Disney Teams With Google, Trade Desk to Sell Streaming Ads to Wider Base

Whatever happened to actor-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde directing a “Spider-Man” spin-off, rumored to be a Jessica Drew “Spider-Woman” film? Well, it’s unclear if it will ever happen, and it’s clearly not anywhere on the release date schedule. But perhaps in a sign that she still intends to make some kind of superhero film centered around women, she’s signed a deal to partner with producer Simon Kinberg and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap productions to make a live-action adaptation of Rob Liefeld’s “Avengelyne” comic series (via THR).

EXCLUSIVE: In what shapes up with the potential to be a big one, The Dish hears that this is about Avengelyne — an angel who fights the forces of evil — with Olivia Wilde directing, based on the signature comic book creation by Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld. Aboard to produce is LuckyChap, the shingle Margot Robbie runs with Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, and Simon Kinberg. I’ve heard the plan was for this to be developed for Robbie to star, but her camp is denying that part of it. A big A-list writer is circling to adapt.

After Disney declared victory in its proxy battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz, CEO Bob Iger went on a theme-park offensive during the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Air Supply may be the latest chart-topping musical act to get the big screen treatment. Altit Media Group said it plans to make biopic about the band that will, in a nod to one of the group’s biggest hits, be entitled, “All Out of Love: The Air Supply Story.” The film will be released in summer 2025 to celebrate Air Supply’s 50th anniversary. Filming is set to take place in Australia and the U.K.

Naman Ramachandran Toonz Media Group and Be That Spark Corp, a joint venture between BLKBX Originals and Zuroam Media, have signed a co-production and co-distribution agreement for upcoming 3D animated series “Little Sparks.” “Little Sparks” is based on the children’s book series “A Little Spark” by Chris Parsons, recipient of the Mom’s Choice Award Gold Medal for family-friendly media. The books will be adapted into a CGI animated series aimed at the four to eight age group.

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite) have been tapped to star in The Roses, a reimagining of the 1989 classic The War of the Roses, which Jay Roach (Bombshell) will direct for Searchlight Pictures.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Usually, shareholder votes for corporate board directors have all the suspense of a Soviet-style election. Most of the time, director candidates are backed by the company, and they run unopposed — winning election or reelection in a landslide. In 2022, only 75 board-endorsed candidates at companies in the Russell 3000, less than 0.5% of almost 17,500 board members on the ballot that year, failed to get elected by shareholders, per an analysis by the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (which also noted that, while small, the number had dramatically risen vs.

CBS Media Ventures has struck a deal with Game Show Enterprises Studios to produce previously announced Flip Side, a new syndicated game show hosted by Jaleel White that will launch in Fall 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: Action megastar Keanu Reeves has partnered with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens to co-produce a documentary on the life story of Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, the iconic athlete who introduced mixed martial arts to the world.

Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival will celebrate the centennial of Columbia Pictures with an expansive retrospective titled The Lady with the Torch, mounted in collaboration with the studio’s parent company, Sony. 

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has issued some doom-and-gloom thinking behind why the hit sci-fi series needed to partner with Disney+.

EXCLUSIVE: Production is officially underway on Zombies 4 (w/t) in New Zealand with stars Swayam Bhatia (Disney’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers) playing Vera; Julian Lerner (ABC’s The Wonder Years) as Ray; and Mekonnen Knife (Joe vs. Carole) as Vargas—all characters are new mysterious supernatural monsters.

2024 is shaping up to be quite the year for Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (“Suspiria”). Following on the heels of his new gay romance drama, “Separate Rooms,” which was announced yesterday and starred Josh O’Connor, the “Call Me By Your Name” director has yet another new project in the works, this one with A-lister Julia Roberts.

EXCLUSIVE: Wild Card Creative Group (WCCG), which has recently worked on such campaigns as Dune, The Bikeriders, Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon and American Fiction, is joining forces with BlueMoon AI to develop a pioneering AI innovation tailored for advertising materials creation, harnessing cutting-edge technology.

Wizards of Waverly Place is creating its own universe as Disney Channel has officially greenlit a sequel series Wizards (w/t) with original stars Selena Gomez and David Henrie reprising their roles and taking on executive producer duties. Production on the new series begins In April in Los Angeles with a premiere tentatively scheduled for later this year on Disney Channel and Disney+.

A.D. Amorosi After a handful of social media rants on the fairness of royalty payment structuring in the music industry, James Blake has announced his participation in the launch of Vault, a direct artist-to-fan streaming platform focused on unreleased music.“About a week ago I went viral with a post about the effects of streaming and TikTok on artists’ ability to support themselves,” said Blake in a post on X (formerly Twitter), announcing his new participation with Vault to provide artists with better streaming rates.

In the first expansion of the Disney Real-Time Ad Exchange, the media company is rolling out a more advanced offering for streaming advertisers featuring tech platforms run by Google and The Trade Desk.

Ben Croll In a push to bulk up a library of adult-skewing dramas and to expand the brand identity beyond family fare, Disney+ has ordered a raft of scripted originals out of France, Germany and Spain. Out of Gaul, the streamer has commissioned “The Lost Station Girls,” a true-crime thriller about a two-decades-long inquiry into the murders of four young women in the south-of-France. “Emily in Paris” star Camille Razat will topline the investigation drama produced by Itinéraire, the same outfit behind Disney’s BAFTA nominated “Oussekine,” while Gaëlle Bellan (“Tout Va Bien”) oversees the project.

Doctor Who has a date.

Veteran producer and sales agent Rosa Bosch has joined the Madrid-based distributor and international sales agency Begin Again Films. Bosch will serve as part of the company’s international department.