John Cena to Star in ‘Officer Exchange’ Film at Amazon Studios

EXCLUSIVE: Camila Mendes (Riverdale) has signed on to star opposite Rudy Mancuso in the film Música, which he is directing for Amazon Studios and Wonderland Sound and Vision.

Jenny Han’s relationship with Amazon Studios is expanding. The author has signed an overall deal to produce both television and film content for the studio.The deal comes ahead of Han’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” adaptation’s debut on Prime Video.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty author Jenny Han is expanding her relationship with Amazon Studios, with an overall television and film deal. The pact comes ahead of the series premiere of her Prime Video Original series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on her book, which she created, co-showruns, and executive produces. Beyond Summer, she will exclusively create, develop and produce additional projects to premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide, via her newly formed production banner, Jenny Kissed Me.

The Summer I Turned Pretty author Jenny Han is expanding her relationship with Amazon Studios, with an overall television and film deal. The pact comes ahead of the series premiere of her Prime Video Original series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on her book, which she created, co-showruns, and executive produces. Beyond Summer, she will exclusively create, develop and produce additional projects to premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide, via her newly formed production banner, Jenny Kissed Me.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBox office in mainland China over the weekend was the lowest this year as thousands of cinemas remained closed due to the expanding COVID outbreak.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed that nationwide cinema revenue between Friday and Sunday sank to just $8.2 million. That compared with $10.5 the previous weekend.“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” was again the highest grossing title, with $1.7 million (RMB11.0 million), advancing its aggregate to $17.3 million (RMB111) since release on April 8, 2022.

one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time with more muscles than probably even God, Cena conquered the arena and the world’s hearts! As his career led him to major franchises like the “Fast and the Furious” and DC Comic’s “The Suicide Squad,” he has even begun headlining his own series “Peacemaker” to rave reviews. Yet with a fantastic career sure to continue to rise, the superstar has even found ways to settle down with wife Shay Shariatzadeh kid free! So did the universe naturally endow Cena with the, uh, full package or did he instead face life lessons that pushed him to fight his way to be the dom?Let’s just say Cena has a big, thick swole birth chart, too, in case you were wondering.

“Star Wars” fans are excited to see Ewan McGregor reprise the role of everyone’s favorite Jedi master in the upcoming “Obi-Wan Kenobi” limited series helmed by director Deborah Chow. While the show also includes the return of McGregor’s prequels co-star Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, fans have long assumed that Liam Neeson would return as Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan’s own master that was struck down by Darth Maul in “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” Sure, Qui-Gon Jinn is dead, but that’s what Force Ghost appearances are for.

J. Kim Murphy Mercedes Angelica LeAnza, a film and television producer who had been serving as a lead creative producer at Amazon Studios and Prime Video, died on April 10 of bile duct cancer.

EXCLUSIVE: Bidding is heating up on Voltron, a live-action version that went out to the town recently, with Red Notice and Dodgeball’s Rawson Marshall Thurber attached to direct. Deal’s not done yet, but Deadline hears that Amazon Studios is in talks to be home to the giant robot.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s theatrical box office fell to a new low over the weekend as anti-COVID restrictions forces thousands of cinemas to close. Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed that nationwide box office across the world’s most populous country amounted to just $10.5 million.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAlain Goldman, the well-respected French producer of “La Vie en rose” who’s just joined forces with Banijay, has teamed up with Amazon Prime Video on “Alphonse,” a humor-laced series by Nicolas Bedos (“La Belle Epoque”)The high-concept Prime original series is based on an original idea by Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor of “The Artist,” and Bedos. It marks the TV debut of Bedos, the Cesar-winning filmmaker of “Monsieur & Madame Adelman” and “La Belle Epoque,” which played out of competition at Cannes in 2019 and sold worldwideDujardin will star alongside Pierre Arditi (“La Belle Epoque”), Charlotte Gainsbourg (“Antichrist,” “Samba”) and Nicole Garcia (“Lupin”).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” dominated the box office in China since its opening on Friday. But, with the country on high alert for COVID, the weekend’s cinema business remained close to recent lows.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway shows “The Secrets of Dumbledore” earning RMB62.2 million ($9.7 million at current exchange rates) between Friday and Sunday. That gave it a huge 63% market share on a weekend worth just $15.5 million.In 2016, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find” them produced a $85.9 million total in China.

Manori Ravindran International EditorIn a bid to expand Prime Video in key African markets, Amazon Studios is recruiting a London-based head of Nigerian originals, Variety has learned.In a recent job posting, the streaming platform has said it’s looking for an experienced senior creative executive to work with its Nigeria originals team, and oversee both scripted and non-scripted content. The role will report directly into Ned Mitchell, the Los Angeles-based head of originals for Africa and the Middle East for Amazon Studios.“You will create a welcoming ‘Home for Talent’ to include creators and artists who represent the best of Nigeria,” reads an ad for the role.

EXCLUSIVE: We hear that Officer Exchange, a big action comedy project, just sold to Amazon Studios. Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad star John Cena is starring in a script by Ben Zazove and Evan Turner. The project is currently in development.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios has landed Ending Things, an action adventure vehicle for Anthony Mackie and Priyanka Chopra. In competition, Amazon bought a Kevin Sullivan spec script with a True Lies-sque premise. A hit-woman who wants out of the assassin business tells her “business” partner that she’s ending their personal relationship as well. But she comes to realize she doesn’t want to end that part of their bond. In order to survive the breakup – and their last job together – they must join forces for one last night out.

Alison Brie rocks a cute black mini dress for her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Monday night (April 4).

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorWētā FX, has announced the opening of its Vancouver office as part of the next phase of the company’s growth following the $1.6 billion technology deal with Unity late last year.The company behind films such as “Eternals,” “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” Canadian presence marks the company’s first dedicated visual effects office outside its home-base of New Zealand.“The global growth in entertainment content has allowed us the flexibility to really pursue the projects we want and to expand our business model to tap into talent in more locations around the world,” said Prem Akkaraju, CEO of Wētā FX. “Vancouver is an established market for VFX, Animation and Games talent and we look forward to welcoming them into the Wētā FX family.” The Vancouver office will work on a wide range of shows including the Avatar Sequels, the first of which will hit theatres in December 2022.The Palm Springs International Film Society announced dates for the 34th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, returning in-person from Jan.

Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi is joining the cast of “Silent Night,” the next film from action movie auteur John Woo — a film entirely free of dialogue. “Silent Night” stars Joel Kinnaman (“The Suicide Squad”) and is currently filming in Mexico City.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAre comic book movies bulletproof at the box office?After Sony’s antihero adventure “Morbius” managed to pull in $39.1 million over the weekend despite terrible reviews, the answer is… sorta?There are a few ways to slice the opening weekend revenues for “Morbius,” a $75 million-budgeted superhero tentpole from Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters. Ticket sales weren’t even close to matching 2018’s “Venom” ($80 million debut) and its 2021 sequel “Let There Be Carnage” ($90 million debut), which were Sony’s first attempts at spinning Spider-Man adversaries — the characters the studio licenses from Marvel — into cinematic riches.