Brent Lang Executive Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Brent Lang Executive Editor There’s a good old fashioned box office battle brewing. Disney’s “Wish,” an animated adventure that had been expected to dominate the Thanksgiving holiday is facing off against Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” for the top spot over the five-day stretch. And the dystopian prequel, which is currently in its second week of release, is showing impressive resilience against the family flick.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Game, set, and now what to make of this match? “Challengers,” a sexy, subversive, R-rated drama set in the world of tennis, easily took first place at a sluggish domestic box office this weekend with a so-so $15.2 million. On the one hand, it’s a respectable result for an artsy movie aimed at discerning, adult audiences, but what keeps it from being a championship performance is the fact that “Challengers” has a hefty $55 million budget (to say nothing of its marketing costs).

Brent Lang Executive Editor Ana de Armas is out for blood in “Ballerina,” the upcoming spinoff to Lionsgate’s successful “John Wick” franchise. And she’s got a question for Keanu Reeves. “How do I start doing what you do?” de Armas asks the legendary hit man.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Cartilage Films has acquired worldwide rights to “Summer Solstice,” a new comedy that marks the feature debut of its writer and director Noah Schamus. The movie boasts an ensemble cast led by breakout performances from Bobbi Salvör Menuez (“Under the Silver Lake”) and Marianne Rendón (“Charlie Says”). The producers are billing Schamus’s film as a modern twist on the buddy comedy, with this one told from a queer and trans perspective.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to “Big Boys,” an LGBTQ coming-of-age comedy. The company is planning a theatrical release in May, followed by a digital launch in June, which will coincide with Pride Month. Written and directed by Corey Sherman, “Big Boys” follows a group of teenage boys whose unexpected romantic attachment transforms a simple camping trip into a weekend of self-discovery.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Air Supply may be the latest chart-topping musical act to get the big screen treatment. Altit Media Group said it plans to make biopic about the band that will, in a nod to one of the group’s biggest hits, be entitled, “All Out of Love: The Air Supply Story.” The film will be released in summer 2025 to celebrate Air Supply’s 50th anniversary. Filming is set to take place in Australia and the U.K.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Searchlight Pictures has signed a first-look deal with Olivia Colman and Ed Sinclair’s South of the River Pictures. Under the new pact, the specialty studio, which has worked with Colman on “The Favourite” and “Empire of Light,” will develop and produce feature-length motion pictures with the production company. South of the River Pictures was founded by Colman, Sinclair and their long-time partner in crime, Tom Carver, to develop and produce original scripted comedies and dramas with “an authored sensibility.” Colman and Sinclair have been married since 2001.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Vertical has acquired U.S. rights to “Bucky F*cking Dent,” a father-son story set against the 1978 Red Sox vs. Yankees pennant race.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Neon, the indie studio behind “Parasite” and “Anatomy of a Fall,” has tapped the producers of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Jon Read and Allison Rose Carter, to lead their growing production arm. Read and Carter are the co-founders of Savage Rose Films.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Bill Hader or, at least, an animated character that he voices, will don a red-and-white striped top hat in a new adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat in the Hat.” The “Barry” star will lead a vocal ensemble that also includes Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Bowen Yang (“SNL”), Xochitl Gomez (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”), Matt Berry (“What We Do in The Shadows”) and Paula Pell (“Girls5eva”). Warner Bros.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Illumination and Nintendo will join forces to produce a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. The companies previously partnered on last year’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed more than $1.3 billion and became the second highest-grossing movie of 2023.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Magnolia Pictures and Participant have partnered to jointly acquire North American rights to “The Grab,” a new documentary from “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, follows journalists from The Center for Investigative Reporting as they work high-profile sources and utilize a cache of secret data to uncover the money and influence being used by countries, corporations and members of the uber-elite to control the planet’s most vital resources.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Paramount Animation has entered an exclusive, multi-year first-look development deal with writer, director and producer Jeff Rowe.  The pact extends the relationship between the studio and the filmmaker following the success of last summer’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which Rowe directed and co-wrote. The agreement covers Rowe’s development and directing services, as well as his producing and executive producing work, on both animated and live-action projects.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Sean Cercone has stepped down as head of Broadway Licensing Global. It’s unclear why he left the company that he acquired in 2019. Broadway Licensing Global has announced who will lead the company on an interim basis: Ted Chapin will serve as interim CEO and Dan Markley will be interim COO.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Black Bear has hired Courtney L. Cunniff as senior vice president of film.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror films, thrillers and supernatural stories, has acquired “The Devil’s Bath,” the new film from Austrian horror auteurs Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. The deal comes ahead of the psychological thriller’s world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it will play in competition.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Universal is down a director for its next “Jurassic World” installment after negotiations with David Leitch went the way of the dinosaur. The parting is said to be amicable. However, the breakdown in talks leaves the studio in search of a new filmmaker to take over one of its most popular franchises.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to “Accidental Texan,” a comedy about a Harvard grad and actor stranded in the “Lone Star State” where he stumbles into the role of lifetime. The film, which stars Thomas Haden Church and Rudy Pankow, will open in theaters on March 8, 2024. According to the official plot description, “Accidental Texan” kicks off when Erwin (Pankow), a recent Ivy League student, flames out of his first professional acting gig when he forgets to turn off his phone and triggers an explosive nightmare on set.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Dolly de Leon realized she needed to say goodbye. The Filipino actress who landed on Hollywood’s radar last year with her turn in “Triangle of Sadness” as Abigail, a toilet cleaner who becomes the domineering leader of the pampered survivors of a cruise ship disaster, had become so deeply entwined with her character that it was starting to take a toll.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired North American rights to “What You Wish For,” a new suspense-horror film written and directed by Nicholas Tomnay. The film stars Nick Stahl (Showtime’s “Let the Right One In”) and had its world premiere at Fantasia Festival. Tamsin Topolski (“Slow Horses”) and Randy Vasquez (“America Has Fallen: Election Day”) also star.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Tom Cruise may be headed back to the danger zone. Paramount has tapped “Top Gun: Maverick” co-writer Ehren Kruger to work on a script for a sequel to the action blockbuster, according to Puck. The studio is also reportedly hoping that “Top Gun: Maverick”director Joe Kosinski will get back into the cockpit for another installment in the series, which would potentially see Cruise’s younger co-stars Miles Tiller and Glen Powell return for more high-altitude excitement.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Utopia has added Dave A. Liu, a veteran executive and investor, as strategic advisor to its CEO and board of directors. In his new role, Liu will help steer the company’s strategic and financial initiatives.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Tom Cruise has his next mission. The ageless action star signed a new deal to develop and produce theatrical films with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Big Beach, the producer of “Little Miss Sunshine,” A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “The Farewell,” has fully relocated from New York to Los Angeles while building out its ranks. Keetin Mayakara has been tapped by Big Beach as a producer. As a post producer, she has worked on the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo,” and most recently, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” another Academy Award nominee.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to “Arctic Convoy,” a Norwegian naval thriller that is set in the middle of World War II. The film is from the producers of “The Wave” trilogy, so it’s a homecoming of sorts given that Magnolia released all three installments of that series.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Fathom Events, the company best known for bringing theater, opera, live events and concerts to screens, is currently on track for gross revenues of over $93 million. Despite the fact that the exhibition space has yet to fully recover from the Covid pandemic, Fathom is enjoying the best year in its history — it will surpass sales from 2019, previously the highest-grossing year in company history, by 116%.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Apple Studios has emerged victorious in a bidding war for “Two For The Money,” a hot package that has attached Oscar-winner Charlize Theron and ex-007 Daniel Craig. Justin Lin, who oversaw several “Fast & Furious” films, is set to direct and produce.

Brent Lang Executive Editor There’s an “American Hustle” reunion brewing. Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale, who previously braved late ’70s hairstyles and fashions in service of David O. Russell’s vision, will reunite more than a decade later.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Decal Releasing has acquired “Which Brings Me to You,” a romantic comedy starring Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff. The movie is based on a novel by Steve Almond and Julianna Baggott. It is directed by Peter Hutchings, who previously helmed “The Hating Game.”  Keith Bunin (“Onward”) wrote the script.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thrillers and movies about the supernatural, has picked up distribution rights to “In a Violent Nature” ahead of its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It’s the debut feature film from writer and director Chris Nash and it is slated to screen in Sundance’s Midnight Section.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Fusion Entertainment has signed Bria Vinaite, an actress who got her breakout role as a woman living on the economic fringes in Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project.” The Lithuania-born actress was discovered by filmmaker Baker when she was working in the fashion industry and cast in the lead part of a struggling single mother raising her daughter in a motel. Her performance earned Vinaite multiple award nominations from critics groups including Chicago Film Critics Association and San Diego Film Critics Association.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Queen Bey got the weekend off to a hot start. “Renaissance,” a concert film written, directed and produced by Beyoncé, earned $5.1 million in previews on Thursday. The film is expected to earn between $17 million to $20 million in its opening weekend from approximately 2,539 domestic locations.

Brent Lang Executive Editor John Wick continues to be the straw that stirs the drink at Lionsgate. The home entertainment debut of the fourth film of the hit man hit man series and the premiere of its streaming spin-off “The Continental” lifted revenues at Lionsgate to just over $1 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimates.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Industry veterans Amanda Sherwin, Mike Messina and Seth Needle are teaming up to launch Blue Harbor Entertainment, a new distribution, marketing and consulting company. The news comes as the American Film Market kicks off this week in Santa Monica where the executives will be on the ground looking for partners. Blue Harbor is looking to distribute 10 to 15 feature film releases per year, as well as provide advisory services to third parties.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon will bring Grover’s Corners back to Broadway. The acclaimed director of “A Raisin in the Sun” and “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch,” will tackle Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” The show is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024. This will be the first major Broadway revival of the classic play in more than 20 years, the last being a 2002 production that featured Paul Newman.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Queue, a growing app for movie and TV show tracking, reviews and recommendations with over one million downloads in the last year, has partnered with Lionsgate on a new promotion tied to the release of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” The app is backed by notable filmmakers including Oscar and Emmy-winning producer Todd Lieberman of Hidden Pictures and filmmaker David Gordon Green. Liberman is the producer of “The Fighter” and “The Proposal,” while Green directed “Halloween” and “Pineapple Express.” The pair teamed on the drama, “Stronger.” As part of the promotion, two Hunger Games fans will get a chance to attend the red carpet fan screening of “Songbirds & Snakes.” Next week, Queue kicks off the sweepstakes. Any U.S.-based user can enter.