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Ari Aster’s feature directorial debut Hereditary is a psychological horror story that takes the audience on a wild and terrifying ride along with the Graham family. Ari Aster's filmmaking career began with short films in the late 2000s and became widely known thanks to his 2011 short film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons. After a couple more short films, Aster made his feature-length directorial debut in 2018 with Hereditary, also written by him.

Hereditary follows the Graham family, who are grieving the death of their secretive grandmother. This begins to reveal a series of disturbing family secrets, as well as unleashing a series of sinister occurrences, including one more family tragedy. The Grahams soon learn they are no longer safe and are being watched, but the reasons behind all that are beyond what they could have ever imagined. Hereditary is not only very well-written and directed, but it also has...

Universal Television casting head Beth Klein is set to retire and depart the studio at the end of the year.

Klein, who first joined Utv in 2011, has increased representation in front of the camera through her work, which included Jason Katims’ “As We See It,” which centered around three roommates on the autism spectrum, and David Schulner’s “New Amsterdam,” with characters often portrayed by actors living with the actual illnesses featured in the storylines.

She was also instrumental in the creation of “StandUp NBC,” where diverse stand-up comedians across the country would compete for the chance to win a talent-holding deal; and worked closely with NBCUniversal’s Launch Talent and Casting Assistant program that develops aspiring episodic casting directors during a ten-month paid pipeline initiative.

“I have been fortunate to collaborate with some of the best in the business during my career, and while I will miss my colleagues,...

Exclusive: Universal Television’s EVP of Talent and Casting Beth Klein will be leaving the studio at the end of the year when she will retire after a 37-year career as a casting executive. There is no immediate replacement.

Klein has been Universal TV’s first — and only — head of casting. She joined the studio, now a division of Universal Studio Group, in September 2011 as part of a new executive team for the unit as it was being rebranded from Universal Media Studios to Universal TV.

With Chicago Fire and Brooklyn Nine-Nine among her first shows, Klein has spearheaded casting for four Peabody Award-winning series and 20 Emmy-winning series, most recently, Hacks, as well as the the Law & Order, One Chicago and FBI franchises, The Gilded Age, Loot, Schmigadoon! and “Girls5eva, Bel-Air, Never Have I Ever and The Best Man: The Final Chapters, among others. She also oversaw casting on NBC’s live musicals,...

Viola Davis will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes in January. She will be honored during the group’s 2025 gala hosted by Nikki Glaser on Friday, January 3, at the Beverly Hilton.

Davis won a Supporting Actress Oscar and a Golden Globe for 2016’s Fences and has three other career nominations: Best Actress for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) and The Help (2011) and Supporting Actress for Doubt (2009). She also has six other Golden Globe noms, most recently for 2022’s The Woman King.

Davis’ long list of big-screen credits also include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Air, The Suicide Squad, Widows, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby films and Solaris. She also has done plenty of TV work including the lead in How to Get Away with Murder along with Live in Front of a Studio Audience, The First Lady, Peacemaker, United States of Tara...

Viola Davis will receive the 2025 Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 82nd annual Golden Globes.

The actress, activist, producer, philanthropist, and best-selling author, is part of the select group of creatives to have achieved Egot status, having won an Emmy, a Grammy, Oscar and two Tony Awards. Davis won a best supporting actress Golden Globe in 2017, her first such award, for her performance in Fences, opposite fellow Cecil B. DeMille winner Denzel Washington.

A Juilliard graduate, Davis first made her name in theater, and made her Broadway debut in 1996, in the original Broadway production of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. She transitioned successfully to feature films in the 2000s, starring in Antwone Fisher, Solaris, Traffic, The Help, Prisoners, Widows, Air and The Woman King. In all, she’s been nominated for an Oscar four times, winning in 2017 for Fences.

Davis has also found huge success on television, starring in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,...

Karen Cynthia “Kc” Fox, an Emmy-nominated set decorator and founding member of the Set Decorators Society of America, died from pancreatic cancer on Aug. 28 at her Los Angeles home. She was 70.

The Sdsa confirmed Fox’s death on its official website on Friday, writing: “Known for her joie de vivre, keen artistic eye, belly laugh, and clever wit, she was beloved by her crew and colleagues. K.C. generously offered career advice, mentored through the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and served on many Boards and Committees at the Sdsa and AMPAS.”

Fox worked on the design for film, TV and commercial productions during her 40-year career. She served as the set decorator for more than 130 episodes of “Criminal Minds” from 2013 to 2020, as well as worked on other shows such as “Shameless,” “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,” “Jesse” and “United States of Tara.”

Fox shared an Emmy nomination with...

Netflix's The Decameron (2024) is a unique historical comedy inspired by 14th century Italian short stories by Giovanni Boccaccio. The humor, romance, and historical backdrop of The Decameron have drawn comparisons to Bridgerton. The Decameron features a talented ensemble that includes Tony Hale, Zosia Mamet, Tanya Reynolds, and more.

Netflixs The Decameron (2024) follows a unique, hilarious group of characters to an Italian villa in 1348 as they try and escape the Black Death in Florence. The series was inspired by the 14th century Italian short-story collection of the same name by Giovanni Boccaccio. Though they have their differences, the romance and historical setting have led people to compare Netflixs The Decameron and Bridgerton. The Decamerons raunchy humor makes it a sex comedy as well, with the villa characters often just as, if not more concerned with sex and romance as staying alive.

That is partially what makes The Decameron stand out among other medieval TV shows.

Toni Collette has joined the cast of the upcoming Netflix limited series “Wayward,” Variety has learned.

Collette will appear in the series alongside Mae Martin as well as Sarah Gadon, Brandon Jay McLaren, Sydney Topliffe, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Patrick J. Adams, Patrick Gallagher and Josh Close. The series is described as a thriller “set in a bucolic but sinister town that explores the insidious underbelly of the ‘troubled teen industry’ and the eternal struggle between one generation and the next,” per the official description.

Exact character details are being kept under wraps, but Collette will play the character Leanne in “Wayward.”

Collette is a highly-regarded and celebrated actress. She is a five-time Emmy Award nominee, winning the award for best actress in a comedy series for the Showtime show “United States of Tara.” She also won a Golden Globe for that show in 2010. Her other TV roles include the Netflix series “Unbelievable,...

The super popular original webtoon Death of a Pop Star from creator Violet Karim is getting the adaptation treatment from Wattpad Webtoon Studios.

Death of a Pop Star is a global success, with over 33 million views worldwide. It regales readers with the story of a beloved pop star who suddenly dies and wakes up in Hell. Luckily for her, the Grim Reaper is a massive fan of Sophie's, and he gives her another chance at life on Earth, but that comes with dangerous consequences.

Oscar winner Diablo Cody and Oscar nominee Mason Novick, with Wattpad Webtoon Studios, are adapting the popular webcomic. Cam screenwriter Isa Mazzei will pen the script. As a fan of Cody's work and Mazzei's highly underrated 2018 movie Cam (now on Netflix), I'm very excited to see what these two come up with together.

Cody recently wrote the excellent horror-comedy film, Lisa Frankenstein and the Academy Award-winning film Juno.

Diablo Cody and Mason Novick are teaming with Wattpad Webtoon Studios to produce an adaptation of the popular Webtoon webcomic “Death of a Pop Star” as a film.

The script will be written by buzzy screenwriter and producer Isa Mazzei. Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Mazzei is the writer and producer behind Blumhouse’s psychological horror film “Cam,” as well as producer of Neon’s 2022 eco-thriller “How to Blow Up A Pipeline.” Her first book, “Camgirl,” was selected as one of NPR’s favorite books, and her writing has also been featured in New York Magazine’s The Cut, Glamour Magazine, and Het Hem’s The Couch. She is currently in post-production on an adaptation of “Faces of Death” that she wrote and produced for Legendary Pictures.

The “Death of a Pop Star” webcomic, written by creator Violet Karim and boasting 33 million global views,...

Peacock’s limited suspense thriller Long Bright River, based on the New York Times bestseller by Liz Moore, has added six in recurring roles: Dash Mihok (Ray Donovan), Britne Oldford (Dead Ringers), Matthew Del Negro (City on a Hill), Harriet Sansom Harris (Hacks), Patch Darragh (Succession), and Perry Mattfeld (In the Dark).

Mihok plays Eddie, with Oldford as Aura, Del Negro as Simon, Harris as Mrs. Mahon, Darragh as Sergeant Kevin Ahearn, and Mattfeld as Paula. As previously announced, Amanda Seyfried and Nicholas Pinnock lead a cast, also featuring Ashleigh Cummings, Callum Vinson, and John Doman.

The show follows Seyfried’s police officer, Mickey, as she patrols a Philadelphia neighborhood hard-hit by the opioid crisis. When a series of murders begins in the neighborhood, Mickey realizes that her personal history might be related to the case.

Nikki Toscano and Liz Moore are writing and exec producing, with Toscano serving as showrunner.

If there’s an Avengers of television directors, “The Last of Us” just assembled it.

The juggernaut HBO series has landed a murderer’s row of directing talent for Season 2: Mark Mylod, who just won an Emmy for his work on the final season of HBO’s “Succession”; Kate Herron, who directed every episode of the first season of the Marvel Studios series “Loki”; Stephen Williams, nominated for an Emmy for directing on HBO’s “Watchmen”; and Nina Lopez-Corrado, nominated for an Imagen award for directing on Season 2 of HBO’s “Perry Mason.”

The filmmakers join three veteran directors of the series returning for its second season: Creators and executive producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, who respectively helmed the first and second episodes of the show, and Peter Hoar, who was nominated for an Emmy for directing the heartbreaking third episode, “Long, Long Time.”

Hiring any one of...

The Max series based on DeuxMoi’s novel “Anon Pls” has attached Diablo Cody and Ryan O’Connell to serve as writers, Variety has learned from sources.

As initially reported in May 2022, the project is currently set up at Max with a script-to-series commitment. It is being developed as a one-hour drama series via Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Reps for Max and Warner Bros. Television declined to comment.

Cody is best known for writing the critically-acclaimed comedy feature “Juno,” for which she won the Academy Award for best original screenplay in 2008. Her other films include “Jennifer’s Body,” “Tully,” and “Young Adult.” She also co-created the Amazon comedy series “One Mississippi” alongside Tig Notaro and Showtime’s “United States of Tara” starring Toni Collette.

She is repped by WME, Mxn, and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.

O’Connell previously created and starred in the semi-autobiographical Netflix series “Special,” based on his...

Although most past recipients of the Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress SAG Award triumphed after being Emmy-nominated for the same performances, a few – including three of the last five – competed for the two prizes in the opposite order. That subgroup’s newest member is “George & Tammy” star Jessica Chastain, who is presently awaiting the result of her Emmy bid for the biographical series. As it happens, the list of performers aiming to supplant her as said SAG Award category’s reigning champion mainly consists of women who were eligible for the 75th Emmys (taking place in January 2024), but that does not apply to Brie Larson (“Lessons in Chemistry”), who could end up benefiting from her unique ability to emulate Chastain’s rare achievement.

Apple TV+’s “Lessons in Chemistry” (which premiered this October) marks the 34-year-old Larson’s first venture into regular small screen acting since her tenure...

Graphic: Images: IMDb

This list was compiled using data provided by IMDb.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos’ actions and restore balance to the universe.

Brie Larson is making her first significant return to television in over twelve years with the upcoming series Lessons in Chemistry. Larson's role as Elizabeth Zott in Lessons in Chemistry will be a change from her recent blockbuster movie roles and a big return to television. Lessons in Chemistry, streaming on Apple TV+, has the potential to be an awards season contender and is expected to showcase a tour-de-force performance from Larson.

The upcoming Apple TV+ series Lessons in Chemistry will mark Brie Larson's first significant return to television in more than twelve years. Larson, who entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the titular superhero in 2019's Captain Marvel and appeared in Avengers: Endgame, emerged in a number of blockbuster movies after her Academy Award-winning performance in 2015's Room. These include 2017's Kong: Skull Island, 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and 2023's Fast X. Larson is...

With his work spanning decades of TV and film, and a warm presence that’s equally radiant across screens big and small, John Corbett has made an illustrious career from being “that guy” in “that rom-com.”

The 62-year-old actor is perhaps best known for his role as Aidan Shaw: Carrie’s second choice on the ’90s smash hit “Sex and the City” and the second-most controversial character in its contemporary Max spinoff, “And Just Like That…”

Corbett is equally celebrated for his breakout film performance as the leading man in indie darling “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Nia Vardalos’ treasured love story from 2002 tells the tale of a sheltered woman and her enormous, meddlesome family introducing Corbett’s dashing fiance character, the magnanimous school teacher Ian Miller, to countless kooky relatives, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the healing power of Windex.

Those two star-making moments for Corbett re-collided this...

Sitting in Bars with Cake is a comedy-drama film directed by Trish Sie from a screenplay by Audrey Shulman. The Prime Video film is inspired by true events and it follows two best friends Jane (Yara Shahidi) and Corrine (Odessa A’zion) living in Los Angeles. Corrine is an extrovert and Jane is an introvert. In order to get Jane to meet more people Corrine gets her to bake cakes for a year and take them to a bar. But when Corrine gets a life-altering diagnosis, both Jane and Corrine’s friendship is put to the test. Sitting in Bars with Cake also stars Bette Midler, Ron Livingston, and Maia Mitchell in supporting roles. So, if you loved the Prime Video film here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Prime Video Add-On & Hulu Add-On) Credit – Searchlight Pictures

Synopsis: Me And Earl And The Dying Girl...

Mafia Mamma is a film directed by Catherine Hardwicke starring the “almost” always great Toni Collette and Monica Bellucci, and this time, as great and wonderful as they are, they don’t manage to save a comedy with jokes that don’t end up being funny.

Bad start for a comedy, don’t you think?

Mafia Mamma Movie Review

Mafia Mamma is a parody crime thriller that without wanting to go anywhere and aware of this circumstance, limits itself to overflow with clichés (it was obvious), to drop more or less funny jokes and that relies on the two stars’ performances (especially Toni Collette’s) to save the movie from sinking.

And no matter how great he or she could be, no actor can save a bad script nor, dare we say, a bad editing at the level of rhythm. Thus, Mafia Mamma is sometimes placed in almost separate scenes without a common nexus that,...

From MCU mainstays to promising newcomers to its Oscar-winning star, the Captain Marvel cast is full of great actors playing beloved comic book characters. Set in 1995, Captain Marvel revolves around a fighter pilot named Carol Danvers, who gains superpowers but loses her memories after being imbued with the cosmic energy of an Infinity Stone. When she returns to Earth in pursuit of shape-shifting Skrulls, Carol starts to piece together her backstory to figure out what happened to her. Along the way, Carol encounters exciting new characters like Talos and familiar MCU icons like Agent Phil Coulson.

With a worldwide gross of over $1 billion (via Box Office Mojo), Captain Marvel became one of the MCU’s highest-grossing solo movies. It also received positive reviews from critics to match its commercial success. A big part of what made Captain Marvel a resounding hit was the work of its star-studded cast, who committed...

Since her breakthrough roles in the early 2010s, Brie Larson has proven her range. The Oscar-winning star of Room has appeared in films such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Short Term 12, Trainwreck, Kong: Skull Island, Captain Marvel, and Just Mercy. But now’s she set to return to television for the first time in more than a decade with Lessons in Chemistry.

‘Lessons in Chemistry’ is Brie Larson’s upcoming AppleTV+ show Brie Larson during New York Fashion Week on Feb. 10, 2023 | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Nyfw: The Shows

Larson made her film debut in 2001, but before that, she was working on TV. Some of her first roles include guest appearances on Touched by an Angel and Popular. But Larson landed her first gig as a series regular on the short-lived sitcom Raising Dad, airing for less than a year beginning in 2001. Later, she had a main role...

The time has finally arrived, How I Met Your Father fans — John Corbett will make his season 2 debut when episode 9, “The Welcome Protocol,” premieres on Tuesday, March 21, on Hulu. As the trailer teased, Corbett plays Sophie’s (much older) boyfriend, who we learned during the season 2 premiere may or may not be her father. But How I Met Your Father isn’t the first time Hilary Duff has worked with Corbett.

John Corbett | Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic John Corbett plays Robert in ‘How I Met Your Father’ Season 2

How I Met Your Father fans will meet Robert, played by John Corbett, in “The Welcome Protocol” when he and Sophie run into one another at a fancy party where Robert is the chef.

The synopsis for How I Met Your Father Season 2 Episode 9 reads, “Val takes Sophie to a work event so they can party all night with the rich and famous.

Toni Collette is an Australian actress and musician who has been widely acclaimed for her performances in both dramatic and comedic roles. She began her acting career in the early 1990s on the Australian television show “Police Rescue.” She then went on to appear in a variety of theater productions, such as “The Boys,” “Cosi,” “Velvet Goldmine” and “Muriel’s Wedding,” before making her U.S. film debut with “Emma”. Her impressive body of work includes memorable roles in cult classics like “The Sixth Sense,” dark comedies such as “Little Miss Sunshine” and critically-acclaimed turns in dramas such as “United States of Tara” and “Hereditary”. In addition to her acting ability, Collette is also known for her singing skills, having recorded two albums with fellow bandmate Glenn Richards. She has won numerous accolades throughout her career including Golden Globe Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, Aacta Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

HBO Max has debuted a set of first look photos for “And Just Like That” Season 2, revealing that John Corbett will reprise his “Sex and the City” role as Aidan Shaw alongside Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw.

The series acts as a sequel to “Sex and the City,” which ran on HBO from 1998 to 2004, and follows Carrie, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s. It was renewed for a second season in March 2022, soon after its December 2021 premiere.

First appearing in Season 3, Aidan is a furniture designer who becomes a major love interest for Carrie. He is presented as the opposite of Mr. Big (Chris Noth), who Carrie dates on and off throughout the years and eventually ends up with...

The Boys has cast Hughie's absentee mother for their upcoming season. The series, which has been running on Prime Video since 2019, is based on the Wildstorm and Dynamite characters of the same name, a group of vigilante civilians who are hellbent on taking down the corrupt group of superheroes known as The Seven. One of the group's members is Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), who joined up after the hero A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) killed his girlfriend. While the show has previously introduced Simon Pegg as Hughie's father, it wasn't revealed until season 2 that his mother abandoned him when he was a young child.

Per Entertainment Weekly, Hughie Campbell's mother has been officially cast for the upcoming The Boys season 4. In an announcement that also included the fact that Supernatural's Rob Benedict and Animal Kingdom's Elliot Knight are joining the cast, it was revealed that the role of Hughie's...

The Estate has just landed in theaters, heralding the return of a fan-favorite trope in the form of relatives squabbling over a will reading. While recent films like Knives Out have mined that premise to set up a murder mystery, filmmaker Dean Craig has opted for a comedy in which the will is not yet finalized and the estate in question is still up for grabs. The Signature Entertainment and Capstone Studios production recalls Craig's previous film Death at a Funeral, and there are plenty of kooky family members to go around despite no funeral yet taking place.

Anna Faris (Mom) and Toni Collette star in The Estate as Savannah and Macey, sisters who are down on their luck and struggling to make ends meet with their father's rundown cafe. Winning over their terminally ill Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner) and thus becoming beneficiaries of her will seems like their only option,...

Five top TV costume designers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022/2023 awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Monday, November 7, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Marcus Dixon and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following contenders:

The Boys (Amazon Prime)

Synopsis: A group of vigilantes set out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers.

Bio: Michael Ground’s career has included “Frontier,” “Bad Blood,” “Daybreak,” “Sweet Girl” and “Delia’s Gone.”

The Handmaid’s Tale...

Exclusive: Marcus Dunstan, the writer of Saw 3D and Saw VI, is set to direct the horror flick All My Friends Are Dead. Film Mode Entertainment and Roundtable Entertainment will launch sales on the project at the Toronto Film Festival.

Written by Josh Sims and Jessica Sarah Flaum, the flick follows a group of close college friends who get a steal on a killer Airbnb for the biggest music festival of the year. A weekend of partying quickly takes a turn for the worse, as the group is murdered one by one. They soon discover that each one of their deaths directly corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins.

Jade Pettyjohn whose list of credits includes Destroyer, Little Fires Everywhere, Trial By Fire, School of Rock, United States of Tara, and The Mentalist is in negotiations to star. Pettyjohn recently wrapped David E. Kelley’s drama series Big Sky.

Each morning as Toni Collette brushes her teeth, an owl stares back at her.

The stoic bird of prey is not perched outside her window but rather ornately sitting on her countertop, contorted into the shape of a ceramic coffee mug that she places her toothbrush into before she starts her day.

“It’s there looking at me daily — twice a day if I’m dentally honest,” Collette says. “Maybe I need a new receptacle.”

Even if its days as her morning companion are numbered, the mug is a surreal artifact of her newly Emmy-nominated turn as Kathleen Peterson, a North Carolina woman found dead at the bottom of her stairs in 2001 — a case dramatized by HBO Max’s true crime limited series “The Staircase.”

The shocking death occupied headlines for months as her husband, Michael Peterson (played by Colin Firth), was tried and convicted of her murder — all of...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Emmys Collective

Visit each category, per the individual awards show from The Emmys Hub

To see old predictions and commentary,...

Five top TV cinematographers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards nominees. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Thursday, August 4, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Christopher Rosen and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 nominees:

Atlanta (FX)

Synopsis: Earn and his cousin Alfred, based in Atlanta, try to make their way in the world through the rap scene.

Bio: Christian Sprenger won at the Emmys previously for “Atlanta” and had a nomination for “Glow.

Exclusive: Blumhouse is centralizing their physical production groups across film and television into one department, led by Lisa Niedenthal, a four-year TV vet for the studio. Jon Romano, who joined Blumhouse in 2019, has been upped to SVP Physical Production and will oversee production for all feature projects, both theatrical and streaming, reporting to Niedenthal.

Before her promotion, Niedenthal served as EVP and Head of Production for Blumhouse Television, overseeing physical production on all scripted and unscripted projects. She supervised a variety of series including The Thing About Pam, for NBC; The Good Lord Bird for Showtime; Welcome to the Blumhouse for Amazon; The Loudest Voice for Showtime and several others. Prior to joining Bhtv, she was SVP of Production at Entertainment One, where she oversaw production on numerous feature, television and digital endeavors, including the HBO/Blumhouse series, Sharp Objects. Niedenthal began her career in Hollywood freelancing in production and then on staff at Disney,...

Australian director Craig Gillespie creates an energy in his images that brings the emotional undercurrent of his characters to life. He invites you into their space to wash in their feelings without saying too much. It’s the result of close collaboration with key department heads, a dynamic that editor Tatiana Riegel was first introduced to on 2007’s “Lars and the Real Girl.” “Craig is remarkably collaborative and secure in his own feelings and ideas to not insist upon them but he allows people to interpret them where he can then say yes or no,” she told IndieWire.

Riegel said their efforts have blossomed over the course of projects like “I, Tonya” (for which she earned an Oscar nomination), “Cruella,” “The United States of Tara” in part, because even though they “are very different people, the yin and yang of it works pretty well.” Gillespie has grown fond of how...

Exclusive: Keir Gilchrist (Atypical) and Lucy Hale (The Hating Game) will topline Daniel André’s debut feature, Mort in Sherman Oaks—an offbeat romance that will also star Francesca Eastwood (Old), Jim Gaffigan (Linoleum), Jay Pharoah (SNL), Rhys Coiro (Paradise City) and more.

The film written by André is about a down-and-out mortician living in near-future Los Angeles, where individuals can receive their Ldc (life day count) by using a specific scientific method. When Mort (Gilchrist) finds out he has less than a year to live, his fiancé Nicole (Eastwood) leaves him and he’s forced to accept his fate. Mort joins a dating service that matches people by their death dates and meets Kate (Hale), all while being stalked by a deranged pimp named Simon (Coiro).

Monica Potter (Goliath), Clara McGregor (The Birthday Cake), Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek), Leslie Stratton (Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman), Dylan Flashner (The Card Counter...

If Jean Smart (“Hacks”) claims another Emmy Award this year, as Gold Derby’s racetrack odds overwhelming predict will happen, she would be the first repeat Emmy winner in the Best Comedy Actress category since … do we even need to say it? You likely already know that Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”) was the last person to claim back-to-back victories in this race. In fact, Jld won six in a row between 2012 and 2017, a record for any acting category at the Emmys.

Taking the “Veep” star out of the equation for a moment, you have to go all the way back to Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) in 2000 and 2001 to find a repeat champion in Best Comedy Actress. In between now and then, there were 13 leading ladies who took home one and only one trophy in this category — see the list below. But Smart has an upper hand on all of those other one-timers because she just.

In addition to winning last year’s Emmy race for Best Comedy Actress, Jean Smart (“Hacks”) claimed all of the other major TV awards bestowed by the Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice, Golden Globes, Television Critics Association and, yes, even Gold Derby. At this stage of the 2022 Emmys derby, Smart is the de facto front-runner to gallup across the finish line yet again, but she’s hardly the only horse in this race. Joining her currently in the Top 7 are Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Kaley Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant”), Issa Rae (“Insecure”), Sarah Lancashire (“Julia”) and Selena Gomez (“Only Murders in the Building”).

Scroll down to see Gold Derby’s Comedy Actress Emmy predictions 2022, listed in order of their racetrack odds. Our Emmy odds are based on the combined forecasts of thousands of readers, including Experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, Editors...

Exclusive: Oscar winner Diablo Cody (Juno) has boarded Jenny Mollen’s City of Likes as executive producer of the series adaptation, which is in development with Sony Pictures TV and The Nacelle Company. Announced in 2021, the project falls under Nacelle’s first look comedy deal with Sony TV. The book will be released by NacelleBooks on June 14.

City of Likes centers on Megan Chernoff, a talented but unemployed copywriter in an identity crisis after the birth of her second child. Seeking a fresh start, she and her family move to New York City, where she meets a gorgeous, stylish, well-known momfluencer. Before she knows it, Meg finds herself immersed in the ‘momfluencer’ world, hobnobbing at exclusive power mama supper clubs, partaking in fancy wellness rituals, and reveling in the external validation she gets from her followers who grow daily by the thousands. When Meg realizes she’s losing track of what matters most,...

An actress receiving two Primetime Emmy nominations in a single year may seem like a rare occurrence, but it is actually fairly common. In fact, there have been 65 instances since 1967, including two last year involving Aidy Bryant and Jean Smart. What is uncommon is a woman earning double recognition within the same genre, with Bryant being one of only a dozen to ever be so honored (discounting guest categories). Now, Toni Collette has a shot at becoming the lucky 13th.

For her work on the two limited series “The Staircase” and “Pieces of Her,” Collette could be nominated this year as both a featured player and a lead. On the former show, she plays Kathleen Peterson, the subject of a real early 2000s murder case that ended in the conviction of her husband, Michael. Her potential supporting notice for playing Peterson would be her third in the category following bids...

Toni Collette has asserted herself as one of the most versatile actresses of her generation, proven once again by her phenomenal work in the HBO Max limited series “The Staircase.”

Variety has confirmed that Collette has been submitted for an Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a limited series for her turn as Kathleen Peterson, the dead wife (accidental or murdered?) of Michael, played by Emmy nominee and Oscar winner Colin Firth.

Read more: Variety’s Awards Circuit Emmys Predictions Hub

The miniseries, based on the documentary of the same name that steamed on Netflix in 2018, tells the story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist, who is accused of bludgeoning his wife Kathleen to death after she is found at the bottom of a staircase in their home. As the clues and investigation unravel, a French documentary team begins filming the events, creating unexpected consequences.

The Australian actress is beloved:...

Fred Ward, a prolific actor best known for roles in The Right Stuff, Tremors, Miami Blues, True Detective and many others, died May 8. He was 79.

His death was announced by his publicist. No cause or place of death was disclosed.

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

Ward, a San Diego native, began his professional career with small roles in 1970s episodic television before making a strong impression in his breakthrough film Southern Comfort, directed by Walter Hill and released in 1981. Two years later, he’d star as astronaut Gus Grissom in the hit film The Right Stuff.

Featured roles would quickly follow, including in such films as Silkwood, Swing Shift, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Tremors, Henry & June, the Robert Altman movies The Player and Short Cuts Errol Morris’ The Dark Wind and Michael Apted’s Thunderheart. He starred in and exec-produced the 1990 film Miami Blues, directed by...

Fred Ward, the versatile character actor who starred in films like Tremors, The Right Stuff and Henry & June during a career that spanned five decades, has died at the age of 79. Ward’s rep, Ron Hoffman, confirmed the actor’s May 8 death in a statement, though no cause of death was provided.

An Air Force veteran and amateur boxer before becoming an actor — his tough guy look and gruff exterior was attained thanks to a few broken noses in the ring — Ward was equally adept when featuring in dramas,...

Fred Ward, who starred in films including “Henry and June,” “Tremors,” “The Right Stuff” and “The Player,” died May 8, his publicist confirmed to Variety. He was 79.

Among his other prominent roles were parts in “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins,” “Miami Blues” and “Short Cuts.”

There was a certain retro quality to the actor’s persona that made Ward seem more akin to Humphrey Bogart or John Garfield (although not quite with those actors’ level of charisma) than to his contemporaries, and it did not seem at all affected. He appeared to be the sort of fellow who hailed from the South Side of Chicago or Hell’s Kitchen, but he was actually from San Diego.

Ward most recently appeared in the second season of HBO’s “True Detective” as Eddie Velcoro, the retired cop father of Colin Farrell’s Det. Ray Velcoro.

He recurred on NBC’s “ER” as the...

Six top TV casting directors will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, May 17, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 contenders:

As We See It (Amazon Prime)

Synopsis: Three autistic roommates find a way to live together and strive for similar things in life.

Bio: Cami Patton is an Emmy winner for “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.” Other...

Sharon Horgan’s dark comedy for Apple TV+ has a name – “Bad Sisters.”

The series, described as a comedy and thriller, follows the lives of the Garvey sisters, who are bound together by the premature death of their parents and a promise to always protect one another, according to a logline from the streamer. And playing those sisters alongside Horgan are Eve Hewson, Anne-Marie Duff (“Suffragette,” “The Salisbury Poisonings”), Eva Birthistle (“Brooklyn,” “The Last Kingdom”) and Sarah Greene (“Frank of Ireland,” “Dublin Murders”).

“Bad Sisters” is the first project out of Horgan’s first-look deal with Apple TV+ and her Merman production company.

Horgan is executive producer of “Shining Vale” on Starz, which is currently airing its first season, and whose cast features Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear and Mira Sorvino. She was also behind Sarah Jessica Parker’s “Divorce” on HBO, and starred in and wrote/executive produced “Catastrophe,” which streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

Storied Media Group has promoted four executives across its Content and Client Partnership and Operations divisions. Kevin Fernandes, in charge of day-to-day operations of the company, has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Operations, along with Shayna Lyga to Vice President, Content and Client Partnerships; Jonny Harris to Director, Content and Client Partnerships; and Ben Rosen to Senior Editor, StoryScout.

“Smg’s IP software service StoryScout has experienced explosive growth recently and the company is proud to promote those employees responsible for its success,” according to a statement from the company. StoryScout is an online marketplace that helps Smg match stories from its publishing clients with film and television production companies, writers, directors, and actors.

Fernandes has been with Storied Media Group since 2019. Before joining Smg, he consulted on Ott streaming services, content strategy, mobile-ad networks, and financial planning with various media companies. He began his career in the entertainment...

Exclusive: Dorian Missick (Shirley), Pamela Reed (Outside In), Amanda Warren and Jim Klock (The Underground Railroad) will round out the cast of Prime Video’s The Burial, which is currently in production.

They’re set to star alongside previously announced cast members including Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie and Bill Camp.

Based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, The Burial follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.

Maggie Betts is directing from a script by Doug Wright.

Exclusive: Viola Davis is in talks to star in Two Butterflies, an Amazon drama based on an original idea and script by Evan Dodson, which will be directed by Strong Island‘s Yance Ford.

Two Butterflies follows two estranged sisters who are torn apart by tragedy and forced to reunite when one sister must be transported to an Alzheimer’s facility. Dodson became the youngest scribe ever to make the Black List of the year’s best unproduced screenplays when his script was selected in 2016.

Davis and Julius Tennon will produce the upcoming film for JuVee Productions, with Rob Hardy for Rainforest Entertainment.

Davis is an Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner best known for turns in films including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, The Help and Doubt, as well as for the role of criminal defense attorney Annalise Keating in ABC...

Toni Collette, Anna Faris and Thomas Haden Church will star in “The Estate,” the story of two sisters who try to re-ingratiate themselves with their wealthy, estranged aunt when they discover she is ill.

The film is from writer and director Dean Craig, who mined family dysfunction in the script for “Death at a Funeral.” Craig recently made his feature directorial debut with “Love Wedding Repeat,” a romantic comedy with Sam Claflin and Olivia Munn that debuted in 2020 on Netflix.

Collette was nominated for an Oscar for “The Sixth Sense” and earned raves for her work in “Hereditary” and “Knives Out.” She also earned an Emmy for “United States of Tara” and appears in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming “Nightmare Alley.”

Faris is best known for her work in “The House Bunny” and on the CBS sitcom “Mom.” She also appeared in the Scary Movie franchise and the remake of “Overboard.

Earlier this awards season I warned you not to count out Sophie Okonedo (“Ratched”) when making your Emmy nominations predictions. Well, not enough people listened to me, as she was the only Drama Guest Actress nominee who surprised pundits on nominations morning. The other four — Alexis Bledel (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Phylicia Rashad (“This Is Us”), Mckenna Grace (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Claire Foy (“The Crown”) — all placed within the Top 5 of Gold Derby’s combined odds. Now that Okonedo has secured the nomination, the hard part is over. I now think she’s going to win that Emmy.

Netflix’s period drama series is based on the 1962 novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and the 1975 film of the same name. Okonedo joined the “Ratched” cast in the fifth episode, “The Dance,” as a new patient at Lucia State Hospital named Charlotte Wells. Charlotte is treated for dissociative identity disorder by Dr.

Miramax and Gunpower & Sky’s science fiction label Dust are teaming up to develop the sci-fi thriller, “The Masseuse.”

“We’re fired up that Bill Block and the Miramax team have recognized the wealth of emerging IP and underrepresented filmmaking talent lying within Dust’s ecosystem,” Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler said. “Miramax was our dream partner for this project because like us, they believe unique and diverse stories like ‘The Masseuse’ are the future of sci-fi storytelling and we can’t wait to get this one told!”

The feature is based on a short film written and directed by Tan Ce Ding that was released on the Dust channel in 2019. It is set in the near future where androids live and work among humans, resulting in a lonely android technician falling in love with the female android masseuse he’s been tasked to fix. All the while, the...