Universal Pictures In Deal To Make Definitive Madonna Biopic; Material Girl Is Directing, Co-Writing With Diablo Cody & Producing With Amy Pascal

Justin Kroll Senior Film ReporterBREAKING: Idris Elba will star in Universal Pictures’ Beast, a thriller based on an original idea by Jaime Primak-Sullivan. Baltasar Kormakur will direct.Rampage scribe Ryan Engle wrote the script.Will Packer and James Lopez will produce through their Will Packer Productions.

The SpringHill Company, the banner run by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, has signed a first-look deal with Universal Pictures. The pact, which has a four-year term, comes as the two entities already have three projects in development.

Justin Kroll Senior Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Netflix has acquired the rights to a pitch from Ben Queen, which is loosely based on the novel A Note of Explanation to be adapted into a feature film with Queen also penning the script.A Note of Explanation, a previously unknown work by famed writer Vita Sackville-West and written in 1922, was recently rediscovered as a miniature book in Queen Mary’s dollhouse in Windsor Castle, and tells the story of a time-travelling sprite who inhabits the

Madonna is the Queen of Pop, so obviously many have tried to emulate her iconic style for decades. But has anyone ever truly come close? Well…

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterLeBron James’ SpringHill Company has entered into a four-year, first-look film deal with Universal Pictures, Variety has learned exclusively.A global consumer and entertainment brand built by the NBA sensation and co-founder Maverick Carter, SpringHill now joins numerous other high-profile term deals on the studio lot under the purview of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langely.“LeBron, Maverick and the team at SpringHill are content creators

A.D. Amorosi With the release of “This Dream of You,” jazz pianist and soigné contralto vocalist Diana Krall will display her usual mix of tartness and tastefulness with selections from the Great American Songbook — from Irving Berlin to Bob Dylan’s title track —  with a familiar cast of characters to go with the album’s cinematic arc.

Patrick Hipes, Amanda N'Duka Giant Pictures has acquired North American rights to The Sounding, the feature writing and directing debut of Catherine Eaton. She also stars in the pic, which is shifting release gears from theatrical owing to the pandemic lockdown and now will premiere on-demand nationwide October 20.

Stone| Fruit is Director Brandon Krajewski’s first feature-length film, which he co-wrote with Robert Perez.

Before Kanye West became a spoiler candidate for president, he was a popular musician, and like many of them, he has a record deal with a major label. On Wednesday, West fired off a tweetstorm that brought his issues with Universal Music Group, the parent company of Def Jam and his label G.O.O.D.

Universal Pictures has announced that their upcoming animated sequel, The Croods: A New Age, is moving up on the release schedule for 2020.

Madonna has teamed up with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody to pen the story of her life for a big-screen biopic.Madonna will direct and produce the film, and also lead the search for a young unknown who will portray her.The movie, which Madonna has teased may be called Live to Tell, will chronicle the pop superstar’s rise from unknown New York dancer to chart-topper.“I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer – a human being,

Madonna is concentrating on director and screenwriter for the time being.On Tuesday, Universal Pictures announced that Madonna is set to direct an auto-biopic of her untold life's story, from her early days in New York City to becoming an icon of the music biz.

Madonna is making the movie about her own life story!

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterLooks like Madonna is her own lucky star.In what seems to be an unprecedented creative move, the pop icon has stepped up to direct a film about her life and career — one that’s been heavily teased on her social media accounts, through script sessions with her Oscar-winning co-writer Diablo Cody.That Madonna, whose staggering five-decade career has seen countless musical reinventions and a run at filmmaking and acting, would direct her own journey from New York

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAMC has ordered a stop-motion animation dramedy that hails from Steve Conrad and the team at “Robot Chicken” producer Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.The series is titled “Mega City Smiths.” The story, unfolding via the stop-motion animation of baby dolls repurposed as a grown-up cast of characters, hinges on an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of fictional metropolis Mega City’s most famous magnate.

Also Read: Watch Madonna's Ominous Video From Her Bathtub Where She Calls the Coronavirus 'the Great Equalizer' (Video)“Honestly, [it’s] one of the best times of my life, and one of the worst times.

Lars Ulrich has spoken about the possibility of making a Metallica biopic in the future, saying that the idea of making such a film is “complicated” and that he isn’t “sold on the idea” of autobiographies generally.The drummer was asked in a new interview if the band had considered giving their backing to a film in the same vein as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Elton John’s Rocketman.“The question would beckon, what time period are we talking? Is it Metallica in their youthful times, or now?” he

Dave McNary Film ReporterJason Blum’s Blumhouse has signed a three-picture deal with “Host” director Rob Savage, and will finance and partner with Savage to produce the films.Savage will be collaborating with the same team behind “Host,” including producer Douglas Cox; the writing team of Jed Shepherd & Gemma Hurley; and editor Breanna Rangott.“We’ve been tracking Rob’s work for some time now, and when I got a look at ‘Host,’ I saw the inventiveness in his work that Ryan Turek on the Blumhouse

Also Read: Elisabeth Moss Reteams With Blumhouse for Psychological Thriller 'Mrs. March'He previously wrote, directed, shot, co-produced and edited the film “Strings” when he was 17 years old, a film that premiered at the Rome Film Festival and was then acquired by Vertigo Films.