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President Donald Trump clearly has pardons on his mind. After announcing earlier today that he would pardon conservative commentator and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, Trump said also considering a pardon for Martha Stewart and commuting the sentence for disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojovich. Trump made the comments aboard Air Force I en route to a fundraising trip in Texas. I think to a certain extent Martha Stewart was harshly and unfairly treated,” Trump told… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2H8S6xR

Robin Thede , star of the BET late-night series  The Rundown with Robin Thede , has been tapped as the host of the upcoming 34TH Annual TCA Awards , on Saturday, August 4. The ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Thede will host the annual awards ceremony that will hand out trophies selected by TCA’s roster of critics from the U.S. and Canada. Thede is the creator, executive producer, and host of the critically acclaimed  The Rundown , where she entertains… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2LKKGEu

EXCLUSIVE : Universal is pulling out the stops as its Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dinos get ready to stomp around the globe beginning June 6. In one of the studio’s biggest-ever marketing and publicity campaigns — which has included global T-Rex and Raptor stunts — stars including Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard , and director J.A. Bayona have made the rounds from Madrid to London and Shanghai to get the word out on the follow-up to 2015's $1.67B global grosser. The… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2J2Br0M

Simon Reade ’s critically acclaimed Irish production of the one-man play Private Peaceful starring Shane O’Regan will make its New York debut Off Broadway in August, producers said today. Reade (screenwriter on 2017’s Journey’s End ) adapted the play from the novel by War Horse author Michael Morpurgo. Earlier productions of the play have been staged on London’s West End, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Bristol Old Vic. The current production starring O’Regan began… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2LLV0vS

EXCLUSIVE:  Nicolas Pesce 's horror dark comedy  Piercing ,  which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival Midnight section earlier this year, has been acquired by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group for a multi-platform release later this year. Pesce is a genre cinematic voice who has been on the rise, and he’s currently directing Sony’s re-imagining of the class horror pic  The Grudge   which opens on Aug. 16, 2019. UTA Independent Film Group and Endeavor… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2J4t1pL

Melody Herzfeld, the drama teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who hid with 65 of her students during the horrific February 14 mass shooting and a week later guided them in a performance of the song “Shine” during a CNN Town Hall, will be honored by the Tony Awards for Excellence in Theatre Education. Herzfeld will receive the award at the 72nd annual Tony Awards ceremony on Sunday, June 10, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. She will receive $10,000… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2HbR4RW

Syfy has made its first pilot order off its 2018 development slate with Resident Alien , a drama based on the Dark Horse comics series by Peter Horgan and Steve Parkhouse, from Universal Cable Productions, Dark Horse Entertainment and Amblin TV. Resident Alien is described as a dark, twisted and comedic fish-out-of-water story. Adapted for television by Chris Sheridan ( Family Guy) , it follows a crash-landed alien named Harry who, after taking on the identity of a… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2xuXGLD

Four months after  male artists dominated the list of performers and winners at the Grammy Awards , longtime Recording Academy president and CEO Neil Portnow said today that he will exit the job next year. The move comes after a trophy show that was dogged by a #grammyssomale backlash, which included music executives pressuring the Academy to do something about gender disparity. Some of the focus was on a quote Portnow gave to our sister publication Variety after the… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2xv2rV9

How to Train Your Dragon 3 , or rather, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World , has been in the works for years. Originally announced in 2012 for release in 2016, the third and final installment of the DreamWorks Animation franchise is now slated to arrive in March of 2019. After just learning the title of the anticipated sequel back in April, we’re finally getting a glimpse at what the story will offer thanks to a new poster and the promise of the first trailer arriving next week. How to Train Your Dragon 3 Poster Not only does the poster feature Hiccup ( Jay Baruchel ) in some new armor, but the environment in which he’s standing looks colorful and vibrant, like a black light poster or even the the Avatar world of Pandora at night. But of course, the bigger, more important detail is the second dragon facing the Night Fury dragon known as Toothless. The dragon is essentially the complete opposite of Toothless. Instead of having black scales and skin, this new dragon has wh

In their 8th collaboration, LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions have picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the Judy Garland biopic, Judy , starring Oscar-winner Renee Zellweger .  Rupert Goold directed the film, which recently wrapped shooting and is slated for completion and delivery in 2019. Written by Tom Edge, based on Peter Quilter’s stage play End of the Rainbow , the pic is set in the winter of 1968 as showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2LLZNO5

In an intriguing move, fledgling blockchain outfit Slate Entertainment Group (SEG) has pre-bought worldwide distribution rights to Macon Blair 's  The Shitheads starring Luke Wilson ( Old School ) and Ron Funches ( Trolls ), for its upcoming blockchain video on demand platform Binge. Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Jody Hill's Rough House Pictures, Alex Orr ( Atlanta ), and filmscience will produce alongside Jeremy Saulnier, Blair's Bonneville Films and XYZ Films with SEG… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2LHovPH

"Watching someone take everything from you, it turns you into somebody else." STX Entertainment has debuted the first trailer for an action movie titled Peppermint , which is currently set to open in theaters in September at the beginning of the fall season. Peppermint is the latest from French director Pierre Morel ( District B13 , 96 Hours , From Paris with Love , The Gunman ) and is about a fierce momma who becomes an assassin. Peppermint is a revenge story centering on a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and now going to take from her rivals the very life they stole from her. Jennifer Garner stars, with John Ortiz , John Gallagher Jr. , Juan Pablo Raba , Method Man , Tyson Ritter , and Annie Ilonzeh . This looks as expected from Morel - heavy on gritty action, a bit cheesy but still entertaining, and kind of badass. Here's the first trailer (+ teaser poster) for Pierre Morel's Peppermint , direct from STX's YouTube : Peppermint is

Finally, someone decided to stop casting Jennifer Garner as suburban moms and let her kick some ass in an action role again. Garner stars in  Peppermint , a new action-thriller from Taken  director  Pierre Morel . Garner plays a woman out for justice after waking up from a coma to find her family murdered. Watch the  Peppermint trailer below. Peppermint Trailer I really like Jennifer Garner, and I’m happy to see her get back in the action game. Garner has spent such a long time playing suburban moms or popping-up in commercials that it’s easy to forget she comes from an action background. Her breakout role was on the J.J. Abrams series  Alias , and she even got to lead her own action movie once –  Elektra , a spin-off from  Daredevil . Now Garner appears in  Peppermint , a revenge-thriller that sounds a little like  Death Wish Starring Jennifer Garner . In  Peppermint , Garner plays a wife and mother “who awakens from a coma after her husband and daughter are killed in a bruta

The first Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom box office tracking numbers have arrived, and it looks like director  J.A. Bayona ‘s dino-centric sequel could make anywhere between $130-$150 million domestically on its opening weekend. That would put it well below Jurassic World ‘s huge $208 million opening weekend, but that movie is currently sitting at number four on the all-time biggest opening weekend list, and no one is expecting this sequel to outperform that 2015 monster hit. Deadline’s sources say Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is expected to pull in around $140 million when it debuts in late June. If it earned exactly $140 million, that would put it at number 23 on the all-time biggest opening weekend list, sandwiched between Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 and Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 . Again, Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World shocked Hollywood when it opened to $208 million, which, at the time, was the highest opening weekend ever. (I enjoy that movie and I’m still

Canadian broadcaster CTV has become the first international network to open the contents of its LA Screenings ’ shopping spree, picking up U.S. series including The Rookie , Magnum P.I., and Grand Hotel. The broadcaster has picked seven new dramas, two dramedies, one comedy and a talk show from the Hollywood studios ahead of its own Upfronts event on June 7 in Toronto. It bought Nathan Fillion cop drama The Rookie from Entertainment One, Jay Hernandez's reboot of private… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2sudp7N

STXfilms , Shekhar Kapur and Cliff Dorman ( Warrior ) are developing a biopic based on the life of former President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Kapur, who directed  Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age  will direct from a screenplay being written by Dorman. “Patterned after great movies like  Gandhi ,  Selma , and  Darkest Hour , this project will tell the story of a dynamic, powerful personality who helped… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2J2uxfW

Mr. Neighbor’s House,  the Mr. Rogers-crossed-with-David Lynch late night comedy special created by Brian Huskey , Jason Mantzoukas and Jesse Falcon is coming back for a second special on Adult Swim , June 24th at midnight. The first special in 2016 was selected as one of the best shows by the  New York Times.  Huskey stars as Mr. Neighbor a Mr. Rogers type, the host of a kiddie show as he celebrates his “31st annual fifth birthday party”, however, a meltdown ensues as we see… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2J5TuD6

The White House this morning blasted Samantha Bee and TBS over Bee having called  White House staffer/ First Daughter Ivanka Trump a “feckless c**t” in a segment about President Donald Trump ’s immigration policy. "The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious. The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2kEIVg0

The beginning of the NBA Finals tonight on ABC and the fourth consecutive face-off between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers will undoubtedly dominate the Big 4 but last night belonged to another warrior. The highest rated and third most watched (5.35 million) show of an Empire-less Wednesday, American Ninja Warrior (1.2/9) was back for its tenth season. A triumphant for NBC, who matched FOX with an overall 1.0/4 for the night, the competition series… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2J6sNyq

It’s the movie news that demanded an emergency podcast last week: Boba Fett is apparently locked in for his own  Star Wars  spin-off, to be directed and co-written by James Mangold . The Fett film had long been rumored, so for many fans, the bigger surprise probably came from seeing Mangold’s name attached to the project. However, the news makes perfect sense if you consider Mangold’s filmography. It may not be outwardly apparent just from scanning the list of movies he’s made , but when you focus in on his best work, it becomes clear that Mangold is a filmmaker who draws great inspiration from a genre whose heyday has largely passed: namely, the Western. If the American Western is a fable in the same way that Star Wars is a fairy tale, then throughout his career, Mangold has consistently been able to reimagine that fable in new film settings. This is what makes him such a good match for a space western about everyone’s favorite Mandalorian bounty hunter. The bygone genre of the

Matt LeBlanc is making for the exit after BBC Studios confirmed that the Top Gear host will leave after the next season of the motoring format. LeBlanc, who joined the series in 2016, will leave the BBC Two show after his fourth journey later this year. Presenting alongside Chris Harris and Rory Reid, the Friends star helped steady the Top Gear brand after the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May as well as the short-lived appointment of Chris… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2LcBeIZ

National Lampoon has partnered with online film and TV creatives platform Stage 32 to launch the National Lampoon & Stage 32 Comedy Screenwriting Competition , with the winning script to receive a $5,000 option of 18 months by NL and the winning writer or writers placed into its mentoring program. The competition launch comes after PalmStar Media acquired the iconic comedy brand last year for just under $12 million, with the goal to rechristen a brand once associated with… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2LKNyBi

Samuel Goldwyn Films has taken U.S. and Latin American rights to Jack C. Newell's teen drama  Hope Springs Eternal   for a day and date release of Aug. 10. The deal was negotiated by Miles Fineburg, Director of Acquisitions & Theatrical sales at Samuel Goldwyn Films, and Jack Campbell, President of Octane Entertainment, on behalf of the filmmakers. One of the debut title for production company Glyden Entertainment, pic follows Hope Gracin who is known as “the girl dying of… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2JmaacU

EXCLUSIVE: David and Jessica Oyelowo and their production company Yoruba Saxon have sealed an exclusive, first-look deal with MWM Studios to develop both film and television projects. Yoruba Saxon, founded in 2014, is the company behind such films as A United Kingdom (Fox Searchlight Pathe), Captive (Paramount), Nightingale  (HBO) and Five Nights in Main (Filmrise). Oyelowo, of course, is the actor who won international kudos for his brilliant portrayal of Martin Luther… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2LbkCkY

Disney Channel has ordered a third season of Tangled: The Series , its animated adventure comedy starring Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi . The move comes three weeks ahead of the Season 2 premiere of the show, whose new chapter is titled Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure. Along with Moore and Levi as Rapunzel and Eugene, the voice cast also includes Eden Espinosa, James Monroe-Iglehart and Jeremy Jordan; all are set to return for Season 3. The sophomore year’s logline: Rapunzel… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2L8c1PY

NBC has put in development horror drama Cul-De-Sac from Scream: The TV Series writer Brian Sieve, director Larysa Kondracki ( The Fix ), Blumhouse Television and Universal Television. I hear there is a branding idea for an event series franchise under the umbrella “Blumhouse Presents”, with   Cul-De-Sac as a possible first installment under the “Blumhouse Presents” banner. Written and co-executive produced by Sieve, Cul-De-Sac is a serialized drama about three families living… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2Jjkxy7

Maybe it’s time to admit that  The Crow  will never rise from the grave. After a troubled development and a revolving list of directors and stars, the Crow remake is dead yet again, as star Jason Momoa and director Corin Hardy exit the project. How hard is it to get  The Crow off the ground?  Very hard, apparently. In fact, it’s damn near impossible. Deadline reports that the long-gestating remake is in trouble yet again, as star Jason Momoa and director Corin Hardy have both exited the project. Per Deadline, “this has to do with creative and financial differences with Samuel Hadida, whose Davis Films holds the underlying rights and who was financing the film.” The Crow is based on the  James O’Barr graphic novel of the same name. In 1994,  Alex Proyas adapted O’Barr’s comic into a goth-as-hell action thriller. The plot involves a murdered rockstar who returns from the grave to get revenge against the punks who killed him and his girlfriend. The film took on an extra-ghoul

" Tangled: The Series " is back for Season 2 starting Sunday, June 24 on the Disney Channel. Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi will return as Rapunzel and Eugene, but the title itself won't be returning. Instead, Disney just revealed that the show will now be called "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure." The Disney Channel also announced that Season 3 is officially happening, spreading the happy news a month before the Season 2 premiere. Here's the synopsis for Season 2: "Season two finds Rapunzel venturing outside of the kingdom in search of where the mystical black rocks lead, after discovering she is somehow connected to them. Accompanying Rapunzel on her journey is her partner in life, Eugene; her best friend and confidante, Cassandra; her loyal chameleon sidekick, Pascal; no-nonsense and dutiful horse, Maximus; Eugene's best friend, Lance and the Snuggly Duckling Pub Thugs. Together, they'll discover new people and places and embark on an in

A few months ago, it was announced that " Riverdale " star and " The Suite Life of Zack & Cody " alum Cole Sprouse would be starring in the first film role of his adult career. Now we have the first photo from that movie, "Five Feet Apart," showing Sprouse with Haley Lu Richardson ("The Edge of Seventeen," "Split.") They co-star as two teenagers who fall in love while living in a hospital together. The movie is being directed by Justin Baldoni ("Jane The Virgin," "My Last Days"). CBS Films and Lionsgate just shared the release date, with "Five Feet Apart" scheduled to open in theaters nationwide on March 22nd, 2019. Here's the first photo: Here's the full synopsis, with details on the supporting cast: "STELLA (Haley Lu Richardson) and WILL (Cole Sprouse) are seventeen years old and they are falling in love. The flirting in the hallways, the slipping away from adult supervision, the

Oscar-winning set decorator Michael Ford , who worked on franchises including Star Wars, Bond and Indiana Jones, has died aged 90. During a glittering career, Ford won Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration in 1982 for  Raiders Of The Lost Ark and in 1998 for his work on Titanic . He also received Academy Award nominations for his work on Star Wars films  The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. Born in the UK, Ford’s career began in the 1960s. Early movie… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2J13X76

Battlestar Galactica alum Jamie Bamber and Yasemin Allen ( Water and Fire) have signed on to the cast of Cinemax ’s Strike Back , joining returning stars Warren Brown, Daniel MacPherson and Alin Sumarwata. Filming has begun on the 10-episode Season 6, which will be shot entirely in Malaysia. In the new season, when a Russian bomber crashes in the South China Sea, the covert special-ops soldiers of Section 20 — Thomas "Mac" McAllister (Brown), Samuel Wyatt (MacPherson) and… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2kEXxfe

CNN got sucked into a segment on Samantha Bee ’s use of the word “c*nt” in a Full Frontal segment on the Trump Administration’s announcement it would separate children from their parents. The Federalist’s Mary Katharine Ham, who is a regular talking head on CNN, seemed to drag CNN into the conversation during a segment about President Donald Trump ’s new tweet demanding an apology from Disney CEO Bob Iger.  Two days earlier, Iger canceled Roseanne while apologizing to… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2H765o0

We’re two weeks away from seeing Pixar’s superhero family  The Incredibles returning to action in a sequel that fans have been wanting to see for 14 years. That means we’re heading into the home stretch of Disney’s marketing campaign, and a new clip has arrived online showcasing some  action. The Incredibles 2 clip from Disney and Pixar comes from the opening sequence of the movie that picks up where the original movie left off. The villain who calls himself The Underminer has shown up to create trouble in Municiberg, and our family of superheroes is ready to take him down.  Watch the Incredibles 2 Clip Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl take the lead in trying to stop The Underminer’s drilling vehicle from destroying more of the city. As Mr. Incredible explains, the ground-dwelling villain has already escaped, and now they’re left trying to clean up this mess he’s left them. Meanwhile, even though Dash and Violet proved that they can handle themselves in the first movie, the two of

EXCLUSIVE : CAA just signed Corey Hawkins , who starred in Fox’s 24: Legacy after a breakout turn in Straight Outta Compton as Dr Dre. Hawkins made the move from ICM Partners after starring as civil rights leader Stokley Carmichael in BlacKkKlansman , the Spike Lee-directed film t hat just won the Grand Prix at Cannes and is set for release in August by Focus Features. Hawkins will next be seen starring with Annette Bening and Vanessa Redgrave in Christoph Waltz's directorial… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2JkyBY8

Forecasts are percolating for Universal ’s June 22 release Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom , and in regards to those figures this far out, know that they can fluctuate wildly for an event film of this size. A safe bet for the dinosaur sequel is an opening range of $130M-$150M range per Deadline sources. Total awareness, unaided, and definite interest are either slightly above or in sync with the first 2015 reboot, with first choice, a few points behind, but not greatly. The… from Deadline https://ift.tt/2xEvHJx

Paramount is really going ahead with this whole live-action  Sonic the Hedgehog movie idea, and now they’ve found their lead: James Marsden , of  Westworld and X-Men fame. There’s no word on who Marsden is playing, though. Just how will a live-action  Sonic the Hedgehog movie work? I don’t know, but we’re about to find out. Paramount has loaded up on chili dogs and they’re ready to run full speed ahead towards their set November 15, 2019 release date, and now they’ve found just the man to get them there: James Marsden. Variety reports Marsden has joined the cast of the live-action/animation hybrid. But who is he playing? If Marsden is “starring” in the  Sonic the Hedgehog movie, as reports indicate, that could suggest he’s  playing Sonic the Hedgehog. But that seems unlikely, so he’s probably just playing a human character Sonic encounters. Why are there humans in a  Sonic the Hedgehog movie? Beats me! Only  Patrick Casey , Josh Miller and Oren Uziel , who all wrote draft