‘Station Eleven’ Author Emily St. John Mandel Signs With Verve (EXCLUSIVE)

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLuis Guzmán will play Gomez Addams in the “Wednesday” series at Netflix, Variety has learned.It was previously announced that Jenna Ortega will star as Wednesday Addams in the series, which was originally ordered to series at the streamer back in February. It is described as a supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSquare Peg and A24 are teaming to develop Adrian Tomine’s graphic memoir “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist” for television as an animated series, Variety has learned exclusively.The memoir, first published in 2020, explores Tomine’s life through a series of autobiographical sketches. When a sudden medical incident lands Tomine in the emergency room, he begins to question if it was really all worthwhile: despite the accolades and opportunities of a seemingly

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterSquishmallows, a top-selling range of plush toys that found a global audience during the pandemic, is giving a super-soft hug to its new agent.The range of collectibles will be represented in numerous areas by CAA, including film, television, video games, publishing, live touring and more.Produced by Jazwares, the toys have moved over 86 million units in over 40 countries since launching in 2017.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThomas Lennon is developing the animated comedy “The Post Guard” at Fox, Variety has learned exclusively.The series is described as a workplace adventure comedy following the rag tag crew of humans, turtles, seals and mermaids at the secretive, and often overlooked mashup of the Coast Guard and Post Office, as they scour the high seas to find and deliver messages in bottles, while settling who among them is in charge of the ship’s menial tasks, like resetting the

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHulu has ordered a comedy pilot from Steve Levitan and John Enbom with Keegan-Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville attached to star, Variety has learned.In the pilot, titled “Reboot,” Hulu decides to reboot an early 2000’s family sitcom. Its dysfunctional cast is forced back together and now must deal with their unresolved issues in today’s fast-changing world.Levitan is the creator, executive producer, and showrunner and also wrote the pilot story.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterScooter Braun’s SB Projects has extended its first-look deal with Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.SB Projects signed their first deal with Amazon in 2019, with multiple projects currently in development at the streamer. Among those is “Neon Machine” from writer/director Jason Kim, and a modern-day YA musical feature film loosely based on the character of Lady Macbeth with writer S.J.

Angelique Jackson Actor and activist Kendrick Sampson has signed with M88, the independently operated representation firm founded in 2020 by Phillip Sun and Macro’s Charles D. King.Alongside M88, the star will also be represented by the firm’s sister company UNCMMN, which spotlights disruptive talent rooted in new media.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterKerry Bishé has joined the Showtime anthology series “Super Pumped,” the first season of which will tackle the rise of ride sharing company Uber.Bishé joins previously announced cast members Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Kyle Chandler. Gordon-Levitt will star as Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick, while Chandler will play Texas venture capitalist Bill Gurley.

Angelique Jackson CAA has signed Academy Award nominee and Emmy-nominated “Indian Matchmaking” creator Smriti Mundhra for representation in all areas.Mundhra created and executive produced the Netflix original series, which is nominated for an Emmy award for outstanding unstructured reality program. “Indian Matchmaking” offered an inside look at the custom of matchmaking in Indian cultures through a contemporary lens.In 2020, Mundhra’s film, “St.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJared Christopher has signed with Verve, Variety has learned exclusively.News of the signing comes after Verve’s acquisition of New Deal Mfg. Co.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLoud Robot, filmmaker JJ Abrams’ new label through RCA Records, has signed its second act, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sally Boy. The announcement comes with a new track and video “Bad Habits,” which you can see and hear below.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA new Pokemon series is in early development at Netflix, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.As the project is still in its early days, no details are available about the plot. However, sources say that Joe Henderson is attached to write and executive produce.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicJenna Andrews, the hit songwriter and producer whose credits include BTS’ chart-topping “Butter” as well as “Dynamite” and “Permission to Dance,” has signed with Milk & Honey for management.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Dune” television series prequel at HBO Max has found its new showrunner.Variety has learned exclusively that Diane Ademu-John has boarded “Dune: The Sisterhood” in the role of writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Jon Spaihts had previously been attached to run the series, but he stepped down in November 2019 to focus on writing the script for the second of the “Dune” reboot films.The show was ordered straight-to-series at HBO Max in June 2019.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA television series based on the life of Malcolm X is in the works at Sony Pictures Television’s TriStar, Variety has learned exclusively.The series will be based on the novels “X: A Novel” and “The Awakening of Malcolm X,” both of which were co-written by Malcolm’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz. “X: A Novel” was also co-written by Kekla Magoon while “The Awakening of Malcolm X” was also co-written by Tiffany D.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterColor Farm Media has partnered with WarnerMedia OneFifty to develop a slate of scripted television projects, Variety has learned exclusively.The media company and WarnerMedia content innovation hub will focus on developing projects featuring underrepresented creative talent.“We are thrilled to partner with WarnerMedia OneFifty,” said Color Farm co-founder Erika Alexander.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDirector Alan Taylor has boarded the “Interview With the Vampire” series at AMC, Variety has learned exclusively.Taylor will direct the first two episodes of the upcoming series and will also serve as an executive producer on Season 1. The show, which was officially greenlit in June, is based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name.Taylor is no stranger to AMC, having directed multiple episodes of the network’s hit drama series “Mad Men,” including the pilot.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO has added five actors to star alongside Alicia Vikander in the upcoming series “Irma Vep,” Variety has learned.Adria Arjona (“6 Underground,” “True Detective”), Carrie Brownstein (“Portlandia,” “Transparent”), Jerrod Carmichael (“The Carmichael Show,” “Ramy”), Fala Chen (“The Undoing,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”), and Devon Ross will all star alongside Vikander in the limited series.In the show, Mira (Vikander) is an American movie star disillusioned

Lots of stars were in attendance for the closing ceremony of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival!

Ramin Setoodeh Executive EditorSharon Stone wasn’t getting the bids that she wanted.Around midnight on Friday night in France, after a dazzling fashion show on the lawn of a mansion in Antibes, the actor-turned-emcee was auctioning off 32 one-of-a-kind gowns by designers such as Versace, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy and Balenciaga at the amfAR Cannes gala.Joined onstage by the 32 models who’d walked a makeshift runway — which was so slippery, two of them had tripped — Stone was ready to pocket