EXCLUSIVE: Wattpad Webtoon Studios has made a number of hires including a global head of television and launched an animation division.
03.08.2022 - 19:05 / variety.com
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterLionsgate, the studio behind “John Wick,” “The Hunger Games” and Starz, has entered the podcasting space. The company launched a new division called Lionsgate Sound, which will operate as a full-service podcast production company, handling titles for the studio’s film and television business while also overseeing projects for third-party clients.Lionsgate Sound will launch with four shows, including a podcast from rapper 50 Cent.
It has more than a dozen additional projects in the pipeline.The current slate includes “Cuate/twin: The Downfall of El Chapo (working title),” hosted and produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his newly established G-Unit Audio; an interview podcast “Playing Dead”; the FBI-focused show “A Nation for Thieves”; and “Died and Survived,” which details near-death experiences. Lionsgate Sound is also producing true-crime thriller “The Lives and Deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman” for exclusive distribution by CBC.
The podcast from 50 Cent will be exclusively distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network, while the other listed shows will be widely available wherever podcasts are found. “We look forward to entering the rapidly expanding podcast market as a great source of exciting new properties as well as an opportunity to feed the growing demand for audio content with our films, television series, Starz original programming, and library titles.
EXCLUSIVE: Wattpad Webtoon Studios has made a number of hires including a global head of television and launched an animation division.
The Mr Gay World 2022 logo features the Blue Crane, South Africa’s national bird
EXCLUSIVE: Right-wing news service The Daily Wire is staffing up its fledgling kids entertainment division.
EXCLUSIVE: Fidel Castro’s daughter, Alina Fernández, has emphasized to Deadline her endorsement of James Franco playing her Cuban leader revolutionary father in the upcoming independent feature, Alina of Cuba.
After expressing his outrage over James Franco being cast as Fidel Castro in the independent feature drama Alina of Cuba, Primetime Emmy winner John Leguizamo has expounded on his stance regarding Hollywood casting non-Latinos in Latino roles. Specifically, in an Instagram post earlier today, he says “Alright, look, I got no problems with James Franco, yo, OK?” while explaining, “I grew up in a era where Latin people couldn’t play Latin people on film.”
James Franco has been cast as former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in upcoming film Alina Of Cuba.Directed by Miguel Bardem, Alina Of Cuba is centred around the story of Alina Fernandez (played by Ana Villafañe), the daughter of Castro and Natalia ‘Naty’ Revuelta (Mia Maestro) after they had an affair.Fernandez discovered Castro was her biological father aged 10. She went onto become one of Castro’s most outspoken critics and was arrested multiple times for trying to leave Cuba.
The Cuban government has opened a path towards expanding the rights of LGBTQ citizens in the Communist nation.On Friday, the country’s National Assembly approved a slate of updates to its Family Codes that will, among other things, legalize same-sex marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The fate of these Family Code updates, however, is ultimately in the hands of the Cuban people, who will determine whether to approve the changes in a Sept.
James Franco has booked his next movie role.
Keanu Reeves is taking on his first big television role. Reeves, 57, is set to star in Hulu’s "Devil in the White City," which is being executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese as well as the "John Wick" star. The show, written by "Castle Rock" producer Sam Shaw, has been in development for over a decade after DiCaprio took on the project in 2010.The streaming service only announced on Thursday that the effort would be moving forward.
James Franco has landed the role of Fidel Castro in “Alina of Cuba,” an independent film about the Cuban revolutionary’s daughter, Alina Fernandez.The project is the latest of multiple live-action films the actor has recently signed on to, ending the hiatus he took following accusations of sexual misconduct he faced in 2018 and 2019. Last month, he booked a leading role in post-World War II drama “Me, You” with Tom Hollander and Daisy Jacob.Starring Ana Villafañe as Fernandez, “Alina of Cuba” recounts the true story of her exile from Cuba and eventual turn to social advocacy.
Eva Mendes is back on the big screen. Sort of. The actress joined her friend and filmmaker Shannon Plumb in “Chopped Liver,” Plumb’s comedy sketch show.
Lionsgate Sound, with a show hosted by 50 Cent about drug lord El Chapo among the inaugural programs. The motion picture group also is planning to bring aboard STX chairman Adam Fogelson as the film studio’s vice chair, an announcement that preceded a report that said Lionsgate was in discussions with STX about a strategic partnership involving theatrical distribution.
Wilson Chapman editorJames Franco has been cast as Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro in the independent film “Alina of Cuba,” Variety has confirmed.Franco joins the previously announced Ana Villafañe, who portrays the title character Alina Fernandez, Castro’s daughter. In addition, Mía Maestro has also joined the cast as Alina’s mother Natalia Revuelta, the Cuban socialite who gave birth to her after an affair with Castro. The film will follow Alina’s life as Castro’s illegitimate daughter and a critic of his reign in Cuba before leaving the country and defecting to Spain in 1993.
EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee and 2x Golden Globe winner James Franco will play Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Miguel Bardem’s Aline of Cuba with Imagen Award winner Mía Maestro set to play Natalia “Naty” Revuelta, the Cuban-born socialite he has a passionate love affair with.
Lionsgate is moving into the world of podcasts.
Manori Ravindran International EditorTransatlantic talent management company YMU Group has launched a U.S. literary division under the leadership of Aram Fox.The launch of a U.S.
Peter Hook and the Manchester Camerata have announced two ‘The Sound Of Joy Division Orchestrated’ UK concerts in the autumn.Hook collaborated with the chamber orchestra back in 2019 for a trio of gigs, including a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which saw the musicians “revisit the post punk elements that shaped Joy Division’s ground-breaking sound, aligned with a full orchestra to reflect and respect the spirt which defines their heritage”.‘The Sound Of Joy Division Orchestrated’ will return with shows at the O2 Apollo Manchester on October 14 and London Palladium the following night (October 15).Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.“Covid has given these events strange timings, but after touring and playing Joy Division normally shall we say, I am looking forward to this new working more than ever. It takes JD’s music to a whole different place, emotionally and aurally.