Austin Butler is playing Lance Armstrong in a new movie.
‘Conclave’s Edward Berger is aboard to direct.
Zach Baylin will write the script.
Though a specific part of his life and career has been brought to screens before (in 2015’s ‘The Program’, where he was played by Ben Foster), a new movie focused on controversial cyclist Lance Armstrong is in the works.
Producer Scott Stuber, who has been trying to set this project up for years now, has convinced Armstrong to sign over his life rights and promises a biopic that won’t pull any punches (more on the cyclist’s story below).
What’s the story of the new Lance Armstrong movie?
Lance Armstrong in ’30 for 30: Lance’. Photo: ESPN.
It may not be a complete life-story biopic, but the screenplay from ‘King Richard’s Zach Baylin certainly has good material to work from: Armstrong famously survived cancer and returned to the world of pro cycling, where he would go on to win the famed Tour de France an incredible seven consecutive times.
Hollywood would soon fall in love with that story, with several A-listers chasing the role of a lifetime. But before that story could be told, Armstrong, after denying it for years, ultimately admitted to blood doping, ultimately ending his career.
When will the Lance Armstrong movie be on screens?
Right now, this only exists as a packaged project with several studios bidding to take it on. Stuber has a deal at Amazon MGM Studios, but this idea apparently predates that, so it’s available to a variety of potential homes.
Brad Pitt will collaborate with ‘Conclave’ and ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ director Edward Berger for a new drama called ‘The Riders.’
Based on a 1994 novel, the story follows a man searching for his missing wife after she fails to return from a trip abroad.
Pitt is also producing the film alongside Ridley Scott, with A24 providing financing and distribution for the project.
Brad Pitt has signed on to star in a new film called ‘The Riders,’ which will team him with German director Edward Berger.
According to Deadline, the film is an adaptation of a 1994 novel by Australian author Tim Winton, which was nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize award for literary fiction the following year. The film has been picked up after a bidding war by A24, which will finance and distribute the project. Filming is set to begin in 2026.
Winton’s novel follows a man named Fred Scully, who is on an extended vacation in Europe with his wife and seven-year-old daughter when they end up in Ireland and come upon an old farmhouse that Scully’s wife Jennifer insists they purchase. As Scully begins renovating the house, Jennifer and their daughter return to their home in Australia to wind down their affairs and sell their property there.
But when Scully arrives at the airport in Ireland to pick them up, only his daughter disembarks from the aircraft. She cannot tell Scully what’s happened, there is no word from Jennifer, and no indication of where she’s gone or what has happened to her, leading a devastated Scully to travel through Europe with his daughter in a desperate attempt to find his wife.
The book has been adapted for the screen by David Kajganich, whose previous credits include the films ‘Suspiria’ (2018) and ‘Bones and All’ (2022), as well as the 2018 AMC series ‘The Terror,’ for which he developed the first season.
Who are the key filmmakers involved in the project?
Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes in Apple Original Films’ ‘F1,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films.
‘The Riders’ has actually been in development as a film since the early 2000s, with actors like Sam Worthington, Mark Strong, and Luke Hemsworth all attached to various versions of it through 2014. In 2018, the film rights landed with Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions, which will produce the film alongside Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and Berger’s production banner.
Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in 2016’s ‘Jason Bourne’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Preview:
The ‘Jason Bourne’ novel rights are available again.
Skydance and Netflix are among the interested parties.
And in a separate development, the rights to ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ horror concept are also up for grabs.
At a time when the James Bond franchise is at a real creative crossroads and under new direction from Amazon/MGM, another popular espionage/assassination movie series is seeing its source material hit the auction block.
The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the Robert Ludlum library, which comprises the rights to Jason Bourne and his other creations, is being offered up by agency WME on behalf of the late author’s estate.
It’s something of a surprise, since Universal has had the rights for years, producing several movies starring Matt Damon and at least one spin-off (more on that below).
The movie, coming a few years before Daniel Craig’s grounded reinvention of James Bond with ‘Casino Royale,’ ushered in a new era of spy movies that gritty favored realism rather than high-tech gadgets.
Universal extended the franchise with Jeremy Renner playing a different character in 2012’s ‘The Bourne Legacy,’ but it didn’t work out as well.
Damon and Greengrass returned a few years later with 2016’s ‘Jason Bourne,’ which earned $415 million globally.
Who could pick up the ‘Bourne’ rights?
Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in 2016’s ‘Jason Bourne’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Per the Reporter’s story, Skydance, Apple and Netflix are said to have met with the estate for the rights.
And let’s not completely count out Universal, which could potentially win the rights back if it made an attractive bid.
As for whether Damon might return as Bourne, we’d cast our doubts as he may well be done with the character, and whoever nabs the rights is likely going to go the reboot route. But never say never!
Bourne, however, isn’t the only property hitting the market, as one of horror’s most famous icons is also up for grabs right now… Step (or lumber, wielding a power tool) forward ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.’
What’s the history of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’?
Conceived by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel and directed by Hooper, the original project was inspired by serial killers like Ed Gein and Elmer Wayne Henley.
The 1974 movie was stitched together by a variety of funding sources (which ended up causing disagreements between rights holders) by Hooper, who made the feature about a killer, named Leatherface, who uses his chainsaw to go on a cannibalistic killing spree, for $140,000 (not adjusted for inflation), shooting the movie in the rural Texas countryside with unknown actors in 95 degree-plus heat.
In 1983, New Line Cinema acquired distribution rights. The entire franchise would go on to count nine movies in total, grossing north of $252 million at the worldwide box office, spawning comics, a novel and two video game adaptations.
Starring Jessica Biel just as she was segueing from TV to the big screen, it remains the highest-grossing installment at $107 million. That version was shot by the director of photography of the 1974 film, Daniel Pearl.
What’s happening with ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’?
Mark Burnham as Leatherface in Netflix’s ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre.’ Photo: Netflix.
Currently, according to Deadline, the agency known as Verve has the rights, having scooped them up in 2017 and now about to offer them up to interested parties.
As the company’s statement to the trade site reads:
“Verve represents ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ estate and is building out a multimedia strategy for the seminal horror franchise. Verve has not officially submitted the property into any filmmakers, producers or buyers. Because this is such a hot and iconic horror property, packages are pre-emptively being brought to Verve.”
Among those looking to pick up the rights are apparently filmmaker/scribe JT Mollner and producer Roy Lee, hot off ‘Strange Darling,’ their $3 million-grossing, 96% certified Rotten Tomatoes cult hit.
If Mollner gets a script together, word per Deadline is that Glen Powell would like to read it. It’s very early days on this; no contracts or attachments as of yet, and the Mollner/Powell combo is but one interested party of many.
Who else? Try Lionsgate and A24, which have both seen success with horror. And we’d be surprised if Neon, which released ‘Longlegs’ and ‘The Monkey’ didn’t also consider this one.
It’s early days, but we don’t expect to wait too long before hearing the roar of the chainsaw again.
Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in ‘The Bourne Ultimatum.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘The Brutalist’s Adrien Brody took home Best Actor while ‘Anora’s Mikey Madison was named Best Actress.
Conan O’Brien was the ceremony’s host.
So that, then, was the 97th Academy Awards. Hosted by comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien, the 2025 Oscars ended with ‘Anora’ taking home Best Picture.
The indie film from A24 had been picking up other awards, but began to dominate the ceremony with Sean Baker taking Director, Editing and Original Screenplay and star Mikey Madison winning Best Actress in what was a surprise, since the “Demi Moore rebirth” narrative had seemed to be dominating.
And Baker’s four personal awards made Oscar history –– no-one has nabbed so many trophies in one night before. Also making the record books? ‘Wicked’ costume designed Paul Tazewell, who becomes the first black man to win his category and getting to celebrate that very fact in his speech.
In fact, outside of ‘Anora’s big shocker, it was a largely democratic Oscars, spreading the love around a few titles, including ‘The Brutalist’ (Cinematography, Score and Adrien Brody as Best Actor) ‘Wicked’ (which took the aforementioned Costume Design prize alongside Production Design), ‘Dune: Part Two’ (Sound and Visual Effects) and ‘Emilia Pérez,’ which saw Zoe Saldaña score yet another trophy on her triumphant awards season march.
‘Flow’ made waves as Best Animated Feature, seeing off the bigger studio likes of ‘The Wild Robot’ and ‘Inside Out 2,’ while in the Entirely Unsurprising section, Kieran Culkin took the stage for his latest Best Supporting Actor win for ‘A Real Pain.’
Conan O’Brien made for a snarky, witty host, and proved he’s got the goods for this particular gig. There were the political statements, emotional moments and, of course, a sprinkling of cross-promotional opportunities (such as having Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot of the forthcoming live-action ‘Snow White’ team up to hand out an award.
But the show also ran to three hours and 45 minutes, and even a funny musical bit by O’Brien at the start (featuring a ‘Dune’ sandworm on piano and a dancing Deadpool) about not wasting time couldn’t quite make up for that.
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There was also criticism of an overlong and weird Bond music tribute, while the choice of tune (“Ease on Down the Road” from ‘The Wiz’) to salute music legend Quincy Jones was also questionable.
Kieran Culkin accepts the Oscar® for Actor in a Supporting Role during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Zoe Saldaña accepts the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Peter Straughan accepts the Oscar® for Adapted Screenplay during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
‘A Complete Unknown,’ Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
‘Conclave,’ Screenplay by Peter Straughan – WINNER
‘Emilia Pérez,’ Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
‘Nickel Boys,’ Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Sean Baker accepts the Oscar® for Original Screenplay during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Clément Ducol, Jacques Audiard and Camille Dalmais accept the Oscar® for Original Song during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Lily-Rose Depp and Elle Fanning present the Oscar® for Costume Design to Paul Tazewell during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Richard King, Gareth John, and Ron Bartlett accept the Oscar® for Sound during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
‘A Complete Unknown,’ Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco
Rachel Szor, Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham and Hamdan Ballal accepts the Oscar® for Documentary Feature Film during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington accept the Oscar® for Documentary Short Film during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Walter Salles accepts the Oscar® for International Feature Film during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Gregory Zalcman accepts the Oscar® for Animated Feature Film during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales accept the Oscar® for Production Design during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
‘The Brutalist,’ Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia
‘Conclave,’ Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter
‘Nosferatu,’ Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová
‘Wicked,’ Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales – WINNER
FILM EDITING
Sean Baker accepts the Oscar® for Film Editing during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
With early frontrunners for Best Picture like ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Emilia Perez’ suffering major controversies, the award is now completely up for grabs with recent BAFTA and SAG winner ‘Conclave’ and PGA winner ‘Anora’ taking the lead.
Below are our predictions for who will win Oscars on Sunday at the 97th Academy Awards. We are only breaking down our predictions for the six major categories, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Let’s Begin!
BEST PICTURE
(L to R) Mikey Madison as Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan in ‘Anora’. Photo: Courtesy of NEON.
Without a doubt, this has been one of the strangest award seasons of all time.
‘Wicked’ began the season as a possible frontrunner, but after losing the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy to ‘Emilia Perez’, quickly saw its chances fade away. ‘Perez’ and ‘The Brutalist’, after its Golden Globe win for Best Morion Picture – Drama, seemed to be the two films that would battle it out for Oscar gold, but both movies have since suffered controversies that have affected their campaigns.
‘The Brutalist’ was revealed to have used AI to adjust some of the audio performances of the cast, while ‘Emilia Perez’ has suffered from recently discovered problematic social media posts from star Karla Sofía Gascón, which has basically ended her Oscar campaign. While both films will likely still take home some Oscars, Best Picture now seems a long shot for both.
At this point, ‘Conclave’ and ‘Anora’ seem to now be the frontrunners for Best Picture. ‘Conclave’ won the BAFTA for Best Picture, as well as the Outstanding Performance by a Cast from the SAG Awards. But ‘Anora’ has won the all important Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures award from the Producers Guild, putting both films in a race for the Oscars.
But it is worth mentioning that the Academy uses a preferential ballot for Best Picture, meaning that it is not the film with the most #1 votes that wins, but instead the movie with the most #1 and #2 votes combined. So the question really isn’t who people will vote for in the top spot, but more, who will get the most #2’s, # 3’s and #4’s. With the PGA win, and Sean Baker likely taking Best Director (more on that below), I’m putting my money on ‘Anora’ to win the gold when its all said and done.
(L to R) Sean Baker and DP Drew Daniels on the set of ‘Anora’. Photo: Courtesy of NEON.
Early in the season it looked like Brady Corbet for ‘The Brutalist’ or Jacques Audiard for ‘Emilia Pérez’ would be the frontrunners, that quickly changed after their films’ respective controversies.
‘Wicked’s Jon M. Chu won Best Director at the Critics Choice Awards, but unfortunately, he was not nominated in this category.
But after winning both Best Director at the Independent Spirit Awards and the all important Outstanding Directing – Feature Film from the Directors Guild, it now looks like Sean Baker is the frontrunner for Best Director.
Winning almost every major award this season, Adrien Brody is still the frontrunner to take home his second Oscar for ‘The Brutalist’.
However, while the AI controversy hasn’t completely destroyed his chances of winning, it has definitely hurt his otherwise perfect run, having recently lost Best Actor at the SAG Awards to Timothée Chalamet for ‘A Complete Unknown’. Also, keep in mind that the Oscars will be the first awards this season where the final votes will be tallied after ‘The Brutalist’s controversy took place.
Chalamet gave my favorite performance last year, and while I really hope he wins, I think Brody will still pull it out. Chalamet has only won SAG, and with Brody’s Golden Globe, BAFTA and Critics Choice wins, he’s definitely still the one to beat.
Demi Moore has won every important award this season including Best Actress form the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and SAG, which firmly puts her in the frontrunner position.
However, Mikey Madison has won Best Actress from BAFTA and the Independent Spirit Awards, so she is hot on Moore’s heals.
But its also important to note that the Oscar ceremony will be the first time all season that ‘I’m Still Here’s Fernanda Torres will be competing in the same category has Moore and Madison, and Torres did win Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes.
However, much like Karla Sofía Gascón, Torres has also had her fair share of controversy from questionable actions in her past, that could affect her chances of winning.
That said, I still think nostalgia for Moore’s overall career will give her the win on Sunday.
This is the easiest category to predict. Kieran Culkin has dominated this category all season winning every Best Supporting Actor award along his way including the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA and SAG, so I see no reason that his winning streak won’t continue all the way to the Oscar stage,
Zoe Saldaña as Emilia Pérez in ‘Emilia Pérez’. Photo: Netflix.
In another locked category, the ‘Emilia Pérez’ controversies do not seem to be affecting Zoe Saldaña’s chances of winning Best Supporting Actress. Saldaña has won every major award including Golden Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA and SAG, and I think sh’e most likely to win again on Oscar night.
However, if ‘Conclave’ goes big and wins best picture, don’t count out a nostalgia win for veteran actress Isabella Rossellini … and we know the Oscars love to surprise us.
The 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards will air Sunday, February 23rd on Netflix. Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
Movie actors Timothée Chalamet and Kieran Culkin won at the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
On the TV front, ‘Shogun’ did well, taking three awards.
The event was held on Sunday night at the Shrine Auditorium.
This year’s movie awards season is careening towards its conclusion with next weekend’s Oscars, but this Sunday was the turn of the actors, with the Screen Actors Guild Awards, broadcast for the second time on Netflix and hosted once again by Kristen Bell.
With the focus, a little like the Critics Choice before it, on Los Angeles and the incredible impact of the wildfires on the city and its environs this year, there was time for a tribute to the first responders who fought the flames and provided aid.
But actors being actors, this was mostly a chance to celebrate, well, acting, as Bell launched into a monologue –– parodying a song from ‘Frozen,’ which we suppose she’s one of the few people who can still get away with that after this many years –– to look at various actors’ early jobs.
The 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards will air Sunday, February 23rd on Netflix. Photo: Netflix.
Otherwise, it was award show business as usual –– trophies were handed out, speeches read and jokes attempted.
The main movies up for ensemble had their casts out “presenting” each title, and those seemed particularly awkward, with little evidence of rehearsal or prep.
Other presenter duos seemed like they’d been imbibing or were simply nervous, with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson stumbling through their spiel and even the steps in presenting an award. For reference, it goes read nominees, wait for nominee intro list, read winner.
As for those who claimed awards, there were the predictable ones: Kieran Culkin accepted yet another trophy for ‘A Real Pain’ and if there’s a nailed-on prospect for an Oscar, he’s surely at the top of the list. His rambling speech also began one of the night’s running gags, with several winners (and at least one presenter) referring to how heavy the “actor” award statuette is. Zoe Saldaña added more hardware for her trophy cabinet for ‘Emilia Pérez’, while cast members of ‘Shōgun,’ ‘Baby Reindeer’ and ‘The Penguin’ won more awards.
The 78th British Academy Film Awards will take place on February 16, 2025. Photo: BAFTA.
Preview:
‘Conclave,’ ‘Anora’ and ‘The Brutalist’ won big at this year’s BAFTA Film Awards
‘Emilia Pérez’ and ‘A Real Pain’ also did well.
The awards were handed out on February 16th in London.
The BAFTA Film Awards have been handed out this evening at a ceremony held at the Royal Festival Hall in London, hosted once more by former ‘Doctor Who’ actor David Tennant.
Dropping references to the current political climate and less pointed jokes at the expense of stars in the audience (he warned the assembled crowd that there would be no intermission as with ‘The Brutalist’ and to keep their speeches the opposite of their movies –– short.
‘Conclave,’ ‘Anora’ and ‘The Brutalist’ won multiple awards, the former nabbing Best Original Screenplay, British film and the big trophy, Best Film, while the latter scored Best Director, Leading Actor (for Adrien Brody) Score and more. ‘Anora,’ meanwhile, saw lead Mikey Madison took the stage for ‘Anora.’
The likes of ‘Wicked’ and ‘Dune: Part Two’ mostly made do with technical awards, including Production Design, Costume, Sound and Visual Effects.
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As for Supporting Actor, that might as well be renamed The Kieran Culkin award given how many trophies the ‘A Real Pain’ actor has won this season. If there is a lock for an Oscar, he’s surely it.
And despite the recent social media controversy surrounding lead Karla Sofía Gascón, ‘Emilia Pérez’ went home with several awards, including Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldana and Film Not in the English Language.
There was brief confusion for fellow ‘Pérez’ actors Saldana and Selena Gomez, who stumbled over who had won the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, Producer, ultimately given to ‘Kneecap’ filmmaker Rich Peppiatt.
John Lithgow’s near a deal to play Albus Dumbledore in the ‘Harry Potter’ TV series.
He’s the first actor anywhere near confirmed.
The show aims to adapt the books across the next several years.
With development and even pre-production already in full swing for Warner Bros. Discovery’s plan to mine the ‘Harry Potter’ novels for an ambitious new, HBO-based small screen adaptation, the news is beginning to heat up on the casting front.
And Warner Bros. has had an open casting call to find the key roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione running for a while now.
But according to Deadline, the series might have zeroed in on its first near-confirmed hire as John Lithgow, most recently seen in ‘Conclave,’ is apparently close to a deal to play Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the series.
To give him his full name, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is also the founder and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization dedicated to fighting the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort.
And while he’s a powerful wizard, he’s also a complicated one –– having had both a relationship and an antagonistic dynamic with previous dark magic troublemaker Gellert Grindelwald.
Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore in ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
In the movies, the character was first played by Richard Harris, with Michael Gambon stepping him after Harris’ death for the third film onwards. In the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films, a younger Dumbledore is played by Jude Law.
Lithgow would be the first American to portray Dumbledore on screen, but it’s not like he doesn’t have history with British characters –– he played Winston Churchill to Emmy-winning effect in Netflix’s ‘The Crown.’
HBO, somewhat naturally, is sticking to its blanket refusal to confirm anything:
“We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.”
What’s the story of the ‘Harry Potter’ TV series?
(L to R) Emma Watson as Hermione Granger,Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ (2011). Photo: Warner Bros.
Here’s the official HBO statement on the show:
“The series will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved ‘Harry Potter’ book series by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling. It will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail and much-loved characters ‘Harry Potter’ fans have loved for over twenty-five years. Each season will bring ‘Harry Potter’ and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and cherished films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”
The series will be written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner, who scored the job after HBO conducted an extensive search for the right showrunner. Mark Mylod is executive producing and direct multiple episodes of the series for HBO in association with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. The show will be shot at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden Studios facility outside London in the UK, where the movies were made.
Who else has been rumored for the ‘Harry Potter’ TV series?
Cillian Murphy in ‘Peaky Blinders’. Photo: Netflix.
Alongside Essiedu, there has been plenty of talk via Variety of Mark Rylance, an actor who has deep roots in British theatre and who has been seen in movies including ‘The BFG,’ ‘Ready Player One,’ ‘Dunkirk’ and ‘Bridge of Spies’ (for which he won an Oscar), potentially playing Dumbledore. It would seem that those discussions didn’t work out.
On the less solid side, we have Lithgow’s ‘Conclave’ co-star Ralph Fiennes –– who was the villainous Voldemort in four of the seven ‘Potter’ movies –– suggesting someone who could take over that character (even though he’s said he’d be willing to return if asked).
“Cillian is a fantastic actor. That’s a wonderful suggestion. I would be all in favor of Cillian. Yeah.”
We’d add at this point that The Hollywood Reporter’s sources have poured cold water on the idea of Murphy even being considered right now. Which is not to say he isn’t, but that no one wants to talk yet.
The biggest issue for getting more famous –– and therefore busier –– actors involved is the commitment issue; those taking part would likely be contracted for a good 10 years or so. But we can imagine HBO conjuring hefty cash offers to name stars to entice them.
What about the J.K. Rowling issue?
(L to R) Emma Watson and J. K. Rowling at the premiere of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
‘Potter’ creator and original novelist J.K. Rowling is a big consideration here, since A) she has final say on anything adapted from the books and B) is a problematic figure given her negative views on trans people.
This was HBO’s recent statement on the issue:
“Warner Bros. has been working with J.K. Rowling and in the ‘Harry Potter’ business for over 20 years. Her contribution has been invaluable. We are proud to once again tell the story of ‘Harry Potter’ — the heartwarming books that speak to power of friendship, resolve and acceptance. J.K. Rowling has a right to express her personal views. We will remain focused on the development of the new series, which will only benefit from her involvement.”
“J.K. Rowling has written these great books about empowerment, about young children finding themselves as human beings. It’s about how you become a better, stronger, more morally centered human being. The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling. I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it’s not some obscene, über-right-wing fascist. It’s just a woman saying, ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman.’ And I understand where she’s coming from. Even though I’m not a woman.”
When will the ‘Harry Potter’ series be on screens?
HBO CEO Casey Bloys recently said that he expects the show to debut in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes sense given that production isn’t likely to start until some point in 2025.
The Critics Choice Awards, hosted by Chelsea Handler, will broadcast LIVE on E! on Friday, February 7, 2025 (7:00 – 10:00pm ET/PT) from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. The show will also be available to stream the next day on Peacock.
Preview:
The winners of the 30th Annual Critics Choice Film Awards include ‘Anora’ and ‘Wicked’
‘Emilia Perez’ and ‘The Substance’ also did well.
The ceremony was hosted by Chelsea Handler.
If you had to use a metaphor to describe the 2025 edition of the Critics Choice Awards, it would be Oprah Winfrey during her big giveaway days on her talk show, but with kudos instead of cars: you get a trophy! You get a trophy! You all get a trophy!
Yes, while ‘Anora’ missed out on all of its other categories, Sean Baker’s film about an exotic dancer who falls for –– and marries –– the spoiled spawn of a Russian oligarch took home Best Picture.
This year’s awards, hosted for the third time by Chelsea Handler (whose monologue proved to be both funny and pointed in places, even touching on the Blake Lively/Justin Baldoni legal PR chaos) at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, was a typically jolly affair.
Yet it was tempered by plenty of references to the wildfires that have devastated chunks of the city’s hilly surroundings, and first responders were invited and saluted during the opening and in more than one speech.
Despite being snubbed by the Oscar nominations, it was ‘Wicked’ filmmaker Jon M. Chu who won Best Director, comically shouting out his shut-out by the Academy, quipping, “I’m gonna win that Oscar!”
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His film took three awards in total, including Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
Also scoring a trio of trophies? ‘The Substance,’ for which Demi Moore won yet another Best Actress trophy along with Best Original Screenplay and the Hair and Make-Up award. And the controversy-hit ‘Emilia Pérez,’ which nabbed a Best Supporting Actress gong for Zoe Saldaña Best Song for “El Mal,” collected by the movie’s co-composer Camille and Best Foreign Language Film.
A few of the winners were entirely unsurprising; Kieran Culkin, who has been collecting hardware left, right and center, notched up another Best Supporting Actor award (though he wasn’t present at the show) for ‘A Real Pain’ and Adrien Brody won Best Actor for ‘The Brutalist.’
Actually a surprise? The seemingly forgotten ‘Challengers’ nabbing two, Best Editing and Best Score.
Here’s the full list of winners…
Critics Choice 2025: Film Nominees
BEST PICTURE
Mikey Madison as Ani in ‘Anora’. Photo: Courtesy of NEON.
The 97th Oscars will air live on March 2nd on ABC and Hulu.
Preview:
‘Anora,’ ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Emilia Pérez’ are in contention for Oscars.
‘Wicked’ made the cut for Best Picture and other categories, though Jon M. Chu missed out on a directing nod.
The ceremony happens on March 2nd.
The 97th Academy Awards will be upon us before we know it, and actors Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott announced the Oscar nominees for the various categories Thursday morning.
As a result of the wildfires that have plagued Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, the Academy has extended its voting period, though it’s notable that more decisions still have to be made about final producer credits than in other years.
And the show’s producers have also recently said that the ceremony will honor Los Angeles, which faces an ongoing fire danger situation, while doing away with having the original songs performed live, raising eyebrows since Ryan Gosling and the “I’m Just Ken” team from ‘Barbie’ was one of the showstoppers last year.
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On the whole, the nominations are much as expected –– a lot of love for ‘Anora,’ ‘The Brutalist,’ ‘A Complete Unknown’ and ‘Wicked,’ even if the latter missed out on some key categories, including director and adapted screenplay.
‘Emilia Pérez’ is this year’s Academy darling, with 13 nominations (an all-time record for a movie not in the English language), followed by ‘The Brutalist’ (seemingly unaffected by the recent batch of headlines about AI use to tweak some of the movie’s dialogue) and ‘Wicked’ with 10 apiece.
The Best Director list as usual skewed male, with just ‘The Substance’s Coralie Fargeat making the cut in her category.
Animated charmer ‘Flow,’ meanwhile, scored in its own category and made the International Film list.
Paramount Pictures’ ‘September 5’, the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
