Remembering Gene Wilder Documentary to Premiere at Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival Film News in Brief

The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival has returned after three years, this time with the premiere of the feature documentary “Remembering Gene Wilder.” The film honors the life and career of Hollywood’s first Willy Wonka through home videos and interviews with Wilder’s close friends, including Mel Gibson, Carol Kane, Harry Connick Jr. and Ben Mankiewicz. The film will open the festival on May 18 at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Born Jerome Silberman, Wilder was a comedic light as an actor and filmmaker — not just in the remarkable “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory,” but in films like “Young Frankenstein,” “Blazing Saddles, “The Woman in Red” and “Silver Streak.” Wilder died in 2016 at the age of 83 from Alzheimer’s disease.

The documentary was directed by Ron Frank and was produced by David Knight and Julie Nimoy, daughter of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock in the Star Trek film franchise.

“David and I are thrilled that Gene’s widow, Karen Wilder, is supporting our project by providing us with hundreds of never-seen-before photos and videos from the estate,” said Julie Nimoy. “My Dad loved Gene!”

Streamland Media’s Picture Shop Revamps Two of Their Hollywood Post Production Facilities

Streamland Media’s Picture Shop has revamped its Sunset and Seward post production facilities, adding new color bays, edit rooms and grading theaters to the Hollywood locations. The Sunset location has over 115,000 square feet of work space spanning six floors of the Sunset Gower Studio lot, while the Seward location offers a smaller, more boutique-like work environment.

“We’ve spent our time focusing on their needs, putting the industry’s most advanced tools in their hands, all in a beautiful and stylish environment that fuels creativity,” said Cara Shepherd, President of Picture Shop. “The team has done an incredible job and I look forward to seeing our clients’ work take flight.”

The Sunset complex is also home to Streamland’s global headquarters and co-occupies the space with Ghost VFX, the company’s visual effects division, and Picture Head, their marketing division. The facility will have on site, around-the-clock teams ready to assist clients in production and operations.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Joins ‘Expendables 4’ Filmmaker Scott Waugh’s Action Film ‘Breakout

Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to star in “Expendables 4” filmmaker Scott Waugh’s upcoming action thriller “Breakout,” which Anton will sell at the upcoming market in Cannes. 

Schwarzenegger will lead “Breakout” in the role of Terry Reynolds. After Terry’s stepson is framed and sentenced to serve 25 years in a foreign country, he makes it his mission to break him out of jail. Terry will have to dodge prison wardens and the race of time if he wants to aid his stepsons flee from the country. 

“Breakout” serves as Schwarzenegger’s return to action films since the blockbuster franchise installment “Terminator: Dark Fate” and ahead of his Netflix series “Fubar,” which is set to release in May. 

Waugh, who is best known for directing “Act of Valor” and Dreamworks’ “Need for Speed,” will helm the film, coming on the heels of directing the fourth installment of “The Expendables” franchise, which is expected later this year. Waugh directs from a screenplay by Richard D’Ovidio, based on a story D’Ovidio co-created with Nicole D’Ovidio.

“We are proud to be on board to make Scott’s vision come alive with the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead,” stated Anton’s Sebastien Raybaud. “This is the perfect fit for Anton’s slate to continue delivering high-quality entertainment with big scale to the global market.”

“Breakout” is financed and produced by Anton and Off The Pier Productions. Anton is handling worldwide sales, with UTA Independent Film Group co-repping domestic rights. The film is produced by Anton’s Raybaud and John Zois; Off the Pier Productions’ Jeff Elliott and Chad Moore; Oscar nominee Cindy Cowan under her eponymous Cindy Cowan Entertainment banner; and Almost Never Films’ Carsten Lorenz and Danny Chan. Steve Ponce serves as executive producer. Off the Pier Productions and Cindy Cowan Entertainment developed and packaged the project.

‘The Blackening’ to Make U.S. Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival at the Apollo Theater

Lionsgate announced its new horror-comedy “The Blackening” will make its U.S. premiere on June 13 at the Tribeca Festival. The screening will take place at the Apollo theater in Harlem as part of Tribeca’s Expressions of Black Freedom Program in commemoration of Juneteenth.

“The Blackening” focuses on a group Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway, but soon discover they’re trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Fighting for their lives, the friends are forced to abide by his demands and soon realize this isn’t a joke, and as release says, the horror-comedy then “poses the sardonic question: if the entire cast of a horror movie is Black, who dies first?” The film stars Antoinette Robertson, Dewayne Perkins, Sinqua Walls, Grace Byers, X Mayo, Melvin Gregg, Jermaine Fowler, Yvonne Orji and Jay Pharoah.

Directed by Tim Story (“Ride Along”, “Barbershop”) and co-written by Tracy Oliver (“Girls Trip,” “Harlem”) and Perkins (“The Amber Ruffin Show,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), Lionsgate and MRC present, a Story Company, Tracy Yvonne, Artists First and CatchLight Studios co-production.

“Of course, we want ‘The Blackening’ to be enjoyed by everyone – but it’s especially a celebration of and a theatrical event for Black culture. This film really shows that Black people are not a monolith – there are so many different things that define us, but also bring us together,” Story said in a statement. “That’s why it’s so deeply meaningful that we are premiering at the legendary Apollo. For more than a century, this theater has been the epicenter that originated so much Black entertainment before it sent its shockwaves out to the world. As we lead up to the release of our film on Juneteenth Weekend, it’s a unique pleasure to be celebrating our U.S. premiere in this historic place.”

“The Blackening” will hit theaters on June 16.

Costume Designers Guild and UCLA To Host Business of Costume Design Panel Event In May

The Costume Designers Guild is teaming up with the UCLA Anderson’s Center of Media, Entertainment and Sports to host the Business of Costume Design: The Value of Vision and Its Economic Impact, an event that explores the importance of costume design throughout the on-screen entertainment industry. It will be hosted at UCLA’s David C. Copley Center for Costume Design on May 13.

Industry professionals will share insights from their careers to highlight the artisty of costume design and offer ways to foster equity in the field. The event will also serve to show just how vital costume design is within television and film. “Some of the most iconic characters and memorable moments on screen are defined by costume. Costume designers are the key collaborators in creating distinctive characters that are at the heart of every story,” said the Anderson Center.

The panel and reception will be held from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. with doors opening at 9:30 a.m. Tickets for the event can be reserved via Eventbrite.

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