EXCLUSIVE: Hercules Film Fund and Rhea Films have closed a deal to finance and produce a feature-length version of Power Signal — the sci-fi short from Oscar Boyson that had its world premiere in Sundance’s Midnight Shorts section last Friday.
10.01.2023 - 22:55 / deadline.com
MGM+, formerly Epix, unveiled its programming lineup and development slate that includes a new John Wells drama based on a Stephen L. Carter novel, a period drama about Harlem crime boss Stephanie St. Clair, based on an MGM movie, and a docuseries about the disco era.
The newly rebranded premium linear channel and streaming service will launch on January 15 in conjunction with the season three premiere of Godfather of Harlem starring and executive produced by Forest Whitaker and created by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein.
The development slate includes scripted series The Emperor of Ocean Park, Hoodlum, based on the 1997 movie starring Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth and Andy Garcia, Earth Abides, based on a George R. Stewart book, Ark, based on Stephen Baxter’s books and Kevin Kline comedy American Classic, which was previously announced. See full details below.
These series will join previously greenlit series Hotel Cocaine and San Francisco Sounds (working title) in MGM+’s new lineup. Hotel Cocaine, a crime thriller executive produced by Brancato, will enter production in May in the Dominican Republic, and is scheduled to premiere next winter. San Francisco Sounds, a two-part documentary series that tracks the history of the San Francisco music scene from 1965 to 1975.
It has also renewed Billy The Kid for a second season and picked up the second season of BBC war drama Rogue Heroes.
Here’s the new slate:
The Emperor of Ocean Park (scripted) – From John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television, The Emperor of Ocean Park is a suspenseful take on Stephen L. Carter’s best-selling novel. Set in the worlds of D.C. politics, Ivy League academia, and the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard, the series centers on Talcott
EXCLUSIVE: Hercules Film Fund and Rhea Films have closed a deal to finance and produce a feature-length version of Power Signal — the sci-fi short from Oscar Boyson that had its world premiere in Sundance’s Midnight Shorts section last Friday.
Jane Fonda’s starring turn in 1968’s Barbarella helped catapult her to worldwide acclaim — but she’s not thinking about passing the mantle onto Sydney Sweeney, who is set to lead the upcoming remake.
EXCLUSIVE: Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are attached to star in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel It Ends With Us, which is currently in development with Wayfarer Studios and Sony Pictures. Baldoni is also set to direct, with Christy Hall adapting the script.
EXCLUSIVE: Kurt Wimmer’s redo of Stephen King’s Children of the Corn has been picked up by RLJE Films and AMC network’s horror streaming service Shudder. The movie will hit theaters on March 3 in an 18 day theatrical window before hitting demand and digital on March 21.
19-year-old Madison Brooks was struck and killed by a car in Baton Rouge on January 15. But her death was not entirely an accident — it’s now lead to the arrests of four young men… The Louisiana State University
BEST FILMALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Malte GrunertTHE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonaghELVIS Gail Berman, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Patrick McCormick, Schuyler WeissEVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan WangTÁR Todd Field, Scott Lambert, Alexandra MilchanOUTSTANDING BRITISH FILMAFTERSUN Charlotte Wells, Producer(s) TBCTHE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete CzerninBRIAN AND CHARLES Jim Archer, Rupert Majendie, David Earl, Chris HaywardEMPIRE OF LIGHT Sam Mendes, Pippa HarrisGOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE Sophie Hyde, Debbie Gray, Adrian Politowski, Katy BrandLIVING Oliver Hermanus, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Kazuo IshiguroROALD DAHL’S MATILDA THE MUSICAL Matthew Warchus, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn, Luke Kelly, Dennis KellySEE HOW THEY RUN Tom George, Gina Carter, Damian Jones, Mark ChappellTHE SWIMMERS Sally El Hosaini, Producer(s) TBC, Jack ThorneTHE WONDER Sebastián Lelio, Ed Guiney, Juliette Howell, Andrew Lowe, Tessa Ross, Alice Birch, Emma DonoghueOUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCERAFTERSUN Charlotte Wells (Writer/Director)BLUE JEAN Georgia Oakley (Writer/Director), Hélène Sifre (Producer)ELECTRIC MALADY Marie Lidén (Director)GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE Katy Brand (Writer)REBELLION Maia Kenworthy (Director)FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGEALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Edward Berger, Malte GrunertARGENTINA, 1985 Santiago Mitre, Producer(s) TBCCORSAGE Marie KreutzerDECISION TO LEAVE Park Chan-wook, Ko Dae-seokTHE QUIET GIRL Colm Bairéad, Cleona Ní ChrualaoíDOCUMENTARYALL THAT BREATHES Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman MannALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED Laura Poitras, Howard
EXCLUSIVE: Antoine Fuqua is set to direct Michael, a Lionsgate drama with script by telling the complex life story of the iconic singer Michael Jackson. A script is in by John Logan, and the film will be produced by Graham King, who turned the Freddie Mercury Queen story into the blockbuster Best Picture nominated Bohemian Rhapsody. GK Films will produce alongside co-executors of Jackson’s estate, John Branca and John McClain.
EXCLUSIVE: Momo, one of the best-loved works by The Neverending Story scribe Michael Ende, is getting a big-canvas, English-language screen adaption from leading German producer Christian Becker (The Wave, Fuck You, Goethe) and bilingual writer-director Christian Ditter (How To Be Single).
EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Entertainment, Feigco Entertainment and Ghost House have closed a deal for a feature adaptation of the novel Suburban Hell from author Maureen Kilmer. Joanna Calo has been tapped to write with Paul Feig and Laura Fischer of Feigco Entertainment producing alongside Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert of Ghost House. Romel Adam and Jose Cañas will oversee for Ghost House.
EXCLUSIVE: Music supervision is increasingly in the spotlight with turns such as Jenna Ortega dancing to The Cramps’ Goo Goo Muck in Wednesday or Zendaya singing Tupac’s Hit ‘Em Up in Euphoria.
Nothing but roses! Sarah Hyland weighed in after Chris Harrison gave her husband, Wells Adams, a shout-out on his Bachelor-themed podcast.
Barney, Norma and magical-talking-dog Pugsley are closing out their summer adventures at Netflix after the streamer canceled the animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park.
Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will factor in this year’s movie awards races.