‘Zorro’ Reboot Series, Directed by ‘Casa de Papel’ Helmer, Boarded by Mediawan Rights (EXCLUSIVE)

is taking a leap into the modern day with NBC's update of the classic '90s sci-fi action drama.The new series picks up nearly three decades after Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and disappeared, never returning home. A new team, led by physicist Ben Seong ('s Raymond Lee), has been brought together to restart that same project with the aim to understand the mysteries behind the accelerator and Beckett.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Natasha Lyonne’s upcoming Peacock detective series “Poker Face” has added three new cast members, Variety has learned exclusively. Brandon Michael Hall (“God Friended Me,” “Search Party”), Colton Ryan (“The Girl From Plainville,” “Dear Evan Hansen”), and Megan Suri (“Never Have I Ever,” “The Pisasch”) have all been cast in the show. As with past casting announcements for “Poker Face,” details on their characters are being kept under wraps. Hall is repped by Gersh, Viewpoint, and Felker Toczek. Ryan is repped by Gersh and Echo Lake Entertainment. Suri is repped by Entertainment 360.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Playwright-turned-filmmaker Florian Zeller (“The Father”), who is at Venice with “The Son,” is joining forces with the European group Mediawan (“Call My Agent!”) and former CAA executive Federica Sainte-Rose to launch Blue Morning Pictures, a new production company. The multi-year deal will see Mediawan finance and produce with Blue Morning Pictures programming across an array of platforms. Zeller recently relocated in Los Angeles to accompany the release of “The Son” in the U.S., and promote the film during the awards season. Operating from both Paris and L.A., Zeller will now be working hand-in-hand with Sainte-Rose to develop a slate of premium films and television series.

Chevy Chase donned in the late '70s and '80s. Following his breakout turn as an original cast member, the actor and comedian went on to become a major comedic leading man, with a stretch of films that included, the National Lampoon series, and, of course, .So, when Jon Hamm signed on to embody the same character that Chase made a comedy icon in 1985's  and 1989's — based on the book series by Gregory Mcdonald — he wanted to pay tribute to the actor and comedian as a «tremendous fan,» without attempting to recreate his performance in any way.«Chevy's contribution to this franchise and to those first two movies are so particular to what he does, that had there been any attempt to do a Chevy Chase impression or anything like that, I would have almost felt like stealing,» Hamm shared with ET ahead of the release of«Like, I’m not going to steal those bits — those are his bits… What we really wanted to do was bring these characters and bring these stories to a completely new generation.» «The one thing we did as a very significant nod to Chevy was keep the Lakers hat,» he noted.

Chris Cash, the founder and Publisher Emeritus of Georgia Voice, has been named to the LGBTQ Journalists Hall of Fame.

Andrew Wallenstein President and Chief Media Analyst The legacy of Steve Jobs lives on in the company he founded, according to the people who knew him best. Apple CEO Tim Cook, former design chief Jony Ive and Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs gathered Wednesday at the Code Conference in Los Angeles to remember Jobs, hours after the company unveiled iPhone 14 and other products.  “I think at Apple I believe and hoped that he would be proud of a day like this when we bring out a lot of innovations that are very much on the principles that he articulated so well,” said Cook in a joint interview moderated by Kara Swisher. 

Zooey Deschanel and Casey Affleck are stepping out to support their new movie.

Eddie Redmayne To Be Honored With Zurich’s Golden Eye

MIDTOWN IS BACK-ISHThe biggest story of the year is still the evolution of Rockefeller Center, where buzzy newbies Le Rock, Lodi and Pebble Bar will now be joined by Five Acres (30 Rockefeller Plaza), the first Manhattan restaurant from Brooklyn boy wonder Greg Baxtrom, known for his hit Olmsted. The name is a nod to his family’s farm outside of Chicago. Expect a veggie-forward menu.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent It took a pandemic and a lockdown for “Drive” director Nicolas Winding Refn to make a directorial comeback in Denmark, where he had delivered the “Pusher” trilogy early in his career. “Sometimes the strangest things come in mysterious ways, and this is one of those,” Refn says of “Copenhagen Cowboy,” his Netflix original series, slated to world premiere Sept. 9 at the Venice Film Festival. Since “Drive,” Winding Refn has directed the Bangkok-set thriller “Only God Forgives,” with “Drive” star Ryan Gosling; “The Neon Demon,” with Elle Fanning playing an aspiring model in Los Angeles.; and the Amazon Prime Video series “Too Old to Die Young,” starring Miles Teller as a grieving cop in crime-ridden Southern California. He was preparing another project set abroad when the pandemic hit.

Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been quite the in-demand actor of late, starring in Oscar-prestige bait and genre projects.

Zack Sharf Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s career thus far has included an Emmy-winning turn on HBO’s “Watchmen,” awards buzz for playing Bobby Seale in “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and movies like “Candyman,” “Aquaman” and “The Matrix Resurrections.” Such an eclectic balance of film and TV projects is the result of Abdul-Mateen’s curation, as he’s made it a priority to balance out comic book tentpoles like “Aquaman” with more serious dramatic fare. The actor recently told Vulture that acting in a movie like “Aquaman” is “clown work,” so it’s important for him to flex his acting muscles in other projects. “Everything should be about getting to the truth. But sometimes you got to know which movie or genre you’re in,” Abdul-Mateen said. “Something like ‘Aquaman,’ that’s clown work. ‘Aquaman’ is not ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7.’ You have got to get over yourself.”

Woke up this morning, got myself a ticket to The Sopranos Official Convention.

EXCLUSIVE: The Girls On The Bus, Warner Bros. TV’s upcoming series for HBO Max about female political reporters on a presidential campaign trail, has tapped Abby Phillip, senior political correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics Sunday at WBD corporate sibling CNN as a consultant.

Management firm TaP Music last week confirmed that Larry Heard and Robert Owens – prominent players from the 1980s Chicago house scene and two thirds of Fingers Inc – have settled their legal dispute with Trax Records, the label they worked with in the mid-80s. The deal confirms that the duo own all the rights in the music they released with the label.Chicago-based Trax Records was co-founded in 1984 by Larry Sherman, who died in April 2020.

Offset has sued the label to which his group Migos are signed – Quality Control Music – accusing it of interfering in his current solo output, and in doing so breaching an agreement that was reached last year.According to Rolling Stone, a lawsuit filed this week states that Offset’s original deal with Quality Control as part of Migos was very wide-ranging, giving it control over any of his recordings, whether they were made as part of Migos or otherwise, as well as an interest in all his publishing.However, it claims in January last year a deal was done in which Quality Control gave up any claims to Offset’s solo material, in return for “valuable consideration paid by Offset to Quality Control”.But, it then says, when Offset released his new solo single ‘54321’ last week via an alliance with Universal Music’s Motown label, Quality Control became “hostile” and demanded that Motown list it as “holding an ownership interest” in the new track.“Offset now brings this action to vindicate his rights and make it clear to the world that Offset, not Quality Control, owns Offset’s music”, the lawsuit then states, seeking as it does court confirmation that Quality Control has no claim over any of the rapper’s solo releases.Quality Control is yet to formally respond to the new litigation, although its CEO Pierre ‘P’ Thomas referenced it in a since deleted tweet, where he basically complained about having to deal with “this lame shit”, and adding: “Everyone knows the real problem”.Hitting back on Twitter, Offset responded: “I paid millions to get my rights back … you blackballed me”.

EXCLUSIVE: Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance have renewed the overall deal with MTV Entertainment Studios for their Bassett Vance Productions, and have set Heist 88, starring Vance, as the first feature under the new pact.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paris-based Urban Sales has boarded Diego Lerman’s “The Substitute” (“El Suplente”) which will have its world premiere at Toronto followed by San Sebastian. “The Substitute” tells the story of Lucio (Minujín), a prestigious university professor who starts working as a substitute teacher at a high school in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, where he grew up. Through tales, novels and poetry, he tries to distract his class from the harsh reality of their everyday lives. But soon, he must step out of his professional duties when Dylan, one of his students, is threatened by a local drug kingpin. One of Argentina’s leading filmmakers, Lerman won this year’s Locarno’s Silver Leopard award for “Suddenly.” He’s best known for directing “A Sort of Family” which played at Toronto, won best screenplay at San Sebastian and was acquired by Netflix; as well as “Refugiado” and “Invisible” which played at Cannes’ Director’s fortnight in 2014 and 2010, respectively.  “The Substitute” marks his sixth feature.

EXCLUSIVE: Start spreading the news! A new musical loosely based on Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film New York, New York will begin performances on Broadway, theater to be announced, in March 2023. Opening night will be in April, with Tony and Olivier Award winner Susan Stroman on board to direct and choreograph.