Pathé & Logical Pictures Team On Slate Financing Deal As Historic French Studio Targets Big Budget French & European Tentpoles

 

Trouble in paradise? Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard seemingly confirmed that their Summer House costar Danielle Olivera went through an offscreen split.

Her opinion. Julia Fox expressed her support for Alexander Wang after walking in the designer’s New York Fashion Week show, which marked his first since 2020 following accusations of sexual assault. 

Fuzzy fit! Brad Pitt looked extra stylish while out and about in New York City.

When Pamela Ribon set out to adapt her memoir into an animated short, producer Jeanette Jeanenne suggested director Sara Gunnarsdóttir to direct. This collaboration led to a comedic animated short that won awards at multiple festivals before finally receiving an Oscar nomination. My Year of Dicks, based on a chapter of Ribon’s memoir Notes to Boys: And Other Things I Shouldn’t Share in Public, follows a 15-year-old Pam on a comedic journey to find the right boy to lose her virginity to. The animated short is split into five chapters, each following the story of a different crush with a different style of animation.

Broadway continued filling seats last week as the annual deep-discount Broadway Week promotion (actually three weeks) came to a close. Total receipts for the 21 productions tallied to $23,064,393, with attendance of 192,323 at 95% of capacity.

Charna Flam Lifetime’s spring slate of movies kicks off on March 4 with eight new movies premiering back-to-back through April 15. The network today announced the addition of six original films to accompany, “Black Girl Missing” starring Garcelle Beauvais (also of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) and “Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story,” which will premiere on March 4 and April 8, respectively. The six additional originals — “Girl in the Closet,” “The Hillsdale Adoption Scam,” “Twisted Sister,” “Every Breath She Takes,” “Giving Hope: The Ni’cola Mitchell Story” and “Drunk, Driving, and 17” — have a slew of stars joining the projects, including Tami Roman, Remy Ma, Jackée Harry, Tisha Campbell, Tamala Jones, Mena Suvari, Joy Nash and Keshia Knight Pulliam.

Angelique Jackson Baseball fans are getting a first look at “Reggie,” a new documentary which chronicles the life and career of MLB Hall of Fame player Reggie Jackson. Described as the “definitive, first-hand account of the five-time World Series Champion, beloved New York icon and one of baseball’s most influential superstars,” “Reggie” will premiere March 24 on Prime Video. Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Alexandria Stapleton (“Shut Up and Dribble” and FX’s “Pride”), the documentary chronicles the ’70s sports megastar’s story, in his own words, as he contemplates his legacy as a “trailblazing Black athlete fighting for dignity, respect and a seat at the table.”

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Magazine Dreams,” a buzzy drama starring Jonathan Majors, landed at Searchlight Pictures following its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Elijah Bynum wrote and directed the movie, about an aspiring bodybuilder named Killian Maddox, who abuses steroids in his quest to become a sports icon. “Magazine Dreams” premiered on Jan. 20 at the Eccles Theater in Park City. The festival wrapped last month, but the film later sparked a bidding war between Neon, Sony Pictures Classics and HBO, according to Deadline, which broke the news of the sale. “We are very proud to bring Elijah’s powerful film to the world,” said Searchlight presidents Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum. “Jonathan’s tour-de-force performance, both physically and emotionally, affected us in profound ways.”

Julia MacCary editor Tom Luddy, who co-founded and served as artistic director for the Telluride Film Festival and produced films including “The Secret Garden” and “Barfly,” died Feb. 13 in Berkeley, Calif., after battling a long illness. He was 79. Luddy co-founded Telluride in 1974 along with Bill Pence, Stella Pence and James Card. Luddy served as co-director, then as artistic director and adviser through 2022. Beginning in a small opera house, the festival evolved into one of the largest and most respected globally over the past five decades. “The world has lost a rare ingredient that we’ll all be searching for, for some time,” said Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger in a statement. “I would sometimes find myself feeling sad for those who didn’t get to know Tom Luddy properly. He had a sphinx-like quality that took a little time to get around, for some. But once you knew him, you were welcomed into a kingdom of art, history, intelligence, humor, and joie de vivre that you knew you couldn’t be without. He made life richer. Magical. He called Telluride a labor of love for a very long time. We’re so much better off because of him and that labor. We at the Festival owe it to him to carry on his legacy; his commitment to and love for cinema, above all.”  

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Ben McKenzie has been cast in the lead role in the ABC drama pilot “The Hurt Unit,” Variety has learned. The project was first ordered to pilot at ABC back in December. Per the official logline, the show is “a cutting-edge medical drama about a highly skilled team of trauma surgeons and nurses who race into the field to treat the patients who won’t make it to the hospital in time. When the sick and the injured can’t get to the ER, the Hurt Unit (Hospital Urgent Response Team) brings the ER to them.” McKenzie will star as Danny, who is the head of the Hurt Unit. The character is further described as “a self-made surgeon who must make split second decisions in the most harrowing circumstances, often at risk to his own life. While unquestionably a hero, Danny is also a pathological risk-taker who seems headed for a serious comeuppance. His deepest bond is with his teammates — first-class professionals who share his passion, some would say obsession, for saving lives.”

Rebel Wilson is getting candid about her relationship.

Thania Garcia BTS’ Suga has unveiled a string of tour dates for his first solo trek outside of the K-pop supergroup. The tour has no official title just yet but has been tagged under Suga’s own name, as well as his other stage persona, Agust D. With the U.S. leg set to launch this spring, the tour will kick off with a pair of shows at the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York on April 26 and 27. Suga will then follow up with several performances in New Jersey, Illinois and California, with the U.S. run will closing in Oakland on May 16 and 17. Then the tour will hit Asia in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Japan (with those dates to be announced soon).

Gotham star Ben McKenzie is returning to broadcast television as the lead of ABC’s medical drama pilot The Hurt Unit, written by Promised Land creator Matt Lopez and former SEAL Team showrunner John Glenn and to be directed by The Amazing Spider-Man‘s Marc Webb.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Bass Reeves” series from Taylor Sheridan starring David Oyleowo has added two new series regulars, Variety has learned exclusively. Forrest Goodluck and Lauren E. Banks are both set to star in the show alongside series lead Oyelowo and previously announced cast member Dennis Quaid. The series is based on the true story of the titular lawman. Per the official description, “Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.” Banks will play Jennie, described as “the strong and fiercely loyal wife of Bass Reeves.” Goodluck will play Billy Crow, said to be a “young Cherokee man with an affinity for dime store books and gaudy style.”

Naman Ramachandran Fremantle has deepened its relationship with Artists, Writers & Artisans, Inc. (AWA) by making a minority investment in the company. Fremantle had struck a strategic development deal with AWA Studios, the film and television division of AWA, last year. AWA is backed by James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, SISTER, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. In 2021, the company established AWA Studios, helmed by Hollywood veteran Zach Studin as president. Marvel alum Axel Alonso serves as co-founder and chief creative officer overseeing editorial output. Matthew Anderson, co-chair and president and Jon Miller, co-founder and co-chair, lead AWA’s executive team.

Broadway’s upcoming production of Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play will star D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place), two-time Tony Award-winner Katie Finneran (Noises Off; Promises, Promises), Scott Foley (Scandal) and Chris Sullivan (This Is Us, Hadestown).

This is not the flex he thinks it is…

Guillaume Canet’s ambitious 64M euros ($70M) production Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom was on track to be the top opener at the French box office on Wednesday, but it remains to be seen whether the film can match the success of its predecessors.