‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ Director Shaka King Signs First-Look Deal With FX

Selome Hailu editorNetflix has acquired “The Henna Artist,” a series being developed by Sri Rao as an adaptation of Alka Joshi’s novel of the same name.Freida Pinto will star in and executive produce “The Henna Artist,” which is set in 1950s Jaipur, India and follows Lakshmi (Pinto) as the city’s most in-demand henna artist.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has taken in for development The Henna Artist, a series based on Alka Joshi’s bestselling debut novel from Miramax TV, with Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) attached to star and executive produce and Michael Edelstein executive producing. The project will be written and executive produced by Sri Rao as part of a first-look deal Rao has signed with Netflix.

Rob Zombie is giving fans a peek at his reboot of "The Munsters." The 56-year-old musician and filmmaker took to Instagram on Monday to share a handful of photos from the set of his project and confirmed several cast members. The post featured actors Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman Munster, Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily Munster and Dan Roebuck as Grandpa Munster.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterVillage Roadshow has signed NBA star Kevin Garnett to a first-look partnership, which will span television, film and digital content.Garnett runs Content Cartel Studios with partners Brian Bennett and Mike Marangu. The first project up at the global-facing company is a feature documentary on hall of famer Wilt Chamberlain, who holds two NBA championships and in 1962 became the only player to score 100 points in a single game.

Former NBA star Kevin Garnett’s Content Cartel Studios has struck a first-look deal with Village Roadshow Entertainment and the two companies have set a feature documentary about Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as their first project.

The big reveal in the Reeves tweets was a look at Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. The brief look, sans costume, was the third in a series of teases posted over the last two days ahead of a new The Batman trailer reveal anticipated at Saturday’s DC FanDome event.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTresor, a leading German production banner owned by Keshet International, has signed an exclusive first-look deal with MGM Television’s global division to access their non-scripted formats in Germany. Under the one-year deal, which kicks off this month, Tresor will get an exclusive window on all new non-scripted formats in MGM’s Global Formats catalogue.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSwedish video game publisher Raw Fury has entered into a first-look deal with dj2 Entertainment, Variety has learned exclusively.Under the terms of the deal, dj2 will get the first opportunity to develop film and TV projects based on Raw Fury games.

EXCLUSIVE: Eugenio Derbez and 3Pas Studios—run by Derbez and his producing partner Ben Odell— inked a first-look deal with Univision to create original scripted and unscripted Spanish-language projects for Univision’s global streaming SVOD content slate set to launch in 2022.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla Brothers Shamier Anderson and Stephan James have struck a first-look deal with Boat Rocker, ahead of starring in the company’s upcoming series “Invasion” and “Beacon 23,” respectively. The two will develop and produce original television projects via their Bay Mills Studios production banner.

Boat Rocker is expanding its relationship with brothers Shamier Anderson and Stephan James, stars of Boat Rocker’s anticipated series Invasion and Beacon 23, respectively, with a first-look deal. Under the pact, the brothers will develop and produce original television projects for the company under their Bay Mills Studios banner.

RuPaul has signed a first-look scripted deal with Sony Pictures Television. Former State Street Pictures executive Jay Marcus has joined RuCo as its head of film and television.Marcus held the same job at State Street.Under the new deal, RuCo will focus on telling queer, character-driven stories, centered around RuPaul’s iconic brand of positivity, empowerment, humor, and music, according to Sony.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShaka King has signed a first-look deal at FX.Under the deal, King will develop new TV projects for FX through his newly launched production company, I’d Watch That.

Judas and the Black Messiah writer-director-producer Shaka King is expanding his work in television, signing a first-look deal with FX Productions. Under the pact, King will develop new TV series for FX through his recently launched production company I’d Watch That, with the company’s co-founder Brandon Harris.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Sopranos” creator David Chase has signed a five year first-look deal with WarnerMedia.News of the deal comes on the day that “The Many Saints of Newark,” a “Sopranos” prequel film written by Chase and Lawrence Konner, is debuting in theaters and on HBO Max. Under his new deal, Chase will develop content for HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros.

Selome Hailu editorAfter finishing a two-decade tenure as an executive at the Sundance Institute, Bird Runningwater has signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios, where he will produce television and film projects for Amazon Prime Video.A member of the Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache Tribal Nations, Runningwater has been at the Sundance Institute since 2001 as the director of Indigenous programs, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and artist programs.

Amazon Studios has signed a first-look deal with former Sundance Institute programmer Bird Runningwater.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla Netflix revealed a first look at the “Rebelde” 2022 reboot today at its aptly-named global fan event Tudum, taking fans of the nostalgic telenovela back to the halls of Elite Way School.The reboot of the wildly popular Mexican teen musical dramedy of the early-aughts, directed by Santiago Limón, seems to have taken a page from “Elite,” opting to put the students in preppy uniforms, rather than the iconic scanty skirts and cropped blouses of its predecessor.

Writer-producer Jake Coburn has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, to develop and produce projects for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. The pact expands Coburn’s relationship with the studio behind The Endgame, the heist drama co-created and executive produced by Coburn which received a series order at NBC earlier this week.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJake Coburn has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television.Under the deal, Coburn will develop and produce projects for broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms. Coburn most recently co-created the drama series “The Endgame,” which was picked up to series at NBC earlier this week.“Jake is a dynamic storyteller with a keen knack for big ideas,” said Vivian Cannon, executive vice president of drama development for Universal Television.