NatGeo Acquires Director Matthew Heineman’s Covid-19-Themed Documentary ‘The First Wave,’ Plans 2021 Debut

EXCLUSIVE: Owen Wilson, Michaela Watkins, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ciara Renée, Lusia Strus, and Stephen Root have signed on to star in Paint, an indie film from director Brit McAdams. Sam Maydew of Silver Lining Entertainment is producing the project, which is currently shooting in upstate New York.

James C. Nicola, whose tenure as artistic director of Off Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop included the development of such prominent stage works as Rent, Once,  Hadestown, What the Constitution Means to Me, Slave Play and David Bowie’s Lazarus, will leave the post next year, the company announced today.

Annika Pham Zurich-based First Hand Films has snapped up the Norwegian documentary “Trust Me” – about a Justin Bieber concert fraudster.

Judy Heumann's disability rights work has spanned decades and helped to pave the way for the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act. But for some Netflix subscribers, their first introduction to the activist was as a 20-something camp counselor in the 1970s leading a discussion on an evening's dinner options of veal or lasagna.

Step Brothers director Adam McKay has discussed the political leanings of the film’s main characters, saying they’d be “way into QAnon.”The beloved 2008 comedy starred John C. Hale and Will Ferrell as step brothers Dale and Brennan respectively.In a new interview with the New York Times, McKay mused on how the brothers would see life in 2021, and where their political allegiances may lie.Asked if Dale and Brennan would “definitely be into QAnon,” McKay replied: “No question about it.

The 2021 Met Gala date is official!

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorVox Media, the media company whose properties include New York Magazine, announced the acquisition of Cafe Studios, the podcast company co-founded by Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.Cafe Studios was founded in 2017 by Preet Bhararaand his brother Vinit Bharara, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded Some Spider Studios and Diapers.com.

Michele Amabile Angermiller With COVID-19 impacting music artists’ very livelihood in 2020, attorney Kenny Meiselas, name partner and head of the music department of New York-based firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, diversified when it came to his clients’ business endeavors.

Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell are not back together.

The saga of Matt Gaetz continues…

On Monday, Stephen Colbert returned to The Late Show after a week off the air, spending most of his opening monologue taking Matt Gaetz to task.

The $550 million renovation of Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall will be completed two years earlier than anticipated, with a re-opening now planned for Fall 2022.

A docuseries based on 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones’ and The New York Times’ expansive The 1619 Project is headed to Hulu.

Sadly, it’s never a surprise when a pal of Donald Trump’s turns out to be a creep — but this is pretty gross.

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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a staunch and brash media defender of Donald Trump, said that he was under federal investigation for sexual conduct with women, but also is the victim of a criminal extortion attempt.

Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt recently opened up about facing body image issues and reflected on her growth as an actress in Hollywood. The 42-year-old I Know What You Did Last Summer actress revealed that she watched the new Britney Spears documentary from the New York Times, Framing Britney Spears, in an interview with Vulture.

Antonio Ferme editorNational Geographic Documentary Films has acquired Oscar-nominated director Matthew Heineman’s documentary “The First Wave,” which will be released theatrically by Neon later this year.Produced by Participant and Heineman’s Our Time Projects, the documentary will present a ground-level view inside a New York hospital amid the initial explosion of COVID-19.