Mindy Kaling Sets Up Book Studio At Amazon, Will Partner With Amazon Studios To Adapt Films Based On Her Literary Curations

EXCLUSIVE: Phoebe Zimmer has been named Head of Television for Temple Hill, the production company behind the Twilight franchise, which was co-founded in 2006 by Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey.

EXCLUSIVE: Saban Films has picked up world rights on Zach Golden’s action-comedy High Heat and will release later this year.

World Book Day falls on the first Thursday of March, which means this year it will be marked on 3 March.  This year marks an even bigger event as it is also the 25th anniversary of World Book Day. MORE: Best-selling books you can't missEvery year there is a new theme set by the charity, and this year it is 'You Are a Reader', which aims to encourage children from disadvantaged backgrounds to get involved.

American Idol premiered its 20th Season Sunday night and one hopeful contestant is already capturing viewers’ hearts.

EXCLUSIVE: Justin Johnson Cortez (911: Lone Star) is set as a series regular on CBS Studios’ CW pilot Walker: Independence, executive produced by Jared Padalecki. Walker: Independence, a prequel to the CW/CBS Studios series Walker, is set in the late 1800s and follows Abby Walker, an affluent Bostonian whose husband is murdered before her eyes while on their journey out West. On her quest for revenge, Abby crosses paths with Hoyt Rawlins, a lovable rogue in search of purpose. Abby and Hoyt’s journey takes them to Independence, Texas, where they encounter diverse, eclectic residents running from their own troubled pasts and chasing their dreams. Our newfound family will struggle with the changing world around them, while becoming agents of change themselves in a town where nothing is what it seems.

Kerry Washington is embodying a civil rights icon.

Walton Goggins is set as a lead in Fallout, Prime Video’s series adaptation of the bestselling game franchise, which comes from Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Kilter Films, with Nolan set to direct the premiere.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Good News About Hell” and “Half Loop,” the first two episodes of “Severance,” which premiered Friday on Apple TV Plus.The Ben Stiller-directed “Severance” debuted its first two episodes Friday, revealing a fictional world where people, like Adam Scott’s Mark Scout, are able to undergo a procedure that allows them to mentally separate their work and home lives. Why a person would choose to do this and why Lumon, the company that created the process, would require it of some of its employees is just the start of the questions posed by the initial pair of “Severance” episodes.“What we know of them is that they are a med-tech company.

Amazon Studios will further dive into the world of video game adaptations, signing an overall deal with one of the production companies behind the Sonic The Hedgehog film. 

A Kansas man is facing first-degree murder and arson charges after allegedly intentionally starting a house fire that killed his young child.

Mindy Kaling has a special new role. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) announced on Tuesday that the actress, writer and producer is the official ambassador for PanCAN PurpleStride, the organization’s annual fundraiser that raises money for pancreatic cancer research.Why Mindy Kaling almost turned down her Vogue cover“I am so happy to be working with PanCAN again and to participate in PurpleStride. I miss my mother every day, but when I can do anything to help the fight against pancreatic cancer, I feel like I am honoring her memory,” The Office alum, 42, said in a press release.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Amazon Studios Inclusion Policy and Playbook released last June in the U.S. is reverberating in the streaming giant’s productions around the world.That is the main takeaway of a panel at the European Film Market on Amazon’s diversity, equity and inclusion panel where it emerged that, though it is U.S.-specific, Amazon’s teams in Europe are starting to create their own adaptations of the Playbook, including the German unit led by head of German Originals Philip Pratt.“We are inspired by what the U.S.

It’s a busy morning of pilot pickups at ABC.

EXCLUSIVE: The replicants are heading to the small-screen as Amazon Studios has put a live-action series set in the Blade Runner universe into development.

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit, The Night Of) is the latest addition to the cast of Amazon Studios’ film The Burial, based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr.

UPDATED: The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office issued its report today on the death of Anthony Johnson. The document indicates that the Friday and House Party actor died from “chronic ethanol use.” In other words, chronic drinking. The report also reveals that Johnson died in the hospital and had no other significant conditions.

Yara Shahidi (Black-ish, Grown-ish) has signed on to exec produce and star in Amazon Studios’ rom-com Sitting in Bars with Cake, Deadline has confirmed. The feature, based on the blog and book of the same name by Audrey Shulman, will be directed by Pitch Perfect 3‘s Trish Sie.

CHICAGO -- Syl Johnson, a Chicago soul singer and blues artist whose work was sampled by top hip-hop artists, has died at age 85, his family said Sunday."A fiery, fierce, fighter, always standing for the pursuit of justice as it related to his music and sound, he will truly be missed by all who crossed his path. His catalog and legacy will be remembered as impeccable and a historical blueprint to all who experience it," said a statement from his family, including Johnson's daughter, Syleena Johnson, a Grammy-nominated singer.Family members did not give further details on his death, including the cause.