Amazon Studios Picks Up ‘Daring to Live,’ Produced by DeVon Franklin (EXCLUSIVE)

reported that Isaac is in talks to play Vonnegut alongside his duties as executive producer.Hailing from Team Downey, Mad Gene and Amazon Studios, “Severance” co-executive producer Mohamad El Masri will serve as creator, showrunner and writer alongside executive producers Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Casey Sherman, Amanda Burrell, who executive produces for Team Downey and Oscar Isaac and Gena Konstantinakos, who executive produce for Mad Gene.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The blockbuster French cast of Amazon Prime Video’s third season of “LOL: Qui rit, qui sort” speaks volumes about the Japanese variety format’s tremendous popularity in France. The Amazon Original series, adapted from the format “LOL: Last One Laughing,” scored its biggest launch to date on Prime Video in France since bowing on March 10. The show is one of the streamer’s first unscripted originals in France and has been a major coup as a brand exercise that’s succeeded with limited resources — certainly in comparison to scripted comedy. Adaptations of “LOL” have also thrived in Italy and Germany where they have ranked as the most watched local titles on the service, respectively. Local versions are also available in Spain, Canada, Mexico and Australia (hosted by Rebel Wilson).

It's been two long months for some of us as we've battled through the coldest and darkest nights of the year - or so we hope!

The grand finale of Winter Love Island 2023 is set to take place this evening and host Maya Jama has been busy getting prepared in South Africa. Maya, 28, will reveal whether Ron Hall and Lana Jenkins, Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan, Tom Clare and Samie Elishi or Tanya Manhenga and Shaq Muhammad are the winning couple of this year's series on Monday 13 January live from Cape Town.

Love Island fans have cheekily suggested a new pair on the show have 'more chemistry than one of the winter series' final couples and have also spotted a potential future islander in the penultimate episode. The current run of the ITV2 dating show will come to an end on Monday night (March 13).

Helen George may be known for her glamourous portrayal of Nurse Trixie Franklin in Call the Midwife, but away from screens, the actress is a doting mum of two young girls.On Sunday, the 38-year-old – who is currently starring in the West End show The King and I – took to her Instagram Stories to share a sweet snap of her daughters, Wren and Lark, enjoying a low-key stroll at their local park.WATCH: Helen George talks about her wedding in the series finale of Call the Midwife "Park runs together [pink hearts emoji]," she gushed alongside the candid image.Helen shares both of her daughters with long-term partner Jack Ashton. The couple started dating in 2016 after meeting on set in South Africa, when Jack used to play Reverend Tom Hereward on the BBC period drama.

Amazon Studios & MGM Boss Jennifer Salke and Citadel star Priyanka Chopra Jonas sat down today in what is one of few entertainment business discussions here at SXSW and interviewed each other on an array of topics including pay parity for lead actresses and launching a tentpole series for a global audience. Spy series Citadel, produced by AGBO’s Russo Brothers, drops its first two episodes on Prime on April 28.

K.J. Yossman Freida Pinto is lending her voice to a new animated film project in honor of International Women’s Day. She Creates Change is a new nonprofit-led animation and live action film project from global education organization Room to Read produced by Nexus Studios. The multi-media initiative, which spans a six-episode film series as well as books and audio stories, aims to promote gender equality through telling the stories of young women across the planet. It will initially be available in English, Hindi and Spanish with plans to translate it into dozens more languages and will be distributed across the world via Room to Read and educational partnerships. The project will also be released to general audiences in October.

Amazon Studios has ordered “Twin Love,” a new reality dating competition show from ITV Entertainment, to series. Premiering this summer on Prime Video and the free, ad-supported Freevee, the show will be hosted by WWE Hall of Famers and TV personalities Brie and Nikki Bella.Billed as a “social dating experiment,” “Twin Love” explores the love lives of identical twins.

K.J. Yossman The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) has announced a host of new appointments, including seven trustees. The new trustees include Miranda Wayland, head of U.K. and Europe creative EDI for Prime Video and Amazon Studios, Labour politician and member of the House of Lords Judith Blake, Oxford University Shakespeare professor Judith Buchanan, Coutts media finance exec Judith Chan, PZ Cussons finance exec Helen Selwood, former CFO Shona Spence and business consultant Caroline Spicer. They join current RADA Council members Lolita Chakrabarti, Chipo Chung, Tim Clark, Paul Clay, Martin Donnelly, Buster Dover, Tanya Moodie, Maxine Peake, John Romeo, Tanya Rose, Tamar Thomas and chair Marcus Ryder.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios is developing Assume Nothing, a limited series based on Tanya Selvaratnam’s memoir of the same name, from Joanna Coles, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Purple Pebble Pictures, with Chopra Jonas also in talks to star, and ABC Signature.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer After months of speculation, Amazon Studios has made it official with seasoned movie executive Courtenay Valenti. While many expected her to take the top film job at MGM, acquired by Amazon for $8.5 billion last year, Valenti has hammered out a hulked-up role that will give her considerable influence in feature programming. Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke told staff on Tuesday that Valenti has been named head of film, streaming and theatrical at both Amazon Studios and MGM. She will report directly to Salke, and be responsible for delivering “a well-rounded selection of tentpoles, prestige films and genre fare,” according to a memo.

Amazon Studios Boss Jen Salke has finally named former Warner Bros President of Production Courtenay Valenti as Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical for Amazon Studios and MGM. She will report directly to Salke.

If you dig down into it, it’s pretty complicated to discuss the rights situation surrounding “The Lord of the Rings” IP. Warner Bros.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke feels about Warner Bros. making competing projects based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” Salke, who has held the top content job at Amazon since 2018, walked a Monday red carpet for the premiere of Michael B. Jordan’s “Creed III” where she spoke with Variety about last week’s news that Warner Bros. had secured film rights to some of Tolkien’s books. One of Salke’s defining moves at Amazon was to secure television rights to the same literary works, which she achieved at great expense. The first season of Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” premiered in 2022 with a big global marketing push and critical acclaim — as well as a reported budget north of $450 million for the first batch of episodes. Previously, Warner Bros. pushed out two massively successful film franchises with auteur Peter Jackson beginning in 2001. Those films grossed over $5 billion at the worldwide box office and brought home a best picture Oscar for one of the entries.

EXCLUSIVE: Prolific producer and actor DeVon Franklin has set up two new scripted development projects at BET+ under his overall deal with CBS Studios, which is the studio for both.

Emiliano Granada “The Head of Joaquín Murrieta” bowed Feb. 17, guns blazing worldwide on Prime Video, weighing in as one of the biggest bets ever from Amazon Studios in Latin America and Amazon Prime and Colombian production powerhouse Dynamo. Its success can open the door for other big swings in Latin America.  Created by Colombia’s Mauricio Leiva Cock (“Capital Roar,” “Green Frontier”) at Fidelio, one of the fastest rising writing-directing talents in Colombia, and Diego Ramírez Schrempp (“Narcos,” “Falco”) at Dynamo, which handled physical production of “Narcos” in Colombia, the ambitious Latin Western, fully locally developed, describes how Joaquin Murrieta, played by a mischievous Juan Manuel Bernal, became a legend.  

Emma Chamberlain may be taking her podcast to the next level with her partnership with Spotify — but she is still keeping things cozy.Last year, the internet personality and the streaming giant announced their collaboration on which will bring more episodes, some video and see Chamberlain leading production. It's no secret that the 21-year-old films from the comfort of her bed.

With songs titled “Love Story,” “Forever & Always,” “Last Kiss” and “You Are in Love,” it is no secret that one of Taylor Swift’s favorite topics is romance. The Grammy winner has been dating British actor Joe Alwyn since 2016, and although the duo are extremely happy together, they keep the details of their relationship quiet.

Love Island beauty Belle Hassan looked sensational as she was questioned on Love Island Aftersun, with fans noticing her recent hair transformation. Belle, 24, who entered the Love Island villa back in 2019 as a Casa Amor bombshell, showed off her new purple hair when her and Joe Garratt, 26, joined Maya Jama to talk about their experiences on the show. Maya, 28, asked: "Belle, you know exactly what it was like.