Hollywood Mourns Participant, the Oscar-Winning Studio that Wanted to Save the World

A woman who had her life turned upside down by a freak accident is now working with A-list celebrities in Hollywood.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer As consumers turn apathetic toward information collecting online — and Washington cracks down on foreign-owned apps like TikTok — the urgency of data privacy and protection seems increasingly unavoidable in daily life. “Technically Optimistic,” a podcast from Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective, seeks to address that in ways that don’t make the average listener’s eyes glaze over. “I’m trying to break this information down in a way that my mother-in-law would find interesting,” said Raffi Krikorian, host of the series which began a Season 2 rollout in April.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Carla Gugino has been tapped to play Hollywood screen legend Vivien Leigh in the forthcoming biopic “The Florist.” The film is directed by Nick Sandow (star of “Orange is the New Black”) and will explore Leigh’s struggle with bipolar disorder in the 1960s, as she prepares to lead the Broadway production of John Gielgud’s Chekhov adaptation of “Ivanov.” Screenwriter Jayce Bartok (“The Cake Eaters”) put the script together based on a box of love letters. Leigh earned her place in cinema history as Scarlett O’Hara, the central character in 1939’s “Gone With the Wind,” opposite Clark Gable.

Barbra Streisand is addressing her Instagram reply to Melissa McCarthy after she went viral for asking if she had used Ozempic.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Nicole Kidman has been an international treasure going on four decades. Whether you’re tracking her many wigs (“The Undoing” is our favorite), admiring her textured and committed performances, or just standing up and saluting before every AMC Theatres showing, you’re probably honoring her in some way.

Every week it seems there are large numbers of indie and specialty releases vying for attention, impossible to do them all, so when the option of reviewing Nowhere Special was placed in front of me I resisted at first after discovering it actually premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. That’s right, four years ago. I had to wonder what could possibly be good about a film delayed for that long in terms of getting a U.S. release date? Finally caving in to the persistent requests by the distributor and its passionate PR team, I decided to check it out. What I discovered was not that this was some sort of troubled film, not even close. Instead I found a spare but moving drama, powered by a remarkable lead performance, that is all about life and death and all things inbetween. At its heart it is also an inspiring story of dedicated parent and child, how we face the uncertain future, and what we leave behind. Nowhere Special is something special indeed. If you aren’t shedding well-earned tears by the end of this film you simply are not human.

Janet Jackson opened up about how close she came to playing an iconic superhero.

Carolyn Giardina “The Imaginary,” an upcoming hand-drawn animated fantasy film from Japan’s Studio Ponoc that will play in competition at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, is set to debut July 5 on Netflix. An Oscar-qualifying run is also planned.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Rachel Stavis, billed as the “Hollywood Exorcist,” is channeling her creativity for a number of upcoming scripted projects.Stavis is an author and filmmaker whose day job — as a “non-denominational exorcist on a mission to create global change by eradicating darkness from one person or place at a time,” per her bio – has put her in the employ of studio chiefs, movie stars and global political figures.Stavis’ work ranges from the personal and therapeutic to paranormal investigations, and content makers are taking notice. Stavis is currently in the casting phase for her feature directorial debut “Da Wee Do Wa,” for which she also wrote the script.

Eurovision Song Contest 2024.According to Eurovision World, the favourites to win the competition have been revealed. Coming in first place is Switzerland’s NEMO, who currently has a 25 per cent chance at snagging the crown this year with their song ‘The Code’.Behind Switzerland in second place is Croatia, whose entry Baby Lasagna is predicted to have a 17 per cent chance of winning with his song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’.

The news last weekthat Participant Media would be shutting down shocked the entertainment industry, but it hit the documentary community with particular force. 

the Telegraph, admitting that the ordeal was “rough.”“This is not grandfather’s day, this is parents’ day. I say ‘I am a parent!’,” he told the outlet.

Editors note: Filmmaker and producer Davis Guggenheim directed 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth featuring Al Gore. The film won the Oscar and helped put Jeff Skoll‘s social-impact-driven production company then known as Participant Media on the map, and also sounded an alarm about climate change that has become more pronounced since the film was released. In addition to documentaries, Participant was also responsible for Oscar Best Picture winners Spotlight and Green Book, and Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, another timely topic. Guggenheim is a co-founder of Concordia Studio and most recently directed and produced Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which  won four Emmys including for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.  He is the only person to direct and produce three distinct films ranking in the top 100 highest-grossing documentaries of all time (An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for Superman). Here he penned a guest column for Deadline after learning Participant was shuttering. 

At first, I was shocked by the news that Participant Media was dying. Such an appealing company. Smart. Mindful. Vibrant. Forward-thinking. The producer of intelligent films like Spotlight and Green Book, with a distinctly progressive message.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending, of “Abigail,” currently playing in theaters. The vampire thriller “Abigail” originated as a modern-day update of the classic horror film “Dracula’s Daughter.” But by the time the filmmaking trio Radio Silence — producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — began production on “Abigail” in Ireland in the spring of 2023, the movie had virtually no connection to the 1936 Universal picture.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Gov. Phil Murphy has made TV and film a top priority for New Jersey ever since he took the helm of the Garden State in 2018. This week, Murphy made a West Coast swing to talk artificial intelligence with firms in the Bay Area and to talk new business with studios in Hollywood.

UPDATED with more details: Financier and producer Participant is shuttering after 20 years. Founder Jeff Skoll alerted staff at 10:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday, Deadline has confirmed.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Participant, the 20-year-old film and television production company whose mission was to inspire social justice and humanitarian action, is shutting down. Founder Jeff Skoll broke the news to a staff of roughly 100 on Tuesday.

Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston coordinate in black outfits while promoting their hit series The Morning Show at PaleyFest LA on Friday (April 12) in Hollywood, Calif.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Netflix has acquired “Rather,” the documentary about veteran journalist Dan Rather‘s landmark career in news. The film, which premieres April 24 on the streamer, utilizes the story of of Rather’s life on television to also explore the evolution of broadcast journalism, the troubles a free press now faces, along with the slide of American society from hard-fought advances in social justice and democratic freedoms.