Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill Ink First Look Deal With Screen Gems

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios has closed a multiyear overall writing deal with Oscar nominated American Sniper screenwriter Jason Hall.  

EXCLUSIVE: Alan Cumming, the host and producer of Peacock’s reality phenom The Traitors, has signed a first-look producing deal with NBCUniversal. The pact spans scripted and unscripted content for NBCU’s portfolio of brands.  

There is still so much that we are learning about the Twilight movies, even though it’s been years since the last one premiered in theaters.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Verzuz, the online platform launched during the pandemic by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, has struck a distribution partnership with Elon Musk’s X. The pair made the announcement during Cannes Lions conference in France on Wednesday. Earlier in the year, Swizz and Timbaland reacquired Verzuz from their previous partner Triller and now own 100% of the platform, while retaining their equity (along with the artists who participated in Verzuz) in Triller, according to the announcement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Extinction,” the Malaysian-produced animation that is playing at the Shanghai International Film Festival, has struck its first international rights sales deals. The film was recently picked up by All Rights Entertainment, the Paris, Hong Kong and Los Angeles-based sales agency. All Rights has subsequently licensed the title to Magic Film for the CIS region, to Dazzler Media for the U.K., to Red Cape Distribution for Israel and to Bir Film for Turkey.

EXCLUSIVE: Hulu has signed a first-look deal with Jennings Brown, a documentary producer, podcaster, journalist, and founder of the production company Nocturne. 

EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of the season two finale of Apple’s critically acclaimed comedy series Loot, starring Maya Rudolph (who also exec produces), Apple TV+ has signed a multi-year, first-look deal with Banana Split Projects, the newly formed production company run by Maya Rudolph and Danielle Renfrew Behrens.  Under the deal, Apple TV+ will have a first-look on series and digital features developed and produced by Banana Split.

EXCLUSIVE: Shawn Ryan, whose thriller drama The Night Agent was the most watched TV series of 2023 on Netflix, has signed a big, four-year overall deal with the streamer, sources tell Deadline. The prolific creator, executive producer and showrunner landed at Netflix in a competitive situation, with his current studio home, Sony Pictures TV, NBCUniversal as well as Warner Bros. TV among those who pursued him, I hear. The pact with Netflix will start after Ryan’s current overall deal with Sony TV expires at the end of October.

We have our first look at the third Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery!

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a first look at Sherwood Season 2, the highly-anticipated next instalment of James Graham‘s BBC drama.

Sasha Leigh Henry, who created Canadian series Bria Mack Gets a Life, is expanding her business with New Metric Media.

Daniel Craig’s famed Southern detective Benoit Blanc has a new look in a first look still from Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, unveiled on Monday morning, which you can view below.

Does Will Smith have a new woman in his life?

A new season of Jurassic World: Chaos Theory is lurking.

Take a first peek at Sandokan, a new international adaptation of Emilio Salgari’s historic saga about the adventures of a titular pirate who, with his motley crew, fights against colonial powers in Southeast Asia. Scroll down for more.

Scott Wampler, the co-host of the popular Kingcast podcast on the works of Stephen King, was found dead at his home in Austin, Texas, today. No details were immediately available, including his age and cause of death.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Shooting has begun on the fourth season of Beta’s hit series “Sisi,” which follows the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Variety has been given the first exclusive pictures from the set of the new season, which will comprise 24 one-hour episodes. Dominique Devenport and Jannik Schümann reprise their roles as Sisi and Franz, while Sven Bohse (“Dark Woods”) returns to direct the new season.

Netflix has dropped a first-look teaser and some of the first images of the fourth and final season of The Umbrella Academy. Watch the trailer above and see images below.

EXCLUSIVE: OBB Pictures, the company behind Roku’s A Very Demi Holiday Special and Netflix’s Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, is formalizing its relationship with Dexton Deboree.

Katcy Stephan Raimi Productions, the genre-focused company run by Sam Raimi and Zainab Azizi, has signed a first-look film and television deal with Ara Keshishian and Petr Jákl’s development and financing company ZQ Entertainment. The deal extends the long-standing relationship between the two companies, which most recently collaborated on the upcoming thriller “Locked,” directed by David Yaroveksy and starring Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins, and the horror-thriller “Don’t Move,” which was acquired by Netflix earlier this month.