‘Pig’ Director Michael Sarnoski To Helm Adaptation Of Graphic Novel ‘Sabrina’

Hollywood writer and director Kirk Jones is to helm Vertigo Films’ buzzy upcoming drama series You’ve Been Trumped, marking his first foray into television drama.

EXCLUSIVE: James Scott McKnight, who spent seven years as Chief Creative Officer at J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, overseeing the Harry Potter franchise, is stepping into his own universe.

Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) and Adria Arjona (upcoming Father of the Bride) have signed on to star in the upcoming action-comedy Hitman, from Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater (Boyhood). AGC International is launching international sales on the pic at Cannes and will co-rep domestic rights with CAA Media Finance and Cinetic.

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order for an untitled project from Jason Woliner, described by the streamer as “mind-bending.”The series will mesh “fact and fiction to tell a bizarre and incredible tale,” per Peacock. It is said to be in the style of the director’s work on “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”“It’s a project that director Jason Woliner has been shooting for over a decade and a story that continues to pile on jaw-dropping new twists,” Peacock said in a release.Executive producers on the project are Woliner, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Loreli Alanis (Point Grey Pictures), Megan Ellison (Annapurna), Michael Sagol and Bert Hamelinck (Caviar).

Jason Woliner, director of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, has scored a straight-to-series order for a mystery project in the vein of the Sacha Baron Cohen film from Peacock.

EXCLUSIVE: Liam Neeson and Stranger Thing’s Joe Keery are set to star in Cold Storage. Jonny Campbell (Westworld and Doctor Who) will direct the sci-fi action film from a novel by David Koepp. Koepp, whose film work includes Jurassic Park, Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible, has written the script. Zombieland and Panic Room’s Gavin Polone is producing.

EXCLUSIVE: Liam Neeson and Stranger Thing’s Joe Keery are set to star in Cold Storage. Jonny Campbell (Westworld and Doctor Who) will direct the sci-fi action film from a novel by David Koepp. Koepp, whose film work includes Jurassic Park, Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible, has written the script. Zombieland and Panic Room’s Gavin Polone is producing.

EXCLUSIVE: James Morosini, the writer, director and star of the splashy SXSW comedy I Love My Dad, has signed with Anonymous Content for management.

Jennie Punter Conflict hot spots, war frontlines, and violent protests may seem the most obvious places for journalists to die in the line of duty, but “The Killing of a Journalist,” which recently premiered at Toronto’s Hot Docs, compellingly illustrates how investigative journalism—particular the kind that crunches numbers and sticks its nose in the shady corners where politics and organized crime intersect—is more insidiously deadly.Directed by U.S. journalist Matt Sarnecki—a senior producer for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Bucharest-based since 2013—the film began as an investigation of the brutal murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in their home in February 2018.

We’ve seen a lot of actors cross over into the world of directing and the latest name to make the jump is Blake Lively (“The Town“). She’s landed a high-profile genre project that will see her collaborate with an unlikely screenwriter.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” has officially concluded its world premiere and the first reactions for the new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are pouring in online, with film journalists calling the long-awaited sequel everything from a film that “fully goes horror” to “a mixed bag.” One thing almost everyone seems to agree on is that it’s nice to see Sam Raimi back in the director’s chair.Benedict Cumberbatch reprises the title role in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which is helmed by Raimi. The film picks up after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” in which Stephen Strange changed the face of reality by opening up the multiverse.

Actress Blake Lively (A Simple Favor) is mounting an adaptation of the graphic novel Seconds for Searchlight Pictures, in her feature directorial debut, Deadline can confirm.

Michael J. Fox is going back to his beginnings.

Manori Ravindran International EditorFremantle has struck a strategic development deal with AWA Studios, the film and television division of AWA (Artists, Writers & Artisans).The deal will allow Fremantle and AWA Studios to collaborate and co-develop a slate of TV projects based on AWA’s expanding IP library. The graphic fiction publisher and entertainment studio was founded in 2018 by Marvel alumni Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso, and Jon Miller.Under the pact, the two companies will collaborate closely on “all aspects” of the partnership, with Fremantle leading on raising production finance and funding the development of projects.

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Sarnoski is set to write and direct the feature film adaptation of Sabrina, which is based on the Nick Drnaso’s graphic novel of the same name, from New Regency and RT Features. New Regency is producing alongside RT Feature’s Rodrigo Teixeira. New Regency will finance the project. Sources close to Sarnoski say this will not be his next film as he is expected to make the A Quiet Place spin-off his next directing gig.

Doug Liman, the Bourne franchise producer and director of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, among others, is in Ukraine to help document the war with Russia, he told GMA this morning.

K.J. Yossman Originating as a Tumblr webcomic by U.K. writer and illustrator Alice Oseman, upcoming Netflix series “Heatstopper” tells the story of two British teenagers, Nick and Charlie, who navigate their friendship as their feelings turn romantic.Patrick Walters, head of development at production company See-Saw, first came across the queer comic in 2018 when Oseman launched a Kickstarter campaign from her bedroom to turn the series into a graphic novel, and immediately knew it was crying out for an on-screen adaptation.Four years and one pandemic later, “Heartstopper” will drop on Netflix on Friday, April 22.

Alma Har’el is set to direct her passion project, the feature adaptation of Walter Tevis’ seminal science fiction novel Mockingbird, for Searchlight Pictures. Nightmare Alley producer J. Miles Dale and Iron Will producer Robert Schwartz are producing along with Har’el and her partner Christopher Leggett. Alejandro Laguette and Rafael Marmor are executive producing.