MGM Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Last week, Amazon Studios/Prime Video senior VP announced that Chris Brearton was leaving Amazon “to pursue a new opportunity outside the company.” Now we know what that opportunity is: Brearton, who had most recently served as vice president of Prime Video Studios Corporate Strategy at MGM+ and MGM Alternative Television, has joined indie media company AGBO as a partner. At AGBO, he will join company leaders Anthony and Joe Russo (the directors who co-founded the company in 2017) and partner Donald Mustard.

Huge news for fans of the new series Fallout!

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios has begun the countdown for its Ryan Gosling starring, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing space adventure movie, Project Hail Mary for March 20, 2026. No other wide entries are on that weekend.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Fallout” has been renewed for Season 2 at Amazon Prime Video. The announcement comes after Variety reported that a second season was set to receive $25 million in tax credits by relocating shooting to the state of California. Based on the video game franchise of the same name, the series is set two hundred years after the apocalypse.

The Walking Dead maker Skybound Entertainment is pushing into the unscripted game.

Jack Dunn Amazon Prime Video has officially ordered a 20-episode season of “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” from MGM Alternative, the streamer announced Tuesday. As previously reported by Variety, the “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” spinoff will be hosted by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

EXCLUSIVE: Felicity Jones is set to star in Michael Showalter’s holiday comedy Oh. What. Fun. for Amazon MGM Studios, joining Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloë Grace Moretz and Dominic Sessa.

Days after he left Amazon, Chris Brearton has found a new gig.

EXCLUSIVE: Justin Lin has come aboard to direct Stakehorse for Amazon MGM Studios from a script penned by Justin Piasecki. Hidden Pictures’ Todd Lieberman and Alex Young will produce, with Lin producing through his Perfect Storm Entertainment banner and Piasecki executive producing.

EXCLUSIVE: Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, Robert Morgan and Grant Harvey have joined the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios and Artists Equity feature The Accountant 2, the sequel to the 2016 thriller. Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons and Cynthia Addai-Robinson are reprising their roles, with Gavin O’Connor returning as director. Bill Dubuque penned the script.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Chris Brearton is exiting Amazon MGM Studios after a long career at MGM to pursue other opportunities, the company announced on Wednesday. In a memo to staff, Amazon Studios and Prime Video senior vice president Mike Hopkins revealed that Brearton “has decided to leave Amazon to pursue a new opportunity outside the company.” Brearton had most recently served as vice president of PVS Corporate Strategy at MGM+ and MGM Alternative Television.

While Amazon MGM Studios didn’t take the stage at CinemaCon, they did meet with exhibitors and key press to strut their future theatrical slate, in particular they showed off ten minutes of the Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ movie Red One. While we agree to keep mum about the details of the Santa Claus rescue movie, let’s just say the originally conceived for Prime Video title is definitely meant for theatrical, which is where it’s going on Nov. 15; the only wide release currently on that weekend.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large If TV is all about football these days, so are the Sports Emmys. The New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences revealed the nominations for its 45th annual Sports Emmy Awards, and the NFL Network’s “NFL 360” led the pack with 11 nods — followed closely by the CBS and Nickelodeon coverage of Super Bowl LVIII, with ten. Also in the hunt: ESPN’s “E60” doc series and Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football, with nine each.

Michaela Zee “Fallout” is stepping out of the vault earlier than originally planned. Prime Video has announced that “Fallout,” adapted from the retro-futuristic video game franchise of the same name, will premiere all eight episodes on April 10 at 6 p.m. PT.

EXCLUSIVE: David Ayer’s Levon’s Trade has started principal photography on location in London with Jason Statham (Fast & Furious franchise) joined in the cast by David Harbour (Stranger Things), Michael Peña (Narcos: Mexico), Jason Flemyng (Boiling Point) and Arianna Rivas (The Harvest).

Anitta is going out on tour!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A TV series set in the world of “Legally Blonde” is in development at Amazon Prime Video, Variety has confirmed. No plot details are available, but the project is being executive produced by Reese Witherspoon along with Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, with Schwartz and Savage also writing. Witherspoon starred in two of the “Legally Blonde” films and will executive produce under her Hello Sunshine banner alongside Lauren Neustadter.

EXCLUSIVE: Reese Witherspoon is revisiting one of the signature titles in her acting resume, taking it to a new medium. Witherspoon and her Hello Sunshine company are behind Legally Blonde spinoff TV series inspired by the popular film franchise that are in development at Amazon MGM Studios, sources tell Deadline.

Road House has become Amazon Prime Video’s biggest ever movie debut.Amazon have said that the remake of the 1989 action classic has become its biggest global movie launch ever, with 50 million viewers having watched the film since it debuted on March 21.The remake stars Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role bouncer Dalton – a part first made famous by Patrick Swayze in the original.Conor McGregor, Daniela Melchior, Darren Barnet and Billy Magnussen all star in the remake alongside Gyllenhaal in the remake.“The groundbreaking, successful debut of Road House is a testament to the hard work and commitment from the entire Road House filmmaking team and the film’s cast led by the phenomenal Jake Gyllenhaal,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios in a statement.She added: “It’s great to see the film taking off with both fans of the iconic original as well as a huge turnout from new audiences.”Earlier this year, Doug Liman, the director of the remake, boycotted the film’s premiere after Amazon Prime Video decided on a streaming-only release.In an open letter published by Deadline, Liman wrote that he will “not be attending” the film’s premiere in Texas at the SXSW film festival in March.The Edge Of Tomorrow director wrote: “The movie is fantastic, maybe my best, and I’m sure it will bring the house down and possibly have the audience dancing in their seats during the end credits. But I will not be there.”His letter called out Amazon for the decision saying: “Contrary to their public statements, Amazon has no interest in supporting cinemas.

Amazon MGM Studios has closed a three-year first-look film deal with Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories following the rousing success of his movie on Prime Video, which was the most watched original movie for the studio ever with 50 million global viewers in the pic’s first two weeks.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Fresh off the release of “Road House,” Amazon MGM Studios has closed a three-year, first-look film deal with Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories. Under the pact, Amazon MGM Studios will have first dibs on narrative features that the actor’s production company makes. The deal includes theatrical, as well as streaming releases.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon has struck a deal that will see premium Lionsgate and Starz programming made available to to MGM+ customers in the U.K. Lionsgate+ subscribers who joined via Prime Video Channels in the U.K.

EXCLUSIVE: True Detective star and World Boxing Council middleweight champ and Independent Spirit nominee Kali Reis has boarded Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming thriller Mercy opposite Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson and Annabelle Wallis. The pic is looking to roll cameras this spring for an August 15, 2025 theatrical release.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Road House,” the Jake Gyllenhaal-led remake of the Patrick Swayze cult favorite, appears to be a hit on Prime Video. Amazon MGM Studios, which operates the streamer, announced that the action film has attracted over 50 million worldwide viewers on the service over its first two weekends. That makes it the studio’s “most-watched produced film debut ever on a worldwide basis.” There are a number of caveats in that statement.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Gato Grande, an Amazon MGM Studios company, has upped Megan Espinoza and Moises Amsel to the positions of VPs of Film & TV Development in the company’s newly-launched English-language division. Espinoza and Amsel will assume responsibility for the daily operations of the new unit, focusing on the creation of original intellectual property in English for both TV and film, sourced from Latin American IP.

Gen V star Chance Perdomo has died as a result of a motorcycle accident. Authorities have advised that no other individuals were involved. He was 27-years-old.

Lady Gaga has shared a birthday post telling fans she is “writing some of my best music in as long as I can remember”.The popstar celebrated her birthday yesterday (March 28) – and to mark the occasion, Gaga sent everyone a little message teasing her new music.“Today has been so special—I can’t remember a time I was so happy on my bday,” she began. “I am in love with my best friend, my family and friends are loving and kind and healthy.

Katcy Stephan Allison Janney is joining the cast of Amazon MGM Studios’ “A Simple Favor 2.” The actor will join returning cast members Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in the sequel to Paul Feig’s hit 2018 mystery-comedy film. The sequel will follow Stephanie (Kendrick) and Emily (Lively) as they head to the beautiful island of Capri for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a wealthy Italian businessman.

Katcy Stephan Ryan Gosling and Apple Original Films exec Jessie Henderson have launched General Admission, a production company with the objective to collaborate with world class filmmakers to create bold theatrical and streaming events within all genres. In introducing their new venture, the duo has signed a three-year first-look film deal with Amazon MGM Studios. Under the pact, Amazon MGM Studios will have a first look on narrative features, some of which Gosling will star in, that General Admission intends to produce for both theatrical and streaming.

A Simple Favor, the 2018 hit dark comedy, is officially getting a sequel!

Deadline already told you two years ago that 2 was happening with Paul Feig back in the director’s chair and Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick starring, but today Amazon MGM Studios has made it official that the movie is a go and with the original cast members returning, read Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho, and Kelly McCormack.

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Clawson, Head of Worldwide Production and Post at Amazon MGM Studios, is leaving the company after nearly five years.

EXCLUSIVE: After coming together at warp speed over the past month, Deadline hears that the Imagine Entertainment package After the Hunt from screenwriter Nora Garrett has landed at Amazon MGM Studios with Julia Roberts attached to star and Luca Guadagnino on board to direct.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor UTA announced Eric Iverson as chief technology officer, where he will lead information-technology strategy — joining the company as artificial intelligence and other tech developments are threatening to disrupt the industry. Most recently, Iverson served as director of product strategy Amazon MGM Studios, where he led product, user experience and AI efforts, and before that was chief technologist for media and entertainment in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) division.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Audible Inc. has pacted with its sibling Amazon MGM Studios unit to develop TV series based on a slew of podcasts and other original audio-only content featuring such notables as Kerry Washington, author James Patterson, “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh and more.

EXCLUSIVE: Westworld‘s Angela Sarafyan has joined the cast of Amazon MGM Studios and MRC‘s Viola Davis action thriller feature, G20.