Apple TV+ Inks First-Look Deal With Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne and Danielle Renfrew Behrens’ Animal Pictures

Julia Roberts, one of the most enduring stars of this era, will receive the Academy Museum Gala Icon Award at the second annual Academy Museum Of Motion Pictures Gala October 15, 2022. She joins the previously announced honorees Miky Lee, Steve McQueen, and Tilda Swinton.

Emma Watson joined a star-studded crowd at the Schiaparelli show during Paris Fashion Week!

EXCLUSIVE: S. Epatha Merkerson and Judith Light have been tapped to star in an episode of Peacock’s Poker Face, a mystery drama series from Rian Johnson, his T-Street banner and MRC Television.

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack are getting into business with Lionsgate TV. The prolific duo have signed a first-look producing deal with the studio via their Le Train Train Productions under which they will produce scripted programming for multiple platforms.

declaring: 'Welcome everyone. Or as the [Will Smith] song says, "Bienvenido a Miami!"'The Tulane University grad originally met her groom at a Halloween party in 2017 before he popped the question on October 24, 2020. Sabrina told Brides.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorA24, the indie studio behind TV shows and movies like “Euphoria,” “Minari,” “Moonlight” and “Lady Bird,” signed a first-look deal with Pushkin Industries, Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg’s audio production company.Under the new deal, A24 has the right of first refusal to develop film and TV projects based on Pushkin’s intellectual property. The companies are already in development on “a few” projects including a documentary series based on Gladwell’s “The Bomber Mafia,” to be directed by filmmaker Morgan Neville.Pushkin Industries CEO Weisberg and president Gladwell will executive produce projects developed through the A24 pact.Pushkin Industries, founded in 2018, has produced several podcasts that have broken into the top 10 on Apple’s Top Podcasts chart, including Gladwell’s “Revisionist History,” as well as “Against the Rules,” “The Happiness Lab,” “Broken Record,” “Cautionary Tales,” “The Last Archive,” “Deep Cover,” “Lost Hills” and “A Slight Change of Plans.” Pushkin’s audiobooks include Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Netanyahus” by Joshua Cohen and Gladwell’s “Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon.” In “The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War,” Gladwell uses original interviews and archival footage tell the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard.In the years leading up to World War II, most military strategists saw the airplane as an afterthought.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has struck a multi-year first-look deal with Animal Pictures, the production company run by Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne and Danielle Renfrew Behrens.The announcement of the deal comes after the premiere of “Loot,” the Apple comedy series in which Rudolph stars and executive produces. Under the terms of the deal, Apple will now have a first-look at all series and digital features developed and produced by Animal Pictures.In addition to “Loot,” Animal Pictures has Lyonne’s second season of “Russian Doll” at Netflix and Rian Johnson’s mystery “Poker Face” and a two-season order of adult animated series “The Hospital” created by Cirocco Dunlap.

Animal Pictures, the production company founded by Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne, has signed a first-look deal with Apple TV+.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJosh Richards has entered into a first-look deal with Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.Under the terms of the deal, he will act as a brand ambassador for the streamer and will develop custom social media for its content, including the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football.” The pro football league signed an 11-year deal with Amazon in 2021 for the rights to the Thursday night games, with this fall’s season being the first under the deal.“We are extremely excited to welcome Josh and his incredible team into the Amazon Studios and Prime Video fold,” said Lee Stimmel, head of influencer marketing for Amazon’s Prime Video. “Josh has an amazing track record of creating engaging content that resonates with his millions of fans.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentFurther expanding its already robust talent roster in Spain, Latin America and the U.S. Latino market, VIS, Paramount’s international studio, has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Madrid and Los Angeles-based Morena Films to develop and produce films and series for the company’s portfolio.The titles will have a strong focus on Latin America, Spain, and U.S.

win an Emmy for lead actor in a drama series. He also just won his second Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer on “A Strange Loop.”Gugenheim recently finished producing Porter’s feature directorial debut “Anything’s Possible” for Orion/MGM.In a statement of his own, Gugenheim said: “While ‘Pose’ was an incredible show that had a deep impact on strengthening my understanding of the importance of telling underrepresented stories and created a clear opening to approach Billy to direct ‘Anything’s Possible,’ it was working on set with Billy and watching him direct the cast and crew that left me with the most profound experience.

Selome Hailu Billy Porter has signed a first look deal with FX Productions to develop new content through his production company Incognegro with his producing partner D.J. Gugenheim.The deal is a continuation of Porter’s with FX, as he starred as Prayerful “Pray” Tell in all three seasons of the network’s hit drama “Pose.” in 2019, the role won him the Emmy Award for lead drama actor, and he was nominated again in 2020 and 2021.Along with “Pose,” Porter is best known for originating the role of Lola in “Kinky Boots” on Broadway.

Audible has entered into a first-look deal with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s media company, Higher Ground.“At Higher Ground, we have always sought to lift up voices that deserve to be heard — and Audible is invested in realizing that vision alongside us. I’m looking forward to partnering with them to tell stories that not only entertain but also inspire,” the former President said in a statement Tuesday.“We are so proud of the stories we have been able to tell at Higher Ground, and there’s no one we’d rather write our next chapter with than Audible.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorPresident Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are going into business with Audible, the Amazon-owned audio storytelling platform.Audible set an exclusive, multiyear and global first-look production deal with Higher Ground, the Obamas’ media company, covering multiple audio projects. The slate of Higher Ground’s shows for Audible “will reflect the companies’ shared mission to tell meaningful and entertaining stories that elevate diverse voices and experiences,” according to the announcement.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNatasha Lyonne and Rian Johnson’s Peacock series “Poker Face” has added five new cast members, Variety has learned exclusively.Tim Meadows (“Saturday Night Live,” “The Goldbergs”), Jameela Jamil (“The Good Place,” “She-Hulk”), Nicholas Cirillo (“Outer Banks,” “Jesus Revolution”), Audrey Corsa (“All Rise,” “Dear Edward”) and Niall Cunningham (“And Just Like That,” “Life in Pieces”) have all been cast in the series.The five new cast members join previously announced series lead Lyonne in the series, along with cast members that include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Benjamin Bratt, Stephanie Hsu, and David Castañeda. Plot and character details for the series are being kept largely under wraps, though sources say the show will follow a procedural format and see Lyonne’s character working to solve different murders in each episode. Meadows is repped by CESD and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Warner Bros. Television Group adds to its growing roster of talent by signing a new first-look deal with writer/producer Bill Prady and Chris Sanagustin’s Pine Tree Entertainment. Under the terms of the deal, Pine Tree Entertainment will develop new scripted programming — including dramas, multi- and single-camera comedies, genre series, and more — for all platforms, including HBO Max, external streaming services, cable, and broadcast networks.