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The Oscars will continue their long-running tradition of honoring celebrated filmmakers with their "In Memoriam" segment on Sunday. ABC will broadcast the event hosted by Conan O'Brien with Hulu streaming the ceremony live at 7 p.m. Et; 4 p.m. Pt.

Among the Oscar winners and nominees who will have their lives celebrated are Teri Garr, Louis Gossett Jr., James Earl Jones, Jon Landau, David Lynch, Joan Plowright, Gena Rowlands, Albert S. Ruddy, David Seidler, Richard M. Sherman, Maggie Smith, Robert Towne, and honorary recipients Roger Corman, Quincy Jones, and Donald Sutherland.

There are more than 100 movie professionals who died since the last Academy Awards ceremony. Each person who was an Academy member is designated below with **. Keep in mind that producers usually choose between 40 and 50 for the segment and that a performer has not yet been confirmed.

Edited to add two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman.

Jim Abrahams — Director/Writer

Anouk Aimée...

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Netflix is one of the best places to find the best movies and TV shows you can watch on any streaming service. Every month, it adds hundreds of new titles to its content library, but with that, there are also some titles that have got to go. So, today, we are here to tell you about the best film you should watch before it leaves Netflix in November 2024.

A Man Called Otto (November 5) Credit – Sony Pictures

A Man Called Otto is a comedy-drama film directed by Marc Foster from a screenplay by David Magee. Based on the 2012 novel A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and its 2015 Swedish adaptation of the same name by Hannes Holm, the 2022 film follows a lonely widower who sees no purpose in life and decides to take a drastic step but when his...

Stephen J. Rivele, who shared an Oscar nomination for the screenplay for Oliver Stone’s Nixon and worked on such other biopics as Michael Mann’s Ali, Agnieszka Holland’s Copying Beethoven and Don Cheadle’s Miles Ahead, has died. He was 75.

Rivele had heart issues and died May 17 at his home in Pasadena, California, his son Eli Bocek-Rivele told The Hollywood Reporter.

Rivele wrote on Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star Is Born and did an early draft for another 2018 release, Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Rami Malek as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

He also handled uncredited rewrites on the baseball movie Moneyball (2011) and All Eyez on Me (2017), about Tupac Shakur.

Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson enjoyed a 30-year screenwriting partnership. They worked together on Nixon (1995), starring Anthony Hopkins; Ali (2001), starring Will Smith; Copying Beethoven (2006), starring Ed Harris; Miles Ahead (2015), the Miles Davis biopic that Cheadle directed and starred in; Pawn Sacrifice...

Stephen J. Rivele, the screenwriter whose 1995 collaboration on Nixon with Oliver Stone and longtime writing partner Christopher Wilkinson earned the trio an Oscar nomination, died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Pasadena, California, on May 17. He was 75.

His death was announced by son Eli Rivele and Wilkinson.

A published author, playwright and poet, Rivele shared a 30-year career with Wilkinson. In addition to Nixon, their credits include Ali, the 2001 Muhammad Ali biopic starring Will Smith and co-written by director Michael Mann and Eric Roth; Copying Beethoven, the 2006 drama starring Ed Harris as the great composer; and Birth of the Dragon, the 2016 martial arts film with Philip Wan-lung Ng as Bruce Lee.

Rivele and Wilkinson had story credits for such other notable biopics as Miles Ahead (2015), directed by and starring Don Cheadle as jazz giant Miles Davis; and Pawn Sacrifice (2014), with Tobey Maguire as chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer.

Born May 6, 1949, in Philadelphia,...

Over the past ten years, legendary director Michael Mann has dramatically reduced his filmmaking output. He's only made two films since 2010: Blackhat in 2015 and Ferrari in 2023. Now that he's nearly 81 years old, letting up on the gas is only natural, especially considering how visually distinctive and rigorously researched every Michael Mann film has been.

While some critics would assert that Michael Mann's filmography is hit-and-miss, one thing is abundantly clear. Each one of Mann's movies is irrepressible, with brooding characters who only slow down to occasionally stare into the depths of a cool blue ocean before ramping back up to engage in an energetic action sequence designed to get an audience's blood pumping.

Related 10 Best Action Movie Actors From the Past 10 Years The past decade has been huge for action movies, and actors like Tom Cruise and Chris Hemsworth have solidified themselves as action stars. Ali Was Almost a...

In Michael Mann's 2001 biopic "Ali," Jamie Foxx played Drew Bundini Brown, Muhammad Ali's assistant trainer. Brown was, as the film depicted him, a little crass, openly lascivious (he confesses his particular fetishes in public), and not always up to living the way Ali would have liked him to. In one notable scene, Ali (Will Smith) bursts into Brown's dingy apartment and finds him hungover. Ali screams at the man to respect himself.

Mann is a filmmaker fond of shaky, handheld camera moves, was an early proponent of digital photography, and seeks a certain kind of steely, assertive realism in his work. This was an exhilarating approach for a high-profile Hollywood biography like "Ali," a film that was nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards.

It's worth noting that Mann and his three credited "Ali" co-screenwriters, Eric Roth ("Forrest Gump") and writing duo Stephen J. Rivele...

Ang Lee's new sci-fi film has a massive cadre of screenwriters attached to it including Billy Ray, Jonathan Hensleigh, Andrew Niccol (Gattaca), Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, and David Benioff (Game of Thrones). It is from an original concept created by Darren Lemke.

The thriller stars Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, Linda Emond, Ralph Brown, and Theodora Miranne.

Synopsis:

Henry Brogen (Will Smith) is an aging assassin attempting to exit his career who finds himself going against a younger clone of himself who can predict his every move.

Gemini Man hits theaters October 11, 2019.

Stars: Billy Magnussen, Philip Ng, Xia Yu, Qu Jingjing, Jin Xing, Simon Yin, Van Ness Wu, Ron Yuan, Terry Chen | Written by Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson | Directed by George Nolfi

Directed by George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), this account of a life-changing real-life fight between kung fu superstar-in-waiting Bruce Lee and martial arts grandmaster Wong Jack Man is less a of biopic and more of a fictionalisation based on a true story. Taken on those terms, it’s a lot of fun, though it’s likely to frustrate Bruce Lee aficionados looking for a more faithful approach.

The story begins in San Francisco in 1964, where a not-yet-famous Bruce Lee (Philip Ng) is teaching martial arts and focusing on becoming a superstar. When Shaolin monk Wong Jack Man (Xia Yu) arrives in San Francisco, Lee is rattled by his presence and challenges him to a duel, believing that the martial...

Stars: Billy Magnussen, Philip Ng, Xia Yu, Qu Jingjing, Jin Xing, Simon Yin, Van Ness Wu, Ron Yuan, Terry Chen | Written by Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson | Directed by George Nolfi

Directed by George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), this account of a life-changing real-life fight between kung fu superstar-in-waiting Bruce Lee and martial arts grandmaster Wong Jack Man is less a of biopic and more of a fictionalisation based on a true story. Taken on those terms, it’s a lot of fun, though it’s likely to frustrate Bruce Lee aficionados looking for a more faithful approach.

The story begins in San Francisco in 1964, where a not-yet-famous Bruce Lee (Philip Ng) is teaching martial arts and focusing on becoming a superstar. When Shaolin monk Wong Jack Man (Xia Yu) arrives in San Francisco, Lee is rattled by his presence and challenges him to a duel, believing that the martial...

Author: Euan Franklin

Biopics never have a firm grasp on the truth, and any reasonably intelligent moviegoer understands this. Often, it’s obvious (merely by watching) what’s fact and what’s fantasy and it doesn’t hinder our enjoyment. In George Nolfi’s Birth of the Dragon, facts are kicked into the dirt of gangster-ridden Chinatown.

Set nine years before the release of Enter the Dragon, a young Bruce Lee (Philip Ng) is a martial-arts teacher (known as a sifu) in San Francisco. He is performative and egotistical, eager to introduce kung-fu to the Western world. But when Wong Jack Man (Xiu Yu) arrives in San Francisco, as penance for a sin committed in China, he threatens Lee’s aspirations – believing kung-fu shouldn’t be taught to Westerners. This builds to the famous (real) fight between the two of them – the results from which remain ambiguous.

The fantasies of...

The first trailer has been released for the new Bruce Lee biopic, Birth of the Dragon. I've been a Bruce Lee fanatic since I was a kid and the only biopic we've really had was the 1993 movie Dragon. Now we have this film and it looks pretty good. The trailer didn't blow me away, but I'll watch it.

The film centers around the story behind the legendary 1960s fight between Shaolin Master Wong Jack Man and a young Bruce Lee. I don't know if you're familiar with this story or not but it's pretty crazy and there's a lot of controversy surrounding it. Here's the synopsis:

Set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, Birth Of The Dragon is a modern take on the classic movies that Bruce Lee was known for. It takes its inspiration from the epic and still controversial showdown between an up-and-coming Bruce Lee and kung...

If you're a history buff like I am, or if you're just interested in learning more about U.S. Presidents of the past, you're gonna want to watch this new series that The History Channel is developing. It's called The Commanders, and it's an anthology series that "will dramatize the biggest moments in American history and those that served as commander-in-chief."

The limited series is said to range from four to ten hours long and it will focus on presidents including Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. According to THR, History Channel is also internally developing projects on George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Dwight Eisenhower.

The stories that the network plans on telling come from a collection of books that they have optioned including The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton by Peter Baker, Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris, Thomas Jefferson...

Just days after the poster arrived for the martial arts biopic Birth of the Dragon, the trailer has finally dropped. While this movie isn't the first to address Bruce Lee's legend, it is the only one to detail a legendary fight between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man, which helped define Bruce Lee and turn him into a legend. The film premiered last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, but a domestic release date has not been issued.

An affectionate nod to the classic Kung Fu films of the 1970s, Birth of the Dragon is a dramatization of the true life but much disputed fight between Kung Fu greats Bruce Lee (Philip Ng) and Shaolin Master Wong Jack Man (Yu Xia) in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1964. Based on Michael Dorgan's magazine article, "Bruce Lee's Toughest Fight," the film is written by Chris Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele,...

Promo trailer is now online (via Deadline) for Birth of the Dragon starring Billy Magnussen, Xia Yu, Philip Ng, Jinging Qu, and Xing Jing.

Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural film chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man.

It's amazing to think of what Bruce Lee accomplished — and when. Years before martial arts action became a staple of Hollywood and global cinema, and years before Asian-Americans became a strong demographic presence in California, Bruce Lee brought the majesty and discipline of centuries-old combat to America, and added a little showmanship of his own. It wasn't easy.

In 1960s Oakland, a hotbed of hippie counterculture and radical politics, young Bruce Lee (Philip Wan-Lung Ng) does some radical cultural work of his own, teaching a martial arts style he himself developed. The Bay...

Twenty years ago today, the world lost one of its strongest voices, Tupac Shakur. To commemorate the anniversary of his death, after an initial teaser, a second red band teaser has been unveiled for his biopic All Eyez On Me. Helmed by Benny Boom (an incredible director name, if I may say so), Eyez is a chronicling of the life and music of one of the most seminal rappers ever to touch the mic.

Newcomer Demetrius Shipp stars as Tupac (and looks an uncanny amount like the late rapper), who grows up seeing a life of police brutality and violence in his neighborhood, and decides to fight back through his music — as well as telling his story by “painting a picture with a pen.” Check out the new teaser below, along with the first poster.

All Eyez On Me, originally titled Tupac, is an upcoming American biographical drama film directed by Benny Boom,...

The Toronto International Film Festival is currently in full swing, and one of the films making its world premiere next week is director George Nolfi's Birth of the Dragon, which centers on martial arts legend Bruce Lee. The film will have its premiere on September 13, but while we wait for this first ever screening, the first poster has surfaced, featuring Philip Ng as Bruce Lee. While there have been Bruce Lee biopics in the past, this film focuses on a little-known fight that helped him become a world-renowned legend.

Set against the backdrop of San Francisco's Chinatown, this cross-cultural film chronicles {Bruce Lee's emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man, a Shaolin master who had been sent from China to stop Bruce Lee. The film is based on the real-life no holds barred fight took place 1965, a time...

In naming our favorite boxing movies last fall, we said, “Michael Mann‘s epic portrait of Muhammad Ali marvelously depicts the champ and the cultural upheaval surrounding his storied and controversial career,” adding that, “Ali is a thoughtful and aesthetically flawless picture, which succeeds in conveying the harrowing emotions the People’s Champion felt inside and outside of the ring.” Following the passing of the legendary boxer last weekend, Sony has announced the film will be returning to a few hundred theaters this weekend. While we lament some aspects of digital distribution, consider this a check in the positive column.

“When we made Ali, Will Smith dedicated a year to become Ali. No director ever had a better, more stand-up partner,” Mann tells Variety in a recent guest column. “In the early days, in one of my meetings with Ali, he said one of the most important concerns to him...

A fantasy about Miles Davis’s life and music; loose, free-flowing, a kind of cinematic jazz. An astonishingly assured directorial debut from Don Cheadle. I’m “biast” (pro): love Don Cheadle

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Don’t call it jazz… it’s social music.” Miles Davis really did say that about his work. But he didn’t say it to Rolling Stone journalist Dave Braden, because Dave Braden doesn’t exist. Though one may readily imagine that the real Miles Davis would have been just as testy with journalists as the Miles we see onscreen in Miles Ahead is with the fictional Braden. It’s a testiness — and an accompanying desire to craft his own story to his own liking, to tell his story his own way — that informs everything about this ingeniously seductive film.

We could say,...

Last year at the New York Film Festival, I saw the fest wrap up with the directorial debut of actor Don Cheadle. It was the biopic Miles Ahead, a passion project of Cheadle’s that he’d been trying to get off the ground for years. It played at the Closing Night selection and had some awards buzz surrounding it, but no 2015 release date. Well, that turned out to mean something, as it never came out, opting instead for this early 2016 slot. Part of that might be due to the middling reviews at the time, but mostly it was just a function of studios having other priorities and this being an odd little title. It’s hitting theaters this week though, so it’s time to discuss it a bit more now. Once again, here’s a quick primer on the film itself, which of course is a look at...

Taking on the starring role for a biopic of any kind comes packing its own share of expectations, particularly when it comes to stepping into the shoes of an icon from beyond our time. But for Avengers star Don Cheadle, he was deemed the perfect fit to assume the role of jazz legend Miles Davis long before the biopic ever came to form, after gaining the blessing of Davis’ nephew Vince Wilburn almost a decade ago.

Fast forward to today and we’ve arrived at the first trailer for Miles Ahead. Written and directed by Cheadle, the musical biopic represents something of a passion project for the actor, who recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about bringing Davis’ story to the moviegoing masses.

“Just the fact that he wasn’t playing. The fact that he hadn’t played for five years, up to that point, and in a way, was either...

It's pretty clear where I got the first name of my first son, Toshiro, and he's well aware of the legacy of the artist who inspired that name. While he hasn't seen Seven Samurai yet, he knows who Toshiro Mifune was and that he is an actor I hold in very high regard. What's less immediately clear is that my younger son is also named after one of my artistic heroes, because it's his middle name. He is Allen Miles McWeeny, and sure enough, he is named after one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, a towering figure whose music has meant more to me than I can ever fully express. Don Cheadle must share some of that same reverence for Miles Davis, and it's certainly clear from his new film as a star and as a writer/director that he embraces the full complexity of Miles, flaws and all.

Earlier this week, we reported that The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira signed on to join the Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez on Me, portraying the rapper/actor's mother, Afeni Shakur. Today, Deadline reports that she will be joined by another one of her Walking Dead co-stars, Lauren Cohan. The actress will be portraying Leila Steinberg, who would become an important part of Tupac Shakur's life.

Leila Steinberg was just 25 when she met the then 17-year-old Tupac Shakur, after he came to one of her workshops where she mentors young kids to use their talent in hopes of making their lives better. They became instant friends, and the rapper even mentored her on how to become a business manager as he rose through the rap music ranks. Steinberg still mentors kids today, who come from both impoverished backgrounds and affluent lifestyles, through an organization entitled Aim4TheHeart.org.

Lauren Cohan...

After several years of delays, the Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez on Me finally started production last month, with newcomer Demetrius Shipp Jr. starring as the late rapper. The supporting cast is now starting to come together, with Deadline reporting that The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira has come aboard to play Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur. Variety also reports that Katerina Graham has joined the cast to play Jada Pinkett Smith.

We reported last month that Benny Boom (Next Day Air) had signed on to direct, and that the production needed to get started by the end of 2015, or else production company Morgan Creek would lose Tupac Shakur's music rights, which will revert back to his mother, Afeni Shakur. Principal photography got started at the end of December, with Afeni Shakur herself on board as executive producer. Afeni Shakur is a political activist and an active member of the Black Panther party,...

Morgan Creek's languishing Untitled Tupac Shakur Project has been given a new lease on life, with the studio hoping to get production started this year. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Benny Boom (Next Day Air) is in talks to direct, replacing Carl Franklin, who was attached to direct this summer. If principal photography doesn't start by the end of this year, Morgan Creek will lose Tupac Shakur's music rights, which will revert back to his mother, Afeni Shakur.

The production company has tried to get this Tupac biopic off the ground for several years, with Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer) set to direct back in 2011, then John Singleton coming aboard in February 2014. This April, John Singleton backed out, after working on the script for quite some time, which had originally been written by Steven Bagatourian, Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson. John Singleton also offered a parting shot on his Instagram page in April,...

A new Bruce Lee movie started shooting yesterday, and it was announced that Philip Ng (New Police Story, Bodyguards and Assassins) will be taking on the role of the legendary martial artist.

The story is set in the mid-1960s and focuses on the fight between Lee and Wong Jack Man. The story is told from the point of view of one of Lee’s students, Steve McKee, who is being played by Billy Magnussen. After the fight, Lee reinvented himself and his fighting style of kung fu.

Shaolin Master Wong Jack Man will be played by Yu Xia, and the rest of the cast includes Jinging Qu as McKee’s love interest and Jin Xing as a crime boss.

The film is being directed by George Nolfi from a script written by Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele, who have worked on films such as Ali and Nixon. The...

Hong Kong-born Philip Ng will be playing the young Bruce Lee in Birth Of The Dragon, according to The Wrap.

The film will be directed by George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau) from a screenplay written by Academy Award nominees Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele, which follows the the story behind the legendary 1960s fight between Shaolin Master Wong Jack Man and the young Bruce Lee.

Nolfia said:

“Birth Of The Dragon is a rare opportunity to make an action film with rich characters based on real events and real people. It’s a story about people from the East and West transcending their differences to work together, which is obviously a very timely story.”

The fight scene in question I believe was in the film "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story," which you can see the film clip below.

The site reports that the film will recreate the mid-1960’s...

Billy Magnussen (Into The Woods), Philip Ng (Once Upon A Time in Shanghai) and Yu Xia (The Painted Veil) are toplining Groundswell Productions’ Birth Of The Dragon, the pic about the legendary 1965 fight between Shaolin Master Wong Jack Man and a young Bruce Lee. Production gets underway tomorrow in Vancouver with George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau) directing a script by Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele. This is the origin story pic originally picked up by Mich…...

Philip Ng will portray Bruce Lee in the George Nolfi-directed martial arts action movie "Birth of the Dragon" for Groundswell Productions and Kylin Films. Filming begins Tuesday in Vancouver.

The film recreates the mid-1960’s fight between Lee and Wong Jack Man from the point of view of McKee. After the fight, Lee reinvented himself and his style of kung fu which led to his worldwide fame.

Yu Xia will play Shaolin Master Wong Jack Man and Billy Magnussen will portray martial arts student Steve McKee. Jinging Qu plays the love interest of McKee’s character and Jin Xing will portray a crime boss.

"Ali" and "Nixon" scribes Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele penned the script, while action sequences will be designed by martial arts choreographer Corey Yuen.

Source: Variety...

Principal photography is set to kick off on November 17 in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the Bruce Lee story.

George Nolfi will direct the martial arts action tale that tells the story behind the legendary 1960s fight between Shaolin Master Wong Jack Man and the young Bruce Lee.

The film recreates the mid-1960’s fight between Lee and Wong. While the outcome of the fight remains the subject of debate, the contest launched Lee on the path to global superstardom.

Billy Magnussen will play Steve McKee, a young student of martial arts who follows the events closely. Chinese actor Yu Xia will play Man and Hong Kong-born Philip Ng will play Lee.

Chinese actress Jinging Qu plays Magnussen’s love interest, Xiulan. Rounding out the key cast is Chinese TV host Jin Xing as crime boss Auntie Blossom.

Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele co-wrote the screenplay.

Kylin Films is financing Birth Of The Dragon and the producers...

Over the weekend, the 53rd annual New York Film Festival came to a close with the World Premiere screening of Don Cheadle’s long brewing passion project Miles Ahead. This biopic of jazz musician Miles Davis has been in the works forever (with Cheadle as the star, co-writer, and director), so expectations were quite high for this one, which Nyff debuted as their 2015 Closing Night selection. A potential Academy Award player, either this year or next (more on that below), this was one of the bigger debuts in a while. Is it an Oscar contender or a pretender? Something in between, perhaps? Well, why don’t we find out below right now? Here’s a quick primer on the film itself, which of course is a look at a moment in time for legend Miles Davis. Cheadle plays Davis mostly during a period in which he had receded from public...

A smart, intelligent and fascinating movie in every way, director Ed Zwick’s Pawn Sacrifice makes all the right moves in this intensely watchable, sort-of biopic of the great chess grand master Bobby Fischer. But thanks to Zwick’s precise direction and camera work, and a taut script from Steven Knight (with story credit to Knight, Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson), this doesn’t play like a typical Hollywood biopic at all, but rather a snapshot in time that…...

Last week, the 2015 New York Film Festival gave us potentially another piece of the awards season puzzle when they announced their Closing Night selection for the fest. In a bit of a surprise, it’s Don Cheadle’s directorial debut Miles Ahead, a biopic about musician Miles Davis. Cheadle co-wrote the screenplay and stars as Davis as well, making this not just a passion project of his, but the sort of film that Academy members can sometimes really gravitate to. The fact that Nyff put it in the super prestigious Closing Night spot only makes it more of a movie we really need to pay attention to… Getting to be the closer at Nyff is a big deal for a flick. Unless this year is an anomaly, it more or less launches you straight into the heart of the Oscar race. Over the past 15 years, almost nothing in this slot...

Marco Polo

Hayden Christensen is set to star in filmmaker Rob Cohen's fantasy-action thriller "Marco Polo" at Paramount Pictures, China Film Group, Yuehua Entertainment, Huahua Film & Media Culture, and Phoenix Entertainment.

Christensen would play the Venetian merchant who embarked on a 24-year journey into China in the 13th century. This would mark the actor's first U.S. studio film since 2010's "Takers". [Source: Heat Vision]

Nine Lives

Robbie Amell ("The Flash") is in negotiations to join Kevin Spacey in Barry Sonnenfeld‘s high-concept comedy “Nine Lives” at EuropaCorp. Daniel Antoniazzi and Ben Shiffrin wrote the script.

Spacey plays a workaholic businessman who suffers a terrible accident that leaves him trapped in the body of the family cat. Christopher Walker and Malina Weissman co-star. [Source: The Wrap]

Ferrari

Robert De Niro is reportedly aboard to play Italian racer/engineer Enzo Ferrari in a biopic entitled "Ferrari". Clint Eastwood is reportedly interested in directing, provisional on a...

More than one year after first signing on, director John Singleton has reportedly backed out of the Untitled Tupac Shakur Project, with Showbizz 411 claiming that Carl Franklin is set to replace him at the helm. Carl Franklin's name was attached to a casting call which is seeking an actor to play Tupac Shakur himself. John Singleton had been working on the script for quite some time, and even discussed the project at length on the Oscars red carpet just months ago. But the director recently revealed to Xxl Magazine that the project is on hold. Here's what he had to say in the interview:

"I think the picture is not going to be good unless it's offensive to some people. So, whenever you make a movie, you always have different elements that people have their say about. But when I'm making my movies, John Singleton movies, it's really just my voice.

Toronto — It’s quite remarkable that up until now there has never been a biopic on the life of Bobby Fischer, arguably the greatest chess player of the 20th Century. Yes, his name was used in the acclaimed 1993 film “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” but that referenced his potential successor. Fisher’s life and his greatest moment, a dramatic match against his Russian counterpart, are finally depicted in the new drama “Pawn Sacrifice,” which screened at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Fisher’s genius as a chess player first manifested at the age of 12 and by 13 he had become the youngest winner of the U.S. Junior Chess Championships. He enjoyed a spectacular rise as a master chess player and by 1957 he won the first of eight U.S. Championships (a competition he never lost). The world stage, on the other hand, was different. Rising to prominence at the height of the Cold War,...

Behold: Don Cheadle Is Miles Davis. The dapper actor who earned an Oscar nod for his portrayal of a noble hero in Hotel Rwanda; titillates and terrorizes in House of Lies; and kicked some serious bad guy ass in Iron Man 3 is now preparing to play one of the coolest American musicians ever in Miles Ahead. And the pic above is our first look. EW shared this pic, which has Cheadle posing with head bowed and a trumpet engraved with the name of Miles Ahead's hero, the one and only Miles Davis. Cheadle is making his directorial debut on the biopic that is now in production, sharing his schedule with Avengers: Age of Ultron, which demanded he reprise his role as Colonel James "War Machine/Iron Patriot" Rhodes. Cheadle also contributed to the screenplay, which he co-wrote with Steven Baigelman (Feeling Minnesota), Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson...

Two years after he stepped away from the project, director John Singleton has finalized a deal to direct the Untitled Tupac Shakur Project, which was formerly known as Tupac.

The filmmaker will also produce and re-write the script, which has been worked on by Steven Bagatourian, Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson. Work will begin immediately on the script, with the producers now focusing their efforts on finding the right actor to portray Tupac Shakur, in hopes of starting production as early as this June. The film will chart the rapper's rise to success, and his murder in 1996, after a Las Vegas boxing match, which still has not been solved.

The project has had a tumultuous history, starting with a legal battle between Morgan Creek Productions and the rapper's mother Afeni Shakur over his life rights. The case was eventually settled, with Afeni Shakur now serving as executive producer. Antoine Fuqua...

Most Academy Awards hand out five nominations apiece. Some awards only hand out three; a few years ago, the Academy opened up the Best Picture race to like a million nominees. But the specific number doesn’t really matter. Most races inevitably come down to some kind of face-off between two nominees: Frontrunner vs. Dark Horse, Beloved Veteran vs. Dynamic Newcomer, Megahit vs. Beloved Smaller Film, Dark Tale Of The Modern World vs. Sentimental Nostalgia Bait.

Each year, though there are races that defy any easy binary rendering. These are the categories that stacked almost too high with talent. Sometimes that’s clear right away,...

Gk Films has found a director for their Untitled Freddie Mercury Biopic in Dexter Fletcher (Wild Bill, Sunshine on Leith).

We reported in October that Ben Whishaw was being eyed to star as Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, and now his deal has been finalized. Sacha Baron Cohen had previously been attached to star, but he dropped out in July after creative differences with the band.

Dexter Fletcher has been meeting with band members to get a better feel for the story, which will tell the coming-of-age tale of Freddie Mercury, leading up to Queen's iconic Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985, which is considered one of the great rock performances of all time. The singer died of AIDS in 1991, although his last days will not be part of the film. However, the film's rights package does come with several popular Queen songs such as "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We...

Ewan McGregor and Zoe Saldana are reportedly in talks to join the Miles Davis biopic "Kill The Trumpet Player". The project will be sold around at this year's Afm.

Don Cheadle is set to make his feature directorial debut on the film from a script by "Nixon" scribes Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson.

Cheadle will star as the pioneering jazz trumpeter, while Herbie Hancock is on board as executive producer and musical supervisor.

Source: Screen Daily...

Today in history... September 13, 1996... Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital at age 25, 6 days after being fatally shot in a driveby shooting that still remains unsolved, despite claims by the Lapd and Tupac's former bodyguard, most recently, that they know who killed him. So will that Tupac biopic that's been in development for a few years, ever happen? Antoine Fuqua's Tupac project, which seemed like it would be made, appears to be in Limbo. As you might recall, it had been greenlit by Morgan Creek Productions, with shooting expected to begin in September 2011, with Oscar-nominated screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Chris...

Although the actor has been attached to the project for some time, Deadline is reporting that Sacha Baron Cohen is dropping out of the planned Freddie Mercury biopic . The site reports that the Borat star's take on what the film should entail is not in line with the remaining members of Queen, who have final approval over both the script and director. The film is being produced by Graham King with Tim Headington, who produced Martin Scorsese's Hugo , also co-starring Cohen, in partnership with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal's Tribeca Productions and Queen Films. Peter Morgan wrote the screenplay along with Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson ( Ali ). Baron Cohen starred last year in The Dictator , Les Miserables and, as a voice, in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most...

The life of legendary actor and martial artist Bruce Lee will be explored once again on the silver screen with Birth of the Dragon. However, this is not a remake of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story or any other biopic, using a little-known story as a "jumping-off point" for a broader tale.

Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele are writing the script that is based on the real-life 1965 fight between Bruce Lee and kung fu master Wong Jack Man in San Francisco. The no holds barred fight took place at a time when San Francisco's Chinatown district was controlled by the Chinese Triad gangs. The script will begin with this battle, then follow both men as they team up to take on a horde of gangsters.

Bill Block is producing for Qed International, alongside Groundswell's Michael London and writers Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele. Here's what Michael London had to say about the story.

It’s been a long while since we’ve received an update on the in-development Tupac Shakur biopic. Last year, the project issued an open casting call to find an actor capable of invoking the essence of the iconic rapper, but we’ve seen little movement since then.

The film – titled simply Tupac – had already snagged Academy Award-nominated duo Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson to write the script. The writing team had previously tackled biopic material with Michael Mann’s Ali, which earned Will Smith his first Oscar nod for his portrayal of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

According to Deadline, Michael Starrbury has now been brought on to rewrite the script. Starrbury’s most recent credit is the indie film The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete. That film premieres later this month at the Sundance Film Festival ...

Click to continue reading ‘Tupac’ Biopic Lands a New Screenwriter...

And here we go again with new updates on the long-in-development Tupac biopic, which S&A has been closely following over the years. Previously, Antoine Fuqua's Tupac project, which seemed like it would be made, appeared to be dead. As you might recall, it had been greenlit by Morgan Creek Productions, with shooting expected to begin in September 2011, with Oscar-nominated screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson (for Ali & Nixon) hired to write the script. The story would have reportedly center on the last day of Tupac's life, and included flashback sequences that showed the previous years...

Remember that Freddie Mercury biopic guys? It looks that’s still in the works and that we’ll finally get our chance to watch Sacha Baron Cohen as legendary Queen frontman…but not yet! Apparently, things are moving forward, but no release date before 2014.

On the other hand, at this moment we know the project should start filming this spring. Guess that’s the good news for today.

Let us first remind you that this movie should center on Queen’s early years and conclude with the band’s Live Aid performance in 1985.

Peter Morgan is behind the initial script while Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson have been hired to do the rewrite.

As you probably remember, we previously had some rumor that Stephen Frears will direct the biopic, but now – it looks that’s not going to happen. Who will come on board as a replacement? We’ll have to wait and see.

Earlier this morning, I posted an entry in rememberance of Tupac Shakur's 1996 death (he died on this day, September 13, 1996, at a Las Vegas hospital, at age 25, 6 days after being fatally shot in a driveby shooting that remains unsolved). In that post, I asked wondered whether Antoine Fuqua's Tupac project, which was greenlit by Morgan Creek Productions a couple of years ago, was dead. Oscar-nominated screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson (for Ali & Nixon) had been hired to write the script, which would have reportedly centered on the last day of Tupac's life, and...

Today in history... September 13, 1996... Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital at age 25, 6 days after being fatally shot in a driveby shooting that remains unsolved, despite claims by the Lapd and Tupac's former bodyguard, most recently, that they know who killed him. So will that Tupac biopic that's been in development for a few years, ever happen? Antoine Fuqua's Tupac project, which seemed like it would be made, appears to be dead. As you might recall, it had been greenlit by Morgan Creek Productions, with shooting expected to begin in September last year, with Oscar-nominated screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Chris...

Katy Perry is in the mix to play Freddie Mercury’s long-time girlfriend Mary Austin in Gk Films’ biopic of the late Queen frontman, according to a report in The Mirror.

The 27-year-old pop singer has yet to act in a live-action feature film but she has recently started to flirt with movies having voiced Smurfette in the children’s animated movie “The Smurfs”.

Though when you start to delve into The Mirror’s story, it does suggest they are basing the whole report of Perry’s link to the biopic on a quote an unnamed friend said;

“Katy would love to be in the film as she is such a huge fan. She would want to play Mary Austin ideally. Katy has a similar look to Mary and would be a brilliant foil to Sacha.”

And that she once said she was a fan of Queen and snuck into...

"The Queen" helmer Stephen Frears is the early frontrunner to direct a currently untitled biopic about a different kind of queen - the late, great Freddie Mercury reports Variety.

Gk Films, Tribeca Prods. and Queen Films are producing the project which Sacha Baron Cohen is in talks play the Queen frontman and musical genius famed for his flamboyant stage persona, powerful vocals, and songwriting which included such worldwide hits as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love" and "We Are the Champions".

The film's story will focus on Queen's formative years up to the band's appearance at Live Aid in 1985. Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson ("Ali," "Nixon") penned the latest draft of the script.

Several other filmmakers remain in contention as negotiations haven't yet begun, but Frears is the favourite right now.

The producers have also scored a music-rights package including some of Queen's biggest hits -...