Brent Lang: Last News

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaEmbattled Walt Disney Company chief Bob Chapek got a critical endorsement after the entertainment giant’s board of directors voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend his contract for three years. “Disney was dealt a tough hand by the pandemic, yet with Bob at the helm, our businesses—from parks to streaming—not only weathered the storm, but emerged in a position of strength,” said Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRLJE Films and Shudder have acquired Nyla Innuksuk’s “Slash/Back,” an alien invasion thriller that premiered to raves at this year’s SXSW.The two companies are business units of AMC Networks. The film is expected to be released in theaters and on VOD/Digital before streaming on Shudder later this year.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaUkonwa Ojo has stepped down as chief marketing officer of Amazon’s Prime Video and Amazon Studios, the company announced to staff on Tuesday. During her time at the streamer, Ojo led the marketing campaigns for movies like “Coming 2 America” and “Being the Ricardos,” as well as the series “The Boys,” “Wheel of Time,” and “The Underground Railroad.” “For nearly two years, Ukonwa has supported the Prime Video brand and its broad and growing content slate with focus, passion, and commitment,” Mike Hopkins, SVP Prime Video & Amazon Studios, wrote in a note to staff.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBaz Luhrmann’s “Australia” is about to get the Snyder Cut treatment.The 2008 epic love letter to his native country was a box office dud when it hit theaters over a decade ago and critics were mostly “meh” on the whole thing. But its reputation has grown over the years, helped by frequent showings on cable, streaming and the like, and it sounds as though the director wasn’t done tinkering with a movie that, charitably, was a whole lot better than people gave it credit for at the time.Now, word comes from down under that “Australia” will be reimagined as a six-part limited series titled “Faraway Downs” to be released exclusively as a Hulu Original in the U.S.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNew York’s theater scene has its next impossible to come by ticket.Ralph Fiennes, Tony winner, Oscar nominee, recovering Voldemort and Monsieur Gustave for the ages, will tread the boards again as Robert Moses in David Hare’s new play “Straight Line Crazy.”The show has already played in the West End, where it scored rave reviews. Variety wrote that in the title role as the super controversial city planner, “Fiennes is all boldly convincing, controlled threat, his monomania teetering on the edge of malevolence.” It will now have a nine-week run at The Shed’s Griffin Theater as part of its fall 2022 season. Nicholas Hytner will direct the show.“Straight Line Crazy” should land with even greater resonance in New York City, where the legacy of Moses’s obsession with erecting highways (often at the expense of the neighborhoods and ethnic enclaves he knocked down in the process) can still be seen and felt.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaVicky Eguia, a public relations executive at Amazon who helped create Oscar-winning campaigns for “Manchester By the Sea” and “The Salesman,” died Saturday at the age of 48. The cause was cancer, her family said on social media.Eguia most recently served as director of PR, diversity, equity and inclusion and community relations at Amazon.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaPresident Biden called the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and end a federal right to an abortion “a sad day for the [Supreme] court and for the country” and said it will cast a “dark shadow” over a large swath of the U.S.In an address from the White House shortly after the bombshell ruling was made public, the president said that the court “expressly took away a constitutional right from the American people,” adding, “that’s never been done to a right so important to so many Americans, but they did it.”The final opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, repudiated a 1973 decision which guaranteed constitutional protections for abortion rights.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic look at the “King of Rock,” grossed $3.5 million in Thursday previews, while “The Black Phone,” a child abduction chiller from Blumhouse,” scared up $3 million. The two films are hoping to make a mark at the box office this weekend, but they face stiff competition from holdovers such as “Jurassic World Dominion,” “Lightyear” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” It’s a wide open field as they elbow their way to the top of the chart.“Elvis,” a Warner Bros.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRoadside Attractions has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Free Turn’s “Gigi & Nate.” The film stars Charlie Rowe, Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden, and Jim Belushi, and is based on true events. It tells the story of Nate Gibson, a young man whose life is turned upside down after he suffers a near-fatal illness and is left a quadriplegic.And “Gigi & Nate” also serves as the introduction to a pint-sized, though still formidable new talent.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Euphoria” star Hunter Schafer has joined the cast of Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”She will appear opposite Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler in the studio’s attempt to recapture that old Panem magic. Schafer will play Tigris Snow, the cousin and confidante of Coriolanus Snow (Blyth), who, “Hunger Games” fans know, will one day mature into the autocratic ruler of the dystopian world of the books and films, a leader who has just a dollop of psychopathy to go along with his suave demeanor.“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” debuts in theaters worldwide on November 17, 2023.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall are divorcing after six years of marriage.The 91-year-old media mogul and the 65-year-old model tied the knot in 2016. It was Murdoch’s fourth marriage. He was previously married to Wendi Deng from 1999 to 2013; Anna Maria Torv from 1967 to 1999; and Patricia Booker, from 1956 to 1967.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaQuiver Distribution has acquired “The Wheel,” a relationship drama about a young couple on the brink of divorce. That film is from Steve Pink, the co-writer of “High Fidelity” and the director of “Hot Tub Time Machine” and “About Last Night.” It premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Quiver will distribute the film on July 22, 2022.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBroadway is lifting its mask mandate.Starting in July, mask-wearing at all 41 Broadway theaters will be optional, the Broadway League announced Tuesday. The announcement comes as COVID rates have begun to decline in the five boroughs.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNetflix is bracing for its next round of layoffs as the streaming giant looks to cut costs in the wake of its stock troubles.Impacted staff are expected to be told at the end of the week. It’s unclear what departments are going to be hit, but sources suggest that the cuts could be similar in size to the round of reductions undertaken in May. At that time, Netflix laid off 150 employees and dozens of contractors and part-time workers.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Top Gun: Maverick” has roared past the $800 million mark at the global box office, and by crossing that milestone it now ranks as the highest-grossing film in Tom Cruise’s storied career.The long-gestating sequel to “Top Gun,” the 1986 aeronautics action flick that solidified Cruise’s place on the A-list, has now passed “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” which was previously the actor’s most successful film with $791.1 million worldwide. Its total stands at $806.4 million, with $422.2 million of that impressive bounty coming from domestic audiences.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaDisney and Pixar’s “Lightyear” blasted off with a respectable $5.2 million in Thursday previews.The film, a spinoff of the “Toy Story” franchise, looks at the fictional astronaut character who was in a movie the inspired the Buzz Lightyear action figure who enchanted Andy and who later became BFFs with Woody (got that?). But this Buzz Lightyear, much to Patricia Heaton’s rather evocative dismay, is voiced not by Tim Allen, whose dulcet pipes graced all four “Toy Story” flicks, but by the Star Command-ing cadences of one Chris Evans.“Lightyear” is expected to launch to between $70 million to $80 million and will screen in 4,200 North American theaters. That should be a big enough number to secure first place at the box office, as well as all the attendant bragging rights that come with that perch.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNewportFILM Outdoors has unveiled its upcoming season of award-winning documentaries. The organization showcases non-fiction features and screens them in dramatic, often opulent settings around Newport, Rhode Island, a legendary summer getaway.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaKyra Sedgwick has been acting since she was 16, stealing scenes from Julia Roberts in “Something to Talk About” and interrogating hardened criminals to Emmy-winning effect on “The Closer.” But she thinks she’s found her true calling as a director.“I’m madly in love with it,” Sedgwick tells Variety as she prepares for “Space Oddity,” her latest directorial effort, to premiere at the Tribeca Festival. “I feel like this is what I was meant to do all along.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBleecker Street, the indie studio behind “The Assistant” and “Mass,” and online film packaging, financing and distribution marketplace Slated have entered a strategic partnership. It is described as a multi-picture, multi-year output deal.It’s also an innovative alliance that will see the two companies use new to technology to identify high scoring films from Slated’s curated content pipeline to distribute domestically via Bleecker Street.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Topdog/Underdog” will return to Broadway this fall with Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II appearing in the two lead roles.The revival is timed to the 20th anniversary of Suzan-Lori Parks’ play, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama when it debuted. Kenny Leon, the Tony Award-winning director of the 2014 revival of “A Raisin in the Sun” and 2020’s “A Soldier’s Story,” will direct “Topdog/Underdog.”The strictly limited, 16-week engagement will begin previews on Sept. 27 at the John Golden Theatre and will officially open on Oct.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBrian Gersh has been named president of Network Entertainment USA. He brings three decades of experience in the entertainment industry, having worked as an executive, agent, manager, and producer, where he has greenlit scores of film and television projects around the world.