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Saturday Night Live alum Taran Killam starred in 12 Years a Slave and was proud of being part of the Oscar-winning Steve McQueen film.

However, in a new interview, the actor revealed that SNL creator Lorne Michaels had “said something” about Killam constantly bringing up that fact to the guest hosts.

In an appearance on Dana Carvey and David Spade’s Fly on the Wall podcast, Killam acknowledged he “was terrible at pitching” sketches during his time on SNL.

To connect with the SNL guest hosts, Killam brought up his work on 12 Years a Slave, where he played Abram Hamilton, one of the two men who kidnapped Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and forced him into slavery.

“I did a bit for almost an entire season, where I would start to pitch the host on an idea,” Killam said on the podcast. “I was like, ‘Well, I know you’re...

Stanley Tucci has an appetite. Not just for food but for culture, conversation, travel, exploration – all the things that make life enriching.

The actor gets to indulge those passions, and take us along with him, in the new National Geographic documentary series Tucci in Italy, now in contention for Emmy recognition. The five-part series finds him venturing far and wide in the homeland of his ancestors, to regions well known like Tuscany and Lombardy, and to other areas further from the beaten path like Abruzzo and Trentino-Alto Adige. Everywhere, the first item on the menu is to experience the region’s food.

On the new episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, Tucci joins hosts John Ridley and Matt Carey to discuss his series, and how it builds on his earlier Emmy-winning show for CNN, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. He tells us how he selected the destinations he wanted to explore,...

The great rock-funk-soul band Sly and the Family Stone didn’t just make hits in the 1960s and ‘70s, they made “culture-changing hits,” in the words of no less a figure than record mogul Clive Davis. Hits like “Everyday People,” “Stand!”, “Dance to the Music,” “Family Affair” and “If You Want Me to Stay.”

But if the group released so many incredible songs, why do we remember them now mostly for the personal troubles of bandleader, composer and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone? That question underpins the Emmy-contending documentary Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius), directed by Oscar winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.

Questlove joins the latest edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to share his observations on what made Sly Stone great and what impelled him to tumble from the mountaintop of rock stardom. It’s got much to do with crushing expectations placed on Black genius (hence his...

More than 10,000. That’s how many interviews Sir David Frost conducted across his extraordinary career in television, spanning almost 50 years.

Frost is best known for his historic conversation with former President Richard Nixon, which created a sensation when it was broadcast in 1977. That encounter became the basis for the 2006 play Frost/Nixon, written by Peter Morgan (The Crown), and two years later a film directed by Ron Howard, starring Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as Frost.

The new MSNBC documentary series David Frost Vs examines some of the greatest interviews conducted by the Television Hall of Fame inductee, including that incredible sit-down with Nixon as well as eye-opening discussions with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Elton John, Muhammad Ali, Jane Fonda, Nixon’s Vice President Spiro Agnew and more. On the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we explore the series with executive producer Wilfred Frost,...

A cozy thatched cottage tucked beside a tree-lined lane, smoke curling from brick chimneys. Lampposts casting a glow over the scene.

These are the soothing images – the functional equivalent of comfort food — that made artist Thomas Kinkade a fortune in the 1980s and ‘90s. Museums spurned the homespun canvases, but ordinary Americans couldn’t get enough.

Kinkade called himself the “Painter of Light,” with no apology to an earlier artist known by that moniker — 19th century British landscape and seascape painter J.M.W. Turner. We don’t know what if any secrets Turner harbored, but it turns out Kinkade possessed a dark side amid all that light. His complicated and fascinating story is told in the acclaimed new documentary Art for Everybody, directed by Miranda Yousef.

The filmmaker joins the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to discuss her film, which enjoys a 100% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Father-and-son duo, Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Nick Cuse are in very early development on a Star Wars series from Lucasfilm, sources confirm to Deadline.

No details on the project are being revealed. This marks father-and-son’s first formal project together.

Before recently being invited to develop a Star Wars series, prolific Emmy-winning writer-producer Carlton Cuse, who is under a first-look deal at Amazon MGM Studios, had had conversations with Lucasfilm about potential series collaborations years ago while under a deal at Disney sibling ABC Studios.

Currently, Cuse serves as executive producer/co-showrunner alongside creator Zoe Robyn of Netflix’s medical drama Pulse. He was co-showrunner with Damon Lindelof on Lost which aired on ABC for six seasons. He created and served as showrunner for the first two seasons on Prime Video’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. He also developed and executive produced,...

Larry Householder is not a household name – except perhaps in the state of Ohio.

The former Buckeye State powerbroker became a key target of “one of the largest public corruption conspiracies in Ohio history,” according to a U.S. Attorney, one that involved allegations of accepting bribes for a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout.

But that case didn’t just have relevance for Ohio. It’s a case study in the corrupting influence of untraceable cash in our politics, as Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney uncovers in his new documentary double feature for HBO, The Dark Money Game.

The first of his two films, Ohio Confidential, premieres on HBO tonight, followed by the second film, Wealth of the Wicked, on Wednesday. Gibney joins the latest edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to reveal what he learned in his investigation into rivers of secret money flowing through state and national political contests.

Funk music has been around since the 1960s, developing out of gospel, R&b and soul, with a distinct emphasis on “syncopated bass lines and steady, infectious drum grooves,” according to one description. But that’s an awfully academic way of putting it.

The most important thing: Funk makes you want to dance.

We Want the Funk!, a new documentary premiering Tuesday night on PBS stations, will have you moving in your recliner, on your living room dance floor or wherever you watch it. Directors Stanley Nelson and Nicole London join the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to explore the music and its key innovators including James Brown, George Clinton and Sly Stone.

Doc Talk co-host John Ridley calls We Want the Funk! “perhaps the most joyous” cinematic work of the year. In addition to its broadcast premiere, the documentary is available on the PBS app and the PBS YouTube channel.

Exclusive: Independent studio Sk Global has hired Elizabeth Haggard for the role of Senior Vice President of Feature Film, which will have her help lead the company’s film slate through development, production, and post-production, reporting to Head of Features, Mark O’Connor.

Haggard joins from Participant, where she served as SVP of Narrative Film, leading the development and production of films like Kahlil Joseph’s Blknws and John Ridley’s Shirley, a biopic of America’s first Black congress woman, Shirley Chisholm, starring Regina King. She’s just the latest addition from the now-defunct media company, which last April announced its intention to cease operations, following Jeannine Tang, who joined as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel last summer.

“Elizabeth is a seasoned and well-regarded executive, and we are thrilled to have her join our team as we continue to expand our slate,” said Sk Global’s O’Connor. “She...

The scene shocked the world: President Donald Trump inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Oval Office on February 28, only to verbally attack him in front of the media and accuse him of fomenting World War III. Vice President J.D. Vance, eager to please his boss, dressed down Zelensky over what he considered his unsuitable attire.

It turns out Oscar-winning filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov was in the Oval Office with the Ukrainian leader on that stunning day. He joins the latest edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to share his reaction to the shocking exchange that saw Zelensky ejected from the White House. He says the response by the Ukrainian people to that disrespectful treatment may come as a surprise to Trump and his Veep.

Chernov, who won the Academy Award a year ago for his documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, tells us about his new film, 2000 Meters to Andriivka,...

Exclusive: Former grown-ish star Trevor Jackson is returning to the Disney fold, landing a sought-after new role on ABC’s venerable drama Grey’s Anatomy.

He will make his Grey’s debut in Episode 2117, the penultimate of the season airing May 8, and will also appear in the Season 21 finale with an option to become a series regular if the medical drama is renewed for a 22nd season. As Deadline reported yesterday, that is fully expected and may happen as soon as later this week.

On Grey’s Anatomy, Jackson will play a handsome, intelligent, but arrogant man in his late 20s who has just moved to Seattle. It is unclear whether the character is a new surgical intern/resident. That is a possibility as the show is down one of each following the departures of Mika (Midori Francis) and Levi (Jake Borelli) earlier this season.

The new role was pursued by a...

It’s been a day of dramatic developments for No Other Land, the Oscar-winning documentary about life for Palestinian residents in the rural West Bank area of Yasafer Matta.

Hamdan Ballal, one of the two Palestinian filmmakers who joined two Israeli directors to make the film, was released from custody by Israeli authorities Tuesday after prominent members of the documentary community, including Alex Gibney and Maite Alberdi, demanded his release (so did Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo). Israeli police held Ballal overnight after questioning him and two other Palestinians for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli settlers in the West Bank and “endangering regional security.” Ballal and two of his fellow directors – Palestinian Basel Adra and Israeli Yuval Abraham – suggested the authorities were offering a false narrative and that it was Ballal who came under attack from masked Israeli settlers.

Ballal told the Associated Press that he was detained at an army base overnight and blindfolded,...

Miami Beach city commission meetings typically don’t generate national and international news, but that could happen Wednesday.

The commission is due to take up a resolution spearheaded by Mayor Steven Meiner that would cancel the city’s lease with a movie theater showing the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. The mayor declared the film, which shows what life is like for Palestinians in the West Bank under Israeli military rule, to be antisemitic, and he moved to punish O Cinema after it refused his demand to yank the documentary.

Leading members of the documentary community will be watching the vote closely. More than 600 of them, including Oscar winners Alex Gibney, Laura Poitras, Barbara Kopple, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin and Dan Cogan, signed a letter that declares the resolution an attack on freedom of expression.

On the new episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, hosts John Ridley and...

Oscar-winning filmmaker Ezra Edelman’s Prince project is joining a select list of documentaries with a dubious distinction – fated not to see the light of day. It happened with Lily Tomlin, the 1986 documentary directed by Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill that has rarely been exhibited publicly. And in the 1970s, the Rolling Stones sued to keep director Robert Frank from releasing his documentary C**ksucker Blues, a film that chronicled a drug-fueled Stones concert tour of the U.S.

In the case of The Book of Prince, Edelman’s docuseries on the musician, Netflix scuttled the project under pressure from Prince’s estate, which saw a cut of the series and didn’t like its portrait of the Purple Rainmaker. Edelman sharply criticized that decision in an interview that aired last week on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.

On the new edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, hosts...

Exclusive: Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber have acquired North American rights to the award-winning documentary A Photographic Memory, the directorial debut of Rachel Elizabeth Seed. Zeitgeist plans an early summer theatrical release for the film, winner of the Truer Than Fiction Award at last month’s Film Independent Spirit Awards.

A Photographic Memory tells the moving and evocative story of the filmmaker’s attempt to get to know her late mother, Sheila Turner Seed, a pioneering journalist, photographer, and filmmaker who died suddenly when her daughter Rachel was just 18 months old.

‘A Photographic Memory’

“Uncovering the vast archive Turner Seed produced, including lost interviews with iconic photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Cecil Beaton, Lisette Model, and Gordon Parks, among others, Rachel attempts to build a posthumous relationship with her mother through her interviews, photographs, journals, films, and the stories of those who remember her,” notes a synopsis. “The...

The long and winding road to the Oscars culminated in triumph for No Other Land as Best Documentary Feature and The Only Girl in the Orchestra as Best Documentary Short.

On the new episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, hosts John Ridley and Matt Carey react to the Academy Awards on Sunday night. No Other Land, set in the occupied West Bank, brought the first ever Oscar win to Palestinian filmmakers – Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal – who made the documentary in tandem with Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

As they headed to the stage to receive their awards, the filmmakers were greeted effusively by an Oscar-nominated star wearing a Free Palestine pin (we reveal who). In their acceptance speeches, Adra and Abraham spoke fervently for Palestinian rights and against U.S. policy in the region, which they said was blocking a path to peace. We discuss the...

Slamdance is nearing the final day of its 2025 edition, a historic one for the festival founded in 1995 as a scrappy alternative to Sundance. The cinematic showcase has made a new home for itself in Los Angeles after spending its first three decades in Park City, Utah, very much in the shadow of Robert Redford’s bigger festival.

On the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we welcome Peter Baxter, president and co-founder of Slamdance, to discuss the festival’s new direction and the opportunities that have emerged with relocation to the movie capital. He explains why Slamdance decided to uproot itself (Park City will be down two festivals after Sundance departs following next year’s festival – although Salt Lake City is among the three finalists to become its new host).

Slamdance has helped boost the careers of some major filmmakers, among them DGA Award winner Sean Baker (Anora...

Happy Oscars Week!

As Los Angeles gets ready for Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, here’s Variety’s ultimate party guide for all things happening before, during and after the 97th Academy Awards on March 2.

From Diane Von Furstenberg’s luncheon for women in film to Madonna and Guy Oseary’s annual late-night bash, as well as Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s Gold Party, red carpets are being rolled out all over town.

Tuesday, Feb. 25

Oscars Nominees Dinner

Event replaces the annual nominees luncheon, which was canceled due to the wildfires.

Academy Museum, Los Angeles

6 p.m.

Time Women of the Year

Honorees include Nicole Kidman, Anna Sawai, A’ja Wilson, Olivia Munn, Jordan Chiles and more. Performance by Laufey.

The West Hollywood Edition, West Hollywood

6 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 26

Lumen Awards

Honoring John Ridley, Lucy Walker, Avery Colvert, John Wells, Gregory Nava and Dolores Huerta and Participant.

Hotel Casa Del Mar,...

Editor’s note: John Ridley is the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave writer, writer-director of Five Days at Memorial, and the Eisner-nominated writer of the DC graphic novel series Gcpd: The Blue Wall. He also hosts with Matt Carey the Deadline podcast Doc Talk, and occasionally contributes guest columns.

I’m kinda surprised/not surprised that people are so … surprised about the corporate retreat from the Dei programs that they themselves put in place in the wake of the 2020 assassination of Mr. George Floyd. In all corners of the business world corporations are literally waving the “white” flag with regard to insuring the spaces in which we work better reflect the world in which we live. That it’s happening in businesses outside of Hollywood is sad — seriously, the concept of ending racism is suddenly so toxic that it’s no longer not just society’s end game. It’s...

It is one of the sad ironies of war that even as it lays waste to countries, conflict on that scale can lead to great works of cinema.

The brutal civil war in Syria resulted in several Oscar-nominated documentary features – Last Men in Aleppo and The Cave, both directed by Feras Fayyad; Of Fathers and Sons, directed by Talal Derki; and For Sama, directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts.

The war in Ukraine, too, is being documented powerfully by nonfiction filmmakers: the Oscar-shortlisted In the Rearview, directed by Maciek Hamela; the Oscar-winning 20 Days in Mariupol, directed by Mstyslav Chernov; and now the Oscar-nominated feature documentary Porcelain War.

On the new edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, Porcelain War directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev discuss their film, which won the DGA Award on February 8 and is being honored with a screening at The Hague on Thursday before an audience of diplomats.

Director Smriti Mundhra’s Muslim Matchmaker premieres on Hulu today, a show that might be described as a sibling docuseries to her Netflix hits Indian Matchmaking and Jewish Matchmaking.

But that’s not all Mundhra has going on, by any means. She directs one of the episodes of the upcoming HBO documentary series Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 and – a big and – she goes for an Oscar on March 2 for her short film I Am Ready, Warden, from MTV Documentary Films.

On the new episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, Mundhra takes us inside the making of I Am Ready, Warden, which documents the final days of Texas death row inmate John Henry Ramirez. Mundhra interviewed the condemned man, captured the last conversation between Ramirez and his young son Izzy and – just as remarkably – revealed the emotional angst of Aaron Castro,...

Filmmaker Cristina Costantini is leaving the Sundance Film Festival with an award and with distribution already secured for her documentary Sally, about the late astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

Costantini won the 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, an award selected by a jury of film and science professionals and “presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character.”

Sally Ride, who earned a Ph.D. in physics at Stanford before joining NASA’s space shuttle program in the late 1970s, more than qualifies according to the Sloan Prize criteria. But the documentary constitutes much more than a recitation of Ride’s credentials. It’s also the story of her long relationship with romantic partner Tam O’Shaughnessy, a loving bond Ride kept secret until her death.

Costantini joins the latest...

For a second year in a row, international-focused stories have dominated the Oscar nominations for Outstanding Documentary Feature: films set in the occupied West Bank, Japan, Ukraine, Canada and Congo. Each of the filmmakers in the category is a first-time nominee, and only one is American — Brendan Bellomo, who made Porcelain War with Ukraine artist-soldier Slava Leontyev.

On the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, hosts John Ridley and Matt Carey analyze the nominations in the doc feature category, breaking down what the nominations say about the state of the documentary field, and identifying the odds-on favorite to win the Academy Award on March 2.

Four of the five Best Documentary Feature nominees premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year. As Sundance 2025 continues, we also turn our attention to a documentary that could well find itself in Oscar competition next year: The Perfect Neighbor. Director Geeta Gandbhir and...

Another classic Isaac Asimov science fiction novel is getting a live-action adaptation, with a crack duo of writers bringing The Caves of Steel to the big screen. Isaac Asimov is one of the most prolific sci-fi writers of all-time, alongside other notable authors in the genre, like William Gibson, Frank Herbert, Richard Matheson, and Gene Wolfe. Many of his works have been adapted to the big and small screen in the past, including Apple TV+'s Foundation, the Will Smith-led I, Robot, and Bicentennial Man starring Robin Williams.

Per Deadline, Asimov's 1953 sci-fi detective novel, The Caves of Steel is being adapted into a feature film. The movie is in the early stages of development, but the project has found its writers. John Ridley, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind 12 Years a Slave, is teaming up with Cheo Hodari Coker to co-write the script. Coker is best known for creating Marvel's vastly underappreciated Luke Cage series,...

In two days the Sundance Film Festival kicks off in Park City with a robust slate of nonfiction films (we leave it to others to cover the fiction slate!). Opening day/night alone features several world-premiere documentaries including the latest from two Oscar winners: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) and Mstyslav Chernov’s 2000 Meters to Andriivka.

On the latest edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we welcome Sundance documentary programmers Basil Tsiokos and Sudeep Sharma to explore some of the most anticipated nonfiction films and episodics on the 2025 slate. Along with the Questlove and Chernov’s docs, they tell us about the mystery surrounding a late add to the festival – The Stringer, directed by Bao Nguyen. We say “mystery” because the film already is generating controversy before its debut, and the Sundance programmers aren’t even at liberty, at this point,...

John Ridley, the screenwriter behind features like 12 Years a Slave, Needle in a Timestack, and Ben-Hur, and comics like Gcpd: The Blue Wall, The Other History of the DC Universe, and Black Panther, wants to break into the Isaac Asimov business. Deadline announced today that Ridley will adapt Asimov’s 1954 sci-fi novel Caves of Steel, otherwise known as the first installment of the prolific author’s Robots series. Joining Ridley to help create a draft of the script is Marvel’s Luke Cage alum Cheo Hadari Coker.

Here’s a synopsis for Isaac Asimov’s Caves of Steel courtesy of Amazon:

A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov’s Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together.

Exclusive: John Ridley, the Oscar winner behind 12 Years a Slave, is developing a feature take on Isaac Asimov’s 1954 sci-fi novel The Caves of Steel for 20th Century Studios, Deadline can reveal.

Ridley plans to direct Caves of Steel, having written the most recent draft of the script with Cheo Hodari Coker, the multi-hyphenate best known for creating Marvel’s recent Luke Cage series.

A landmark work of science fiction, which is the first in Asimov’s Robot series, The Caves of Steel introduces readers to a future Earth where humanity has retreated into vast, domed cities — known as the “Caves of Steel” — to escape the harshness of the outside world. The story follows Elijah Baley, a New York City detective who is reluctantly partnered with R. Daneel Olivaw, a humanoid robot, to solve the high-profile murder of a “Spacer” scientist. As Baley navigates the investigation, tensions arise between Earth’s overcrowded, robot-wary society and the more advanced Spacer civilizations, which embrace robotic integration.

Previously, BBC adapted the novel for television, with radio and game adaptations also emerging. Sources said Ridley’s film may also take inspiration from The Caves of Steel‘s sequels, The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn.

For Asimov, the Robot series captured a longtime interest in artificial intelligence, which produced his influential “Three Laws of Robotics.” Introduced in his 1942 short story “Runaround,” these laws have become a framework for discussing AI ethics and the challenges of programming intelligent systems to interact safely and effectively with humans.

Asimov’s “Three Laws” are discussed in I, Robot, the 2004 film starring Will Smith, which took inspiration (and its name) from the Russian-born author’s collection of short stories, published in 1950. One of the most prolific and influential writers in the history of science fiction, Asimov is also well known for his Foundation series, exploring the rise and fall of civilizations across a galactic empire, which inspired the Apple series, heading into its third season. Notably, he also co-wrote 1992’s The Positronic Man, which was adapted into the 1999 film Bicentennial Man starring Robin Williams.

Ridley won an Oscar for writing Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, earning three Emmy nominations for his work on American Crime, the anthology he created for ABC. Most recently, he wrote, directed, and produced Shirley, a biopic of the United States’ first Black congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm, for Netflix, which starred Academy Award winner Regina King. As a director, his other credits include series like Five Days at Memorial, Godfather of Harlem, Guerrilla and Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992, as well as 2013’s Jimi: All Is by My Side. Ridley is also known for his work with DC Comics including “The Other History of the DC Universe,” “Gcpd: The Blue Wall,” and the recently released “Justice League: The Atom Project #1.”

Most recently writing on and co-producing Paris Barclay’s doc Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee of the same name, Coker has also worked on films like Notorious and Creed II, along with Southland, Ray Donovan and other series.

Ridley is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Rohner Walerstein; Coker by CAA and Literate Management/Production.

Warning: Spoilers for Action Comics #1082

Superman is known to keep his temper under control in difficult situations, always choosing mercy over ruthlessness. However, one villain's sudden emergence has pushed Superman further than any other and sent him into a blind, brutal rage. Even the people of Metropolis can't wrap their heads around Superman's dark transformation, as DC's symbol of hope nearly abandons his positive reputation altogether.

Action Comics #1082 by John Ridley, Inaki Miranda, Ceci de la Cruz, and Dave Sharpe opens with an earthquake taking Metropolis by storm and endangering its citizens. Thankfully, Superman swoops in and saves the day, but the civilians' fears aren't eased by the Man of Steel's presence when they notice the anger in his eyes.

Superman's uncharacteristic rage sends him speeding through Metropolis in pursuit of the earthquake's perpetrator, who turns out to be Major Disaster. This former villain once abandoned his criminal ways due to Superman's influence,...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Kaylah Zander is one of the most talented and charming up-and-coming actresses working in the film industry. The Latin actress was born in Canada and slowly but surely made a name for herself by doing small roles in TV shows. Zander made her acting debut with a 2017 short film titled Oranges and Browns. Recently, she starred in the brilliant Netflix series The Recruit alongside Noah Centineo. So, if you also like Zander’s performances, here are the best movies and shows starring Kaylah Zander that you should watch right now.

5. Needle in a Timestack (Peacock & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Lionsgate

Needle in a Timestack is a sci-fi romantic drama film written and directed by John Ridley. Based on the short story of the same name by Robert Silverberg, the 2021 film is set in a future where time...

When flames appeared on a hillside near her home in Pacific Palisades last week, documentary filmmaker Tracy Droz Tragos knew to get out fast. She had witnessed firsthand the catastrophic force of a wildfire while working on the documentary Rebuilding Paradise, about the terrifying Camp Fire that razed Paradise, CA in 2018.

She escaped with her family and dogs. Tragically, as for so many others in the Palisades, Altadena and other areas of Los Angeles, she lost her home and the precious, irreplaceable memories it contained.

The wildfires have severely impacted many in the documentary community for whom Southern California is home. As directors, producers, writers, editors and others in the field take the first tentative steps to process this devastating experience, we asked Droz Tragos if she might be willing to join the Doc Talk podcast. We are grateful that she agreed, in the midst of all that she and her family are going through.

IDFA – the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam – may not be the oldest documentary film festival in the world (that distinction belongs to the Edinburgh Film Festival), but it’s far and away the biggest.

The 37th edition of IDFA, which recently concluded, showcased more than 250 films — the great majority of them world premieres. Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast headed to Amsterdam for the event, speaking with filmmakers behind some of the festival’s most intriguing documentaries including Myrid Carten, director of A Want in Her, and Raed Rafei, director of Tripoli: A Tale of Three Cities.

Rafei, who identifies as a queer filmmaker, returns to his historic hometown in Lebanon, engaging in conversation with townspeople on taboo questions in much of the Arab world – especially views on homosexuality. Carten, meanwhile, tells the story of her mother, a charismatic and talented woman brought down by severe alcoholism that rendered her homeless.

We also visit with Orwa Nyrabia,...

Warning: contains spoilers for Justice League: The Atom Project #1!

It took decades, but DC now knows what to do with one of its most powerful characters. Captain Atom may not be a household name like Superman or Wonder Woman, but he is equally powerful, if not moreso, than those heroes. Despite his power, DC has struggled to make Captain Atom interesting, but as seen in Justice League: The Atom Project #1, that might be changing.

Justice League: The Atom Project #1 is written by Ryan Parrott and John Ridley and drawn by Mike Perkins. In Absolute Power, Amanda Waller stole powers from the heroes, including Captain Atom. Unlike many, Captain Atom still has not gotten them back yet. Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi, the Atoms, offer to help Captain Atom with his dilemma. He is reluctant, but goes with them to the Watchtower anyway. Later, Captain Atom flees the Watchtower, forcing Ray and Ryan to take action,...

Warning: contains spoilers for Justice League: The Atom Project #1!

DC is embracing the Justice League’s new era, but it could end up being much darker than fans expected. Every hero on Earth is now a member of the League, creating an army of heroes. The League is also helping those who lost their powers, and as seen in Justice League: The Atom Project #1, this well-meaning initiative has the potential to go quickly off the rails.

Writer John Ridley explored Amanda Waller's rise to power in Absolute Power: Origin.

Justice League: The Atom Project #1 is written by Ryan Parrott and John Ridley and drawn by Mike Perkins. The two Atoms (Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi) are heading up the Atom Project, which helps people whose powers were stolen by Amanda Waller’s Amazos army. Most heroes got their abilities back, but not all. Some powers went to ordinary people,...

Warning: Spoilers for Action Comics #1082Superman has fought plenty of villains over the years, from icons like Lex Luthor to more overlooked enemies such as Silver Banshee. Now, a powerful metahuman has made his long-awaited return to continuity, and he's sure to keep the Man of Steel on his toes. As experienced as Superman is at protecting innocents from disaster, Major Disaster may be the only threat who can interfere with that goal thanks to his abilities.

Action Comics #1082 begins the next installment of the "Superman Superstars" initiative, written by John Ridley with art by Inaki Miranda. The preview kicks off this three-part story with an earthquake unexpectedly shaking Metropolis to its core. A large chunk of debris flies toward a police car that's on its way to the scene, but Superman saves the day by carrying it away.

The culprit of this earthquake is none other than Major Disaster,...

The documentary features remaining in contention for an Oscar nomination have been whittled down from 169 to a shortlist of a mere 15, a brutal culling that has inevitably left many filmmakers disappointed, and a select few in celebratory mode.

What were the harshest snubs? That question comes up for debate in a special Oscar-shortlist-reaction episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, hosted John Ridley, the Oscar-winning writer-director, and Matt Carey, Deadline’s documentary editor. We get into what Academy Documentary Branch members voted in, and the most surprising hopefuls they left out.

One of the big omissions: a highly regarded film about an iconic Hollywood star who made a comeback after a near fatal accident dramatically altered his life.

One surprise inclusion: a film that takes a very unflattering view of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister was so angered by the documentary that he sued to block its unofficial...

Black Box Diaries, Queendom and Instruments of a Beating Heart are among the films that got good news Tuesday, earning places on the coveted Oscar shortlists – Diaries and Queendom for Documentary Feature and Instruments for Documentary Short.

At the 40th IDA Documentary Awards in Los Angeles a few days ago, those films also came up winners. Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast went live at the event at the historic Orpheum Theater, speaking with victorious filmmakers and executives right after they accepted their honors.

Black Box Diaries’ Shiori Ito tells us what she packs in her luggage to keep balanced during the insanely...

Robert Pattinson will be returning to play the caped crusader in Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II, which gears up for release in 2026. The actor was cast as Bruce Wayne in 2022’s The Batman and despite a barrage of initial protests, his performance was duly appreciated upon release. The film has also been regarded for its unique visual language and storytelling.

Recently, Pattinson’s Tenet co-star John David Washington was asked about his love for Batman and if he would ever want to play the role. While Bruce Wayne has been the primary Batman, there have been some other versions, including an African-American version by Stan Lee. However, John David Washington seemed to leave the job to his co-star.

John David Washington gives a shoutout to Robert Pattinson’s Batman Robert Pattinson and John David Washington in Tenet | Credits: Warner Bros.

John David Washington has played some intense roles in...

War films continue to be one of the most popular genres in cinematic history, producing epic films that capture the very best and worst of humanity. Many films about war focus on the most significant conflicts, like World Wars I and II and the Vietnam War, but some of the best war films of all time shed a spotlight on some lesser-known wars that are just as impactful and compelling. These films show the harrowing atrocities committed around the globe and educate viewers on battles and wars they may know very little about.

Films such as The Killing Fields showcase the brutal realities of the Cambodian Civil War and genocide, offering an unflinching look into one of Asia's most gruesome conflicts in a war film that is still as impressive today. Classics like Waltz with Bashir examine the Lebanon War that started in 1982 in a unique format, with a graphic...

In the past 10 days, the documentary No Other Land has surged to Oscar frontrunner status after racking up an impressive array of awards: top honors from the Gotham Awards, critics groups in Los Angeles and New York, the IDA Awards, the European Film Awards, and an award from the National Board of Review.

The feature directed by a collective of Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers offers a rare ground-level view of what life is like for Palestinian villagers in a rural West Bank area who have faced an expulsion order from the Israel Defense Forces that goes back decades. The Idf claims it needs the land as a training zone, but the filmmakers found a document in Israeli government archives suggesting that was a ruse and the real purpose was to push out Palestinians in favor of Jewish settlers.

Two of the directors who appear on camera throughout the film – Israeli...

After delivering horror to the holiday season this month with the Creepshow 2024 Holiday Special, Skybound and Image Comics will usher in the new year in scary style with Creepshow Vol. 3 #5, featuring a killer camping tale by writer Ed Brisson and artist Kael Ngu and a haunted house story by writer Kami Garcia and artist Isaac Goodhart, all tied together with coloring by Miquel Muerto and lettering by Pat Brosseau.

Before Creepshow Vol. 3 #5 lurks onto shelves beginning January 22nd, we have a look at perilous preview pages from the anticipated issue as well as the delectably deadly main cover art by Martín Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran and the amazing variant covers by Kael Ngu and Steve Beach, respectively. Below, you can check out the cover art, preview pages, and press release with additional details:

Press Release: Los Angeles — Today Skybound and Image Comics revealed covers and interior pages from Creepshow Vol. 3 #5, the...

Cinematographer now turned director Rachel Morrison knows a thing to two about managing an impressive feat and breaking boundaries as a woman. In 2018, Morrison, best known for her work on Fruitvale Station and Black Panther, became the first female cinematographer ever nominated for an Academy Award. Reflecting on garnering her nomination for Netflix’s Mudbound, she acknowledges the hoops women in the industry have to go through. “Cinematography is a craft that nobody pictures women in. So I’m used to being the exception to the rule,” Morrison says,” Realizing [that] so many women actually can relate to this idea of it’s not enough to be good at the thing you do. You have to present a certain way and carry yourself a certain way.”

It makes sense then that Morrison’s first foray into feature film directing, following a stint of TV directorial debuts for American Crime Story, The Mandalorian and The Morning Show,...

At the IDA Documentary Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday night, Japanese journalist-turned-director Shiori Itō will receive the Emerging Filmmaker Award, recognizing the incredible reception for her directorial debut Black Box Diaries. It’s the deeply personal story of Itō’s attempt to seek justice and accountability after she became the victim of a sexual assault, a public campaign of many years that ultimately led to changes in Japanese law.

The film, which has emerged as a strong Oscar contender, scored IDA Awards nominations this year in three additional categories including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director. Itō joins Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to share insights on making the film, winner of awards at Cph:Dox in Copenhagen, the San Francisco International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival and many others.

The director explains why the strictures of Japanese culture and norms of politeness embedded in...

Everyone is still talking about The Penguin, but now that it's over, how are people supposed to fill the void left behind by the brutal crime story? The HBO show didn't hold back from Oswald Cobblepot's worst side, but are there any comics that can satisfy fans of the Penguin?

The good news is that there are plenty of stories that similarly focus on Gotham's notorious crime boss and yes, they are just as grim and violent as Colin Farrel's epic portrayal of the Penguin. From stories that focus on Oswald rebuilding his empire to tales that showcase his utter lack of humanity, The Penguin fans are absolutely going to want to read these five comics.

Batman - One Bad Day: Penguin Shows Oswald Come Back From His Lowest Point Batman - One Bad Day: Penguin by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli

Batman One Bad Day was a...

Filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist went to great lengths, and even greater heights, to make his latest documentary, Skywalkers: A Love Story.

The Oscar-contending Netflix film tells the story of Angela Nikolau and Ivan “Vanya” Beerkus, a young Russian couple who bonded over their mutual desire to scale the world’s tallest buildings. They are not content to merely climb them, but once on top they take stunning photographs and video of themselves executing balletic and gymnastic moves. Without a net, of course. Any slip would be fatal.

Zimbalist joins the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to share behind-the-scenes stories on Skywalkers, revealing that he came to the project as a former “roof topper” himself — although he’s quick to add that he never attempted anything like ascending the 118-story Merdeka mega-skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That looming tower – the second tallest building in the world — is where Angela...

Warning! Spoilers for Justice League: The Atom Project #2Dc Comics' most powerful hero, Captain Atom, has decided he no longer wants his superpowers in a massive change to his status quo. Despite surpassing Superman when he uses them, Captain Atom is giving up his quantum abilities and will stop at nothing to be rid of them for good - even if it means betraying the Justice League.

The recently announced Justice League: The Atom Project series by John Ridley, Ryan Parrott, and Mike Perkins follows three atomic heroes - Captain Atom, Ray Palmer's Atom, and Ryan Choi's Atom - as they run the Atom Project and aim to restore heroes' powers that have been switched. However, according to DC's February solicitations, Captain Atom has other plans.

Justice League: The Atom Project #2 (2025)

Release Date:

February 5th, 2025

Writers:

John Ridley, Ryan Parrott

Artist:

Mike Perkins

Cover Artist:

Mike Perkins

Variant Covers:

Leirix,...

There's no DC without Green Lantern, and there is no Green Lantern Corps without John Stewart, and now, the world is finally catching up to what comic fans already know as the legendary hero is set to be honored with a life-sized statue in Burbank, California. Based on comic illustrator Jamal Campbell's work, John Stewart is the latest hero to be honored in statue form, alongside Batman and Wonder Woman.

As revealed by DC Comics, on November 14, the seven-and-a-half foot tall bronze statue of Green Lantern John Stewart was unveiled, as part of a collaboration between DC, Visit Burbank, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Some notable names and faces were present at the unveiling, including DC President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee, along with comic writers Jeremy Adams, Morgan Hampton and Tim Sheridan, who have all aided in telling the Green Lantern's story.

Best of all, the statue...

In February 1961, a remarkable outburst took place at the United Nations in New York – jazz artists Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, writer Maya Angelou and others crashed the Security Council to protest the assassination of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.

That little-remembered demonstration serves as the backdrop to the award-winning documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, directed by Belgian filmmaker Johan Grimonprez. The film explores how the U.S. and Belgium conspired to force Lumumba from power, with the complicity of the Un secretary general. Even as the plot moved towards a bloody denouement, the U.S. State Department was dispatching some of America’s great Black jazz artists to Africa in the role of goodwill ambassadors, attempting to paper over its machinations in Congo.

Grimonprez joins the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to explain how he managed to deftly synthesize so much complex world history, setting it...

Nostalgia tends to tint our view of the past a rose-colored hue, casting a glow over intense conflict and deep angst, as if those sentiments weren’t fundamental to the experience of people alive in earlier times.

In the case of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the rose-colored (granny) glasses might be appropriate, at least when looking back at the early 1970s when the famous couple moved to New York City and took up residence in a very modest apartment in Greenwich Village. That’s the era examined in One to One: John & Yoko, the acclaimed new documentary directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald.

The filmmaker joins the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to discuss his film and the burst of idealistic energy John and Yoko felt in their adopted home. But around John and Yoko swirled protests over the Vietnam War, political conflict over the...

First, there was "Jenny from the Block," then "J-Lo the Fly Girl" on In Living Color, followed by a long film career beginning in the early 90s. Right out of the shoot in her silver screen career, Jennifer Lopez delivered many widely seen movies, including Money Train, Anaconda, and a relative breakout as Tejano sensation Selena in the eponymously named tragic biopic. During this period, as her star was on the rise, she did some of her best work in a film by Oliver Stone, one of the most acclaimed directors of the time, coming off controversial projects like JFK and Natural Born Killers. In U-Turn, she was in the lead female role alongside several A-listers like Sean Penn, Billy Bob Thornton, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, and Powers Boothe. Based on the novel Stray Dogs by John Ridley, it was the first film in which she...

In 10 short years, Sffilm’s Doc Stories has established itself as one of the premiere documentary festivals in North America, perfectly timed on the calendar to showcase work with Oscar ambitions.

This year, its lineup included The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, from director Benjamin Ree, Robinson Devor’s Suburban Fury, Kevin Macdonald’s One to One: John & Yoko, Raoul Peck’s Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, and No Other Land, the Berlin Film Festival award winner directed by a collective of Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers.

Doc Stories also featured special events including – we are proud to say – a taping of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, hosted by Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) and Matt Carey, Deadline’s documentary awards editor. We gathered at Sffilm offices for a conversation with Anne Lai, executive director of Sffilm, and the organization’s Director of Programming, Jessie Fairbanks, discussing the...