Oscar-Nominated ‘Heroin(e)’ Filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon Sets ‘Mother Jones’ As First Narrative Feature; Lisa Saltzman To Produce Pic On Famed Labor Organizer

The recently launched Toonz Feature Film and China’s Golden Valley Films have struck a co-production and co-financing deal for six animated pictures over the course of the next three years.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Anime legends, producer Masao Maruyama and director Gisaburō Sugii, as well as U.S. animation producer and distributor Gkids, have joined global multimedia company N Lite and N Lite Japan to produce “Mfinda,” a first Afro-anime film which will be the subject of an in-depth first look at June’s Annecy Int’l Animation Film Festival.  Selected amongst the pitches this year at Annecy’s MIFA market in the feature film category, the N Lite original was created by Congolese-American artist Patience Lekien and Christiano Terry, founder-CEO of N Lite. “Mfinda” follows a 12-year-old Congolese girl who is taken to the mfinda, a primordial forest teeming with spirits, gods and ancestors. There she meets up with another young girl from a different time and together they set out to find the magical Nkisi, vessels that hold ancestral spirits as well as empowering materials or medicines, that will help her find her way home.

While most of Disney’s CinemaCon presentation was dominated by expected Disney fare like “The Little Mermaid,” “The Haunted Mansion,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “Elemental,” there was still time spent on films from formally-Fox and formally-Fox Searchlight. Taiki Waititi and Iain Morris’ long-gestating “Next Goal Wins” stars Michael Fassbender as Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen’s efforts to lead the American Samoa national football team to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It also stars Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Uli Latukefu, Rachel House, Kaimana, Rhys Darby, Will Arnett, and Elisabeth Moss.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Without giving away a single favorite thing, Oprah Winfrey brought the house down with a surprise appearance at CinemaCon 2023. Revelers at the annual convention of movie theater owners were delighted by the mogul’s cameo at Tuesday’s presentation from Warner Bros. Pictures. Winfrey is a producer on the studio’s upcoming movie musical “The Color Purple,” based on the 1985 Steven Spielberg classic in which the former daytime host starred. “‘The Color Purple,’ in 1985 was the biggest and most important thing that happened to me. This is a full circle moment to be part of this film. It holds great personal meaning,” Winfrey told the crowd.

If ever a play had good reason to front-load itself with exposition, Good Night, Oscar is it. Once among America’s premiere wits and raconteurs, Oscar Levant has gone the way of many another once-famous wits and raconteurs. Which is to say, he needs lots of exposition.

EXCLUSIVE: MVD Entertainment Group has claimed North American rights to the darkly comedic thriller Wrong Reasons, marking the feature debut of writer-director Josh Roush. The film, executive produced by and featuring Kevin Smith (Clerks III, Red State), is slated for release on digital, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on August 15.

Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham is set to star in the new Apple Original musical holiday special Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas premiering later this year. The project is produced by Done + Dusted (Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special).

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Oscar-winning documentarian Bryan Fogel has signed for representation with Range Media Partners. Fogel is best known for his 2018 film “Icarus,” which exposed Russia’s state-sponsored doping program and the whistleblower at its center. The Netflix title won the Academy Award for best documentary, the first such prize for the streamer. Prior to its crowning moment on the Dolby stage, the film sold for $5 million out of the Sundance Film Festival. Additional laurels for “Icarus” included the special jury prize at that year’s Sundance, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Journalism, and nominations from BAFTA, the television academy and the Directors Guild of America.

Billy Idol has made history as the first person to play a show at the Hoover Dam for an upcoming concert film set for release later this year.The intimate show, with only 250 attendees, occurred earlier this month on April 8 at the Hoover Dam Bypass surrounded by the Black Canyon of the Colorado River and the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. A snippet of ‘Cradle Of Love’ was released as a teaser for the upcoming concert film.Idol played a career-spanning run of hits including ‘Dancing with Myself’, ‘Eyes Without a Face’, ‘Rebel Yell’ and ‘White Wedding’.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has unveiled the cast for its coming-of-age sports drama Rez Ball, set in the world of Native American basketball, which Sydney Freeland (Marvel Studios’ Echo) boarded as director in 2021. Among those set to star are Jessica Matten (Dark Winds), Julia Jones (The Mandalorian), Amber Midthunder (Prey), Kiowa Gordon (Dark Winds), Dallas Goldtooth (Reservation Dogs), Cody Lightning (Echo), Ernest Tsosie (Better Call Saul) and Kauchani Bratt.

John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) is set to star opposite Honorary Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) in The Piano Lesson — a Netflix film adaptation of August Wilson’s classic play, which will mark the feature directorial and screenwriting debut of his brother, Malcolm Washington. Pic’s starry ensemble will also include Ray Fisher (Rebel Moon), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), Michael Potts (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and Corey Hawkins (The Tragedy of Macbeth).

Here’s the elevator pitch: follow wildly successful actors and podcasters Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes on a celebrity-filled North American tour.

McKinley Franklin author David Finfer, the Academy Award-nominated film editor of “The Fugitive,” died on Monday following complications that resulted from a heart attack. He was 80. Finfer was nominated for the Oscar as well as the American Cinema Editors and BAFTA awards for editing the 1993 film “The Fugitive,” which starred Harrison Ford. He worked with Albert Brooks on several movies including “Real Life,” “”Lost in America,” “Modern Romance” and “Defending Your Life.” Finfer’s career as a film editor took off with his first feature credit on “Ya Gotta Walk it like You Talk it or You’ll Lose that Beat.” He continued to work on a number of comedy and teen/family movies including “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey,” “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion,” “Snow Day,” “Waiting…” and “The Tooth Fairy.”

Naman Ramachandran Argonon Group, the parent company behind “The Masked Singer U.K.,” has appointed former Jupiter Entertainment executive VP Steve McGovern as COO of its U.S. business with a remit across Leopard USA, Rose Rock Entertainment and future U.S. operations including acquisitions. Argonon, a global production group headquartered in the U.K. and U.S., owns Scottish indie production company Bandicoot, which makes the U.K. version of “The Masked Singer” as well as “The Masked Dancer.” As part of the group’s strategic shift to the West Coast and upscaled focus on streamers, networks and platforms, McGovern’s role will be based in Los Angeles. Shirley Escott, currently Leopard USA’s COO, relocates to London to pursue other projects after five years in the post. McGovern will report into Argonon CEO James Burstall and Laura Bessell, Argonon’s global COO.

Amid the news that two contestants quit the show during American Idol‘s Hollywood Week for season 21, we’re taking a look back at other contestants who have quit the show.

EXCLUSIVE: Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation), Dennis Haysbert (Far from Heaven), Nicole Richie (Bless This Mess) and Josh Peck (How I Met Your Father) are among the newest additions to the indie comedy Summer Camp from writer-director Castille Landon (After franchise).

André Holland (Passing) and Gemma Chan (Don’t Worry Darling) will top Neon‘s The Actor, the second feature (and first in live-action) from Oscar-nominated Anomalisa helmer Duke Johnson, which has wrapped production. Holland takes over the male lead from Ryan Gosling, who was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts but remains aboard the project as an executive producer.

Ellise Shafer It’s no longer a dirty little secret: The All-American Rejects are returning to touring this summer after a 10-year hiatus. The rock band, best known for early-aughts hits like “Gives You Hell” and “Move Along,” is embarking on the 27-date Wet Hot All-American Summer Tour, kicking off on Aug. 11 in Tampa, Fla. Produced by Live Nation, the tour features New Found Glory as its main openers, with Motion City Soundtrack, the Starting Line and the Get Up Kids also playing select dates. “We’ve been trying to get out on the road in a proper way for the last few years. We finally realized after playing When We Were Young that the world was ready to pull out of their ‘guilty pleasure chest’ and celebrate the soundtrack of their youth,” the band said in a statement. “When New Found Glory, the Starting Line, Motion City Soundtrack and the Get Up Kids signed on, the feeling was ‘This is a celebration of summers gone by.’ It’s time to embrace the cumulative joy of growing up. First we got you to ‘Swing Swing,’ then we became your ‘Dirty Little Secret,’ and you thought ‘It Would End Tonight’ so we could ‘Move Along,’ then we ‘Gave You Hell’ for denying the fact that we’re the band you listened to your entire lives, whether you liked it or not.”

Taylor Swift is heading into her third weekend of shows for The Eras Tour and she’ll be performing three shows in Arlington, Texas.

EXCLUSIVE: Producer Lisa Saltzman has nabbed feature rights to Steven Kaminsky’s bestselling biography Anything Is Possible: The Jack LaLanne Story on the fitness guru of the same name, with well-known personal trainer Gunnar Peterson coming aboard to exec produce her adaptation.