THR puts the spotlight on the best films from the festival circuit that have yet to land a U.S. distribution deal.
La Cocina
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Sales WME Independent, Fifth Season
From Anthony Bourdain giving American readers an inside look at the rock ’n’ roll restaurant industry in Kitchen Confidential to Nancy Meyers’ citrus-dotted white marble countertops in enviable home kitchens, modern American audiences have had an infatuation with cookery. Though previously largely reserved for the nonfiction space with entries like Bourdain’s No Reservations and Netflix’s operatic Chef’s Table, the narrative possibilities of the dark underbelly of back-of-house restaurant staff have began to emerge lately. The Bear, the anxiety-inducing FX series about a Chicago Italian beef joint, swept the Emmys in January and is poised to do the same this go-around. Enter director Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina. “Think The Bear on cocaine with a Red Bull chaser...
La Cocina
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Sales WME Independent, Fifth Season
From Anthony Bourdain giving American readers an inside look at the rock ’n’ roll restaurant industry in Kitchen Confidential to Nancy Meyers’ citrus-dotted white marble countertops in enviable home kitchens, modern American audiences have had an infatuation with cookery. Though previously largely reserved for the nonfiction space with entries like Bourdain’s No Reservations and Netflix’s operatic Chef’s Table, the narrative possibilities of the dark underbelly of back-of-house restaurant staff have began to emerge lately. The Bear, the anxiety-inducing FX series about a Chicago Italian beef joint, swept the Emmys in January and is poised to do the same this go-around. Enter director Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina. “Think The Bear on cocaine with a Red Bull chaser...
- 5/19/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Television Academy chair Cris Abrego announced on Wednesday his appointees to the Television Academy Executive Committee for 2024.
They include returning members Pearlena Igbokwe (Universal Studio Group) and John Landgraf (FX Content & FX Productions), along with Brandon Riegg (Netflix), Paul Buccieri (A+E Networks), Dany Garcia (The Garcia Companies, Seven Bucks Productions) and Amy Reisenbach (CBS Entertainment).
They will advise Abrego on the organization’s direction and its core initiatives and work with the Television Academy’s officers and the board of governors to guide the Academy throughout the year.
“I am thrilled to welcome these industry luminaries to the Academy’s Executive Committee and feel fortunate to be able to count on their counsel to drive the Academy forward and bolster its mission,” said Abrego. “Their partnership will be invaluable to the Academy, and to me personally, as we work together to lead this organization and the Emmys themselves into the future,...
They include returning members Pearlena Igbokwe (Universal Studio Group) and John Landgraf (FX Content & FX Productions), along with Brandon Riegg (Netflix), Paul Buccieri (A+E Networks), Dany Garcia (The Garcia Companies, Seven Bucks Productions) and Amy Reisenbach (CBS Entertainment).
They will advise Abrego on the organization’s direction and its core initiatives and work with the Television Academy’s officers and the board of governors to guide the Academy throughout the year.
“I am thrilled to welcome these industry luminaries to the Academy’s Executive Committee and feel fortunate to be able to count on their counsel to drive the Academy forward and bolster its mission,” said Abrego. “Their partnership will be invaluable to the Academy, and to me personally, as we work together to lead this organization and the Emmys themselves into the future,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry are cooking up two new projects with Netflix.
Deadline can reveal that the pair have two non-fiction projects in production at the streamer. They form part of the overall deal that she and her husband, Harry, The Duke of Sussex, signed with the company in 2020 via their Archewell Productions banner.
The first series will see The Duchess, otherwise known as Meghan Markle, celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship.
It will be produced by Sony Pictures Television’s The Intellectual Property Corporation, which is behind series including Hulu’s The D’Amelio Show and A&e’s Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath.
Selena + Chef’s Leah Hariton will serve as showrunner with Michael Steed, who has helmed episodes of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, directing.
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex and Chanel Pysnik will...
Deadline can reveal that the pair have two non-fiction projects in production at the streamer. They form part of the overall deal that she and her husband, Harry, The Duke of Sussex, signed with the company in 2020 via their Archewell Productions banner.
The first series will see The Duchess, otherwise known as Meghan Markle, celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship.
It will be produced by Sony Pictures Television’s The Intellectual Property Corporation, which is behind series including Hulu’s The D’Amelio Show and A&e’s Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath.
Selena + Chef’s Leah Hariton will serve as showrunner with Michael Steed, who has helmed episodes of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, directing.
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex and Chanel Pysnik will...
- 4/11/2024
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Few sacred cows emerge unscathed from director Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero. No matter where audiences sit on the political spectrum, they’re liable find something discomfiting, if not enraging, in the film. Hausner and co-writer Géraldine Bajard can be applauded for the inclusivity of their derision, which is hostile to all forms of complacency. Then again, maybe it’s too easy to toss people and ideas so indiscriminately into the vat of irony while defending nothing, potentially leaving the viewer at a tiresome, cynical impasse.
This caustic satire follows a group of students at a private high school who sign up for a nutrition course taught by Ms. Novak (Mia Wasikowska), who’s hired at the recommendation of the parent board. Ms. Novak teaches—or rather, preaches—the doctrine of “conscious eating.” Each student has their reasons for enrolling: Helen (Gwen Currant) to protect the environment by cutting down on consumption,...
This caustic satire follows a group of students at a private high school who sign up for a nutrition course taught by Ms. Novak (Mia Wasikowska), who’s hired at the recommendation of the parent board. Ms. Novak teaches—or rather, preaches—the doctrine of “conscious eating.” Each student has their reasons for enrolling: Helen (Gwen Currant) to protect the environment by cutting down on consumption,...
- 3/9/2024
- by William Repass
- Slant Magazine
Netflix is ready to play ball with Major League Baseball.
For the first time, the streamer will follow an MLB team — in this case, the Boston Red Sox — over the course of a full season. Netflix says it will have unprecedented access to players, coaches and executives throughout the 2024 season for a docuseries that will debut in 2025.
A second project is in the works with the Red Sox that’s expected to stream on Netflix later this year. The untitled documentary will look back at the historic 2004 Red Sox season, which culminated with one of the greatest comebacks in sports history and the franchise’s first World Series title in 86 years. The series will feature new, exclusive interviews with key players and figures from the team that broke one of baseball’s longest curses where the franchise has now won more World Series (four) in the last 20 years than any Club in MLB.
For the first time, the streamer will follow an MLB team — in this case, the Boston Red Sox — over the course of a full season. Netflix says it will have unprecedented access to players, coaches and executives throughout the 2024 season for a docuseries that will debut in 2025.
A second project is in the works with the Red Sox that’s expected to stream on Netflix later this year. The untitled documentary will look back at the historic 2004 Red Sox season, which culminated with one of the greatest comebacks in sports history and the franchise’s first World Series title in 86 years. The series will feature new, exclusive interviews with key players and figures from the team that broke one of baseball’s longest curses where the franchise has now won more World Series (four) in the last 20 years than any Club in MLB.
- 2/7/2024
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has added Sahara Bushue to its unscripted team, TheWrap can confirm.
Bushue had been consulting for the streaming giant since March. She will now join the company on a permanent basis on unscripted VP Brandon Riegg’s team. Her official title will be director of unscripted series.
Previously, Bushue worked as the senior vice president and head of unscripted for Westbrook Studios, the entertainment venture company founded by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. She was there for a little over two years when the company produced projects such as “Red Table Talk,” “Welcome to Earth,” “Amend: The Fight for America” and “Women of the Movement.”
Before that, Bushue was the senior vice president for alternative programming and development at NBC. Altogether, she was at the network for 13 years. Throughout her time at NBC, she’s worked on “America’s Got Talent,” “Ellen’s Game of Games,” “World of Dance,” “Little Big Shots” and “Hollywood Game Night.
Bushue had been consulting for the streaming giant since March. She will now join the company on a permanent basis on unscripted VP Brandon Riegg’s team. Her official title will be director of unscripted series.
Previously, Bushue worked as the senior vice president and head of unscripted for Westbrook Studios, the entertainment venture company founded by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. She was there for a little over two years when the company produced projects such as “Red Table Talk,” “Welcome to Earth,” “Amend: The Fight for America” and “Women of the Movement.”
Before that, Bushue was the senior vice president for alternative programming and development at NBC. Altogether, she was at the network for 13 years. Throughout her time at NBC, she’s worked on “America’s Got Talent,” “Ellen’s Game of Games,” “World of Dance,” “Little Big Shots” and “Hollywood Game Night.
- 10/13/2023
- by Kayla Cobb
- The Wrap
It was more than nine years ago when Gordon Ramsay revealed that he was putting to bed Kitchen Nightmares, the restaurant makeover series that had become an international hit since debuting in the UK in 2004.
“I’ve had a phenomenal 10 years making 123 episodes, shot across two continents, watched by tens of millions of people and sold to over 150 countries,” Ramsay said at the time. “It’s been a blast, but it’s time to call it a day.”
More from TVLineTVLine Items: Beckham Doc Trailer, Tyler Posey Joins Surreal Life and MoreQuantum Leap Tackles L.A. Riots, Salem Witch Trials in...
“I’ve had a phenomenal 10 years making 123 episodes, shot across two continents, watched by tens of millions of people and sold to over 150 countries,” Ramsay said at the time. “It’s been a blast, but it’s time to call it a day.”
More from TVLineTVLine Items: Beckham Doc Trailer, Tyler Posey Joins Surreal Life and MoreQuantum Leap Tackles L.A. Riots, Salem Witch Trials in...
- 9/20/2023
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Oscilloscope Laboratories has landed “Canary,” a documentary about a climate scientist who been referred to as “the closest living thing to Indiana Jones.”
Danny O’Malley, a producer on “Chef’s Table,” directed the film with MIT-trained Neuroscientist Alex Rivest, PhD. It’s set to open in limited release on Sept. 15 followed by a one-night-only special nationwide screening on Sept. 20.
The subject of the film is Doctor Lonnie Thompson, who, in a press release, is referred to as an explorer “who went where no scientist had gone before and transformed our idea of what is possible.” He’s been globally recognized for his drilling an analysis of ice cores from various regions of the world in the hopes of better understanding the Earth’s climate.
The announcement goes on to describe the documentary’s mission like so: “Daring to seek Earth’s history contained in glaciers atop the tallest mountains in the world,...
Danny O’Malley, a producer on “Chef’s Table,” directed the film with MIT-trained Neuroscientist Alex Rivest, PhD. It’s set to open in limited release on Sept. 15 followed by a one-night-only special nationwide screening on Sept. 20.
The subject of the film is Doctor Lonnie Thompson, who, in a press release, is referred to as an explorer “who went where no scientist had gone before and transformed our idea of what is possible.” He’s been globally recognized for his drilling an analysis of ice cores from various regions of the world in the hopes of better understanding the Earth’s climate.
The announcement goes on to describe the documentary’s mission like so: “Daring to seek Earth’s history contained in glaciers atop the tallest mountains in the world,...
- 8/16/2023
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Right after Elsa Ramo, managing partner of Ramo Law PC, graduated law school, she made an “unconventional” decision. Instead of working for an established firm, she set up a trailer on the Universal Studios backlot in the summer of 2005.
Her business cards may have come from Kinko’s and she may have had to use the bathroom on the “Desperate Housewives” set, but her bold move paid off. During a time when filmmaking was switching from 35mm to digital, Ramo was right on site helping young directors and producers as they sold their $200,000 movies to the open market for seven figures.
“I was literally the girl on the Universal backlot who could do your production legal for basically no cost because I was excited to sign a client,” Ramo told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View. “It was sort of a perfect storm of geographically being in the right place.
Her business cards may have come from Kinko’s and she may have had to use the bathroom on the “Desperate Housewives” set, but her bold move paid off. During a time when filmmaking was switching from 35mm to digital, Ramo was right on site helping young directors and producers as they sold their $200,000 movies to the open market for seven figures.
“I was literally the girl on the Universal backlot who could do your production legal for basically no cost because I was excited to sign a client,” Ramo told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View. “It was sort of a perfect storm of geographically being in the right place.
- 7/7/2023
- by Kayla Cobb
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Andrew Renzi, director of Netflix docuseries Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?, is reuniting with Boardwalk Pictures.
Renzi and his North of Now production company have signed a multi-year overall deal with the company, which is behind series such as Chef’s Table, Cheer and Welcome to Wrexham and worked with Renzi on the Netflix series that told the story of two mountaineers who took on Pepsi in the ‘90s in a David and Goliath advertising battle.
It is Boardwalk’s latest overall deal, having recently struck an overall pact with with W. Kamau Bell’s recently launched Wkb Productions. It comes after Deadline revealed that Boardwalk has sold a minority interest to investment firm Shamrock Capital.
Renzi will work with Boardwalk to create non-fiction films and TV shows. It is a further expansion of Boardwalk Studios, which is led by Jordan Wynn, and is also behind premium docs such as Val.
Renzi and his North of Now production company have signed a multi-year overall deal with the company, which is behind series such as Chef’s Table, Cheer and Welcome to Wrexham and worked with Renzi on the Netflix series that told the story of two mountaineers who took on Pepsi in the ‘90s in a David and Goliath advertising battle.
It is Boardwalk’s latest overall deal, having recently struck an overall pact with with W. Kamau Bell’s recently launched Wkb Productions. It comes after Deadline revealed that Boardwalk has sold a minority interest to investment firm Shamrock Capital.
Renzi will work with Boardwalk to create non-fiction films and TV shows. It is a further expansion of Boardwalk Studios, which is led by Jordan Wynn, and is also behind premium docs such as Val.
- 6/21/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix is creating a pop-up restaurant on June 30 in Los Angeles featuring dishes by some of the streamer’s most popular chef and drink masters.
The dining experience will spotlight chefs from Netflix’s beloved culinary shows including “Chef’s Table,” “Is It Cake?” and “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.” For the first time, attendees will be able to get a taste of their favorite Netflix series.
Netflix Bites will be staged at Short Stories Hotel at 115 S Fairfax Ave.
Acclaimed chefs attending Netflix Bites include Curtis Stone (“Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend”), Dominique Crenn, Rodney Scott (“Chef’s Table: BBQ”), Ming Tsai (“Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend”), Ann Kim (“Chef’s Table: Pizza”), Nadiya Hussain (“Nadiya Bakes”), Jacques Torres (“Nailed It!”) and Andrew Zimmern (“Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.”)
“Bringing my love of food to people across the world is one of the biggest thrills of my life,...
The dining experience will spotlight chefs from Netflix’s beloved culinary shows including “Chef’s Table,” “Is It Cake?” and “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.” For the first time, attendees will be able to get a taste of their favorite Netflix series.
Netflix Bites will be staged at Short Stories Hotel at 115 S Fairfax Ave.
Acclaimed chefs attending Netflix Bites include Curtis Stone (“Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend”), Dominique Crenn, Rodney Scott (“Chef’s Table: BBQ”), Ming Tsai (“Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend”), Ann Kim (“Chef’s Table: Pizza”), Nadiya Hussain (“Nadiya Bakes”), Jacques Torres (“Nailed It!”) and Andrew Zimmern (“Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.”)
“Bringing my love of food to people across the world is one of the biggest thrills of my life,...
- 6/13/2023
- by McKinley Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
Would you binge eat your favorite binge watch?
Netflix is going to put that to the test, as it expands into an entirely new category: the restaurant business.
Netflix will launch a pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles on June 30. Called Netflix Bites, the food concept will be built around an “elevated dining experience” featuring chefs featured in various Netflix shows.
Among the chefs participating are Curtis Stone, Ming Tsai and Andrew Zimmern of Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend; Dominique Crenn of Chef’s Table and Iron Chef; Rodney Scott and Ann Kim of Chef’s Table; Nadiya Hussain of Nadiya Bakes; and Jacques Torres of Nailed It! There will also be cocktails designed by the mixologists from Drink Masters.
Netflix Bites will be open seven days a week from 5-10 p.m., with an additional brunch service on weekends. The restaurant is at 115 S. Fairfax Ave. in Los Angeles (inside...
Netflix is going to put that to the test, as it expands into an entirely new category: the restaurant business.
Netflix will launch a pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles on June 30. Called Netflix Bites, the food concept will be built around an “elevated dining experience” featuring chefs featured in various Netflix shows.
Among the chefs participating are Curtis Stone, Ming Tsai and Andrew Zimmern of Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend; Dominique Crenn of Chef’s Table and Iron Chef; Rodney Scott and Ann Kim of Chef’s Table; Nadiya Hussain of Nadiya Bakes; and Jacques Torres of Nailed It! There will also be cocktails designed by the mixologists from Drink Masters.
Netflix Bites will be open seven days a week from 5-10 p.m., with an additional brunch service on weekends. The restaurant is at 115 S. Fairfax Ave. in Los Angeles (inside...
- 6/13/2023
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There’s food porn, which shows like Chef’s Table and Top Chef, not to mention last year’s horror hit movie The Menu, have turned into widely popular entertainment. And then there’s art house food porn, a subgenre that possibly dates back to Marco Ferreri’s 1973 satire La Grande Bouffe, and whose other examples include Babette’s Feast, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Tampopo, Chocolat and Like Water for Chocolate. The latter films tend to be made in a language other than English, and they’re less about chefs competing for Michelin stars, or glowing reviews from Pete Wells, than about food as a way of life.
Where else but France, then, as the setting for the latest, and certainly one of the most appetizing, art house food porn flicks to come along in a while? Tràn Anh Hùng’s The Pot-au-Feu (La Passion du Dodin-Bouffant) is...
Where else but France, then, as the setting for the latest, and certainly one of the most appetizing, art house food porn flicks to come along in a while? Tràn Anh Hùng’s The Pot-au-Feu (La Passion du Dodin-Bouffant) is...
- 5/24/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On the heels of winning a Peabody Award for the Showtime docuseries “We Need to Talk About Cosby,” W. Kamau Bell has launched a new production company, Who Knows Best, and inked an overall deal with Boardwalk Pictures.
Bell, an Emmy-winning producer, director, host and comedian, founded Who Knows Best Productions (Wkb), an Oakland-based company, with the mission of “fostering a diverse creative community and telling revolutionary non-fiction stories by any medium necessary.”
Wkb launches with a multi-year overall deal with Boardwalk Pictures after the parties partnered on the critically acclaimed four-part documentary “We Need to Talk About Cosby.”
“I’m super excited for the opportunity to highlight stories and talent from the Bay Area — and specifically Oakland — alongside a powerhouse production company like Boardwalk Pictures,” stated Bell, a Bay Area resident for more than 20 years, announcing the deal.
Under the new pact, Wkb will create both unscripted and scripted...
Bell, an Emmy-winning producer, director, host and comedian, founded Who Knows Best Productions (Wkb), an Oakland-based company, with the mission of “fostering a diverse creative community and telling revolutionary non-fiction stories by any medium necessary.”
Wkb launches with a multi-year overall deal with Boardwalk Pictures after the parties partnered on the critically acclaimed four-part documentary “We Need to Talk About Cosby.”
“I’m super excited for the opportunity to highlight stories and talent from the Bay Area — and specifically Oakland — alongside a powerhouse production company like Boardwalk Pictures,” stated Bell, a Bay Area resident for more than 20 years, announcing the deal.
Under the new pact, Wkb will create both unscripted and scripted...
- 5/12/2023
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Last week’s episode of “Top Chef: World All-Stars,” “Top Chef is No Picnic,” started with 10 contestants, and it ended with … 10 contestants. But it wasn’t the same 10. “Top Chef Canada” alum Dale MacKay returned to the competition after fighting his way back through “Last Chance Kitchen,” and then “Top Chef Poland’s” Sylwia Stachyra was eliminated after a sandwich cookoff against Tom Goetter. So what kind of turbulence was in store for the chefs in episode seven, “Hands Off.” Read on to find out.
The 10 remaining competitors playing for the $250,000 grand prize are Ali Ghzawi (Middle East and North Africa), Sara Bradley (Kentucky), Charbel Hayek (Middle East and North Africa), Victoire Gouloubi (Italy), Dale MacKay (Canada), Buddha Lo (Houston), Tom Goetter (Germany), Gabriel Rodriguez (Mexico), Amar Santana (California), and Nicole Gomes (Canada).
See‘Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen’: A sandwich smackdown decided who got kicked out of the...
The 10 remaining competitors playing for the $250,000 grand prize are Ali Ghzawi (Middle East and North Africa), Sara Bradley (Kentucky), Charbel Hayek (Middle East and North Africa), Victoire Gouloubi (Italy), Dale MacKay (Canada), Buddha Lo (Houston), Tom Goetter (Germany), Gabriel Rodriguez (Mexico), Amar Santana (California), and Nicole Gomes (Canada).
See‘Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen’: A sandwich smackdown decided who got kicked out of the...
- 4/21/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
We Americans are fascinated with food and the people who prepare and serve it. A quick glance at all of the reality cooking/competition shows on television will confirm this. You’ve got everything from “Master Chef” to “Iron Chef” to “Next Level Chef” to “Chef’s Table,” “Chopped,” “The Great British Bake-Off” and “The American Barbecue Showdown,” for starters. But the legacy of scripted TV shows about cooking and restaurant-ing isn’t nearly as epic, which is why FX on Hulu’s “The Bear” was such a revelation when it launched last summer.
“The Bear” introduced up to the pressure-cooker life inside an Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago. It captured the visceral, adrenalin-pumping chaos of the food industry in a way nothing had before, showing us just how unglamorous and dangerous (and yet colorful and compelling) a kitchen can be. After just eight episodes, it’s already probably the...
“The Bear” introduced up to the pressure-cooker life inside an Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago. It captured the visceral, adrenalin-pumping chaos of the food industry in a way nothing had before, showing us just how unglamorous and dangerous (and yet colorful and compelling) a kitchen can be. After just eight episodes, it’s already probably the...
- 3/29/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Hiro Murai and his producing partner Nate Matteson, who have exec produced series including HBO Max’s Station Eleven and FX’s The Bear, are parting ways.
Deadline understands that the parting of ways is amicable but the pair decided to strike out on their own. It comes four years after the launch of Super Frog Films.
We hear that former 42 exec Claudia Shin, who joined Super Frog in 2021 as VP of Film and Television, will continue to work with Murai to develop and produce projects. Murai and Matteson also have a development slate that they’ll both continue to support. Murai struck a first-look deal with FX in 2020.
The pair also produced The Choe Show for FX.
Filmmaker Murai is best known for his work on Donald Glover’s Atlanta, where he has directed over 25 episodes of the FX comedy. He also directed episodes of Station Eleven as well as episodes of Snowfall,...
Deadline understands that the parting of ways is amicable but the pair decided to strike out on their own. It comes four years after the launch of Super Frog Films.
We hear that former 42 exec Claudia Shin, who joined Super Frog in 2021 as VP of Film and Television, will continue to work with Murai to develop and produce projects. Murai and Matteson also have a development slate that they’ll both continue to support. Murai struck a first-look deal with FX in 2020.
The pair also produced The Choe Show for FX.
Filmmaker Murai is best known for his work on Donald Glover’s Atlanta, where he has directed over 25 episodes of the FX comedy. He also directed episodes of Station Eleven as well as episodes of Snowfall,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Boardwalk Pictures, the docuseries label behind Chef’s Table on Netflix and Welcome to Wrexham on FX/Hulu, has sold a minority stake to private equity firm Shamrock Capital, the producer said Feb. 15. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The Santa Monica-based unscripted producer, led by CEO-founder Andrew Fried, said it secured a growth investment from Shamrock with an eye toward broadening its output as a seller of content to networks and streaming platforms as well as build out its staff working on projects.
Boardwalk, founded in 2010, has a suite of shows at Netflix, including Chef’s Table: Pizza, Street Food: USA, Last Chance U: Basketball, The Goop Lab and Cheer, sold docuseries Chasing Waves to Disney+, brought Dan Levy’s The Big Brunch to HBO Max and worked on W. Kamau Bell’s We Need to Talk About Cosby for Showtime. (The burgeoning portfolio of glossy projects landed Fried on...
The Santa Monica-based unscripted producer, led by CEO-founder Andrew Fried, said it secured a growth investment from Shamrock with an eye toward broadening its output as a seller of content to networks and streaming platforms as well as build out its staff working on projects.
Boardwalk, founded in 2010, has a suite of shows at Netflix, including Chef’s Table: Pizza, Street Food: USA, Last Chance U: Basketball, The Goop Lab and Cheer, sold docuseries Chasing Waves to Disney+, brought Dan Levy’s The Big Brunch to HBO Max and worked on W. Kamau Bell’s We Need to Talk About Cosby for Showtime. (The burgeoning portfolio of glossy projects landed Fried on...
- 2/15/2023
- by Erik Hayden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: The non-fiction space is heating up in terms of M&a as Boardwalk Pictures, the company behind long-running Netflix series such as Chef’s Table and Last Chance U, has struck a deal to sell a minority stake.
The company, founded by Andrew Fried, has sold a stake to investment firm Shamrock Capital. No one is commenting, but we understand that the deal is in the nine-figure range.
The move is the latest big-ticket deal in the booming non-fiction space and follows deals such as Sony Pictures Television’s 350M acquisition of Industrial Media, Peter Chernin’s North Road Company’s 200M purchase of Red Arrow Studios, Fremantle’s acquisitive streak including companies such as 72 Films, and ITV Studio’s 126M deal for Plimsoll Productions.
Fried, who directed We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, founded the company in 2010 and also makes series such as FX’s Welcome To Wrexham, HBO Max’s The Big Brunch,...
The company, founded by Andrew Fried, has sold a stake to investment firm Shamrock Capital. No one is commenting, but we understand that the deal is in the nine-figure range.
The move is the latest big-ticket deal in the booming non-fiction space and follows deals such as Sony Pictures Television’s 350M acquisition of Industrial Media, Peter Chernin’s North Road Company’s 200M purchase of Red Arrow Studios, Fremantle’s acquisitive streak including companies such as 72 Films, and ITV Studio’s 126M deal for Plimsoll Productions.
Fried, who directed We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, founded the company in 2010 and also makes series such as FX’s Welcome To Wrexham, HBO Max’s The Big Brunch,...
- 2/15/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Few directors in the reality competition space are as lauded as Joseph H. Guidry. The filmmaker has received three consecutive nominations from the Directors Guild Awards, including one this year for his work on the HBO Max series “The Big Brunch.” (Guidry won a DGA Award in 2020 for HBO Max’s “Full Bloom.”)
“HBO Max is a premium streamer,” Guidry tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview as part of our Meet the Experts: Directors panel. “The Big Brunch” – which Emmy Award winner Dan Levy created – is a series, Guidry says, that fits right in with the platform’s aesthetic.
See DGA Awards nominations for TV
“There’s a certain style and formula that I and my team and my Dp have acquired over the years since we’ve been working together for so long,” he explains. “But one of the differences that we felt makes this show [stand out] from...
“HBO Max is a premium streamer,” Guidry tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview as part of our Meet the Experts: Directors panel. “The Big Brunch” – which Emmy Award winner Dan Levy created – is a series, Guidry says, that fits right in with the platform’s aesthetic.
See DGA Awards nominations for TV
“There’s a certain style and formula that I and my team and my Dp have acquired over the years since we’ve been working together for so long,” he explains. “But one of the differences that we felt makes this show [stand out] from...
- 2/2/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Frank Scherma, chairman and CEO of the Television Academy, announced on Wednesday his appointees to the Television Academy Executive Committee for 2023.
The six appointees include Casey Bloys, George Cheeks, Pearlena Igbokwe, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Lisa Nishimura and Zack Van Amburg. Each industry executive will help advise the Television Academy’s diverse initiatives and lead the organization throughout the upcoming year.
Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max Content, oversees all programming efforts including “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon,” “Euphoria,” “Succession,” Hacks” and “The White Lotus.” Cheeks is president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer, news and sports, Paramount+. Pearlena Igbokwe is chair of Universal Studio Group, leading four studios: Universal Television, UCP, Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal International Studios.
An award-winning writer, producer, director and actress, Calderón Kellett currently stars in, produces and showruns Amazon Prime’s “With Love.” Previously, Calderón Kellett wrote...
The six appointees include Casey Bloys, George Cheeks, Pearlena Igbokwe, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Lisa Nishimura and Zack Van Amburg. Each industry executive will help advise the Television Academy’s diverse initiatives and lead the organization throughout the upcoming year.
Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max Content, oversees all programming efforts including “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon,” “Euphoria,” “Succession,” Hacks” and “The White Lotus.” Cheeks is president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer, news and sports, Paramount+. Pearlena Igbokwe is chair of Universal Studio Group, leading four studios: Universal Television, UCP, Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal International Studios.
An award-winning writer, producer, director and actress, Calderón Kellett currently stars in, produces and showruns Amazon Prime’s “With Love.” Previously, Calderón Kellett wrote...
- 1/19/2023
- by Charna Flam and Julia MacCary
- Variety Film + TV
It’s hard to make food look unappetizing on screen. Fill up the screen with the greasiest monstrosity you can muster and the very fact it’s on a TV gives it a certain kind of baseline appeal. Fiction has a way of priming our stomachs in a way that even real life sometimes can’t.
In a weird way, that makes the cooking in “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House” feel like even more of a challenge. Kore-eda Hirokazu’s new Netflix series can’t just rest on looking at some rice dishes or stews. It needs to convey the idea that Kiyo (Nana Mori), a bright-eyed teenager looking for a new life in the Gion district of Kyoto, is so entranced by the possibilities of her own food that it changes her life.
“The Makanai” finds the same magic in the everyday that’s dotted Kore-eda’s film resume.
In a weird way, that makes the cooking in “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House” feel like even more of a challenge. Kore-eda Hirokazu’s new Netflix series can’t just rest on looking at some rice dishes or stews. It needs to convey the idea that Kiyo (Nana Mori), a bright-eyed teenager looking for a new life in the Gion district of Kyoto, is so entranced by the possibilities of her own food that it changes her life.
“The Makanai” finds the same magic in the everyday that’s dotted Kore-eda’s film resume.
- 1/14/2023
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Warning: This article contains significant spoilers for “The Menu”
Like the final dish in a multi-course meal, the end of a movie can either leave a bad taste in your mouth or send you home feeling nice and full.
“The Menu,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult as a couple that dines at the mercy of a world-renowned chef (Ralph Fiennes), combines both structures: the film unfolds over the length of a single day, each painstakingly-prepared course signaling a new chapter in the story.
Though the guest list is exactly what you’d expect of a private island restaurant that charges more than a thousand bucks per head, the same cannot be said of the meal. With each dish, Chef Slowik lifts a cloche on a new condemnation of the privileged sycophants who have come to feast on his food. What begins as a mockery quickly devolves into a series of violent spectacles,...
Like the final dish in a multi-course meal, the end of a movie can either leave a bad taste in your mouth or send you home feeling nice and full.
“The Menu,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult as a couple that dines at the mercy of a world-renowned chef (Ralph Fiennes), combines both structures: the film unfolds over the length of a single day, each painstakingly-prepared course signaling a new chapter in the story.
Though the guest list is exactly what you’d expect of a private island restaurant that charges more than a thousand bucks per head, the same cannot be said of the meal. With each dish, Chef Slowik lifts a cloche on a new condemnation of the privileged sycophants who have come to feast on his food. What begins as a mockery quickly devolves into a series of violent spectacles,...
- 11/19/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
Rebecca Halpern’s latest documentary “Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie” examines iconic Chicago chef Charlie Trotter, who developed micro-greens and helped make vegetarianism mainstream. The chef, who died in 2013, was also known for his cookbooks, which featured groundbreaking food photography, which earned him the title “godfather of food porn.” Trotter’s first namesake restaurant, located in a Lincoln Park townhouse on Chicago’s North Side, opened its doors in 1987 and remained a famed establishment for 25 years. While considered a trailblazing chef whose restaurants helped transform American fine dining, Trotter was also known for his temper and controlling behavior.
“He was the puppeteer,” Grant Achatz, a chef who worked for Trotter and went on to open his own restaurants says in the film. “He figured out a way to get what he wanted from all of us.”
In the first few moments of Halpern’s docu, Trotter states,...
“He was the puppeteer,” Grant Achatz, a chef who worked for Trotter and went on to open his own restaurants says in the film. “He figured out a way to get what he wanted from all of us.”
In the first few moments of Halpern’s docu, Trotter states,...
- 11/19/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
In "The Menu," Nicholas Hoult's a proud, overeager foodie. It's constantly played for laughs in the horror movie - his need to snap photos of every course, to steal uneaten bits of food from the plate of his date (Anya Taylor-Joy), to flex the cooking knowledge he picked up watching "Chef's Table." Hoult tells Popsugar that he's definitely not like that in real life.
"I'm not a take-photos-of-my-food person," he says. He's not big on taking photos in general. "Know those photos that you look through, and then you go, 'I'm never gonna look at this?' Or people that record whole songs at gigs. Are you really going to watch that back with the terrible sound off your phone?" Hoult would rather not bother in the first place.
But he does admit that if something "stunning" comes out of a restaurant kitchen, he will snap a photo to capture something "unreal.
"I'm not a take-photos-of-my-food person," he says. He's not big on taking photos in general. "Know those photos that you look through, and then you go, 'I'm never gonna look at this?' Or people that record whole songs at gigs. Are you really going to watch that back with the terrible sound off your phone?" Hoult would rather not bother in the first place.
But he does admit that if something "stunning" comes out of a restaurant kitchen, he will snap a photo to capture something "unreal.
- 11/18/2022
- by Victoria Edel
- Popsugar.com
He’s an Emmy winner. He’s a DGA Award winner. And, now, it looks like director Mark Mylod is having a big screen comeback with “The Menu.” Twenty years after his initial forway into film directing, the completely different Sacha Baron Cohen comedy “Ali G Indahouse.”
Read More: Anya Taylor-Joy: Flash floods and Covid couldn’t stop ‘Furiosa’ [Interview]
Of course, Mylod is best known for his contributions to “Succession,” arguably the best show on television (at the moment).
Continue reading Mark Mylod Reveals A ‘Chef’s Table’ Assist For ‘The Menu’ & Discusses ‘Succession’ Season 4 [Interview] at The Playlist.
Read More: Anya Taylor-Joy: Flash floods and Covid couldn’t stop ‘Furiosa’ [Interview]
Of course, Mylod is best known for his contributions to “Succession,” arguably the best show on television (at the moment).
Continue reading Mark Mylod Reveals A ‘Chef’s Table’ Assist For ‘The Menu’ & Discusses ‘Succession’ Season 4 [Interview] at The Playlist.
- 11/18/2022
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
“The Menu” is one of the rare movies, along with classics like “Big Night” and “Babette’s Feast,” that revolves almost completely around a singular meal. But unlike those odes to pleasure, “The Menu” starts out as a deluxe culinary experience for the 1, but then devolves into something much darker — and far less appetizing. Ralph Fiennes stars as the renowned Chef Slowik, whose relentless pursuit of the perfect experience threatens to drive him to madness. Anya Taylor-Joy is an unexpected dinner guest at Hawthorn, the 1250-a-head-restaurant situated on a lonely island, while Nicholas Hoult is her chef-worshipping foodie date and Hong Chau is the exacting maître d’.
With the entire film revolving around one momentous meal, consulting chef Dominque Crenn, production designer Ethan Tobman and the culinary team played just as important a role in bringing the film to life as the cast members. Director Mark Mylod, who helmed numerous “Succession” episodes,...
With the entire film revolving around one momentous meal, consulting chef Dominque Crenn, production designer Ethan Tobman and the culinary team played just as important a role in bringing the film to life as the cast members. Director Mark Mylod, who helmed numerous “Succession” episodes,...
- 11/18/2022
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
During filming of “The Menu,” food stylist Kendall Gensler occasionally found herself on foam duty. “The foams were, of course, very difficult, because they just die so quickly,” she told IndieWire. “We would foam, they would shoot, die, and then we’d re-foam again.” Gensler would be stage left with a huge bin of sauce and an immersion blender to create new foam for the next take. Thus is the peril of recreating a fine dining experience for the camera.
“The Menu,” directed by Mark Mylod, takes place entirely over a multicourse meal at an exclusive fine dining establishment called Hawthorne, located on a sequestered island that’s ruled over by the exacting and, it turns out, unraveling Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). The dishes are exquisite. There’s “The Island,” which evokes the setting with raw diver scallop, pickled local seaweeds, and algae. “Memory” features marinated grilled chicken thigh (speared...
“The Menu,” directed by Mark Mylod, takes place entirely over a multicourse meal at an exclusive fine dining establishment called Hawthorne, located on a sequestered island that’s ruled over by the exacting and, it turns out, unraveling Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). The dishes are exquisite. There’s “The Island,” which evokes the setting with raw diver scallop, pickled local seaweeds, and algae. “Memory” features marinated grilled chicken thigh (speared...
- 11/18/2022
- by Esther Zuckerman
- Indiewire
Nicholas Hoult (The Great) did a deep dive into the world of foodies to prepare for Searchlight Pictures’ twisted horror comedy The Menu. Hoult plays one of the guests at an exclusive – and isolated – restaurant who discovers his delicious meal comes at a higher price than anticipated.
“It was very difficult because I had to eat at nice restaurants and watch lots of food shows,” said Hoult, laughing. “It was one of those amazing things that the more of Chef’s Table I watched, the more that I was in awe and amazed by these singular-minded, dedicated chefs who committed their whole lives to their craft. And then I was starstruck because Dominique Crenn, who was the food advisor on the movie and designed the menu, she was on set one day and I’d seen her episode and I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s her!’
And I was...
“It was very difficult because I had to eat at nice restaurants and watch lots of food shows,” said Hoult, laughing. “It was one of those amazing things that the more of Chef’s Table I watched, the more that I was in awe and amazed by these singular-minded, dedicated chefs who committed their whole lives to their craft. And then I was starstruck because Dominique Crenn, who was the food advisor on the movie and designed the menu, she was on set one day and I’d seen her episode and I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s her!’
And I was...
- 11/17/2022
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Because no media story of the ’90s is complete without a streaming documentary about it, a docuseries examining a court case over an infamous Pepsi commercial is heading to Netflix. Four-part docuseries “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” will touch down onto the streamer November 17.
The series, which cheekily takes its name from stoner comedy “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” revolves around John Leonard, a college student who, in 1996, went on an ambitious quest to obtain 7 million “Pepsi Points,” a loyalty program that offered merchandise for customers who bought enough Pepsi cans. In a commercial for the program, Pepsi advertised that 7 million points (equivalent to about 4.3 million in Pepsi cases) could be redeemed for an Av-8 Harrier II jet.
The Coke competitor made it even easier via some fine print in the catalog that allowed one to buy Pepsi Points for just 10 cents apiece. In this case, 15 legitimate Pepsi Points plus a...
The series, which cheekily takes its name from stoner comedy “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” revolves around John Leonard, a college student who, in 1996, went on an ambitious quest to obtain 7 million “Pepsi Points,” a loyalty program that offered merchandise for customers who bought enough Pepsi cans. In a commercial for the program, Pepsi advertised that 7 million points (equivalent to about 4.3 million in Pepsi cases) could be redeemed for an Av-8 Harrier II jet.
The Coke competitor made it even easier via some fine print in the catalog that allowed one to buy Pepsi Points for just 10 cents apiece. In this case, 15 legitimate Pepsi Points plus a...
- 10/24/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
"The Menu" is one of the best horror movies of the year. A slow-cooked, delectable full-course meal marinated with dark humor and some surprising, gory turns. It is a film set in the world of haute cuisine, where the rich go to expensive restaurants just for the sake of exclusivity, where chefs care more about providing a theme and a concept than they do about making actual good food. We're talking about the kind of place that serves a breadless bread plate and a course consisting of just leaves on a rock to represent the ocean or something. "The Menu" is hysterical, mostly thanks to a stellar turn by Ralph Fiennes, who is perfectly cast and used here. But it also has something to say about the service industry and its treatment, about creative burnout, and more.
More importantly, however, this movie just looks absolutely delicious. Because the story takes...
More importantly, however, this movie just looks absolutely delicious. Because the story takes...
- 9/25/2022
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
In his Toronto International Film Festival premiere “The Menu,” Ralph Fiennes plays Slowik, a celebrity chef who runs an exclusive restaurant that caters to the ultra-rich. And while the darkly comic horror film eventually reveals some macabre twists regarding what’s on Slowik’s menu, Fiennes says he got into the character via more mundane inspirations.
“One of the great pleasures was watching ‘Chef’s Table’ on Netflix” Fiennes said at the Variety Studio presented by King’s Hawaiian at TIFF, referring to the documentary series about international chefs. “I love that series, every single character, every single chef is so brilliantly portrayed. They’re all so different. So that was very rewarding.”
Fiennes was joined at the Variety Studio by director Mark Mylod to discuss the horror comedy. The two revealed that during production, Mylod brought on Dominique Crenn, a three star Michelin chef, for Fiennes to observe on set...
“One of the great pleasures was watching ‘Chef’s Table’ on Netflix” Fiennes said at the Variety Studio presented by King’s Hawaiian at TIFF, referring to the documentary series about international chefs. “I love that series, every single character, every single chef is so brilliantly portrayed. They’re all so different. So that was very rewarding.”
Fiennes was joined at the Variety Studio by director Mark Mylod to discuss the horror comedy. The two revealed that during production, Mylod brought on Dominique Crenn, a three star Michelin chef, for Fiennes to observe on set...
- 9/10/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
The Netflix documentary series Chef’s Table has already aired six volumes — with a seventh and eighth on the way — as well as “side dish” seasons, if you will, centered on pastry, barbecue, and French food. Now the franchise has baked up another spinoff, Chef’s Table: Pizza, which drops on Netflix on Wednesday, September 7, and will “go inside the kitchens of chefs whose creativity elevates this ordinary dish to an art form,” Netflix says. Specifically, viewers will meet Chris Bianco of Phoenix, Arizona; Gabriele Bonci of Rome, Italy; Ann Kim of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Franco Pepe of Caiazzo, Italy; Yoshihiro Imai of Kyoto, Japan; and Sarah Minnick of Portland, Oregon. Ahead of that mouth-watering installment, we’re revisiting some of the chefs and restaurants featured in Volumes 1 through 6 of the main show and seeing how much it would cost to eat at each place. Some of these eateries offer a fixed menu,...
- 9/6/2022
- TV Insider
The first trailer has been revealed for FX and Disney+ soccer documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham,” from executive producers Rob McElhenney (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and Ryan Reynolds (“Deadpool”).
The series tracks the dreams and worries of Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, U.K., as the two Hollywood stars take ownership of the town’s historic yet struggling soccer club, the third oldest professional soccer club in the world.
In 2020, McElhenney and Reynolds teamed up to purchase the fifth tier Red Dragons in the hopes of turning the club into an underdog story the whole world could root for — with the worry being they have no experience in soccer or working with each other. From Hollywood to Wales, from the pitch to the locker room, the front office to the pub, “Welcome to Wrexham” explores McElhenney and Reynolds’ crash course in soccer club ownership and the inextricably...
The series tracks the dreams and worries of Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, U.K., as the two Hollywood stars take ownership of the town’s historic yet struggling soccer club, the third oldest professional soccer club in the world.
In 2020, McElhenney and Reynolds teamed up to purchase the fifth tier Red Dragons in the hopes of turning the club into an underdog story the whole world could root for — with the worry being they have no experience in soccer or working with each other. From Hollywood to Wales, from the pitch to the locker room, the front office to the pub, “Welcome to Wrexham” explores McElhenney and Reynolds’ crash course in soccer club ownership and the inextricably...
- 7/20/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Antoni Porowski, the resident foodie on Netflix’s hit show “Queer Eye,” is taking his culinary talents to another reality series for the streamer.
In his first big swing outside of “Queer Eye,” Porowski will host and executive produce Netflix’s newest cooking competition series, “Easy-Bake Battle.” It already completed filming and will be released in the fall.
Inspired by the popular children’s toy, “Easy-Bake Battle” spotlights home chefs who go head-to-head in two rounds of savory and sweet challenges using only an Easy-Bake-style oven. Adult cooks — unlike the miniature kitchen appliance, this competition series is not suited for children — will compete for 25,000 in each battle. The winner has the chance to win up to 100,000.
Here’s the official synopsis: “Life is complicated, but cooking doesn’t have to be! Enter Easy-Bake Battle, a new culinary competition series inspired by Hasbro’s iconic Easy-Bake Oven, featuring skilled and ultra clever home cooks,...
In his first big swing outside of “Queer Eye,” Porowski will host and executive produce Netflix’s newest cooking competition series, “Easy-Bake Battle.” It already completed filming and will be released in the fall.
Inspired by the popular children’s toy, “Easy-Bake Battle” spotlights home chefs who go head-to-head in two rounds of savory and sweet challenges using only an Easy-Bake-style oven. Adult cooks — unlike the miniature kitchen appliance, this competition series is not suited for children — will compete for 25,000 in each battle. The winner has the chance to win up to 100,000.
Here’s the official synopsis: “Life is complicated, but cooking doesn’t have to be! Enter Easy-Bake Battle, a new culinary competition series inspired by Hasbro’s iconic Easy-Bake Oven, featuring skilled and ultra clever home cooks,...
- 6/1/2022
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Anyone who has ever been enchanted by a Disney animated film at a young age has also probably tried to draw their favorite character from that film, to admittedly mixed results. Disney+’s new documentary series “Sketchbook” aims to instruct viewers on how to draw those classic Disney characters, with the lesson being given by the animators themselves.
The new series, from “Chef’s Table” production company Supper Club and “Into the Unknown: The Making of Frozen 2” producer Amy Astley, in partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios, centers on various characters from a range of periods in Disney history – newer characters like Mirabel from “Encanto” and Olaf from “Frozen” and more classic characters like the Genie from “Aladdin” and Captain Hook from “Aladdin.” Plus Kuzco from “The Emperor’s New Groove” (a deliciously out-of-left field choice).
Among the animators chosen for the documentary are Disney legends like Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn,...
The new series, from “Chef’s Table” production company Supper Club and “Into the Unknown: The Making of Frozen 2” producer Amy Astley, in partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios, centers on various characters from a range of periods in Disney history – newer characters like Mirabel from “Encanto” and Olaf from “Frozen” and more classic characters like the Genie from “Aladdin” and Captain Hook from “Aladdin.” Plus Kuzco from “The Emperor’s New Groove” (a deliciously out-of-left field choice).
Among the animators chosen for the documentary are Disney legends like Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn,...
- 3/16/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Dan Levy’s production calendar just keeps exploding. The latest project for the multi-hyphenate, cooking competition series “The Big Brunch,” which also comes from Boardwalk Pictures, has been ordered at HBO Max with a 2022 targeted premiere.
Levy created and will host the series that centers around celebrating inspiring but still undiscovered culinary voices from all across the U.S — but also brunch. As the title promises, the competing chefs will have to find innovative and personal ways to redefine what it means to dine between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The series will spotlight the chefs’ stories and business dreams while also giving them a chance to compete for a “life-altering prize.” (HBO Max has yet to announced the specific details around the episodic format or prize amount.)
“Everybody has a friend, a family member, or a co-worker that is extraordinary at what they do, they just need a leg...
Levy created and will host the series that centers around celebrating inspiring but still undiscovered culinary voices from all across the U.S — but also brunch. As the title promises, the competing chefs will have to find innovative and personal ways to redefine what it means to dine between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The series will spotlight the chefs’ stories and business dreams while also giving them a chance to compete for a “life-altering prize.” (HBO Max has yet to announced the specific details around the episodic format or prize amount.)
“Everybody has a friend, a family member, or a co-worker that is extraordinary at what they do, they just need a leg...
- 11/1/2021
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
Cinema Napa Valley announced the lineup of filmmaker tributes taking place virtually at this year’s Napa Valley Film Festival from Nov. 10-14. Video tributes will play following screenings of the honorees’ work and include conversations with them.
This year, in addition to the annual Napa Valley Filmmaker Awards, the festival will debut a new series of Culinary Cinema Awards honoring achievements in storytelling devoted to food, wine, and spirits. Across both categories, the 2021 honorees include Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Harvey Keitel, Marlee Matlin, Odessa Young, David Gelb, Phil Rosenthal and Jon Taffer. Each honoree will be presented with a special bottle of wine from a festival sponsor.
“Our tributes highlight those that share an unabashed passion for cinema in many forms throughout their careers,” said Cinema Napa Valley chairman Rick Garber. “We recognize and acknowledge not only their personal accomplishments and critical thinking, but also their career achievements. We embrace their artistic vision,...
This year, in addition to the annual Napa Valley Filmmaker Awards, the festival will debut a new series of Culinary Cinema Awards honoring achievements in storytelling devoted to food, wine, and spirits. Across both categories, the 2021 honorees include Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Harvey Keitel, Marlee Matlin, Odessa Young, David Gelb, Phil Rosenthal and Jon Taffer. Each honoree will be presented with a special bottle of wine from a festival sponsor.
“Our tributes highlight those that share an unabashed passion for cinema in many forms throughout their careers,” said Cinema Napa Valley chairman Rick Garber. “We recognize and acknowledge not only their personal accomplishments and critical thinking, but also their career achievements. We embrace their artistic vision,...
- 10/28/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
12/ Dear Beloved, 2017, By Orkhan HuseynovIf you have ever received a scam email, you probably wondered about the kinds of people writing them. Before asking for money or personal data, these messages typically include an elaborate and tragic story which—while fabricated in this particular case—have likely happened to someone at some point in time. Azerbaijan-based artist Orkhan Huseynov took a closer look at this tantalizing shower-thought and turned it into a two-part short film titled Dear Beloved.Each film tells the story behind a scam email, treating the events described in that email as true. In the first, a doctor from Burkina Faso fulfills his dying patient’s wish by asking an acquaintance to donate money to an orphanage. The second focuses on a man trying to protect his own finances. In both segments, Huseynov blends techniques from drama and documentary filmmaking, blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s not.
- 9/7/2021
- MUBI
Netflix and nonprofit organization Ghetto Film School (Gfs) announced ten finalists chosen for its year-long nonfiction and directing fellowship.
The selected fellows will be placed on unscripted and documentary series in production at Netflix while participating in networking opportunities provided by the program.
The ten fellows are Ashley O’Shay, Eloise King, Eric Seals, Maya Cueva, Mohamed Siam, Neha Shastry, Omar Aldakheel, Pia Borg, Tedra Wilson and Xin Li.
Netflix’s unscripted and documentary series team, which has produced popular shows such as “Chef’s Table,” “Love Is Blind” and “High on the Hog,” created the curriculum for the fellowship. Fellows will work with showrunners and directors on both new and established Netflix series, gaining essential mentorship and practical experience. In addition, select fellows will have the chance to attend master classes and meet-and-greets with high-ranking executives throughout the industry.
“We are so grateful to have an incredible partner like Netflix,” said Sharese Bullock Bailey,...
The selected fellows will be placed on unscripted and documentary series in production at Netflix while participating in networking opportunities provided by the program.
The ten fellows are Ashley O’Shay, Eloise King, Eric Seals, Maya Cueva, Mohamed Siam, Neha Shastry, Omar Aldakheel, Pia Borg, Tedra Wilson and Xin Li.
Netflix’s unscripted and documentary series team, which has produced popular shows such as “Chef’s Table,” “Love Is Blind” and “High on the Hog,” created the curriculum for the fellowship. Fellows will work with showrunners and directors on both new and established Netflix series, gaining essential mentorship and practical experience. In addition, select fellows will have the chance to attend master classes and meet-and-greets with high-ranking executives throughout the industry.
“We are so grateful to have an incredible partner like Netflix,” said Sharese Bullock Bailey,...
- 8/11/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
On Wednesday, Disney+ announced three new film projects from Pixar Animation Studios’ SparkShorts Program, which will debut on the streamer in September.
Two of the films are shorts: Director Aphton Corbin’s Twenty Something, and director Louis Gonzales’ Nona. The third, A Spark Story, is a feature-length documentary from directors Jason Sterman and Leanne Dare.
Created using hand-drawn animation, Twenty Something examines the challenges and insecurities of ‘adulting.’ Some days you’re nailing it, while other days, you’re just a stack of kids hiding in a trench coat, hoping no one notices. The film’s protagonist is Gia, who finds herself in this exact scenario the night of her 21st birthday. Twenty Something is produced by Erik Langley and will debut on Disney+ on September 10.
Nona centers on a grandmother who plans to spend her day off by shutting out the world to watch her favorite TV show, E.
Two of the films are shorts: Director Aphton Corbin’s Twenty Something, and director Louis Gonzales’ Nona. The third, A Spark Story, is a feature-length documentary from directors Jason Sterman and Leanne Dare.
Created using hand-drawn animation, Twenty Something examines the challenges and insecurities of ‘adulting.’ Some days you’re nailing it, while other days, you’re just a stack of kids hiding in a trench coat, hoping no one notices. The film’s protagonist is Gia, who finds herself in this exact scenario the night of her 21st birthday. Twenty Something is produced by Erik Langley and will debut on Disney+ on September 10.
Nona centers on a grandmother who plans to spend her day off by shutting out the world to watch her favorite TV show, E.
- 7/21/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Everybody in Hollywood in the 1980s and ‘90s wanted to go to Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant Spago, which featured an open kitchen with a wood-burning stove made for serving up fancy pizzas. Puck rode that initial success to a sort of food empire, often at some cost to his personal life, and that makes up the narrative thread of “Wolfgang,” a documentary directed by David Gelb, who also made the very popular food-based doc “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”
The most impressive element of “Wolfgang” is the amount of ground it manages to cover in 78 minutes without ever seeming to rush over anything. Gelb takes time to linger for a few key moments over Puck looking for fresh fruits and vegetables — which was an innovation in the LA of the 1980s — and also over the concentration Puck brings to cooking itself, which seems to bring the legendary chef contentment that other...
The most impressive element of “Wolfgang” is the amount of ground it manages to cover in 78 minutes without ever seeming to rush over anything. Gelb takes time to linger for a few key moments over Puck looking for fresh fruits and vegetables — which was an innovation in the LA of the 1980s — and also over the concentration Puck brings to cooking itself, which seems to bring the legendary chef contentment that other...
- 6/24/2021
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
Most people know Wolfgang Puck as the ebullient proprietor of celebrity-saturated Spago, purveyor of frozen pizzas to the masses and ubiquitous presence on TV magazine shows. But before all he blazed the trail as one of the first true celebrity chefs, there was an uncertain boy who grew up in a poor Austrian family with a difficult stepfather, who left to work in France at just 14 years old before coming to Hollywood.
That’s the story David Gelb, director of “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” and “Chef’s Table” creator, tells in “Wolfgang,” the new documentary about the man who not only invented the smoked salmon and goat cheese pizza but mentored a generation of chefs while building a restaurant empire. “Wolfgang” premieres Saturday at the Tribeca Festival and begins streaming on Disney Plus on June 25.
Puck has been driven by his early need for his stepfather’s approval his whole life,...
That’s the story David Gelb, director of “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” and “Chef’s Table” creator, tells in “Wolfgang,” the new documentary about the man who not only invented the smoked salmon and goat cheese pizza but mentored a generation of chefs while building a restaurant empire. “Wolfgang” premieres Saturday at the Tribeca Festival and begins streaming on Disney Plus on June 25.
Puck has been driven by his early need for his stepfather’s approval his whole life,...
- 6/12/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
If there were an IMDb for chefs, Nancy Silverton’s would have many well-known credits. But until now the Los Angeles–based culinary mastermind’s work has been California-centric. That changes early this fall, when the eight-time cookbook author and guest on Netflix’s Chef’s Table premieres her first Mozza in Mexico, at the luxury resort Costa Palmas, visited by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kelly Rowland, Busy Philipps and Sara Sampaio.
“Certainly, the Sea of Cortez beckons — the bounty from it. And also I even like to say it, the Sea of Cortez. It has such an alluring sound,” says Silverton, whose ...
“Certainly, the Sea of Cortez beckons — the bounty from it. And also I even like to say it, the Sea of Cortez. It has such an alluring sound,” says Silverton, whose ...
- 6/11/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
If there were an IMDb for chefs, Nancy Silverton’s would have many well-known credits. But until now the Los Angeles–based culinary mastermind’s work has been California-centric. That changes early this fall, when the eight-time cookbook author and guest on Netflix’s Chef’s Table premieres her first Mozza in Mexico, at the luxury resort Costa Palmas, visited by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kelly Rowland, Busy Philipps and Sara Sampaio.
“Certainly, the Sea of Cortez beckons — the bounty from it. And also I even like to say it, the Sea of Cortez. It has such an alluring sound,” says Silverton, whose ...
“Certainly, the Sea of Cortez beckons — the bounty from it. And also I even like to say it, the Sea of Cortez. It has such an alluring sound,” says Silverton, whose ...
- 6/11/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Condé Nast Entertainment has appointed Marvel executive Sarah Amos as VP, Development & Production.
In the new role, part of the ongoing restructuring at Cne under President Agnes Chu, Amos will lead the company’s efforts in the unscripted space. She will report to Helen Estabrook, who was recently tapped as head of Conde Nast Entertainment’s film and television division.
“Sarah not only brings with her best-in-class development and production experience, she’s also an expert storyteller with the ability to translate compelling material across a variety of platforms,” said Estabrook. “We’re thrilled to have her on the Cne team.”
Amos joins Cne from Marvel where she was the VP of Development and Production for Marvel Entertainment’s NewMedia division, overseeing the video, live streaming and audio content slate for Marvel.com and third-party platforms, including SiriusXM and Marvel Entertainment’s non-fiction content for Disney+. Amos...
In the new role, part of the ongoing restructuring at Cne under President Agnes Chu, Amos will lead the company’s efforts in the unscripted space. She will report to Helen Estabrook, who was recently tapped as head of Conde Nast Entertainment’s film and television division.
“Sarah not only brings with her best-in-class development and production experience, she’s also an expert storyteller with the ability to translate compelling material across a variety of platforms,” said Estabrook. “We’re thrilled to have her on the Cne team.”
Amos joins Cne from Marvel where she was the VP of Development and Production for Marvel Entertainment’s NewMedia division, overseeing the video, live streaming and audio content slate for Marvel.com and third-party platforms, including SiriusXM and Marvel Entertainment’s non-fiction content for Disney+. Amos...
- 4/19/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
As all parents know, there are three tiers of children’s TV. At the bottom, there is the “Please, just please, give me 20 minutes to finish this” tier — shows you throw on in the hope they’ll anesthetize your child into silence for the amount of time it takes to just make this goddamned call to the pharmacy, please.
The middle tier is the “Huh, this is pretty cute” level — shows with a little sass and verve that you don’t regret displaying to your child’s still-developing sense of self: the “Octonauts” and the “Storybots” and “The Muppets.”
The top tier, inarguably, is “Sesame Street.” Sweet, kind, watchable even for adults, full of smarts and in-jokes and characters that make mistakes but learn from them in a way that isn’t cloying.
And now “Sesame Street” has a companion in that top tier. Netflix, Higher Ground Productions, and creators...
The middle tier is the “Huh, this is pretty cute” level — shows with a little sass and verve that you don’t regret displaying to your child’s still-developing sense of self: the “Octonauts” and the “Storybots” and “The Muppets.”
The top tier, inarguably, is “Sesame Street.” Sweet, kind, watchable even for adults, full of smarts and in-jokes and characters that make mistakes but learn from them in a way that isn’t cloying.
And now “Sesame Street” has a companion in that top tier. Netflix, Higher Ground Productions, and creators...
- 3/16/2021
- by Ann Donahue
- Indiewire
Former Netflix original series executive Cindy Holland has a new gig as a board member for a special purpose acquisition company geared towards the entertainment industry.
Led by Eldridge Industries CEO Todd Boehly, Horizon Acquisition Corp. II disclosed Holland’s role in an SEC filing on Monday, though she started on Nov. 17. Other board members include DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, and MRC Entertainment Co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk. Holland’s role is not full-time.
In October, the company raised $500 million in an IPO. “While the Company may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry, it currently intends to concentrate its search for a target business operating in the media and entertainment industries, with a focus on businesses with differentiated product and service offerings,” the company said in a press release announcing the IPO.
Cindy Holland exited Netflix after 18 years after Bela Bajaria was named global head of television.
Led by Eldridge Industries CEO Todd Boehly, Horizon Acquisition Corp. II disclosed Holland’s role in an SEC filing on Monday, though she started on Nov. 17. Other board members include DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, and MRC Entertainment Co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk. Holland’s role is not full-time.
In October, the company raised $500 million in an IPO. “While the Company may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry, it currently intends to concentrate its search for a target business operating in the media and entertainment industries, with a focus on businesses with differentiated product and service offerings,” the company said in a press release announcing the IPO.
Cindy Holland exited Netflix after 18 years after Bela Bajaria was named global head of television.
- 11/24/2020
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
I’m going to start this review with a question. Imagine is a summers evening (let’s say a Friday evening) and you fancying some food but also want to spend some social time with friends … what is the first thing that comes to your mind? I’ll tell you what, it’s a barbecue! There is nothing better than sitting outside and enjoy some burgers, sausages and chicken straight from the grill. I am honestly the biggest fan of BBQ cooking around and so a show that explores renowned chefs who are forerunners in the BBQ community is absolutely a show I would love.
Even though I am a fan of BBQ cooking, my exposure to the art has been solely based on outside grills or cheap disposable BBQ in a field but Chef’s Table: BBQ has really pushed my knowledge of the cooking technique and now I’m an even bigger fan!
Even though I am a fan of BBQ cooking, my exposure to the art has been solely based on outside grills or cheap disposable BBQ in a field but Chef’s Table: BBQ has really pushed my knowledge of the cooking technique and now I’m an even bigger fan!
- 9/16/2020
- by Rhys Payne
- Nerdly
On the surface, being a professional chef and owning an upscale restaurant sounds pretty cool. In reality though, both of those things can be very stressful. However, chef and restaurateur loves every minute of it. He has been working in the food industry for many years and he’s become well-known for his delicious dishes and creative approach to cooking. Lennox recently gained worldwide attention when his restaurant, Firedoor, was featured on an episode of Netflix’s Chef’s Table. He opened the restaurant in 2015 and has been focused on exploring the possibilities of cooking over an open flame. Keep reading for
10 Things You Didn’t Know about Lennox Hastie...
10 Things You Didn’t Know about Lennox Hastie...
- 9/13/2020
- by Camille Moore
- TVovermind.com
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