Riot Games Hires Mandy Beckner as Global Head of Live Action Development, Film & TV (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer With peak nerd TV upon us, there’s never been a better time to be a fan of genre programming – or David S. Goyer, a devotee and prolific writer-producer of genre fare. Goyer and his Phantom Four Films partner Keith Levine produced Hulu’s new David Bruckner-directed “Hellraiser” movie, which launched Friday, and are in the middle of filming their latest take on classic IP, “The Omen” prequel movie “The First Omen,” in Rome. Beyond that, the pair are in post-production on the second season of Apple’s “Foundation” adaptation, breaking the writers’ room for more episodes of the “Batman Unburied” podcast for DC and Spotify. They’re also working on two spinoff podcasts, including “Riddler,” featuring Hasan Minhaj, and a Batgirl/Barbara Gordon project. And they’re in the early stages of developing a dramatic series revolving around Michael Moorcock’s “The Eternal Champion” books for Skydance and Apple TV+ with “Foundation” writer Dana Jackson. If that’s not enough, they’re also holding their breath for a renewal of the Warner Bros.-produced “The Sandman” at Netflix.   

EXCLUSIVE: Adeola Role (Blue Bloods), Ryan Broussard (Only Murders in the Building) and Graham Verchere (Stargirl) are set as series regulars opposite Dania Ramirez and Scott Caan in Fox’s Alert, a character-driven police procedural from The Blacklist showrunner John Eisendrath and Jamie Foxx, Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment.

HBO Max announced an upcoming special on Friday.They will give a new spin to the critically acclaimed Max Original adult animated series, Harley Quinn.A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special starring Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell is coming to HBO Max in February 2023. It's love: HBO Max announced an upcoming special on Friday.

K.J. Yossman The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) honored distributors, retailers, media owners, producers and suppliers across the home entertainment spectrum on Thursday evening (Oct. 6). Hosted by BBC presenter Ayo Akinwolere, winners on the night included Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery and Altitude Film. Every year, the BASE awards are a fantastic opportunity for the home entertainment community to come together and celebrate the successes but also the resilience and agility of our industry,” said Liz Bales, chief executive for BASE. “I’d like to extend my huge congratulations to everyone who entered and won last night; the standard of submissions, once again, demonstrates the brilliance of our category, and completely blew us and the judges away. A massive thank you, as always, to the BASE team for putting together such a memorable night and of course, to our fantastic judges and supporters who make evenings like this possible.”

Universal Pictures Wins Big At 2022 BASE AwardsThe British Association for Screen Entertainment hosted the 42nd annual BASE Awards at Camden’s Roundhouse Thursday night and Universal Pictures led the winner’s list, taking home five awards, including Outstanding Innovation for Streaming ‘Live’ to Your Living Room: Stand-Up Comedy with Eddie Izzard and Dylan Moran, and Best in Class Packaging for Inglourious Basterds: Total Basterds Edition. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery followed close behind with four awards each. Sony Pictures Entertainment took home Campaign of the Year for New Release Film – Over 15m Box Office for Spider-Man: No Way Home, while Warner Bros. Discovery won Home Entertainment Campaign of the Year – TV for Game of Thrones: The Iron Anniversary.

Clayton Davis Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday. LAST UPDATED: Oct. 6, 2022 CATEGORY COMMENTARY:

Many have been wondering if The Flash film would be moving forward with being released by Warner Bros. after the film’s star, Ezra Miller, has been mired in controversy in the recent months.

"The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson, the first movie that incorporated synchronized speaking parts for its actors, was released on this day in history, Oct. 6, 1927.  Primitive by today’s standards, the movie revolutionized cinema in the United States and beyond and is recognized as a landmark achievement in pop culture history.

Jamie Foxx is sharing his pride in his daughter for all the world to see. On Monday, the 54-year-old gave a special shout-out to his oldest daughter, Corinne Foxx, celebrating the upcoming documentary she executive produced aimed at raising awareness about endometriosis, the reproductive condition in which uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus, causing cramping and chronic pain.The 28-year-old posted a video to her Instagram account reflecting on the «full circle moment» that was attending the Los Angeles premiere of three years after battling endometriosis herself in 2018. The video features old photos of Corinne in the hospital while getting surgery for «a disease that I had barely heard of» and ends with footage and photos from Saturday's premiere alongside fellow producer Rosario Dawson.A post shared by Corinne Foxx (@corinnefoxx)Jamie reposted the video to his social page, praising his daughter for her work. «So proud of my daughter @corinnefoxx please check out the documentary movie Below The Belt… you will be blown away by the courage the women possess in this film,» the Oscar winner captioned the post.Hillary Clinton and Mae Whitman also serve as executive producers of with Corinne and Dawson. Per the film's website, the documentary features «personal and inspiring stories of four patients urgently searching for answers to mysterious symptoms.» The site explains that endometriosis affects «1 in 9 women,» and the film aims to show how women are «often dismissed, discounted and disbelieved.

EXCLUSIVE: FilmSharks has picked up world sales rights, excluding Latin America, to the crime thriller A Singular Crime (Un Crimen Argentino), directed by Lucas Combina.

Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema's highly-anticipated horror sequel The Nun 2 has brought back a familiar face with Taissa Farmiga set to return.The 28-year-old actress has signed on to reprise her role as Sister Irene in the sequel, according to Deadline.Warner Bros./New Line have also set a September 8, 2023 release date for the horror sequel, which is currently the only movie slated for release on that date.  Taissa: Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: Taissa Farmiga is returning to New Line’s The Nun 2 as Sister Irene. She joins previously announced Storm Reid in the sequel to 2018’s The Nun, which remains the highest grossing chapter in the $2B The Conjuring Universe at $365.6M WW.

Variety as Madrid’s 2nd Iberseries & Platino Industria, a TV-film forum, wound down on Friday, running Sept. 27-30.  Three large table talk topics were the fall out from the planned merger of HBO Max and Discover+ by Warner Bros. Discovery – with the removal of more than three dozen titles on HBO Max in August alone –  Netflix’s reconfiguration of its business model and galloping inflation in Europe, threatening streamer subs, They also played out, if sometimes indirectly, at the Iberseries & Platino Industria panels. 

Carl Samrock, a former VP National Publicity for Warner Bros Pictures and home video executive who also was a photojournalist for The New York Times, died October 1 of pancreatic cancer. He was 81.

Banijay Appoints Netflix Exec As CFO

Brent Lang Executive Editor Paramount’s “Smile” debuted to a sizzling $22 million, easily topping the domestic box office. The horror film beat out the weekend’s other new wide release, Universal’s LGBTQ romantic comedy “Bros,” which landed in fourth with a paltry $4.8 million debut. “Smile” ranks as one of the better original horror debuts of the year, beating out 20th Century Studios’ “Barbarian” ($10 million) and Sony’s “The Invitation” ($7 million). As the box office enters October, the horror genre will continue to take center stage with Universal’s “Halloween Ends” releasing in two weeks and hoping to cash in on the excitement for thrills and chills. The box office result for “Smile” is a frighteningly good haul, seeing as it cost Paramount a measly $17 million to produce. The company used some clever marketing tactics this week by strategically placing paid actors, with huge, creepy smiles plastered on their faces, behind home plate during televised Major League Baseball games. Social media users quickly noticed the unsettling fans, who wore “Smile” t-shirts, when the cameras zoomed in on batters stepping up to the plate.

Rosario Dawson turned heads in a colorful, flowy dress as she attended the special screening of the documentary film, Below The Belt, in Los Angeles earlier Saturday evening. The Mandalorian actress, 43, was accompanied by her boyfriend and philanthropist, Nnamdi Okafor, who was also dressed to impress. Other celebrities walked the red carpet before the film's premiere at the Directors Guild of America, such as Jamie Foxx, his daughter, Corinne Foxx, and Hailey Bieber's older sister, Alaia Baldwin.  Stunning: Rosario Dawson, 43, turned heads in a colorful dress as she attended the screening of Below The Belt in Los Angeles earlier Saturday evening The talented actress opted for a triangle-patterned dress that fell down towards the ground.  The long-sleeved gown contained hues of green, light blue, and indigo. A black and white belt made of the same cotton material was tied to accentuate her waist. To accessorize her glamourous look for the night, Rosario added a pair of long, black dangly earrings. She also added an assortment of stylish rings. The beauty appeared to be in high spirits as she paused for a brief photo session before the screening of the film.  Having a blast: The talented actress was all smiles as she stopped for a brief photo session before the screening of Below The Belt  Cute! The star was accompanied to the premiere with her boyfriend, Nnamdi Okafor, who was also dressed to the nines  The Dopesick star also posed for a few loving snaps with her boyfriend, Nnamdi, who is both a philanthropist and a poet. He donned a pair of black dress pants which he paired with a black dress shirt.

Noah Baumbach’s White Noise kicked off the 60thNew York Film Festival Friday night with a heartfelt paean by the writer/director to an event that he said shaped his love of movies and his career path.

Jodie Turner-Smith dazzles in a stunning black gown at the premiere of White Noise during the 2022 New York Film Festival held at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on Friday night (September 30) in New York City.