‘The Staircase’s’ Michael Peterson Slams Series as ‘Homophobic,’ Calls Colin Firth ‘Not My Favorite Actor’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaQuiver Distribution has acquired North American rights to “Bitch Ass,” a horror movie that premiered at this year’s SXSW where it won the Midnighter’s Audience Award and earned praise for its sly reinvention of the slasher genre. The film stars Teon Kelley (“Tyler”), Tunde Laleye (“Black as Night”), Me’lisa Sellers (“Split”), Tony Todd (“Candyman”), and Sheaun McKinney (“The Neighborhood”) and was written and directed by Bill Posley (“Cobra Kai”).

star Mishael Morgan grew emotional after making history at the 49th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, largely in part to her win but also because her late father came to mind.The 35-year-old actress became the first Black woman to win an Emmy in the Best Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series: Actress category on Friday, and she told ET's Deidre Behar she was «still in shock» and in «disbelief» even after clearly hearing her name called.«I knew it, I felt it and I was still at a level of disbelief,» she said after winning her first Emmy.Morgan, who plays Amanda Sinclair on the long-running CBS soap opera, had previously been nominated for two Emmys in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category but came up short. But not this year, and after scoring the win Morgan couldn't help but think about her late father, Michael.«I just keep thinking like, 'Dad, we did it,'» said an emotional Morgan. «When I was growing up he would always say that you have to be 10 times better.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentParis-based Cottonwood Media and the Paris National Opera are re-teaming with U.S. streamer Hulu, Germany’s ZDF and  ZDF Studios and France Televisions, all partners on “Find Me in Paris,” for another premium live action tween series, “Spellbound.”Scheduled to commence production this summer in Paris, moving later to Brussels, “Spellbound” is created by Jill Girling and Lori Mather (“Ride”), the same original executive produces and showrunners of “Find Me in Paris.”Renaud Mathieu serves as line producer, a position he also held on “Emily in Paris.”Series lead director is Alexander Jacob (“Theodosia,” “4 O’clock Club,” “Hollyoaks”). Directors include Annie Bradley (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Expanse”), as well as Robert Burke (“Find Me in Paris,” “Free Rein”).

, is back with season 4. And the cast, including returning stars Jeffrey Wright and Luke Hemsworth, talk about why the new episodes were worth the wait, while Angela Sarafyan teases how the new installment feels like a return to season 1. “It takes us a little time with this stuff.

Michelle Pfeiffer wasn’t going to play Catwoman in without first mastering the comic book character’s trademark weapon. As the actress explained to ET in 1992, going toe to toe with Michael Keaton’s Caped Crusader was “one of the hardest things” she had ever done in her career at the time. And just one of the challenges she faced was learning how to wield Selina Kyle’s whip, which Pfeiffer credited to her teacher, Anthony Delongis, a fight choreographer and movement teacher at UCLA. “It was a real stroke of luck finding [Delongis], because his approach was different than anything I had ever seen or that Tim [Burton] had ever seen in that it wasn't a kind of — excuse the pun — of the whip,” Pfeiffer explained.

Hallmark Channel, ET can exclusively reveal.With the pickup, the network's long-running staple has named Lindsay Sturman () as its new showrunner. The one-hour drama, led by Erin Krakow, will also reach the 100-episode milestone in the upcoming season.“continues to push the limits as to what we can achieve with this show,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, Executive Vice President of Programming at Crown Media Family Networks, in a statement.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNewportFILM Outdoors has unveiled its upcoming season of award-winning documentaries. The organization showcases non-fiction features and screens them in dramatic, often opulent settings around Newport, Rhode Island, a legendary summer getaway.

The real-life Michael Peterson is not a fan of HBO Max’s The Staircase, which was adapted from the original docu-series into a televised series by Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn.

Michael Peterson likely won’t watch “The Staircase” but he has plenty to say about HBO Max’s dramatization of his life.

Author James Patterson is coming under fire for making controversial remarks about alleged racism against older, white male writers.

Addie Morfoot ContributorDisputes over Antonio Campos’ HBO Max adaptation of “The Staircase” have some in the documentary community questioning whether they would readily allow a narrative director to turn their facts into fiction.“The Staircase” revolves around the death of Kathleen Peterson and the murder trial of her husband Michael, as the filmmakers chronicling the case for a docuseries of the same name become central characters in the storytelling. Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of the staircase of their North Carolina home in 2001, and Michael was convicted of murder in 2003 before accepting an Alford plea for manslaughter charges in 2017, which freed him for good.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorWhat’s harder to work with when it comes to writing a limited series — true stories taken from real life, or the stuff of fiction? A panel of top writers debated the challenges of working with headline-driven and historical material during the final hour of Variety‘s Night in the Writers’ Room on June 9 at 1 Hotel in West Hollywood.“There’s a little bit of a tightrope-walk in a true story that you don’t necessarily have to walk in fiction,” said Dustin Lance Black, the writer-producer behind FX’s “Under the Banner of Heaven.” He noted that the series, about the 1984 murder of a woman and her infant daughter in Salt Lake City, deals with three intertwined stories, one of which is fictional. “That one to me, I had a slightly easier time with.

Addie Morfoot ContributorAntonio Campos’ depiction of documentary filmmakers Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and Sophie Brunet in HBO Max’s “The Staircase” has led to a public dispute over their portrayal in the miniseries adaptation. But now, the real-life main subject of both series – Michael Peterson – is speaking out in an exclusive series of emails to Variety.Peterson’s wife Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of the staircase of their North Carolina home in 2001.

Sasha Urban editorHBO Max’s “The Staircase,” which concluded Thursday, has its share of revelations for longtime followers of the true crime case. But even for viewers who watched every bit of the 2004 docuseries, one special line from the dramatized version undeniably stands out.