Ramón Rodríguez to Lead ‘Will Trent’ Pilot at ABC

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentReed Hastings made the trek to Rome to open Netflix’s new Italian headquarters in an elegant building just off the Via Veneto of “La Dolce Vita” fame — and the Roman rain gods made sure they knew he was there.Menacing dark clouds interspersed with flashes of sunlight had hovered over the hour-long outdoor presentation of a rich slate of Netflix Italian originals, headlined by a high-end series adaptation of classic Italian novel “The Leopard.” Yet the weather had somehow held up.Right until, that is, a minute after Hastings took the stage.“To start [in Italy] with this facility, with all the creators that we have today, is such an honor, especially as I feel the first drop of rain,” said Netflix’s founder and co-CEO. As it gradually began to pour, Hastings reminisced about the fact that 20 years ago, when his wife and children moved to Rome while he remained in the U.S.

Netflix has opened an office in Italy and unveiled a huge slate of scripted and unscripted series and films from many of the country’s biggest producers, with Co-CEO Reed Hastings detailing the streamer’s roots in the nation.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNetflix on Friday officially opened its Italian base in Rome, in a classy neoclassical building near the iconic Via Veneto, and announced a substantial slate of originals that stand as testament to what co-CEO Reed Hastings called the streaming giant’s “growing business in Italy.”“The breadth and variety of our Italian slate perfectly represents our ambitions,” said Hastings, who took the stage at the presentation’s conclusion. Hastings took the opportunity to note how pleased he is that Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” which Netflix produced, scooped top honors at Italy’s David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film prizes, earlier this week.Netflix’s new Italian slate is headlined by a high-end English-language series adaptation of “The Leopard,” the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterEd O’Neill is set to play Donald Sterling in the upcoming FX limited series “The Sterling Affairs,” Variety has learned.The show was picked up to series at FX back in April. It is based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast of the same name. O’Neill joins previously announced stars Laurence Fishburne and Jacki Weaver.The six-episode series tells the behind the scenes story of Doc Rivers (Fishburne) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ quest to bring a championship to one of the historically worst franchises in all of sports during the impending downfall of the team’s owner, Donald Sterling (O’Neill), whose notoriously racist behavior is brought to light amid the power struggle between his wife of 60+ years, Shelly Sterling (Weaver), and his mistress, V.

Sorana is one of the most exciting new acts on the music scene, and we’re excited to give our Just Jared readers an exclusive chance to get to know her even better!

Met Gala 2022 red carpet just finished, and while their many epic moments of the night, one of the funniest was when Jared Leto was confused for Fredrik Robertsson. Getty and reporters covering the event thought that Leto was the man behind the show-stopping head-to-toe silver look before everyone found out who the person actually was.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJeff Daniels is set to play the lead role in the upcoming Netflix drama series “A Man in Full,” Variety has learned.The series is based on the Tom Wolfe novel of the same name. Variety exclusively reported the show had received a straight-to-series order at the streamer in November 2021. The show hails from David E. Kelley with Regina King onboard to direct and executive produce.In the series, Atlanta real estate mogul Charlie Croker (Daniels) faces sudden bankruptcy.

Rolling Loud is coming to Canada. The renowned rap festival, which has hosted installments in Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, as well Portugal, and Australia, will host its first-ever Canadian edition in Toronto on September 9–11 at Ontario Place.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDanielle Deadwyler has been cast in the lead role of the J.J. Abrams HBO series “Demimonde,” Variety has learned.The show was first reported to be in development back in 2018, though few details were available at the time. Now, it is known that the series focuses on Olive Reed (Deadwyler), a woman who is torn away from her husband and daughter in a brutal scientific accident.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterErika Christensen has been cast in the “Will Trent” pilot at ABC, Variety has learned.Christensen joins previously announced series lead Ramón Rodríguez in the drama pilot, which is based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling “Will Trent” novel series.The show follows Special Agent Will Trent (Rodríguez) of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI). Trent was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system.

Erika Christensen has been cast as the female lead opposite Ramón Rodríguez In ABC’s drama pilot Will Trent, from 20th Television.

, season 9 of MTV’s long-running reality TV franchise. At the time, she was a wide-eyed 21-year-old Brigham Young University student exploring life outside of Utah as the first Mormon on the series.

Poppy Field finally has made its way to virtual cinemas everywhere, available on VOD and digital.The Romanian drama, directed by Eugen Jebeleanu, earned, among other accolades, a Torino Film Festival Best Actor prize for star Conrad Mericoffer for his dynamic performance as closeted gay gendarmerie officer Christi, who lashes out with homophobic violence in order to protect his secret life.Christi’s angry outburst places him at the center of the storm inside a film theater where he and his fellow officers are trying to keep the peace after the screening of a lesbian film is loudly interrupted by a group of anti-LGBTQ protesters.The events of the film were inspired by a real-life 2013 incident in the capital, Bucharest, where anti-LGBTQ protesters shut down a showing of The Kids Are All Right.“I was not in Bucharest at the time. I was in Paris and was working there,” Jebeleanu recalls.

Omari Hardwick (Army of the Dead), Kelly Rowland (American Soul) and Rome Flynn (How to Get Away with Murder) have signed on to star alongside Marsai Martin in Nickelodeon and Awesomeness Films’ upcoming feature Fantasy Football. The film directed by NAACP Image Award winner Anton Cropper (Black-ish) has entered production in Atlanta and will debut exclusively on Paramount+ later this year.

Angelique Jackson Omari Hardwick, Kelly Rowland and Rome Flynn will star opposite Marsai Martin in the new movie “Fantasy Football.”“Fantasy Football” follows 16-year-old Callie A. Coleman (Martin; “Little”) who discovers she can control her professional football player dad, Bobby Coleman’s (Hardwick; “Army of the Dead,” “Power”) prowess on the field through the EA Sports Madden NFL game.

Ramón Rodríguez is set as the lead role of ABC’s drama pilot Will Trent, which now has been officially cleared for production. He also will be a producer on the project, from 20th Television.