from Backstage

Why There’s Magic to ‘Proper Indie Filmmaking’

BY ASHLEY LEE

Photo Source: Courtesy Tiff

On the first day of production for “A Million Little Pieces,” Aaron Taylor-Johnson was completely naked. Per the instruction of Sam Taylor-Johnson (his director, screenwriting partner, and wife), the actor began dancing for the camera, spinning wildly with vacant eyes before falling out a window.

“I wanted the audience to know, very quickly, exactly who he was, without repeating imagery we’ve seen before,” explains Sam Taylor-Johnson of introducing the film’s drug-addicted character. “I said, ‘You’re a broken human being, and your behavior has to be so raw and without any boundaries or sense of self. So, your nakedness, you have no sense of it being right or wrong. You have no shame. You have no anything, really.’ Of course, when we shot it, it’s like, ‘Oh, god.’ ”

[ click to continue reading at Backstage ]

from The Plain Dealer

Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith continue movie making on chilly Cleveland set of “Queen and Slim”

By James Ewinger, The Plain Dealer

(AP Photo/Joel Ryan)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Stars and film crew continue to mine movie gold on St. Clair Avenue, despite bitter cold.

The movie being made here now is called “Queen and Slim,” staring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. Filming, much of it at night, began this week and is expected to wrap here Friday.

After filming early Wednesday morning, Turner-Smith said in a Tweet it was “slightly chilly” in Cleveland with a screen shot of her weather app displaying a reading of minus-17 degrees, which likely was the wind-chill. Temperatures at that time were around zero.

By midday Wednesday, there was no evidence of a film on St. Clair Avenue, except for a lone City of Cleveland van. Filming was to resume at 5 p.m. as temperatures dipped below minus-5 with a wind chill in the minus-30s. St. Claire from East 61st to East 71st was to be closed for the second straight night.

Melina Matsoukas is directing the movie, with a script by Lena Waithe and author James Frey. The Hollywood Reporter and other film-focused outlets have called in a “Bonnie and Clyde” story.

“To me, this is protest art,” Waithe told Variety in July. “It’s about being black and trying to fall in love in a world that’s burning down around you.”

Variety called that “Queen & Slim” an “exploration of America’s social and political climate through the lens of a genre-defying love story. The film centers on a black man and black woman who go on a first date that goes awry after the two are pulled over by a police officer at a traffic stop. They kill the police officer in self-defense and rather than turn themselves in, they go on the run.”

[ click to read full article at Cleveland.com ]

from Dark Horizons

The Notable Films Of 2019: O-S

By Garth Franklin

“Queen & Slim”

Following his superb turns in “Get Out,” “Black Panther” and “Widows,” Daniel Kaluuya is set to lead this Lena Waithe-penned indie romance drama which sees “Insecure” and “Master of None” director Melina Matsoukas make her feature debut. Famed author James Frey came up with the initial idea for the project about a black man (Kaluuya) and a black woman (Jodie Turner-Smith) who go on a first date that goes awry after the two are pulled over by a cop. They kill the police officer in self-defense and rather than turn themselves in, they go on the run in a film that aims to “define black love as a revolutionary act.”

[ click to see full list of Notables at Dark Horizons ]

from Just Jared

Emma Roberts Is All Smiles After Purchasing James Frey’s ‘Katerina’ in LA!

Emma Roberts has some holiday reading in store!

The 27-year-old American Horror Storyactress was spotted heading out after purchasing a copy of James Frey‘s Katerina on Wednesday (December 26) in Los Angeles.

The novel, released earlier in 2018, is described as a sweeping love story alternating between 1992 Paris and Los Angeles in 2018.

[ click to continue reading at JustJared.com ]

from ABC News/Good Morning America

Best books of 2018 make great gifts for the holidays

By TONY MORRISON & ALISON EHRLICH via GMA

GMA, ABC News Photo Illustration

A perfectly selected book as a gift for the holidays can make you the most thoughtful of gift-givers.

Whether you’re looking for something new to pick up for yourself or stumped by what to get that very special bookworm in your life, check out our list of best reads of 2018. It’s curated by our “GMA” Book Editor, including what we just can’t wait to get our hands on in the New Year.

“The Kiss Quotient,” by Helen Hoang

“Sadie,” by Courtney Summers

“Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup,” by John Carreyrou

“Katerina,” by James Frey

[ click to continue reading list at ABC ]

from The Wrap

Black List 2018: Matt Drudge, Kobe Bryant Movies Top List of Best Unproduced Scripts

by Beatrice Verhoeven

The Black List 2018 is here — a survey of the best screenplays that have not yet gone into production.

This year, the 73 films included films about Serena and Venus Williams’ hard-driving father (Zach Baylin’s “King Richard”), the sexual assault case against former NBA star Kobe Bryant (Mike Schneider’s “Mamba”) and Cody Brotter’s “Drudge” about The Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge and how he broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

The list also includes Emmy winner Lena Waithe’s “Queen & Slim,” a disgruntled Snapchat employee’s account of founder Evan Spiegel (Elissa Karasik’s “Frat Boy Genius”) and Gary Spinelli’s “Rub & Tug” a project that has been in limbo since Scarlett Johansson’s exit from the project because of objections to her playing a trans man.

[ click to continue reading at The Wrap ]

from PRNewswire

RIVAL X RAZER Holiday Showdown Tournament Culminates In $150,000 Prize Pool, Finals Hosted By AT&T In Los Angeles

3BLACKDOT, Razer, and AT&T host the top players who will compete on the Razer Phone 2 in final match in Los Angeles alongside guest influencers

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Razer™, the world’s leading lifestyle brand for gamers is collaborating with 3BLACKDOT, the leading Influencer-driven studio, and AT&T to produce the RIVAL X RAZER Holiday Showdown. This two-week event will feature 3BLACKDOT and Section Studios highly rated arena battle mobile game, “RIVAL: CRIMSON X CHAOS.” Participants will have the opportunity to play RIVAL: CRIMSON X CHAOS for a chance to win over $150,000 in total cash, Razer Phone 2, and other prizes.

The RIVAL X RAZER Holiday Showdown will take place from Thursday, December 6th and will conclude with a final event on December 15th at the new AT&T store in Los Angeles, California.  From December 6th to December 11th fans looking to compete in this exciting event can download RIVAL: Crimson X Chaos from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store and compete in daily quests and leaderboard challenges for a chance to win daily cash and in-game prizes.  The top 24 players will be flown to Los Angeles to compete in the championship event. “Since launching Rival: Crimson x Chaos, fans around the world and our 3BLACKDOT influencers have been playing Rival and absolutely love this game,” says Rahshiene Taha, VP of Marketing at 3BLACKDOT. “The Rival x Razer Holiday Showdown takes it to a new level. There nothing like the energy of a live event that brings fans and our 3BLACKDOT influencers together and we couldn’t be more excited!”

Retailers and carriers around the world are making significant efforts in attracting the fast-growing mobile gaming community to their stores with tournaments, large prize pools, and other forms of entertainment.  Michael Breslin, Razer Mobile’s Global Head of Sales & Marketing, said: “Mobile gaming is the fastest growing platform in the space, with mobile gamers logging over 200% more game time than through any other platform,” adding “since Razer Phone 2 was designed specifically with mobile gaming in mind, we wanted to partner with companies whose mission to entertain and engage mobile gamers aligned with ours, and we found that in 3BLACKDOT and AT&T.”

“We’re thrilled to help bring the RIVAL X RAZER Holiday Showdown to gamers, culminating with the championship event at our newest L.A. retail location,” said Shiz Suzuki, assistant vice president of AT&T Sponsorships and Experiential Marketing. “Our commitment to gamers is all about enhancing their experience. We’re excited to see that come to life through this tournament where fans will have the opportunity to win cash and prizes, including the Razer Phone 2 –  just like the pros.”

[ click to continue reading at PRNewswire ]

from BLOUIN ARTINFO

Blum & Poe at New York is presenting “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor,” Friedrich Kunath’s sixth solo exhibition with the gallery, which is on view through December 22.

This show follows Kunath’s “Frutti di Mare” (2017) —a carpeted, scented, multi-room installation flecked with tie-died tube socks and outfitted with mirrored floors, a mechanical spinning canvas, and a vertical piano.

According to the gallery press note, Kunath carries on his study of a dichotomous human condition—an exploration in happiness and sadness, romanticism, nostalgia, longing, the fetish of authenticity, and the myth of genius. This exhibition negotiates the facets of personal experience registered on a psycho-emotional pendulum that swings between the search for deep existential meaning and purpose, and a frenetic, nonsensical and humorous nihilism.

The gallery reveals that in conjunction with this exhibition, a new major monograph devoted to the last fifteen years of Kunath’s work will be released by Rizzoli Electa. Entitled “I Don’t Worry Anymore,” this book offers new insights into the artist’s work across media, organized conceptually rather than chronologically in eight chapters.

The book features new writing by four contributors—art historian James Elkins takes an historical approach to Kunath’s work, linking him to both recent and older traditions of European painting; Ariana Reines contributes a poem inspired by the artist’s work; James Frey offers a short essay motivated by Kunath’s persona; and the artist and John McEnroe, the famed tennis player, have a spirited conversation about their shared passion for the game of tennis.

[ click to read full article at BLOUIN ARTINFO ]

from VIBE

Jodie Turner-Smith To Share The Screen With Daniel Kaluuya In ‘Queen & Slim’

by Khaaliq Crowder

CREDIT: Getty Images

Lena Waite and Melina Matsoukas have finally found their “Queen.” Actress Jodie Turner-Smith, who audiences may recognize for her recurring role on The Last Ship and Nightflyers, has been chosen to star opposite Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Black Panther) in the Waithe-penned film Queen & Slim.

Reported Thursday (Nov. 8) by Variety, the budding actress confirmed the news on Instagram. The romantic drama has been described as a layered love story. After a first date, the duo is embroiled in a high-stakes case of murder when they kill a police officer in self-defense after a traffic stop. Instead of turning themselves in, they go on the run.

The 2019 slated release will be directed by Matsoukas. This will be her first feature film debut. Currently, Matsoukas is the executive producer of HBO’s runaway hit Insecure. She’s also known for her previous gig as a music video director for the likes of Rihanna, Beyonce, Ciara, and Ne-Yo.

“Words cannot express how excited I am to be starting this journey with you,” Turner-Smith captioned to her Instagram post next to her co-star. “[Waithe and Matsoukas], thank you for choosing me to be your QUEEN.”

[ click to continue reading at VIBE ]

from Rolling Stone

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross Scoring Amy Adams’ Woman In the Window’

Thriller set to arrive in 2019

By JON BLISTEIN

David Buchan/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are composing the score for Amy Adams’ forthcoming thriller, The Woman in the Window, which is set to arrive in 2019.

The Joe Wright-directed film is based on A.J. Finn’s novel of the same name, which was published in January. The story is centered around a reclusive woman named Anna (Adams) who obsessively spies on her new neighbors until one night she sees something she wasn’t supposed to. The film will also star Julianne Moore and Gary Oldman.

Along with The Woman in the Window, Reznor and Ross are also composing the music for HBO’s forthcoming television adaptation of the famed graphic novel, Watchmen. Though an exact release date has yet to be announced, the show is expected to premiere in 2019.

More recently, Reznor and Ross composed the music for A Million Little Pieces – an adaptation of James Frey’s controversial memoir of the same name – and Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s. In June, Nine Inch Nails released their most recent record, Bad Witch.

[ click to continue reading at Rolling Stone ]

click to visit at Powell’s

[ click to get at Powell’s ]

from The New York Post

This week’s must-read books

Katerina
James Frey (Gallery/Scout Press)
Set in 1992 Paris and 2018 Los Angeles, a love story between a young writer and a young model, both on the verge of fame. Twenty-five years later, the writer receives an anonymous message that draws him back to that relationship and all the magic of that earlier time.

[ click to continue reading at NYP ]

from DEADLINE

[ click to view at DEADLINE ]

from DEADLINE

Sam And Aaron Taylor-Johnson Breathe Fire Into James Frey’s Controversial Addiction Memoir ‘A Million Little Pieces’

by Mike Fleming Jr

Entertainment One

A Million Little Pieces is as raw, bloody and messy as James Frey wrote it. With the startling intensity he shocked Toronto with in Nocturnal Animals two years ago, Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Frey through his evolution from a hopeless, cornered animal descending down a drug-induced death spiral to someone who pulls out of the nosedive after reluctantly embracing help from a group of fellow addicts to create distance from the seduction of crack cocaine and hard liquor ravaging his body.

The right filmmaker came along when the Taylor-Johnsons came knocking. Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson had been an inseparable couple since she cast him in her directorial debut, 2009’s Nowhere Boy, as a young John Lennon. They liked the idea of pulling something more modest together, after the miserable time Sam had directing the first Fifty Shades of Grey movie. She’d been expecting to make a trilogy out of E.L. James’s erotic fiction series, but even though her first chapter grossed $571 million, she withdrew. Speculation was that the unprecedented level of creative control Universal offered James, a first-time novelist, in order to beat out the offers pouring in from other studios, caused issues.

Sam had been captivated by Frey’s memoir since she read it shortly after its publication, when she was known for her eye as a still photographer, and before she ever made her feature debut. “I loved the way it was told,” she remembers. “90 miles an hour is a good way to describe the ferocity and pace of his writing. I remember feeling exhausted and elated at the end, thinking it would make an amazing movie. Later, I’d hear or read that some other filmmaker signed on and I’d feel a twinge of jealousy.”

After they met, she gave it to Aaron, who devoured it. He says: “The journey of redemption, the light at the end of the tunnel, and the rhythm James put into his writing which provides such energy, it made us want to try and translate that into a character on screen.”

[ click to read full article at DEADLINE ]

from Vanity Fair

Sam Taylor-Johnson on “the Dream” of Directing Husband Aaron in A Million Little Pieces

The adaptation of James Frey’s book—debuting at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday—is the couple’s first collaboration since Nowhere Boy.

by JULIE MILLER

Jeff Gros

Since making 2009’s brilliant John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, director Sam Taylor-Johnson and actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson had been looking for an excuse to work together again.

But their personal collaborations complicated reunion possibilities for several years. Sam and Aaron fell in love after making the movie, got married, and had two daughters. (Sam also has two older daughters from her first marriage.) Rather than leave the kids in the care of strangers, husband and wife took turns making movies—with Sam adapting E.L. James’s bodice-ripping best-seller Fifty Shades of Grey into an artful blockbuster; and Aaron cycling through genres in Anna Karenina,Godzilla, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Nocturnal Animals.

Last year, though, the stars finally re-aligned for the Taylor-Johnsons. Sam signed on to direct an adaptation of James Frey’s 2003 book, A Million Little Pieces. And Aaron coincidentally had a gap in his schedule.

“The minute I knew he was available, it was clear that Aaron would be James. Absolutely, without question,” Sam said in an interview ahead of A Million Little Pieces’ premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. “I think it was serendipitous timing that he was available, the book rights were available, and the timing was perfect. . . . This was the dream since we first worked together. After [Nowhere Boy], we would both go to work on different projects, and I’d say, in my mind, ‘I’m leaving the best actor at home.’”

[ click to continue reading at VF ]

from Esquire

The Best Books of 2018 (So Far)

Get your to-read list ready: 2018 is already a good year for reading.

BY ANGELA LEDGERWOOD

We may live in challenging times, and there’s no better escape than through a good book. From new novels from beloved writers to compelling non-fiction examinations of our modern world, 2018 has already delivered some excellent reads.

KATERINA BY JAMES FREY

Would you respond to a cryptic Facebook message from an unrecognized user? Forty-two-year-old novelist-turned-screenwriter Jay does. He’s ambivalent about the messages at first, but their familiar tone piques his interest and reminds him of someone important from his past. Thus, begins this sexy and electric novel that flips between modern-day Los Angeles and Paris in 1992—back when Jay was 21 and burning with the desire to make art that was going to change the world. Frey, perhaps best known for his controversial book A Million Little Pieces, has penned a compulsive novel that speaks directly to the scandal that blew up his own life.

CLICK TO BUY KATERINA on Amazon

[ click to read the rest of the Best 2018 Books at Esquire ]

from Earn The Necklace

TIFF 2018: 5 Drama Films That Explore the Human Condition

By: Naveen Rao

Sam Taylor Johnson with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton (Photo: Instagram/samtaylorjohnson)

Even if they are from another part of the world and in another language, drama films moveus. Why? Because as humans, we share many of the same emotions and desires. The TIFF 2018 drama section is full of movies based on riveting stories about people caught up in harsh and even tragic circumstances beyond their control. We bring you five TIFF Festival films that will tug at your heart strings and leave a mark on your memory.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2018 is just around the corner, and the buzz is spreading fast that it’s going to be an exciting event. While films of all genres will be screened at the festival, people are eager to know which films will be shown in the “drama” section.

This year, there are fantastic films from all over the world that have entered the drama section and festival-goers will be hard pressed to choose which ones to watch in the limited time they have.

#1] A Million Little Pieces

Director – Sam Taylor-Johnson

Country – USA

James Frey’s controversial bestseller A Million Little Pieces gets the big screen treatment by director Sam Taylor-Johnson.

The film tells the story of an alcoholic crack addict (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who finds some peace in the company of a former crime lord (Billy Bob Thornton) and a former sex worker (Odessa Young).

It is a harrowing ride into the deepest darkest corners of a drug addict’s psyche and the devastation caused by drug addiction.

It’s a tale about the loss of one’s self-esteem and character but also of hope and the journey towards renewal. The protagonist finds his calling as a writer but only after he picks up the pieces of his shattered self.

[ click to continue reading at EarnTheNecklace.com ]

My first tour in awhile – looking forward to seeing you all again….

Click here to pick up a copy of KATERINA – bring it to a reading and I’ll sign it for you.

from Deadline

David Dastmalchian & Rhys Wakefield Join Hulu’s Femme Fatale Pilot ‘Reprisal’ From Warren Littlefield & A+E Studios

by Denise Petski

Photos courtesy of Persona PR/ICM Partners

David Dastmalchian (MacGyver, Twin Peaks) and Rhys Wakefield (True Detective, The Purge) are set as series regulars opposite Abigail Spencer and Mena Massoud in Hulu drama pilot Reprisal, from Warren Littlefield and A+E Studios.

Dastmalchian recently wrapped production on the upcoming film adaptation of James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, and Netflix’s Bird Box opposite Sandra Bullock and Sarah Paulson. He has also been cast for a key role in upcoming feature Die in a Gunfight, opposite Josh Hutcherson, Helen Hunt, Olivia Munn, and Kaya Scodelario, as well as psycho-thriller The Killing Kind,alongside Aaron Paul and Jane Lynch. His recent credits include Ant-Man and the Wasp, Blade Runner 2049 and recurring roles on MacGyver and Twin Peaks among others. Dastmalchian is represented by Hansen, Jacobson Teller Hoberman.

[ click to read full article at Deadline ]

from INQUISITR

Lena Waithe Tabs Daniel Kaluuya To Star In New Movie, ‘Queen & Slim’

by Stephanie Barnes

Get Out and Black Panther actor Daniel Kaluuya has been tabbed to take the lead role of Slim, in an upcoming film, Queen & Slim, a romance drama written by Emmy award-winning writer Lena Waithe.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the script is being described as the black version of Bonnie and Clyde’s love story. The film will focus on a black couple out and about enjoying their first date together when things take a turn for the worse. The couple ends up killing a police officer in self-defense and have no other option but to head to Cuba.

“Queen & Slim is an exploration of America’s social and political climate through the lens of a genre-defying love story,” according to Variety.

The movie is said to be based on an idea and treatment from best-selling author James Frey (A Million Little Pieces) and story created by Waithe and Frey. Melina Matsoukas is also set to join the star-studded team as director, making this her directorial debut for a featured film. Matsoukas is known for her work on HBO’s Insecure and has directed a number of music videos, including Beyonce’s “Formation.”

[ click to continue reading at INQUISITR ]

from The Bookseller

New James Frey novel from John Murray

by Katherine Cowdrey

James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces (John Murray), is publishing a new novel with John Murray called Katerina.

Katerina, pitched as a sweeping love story that alternates between 1992 Paris and 2017 Los Angeles, will be published in September this year. John Murray acquired UK and Commonwealth rights through Jenny Meyer of Jenny Meyer Literary Agency on behalf of Eric Simonoff at WME.

At the centre of the novel is protagonist Jay, who is 21 when he moves to Paris to live the artist’s life, and falls in love for the first time. Cut to 25 years later: he is a middle-age family man living in California when he receives an anonymous message that draws him back to the life, and possibly the love, he abandoned years before.

North American rights have sold to Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, while the film rights to the book have been pre-emptively acquired by Makeready, the new production outfit launched in 2017 by former New Regency c.e.o Brad Weston. Frey will write the script and be executive producer. Guymon Casady is producing through Entertainment 360, the production arm of Management 360. WME negotiated the sale.

[ click to continue reading at TheBookseller.com ]

from Variety

‘Assassination Nation’ Star Odessa Young Joins ‘A Million Little Pieces’ (EXCLUSIVE)

By Justin Kroll

CREDIT: STEPHEN LOVEKIN/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

After a breakout role in the Sundance hit “Assassination Nation,” Odessa Young is boarding Sam Taylor-Johnson’s “A Million Little Pieces.”

Young will be joining the previously announced cast of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Charlie Hunnam, and Giovanni Ribisi.

The story follows a young man who awakens on an airplane to Chicago with no recollection of his injuries or of how he ended up on the plane. He then heads to a rehab and begins his journey to sobriety. Young will play Lilly, a crack and heroin addict who falls in love with the man.

[ click to continue reading at Variety ]

from DEADLINE

David Dastmalchian Joins ‘A Million Little Pieces’ & ‘Die in a Gunfight’

by Amanda N’Duka

REX/Shutterstock

EXCLUSIVE: Ant-Man And The Wasp actor David Dastmalchian has landed two back-to-back projects. He’s set for A Million Little Pieces, the Sam Taylor-Johnson directed film adaptation of the James Frey book, which is currently in production. The pic stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Juri, Charlie Hunnam, and Giovanni Ribisi.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson adapted the book, loosely based on Frey’s life. It follows a young drug-addled writer, who enters a treatment center in Minnesota. Makeready’s Pam Abdy is producing with The Picture Company partners Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman. Makeready is also fully finance the film with eOne distributing Sierra/Affinity is handling international sales.

[ click to continue reading at DEADLINE ]

from WWD

Juliette Lewis Takes Over Acne Studios Instagram

The actress was spotted filming other guests, among which Isabelle Huppert, Sara Forestier and Stephen Jones

By Lily Templeton

Juliette Lewis front row at Acne Studios / Stephane Feugere/WWD

Juliette Lewis was busy capturing the scene at the first Acne Studios women’s show to be held during couture week in Paris on Wednesday, before sitting in the front row alongside Sara Forestier, Isabelle Huppert, Stephen Jones and Michel Gaubert.

The actress caught Casey Spooner jumping up on a bench to shake things up. Earlier in the week, he and partner-in-crime Violet Chakchi had joked about wanting to have their own reality TV crew.

“I’m doing the Instagram takeover for Acne Studios,” said Lewis, known for such films as “Cape Fear” and “From Dusk Till Dawn.”

Lewis hinted at further projects with Acne, and then clammed up. In the meantime, she is flying back to Los Angeles to start filming on Monday a screen adaptation of “A Million Little Pieces,” the infamous James Frey book, with Billy Bob Thornton.

[ click to continue reading at WWD ]

from DEADLINE

Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Juri & Charlie Hunnam Join Aaron Taylor-Johnson In ‘A Million Little Pieces’

by Mike Fleming Jr

REX/Shutterstock/Nan A. Talese

EXCLUSIVE: A Million Little Pieces, the screen adaptation of the James Frey book, is fast assembling for a January 25 production start. Billy Bob Thornton has joined Aaron Taylor-Johnson and director Sam Taylor-Johnson for the first film to go into production for Brad Weston’s producing/financing company Makeready. Thornton will be joined by Carla Juri, who emerges from Blade Runner 2049 to play the female lead, and Charlie Hunnam. Giovanni Ribisi was already set. Makeready’s Pam Abdy is producing with The Picture Company partners Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman.

Thornton plays the role of Leonard, whom fans of Frey’s book will recall as a mysterious tough guy who became the guardian angel at a rehab facility for the protagonist, who tried to end his addiction problems before they killed him. Frey later wrote Leonard’s life story in a followup book.

[ click to continue reading at DEADLINE ]

from Deadline

Jake Cannavale, Angelique Rivera To Star In ‘Eat, Brains, Love’

by Amanda N’Duka

Rex/Shutterstock

from The Hollywood Reporter

Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson to Tackle ‘A Million Little Pieces’ (Exclusive)

by Borys Kit , Tatiana Siegel

Mike Pont/WireImage/Sam Taylor-Johnson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

CAA has been negotiating the release of the rights of James Frey’s 2003 book from Warners, and the package is expected to be launched at the upcoming American Film Market.

The big-screen adaptation of James Frey’s best-seller A Million Little Pieces is being reassembled, this time as a team-up between husband-and-wife duo Aaron Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson.

The 2003 book was once one of the hottest properties in town but became radioactive after Frey was exposed for inventing or embellishing parts of the story that was originally dubbed a memoir. Warner Bros. won the book in a bidding war in 2003 and set it up with producer Brad Pitt and his then-Plan B partners Jennifer Aniston and Brad Grey. Frey wrote the first version of the screenplay.

[ click to continue reading at THR ]

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 ]

from Variety via Yahoo! TV

TV News Roundup

by Dani Levy

CASTING

Three new cast members will join Syfy‘s “The Haunted” as series regulars. Steve Kazee and David Alpay will play two of the four siblings in the Bradley family reunited after their parent’s death, slowly fixing their relationships with each other and navigating between the all too real ghosts from their pasts. DeVaughn Nixon will play a detective, investigating the mysterious circumstances around the deaths. Full Fathom Five’s James Frey and Todd Cohen will executive produce. Pilot writer Noga Landau, of “Tau” and “The Magicians,” will also co-executive produce.

[ click to read full article at Yahoo! TV ]