Sundance Institute’s Interdisciplinary Program Sets Grantees, Art of Practice Fellows

ViacomCBS announced the seven writers selected out of 1,000 applicants to participate in the Writers Mentoring Program for 2021-2022. Currently in its 18th year and helmed by the ViacomCBS Office of Global Inclusion, the program provides mentorships, access and opportunity for writers.

Even since big-name actors such as Robert Redford or Clint Eastwood took their shot at sitting in the director’s chair, numerous others have followed suit with varying degrees of success.

The Black List announced its second annual collaboration with IllumiNative and the Sundance Institute to craft The Indigenous List, which highlights the very best Indigenous screenwriters from both feature films and television.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterPatrick Hughes, director of the successful action-comedy franchise “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” is setting up his next project at Lionsgate.Variety can exclusively report that Hughes will write and direct “War Machine,” an action/sci-fi film about the final recruits of a grueling special ops boot camp who encounter a deadly force from beyond this world.Announced by Lionsgate president of production Erin Westerman, the project will be produced by Range Media

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorHallie Jackson will double the amount of time she spends anchoring each weekday, while dividing those duties between cable outlet MSNBC and the streaming hub NBC News Now.Jackson, a senior Washington correspondent who has been with NBC News since 2014, will launch “Hallie Jackson Now,” a new hour-long program  on NBC News Now that starts Monday, November 15, at 5 p.m. eastern.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAMC Networks said an surge in the production of new programming helped boost its operations in the third quarter, resulting in a boost to profit as the company works to place its content in an array of new venues to court the rise of consumers interesting in streaming.The New York owner of the AMC, IFC and SundanceTV cable networks and distributor of the “Walking Dead” series, said net income rose to $110.6 million, or $2.60 a share, compared with $61.6 million,

Angelique Jackson In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Amazon Studios presents its newest “Voices” virtual event, highlighting the many contributions to entertainment from the native community, as well as Hollywood’s complicity in the ongoing erasure and whitewashing of indigenous stories.With the intent of celebrating the heritage, diversity and beauty of Native American communities, plus evaluating Native American representation in current film and changing the narrative of

EXCLUSIVE: FilmRise has acquired North American distribution rights to well-received Sundance and Tribeca title Marvelous And The Black Hole, starring four-time Emmy-winner Rhea Perlman (The Mindy Project) and Miya Cech (Always Be My Maybe).

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterThe Sundance Institute, the nonprofit arm of the organization that puts on the annual Sundance Film Festival, has announced the recipients of its 2021 Women at Sundance Adobe Fellowship.The annual program will spotlight eight artists working across disciplines, and was designed to support  women making bold work in film and media.

Naman Ramachandran “My Greatest Shot,” a six-part series that reveals the stories behind some of the world’s most iconic photographs, will be the first ad-funded program on the Sky Arts channel.Produced by Zinc Communicate, Zinc Media Group’s branded content division, and Zinc’s factual producer Tern Television, “My Greatest Shot” was developed in partnership with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Naman Ramachandran The U.K.’s Royal Television Society (RTS) has opened entries for the RTS Program Awards 2022, in partnership with Audio Network. After a pandemic-forced hybrid event this year, the 2022 edition will take place in-person at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29.

Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program has set its latest cohort of 20 films receiving Documentary Fund Grants, doling out a total of $600,000 in unrestricted support to projects in varying stages of production and distribution, including eight in development, eight in production, three in post-production, and one in post-production and impact.

Gold House launched an upcoming project titled the Future Gold Film Fellowship — in partnership with Netflix and Tribeca Studios in an effort to amplify API directors and their stories.Selected by Tribeca Studios and industry leaders including: Aneesh Chaganty, Jon M. Chu, Destin Daniel Cretton, Christopher Kahunahana, Daniel Dae Kim, Alice Wu, Janet Yang and Nina Yang Bongiovi — three Asian and Pacific Islander directors will each receive a production grant to make a scripted short film.

EXCLUSIVE: Universal’s latest Wolfman movie starring Ryan Gosling looks to be gaining momentum as the studio has zeroed in on a director that knows the Oscar-nominated actor’s work very well. Sources tell Deadline, Derek Cianfrance, who teamed with Gosling on the dramas Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine, is in talks to direct a new take on Universal’s classic monster character.

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An exhibition curated by artist and personality Grayson Perry, as a spin-off of his TV show 'Grayson's Art Club', has helped push visitor numbers at Manchester Art Gallery back up to pre-pandemic levels, the council has revealed.

A fit and healthy dad was given just a 30 per cent chance of survival after falling ill during a Parkrun.

Random Media has acquired worldwide rights to The Kybalion, a faith-based documentary featuring appearances by Paula Roberts, Daniel Ryan, Bryan Contnoir, and Raymond Moody.

The Sundance Institute has set 10 fellows for its inaugural Producers Intensive, taking place virtually from October 21-22.