Range Media Partners & FilmNation Entertainment Strike Co-Production Deal

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are once again teaming up for a project — this time, about the legendary deal between Nike and Michael Jordan.

Affleck, who will also direct the film, will play Nike co-founder Phil Knight while Damon will play the shoe company’s marketing chief Sonny Vacarro, who oversaw the deal with Jordan. Introduced in 1984 during Jordan’s rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers became arguably the most iconic sneaker brand ever made and paved the way for the contemporary sneaker industry with athlete endorsements.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeU.S.-based Spanish lingo programmer Estrella Media has sealed a two-year deal with Mexico-based broadcasting powerhouse TV Azteca to jointly create, produce and air new series on both sides of the border.The companies are set to announce some of those offerings next month during the 2022 IAB NewFronts on May 5, followed by Estrella Media’s upfront presentation on May 9. But the new partnership, set to be announced on Tuesday, includes creating more than 600 hours of original programming for both the U.S. and Mexico, as well as production of existing series and the licensing of library content for air in both countries.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMelissa Stark clearly knows the value of staying in touch.The veteran sportscaster served as the sideline reporter for “Monday Night Football” between 2000 and 2002, when she was just 26 and the game — then one of TV’s biggest weekly events — was still broadcast on ABC. She worked with everyone from the legendary TV executive Don Ohlmeyer to “MNF” announcers like John Madden and Dennis Miller —  and with Fred Gaudelli, the producer who would move on to work for NBC Sports and oversee “Sunday Night Football,” then all of NBC’s NFL coverage.

A drone is to be flown above Salford Quays to pinpoint the best place to install a nesting tray for peregrine falcons. It is hoped the move will help a pair who have tried to breed since 2017 have a family.

Maisie Williams grew up onscreen, cast as Arya Stark in “Game of Thrones” when she was just 12, playing the character throughout her adolescent years.

NBCUniversal Television and Streaming has promoted Erica Forstadt to Senior Vice President, Entertainment Unscripted Current Production, from her current VP role.

Carson Burton “Outer Range,” the new Josh Brolin-led Western series from Prime Video, aims to twist the well-worn genre at its very roots. To showcase the land of the West in a never-before-seen fashion, the eight-episode series mixes in an element of the supernatural, with mind-bending results.“It took a very simple, straight-forward genre and then it took extraordinary twists, whether it be metaphysical or whatever you want to call it,” Brolin told Variety at the show’s premiere at Hollywood’s Harmony Gold theater on Thursday night.

Thania Garcia Since the 1980s, the city of Miami has been synonymous with fashion, art deco and, of course, Latin music.On Thursday, Variety and the City National Bank of Miami hosted the inaugural Miami Entertainment Town breakfast — an event celebrating The Magic City’s irrefutable influence over the entertainment and music industry. The Legends and Groundbreakers award was given to Miami’s most notable musical pioneers — Gloria and Emilio Estefan — who helped put Miami on the map with the revolutionary stylings of their Miami Sound Machine.In her acceptance speech, Gloria Estefan mused tales of the city, “Even as a little kid, I knew that one day someone would realize the gem that is Miami Beach,” she said.

Plans to create a £26m food and drink venue at Media City have been scaled back, it has been revealed. Peel L&P’s revised proposals would now see the firm invest £5m to build a waterside venue at the Quayside shopping centre's southern walkway.

The Great British Bake Off presenter Matt Lucas has hit back at claims that he was shown ‘favouritism’ when he made his baking debut in the tent. In the most recent episode of the Celebrity Bake Off, Matt donned his apron and stepped in to compete against the likes of Example and Annie Mac when another famous face dropped out of the show at the last minute.The 48 year old was seen attempting to make glass window biscuits, and judge Paul Hollywood soon stepped in to give him a helping hand.

So You Think You Can Dance has found its new judging lineup.

EXCLUSIVE: There will be no new seasons for the The Doctors and Daily MailTV. Deadline has learned the syndicated talk shows, which are distributed by CBS Media Ventures and hail from Jay McGraw’s Stage 29 Prods., were apparently informed earlier today about their fate.

EXCLUSIVE: Spotting new IP whose series adaptation would produce the next big TV hit has become vital for the business as the competition for eyeballs in the expanding TV universe continues to intensify. With that in mind, Sony Pictures Television has signed a first-look deal with Matt DeVoe, co-founder and CCO of CovrPrice, a comic book collectibles platform, for him to identify new trends in IP for series development.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorStudio 100, a leading studio for kids and family entertainment, and ZDF Studios, the commercial arm of the German public broadcaster, have joined forces to offer kids and family programs on Amazon Prime Channels under the channel brand Pash.The collaboration on Amazon Prime Channels will kick off in the U.K., Italy and Spain, with further territories in the planning. The programming lineup from both ZDFS’ and Studio 100’s catalogs will include well-known series and kids’ brands such as “Maya the Bee,” “Mia and Me,” “Heidi,” “Peter Pan,” “H20” and “Find Me in Paris.”The Pash brand was created by ZDF Studios, which has already launched Amazon Prime Channels in various countries.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Promising Young Woman” and “Arrival” production company FilmNation Entertainment and Range Media Partners have set a partnership to co-produce, co-finance, develop and sell a broad-ranging slate of feature films across a variety of genres and budget-sizes, the companies said Thursday.Under the co-production pact, FilmNation Entertainment and Range Media Partners expect to produce four to six films per year, “with the capacity for more as needed.”The deal will offer Range Media’s talent “the platform and tools needed to get their films made via both independent and worldwide buyers, while driving greater ownership in their own projects – both creatively and financially.” In turn, FilmNation “will further expand its production, sales and financing slates as the leading independent studio continues to serve as a global destination for the world’s best storytellers.” FilmNation and Range expect to give the green light to multiple projects “imminently.” Per the two companies, “The combination of FilmNation’s top tier production capabilities and world class distribution platform with Range Media’s access to high-end material and world-renowned talent, underpinned by both companies’ deep financial resources, will bring to market some of the most compelling, highly anticipated film projects available to an array of buyers.”“We at FilmNation are always looking for inventive ways to give the world’s most talented creators an avenue to use our powerful production, sales and finance platform, particularly as a tool to make their creative visions come to life,” FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner said.

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Emmy nominee and SAG Award winner Matt Walsh has boarded the Apple Original limited series Manhunt about the Lincoln assassination and aftermath.

EXCLUSIVE: PAW Patrol and Bob the Builder creator Keith Chapman has partnered with London indie Snipple Originals to co-create and develop ground-breaking animated kids TV shows.