Imagine Entertainment Makes Multi-Year First-Look Film Deal With Amazon Studios

This documentary is going to be AMAZING!

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Former Epix exec Benjamin Tappan has joined Walden Media as president of production, overseeing the shingle’s TV and film development, as well as production. Tappan’s hire comes as Walden Media also looks to broaden its programming mix. Tappan will report to Walden Media president and CEO Frank Smith, who announced the hire on Tuesday. “Ben’s vast experience as both a production executive and talent representative along with his great track record of making popular and critically praised content make him uniquely suited for leading our creative team,” Smith said in a statement. “We greatly look forward to his leadership and contributions as we build the Walden Media of the future.”

Paramount Pictures has renewed its multi-year, first-look film deal with Temple Hill Entertainment, the producer of their smash fall horror hit Smile which grossed over $200M WW and netted a $101M profit for the Melrose Ave. lot.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Paramount Pictures has renewed its multi-year, first-look film deal with Temple Hill Entertainment. The companies recently collaborated on the creepy thriller “Smile,” which became an unexpected box office hit to the tune of $200 million globally. Under the terms of the agreement, Temple Hill Entertainment will continue to develop films for both Paramount Pictures and its label Paramount Players. On the television side, Temple Hill remains under a first-look deal with Lionsgate.  “Temple Hill has a proven track record for making films that truly connect with people. In the decade that we’ve known them, Wyck Marty, and Isaac have been incredible collaborators and more importantly, we also count them as friends,” said Paramount’s Motion Picture Group co-presidents Michael Ireland and Daria Cercek. “We couldn’t be happier to be extending this relationship so we can continue to find new ways to wow audiences together.”

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios has signed a first-look deal with actor, writer, and filmmaker Sylvester Stallone and his company Balboa Productions.

Brillstein Entertainment Partners is looking to “fuel the momentum” of its production company after striking a first-look deal with Paramount Television Studios.

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Entertainment and Veritas Entertainment have struck a first-look television deal and set their first project together – an adaptation of a Lee Childs story.

EXCLUSIVE: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Tom McCarthy’s production company Slow Pony has inked an exclusive first-look film deal with Concordia Studio, the talent-first studio whose most recent production, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, world premiered to critical acclaim at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will bow on Apple TV+ on May 12th.

“Star Wars” fans are enjoying their first look at the latest Disney+ TV series from the franchise, with Rosario Dawson reprising the role of Ahsoka Tano, which she introduced in “The Mandalorian”.

Fans of “Star Wars” animated shows were obviously excited when “The Mandalorian” opened the door for live-action incarnations of “Clone Wars” characters like Bo-Katan and Ahsoka Tano. The latter played by Rosario Dawson landed her own spinoff series that was headed-up by creator/producer/showrunner Dave Filoni allowing him to continue arcs for multiple of his characters including a bunch from “Star Wars: Rebels.” READ MORE: ‘Ahsoka’: Mary Elizabeth Winstead Reportedly Playing ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ Character Hera Syndulla In Upcoming Disney+ Series With Star Wars Celebration in full swing in London, Filoni and Lucasfilm were able to finally share a first-look images as the show is expected to debut later this year on Disney+.

Ahsoka,” showcasing the newest adventure for Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s beloved padawan. The trailer was released as part of London’s Star Wars Celebration on Friday. The upcoming Disney+ series stars Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka, an exiled Jedi who was once Anakin’s apprentice before he turned to the dark side and became Dark Vader. The show will premiere in August, Disney confirmed at the event. Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Favreau praised “Ahsoka” showrunner Dave Filoni, who was joined on stage by Dawson and Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who plays Sabin Wren, a Mandalorian warrior, revolutionary and graffiti artist who first appeared in “Star Wars Rebels.” Also surprising U.K. fans was Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who revealed she’ll be playing Hera Syndulla from Rebels.

Tom Daley shared a first look at his new baby boy in a sweet gallery of images on Instagram on Wednesday.  The post came just hours after it was revealed the Olympic diving champ and his husband Dustin Lance Black have welcomed their second child via surrogate - and the baby has a very unusual name. Tom, 28, wrote: 'Phoenix Rose Black-Daley.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment has entered a significant content deal with Major League Baseball, Variety can report exclusively. The partnership will yield multiple scripted and unscripted projects, the first of which is a documentary feature from noted filmmaker R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue,” “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”) following baseball’s 2023 world series. “I’ve always been drawn to the drama, high stakes, and emotion of baseball ever since I was kid in the bleachers of Dodger Stadium,” Oscar winner Howard told Variety. “These also happen to be the very same elements that make for a great movie or television show, which is why Brian, Imagine, and I are so excited to be teaming up with Major League Baseball to bring more of their stories to life.”

Tom Holland is coming to TV.

Amazon Studios has closed an exclusive multiyear first-look film deal with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, the company announced on Friday.Under the pact, Amazon Studios will have a first look on narrative features and documentaries Imagine Entertainment intends to produce.“Whether it’s a captivating drama like ‘Thirteen Lives’ or a poignant documentary like ‘Lucy and Desi,’ the team at Imagine Entertainment has an incredible gift for storytelling,” Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon and MGM Studios said in a statement. “As we look forward to more exciting projects on the horizon, we are honored to make our longstanding relationship official and to bring more powerful, engaging stories to audiences around the world.”“Brian, Ron, and I, along with our entire team at Imagine including Karen Lunder, President of Imagine Features, and Sara Bernstein, President of Imagine Documentaries, couldn’t be more excited to have a home at Amazon and continue our shared desire to make tentpole films that inspire, elevate, and entertain audiences,” Justin Wilkes, President of Imagine Entertainment added.

Amazon Studios has signed an exclusive first look deal with former Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada, the company announced on Thursday.Under the deal Quesada will be developing series and films for Prime Video, with a particular focus on adapting existing and new comic book IP. “Joe has been a singular and influential creative force guiding some of the most iconic storytelling that exists today,” Nick Pepper, Head of US SVOD Wholly Owned Development, Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “The opportunity to bring his expertise and vision to Amazon Studios presents a world of possibilities and we can’t wait to see what he brings to life next.”Quesada added: “I can’t begin to express just how thrilled I am to be joining the Amazon Studios family.

Amazon Studios has signed an exclusive first-look deal with former Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada. Under the deal, Quesada will be developing series and films for Prime Video, focusing on adapting existing and new comic book IP.

K.J. Yossman Former Amazon Studios Europe boss Georgia Brown has revealed her first industry role since leaving the streamer last year. She is set to chair a skills task force for the U.K. screen industry with the intention of focusing on critical labor shortages in the production sector. Joining her on the task force will be senior representatives from major U.K. broadcasters BBC, ITV and Channel 4 as well as international studios and streamers including Prime Video, Netflix, Disney and NBCUniversal, key orgs such as ScreenSkills, PACT and the British Film Commission and national screen agencies. The British Film Institute (BFI) have convened the task force following a skills review commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport showing crew shortfalls will soon reach breaking point. Its remit is to produce and support a plan of action that will result in growth, training and increased retention in the screen sector as well as improvements in equity, diversity and inclusion and mental health. Where appropriate, the task force will make recommendations to the U.K. government.

Former Amazon Studios Europe boss Georgia Brown is to chair the BFI’s Skills Task Force, which has been assembled to address major skills shortages in the UK film and TV sector over the next five years.

EXCLUSIVE: Smokehouse Pictures partner George Clooney and Grant Heslov have signed an overall film deal with the Warner Bros. Pictures Group and its Co-Chairs and CEOs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy. It amounts to a homecoming for the filmmakers, who named their company for the Smoke House steak joint right off the Warner Bros lot, where they used to eat all the time. Clooney’s history with the studio goes back to his breakthrough starring role in the Warner Bros Television drama ER. They made their first deal at Warner Bros when they formed Smokehouse in 2006.