Paul Hastings Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

EXCLUSIVE: We hear on good authority that Max Peacemaker star Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen are joining the cast of Warner Bros. and Legendary‘s Minecraft movie.

William Earl Veteran Hollywood attorney Craig Emanuel has retired from law firm Paul Hastings after more than 40 years an entertainment legal eagle. Emanuel will turn his focus to serving as an advisor to longtime client Ryan Murphy.

EXCLUSIVE: Top entertainment lawyer Craig Emanuel is leaving the Century City-based firm Paul Hastings where he has been a partner and global chair of the Entertainment and Media division. After practicing as an attorney for more than 42 years, Emanuel is retiring from legal practice to focus on working as an advisor to his longtime client, Ryan Murphy, and his Ryan Murphy Productions.

Ethan Shanfeld HBO has ordered Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci’s superhero movie-making comedy “The Franchise” to series. Himesh Patel and Aya Cash star alongside previously announced cast Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Darren Goldstein, Isaac Powell, Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl.

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor Prominent entertainment attorney Ken Deutsch has switched from one powerful firm to another, leaving Latham & Watkins to join Paul Hastings as a partner and global co-chair of the entertainment and media practice. At Latham & Watkins, Deutsch was global co-chair of the firm’s entertainment, sports, and media group.    Deutsch’s move boosts the already impressive Paul Hastings entertainment and media team. On the transactions side it includes Craig Emanuel (who was named Variety’s Power of Law Honoree this year), David Hernand, Mickey Mayerson, Susan Williams and Sean A. Monroe. In litigation, it boasts the services of Steven Marenberg, Tamerlin Godley, James (Bo) Pearl and Josh Gordon. Like Deutsch, all have been featured in Variety’s Legal Impact Report.

Sophia Scorziello editor The possibility of labor strife crippling the entertainment industry was the dominant topic of conversation at Variety’s Power of Law breakfast, presented by City National Bank on April 20 in Beverly Hills. The event honored veteran entertainment lawyer Craig Emanual, of Paul Hastings, and celebrated those profiled in Variety’s Legal Impact Report, which recognizes attorneys for their work in keeping the media and entertainment business humming. Claudia Eller, chief production officer for Variety, opened the event with a Q&A with Erica Huggins, president of Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door production company, to talk about their expansion in the industry. Immediately, the conversation shifted to the possibility of the Writers Guild of America going on strike next month. Huggins admitted she believes a work stoppage will happen, though she hopes it won’t.

EXCLUSIVE: Liz Kerin’s female driven, vampire novel Night’s Edge, which is hitting shelves on June 20 from Tor Nightfire/Macmillan, is already in early development at Freeform and 20th Television. The author will co-write for TV with Keto Shimizu and WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer executive producing.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features Entertainment attorney Craig Emanuel, Variety’s 2023 Power of Law honoree, remembers the day he got a phone call asking if he would be interested in meeting with Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.  “I knew that they were meeting with a lot of lawyers around town, and I really didn’t think we were going to get selected,” says Emanuel. “A lot of the other law firms were boutique entertainment firms that had huge client lists.” “Months went by, and I thought, you know, nothing’s happening,” Emanuel continues. “And then Richard Lovett, president of CAA, who reps Tom and Rita, called me one evening on the phone. I was at dinner with my partners, and Richard said, ‘I’ve got some good news, you have a new client.’”

William Earl Ryan Murphy, Damon Lindelof and Erica Huggins will headline the Variety Power of Law Breakfast, presented by City National Bank, on April 20 in Los Angeles. Murphy will present the Variety Power of Law award to his entertainment attorney Craig Emanuel, a partner at Paul Hastings, to honor his extensive philanthropic efforts. Emanuel serves on the boards of non-profit organizations such as March on Washington Film Festival, Black Jewish Alliance and the Faith and Politics Institute. Emanuel is also involved with Chrysalis, which Murphy also supports. Lindelof will be interviewed by Cynthia Littleton, Variety’s Co-Editor-in-Chief about how he assesses storytelling opportunities as a writer and producer across film and TV platforms. His most recent television credits include the series “Watchmen” and “The Leftovers,” both of which he was co-creator and showrunner. He’s next executive producing Peacock’s “Mrs. Davis” with showrunner Tara Hernandez.

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Oscar nominee Julie Delpy has signed with Verve for representation in all areas.

AGC Studios today announced that it will finance and produce the action thriller The Silent Hour, starring Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad). 

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Clement Virgo has signed with WME in advance of the TIFF world premiere of Brother, starring Lamar Johnson, Aaron Pierre and Marsha Stephanie Black. His debut feature, Rude, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard and opened the Perspectives Canada program at TIFF.  His credits includes the boxing drama Poor Boy’s Game, Lie With Me and Love Come Down.

EXCLUSIVE: Captain America, The Purge and Copshop star Frank Grillo is set to star in action movie MR-9, which is shooting imminently in the U.S. and Bangladesh.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDirector Alex Proyas (“The Crow,” “I, Robot”) has teamed up with U.K.-based 108 Media to launch a slate of collaborations, kicking off with $35 million feature film project “Sister Darkness.”The 1930s, U.K.-set story follows the newly wed, but unhappy, Alice who stumbles across her doppelganger Isla. Her existence is a mystery seeped in a tale of bloody retribution against her oppressors, a hellish supernatural nightscape and an uprising against the deceitful aristocracy.From a script by Proyas, the film will be shot in Australia from late-2022 into mid-2023, using a fully virtual production process specially developed and refined by Proyas’ VFX studio Heretic Foundation.

EXCLUSIVE: Frank Grillo is set to headline the new thriller Dirty from Wonderfilm. Nick Vallelonga, is directing the pict, which is based on a script he wrote. Wonderfilm’s Jeff Bowler and Bret Saxon are producing. Stien Davis and Chris Neville will executive produce for Wonderfilm. Mike Hatton is producing for Ton of Hats. Vallelonga is also producing.

NFL legend Tom Brady just announced his retirement from football, but TB12 is already getting back in the game, all thanks to Hollywood. The seven-time Super Bowl champion will produce and appear in the new movie "80 for Brady," which is led by an equally impressive cast: Academy Award-nominee Lily Tomlin, Academy Award-winner Jane Fonda, Academy Award-winner Rita Moreno and Academy Award-winner Sally Field.

Angelique Jackson NFL legend Tom Brady just announced his retirement from football, but TB12 is already getting back in the game, all thanks to Hollywood.The seven-time Super Bowl champion will produce and appear in the new movie “80 for Brady,” which is led by an equally impressive cast: Academy Award-nominee Lily Tomlin, Academy Award-winner Jane Fonda, Academy Award-winner Rita Moreno and Academy Award-winner Sally Field.The movie is inspired by the true story of 4 best friends and New England Patriots fans who take a life-changing trip to Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady play, and the chaos that ensues as they navigate the wilds of the biggest sporting event in the country.Paramount Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the project from Endeavor Content, who will produce the film alongside Brady’s 199 Productions and Academy Award-winner Donna Gigliotti. The film is directed by Kyle Marvin (star of “WeCrashed” and co-writer and star of “The Climb”), who co-wrote the latest script with Michael Covino, based off a draft by Emily Halpern & Sarah Haskins (“Booksmart”).

EXCLUSIVE: Frank Grillo will star in Man’s Son, a modern horror thriller from director Remy Grillo.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorShowbiz attorney Erik Hyman has been named chair of the Global Entertainment and Media Practice at the Paul Hastings law firm.Hyman takes over for Craig Emanuel, who, along with a team of partners, helped establish the practice as a force in the entertainment industry. Emanuel will remain as a fully active partner at the firm.With more than two decades of experience, Hyman is well-known in Hollywood as a dealmaker whose clients include Oscar-winning actors, directors, writers and producers – as well as several publicly traded companies.

EXCLUSIVE: LA-based production company Firebrand has set Frank Grillo (Captain America), Mekhi Phifer (Truth Be Told), Scott Adkins (John Wick: Chapter 4 ) and Dermot Mulroney (Hanna) to star in action movie Lights Out, which is in pre-production.