Hasbro Puts EOne Film, TV Business Up For Sale

NBC Universal chief Jeff Shell was coy yet clearly jazzed today about the possible merger of prolific horror producers Jason Blum and James Wan’s respective companies — Blumhouse and Atomic Monster – saying “I can’t confirm it,” but, “If that should happen, we are going to be in an absolutely impregnable position.”

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said Peacock has more than 18 million paid subscribers as of today, a nice bump from the 15 million it announced for the quarter ended Sept. 30, driven by programming migrated from Hulu, sports and Universal movies.

Writer-director Tarik Saleh’s latest film Cairo Conspiracy follows Adam, the son of a fisherman, who is offered the ultimate privilege to study at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the epicenter of power in Sunni Islam. Shortly after his arrival, the university’s highest religious leader, the Grand Imam, suddenly dies and Adam soon becomes a pawn in a ruthless power struggle between Egypt’s religious and political elite.

Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul” is a fast one for the books, a film that (contrary to so much of contemporary cinema) delivers exponentially more than it promises. It begins as a modest, observational slice-of-life drama and slowly transforms into a movie about the lies we tell ourselves — about who we are, what we feel, and what we need.

A platoon of titles hits the specialty circuit this weekend, getting in ahead of steamroller Avatar: Way of Water and the year-end deadline for Oscar eligibility. This is a soul-searching, what-lies-ahead moment for a market still much too inconsistent for comfort, but that can be pondered later. At the moment, indie distributors are quite busy “with all these movies, and these plans to release theatrically. We are not going anywhere,” said one executive.

The longest voting awards committee is underway with the New York Film Critics Circle already naming this AM A24’s Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Best Animated film and A24/Mubi’s Aftersun from Charlotte Wells as Best First Film. In previous years, it can take five hours before the New York Film Critics Circle names Best Picture. We’ll be here for the long haul.

“Return to Seoul” is a film that played at a number of festivals in 2022, most notably TIFF and Cannes, where it earned rave reviews. However, when you look at the lineup of international films vying for Oscar glory, it doesn’t always get brought up.

EXCLUSIVE: Shout! Studios has acquired North American rights to Body Parts, a documentary that takes a critical look at the way Hollywood shoots sex scenes.

Serge Bromberg, a former artistic director of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, is facing a four-year prison sentence for his role in a deadly fire involving nitrate film reels.

Nadia Sawalha broke down during a Loose Women segment today as she shared a look inside her assessment to discover whether she has Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The ITV panel show returned today after being off due to the World Cup and anchor Kaye Adams told viewers that Nadia had some life-changing news to share.

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Mendes has cast Johnny Flynn (Emma, Beast), Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey, Mank) and Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss to portray legendary stars Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and John Gielgud in The Motive and the Cue, a mouth-watering new play by Jack Thorne that explores how acting giants Burton and Gielgud staged Hamlet on Broadway in 1964.

Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles welcomed a record 29 of the year’s buzziest movies from 14 studios and streamers live on stage Saturday at the DGA Theater. A crowd of key Academy and key guild voters took in the all-day affair, hearing from the stars and creatives behind the movies that are making noise this awards season. Now you can hear from them too.

In 2011, director Davy Chou was heading to South Korea for the first time when one of his best friends decided to tag along to show him around “her country.”

Sarah Polley, whose latest feature Women Talking hits theaters in December, has been named Director of the Year by the Palm Springs Film Festival. The honor will be bestowed January 5 at PSIFF’s annual awards gala to kick off the festival’s 2023 edition.

After more than a year and a half of development, eOne recently started shopping its Dungeons & Dragons live-action TV series. Shepherded by Red Notice filmmaker Rawson Marshall Thurber, it is based on Hasbro’s wildly popular fantasy role-playing game franchise.

“I’ve been to the other side!,” testified Tonight host Jimmy Fallon in mock-revivalist-preacher mode on last night’s show. “I’ve seen the Pearly Gates! I’ve paid $8 for that blue check mark in the sky but I want you all to know I wouldn’t leave this earth until my job is done and tonight my job is to entertain you!”

Jimmy Fallon, contrary to a thoroughly unconvincing Twitter hoax, is not dead. Still, when he reached out – half-heartedly, if must be noted – to Twitter CEO Elon Musk for assistance, he was met with a verbal shrug.