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Producer Matt Jackson and his production company Jackson Pictures have signed a multi-year first look deal with Fifth Season — the global film and TV studio previously known as Endeavor Content, which has been behind such decorated titles as Apple TV+’s Emmy-winning series Severance and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Oscar-nominated Netflix drama The Lost Daughter. 

Ryan Reynolds is adding another accolade to the list.

Spike Lee is gearing up for a big documentary series that's set to tell the real story of Colin Kaepernick.Lee was in attendance at the star-studded 2nd Annual Academy Museum Gala, held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on Saturday, and he spoke with ET's Cassie DiLaura about his forthcoming project.«I'm working on my multi-series documentary on Colin Kaepernick for ESPN,» Lee shared. «It's story, not the false narratives.»«Six years the National Football League has stopped him from playing,» Lee continued.

The second annual Gala for The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was full of bold fashion statements and served as the ultimate date night for Hollywood's most elite power-couples. The event presented by Rolex raised $10 million for the arts, sciences, and artists of movie-making. The four individuals honored were Miky Lee, Sir Steve McQueen, Julia Roberts, and Tilda Swinton, with the event being co-chaired by Halle Berry, Lupita Nyong'o, Ryan Murphy, and Jason Blum.

“Joe and his team continue to execute our core mission of creating great intellectual properties with a strong slate of tentpole films ready for launch beginning with John Wick: Chapter Four,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said. “He is an entrepreneur with strong talent relationships and a firm grasp of the global theatrical marketplace, and he will continue to be a great partner in helping us move the Company forward.”Drake initially served as Lionsgate’s motion picture group chair from 2007-2012, overseeing the launch of the “Hunger Games” and “Expendables” series along with the expansion of the “Saw” horror franchise. In 2012, he left Lionsgate with producing partner Nathan Kahane to create the production company Good Universe, which produced films like “Neighbors,” “Don’t Breathe” and Spike Lee’s remake of Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy.” Drake returned to the Lionsgate chair in 2017 after the studio acquired Good Universe, with Kahane being named president of the motion picture group.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The family of John Prine has signed a partnership deal with RadicalMedia (“Summer of Soul”) to develop two documentaries about the life and work about the life and work of the late singer-songwriter, the company has announced. Filming will be well underway this weekend as RadicalMedia plans to shoot the week-long series of tribute concerts taking place in Nashville under the banner of “You Got Gold,” including shows at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday and at the Ryman Auditorium Sunday and Monday. The all-star lineup for these shows is not being publicly revealed in advance. Footage for the “You Got Gold” concerts is being directed by Michael John Warren, who recently helmed the HBO documentary “Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known” for RadicalMedia.

Cannes Directors’ Fortnight has unveiled the new team of programmers and consultants who will work with incoming delegate general Julien Rejl on his inaugural selection for May 2023.

Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry has defended his signature "Madea" character over criticism that it taps into demeaning black stereotypes. In 2009, fellow director Spike Lee said Perry's character, which has appeared in more than ten films, represents "coonery buffoonery." Perry has defended the origins of the character, claiming "Madea" is inspired and honors black people he grew up around as a child.

Urban dictionary defines as “antics and behavior displayed by certain underclass individuals in the Black culture, the end result being the embarrassment of the rest of the upstanding Black community.”Perry, the creator and performer behind the tough, elderly woman in roughly a dozen films since 2005, acknowledged that he has faced widespread criticism for his most popular creation. ”Emasculating Black men, I’ve heard it all.

And the Student Academy Awards go to …

who passed away at 94 in January — was already at death’s door.“I was not expected to live,” says Poitier in the new documentary “Sidney,” which premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday. “I was born two months premature.”The film traces Poitier’s remarkable journey from his father tucking him into a shoebox as a sickly infant to growing into a screen icon and the first black man to win the Best Actor Oscar, with “Lilies of the Field” in 1964.“I remember thinking, ‘If he could do that, I wonder what I can do,’ ” says Oprah Winfrey, who produced the documentary, about how Poitier’s groundbreaking career inspired her.“It was the first time I’d seen a black man assert his power,” says Halle Berry — who became the first African-American woman to win the Best Actress Oscar in 2002 — of Poitier’s impact on her.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Egyptian-American director Dina Amer’s politically sensitive drama “You Resemble Me,” the story of Hasna Aït Boulahcen who in 2015 was wrongly believed to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber, is getting a Middle East release via Front Row Filmed Entertainment. Amer’s feature debut, which world premiered positively at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, is a deeply researched character study of the fragile young Muslim woman who became linked to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris even though she didn’t participate in them. Aït Boulahcen died during an anti-terrorism raid alongside her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was one of the ringleaders of the coordinated assaults that killed 130 people in the French capital, including 90 at the Bataclan theater. 

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Reach Music Publishing has acquired a 50% copyright interest — together with 100% of the writer’s share, including global administration rights — in the song catalog of Public Enemy’s Chuck D, one of the most influential rappers and lyricists in hip-hop history. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed. As a founding member and chief songwriter of Public Enemy, Chuck D co-wrote nearly all of the group’s songs, including such classics as “Fight the Power” (theme song to Spike Lee’s 1989 film “Do the Right Thing”), “Bring the Noise,” “Welcome to the Terrordome,” “Shut ‘Em Down,” and “He Got Game,” all of which are included in the Reach Music acquisition. In total, over 300 songs are included in the deal. 

It must be tough to work with Jordan Peele – not because he seems a particularly difficult collaborator (quite the opposite, frankly), but because lazy and/or SEO-hunting websites tend to ascribe his ownership to just about anything he touches. We saw it with last year’s “Candyman” (which he co-wrote and produced but did not direct), with Spike Lee’s “BlackKklansman” (producer), with the recent “Honk For Jesus.

Addie Morfoot Contributor In 2018, Network Entertainment founder Derik Murray met with Sidney Poitier to discuss making a documentary about the star’s life and career. Over the next two years, Murray established a foundation of trust with Poitier and his family, who all eventually agreed to the film. The result is “Sidney,” an Apple TV+ doc that examines the legacy of Poitier, who died earlier this year at 94. Directed by Reginald Hudlin (“The Black Godfather”), the doc was produced by Oprah Winfrey. One of the most acclaimed and recognizable movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the first Black man to receive the best actor award, Poitier was also a director and an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. The film includes interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand and Spike Lee as well as an audio-recorded interview with Poitier’s longtime friend and colleague Harry Belafonte.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletterThe Vogue editor is a known lover of tennis and helped Williams announce her transition away from tennis in last month’s magazine issue. Euphoria actress Zendaya was in the stands at the Arthur Ashe Stadium cheering Serena on in her game against Anett Kontaveit.

Serena Williams had the support of fellow GOAT Tiger Williams during Wednesday’s match against Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit during the US Open.

The stars are stepping out for night three of the 2022 U.S. Open.

The U.S. Open’s opening night is usually a relatively sleepy affair, but this year it featured a packed centre court match that could have been the last in the legendary career of Serena Williams.

The stars are stepping out for night one of the 2022 U.S. Open!

Venus Williams is “ready” to return to the US Open. The Wimbledon champion is all set to come back to the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to take on Alison Van Uytvanck in the first round. The 42-year-old tennis star told PEOPLE magazine: “Honestly, it’s just the countdown to get ready.

It could have been the final match in arguably the greatest career in sports — and the crowd was ready.

Neon has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Park Chan-wook’s award-winning title Oldboy. Neon is planning a theatrical release in celebration of the pic’s 20th anniversary.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Neon has landed U.S. distribution rights to South Korean director Park Chan-wook’s film “Oldboy” and plans to bring the dark revenge thriller back to theaters in honor of its 20th anniversary. It will mark the first time Park’s film plays on the big screen since its initial release on Nov. 21, 2003. Neon has not specified the exact date that “Oldboy” will return to the big screen. “Oldboy,” which Oark co-wrote with Hwang Jo-yun and Lim Joon-hyung, won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, led by jury president Quentin Tarantino. The acclaimed film stars Choi Min-sik as Oh Dae-Su, a man who was kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. After he’s released, he has five days to find his captor. Yoo Ji-tae and Kang Hye-jung co-star in the film.

punishing fight scene through a narrow corridor in which the protagonist fights off a crowded room full of thugs with a hammer and with a knife in his back, not to mention its shocking twist ending. Neon has yet to disclose any specific release plans for “Oldboy,” but the film has been restored and remastered in 4K HDR as supervised by Chan-wook.

Featuring candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more, the film is also produced by Derik Murray, in close collaboration with the Poitier family.The film follows Poitier’s life and career as he moved from the Bahamas to America, learning about the concept of racial division after living his self-described ‘simple’ life on the islands.“America began to say to me ‘You’re not who you think you are.’” Poitier continues. “There was a habit in Hollywood of utilizing blacks in the most disrespectful ways.

BreAnna Bell For the fourth annual CultureCon presented by the Creative Collective NYC, renowned stars Nia Long and Larenz Tate will take the stage in a “Love Jones” reunion, marking the film’s 25th anniversary.Long and Tate will headline a Creative Genius conversation — a mainstage dialogue celebrating some of the most impactful names in culture — on Saturday, Oct. 8, as part of the weekend’s festivities.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorA24 dropped the first trailer for its upcoming psychological thriller “God’s Creatures” on Tuesday. The film from directing duo Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer stars Paul Mescal, Aisling Franciosi and Emily Watson.Set in a quiet Irish fishing village, “God’s Creatures” follows the strained relationship between Brian O’Hara (Mescal) and his mother, Aileen (Watson). When Brian suddenly returns home to his family after living abroad in Australia for seven years, he is accused of a horrible crime.

A Hollywood legend is getting his due.

Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace, which tells the story of the singer’s 1972 gospel album, is subject of more legal issues.

Wilson Chapman editorBart Walker, former talent agent and partner for ICM Partners, has joined the Gersh Agency as a senior partner, Variety has confirmed. He will be based in the company’s New York office.Walker’s move comes shortly after fellow Hollywood talent agency CAA’s acquisition of ICM this June.

Hulu has given a series order to The Other Black Girl, an adaptation of Zakiya Dalila Harris’ novel of the same name.

Veteran literary agent Bart Walker is joining the Gersh Agency as senior partner after having spent the last 10 years as a partner with ICM, TheWrap has confirmed. Walker brings with him top clients across film, television, and theater, including Oscar winner and nominees David Byrne, Lisa Cholodenko, Sofia Coppola, Tamara Jenkins, Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Oliver Stone and Thomas Vinterberg.

Bart Walker will join Gersh as Senior Partner in the New York office. The longtime ICM agent, who decided not to stay when CAA acquired that agency, will continue to represent his esteemed clients in film, television and theatre including Oscar nominees/winners such as David Byrne, Lisa Cholodenko, Sofia Coppola, Tamara Jenkins, Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Oliver Stone and Thomas Vinterberg; Cannes, Venice and Sundance prize winners such as Mati Diop, Michel Franco, Mia Hansen-Love, Jim Jarmusch, The Kloster Brothers, and Lorenzo Vigas: and multi-hyphenate artists such as Benoit Delhomme, Iram Haq, Sally Potter, Richard Press, and Olmo Schnabel.

EXCLUSIVE: Kristen Konvitz has joined UTA as an Agent in the Independent Film Group division. She will work from the agency’s Los Angeles headquarters, reporting to Partners Jim Meenaghan and Rena Ronson, who serve as Co-Heads of the Independent Film Group. 

EXCLUSIVE: Golden Globe, SAG, WGA and BAFTA Award nominee John Cusack (Utopia) has signed with Gersh for representation in all areas.