Barry Jenkins’ Pastel Strikes First-Look Deal With HBO, HBO Max & A24

EXCLUSIVE: Director Rob Hardy is cranking up the power with a new first-look deal with Lionsgate and Power creator Courtney Kemp’s End of Episode Productions.

EXCLUSIVE: XG Productions, the company behind Fox’s reboot of America’s Most Wanted, has struck a first-look deal with CBS Studios and has set its first project – a TV adaptation of its Audible original series Call Me God in the works at Paramount+.

HBO Max is rounding out cast for its comedy pilot OK Boomer. Will Sasso (United We Fall, Mom) and Tim Chiou (I Was a Simple Man, Seal Team) are set as series regulars, along with Zoe Manarel (New Amsterdam, An American Girl: Summer Camp) and Carter Chee in the multi-camera comedy pilot from creator Todd Linden (Happy Endings, Alexa & Katie), the late Jamie Tarses’ Fanfare and Sony Pictures TV. They join previously announced series regulars Patti Lupone, Erinn Hayes and Devere Rogers.

Despite a fair number of teasers already released, the new trailer for “The Underground Railroad,” from director Barry Jenkins, is the best look yet at the overall plot of his upcoming Amazon Prime series. The show is based on the acclaimed novel from Colson Whitehead and tells the story of a woman, Cora Randall, who is desperate to find freedom in the antebellum South and attempts to escape a Georgia plantation on a mission to find the rumored Underground Railroad.

 is coming to life onscreen thanks to. The Oscar-winning director is turning the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a 10-part limited Amazon Prime series starring newcomers and as well as, and.

Tennis icon Serena Williams has inked a first-look TV deal with Amazon Studios, with an untitled docuseries already in the works.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRiff Raff Entertainment, the company founded by Oscar nominee Jude Law and Ben Jackson, has signed a first-look deal with New Republic Pictures.The deal is for both feature film and television production. New Republic, which was founded Brian Oliver and counts Bradley Fischer as its president, has signed four first-look deals in the last year.

ShivHans Pictures has signed a first-look film deal with Hotel Mumbai star Dev Patel. Under the deal, Patel will produce, develop and create projects with Shivani Rawat, CEO and founder of ShivHans Pictures, and president of production Julie Goldstein.

A+E Studios has entered into a multi-year first-look television development and production deal with management and production company Silver Lining Entertainment Productions.

New Republic Pictures’ founder Brian Oliver and president Bradley Fischer have signed Riff Raff Entertainment, the company founded by Academy Award-nominated actor Jude Law (“The Next,” “Fantastic Beasts”) and Ben Jackson, to a first-look feature film and television production deal, the company announced Tuesday.“We are thrilled to join forces with New Republic Pictures,” Law said in a statement to TheWrap.

The Personal History Of David Copperfield and Lion actor Dev Patel has set a first-look deal with production house ShivHans Pictures under which he will produce, develop and create features.

Also Read: Arclight and Pacific Theaters Close Permanently“After shutting our doors more than a year ago, today we must share the difficult and sad news that Pacific will not be reopening its ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres locations,” Pacific Theaters, parent company of Arclight and Pacific Theatres, said in a statement.

Refresh for updates…On Monday, a number of prominent Hollywood figures took to social media to mourn the closure of Arclight Cinemas.

EXCLUSIVE: Oliver Hudson, the actor who has starred in series including Rules of Engagement, Nashville and Scream Queens, is set to front and produce non-scripted format World’s Best Dad (w/t) after his new production company Bronco Productions struck a first-look deal with Jupiter Entertainment.

A few months ago WarnerMedia shook Hollywood by announcing every movie would screen in both theaters and HBO Max simultaneously in 2021, and now they seem to want to keep some version of that model going forward. READ MORE: ‘Godzilla Vs.

Taylor Sheridan is one of the most respected filmmakers working in Hollywood today. His unique brand of storytelling, typically focused on violence amongst everyday people in rural areas, has struck a chord with a ton of film fans, after seeing his writing in projects such as “Hell or High Water,” “Wind River,” and “Yellowstone.” Now, he is set to return with a new feature, “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” which is arriving on HBO Max next month.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor“Big Little Lies” director Jean-Marc Vallée and producing partner Nathan Ross have set a first-look deal with HBO Max and HBO, where the pair are shepherding the limited series “The Gorilla and the Bird.”The three-year pact calls for Vallée and Ross to executive produce “Gorilla” through their Crazyrose banner. Vallée will direct the drama based on the memoir by Zack McDermott about a mother’s unconditional love for her bipolar adult son.

Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross, the Emmy-winning producers behind HBO’s Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects, have entered into a three-year first-look deal with HBO and HBO Max via their Crazyrose production company. Under the deal, Vallée and Ross will executive produce both Gorilla and the Bird, a limited series based on the memoir by Zack McDermott which Vallée will also direct, and The Players Table, starring Sydney Sweeney and Halsey to be directed by Annabelle Attanasio.

EXCLUSIVE: Prolific reality TV producer Carlos King is expanding his relationship with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network with a first-look deal. Under the pact, King, via his Kingdom Reign Entertainment, will develop original unscripted series that will be available exclusively on OWN, which he will executive produce.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterAfter a delayed start due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotly anticipated “Friends” reunion is finally set to film next week — the week of April 5 — a source tells Variety.Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry will reunite on a Warner Bros.