Amazon Ballet Drama ‘Etoile’ From Amy Sherman Palladino & Daniel Palladino Suspends Production In Paris Due To Writers Strike

EXCLUSIVE: Candle Media’s Exile Content Studio is partnering with acclaimed Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell and director Gaz Alazraki (Father Of The Bride) to produce a scripted feature about the incredible recent news story of the four children, including a baby, that survived a plane crash and 40 days in the Amazon Rainforest before being rescued by Colombian special forces.

EXCLUSIVE: Hollywood publicity firm The Lede Company is accelerating its international expansion with the acquisition of the Paris-Based agency Olivier Bourgis Communication and Marketing (OBCM).

Spike Lee was not on the speakers list at a rally Thursday morning for striking film and television writers outside City Hall in New York. But one of the Brooklyn-born filmmaker’s best-loved movies, 1989’s Do the Right Thing, kept cropping up as local elected officials took turns calling for studio executives to resume negotiations with the Writers Guild of America and help end a strike now in its eighth week.

Selome Hailu “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” has had the biggest debut of any documentary series ever produced by Amazon Studios, Variety has learned. The limited series investigates controversies surrounding the Duggar family, best known for TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” including Josh Duggar’s conviction for possession of child pornography and the family’s connection to the Institute in Basic Life Principles, a controversial Christian organization. After premiering on Amazon Prime Video with all four episodes on June 2, “Shiny Happy People” reached more viewers in its first nine days than any Amazon docuseries, including high-profile titles like “LuLaRich,” the 2021 docuseries that examined the LuLaRoe pyramid scheme. (An exact tally of viewers for these series is unknown.)

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor The new Max dating series “Swiping America,” from “We’re Here” creators Stephen Warren and Johnnie Ingram, follows a diverse group of New Yorkers who try dating in other cities throughout the U.S. “The beautiful thing about this show is we are the most inclusive, nonjudgmental dating show out there,” Warren told me Tuesday night at the show’s premiere at NeueHouse in Hollywood. “We have queer people, lesbians, we have trans, we have nonbinary. There are no judgments because love is love.” Calling the show a “rom-doc,” Ingram explained during his intro to the screening that “Swiping America” is not a competition show and “is not about manufactured drama.”

Naman Ramachandran The world premiere of Scottish writer-director Johnny Barrington‘s debut feature “Silent Roar” will open the 2023 Edinburgh International Film Festival on Aug. 18. Billed as a “teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire” set in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, the film stars emerging actor Louis McCartney as Dondo, a young surfer struggling to accept his father’s recent disappearance at sea. Caught up in grief, he is brought to his senses by rebellious crush Sas (Ella Lily Hyland), a high achiever who dreams of escaping the island. When an oddly-behaved new minister arrives on the island, Dondo begins to have cosmic visions. The film is produced by Scottish producer Chris Young (“The Inbetweeners Movie”) and was made with the participation of Screen Scotland, BBC Films and BFI. MK2 Films is handling sales.

EXCLUSIVE: Cineverse (formerly Cinedigm) has picked up North American rights to the survival drama On Fire, co-directed by and starring Peter Facinelli (The Vanished), which is inspired by the true and harrowing events that transpired during one of Northern California’s most catastrophic wildfires.

The head of the country’s largest labor union joined striking Writers Guild film and television writers at a rally on Monday outside the New York City offices of streaming giant Amazon and said the writers’ cause has the support of workers from across unionized labor. 

Citadel, the big-budget drama starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden, was designed as a global franchise with a U.S. series and planned spinoffs set in countries including Italy and Mexico.

“The Flash.” Before “Dungeons & Dragons” they co-wrote “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and directed 2018’s “Game Night.”Reynolds recently appeared in Apple’s Christmas musical “Ghosted” and has “Deadpool 3” and John Krasinski’s high-concept fantasy “IF” in the works (both for 2024).

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix’s upcoming high-profile limited series Zero Day, starring and executive produced by Robert De Niro, has become the latest project whose production has been impacted by the ongoing writers strike.

Broadway’s Hamilton and Camelot are the latest New York City productions canceling performances tonight due to issues caused by the region’s historically bad air quality.

The Tribeca Festival is “monitoring the situation closely and following guidance from the city” as New York’s air quality deteriorates rapidly with smoke originating from extensive wildfires on the Canadian border, an unprecedented event in NYC.

“Emily in Paris” is the latest TV show to be impacted by the Writers Guild of America strike, currently into its second month with no sign of ending anytime soon.

Another cast shakeup. Kathy Hilton confirmed that she won’t be back for season 13 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills amid tension with her sister Kyle Richards.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The fourth season of “Emily in Paris” was initially set to start in late summer or early fall in the French capital that gives the show its name, but filming has been delayed by two months due to the writers strike, Variety has learned. That could stretch longer if WGA members remain on the picket line. Netflix declined to comment. The plan is still to start shooting by the end of fall, according to a source close to the streamer. Netflix announced the renewal of Darren Star’s Emmy-nominated romantic comedy in January 2022. Season 3 dropped on the streamer on Dec. 21, 2022 following a massive premiere event in Paris, which lured crowds of overjoyed fans and was attended by Star and the entire cast, including Lily Collins, Ashley Park, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Kate Walsh, Camille Razat, Lucas Bravo, Lucien Laviscount (who wore a shiny purple suit), Bruno Gouery and Samuel Arnold.

the film shut down production Wednesday due to picketers at USC’s campus, where it was filming.The Artists Equity production is just the latest mid-production feature to have its schedule halted due to picketers, as Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune” was one of the first such films to be brought to a standstill two weeks ago.“Unstoppable” is a drama based on a true story and also stars Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome in the role of Anthony Robles. Despite being born with one leg, Robles became a three-time All-American wrestler and won a national championship at Arizona State.

Heidi Klum turns 50 on Thursday – and continues to embrace the skin she is in, showing off her toned figure, both on the red carpet and on her Instagram.  The former Victoria's Secret model recently told Fox News Digital that she thinks the secret to looking so youthful is "always seeing the glass rather half full than half empty." She also revealed her plans for her 50th birthday. "I don't know how I'm going to celebrate because I passed the buck to my husband," Klum explained.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In a show of force, English-language “Spellbound,” the live-action tween series from “Find Me in Paris” creators and production partners will get a Season Two.  Produced by Cottonwood Media, with ZDF, ZDF Studios and the Opéra national de Paris, the 13 new episodes of the ballet/witchcraft series will go into production in August.  The “Spellbound” renewal news comes as Season One is set to roll out in international markets across broadcasters and streaming services from this fall.  Federation Kids & Family, the sales arm of Cottonwood Media parent Federation Studios, and ZDF Studios, the commercial company of German public broadcaster ZDF, will handle worldwide sales. 

As one of Reality TV’s royal family crossed the line, striking film and television writers joined forces on Wednesday in New York City with another group of culture workers involved in a pay dispute: musicians.