Josh Berman’s Osprey & Sony Pictures TV Ink First-Look Deal With Sourcebooks For Screen Adaptations

Sony Pictures Classics announced today that its golf film The Phantom of the Open, starring Academy Award winner Mark Rylance, Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins and BAFTA Award nominee Rhys Ifans, will open in New York and Los Angeles on June 3, with a wider release in additional markets set for the following weeks.

Sundance Now has dropped the first trailer for Ten Percent, the UK remake of hit French comedy Call My Agent! in what looks to be a fairly faithful and quite fun adaptation. Sundance Now and AMC+ will premiere the first two episodes on April 29 in the U.S., with the rest of the season following weekly. Amazon has UK rights and is due to launch this spring.

EXCLUSIVE: Women Write Now fellow Wilandrea Blair has been awarded a first-look deal with NBCUniversal Television & Streaming to develop projects for Peacock, which will be produced by LOL Studios.

EXCLUSIVE: Carlton Cuse is returning to Amazon Studios. The prolific, Emmy-winning writer-producer, who co-created and was showrunner for the first two seasons of the Prime Video Original Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, has signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios. Under the multi-year pact, he will develop and produce projects to premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

The first look of Jacqueline Jossa as Frozen character Elsa on All Star Musicals, in pictures which have been released ahead of the arrival of series next month. The 29 year old looked practically unrecognisable in the photos unveiled by ITV as she is seen in full costume as the popular Disney character whilst taking part in the singing show.

Julia Garner is going into business with Tomorrow Studios. The Ozark star — who formed Alma Margo with producing partner Rowan Riley — has signed a first-look deal with the company founded by CEO Marty Adelstein.

EXCLUSIVE: Call My Agent! and Marianne writer Quoc Dang Tran has struck a first-look deal with Universal International Studios, becoming the first French writer to sign such a deal with a major studio.

EXCLUSIVE: MGM has signed a first-look feature film production deal with Oscar-winning writer Akiva Goldsman and his production company, Weed Road Pictures.

EXCLUSIVE: Following the critical acclaim of his Netflix comedy Bad Trip, director Kitao Sakurai has set his sights on his next major studio pic, being set to helm 72 Hours for Sony Pictures. John Davis is producing through his Davis Entertainment banner along with Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald through their Counterbalance Entertainment. Davis Entertainment’s John Fox and Jeremy Stein are executive producing.

Sony Pictures Classics announced today that its feature documentary Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story, co-directed by five-time Oscar nominee Frank Marshall (The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart) and Ryan Suffern (Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records), will hit theaters in New York and Los Angeles on May 13, before expanding to additional markets in the following weeks. It will open against IFC Films’ horror-thriller The Innocents, Roadside Attractions’ comedy Family Camp and Universal’s horror-thriller Firestarter starring Zac Efron and more.

EXCLUSIVE: Redbox Entertainment has signed North American rights to Verdi Productions’ action-crime film Johnny & Clyde, starring Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap), Ajani Russell (Betty), Tyson Ritter (Preacher) and Megan Fox (The Expendables 4).

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeWarner Bros. Television Group and HBO have sealed a new first-look deal with producer Stephanie Allain (“Dear White People”) and her Homegrown Pictures banner.

Emmy-nominated producer Stephanie Allain has signed a new first-look deal with Warner Bros. Television Group and HBO. The new agreement continues Allain’s relationship with the Studio, where she and her Homegrown Pictures production company has been under a first-look pact since February 2020. Allain and her Homegrown Pictures team, including Director of Development Gabrielle Ebron, will develop original scripted programming to be produced by Warner Bros. Television for HBO and HBO Max, external streaming services, cable, and broadcast.

EXCLUSIVE: The Blacklist showrunner John Eisendrath is extending his relationship with Sony Pictures Television, the studio behind the long-running NBC drama. He has signed a new three-year overall deal with Sony TV through 2025.

Manori Ravindran International EditorTransatlantic production powerhouse Sister has hired Amazon Studios scripted executive Lydia Hampson as executive producer. The company has also struck a first-look deal with Hampson  and Amazon Studios U.K.Hampson most recently served as the head of U.K.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAmazon has ordered two seasons of an animated comedy from Ramy Youssef, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is part of new first-look deal Youssef and his Cairo Cowboy production banner have signed with the streamer.Youssef leads Cairo Cowboy with Andy Campagna, the former senior vice president of television for Sam Esmail’s Esmail Corp.“Ramy has only scratched the surface of his incredible creative gifts,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television for Amazon.

EXCLUSIVE: Jaime Camil (Jane the Virgin, Coco) has signed a first look deal with VIS, a division of Paramount, to develop an array of TV and film projects for Paramount+.

Disney+ today unveiled a first look at Tom Hanks as Geppetto in Robert Zemeckis’ live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, which is set to premiere exclusively on the streaming service this September.

Kate Aurthur editorMarielle Heller has set a new first-look deal with Paramount Television Studios for her company, Defiant by Nature. Along with producing partners Havilah Brewster and Leah Holzer, Heller will develop premium television shows for the studio across its platforms.Heller came to prominence as a writer-director for 2015’s “Diary of a Teenage Girl,” for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for best first feature.