PlayStation to Acquire Game Developer Firewalk Studios

EXCLUSIVE: Signature Entertainment has snapped up rights for the UK and Ireland to Hong Kong-China action picture Sakra, directed by and starring Donnie Yen, from Well Go USA. 

‘Gomorrah’ Writers To Adapt David Szalay Novel ‘Turbulence’

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Layoffs will be hitting 25% of employees across the Showtime, MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks groups in the U.S. Tuesday, following months of internal deliberations about integration amid Showtime’s rebranding into Paramount+ With Showtime. Additionally, MTV News — which was significantly affected by layoffs more than five years ago — will be shutting down. Other units, most of which are operations, will be shuttered as well. In a memo to staff, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president Chris McCarthy said that, despite Paramount’s “success in streaming, we continue to feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers,” and that “senior leaders in coordination with HR have been working together over the past few months to determine the optimal organization for the current and future needs of our business.”

The Pinewood Groupo — of the U.K.s storied Pinewood and Shepperton Studios — said today it’s assumed full ownership of the Toronto production facility that also bears the Pinewood name. It’s been providing sales and marketing services to the state-of-the-art, purpose-built film and TV studio since 2009.

Pinewood Group, which runs Pinewood and Shepperton Studios — home to blockbusters including “No Time to Die” and “No Time to Die” has acquired full ownership of Pinewood Toronto Studios. Based in downtown, Toronto, the facility houses 16 purpose-built sound stages, including the mega stage, one of the largest of its kind in North America, and recently added 170,000 square feet of production space. Netflix shares part of this studio space, 84, 580 square feet to be exact, with their long-term lease on four sound stages and adjacent offices. “We have worked with our partners for many years to create the City’s pre-eminent studio, and we’re now delighted to have bought it,” said Paul Golding, chair of Pinewood Group.

EXCLUSIVE: Following a successful collaboration with Voltage Pictures on the April U.S. release of Beautiful Disaster, Vertical has picked up U.S. rights to See You On Venus, another YA romance from the company. The film from rising Spanish filmmaker Joaquín Llamas (Sorry If I Call You Love), which stars Beautiful Disaster‘s Virginia Gardner and Alex Aiono (Beautiful Wedding), is slated for release in theaters on July 21.

Gran Turismo, based on the Sony PlayStation game, starring David Harbour and Orlando Bloom, has just released a trailer!

EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American rights to In the Company of Rose, a feature documentary about poet Rose Styron, widow of Sophie’s Choice novelist William Styron.

Naman Ramachandran Canadian thriller “Exile” has been acquired by Electric Entertainment in the U.S., Vortex Media in Canada and Nicely Entertainment for international. The film, shot in Powell River, British Columbia, stars Adam Beach (“Power of the Dog,” “Suicide Squad”) as Ted Evans, a father struggling with his past who receives a threat from the man whose family he killed in a DUI. In order to protect his family when he is released from prison, Evans exiles himself and commits to a reclusive life; separating himself from the people he loves. His wife, Sara (Camille Sullivan, “Hunter Hunter”), believes the threat is a manifestation of her husband’s profound guilt. Determined to rebuild their family, Sara tracks down Ted to confront him, but she has no idea who he’s become or how real the threat may be.

EXCLUSIVE: Hulu Originals has acquired “We Live Here: The Midwest” from documentary filmmakers David Miller and Melinda Maerker.

Elizabeth Olsen and husband Robbie Arnett are enjoying a day out together.

Amazon Studios has acquired worldwide rights to the IMAX Original Documentary, “The Blue Angels,” the company announced on Monday.Bad Robot, Glen Powell’s Barnstorm Productions, Zipper Bros Films, and Dolphin Entertainment produced the project that chronicles a year in the cockpit with one of the most exclusive aviator teams in the world, filmed with awe-inspiring IMAX cameras.“The Blue Angels” follows the newest class of the storied Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron through intense training and into a season of heart-stopping aerial artistry, and the veterans on the team who, this year, will take their final flights. The documentary marks the first time the iconic blue and yellow F/A-18 Super Hornets will be featured in IMAX.

Peacock has already had a strong 2023 when it comes to original content, with “Poker Face” and “Mrs. Davis” winning over critics.

Horizon Forbidden West developer Guerrilla Games has confirmed that its co-studio director, Angie Smets, is departing to lead PlayStation Studios‘ development strategy.In a blog published today (April 24), Guerrilla shared that Smets will be moving to work as head of development strategy at its parent company, PlayStation Studios.During her 20 years at Guerrilla, Smets served as executive producer for Horizon Zero Dawn and last year’s follow-up Forbidden West, along with the studio’s Killzone series.Exciting news! After an incredible journey @Guerrilla I'm taking on a new adventure as the Head of Development Strategy at PlayStation Studios.These past two decades have been an absolute dream. Thank you Guerrilla ♥️ for 20 unforgettable years.

Capcom has kicked off a surprise Street Fighter 6 beta for PlayStation users, though fans of the upcoming fighting game will need to wait until next week to play on Xbox or PC.The Street Fighter 6 showcase was broadcast last night (April 20), where Capcom revealed it was dropping a demo immediately after the stream ended.“Create your avatar, explore World Tour mode and start fighting,” teased Lil Wayne, who hosted the showcase.While the Street Fighter 6 beta is available now on PS4 and PS5, it won’t arrive on PC or Xbox Series X|S until next Wednesday (April 26).While Capcom has not announced a closing date for the beta, a recent blog post from the studio has confirmed what will be on offer. Both Luke and Ryu will be available as playable characters, while players will also be able to create and control their own avatar — which Capcom noted will carry through to the full version of the game when it launches in June.The beta will also let players try out the beginning of Street Fighter 6‘s single-player World Tour mode, along with One On One fights and a range of tutorials and character guides for newcomers.However, some parts of the game – such as its multiplayer modes and full roster of fighters – will not be available to try out during the beta.

EXCLUSIVE: Lyrical Media has snapped up Sam Haysom’s short story Purgatory Games which Titans and Ash vs. Evil Dead scribe Bryan Edward Hill will adapt into a feature film.

Ethan Shanfeld An animated television series based on the digital collectible RPG game Momoguro is in development from Baobab Studios. The independent interactive animation studio is working on the series in collaboration with Momoguro directors Martin Allias and Nico Casavecchia. While Baobab has not yet decided on a distributor, the Emmy-winning studio recently announced two upcoming projects with Disney+. With the streamer, Baobab is developing an animated anthology series titled “The Witchverse,” based on the short VR film “Baba Yaga” written by Eric Darnell, and a feline workplace comedy series called “Intercats,” created by Darnell and Pamela Ribon.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Millennials are the largest untapped market that video game companies should be focusing on, per a new study from Fandom, which finds that the generation spends more time gaming than both Gen Z and teens. According to fan-community platform and entertainment company Fandom’s annual Inside Gaming report, which was released Thursday, “despite teens and Gen Z spending more time gaming than they did last year, older generations of players are spending more hours per week gaming.” Compiled based on proprietary user data from Fandom.com and a global study that examines how gamer motivations and behaviors vary by generation, the report found that 52% of Millennials surveyed rank playing video games as their top interest and 40% of Fandom’s Millennial audience spends over 22 hours per week gaming, compared to only 29% of tweens.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jio Studios, the content arm of Reliance Industries Limited, has unveiled a huge slate of 100 new films and TV shows that will play on Reliance’s streaming platforms. They range from the previously-announced Shah Rukh Khan-starring Bollywood movie project “Dunki,” through Adil Hussain’s Bengali-language art-house picture “The Storyteller,” which appeared at the Busan Film Festival last year, to a range of web originals and mini-series. Contents are made as originals in a range of local languages including Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati and Bhojpuri. Genres range from action, drama, thriller and romance to horror and musicals.

Emily Longeretta “Buddy Games,” a reality competition inspired by Josh Duhamel’s real-life tradition with his friends, has been given a series order at CBS. “Being able to bring ‘Buddy Games’ to CBS is truly a dream come true for me,” Dakota Kid Productions founder Duhamel, who will host and executive produce the series, said. “This is something my buddies and I have wanted to share with the world for a long time as we knew there was a relatability to it with other people doing similar things to strengthen their friendships. For me, getting to executive produce and host ‘Buddy Games’ while observing these groups of friends let loose and become part of this big family has been an honor and will be a lot of fun for viewers to watch.”