Amblin Television Acquires Rights to The Washington Post’s “Afghanistan Papers” Report and Partners With Oscar-winner Alex Gibney
Amblin and Jigsaw will develop a limited documentary series and limited scripted series simultaneously
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amblin Television announced that it has closed a deal with The Washington Post for the rights to At War with the Truth – The Post’s definitive report on “The Afghanistan Papers.” Oscar®-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney will be executive producer with Jigsaw Productions’ Stacey Offman and Richard Perello, along with Amblin Television’s Co-Presidents Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. The companies will work together to develop the project as both an explosive limited documentary series and limited scripted series.
Amblin TV acquires rights to the Washington Post's "Afghanistan papers Report." To partner with Jigsaw on documentary and limited scripted series
The six-part report was the result of a three-year investigation and a battle between the news organization and the U.S. government to have the documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. It tells the secret history of the war in Afghanistan, exposing behind-the-scenes frustrations, concerns, and blunt acknowledgements of failures from military and government insiders (both Democrat and Republican) who were publicly proclaiming confidence and progress.
As part of the deal, Amblin and Jigsaw will work in close association with The Washington Post and have access to files, recordings, research and materials obtained as part of their investigation; and work with investigative journalist Craig Whitlock, who uncovered the story.
Said Amblin’s Frank and Falvey: “The opportunity to definitively tell this extraordinary and important story is an exciting one. Thanks to the efforts of Craig Whitlock and all the journalists at The Washington Post, the public finally learned the truth about what has been going on behind closed doors in Washington as it relates to the war in Afghanistan – which has spanned almost two decades, three administrations and cost trillions of taxpayer dollars. Alex, Stacy and the team at Jigsaw are the very best at what they do, and we can imagine no better partner to work with in bringing this story to television audiences.”
Alex Gibney said: “This is a vital story at a critical moment. For once we will hear an honest, intimate account from insiders of the epic tale of the forever war: politicians regale us with victory speeches while day by day, casualties mount and the battle for hearts and minds are lost. Why? Because no one bothered to wonder why we are there.”
Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, said: “When Post reporter Craig Whitlock became aware that senior U.S. officials had given confidential interviews about the war in Afghanistan, we knew it was imperative to examine them. When the government sought to maintain secrecy, The Post felt it had to challenge a policy of concealment. The public had a right to a full accounting of why this war has been the nation’s longest, with such a heavy cost in lives, injuries and money. Central to journalism’s role in a democracy is holding government accountable and giving citizens the information they need and deserve to know. In documenting how the public was misled about the war, we believe this work was faithful to that mission.”
Amblin, Jigsaw and Gibney most recently worked together on the documentary series Why We Hate, which aired on Discovery last year and won the Human Rights Watch Los Angeles Promise Award. Two-part music documentary Laurel Canyon, another joint production, will air on Epix on May 31st and June 7th, 2020.
While development is ongoing, discussions with potential distributors are currently underway.
About Amblin Television
Amblin Television, a long-time leader in quality programming, is a division of Amblin Partners, a content creation company led by Steven Spielberg. Amblin Television’s co-presidents, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, oversee all development, production and programming for the company. Amblin Television currently has thirteen projects in various stages of production including Tommy for CBS, a second season of Roswell, New Mexico for The CW, The Haunting of Bly Manor – the follow-up chapter to The Haunting of Hill House – for Netflix, Halo for Showtime, a straight-to-series order for Brave New World from Peacock, Amazing Stories and Masters of the Air for Apple, an untitled Cortés and Moctezuma project for Amazon, Gremlins for HBO Max, Animaniacs for Hulu, Resident Alien for SYFY, and the documentary films Laurel Canyon for Epix, and Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind for HBO, which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival earlier this month.
Some of Amblin Television’s previous credits include the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning drama The Americans for FX, Emmy-nominated HBO movie All The Way starring Bryan Cranston, Smash for NBC, Under the Dome for CBS, Falling Skies for TNT, The Borgias and The United States of Tara for Showtime, and Las Vegas for NBC.
http://www.amblin.com
About Jigsaw Productions
Jigsaw Productions is helmed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney alongside Stacey Offman and Richard Perello. Gibney is considered one of the most prolific and thought-provoking documentary filmmakers of our generation. Jigsaw has produced some of the most acclaimed documentary films including Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side, Oscar-nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Zero Days, Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes, Emmy nominated The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley and Alex Gibney’s latest feature, Citizen K which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019. Jigsaw's slate of highly visible TV series includes Dirty Money a six-part investigative series on Netflix that delves into corporate corruption and scandal, highly acclaimed Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat based on Samin Nosrat’s book of the same name on Netflix, The Clinton Affair on A&E, Enemies: The President, Justice & the FBI on Showtime, Why We Hate on Discovery, Hip Hop: Songs That Shook America on AMC and The Family on Netflix. Whether the company is creating a documentary or narrative film, a scripted or unscripted series, Jigsaw adheres to a particular ethos: well-told, insightful, scrupulously researched, and visually poignant stories, which ignite and engage our curiosity. Reaching audiences on screens small or large, on platforms digital or traditional, Jigsaw aims to achieve critical and commercial success without sacrificing style or authenticity.
About The Washington Post
The Washington Post is an award-winning news leader whose mission is to connect, inform, and enlighten local, national and global readers with trustworthy reporting, in-depth analysis and engaging opinions. It combines world-class journalism with the latest technology and tools so readers can interact with The Post anytime, anywhere.
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Showing posts with label Alex Gibney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alex Gibney. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Friday, October 12, 2018
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 7th to 13th, 2018 - Update #19
Support Leroy on Patreon:
MOVIES - From Variety: James Emswiller, an Emmy-winning sound mixer, died after a fall on the set on Tom Hank's Mr. Rogers' biopic, "You Are My Friend." Emswiller was 61 years old, and won his Emmy for his work on Queen Latifah's "Bessie."
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: HBO has acquired the Jeffrey Wright prison drama, "O.G."
----------
TELEVISION - From TVGuide: Jennifer Garner confirms that a reboot of her early 2000s ABC series, "Alias," is happening, but that it is still in the early stages.
----------
DISNEY - From Variety: Fox will be ready to close the Disney deal January 1, 2019.
----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooET: Maggie Gyllenhaal remembers her "The Dark Knight" co-star, the late Heath Ledger, for being "on a whole other level" on the set of Chris Nolan's 2008 film.
----------
AWARDS-MUSIC - From PopSugar: Here is a list winners from the 2018 American Movie Awards.
----------
STAR TREK - From Deadline: First look at Rebecca Romijn as "Number One" on CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 2.
----------
COMICS-TV - From YahooEntertainment: First look at actress Ruby Red as "Batwoman" has been released. Batwoman will appear in The CW's "Arrowverse" event that crossover through episodes of "Arrow," "The Flash," and "Supergirl."
----------
COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap: James Gunn is in talks to writer "Suicide Squad 2" for Warner Bros./DC Comics, with the possibility of directing the film also.
----------
MUSIC - From RockHall: Janet Jackson, LL Cool J, Radiohead among 15 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The acts that win induction for the Class of 2019 will be announced in December (2018).
----------
TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct: Fox is developing a late-night talk show featuring Nick Cannon.
----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap: Michael Pena of Marvel's "Ant-Man" franchise, is to play "Mr. Roarke" in a film based on the classic TV series, "Fantasy Island." The late Ricardo Montalban originated the role on the ABC series.
----------
MUSIC - From RollingStone: Foo Fighters stage Nirvana reunion.
----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 10/5 to 10/7/2018 weekend box office is "Venom" with an estimated take of $80 million. That is the largest box office opening weekend for October.
From TheWrap: "The Hate U Give" and "Free Solo" lead indie box office.
----------
MOVIES - From Deadline: Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, Alex Gibney, talks about how his film, "No Stone Unturned" could cause him to be arrested.
----------
JAMES BOND - From IndieWire: Don't expect a female James Bond, says Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.
----------
BUSINESS - From QZ: Did you know that Amazon has its own private brands?
OBITS:
From ESPN: Basketball coach and innovator, Fred "Tex" Winter, has died at the age of 96, Wednesday, October 10, 2018. Winter pioneered the "triangle offense," which helped propel the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls to multiple NBA championships.
From Variety: Movie producer, Arnold Kopelson, has died at the age of 83, Monday, October 8, 2018. Kopelson won a "Best Picture" Oscar for producing Oliver Stone's film, "Platoon." He earned a "Best Picture" Oscar nomination for producing "The Fugitive."
From Variety: The actor, Scott Wilson, has died at the age of 76; it was announced Saturday, October 6, 2018. Wilson was best known for playing the farmer, "Hershel Green," on AMC's "The Walking Dead" from 2011 to 2014.
From Deadline: The actress, Celeste Yarnell, has died at the age of 74, Sunday, October 7, 2018. "Star Trek" fans remember her for playing "Yeomen Martha London" in the "Star Trek: The Original Series" second season episode, "The Apple." She appeared in a number of episodes of TV series in the 1960s and 1970s and in the 1968 Elvis Presley film, "Live a Little, Love a Little."
MOVIES - From Variety: James Emswiller, an Emmy-winning sound mixer, died after a fall on the set on Tom Hank's Mr. Rogers' biopic, "You Are My Friend." Emswiller was 61 years old, and won his Emmy for his work on Queen Latifah's "Bessie."
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: HBO has acquired the Jeffrey Wright prison drama, "O.G."
----------
TELEVISION - From TVGuide: Jennifer Garner confirms that a reboot of her early 2000s ABC series, "Alias," is happening, but that it is still in the early stages.
----------
DISNEY - From Variety: Fox will be ready to close the Disney deal January 1, 2019.
----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooET: Maggie Gyllenhaal remembers her "The Dark Knight" co-star, the late Heath Ledger, for being "on a whole other level" on the set of Chris Nolan's 2008 film.
----------
AWARDS-MUSIC - From PopSugar: Here is a list winners from the 2018 American Movie Awards.
----------
STAR TREK - From Deadline: First look at Rebecca Romijn as "Number One" on CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 2.
----------
COMICS-TV - From YahooEntertainment: First look at actress Ruby Red as "Batwoman" has been released. Batwoman will appear in The CW's "Arrowverse" event that crossover through episodes of "Arrow," "The Flash," and "Supergirl."
----------
COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap: James Gunn is in talks to writer "Suicide Squad 2" for Warner Bros./DC Comics, with the possibility of directing the film also.
----------
MUSIC - From RockHall: Janet Jackson, LL Cool J, Radiohead among 15 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The acts that win induction for the Class of 2019 will be announced in December (2018).
----------
TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct: Fox is developing a late-night talk show featuring Nick Cannon.
----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap: Michael Pena of Marvel's "Ant-Man" franchise, is to play "Mr. Roarke" in a film based on the classic TV series, "Fantasy Island." The late Ricardo Montalban originated the role on the ABC series.
----------
MUSIC - From RollingStone: Foo Fighters stage Nirvana reunion.
----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 10/5 to 10/7/2018 weekend box office is "Venom" with an estimated take of $80 million. That is the largest box office opening weekend for October.
From TheWrap: "The Hate U Give" and "Free Solo" lead indie box office.
----------
MOVIES - From Deadline: Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, Alex Gibney, talks about how his film, "No Stone Unturned" could cause him to be arrested.
----------
JAMES BOND - From IndieWire: Don't expect a female James Bond, says Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.
----------
BUSINESS - From QZ: Did you know that Amazon has its own private brands?
OBITS:
From ESPN: Basketball coach and innovator, Fred "Tex" Winter, has died at the age of 96, Wednesday, October 10, 2018. Winter pioneered the "triangle offense," which helped propel the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls to multiple NBA championships.
From Variety: Movie producer, Arnold Kopelson, has died at the age of 83, Monday, October 8, 2018. Kopelson won a "Best Picture" Oscar for producing Oliver Stone's film, "Platoon." He earned a "Best Picture" Oscar nomination for producing "The Fugitive."
From Variety: The actor, Scott Wilson, has died at the age of 76; it was announced Saturday, October 6, 2018. Wilson was best known for playing the farmer, "Hershel Green," on AMC's "The Walking Dead" from 2011 to 2014.
From Deadline: The actress, Celeste Yarnell, has died at the age of 74, Sunday, October 7, 2018. "Star Trek" fans remember her for playing "Yeomen Martha London" in the "Star Trek: The Original Series" second season episode, "The Apple." She appeared in a number of episodes of TV series in the 1960s and 1970s and in the 1968 Elvis Presley film, "Live a Little, Love a Little."
Sunday, February 14, 2016
2016 Writers Guild Awards Announced; "Spotlight," "The Big Short" Lead
The Writers Guild of America is a labor
union representing film, television, radio, video game, and new media
writers. The Writers Guild of America Award acknowledges outstanding
achievements in film, television, and radio and has been presented
annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of
America, West since 1949.
On Saturday, February 13, 2016, the
Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of
America, East (WGAE) announced the winners for outstanding
achievement in screenwriting during 2015. Winners were honored at the
2016 / 68th Writers Guild Awards at concurrent ceremonies in Los Angeles and
New York City.
Richard LaGravenese received the 2016
Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement. David Crane and
Marta Kauffman received the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for
Television. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory scribe John August
received the “Valentine Davies” award which is given to a member
for their humanitarian efforts. John McNamara (a WGA nominee for
Trumbo) was honored with the Paul Selvin award “given to a member
whose script best embodies the spirit of constitutional and civil
rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free
writers everywhere” per the WGA. Arthur Sellers received the
Morgan Cox award for guild service.
2016 / 68th Writers Guild Awards (for the year 2015):
2016 / 68th Writers Guild Awards (for the year 2015):
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Spotlight
Written by Josh Singer & Tom
McCarthy; Open Road Films
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Big Short
Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam
McKay; Based on the Book by Michael Lewis; Paramount Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison
of Belief
Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary
Films
DRAMA SERIES
Mad Men, Written by Lisa Albert, Semi
Chellas, Jonathan Igla, Janet Leahy, Erin Levy, Tom Smuts, Robert
Towne, Matthew Weiner, Carly Wray; AMC
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Uno” (Better Call Saul)
Written by Vince Gilligan & Peter
Gould; AMC
COMEDY SERIES
Veep
Written by Simon Blackwell, Jon Brown,
Kevin Cecil, Roger Drew, Peter Fellows, Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons,
Sean Gray, Callie Hersheway, Armando Iannucci, Sean Love, Ian Martin,
Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Andy Riley, Tony Roche, Will
Smith; HBO
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Sand Hill Shuffle” (Silicon
Valley)
Written by Clay Tarver; HBO
COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) –
SERIES
Real Time with Bill Maher
Writers: Scott Carter, Adam Felber,
Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher,
Billy Martin, Danny Vermont; HBO
COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS,
TRIBUTES – SPECIALS
Jimmy Kimmel Live: 10th Annual After
The Oscars Special
Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri,
Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Greg Dorris, Gary Greenberg, Josh
Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Bess Kalb, Jeff
Loveness, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Joe Strazzullo, Bridger
Winegar; ABC
COMEDY / VARIETY – SKETCH SERIES
Inside Amy Schumer
Head Writer: Jessi Klein Writers:
Hallie Cantor, Kim Caramele, Kyle Dunnigan, Jon Glaser, Kurt Metzger,
Christine Nangle, Dan Powell, Tami Sagher, Amy Schumer; Comedy
Centraland Jimmy Kimmel Live: 10th Annual After The Oscars Special
won for Comedy/Variety Special.
LONG FORM ORIGINAL
Saints & Strangers
Written by Seth Fisher, Walon Green,
Chip Johannessen, Eric Overmyer; National Geographic Channel
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC
“Gortimer and the Surprise Signature”
(Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street)
Written by Gretchen Enders & Aminta
Goyel; Amazon Studios
CHILDREN’S LONG FORM
Descendants, Written by Josann McGibbon
& Sara Parriott; Disney Channel
TV NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED,
BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Cuba” (60 Minutes)
Written by Scott Pelley, Nicole Young,
Oriana Zill de Granados, Andy Court and Robert Anderson; CBS News
TV NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE,
OR COMMENTARY
“The Storm After the Storm” (60
Minutes)
Written by Sharyn Alfonsi, Michael Rey
and Oriana Zill de Granados; CBS News
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“American Terrorist” (Frontline)
Written by Thomas Jennings; PBS
LONG FORM ADAPTED
Fargo
Written by Steve Blackman, Bob
DeLaurentis, Noah Hawley, Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, Based on the film
Fargo; FX
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN
CURRENT EVENTS
“The Great Math Mystery” (Nova)
Written by Daniel McCabe; PBS
DAYTIME DRAMA
General Hospital
Writers: Ron Carlivati, Anna Theresa
Cascio, Andrea Archer Compton, Suzanne Flynn, Kate Hall, Elizabeth
Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Elizabeth Page, Jean Passanante,
Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten; ABC
RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS,
FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Passages”
Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio News
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Sand Hill Shuffle” (Silicon
Valley)
Written by Clay Tarver; HBO
RADIO DOCUMENTARY
“Marking the End of Vietnam: 40 Years
Later”
Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio
ANIMATION
“Housetrap” (Bob’s Burgers)
Written by Dan Fybel; Fox
SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL
“Back to Reality” (Weight)
Written by Daryn Strauss;
weighttheseries.com
NEW SERIES
Mr. Robot
Written by Kyle Bradstreet, Kate
Erickson, Sam Esmail, David Iserson, Randolph Leon, Adam Penn, Matt
Pyken; USA
VIDEOGAME WRITING
Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lead Narrative
Designer John Stafford; Narrative Designer Cameron Suey; Lead Writer
Rhianna Pratchett; Additional Writer Philip Gelatt; Microsoft
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Hollywood Game Night
Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers:
Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith; NBC
SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ADAPTED
“Chapter Two: Phoebe” (Heroes
Reborn: Dark Matters)
Written by Zach Craley; nbc.com
ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA
OR RADIO)
“The McCarthys and Under the Dome
Promos”
Written by Erial Tompkins; CBS
---------------------
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
EPIX Announces "The 4%: Film's Gender Problem" Documenary Series
EPIX to Air “THE 4%: FILM’S GENDER PROBLEM” – An Original Series of 6 Short Documentaries with First Person Insights About Gender Inequality in Hollywood Debuts March 8, on International Women’s Day 2016
Produced by Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, Directed by Caroline Suh and Featuring Interviews with Jill Soloway, Paul Feig, Toni Collette, Anjelica Huston, Catherine Hardwicke, Judd Apatow, Amy Heckerling, Julie Delpy, Lake Bell, Mira Nair, Amanda Peet, Patricia Clarkson, Mo’Nique, Anne Sweeney, James Franco, Christine Vachon, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Kristin Wiig and more…
Informed by Research Conducted by USC Annenberg Professor, Dr. Stacy L. Smith
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Premium TV network EPIX® announced today that THE 4%: FILM’S GENDER PROBLEM, a series of 6 original short films designed to explore the issues around the current gender gap in Hollywood, has completed production. The 6 shorts will air on the network and across all EPIX platforms on International Women’s Day – March 8, 2016 – and run throughout the month, coinciding with Women’s History Month. The first short will be presented at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival’s “Women at Sundance Brunch” on January 25, 2016.
Produced by Alex Gibney’s award-winning Jigsaw Productions (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, Taxi To the Darkside, Enron: Smartest Men In the Room), the series spotlights directors and creative personalities – both women and men – who share first-person insights, questions and anecdotes about the role of women in Hollywood.
Participants include: Judd Apatow, Joe Arcidiacono, Lake Bell, Amy Berg, Patricia Clarkson, Toni Collette, Jonathan Dayton, Julie Delpy, Valerie Faris, Paul Feig, America Ferrera, James Franco, Donna Gigliotti, Geoffrey Gilmore, Debra Granik, Catherine Hardwicke, Mary Harron, Amy Heckerling, Dawn Hudson, Anjelica Huston, Vicky Jenson, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Rebecca Keegan, Jon Kilik, Ellen Kuras, Mimi Leder, Franklin Leonard, Tina Mabry, Victoria Mahoney, Michael Mann, Lori McCreary, Mo’Nique, Michael Moore, Rachel Morrison, Mira Nair, Amanda Peet, Kimberly Peirce, Keri Putnam, Pamela Romanowsky, Cathy Schulman, A.O. Scott, Melissa Silverstein, Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Jill Soloway, Anne Sweeney, Anne Thompson, Rosemarie Troche, Christine Vachon, Mandy Walker and Kristen Wiig.
The series is informed by research conducted by USC Annenberg’s Dr. Stacy L. Smith, a renowned expert in the field, and which was supported by Women in Film Los Angeles and Sundance Institute. The series also has the support of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender In Media and Meryl Streep.
Even though it is widely recognized that female directors are strikingly under-represented in Hollywood, the numbers still manage to surprise. According to a multi-year study led by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and conducted by the USC Annenberg Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative, across 1,300 top-grossing films from 2002 to 2014, only 4.1% of all directors were female. This calculates into a gender ratio of 23.3 male directors to every 1 female director.
Each film will focus on a different theme, with segments varying in tone – from thoughtful, to controversial, to funny, sometimes all at once.
Mark S. Greenberg, President and CEO, EPIX, said, “EPIX has supported Stacy’s research for years and these shorts offer a richer, more authentic portrayal about the role of women and girls in media today. Support for this project has also brought together the talented Alex Gibney, and a prestigious list of some of the most gifted artists and creatives from the worlds of entertainment and the arts. Our objective is to help provide a forum for the discussion of ideas and potential solutions, as we collectively work towards closing the gap that exists today.”
Dr. Stacy L. Smith, the Initiative’s Founder and Director and lead researcher on the investigation, said, “The series offers an opportunity for a national audience to hear from the entertainment industry directly about the issues women face both as filmmakers and in other creative roles. My research is clear: females face a very real fiscal cliff as they pursue work at the highest echelons of this industry. I am proud that my research is associated with a team and a network that cares about female filmmakers and creating systemic change.”
According to research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith:
In the 100 top films of 2014, only 2 women worked as directors.
Across 700 films and 779 directors from 2007 to 2014, only 3 were Black or African American female directors.
Women were only 11% of writers and less than 20% of producers across the 100 top-grossing films of 2014.
Only 30% of all on-screen speaking characters in 700 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2014 were girls or women.
A total of 21 of the 100 top films of 2014 featured a female lead or roughly equal co-lead.
Less than a quarter of all speaking characters were female in the top animated films of 2014.
Only 22% of speaking characters in top action/adventure films of 2014 were female.
34% of characters in top 2014 comedies were female.
Other data on female directors shows:
Only four women have been nominated for a Best Director Oscar® in the past 85 years, with only one winner among them.
“THE 4%: FILM’S GENDER PROBLEM points to the fact there is an undeniably gaping disparity in Hollywood. It’s one that many – including those in Hollywood and at the ACLU and EEOC – believe needs to change. What better way to draw attention to the issue than to have some of the business' most recognizable voices come together in support of more diversity in making movies,” notes director Caroline Suh. “I’m very happy that the project found a partner in Jigsaw, a company known for its activism in exploring human rights violations and the abuse of power. Jigsaw is an amazing group of diverse yet like-minded people whom I’ve loved working with. Further pleased to be working with the support of EPIX, led by Mark Greenberg, who has been committed to these issues for a long time. There’s also a great team of executives and production people who have rallied around the cause.”
THE 4%: FILM’S GENDER PROBLEM is a series of EPIX Original short documentary films produced by Jigsaw Productions. Caroline Suh is the director and Erika Frankel is the producer. Executive Producers are Stacey Offman, Laura Michalchyshyn, Lynne Kirby, Caroline Suh, Betsy West and Alex Gibney. Jocelyn Diaz, Ross Bernard and Jill Burkhart are Executive Producers for EPIX.
About USC Annenberg Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative
Dr. Stacy L. Smith is the Founder and Director of the Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California. Dr. Smith's work examines gender and race on screen and behind the camera in cinematic content as well as barriers and opportunities facing women and people of color in the entertainment industry. She also conducts economic analyses related to diversity and the financial performance of films. Dr. Smith has written more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and reports on content patterns and effects of the media. In terms of the popular press, Dr. Smith’s research has been written about in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, fivethirtyeight.com, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Slate.com, Salon.com, The Boston Globe, NPR, and USA Today, to name a few. She has a co-edited essay in Maria Shriver’s book, A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything (2009). Dr. Smith’s most recent research reports include a landmark study with Sundance Institute and Women in Film Los Angeles, a study of 700 top-grossing films conducted at USC Annenberg, and multiple investigations with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Her work is also generously supported by EPIX, The Harnisch Foundation, LUNAFEST, The Jacquelyn and Gregory Zehner Foundation, and other individuals. To learn more, visit http://annenberg.usc.edu/mdsci or follow on Twitter @MDSCInitiative.
Jigsaw Productions is helmed by Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. Jigsaw has produced some of the most acclaimed documentary films in recent years, including the Academy and Emmy Award-winning Taxi to the Dark Side, the Oscar-nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Showtime’s Emmy-winning History of the Eagles, the Sundance-premiering We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks, and the explosive film about Lance Armstrong’s long fall from grace, The Armstrong Lie. More recent Jigsaw releases include the controversial and three-time Emmy winner Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, one of the most watched documentaries in HBO’s history, the Peabody Award-winning Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown, the Emmy-nominated two-part series Sinatra: All or Nothing At All for HBO, and Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine for CNN Films, in theaters now. Television projects currently in production include: The New Yorker Presents for Amazon, which adapts the venerable The New Yorker magazine to the screen; Cooked, a four-part food docu-series based on the award-winning Michael Pollan book of the same name for Netflix; and the four-part Parched: The Water Wars for National Geographic.
About EPIX
EPIX is a premium movie and original programming entertainment network delivering the latest movie releases, classic film franchises, original documentaries, comedy and music events on TV, on demand, online and on digital devices. Launched in October 2009, EPIX has pioneered the development and proliferation of “TV Everywhere.” It was the first premium network to provide multi-platform access to its content online at EPIX.com and to launch on Xbox, PlayStation®, Android phones and tablets, and Roku® players. EPIX is also available across Chromecast, Apple® iPhones® and iPads®, Android TV and more and is the only premium service providing all its programming on all platforms, delivering more movies than any other premium network, with thousands of titles available for streaming.
EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc., its Paramount Pictures unit, Lionsgate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM). Through relationships with cable, satellite and telco partners, EPIX is available to over 50 million homes nationwide. For more information about EPIX, go to www.EPIX.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter @EpixHD (http://www.twitter.com/EpixHD) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EPIX), YouTube (http://youtube.com/EPIX), Instagram (http://instagram.com/EPIX), Google+ (http://plus.google.com/+EPIX), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/EPIX) and Vine (https://vine.co/EPIX).
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Produced by Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, Directed by Caroline Suh and Featuring Interviews with Jill Soloway, Paul Feig, Toni Collette, Anjelica Huston, Catherine Hardwicke, Judd Apatow, Amy Heckerling, Julie Delpy, Lake Bell, Mira Nair, Amanda Peet, Patricia Clarkson, Mo’Nique, Anne Sweeney, James Franco, Christine Vachon, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Kristin Wiig and more…
Informed by Research Conducted by USC Annenberg Professor, Dr. Stacy L. Smith
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Premium TV network EPIX® announced today that THE 4%: FILM’S GENDER PROBLEM, a series of 6 original short films designed to explore the issues around the current gender gap in Hollywood, has completed production. The 6 shorts will air on the network and across all EPIX platforms on International Women’s Day – March 8, 2016 – and run throughout the month, coinciding with Women’s History Month. The first short will be presented at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival’s “Women at Sundance Brunch” on January 25, 2016.
Produced by Alex Gibney’s award-winning Jigsaw Productions (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, Taxi To the Darkside, Enron: Smartest Men In the Room), the series spotlights directors and creative personalities – both women and men – who share first-person insights, questions and anecdotes about the role of women in Hollywood.
Participants include: Judd Apatow, Joe Arcidiacono, Lake Bell, Amy Berg, Patricia Clarkson, Toni Collette, Jonathan Dayton, Julie Delpy, Valerie Faris, Paul Feig, America Ferrera, James Franco, Donna Gigliotti, Geoffrey Gilmore, Debra Granik, Catherine Hardwicke, Mary Harron, Amy Heckerling, Dawn Hudson, Anjelica Huston, Vicky Jenson, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Rebecca Keegan, Jon Kilik, Ellen Kuras, Mimi Leder, Franklin Leonard, Tina Mabry, Victoria Mahoney, Michael Mann, Lori McCreary, Mo’Nique, Michael Moore, Rachel Morrison, Mira Nair, Amanda Peet, Kimberly Peirce, Keri Putnam, Pamela Romanowsky, Cathy Schulman, A.O. Scott, Melissa Silverstein, Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Jill Soloway, Anne Sweeney, Anne Thompson, Rosemarie Troche, Christine Vachon, Mandy Walker and Kristen Wiig.
The series is informed by research conducted by USC Annenberg’s Dr. Stacy L. Smith, a renowned expert in the field, and which was supported by Women in Film Los Angeles and Sundance Institute. The series also has the support of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender In Media and Meryl Streep.
Even though it is widely recognized that female directors are strikingly under-represented in Hollywood, the numbers still manage to surprise. According to a multi-year study led by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and conducted by the USC Annenberg Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative, across 1,300 top-grossing films from 2002 to 2014, only 4.1% of all directors were female. This calculates into a gender ratio of 23.3 male directors to every 1 female director.
Each film will focus on a different theme, with segments varying in tone – from thoughtful, to controversial, to funny, sometimes all at once.
Mark S. Greenberg, President and CEO, EPIX, said, “EPIX has supported Stacy’s research for years and these shorts offer a richer, more authentic portrayal about the role of women and girls in media today. Support for this project has also brought together the talented Alex Gibney, and a prestigious list of some of the most gifted artists and creatives from the worlds of entertainment and the arts. Our objective is to help provide a forum for the discussion of ideas and potential solutions, as we collectively work towards closing the gap that exists today.”
Dr. Stacy L. Smith, the Initiative’s Founder and Director and lead researcher on the investigation, said, “The series offers an opportunity for a national audience to hear from the entertainment industry directly about the issues women face both as filmmakers and in other creative roles. My research is clear: females face a very real fiscal cliff as they pursue work at the highest echelons of this industry. I am proud that my research is associated with a team and a network that cares about female filmmakers and creating systemic change.”
According to research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith:
In the 100 top films of 2014, only 2 women worked as directors.
Across 700 films and 779 directors from 2007 to 2014, only 3 were Black or African American female directors.
Women were only 11% of writers and less than 20% of producers across the 100 top-grossing films of 2014.
Only 30% of all on-screen speaking characters in 700 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2014 were girls or women.
A total of 21 of the 100 top films of 2014 featured a female lead or roughly equal co-lead.
Less than a quarter of all speaking characters were female in the top animated films of 2014.
Only 22% of speaking characters in top action/adventure films of 2014 were female.
34% of characters in top 2014 comedies were female.
Other data on female directors shows:
Only four women have been nominated for a Best Director Oscar® in the past 85 years, with only one winner among them.
“THE 4%: FILM’S GENDER PROBLEM points to the fact there is an undeniably gaping disparity in Hollywood. It’s one that many – including those in Hollywood and at the ACLU and EEOC – believe needs to change. What better way to draw attention to the issue than to have some of the business' most recognizable voices come together in support of more diversity in making movies,” notes director Caroline Suh. “I’m very happy that the project found a partner in Jigsaw, a company known for its activism in exploring human rights violations and the abuse of power. Jigsaw is an amazing group of diverse yet like-minded people whom I’ve loved working with. Further pleased to be working with the support of EPIX, led by Mark Greenberg, who has been committed to these issues for a long time. There’s also a great team of executives and production people who have rallied around the cause.”
THE 4%: FILM’S GENDER PROBLEM is a series of EPIX Original short documentary films produced by Jigsaw Productions. Caroline Suh is the director and Erika Frankel is the producer. Executive Producers are Stacey Offman, Laura Michalchyshyn, Lynne Kirby, Caroline Suh, Betsy West and Alex Gibney. Jocelyn Diaz, Ross Bernard and Jill Burkhart are Executive Producers for EPIX.
About USC Annenberg Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative
Dr. Stacy L. Smith is the Founder and Director of the Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California. Dr. Smith's work examines gender and race on screen and behind the camera in cinematic content as well as barriers and opportunities facing women and people of color in the entertainment industry. She also conducts economic analyses related to diversity and the financial performance of films. Dr. Smith has written more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and reports on content patterns and effects of the media. In terms of the popular press, Dr. Smith’s research has been written about in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, fivethirtyeight.com, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Slate.com, Salon.com, The Boston Globe, NPR, and USA Today, to name a few. She has a co-edited essay in Maria Shriver’s book, A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything (2009). Dr. Smith’s most recent research reports include a landmark study with Sundance Institute and Women in Film Los Angeles, a study of 700 top-grossing films conducted at USC Annenberg, and multiple investigations with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Her work is also generously supported by EPIX, The Harnisch Foundation, LUNAFEST, The Jacquelyn and Gregory Zehner Foundation, and other individuals. To learn more, visit http://annenberg.usc.edu/mdsci or follow on Twitter @MDSCInitiative.
Jigsaw Productions is helmed by Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. Jigsaw has produced some of the most acclaimed documentary films in recent years, including the Academy and Emmy Award-winning Taxi to the Dark Side, the Oscar-nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Showtime’s Emmy-winning History of the Eagles, the Sundance-premiering We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks, and the explosive film about Lance Armstrong’s long fall from grace, The Armstrong Lie. More recent Jigsaw releases include the controversial and three-time Emmy winner Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, one of the most watched documentaries in HBO’s history, the Peabody Award-winning Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown, the Emmy-nominated two-part series Sinatra: All or Nothing At All for HBO, and Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine for CNN Films, in theaters now. Television projects currently in production include: The New Yorker Presents for Amazon, which adapts the venerable The New Yorker magazine to the screen; Cooked, a four-part food docu-series based on the award-winning Michael Pollan book of the same name for Netflix; and the four-part Parched: The Water Wars for National Geographic.
About EPIX
EPIX is a premium movie and original programming entertainment network delivering the latest movie releases, classic film franchises, original documentaries, comedy and music events on TV, on demand, online and on digital devices. Launched in October 2009, EPIX has pioneered the development and proliferation of “TV Everywhere.” It was the first premium network to provide multi-platform access to its content online at EPIX.com and to launch on Xbox, PlayStation®, Android phones and tablets, and Roku® players. EPIX is also available across Chromecast, Apple® iPhones® and iPads®, Android TV and more and is the only premium service providing all its programming on all platforms, delivering more movies than any other premium network, with thousands of titles available for streaming.
EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc., its Paramount Pictures unit, Lionsgate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM). Through relationships with cable, satellite and telco partners, EPIX is available to over 50 million homes nationwide. For more information about EPIX, go to www.EPIX.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter @EpixHD (http://www.twitter.com/EpixHD) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EPIX), YouTube (http://youtube.com/EPIX), Instagram (http://instagram.com/EPIX), Google+ (http://plus.google.com/+EPIX), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/EPIX) and Vine (https://vine.co/EPIX).
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Thursday, January 7, 2016
2016 Writers Guild Awards Screenplay Nominations Announced - Complete List
The Writers Guild of America is a labor union representing film, television, radio, video game, and new media writers. The Writers Guild of America Award acknowledges outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio and has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949.
On Wednesday, January 6, 2015, the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced nominations for outstanding achievement in screenwriting during 2015. Winners will be honored at the 2016 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 13, 2016, at concurrent ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Bridge of Spies, Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen; DreamWorks Pictures
Sicario, Written by Taylor Sheridan; Lionsgate
Spotlight, Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy; Open Road Films
Straight Outta Compton, Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff; Universal Pictures
Trainwreck, Written by Amy Schumer; Universal Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Big Short, Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; Based on the Book by Michael Lewis; Paramount Pictures
Carol, Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy; Based on the Novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith; The Weinstein Company
The Martian, Screenplay by Drew Goddard; Based on the Novel by Andy Weir; Twentieth Century Fox
Steve Jobs, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the Book by Walter Isaacson; Universal Pictures
Trumbo, Written by John McNamara; Based on the Biography by Bruce Cook; Bleecker Street Media
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Being Canadian, Written by Robert Cohen; Candy Factory Films
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Written by Brett Morgen; HBO Documentary Films
Prophet’s Prey, Written by Amy J. Berg; Showtime Documentary Films
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On Wednesday, January 6, 2015, the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced nominations for outstanding achievement in screenwriting during 2015. Winners will be honored at the 2016 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 13, 2016, at concurrent ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Bridge of Spies, Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen; DreamWorks Pictures
Sicario, Written by Taylor Sheridan; Lionsgate
Spotlight, Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy; Open Road Films
Straight Outta Compton, Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff; Universal Pictures
Trainwreck, Written by Amy Schumer; Universal Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Big Short, Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; Based on the Book by Michael Lewis; Paramount Pictures
Carol, Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy; Based on the Novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith; The Weinstein Company
The Martian, Screenplay by Drew Goddard; Based on the Novel by Andy Weir; Twentieth Century Fox
Steve Jobs, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the Book by Walter Isaacson; Universal Pictures
Trumbo, Written by John McNamara; Based on the Biography by Bruce Cook; Bleecker Street Media
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Being Canadian, Written by Robert Cohen; Candy Factory Films
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Written by Brett Morgen; HBO Documentary Films
Prophet’s Prey, Written by Amy J. Berg; Showtime Documentary Films
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Thursday, February 19, 2015
Amazon Greenlights Five New "Amazon Original Series," Including "The Man in the High Castle"
Amazon Greenlights Full Seasons of Mad Dogs, The Man in the High Castle, The New Yorker Presents, and Children’s Shows Just Add Magic and The Stinky & Dirty Show
Amazon customers made The Man in the High Castle the most watched pilot ever
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—An intriguing tale about alternative history, a twisted story of friendship put to the ultimate test, a docu-series based on America’s most award-winning magazine, a kids series based on magic and another about being stinky and dirty—all coming exclusively to Prime Instant Video. Amazon today announced it has greenlit five new Amazon Original Series, including The Man in the High Castle, which is based on the Philip K. Dick alternative history novel; an hour-long dark comedy Mad Dogs; docu-series The New Yorker Presents; along with kids shows Just Add Magic, and The Stinky & Dirty Show. The new Amazon Original Series come from an acclaimed creative roster including Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Cris Cole (The Good Times Are Killing Me), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie), Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward), and Kate & Jim McMullan (I’m Dirty!). These new shows will premiere exclusively to Prime members in the US, UK and Germany later this year and in 2016.
“Move over Dora the Explorer, Stinky and Dirty are on their way to being the next great kids' show.”
As part of its unique development process, Amazon gives customers an opportunity to provide feedback on which pilots they want turned into series that are then available to Prime members. During pilot season, any Amazon customer in the US, UK, and Germany can watch, rate and comment on the pilots. At the end of pilot season, that feedback helps determine the shows that become an Amazon Original Series. To date, customers have helped Amazon greenlight 13 series including the multi-Golden Globe-winning show Transparent, which will return for a second season later this year.
“During the latest pilot season, Amazon customers made The Man in the High Castle our most watched pilot ever,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “These new series, including our first docu-series, are some of our most ambitious to date and I’m looking forward to their premieres in the future.”
Amazon Original Series are available for Prime members to stream and enjoy through the Amazon Instant Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/originals, at no additional cost to their membership. Customers who are not already a Prime member can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime.
Here’s what customers are saying:
Mad Dogs:
“Wow! Love the pilot, and couldn't ask for a better cast of friends to get wrapped up in trouble with.”
“Definitely exceeded my expectations. The visuals were amazing! Can't wait to get to know the characters as the show progresses.”
“Hooked us in within the first five minutes.”
“As a big fan of Shawn Ryan's The Shield, I knew to trust this pilot blindly and just push play. I was rewarded.”
The Man in the High Castle:
“Beautifully done all around; the story, special effects, acting, and production were top notch. I couldn't stop watching. I am desperate to see the next installment.”
“Not only is this a beautiful and well done pilot, but it's super engaging and quite a great homage to the book.”
“I love alternative history and this was well done, well-paced, well-acted and very compelling.”
“The Man in the High Castle may very well be the single best thing I've ever seen or heard. It sits at first place on my list of best TV shows ever, and its audio track sits at second.”
The New Yorker Presents:
“With all of the ridiculousness and nonsense on TV today, this show makes me feel as if I'm being linked to a real part of the world.”
“Highly intelligent documentary shorts that are poignant and thought provoking. Looking forward to more!”
“This is a moving series. Each section was thought-provoking and touched on complex issues that clearly need to be considered in the current world.”
“I don't write many reviews on programs but I was so compelled to do so. You must see this outstanding journalistic presentation. The New Yorker Presents is wonderful.”
Just Add Magic:
“I love that they show smart, compassionate girls and that the friendship among the girls is so strong.”
“I appreciate the values and morals that this show portrayed, and it was even realistic and sincere, not fake or cheesy. I would give it six stars if I could!”
“My daughter and I just watched Just Add Magic. We loved it! My daughter loves to cook and this is a perfect show for her.”
“I have two girls. One is almost five and the other is six. They LOVED this show. I loved it because it shows intelligent, kind, thoughtful young girls who are not annoying, obsessed with makeup/clothes, or mean to their ‘enemies’ or families. We need more shows like this for our young girls.”
The Stinky & Dirty Show:
“Great show from top to bottom. The animation is some of the best I've seen on television.”
“If your kids are into trucks and construction equipment like mine are, this show will be a home run for them just as it was for mine.”
“My son loves it! It's a great show that shows kids how to work together.”
“Move over Dora the Explorer, Stinky and Dirty are on their way to being the next great kids' show.”
The new Amazon Original Series include:
Comedy / Dramas:
Mad Dogs
Mad Dogs is an hour-long dark comedy drama created by Cris Cole (The Good Times Are Killing Me), and Executive Produced by Cole, Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Marney Hochman (Last Resort), Andy Harries (Strikeback), Suzanne Mackie (Kinky Boots), and Charles McDougall (The Good Wife). Based on the hit UK series, Mad Dogs follows the reunion of a group of underachieving forty-something friends—a mixture of single, married and recently divorced, all seemingly at crossroads in their lives. Celebrating the early retirement of an old friend at his gorgeous Belizean villa, grudges begin to emerge and secrets explode as their trip becomes a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception and murder. Mad Dogs is a twisted tale of friendship put to the ultimate test. As the chain of events unfolds, cracks within the group widen before the friends realize the only people they can trust are each other, the last people they should be relying on! The pilot starred Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) as Cobi, Billy Zane (Titanic) as Milo, Romany Malco (Weeds) as Gus, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) as Lex and Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line) as Joel. Mad Dogs was directed by McDougall and is being co-produced with Sony Pictures Television.
The Man in the High Castle
Based on Philip K. Dick's Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternative history, The Man in the High Castle considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. Almost 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), The Man in the High Castle provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. The hour-long dramatic pilot starred Alexa Davalos (Mob City) as Juliana Crain, Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) as Joe Blake, Rupert Evans (The Village) as Frank Frink, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat Legacy) as Tagomi, Joel De La Fuente (Hemlock Grove) as Inspector Kido, Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour) as John Smith and DJ Qualls (Z Nation) as Ed McCarthy. The pilot was directed by David Semel (Madam Secretary, Heroes) and written by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), both serving as Executive Producers. Also executive producing are Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) and David W. Zucker (The Good Wife), with co-executive producer Jordan Sheehan of Scott Free Productions (The Good Wife, The Andromeda Strain), and Executive Producers Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute of Headline Pictures (The Invisible Woman). In addition, Isa Dick Hackett will executive produce and Kalen Egan will co-executive produce on behalf of Electric Shepherd (The Adjustment Bureau). Christopher Tricarico (May in the Summer) is also Executive Producer.
The New Yorker Presents
America’s most award-winning magazine, which marks its 90th anniversary this year, comes to life in this half-hour docu-series pilot. The New Yorker Presents is a completely unique viewing experience. The pilot episode featured Tony-Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) and actor Brett Gelman (Go On) in a short film based on a story by Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live) and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Troy Miller (Arrested Development); a poem by Matthew Dickman; a documentary by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) about biologist Tyrone Hayes based on a Rachel Aviv article; and an interview with famous performance artist, Marina Abramović, conducted by The New Yorker writer Ariel Levy. Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) is Executive Producer, joined by Dave Snyder (Death Row Stories) and Dawn Ostroff (The Fashion Fund). The pilot was co-produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Jigsaw Productions. Future episodes will include new segments that come from noted filmmakers, star talent and New Yorker writers.
Kids Series:
Just Add Magic (for children ages 6-11)
Based on Cindy Callaghan’s young adult book of the same name and adapted by Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (Sullivan & Son, Fairly Odd Parents), Just Add Magic is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward). The story centers on Kelly Quinn and her two BFFs, Darbie and Hannah, who stumble upon her grandmother’s mysterious cookbook in the attic and discover it has some interesting recipes. The Shut’em Up Shortcake actually silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and when the Healing Hazelnut Tart quickly heals Darbie’s ankle, the girls discover they have the power of magic. The project stars Olivia Sanabia (Extant), Abby Donnelly (Suburgatory), Aubrey Miller (Austin & Ally), and Judah Bellamy (Home).
The Stinky & Dirty Show (for preschool-aged children)
The Stinky & Dirty Show, based on the “I Stink!” book series by Kate & Jim McMullan, is written by Guy Toubes (The Adventures of Chuck & Friends, Littlest Pet Shop, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi) and animated by Brown Bag Films, Ltd (Peter Rabbit, Octonauts, Doc McStuffins). The Stinky & Dirty Show follows the adventures and mishaps faced by best friends and unlikely heroes, Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty, the backhoe loader. Whether it’s rescuing their pal Mighty the tugboat, or moving a giant boulder blocking the highway in their town of Go City, Stinky & Dirty are a dynamic duo of resourcefulness who make plenty of mistakes along the way. For them, hilariously failing turns out to be the most fun path to success.
About Amazon Studios
Mad Dogs, The Man in the High Castle, The New Yorker Presents, Just Add Magic, and The Stinky and Dirty Show join other Amazon Original Series that include Bosch, based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling books, Mozart in the Jungle, from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Weitz, and Alex Timbers, Jill Soloway’s multi-Golden Globe Award-winning dark comedy Transparent, along with the second season of the Garry Trudeau political comedy Alpha House. The studio has also launched its first live-action series for kids 6-11, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, and three additional children’s series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Award-winning and Annie Award-winning Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela C. Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue’s Clues; and Annedroids, from Emmy nominated Sinking Ship Entertainment.
Amazon Studios has also announced three additional, original series to debut in 2015, including Hand of God from Marc Forster and Ben Watkins; Red Oaks from Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green, Greg Jacobs and Joe Gangemi; and kids series Wishenpoof! from Angela C. Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises; as well as a second season of Transparent.
In 2015 Amazon Studios will begin to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release, followed by early window distribution on Prime Instant Video.
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online and Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.
About Prime Instant Video
Amazon Prime members have instant access to stream tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including award-winning Amazon Original Series, available on Prime Instant Video at no additional cost to their membership. In addition, new release movies like Gone Girl, Boyhood and Birdman along with in-season shows like The Walking Dead, Scandal and Better Call Saul are also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Instant Video for all customers to stream and enjoy.
Customers can watch shows and movies with the Amazon Instant Video app. The Amazon Instant Video app is available on hundreds of devices including connected TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox and PlayStation, as well as on mobile devices like Fire phone, Fire tablets, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Customers can also watch online at Amazon.com/PIV. Prime Instant Video is also the only U.S. online-only subscription streaming service that enables offline viewing—on a plane, on vacation, and anywhere else where you may not have Wi-Fi.
Amazon Prime members have exclusive access to popular TV series at no additional cost to their membership. Prime members can enjoy binge-worthy TV shows including Amazon Original Series airing now such as multi-Golden Globe winning series, Transparent, the hour-long drama, Bosch, based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling books, the Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman comedy, Mozart in the Jungle, and the political comedy starring John Goodman, Alpha House, in addition to HBO favorites like The Sopranos, True Blood and Six Feet Under, and popular primetime series including 24, Covert Affairs, Downton Abbey, Extant, Falling Skies, Grimm, Hannibal, Justified, Orphan Black, Teen Wolf, The Americans, Under the Dome and Veronica Mars. Prime members also have access to an exclusive collection of kids shows now airing including Amazon Original Series’ Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street and Tumble Leaf, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Blue’s Clues and The Bubble Guppies.
Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon's IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
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Amazon customers made The Man in the High Castle the most watched pilot ever
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—An intriguing tale about alternative history, a twisted story of friendship put to the ultimate test, a docu-series based on America’s most award-winning magazine, a kids series based on magic and another about being stinky and dirty—all coming exclusively to Prime Instant Video. Amazon today announced it has greenlit five new Amazon Original Series, including The Man in the High Castle, which is based on the Philip K. Dick alternative history novel; an hour-long dark comedy Mad Dogs; docu-series The New Yorker Presents; along with kids shows Just Add Magic, and The Stinky & Dirty Show. The new Amazon Original Series come from an acclaimed creative roster including Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Cris Cole (The Good Times Are Killing Me), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie), Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward), and Kate & Jim McMullan (I’m Dirty!). These new shows will premiere exclusively to Prime members in the US, UK and Germany later this year and in 2016.
“Move over Dora the Explorer, Stinky and Dirty are on their way to being the next great kids' show.”
As part of its unique development process, Amazon gives customers an opportunity to provide feedback on which pilots they want turned into series that are then available to Prime members. During pilot season, any Amazon customer in the US, UK, and Germany can watch, rate and comment on the pilots. At the end of pilot season, that feedback helps determine the shows that become an Amazon Original Series. To date, customers have helped Amazon greenlight 13 series including the multi-Golden Globe-winning show Transparent, which will return for a second season later this year.
“During the latest pilot season, Amazon customers made The Man in the High Castle our most watched pilot ever,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “These new series, including our first docu-series, are some of our most ambitious to date and I’m looking forward to their premieres in the future.”
Amazon Original Series are available for Prime members to stream and enjoy through the Amazon Instant Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/originals, at no additional cost to their membership. Customers who are not already a Prime member can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime.
Here’s what customers are saying:
Mad Dogs:
“Wow! Love the pilot, and couldn't ask for a better cast of friends to get wrapped up in trouble with.”
“Definitely exceeded my expectations. The visuals were amazing! Can't wait to get to know the characters as the show progresses.”
“Hooked us in within the first five minutes.”
“As a big fan of Shawn Ryan's The Shield, I knew to trust this pilot blindly and just push play. I was rewarded.”
The Man in the High Castle:
“Beautifully done all around; the story, special effects, acting, and production were top notch. I couldn't stop watching. I am desperate to see the next installment.”
“Not only is this a beautiful and well done pilot, but it's super engaging and quite a great homage to the book.”
“I love alternative history and this was well done, well-paced, well-acted and very compelling.”
“The Man in the High Castle may very well be the single best thing I've ever seen or heard. It sits at first place on my list of best TV shows ever, and its audio track sits at second.”
The New Yorker Presents:
“With all of the ridiculousness and nonsense on TV today, this show makes me feel as if I'm being linked to a real part of the world.”
“Highly intelligent documentary shorts that are poignant and thought provoking. Looking forward to more!”
“This is a moving series. Each section was thought-provoking and touched on complex issues that clearly need to be considered in the current world.”
“I don't write many reviews on programs but I was so compelled to do so. You must see this outstanding journalistic presentation. The New Yorker Presents is wonderful.”
Just Add Magic:
“I love that they show smart, compassionate girls and that the friendship among the girls is so strong.”
“I appreciate the values and morals that this show portrayed, and it was even realistic and sincere, not fake or cheesy. I would give it six stars if I could!”
“My daughter and I just watched Just Add Magic. We loved it! My daughter loves to cook and this is a perfect show for her.”
“I have two girls. One is almost five and the other is six. They LOVED this show. I loved it because it shows intelligent, kind, thoughtful young girls who are not annoying, obsessed with makeup/clothes, or mean to their ‘enemies’ or families. We need more shows like this for our young girls.”
The Stinky & Dirty Show:
“Great show from top to bottom. The animation is some of the best I've seen on television.”
“If your kids are into trucks and construction equipment like mine are, this show will be a home run for them just as it was for mine.”
“My son loves it! It's a great show that shows kids how to work together.”
“Move over Dora the Explorer, Stinky and Dirty are on their way to being the next great kids' show.”
The new Amazon Original Series include:
Comedy / Dramas:
Mad Dogs
Mad Dogs is an hour-long dark comedy drama created by Cris Cole (The Good Times Are Killing Me), and Executive Produced by Cole, Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Marney Hochman (Last Resort), Andy Harries (Strikeback), Suzanne Mackie (Kinky Boots), and Charles McDougall (The Good Wife). Based on the hit UK series, Mad Dogs follows the reunion of a group of underachieving forty-something friends—a mixture of single, married and recently divorced, all seemingly at crossroads in their lives. Celebrating the early retirement of an old friend at his gorgeous Belizean villa, grudges begin to emerge and secrets explode as their trip becomes a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception and murder. Mad Dogs is a twisted tale of friendship put to the ultimate test. As the chain of events unfolds, cracks within the group widen before the friends realize the only people they can trust are each other, the last people they should be relying on! The pilot starred Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) as Cobi, Billy Zane (Titanic) as Milo, Romany Malco (Weeds) as Gus, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) as Lex and Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line) as Joel. Mad Dogs was directed by McDougall and is being co-produced with Sony Pictures Television.
The Man in the High Castle
Based on Philip K. Dick's Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternative history, The Man in the High Castle considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. Almost 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), The Man in the High Castle provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. The hour-long dramatic pilot starred Alexa Davalos (Mob City) as Juliana Crain, Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) as Joe Blake, Rupert Evans (The Village) as Frank Frink, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat Legacy) as Tagomi, Joel De La Fuente (Hemlock Grove) as Inspector Kido, Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour) as John Smith and DJ Qualls (Z Nation) as Ed McCarthy. The pilot was directed by David Semel (Madam Secretary, Heroes) and written by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), both serving as Executive Producers. Also executive producing are Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) and David W. Zucker (The Good Wife), with co-executive producer Jordan Sheehan of Scott Free Productions (The Good Wife, The Andromeda Strain), and Executive Producers Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute of Headline Pictures (The Invisible Woman). In addition, Isa Dick Hackett will executive produce and Kalen Egan will co-executive produce on behalf of Electric Shepherd (The Adjustment Bureau). Christopher Tricarico (May in the Summer) is also Executive Producer.
The New Yorker Presents
America’s most award-winning magazine, which marks its 90th anniversary this year, comes to life in this half-hour docu-series pilot. The New Yorker Presents is a completely unique viewing experience. The pilot episode featured Tony-Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) and actor Brett Gelman (Go On) in a short film based on a story by Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live) and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Troy Miller (Arrested Development); a poem by Matthew Dickman; a documentary by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) about biologist Tyrone Hayes based on a Rachel Aviv article; and an interview with famous performance artist, Marina Abramović, conducted by The New Yorker writer Ariel Levy. Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) is Executive Producer, joined by Dave Snyder (Death Row Stories) and Dawn Ostroff (The Fashion Fund). The pilot was co-produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Jigsaw Productions. Future episodes will include new segments that come from noted filmmakers, star talent and New Yorker writers.
Kids Series:
Just Add Magic (for children ages 6-11)
Based on Cindy Callaghan’s young adult book of the same name and adapted by Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (Sullivan & Son, Fairly Odd Parents), Just Add Magic is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward). The story centers on Kelly Quinn and her two BFFs, Darbie and Hannah, who stumble upon her grandmother’s mysterious cookbook in the attic and discover it has some interesting recipes. The Shut’em Up Shortcake actually silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and when the Healing Hazelnut Tart quickly heals Darbie’s ankle, the girls discover they have the power of magic. The project stars Olivia Sanabia (Extant), Abby Donnelly (Suburgatory), Aubrey Miller (Austin & Ally), and Judah Bellamy (Home).
The Stinky & Dirty Show (for preschool-aged children)
The Stinky & Dirty Show, based on the “I Stink!” book series by Kate & Jim McMullan, is written by Guy Toubes (The Adventures of Chuck & Friends, Littlest Pet Shop, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi) and animated by Brown Bag Films, Ltd (Peter Rabbit, Octonauts, Doc McStuffins). The Stinky & Dirty Show follows the adventures and mishaps faced by best friends and unlikely heroes, Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty, the backhoe loader. Whether it’s rescuing their pal Mighty the tugboat, or moving a giant boulder blocking the highway in their town of Go City, Stinky & Dirty are a dynamic duo of resourcefulness who make plenty of mistakes along the way. For them, hilariously failing turns out to be the most fun path to success.
About Amazon Studios
Mad Dogs, The Man in the High Castle, The New Yorker Presents, Just Add Magic, and The Stinky and Dirty Show join other Amazon Original Series that include Bosch, based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling books, Mozart in the Jungle, from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Weitz, and Alex Timbers, Jill Soloway’s multi-Golden Globe Award-winning dark comedy Transparent, along with the second season of the Garry Trudeau political comedy Alpha House. The studio has also launched its first live-action series for kids 6-11, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, and three additional children’s series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Award-winning and Annie Award-winning Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela C. Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue’s Clues; and Annedroids, from Emmy nominated Sinking Ship Entertainment.
Amazon Studios has also announced three additional, original series to debut in 2015, including Hand of God from Marc Forster and Ben Watkins; Red Oaks from Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green, Greg Jacobs and Joe Gangemi; and kids series Wishenpoof! from Angela C. Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises; as well as a second season of Transparent.
In 2015 Amazon Studios will begin to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release, followed by early window distribution on Prime Instant Video.
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online and Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.
About Prime Instant Video
Amazon Prime members have instant access to stream tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including award-winning Amazon Original Series, available on Prime Instant Video at no additional cost to their membership. In addition, new release movies like Gone Girl, Boyhood and Birdman along with in-season shows like The Walking Dead, Scandal and Better Call Saul are also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Instant Video for all customers to stream and enjoy.
Customers can watch shows and movies with the Amazon Instant Video app. The Amazon Instant Video app is available on hundreds of devices including connected TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox and PlayStation, as well as on mobile devices like Fire phone, Fire tablets, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Customers can also watch online at Amazon.com/PIV. Prime Instant Video is also the only U.S. online-only subscription streaming service that enables offline viewing—on a plane, on vacation, and anywhere else where you may not have Wi-Fi.
Amazon Prime members have exclusive access to popular TV series at no additional cost to their membership. Prime members can enjoy binge-worthy TV shows including Amazon Original Series airing now such as multi-Golden Globe winning series, Transparent, the hour-long drama, Bosch, based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling books, the Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman comedy, Mozart in the Jungle, and the political comedy starring John Goodman, Alpha House, in addition to HBO favorites like The Sopranos, True Blood and Six Feet Under, and popular primetime series including 24, Covert Affairs, Downton Abbey, Extant, Falling Skies, Grimm, Hannibal, Justified, Orphan Black, Teen Wolf, The Americans, Under the Dome and Veronica Mars. Prime members also have access to an exclusive collection of kids shows now airing including Amazon Original Series’ Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street and Tumble Leaf, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Blue’s Clues and The Bubble Guppies.
Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon's IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
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Saturday, January 31, 2015
Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of January 25th to 31st, 2015 - Updated #19
NEWS:
From DenofGeek: The simple reason why there was no "Tangled 2."
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From YahooNews: First Lady Michelle Obama defends American Sniper at launch of "6 Certified."
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From YahooBeauty: Disney introduces first Latina Disney Princess.
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From Grantland: A really fine article about retired actor, Oscar-winner Gene Hackman.
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From Vulture: Liam Hemsworth reportedly has been offered the lead in the Independence Day follow-up.
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From People: Alex Gibney, a great director of great documentary films, has a shocking new film about Scientology.
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From Vulture: Guardians of the Galaxy star, Chris Pratt, is rumored to be the new Indiana Jones.
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From ThePlaylist: The leads in Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot are Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon & Leslie Jones. Or these are the four who are in contract talks to star in the film.
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From Alternet: Seven things about Chris Kyle not in American Sniper.
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From YahooMovies: The winner of the box office for the weekend of 1/23 to 1/25/2015 is American Sniper with an estimated take of $64.4 million. The film is a repeat winner, and this is one of the best second weekends ever.
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From Variety: Kaya Scodelario has been named as the female lead in "Pirates of the Caribbean 5."
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From YahooMovies: Oscar winner Dianne Wiest is struggling to pay her rent.
COMICS BOOKS:
From NerdReactor: Jason Momoa likes the idea of a brown-skinned Aquaman.
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From YahooGames: An article about TV shows based on comic books.
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From Variety: Melissa Benoist is CBS' Supergirl.
From Variety: Mehcad Brooks is the love interest of CBS' Supergirl.
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From Newsarama: 10 things worth noticing in the Fantastic Four trailer.
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From YahooTV: The first teaser for the Fantastic Four reboot, and I think it looks great. Now, will the movie be good...
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From CinemaBlend: How the costumes in the Fantastic Four reboot film might look.
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From IGN: Fox wants to develop a live action X-Men television series.
TRAILERS:
From 20th Century Fox: The first teaser trailer for this year's Fantastic Four reboot.
MISC.:
From YahooSports: Serena Williams wins her 6th Australian open title. It is also her 19th major title (Grand Slam tournament) win, which is second all-time behind Stefi Graf's 22 (in the Open era).
Monday, January 12, 2015
Ridley Scott, Alex Gibney Have Pilots for Amazon's First Pilot Season of 2015
Amazon’s First Pilot Season of 2015, Featuring Slate of 13 Original Comedy, Drama, Docuseries and Kids Offerings, will Debut January 15 on Amazon Instant Video in the US, UK and Germany
Seven new comedy, drama and docu-series pilots will be available including hour-long shows Cocked, Mad Dogs, Man in the High Castle and Point of Honor, half hour shows Down Dog and Salem Rogers, and half hour docu-series The New Yorker Presents
Six new kids pilots will be available including preschool projects Buddy: Tech Detective, Sara Solves It and The Stinky & Dirty Show, as well as 6-11 animated show Niko and the Sword of Light, and 6-11 live-action shows Table 58 and Just Add Magic
Pilots come from a talented creative roster including Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), Carlton Cuse (Lost), Randall Wallace (Braveheart), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Brad Silberling (Jane the Virgin, Lemony Snickets…), Mark Waters (Mean Girls), Academy and Emmy Award winning director Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie), Angela Santomero (Blue’s Clues), and Carol Greenwald (Arthur)
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon Studios announced it will debut its first pilot season of 2015 on Thursday, January 15, 2015 on Amazon Instant Video in the US, UK and Germany. Seven drama and comedy pilots will premiere, including hour-long shows Cocked from Samuel Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan – TV series), Mad Dogs from Cris Cole (The Bill) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Man in the High Castle from Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), and Point of Honor from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Randall Wallace (Braveheart). In addition, pilots for two half hour shows will debut, including Down Dog from Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?) and Salem Rogers from Will Graham (Onion News Network) and newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, along with a documentary series, The New Yorker Presents, inspired by non-fiction and fiction material from one of the most acclaimed and longest running publications, The New Yorker. The New Yorker Presents is Executive Produced by Oscar and Emmy-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie).
“We look forward to seeing our customers’ response to these new projects.”
Four animated kids pilots—Buddy: Tech Detective, The Stinky & Dirty Show, Sara Solves It, Niko and the Sword of Light—will join two live-action kids pilots—Table 58 and Just Add Magic—from a brilliantly talented roster of creative talent including May Chan (Phineas & Ferb), Carol Greenwald (Arthur), Jennifer Hamburg (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood), Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex), Guy Toubes (The Adventures of Chuck & Friends), Angela Santomero (Creative Galaxy), and Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (Sullivan & Son).
Customers will once again be invited to watch and provide feedback on the shows they want to see turned into full series. All pilots will be available via the Amazon Instant Video app on Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, as well as hundreds of other connected devices such as smart TVs—or customers can visit Amazon.com/AIV to watch online.
“We are working with great storytellers on some fascinating ideas for the year’s first pilot season,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “We look forward to seeing our customers’ response to these new projects.”
Amazon’s comedy and drama pilots include:
Cocked
Created by Samuel Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan – TV series), Cocked stars Sam Trammell (True Blood) as Richard Paxson, a family man and corporate lap dog who left his family in rural Colorado twenty years before and vowed never to go back. After some unfortunate circumstances, he is forced to leave the big city and return home to help his family’s gun business—one of the oldest in the country. But no good deed goes unpunished. Older brother Grady Paxton, played by Jason Lee (My Name is Earl), who’s a bachelor, playboy and gun aficionado, isn’t so happy to have him back, and Richard’s liberal wife and two opinionated teenage children are horrified by the world they have been thrown into. Hilarity, epic fights and emotional breakdowns ensue. Cocked also stars Tony award-winning Brian Dennehy (Death of a Salesman) as Wade Paxson and Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad) as Hannah Paxson, and Dreama Walker (The Good Wife) as Tabby Paxson. The hour-long dark comedy pilot was directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Skull Island), and Erwin Stoff (Unbroken) and Baum are Executive Producers.
Down Dog
Blessed with good looks, a winning smile, hippie parents, and a Southern California upbringing, life has been relatively easy thus far for Logan Wood (played by Josh Casaubon, I Just Want My Pants Back). In his late 30's, having coasted through romances with countless women and various random jobs, he now teaches yoga to the trophy wives, hot moms and aspiring celebrities of Santa Monica and Venice Beach. But when Logan and his current girlfriend, a successful and attractive older woman named Amanda (played by Paget Brewster, Criminal Minds) who happens to be the owner of the yoga studio, break up, life starts to get more complicated. Down Dog also stars Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother), Will Greenberg (Halt and Catch Fire), Andrea Savage (The Life and Times of Tim), Amir Talai (American Dad), Kris Kristofferson (Lone Star), and Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black). The pilot was written by Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?), produced by Bob Cooper (RFK) and Michael Fuchs (Death in the Modern Age), and directed by Bradley Silberling (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events).
Mad Dogs
Mad Dogs is an hour-long dark comedy created by Cris Cole (The Bill), and Executive Produced by Cole, Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Marney Hochman (Last Resort), Andy Harries (DCI Banks), Suzanne Mackie (All in Good Time), and Charles McDougall (The Mindy Project). Based on the hit UK series, Mad Dogs follows the twisted reunion of a group of underachieving forty-something friends—a mixture of single, married and recently divorced—who are all at different crossroads in their lives. Celebrating the early retirement of an old friend at his gorgeous Belize villa, grudges begin to emerge and secrets explode as their trip becomes a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception and murder. Mad Dogs is a twisted tale of friendship put to the ultimate test. As an inconceivable chain of events unfolds, cracks within the group widen before the friends realize that the only people they can trust are each other, the last people they want to be relying on. The pilot stars Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) as Cobi, Billy Zane (Twin Peaks) as Milo, Romany Malco (Weeds) as Gus, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) as Lex and Ben Chaplin as Joel. Mad Dogs is directed by McDougall and is being co-produced with Sony Pictures Television.
The Man in the High Castle
Based on Philip K. Dick's Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternative history, The Man in the High Castle considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. Almost 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), The Man in the High Castle provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. The hour-long dramatic pilot stars Alexa Davalos (Mob City) as Juliana Crain, Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) as Joe Blake, Rupert Evans (The Village) as Frank Frink, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat Legacy) as Tagomi, Joel De La Fuente (Hemlock Grove) as Inspector Kido, Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour) as John Smith and DJ Qualls (Z Nation) as Ed McCarthy. The pilot was directed by David Semel (Madam Secretary, Heroes) and written by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), both serving as Executive Producers. Also executive producing are Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) and David W. Zucker (The Good Wife), with co-executive producer Jordan Sheehan of Scott Free Productions (The Good Wife, The Andromeda Strain), and Executive Producers Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute of Headline Pictures (The Invisible Woman). In addition, Isa Dick Hackett will executive produce and Kalen Egan will co-executive produce on behalf of Electric Shepherd (The Adjustment Bureau). Christopher Tricarico (May in the Summer) is also Executive Producer.
The New Yorker Presents
America’s most award-winning magazine comes to life in this half hour docu-series pilot. The New Yorker Presents is a completely unique viewing experience that features Tony-Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) and actor Brett Gelman (Go On) in a short film based on a story by Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live) and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Troy Miller (Arrested Development); a poem by Matthew Dickman and narrated by Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spiderman); a documentary by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) about biologist Tyrone Hayes based on a Rachel Aviv article; and an interview with famous performance artist, Marina Abramović, conducted by The New Yorker writer Ariel Levy. Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) is Executive Producer, joined by Dave Snyder (Death Row Stories) and Dawn Ostroff (The Fashion Fund). The pilot is co-produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Jigsaw Productions.
Point of Honor
At the start of the Civil War, a Virginia family, led by their West Point bred son, John Rhodes (played by Nathan Parsons, True Blood), makes the controversial decision to defend the South while freeing all of their slaves. At battle against his northern brethren and his best friend and brother-in-law Robert Sumner (played by Christopher O’Shea, Baby Daddy), John leaves his three strong-willed sisters at home to run the plantation that is now without a free labor source. The choice to protect the life they have always known and defend the moral high ground will pit the family against one another and test their strength, courage and love. An hour-long drama shot entirely on-location in historic Virginia, Point of Honor also stars Annabelle Stephenson (Revenge) as Kate Rhodes, Riley Voelkel (The Newsroom) as Lorelei Rhodes, Hanna Mangan Lawrence (Old School) as Estella Rhodes, Patrick Heusinger (Revolution) as Colonel Palmer Kane, Luke Benward (Ravenswood) as Garland Rhodes, Adrienne Warren (Black Box) as Abby, Lucien Laviscount (Waterloo Road) as Elijah, and James Harvey Ward (Low Winter Sun) as Cutler. The pilot was directed by Randall Wallace (Braveheart), written by Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Wallace, and Executive Produced by Cuse, Wallace and Barry Jossen (Sex and the City). Point of Honor is a co-production with ABC Signature Studios.
Salem Rogers
A half-hour comedy, Leslie Bibb (About a Boy) plays Salem Rogers, an overly confident, blunt, hard-partying former supermodel who is forced to face her past and re-enter the real world after ten years in a posh rehab center. Intent on recreating her glamorous lifestyle and modeling success, she tracks down Agatha (played by Rachel Dratch, Saturday Night Live), her former assistant who has since built a career as an author of self-help books to help her win back the spotlight. Salem Rogers also stars Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Brad Morris (Playing House), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Toks Olagundoye (The Neighbors), and Scott Adsit (30 Rock). The pilot was written by newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, Executive Produced by Will Graham (The Onion News Network) and directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls). Salem Rogers was submitted to Amazon as part of the studio’s open screenplay submission process.
Amazon’s original kids pilots include:
Buddy: Tech Detective (for preschool-aged children)
Based on an original idea by Chris Dicker (What’s Your News?) and created by Jon Burton (The Lego Movie), Dicker and Jocelyn Stevenson (Fraggle Rock), and developed for television by Jennifer Hamburg (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Henry Hugglemonster), Buddy: Tech Detective is an exciting preschool whodunit that follows super-sleuth Buddy, his inventor best friend Trudy, the funny furry ferret Ferdo and you, the smarty-pants viewer! Using a myriad of interactive technologies, Buddy and his team gather evidence, follow cues and crack the case. The project is a TT Animation/The Foundation (a part of Zodiak Kids) production, and is animated by Jellyfish Animation Limited.
Sara Solves It (for preschool-aged children)
This animated musical comes from the talented minds of Carol Greenwald (Arthur, Martha Speaks, Curious George), and Angela C. Santomero (Super Why, Blue’s Clues, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Creative Galaxy, Wishenpoof!) with animation production handled by DHX (Martha Speaks, Kid vs. Kat, Inspector Gadget). Produced by WGBH and Out of the Blue Enterprises with Greenwald, Santomero and Samantha Freeman executive producing, Sara Solves It follows 9-year-old whiz kid Sara and her younger brother Sam as they work together in order to solve mysteries in their apartment building, at school and beyond using creative problem solving! Each mystery is an interactive problem, steeped in musical goodness. In this first episode, viewers will use math and music in a creative way as they help Sara and Sam solve the cheesiest pizza mystery!
The Stinky & Dirty Show (for preschool-aged children)
The Stinky & Dirty Show, based on the “I Stink!” book series by Kate & Jim McMullan, is written by Guy Toubes (The Adventures of Chuck & Friends, Littlest Pet Shop, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi) and animated by Brown Bag Films, Ltd (Peter Rabbit, Octonauts, Doc McStuffins). The Stinky & Dirty Show follows the adventures and mishaps faced by best friends and unlikely heroes, Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty, the backhoe loader. Whether it’s rescuing their pal Mighty the tugboat, or moving a giant boulder blocking the highway in their town of Go City, Stinky & Dirty are a dynamic duo of resourcefulness who make plenty of mistakes along the way. For them, hilariously failing turns out to be the most fun path to success.
Niko and the Sword of Light (for children ages 6-11)
Niko and the Sword of Light is based on the motion graphic comic by Imaginism Studios, Inc., the studio behind character and concept designs for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Men in Black 3, and Studio NX (The Carrot and Rabbit Show, Tree Fu Tom). Written by Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex, League of Super Evil, Storm Hawks, Teen Titans) and animated by Titmouse (Motorcity, Metalocalpyse, Turbo FAST, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja), Niko and the Sword of Light follows ten-year-old Niko who is the last of his kind in a strange, fantastical world. He must embark on an epic quest to defeat the darkness and bring the light back to his land. Armed with his magic sword, brave Niko journeys to the Cursed Volcano, making new friends and powerful foes along the way, all while uncovering secrets about his mysterious past. Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Jim Cummings (Shrek) lend their vocal talent.
Table 58 (for children ages 6-11)
Written by May Chan (Phineas & Ferb, Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures), Table 58 is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Gil Junger (10 Things I Hate About You, Greek). In Table 58, they’re not a part of the popular crowd, and they’re not a part of the geek crowd. The only thing they’re a part of is Table 58: the odd table in the lunchroom, made up of kids from all different cliques who have been ousted from the table where they seemingly belong. When new kid Logan moves to town, he rallies the group of six mismatched middle schoolers to form a tenuous partnership in order to help each other get back to their rightful place in the cafeteria. The project stars Grace Kaufman (Bad Teacher), Johnnie Ladd (Melissa & Joey), Jacob Melton (The Middle), Nathaniel Potvin (Girl Meets World), Juliana Rigolioso (The Smurfs), and Zack Shires (Wilfred).
Just Add Magic (for children ages 6-11)
Based on Cindy Callaghan’s young adult book of the same name and adapted by Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (Sullivan & Son, Fairly Odd Parents, My Little Pony), Just Add Magic is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward). The story centers on Kelly Quinn and her two BFF’s, Darbie and Hannah, who stumble upon her grandmother’s mysterious cookbook in the attic and discover it has some interesting recipes. The Shut’em Up Shortcake actually silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and when the Healing Hazelnut Tart quickly heals Darbie’s ankle, the girls discover they have the power of magic. The project stars Olivia Sanabia (Extant), Abby Donnelly (Suburgatory), Aubrey Miller (Austin & Ally), and Judah Bellamy (Home).
About Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios most recently debuted its dramatic comedy Mozart in the Jungle from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Weitz, John Strauss and Alex Timbers as well as Jill Soloway’s critically acclaimed and Golden Globe nominated dark comedy Transparent; its first live-action series for kids 6-11, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street; and a second season of the Garry Trudeau political comedy Alpha House. The studio has also launched three additional children’s series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Award-winning and Annie Award-nominated Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue’s Clues; and Annedroids, from Emmy nominated Sinking Ship Entertainment.
Amazon Studios has also announced four additional, original series to debut in 2015 including Michael Connelly’s Bosch; Hand of God from Marc Forster and Ben Watkins; Red Oaks from Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green, Greg Jacobs and Joe Gangemi; and kids series Wishenpoof! from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises; as well as a second season of Transparent.
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online and Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.
Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon's IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
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Seven new comedy, drama and docu-series pilots will be available including hour-long shows Cocked, Mad Dogs, Man in the High Castle and Point of Honor, half hour shows Down Dog and Salem Rogers, and half hour docu-series The New Yorker Presents
Six new kids pilots will be available including preschool projects Buddy: Tech Detective, Sara Solves It and The Stinky & Dirty Show, as well as 6-11 animated show Niko and the Sword of Light, and 6-11 live-action shows Table 58 and Just Add Magic
Pilots come from a talented creative roster including Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), Carlton Cuse (Lost), Randall Wallace (Braveheart), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Brad Silberling (Jane the Virgin, Lemony Snickets…), Mark Waters (Mean Girls), Academy and Emmy Award winning director Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie), Angela Santomero (Blue’s Clues), and Carol Greenwald (Arthur)
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon Studios announced it will debut its first pilot season of 2015 on Thursday, January 15, 2015 on Amazon Instant Video in the US, UK and Germany. Seven drama and comedy pilots will premiere, including hour-long shows Cocked from Samuel Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan – TV series), Mad Dogs from Cris Cole (The Bill) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Man in the High Castle from Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), and Point of Honor from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Randall Wallace (Braveheart). In addition, pilots for two half hour shows will debut, including Down Dog from Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?) and Salem Rogers from Will Graham (Onion News Network) and newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, along with a documentary series, The New Yorker Presents, inspired by non-fiction and fiction material from one of the most acclaimed and longest running publications, The New Yorker. The New Yorker Presents is Executive Produced by Oscar and Emmy-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie).
“We look forward to seeing our customers’ response to these new projects.”
Four animated kids pilots—Buddy: Tech Detective, The Stinky & Dirty Show, Sara Solves It, Niko and the Sword of Light—will join two live-action kids pilots—Table 58 and Just Add Magic—from a brilliantly talented roster of creative talent including May Chan (Phineas & Ferb), Carol Greenwald (Arthur), Jennifer Hamburg (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood), Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex), Guy Toubes (The Adventures of Chuck & Friends), Angela Santomero (Creative Galaxy), and Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (Sullivan & Son).
Customers will once again be invited to watch and provide feedback on the shows they want to see turned into full series. All pilots will be available via the Amazon Instant Video app on Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, as well as hundreds of other connected devices such as smart TVs—or customers can visit Amazon.com/AIV to watch online.
“We are working with great storytellers on some fascinating ideas for the year’s first pilot season,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “We look forward to seeing our customers’ response to these new projects.”
Amazon’s comedy and drama pilots include:
Cocked
Created by Samuel Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan – TV series), Cocked stars Sam Trammell (True Blood) as Richard Paxson, a family man and corporate lap dog who left his family in rural Colorado twenty years before and vowed never to go back. After some unfortunate circumstances, he is forced to leave the big city and return home to help his family’s gun business—one of the oldest in the country. But no good deed goes unpunished. Older brother Grady Paxton, played by Jason Lee (My Name is Earl), who’s a bachelor, playboy and gun aficionado, isn’t so happy to have him back, and Richard’s liberal wife and two opinionated teenage children are horrified by the world they have been thrown into. Hilarity, epic fights and emotional breakdowns ensue. Cocked also stars Tony award-winning Brian Dennehy (Death of a Salesman) as Wade Paxson and Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad) as Hannah Paxson, and Dreama Walker (The Good Wife) as Tabby Paxson. The hour-long dark comedy pilot was directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Skull Island), and Erwin Stoff (Unbroken) and Baum are Executive Producers.
Down Dog
Blessed with good looks, a winning smile, hippie parents, and a Southern California upbringing, life has been relatively easy thus far for Logan Wood (played by Josh Casaubon, I Just Want My Pants Back). In his late 30's, having coasted through romances with countless women and various random jobs, he now teaches yoga to the trophy wives, hot moms and aspiring celebrities of Santa Monica and Venice Beach. But when Logan and his current girlfriend, a successful and attractive older woman named Amanda (played by Paget Brewster, Criminal Minds) who happens to be the owner of the yoga studio, break up, life starts to get more complicated. Down Dog also stars Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother), Will Greenberg (Halt and Catch Fire), Andrea Savage (The Life and Times of Tim), Amir Talai (American Dad), Kris Kristofferson (Lone Star), and Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black). The pilot was written by Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?), produced by Bob Cooper (RFK) and Michael Fuchs (Death in the Modern Age), and directed by Bradley Silberling (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events).
Mad Dogs
Mad Dogs is an hour-long dark comedy created by Cris Cole (The Bill), and Executive Produced by Cole, Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Marney Hochman (Last Resort), Andy Harries (DCI Banks), Suzanne Mackie (All in Good Time), and Charles McDougall (The Mindy Project). Based on the hit UK series, Mad Dogs follows the twisted reunion of a group of underachieving forty-something friends—a mixture of single, married and recently divorced—who are all at different crossroads in their lives. Celebrating the early retirement of an old friend at his gorgeous Belize villa, grudges begin to emerge and secrets explode as their trip becomes a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception and murder. Mad Dogs is a twisted tale of friendship put to the ultimate test. As an inconceivable chain of events unfolds, cracks within the group widen before the friends realize that the only people they can trust are each other, the last people they want to be relying on. The pilot stars Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) as Cobi, Billy Zane (Twin Peaks) as Milo, Romany Malco (Weeds) as Gus, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) as Lex and Ben Chaplin as Joel. Mad Dogs is directed by McDougall and is being co-produced with Sony Pictures Television.
The Man in the High Castle
Based on Philip K. Dick's Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternative history, The Man in the High Castle considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. Almost 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), The Man in the High Castle provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. The hour-long dramatic pilot stars Alexa Davalos (Mob City) as Juliana Crain, Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) as Joe Blake, Rupert Evans (The Village) as Frank Frink, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat Legacy) as Tagomi, Joel De La Fuente (Hemlock Grove) as Inspector Kido, Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour) as John Smith and DJ Qualls (Z Nation) as Ed McCarthy. The pilot was directed by David Semel (Madam Secretary, Heroes) and written by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), both serving as Executive Producers. Also executive producing are Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) and David W. Zucker (The Good Wife), with co-executive producer Jordan Sheehan of Scott Free Productions (The Good Wife, The Andromeda Strain), and Executive Producers Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute of Headline Pictures (The Invisible Woman). In addition, Isa Dick Hackett will executive produce and Kalen Egan will co-executive produce on behalf of Electric Shepherd (The Adjustment Bureau). Christopher Tricarico (May in the Summer) is also Executive Producer.
The New Yorker Presents
America’s most award-winning magazine comes to life in this half hour docu-series pilot. The New Yorker Presents is a completely unique viewing experience that features Tony-Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) and actor Brett Gelman (Go On) in a short film based on a story by Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live) and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Troy Miller (Arrested Development); a poem by Matthew Dickman and narrated by Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spiderman); a documentary by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) about biologist Tyrone Hayes based on a Rachel Aviv article; and an interview with famous performance artist, Marina Abramović, conducted by The New Yorker writer Ariel Levy. Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) is Executive Producer, joined by Dave Snyder (Death Row Stories) and Dawn Ostroff (The Fashion Fund). The pilot is co-produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Jigsaw Productions.
Point of Honor
At the start of the Civil War, a Virginia family, led by their West Point bred son, John Rhodes (played by Nathan Parsons, True Blood), makes the controversial decision to defend the South while freeing all of their slaves. At battle against his northern brethren and his best friend and brother-in-law Robert Sumner (played by Christopher O’Shea, Baby Daddy), John leaves his three strong-willed sisters at home to run the plantation that is now without a free labor source. The choice to protect the life they have always known and defend the moral high ground will pit the family against one another and test their strength, courage and love. An hour-long drama shot entirely on-location in historic Virginia, Point of Honor also stars Annabelle Stephenson (Revenge) as Kate Rhodes, Riley Voelkel (The Newsroom) as Lorelei Rhodes, Hanna Mangan Lawrence (Old School) as Estella Rhodes, Patrick Heusinger (Revolution) as Colonel Palmer Kane, Luke Benward (Ravenswood) as Garland Rhodes, Adrienne Warren (Black Box) as Abby, Lucien Laviscount (Waterloo Road) as Elijah, and James Harvey Ward (Low Winter Sun) as Cutler. The pilot was directed by Randall Wallace (Braveheart), written by Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Wallace, and Executive Produced by Cuse, Wallace and Barry Jossen (Sex and the City). Point of Honor is a co-production with ABC Signature Studios.
Salem Rogers
A half-hour comedy, Leslie Bibb (About a Boy) plays Salem Rogers, an overly confident, blunt, hard-partying former supermodel who is forced to face her past and re-enter the real world after ten years in a posh rehab center. Intent on recreating her glamorous lifestyle and modeling success, she tracks down Agatha (played by Rachel Dratch, Saturday Night Live), her former assistant who has since built a career as an author of self-help books to help her win back the spotlight. Salem Rogers also stars Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Brad Morris (Playing House), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Toks Olagundoye (The Neighbors), and Scott Adsit (30 Rock). The pilot was written by newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, Executive Produced by Will Graham (The Onion News Network) and directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls). Salem Rogers was submitted to Amazon as part of the studio’s open screenplay submission process.
Amazon’s original kids pilots include:
Buddy: Tech Detective (for preschool-aged children)
Based on an original idea by Chris Dicker (What’s Your News?) and created by Jon Burton (The Lego Movie), Dicker and Jocelyn Stevenson (Fraggle Rock), and developed for television by Jennifer Hamburg (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Henry Hugglemonster), Buddy: Tech Detective is an exciting preschool whodunit that follows super-sleuth Buddy, his inventor best friend Trudy, the funny furry ferret Ferdo and you, the smarty-pants viewer! Using a myriad of interactive technologies, Buddy and his team gather evidence, follow cues and crack the case. The project is a TT Animation/The Foundation (a part of Zodiak Kids) production, and is animated by Jellyfish Animation Limited.
Sara Solves It (for preschool-aged children)
This animated musical comes from the talented minds of Carol Greenwald (Arthur, Martha Speaks, Curious George), and Angela C. Santomero (Super Why, Blue’s Clues, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Creative Galaxy, Wishenpoof!) with animation production handled by DHX (Martha Speaks, Kid vs. Kat, Inspector Gadget). Produced by WGBH and Out of the Blue Enterprises with Greenwald, Santomero and Samantha Freeman executive producing, Sara Solves It follows 9-year-old whiz kid Sara and her younger brother Sam as they work together in order to solve mysteries in their apartment building, at school and beyond using creative problem solving! Each mystery is an interactive problem, steeped in musical goodness. In this first episode, viewers will use math and music in a creative way as they help Sara and Sam solve the cheesiest pizza mystery!
The Stinky & Dirty Show (for preschool-aged children)
The Stinky & Dirty Show, based on the “I Stink!” book series by Kate & Jim McMullan, is written by Guy Toubes (The Adventures of Chuck & Friends, Littlest Pet Shop, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi) and animated by Brown Bag Films, Ltd (Peter Rabbit, Octonauts, Doc McStuffins). The Stinky & Dirty Show follows the adventures and mishaps faced by best friends and unlikely heroes, Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty, the backhoe loader. Whether it’s rescuing their pal Mighty the tugboat, or moving a giant boulder blocking the highway in their town of Go City, Stinky & Dirty are a dynamic duo of resourcefulness who make plenty of mistakes along the way. For them, hilariously failing turns out to be the most fun path to success.
Niko and the Sword of Light (for children ages 6-11)
Niko and the Sword of Light is based on the motion graphic comic by Imaginism Studios, Inc., the studio behind character and concept designs for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Men in Black 3, and Studio NX (The Carrot and Rabbit Show, Tree Fu Tom). Written by Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex, League of Super Evil, Storm Hawks, Teen Titans) and animated by Titmouse (Motorcity, Metalocalpyse, Turbo FAST, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja), Niko and the Sword of Light follows ten-year-old Niko who is the last of his kind in a strange, fantastical world. He must embark on an epic quest to defeat the darkness and bring the light back to his land. Armed with his magic sword, brave Niko journeys to the Cursed Volcano, making new friends and powerful foes along the way, all while uncovering secrets about his mysterious past. Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Jim Cummings (Shrek) lend their vocal talent.
Table 58 (for children ages 6-11)
Written by May Chan (Phineas & Ferb, Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures), Table 58 is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Gil Junger (10 Things I Hate About You, Greek). In Table 58, they’re not a part of the popular crowd, and they’re not a part of the geek crowd. The only thing they’re a part of is Table 58: the odd table in the lunchroom, made up of kids from all different cliques who have been ousted from the table where they seemingly belong. When new kid Logan moves to town, he rallies the group of six mismatched middle schoolers to form a tenuous partnership in order to help each other get back to their rightful place in the cafeteria. The project stars Grace Kaufman (Bad Teacher), Johnnie Ladd (Melissa & Joey), Jacob Melton (The Middle), Nathaniel Potvin (Girl Meets World), Juliana Rigolioso (The Smurfs), and Zack Shires (Wilfred).
Just Add Magic (for children ages 6-11)
Based on Cindy Callaghan’s young adult book of the same name and adapted by Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (Sullivan & Son, Fairly Odd Parents, My Little Pony), Just Add Magic is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward). The story centers on Kelly Quinn and her two BFF’s, Darbie and Hannah, who stumble upon her grandmother’s mysterious cookbook in the attic and discover it has some interesting recipes. The Shut’em Up Shortcake actually silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and when the Healing Hazelnut Tart quickly heals Darbie’s ankle, the girls discover they have the power of magic. The project stars Olivia Sanabia (Extant), Abby Donnelly (Suburgatory), Aubrey Miller (Austin & Ally), and Judah Bellamy (Home).
About Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios most recently debuted its dramatic comedy Mozart in the Jungle from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Weitz, John Strauss and Alex Timbers as well as Jill Soloway’s critically acclaimed and Golden Globe nominated dark comedy Transparent; its first live-action series for kids 6-11, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street; and a second season of the Garry Trudeau political comedy Alpha House. The studio has also launched three additional children’s series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Award-winning and Annie Award-nominated Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue’s Clues; and Annedroids, from Emmy nominated Sinking Ship Entertainment.
Amazon Studios has also announced four additional, original series to debut in 2015 including Michael Connelly’s Bosch; Hand of God from Marc Forster and Ben Watkins; Red Oaks from Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green, Greg Jacobs and Joe Gangemi; and kids series Wishenpoof! from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises; as well as a second season of Transparent.
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online and Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.
Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon's IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
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Monday, January 20, 2014
2014 Producers Guild Awards: "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity" Tie
by Amos Semien
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) describes itself as “the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media.” Film fans know the organization because of its annual PGA Awards.
Oscar prognosticators have viewed the PGA Awards as the most reliable predictor of the eventual “Best Picture” Oscar winner. Over the last 24 years, the Academy and PGA winner for “Best Picture” have matched 17 times, and they have matched the last 6 times in a row (including last year for best picture Oscar winner, Argo).
There won’t be a seventh year in a row. You see, it is unlikely that there will be a tie for the best picture Oscar, and last night at the 25th Annual PGA Awards, there was a tie for the first time in the awards’ 25-year history. Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave shared the group’s prize for best picture, “The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.”
Alfonso Cuaron and David Heyman for Gravity and Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt and the Plan B team for 12 Years a Slave accepted the award.
So this supposedly means an up-in-the-air race for the best picture Oscar. If you go by the SAG Awards, actors favor David O. Russell’s American Hustle, and, as a group, actors apparently make up 20 percent of the Oscar vote – making them the dominant voting block. Critics have loved 12 Years a Slave, and Gravity is clearly aspiring to win more than just some tech and visual effects Oscar.
The winners of the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards (also known as the 2014 Producers Guild Awards) were announced Sunday, January 19, 2014 at the 2014 Producers Guild Awards ceremony, which was in the Dolby Theater at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
2014 / 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards (for the year 2013) – Full list of winners:
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: (TIE)
• "Gravity" (Warner Bros. Pictures) Producers: Alfonso Cuaron, David Heyman
• "12 Years a Slave" (Fox Searchlight Pictures); Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"Frozen" (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures); Producer: Peter Del Vecho
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks" (Focus Features); Producers: Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, Marc Shmuger
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
"Breaking Bad" (AMC); Producers: Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
"Modern Family" (ABC); Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeffrey Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
"Behind the Candelabra" (HBO); Producers: Susan Ekins, Gregory Jacobs, Michael Polaire, Jerry Weintraub
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program:
"SportsCenter" (ESPN)
The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program:
"Sesame Street" (PBS)
The Award for Outstanding Digital Series:
"Wired: What’s Inside"
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
"Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" (CNN); Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
"The Voice" (NBC); Producers: Stijn Bakkers, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Audrey Morrissey, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Nicolle Yaron, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment and Talk Television:
"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central); Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart
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The Producers Guild of America (PGA) describes itself as “the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media.” Film fans know the organization because of its annual PGA Awards.
Oscar prognosticators have viewed the PGA Awards as the most reliable predictor of the eventual “Best Picture” Oscar winner. Over the last 24 years, the Academy and PGA winner for “Best Picture” have matched 17 times, and they have matched the last 6 times in a row (including last year for best picture Oscar winner, Argo).
There won’t be a seventh year in a row. You see, it is unlikely that there will be a tie for the best picture Oscar, and last night at the 25th Annual PGA Awards, there was a tie for the first time in the awards’ 25-year history. Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave shared the group’s prize for best picture, “The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.”
Alfonso Cuaron and David Heyman for Gravity and Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt and the Plan B team for 12 Years a Slave accepted the award.
So this supposedly means an up-in-the-air race for the best picture Oscar. If you go by the SAG Awards, actors favor David O. Russell’s American Hustle, and, as a group, actors apparently make up 20 percent of the Oscar vote – making them the dominant voting block. Critics have loved 12 Years a Slave, and Gravity is clearly aspiring to win more than just some tech and visual effects Oscar.
The winners of the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards (also known as the 2014 Producers Guild Awards) were announced Sunday, January 19, 2014 at the 2014 Producers Guild Awards ceremony, which was in the Dolby Theater at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
2014 / 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards (for the year 2013) – Full list of winners:
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: (TIE)
• "Gravity" (Warner Bros. Pictures) Producers: Alfonso Cuaron, David Heyman
• "12 Years a Slave" (Fox Searchlight Pictures); Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"Frozen" (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures); Producer: Peter Del Vecho
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks" (Focus Features); Producers: Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, Marc Shmuger
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
"Breaking Bad" (AMC); Producers: Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
"Modern Family" (ABC); Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeffrey Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
"Behind the Candelabra" (HBO); Producers: Susan Ekins, Gregory Jacobs, Michael Polaire, Jerry Weintraub
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program:
"SportsCenter" (ESPN)
The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program:
"Sesame Street" (PBS)
The Award for Outstanding Digital Series:
"Wired: What’s Inside"
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
"Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" (CNN); Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
"The Voice" (NBC); Producers: Stijn Bakkers, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Audrey Morrissey, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Nicolle Yaron, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment and Talk Television:
"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central); Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart
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Monday, January 6, 2014
2014 Writers Guild Award Nominations - Feature Film Categories
by Amos Semien
On Friday, January 3, 2014, the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing during the year 2013 – the 2014 Writers Guild Awards. The winners will be honored at the 2014 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 1, 2014, during simultaneous ceremonies held in both Los Angeles and New York.
The Writers Guild of America is a labor union representing film, television, radio, video game, and new media writers. The Writers Guild of America Award acknowledges outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio and has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949.
A complete list of 2014 Writers Guild Award nominations can be found here: http://www.wga.org/wga-awards/nominees-winners.aspx.
SCREEN NOMINEES:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures
Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Focus Features
Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company
Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures
Lone Survivor, Written by Peter Berg; Based on the book by Marcus Lutrell with Patrick Robinson; Universal Pictures
The Wolf of Wall Street, Screenplay by Terence Winter; Based on the book by Jordan Belfort; Paramount Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Dirty Wars, Written by Jeremy Scahill & David Riker; Sundance Selects
Herblock – The Black & The White, Written by Sara Lukinson & Michael Stevens; The Stevens Company
No Place on Earth, Written by Janet Tobias & Paul Laikin; Magnolia Pictures
Stories We Tell, Written by Sarah Polley; Roadside Attractions
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks; Written by Alex Gibney; Focus Features
END
On Friday, January 3, 2014, the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing during the year 2013 – the 2014 Writers Guild Awards. The winners will be honored at the 2014 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 1, 2014, during simultaneous ceremonies held in both Los Angeles and New York.
The Writers Guild of America is a labor union representing film, television, radio, video game, and new media writers. The Writers Guild of America Award acknowledges outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio and has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949.
A complete list of 2014 Writers Guild Award nominations can be found here: http://www.wga.org/wga-awards/nominees-winners.aspx.
SCREEN NOMINEES:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures
Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Focus Features
Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company
Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures
Lone Survivor, Written by Peter Berg; Based on the book by Marcus Lutrell with Patrick Robinson; Universal Pictures
The Wolf of Wall Street, Screenplay by Terence Winter; Based on the book by Jordan Belfort; Paramount Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Dirty Wars, Written by Jeremy Scahill & David Riker; Sundance Selects
Herblock – The Black & The White, Written by Sara Lukinson & Michael Stevens; The Stevens Company
No Place on Earth, Written by Janet Tobias & Paul Laikin; Magnolia Pictures
Stories We Tell, Written by Sarah Polley; Roadside Attractions
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks; Written by Alex Gibney; Focus Features
END
Friday, January 3, 2014
2014 Producers Guild Award Nominations - Theatrical Film Categories
by Amos Semien
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) describes itself as “the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media.” Film fans know the organization because of its annual PGA Awards.
The nominations for the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards (also known as the 2014 Producers Guild Awards) were announced Thursday, January 02, 2014. All 2014 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
This year, the Producers Guild will also present special honors to Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Robert Iger (Milestone Award), Peter Jackson & Joe Letteri (Vanguard Award), Chuck Lorre (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Chris Meledandri (Visionary Award) and FRUITVALE STATION (Stanley Kramer Award).
The 2014 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names listed for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and are not necessarily the proper order of credits. The programs in some categories were not vetted for producer eligibility this year (2013), but winners in these categories will be announced at the official ceremony on January 19th.
25th Annual Producers Guild Awards nominations:
The theatrical motion picture nominees are:
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle
Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
Producers: Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter
Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
Her (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, Vincent Landay
Nebraska (Paramount Pictures)
Producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa
Saving Mr. Banks (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producers: Ian Collie, Alison Owen, Philip Steuer
12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner
Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
Producers: Riza Aziz, Emma Koskoff, Joey McFarland
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
The Croods (DreamWorks Animation)
Producers: Kristine Belson, Jane Hartwell
Despicable Me 2 (Universal Pictures)
Producers: Janet Healy, Chris Meledandri
Epic (Twentieth Century Fox)
Producers: Jerry Davis, Lori Forte
Frozen (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producer: Peter Del Vecho
Monsters University (Pixar Animation)
Producer: Kori Rae
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
A PLACE AT THE TABLE (Magnolia Pictures)
Producers: Julie Goldman, Ryan Harrington, Kristi Jacobson, Lori Silverbush
FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY (First Run Features)
Producers: Brad Bernstein, Rick Cikowski
LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM (HBO Documentary Films)
Producers: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine, Miriam Weintraub
WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS (Focus Features)
Producers: Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, Marc Shmuger
WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON (HBO Documentary Films)
Producers: James Brabazon, Nick Quested
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) describes itself as “the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media.” Film fans know the organization because of its annual PGA Awards.
The nominations for the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards (also known as the 2014 Producers Guild Awards) were announced Thursday, January 02, 2014. All 2014 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
This year, the Producers Guild will also present special honors to Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Robert Iger (Milestone Award), Peter Jackson & Joe Letteri (Vanguard Award), Chuck Lorre (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Chris Meledandri (Visionary Award) and FRUITVALE STATION (Stanley Kramer Award).
The 2014 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names listed for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and are not necessarily the proper order of credits. The programs in some categories were not vetted for producer eligibility this year (2013), but winners in these categories will be announced at the official ceremony on January 19th.
25th Annual Producers Guild Awards nominations:
The theatrical motion picture nominees are:
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle
Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
Producers: Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter
Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
Her (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, Vincent Landay
Nebraska (Paramount Pictures)
Producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa
Saving Mr. Banks (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producers: Ian Collie, Alison Owen, Philip Steuer
12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner
Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
Producers: Riza Aziz, Emma Koskoff, Joey McFarland
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
The Croods (DreamWorks Animation)
Producers: Kristine Belson, Jane Hartwell
Despicable Me 2 (Universal Pictures)
Producers: Janet Healy, Chris Meledandri
Epic (Twentieth Century Fox)
Producers: Jerry Davis, Lori Forte
Frozen (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producer: Peter Del Vecho
Monsters University (Pixar Animation)
Producer: Kori Rae
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
A PLACE AT THE TABLE (Magnolia Pictures)
Producers: Julie Goldman, Ryan Harrington, Kristi Jacobson, Lori Silverbush
FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY (First Run Features)
Producers: Brad Bernstein, Rick Cikowski
LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM (HBO Documentary Films)
Producers: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine, Miriam Weintraub
WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS (Focus Features)
Producers: Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, Marc Shmuger
WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON (HBO Documentary Films)
Producers: James Brabazon, Nick Quested
In 1990, the Producers Guild held the first-ever Golden Laurel Awards, which were renamed the Producers Guild Awards in 2002. Richard Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck took home the award for Best Produced Motion Picture for DRIVING MISS DAISY, establishing the Guild’s awards as a bellwether for the Oscars. Last year, the PGA awarded ARGO with its Darryl F. Zanuck Outstanding Producer Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures, marking the sixth consecutive year the Producers Guild has presaged the Motion Picture Academy’s choice.
Sponsors of the 2014 Producers Guild Awards includeCadillac, an official automotive partnerof the PGA;Delta Air Lines, the sponsor of this year's Producers Guild Visionary Award;Panavision, the sponsor of the cocktail reception;PRG, Production Resource Group, an annual sponsor of the PGA;and Tiffany & Co.
About the Producers Guild of America (PGA)
The Producers Guild of America is the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media. The Producers Guild has more than 5,900 members who work together to protect and improve their careers, the industry and community by providing members with employment opportunities, seeking to expand health benefits,promoting fair and impartial standards for the awarding of producing credits, as well as other education and advocacy efforts such as encouraging sustainable production practices. Visitwww.producersguild.org,www.pgagreen.org,www.pgadiversity.orgfor more information.
END
Monday, January 7, 2013
2013 WGA Screenplay Nominations Announced
by Leroy Douresseaux
The Writers Guild of America is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. The Writers Guild of America Award acknowledges outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio and has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949.
There are several categories, but I only focus on the film categories. I sometimes list the winners from other categories when they are announced.
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) recently announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen during the year 2012. The winners in the following categories will be honored at the 2013 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 17, 2013, during simultaneous ceremonies held in both Los Angeles and New York.
2013 Writers Guild Awards Screen Nominations:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Flight, Written by John Gatins; Paramount Pictures
Looper, Written by Rian Johnson; TriStar Pictures
The Master, Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The Weinstein Company
Moonrise Kingdom, Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola; Focus Features
Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures
Life of Pi, Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel; 20th Century Fox
Lincoln, Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin; DreamWorks Pictures
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his book; Summit Entertainment
Silver Linings Playbook, Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick; The Weinstein Company
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY:
The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
The Writers Guild of America is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. The Writers Guild of America Award acknowledges outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio and has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949.
There are several categories, but I only focus on the film categories. I sometimes list the winners from other categories when they are announced.
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) recently announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen during the year 2012. The winners in the following categories will be honored at the 2013 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 17, 2013, during simultaneous ceremonies held in both Los Angeles and New York.
2013 Writers Guild Awards Screen Nominations:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Flight, Written by John Gatins; Paramount Pictures
Looper, Written by Rian Johnson; TriStar Pictures
The Master, Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The Weinstein Company
Moonrise Kingdom, Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola; Focus Features
Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures
Life of Pi, Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel; 20th Century Fox
Lincoln, Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin; DreamWorks Pictures
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his book; Summit Entertainment
Silver Linings Playbook, Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick; The Weinstein Company
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY:
The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
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