Michael Mann Eyeing ‘Heat 2’ As Next Film With Warner Bros. In Negotiations With Director To Board Sequel; Adam Driver In Talks With Mann To Play Young Neil McCauley

Michel Dimopoulos, former director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, has died. He was 74.

Since her brief (and stunning) cameo in “No Time To Die,” Ana de Armas has been candid about what she thinks about the “James Bond” franchise. For instance, last year, she told EW that she didn’t think the next James Bond should be a woman, but women need a “more substantial part and recognition” in the franchise.

EXCLUSIVE: Following an intense multi-studio bidding war that went into the weekend, Warner Bros. has landed the package Maude v Maude that has Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry attached to star. Roseanne Liang is on board to direct from Scott Mosier’s script. Berry and Jolie will produce along with Berry’s producing partner Holly Jeter, producing through their banner HalleHolly, along with Jeff Kirschenbaum and Joe Roth who will produce through RK Films. Mosier and Liang will exec produce.

Legendary Pictures has announced a new road trip film called “Animal Friends” that will star Ryan Reynolds, Jason Momoa, Vince Vaughn and Aubrey Plaza in an ensemble cast directed by “Keanu” filmmaker Peter Atencio. Plot details have not been divulged but the project is said to feature live-action and animated characters in an R-rated comedy.

EXCLUSIVE: Harry Gamsu is heading back to Warner Bros. Discovery.

EXCLUSIVE: In the Heights and Transformers star Anthony Ramos looks to have found another big franchise as sources tell Deadline he is in talks to join Twisters, a new chapter to the 1996 box office hit, for Amblin Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell are also on board.

Angelique Jackson Legendary actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood is closing in on his next project, with plans to direct “Juror No. 2.” The legal drama is set up at Warner Bros., with Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette circling the lead roles. Eastwood will direct and produce the project alongside Adam Goodman, Tim Moore and Jessica Meier. Jonathan Abrams penned the script. “Juror No. 2” will take place during a murder trial and follows a juror (Hoult), who realizes that he may have caused the victim’s death. He must decide whether to manipulate the jury to save himself, or reveal the truth and turn himself in. Collette would play the prosecutor. Warner Bros. is nearing a green light on the project, with a production start eyed for June, following Eastwood’s 93rd birthday on May 31.

EXCLUSIVE: Even at 92 years old, Clint Eastwood isn’t ready to slow down as he has set the thriller Juror #2 as his next film with Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette in negotiations to star. While it isn’t official sources also add that with schedules and budget figured Warner Bros., Eastwood’s long-time home, is coming close to officially green-lighting the film. Jonathan Abrams penned the script.

EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Ashley Avis (Black Beauty) has been tapped to write and direct the romance City of Angels, based on Wim Wenders’ 1987 classic City of Angels, for Warner Bros, Perez Pictures and Atlas Entertainment.

“The Big Bang Theory” is approved for additional funding.

As the latest series of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway came to an end on Saturday evening, viewers were more than a little distracted by presenter Stephen Mulhern ’s appearance during one segment of the show. Geordie show hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly swapped their usual UK studio for the balmy warmth of Florida, as they broadcast live from Universal Studios, Orlando - and had even brought along co-stars Stephen, Fleur East and Jordan North for the final show.

Todd Gilchrist editor From pre-Code gangster films to Bette Davis blazing a trail for female protagonists to blockbuster super- hero sagas, Warner Bros. Pictures’ output has been synonymous with the most popular stories of the day — and the iconic filmmakers who brought them to life. Since being installed in June 2022, Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy have steadily built upon this legacy that has been the foundation of the studio since its earliest days. “The history of the studio and their approach to filmmaking over the years really lines up with our belief in marrying the right filmmakers with the right IP and the right stories,” Abdy tells Variety. Adds De Luca, “We just wanted to continue that practice of trying to be a good home for the preeminent filmmakers of the day — and then try and find that next generation as well.”

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large In the 1950s, the motion picture industry wanted nothing to do with the young medium of television — but Jack Warner soon realized that was a losing battle. Warner Bros. was among the first to dive into TV production, when ABC approached the studio about acquiring a theatrical film package. But instead of just running films on TV, the result was “Warner Bros. Presents,” an umbrella series that debuted in 1955 and comprised programs based on existing intellectual property including “Casablanca” and “Cheyenne.” The success of “Cheyenne” ush- ered the era of the Western to televi- sion, as Warner Bros. (initially under Warner’s son-in-law, William T. Orr) brought a movie studio approach to the small screen. “There’s a spirit of independence and innovation that’s so much a part of the legacy of the studio,” says Warner Bros. TV chairman Channing Dungey. Other early Warner Bros. TV hits included “Maverick” and crime dramas such as “Hawaiian Eye” and “77 Sunset Strip.” That legacy continued with “The F.B.I.” and in the 1970s, sitcoms like “Alice” and “Wel- come Back, Kotter,” the Lynda Car- ter-led genre hit “Wonder Woman,” actioner “The Dukes of Hazzard” and the landmark miniseries “Roots.”

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer The modern superhero movie would not exist without the version of Superman limned by Christopher Reeve in Warner Bros.’ 1978 smash “Superman.” First created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster for Action Comics, the Man of Steel became a pop-culture mainstay with the syn- dicated “Adventures of Superman” TV series in the 1950s. But it wasn’t until DC Comics moved into the world of Warner Bros. and Reeve donned the last son of Krypton’s blue-and-red tights for the Richard Donner-directed “Superman” that bringing a comic book superhero to life on the big screen was seen as blockbuster business. And the spoils were considerable: In the moment, “Superman” ranked as WB’s highest-grossing movie ever.

AQUAMAN & THE LOST KINGDOM moves from 12/25/23 to 12/20/23

Deadline reported yesterday. For the upcoming second installment, the filmmaker would be both writing the script and directing the film.The “Miami Vice” director is also still in negotiations to finalize a deal for his movie.Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Val Kilmer famously starred in the parent flick with Mann writing, directing and co-producing.

We all knew what the main intention was from filmmaker Michael Mann when he and co-author Meg Gardiner published the “Heat 2” novel last August (You can read The Playlist’s review here). It was obvious they figured out how to make a follow-up film to one of the most beloved crime thrillers of all-time and wanted to test the waters first.

Michael Mann is reportedly planning to make a sequel to his 1995 hit Heat, and it looks like Adam Driver might be joining the cast in an essential role.

The Saturday, April 1, episode of Saturday Night Live started like any other — until Colin Jost did not receive any laughs during his “Weekend Update” segment.

EXCLUSIVE: After months of upheaval following the close last April of WarnerMedia and Discovery’s $43 billion merger, Michael Ouweleen sees a much more settled operating environment taking shape in 2023.