Outfest Expands Screenwriting Lab in Partnership with Netflix — Film News in Brief

The head of Netflix is still behind two of the company’s most popular comedians.

Premiere Digital has acquired global distribution rights, including the U.S., for “The Girl on the Bridge,” a mental health documentary directed by New Zealand filmmaker Leanne Pooley.“The Girl on the Bridge” tells the story of 22-year old Jazz Thornton, who survived multiple suicide attempts and now works as a filmmaker and activist for young people’s mental health. The film sees her juggle the personal cost and pressures of advocacy work as she leads her own charity.Previously only seen in New Zealand and Australia, “The Girl on the Bridge” is now available on digital platforms.

EXCLUSIVE: Phil Abraham has been tapped to direct and executive produce the pilot episode of Netflix’s untitled spy adventure series that will star Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first major foray into scripted television.

The 2009 movie Law Abiding Citizen, which starred Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler, is getting a sequel.

Just the beginning! One month after finding success on Netflix, Heartstopper received a two-season renewal which will continue to focus on Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson’s (Kit Connor) blossoming romance.

The mere appearance of Jennifer Lopez at the 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden affirmed her primacy in the interlocked realms of fashion, music, and cultural influence. Her proclamation a few moments later, “Una nación, bajo Dios, indivisible, con libertad y justicia para todos!” cemented her status as a beacon to a Latino community in America who had been subjected to demonization by the racially charged dogma of the previous administration.

Ava DuVernay’s Wings of Fire, an animated series adaptation of the family fantasy books which had been in development at Netflix since 2021, is the latest victim of animation cuts at the streamer, sources close to the project confirm to Deadline. We hear several other projects are not moving forward as well.

“Top Gun: Maverick” (which also stars Teller), while Hemsworth will be pulling double duty this summer as his Marvel sequel “Thor: Love and Thunder” opens in theaters on July 8.“Spiderhead” is produced by Eric Newman, Chris Hemsworth, Rhett Rees, Paul Wernick, Agnes Chu, Geneva Wasserman, Tommy Harper and Jeremy Steckler.Watch the “Spiderhead” trailer in the video above.

In today’s traditional doubleheader opening of the upfronts in New York, Fox and NBCUniversal execs took digs at the “paywall” strategy of Netflix and Disney, in the first of many salvos expected this week.

The American Cinematheque has announced David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, is the newest addition to the group’s board of directors.Zaslav spearheaded the recent transaction between AT&T and Discovery, Inc.

Netflix has confirmed Dave Chappelle’s Hollywood Bowl set will not air on the streaming platform.The notorious show, in which the comedian was attacked on stage at this year’s Netflix Is A Joke festival, was not filmed for a special.The streaming giant clarified to The Hollywood Reporter that the omission was not due to the assault, rather that Chappelle had his own cameras and Netflix had no plans to air the footage.Netflix sifted through sets performed by 336 comedians at the festival across 288 shows and 35 venues over the last two weeks in Los Angeles.Forthcoming specials to be released on the streaming platform include Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill, Pete Davidson Presents: The Best Friends and Amy Schumer’s Parental Advisory.Following the Dave Chappelle incident at the Netflix Is A Joke festival, the comedian regained his composure and joked that “it was a trans man” who attacked him in reference to the backlash last year over his stand-up special The Closer, where he described himself as “team TERF” as he spoke on the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling.

Heartstopper came out on Netflix in April and, since then, the LGBTQ+ teen drama has stolen the hearts of thousands of people. The Alice Oseman adaptation tells the story of Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson, two completely different teenagers who end up falling in love.

EXCLUSIVE: Outfest will expand its Screenwriting Lab this year, in partnership with Netflix.

When Heartstopper premiered on Netflix in April 2022, sweet rugby star Nick Nelson quickly won the hearts of audiences everywhere — including Kit Connor, the actor who plays him on the show.

Florian Munteanu (Creed 2, Shang-Chi) has joined the cast of Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla. He will portray George Maniakes, a real-life general of the Byzantine Empire who answers only to The Emir.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorIFTA (The Independent Film & Television Alliance) announced Tuesday that American Film Market managing director Jonathan Wolf would step down when his term ends on June 30. Wolf has led the AFM for 24 years, and will continue as an advisor for the 2022 AFM, set to return to Santa Monica in person on Nov.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large“Ghosts” may be the unlikeliest comedy hit in recent CBS history. It’s a single-camera half-hour, adapted from a cult U.K.

It was announced last year that Netflix is working on a That ’70s Show sequel series and now the cast has been confirmed!