The long-awaited live Hollywood return of the TCM Classic Film Festival arrived Thursday night with a biggie: The 40th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s 1982 masterpiece E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. TCM had to go virtual the past couple of years so getting back to normal with the four-day fest in the heart of Hollywood is welcome news indeed, and spirits were high at this Coachella for movie nerds. Sporting a brand-new remastered Imax print, the beloved film has never looked better and was especially impressive taking up every inch of that giant screen at the TCL Chinese Theatre, where the gala event took place.

Previously announced appearances by co-stars Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore did not materialize as each was stuck with prior commitments and couldn’t make the trip, but other stars of the film including Dee Wallace and Robert McNaughton were introduced in the audience, as well as several artisans who worked on the movie including film editor Carol Littleton, production designer Jim Bissell and sound Designer Ben Burtt, among others.

But it was the presence of Spielberg that really got the capacity crowd going as he sat for a 27-minute Q&A with TCM primetime host Ben Mankiewicz before the film rolled. Mankiewicz skillfully weaved the conversation through the beginnings of the multi-Oscar winner’s legendary career including his first studio job — which, at age 22, was directing none other than Joan Crawford in the TV pilot of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. This TCM golden-era-movie-loving audience certainly appreciated hearing about that, but Spielberg assured there was no evidence of any kind of “Mommie Dearest” personality in his relationship with the screen legend; in fact, he pointed out she had Pepsi Cola machines installed (her then-husband was a major player at Pepsi) and provided for cast and crew 24/7.

There was also talk of his classic 1971 ABC TV movie Duel and a nifty tale about how the network paid for reshoots so the truck could be blown to smithereens instead of the more subtle Hitchcockian approach the young director had shot. Of course pre-E.T. classics Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) were discussed, including Spielberg saying the casting of the great great French director Francois Truffaut in the latter was one of the great honors of his career to this day. He also admitted the next film he did, the epic comedy 1941, was indeed a critical and box office failure but because he had such major success with the other films, the studio gave him carte blanche. He pointed out that for about 20 years its reputation was not pretty, but I saw it in a beautiful print at American Cinematheque a few years ago and it really is a movie that deserves a second look. It was much better than I remembered — even if as Spielberg now says, “We made a comedy with no laughs.”

Finally the conversation landed on all things E.T., with lots of interesting revelations including the fact that the original voice of E.T. was none other than Spielberg friend Debra Winger, who supplied the voice for an early version. “The first 50 people I showed the film to actually saw it with Debra Winger as E.T.,” he said. Like always, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house by the time the end credits rolled. Check out the entire conversation by clicking the link in the photo at the top of the post.

In that Q&A Spielberg also talks about the infamous audition tape of Henry Thomas, who plays the titular role of Elliott. A scene reading from the script didn’t go so well, so they decided to ask young Thomas to improvise something after it is explained authorities are trying to take away a creature he has hiding in the house. The rest is history. You can hear the voice of Spielberg confirming he got the job at the end.

Spielberg returns to the fest tonight to help introduce (with George Stevens Jr. and Margaret Bodde) the world premiere of Warner Bros and Film Foundation’s new 4K restoration of George Stevens’ Oscar-winning 1956 classic Giant, which starred Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean (in his third and final movie). TCM recently announced it has expanded its partnership with a multi-year financial commitment to The Film Foundation, which was founded by Martin Scorsese 30 years ago and has restored a staggering 900 movie classics so far. Scorsese and fellow board member Spielberg hand-picked Giant for this restoration.

“Anything that presumes to call itself Giant better have the goods to keep such a lofty promise,” Spielberg said in a statement announcing the TCM Classic Film Festival premiere. “Both Edna Ferber and George Stevens far exceeded the title to bring such an epic American story to the big screen, and I’m proud to have been a small part of the restoration team of this classic motion picture.”

The new 4K restoration was completed sourcing both the original camera negatives and protection RGB separation master positives for the best possible image and color corrected in high dynamic range for the latest picture display technology. The audio was sourced primarily from a 1995 protection copy of the Original Magnetic Mono soundtrack. The picture and audio restoration was completed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services: Motion Picture Imaging and Post Production Sound.

Meanwhile, among other special moments at this year’s fest will be Sunday’s screening of the Oscar-winning 1952 western High Noon, celebrating its 70th anniversary appropriately at noon. Among those introducing it will be star Gary Cooper’s daughter Maria Cooper Janis, who then will hit the freeway to USC, where she also will talk about High Noon when it screens as the USC School Of Cinematic Arts premieres its six-month Gary Cooper Exhibition featuring all kinds of artifacts from Cooper’s iconic career. She will join me on a panel following the film that also includes Amanda Foreman, daughter of the film’s screenwriter Carl Foreman, and Glenn Frankel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic. Gary Cooper won his second Best Actor Oscar for the movie, which might be even more timely now than when it was made.

Written By Pete Hammond for Deadline

Martin Scorsese’s nonprofit The Film Foundation is launching a free virtual screening room to showcase restored films starting May 9 with I Know Where I’m Going!.

The 1945 film directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and restored by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive, in association with ITV and Park Circus, will be available for a 24 -hour window. Subsequent features will debut on the second Monday of each month. Events will start at a set time with introductions and conversations with filmmakers and archivists providing an inside look at the restoration process.

The lineup from co-curators Scorsese and Kent Jones includes Federico Fellini’s 1954 La Strada; G. Aravindan’s 1979 Indian film Kummatty; a film noir double feature of Detour (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945) and The Chase (Arthur D. Ripley, 1946); Sambizanga (Angola, 1972, directed by Sarah Maldoror); One-Eyed Jacks (1961, directed by Marlon Brando); Moulin Rouge (John Huston, 1952); Lost Lost Lost (1976, by Jonas Mekas) and others TBA.

“We’re looking forward to making these beautiful restorations available to a wide audience,” the director said Scorsese, who founded The Film Foundation in 1990 and serves as chair. “Many of these presentations will feature restorations that are rarely seen, with myself and other filmmakers sharing why these films are important, how they have impacted our lives, and why it’s crucial that they be preserved.”

Margaret Bodde, executive director, said the Restoration Screening Room “aligns perfectly with the foundation’s mission, and we’re eager to connect with people around the world who love cinema.”

The screening of I Know Where I’m Going! is co-presented by the BFI National Archive, Janus Films, ITV and Park Circus. The remastered version of the classic romance world premiered at Cannes Classics last year and had a UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in October.

The screening will be introduced by Scorsese and include interviews with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Joanna Hogg, Tilda Swinton and Kevin Macdonald — all of whom count the film among their favorites. Restoration funding for the film was provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation with additional support provided by Matt Spick.

The Film Foundation, which has helped restore over 925 films, partnered with Oracle and DelphiQuest to create and power the platform.

Written By Jill Goldsmith for Deadline

Neon said Wednesday that it has come aboard Fire of Love, Sara Dosa’s documentary that world premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. That’s where Deadline boke the news that National Geographic Documentary Films acquired worldwide rights to the pic, which explores the lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through rare archival footage.

Nat Geo and Neon previously partnered on the release last year of Matthew Heineman’s Covid documentary The First Wave. As part of the new deal, Neon will release Fire of Love in the summer ahead of a planned streaming bow on Disney+.

Shane Boris, Ina Fichman and Dosa produced Fire of Love, which is narrated by Miranda July. Executive Producers are Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop of Sandbox Films, Carolyn Bernstein of National Geographic Documentary Films, and Josh Braun and Dan Braun of Submarine.

The feature doc is a Sandbox Films, Intuitive Pictures & Cottage M production. It is edited by Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput; the pic won an editing award at Sundance.

Neon’s recent documentary releases included Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated Flee, which scored an unprecedented three Oscar nominations in the categories of Animated Feature, Documentary and International Feature. The distrib also is behind Ailey, chronicling the life of dance pioneer Alvin Ailey, and Totally Under Control, about the U.S. government’s response in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Neon also recently boarded Brett Morgen’s David Bowie doc Moonage Daydream to distribute with Universal after the film’s world premiere next month at Cannes.

Written By Patrick Hipes for Deadline

Scott Free Productions has come aboard to produce an film adaptation of the bestselling book The Infinite Machine, from cryptocurrency journalist Camila Russo. 

Written with the verve of such works as The Big Short, The History of the Future and The Spider Network, here is the fascinating, Russo’s book charts the rise of Ethereum, the second-biggest digital asset in the world, the growth of cryptocurrency, and the future of the internet as we know it.

The story of Ethereum begins with Vitalik Buterin, a gifted 19-year-old autodidact who saw the promise of blockchain when the technology was in its earliest stages. He convinced a crack group of coders to join him in his quest to make a super-charged, global computer.

The film will be written for the screen and directed by Shyam Madiraju, with Ridley Scott, Tom Moran and Vera Meyer of Scott Free producing alongside Alejandro Miranda of Versus Entertainment.

“It’s incredibly exciting to have Ridley Scott and the crew at Scott Free produce the movie of The Infinite Machine alongside us,” Russo said. “I can’t imagine a better team to turn the riveting story about the people behind the most revolutionary technology since the internet into a feature film that will capture the hearts of our generation.”

Russo is repped by Dan Mandel from Greenburger Sanford J Associates. Madiraju is repped by Renee Kurtz and E. Brian Dobbins at Artists First.

Recent films for Scott Free include the Ridley Scott-directed The Last Duel, starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer, and House of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver and Al Pacino. Upcoming films include Napoleon directed by Scott with Joaquin Phoenix set to star as French military leader and emperor Napoleon; Boston Strangler, starring Keira Knightley; First Ascent, to be directed by Jake Scott, which is set up at Hulu with Daisy Ridley attached to star; Berlin Nobody, a thriller starring Eric Bana and Kiernan Shipka with Jordan Scott directing; and a new movie in the Alien franchise to be directed by Fede Álvarez.

Written By Justin Kroll for Deadline

Utkarsh Ambudkar is on a hot streak.

The actor is the star of CBS’ breakout comedy Ghosts, which wraps up its first season tonight, and appeared in Hulu’s Theranos drama series The Dropout.

He has now set a feature film that he conceived, co-wrote, produced and is co-starring in at Disney+.

World’s Best tells the story of a young math kid who vows to become the world’s best MC.

Roshan Sethi, who made his feature directorial debut with 7 Days, the 2022 Independent Spirit Award winner for Best First Feature, directs. Principal photography starts in May.

It co-stars Space Force’s Punam Patel, who Ambudkar worked with on Netflix’s Special and also played his sister on Ghosts, and Manny Magnus, who stars in Amazon’s I Want You Back.

World’s Best follows 12-year-old Prem, played by Magnus, as he navigates life as that junior high kid in the high school math class. After his best friend Jerome abandons him for the popular group, Prem never feels more alone, despite the support of his mother Priya, played by Patel). But when Prem discovers that his late father Suresh, played by Ambudkar, was a great rapper, his new destiny is sealed. With renewed purpose (and some helpful, albeit imaginary, appearances from Suresh), Prem vows to break out of the mold of “math kid” and become the world’s best MC.

Ambudkar initially pitched the idea to Disney’s Sean Bailey in February 2020 and wrote the feature with Jessica Jones writer Jamie King. The pair have written together for a number of years after King would go to watch Ambudkar battle rap at NYC’s now-defunct Leopard Lounge, which appears in the film.

Ambudkar is also collaborating with a number of friends. Thomas Kail, who scored a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Film with 2020’s Freestyle Love Supreme, in which Ambudkar co-starred, produces alongside his business partner Kate Sullivan.

He is writing and co-producing the music with longtime collaborator Charlie B. Wilder, while Academy Award nominee Savan Kotecha (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) is the music director.

Director Sethi, who is also a palliative radiation oncologist, is the co-creator of the medical drama series The Resident, now in its fifth season on Fox. Allison Erlikhman is the Production Executive for Disney.

Ambudkar said, “Collaborating with Disney on a feature about a nuclear South Asian family with music at its heart means a lot to me personally. I can’t wait to bring World’s Best to life with friends and colleagues I’ve known a long time, as well as people whose work is relatively new to me. After seeing his first feature, I knew Roshan Sethi could capture the intricacies, humor and energy of World’s Best. Manny Magnus is a special find. He’s been dancing and performing his own music since he was six years old. And I know firsthand that Punam Patel will bring laughs and warmth to the role of Priya, the matriarch. I hope World’s Best will be super fun, both to make and watch.”

Ambudkar is repped by The Gersh Agency, 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney Michael A. Auerbach/Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein. Sethi is repped by WME and Lit Entertainment Group, Patel is repped by APA and Management 360 and Magnus is repped by CESD Talent Agency, People Store and Industry Entertainment.

Written By Peter White for Deadline

Vin Diesel took to Instagram today to share that Fast & Furious 10 will officially be titled Fast X, also announcing the launch of production.

“Day one… 🙏🏽” the action star wrote.

While details with regard to the plot of Fast X have thus far been kept under wraps, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Jason Momoa, Daniela Melchior and Brie Larson will also star. Justin Lin is on board as director and will also produce alongside Diesel, with the film set to bow in theaters via Universal on May 19, 2023.

Lin has been one of the lead directors for the action franchise, having previously helmed 2021’s F9, as well as Fast & Furious 6, Fast Five, Fast & Furious and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. The franchise is Universal’s biggest of all time—its films having collectively grossed over $6.6 billion worldwide.

Written By Matt Grobar for Deadline

Alejandro Loayza Grisi and Santiago Loayza Grisi, the brother filmmakers behind Sundance prize winner Utama, have signed with Cinetic Media for management.

The title of the Bolivian filmmakers’ most recent work, which won the Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance 2022, translates to “our home.” The critically acclaimed eco-drama centers on an elderly Quechua couple in the Bolivian highlands that have been living the same daily life for years. During an uncommonly long drought, Virginio (José Calcina) and his wife Sisa (Luisa Quispe) face a dilemma: resist, or be defeated by the environment and time itself.

Utama is currently playing at the San Francisco Film Festival, and has been acquired by Kino Lorber for a theatrical release later this year. Alejandro wrote the film, which also marked his feature directorial debut. Santiago produced under their shingle Alma Films, where they’re partnered with their filmmaker father, Marcos Loayza.

Alejandro started his career in still photography, seeing his work be published and exhibited throughout South America. He then turned to moving images as a director of photography, before making his directorial debut. His brother and producing partner, Santiago Loayza Grisi, is a general producer with Alma Films, where he has produced more that 40 projects, including documentaries, commercials and feature films.

News of the Grisi brothers inking with Cinematic follows its signing of Bad Vegan filmmaker Chris Smith and his Library Films Shingle. The management and media advisory company founded by John Sloss in 2001 also represents such writers, directors and producers as Richard Linklater, David Gordon Green, Todd Haynes, Killer Films, World of Wonder, Alexander Nanau, Matthew Heineman, Yance Ford, Lana Wilson and Janus Metz, among others. Its other services include content sales, financing, marketing and publicity, as well as corporate advisory, the latter of which is responsible for representing and advising media companies, brands, financiers and publishers who are developing and executing entertainment strategies.

Written By Matt Grobar for Deadline

Skydance New Media and Lucasfilm are teaming to develop a new Star Wars game.

Revealed Tuesday by New Media’s Amy Hennig, Skydance will work with Lucasfilm to develop and produce “a richly cinematic action-adventure game featuring an original story in the legendary Star Wars galaxy.” News of the Star Wars project comes several months after Skydance New Media unveiled the development of a Marvel game back in October.

“I’ve often described how seeing Star Wars in 1977 essentially rewired my 12-year-old brain, shaping my creative life and future indelibly,” said Hennig, President of Skydance New Media. “I’m elated to be working with Lucasfilm Games again to tell interactive stories in this galaxy that I love.”

Added Douglas Reilly, VP of Lucasfilm Games: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working again with Amy. She and the Skydance New Media team have the talent and ambition to create a unique Star Wars adventure. Their vision for making inviting, cinematic interactive entertainment makes this collaboration very exciting. We’re working hard with their team of experienced and talented developers, and we’re looking forward to sharing more with Star Wars fans when the time is right.”

This is the second significant project announced for the game studio, which was formed by Hennig, known for her work on Naughty Dog titles Uncharted and Jak and Daxter, and veteran producer Julian Beak. Since launching in 2019 New Media has enlisted a team of developers with decades of experience in the action and adventure gaming worlds. The studio has also assembled a diverse team of creative consultants from the worlds of film, television and comics.

While the in-development project marks Skydance New Media’s second significant initiative, Star Wars has been in gaming for many years with the likes the Lego Star Wars franchise, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Battlefront, among others.

Written By Alexandra Del Rosario for Deadline

Disney’s focus on genre fans and programming makes Disney+ 30% more valuable than average streaming services, according to Fandom’s “State of Streaming” report.

Fandom, which was founded in 2004 by Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales and Angela Beesley Starling, controls a large cache of data on consumer preferences in film, TV, video games and other corners of pop culture. The company says it gets more than 300 million unique visitors per month and hosts more than 250,000 “wikis,” or interactive information hubs.

Conducted in the last week of January, the streaming study gauged the habits and sentiments of 5,500 global Fandom users. Survey responses were cross-checked with Fandom’s proprietary fan panel.

The report settled on three “rules” for studios and streaming providers. They must “lean into genre strengths”; “rethink the in-theater experience to differentiate from growing at-home viewing trends”; and “super-serve consumers beyond the screen.”

Not surprisingly, streaming consumers are sensitive to price. On average, they told Fandom they pay for five streaming services, with monthly costs per service coming in at $7.46. Cost is the top reason cited for subscribers wanting to cancel a subscription, with 61% calling theirs too expensive.

Genre is the main differentiating trait for 62% of respondents making choices of what to sign up for, with Disney+ leading the pack in terms of delivering genre content. In large part because of those genre offerings, Disney+ was estimated to have a 30% higher value than an average video streaming service. The top franchises and brands in terms of how they cater to fans beyond screen content are, in order, Star Wars, Disney, Harry Potter and Marvel. Such is their allegiance to those major brands that 73% of fans say their spending would be worth it for any service offering exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content or merchandise and collectibles.

Interestingly, food was also mentioned as a difference-maker, with 45% of respondents saying package deals with food delivery services would enhance their streaming experience and encourage loyalty.

Theatrical is back in the mix after the pullback during the peak period of Covid, but with some caveats. A healthy 80% of Fandom’s constituency has returned to theaters or describe themselves as comfortable with watching films in theaters. Yet 74% of potential ticket buyers say they are willing to wait to see a movie at home on streaming — as long as it is included at no additional charge with one of their subscription services. Asked what appeals to them most about the home viewing experience, 82% cited the ability to hit the pause button.

“A crowded and competitive market has driven the major streaming platforms to shift their focus from acquisition to retention,” Fandom CEO Perkins Miller said.

CMO Stephanie Fried said the company’s data “unlocks powerful insights” and “a deep and granular understanding of fan preferences and motivations.”

Written By Dade Hayes for Deadline

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s Group Effort Initiative has partnered with Netflix on a new initiative that will expand underrepresented communities’ access to below-the-line career opportunities. Participants will secure access to on-set production training, as well as job placements this year on multiple Netflix productions throughout the United States and Canada.

Reynolds and Lively launched GEI via their companies Maximum Effort and B for Effort, and also serve as its financiers. The organization first brought a group of trainees together in Vancouver, on the set of Reynolds’ hit film The Adam Project for Netflix and Skydance, with eight participants serving as entry-level production assistants in various departments including camera, construction, costume, makeup, production design, production office and VFX. Netflix has already partnered with GEI on productions including White Noise, You People and Leave the World Behind, following the success of the program on the set of the Shawn Levy pic.

“We started the Group Effort Initiative a little less than two years ago to create a pipeline for underrepresented voices in our industry. Its growth has exceeded our wildest expectations and it could not have succeeded as it has without the unwavering support of Netflix,” said Reynolds and Lively in a joint statement. “What started on the Adam Project will now expand to many more Netflix productions. We thank Scott Stuber and the entire team for their commitment to inclusion. We won’t let you down.”

“At Netflix, we believe more people deserve to have their lives reflected on screen and that starts with the important people behind the camera,” added Stubbier, who serves as Head of Global Film at Netflix. “We are thrilled to partner with Ryan and Blake to create opportunities for the next generation of creatives who will shape the future of the entertainment industry.”

Netflix’s partnership with GEI is part of its Fund for Creative Equity, intended to help create more behind-the-camera opportunities for underrepresented communities within the TV and film industries. New projects on which the companies have partnered have already launched production in Long Island and Los Angeles.

Written By Matt Grobar for Deadline

Disney has just dropped a trailer for their July 8 Marvel spectacle Thor: Love And Thunder, the fourth film in the superhero series.

“These hands were once used for battle, now they’re used as tools for peace,” says Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

“I need to figure out exactly who I am,” he adds, a long way from the events of Avengers: Endgame, “my superheroing days are over.”

Directed by Oscar-winner Taika Waititi, the fourth Thor movie finds the Asgard native on a quest for inner peace. Yet, despite this spiritual, hippie journey, bad things are afoot in the galaxy as Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale, is coming to power. The Butcher wants to wipe out all gods. There goes Thor’s retirement.

To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi). However, the galaxy looks to have a savior in Thor’s ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who, as we see here, takes control of the hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.

The movie was shot over at the former Fox studios in Sydney last year.

Written By Anthony D'Alessandro for Deadline

Having two action experts in the starring roles helped stunt coordinator Timothy Eulich make mayhem in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which features Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan jumping through a manic multiverse created by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the directing duo known as the Daniels.

In the A24 film, now in theaters, Yeoh plays Evelyn, a laundromat owner, and mother who navigates the changing scenarios to save her family, including Quan as her husband, Waymond, and ends up with a new outlook on life and love. Key props: a fanny pack that’s used as a martial arts weapon and a butt plug-shaped IRS Auditor of the Year trophy that’s a portal to other dimensions.

Eulich, who has collaborated with the Daniels for 11 years, including on 2016’s “Swiss Army Man,” is familiar with their M.O. He spent several weeks working with them to visualize the scenes. “They know what they want and what they like,” he says. “We would build some of the fights off of the two [directors] performing the action sequences, and then we would fill it [with stunt extras].”

Much of the action pays homage to Hong Kong movies and actors like Jackie Chan, who does most of his own stunts. With Yeoh and Quan at the ready, Eulich makes it clear that the Daniels wanted to use the actors, instead of stunt people, as much as possible in every shot that included their characters.

Eulich was particularly excited to sink his teeth into the fanny pack scene, which features Quan wielding the utilitarian fashion accessory to fend off a squad of IRS security guards. The actor shared his enthusiasm. “He was obsessed because he was with us every single day and he didn’t want to leave the rehearsal hall,” Eulich says.

When he wasn’t on set, Quan was practicing on his own. He brought the fanny pack with him, swinging the nearly seven-foot-long device around his house and refining his technique based on wushu rope dart martial arts. “It was clear he was practicing at home because every day he’d be better than he was the day before,” says Eulich.

As the film reaches its climax, there’s one more fight featuring Evelyn and Brian Le as a baddie. Battling for possession of the butt plug trophy, they must jump over one desk and land on another.

“We weren’t sure how we were going to shoot that,” Eulich says.

Eulich went back to his stunt team to give the filmmakers options — whether they wanted to do it through quick cuts or just have the camera land on Le and Yeoh in the middle of it all. Still, he knew from Yeoh’s work in films such as “Supercop” and “Silver Hawk” that she could handle difficult martial arts sequences.

Eulich had set aside two weeks of rehearsal to work with Yeoh on the scene. “She came in and used three days of that,” he says. Yeoh filmed sequences on her iPhone and then worked on them away from the set. “She would mark through everything until she felt comfortable with it,” Eulich explains. “When [we] were back on set, she would mark it [again] with the other performers, and as soon as they called action, she would just send it — I mean energy full out. It was spectacular to watch.”

 Written By Jazz Tangcay for Variety

The Adam Project, starring Ryan Reynolds, is now Netflix’s fourth most-watched English-language film of all time, the streamer announced today, having garnered 233,150,000 views in its first 28 days on the platform.

Reynolds also currently has the globe-trotting action-comedy Red Notice and action-thriller 6 Underground on the list, at #1 and #9, respectively. The former title generated 364,020,000 in its first 28 days, with the latter drawing 205,470,000. Skydance was behind The Adam Project, as well as 6 Underground.

Other titles on the list as of today include Don’t Look Up (#2), Bird Box (#3), Extraction (#5), The Unforgivable (#6), The Irishman (#7), The Kissing Booth 2 (#8) and Spenser Confidential (#10).

Released on Netflix on March 11, The Adam Project is an action-adventure pic centered on time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed (Reynolds), who after accidentally crash-landing in 2022, teams up with his 12-year-old self (Walker Cobell) for a mission to save the future. Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldaña and Catherine Keener also star.

The film was scripted by Jonathan Tropper and T.S. Nowlin & Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin. Reynolds, Levy, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger produced, with Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen, George Dewey, Patrick Gooing, Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin exec producing.

Netflix started releasing streaming numbers for around 100 countries last year, using the same metric of total streaming that Nielsen does in the U.S.

Reynolds and Levy’s partnership on The Adam Project followed their collaboration on 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy. The pair will next work together on Deadpool 3, with Levy as director, as previously announced.

Written By Matt Grobar for Deadline

On March 27, the Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson-directed Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) won the Oscar for Best Documentary. A week later, the film won the Grammy for Best Music Film, becoming only the third documentary to achieve the feat, following 20 Feet from Stardom and Amy.

The double wins gave a massive boost to Summer of Soul’s viewership. As usual, Disney is not releasing streaming data but has confirmed that the Onyx Collective, Searchlight Pictures and Hulu documentary surged by +390% in hours streamed on Hulu, Disney+ and Star+ between 3/27 – 4/5 (which included the Oscars and the Grammys) vs. 3/13 – 3/22.

The viewership spiked in a big way following the Oscars with Summer of Soul receiving additional exposure from having won the category that was presented by Chris Rock who was slapped by Will Smith moments before he announced Summer of Soul as the winner. There was second triple-digit jump immediately following the Grammys.

Directed by Thompson and produced by Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein, Summer of Soul earned Disney’s Onyx Collective and Hulu’s first Academy Award, and Searchlight Pictures’ first Best Documentary award. It was also Onyx Collective’s first Grammy award.

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. It was released by Disney’s Onyx Collective and Searchlight Pictures, and is streaming on Hulu, Disney+ and Star+.

Written By Nellie Andreeva for Deadline

Loki is heading into The White Darkness for Apple.

Tom Hiddleston is to star in a limited series of David Grann’s non-fiction book for Apple.

The series is developed by Pachinko creator Soo Hugh and will be co-showrun by Hugh and Strange Angel creator and Black Swan writer Mark Heyman.

The White Darkness is inspired by the true-life account of Henry Worsley, played by Hiddleston, a devoted husband and father, a former soldier, a man of deep honor and sacrifice, but also a man deeply obsessed with adventure, manifesting in an epic journey crossing Antarctica on foot.

It marks the second Apple series for Hiddleston, who is best known for starring as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after The Essex Serpent.

The series is produced by Apple Studios and UCP with Theresa Kang-Lowe executive producing through Blue Marble Pictures, where she has an overall deal with the streamer. Hugh, Heyman, Hiddleston will also exec produce alongside Caroline Garity of Blue Marble Pictures, which is behind Pachinko.

Hiddleston is repped by Hamilton Hodell, WME & JSSK. Hugh is repped by WME and Jeffrey Frankel at Mckuin Frankel. Heyman is repped by UTA, Grandview, and Greg Slewett at Shapiro, Johnson, Slewett, and Kole. Grann is repped by CAA in conjunction with The Robbins Office.

Written By Peter White for Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios has landed Ending Things, an action-adventure vehicle for Anthony Mackie and Priyanka Chopra. In competition, Amazon bought a Kevin Sullivan spec script with a True Lies-sque premise. A hit-woman who wants out of the assassin business tells her “business” partner that she’s ending their personal relationship as well. But she comes to realize she doesn’t want to end that part of their bond. In order to survive the breakup – and their last job together – they must join forces for one last night out.

Producing deals are still being worked out. Davis Entertainment’s Jeremy Stein and Lit Entertainment will produce with Mackie’s Make It With Gravy Productions and Inspire Entertainment’s Jason Spire. Chopra Jonas will be exec producer through her Purple Pebble Pictures banner.

Both stars are busy. Mackie was recently set to make his directorial debut with Spark, a drama in which King Richard’s Saniyya Sidney stars as Claudette Colvin, an unsung pioneer of the Civil Rights era. Mackie wrapped the Rupert Wyatt-directed Desert Warrior and is set to play Captain America in the fourth movie in the Marvel franchise. Chopra Jonas is coming off The Matrix Resurrections, and wrapped the romantic comedy Text For You opposite Sam Heughan, as well as the AGBO Amazon limited series Citadel. Chopra Jonas, who has a first-look deal with Amazon to make global TV content, recently was part of an Amazon deal that will have her starring with Sienna Miller in Secret Daughter, with Anthony Chen attached to direct.

The spec deal was brokered by Verve and UTA Independent Film Group. Mackie is repped by UTA and Inspire Entertainment, and Chopra Jonas by UTA.

Written By Mike Fleming Jr for Deadline

Pixar Animation Studios is promoting “Turning Red” producer Lindsey Collins and director Domee Shi into leadership roles at the company.  

Collins has been named into a new position, as senior vice president of development. She will lead the development group at Pixar for features and streaming, where current and upcoming filmmakers originate story ideas and shape them into movies for production. She will report to Pixar president Jim Morris and join the creative VP team which supports chief creative officer Pete Docter in guiding the studio’s creative direction.

Collins joins five other SVPs at Pixar, taking a leadership role in steering the studio’s overall business. She’s a nearly 25-year veteran at the studio, including roles as co-producer of “WALL-E,” producer of “Finding Dory” and vice president of development, where she helped spearhead the studio’s SparkShorts program.

“As I reflect on my 25 years at Pixar, the pride and gratitude I have is surpassed only by the excitement I feel stepping into this new role,” Collins said in a statement. “Pixar has always been a place that seeks to delight and surprise audiences and I am thrilled to be able to expand on that legacy and help shape what comes next, surrounded by some of the most diverse, unique and inspiring filmmakers and voices working today.”

Shi has been named vice president of creative, joining directors Andrew Stanton, Peter Sohn and Dan Scanlon (who also carry that title) in guiding the studio’s filmmakers on their own productions as part of the famed Pixar Braintrust. She will report to Morris and Docter.

After starting at Pixar as an intern, Shi was hired as a story artist on “Inside Out” and has worked on “The Good Dinosaur,” “Incredibles 2” and “Toy Story 4.” Her 2018 short, “Bao,” won the Academy Award for best animated short. With “Turning Red,” Shi is the first woman ever to be a solo director on a Pixar feature. According to Disney, the movie was the No. 1 film premiere on Disney Plus in the streamer’s history.

Article By Adam B. Vary for Variety

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a hot one. Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and  Chris Evans (Captain America) are set to star in buzzy new movie package Project Artemis, we can reveal, with Ozark star, director, and exec-producer Jason Bateman aboard to direct.

That’s not all. Fresh off its Best Picture Oscar win for Coda,  Apple has swooped in on the in-demand package in a $100M+ deal. CAA cut the deal on behalf of the producers. This marks another massive purchase for the studio following a year that saw them pay more than $200M for both the Matthew Vaughn package Argyle and the untitled F1 racing pic starring Brad Pitt.

Plot details are being kept tightly under wraps but we hear the project is set against the space race. Screenplay comes from Rose Gilroy, daughter of writer-director Dan Gilroy and actress René Russo.

Two-time Oscar nominee Johansson will produce with Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn through their These Pictures production company, which commissioned and developed the script. Bateman will produce via his Aggregate Films banner.

Evans and Johansson have been looking for projects to team up on following the end of their Avengers days and came close on Ghosted, another hot package that Apple scooped up. Johansson fell off after scheduling conflicts with Ana de Armas stepping in. That film is currently filming but everything works out in the end as the two A-listers and old friends get a second chance at teaming up again.

Apple and Johansson are also teaming up on Bride, which the actress is starring in and producing for Oscar-winning director Sebastián Lelio. That project is currently in development.

Apple, which on Sunday became the first streamer to win Best Picture, is on a roll. Potentially releasing this year are Martin Scorsese’s Killer’s Of The Flower Moon and Taron Egerton starrer Tetris. The company made waves a couple of years ago with the massive deal for Antoine Fuqua package Emancipation, which could also debut in 2022 (though the Will Smith Oscar drama may delay things).

Avengers, Marriage Story and Lost In Translation star Johansson is in post on Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. Captain America, Avengers, and Knives Out star Evans is in post on Pixar’s Lightyear and the Russo’s The Gray Man.

Led by Bateman and Michael Costigan, Aggregate’s slate includes FX’s A Teacher; plus the upcoming FX limited series Under The Banner Of Heaven; Florida Man for Netflix; Lessons In Chemistry for Apple; and the Netflix feature Your Place Or Mine. Ozark launches its final seven episodes this April.

Johansson is represented by CAA and Yorn Levine. Evans is represented by CAA, 3Arts, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Bateman is represented by CAA, Lighthouse Management + Media, and Hansen Jacobson. Gilroy is represented by UTA, Mosaic, and attorney Howard Abramson.

Apple, CAA, and reps declined to comment.

Article By Andreas Wiseman, Justin Kroll for Deadline