Author: Deadline

James Gunn is clearing up several reports about DC Studios projects amid the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger. The merger of the two media companies is at a standstill, but that doesn’t mean that development of superhero franchises at DC is on hold. Answering a fan query on Threads about the current status of DCU development projects, Gunn said, “Nothing is on hold.” Another fan posted a screenshot that claimed director Andy Muschietti said work on the Batman film based on The Brave and the Bold was on hold amid the merger. “It doesn’t sound like something Andy would have said, but…

Castro (Barbie, 9-1-1) will receive the Humanitarian Award for his commitment to community, education and creating opportunities for others through culinary arts. Reilly (American Horror Story, Obi-Wan) is set for the President’s Award, recognizing exceptional contributions to the property craft by a professional outside the traditional property master role. The Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Wilkinson (Titanic, eight Harry Potter films), celebrating a remarkable career spanning more than four decades and some of the most iconic films in British and international cinema. Read more about them below. “The MacGuffin Awards are about recognizing the people whose creativity, generosity and…

EXCLUSIVE: Big move in the LA film producing scene as vet filmmaker Brian Kavanaugh-Jones is ending his run at Range as Partner and Co-President of Film & Production to join Chris Ferguson at his Vancouver-based banner Oddfellows. In some ways it’s a continuation for Kavanaugh-Jones. He and Ferguson have been longtime collaborators, producing 24 film and TV projects together since 2013 including recent box office hits The Monkey and Longlegs and upcoming The Young People, all from Osgood Perkins. Kavanaugh-Jones, who will work between LA, Texas and Vancouver, is joining Oddfellows at an opportune moment given the company’s recently announced…

Following the death of Hayden Panettiere, Melissa Gilbert is the latest to call for better protections for child actors. On Saturday, the Little House on the Prairie alum admitted she “did not know Hayden personally,” but explained that her death feels “so personal to me” as a former child actor, demanding unions “enact real change” in response. “How is it possible that no one in the mainstream media has picked up on this?” she began in a Substack essay. “Within one year, Michelle Trachtenberg, Daveigh Chase and Hayden Panettiere have died. DIED! Three former female child actors of the same…

The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival wrapped up on Friday, with Austria taking home the top prize. During the awards ceremony at National Theatre Sarajevo, the jury awarded Austrian director Sandra Wollner’s Everytime with the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Narrative Feature Film, which comes with a prize of 16,000 euros. “Moments of cinematic grace float through this mesmerically elastic and transcendental grief-soaked ghost story. Our decision was unanimous,” said the jury, which consisted of SFF President Emily Watson, director Igor Bezinović, actress Sara Klimoska, European Film Academy CEO/director Matthijs Wouter Knol and Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari. Scroll on to…

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Showalter is set to direct a modern retelling of cult-classic romantic comedy Serendipity for Amazon MGM Studios and Miramax, Deadline has learned. Script is by Marc Klein, who wrote the original film, with casting underway. The film will be produced by Showalter and Jordana Mollick for Semi-Formal Productions, alongside Simon Fields, who produced the original. Jonathan Glickman, Alexandra Loewy, and Thom Zadra will exec produce for Miramax, alongside Klein. Emily Crook is overseeing the project for Semi-Formal, which is under a multi-year, first-look film deal with Amazon MGM, while Arianna D’Andrea will oversee for Miramax. Directed by Peter Chelsom and starring…

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s Margie Claus starring Melissa McCarthy will fly into theaters on Nov. 12, 2027. The pic has also set its additional voiceover cast with Jim Gaffigan as Santa, Andrew Scott as Jack Frost along with Annie Mumolo, Georgette Falcone, Octavia Spencer, Gary Farmer, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Cedric Yarbrough, and Maria Bakalova. Cole Escola was previously announced. Directed by Kirk DeMicco from a screenplay by Ben Falcone and Damon Jones, Margie Claus will also have original songs written and produced by Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum selling artist Meghan Trainor along with Falcone and Jones. In the pic, Santa Claus goes missing…

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. production company Mighty Aphrodite Pictures has secured an option agreement to make an authorised narrative feature drama based on the life and legacy of U.S. Army Specialist Vanessa Guillén. Developed in collaboration with the Guillén family, the project will chronicle the life of the young army recruit whose 2020 disappearance and murder at Fort Hood sparked a nationwide outcry and calls for reform within the U.S. military. The film seeks to celebrate Guillén’s life while honoring the tireless advocacy of her family, whose campaigning inspired lasting legislative change and amplified the voices of military families. Guillén had long had…

EXCLUSIVE: Dan Perlman, one of the creators and stars of Showtime’s critically acclaimed comedy series Flatbush Misdemeanors, has wrapped on the NYC shoot for an untitled coming-of-age comedy marking his feature directorial debut. Starring up-and-comers Romo Lee (The Kindergarten Teacher) and Lucas Adler (The Plague), the film is adapted from Perlman’s award-winning short Cramming, with a new plot. It follows two desperate eighth graders at an elite NYC prep school who recruit a crew of misfits to shut down their school, one day at a time, in hopes of evading finals forever. Perlman directed from his own script. Billed as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Election,…

There’s a big shock in the film comms sphere and that’s Warner Bros EVP of Communications Katie Martin Kelley, who was Motion Picture Chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy’s right hand, is heading to Netflix as VP Communications where she’ll oversee Dan Lin’s feature film portfolio. Martin Kelley starts on Sept. 8 and will report to Dani Dudeck, Netflix Chief Communications Officer. This is the second known high-level WBD executive to leave recently amid the uncertainty surrounding the company’s pending acquisition by Paramount. Last month, Pia Barlow, EVP Originals Marketing for HBO Max, joined Amazon MGM Studios as VP of Series…