Universal Content Productions Hires Rebecca Franko & Kenny Tsai As SVPs Current Programming

EXCLUSIVE: Sara Dosa, the filmmaker whose documentary Fire of Love recently made a major splash at the Sundance Film Festival, has signed with Anonymous Content for management.

The always prodigious Steven Spielberg just released his first musical, “West Side Story,” in December, is already done shooting his next film (“Meet The Fabelman”), and already has many future projects brewing. One of those potential films may allow the filmmaker to tackle crime in San Francisco during the swinging 1960s, placing Spielberg directly in the cop action genre.

EXCLUSIVE: Even as he juggles an awards-season campaign for West Side Story and post-production on his semi-autobiographical pic The Fablemans, Steven Spielberg looks to be getting that future dance card in order. Sources tell Deadline that he is attached to direct a new original story centered on Frank Bullitt, the iconic character played by Steve McQueen in the 1968 thriller Bullitt. Spielberg will also produce the pic along with Kristie Macosko Krieger, with Josh Singer on board to pen the script. The film is set up at Warner Bros.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterSteven Spielberg is developing an original feature film based on the character of Frank Bullitt, the San Francisco cop first played by Steve McQueen in the 1968 thriller, “Bullitt.”Josh Singer (“The Post,” “Spotlight”) is set to write the screenplay, with regular Spielberg collaborator Kristie Macosko Krieger on board to produce with the director.

Toro y Moi has released the third single from his upcoming seventh studio album ‘Mahal’, the playful and funky track ‘The Loop’.The track arrived on streaming platforms on February 22 alongside a video of the chillwave artist and his posse cruising through the streets of San Francisco in GoCars and a customised ‘Mahal’ Jeepney. It also features a cameo appearance by Filipino rapper Eyedress.On the laid-back song, Toro y Moi – real name Chaz Bear – sings about how hard it is to keep up to date in the digital age, musing, “East Coast friends fill me in, I know you get the early scoop / Online trends that border cringe start to feel overused”.Watch the music video for ‘The Loop’ below.Toro y Moi’s upcoming album ‘Mahal’ is set to be released April 29 via Dead Oceans, and the singer has already released two singles and music videos to promote the album in ‘Postman’ and ‘Magazine’, the latter featuring vocals from Salami Rose Joe Louis.“I wanted to make a record that featured more musicians on it than any other record of mine,” Toro y Moi explained in a statement about the follow-up to his 2019 album ‘Outer Peace’.

EXCLUSIVE: James Moses Black (Queenpins, Lansky) is the latest addition to the cast of Renfield, the Universal monster movie from director Chris McKay.

A worried mum who is already struggling to afford everyday essentials and household bills fears she won't be able to provide for her kids when costs rise.

Angelique Jackson MGM’s “Creed III” has partnered with the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) to hire eight student interns to work on the boxing drama, which marks star Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut.“On behalf of Michael and the filmmaking team for ‘Creed III,’ we are thrilled to welcome Georgia Film Academy students into our ‘Creed’ family,” said Elizabeth Raposo, president of Jordan’s Outlier Society.

Metallica have announced that their annual ‘Metallica Night’ event with the San Francisco Giants baseball team will be returning for an eighth year.The event, which has previously seen Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield perform the national anthem and drummer Lars Ulrich throw out the ceremonial first pitch, has been cancelled for the past two seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic.This year’s ‘Metallica Night’ will take place on May 24 at Oracle Park – formerly AT&T Park – in San Francisco, as the Giants take on the New York Mets. Tickets are on sale here.“It’s a tradition that we’ve missed the last two seasons, so we’re really excited for the return of Metallica Night at Oracle Park with our hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants,” the band said in a statement.“This year marks the eighth time we’ll take the field for the National Anthem, first pitch, and a few other pre-game shenanigans, and it all takes place on Tuesday, May 24th against the New York Mets.”A post shared by Metallica (@metallica)Special packages for the event include a ticket to the game and a limited-edition Metallica/Giants T-shirt; a portion of the proceeds from every Metallica Night Special Event ticket sold will benefit the band’s All Within My Hands foundation.In 2020, Metallica‘s All Within My Hands Foundation donated $350,000 to a series of charities providing aid and care during the coronavirus crisis.“In the wake of the spread of the coronavirus, the most vulnerable people in our communities need help now more than ever,” Metallica said in a statement at the time.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Television Group grows its publicity team with the hiring of former  Disney Television Studios executive Yong Kim, who will serve as Vice President, Worldwide Television Publicity.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorIn the entertainment industry, the name WetaFX is synonymous with high-end visual effects. CEO Prem Akkaraju wants to make the firm, founded by filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, a marquee name for original content as well.As he explains on the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” Akkaraju has helped reorganize the company’s operations to facilitate growth in content production, marking the next evolution of the New Zealand-based VFX company that at present employs about 2,000 people.“We’re a household name in the households that make movies,” Akkaraju said.

Kanye West is clearly having a hard time right now, but we can imagine how Kim Kardashian is probably having a harder time!

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterRebecca Franko and Kenny Tsai have been named senior vice presidents of current programming at Universal Studio Group’s Universal Content Productions (UCP).In these newly created roles, Franko and Tsai will manage day-to-day current series across cable and streaming platforms for the studio, per UCP. They will both work closely with development on series pick-ups, serve as a liaison between production and other studio departments, manage up-and-coming writers for the studio and build and maintain industry relationships.Franko will oversee the shows “Joe vs. Carole,” “Ted,” “Gaslit” and more.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBCUniversal wants to add an interesting new story to Jenna Bush Hager’s “Today” book club.For nearly four years, the co-host of the 10 a.m. hour of “Today” has chosen a book each month for members of her “Read with Jenna” club to peruse and discuss.

A new approach. While reflecting on her dating life since her split from Randall Emmett, Lala Kent noted that she has learned her lesson when it comes to meeting someone new.

Naman Ramachandran Bamber Gascoigne, who was the original presenter of popular TV quiz show “University Challenge,” has died after a brief illness. He was 87.Gascoigne presented the show, which aired on U.K. broadcaster ITV, from 1962-1987.