See what else is happening in film & TV industries around the world.
The Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards took place in California last night
The 3rd Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards took place last night in a ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California hosted by Retta from the popular comedy series ‘Parks and Recreation’. The awards are presented by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) and they were established in 2011 as an offshoot of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The accolades were awarded to an eclectic spread of American television series and no one network or show completely dominated the ceremony.
In the end, HBO topped out with the most wins, five, but FX was right behind the premium network with four, while CBS and NBC nabbed three apiece. The hugely popular comedy series ‘The Big Bang Theory’, took home the ‘Best Comedy Series’ award, while both HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ and AMC’s Breaking Bad’ ended up sharing the ‘Best Drama Series’ award. Popular comedian Louis C.K. took home the ‘Best Actor in a Comedy Series’ accolade for his performance in the FX show ‘Louie’, while Michael Cudlitz got the prize for best supporting actor in drama for his strong turn in the now cancelled ‘Southland’. Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show with John Stewart’ took home the ‘Best Talk Show’ award while American stand-up comedian Bob Newhart received the Critics' Choice Television Icon Award.
For a full list of the winners, click here.
Shia LaBeouf’s ‘The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman’ gets a U.S. release
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Millennium Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to Shia LaBeouf's ‘The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman’. Directed by Fredrik Bond and written by Matt Drake, the film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and competed at the Berlin Film Festival. The Voltage Pictures film co-stars Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Til Schweiger, Rupert Grint, Aubrey Plaza, James Buckley and Melissa Leo. The film centers follows Charlie (LaBeouf) as he crosses the Atlantic after his late mother appears in a vision and tells him to travel to Buchrarest. When he meets a fellow passenger on the plane, he finds himself with another promise to fulfill.The film is produced by Bona Fide Productions' Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Voltage Pictures' Craig J. Flores and Wonderful Films' William Horberg, with Voltage's Nicolas Chartier and Patrick Newall as executive producers. Millennium plans on releasing the film later this year.
Sequel to ‘The Purge’ being developed by Universal and Blumhouse
After exceeding all expectations and taking the number one spot at last week’s box-office, the hugely successful horror thriller ‘The Purge’ is to receive a sequel. Even though the film only cost $3 million to make, it earned $36 million in its first few days of release, so it’s no surprise that micro-budget producer Jason Blum, who produced the highly-profitable ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise, announced through his production company Blumhouse’s Twitter feed that “The Purge 2 is in development”. The horror-thriller stars Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey as parents whose heavily-fortified home is broken into by a group of wealthy young people participating in an annual 12-hour-long ritual during which time all crime is legal, including murder. According to The Wrap, Blum has already applied for California’s Film and Television Tax Credit program for The Purge 2, which would have to start shooting before the end of the year.
