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from Broadway World

CBS Studios International Announces Licensing Agreement with WOWWOW in Japan

CBS Studios International announced today a multi-title content licensing agreement with Japan’s leading premium pay TV provider, WOWOW. The agreement includes the first-window broadcast rights to the highly anticipated new TWIN PEAKS; the #1 new U.S. drama BULL, starring Michael Weatherly; and the murder-mystery series AMERICAN GOTHIC.

BULL, TWIN PEAKS and AMERICAN GOTHIC will be shown on WOWOW’s Prime channel, joining other Showtime and CBS programming, including the critically-acclaimed THE AFFAIR, the event series ZOO and the modern-day SHERLOCK Holmes drama, ELEMENTARY.

“The series in this agreement represent the strength and variety of CBS and Showtime programming available to broadcasters around the world,” said Barry Chamberlain, President of Sales, CBS Studios International. “We are thrilled to have expanded our portfolio of programming with WOWOW, bringing more of our compelling and creative storytelling to audiences across Japan.”

AMERICAN GOTHIC centers on a prominent Boston family reeling in the wake of the chilling discovery that someone in their midst is linked to an infamous string of murders. As shocking secrets from the past and present are revealed, their mounting SUSPICION and paranoia that one of them is a killer threatens to tear THE FAMILY apart.

AMERICAN GOTHIC is executive produced by Corinne Brinkerhoff, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, James Frey and Todd Cohen, produced by CBS Television Studios and distributed internationally by CBS Studios International.

[ click to continue reading at Broadway World ]

from Variety

Milo Ventimiglia’s ‘Relationship Status’ Gets Two More Seasons on Verizon’s Go90 (EXCLUSIVE)

COURTESY OF STYLEHAUL

“Relationship Status,” the millennial social-media drama starring and executive produced by Milo Ventimiglia, is returning for two more seasons on Verizon’s Go90 mobile video service.

The show was created by Céline Geiger (“Vampire Diaries,” “The Lying Game”). It’s executive produced by Ventimiglia — who currently stars in NBC’s primetime hit drama “This Is Us” — and Russ Cundiff of DiVide Pictures; James Frey and Todd Cohen of Full Fathom Five; and StyleHaul.

Go90 has picked up two 12-episode seasons of “Relationship Status,” which will feature a traditional film and TV talent alongside digital creators. Season 2 is slated to hit the free, ad-supported service in the fall of 2017; the producers expect to announce cast details soon. As with the first run of the show, the ensemble dramedy will weave through the complexities of relationships while exploring the intertwining lives and connections of dating in the digital age.

“We could not be happier to continue ‘Relationship Status’ into season two and three,” Ventimiglia said in a statement. “The landscape of online dating and social media is ever-changing and we are looking forward to bringing more compelling stories about love, life and loss to Go90.”

[ click to continue reading at Variety ]

from Deadline

Sprout Greenlights New Series ‘Remy And Boo’; Renews ‘Floogals’ & ‘Nina’s World’; Sets Development Slate

by Denise Petski

Sprout, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment’s 24-hour preschool network, is expanding its original programming slate with the greenlight of new series Remy and Boo created by Industrial Brothers’ Matt Fernandes and produced by Industrial Brothers and Boat Rocker Studios. The network also has given Season 2 renewals to its popular original series Floogals and Nina’s World and set several new projects in development, including an original series executive produced by Shaquille O’Neal.

Among the new projects on Sprout’s development slate are Little Shaq, executive produced by Shaquille O’Neal. Inspired by the former NBA superstar’s real life childhood, the series follows an outsized boy’s funny and often awkward adventures in his urban American neighborhood. From Universal Cable Productions, the series is also executive produced by Full Fathom Five’s James Frey and Todd Cohen.

[ click to read complete article at Deadline.com ]

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from DEADLINE

USA Sets ‘Elements,’ Canadian Series Adaptation With James Frey & Amblin TV

by Nellie Andreeva

Babel Films

USA Network has put in development Elements, a high-concept drama from writer James Frey and his Full Fathom Five, Amblin TV, Intrigue and Universal Cable Prods.

Written by Frey, Elements is based on Babel Films’ French-language Canadian film/web series Time Out (Temps Mort). It follows the aftermath of an extreme environmental shift across the world. On a beautiful day in Miami, it starts to snow, and doesn’t stop — leaving the world frozen as one man searches for his fiancée before the world falls into complete stasis.

This would mark the TV writing debut of Frey, who started off as a feature scribe with 1998’s Kissing a Fool before embarking on book writing, including his controversial debut novel A Million Little Pieces. He then launched the YA publishing company Full Fathom Five, which has been leveraging its IP into producing TV series and movies.

Elements reunites Full Fathom Five and Amblin TV, who recently collaborated on the TNT pilot Lumen.

[ click to contiue reading at DEADLINE ]

from C21Media

AMC gets Gothic with CBS

American Gothic is produced by CBS Television Studios

AMC Networks International Iberia has picked up CBS drama American Gothic after striking a deal with distributor CBS Studios International.

The 13-part show, which will air on the AMC-owned network in Spain and Portugal from October, centres on a prominent Boston family reeling in the wake of the chilling discovery that someone in their midst is linked to an infamous string of murders.

It is produced by CBS Television Studios, with Corinne Brinkerhoff, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, James Frey and Todd Cohen attached as executive producers. Juliet Rylance and Virginia Madsen star.

[ click to continue reading at C21Media ]

from Deadline

Syfy Orders Pilots For AI Drama ‘The Machine’, ‘Haunted’ & ‘Happy!’ Adaptation

by Nellie Andreeva

Syfy is stepping up its development efforts with three pilot orders to artificial intelligence drama The Machine, based on the 2013 cult hit film; supernatural horror-drama Haunted; and Happy! based on Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson’s graphic novel. All three hail from sibling Universal Cable Prods.

After several straight-to-series orders, Syfy returned to pilot development this year with the pilot greenlights of Prototype in February and Superman prequel Krypton in May. The former was filmed and not going forward, while the latter is currently casting. Today’s pickups mark the largest batch of pilot orders for Syfy in a while as the network had been going through a creative revamp.

The Haunted is a supernatural horror-drama about four siblings who reunite following their parents’ deaths. As they try to overcome their fractured personal relationships they find that they must also face the literal ghosts from their past in order to survive. Noga Landau (Tau, The Magicians) wrote the pilot and is also a co-executive producer. Author James Frey and Todd Cohen of Full Fathom Five will executive produce.

[ click to read full article at Deadline.com ]

from Stream Daily

The Kicks starts streaming in August

The soccer-themed live-action series, based on books written by U.S. Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan, will make its Amazon debut on Aug. 26.

By Jeremy Dickson

Brand-new Amazon original kids live-actioner The Kicks is set to launch Aug. 26 on Prime Video in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Austria. The show is based on a book series by U.S. Olympic gold medalist and current U.S. Women’s National Team soccer player Alex Morgan.

Aimed at kids ages six to 11 years, the series follows young female soccer star Devin Burke (Sixx Orange), who, after moving to California with her family in the middle of the school year, must cope with turning around her struggling new team.

The series’ pilot episode is available to stream from today and nine additional episodes will debut exclusively for Prime members via the Amazon Video app for TVs, and internet-connected devices including Fire TV, mobile devices and online on Aug. 26.

Full Fathom Five novelist James Frey (I Am Number Four), Todd Cohen (Lumen), David Babcock (Twisted) and Andrew Orenstein (Malcolm in the Middle) are the series’ executive producers.

The Kicks is co-executive produced by Nastaran Dibai (According to Jim) and written by Orenstein, David Steinberg (Space Racers), Taylor Cox (King Julien Stand Up) and Jacquie Walters (Building Wild).

[ click to continue reading at StreamDaily.tv ]

from Stream Daily

The Kicks starts streaming in August

The soccer-themed live-action series, based on books written by U.S. Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan, will make its Amazon debut on Aug. 26.

By Jeremy Dickson

Brand-new Amazon original kids live-actioner The Kicks is set to launch Aug. 26 on Prime Video in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Austria. The show is based on a book series by U.S. Olympic gold medalist and current U.S. Women’s National Team soccer player Alex Morgan.

Aimed at kids ages six to 11 years, the series follows young female soccer star Devin Burke (Sixx Orange), who, after moving to California with her family in the middle of the school year, must cope with turning around her struggling new team.

The series’ pilot episode is available to stream from today and nine additional episodes will debut exclusively for Prime members via the Amazon Video app for TVs, and internet-connected devices including Fire TV, mobile devices and online on Aug. 26.

Full Fathom Five novelist James Frey (I Am Number Four), Todd Cohen (Lumen), David Babcock (Twisted) and Andrew Orenstein (Malcolm in the Middle) are the series’ executive producers.

The Kicks is co-executive produced by Nastaran Dibai (According to Jim) and written by Orenstein, David Steinberg (Space Racers), Taylor Cox (King Julien Stand Up) and Jacquie Walters (Building Wild).

[ click to continue reading at StreamDaily.tv ]

Stream with Prime 8/26 on Amazon Video: http://amzn.to/29Bnlam

Based on a book series by US Olympic Gold Medalist and current US Women’s National Team soccer player Alex Morgan

from The New York Times

[ click to read full list at The New York Times ]

from Broadway World

CBS Summer Series AMERICAN GOTHIC Comes to Prime Video

Prime Video will be the official subscription streaming home, alongside CBS All Access, for the upcoming CBS murder-mystery drama AMERICAN GOTHIC. Amazon Prime members in the U.S. will be able to stream or download each episode just four days after each episode’s initial broadcast on CBS, at no additional cost to their Prime membership.

From creator Corinne Brinkerhoff (Jane the Virgin, The Good Wife), and hailing from CBS Television Studios and Amblin Partners, American Gothic is a 13-episode summer series, which will begin airing on CBS Wednesday, June 22 and centers on a prominent Boston family that is attempting to redefine itself in the wake of a chilling discovery that links their recently deceased patriarch to a string of murders spanning decades, amid the mounting SUSPICION that one of them may have been his accomplice. The series stars Juliet Rylance (The Knick, Sinister), Antony Starr (Banshee, OUTRAGEOUS Fortune), Virginia Madsen (Sideways, Candyman), Justin Chatwin (Shameless, Orphan Black), Megan Ketch (The Good Wife, Jane the Virgin), Elliot Knight (Once Upon a Time, How to Get Away with Murder), Stephanie Leonidas (Mirrormask, Defiance), and Gabriel Bateman (Annabelle, Checkmate).

[ click to continue reading at Broadway World ]

from BUSTLE

The ‘American Gothic’ Trailer Proves The World’s Crime Addiction Is Only Just Beginning — VIDEO

by JEFFERSON GRUBBS

While Hollywood works its way through a seemingly indefatigable trend of superhero movies, the television landscape has found itself in the grips of an equally unshakable fad: crime. The next show to get in on the crime craze is CBS’ American Gothic, hitting the airwaves this summer in what’s described as a “13-part murder mystery.” If you find yourself in withdrawal after the terrific FX series The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story earlier this year, then the first official American Gothic trailer is here to prove that it will definitely satisfy your crime addiction post-ACS.

Created by Corinne Brinkerhoff (The Good Wife) and James Frey (yes, he of the Million Little Pieces Oprah scandal), Gothic stars Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen (Sideways) as the matriarch of a Boston family torn apart when it’s revealed that one of them may have been involved in a string of murders in the area. Juliet Rylance (The Knick), Justin Chatwin (Shameless), and Antony Starr (Banshee) play her children… but which of them is a serial killer? That’s the question that American Gothic promises to answer; but can you figure it out for yourself before the finale?

[ click to continue reading at BUSTLE ]

from Mashable

Milo Ventimiglia’s new go90 series takes on dating in the digital age

To say that dating in the digital age is complicated may be an understatement.

That’s exactly why Milo Ventimiglia, James Frey, and fashion and lifestyle digital network StyleHaul decided to partner up to produce a new dramedy all about the highs and lows of modern dating.

Relationship Status, which debuted at Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, follows an interweaving cast of young people in New York and Los Angeles as they navigate love and friendships, all told through the lens of social storytelling optimized for mobile consumption.

Yes, that entails crazy one night stands, the “perfect” kiss, cheating partners and more dramatic moments — all which in a modern world “propelled by social media.”

Since technology is at the core of modern relationships, Ventimiglia said go90 was the right destination for this exact series.

SEE ALSO: Could 2016 be the year for Verizon’s go90 mobile content platform?

“I’ve been in the digital space since 2006, so 10 years now,” Ventimiglia, who will also star in the upcoming Netflix Gilmore Girls reboot, told Mashable in a phone interview.

“I’m happy that there is a less of a line between traditional film and TV and new media. [And] having this story related to all of us dealing with dating in digital age — and how it connects and pulls us apart — is a natural fit for a platform like go90.”

[ click to continue reading at Mashable ]

from Booktrade

Eric Simonoff Winner Of Center For Fiction’s Maxwell E. Perkins Award

ERIC SIMONOFF NAMED WINNER OF THE 2016 MAXWELL E. PERKINS AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN THE FIELD OF FICTION

Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

March 29th, 2016, New York, NY — The Center for Fiction is pleased to announce that literary agent Eric Simonoff, Partner of William Morris Endeavor (WME), is the recipient of its 2016 Maxwell E. Perkins Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Field of Fiction.

The Center for Fiction is dedicated to celebrating, supporting and furthering the creation and enjoyment of the art of fiction and is the only non-profit literary organization in the United States devoted entirely to this art form. The award will be presented to Mr. Simonoff at the Center’s December 6 Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner in New York City. Upon the announcement Mr. Simonoff said: “I am enormously honored to receive the Max Perkins Award and to be added to the list of previous recipients, all of whom are professional heroes of mine.”

The Maxwell E. Perkins Award recognizes an editor, publisher, or agent who over the course of his or her career has discovered, nurtured, and championed writers of fiction in the United States. It honors Maxwell E. Perkins, of Scribner, one of the most important and admired editors in American literary history. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, and Ernest Hemingway are three of the many writers he supported over his long career.

Eric Simonoff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up across the Delaware River in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He studied classics at Princeton University. Five days after graduating in 1989 he began his first job in publishing as editorial assistant to 2009 Maxwell Perkins Award recipient Gerry Howard. In 1991 he joined the literary agency Janklow & Nesbit Associates where he eventual rose to become Managing Director. In 2009 he moved to the William Morris Agency (which shortly thereafter became WME) to co-run their global book department. He has served on the board of directors of the City of New York Graduate Center and currently is a member of the board of directors of Poets & Writers Organization.

Among the clients he represents are Jhumpa Lahiri (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Interpreter of Maladies), Phil Klay (winner of the National Book Award for Redeployment), Edward P. Jones (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Known World), Karen E. Bender (National Book Award finalist for Refund), Kate Walbert (National Book Award finalist for Our Kind), Jonathan Lethem (winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Motherless Brooklyn), ZZ Packer (chosen by The New Yorker as one of the twenty best American writers under 40 and a PEN/Faulkner finalist for Drinking Coffee Elsewhere), Chris Adrian (selected by The New Yorker for the same list), Daniel Alarcon (also on The New Yorker’s list and winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for War by Candlelight), Philipp Meyer (another on The New Yorker’s list and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for The Son), Joseph Boyden (winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize for Through Black Spruce), Vikram Chandra (winner of the David Higham Award and the Commonwealth Writers Award for Red Earth and Pouring Rain), Stacy Schiff (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Vera), Nam Le (winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize for The Boat), Sam Lipsyte (winner of the Believer Book Award for Home Land),Yaa Gyasi (author of the forthcoming debut novel Homegoing), in addition to bestselling authors Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, Walter Kirn, Mary-Louise Parker, Bill O’Reilly, Susan Casey, James Frey, Trenton Lee Stewart, Amanda Vaill, Danielle Trussoni, Calvin Trillin, James Bradley, Ben Mezrich, Buzz Bissinger, Karen Thompson Walker, and many others.

[ click to read full release at Booktrade ]

from Variety

Movie Version of ‘Eat, Brains, Love’ Zombie Novel in Works at Van Toffler’s Gunpowder & Sky

by TODD SPANGLER / NY Digital Editor

Startup studio pacts with Tony DiSanto’s DIGA, James Frey’s Full Fathom Five on project

Gunpowder & Sky, the youth-focused studio launched by ex-Viacom exec Van Toffler in January, has signed an exclusive deal for a film adaptation of “Eat, Brains, Love,” a comedic zombie road-trip novel by Jeff Hart.

G&S, backed by AT&T and Chernin Group’s Otter Media, is working on the project with DIGA, an independent production studio founded by former MTV executive Tony DiSanto, and author James Frey’s Full Fathom Five media and production firm.

The project reunites Toffler and DiSanto, whose productions at MTV included “Jersey Shore,” “Scream,” “Teen Wolf” and “My Super Psycho Sweet 16.” The companies said they are in talks with potential screenwriters for “Eat, Brains, Love.”

“Eat, Brains, Love” — the title is a play on Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling novel “Eat, Pray, Love” — is the story of a pair of high-school sweethearts who contract a mysterious zombie virus and devour the brains of half their senior class. They set off on a cross-country journey to discover a cure, while being pursued by a teen psychic sent by the government’s top-secret Necrotic Control Division to track them down.

WME negotiated the deal on behalf of Full Fathom Five. DiSanto and Full Fathom Five’s Todd Cohen brought the project to G&S.

[ click to read complete article at Variety ]

from Variety

Tribeca Film Festival Unveils Digital-Content Marketplace Event

By Todd Spangler / NY Digital Editor

from Facebook

New York festival also adds special screenings of projects from YouTube Red, Fullscreen, StyleHaul, Disney’s Maker Studios

Tribeca Film Festival is zeroing in on digital creative talent and studios with the launch next month of the inaugural Tribeca Digital Creators Market.

The daylong event, scheduled for April 21 in New York City, is designed to connect digital influencers and talent with industry buyers, producers and agents, as well as showcase premium digital entertainment content.

Creators currently slated to attend the event include YouTube star Ingrid Nilsen (pictured above), the Gregory Brothers, Matt Bellassai, Joe Penna (MysteryGuitarMan), Mikey Murphy and BlackBoxTV creator Tony Valenzuela.

The Tribeca Digital Creators program also will feature screenings, starting April 20, of new projects from YouTube Red, Fine Brothers Entertainment, StyleHaul, Fullscreen, Indigenous Media, New Form Digital and Disney’s Maker Studios. Tribeca developed the concept for the market with CAA.

Tribeca is touting the confab as the first event aimed at bringing together digital creators and traditional media partners, compared with fan-focused events like VidCon.

[ click to continue reading at Variety ]

from Broadway World

CBS Announces Summer Premiere Dates for BRAINDEAD, ZOO & More!

by TV News Desk

CBS today announced its summer schedule with original series across five nights of the week, including the new event series BRAINDEAD and AMERICAN GOTHIC, the sophomore season of ZOO, based on James Patterson’s #1 bestselling novel, and the return of the summer reality hit BIG BROTHER.

The suspenseful new murder mystery AMERICAN GOTHIC premieres Wednesday, June 22 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). The series, from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, is about a prominent Boston family reeling in the wake of the chilling discovery that someone in their midst is linked to an infamous string of murders. As shocking secrets from the past and present are revealed, their mounting SUSPICION and paranoia that one of them is a killer threatens to tear THE FAMILY apart.

About AMERICAN GOTHIC

AMERICAN GOTHIC stars Juliet Rylance, Antony Starr, Virginia Madsen, Justin Chatwin, Megan Ketch, Elliot Knight, Stephanie Leonidas and Gabriel Bateman. Corinne Brinkerhoff, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, James Frey and Todd Cohen are executive producers for CBS Television Studios in association with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television.

[ click to read complete article at Broadway World ]

from Craigslist

AMERICAN GOTHIC – CASTING FEMALE TWINS (4-7yrs) (Toronto)

Looking for female twins aged 4-7 for CBS’ new television series!

Open call this Friday 3pm-6pm – Send pictures for location details and sides.

Thanks!

[ click to view at Craigslist ]

from TVLine

The Knick‘s Juliet Rylance, Defiance‘s Stephanie Leonidas Join CBS’ Summer Mystery Thriller American Gothic

By Michael Ausiello

Getty Images

CBS is rounding out the cast of its 13-episode summer series American Gothic, adding The Knick‘s Juliet Rylance and Defiance‘s Stephanie Leonidas as series regulars, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Gabriel Bateman, best known as Dylan McDermott’s son on Stalker, has also boarded the mystery thriller.

The trio join the previously cast Antony Starr (Banshee), Justin Chatwin (Shameless) and Megan Ketch (Jane the Virgin).

From Good Wife/Jane the Virgin scribe Corinne Brinkerhoff and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, the drama — which bears no connection to the short-lived, Shaun Cassidy-produced American Gothic series that aired on CBS in the mid-’90s — centers on a prominent Boston family that is attempting to redefine itself in the wake of a chilling discovery that links their recently deceased patriarch to a string of murders spanning decades, all amid the mounting suspicion that one of them may have been his accomplice.

[ click to continue reading at TVLine.com ]

from The Hollywood Reporter

Milo Ventimiglia, James Frey to Debut New Series on Verizon’s Go90 (Exclusive)

by Natalie Jarvey

Milo Ventimiglia
Courtesy of Warner Bros. TV

‘Relationship Status’ follows the lives of 30 young people in New York and Los Angeles as they navigate love and friendships.

Verizon’s go90 will become the home of a new scripted series about love and friendships from digital network StyleHaul and executive producers James Frey and Milo Ventimiglia.

Relationship Status will premiere this spring exclusively on the streaming video app. The dramedy will use the lens of social media to follow the interweaving lives of 30 some young people living in New York and Los Angeles. Among those starring are Shawn Ashmore (X Men: Days of Future Past) and Ventimiglia (Heroes).

Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Mistresses) will direct from a script by Celine Geiger (The Lying Game). Full Fathom Five’s Frey and Todd Cohen and DiVide Pictures’ Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff are producing alongside StyleHaul.

Ventimiglia explains that the series has a fluency in digital and delves into what it’s like to connect with people in the modern age of online dating, mobile phones and social networking. “There was a moment when I first read the script where I honestly felt like Celine had a window into my own life,” he says. “The stories she was telling and the interwoven moments were plucked out of my different relationships and my own digital life.”

The expansive cast also includes Emma Bell (The Walking Dead), Molly Burnett (Days Of Our Lives), Patrick Carlyle (A To Z), Emrhys Cooper (Vanity), Brant Daugherty (Pretty Little Liars), Brett Davern (Awkward), Willa Fitzgerald (Scream), McKinley Freeman (Hit The Floor), Andy Gala (New Girl), Michael Galante (Aquarius), Evan Gamble (The Vampire Diaries), Mimi Gianopulos (Baby Daddy), Nicholas Grava (The Mentalist), Julianna Guill (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce), Kristen Gutoskie (Containment), Christine Ko (BFFs), Zoe Levin (Red Band Society), Alexa Losey (How To Survive High School), Missy Lynn (Vanity), Jes Macallan (Mistresses), Mekenna Melvin (Chuck), Tony Oller (The Purge), Alexis Rhee (Dr. Ken), Adam Rose (Veronica Mars), Brandon Mychal Smith (You’re The Worst), Karrueche Tran (Vanity), YouTube star Sam Tsui, Rita Volk (Faking It) and Ray Wise (Twin Peaks).

Added Frey: “The effect the digital era has had on all of our relationships — how it conveniences them, complicates them, confuses them — is something I’ve wanted to explore through story for some time, taking full advantage of the very tools the story examines to tell the tale.”

[ read complete article at THR ]

from The New York Times

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from Emirates 24|7 News

121 cars dancing in UAE desert: ‘Black Knight Decoded’ for world record

Final chapter of Pepsi Challenge brings UAE into picture

In the newest chapter of the Pepsi Challenge, Pepsi has released Black Knight Decoded, an epic short film by Pepsi in collaboration with Levity Entertainment Group (LEG) and UrtheCast, the ultra High-Definition video system located aboard the International Space Station, incorporating the world’s largest synchronised car dance, shot in the UAE desert from space.

The short film, which fuses scenes shot from space from 11 countries around the world, includes footage of 121 cars dancing in the UAE’s desert before forming a peace sign, which measures over 80 meters in diameter. The activation, which broke the Guinness World Record for the largest synchronized car dance in the world, was overseen by the renowned UK-based graffiti artist, INSA.

Set to an original track, ‘Miracles’, from Usher, the action-packed adventure film has a star-studded cast and a host of creative talent including Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo, SAG Award winner Freida Pinto, Emmy Award winning director Jabbar Raisani, bestselling author James Frey.

Black Knight Decoded tells a powerful story about a father (Oyelowo), his daughter (Layla Crawford) and co-conspirator (Pinto) on their quest to decode radio signals transmitted from the Black Knight satellite where they rely on support from communities around the world to come together to communicate universal messages of hope, unity and peace.

[ click to read complete article at Emirates 24|7 News ]

from TASS

Oyelowo, Pinto, Raisani, Frey And Usher Come Together For New Short Film

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/. Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo, SAG Award winner Freida Pinto, Emmy Award winning director Jabbar Raisani, bestselling author James Frey, Grammy Award winning entertainer Usher and a host of creative talent have come together to create Black Knight Decoded, an action-packed, first-of-its-kind short film produced by Levity Entertainment Group (LEG) and Pepsi. The film features footage shot from space utilizing UrtheCast‘s ultra High-Definition video system located aboard the International Space Station. Black Knight Decoded will be available November 17, 2015 on YouTube.com/Pepsi.

Black Knight Decoded imagines a rich fictional narrative around what some people believe is a very real entity, the Black Knight satellite. The film, which features an original track, “Miracles,” from Usher, tells a powerful story of a father (Oyelowo), his daughter (Layla Crawford) and co-conspirator (Pinto) on their quest to decode radio signals transmitted from the Black Knight satellite. As they struggle to respond before the government shuts down their mission, the group rely on support from communities around the world to come together to communicate universal messages of hope, unity and peace. Those communities across Australia, China, the Czech Republic, India, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russia, United Arab Emirates, the United States and Vietnam were filmed from cameras on the ground as well as UrtheCast’s cameras aboard the International Space Station.

“Black Knight Decoded is an ambitious project that marries an all-star cast, innovative use of the UrtheCast technology and unprecedented consumer participation,” said Kristin Patrick, senior vice president of Global Brand Development, PepsiCo Global Beverage Group. “The result is an inspiring, one-of-a-kind film that was truly co-created with top notch creative film talent and consumers from around the world.”

View Black Knight Decoded and learn more at YouTube.com/Pepsi and follow along on social media using #BlackKnightDecoded.

[ click to continue reading at TASS.ru ]

from The New Yorker

Big Shaq

by Jonathan Blitzer

ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL

There are fifty-two million items in the New York Public Library, if you count the artifacts, like pieces of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s skull and the walking stick that Virginia Woolf carried to the river’s edge. The other day, Thomas Lannon, a curator, was riffling through the collection, trying to find some objects that might interest Shaquille O’Neal, who was coming to the library that night as part of the N.Y.P.L.’s conversation series to talk about his new children’s book, “Little Shaq.”

Lannon was stumped. He’d considered original Superman comics, but they’re stored off-site. “Shaquille O’Neal isn’t really a scholar,” Lannon said, as he wheeled two boxes into a makeshift greenroom. “But he does have a doctorate”—in education, and also a master’s in business. One of his many nicknames is the Big Aristotle.
When Paul Holdengräber, the library’s resident interviewer, started the series, the staff created a tradition: before each event, the curators pull objects geared to the speaker’s interests. George Clinton was shown correspondence between Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg about psychedelics and jazz. Werner Herzog looked at a register of executions at San Quentin, and Patti Smith got to hold the Woolf walking stick.

[ click to continue reading at The New Yorker ]

from VARIETY

Amazon Picks Up ‘Shaun the Sheep’ Special, Greenlights 3 Kids’ Series

Original shows ‘Dino Dana,’ ‘The Kicks’ and ‘Lost in Oz’ coming to Prime in 2016

Todd Spangler / NY Digital Editor

Amazon is tapping more tyke TV: The company has licensed a “Shaun the Sheep” special exclusively for the U.S. and ordered three kids’ series — “Dino Dana,” “The Kicks” and “Lost in Oz.”

Aardman Animations’ half-hour “Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas” will debut for Prime members in the U.S. on Nov. 13. The three other series will bow on Prime next year in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Austria.

In “The Kicks,” Devin Burke (played by newcomer Sixx Orange) was the star player on her soccer team back home until her family moved to California midway through the school year — and she has to rally her new team to victory. Based on the books by Alex Morgan, Olympic soccer gold medalist and current U.S. Women’s National Team soccer player. “The Kicks” is executive produced by Full Fathom Five’s novelist James Frey and Todd Cohen, as well as Andrew Orenstein (“Malcolm in the Middle”).

“We’re excited to offer our Prime members a beautifully reimagined world in our first original kids 6-to-11 animated series (‘Lost in Oz’) and bring to the screen Alex Morgan’s successful book series with an inspirational role model at the core,” said Tara Sorensen, head of kids programming at Amazon Studios. “Aardman and Sinking Ship are award-winning producers and we’re excited to debut ‘Dino Dana’ and ‘Shaun the Sheep’ on Prime Video.”

[ click to read full article at VARIETY ]

from The Wrap

Steven Spielberg, James Frey Murder Mystery ‘American Gothic’ Gets Series Order From CBS

By Joe Otterson

CBS has given a straight-to-series order for 13 episodes of “American Gothic,” a new one-hour murder mystery from Steven Spielberg‘s Amblin Television and author James Frey‘s Full Fathom Five, TheWrap has learned.

The series, which will be broadcast during summer 2016, centers on a prominent Boston family that is attempting to redefine itself in the wake of a discovery that links their recently deceased patriarch to a string of murders spanning decades, and amid the mounting suspicion that one of them may have been his accomplice.

“American Gothic” is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Amblin Television. Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of Amblin Television, James Frey of Full Fathom Five and “The Good Wife’s” Corinne Brinkerhoff, who is writing the script, will serve as executive producers.

[ click to read complete article at The Wrap ]

from The Las Vegas Sun

Claiming Gold

By Robin Leach

The first puzzle in the “Endgame: The Calling” high-stakes apocalyptic book trilogy brought to life by bestselling authors James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton was solved just 24 hours before today’s deadline.

To win “Endgame,” the winner had to solve an interactive puzzle comprised of clues leading to a real-life $500,000 cash prize. Froyal Moreno del Rio solved the puzzle and this afternoon unlocked the gold vault at Caesars Palace for the big payoff.

Book 2, “Sky Key: An Endgame” was published Tuesday. The New York Times bestselling authors were on hand at Caesars to autograph copies of both books. No word yet on the title of Book 3 or its publication date, but more puzzles and cash prizes await.

[ click to continue reading at the Las Vegas Sun ]