‘Shotgun Wedding’ Producer David Hoberman Launches Hobie Films Banner, Appoints Julie Meschko As VP

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Saul Hudson, better known as Slash, the British-American lead guitarist of iconic rock group Guns N’ Roses, has launched a horror production outfit. His new act, BerserkerGang, is being hatched in partnership with horror genre professionals Michael Paszt, James Fler and Andrew T. Hunt of Raven Banner; Rodrigo Gudiño, filmmaker and founder of Rue Morgue magazine; and producer Pasha Patriki of Hangar 18 Media. “I’ve always been a huge horror fan, especially going back to the days when horror movies actually scared the hell out of you,” Slash said in a statement. “I want to get into the heart of the producing business so I can try and make movies that I’d like to see.”

Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves comes a new music reality competition called, which they promise is a «fresh take on» the TV genre as it «breaks down barriers in country music by providing an extraordinary opportunity to diverse artists from around the world.»  Ahead of the eight-part competition's debut on Apple TV+, the streaming platform released a trailer, offering the first look at what's to come from this one-of-a-kind experience.  On the show, three groundbreaking country artists and scouts -- Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton and Orville Peck -- have each handpicked a roster of what they consider to be «exceptional up-and-coming talent» and invited them to live together in a house in Nashville, Tennessee, where they'll showcase their unique sound and style for the judges.While there, the twelve contestants will vye for the chance to win «a life-changing experience from Apple, including global exposure across the Apple TV+ and Apple Music platforms.»In addition to watching the extended preview for the reality series, check out the three scout's full roster of competing artists below:    Chihuahua, Mexico Ale infuses herself into her music and bilingual lyrics with the mariachi, norteño, banda and other sounds she heard growing up in Mexico. At the age of 16 she taught herself how to play the guitar, and is now on the way to establishing herself as an independent singer-songwriter with a loyal following she’s gained from her popular YouTube channel.    New Delhi, India Dhruv, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer-songwriter and producer, started his musical journey at the age of seven.

Annie Gonzalez has her next big project line up. The actress will star and produce in a biopic based on Jenni Rivera’s life. Rivera was one of the most iconic Latin artists, crossing over to a male dominated field and making hits that blurred the line between Mexican Regional and pop music.

EXCLUSIVE: An authorized biopic about the life of Jenni Rivera has been greenlit at ViX with Annie Gonzalez (Flamin’ Hot, Gentefied) set to star and executive produce. Filming of Jenni (wt) is underway in Bogota, Colombia, and will be completed in Los Angeles.

EXCLUSIVE: Range Media Partners on Friday announced its signing of Giovanni M. Porta, a writer and producer whose first produced project, At Midnight, premiered on Paramount+ in February.

Bebe Rexha is sharing some stomach-turning, behind-the-scenes details of the music video for her and David Guetta’s chart-topping banger “I’m Good (Blue)”.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed rising star Sinqua Walls for representation in all areas.

Elon Musk continues to be the richest person in the world, despite briefly losing the No. 1 spot for over two months.

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights for German director Christian Petzold’s new film Afire, following its award-winning world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

Julia MacCary editor Carl Reed, one of the producers of the Oscar-winning short “Hair Love,” and co-founder of Lion Forge Animation has launched Composition Media, an animation studio headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.for a global audience that highlights minority and underrepresented communities. “I am incredibly excited to finally unveil our animation studio and showcase the incredible work our team has been pouring their hearts and souls into,” said Reed. “Our aim is to break the mold and elevate the art of animation by producing content that truly represents our audiences. But more than that, we want to push the boundaries of what animation can be. It’s time to move past the limitations of animation as just a genre and explore the limitless possibilities of this medium.”

Sideshow & Janus Films have snapped up North American rights for Mexican director Lila Avilés’s family drama Tótem following its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale last week.

Rust crew members sued Alec Baldwin and the film’s producers on Monday, alleging they suffered symptoms of insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety stemming from the fatal shooting of the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, according to a lawsuit obtained by ET. The three crew members claim they were in the church building during filming, when Baldwin’s gun went off, striking Hutchins and director Joel Souza. Baldwin, who denied pulling the trigger, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter after the gun he was holding discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Souza on the Western film set in New Mexico.Last week, Baldwin formally entered a not-guilty plea to the manslaughter charge.

Once again, Alec Baldwin and Rust producers are being taken to court by crew members of the indie Western over the fatal 2021 on-set shooting of cinematographer Haylna Hutchins.

Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally and Nick Cross has joined the cast of the fourth and final season of Netflix’s superhero drama series The Umbrella Academy.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The fourth and final season of “The Umbrella Academy” at Netflix has added Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and David Cross to its cast, Variety has learned. It was announced in August 2022 that the hit series would be wrapping up with its fourth season. Offerman (“The Last of Us,” “Parks and Recreation”) and Mullally (“Will & Grace,” “Party Down”), who are married in real life, will star as Drs. Gene and Jean Thibedeau. The characters are described as “a married pair of community college professors from New Mexico who wear sensible footwear and suffer from the most extreme case of deja vu this timeline has ever seen.”

fourth and final season of Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” the streamer announced Friday. Production on the last installment of the hit superhero drama is currently underway in Toronto.Husband and wife duo Offerman and Mullally will play Drs.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The producers of “Rust” have agreed to pay a reduced penalty of $100,000 to resolve the OSHA case that arose from the shooting death of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by Alec Baldwin. The New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau issued a $136,793 penalty last April, the highest allowed by law. Rust Movie Productions was scheduled to challenge the citation at a state commission hearing in June. Under the settlement, the state agency agreed to the reduced penalty and dropped its claim that the production committed a “willful” violation of safety rules. A “willful” citation is the most severe under OSHA’s enforcement system.

Two years to the date after their February 22, 2021 breakup, Daft Punk have announced a 10th-anniversary reissue of their final album as a duo, 2013’s Random Access Memories. The expanded edition — scheduled for a May 12 drop — will contain eight previously unreleased demos, outtakes, and alternate versions, combining for a total of 35 minutes of music.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Mexico’s Yalitza Aparicio, Oscar nominated for her career-launching turn in Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” and Infinity Hill, producers of the Oscar-nominated Argentine drama “Argentina 1985,” have boarded sweatshop thriller “Bonded” as executive producers. The drama features a stellar cast that includes Golden Globe nominee Diego Calva (“Babylon”), Chile’s Alfredo Castro (“From Afar”), Mexico’s Paulina Gaitán (“Narcos”) and Jason Patric (“The Lost Boys”). The directorial feature debut of helmer-scribe Mohit Ramchandani, “Bonded” is produced by Mexican filmmaker Luis Mandoki (“Innocent Voices), Jon Graham (“The Vault”) and Kyle Stroud (“In Full Bloom”).

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Investigators spent more than a year sorting out blame for the death of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the set of “Rust.” In the end, two agencies came to two sharply different conclusions about Alec Baldwin’s level of responsibility as a producer of the film. Prosecutors charged Baldwin for firing the gun that killed Hutchins, but also for management failures that created a hazardous set. “We believe Baldwin, as a producer, knows everything that goes on, on the set,” prosecutor Andrea Reeb said on Fox News’ “The Five” last month. “There were a lot of safety concerns that were brought to the attention of management, and he did nothing about it.”