 track ‘Baby’, but fans familiar with the three producers’ output may well have heard it before.The track debuted during Fred Again..’s viral Boiler Room set last summer but it was also played at the trio’s recent show at New York’s Madison Square Garden during a climactic moment midway through the set where the house lights went off.The trio previously worked together alongside Flowdan on the single ‘Rumble’, which was released in January as one of the first songs to be heard from Skrillex’s album ‘Quest For Fire’. The album arrived the following month before it was quickly followed up with another one, ‘Don’t Get Too Close’.Check out ‘Baby Again..’ below:The trio’s Madison Square Garden show took place in February.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Nearly a week after the Oscars, the hurt and disappointment of a missed opportunity still weighs heavily on the minds of some South Asian American dancers, who are setting out to ensure it never happens again. Many in the South Asian dance community were dismayed by the astonishing dearth of South Asian representation in the “Naatu Naatu” performance at Sunday’s Academy Awards. While singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava were on hand to perform their hit tune from Tollywood smash “RRR” — which made history for India that night by winning best original song — they were joined on stage by not a single dancer of South Asian heritage.

Naman Ramachandran A poster has been unveiled for “Barzakh,” starring top Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed. The only South Asian selection at Series Mania this year, the series will debut in the showcase’s International Panorama, a 12-title competitive section where it will be eligible for the best series, director, actress, actor, student jury and audience awards. “Barzakh” (6 x 58′) is produced by Waqas Hassan and Shailja Kejriwal for Zindagi, the Indian subcontinent focused programming block on streamer ZEE5 Global. It is helmed by critically acclaimed director Asim Abbasi who also directed Zindagi’s first Pakistani original “Churails” and the feature film “Cake.”

It seems like Skrillex, Four Tet, and Fred Again.. run as a trio these days and yet, despite performing at Madison Square Garden in New York last month, the three producers have never officially released a song under all three of their names.

BreAnna Bell Jerah Milligan has signed with CAA for representation. A multi-hyphenate creative artist, Milligan co-created and starred in Netflix’s “Astronomy Club,” which was executive produced by Kenya Barris and Dan Powell, and co-wrote, executive produced, and starred in an original presentation of “Sherlock Homies” for HBO Max. As a director, he recently directed the sketch segments of Yvonne Orji’s latest HBO Special “A Whole Me.” Milligan’s short film “Mahogany Drive,” which he directed and co-wrote, was recently screened at the Slamdance Film Festival. His additional directing credits include Showtime’s “Desus & Mero” and MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out.” Milligan is a product of Viacom’s Viewfinder: Emerging Directors Program.