We learned last week that iconic label Anchor Bay Entertainment is coming back to life here in 2024, and founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz have announced this morning that they have acquired the North American rights to the horror/comedy Crust, which will have its release later this year.
Directed by Sean Whalen (The People Under The Stairs), who co-wrote the film with Jim Wald, Crust stars Whalen, Daniel Roebuck (Rob Zombie’s The Munsters), Rebekah Kennedy (Two Witches), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), and Ricky Dean Logan (Back to the Future II), with Shawntay Dalon (“Detroiters”) and Alan Ruck (“Succession”).
“As someone who grew up watching Sean on screen, I am thrilled to be in business with him,” says Zambeck. “The fact that it’s on a witty and clever film like this – one that displays such a mastery of tone – makes it so much sweeter. I can’t wait...
Directed by Sean Whalen (The People Under The Stairs), who co-wrote the film with Jim Wald, Crust stars Whalen, Daniel Roebuck (Rob Zombie’s The Munsters), Rebekah Kennedy (Two Witches), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), and Ricky Dean Logan (Back to the Future II), with Shawntay Dalon (“Detroiters”) and Alan Ruck (“Succession”).
“As someone who grew up watching Sean on screen, I am thrilled to be in business with him,” says Zambeck. “The fact that it’s on a witty and clever film like this – one that displays such a mastery of tone – makes it so much sweeter. I can’t wait...
- 2/20/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Since Dancing With the Stars launched in 2005, it has featured some questionable celebrities, including Carole Baskin, Sean Spicer, and more we’d rather not think about.
Now, producers are opening up about why these “clickbait” names are necessary for the competition series.
During ABC’s part of the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Saturday, EP Deena Katz said that the show needs “a little bit of that clickbait wow that gets people there.”
It makes sense. Specific names will generate headlines when their names are announced, as evidenced by both Baskin and Spicer’s castings.
Neither made it far into the competition, but it certainly got people talking about the show, and there’s also that curiosity factor about how well they fare in the process.
While that may be the case, Katz also stressed during the panel that there’s also the pressure to bring in new...
Now, producers are opening up about why these “clickbait” names are necessary for the competition series.
During ABC’s part of the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Saturday, EP Deena Katz said that the show needs “a little bit of that clickbait wow that gets people there.”
It makes sense. Specific names will generate headlines when their names are announced, as evidenced by both Baskin and Spicer’s castings.
Neither made it far into the competition, but it certainly got people talking about the show, and there’s also that curiosity factor about how well they fare in the process.
While that may be the case, Katz also stressed during the panel that there’s also the pressure to bring in new...
- 2/11/2024
- by Paul Dailly
- Monsters and Critics
Producers of Dancing with the Stars are opening up about controversial casting decisions over the years, like Sean Spicer (Season 28), Carole Baskin (Season 29), and Adrian Peterson (Season 32), among many more.
Speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Saturday, EP Deena Katz said “clickbait” casting is something that has to be done.
“Unfortunately, in this day and age, have to do a little bit of that clickbait wow that gets people there,” Katz said. “But the hope is that all of us are great storytellers. And at the end of the day, we’re all telling really great stories in all different ways on this panel.”
Katz noted that during casting of the reality competition, “it’s really important every single season to bring new people in that audience members may not know.”
“You know, our feeling is if you have people when you announce a cast,...
Speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Saturday, EP Deena Katz said “clickbait” casting is something that has to be done.
“Unfortunately, in this day and age, have to do a little bit of that clickbait wow that gets people there,” Katz said. “But the hope is that all of us are great storytellers. And at the end of the day, we’re all telling really great stories in all different ways on this panel.”
Katz noted that during casting of the reality competition, “it’s really important every single season to bring new people in that audience members may not know.”
“You know, our feeling is if you have people when you announce a cast,...
- 2/11/2024
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
The producers of “Dancing With the Stars” are responding to the controversial casting of Sean Spicer (Season 28) and Adrian Peterson (Season 32), among others.
“We’re a silly ballroom dance show, we’re teaching people how to cha cha. The country is divided, so half of the people may have one political view and the other half have the other. At the core of it, we always just go for nice, good people,” executive producer Deena Katz told Variety following ABC’s unscripted panel at the Television Critics Association press tour on Saturday.
Katz added that former White House press secretary Spicer became friends with many members of the cast during his time on the show. However, there was a great deal of controversy amid his casting, with former host Tom Bergeron among those expressing disappointment over how the show was being politicized.
“I think everyone needs to, for the two hours you’re watching,...
“We’re a silly ballroom dance show, we’re teaching people how to cha cha. The country is divided, so half of the people may have one political view and the other half have the other. At the core of it, we always just go for nice, good people,” executive producer Deena Katz told Variety following ABC’s unscripted panel at the Television Critics Association press tour on Saturday.
Katz added that former White House press secretary Spicer became friends with many members of the cast during his time on the show. However, there was a great deal of controversy amid his casting, with former host Tom Bergeron among those expressing disappointment over how the show was being politicized.
“I think everyone needs to, for the two hours you’re watching,...
- 2/11/2024
- by Emily Longeretta
- Variety Film + TV
For the past decade, A24 has cultivated an almost cultlike devotion from its fans, thanks to its excellent taste in projects and idiosyncratic, meme-able movies like “The Witch,” “Uncut Gems” and “Midsommar.” Their films inspire such interest that their features usually come with a curated, highly sought-after merchandise drop that fans can purchase via their official website.
But a new strategy — which includes chasing the rights to the “Halloween” franchise — could land them in a place that, for all their big swings, they’ve never been before: the mainstream.
According to a top agent with knowledge of the company, over the summer A24 acquisition executive Noah Sacco made the talent agency rounds in search of “action and big IP projects.” The studio, the agent told TheWrap, is “deemphasizing the traditional character/auteur driven dramas.”
“Everyone in the independent film space is aware that A24 needs to pivot to more commercial films alongside its arthouse slate,...
But a new strategy — which includes chasing the rights to the “Halloween” franchise — could land them in a place that, for all their big swings, they’ve never been before: the mainstream.
According to a top agent with knowledge of the company, over the summer A24 acquisition executive Noah Sacco made the talent agency rounds in search of “action and big IP projects.” The studio, the agent told TheWrap, is “deemphasizing the traditional character/auteur driven dramas.”
“Everyone in the independent film space is aware that A24 needs to pivot to more commercial films alongside its arthouse slate,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Channel 4 entertainment boss Phil Harris is exiting the broadcaster after four years in post.
Harris is leaving at the end of this year to launch his own production company. His place will be taken temporarily by I Literally Just Told You and Don’t Look Down commissioning editor Steve Handley, who will report to progams boss Ian Katz and has been with Channel 4 for five years.
Harris joined Channel 4 in 2019 from Britain’s Got Talent indie Thames, where he was Creative Director. He has commissioned the likes of Late Night Lycett, Paddy McGuinness format Tempting Fortune and Prince Andrew: The Musical during his tenure.
Katz said he has “presided over a purple patch for C4 entertainment, delivering a host of hugely original new shows, helping to launch the careers of some of the most exciting new talents in the industry, and racking up so many awards we’ve...
Harris is leaving at the end of this year to launch his own production company. His place will be taken temporarily by I Literally Just Told You and Don’t Look Down commissioning editor Steve Handley, who will report to progams boss Ian Katz and has been with Channel 4 for five years.
Harris joined Channel 4 in 2019 from Britain’s Got Talent indie Thames, where he was Creative Director. He has commissioned the likes of Late Night Lycett, Paddy McGuinness format Tempting Fortune and Prince Andrew: The Musical during his tenure.
Katz said he has “presided over a purple patch for C4 entertainment, delivering a host of hugely original new shows, helping to launch the careers of some of the most exciting new talents in the industry, and racking up so many awards we’ve...
- 10/10/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Omri Katz is an American former child actor best known for his roles as John Ross Ewing III in the television series Dallas and as Max Dennison in the film Hocus Pocus. Like a handful of other child actors, he didn’t have a great run in the industry. So, he decided to hang up his boots and retire. Before he called it quits, the star appeared in several series and films, including Eerie, Indiana, Adventures in Dinosaur City, and Matinee. Katz retired from acting in the late 1990s and has since kept a low profile. Nevertheless, here are 10 things you...
- 4/29/2023
- by Tracy Ume
- TVovermind.com
Charlie Collier, who joined Roku last fall as president of its newly created media division, had a compensation package worth $53.3 million last year — more than twice as much as his boss, CEO Anthony Wood, took home.
Collier left his post as CEO of Fox Entertainment to head up Roku Media, where he now oversees content and ad sales for the Roku Channel. Roku’s recruitment of the high-profile TV exec — who brought such hits as “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” to AMC — signaled that the company plans to spend more on original content. That said, Roku has been taking steps to cut costs, including laying off about 400 employees, after its revenue growth slowed dramatically in the last two quarters.
In 2022, Collier’s pay package included $1.075 million in base salary along with a boatload of stock: $23.3 million worth in stock grants and $28.9 million in stock options, according to...
Collier left his post as CEO of Fox Entertainment to head up Roku Media, where he now oversees content and ad sales for the Roku Channel. Roku’s recruitment of the high-profile TV exec — who brought such hits as “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” to AMC — signaled that the company plans to spend more on original content. That said, Roku has been taking steps to cut costs, including laying off about 400 employees, after its revenue growth slowed dramatically in the last two quarters.
In 2022, Collier’s pay package included $1.075 million in base salary along with a boatload of stock: $23.3 million worth in stock grants and $28.9 million in stock options, according to...
- 4/27/2023
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
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