Moviefone Editorial

Tag: amc

  • ‘The Walking Dead’ Renewed for Season 10 by AMC

    ‘The Walking Dead’ Renewed for Season 10 by AMC

    AMC

    “The Walking Dead” will keep on walking into Season 10.

    AMC has renewed its hit zombie drama through the year 2020. Showrunner Angela Kang announced the news via an Instagram video.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BteV4eynbge/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    The second half of Season 9 premieres Sunday. The first half saw the departure of series lead Andrew Lincoln. His character, Rick Grimes, was nearly killed but rescued by a  mysterious group. He will feature in three TV movies most likely to air on AMC.

    Norman Reedus, who plays lone wolf Daryl, is now the leading man. He and  Melissa McBride (Carol) have signed three-year “franchise/universe” deals, which means they could be written into a spinoff or completely out of the “Walking Dead” world and still get paid.

    Danai Gurira (Michonne) is still in talks over her contract, which is reportedly more complicated due to her higher profile after appearing in “Black Panther.”

    But it’s clear AMC is busy finding ways to expand “The Walking Dead,” the most popular series in the network’s history.

    “We do look at this as a universe where we’re trying to expand into as many different places as the show fits,” AMC programming president David Madden told The Hollywood Reporter. “We think this is a franchise that could live across formats. So we want to do it carefully; we want to be strategic; we want to try to do it right. But there is a multiyear plan that could include additional series, digital content and specials.”

  • ‘Killing Eve’ Season 2 Expanding to Air on AMC in Addition to BBC America

    ‘Killing Eve’ Season 2 Expanding to Air on AMC in Addition to BBC America

    Killing Eve
    BBC America

    “Killing Eve” is doubling down for Season 2.

    The spy drama will be simulcast on both BBC America (its original home) and AMC when it returns for its second season on April 7.

    AMC Networks is a joint owner of BBC America, but AMC is watched by more viewers.

    As AMC Networks Chief Operating Officer Ed Carroll told the L.A. Times, “It’s a great opportunity to expose more people to ‘Killing Eve.’ These times demand trying some nonconventional methods. And if you have a platform as big and broad as AMC, then it seems like a good thing to try.”

    “Killing Eve” is based on Luke Jennings’s “Codename Villanelle” novella series and was developed for television by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag,” “Crashing”). The show stars Sandra Oh as an MI5 officer who begins tracking a psychopathic assassin named Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer.

    The first season received much critical acclaim and awards notice, including a historic Golden Globe win for Oh.

    For AMC, airing “Killing Eve” brings the network back to the gritty, acclaimed, award-winning dramas it once was known for, like “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men.” In recent years, AMC has focused heavily on “The Walking Dead” and its spinoff. But the former is showing signs of its age, with ratings dropping from once-astronomic highs.

  • Oscars 2019: Theater Chains Exclude ‘Roma’ From Best Picture Showcase

    Oscars 2019: Theater Chains Exclude ‘Roma’ From Best Picture Showcase

    Netflix

    With the announcement of the 2019 Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning came the usual assortment of snubs and surprises. But “Roma,” tied for the most Academy Award nods this year, is being ignored in a different — and seemingly more deliberate — way.

    Two of the largest theater chains in the country, AMC and Regal, will not include “Roma” in their annual showcase of Best Picture nominees. The Netflix film was the first feature from the streaming service to net the Academy’s most prestigious nomination.

    But that status also means that “Roma,” like other Netflix releases, doesn’t follow traditional theatrical windows, opting for significantly shorter runs in multiplexes (usually just long enough to qualify for awards consideration) before reverting back to exclusive streaming availability. That makes the flick an outlier in this year’s field — and an outsider, as far as the big theater chains are concerned.

    Several big chains — including Cinemark, AMC, and Regal — hold annual marathon screenings of all the Best Picture nominees, usually about two weeks before the Oscars ceremony. But as AMC explained in a statement, “Roma” won’t be in the lineup.

    “For more than a decade, movie-lovers have enjoyed the AMC best picture showcase to catch up on the nominated films that played at AMC throughout the prior year,” the company said in a statement. “This year, Academy members nominated a film that was never licensed to AMC to play in our theaters. As such, it is not included in the AMC best picture showcase.”

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Regal will also exclude “Roma.” There’s no word yet on whether Cinemark will follow suit.

    At least the film can console itself with its 10 Academy Award nominations, several of which it seems almost certain to win. The Oscars will air on ABC on Sunday, February 24.

    [via: The Hollywood Reporter]

  • The 15 Most Shocking Deaths on ‘The Walking Dead’

    The 15 Most Shocking Deaths on ‘The Walking Dead’

  • ‘The Terror’ Adds George Takei for Season 2

    ‘The Terror’ Adds George Takei for Season 2

    Fathom Events

    “Star Trek” album George Takei just signed up to star on Season 2 of “The Terror,” which will be set in a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II.

    In addition to appearing as “Yamato-san, a former fishing captain and community elder,” AMC announced that the actor will be serving as a consultant this season.

    The 81-year-old Takei has often talked about his experiences living in a wartime internment camp as a young boy. He also produced the stage play “Allegiance” based on his childhood experiences in a camp. A film of the play was released in 2016.

    Season 2 of the AMC series will be about “an uncanny specter that menaces a Japanese-American community from its home in Southern California to the internment camps to the war in the Pacific.” Production begins next month in Vancouver.

    Announced cast for Season 2 includes Derek Mio (Wade on “Greek”), Kiki Sukezane, Miki Ishikawa, Shingo Usami, and Naoko Mori.

    “Manos sucias (Dirty Hands)” director Josef Kubota Wladyka will direct the first two episodes.

    The season will air sometime in 2019.

  • ‘The Walking Dead’ Profits Lawsuit Ambles Forward

    ‘The Walking Dead’ Profits Lawsuit Ambles Forward

    The Walking Dead
    AMC

    The “Walking Dead” profits lawsuit is still undead.

    Ousted co-creator and showrunner Frank Darabont and the talent agency CAA sued AMC in 2013 over profits from the show and its spinoff, and now a judge has ruled that their case has to go to trial, Variety reports. Darabont and CAA are seeking a larger share of the shows’ profits, while AMC’s lawyers have called it a “money grab.” A trial will give a jury a chance to evaluate the case and reach a decision.

    Darabont initially developed and executive produced the show, but he was fired in 2011, during Season 2. Court documents in 2017 revealed what an AMC lawyer called “volatile and disturbing” interactions between Darabont and his colleagues that led to his forced exit, as TV Guide reported in 2017. However, he was still entitled to a share of the ongoing profits based on his contract.

    At the crux of their dispute are the licensing fees that AMC Networks must pay AMC Studios for the show. That number determines how much Darabont’s receives in profits, and he claims the fees were set at a rate below market value, thus bringing down his compensation. He argues that he was underpaid by $280 million.

    It will be up to a jury to decide, as Judge Eileen Bransten did not rule in favor of either side’s interpretation of their agreement. And so the long-lasting lawsuit continues.

    [via: Variety]

  • Two ‘Walking Dead’ Stars Sign Huge New Deals After Andrew Lincoln Exit

    Two ‘Walking Dead’ Stars Sign Huge New Deals After Andrew Lincoln Exit

    AMC

    “The Walking Dead” may no longer feature Rick Grimes, but Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier are sticking around for the foreseeable future.

    After the high-profile departure of original star Andrew Lincoln (who’s next set to star in a series of “Walking Dead” spinoff TV movies), his fellow season one survivors Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride have just signed lucrative new deals that ensure they’ll stay on the show — or at least in the “TWD” universe — for at least three more years. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, AMC programming president David Madden explained that Reedus and McBride’s contracts are “franchise deals” that “allow [the network] the flexibility to either move them or use them in more than one place, depending on what seems creatively right.”

    That means that Daryl and Carol could be starring in their own “TWD” films, their own spinoff series, or even be killed off of the flagship series any time over the next three years — but Reedus and McBride will get paid no matter what. Along with that flexibility, both actors are also getting significant pay bumps, with THR sources saying that Reedus will be making about $350,000 per episode, plus additional guarantees and advances, totaling an estimated $50-90 million over three years; McBride’s three-year deal is said to be worth about $20 million.

    And they’re not the only ones getting a big payday: THR reports that Danai Gurira, who plays Michonne, is also negotiating for a new contract. Complicating matters is her rising star on the big screen, with a string of high-profile roles in films like “Black Panther,” which could pull her away from “TWD” sooner rather than later.

    “We love Danai; we love that character. Right now, she’s got a lot of opportunities and she needs to weigh what she feels is best for her,” Madden told THR. “But we certainly would want her on the show as long as she wants to be on it. … The goal is to have Danai continue on whatever basis she can make work, given the other things that she has going on in her life.”

    Raise your hand if you want a Michonne-centric spinoff flick. Here’s hoping AMC can work things out with the insanely talented Gurira.

    [via: The Hollywood Reporter]

  • AMC Planning 3 ‘Walking Dead’ Movies Featuring Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes

    AMC Planning 3 ‘Walking Dead’ Movies Featuring Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes

    Walking Dead
    AMC

    Rick Grimes is walking on, in three planned spinoff movies on AMC.

    Sunday night’s episode of “The Walking Dead” bid farewell to leading man Andrew Lincoln and his character, the former sheriff who led a group of human survivors from Atlanta to Alexandria.

    But Rick’s story isn’t totally over yet. Lincoln will reprise his role in at least three big-budget, feature-length films that will air on AMC, the first of which will go into production next year.

    [SPOILERS AHEAD]

    Although Rick’s life teetered precariously on the balance, due to a seemingly mortal wound, he actually survived. After blowing up the still-in-construction bridge (and seemingly dying in the explosion himself), Rick was found near death by Jadis/Anne — who decided to save him by taking him along with her on a mysterious helicopter. Where he’s going and who is piloting the helicopter remain to be seen.

    “The story of Rick will go on in films,” said “The Walking Dead” chief content officer Scott M. Gimple in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

    “Right now, we’re working on three but there’s flexibility in that. … Over the next several years, we’re going to be doing specials, new series are quite a possibility, high-quality digital content and then some content that defies description at the moment. We’re going to dig into the past and see old characters. We’re going to introduce new characters and new situations.”

    Lincoln departed the show to spend more time with his family, who are based in England. He had always planned to leave after Season 8, but when the opportunity to make the movies came up, it seemed to be the perfect outcome for the actor, the show, and the network.

    “For me to want to do a limited number of episodes a year wouldn’t feel like I was doing my job properly because playing this part has been so all-encompassing. I think I would get frustrated with that,” Lincoln told THR.

    “So the idea of being able to contain the story and still work just as hard and tell a different story in maybe a more expansive narrative way seemed very exciting to me.”

  • Rashida Jones, AMC Developing ‘Kevin Can F*** Himself’ From Sitcom Wife’s POV

    Rashida Jones, AMC Developing ‘Kevin Can F*** Himself’ From Sitcom Wife’s POV

    TBS

    Kevin can certainly wait.

    AMC is developing “Kevin Can Go F*** Himself,” a serio-comic series created by Valerie Armstrong (“SEAL Team”) and executive-produced by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack.

    The show “explores the secret life of a woman we all grew up watching: the sitcom wife. A beauty paired with a less attractive, dismissive, caveman-like husband who gets to be a jerk because she’s a nag and he’s ‘funny.’”

    The title and synopsis are clearly inspired by “Kevin Can Wait,” the CBS sitcom that starred Kevin James as a bumbling husband and Erinn Hayes as his very understanding wife. Then, her character was unceremoniously killed off after Season 1. The show was eventually canceled after Season 2.

    AMC has not yet given a greenlight to the series. Instead, it has opened a writers’ room, a new development process at the network. The same thing goes for “Rainy Day People,” a new drama from “Halt and Catch” fire creators Chris Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers. Set in a wellness center-style mental health and rehab facility, the workplace drama will focus on both the patients and the family and staff who have run the center in its various incarnations for the past 50 years.

  • ‘The Walking Dead’ Teaser For Rick’s Last Episode Reveals Andrew Lincoln’s Farewell

    ‘The Walking Dead’ Teaser For Rick’s Last Episode Reveals Andrew Lincoln’s Farewell

    AMC

    It’s the end of the road for Rick Grimes.

    At the end of last night’s episode of “The Walking Dead,” AMC aired a teaser for next week’s farewell to leading man Andrew Lincoln. As fans have known for months, Lincoln is departing the series after nine seasons.

    But how will Rick go out — in a final blaze of glory taking out a horde of zombies or a quiet and lonely death?

    [SPOILERS AHEAD]

    At the end of the episode, Rick was trying to lead one large group of zombies away from the bridge-building camp. However, he ran into another large group of zombies and his horse got spooked and threw him to the ground. Rick landed on a metal spike, which pierced his abdomen. As he lays there bleeding and about to pass out, the horde of zombies was set to converge upon him.

    Judging by the teaser, it seems like Rick experiences some hallucinations or flashbacks (Jon Bernthal’s Shane makes a cameo) before his possible death.

    Showrunner Angela Kang told The Hollywood Reporter that Rick may or may not die, but his exit will be “really emotional and exciting.”

    She added, “There’s also a lot of adventure, action, heroism and some pretty big twists.”

    “The Walking Dead” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.