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Paul Giamatti is joining the Star Trek universe at Paramount+.

The Oscar-nominated star of The Holdovers has booked a major role in the streamer’s Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The actor will have a recurring guest star role as the season’s central villain, described as a man with an ominous past with a connection to one of the show’s cadets.

Ordered to series in March 2023, Starfleet Academy revolves around a young group of cadets who unite to pursue a dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves, and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

“Sometimes you’re lucky enough to discover that one of the greatest actors alive is also a huge Star Trek fan, and meeting Paul...

Hostel is in the works for the small screen. Paul Giamatti is attached to star in a television series based on Eli Roth’s horror franchise, from Roth, Chris Briggs, Mike Fleiss, all of whom worked on the films, and Fifth Season, Deadline has confirmed.

The show is currently in development and does not yet have a network or streamer attached, but it’s described as an “elevated thriller with Roth’s trademark kills” and a modern reinvention of the horror franchise.

No details yet, but Giamatti is set to play a key role. Roth will direct and write with Briggs, and Roth, Briggs and Fleiss will executive produce.

The original film franchise, first released in 2006, followed three backpackers headed to a Slovak city that promised to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaited them. The first two films were written and directed by Eli Roth and produced by Roth,...

Paul Giamatti has signed on to star in a television adaptation of Eli Roth’s horror franchise “Hostel.”

The project is in development at Fifth Season, the studio behind “Severance,” and does not yet have a distributor attached. Roth is set to direct and write with original franchise producer Chris Briggs. The two of them will also executive produce alongside “Hostel” alum Mike Fleiss.

“Hostel,” which premiered in theaters in 2005 and spawned two sequels, followed American tourists who are convinced by a stranger to travel from Barcelona to Slovakia, where they are then taken captive by an underground organization that kidnaps people for rich clients to torture and kill.

The series is envisioned as a “modern adaptation” and “reinvention” of the low-budget horror franchise, the first installment of which collected $82 million atop a $4.8 million budget. The less lucrative sequel, 2007’s “Hostel: Part II,” still raked in more than $35 million against a $10.2 million budget.

Hostel is coming to television.

Paul Giamatti has closed a deal to star in a Hostel TV series with the franchise’s Eli Roth, Chris Briggs and Mike Fleiss all returning for the project from Fifth Season, the studio behind Apple TV+’s Severance.

The Hostel show, which is currently in development and does not yet have a platform attached, is described as being a “modern adaptation” and an “elevated thriller” that’s also a “reinvention” of the horror franchise that launched in 2006 and spawned two sequels.

Roth and Briggs will pen the script, with the former set to direct. Roth, Briggs and Fleiss will all executive produce the series.

The original movie revolved around three backpackers who were headed to a Slovak city that promised to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaited them.

Giamatti will star in a key role, with character details under wraps.

Paul Giamatti is set to join Stephen Colbert for an evening of conversation as part of the second annual North to Shore Festival in New Jersey this June.

The event, set for June 29 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, will raise money for Montclair Film, the New Jersey based arts organization with which Colbert has long been involved, which runs the Montclair Film Festival.

Onstage, the Late Show host and Holdovers star will discuss Giamatti’s long-running screen career. In addition to his recent, Oscar-nominated role in the Alexander Payne-directed film, Giamatti’s film credits include Sideways, his Oscar-nominated role in Cinderella Man and performances in such movies as American Splendor, Barney’s Version, 12 Years a Slave, Straight Outta Compton, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, San Andreas, Planet of the Apes and Saving Private Ryan.

On the small screen, Giamatti spent seven seasons starring in Billions and previously...

Paula Weinstein, the producer, former studio executive and chief content officer of Tribeca Enterprises, has died. She was 78.

In a statement Weinstein’s daughter Hannah Rosenberg said, “The world is a lesser place without my mother. She was a masterful producer and a force of nature for the things she believed in… She shattered barriers in Hollywood and always lifted other women along with her.”

Weinstein joined Tribeca Enterpises in 2013 and managed the company’s branded entertainment, oversaw the programming team for the New York-based festival, and helped create the Tribeca Talks series.

She left the organisation last September to...

Paula Weinstein, the veteran studio executive, two-time Emmy winner and producer on such projects as The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Perfect Storm, Analyze This and Grace and Frankie, died Monday. She was 78.

Weinstein died at her home in New York, her daughter, Hannah Rosenberg, told The Hollywood Reporter. No cause of death was revealed.

“The world is a lesser place without my mother,” Rosenberg said in a statement. “She was a masterful producer and a force of nature for the things she believed in, including the many projects that spanned her illustrious career, the stories she fought to tell and the social justice causes she championed.”

In September, Weinstein exited Tribeca Enterprises, which she joined as executive vp in 2013, to work on political campaigns. She earlier was a vp at Warner Bros., an executive vp at 20th Century Fox and president of United Artists.

In 1989, she and her late husband,...

Paula Weinstein, the respected producer of films including “The Perfect Storm,” “Analyze This,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys” and “Blood Diamond,” and former chief content officer at Tribeca Enterprises, died Monday in New York. She was 78.

Her daughter, Hannah Rosenberg, said in a statement, “The world is a lesser place without my mother. She was a masterful producer and a force of nature for the things she believed in, including the many projects that spanned her illustrious career, the stories she fought to tell and the social justice causes she championed.

“She shattered barriers in Hollywood and always lifted other women along with her. And I know my mother would want me to add this: if you’d like to honor her, please stop what you are doing and turn your attention toward reelecting President Biden and making sure Democrats win down the ballot so we can be sure Democracy survives...

Paula Weinstein, who produced dozens of films including The Perfect Storm and The Fabulous Baker Boys, exec produced Grace and Frankie, won Emmys for Truman and Recount and was a former studio and Tribeca Enterprises executive during a nearly 40-year career, died Monday morning. She was 78.

Her daughter Hannah Rosenberg told Deadline that Weinstein died peacefully at her home in New York. She was well-liked around Hollywood; condolences to her many friends in the industry.

“The world is a lesser place without my mother,” Rosenberg said in a statement to Deadline. “Paula was a lifelong activist and force of nature who was a champion for social justice and underdogs for more than half a century. She shattered barriers in Hollywood and always lifted other women along with her. I know my mother would want me say this: if you’d like to honor her, please stop what you are doing...

William Hurt died on March 13, 2022, at age 71, just a week short of his 72nd birthday. The Oscar-winning actor starred in a variety of movies over the last four decades, but how many of those titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1950, Hurt made his movie debut with a starring role in Ken Russell‘s psychedelic thriller “Altered States” (1980), quickly followed by Lawrence Kasdan‘s classic neo-noir “Body Heat” (1981). He won the Oscar as Best Actor just four years later for Hector Babenco‘s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985), playing a transgender inmate at a South American prison who forms a bond with his cellmate (Raul Julia), a political prisoner. The role brought him additional prizes at BAFTA and the Cannes Film Festival.

Hurt followed up his Oscar victory with two more consecutive Best Actor bids: first for...

A jam-packed weekend of last-gasp Oscar campaigning — the film Academy’s final round of voting opened on Feb. 22 and will close on Feb. 27 — kicked off on Saturday night with the 30th SAG Awards, the first major awards show ever to be streamed on Netflix. But do Saturday night’s results actually provide reliable clues about what will happen two weeks from Sunday night at the 96th Oscars?

I would argue that they probably do.

SAG Award winners are determined by the roughly 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA, the world’s largest union of actors, whereas Oscar winners are determined by the roughly 9,500 voting members of the film Academy, 86 percent of whom are not actors, which would suggest that any overlap is purely coincidental.

But it is quite a statement that SAG-AFTRA members voted best actor in a film — which has long looked to be neck-and-neck between Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer over Paul Giamatti...

Paul Giamatti has won the Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Golden Globe for “The Holdovers.”

The acclaimed Alexander Payne film featured some of Giamatti’s best-ever work, which is saying something, given that his previous team-up with Payne on “Sideways” is considered one of the best performances of the century to date. But his Paul Hunham, an irascible Western Civilization teacher whose life is in thrall to antiquity, captured the hearts of viewers and Globe voters. The film, set at a New England boarding school in 1970, actually felt like one of the New Hollywood classics Payne was obviously aspiring for it to be.

This is Giamatti’s third Golden Globe win after picking up trophies for “John Adams” and “Barney’s Version.” In addition to his three Golden Globe wins, he also has been nominated three other times, for “Sideways,” “Cinderella Man,” and “Too Big to Fail.

The Palm Springs Film Awards will honor Paul Giamatti with the Icon Award for his performance in “The Holdovers.” He will receive the award at the Jan. 4 event at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

“In ‘The Holdovers,’ Paul Giamatti inhabits a complex character who is both challenging and rewarding, and ultimately reminds us of what it means to be connected as human beings,” festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said in a statement. “For his storied career of quintessential cinematic roles, it is our honor to present the Icon Award to Paul Giamatti for this career-best performance.”

In Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” Giamatti portrays a grumpy New England prep school teacher who forms a bond with a troubled student and the school’s head cook, who is grieving after the loss of her son. Giamatti currently stars in Season 2 of “30 Coins” and the final season of “Billions.” His other...

Given that it has been accomplished by eight performers, the feat of winning SAG Awards for two different limited series or TV movies isn’t as rare as it once was. Nonetheless, it remains an impressive achievement since no one has yet topped it, but that could change in a matter of months. Heading into the 30th SAG Awards ceremony, two-time Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor victor Mark Ruffalo has a shot at snagging another trophy of the same kind, which would earn him the distinction of being either non-continuing program category’s first triple champion.

Ruffalo’s first two individual SAG Award wins came for his work in the HBO productions “The Normal Heart” (2015) and “I Know This Much Is True” (2021). In this case, he is seeking recognition as a star of the four-part Netflix adaptation of the heavily lauded novel “All the Light We Cannot See,” on...

Former studio executive and prolific producer Paula Weinstein is leaving Tribeca Enterprises, where she’s been chief content officer for the past decade, to jump into political work and help “as many voices as possible be heard.”

“I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and rail about everything. I really want to jump in, fully, into the campaigns. Both statewide and national campaigns,” she tells Deadline. “It just feels very much like a moment…between the climate, and book banning and everything else that I don’t need to go into.”

In a memo to staff this morning, Tribeca CEO Jane Rosenthal said Weinstein will “devote her efforts to fighting for the preservation and advancement of human and women’s rights, and most urgently the upcoming elections.” She will also continue to consult for Tribeca. Next summer’s festival, dates just announced, would have been her 12th.

Weinstein’s position,...

If only one word could be used to sum up San Diego Comic-Con 2023, it might just be: Odd.

Thanks to Hollywood’s first double strike in 60 years, neither stars nor studios had any meaningful presence. That made Hall H, normally the site of the convention’s biggest crowds, largely half-empty. It also caused the cancelation of Sdcc’s biggest party, the annual star-studded bash EW throws atop the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.

But as it turns out, the fans didn’t need famous faces to justify swarming San Diego. If things seemed quieter on the city’s streets, they were anything but inside the convention center itself. In fact, for the annual event’s many artists and vendors normally overshadowed by Hollywood, it was their best con in years.

If you took the train down to San Diego from Los Angeles, it was hard not...

In the 30-year existence of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a total of 15 pairs and one trio of cast mates have directly challenged each other for the Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actor prize, with the latest dual nominees being Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser of “Black Bird.” These instances have resulted in eight wins, which is a far higher amount than in any of the other five solo TV categories. The first to triumph in one of these situations was Jack Lemmon, while the most recent was Michael Douglas.

Lemmon, who had previously gone up against his “12 Angry Men” costar George C. Scott, is one of five men who has been involved in more than one of this category’s cast mate showdowns. As the first member of said group, he has since been followed by Al Pacino, Paul Giamatti, Ed Harris, and John Turturro.

This category’s...

In the 30-year existence of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a total of 15 pairs and one trio of cast mates have directly challenged each other for the Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actor prize, with the latest dual nominees being Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser of “Black Bird.” These instances have resulted in eight wins, which is a far higher amount than in any of the other five solo TV categories. The first to triumph in one of these situations was Jack Lemmon, while the most recent was Michael Douglas.

Lemmon, who had previously gone up against his “12 Angry Men” costar George C. Scott, is one of five men who has been involved in more than one of this category’s cast mate showdowns. As the first member of said group, he has since been followed by Al Pacino, Paul Giamatti, Ed Harris, and John Turturro.

This category’s...

Just last year, Michael Keaton’s Screen Actors Guild Award victory for “Dopesick” made him the fifth man to win the organization’s Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actor prize after losing on his first lead film bid (for 2014’s “Birdman”). Now, since Taron Egerton has earned guild recognition for Apple TV+’s “Black Bird” after coming up short on his nomination for the 2019 film “Rocketman,” the group is already on the verge of gaining its sixth member. If he triumphs on this outing, the 33-year-old will also follow comedy champ Sean Hayes and limited series victor Darren Criss as the third youngest man to ever win an individual SAG Award for TV acting.

The four actors who preceded Keaton in eventually spinning their initial lead film losses into TV movie or miniseries wins were Paul Newman, Kevin Kline, Paul Giamatti and Bryan Cranston. Keaton and Giamatti stand apart from the...

Two decades after he initially became a Screen Actors Guild Award nominee and 13 years after he won Best Film Actor for “Crazy Heart,” Jeff Bridges has received his first television acting notice from the organization. This Best TV Drama Actor recognition comes for his work on FX’s “The Old Man,” which constitutes the first regular small screen role of his 65-year career. If he succeeds on this bid, he will be only the sixth man to win individual SAG Awards for both film and TV performances.

Aside from his win, Bridges’ SAG Awards resume consists of four film nominations for “The Contender” (supporting), “Seabiscuit” (ensemble), “True Grit” (lead) and “Hell or High Water” (supporting). His challengers in this year’s TV drama actor contest are all, unlike him, also nominated in the corresponding ensemble category. Two of the four are “Better Call Saul” cast mates Jonathan Banks and Bob Odenkirk,...

Throughout 2022, we have been updating our “In Memoriam” photo gallery (view above). Scroll through to remember 32 entertainers from film, television, theater and music. Many were winners at the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and/or Tonys. Here is a closer look at just a few of those we celebrate in our gallery:

Fleetwood Mac singer and songwriter Christine McVie died on November 30 at age 79. Some of her biggest hits were “Don’t Stop,” “Everywhere” and “Little Lies.” The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Music legend Jerry Lee Lewis died on October 28 at age 87. He was an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Hits included “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless.” He was a Grammy Award winner and received their life achievement award.

SEEAngela Lansbury movies: 12 greatest films ranked from worst...

With so many films done on the subject, the subject of Finance & Banking, particularly in the setting of Wall Street, is no longer surprising to moviegoers. From a wide range of names, titles, and genres,covering from real world finances,to metaverse and AI bots, we have chosen 5 films that not only accurately depict this subject but also suit the goal of English language instruction.

1. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

A young man named Jake Moore works for Gordon Gekko, his mentor, at an investment firm. At work, Jake engages in a bloody duel with another person where the victor takes all. Jake developed a new perception of the well-liked Gordon during that conflict: that of a cutthroat financial specialist with access to insider information and dirty techniques. Will Jake become a Gordon-like manipulator by losing himself in the cycle of power, violence, and money?

2. The Bank (2001)

Jim Doyle is...

Two years after winning his first Best Drama Supporting Actor Emmy for his portrayal of Cory Ellison on Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” Billy Crudup has earned another TV academy notice for his work on the program’s second season. If he succeeds on this outing, he will follow Stuart Margolin (“The Rockford Files”), Michael Conrad (“Hill Street Blues”), Larry Drake (“L.A. Law”), Ray Walston (“Picket Fences”), Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”) and Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”) as the seventh man to win multiple supporting Emmys for a drama series. After Conrad, he would also be the second actor to receive this award for each of his show’s first two seasons.

Crudup has submitted the season two premiere episode of “The Morning Show” for Emmy consideration this year. In the installment, entitled “My Least Favorite Year,” Ellison is fired from his Uba network CEO job but soon...

William Hurt, the award-winning actor best known for a slew of 1980s prestige projects like “The Big Chill,” “Body Heat,” and “Broadcast News,” and a side player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, died on Sunday at the age of 71.

He won the Oscar for Best Actor for “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and received two other nominations in that category for “Children of the Lesser God” and “Broadcast News,” and a later Best Supporting Actor nod for “A History of Violence.” The cause of death was complications from pancreatic cancer.

The Juilliard graduate, who worked in New York theater before making his first substantial film in 1980, “Altered States,” had a career most performers can only dream about, and as such worked with nearly every big name in Hollywood. Many took to social media after news spread of his passing.

Mark Ruffalo, who worked with Hurt on “The Incredible Hulk” and other Marvel projects,...

William Hurt, Oscar winner and star of Broadcast News and Children of a Lesser God, has died, our sister site Deadline reports. He was 71.

“It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday,” his son Will said in a statement Sunday. “He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time.”

More from TVLineFox News Correspondent Benjamin Hall Injured While Reporting in UkraineTVLine Items: Sean Astin vs. The Rock, Girls5eva Casts Parents and MoreAbbott...

Words like “legendary,” “favorite,” “dominating” and “incredible” were part of the reactions online to news of actor William Hurt’s death today at 71. In most cases, it would be an exaggeration borne of an emotional moment, a way to honor a fallen presence with tributes that capture their feelings about someone who entertained them for a good portion of their lives.

William Hurt’s Film Career: A Photo Gallery

But as was clear from the tributes from his peers, there are no superlatives that could adequately convey how talented and impactful Hurt was during his long career in film and on stage. Those in his profession knew they were in the presence of a singular talent.

Some of the early reactions:

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

I’m so sad to hear of the passing of William Hurt. I had the privilege of directing him in The Village.

Respected actor earned four Oscar nominations.

William Hurt, the Oscar winner for Kiss Of The Spider Woman in 1986 and a highly respected actor of the big and small screen, has died. He was 71.

Hurt’s son Will issued a statement on Sunday (13) that read, “It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes.”

Hurt was born on March 20, 1950, in Washington DC to a Time Inc employee and a bureaucrat. His parents divorced...

William Hurt, who became a top leading man in the 1980s, winning an Oscar for 1985’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and starring in “The Big Chill” and “Body Heat,” died Sunday of natural causes. He was 71. Hurt’s death was confirmed to Variety by his friend, Gerry Byrne.

His son Will said in a statement, “It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes.”

Hurt was nominated for four Oscars over the course of his long career, scoring two best actor nominations for “Broadcast News” and “Children of a Lesser God” and a supporting actor nod for less than 10 minutes of screen time in “A History of Violence.” He was one of the most heralded performers of the 1980s, becoming something...

William Hurt, an Oscar winner for Kiss of the Spider Woman who often played a quiet intellectual in his early acting roles but later took more strident turns in science fiction and Marvel films, died today, a week before his 72nd birthday.

William Hurt’s son, Will, posted today that his father has died. It was announced in May 2018 that the elder Hurt had terminal prostate cancer that had spread to the bone.

William Hurt Remembered As A Giant Talent By His Peers In The Acting Community

“It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday,” his son wrote. “He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time.”

Hurt had three consecutive Best Actor Academy Award nominations in the mid-1980s for Kiss of the Spider Woman...

Fresh off his Emmy win for his supporting turn on “Mare of Easttown,” Evan Peters is sitting pretty in first place in our Screen Actors Guild Awards odds for limited series/TV movie actor. Just like at the Emmys, this would be his first SAG Award nomination, and should he take home the prize on Feb. 27, he’ll become the category’s second youngest winner ever.

Peters turns 35 on Jan. 20 and would be just the second thirtysomething to win the award after Darren Criss, the youngest winner at 31 when he triumphed for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” in 2019. Prior to Criss, Gary Sinise was the youngest champ, having been 40 when he prevailed for “Truman” in 1996. Sinise nabbed a second statuette two years later for “George Wallace.”

The average winning age is 53.85. The two oldest champs are legends who never had a chance to win a SAG Award...

Chicago – Meeting Ed Asner is like meeting the grumpy uncle that you still love, because you know despite his curmudgeon nature, his has passion, spunk and delivers all of it in many ways. He was Lou Grant in The Mary Tyler Moore Show most famously in the 1970s, but his other acting pursuits were just as significant.

Edward Asner was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He began his acting career in the Army, touring in plays while in the Signal Corp. He attended the University of Chicago, and joined an early version of The Second City troupe, the Playwrights Theatre Company of Chicago (Asner is considered a Second City alumni). He was a consummate character actor in the 1960s, appearing in such diverse series as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Route 66,” “The Untouchables,” “The Outer Limits,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” and “Mission: Impossible.”

Ed Asner in Chicago, circa...

Ed Asner, the prolific character actor and seven-time Emmy winner best known for playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, died Sunday at his home in Tarzana, California, The New York Times reports. He was 91.

Asner’s death was confirmed by his family on Twitter, though no cause was given. “We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully,” the Asner family said. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head — Goodnight dad. We love you.”

We are...

“The Comey Rule” premiered on Showtime over two nights on September 27 and 28 of last year telling the story of James Comey’s (played by two-time Emmy winner Jeff Daniels) tenure as the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The two-part limited series frames Comey’s time as the head of the FBI through two of the most high profile investigations the agency conducted. The first is the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as secretary and Comey’s decision to announce that the investigation was being reopened (due to a connection with former congressman Anthony Weiner) less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election. The second part of the series examines Comey’s navigation of the agency’s investigation into the campaign of President Donald Trump (played by Emmy winner Brendan Gleeson) and possible connections it had with the Russian government.

Unanimous Media, Stephen Curry’s production company, has launched Pathways Alliance, a venture to bolster diverse voices across TV, film, documentaries and podcasts.

The company, which produces ABC’s Holey Moley and is developing a TV remake of Finding Forrester for NBC, has selected two authors to begin with to give production experience as a way of finding new stories.

The first group of selected authors includes Wes Moore, who wrote The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates and Cole Brown, who wrote Greyboy: Finding Blackness in a White World.

The authors, who have previously been part of Curry’s Underrated Book Club, will work with Unanimous Media over an 18-month period to create projects across mediums.

The venture will be run by Kalyna Kutny, who previously worked at Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films and HBO Films, where she worked on Liberace, Too Big To Fail and Game Change.

A scripted GameStop film is in development at HBO.

The project hails from executive producers Andrew Ross Sorkin of Tbtf Productions, Len Amato of Crash&Salvage, and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Television.

The film is described as exploring how a populist uprising of social media day traders beat Wall Street at their own game, turning the stock market upside down and shaking the financial world to its core.

This is the latest onscreen project set up to detail the ongoing stock market saga around GameStop. A feature documentary was announced just yesterday, while earlier this week a feature film adaptation from writer Mark Boal was announced, with Noah Centineo set to star in a major role. MGM also recently picked up the rights to author Ben Mezrich’s book proposal, “The Antisocial Network,” which also dives into the Wall Street fiasco. Grand Central Publishing plans to publish the book in the fall.

Maybe it’s more apparent since Julianna Margulies joined the cast, but “Billions” has always been most successful when copying the kind of ripped-from-the-headlines drama that “The Good Wife” did so perfectly. While early seasons relied on co-creator Andrew Ross Sorkin’s nonfiction bestseller “Too Big to Fail,” the show has expanded its purview, filling out its character roster and diversifying its plot as one would any well-balanced portfolio. While certainly a necessary move on behalf of any long-running show, “Billions” has both stumbled and thrived in its efforts. Both are evident in the season’s sixth episode, “The Nordic Model” — Taylor’s adventures in impact investing strategies may be mind-numbingly dry; but an impromptu lesson in sex work decriminalization feels downright radical.

Halfway through its fifth season, “Billions” has finally kicked into high gear, or at least a higher one, and delivered some of the heated conflict and witty...

Production designer Bob Shaw reveals, “We had 295 locations and we built 28 sets” for “The Irishman.” Upon first reading Steven Zaillian‘s script for Martin Scorsese‘s gangland epic, it was “quite clear how expansive the project was, and not only how many locations there were and how many things that had to be found, but often what a brief period of time we would spend in any of these given locations.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Shaw above.

The Netflix release tells the true story of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a working class truck driver who became a hit man in league with Teamsters honcho Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) and Mafia bigwig Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci). Spanning the late 1940s through the early 2000s, the film was a daunting challenge for any designer, especially considering the number of sets needed for the three-and-a-half-hour saga. “We would find something...

Sorry, Darren Criss, but your reign as the youngest Screen Actors Guild Award winner for limited series/TV movie actor looks to be short-lived. “When They See Us” star and Emmy champ Jharrel Jerome is the frontrunner to take the prize in January, and like Criss just did, he’d destroy the record.

Criss was nine days shy of his 32nd birthday when he prevailed on Jan. 27 for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” becoming the first person in his 30s to win the award and shaving nine years off of the previous record held by Gary Sinise, who was 40 when he won for “Truman” in 1996. Sinise took home a second statuette two years later, for “George Wallace,” and currently occupies two spots in the top five youngest winners.

At 22, Jerome would, obviously, be the first twentysomething to win — just like he was at the Emmys — and knock off another nine years.

Brian De Palma’s 1983 saga of hoodlum Tony Montana is an exceptional remake that’s become a classic almost by default — it’s too strikingly original to ignore. De Palma did the Latin male stereotype no favors, while bringing attention to the outrageous drug trafficking aided by law enforcement and criminal banks in a shameful decade of excess. Al Pacino added a page to his catalog of great performances, and the careers of Michelle Pfeiffer and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio were duly launched. De Palma gives this one ‘classical’ direction: he skips his former film school cinema games and homages to Hitch the Master.

Scarface

“The World is Yours” Limited Edition

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

1983 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 170 min. / Street Date October 15, 2019 / 57.22

Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Miriam Colon, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Pepe Serna, Victor Campos,...

On June 6, 2019, award winning actor Paul Giamatti will celebrate his 52nd birthday. He is currently about to finish up his fourth season on the hit Showtime series “Billions” but is even more well known for his film career.

A graduate of the Yale Drama School, Giamatti began his career on the New York stage. He has appeared on Broadway four times in productions from esteemed authors Tom Stoppard, David Hare, Anton Chekov and Eugene O’Neill but surprisingly his rise to fame would come from playing a character named “Pig Vomit” in the movie version of Howard Stern’s book “Private Parts.” Giamatti played the part of an NBC radio executive who constantly battles Stern over obscenity rules and is practically driven mad by his never-ending battles with Stern.

SEERon Howard movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best

Surprisingly he has only earned one Oscar nomination for his film work,...

On June 6, 2019, award winning actor Paul Giamatti will celebrate his 52nd birthday. He is currently about to finish up his fourth season on the hit Showtime series “Billions” but is even more well known for his film career.

A graduate of the Yale Drama School, Giamatti began his career on the New York stage. He has appeared on Broadway four times in productions from esteemed authors Tom Stoppard, David Hare, Anton Chekov and Eugene O’Neill but surprisingly his rise to fame would come from playing a character named “Pig Vomit” in the movie version of Howard Stern’s book “Private Parts.” Giamatti played the part of an NBC radio executive who constantly battles Stern over obscenity rules and is practically driven mad by his never-ending battles with Stern.

Surprisingly he has only earned one Oscar nomination for his film work, for his supporting role in the Ron Howard-directed boxing drama “Cinderella Man.

William Hurt celebrates his 69th birthday on March 20, 2019. The Oscar-winning actor has starred in a variety of movies over the last four decades, but how many of those titles remain classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History

Born in 1950, Hurt made his movie debut with a starring role in Ken Russell‘s psychedelic thriller “Altered States” (1980), quickly followed by Lawrence Kasdan‘s classic neo-noir “Body Heat” (1981). He won the Oscar as Best Actor just four years later for Hector Babenco‘s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985), playing a transgender inmate at a South American prison who forms a bond with his cellmate (Raul Julia), a political prisoner. The role brought him additional prizes at BAFTA and the Cannes Film Festival.

SEELawrence Kasdan movies: 12 greatest films ranked...

Updated, 7:22 Pm: Showtime has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against it, Billions creator Andrew Ross Sorkin and others by a Wall Street performance coach who claims to be the inspiration for a key character on the drama series. Read the document here.

Denise Shull, who wrote the 2012 nonfiction book Market Mind Games, filed a copyright infringement suit in January claiming that the defendants “ripped off” the character of Dr. Wendy Rhoades, played by Maggie Siff. In its filing Friday in the Southern District of New York, the premium cabler claims a “total lack of similarity of protexted expression” between Shull’s book and Billions and argued therefore that the suit should be dismissed.

Read details of the case below.

Previously, January 7: A Wall Street performance coach who specializes in trading psychology is suing the creators of Billions, saying she was the uncredited and uncompensated inspiration for the character Dr.

Darren Criss not only completed his awards sweep at Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” but he’s now the youngest winner ever in the limited series/TV movie actor category.

Criss, who turns 32 on Feb. 5, is the first person to win the award in his 30s and is nine years younger than the former record holder, Gary Sinise, who was 40 at the time of his victory for “Truman” in 1996. Sinise won a second statuette two years later for “George Wallace” and is twice in the top five youngest champs of all time.

Like the corresponding Emmy and Golden Globe categories, older actors rule this SAG Awards winners roll call, but the former two groups have given their awards to younger men. Criss is the second youngest Emmy champ behind Anthony Murphy (“Tom Brown’s Schooldays”), who was 17 at the 1973 Emmys,...

Darren Criss became the second youngest person to win the Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actor Emmy for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” in September. He could be the third youngest to win the Golden Globe equivalent next month. And if he wins the corresponding Screen Actors Guild Award, he’d set a new benchmark as the category’s youngest winner ever.

Criss, who will be nine days shy of his 32nd birthday at the Jan. 27 ceremony, wouldn’t just break the record; he’d smash it. No one has won that category while in their 30s. The youngest champ is Gary Sinise, who was 40 when he prevailed for “Truman” at the second SAG Awards in 1996; he won a second one two years later for “George Wallace,” so he occupies two of the top four youngest spots. Reigning champ Alexander Skarsgard (“Big Little Lies”), at 41 years and 149 days,...

FX has set the main cast for the eight-episode limited series “Fosse/Verdon,” Variety has learned.

The series is based on the biography “Fosse” written by Sam Wasson and tells the story of the romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and Gwen Verdon (Michelle Williams).

Norbert Leo Butz has been cast in the series regular role of Paddy Chayefsky, while Margaret Qually will appear in the series regular role of Ann Reinking.

In addition, the following people have been cast in recurring roles: Aya Cash as Joan Simon, Nate Corddry as Neil Simon, Susan Misner as Joan McCracken, Bianca Marroquin as Chita Rivera, Kelli Barrett as Liza Minnelli, Evan Handler as Hal Prince, Rick Holmes as Fred Weaver, Paul Reiser as Cy Feuer, Ethan Slater as Joel Grey, Byron Jennings as George Abbott, and Laura Osnes as Shirley MacLaine.

Butz is currently starring on Broadway in “My Fair Lady...

FX has rounded out the cast as production begins on Fosse/Verdon (new official title), its high-profile eight-episode limited drama series starring Oscar winner Sam Rockwell and Oscar nominee Michelle Williams in the title roles, from award-winning producers Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, Lin Manuel-Miranda and Joel Fields, FX Television Studios and FX Productions. Production on the series is currently underway in New York City ahead of its spring 2019 premiere on FX.

Joining previously announced Rockwell and Williams as series regulars are Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (Bloodline) as Paddy Chayefsky and Margaret Qualley (Novitiate) as Ann Reinking. Additional recurring cast includes Evan Handler (The People v. O.J. Simpson) as Hal Prince; Aya Cash (You’re The Worst) as Joan Simon; Nate Corddry (For All Mankind) as Neil Simon; Susan Misner (Jack Ryan) as Joan McCracken; Bianca Marroquin (Chicago) as Chita Rivera; Kelli Barrett (The Punisher) as Liza Minnelli; Rick Holmes...

Ten years ago, George W. Bush signed into law the Troubled Asset Relief Program, better known as the Tarp bailout. The rescue forked over $700 billion of taxpayer money to bail out giant Wall Street banks that were already too big, and were about to get bigger.

On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-vt) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-ca) introduced new legislation on Tarp’s anniversary. It is aimed at the central, still-unaddressed issue of the last disaster: the ungovernable size of the country’s biggest banks.

Dubbed the “Too Big to Fail,...

Ten years ago, on Saturday, September 13th, 2008, the world was about to end.

The New York Federal Reserve was a zoo. Imagine Nasa headquarters on the day a giant asteroid careens into the atmosphere. That was the New York Fed: all hands on deck, peak human panic.

The crowd included future Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, then-Treasury Secretary (and former Goldman Sachs CEO) Hank Paulson, the representatives of multiple regulatory offices, and the CEOs of virtually every major bank in New York, each toting armies of bean counters and bankers.

The asteroid metaphor fit.

The television movie category at the Emmys, through the years, has honored such landmark projects as ABC’s “Brian’s Song,” NBC’s “Roe v. Wade,” as well as HBO’s “And the Band Played On,” “Wit” and “The Normal Heart.” It’s probably time that the category be retired.

This year’s category is historically weak. Several of the nominees fall short of the bar of Emmy-worthiness. And it follows two years in which episodes of TV series that snuck their way into the race — PBS’ “Sherlock” in 2016, Netflix’s “Black Mirror” in 2017 — claimed the top prize over insubstantial competition.

It wasn’t always this way. The last time the movie category fell away, it was due to the weakness of an entirely different field; the category merged with limited series at the 2011 Emmys thanks to a dearth of miniseries. But the limited-series form was only just beginning its...