Angelique Jackson Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Angelique Jackson Veteran television executive Jamila Hunter has been named president of Macro Television Studios, Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King announced Hunter’s new role at the company, where she will oversee the television team and the slate of projects in development and production. “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Jamila to the company,” stated King.

Angelique Jackson Range Media Partners has signed Justin Piasecki, one of Variety’s 10 screenwriters to watch for 2023, for representation. Piasecki broke onto the scene with his 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowship winning script “Last Meals” (formerly “Death of An Ortolan”) which is slated to go into production soon, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Boyd Holbrook, with Morgan Freeman’s Revelations producing.

Angelique Jackson MRC and Lionsgate are developing a sequel to “The Blackening,” the hit horror-comedy from Dewayne Perkins and Tracy Oliver. After the microbudget production (just $5 million) made more than $18 million at the box office, producer MRC and domestic distributor Lionsgate have entered into talks with Perkins, Oliver and producer E. Brian Dobbins to develop a follow-up film.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Even Meghan Markle can’t fathom what has made her old USA Network drama “Suits” pop off on streaming services this year, but she’s here for it. While walking the red carpet at Variety’s Power of Women event Thursday, Markle, The Duchess of Sussex, was informed by Variety’s senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson that the legal drama has now crossed 45 billion minutes streamed on Netflix and Peacock combined, as of Nielsen’s latest weekly streaming report, released earlier Thursday.

Angelique Jackson “Sing Sing” and “Jockey” filmmakers Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley have signed with CAA for representation. The award-winning filmmakers’ most recent feature, “Sing Sing,” a prison-set drama, stars Emmy winner Colman Domingo and features a supporting cast that includes Oscar nominee Paul Raci, but is comprised primarily of formerly incarcerated individuals. The film is directed by Kwedar, co-written by both, and produced by Bentley, with its story inspired by the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York.

Angelique Jackson “The Marvels” final trailer confirmed a super-cameo from Tessa Thompson‘s Valkyrie. The new footage debuted during ABC and ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” broadcast and confirms fan speculation that Thompson would appear in film since she starred in director Nia DaCosta‘s debut feature “Little Woods.” “The Marvels” stars three heroes: Carol Danvers a.k.a.

Angelique Jackson America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, Greta Lee, Yara Shahidi, Celine Song and Linda Yvette Chávez will be feted at the 2023 WIF Honors. The annual benefit will be held on Thursday, Nov.

Angelique Jackson The American Cinematheque awards, scheduled for November 4, has been postponed due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. Helen Mirren was previously announced to be the recipient of the 37th American Cinematheque Award, with Kevin Goetz and Screen Engine set to be honored with the Power of Cinema Award, presented by Hill Valley. The new date for the annual awards ceremony, held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Angelique Jackson Range Media Partners has signed filmmaker Kat Wood for representation. The U.K.-born and L.A.-based director and screenwriter was a BBC broadcast journalist before making her mark on Hollywood. Wood, who was named to Screen International’s “Stars of Tomorrow” list, has shown her proficiency as a screenwriter, setting up a high-profile genre feature every year for the last six years.

Angelique Jackson Veteran film executive Paul Davidson has acquired the remake rights to “Electric Dreams,” the 1984 film written and produced by Rusty Lemorande. Davidson — who previously ran The Orchard and IDW Entertainment — struck the deal with Lemorande (“Yentl,” “Caddyshack”), who retained the rights to the film after its release nearly four decades ago. Brian T.

Angelique Jackson When Lynnette Ramirez, head of development for Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s eponymous production company, logs onto Zoom to discuss the release of “Heist 88,” the company’s first feature, with Variety, her virtual background catches the eye.

Angelique Jackson Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to “His Three Daughters,” starring Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon, following its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Netflix had no comment on terms of the deal, which is reported to be for just under $7 million.

Sophia Scorziello editor Just a few months after Macro lined up a new $90 million round of investment, Hollywood went on strike. Charles D. King, Macro’s CEO and founder, has been using his entrepreneurial drive to make the best of a tough situation.

Angelique Jackson Emmy and Tony Award nominee Corey Hawkins has signed with CAA for representation. Hawkins is best known for his recent performances in “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” “In the Heights,” “Topdog/Underdog” on Broadway, as well as his breakout role, portraying Dr. Dre in F.

Angelique Jackson Veteran executive Peter Oillataguerre is returning to Amazon MGM Studios in the newly created role of head of feature film production. Studio chief Jennifer Salke announced Oillataguerre’s hiring in a memo to staff on Friday. “With more than 20 years of industry experience, Peter is a seasoned executive with considerable expertise in the world of production,” Salke wrote.

Angelique Jackson “Abbott Elementary” creator/star Quinta Brunson and fellow exec producers Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker and Randall Einhorn, as well as producer Scott Sites, have launched a strike fund to help support the Emmy-winning comedy show’s crew. The producers and some of the cast of “Abbott” created the fund to supplement the Entertainment Community Fund, which has been working to provide financial assistance for industry workers amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. While Brunson and the producers have individually donated to the ECF, they also wanted to find a way to specifically aid their show’s 152-person crew, so they pooled their resources as an additional safeguard.

Whitney Cinkala Variety returns with its annual Entertainment and Technology Summit, presented by City National Bank, on Sept. 21 in Los Angeles and streaming virtually. Recently added speakers include Ynon Kreiz, chairman and CEO of Mattel; and Charles D.

Angelique Jackson On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, Netflix released the trailer for “Rustin,” which explains how civil rights leader Bayard Rustin defied the odds to plan the historic event. “On Aug. 28, Black, white, young, old, rich, working-class, poor will descend on Washington D.C.,” Rustin, portrayed by Emmy winner Colman Domingo, says early in the clip, which chronicles the lead-up to the monumental march.

Angelique Jackson When “A Black Lady Sketch Show” production designers Cindy Chao and Michele Yu sat down to determine which episode of the comedy series they’d submit for Emmy consideration, they kept one key factor in mind. “We partially pick which episode to submit based on the title,” Yu tells Variety, laughing over Zoom as she and Chao explain their process.

Sophia Scorziello editor Los Angeles-based pubcaster KCET has revealed its student finalists and episode line up for the 24th season of Fine Cut Festival of Films, an annual showcase and celebration of Southern California’s young filmmakers. The series of six, one-hour blocks on KCET will broadcast collections of short films from the student finalists beginning at 10 p.m. PT on Sept.

Angelique Jackson “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig loved playing with Barbies growing up, so when the time came to bring the world’s most famous doll to the big screen, she was well-versed in Barbie lore and infused the Margot Robbie-starring movie with tons of pink plastic (and fantastic) details. “There must be thousands of B’s everywhere because they also have like designs in the carpet,” Gerwig told Variety on the pink carpet at the world premiere in Los Angeles. (She’s not kidding — we spotted the cursive “B” everywhere, on the dreamhouse walls and patterned on the windows.) Asked which “Hidden B” Easter Egg is her favorite, Gerwig played coy. “I can’t tell it. But I know it,” she teased.

Angelique Jackson Jodie Turner-Smith, star of “Queen & Slim” and the upcoming “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte,” is plugging into the grid. The British star is latest addition to the cast of Disney’s “Tron: Ares,” joining Jared Leto, Evan Peters and “Past Lives” star Greta Lee. Joachim Rønning (“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”) will direct the third “Tron” installment from a script by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne. Leto will play Ares, the manifestation of a program that becomes sentient and crosses over into the human world, with Lee as a video game programmer and tech company CEO who aims to protect her world-changing technology. Additional plot details, including specifics of Turner-Smith’s role, are being kept under wraps. Production on the film is set for August (an actors strike notwithstanding).

Angelique Jackson “Cinnamon” and “A Song From the Dark” were two of the big winners at the “Best of the ABFF Awards” presented Saturday during the American Black Film Festival. Following its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival, “Cinnamon” continued its festival run at ABFF in Miami Beach, Fl., where it was awarded the prize for best narrative feature and best director for writer-director Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr. The Tubi original film stars Hailey Kilgore, Damon Wayans, Pam Grier, David Iacono and Jeremie Harris. Kilgore plays Jodi, a struggling small-town gas station attendant with “killer pipes and big dreams,” who falls hopelessly in love with a hustler (Iacono) and falls foul of a local crime lord (Grier) and her murderous family. The noir thriller serves as the inaugural project filmed under Village Roadshow Pictures’ Black Noir Cinema banner, co-founded by NBA all-star Kevin Garnett. Veteran producer Oz Scott oversees the content slate, which also includes “Murder City,” a film starring Mike Colter, Antonio Fargas and Stephanie Sigman that made its world premiere at ABFF.

Angelique Jackson Growing up in South London, “They Cloned Tyrone” star John Boyega would sit on his mattress watching Jamie Foxx act up on “The Jamie Foxx Show” or his Oscar-winning portrayal of Ray Charles in “Ray.” So, getting the opportunity to team up with Foxx for the conspiracy caper “They Cloned Tyrone,” was a dream come true. “That’s someone that I’m very much inspired by,” Boyega told Variety on the red carpet at the American Black Film Festival, where the Netflix movie was the opening night selection. “He’s definitely been one of the major hands behind my career that helped me to get roles, get opportunities and I appreciate it.” Of course, Boyega has come a long way from watching movies and TV in his bedroom. After breaking onto the scene in “Attack the Block” and then playing Finn in the latest “Star Wars” trilogy,” Boyega has starred as King Ghenzo in the critically acclaimed film “The Woman King,” portrayed a military veteran with PTSD in “Breaking,” and delivered a Golden Globe-winning performance in Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology series. But watching Foxx’s process up close made a major impression.

Sophia Scorziello editor What does it mean to be a funny girl? Actors Elle Fanning (“The Great”), Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”), Gina Rodriguez (“Not Dead Yet”) and Kerry Washington (“UnPrisoned”) discuss being a woman in comedy at Variety TV FYC Fest’s Disney Women of Comedy panel, moderated by Variety’s Angelique Jackson. Each TV character they play — whether she’s an empress of Russia, a public school principal, a family therapist or a journalist who talks to the dead — is layered and complicated. Through comedy, these actors have found the freedom to be contradictory, to not have it all together and to be a little messy.

William Earl Leaders in the TV industry will convene at Variety’s in-person TV FYC Fest on June 7 in Los Angeles, featuring Christina Applegate, Kerry Washington, Elle Fanning and more. Fanning (“The Great”), Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”), Rodriguez (“Not Dead Yet”) and Washington (“UnPrisoned”) will participate in a roundtable celebrating Disney’s TV female comedy standouts, moderated by Angelique Jackson, Senior Entertainment Writer, Variety. Jean Smart will present Christina Applegate with the 2023 Variety TV Fest Legacy award, recognizing her storytelling achievements as an actor and producer.

Angelique Jackson Grammy winner Erykah Badu has joined the all-star ensemble for Netflix’s feature adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” The singer-songwriter (“What Men Want”) will make a cameo, delivering “her soulful sound and eclectic style” with musical performances in the film,” starring Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington. Jackson and Washington reprise their roles from the highly successful Broadway revival of Wilson’s play, which recently received two Tony Award nominations (best revival of a play and best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play for Jackson).

Angelique Jackson SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers are ahead for “Fast X,” which is now playing in theaters. “You believe in ghosts?” Agent Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) asks at the end of 2011’s “Fast Five.” She’s just presented agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) with a surveillance photo of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who was believed dead after a horrific crash in the fourth film, 2009’s “Fast & Furious.” With one mid-credits coda, the “Fast” franchise established that if you don’t see a body, no one is really dead. (In fact, Rodriguez recently revealed that didn’t know about the third-act twist until she saw “Fast Five” in theaters. “I’m in Paris. I’m like, ‘Oh, hell no,'” she said in Feb. at the “Fast X” trailer launch event, explaining that she called producer and star Vin Diesel right away. “I find out by going to the movies, Vin?” she asked him.)

Angelique Jackson “Nope” standout Brandon Perea is going from surveying one (alien) storm system to chasing another — with the actor signing on to star in the upcoming “Twister” sequel. Perea joins Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos in “Twisters,” directed by “Minari” helmer Lee Isaac Chung from a script by “The Revenant” writer Mark L. Smith. The film, from Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment, is described as a “new chapter” of the 1996 movie, which followed a team of storm chasers as they hunted down the most powerful tornado in decades. Plot details, including Perea’s role, are being kept under wraps.

Angelique Jackson “Beneath the Grass,” a drama about the criminal justice system and marijuana incarceration rates, will hit the market at the Cannes Film Festival next week. Mía Maestro, Quincy Isaiah and Jeff Kober will lead the film, which begins production next month in New Jersey. Paradigm is representing worldwide sales for the film. “Beneath the Grass” is set in 2008, capturing both the economic recession and the “Yes We Can” summer, and follows a single Latina mother whose illegal marijuana business is jeopardized when her young son befriends the new neighbors, a young white boy and his police officer grandfather.

Angelique Jackson The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has announced the lineup for this year’s Talks Series, headlined by 2023 festival ambassador Lena Waithe. The 27th edition of the festival will be held June 14-18 in Miami Beach, followed by a virtual program June 19-25 on ABFF Play. On Thursday, June 15, the Emmy-winning writer, producer and actor will sit for an intimate one-on-one conversation, billed as “The Lena Waithe Effect,” where she’ll recount her journey in the entertainment industry. In addition to Waithe, the series of conversations and panels also features: “That’s Our Business,” a candid conversation with Tabitha Brown and her husband Chance Brown; a panel discussion with TV One Networks’ Kirk and Tammy Franklin (“The One”) and LisaRaye McCoy (“Asking for a Friend”); a look behind-the-scenes of Bounce TV’s “Act Your Age” starring Kym Whitley and Yvette Nicole Brown; a celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with the Xfinity Original Series “Hip House”; and the WBD Access Music Supervisor Panel featuring Morgan Rhodes (“The Color Purple”) and Carolyn Owens (“Cherish the Day”).

Angelique Jackson Pedro Pascal is the latest A-lister in talks for Ridley Scott’s upcoming “Gladiator” sequel. Pascal, who stars in both “The Mandalorian” and “The Last of Us,” is in final negotiations to join the Paramount movie, joining a cast that already boasts Academy Award nominees Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan, as well as two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington. The Paramount movie follows 2000’s blockbuster hit “Gladiator,” which was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won five, including best picture. It earned $460 million at the box office. The original film starred Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman soldier forced into slavery who vows revenge against Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Since Maximus dies at the end of “Gladiator,” the yet-to-be-titled sequel focuses on Lucius (Mescal), the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, who is set to reprise her role).

Angelique Jackson “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto has signed on to write Marvel Studios’ “Blade” movie, reuniting with Mahershala Ali, who starred in the third season of his HBO crime series. “Blade” boasts Oscar winner Ali as the title vampire slayer, with Aaron Pierre, Delroy Lindo and Mia Goth among the starry cast. Pre-production on the film is underway, with Pizzolatto taking on writing duties, working from a draft of the script by Emmy nominee Michael Starrbury, which has been said to be “darker than most MCU movies.” Directed by Yann Demange, who helmed “White Boy Rick” and the pilot for “Lovecraft Country,” the film is expected to begin filming in late May in Atlanta.

BreAnna Bell Netflix hosted a royal ball fit with its own royal court from several HBCUs as well as the “Bridgerton” royals at the “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” premiere on Wednesday night. Held at Westwood’s Regency Village Theatre, cast members including executive producer and showrunner Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Golda Rosheuvel, India Ria Amarteifio, Corey Mylchreest and Arsema Thomas. Fans announced the stars’ arrival with cheers as they watched them enter the event before officially hitting the red carpet for a night that included crowns for everyone, as well as a surprising introduction from Alicia Keys, whose song “If I Ain’t Got You” received the classical rendition treatment, as Rhimes promised more music from Black queens would be featured in the coming season. The premiere was punctuated by a panel moderated by Variety’s Angelique Jackson.

Angelique Jackson Time to brush up on the 5 D’s of “Dodgeball” — “dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge” — because a sequel to the 2004 hit comedy is officially in the works. Vince Vaughn is returning to star in the sequel, which is in early development at 20th Century Studios.

Angelique Jackson Longtime film distribution executive Kevin Wilson has been named head of theatrical distribution for Amazon Studios and MGM. News of Wilson’s promotion was shared in a memo to staff from Courtenay Valenti, Amazon Studios and MGM’s head of film, streaming and theatrical. “We are at a very dynamic and exciting time now that the integration of the MGM film group and Amazon Studios is complete,” Valenti wrote, announcing that the studios’ theatrical distribution groups have officially been combined “into one unified team.” Wilson steps into the role following the death of Erik Lomis, who served as MGM’s head of theatrical distribution amid the studio’s acquisition by Amazon. Lomis died in March at 64.