Video Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterABC’s telecast of the annual American Music Awards on Sunday with Taraji P. Henson as host was the latest awards show that implemented socially distanced and COVID-friendly production parameters to deliver live performances.

Nellie Andreeva Co-Editor-in-Chief, TVEXCLUSIVE: Fox is developing a crime drama procedural based on the true-life experiences of professional medium Tina Powers.

Peter White Television EditorDee Harris-Lawrence, who is co-showrunner of CBS legal drama All Rise, is staying in the Warner Bros. family after striking an overall deal with the studio.Harris-Lawrence, who is also showrunner of OWN’s David Makes Man, has closed an exclusive multi-year deal with the company – first studio overall pact.She came on board All Rise, which is produced by Warner Bros.

Peter White Television EditorEXCLUSIVE: Sam Palmer is a former electrician who moved into the LA super-mansion built by Aaron and Candy Spelling after he became engaged to Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone.His life, and work as a home staffing expert, is now set to be the subject of a docuseries being developed by Renowned Films, the producers behind Bravo’s Backyard Envy and BET’s Copwatch America, and Critical Content.Palmer runs Staffing Properties, a concierge service designed to find

Peter White Television EditorRavi Ahuja, who is president of business operations and chief financial officer at Walt Disney Television, is stepping down.Ahuja, who was formerly CFO of Fox Networks Group, took the position after Disney’s acquisition of Fox.“I regrettably am writing to you today to share that Ravi Ahuja has decided to leave the Company to seek out a new adventure.  This is a big loss for me personally and our Company, but I wish Ravi nothing but the best.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticSandy Dvore, the Emmy-winning graphic artist whose whose opening credit designs for such programs as The Young and the Restless, The Partridge Family and The Waltons are among TV’s most recognizable images, died Nov. 20 after a recent diagnosis of bone cancer.

Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmErnest Cline’s Ready Player Two sequel novel launches November 24 in the U.S. and UK.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: Hulu has struck an eight-figure deal for U.S.

Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmEXCLUSIVE: New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos are right now announcing that Netflix will boost its presence in the state by expanding its ABQ Studios and committing to an additional $1 billion in production spending.The Studio expansion will add 300 acres to the company’s existing studios, located in Albuquerque’s Mesa Del Sol area.

Pete Hammond Awards Columnist/Chief Film CriticGeorge Clooney has a unique distinction when it comes to Oscar history.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterCinemas in England have been given the green light to re-open next week when a four-week country-wide lockdown comes to an end on December 2.Culture secretary Olive Dowden confirmed on Twitter that indoor performances will be allowed to resume with numbers capped at 1,000 and 50% venue capacity (whichever is lower), but this will be restricted in certain areas of the country.England is re-entering a tiered lockdown system, similar to what it employed before

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticDespite what you may have read, The Right Girl is not a musical about Harvey Weinstein.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorThe H Collective (Brightburn) is teaming with Breaking Bad exec producer and Rain Man producer Mark Johnson on coming-of-age film The Vineyard, which will be directed by Mark Steven Johnson (Love Guaranteed) from Tory Kamen’s script.“Foodie drama” The Vineyard will follow an American teenager whose life is uprooted when she unexpectedly moves to Italy to live with a grandfather she never knew existed. Pic is due to get underway in Italy in

Nellie Andreeva Co-Editor-in-Chief, TVEXCLUSIVE: Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Blindspot) has been tapped for a new series regular role opposite John Krasinski in the upcoming third season of Prime Video’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, a co-production of Amazon Studios, Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television.Jean-Baptiste will play Elizabeth Wright, the Chief of Station.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorUniversal’s domestic release of Simon King’s directorial The 355 is jumping from its MLK 2021 weekend release to MLK weekend Jan. 14, 2022.While Universal has committed a number of fresh wide releases during the pandemic to exhibition during Q4, i.e.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorLine Of Duty, the BBC’s widely acclaimed police drama, has wrapped filming on Season 6 after an 82-day shoot and a five-month enforced hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.Creator Jed Mercurio tweeted that the World Productions show had wrapped on Monday evening.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorSubscription streaming outlet AMC+ has launched on Roku, expanding its distribution reach to the No. 1 U.S.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterAussie cinema royalty Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman have been crowned king and queen of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.The pair are taking up the roles of President (Crowe) and Vice President (Kidman) of the AACTA, overseeing an organization that helped to further their careers when they won their first AACTA prizes back in 1991 and 1987, respectively.The Oscar-winning duo will use their positions to nurture talent in Australia as

Nellie Andreeva Co-Editor-in-Chief, TVEXCLUSIVE: NBC is developing Finding Forrester, a drama series based on the 2000 Gus Van Sant movie, which starred the late Sean Connery.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorThe International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences today unveiled the winners of the International Emmy Awards 2020.During a virtual ceremony broadcast from New York City, Oscar-winner Glenda Jackson added another award to the mantlepiece for her BBC dementia drama Elizabeth Is Missing.

Nellie Andreeva Co-Editor-in-Chief, TVLikely boosted by word of mouth following that shocking ending, the premiere of ABC’s new drama series Big Sky grew by +3.03 million total viewers and by +0.5 rating points among adults 18-49 from Live+Same Day to Live+3 Day to amass 7.2 million viewers and a 1.2 in 18-49 after three days of playback.These are the largest playback increases for a new series debut in total viewers since September 2019 and with adults 18-49 since February 2020 — since ABC’s

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Producer Aaliyah Williams has signed a first-look deal with CBS Studios under her Just A Rebel production company. With the new deal, Williams brings her commitment to storytelling centering Black women.Williams has a slate of multiple projects in development.

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorEXCLUSIVE: Latin Grammy winner and actress Alejandra Guzman (Una familia con suerte), Laura Leon (Dos mujeres un camino) and Cristián de la Fuente (Amor bravio) have joined the season 2 cast of Pantaya’s hit Spanish-language scripted series El Juego de Las Llaves (The Game of Keys).

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorMTV has ordered Deliciousness, a spinoff of its long-running hit series Ridiculousness, hosted by Alexa & Katie alumna Tiffani Thiessen.The author of Pull Up a Chair cookbook and host of Cooking Channel’s Dinner at Tiffani’s, Thiessen will be joined by panelists including Angela Kinsey (The Office), Kel Mitchell (All That, Kenan & Kel) and Tim Chantarangsu (Basic to Bougie).

Jake Kanter International TV EditorLegendary Entertainment and The Spanish Princess showrunners Emma Frost and Matthew Graham have launched the joint-venture production company Watford & Essex, which is already in development with 10 projects, including a remake of ABC’s 1960s TV series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea.The new outfit will be based in Bristol, south-west England, and has hired Christine Healy, the head of production at Catherine The Great producer New Pictures, as its chief

Tom Grater International Film ReporterScorsese In StockholmMartin Scorsese made an appearance at Sweden’s Stockholm International Film Festival this weekend to receive the event’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Presented with the prize remotely due to ongoing pandemic restrictions, the filmmaker said that he had always had a “real love” for the country’s films.

Pete Hammond Awards Columnist/Chief Film CriticBruuuuuuuuce! No, you aren’t listening to the chant of fans at a Springsteen concert. That cheer is for Bruce, the so nicknamed full-scale shark model from Jaws, the iconic 1975 film that continues to make beachgoers afraid to go into the water.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorGlobal hits including Chernobyl and His Dark Materials helped UK television exports grow 6% to a record high of £1.48B ($2B) in the 12 months to the end of March, according to producer trade body Pact.The UK TV Exports Report, prepared by 3Vision, found that the U.S.  continues to be the most important sales market for UK companies, contributing nearly a third (£466M) of total revenue.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorNetflix reports that its limited series The Queen’s Gambit has scored 62M households, becoming their most watched limited series to date in its first 28 days. The series starring Anya Taylor-Joy has been consumed Russia and Hong Kong, to France, Taiwan and Australia.

Peter White Television EditorThe Queen’s Gambit has been watched by 62M households – making it Netflix’s biggest scripted limited series to date.The series, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy as rising chess star Beth Harmon, launched on October 23, and is based on Walter Tevis’ novel.Co-written by Scott Frank, who also directs, and Allan Scott (Don’t Look Now), The Queen’s Gambit chronicles the life of an orphan chess prodigy.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticRobert Garland, a Hollywood screenwriter who began his writing career with episodes of such popular sitcoms as That Girl and Sanford and Son before going on to write the big-screen hits The Electric Horseman and No Way Out, died Nov. 21 in Baltimore.

Michael Cieply Executive EditorFrom the Department of Anniversaries-You-Probably-Forgot: Four years ago today, Nov. 23, brought the release of Warren Beatty’s Howard Hughes film, Rules Don’t Apply.Forty years in the making, the movie landed with a thud.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorESPN has begun a marketing campaign with the tagline “one app, one tap” as a way to plug its centralized digital destination.The blitz, which features TV spots and digital pieces with emerging rapper Chika, kicked off Sunday night during the American Music Awards telecast on ABC.Disney-owned ESPN is touting its app as part of an overall strategic shift toward digital and streaming.

Bruce Haring pmc-editorial-managerA3 Artists Agency has hired Sally Willcox as a media rights agent. She will serve under the motion picture and television literary divisions representing intellectual property.“Sally has proven she has an extraordinary eye for identifying influential and diverse voices,” said A3 CEO Robert Attermann.

Peter White Television EditorEXCLUSIVE: The story of women including Angie Bowie and Jane Asher –  those behind the scenes of some of music’s greatest icons – is being turned into a scripted narrative podcast series from the team behind Disgraceland and iHeartRadio.Eleanor Wells, the filmmaker behind shorts films including The Harpist and Eagle Rock, is hosting About A Girl, which will chronicle the stories of the women who inspired, loved, supported, and challenged these artists.The anthology

Andreas Wiseman International EditorHanWay Films has closed a string of international pre-sales on Phillip Noyce’s true-crime love story Peggy Jo, which is set to star Lily James.Universal Pictures Content Group has picked up the movie for Benelux, German speaking Europe, Italy, Portugal, Scandinavia, Turkey, UK, Bulgaria, former Yugoslavia, Czech & Slovak Republics, Hungary, Poland, Romania, CIS, Baltics, Israel, West Indies, South Africa, Hong Kong, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Malaysia,