James Gray To Write & Direct Drama Series About Norman Mailer

Clayton Davis Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.

Not only is the Cannes Film Festival returning to its traditional May timeframe for its 75th edition, but the easing of the pandemic means non-European attendees will no longer have to be tested for COVID every other day. Oh, and big world premieres are on tap too, of course.

EXCLUSIVE: Face/Off and Hacksaw Ridge producer David Permut has acquired Steve Lillbuen’s true crime book The Devil’s Cinema about Canadian filmmaker Mark Twitchell who was convicted of first degree murder in 2011.

Marvel’s highly-anticipated Ironheart series continues to gain momentum as the studio has set Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes to direct the series for Disney+. Ironheart will star Dominique Thorne as Marvel character Riri Williams, a genius inventor and  creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. Deadline recently broke that Anthony Ramos would also be joining the cast. Deadline has also learned that Ryan Coogler’s production company, Proximity, has come on as producers.

Glamorous, starring Fuller House’s Miss Benny, was previously in the works as a pilot for The CW. It has now been handed a series order at Netflix.

Emmys snubs! Peak TV has never seen snubs like this. And the Outstanding Drama Series is going to have a ton of them.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTom Hiddleston is set to star in the Apple limited series “The White Darkness,” Variety has learned.The series is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by David Grann. It is inspired by the true life account of Henry Worsley (Hiddleston), a devoted husband and father, a former soldier, a man of deep honor and sacrifice, but also a man deeply obsessed with adventure, manifesting in an epic journey crossing Antarctica on foot.Soo Hugh, who most recently created and showran the Apple series “Pachinko,” will serve as writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner on “The White Darkness.” Mark Heyman will executive produce and co-showrun. “Pachinko” executive producer Theresa Kang-Lowe and Caroline Garity of Blue Marble Pictures will also executive produce.

Clayton Davis New Zealand-born actor, director and producer Russell Crowe had one of the most incredible runs in the late 1990s and early 2000s, quickly becoming a huge star in Hollywood. With a career that started opposite George Takei in “Blood Oath” (1990), he’s delivered a treasure trove of unforgettable performances over the last three decades.After making a name for himself in Australia with nominations and wins at the country’s equivalent to the Oscars for “The Crossing” (1990), “Proof” (1991) and “Romper Stomper” (1992), his debut in American cinemas began opposite Denzel Washington in Brett Leonard’s sci-fi flick “Virtuosity” (1995) as the virtual reality entity turned serial killer android SID.

Apple TV+ has given a formal green light to Constellation, a conspiracy-based psychological thriller drama series starring Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul). The project was created and written by Peter Harness (The War of the Worlds), with Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad) set to direct the series from Turbine Studios and Haut et Court TV.

Jessica Williams (Love Life) is set as a lead opposite Jason Segel and Harrison Ford in Shrinking, Apple TV+’s 10-episode comedy series written and executive produced by Segel and Ted Lasso‘s co-creator/executive producer/showrunner Bill Lawrence and star/writer/producer Brett Goldstein. James Ponsoldt has signed on to direct multiple episodes, including the first, and executive produce the project, from Warner Bros Television.

EXCLUSIVE: Peacock is developing a 1960s crime saga set in Hawaii from The Eternals writers Kaz and Ryan Firpo, Fast & Furious director Justin Lin and The Walking Dead and Minari star Steven Yeun.

Angelique Jackson Nancy Meyers is set to write, direct and produce a new feature film for Netflix.Meyers previously partnered with the streamer in 2020 to release the short film “Father of the Bride Part 3 (ish).” The special project premiered on Netflix’s social channels, bringing together the cast of “Father of the Bride” and “Father of the Bride Part II,” as well as Robert De Niro, Florence Pugh and Ben Platt for a very special Banks family reunion that benefited World Central Kitchen.More to come…

EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Meyers has made a deal to write, direct and produce a new film for Netflix. No title or logline, but sources describe it as an ensemble comedy, which is right in her wheelhouse.

Jason Momoa is one of the more in-demand actors in Hollywood that have been able to juggle television series and film. With his Apple TV+ show “See,” appearing in multiple Netflix films like the upcoming fantasy film “Slumberland” from director Francis Lawrence, the supporting role in Denis Villeneuve‘s Oscar-winning epic “Dune,” and finishing up James Wan‘s “Aquaman” sequel in the United Kingdom, Momoa has been working non-stop for the last two years.

Jason Momoa is diving deep into Hawaiian history for Apple TV+.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJason Momoa is set to star in, write, and executive produce the drama series “Chief of War” for Apple, Variety has learned.The series follows the story of the unification and colonization of Hawaii from an indigenous point of view. Apple has given the show an eight-episode order.Momoa will write alongside Thomas Pa’a Sibbett. Both also serve as executive producers, as will Francis Lawrence, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Erik Holmberg, and Doug Jung.

In a parallel universe, we might have been talking about this controversial joke instead of the Will Smith slap all last week!

Filmmaker James Gray (“The Lost City of Z”), who was most recently behind the Brad Pitt-led sci-fi film “Ad Astra,” is turning his sights toward a more grounded dramatic series for his next effort. Gray will be writing and directing a show based on the life of famed writer Norman Mailer, the celebrated and controversial author of such books as “The Executioner’s Song” and “The White Negro: Superficial Reflections On The Hipster.” Deadline reports that Gray’s series will be called “Mailer,” adding that the new project is based on the author J.

J. Kim Murphy NBCUniversal has announced that it is developing “Pinned,” a new dramatic scripted series about the world of wrestling.“Pinned” comes from Universal Content Productions and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. The production is billed as a dramatic series with a logline touting “an adrenalized upstairs-downstairs soap that gives a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional wrestling promotion and the unforgettable characters that populate it.”“Pinned” will offer a look into the world of wrestling culture, documenting the mayhem both within the locker room and the boardroom of wrestling organizations.Craig O’Neill serves as an executive producer on the series, alongside Tom Rinaldi.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSamuel L. Jackson will return to Broadway in a new revival of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” He’s joined by a cast that includes “Tenet” star John David Washington and “The Peacemaker’s” Danielle Brooks. The show is something of a family affair for Jackson.