Amazon MGM’s ‘Play Dirty’ Casts Keegan-Michael Key, Nat Wolff, Chukwudi Iwuji & Thomas Jane

Deadline already told you two years ago that 2 was happening with Paul Feig back in the director’s chair and Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick starring, but today Amazon MGM Studios has made it official that the movie is a go and with the original cast members returning, read Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho, and Kelly McCormack.

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Clawson, Head of Worldwide Production and Post at Amazon MGM Studios, is leaving the company after nearly five years.

EXCLUSIVE: After coming together at warp speed over the past month, Deadline hears that the Imagine Entertainment package After the Hunt from screenwriter Nora Garrett has landed at Amazon MGM Studios with Julia Roberts attached to star and Luca Guadagnino on board to direct.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Audible Inc. has pacted with its sibling Amazon MGM Studios unit to develop TV series based on a slew of podcasts and other original audio-only content featuring such notables as Kerry Washington, author James Patterson, “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh and more.

Emma.Paltrow starred in the title role for the 1996 Jane Austen film adaptation, directed by Douglas McGrath, and received critical acclaim for her performance.However, during a recent appearance on the long-running YouTube series Hot Ones, Paltrow made it clear that Clinton wasn’t one of the film’s fans.Presented by Sean Evans, Hot Ones sees celebrities take on an array of progressively spicier chicken wings while answering questions.When Evans asked if the rumours of Clinton falling asleep during a White House screening of Emma were true, Paltrow replied: “True – he was snoring right in front of me.”She joking added: “I was like, ‘Wow, I guess this is going to be a real hit movie.’ But it was! So fuck you, Bill Clinton!”Also during her appearance on Hot Ones, Paltrow suggested that you can “only make so many” good superhero movies.The actress – who starred as Pepper Potts in a number of Marvel Cinematic Universe films alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man – was asked about her opinion on director Cord Jefferson’s recent Oscar speech.Jefferson won the Best Adapted Screenplay award for his film American Fiction and, during his acceptance speech, pleaded with Hollywood producers: “Instead of making one $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies.”“I absolutely understand where he’s coming from,” Paltrow said. “You want the best chance to have a strong ROI.

EXCLUSIVE: Westworld‘s Angela Sarafyan has joined the cast of Amazon MGM Studios and MRC‘s Viola Davis action thriller feature, G20.

EXCLUSIVE: Luther and Hijack star Idris Elba is set to direct singer Seal, Nollywood stars Nse Ikpe-Etim (Shanty Town), Eku Edewor (Breath Of Life) and Atlanta Bridget Johnson (Man Of God), and former Nigerian Idol contestant Constance Olatunde in short film Dust To Dreams.

EXCLUSIVE: After seeing his Amazon MGM romantic drama The Idea of You debut to glowing reviews on the closing night of SXSW, Michael Showalter has been set to reteam with the studio on Oh. What. Fun, a holiday comedy to star Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit).

“Kung Fu Panda 4 ” stayed at the top of the North American box office in its second weekend in theaters. The Universal and DreamWorks Animation movie earned $30 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.The franchise featuring the voice of Jack Black is responsible for over $1.9 billion at the box office since it launched in 2008 and spawned several animated series, shorts, video games and a holiday special.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM opened this year’s SXSW with a bang with Road House, and they’re going to end it tonight with another one, that being Michael Showalter’s Anne Hathaway romance movie, The Idea of You.

EXCLUSIVE: There will be quite a few familiar faces roaming the halls of Willard R. Abbott Elementary in the coming weeks.

The 2024 Oscars clocked up a number of historic firsts and achievements - and topping the bill was British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who ended his 22-year wait for an Academy Award.

The Oscars took place on Sunday night, with the ceremony celebrating the very best talent in film, design and sound. A whole host of celebrities headed to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the special event, which is celebrating its 96th year.The popular film Oppenheimer cleaned up nicely, taking home a grand total of seven awards including the highly-coveted Best Picture.The film's director Christopher Nolan also picked up the Best Director award, and its star Cillian Murphy was awarded the Best Leading Actor gong.

Three times a charm for Robert Downey Jr. who finally won an Oscar on this third nomination tonight for his turn as Lewis Strauss, the hostile United States Atomic Energy Commissioner in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Variety Awards Circuit Podcast for some final analysis. Awards guru Clayton Davis, along with Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay and Michael Schneider recorded a Mega Roundtable edition this week to share their final thoughts on this year’s races.

The 2024 Oscars may be this weekend, but there are still plenty of ways to stream all of the Best Picture nominees from Hollywood’s biggest night right from the comfort of your own home. This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated 10 films — including Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” the Christopher Nolan epic “Oppenheimer” and the Emma Stone-led “Poor Things.”Other nominees for the award include “American Fiction,” “The Zone of Interest,” “Anatomy of the Fall,” the Bradley Cooper-led “Maestro,” “Past Lives,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “The Holdovers.” The official ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be held at the Dolby Theatre in LA on Sunday, March 10.

If Christopher Nolan’s brilliant story of the father of the atomic bomb loses, it’ll be the biggest upset since the surprise victory of “Shakespeare in Love” over “Saving Private Ryan” in 1999. It’s won just about every other major award it’s been nominated for, and rightly so. “American Fiction”“Anatomy of a Fall”“Barbie”“The Holdovers”“Killers of the Flower Moon”“Maestro”“Past Lives”“Poor Things”“The Zone of Interest”The Battle of the Stones (Gladstone vs. Emma Stone) has raged all season long. But Gladstone’s triumph at the SAG Awards, for her role as a wronged Native American woman, should get her across the ultimate finish line.The German actress turned in a stunning duo of performances, in “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of Interest,” that made her a talked-about topic for months. I can almost see her pulling an Olivia Colman — split the love and slide in for the win.Annette Bening, “Nyad”Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”Emma Stone, “Poor Things”After Giamatti’s Golden Globe and Critics Choice victories, he looked like the guy to beat. But momentum has swung back to the fantastic Murphy, whose tortured face was just as invigorating on the IMAX screen as Nolan’s epic filmmaking.Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”Colman Domingo, “Rustin”Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”How bizarre to read names such as Martin Scorsese, Yorgos Lanthimos and Jonathan Glazer and conclude they don’t have a shot. But they don’t. Not even remotely. Nolan’s already won.Justine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall”Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest”Tony Stark is dead, long live Robert Downey Jr.’s acting career! The former MCU star proved he’s still got

EXCLUSIVE: Zooey Deschanel has signed on to star in Merv, a romantic comedy that Jessica Swale will direct for Amazon MGM Studios.

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson have locked deals to return for The Accountant 2, the sequel to the Gavin O’Connor-directed action thriller The Accountant, on which Amazon MGM Studios has teamed with Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity.

EXCLUSIVE: Priyanka Chopra Jonas is set to star in The Bluff, the AGBO Studios and Amazon MGM Studios movie being directed by Frank E. Flowers. Prime Video’s The Boys Karl Urbanis in talks to star.