Lake Bell Joins London Alley as Director, Luke Anderson Signs On as Partner and Executive Producer (EXCLUSIVE)

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Native filmmaker Billy Luther heads to SXSW this weekend to premiere his narrative feature debut, “Frybread Face and Me” on March 11. Set in the ‘90s, the coming-of-age story follows Benny (Keir Tallman), a young Native American boy who plays with dolls, sports a Fleetwood Mac t-shirt and watches soap operas. Forced to spend his summer on the reservation with his grandmother, Benny finds himself impressed by his cousin “Frybread” (Charley Hogan) who opens his eyes to life on the rez. Featuring an entirely Native cast and predominantly Native crew, Luther says it was important to cast Navajo kids at the core of his film. He says, “With the help of Midthunder Casting, which also worked on FX ‘Reservation Dogs,’ we were able to find these incredible kids. The amount of Indigenous talent – Martin Sensmeier, MorningStar Angeline, and Jeremiah Bitsui came on. And we also brought on some amazing new faces from Indian country that are making their feature debut.”

Selome Hailu Craig Gillespie has entered a first look deal with Tomorrow Studios, a subsidiary of ITV Studios. The deal represents an expansion of Gillespie’s partnership with Tomorrow, as the studio is already behind the Apple TV+ comedy series “Physical. Gillespie serves as a director on “Physical” and executive produces alongside Tomorrow Studios CEO Marty Adelstein and partner and president Becky Clements. Along with “Physical,” which is currently in production on its third season, Gillespie’s television credits include serving as a director and executive producer of Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” and “Mike.” In film, he is best known for directing “I, Tonya,” “Cruella” and “Lars and the Real Girl.”

EXCLUSIVE: An authorized biopic about the life of Jenni Rivera has been greenlit at ViX with Annie Gonzalez (Flamin’ Hot, Gentefied) set to star and executive produce. Filming of Jenni (wt) is underway in Bogota, Colombia, and will be completed in Los Angeles.

EXCLUSIVE: John Boyega has been set to star in sci-fi romance The Freshening from director Cathy Yan (Birds Of Prey), we can reveal.

Halle Bailey thinks fans are in for a treat when it comes to 'svillainous Ursula. ET spoke with the actress on the red carpet of Saturday's Kids' Choice Awards, where she teased the dramatic transformation of Melissa McCarthy into the iconic sea witch.«People are gonna be so amazed [by] her job [playing] Ursula,» the singer shared. «First of all, she's a beautiful human being, so talented, and the way she just consumes Ursula is so beautiful. I'm just so proud of her and I can't wait for people to see it.»Last month, Bailey unveiled a new teaser for the upcoming live-action adaptation that offered fans their first glimpse of McCarthy's turn as the tentacled antagonist.

EXCLUSIVE: Range Media Partners on Friday announced its signing of Giovanni M. Porta, a writer and producer whose first produced project, At Midnight, premiered on Paramount+ in February.

Landon Barker wants to assure fans that his dad, Travis Barker, is on the mend. The 19-year-old son of the Blink-182 drummer attended the 2023 Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles over the weekend to support his girlfriend, host Charli D'Amelio.«He's doing amazing,» Landon told ET's Deidre Behar about Travis' recent finger surgery.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While they come from different worlds, “Avatar” director James Cameron and “Murina” helmer Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović bonded over their shared passion for filmmaking during a video interview (see below) hosted by Disney+ ahead of the Independent Spirit Awards. “Murina” was released in the U.S. by Kino Lorber and is is vying for three Spirit Awards — first film, breakthrough performance and cinematography. It world premiered at Cannes where it won the Camera d’Or and went on to win a Gotham award for its young star Gracija Filipović. The film is set on a remote island along Croatia’s Adriatic coast where 17-year-old Julija spends her days diving for eel, longing to free herself from her domineering father, Ante. When a rich and mysterious guest, Javier, comes visiting, he seems to offer a way out for Julija. But Javier’s presence sets off a battle of masculine ego that pushes Ante to humiliate and control his daughter even more.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor ID PR vice president Alla Plotkin has left the company. Plotkin, whose clients have included Bette Midler, Sarah Paulson, Holland Taylor, Jake Gyllenhaal, Nicholas Braun, Michelle Williams, Titus Burgess and Jessica Williams, has not announced her next move. She had been with ID for almost 16 years. At the same time, ID PR announced that 20-year company veteran Rebecca Sides Capellan has been promoted to senior vice president. Her client list includes Lupita Nyong’o, Rachel Weisz, Natasha Lyonne, Lena Dunham, Cynthia Nixon and Broadway producer and theater owner Jordan Roth.

Robert De Niro will star in and executive produce his first TV series with Netflix’s “Zero Day,” the streamer announced Wednesday.The six-episode limited drama series, which functions as a conspiracy thriller, is created by Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim, who will both serve as executive producers, with Newman executive producing under his Grand Electric Productions deal with Netflix.The official logline is as follows: “‘Zero Day’ asks the question on everyone’s mind — how do we find truth in a world in crisis, one seemingly being torn apart by forces outside our control? And in an era rife with conspiracy theory and subterfuge, how much of those forces are products of our own doing, perhaps even of our own imagining?”Michael S. Schmidt will also serve as a creator and executive producer alongside executive producer Jonathan Glickman.

Backstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards after The White Lotus won the top prize for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Jennifer Coolidge spoke with ET’s Denny Directo about season 3 of the HBO series.

Screen Actors Guild Awards after won the top prize for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Jennifer Coolidge spoke with ET's Denny Directo about season 3 of the HBO series. While Coolidge's character, Tanya McQuoid-Hunt, was killed off at the end of season 2, fans are still hoping that she'll somehow return in the third installment of creator Mike White's ongoing social satire about various guests and employees at a luxury hotel. However, when her co-star, Jon Gries, suggested that «Jennifer play Jennifer's sister,» Coolidge quickly shut it down. «I don't think Mike's going to allow that,» she said. But Coolidge seemed more open to the idea that Pamela Anderson joins as Tanya's sister.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Martin Scorsese is executive producing Argentine filmmaker Celina Murga’s latest drama, “The Freshly Cut Grass,” which has begun production.  Produced by “Argentina, 1985” producers Infinity Hill, the film stars Oscar nominee Marina de Tavira (“Roma”) who plays opposite Argentina’s Joaquin Furriel (“The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime”) in what is described as “an exploration of love, desire, relationships and how society applies double standards for men and women.” “I came to know Celina [Murga] through Rolex’s arts mentorship program, in which I’d agreed to participate for the 2008-2009 year,” said Scorsese. “I chose Celina among the candidates that were sent my way because I was greatly impressed by her two features ‘Ana and the Others’ and ‘A Week Alone,’” he added.

The cast of the new Prime Video series Daisy Jones and the Six received support from their executive producer Reese Witherspoon at the L.A. premiere!

BBC Studios is gearing up for next week’s Showcase event by signing a global first-look deal with former Warner Bros. Australia TV boss Shaun Murphy.

Naman Ramachandran Banijay company Tiger Aspect has promoted head of drama Lucy Bedford to managing director, reporting into Banijay U.K. CEO Patrick Holland. Bedford, who takes up her new role immediately, has appointed Gabriel Silver, previously director of commissioning, drama at Sky studios, as creative director,  drama. Bedford will be responsible for the creative leadership of the business, working closely with head of comedy, David Simpson and Silver, to build the slate of the scripted indie whose credits include “Peaky Blinders,” “Bad Education,” “Domina,” “Man Like Mobeen” and the upcoming “Three Little Birds.”

Anna Marie de la Fuente Mexico’s Yalitza Aparicio, Oscar nominated for her career-launching turn in Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” and Infinity Hill, producers of the Oscar-nominated Argentine drama “Argentina 1985,” have boarded sweatshop thriller “Bonded” as executive producers. The drama features a stellar cast that includes Golden Globe nominee Diego Calva (“Babylon”), Chile’s Alfredo Castro (“From Afar”), Mexico’s Paulina Gaitán (“Narcos”) and Jason Patric (“The Lost Boys”). The directorial feature debut of helmer-scribe Mohit Ramchandani, “Bonded” is produced by Mexican filmmaker Luis Mandoki (“Innocent Voices), Jon Graham (“The Vault”) and Kyle Stroud (“In Full Bloom”).

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Investigators spent more than a year sorting out blame for the death of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the set of “Rust.” In the end, two agencies came to two sharply different conclusions about Alec Baldwin’s level of responsibility as a producer of the film. Prosecutors charged Baldwin for firing the gun that killed Hutchins, but also for management failures that created a hazardous set. “We believe Baldwin, as a producer, knows everything that goes on, on the set,” prosecutor Andrea Reeb said on Fox News’ “The Five” last month. “There were a lot of safety concerns that were brought to the attention of management, and he did nothing about it.” 

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Mary Elizabeth Winstead has signed on to star opposite Ewan McGregor in the upcoming Showtime & Paramount+ series “A Gentleman in Moscow,” Variety has learned exclusively. McGregor was first reported to be starring in the show back in August 2022. It is an adaptation of the Amor Towles novel of the same name. Production on the limited series is now underway. It will debut on Showtime in the U.S. and on Paramount+ in additional markets around the world. Per the official logline, the series “follows Count Alexander Rostov (McGregor) who, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, finds that his gilded past places him on the wrong side of history. Spared immediate execution, he is banished by a Soviet tribunal to an attic room in the opulent Hotel Metropol, threatened with death if he ever sets foot outside again. As the years pass and some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history unfold outside the hotel’s doors, Rostov’s reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. As he builds a new life within the walls of the hotel, he discovers the true value of friendship, family and love.”

Austin Butler paid tribute to Lisa Marie Presley after winning best actor at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for "Elvis." Following his big win at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Butler admitted he felt "honored" to be welcomed into the Presley family and was also grieving Lisa's death. Lisa Marie died in Los Angeles on Jan. 12 at the age of 54.