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Exclusive: Noah Hawley’s 26 Keys has set a new feature and a TV pilot with Matthew Baker, the author who has set Hollywood on fire with short stories that have sparked major bidding battles over the past year.

They will team for Lost Souls, a feature they’ve just set at Fox Searchlight, and Why Visit America, an FX pilot they’ll develop with Baker writing it, marking the first time he’s done that. Hawley will exec produce. Both of these are based on Baker short stories, making this the fourth Baker short story that Hawley has made a deal to produce.

Lost Souls is set in a world in which some babies are born without souls. A young expectant mother is sent to an unusual wellness center in the desert, with the hopes that it will improve her chances of delivering a healthy baby.

Here’s the log

After premiering way back in 2015 at the Toronto International Film Festival, James Franco’s “Zeroville” has been collecting dust on the shelf, waiting for distribution. And now, four years after its debut, the film is finally hitting theaters thanks to myCinema.

Announced at CinemaCon (via Deadline), Franco’s lost film was picked up by the online distribution company myCinema and will be hitting select theaters this fall.

Continue reading ‘Zeroville’: James Franco’s Lost Film Starring Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell & More Will Finally Hit Theaters In September at The Playlist.

Awkwafina and Ike Barinholtz will produce and star in STXfilms’ comedy caper “Crime After Crime.”

Awkwafina will portray a millennial podcast host who agrees to help a convict that she has devoted her true-crime podcast to prove his innocence after he escapes jail and turns up at her house.

Dan Gurewitch and David Young are writing the screenplay, with Nick Stoller and Conor Welch producing under their Stoller Global Solutions banner alongside Awkwafina, Barinholtz and David Stassen.

Stx’s Kate Vorhoff and Catherine Hagedorn will oversee the film’s production on behalf of the studio.

“Awkwafina and Ike are comedy powerhouses who make a supremely funny duo, and we can’t wait to see what they bring to this sharp and fun material,” said Adam Fogelson, chairman of STXfilms.

Welch joked, “Nick and I are huge fans of Awkwafina. Ike, not so much. But he was already attached.”

Awkwafina, a rapper-turned-actress,

Discovery and BBC Studios have inked a nearly $400 million programming deal that will see high-end natural history programming from the latter play on a new Discovery global streaming service set for launch by 2020. Under a decade-long deal, Discovery has acquired a raft of BBC content for its new Svod service and will work with BBC Studios, the U.K. pubcaster’s production and distribution unit, to develop new programming across natural history, travel, science and other factual genres.

Discovery CEO and president David Zaslav said the new, as-yet-unnamed streamer could launch for under $5 a month.

Separately, the two companies have untangled ownership of the UKTV channels group, with Discovery set to take the lifestyle networks and BBC Studios the entertainment channels in a deal that will see BBC Studios pay the U.S. firm £173 million ($226 million).

The announcement Monday of Discovery’s upcoming factual streaming platform comes as the

Nipsey Hussle, the Los Angeles rapper who earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album earlier this year, was shot and killed in L.A. on Sunday, according to NBC, citing multiple law enforcement sources. He was 33.

Hussle, whose real name is Ermias Asghedom, was one of three people shot outside of a clothing store he owned, NBC reports. Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department told NBC that the shooting occurred at approximately 3:20 p.m. in the 3400 block of Slauson Avenue. TMZ reports that one man fled

Tania Mallet, who is known for her modeling career and her role in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger has died at the age of 77.

The official James Bond Twitter account confirmed her death Sunday saying, “We are very sorry to hear that Tania Mallet who played Tilly Masterson in Goldfinger has passed away. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this sad time.” No further details have been revealed about her death.

Mallet was born in Blackpool May 19, 1941. She is the cousin of Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren. She attended Lucy Clayton’s School Of Modeling and started a successful modeling at the age of 16. Her foray to film began with an audition for the Bond girl Tatiana Romanova in From Russia with Love.

Despite being of Russian descent, she didn’t land the role of Tatiana, but would later appear as Tilly Masterson opposite Sean Connery in

Exclusive: Paul Schneider (Channel Zero) and Jonathan Pryce (Game of Thrones) are set for lead roles opposite Rebecca Hall in Tales From the Loop, Amazon’s hourlong genre series based on the acclaimed sci-fi art of Simon Stålenhag. It comes from writer Nathaniel Halpern, director Mark Romanek, Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho, and Swedish production and management company Indio. Fox 21 Television Studios is co-producing with Amazon Studios.

Tales from the Loop explores the town and people who live above “The Loop,” a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe – making things possible that were previously relegated only to science fiction. In this fantastical, mysterious town, poignant human tales are told that bare universal emotional experiences while drawing on the intrigue of genre storytelling.

Schneider will play George, the founder of “The Loop’s” son. Pryce will portray Russ, the founder and leader of the Loop project.

Mick Jagger will undergo surgery to replace a valve in his heart, Rolling Stone confirmed. As a result of the procedure and recovery period, the Rolling Stones postponed the North American leg of their No Filter tour, which ran from April 20th to July 29th.

When the postponement was initially announced, a rep for the band said, “Mick Jagger has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time as he needs medical treatment. The doctors have advised Mick that he is expected to make a

Inside Edition anchor Deborah Norville shared a very personal message about her health Monday revealing that she will undergo surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid nodule.

In the video, Norville said that an Inside Edition viewer reached out to her saying that the she’d noticed something on her neck. “It was a lump,” said Norville. “Well, I’d never noticed the thing, but I did have it checked out and the doctor said it was nothing, a thyroid nodule. And for years, it was nothing. Until recently, it was something.”

“The doctor says it’s a very localized form of cancer, which tomorrow I’ll have surgery to have removed,” she revealed. “There’ll be no chemo, I’m told no radiation, but I will have surgery and I’ll be away for a bit. So Diane [McInerney] will be holding down the fort. If you believe in prayer, please

Mark Boal, the former journalist who wrote and produced “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” is returning to the espionage arena and dipping his toe into television for the first time, Variety has learned.

Showtime has made a series commitment for “Intelligence,” a spy thriller series which Boal will write, direct and executive produce. The show, based on real stories from around the world, will explore the secret inner workings of power and how espionage intersects with politics, finance, media and Silicon Valley. The first season will dramatize the behind-the-scenes history leading up to the 2016 U.S. election, with each potential subsequent season looking at a major world event through the lens of covert operations.

“As he showed with both ‘The Hurt Locker’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ Mark truly excels at transforming current events into gripping, scripted drama,” said Gary Levine, President of Entertainment at Showtime. “When he told

Exclusive: Sadie Sink is set to star in the second installment of 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment’s Fear Street trilogy, based on the novels by R.L. Stine. Leigh Janiak is helming all three films.

Previously announced cast includes Kiana Madeira, Olivia Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Ashley Zukerman, Fred Hechinger, Julia Rehwald, and Jeremy Ford.

First released in 1989, the Fear Street book series was set in the fictionalized city of Shadyside and revolved around teenagers who faced malevolent and sometimes paranormal opponents. The books were widely popular with over 80 million copies sold.

Chernin Entertainment producing is pics with Jason Young overseeing the project for Fox.

Sink’s big break came when she joined the cast of Netflix’s hit supernatural series Stranger Things, which will debut its third season in July. She was also seen in the Lionsgate film The Glass Castle, starring Brie Larson, and next appears in the horror film Eli,

“Dumbo” nabbed the top spot at the domestic box office last weekend, but Disney’s latest re-imagining didn’t fly as high as expected. Despite the cast of Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, and Michael Keaton, the nearly eight-decade old property showed that not every remake is guaranteed to pack a major punch.

Tim Burton’s live-action reboot of the 1941 cartoon collected $45 million from 4,259 venues, falling short of expectations that anticipated a launch north of $50 million. Overseas, the baby elephant with inconveniently large ears got off to a better start, earning $71 million for a global weekend haul of $116 million.

Those numbers hardly signal disaster for the Magic Kingdom, but it does represent the lowest domestic opening yet for one the studio’s re-imaginings of its animated classics. High-profile remakes such as 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast” and 2016’s “The Jungle Book” soared past the $100 million mark in their opening weekends.

Part

Queen Latifah will appear in and produce the teen comedy “Paper Chase” movie through her Flavor Unit production company along with Gunpowder & Sky.

Latifah and Shakim Compere, who founded Flavor Unit in 1995, will executive produce with Gunpowder & Sky’s Van Toffler.

“Paper Chase” was created by writers Angela Tucker and Lauren Domino. Tucker (“All Styles”) will direct while Domino will produce. Loretha Jones is also set to executive produce.

“Shakim and I have known Van forever and we’re thrilled to collaborate with him and his team,” said Latifah. “This film is exactly what we love to do, make fun and energetic projects that audiences have a blast going to see. Lauren Domino and Angela Tucker are such great talents and we can’t wait to get started.”

The story will follow an ideal driven, well-meaning New Orleans teenager named Alicia, who is ready to reinvent herself at Kensington University in Atlanta.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, huh, Kaley Cuoco?

“The Big Bang Theory” star Cuoco took to Instagram on Monday, as the CBS comedy prepares to end its 12-season run, to share a photo of her extended “Big Bang” family.

In her Instagram post, Cuoco noted that they are “slowly saying our goodbyes over the next few weeks and it isn’t getting any easier.”

Also Read: 'Big Bang Theory' Stars Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik Go Head-to-Head in Behind-the-Scenes Look (Photo)

Cuoco punctuated her post with a crying-face emoji.

In her post, Cuoco shared a photo of herself on the “Big Bang Theory” set surrounded not only by castmates including Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Melissa Rauch, Mayim Bialik and Kunal Nayyar, but also a number of behind-the-scenes people on the series.

“To a group of people who have been way more than a ‘second team’ to us for the last 12 years.

Lion Babe announced a U.S. tour behind their newly released second LP, Cosmic Wind. The summer trek launches June 5th in Brooklyn, New York and wraps June 25th in Chicago, Illinois.

Some venue information is available on Facebook. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 5th at their website.

Cosmic Wind, which follows the R&B duo’s 2016 debut, Begin, includes the singles “The Wave” and the Raekwon-featured “Western World,” which interpolates the hook from Pet Shop Boys’ 1984 hit “West End Girls.” For the latter track, they issued a

Day one of the Las Vegas exhibitors convention CinemaCon and, on panel after panel, Netflix (which commands 68 percent of the Svod business) is the Borg. It doesn’t matter if Jeffey Katzenberg tells reporters at SXSW that Steven Spielberg has no beef with Netflix; at a packed international day panel, exhibitors broke into spontaneous applause at the mere mention of the ballyhooed battle. ‘Nuff said.

While several exhibitors expressed cockeyed optimism that Netflix, Apple, Amazon and other new streamers could maintain the current theatrical windows, there’s little evidence to support that. Additional competition for eyeballs is more likely to drive companies to do what’s best for their bottom line, whatever that is — and for many distributors, that could mean building the streaming business.

Here is what exhibitors hope, if not believe, it will take to survive the streaming future.

Hope that disruptors are a good thing.

Pathé co-chairman and CEO Jérôme Seydoux,

(Warning: This post contains spoilers for Monday’s “9-1-1,” titled “Fight or Flight”)

Jennifer Love Hewitt got back into the scary movie game for Monday’s “9-1-1,” which saw Maddie come face to face with her abusive, estranged husband, Doug — who happens to be played by Hewitt’s real-life husband, Brian Hallisay.

The episode, titled “Fight or Flight,” followed the aftermath of Doug kidnapping Maddie from her apartment and stabbing Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and leaving him for dead.

Jumping between flashbacks of Doug and Maddie’s very unhappy marriage and Doug and Maddie’s very unhappy kidnapping/road trip outside of Los Angeles in the present day, the hour culminated in a bloody snow battle between the couple up in the mountains of Big Bear, Calif. Maddie is the one who emerges victorious, finally freeing herself from Doug by killing him in self-defense. With a fire poker.

Also

Liongate’s hopes for 2019 rest largely on shoulders of “Hellboy,” John Wick and the two unlikely lovers of “Long Shot.”

Last year was the studio’s worst year at the box office since 2011. It pulled in just $389 million in 2018, according to Box Office Mojo.

But Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer told investors in February that three upcoming films — “Hellboy,” “Long Shot” and “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum,” will be a “return to form” for the company’s motion picture business. Last year’s disappointments included “Robin Hood,” which pulled in $30.8 million domestically, “The Spy Who Dumped Me” ($33.6 million) and “The Commuter” ($36.3 million).

Also Read: Lionsgate Sets Holiday Release Date for Charlize Theron's Roger Ailes Scandal Film

“John Wick 3” comes out next month and is the first film greenlit by new motion picture group co-chairman Joe Drake. The franchise has a devout fan base: the second film in the series earned $171.5 million in worldwide box office,

In today’s film news roundup, Kevin Hart, Mike Medavoy and “Princess of the Row” are receiving honors and Atom Tickets expands.

Awards

Kevin Hart will receive this year’s CinemaCon International Star of the Year award at the convention’s awards show on Thursday at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nev.

“With his films continuously earning the top spot at the box office, Kevin Hart has brought some of the most entertaining comedic films to audiences around the world and continues to prove that he is one of the most dynamic and agile actors today,” said Mitch Neuhauser, managing director of CinemaCon.

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“Princess of the Row” topped “Windows on the World” for audience award at the Method Fest, based on tallies of votes taken as the audience exited screenings of premieres.

“Princess of the Row” also won the festival’s breakout acting award for Edi Gathegi’s work as a homeless father.

Billie Eilish performed a reflective version of her ballad “When the Party’s Over” on Monday’s Ellen.

The singer opened with the lights dimmed low, sitting with her feet in a shallow pool. As the arrangement swelled with sampled vocal harmonies and live piano, she stood out of her chair and glided through the water. “Don’t you know too much already?” she crooned. “I’ll only hurt you if you let me.”

“When the Party’s Over” is the second single from Eilish’s recently issued debut LP,