EXCLUSIVE: As it enters its second decade as a company this month, McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision is ramping up TV development this season with 5 drama sales at ABC, NBC, Fox and the CW and several comedy and reality pitches in the works. Additionally, McG plans to direct a pilot this season for the first time since Chuck in 2007. Through the years, Wonderland has become one of the most prolific pods. The company has 3 series on the air this coming season, NBC’s Chuck and the CW’s Supernatural and Nikita. Since its very first TV pitch, the drama Fastlane which was taken out on Sept. 10, 2001, Wonderland has been based at Warner Bros. TV. And six months ago, Wonderland quietly renewed its mega deal at the studio through 2013, extending its tenure at WBTV to 13 years. “Warner Bros. bet on us 10 years ago and has helped us build an amazing business,” said McG, who has been dividing his time between features and TV, most recently directing the upcoming film This Means War. But “while the big features are exciting, nothing makes me more proud than a Wonderland TV series,” he said and acknowledged his partner at the company Peter Johnson. “Peter doesn’t chase the same writers as everyone else: we look for people on the verge, … Read More
Tag Archives: Tv
Scott Foley And Rina Mimoun Team For Sibling CBS Drama, NBC Buys CIA Project
After Scott Foley co-starred in Rina Mimoun’s CBS/Warner Bros. TV drama pilot The Doctor this past development season, the actor is teaming with Mimoun for another CBS/WBTV drama project, this time serving as a writer. CBS has bought The Escape Artist, a drama script from WBTV about a brother and sister who help people disappear. It will be co-written and executive produced by Foley and Privileged creator Mimoun, marking Foley’s writing debut.
Elsewhere, NBC has bought Secret America, a drama script set at the world of CIA from writer Peter Landesman, Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV. The spy drama is set in a small town that appears to be middle America but actually harbors a large community of intelligence operatives. Landesman, Erwin Stoff, Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo are executive producing.
CW’s Head Of Business Affairs To Exit
EXCLUSIVE: CW’s head of business affairs Rich Vokulich is exiting the broadcast network after 4 years. He is expected to leave this week. It is unclear whether Vokulich will be replaced. CW’s new president Mark Pedowitz, who took over in May, has the reputation of one of the top business affairs executives in the TV industry. He started his career in business affairs, raising to head of business affairs for ABC and its sister studio before taking over ABC Studios as president. Additionally, CW’s COO John Maatta, to whom Vokulich reported, also has legal background. Before joining CW in 2007 in his current position, Vokulich served as an executive consultant for CBS TV Studios (the CBS Par Network TV) and EVP at Fox TV Studios from 1999 to 2005. This is the second CW department head to depart this year following the April decision by marketing topper Rick Haskins not to renew his contract in May. However, Haskins back then agreed to stay on until August to help with the fall launch and now has extended his stay by a couple of more months while Pedowitz is searching for his replacement.
Apple Ends Its 99-Cent TV Show Rentals
Neither the TV networks nor consumers are likely to complain after Apple today dropped the option of renting network TV show episodes for 99 cents. Apple had to fight hard to get the networks on board with the concept last year, but consumers proved cool to rentals. Apple has recently given customers the ability to watch shows they purchased via iTunes any time they want, on any Apple device, by streaming it from its ‘
New Interest in Old Kim Kardashian Sex Tape
Kim Kardashian may be a familiar face in the US due to her glamorous looks, her reality shows on TV, her appearances at high profile…
WHAT CRISIS? Defiant Sky Focuses On Ambitious Slate In Face Of News Corp Mess
Sky in late July announced its fall original TV line-up. New comedy shows include Gates, script-edited by Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous); Starlings, executive produced by Steve Coogan; and Spy, starring Brit TV mainstay Robert Lindsay about a father and son who are both secret agents. Fall dramas include the return of Strike Back, the first co-production between Sky and HBO/Cinemax, and a new version of Treasure Island, starring Elijah Wood, Eddie Izzard and Donald Sutherland. Mad Dogs, Sky’
Jonathan Demme Deals For Stephen King's JFK Book As Author Heats Up H'wood Again
It looks like Jonathan Demme is the latest big name to jump on a Stephen King project, with the director confirmed to have picked up rights to King’s yet-to-be-released novel 11/22/63, about a teacher who travels back in time in an attempt to stop John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Demme, who recently signed with WME after seven years at ICM, is expected to write, produce and direct the adaptation. King’s new book (it comes out in November) and movie deal is just the latest for the horror-thriller icon, who in the 1980s and ’90s saw pretty much everything he wrote turn into a movie. Now, he’s really back in the Hollywood spotlight: Of course there’s the author’s seminal seven-book The Dark Tower, which Universal was flirting with adapting into three features and two limited-run TV series; he studio recently nixed the deal that had Ron Howard directing and Akiva Goldsman writing, and the project remains in limbo. Also, David Yates and Steve Kloves are circling and adaptation of King’s The Stand, and Warner Bros is developing It, about a terrifying clown, which was turned into a 1990 TV movie. On the TV side, A&E just greenlighted a four-part miniseries based on Bag of Bones starring Pierce Brosnan and Kelly Rowland.
Bruckheimer TV-Produced Procedural Drama Lands At CBS With Put Pilot Commitment
Bruckheimer Television has made an early entrance into the TV marketpace, landing one of the first major commitments this year. The company is back at CBS, the network where it has had most success, with a new character-based procedural drama from writer Aron Eli Coleite (NBC’s Heroes), which has been given a put pilot commitment. The untitled drama centers on a common-sense mother who becomes a New York State Trooper. Bruckheimer TV and Warner Bros. TV are producing, with Coleite, Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman executive producing and KristieAnne Reed co-executive producing. Bruckheimer TV is looking to rebound after not scoring a pilot order for the first time in years last season. So far, the broadcast networks’ big development commitments have gone to drama project from A-list producers: Bruckheimer, Dick Wolf (the Michael Brandt/Derek Haas firefighter drama at NBC) and Greg Berlanti (Marc Guggenheim’s legal drama at Fox). Bruckheimer TV currently has 5 series on the air, the 3 CSI dramas and The Amazing Race on CBS and the summer reality series Take the Money And Run on ABC.
Brett Ratner Signs New Overall Deal With 20th TV, Taps Chris Conti As President
EXCLUSIVE: Director-producer Brett Ratner has closed a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television where he has been based for the past 7 years. He is being joined by former NBC development executive-turned-producer Chris Conti, who will serve as president of Ratner’s Rat TV. “It’s impossible not to love Brett,” 20th TV chairman Dana Walden said. “He is a great entertainer, has such love for the business and has the most commercial sense of any creative person I’ve ever worked with.” She praised Ratner for directing the pilot for the Fox drama Prison Break, which “helped reestablish what the 20th Century Fox TV brand is around the world.”
But for the past 7 years, Ratner has directed only one other 20th TV pilot that has gone to series, CBS’ short-lived CIA dramedy Chaos. He has developed and produced a total of 3 series, Prison Break, Chaos and ABC’s Women’s Murder Club. That is mainly because Ratner has been busy working on a wide range of other projects, from directing and producing features, to producing documentaries and TV specials to now producing the Academy Awards. Bringing a seasoned development executive like Conti is expected to keep development and production at Rat TV going full-speed even when Ratner is not around. “Chris is bringing a lot of formidable relationships in the community and will be … Read More
Ashton Kutcher Has the Fattest Paycheck on TV Now
According to TV Guide Magazine, Ashton Kutcher is pocketing $700,000 per episode of ‘
Kristin Cavallari Prepares For a New Guy
Football player Jay Cutler broke off his engagement with former reality TV starlet Kristin Cavallari. I personally think Jay was smart. He could do WAY better than a washed-up reality TV chick. So Kristin is hitting the gym. Instead of getting ready to squeeze her ass into a wedding dress, she has to maintain her [...]
20th TV Buys Swedish Crime Novels For Stephen Gaghan To Develop As TV Series
EXCLUSIVE: How do you say “hot property” in Swedish? After a bidding war, 20th Century Fox TV has nabbed the rights to a series of books by renowned Swedish criminologist and novelist Leif G.W. Persson for Stephen Gaghan to develop as a TV series targeted for next season. Gaghan is in the first year of a two-year overall deal at 20th TV, following his collaboration with the studio on his NBC pilot Metro this past season.
The TV project will be based on the central character in Persson’s books — Evert Backstrom. An equal-opportunity misanthrope, Backstrom is always miserable, and only a good murder case can cheer him up. The character has appeared in two novels so far, Linda and He Who Kills The Dragon, with at least one more on the way. Backstrom is very popular in 
Scandinavia, where Persson’
Red Carpet Ladies at 2011 Teen Choice Awards, Part One
Photo Credit: Wenn< L-R: Alexa Vega, AnnaSophia Robb, Ashley Benson, Ashley Greene
The 2011 Teen Choice Awards was last night and there were a ton of attendees. So rather than give a ridiculous overload, we figured to separate the ladies into two posts, alphabetical, of course, so here are ladies with first name staring from A-J. Click here for Part Two! and Francia Raisa
Photo Credit: Wenn, L-R: Avril Lavigne, Ayla Kell, Blake Lively, Cameron Diaz
Also they gave out a ton of awards. Here are few that we decided to make note of but here’s an entire list of winner in all categories:
- Choice Movie Liplock: Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.”
- Choice Movie Breakout Female: Brooklyn Decker, “Just Go With It.”
- Choice Summer Movie Star Female: Emma Watson, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”
Photo Credit: Wenn, L-R: Cassie Scerbo, Cat Deeley, Chelsea Hobbs, Demi Lovato
- Choice TV Actress Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries.”
- Choice TV Female Reality/Variety Star: The Kardashians, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
- Choice TV Actress Comedy: Selena Gomez, “Wizards of Waverly Place.”
- Choice Summer TV Star Female: Lucy Hale, “Pretty Little Liars.”
Photo Credit: Wenn, L-R: Elizabeth Banks, Fergie, Gillian Jacobs, Jojo
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TCA: Is 'Person Of Interest' J.J. Abrams' Next "Kick-Ass" TV Show?
Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage.
At today’
Audrina Patridge Bongo Fall 2011, Available at Kmart & Sears!!
Photo Credit: Bongo via Iconix Brand Group
Audrina Patridge lights it up for the Fall TV and Print campaign for Bongo. As you know, Audrina gained her fame on MTV’s The Hills and recently starred in her own VH1 show, aptly named, Audrina. This is Audrina’s first tv commercial and continues to be the face for Bongo, available exclusively at Kmart and Sears. Check out the collection at Bongo.com!!
Bongo Audrina Sizzle from Epic Media on Vimeo.
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'Friday Night Lights' Return To Big Screen?
Friday Night Lights has already had a long journey from a book to a movie to a TV series. Now, our sister site TVLine reports that Peter Berg, who directed the 2004 film starring Billy Bob Thornton, brought it to TV and executive produced the series starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton for NBC and then DirecTV, is trying to put together a second movie with the principal cast of the series, which would pick up where the show left off. Here is more on the project, which would be produced by Universal Pictures, the studio behind the first movie, and Imagine, which co-produced both the movie and the TV series. Imagine’s principal Brian Grazer, who served as a producer on that film and as an exec producer on the series, would produce.
Deadline Poll: Which Showrunner Desperate Enough To Work With Charlie Sheen?
There’s a reason that moviemaker Joe Roth doesn’t produce much TV. Because he comes up with terrible ideas like casting Charlie Sheen in a sitcom version of Anger Management. His plan is to join with Lionsgate TV for a small-tube series based on the 2003 big-screen feature that was one of the few non-stinkers from his Revolution Studios. Now this is a long way from seeing daylight. But, seriously, which showrunner would be so desperate as to work with whack job Sheen? Much less any actor who’s currently embroiled in both a lawsuit and arbitration against the producer and studio who fired him off his last sitcom? I want names…
Q&A: Brian Grazer And Ron Howard On 25 Years Together As Imagine Partners
UPDATE EXCLUSIVE: Imagine Entertainment’
Hammond: Emmy Campaign Season Gives Oscar A Run For His Money
‘Mad Men’ & ‘Modern Family’ Among Winners At First Critics’ Choice TV Awards
“Welcome to the pre-Emmy nominations campaign lunch,” one cable network exec deadpanned as I walked into the first (and organizers hope annual) Critics’ Choice Television Awards on Monday afternoon at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The event, created by the Broadcast Critics Association to complement the now 17-year-old Critics Choice Movie Awards and plant its flag officially in Emmy season, will be aired Wednesday on ReelzChannel, a rather obscure network that bills itself as “TV about Movies” but in this case will be “TV about TV.” Timed to occur during the Emmy nomination voting period (ballots aren’t due until this Friday), these awards, which drew many nominees, showrunners and execs and a big media turnout for red-carpet interviews, are another cog in the promotional wheel that has turned Emmy season into an advertising bonanza for many media outlets (yes, ads run on Deadline, too), and one that seems to be rivaling Oscar season for its pure visceral assault on potential voters. Actually, as a longtime member of the TV Academy, I would say the attention — not to mention cold hard cash — being lavished on trying to land nominations is more elaborate and intense than it has ever been. And maybe just a bit of overkill.
There are electronic billboards around L.A. soliciting votes (Steve Carell in The Office, anyone?) not to … Read More
Kendra Wilkinson Parties in Vegas
Kendra Wilkinson rang in her own personal new year (i.e., her 26th birthday) in Las Vegas. Chick may be an MILF, but she still knows how to PAR-TAY! Dancing with the Stars may be a shit reality TV show, but it got that body back. Her girls are all propped up invitingly. I can see [...]