Jesse Lee Soffer has returned home to NBC’s Chicago P.D. but not as Jay Halstead. Instead, he’s making his debut as a director in tonight’s episode “Deadlocked.”
07.03.2023 - 18:33 / deadline.com
Sony Pictures Classics has taken global rights to Randall Park’s feature directorial Shortcomings. The pic starring Justin H. Min (After Yang), Sherry Cola (Joy Ride, Good Trouble), and Ally Maki (Big Door Prize), Tavi Gevinson (Gossip Girl), Debby Ryan (Insatiable), Sonoya Mizuno (House of the Dragon), Timothy Simons (Veep), and Jacob Batalon (Reginald The Vampire) had its world premiere at Sundance back in January in the U.S. Dramatic Competition sector.
In the film, Ben (Justin H. Min), a struggling filmmaker, lives in Berkeley, California, with his girlfriend, Miko (Ally Maki), who works for a local Asian American film festival. When he’s not managing an arthouse movie theater as his day job, Ben spends his time obsessing over unavailable blonde women, watching Criterion Collection DVDs, and eating in diners with his best friend Alice (Sherry Cola), a queer grad student with a serial dating habit. When Miko moves to New York for an internship, Ben is left to his own devices, and begins to explore what he thinks he might want. Shortcomings is based on Eisner-winning cartoonist Adrian Tomine’s classic graphic novel of the same name, a landmark of Asian American fiction and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Tomine, a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, also adapted the script and is executive producing.
Sony Pictures Classics said, “Randall Park’s Shortcomings is as relevant today as when Adrian Tomine’s book was first published almost 20 years ago. Its modern ideas about racial and sexual politics, its caustic humor, and authentic voice will resonate with today’s moviegoing audience. It will be our privilege to work with Randall and our friends at Topic Studios, Tango, Imminent Collision, Picture
Jesse Lee Soffer has returned home to NBC’s Chicago P.D. but not as Jay Halstead. Instead, he’s making his debut as a director in tonight’s episode “Deadlocked.”
Halstead is back in the Windy City — but in a new role. Jesse Lee Soffer is making his directorial debut on Chicago P.D.’s Wednesday, March 22, episode, titled “Deadlocked.”
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent King Charles III seems to be getting into the groove ahead of his official crowning in May. Spotify has released the official Coronation Celebration playlist featuring a slew of British legends and songs likely to get local masses in a festive mood, such as Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” The Who’s “Love Reign O’er Me” and “Slave to the Rhythm” by Grace Jones. The 27-song playlist, picked on the monarch’s behalf by the U.K.’s Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport, also features songs by more contemporary pop stars such as Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran and Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” which has gained renewed popularity thanks to Season 4 of “Stranger Things.”
the critically acclaimed 2019 film Parasite, is set to make his directorial debut.Han has been confirmed as the director of South Korean streaming platform TVING’s upcoming K-drama series Running Mate (literal title), which is expected to premiere sometime in 2024, as reported by Sports Chosun.Aside from his work on Parasite, Han was also previously an assistant director for Netflix’s Ojka, the second season of Sense8, as well as the 2016 South Korean disaster film Pandora.The forthcoming series will follow high school student Se-hoon, who decides to run for student council elections in order to reinvent himself, but ends up becoming the focus of the election cycle.Meanwhile, Running Mate will reportedly star Seasons of Blossom‘s Yoon Hyun-soo in the lead role of Se-hoon. The series will also feature Tracer actor Lee Jung-sic, Mr.
Eva Longoria is getting ready to release her feature directorial debut “Flamin’ Hot”, which is set to have an unprecedented release debuting on both Hulu and Disney+ on June 9, 2023.
Marta Balaga “Succession” star Brian Cox gushed about wife Nicole Ansari-Cox at Series Mania, after she expressed solidarity with women of Iran at the fest’s opening, demonstrating the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” to the photographers. “My wife is half Iranian and she was one of the first people to cut her hair as part of the protest. We are living in such a difficult, dangerous time, particularly for women. In Afghanistan, in Iran. It’s unacceptable. I am very proud of my wife: She is a very strong woman with very strong opinions, and she taught me so much,” Cox told Variety during a roundtable interview.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Roku Channel scripted series head Colin Davis has jumped to Sony Pictures Television Studios as the studio’s new exec VP of comedy development, Variety has confirmed. As part of the exec shuffle, back at Roku, Brian Tannenbaum has replaced Davis as head of scripted on an interim level. Davis will report to Sony Pictures TV Studios co-president Jason Clodfelter and oversee comedy development for all platforms. Davis’ team will include comedy development senior VP, animation VP Frank Ochoa and comedy development manager Jackie Wertheimer. He starts on May 1. At Roku, Davis oversaw the launch of series including the “Reno 911” reboot and Kevin Hart’s “Die Harter,” as well as the greenlight and release of the feature “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” Davis joined Roku as part of its acquisition of Quibi content; he had previously led scripted at that very brief short-form subscription service. Before Quibi, he handled comedy development at Turner, working on shows such as “Search Party.” His interim replacement, Tannenbaum, also joined Roku from Quibi..
EXCLUSIVE: Roku has quickly found its new scripted boss.
EXCLUSIVE: Colin Davis, Head of Scripted Originals for the Roku Channel, is leaving Roku’s free ad-supported streaming service to join Sony as EVP of Comedy Development at Sony Pictures Television Studios. Davis, who starts May 1, will oversee development of comedies for all platforms, reporting to Jason Clodfelter, Co-President of Sony Pictures Television Studios.
filmmaking is a real honor. Thank you to Michael and Tom for embracing our story about flawed, complex human beings, who happen to be Asian American, just trying their best.
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian star author Robert Saviano, whose mob exposé “Gomorrah” spawned both Matteo Garrone’s eponymous prizewinning movie and the groundbreaking crime series that plays stateside on HBO, is making his directorial debut. Saviano will direct “I’m Still Alive,” an animation adaptation of his graphic novel illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka (“Waltz With Bashir”). “Still Alive” examines the anti-mob activist’s life under armed guard since being forced to live with police protection shortly after 2006 when Saviano’s account of the inner workings of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate was published. Just like Saviano’s graphic novel, “I’m Still Alive” will feature illustration’s by Hanuka, an Eisner-winning cartoonist who is known, besides “Bashir,” for his autobiographical strips “The Realist” and for graphic novel “The Divine.”
Ariana DeBose, Chloe Fineman, Amanda Seyfried, and Megan Stalter are teaming up for a very exciting new movie!
Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Sony Pictures has won global distribution rights to the hot comedy package “My Ex-Friend’s Wedding,” a script co-written by buzzy author Taylor Jenkins Reid starring a murderers’ row of funny women. Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, “Saturday Night Live” breakout Chloe Fineman, Amanda Seyfried and Megan Stalter are set as the core ensemble. The film follows four childhood best friends who receive a drunken voicemail from a former BFF on the eve of her wedding day — confessing that she thinks she’s making a mistake. The group sets out to stop her wedding and rekindle the friendship they once shared. Comedy vet Kay Cannon, whose 2019 feature directorial debut “Blockers” over-performed at the box office, is directing. The script is from Ashley Rodger and Jenkins Reid. The latter could not be hotter at the moment, as the series adaptation of her novel “Daisy Jones & The Six” is about to hit Amazon Prime Video. Additional Jenkins Reed books are headed to the screen at Hulu (“Malibu Rising”) and Netflix (“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”).
Anna Marie de la Fuente In a bid to give more opportunities to women directors and boost the romcom genre, Sony Pictures International has teamed up with Maria Ripoll’s Cahuenga Filmmakers and transatlantic production shingle El Estudio to launch The Love Collection, a series of romantic comedy features to be written and helmed by women. Ripoll, best known for her romcom “Ahora o nunca,” the highest-grossing femme-directed film in Spain, will serve as executive producer on all the titles, and will direct the first in the collection, “Yo no soy esa,” (roughly translated to “I’m Not That One” or “I’m Not Her”) starring Verónica Echegui (“Trust,” “You’re Killing Me, Susana”). El Estudio’s Enrique López Lavigne will serve as producer on all the titles.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sony Pictures Classics has bought “The Teachers’ Lounge,” Ilker Çatak’s drama which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, for North America, Latin America and Eastern Europe (excluding Hungary). “The Teachers’ Lounge” marks the fourth feature from Çatak, who co-wrote the screenplay with Johannes Duncker. The movie played in the Panorama section and won the Europa Cinemas Label award for Best European film, as well as the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award. Produced by Ingo Fliess and shot by award-winning cinematographer Judith Kaufmann (“Corsage”), “The Teachers’ Lounge” stars Leonine Benesch (“The Crown”), Michael Klammer, Rafael Stachowiak, and Eva Löbau.
Sony Pictures Classics has picked up all rights in North America, Latin America and European Europe (excluding Hungary) to the Ilker Çatak drama The Teachers’ Lounge, which won both the Europa Cinemas Label award and the CICAE Arthouse Cinema award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in the U.S., Latin America, and select territories in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe to “The Miracle Club.” Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, the film stars Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Agnes O’Casey. The Dublin-shot film centers on four Dublin women who come together on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Lourdes in France, where they discover the solidarity in their friendship and unveil their own personal miracles. Produced by Chris Curling, Joshua Maurer and Larry Bass, the film was shot throughout 2022 and is currently in post-production. “The Miracle Club” reunites its leading actresses and Sony Pictures Classics, with all three having starred in previous films released by the distributor, including Linney in “Jindabyne” (2006) and “Driving Lessons” (2006), Smith in the titular role of “The Lady in the Van” (2015), and Bates in “Love Liza” (2002) and “Midnight in Paris” (2011).
Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut has been a long time in the making! The 36-year-old pulled double duty as director and star for the highly anticipated third installment of the spinoff franchise, , and according to critics, he did the thing.«It feels good, it feels like people are getting the work, you know? They understand what we're trying to say, what we are doing and it feels good to be understood a little bit,» the star tells ET's Nischelle Turner.
EXCLUSIVE: Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil are getting into business with Sony Pictures Entertainment. The producing partners have signed a multi-year first-look development and production deal for film and TV via their Mortal Media production banner.
Michael B. Jordan is taking a seat in the director’s chair for — out exclusively out in theaters March 3, 2023Get TicketsAfter a few years away from the ring, «Donnie» Creed is enjoying the family and life he’s built for himself.