MTV Entertainment Studios Inks Multi-Picture Deal With Gunpowder & Sky

EXCLUSIVE: Hallmark veteran Lacey Chabert is expanding her relationship with parent company Crown Media Family Networks. Chabert has signed an exclusive multi-picture overall deal with Crown Media, under which she will headline and executive produce movies and develop other content for Hallmark Channel and other Hallmark platforms over the next two years.

EXCLUSIVE: Filming has begun in Canada on New Regency-backed fencing thriller Balestra, which will be produced as a feature with an alternate version to be released separately as a limited series.

Wilson Chapman editorForbes Entertainment and Entertainment One have partnered to produce multiple projects based on the alleged bitcoin laundering operation of Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein, the companies announced Wednesday.As reported by The New York Times, Morgan and Lichtenstein were arrested on Feb. 8 under charges relating to a 2016 hack of the Bitcoin virtual currency exchange.

The bitcoin money laundering scandal, which has made headlines in the national news recently, will be the subject of two projects from Entertainment One and Forbes Entertainment. The companies have teamed to produce a scripted series and a documentary about the scandal following the Feb. 8 arrest in Manhattan of so-called “crypto couple,” Heather Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, who are awaiting trial on charges alleging they tried to launder $3.6 billion in stolen bitcoin. The scripted project is co-produced by eOne, Forbes Entertainment and Tucker Tooley Entertainment, and the documentary hails from eOne’s Blackfin and Forbes Entertainment.

EXCLUSIVE: Multi-hyphenate Jessica Lowndes has signed a four-picture deal to star in, write, direct and executive produce original films for GAC Family.

above and the poster below. The film will be released exclusively on Disney+ on May 20, 2022.“Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” stars John Mulaney (“Saturday Night Live”) as Chip, Andy Samberg (“Palm Springs”) as Dale and KiKi Layne (“If Beale Street Could Talk”). Also joining the cast are Will Arnett (“Arrested Development”), Eric Bana (“Dirty John”), Flula Borg (“Pitch Perfect 2”), Dennis Haysbert (“24”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Schmigadoon!”), Tress MacNeille (“The Simpsons”), Tim Robinson (“I Think You Should Leave”), Seth Rogen (“Pam and Tommy”), J.K.

Jenna Bush Hager, co-host of Today with Hoda & Jenna, the third hour of NBC’s Today, has signed a first-look deal with Universal Studio Group. Under the pact. Hager will develop and produce projects with Universal Content Productions, Universal Television, Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal International Studios for multiple platforms.

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation involving multiple bidders, Topic Studios has acquired the rights to Tom Lin’s debut novel The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu, winner of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, for TV series development. Topic Studios will produce alongside Theresa Kang-Lowe via her Blue Marble Pictures.

The project has famously been through multiple iterations, but this is as far along as the casting has been at any stage.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFox Entertainment has acquired the rights to the Gumby franchise.The deal was made between Fox and the estate of Joseph Clokey, the son of Gumby creator Art Clokey. It gives Fox all rights to Gumby and associated characters across film, television and streaming, consumer products, licensing, publishing, and all other categories.“Competition for globally recognized intellectual property is fierce,” said Charlie Collier, CEO of Fox Entertainment. “Uncovering this gem, with its built-in awareness and affinity, and bringing it to Fox, adds meaningful value and creative possibilities to the IP itself and to multiple divisions of our company.

Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation have formed a creative partnership with LAFIG Belgium and IMPS to produce multiple The Smurfs movies.

Jamie Lang Entertainment Master Class (EMC), established in 2005 as a new platform for peer-to-peer TV industry education, has launched the Showrunner Society, a hybrid online/in-person community for showrunners and media executives. The first face-to-face masterclass is planned for this summer, hosted in Germany with supported from film funding agency Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.Described by EMD as “a new way for experienced writers and writing producers to learn the craft of Showrunning,” the platform was designed as a transmedia experience offering users the opportunity to meet and interact with established showrunners from their own regions and from around the world.In addition to a wide-reaching range of online offerings, the jewel in the Showrunner Society’s crown will be its annual four-day, in-person Showrunning Masterclass where a small group of experienced writers, directors, producers and executives will be joined by showrunners from around the world for a series of mentoring sessions and potential shadowing opportunities.

EXCLUSIVE: Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment have prevailed in a bidding war surrounding the Sundance thriller Emily the Criminal, starring and produced by Aubrey Plaza (Black Bear, Ingrid Goes West), claiming North American rights. They’ve slated the film for an exclusive theatrical release this year, with Redbox joining the partnership for home entertainment distribution.

Fox Entertainment and Hulu have set a comprehensive output deal enabling the Disney-owned service to stream all out-of-season episodes of many Fox series, including all of the network’s unscripted fare.

Selome Hailu Fox Entertainment and Hulu announced a new program output deal allowing Hulu to stream all out-of-season episodes of several Fox unscripted and animated series.Unscripted series that will stream on Hulu under the deal include “The Masked Singer,” “Lego Masters,” “I Can See Your Voice,” “Name That Tune,” “The Masked Dancer,” “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back,” “MasterChef” and “MasterChef Junior.”“The Masked Singer,” “I Can See Your Voice,” “The Masked Dancer” and “Name That Tune” are produced by Fox Alternative Entertainment. “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back” is produced by Studio Ramsay Global, the recently formed production entity from Ramsay and Fox Entertainment.

EXCLUSIVE: Stephen Land, who founded Snapped producer Jupiter Entertainment, has launched a new production company after exiting the Sky-backed business.

Dennis Harvey Film CriticThe sense of a city as a complex, ailing ecosystem is rendered with unusual vividness in “All That Breathes.” Shaunak Sen’s documentary has no formal interviews, onscreen text or omniscient narrator to provide relevant stats on Delhi, where air pollution is reportedly twelve times worse than in Beijing, which ranks second on the global list. Instead, the environmental impact is felt on the microcosmic level of two resident brothers dedicated to urban bird rescue.

Retta is moving into a new chapter with NBCUniversal. The former star of NBC and Universal TV’s Good Girls and Parks and Recreation has entered into a talent holding deal with the company.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla Wolf Entertainment, the producer behind beloved TV franchises “Law & Order,” “One Chicago” and “FBI,” are teaming up with partner Universal Studio Group to create a sales boutique focused on the international format distribution of its shows. Today, CEO Dick Wolf and USG Chairman Pearlena Igbokwe announced that the unit will be led by sales and production executive vet Leslie Jones.“We are getting back into the format business, and I am thrilled that Leslie is back doing what she does best… selling international formats of our shows,“ Wolf said in a statement.