‘White Noise’ Producer Uri Singer Nabs Rights to Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Invitation to a Beheading’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSaban Films is getting in the Nicolas Cage business.The studio has acquired “Butcher’s Crossing,” a frontier epic that stars the off-beat, Oscar winner as a buffalo hunter. The deal covers rights in North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia.Gabe Polsky, who directed the documentary “Red Penguins,” slides behind the camera on this one.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNitehawk Cinema is expanding its programming team.The chain, which has branches in Williamsburg and Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, N.Y., has hired Cristina Cacioppo and Desmond Thorne to augment its programming staff.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSearchlight Pictures has promoted Taylor Friedman to senior vice president of production and elevated Richard Ruiz to vice president of production.Friedman, who has been with Searchlight since 2009, previously served as vice president of production, and Ruiz, who joined the indie label in 2015, previously served as director of production.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaJaime King, Antonio Banderas and Tommy Flanagan have joined the cast of “Banshee,” an action film from director Jon Keeyes.The film follows a freelance assassin, codenamed Banshee (King), who is ambushed by Anthony Greene (Flanagan), a powerful mercenary who killed her father, and who is now seeking to collect a bounty on Caleb (Banderas), her former black ops mentor.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaDianne Doan has joined the cast of “Reunion.”The film centers on a murder that takes place during a high school reunion party and has already attracted a cast of comedy heavyweights and in-demand actors. Doan will appear alongside Lil Rel Howery, Billy Magnussen, Jillian Bell, Nina Dobrev, Jamie Chung, Michael Hitchcock and Chace Crawford.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaJannat Gargi has been named senior vice president and head of documentaries at Westbrook, where she will be tasked with making non-fiction features and premium series. She joins the media company from Vice Studios, where she most recently held the role of vice president of documentaries.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody,” a sendup of the beloved Richard Curtis rom-com classic, will return to the stage. The Off-Broadway production, which is produced by Right Angle Entertainment, will begin performances on Wednesday, Nov.

K.J.

Christopher Vourlias Rising Russian director Vladimir Bitokov’s sophomore effort, “Mama, I’m Home,” bows this week in the Horizons sidebar of the Venice Film Festival. Following on the heels of his 2018 Karlovy Vary premiere “Deep Rivers,” it’s produced by two-time Academy Award nominee Alexander Rodnyansky (“Loveless,” “Leviathan”) and Sergey Melkumov.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentTVNow, RTL Deutschland’s streaming service, high-flying Berlin-based production house X Filme Creative Pool and production-distribution powerhouse Beta Film are partnering on what looks like one of the biggest German drama series productions of 2021: “House of Promises.”Beta Film is handling world sales and will present first moving images of the series at October’s Mipcom trade fair in Cannes, it said Friday.Described by Beta Film as a “high-end”

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaCurtains up on a new name for Tamsen Fadal’s nationally syndicated Broadway program.“Broadway Profiles With Tamsen Fadal” will be re-titled “The Broadway Show With Tamsen Fadal.” The rebranding comes the series is about to begin its new season on Sept. 4-5 amid a larger reopening of the theater business after more than a year of closures due to COVID-19.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaReed Birney, the stage and screen veteran best known for his Tony-winning turn in “The Humans,” has joined the packed cast of Mark Mylod’s “The Menu.” The Searchlight Pictures dark comedy has already lined up an impressive ensemble of heavyweight talent, including the previously announced Anya Taylor Joy and Ralph Fiennes.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNina Dobrev, Jamie Chung, Michael Hitchcock and Chace Crawford will round out the cast of “Reunion,” an ensemble comedy from Artists Road. They join the previously announced Lil Rel Howery, Billy Magnussen and Jillian Bell in the film about a murder that takes place during a high school reunion party.

Danielle Turchiano Senior Features Editor, TVComedian, author and actor Patricia Williams aka Ms. Pat has booked her first hourlong stand-up comedy special at Netflix, Variety has learned exclusively.The special, which is still to be titled, will be shot at the Atlanta Comedy Theater on Sept.

Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Eboni K. Williams and Leah McSweeney — all take turns smashing stoneware while setting intentions for where they'd like their lives to go in the future. Ramona's up first, declaring to the group that she will not be throwing her dish «nicely,» as advised, but rather «going crazy,» which inspires her co-stars to back away from the OG  star.

Festival saw eighties stars including Midge Ure, Clare Grogan, and Lulu entertaining revellers as one of the first Scots music festivals since the Covid 19 outbreak. The all day music event which had Adam Ant headlining, as well as ABC and Heather Small, promised retro music and although social distancing was not officially required, everyone attending had to show proof of a negative lateral flow test.

Christopher Vourlias Wild Bunch International has acquired world sales rights to Vladimir Bitokov’s “Mama, I’m Home,” which will have its world premiere next month in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival, Variety can reveal.Bitokov’s second feature, which follows his 2018 Karlovy Vary premiere “Deep Rivers,” is a Non-Stop Production and AR Content film produced by two-time Academy Award nominee Alexander Rodnyansky (“Loveless,” “Leviathan”) and Sergey Melkumov.