With a mission wholly unique at the time, make money while inspiring social change through entertainment, Participant Media managed to rewrite the rules of Hollywood during its all too short 20-year run. The studio singlehandedly proved to the world that you can produce unbelievably great films that have an impact, and audiences will go see them. Most studios and filmmakers working today owe a debt of gratitude to Jeff Skoll and his team of visionaries. That’s why the announcement that the studio will be shutting its doors felt like a gut punch, especially at a time when Hollywood is feeling a bit limp and lifeless.
Amidst the backdrop of faltering democracies, news and information channels that appear polarized, a marathon pandemic, and the proliferation of streaming, entertainment media still stands king as a unifier, capable of bringing together broad swathes of audiences. So, while Participant’s award-winning documentary “He...
Amidst the backdrop of faltering democracies, news and information channels that appear polarized, a marathon pandemic, and the proliferation of streaming, entertainment media still stands king as a unifier, capable of bringing together broad swathes of audiences. So, while Participant’s award-winning documentary “He...
- 5/16/2024
- by Scott Budnick
- Indiewire
As Neil Young once sang, the now shuttered Participant is gone, but not forgotten.
Some of Tinseltown’s leading talents like Regina King, George Clooney, Ava DuVernay, Daniel Dae Kim, Martin Sheen, Regina King, Alfonso Cuaron, Matt Damon, Diego Luna and more have joined up with the National Domestic Workers Alliance to express “gratitude and pride” in the work put out by the Jeff Skoll-created shingle over the last two decades. At the same time, the A-Listers are imploring the ever increasingly conglomerated industry to keep their eyes on the social impact prize.
“As we say goodbye to Participant, we must underscore that values-based storytelling is needed now more than ever; to expand the room for debate, to open our hearts to experiences vastly different from our own, to immerse us in the beauty of humanity’s complexities,” the star-studded letter says. “And in the face of unprecedented change and uncertainty,...
Some of Tinseltown’s leading talents like Regina King, George Clooney, Ava DuVernay, Daniel Dae Kim, Martin Sheen, Regina King, Alfonso Cuaron, Matt Damon, Diego Luna and more have joined up with the National Domestic Workers Alliance to express “gratitude and pride” in the work put out by the Jeff Skoll-created shingle over the last two decades. At the same time, the A-Listers are imploring the ever increasingly conglomerated industry to keep their eyes on the social impact prize.
“As we say goodbye to Participant, we must underscore that values-based storytelling is needed now more than ever; to expand the room for debate, to open our hearts to experiences vastly different from our own, to immerse us in the beauty of humanity’s complexities,” the star-studded letter says. “And in the face of unprecedented change and uncertainty,...
- 5/7/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Dozens of top Hollywood creatives and activists have signed an open letter in response to the shuttering of production company Participant — imploring the industry to continue to effect change through film and television as the defunct company once did.
George Clooney, Aflonso Cuarón, Ava DuVernay, Jane Fonda, Regina King, Viola Davis, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, Color of Change president Rashad Robinson and more are signators, in addition to groups like GLAAD and Human Rights Watch. The letter was coordinated by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (Ndwa), which collaborated with Participant and director Cuarón on a visibility campaign for his 2018 Oscar winner “Roma.”
“As we say goodbye to Participant, we must underscore that values-based storytelling is needed now more than ever,” the letter states. “There is a whole ecosystem of people, connected by the work of the last 20 years of Participant, ready to work with you.
George Clooney, Aflonso Cuarón, Ava DuVernay, Jane Fonda, Regina King, Viola Davis, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, Color of Change president Rashad Robinson and more are signators, in addition to groups like GLAAD and Human Rights Watch. The letter was coordinated by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (Ndwa), which collaborated with Participant and director Cuarón on a visibility campaign for his 2018 Oscar winner “Roma.”
“As we say goodbye to Participant, we must underscore that values-based storytelling is needed now more than ever,” the letter states. “There is a whole ecosystem of people, connected by the work of the last 20 years of Participant, ready to work with you.
- 5/7/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Editors note: Filmmaker and producer Davis Guggenheim directed 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth featuring Al Gore. The film won the Oscar and helped put Jeff Skoll’s social-impact-driven production company then known as Participant Media on the map, and also sounded an alarm about climate change that has become more pronounced since the film was released. In addition to documentaries, Participant was also responsible for Oscar Best Picture winners Spotlight and Green Book, and Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, another timely topic. Guggenheim is a co-founder of Concordia Studio and most recently directed and produced Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which won four Emmys including for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special. He is the only person to direct and produce three distinct films ranking in the top 100 highest-grossing documentaries of all time. Here he penned a guest column for Deadline after learning Participant was shuttering.
- 4/23/2024
- by Davis Guggenheim
- Deadline Film + TV
At first, I was shocked by the news that Participant Media was dying. Such an appealing company. Smart. Mindful. Vibrant. Forward-thinking. The producer of intelligent films like Spotlight and Green Book, with a distinctly progressive message.
How could this be?
Then it finally hit me. Whatever else may have happened—announcing the shutdown, proprietor Jeff Skoll cited “revolutionary” changes in the entertainment business—Participant went under, I believe, because most of high-end Hollywood jumped into the company’s basically sound but modestly sized boat. The purpose-film niche was swamped.
It’s almost hard to remember that 20 years ago, when Participant was founded, the notion of a self-consciously message-oriented, activist film company was actually novel.
But, cinematically speaking, it was a much different world in 2004. The top movie that year was Shrek 2—not much message there. Culturally, the big story was a religious film, The Passion of the Christ. That hasn’t happened since.
How could this be?
Then it finally hit me. Whatever else may have happened—announcing the shutdown, proprietor Jeff Skoll cited “revolutionary” changes in the entertainment business—Participant went under, I believe, because most of high-end Hollywood jumped into the company’s basically sound but modestly sized boat. The purpose-film niche was swamped.
It’s almost hard to remember that 20 years ago, when Participant was founded, the notion of a self-consciously message-oriented, activist film company was actually novel.
But, cinematically speaking, it was a much different world in 2004. The top movie that year was Shrek 2—not much message there. Culturally, the big story was a religious film, The Passion of the Christ. That hasn’t happened since.
- 4/21/2024
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
At the Oscars in 2019, one production company was at the center of the year’s most talked about films and on the cusp of the industry’s sweeping trends. The man who backed it, however, wasn’t at the ceremony.
That year the films made by Participant Media collected 17 Oscar nominations, for Green Book, which eventually won best picture and went on to gross $321.8 million worldwide; Roma, which broke Netflix into the best picture race for the first time; and Rbg, the documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg that managed to become one of the highest-grossing independent films of 2018.
In an indicator of Participant and its backer, tech billionaire Jeff Skoll’s unique, dual missions, the Oscar gatherings Participant threw that year included a viewing party for the National Domestic Workers Alliance at The Jane Club, a nod to the lead character in Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, and...
That year the films made by Participant Media collected 17 Oscar nominations, for Green Book, which eventually won best picture and went on to gross $321.8 million worldwide; Roma, which broke Netflix into the best picture race for the first time; and Rbg, the documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg that managed to become one of the highest-grossing independent films of 2018.
In an indicator of Participant and its backer, tech billionaire Jeff Skoll’s unique, dual missions, the Oscar gatherings Participant threw that year included a viewing party for the National Domestic Workers Alliance at The Jane Club, a nod to the lead character in Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, and...
- 4/19/2024
- by Rebecca Keegan and Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nathan Zellner and David Zellner’s Sasquatch Sunset is stomping into circa 850 theaters this weekend after debuting in 9 with a solid opening for a film many could find weird. A tribe of Sasquatch, possibly the last of their kind, live and love in the woods of northern California, where it was shot.
“We are taking Bigfoot to America. We have high hopes that the broader market will embrace the movie,” says Kyle Davies of distributor Bleecker Street, calling it “a very different” kind of movie and “a bit of an unknown.”
“It’s a wildcard.”
Marketing was mainly through social activations. “I wouldn’t call it traditional marketing. It doesn’t really fit in that box,” Davies adds. The Sasquatch standees in theaters are fun. And Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar is displaying a baby Sasquatch sitting in a glass case with umbilical cord and placenta.
This is “a polarizing film.
“We are taking Bigfoot to America. We have high hopes that the broader market will embrace the movie,” says Kyle Davies of distributor Bleecker Street, calling it “a very different” kind of movie and “a bit of an unknown.”
“It’s a wildcard.”
Marketing was mainly through social activations. “I wouldn’t call it traditional marketing. It doesn’t really fit in that box,” Davies adds. The Sasquatch standees in theaters are fun. And Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar is displaying a baby Sasquatch sitting in a glass case with umbilical cord and placenta.
This is “a polarizing film.
- 4/19/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The sudden end of Participant Media came as a shock to many in the entertainment industry, but it hit documentary filmmakers particularly hard, with some concerned that backers for serious-minded, issue-driven projects are becoming ever more scarce.
Since its founding in 2004, the company — which sought to bring stories that could spark change to a wide audience — has been a staunch supporter of documentaries focused on social and justice issues, funded by the largesse of a billionaire, ex-eBay president Jeff Skoll.
None of its other nonfiction titles quite achieved the heights of 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth, released just two years after the company was formed: The Davis Guggenheim-directed film about Al Gore’s climate change slideshow rocketed to become the third-highest-grossing doc ever at the time and focused mainstream attention on climate change, inspiring studies about its impact. “That’s why we exist,” Skoll told The Hollywood Reporter in 2006, as Truth became a sensation.
Since its founding in 2004, the company — which sought to bring stories that could spark change to a wide audience — has been a staunch supporter of documentaries focused on social and justice issues, funded by the largesse of a billionaire, ex-eBay president Jeff Skoll.
None of its other nonfiction titles quite achieved the heights of 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth, released just two years after the company was formed: The Davis Guggenheim-directed film about Al Gore’s climate change slideshow rocketed to become the third-highest-grossing doc ever at the time and focused mainstream attention on climate change, inspiring studies about its impact. “That’s why we exist,” Skoll told The Hollywood Reporter in 2006, as Truth became a sensation.
- 4/19/2024
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
End of an era, end of a business model, end of a gravy train, end of the world. There were plenty of mixed emotions this week in response to the closure of Oscar-winning production company Participant, and at the very least the industry has agreed something has come to an end.
When Variety broke the news Tuesday that billionaire Jeff Skoll’s 20-year-old company will shut down — after fetching 21 Oscars and introducing a business model that prioritized social impact a bit more than profits – many in the industry were rattled. Not just that mid-level, standalone financier and producer had left the market, but what that means for the viability of movies and TV shows that ask vital questions about justice and the humanity’s future.
“The end of Participant Media is devastating news to anyone who cares about documentaries,” director Julie Cohen wrote bluntly on X. She’s the co-director...
When Variety broke the news Tuesday that billionaire Jeff Skoll’s 20-year-old company will shut down — after fetching 21 Oscars and introducing a business model that prioritized social impact a bit more than profits – many in the industry were rattled. Not just that mid-level, standalone financier and producer had left the market, but what that means for the viability of movies and TV shows that ask vital questions about justice and the humanity’s future.
“The end of Participant Media is devastating news to anyone who cares about documentaries,” director Julie Cohen wrote bluntly on X. She’s the co-director...
- 4/19/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The shocking news that Participant, a leading producer of specialized/independent features with a socially relevant interest as well many top documentaries, is shutting down immediately hit the industry hard Tuesday. With a profile of co-produced films over the last 20 years that rivals any other company’s slate, this was devastating news.
Founder and owner Jeff Skoll’s decision to shut down his company will impact the production of a certain kind of specialized film, particularly in the documentary field. Never a distributor, and most often collaborating with other production companies, Participant was still a significant force for most of its two decades.
But what’s the real impact of this move? Jonathan Dana, a veteran distribution executive and producer, commented, “It didn’t fail. It just ran its course.” That typifies much of the insider reaction, which relates to the specific purpose and goals of the company.
‘Spotlight’ © Open...
Founder and owner Jeff Skoll’s decision to shut down his company will impact the production of a certain kind of specialized film, particularly in the documentary field. Never a distributor, and most often collaborating with other production companies, Participant was still a significant force for most of its two decades.
But what’s the real impact of this move? Jonathan Dana, a veteran distribution executive and producer, commented, “It didn’t fail. It just ran its course.” That typifies much of the insider reaction, which relates to the specific purpose and goals of the company.
‘Spotlight’ © Open...
- 4/18/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Flanders Audiovisual Fund (Vaf) has appointed Jasper Nijsmans as head of its promotion department Flanders Image, responsible for promoting Flemish talent and content abroad.
Nijsmans joined the international promotion department at Vaf in 2017 as communications and press officer for Flanders Image.
More recently, he has been a project manager, responsible for the international promotion of documentaries, short films and immersive productions. He was also involved in the organisation of Connext, the annual film and series showcase event.
Vaf received 26 applications for the head of promotion vacancy, which was opened in January. It followed the departure of Christian de Schutter, former managing director of Flanders Image,...
Nijsmans joined the international promotion department at Vaf in 2017 as communications and press officer for Flanders Image.
More recently, he has been a project manager, responsible for the international promotion of documentaries, short films and immersive productions. He was also involved in the organisation of Connext, the annual film and series showcase event.
Vaf received 26 applications for the head of promotion vacancy, which was opened in January. It followed the departure of Christian de Schutter, former managing director of Flanders Image,...
- 4/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
After two decades, Participant Media (which has won 21 Oscars) has been forced to shutter as the ongoing turbulence in the film industry continues.
After 20 years in the business, 21 Oscars and 135 films, Participant Media is closing down. The production company behind Oscar-winning films such as Spotlight and Green Book (both of which it co-produced) has been forced to shutter, with the continually-shifting landscape of film production proving to be too uncertain for the studio.
Company founder Jeff Skoll revealed the news yesterday. Around 100 staff will lose their jobs. As well as the films mentioned above, Participant’s mission statement tp produce films with a ‘social conscience’ has seen it involved in the release of some terrific films over the last two decades, including Syriana, Judas And The Black Messiah, Dark Waters, A Most Violent Year, Lincoln, The Post and Contagion, to name just a handful.
The company’s commitment to grown-up...
After 20 years in the business, 21 Oscars and 135 films, Participant Media is closing down. The production company behind Oscar-winning films such as Spotlight and Green Book (both of which it co-produced) has been forced to shutter, with the continually-shifting landscape of film production proving to be too uncertain for the studio.
Company founder Jeff Skoll revealed the news yesterday. Around 100 staff will lose their jobs. As well as the films mentioned above, Participant’s mission statement tp produce films with a ‘social conscience’ has seen it involved in the release of some terrific films over the last two decades, including Syriana, Judas And The Black Messiah, Dark Waters, A Most Violent Year, Lincoln, The Post and Contagion, to name just a handful.
The company’s commitment to grown-up...
- 4/17/2024
- by Dan Cooper
- Film Stories
Jeff Skoll, the billionaire philanthropist who launched Participant 20 years ago to champion socially conscious films, is closing down the impact producer-financier behind Spotlight, Roma, and Green Book.
In a memo to staff on Tuesday morning eBay co-founder Skoll said, ”I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
The statement hinted at what may have driven the Canadian’s “very difficult decision”. Studios and streamers are scrutinising their spend more than ever,...
In a memo to staff on Tuesday morning eBay co-founder Skoll said, ”I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
The statement hinted at what may have driven the Canadian’s “very difficult decision”. Studios and streamers are scrutinising their spend more than ever,...
- 4/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
After 20 years, Participant is shutting down.
Founder Jeff Skoll announced the news in a note to staff Tuesday, writing, “after much reflection, I have made the very difficult decision to wind down company operations.” During its run, the company was behind best picture winners Green Book and Moonlight, and docs such as An Inconvenient Truth and Rbg.
EBay co-founder Skoll founded the company in 2004 with a dual mission of making money and inspiring social change through entertainment (the company later moved into television and other ventures). It has helped produce and finance a slew of high-profile awards contenders. Its films won 21 Oscars and its series won 18 Emmys. It earned more than $3.3 billion at the box office. Veteran studio executive David Linde has been running Participant since 2016; previous execs involved in Participant include Ricky Strauss.
It was heavily involved in the nonfiction space, with its shuttering sure to send ripples through that community.
Founder Jeff Skoll announced the news in a note to staff Tuesday, writing, “after much reflection, I have made the very difficult decision to wind down company operations.” During its run, the company was behind best picture winners Green Book and Moonlight, and docs such as An Inconvenient Truth and Rbg.
EBay co-founder Skoll founded the company in 2004 with a dual mission of making money and inspiring social change through entertainment (the company later moved into television and other ventures). It has helped produce and finance a slew of high-profile awards contenders. Its films won 21 Oscars and its series won 18 Emmys. It earned more than $3.3 billion at the box office. Veteran studio executive David Linde has been running Participant since 2016; previous execs involved in Participant include Ricky Strauss.
It was heavily involved in the nonfiction space, with its shuttering sure to send ripples through that community.
- 4/16/2024
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Participant, the media company behind films like “Spotlight,” “Green Book,” “Roma,” and many more, is shutting its doors after 20 years in operation.
Jeff Skoll, who founded the company in 2004, informed the staff in a memo (obtained by IndieWire) that Participant would “wind down company operations.”
Nearly all of Participant’s roughly 100 staffers are being let go with no new content or production in the works. Only Participant’s library of 135 films remaining.
“I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability,” Skoll wrote. “Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
Participant’s 135 titles, half of them documentaries and also including five series, have earned $3.3 billion at the global box office. Participant has produced two Best Picture winners and earned 21 Oscars total from 86 nominations, as well as 18 Emmys on 62 nominations.
Jeff Skoll, who founded the company in 2004, informed the staff in a memo (obtained by IndieWire) that Participant would “wind down company operations.”
Nearly all of Participant’s roughly 100 staffers are being let go with no new content or production in the works. Only Participant’s library of 135 films remaining.
“I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability,” Skoll wrote. “Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
Participant’s 135 titles, half of them documentaries and also including five series, have earned $3.3 billion at the global box office. Participant has produced two Best Picture winners and earned 21 Oscars total from 86 nominations, as well as 18 Emmys on 62 nominations.
- 4/16/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Financier and producer Participant is shuttering after 20 years. Founder Jeff Skoll alerted staff at 10:30Am, Deadline has confirmed.
The production’s m.o. was to bring content to the world that was socially conscious, read their Oscar Best Picture winners Spotlight and Universal’s Green Book, as well as DreamWorks’ Oscar winner Lincoln. All in Participant counts 135 films, five series, 21 Oscars including two Best Pictures, four Best Documentaries and two Best International Features, 18 Primetime Emmys and north of $3.3 billion in global box office.
Skoll told staffers, as you can read below, that it was a “very difficult decision” and stems from it being “the right time for me to evaluate my next chapter and approach to tackling the pressing issues of our time.” He also mentioned that he hasn’t been involved in the day-to-day management of the studio.
Skoll is a Canadian engineer, billionaire who was the first president of eBay.
The production’s m.o. was to bring content to the world that was socially conscious, read their Oscar Best Picture winners Spotlight and Universal’s Green Book, as well as DreamWorks’ Oscar winner Lincoln. All in Participant counts 135 films, five series, 21 Oscars including two Best Pictures, four Best Documentaries and two Best International Features, 18 Primetime Emmys and north of $3.3 billion in global box office.
Skoll told staffers, as you can read below, that it was a “very difficult decision” and stems from it being “the right time for me to evaluate my next chapter and approach to tackling the pressing issues of our time.” He also mentioned that he hasn’t been involved in the day-to-day management of the studio.
Skoll is a Canadian engineer, billionaire who was the first president of eBay.
- 4/16/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Participant, the 20-year-old film and television production company whose mission was to inspire social justice and humanitarian action, is shutting down.
Founder Jeff Skoll broke the news to a staff of roughly 100 on Tuesday. Established in 2004, Participant co-produced or co-financed a number of notable movies including best picture Oscar winners “Spotlight” and “Green Book,” as well as Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” and the breakthrough documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Almost all of Participant’s employees will be dismissed, multiple sources familiar with its plans said, and no new content development or production will be pursued. What’s left will be a skeletal holding company overseeing the Participant library, which represents interests in the 135 films it has made.
“I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created,...
Founder Jeff Skoll broke the news to a staff of roughly 100 on Tuesday. Established in 2004, Participant co-produced or co-financed a number of notable movies including best picture Oscar winners “Spotlight” and “Green Book,” as well as Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” and the breakthrough documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Almost all of Participant’s employees will be dismissed, multiple sources familiar with its plans said, and no new content development or production will be pursued. What’s left will be a skeletal holding company overseeing the Participant library, which represents interests in the 135 films it has made.
“I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created,...
- 4/16/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Editor’s note: Running until the final general election results come in, the Deadline ElectionLine podcast spotlights the 2024 campaign and the blurred lines between politics and entertainment in modern America. Hosted by Deadline’s political editor Ted Johnson and executive editor Dominic Patten, the podcast features commentary and interviews with top lawmakers and entertainment figures. At the same time, you can follow all the news in Biden & Trump rematch and more on the ElectionLine hub on Deadline.
“She’s one of those politicians that actually gave a damn about the people, her constituents and the people of the country that she is a citizen of,” Regina King says of former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm on today’s Deadline ElectionLine podcast – as you can hear above.
Perfectly timed for the 2024 election and the pivotal juncture America finds itself at, the King starring, and John Ridley directed Shirley launches today on Netflix.
“This is a legendary person,...
“She’s one of those politicians that actually gave a damn about the people, her constituents and the people of the country that she is a citizen of,” Regina King says of former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm on today’s Deadline ElectionLine podcast – as you can hear above.
Perfectly timed for the 2024 election and the pivotal juncture America finds itself at, the King starring, and John Ridley directed Shirley launches today on Netflix.
“This is a legendary person,...
- 3/22/2024
- by Dominic Patten and Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Participant is bringing The Forgotten Revolutionary, based on journalist Adolfo Guzman-Lopez’s LAist Studios podcast Imperfect Paradise: The Forgotten Revolutionary, to the small screen. The company is simultaneously developing both a scripted and documentary limited series based on the podcast with producer Juan Devis. Rodney Lucas will direct the unscripted series, and Devis’ Ninetythree Media will produce.
The podcast follows host and reporter Guzman-Lopez as he investigates the death of college student and radio host Oscar Gomez. One of California’s Chicano student rights movement’s most prominent voices, Gomez was mysteriously found dead on the Santa Barbara shore in 1994. As Guzman-Lopez looks further into what happened, he revisits his own past and ties to the Chicano movement.
“We are looking forward to partnering with Participant on the production and development of both series, based on Adolfo Guzman-Lopez’s incredible true-crime investigative podcast from LAist,” said Devis. “Cross fading times and eras,...
The podcast follows host and reporter Guzman-Lopez as he investigates the death of college student and radio host Oscar Gomez. One of California’s Chicano student rights movement’s most prominent voices, Gomez was mysteriously found dead on the Santa Barbara shore in 1994. As Guzman-Lopez looks further into what happened, he revisits his own past and ties to the Chicano movement.
“We are looking forward to partnering with Participant on the production and development of both series, based on Adolfo Guzman-Lopez’s incredible true-crime investigative podcast from LAist,” said Devis. “Cross fading times and eras,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) stars as Shirley Chisholm, the United States’ first Black congresswoman who dedicated her life to breaking down barriers and paved the way for generations to follow, in Shirley. The official trailer just dropped, showing King as Chisholm announcing her groundbreaking run for president in 1972.
Netflix also released a new poster for the biopic which is set to premiere on March 22, 2024.
Oscar winner John Ridley wrote and directed the biopic, with Jeff Skoll and Ted Gidlow executive producing. King, Ridley, Reina King, Anikah McLaren, and Elizabeth Haggard served as producers.
In addition to King, the cast of the 2024 release includes Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Christina Jackson, and Michael Cherrie. Dorian Crossmond Missick, Amirah Vann, W. Earl Brown, Brad James, Reina King, André Holland, and Terrence Howard also star.
Regina King’s recent credits include Seven Seconds, Watchmen (the series), Flag Day,...
Netflix also released a new poster for the biopic which is set to premiere on March 22, 2024.
Oscar winner John Ridley wrote and directed the biopic, with Jeff Skoll and Ted Gidlow executive producing. King, Ridley, Reina King, Anikah McLaren, and Elizabeth Haggard served as producers.
In addition to King, the cast of the 2024 release includes Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Christina Jackson, and Michael Cherrie. Dorian Crossmond Missick, Amirah Vann, W. Earl Brown, Brad James, Reina King, André Holland, and Terrence Howard also star.
Regina King’s recent credits include Seven Seconds, Watchmen (the series), Flag Day,...
- 2/19/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Oscar winner Regina King transforms into the “unbought and unbossed” politician Shirley Chisholm in Netflix’s Shirley trailer, released Monday.
The trailer follows Chisholm along her 1972 presidential campaign, marking the first Black candidate to seek a major party’s nomination for president, and the overt discrimination she faced along her campaign trail. John Ridley, who took home an Oscar for his 12 Years a Slave screenplay, pens and directs the film with a cast including the likes of Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, André Holland, and Terrence Howard. In the trailer,...
The trailer follows Chisholm along her 1972 presidential campaign, marking the first Black candidate to seek a major party’s nomination for president, and the overt discrimination she faced along her campaign trail. John Ridley, who took home an Oscar for his 12 Years a Slave screenplay, pens and directs the film with a cast including the likes of Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, André Holland, and Terrence Howard. In the trailer,...
- 2/19/2024
- by Kalia Richardson
- Rollingstone.com
Sony Pictures Classics and Stage 6 Films have unveiled the release date and trailer for We Grown Now, a coming-of-age drama from writer-director Minhal Baig (Hala) that’s currently up for three three Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.
Also previously landing the Toronto Film Festival’s Changemaker Award, the film is set to open in theaters in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago on April 19 before expanding nationwide on May 10.
Pic takes place in 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion, watching as a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends, Malik (Blake Cameron James) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez) traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing. Their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.
Also previously landing the Toronto Film Festival’s Changemaker Award, the film is set to open in theaters in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago on April 19 before expanding nationwide on May 10.
Pic takes place in 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion, watching as a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends, Malik (Blake Cameron James) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez) traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing. Their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.
- 1/31/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Writer-director Minhal Baig shares coming-of-age stories from all walks of life, and this time, she’s returning home to Chicago.
Baig’s third feature, “We Grown Now,” centers on the housing project Cabrini-Green Homes in Chicagoin 1992. “We Grown Now” follows two young boys who are best friends and neighbors, with first-time actors Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez playing respective characters Malik and Eric. Jurnee Smollett and Lil Rel Howery also star.
The official synopsis reads: “In 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing, their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.”
“We Grown Now” is Baig’s...
Baig’s third feature, “We Grown Now,” centers on the housing project Cabrini-Green Homes in Chicagoin 1992. “We Grown Now” follows two young boys who are best friends and neighbors, with first-time actors Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez playing respective characters Malik and Eric. Jurnee Smollett and Lil Rel Howery also star.
The official synopsis reads: “In 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing, their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.”
“We Grown Now” is Baig’s...
- 1/31/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: With Anyone But You having just crossed $100M at the global box office and Top Gun 3 chatter lighting up the internet, Hollywood man of the moment Glen Powell has found his next project in the shape of thriller Huntington from Emily The Criminal writer-director John Patton Ford.
As we revealed last year, Euro studio Studiocanal and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri producer Blueprint are behind the project, which has now attracted Green Book and Spotlight outfit Participant as co-financier with Studiocanal.
We understand A24 is close to finalizing a domestic deal, though none of the parties could confirm at time of going to press.
The partners are aiming for an early summer shoot on the movie, which is described to us as “raucous revenge thriller” about Becket Redfellow (Powell), the heir to a multi-billion-dollar fortune who will stop at nothing to get what he deserves…Or what he thinks he deserves.
As we revealed last year, Euro studio Studiocanal and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri producer Blueprint are behind the project, which has now attracted Green Book and Spotlight outfit Participant as co-financier with Studiocanal.
We understand A24 is close to finalizing a domestic deal, though none of the parties could confirm at time of going to press.
The partners are aiming for an early summer shoot on the movie, which is described to us as “raucous revenge thriller” about Becket Redfellow (Powell), the heir to a multi-billion-dollar fortune who will stop at nothing to get what he deserves…Or what he thinks he deserves.
- 1/22/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Amber Sealey’s Out of My Mind had a Sundance Film Festival audience feeling all the feels Friday as the Disney+ title had its world premiere at the Library Center Theatre.
The film casts first-time performer Phoebe-Ray Taylor as Melody Brooks, a sixth grader navigating school as a nonverbal wheelchair user with cerebral palsy. With the help of assistive technology and her devoted allies, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it in a fight to be put in a mainstream classroom.
Taylor stars alongside Luke Kirby, Rosemarie DeWitt, Judith Light, Michael Chernus, Courtney Taylor and others. Jennifer Aniston, who offers her voiceover talents through narration, took to Instagram Stories to praise the film on the occasion of its world premiere. (Aniston was not present in Park City but her history with Sundance dates back to The Good Girl and Friends with Money.
The film casts first-time performer Phoebe-Ray Taylor as Melody Brooks, a sixth grader navigating school as a nonverbal wheelchair user with cerebral palsy. With the help of assistive technology and her devoted allies, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it in a fight to be put in a mainstream classroom.
Taylor stars alongside Luke Kirby, Rosemarie DeWitt, Judith Light, Michael Chernus, Courtney Taylor and others. Jennifer Aniston, who offers her voiceover talents through narration, took to Instagram Stories to praise the film on the occasion of its world premiere. (Aniston was not present in Park City but her history with Sundance dates back to The Good Girl and Friends with Money.
- 1/19/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In one of the biggest co-production deals unveiled at Content London, Mediawan’s label Atlantique Productions has joined forces with Participant to make an ambitious limited espionage thriller series based on the Pegasus spyware scandal.
Amit Cohen and Ron Leshem are on board as creators and showrunners for the mini-series which will adapted from the bestseller “Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy.” The book charts the sprawling international investigation conducted in 2020 and 2021 which revealed how governments used Pegasus spyware technology to spy on politicians, activists and business executives.
Executive producers on the highly anticipated “Pegasus” show are Nathalie Perus for Atlantique Productions, Thomas Anargyros for Mediawan Studio France, Jeff Skoll and Miura Kite for Participant. Maria Feldman and Claire Rudnick Polstein are also attached as executive producers. The project is being presented today (Tuesday) at Content London.
“Pegasus: How a Spy...
Amit Cohen and Ron Leshem are on board as creators and showrunners for the mini-series which will adapted from the bestseller “Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy.” The book charts the sprawling international investigation conducted in 2020 and 2021 which revealed how governments used Pegasus spyware technology to spy on politicians, activists and business executives.
Executive producers on the highly anticipated “Pegasus” show are Nathalie Perus for Atlantique Productions, Thomas Anargyros for Mediawan Studio France, Jeff Skoll and Miura Kite for Participant. Maria Feldman and Claire Rudnick Polstein are also attached as executive producers. The project is being presented today (Tuesday) at Content London.
“Pegasus: How a Spy...
- 11/28/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Dogwoof boards international sales.
Magnolia Pictures has picked up US rights to Participant and River Road’s Food, Inc. 2, the follow-up to Robert Kenner’s Oscar-nominated documentary.
Kenner co-directed with Melissa Robledo on the Telluride world premiere in which investigative authors Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) take a fresh look at the nation’s food system.
Magnolia Pictures will release the film in the spring in the US. while Dogwoof has come on board to represent international sales.
While Food, Inc. fuelled a cultural conversation about the multinational corporations that control the food...
Magnolia Pictures has picked up US rights to Participant and River Road’s Food, Inc. 2, the follow-up to Robert Kenner’s Oscar-nominated documentary.
Kenner co-directed with Melissa Robledo on the Telluride world premiere in which investigative authors Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) take a fresh look at the nation’s food system.
Magnolia Pictures will release the film in the spring in the US. while Dogwoof has come on board to represent international sales.
While Food, Inc. fuelled a cultural conversation about the multinational corporations that control the food...
- 11/9/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: After serving as the distributor for Participant and River Road’s Academy Award-nominated 2008 documentary Food, Inc., Magnolia Pictures has taken U.S. rights to the sequel, with Dogwoof coming aboard to rep international sales. An urgent continuation of the original film’s story, the doc is slated to premiere in the spring.
In the sequel, which world premiered at Telluride, directors Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo reunite with investigative authors Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) to take a fresh look at food in the U.S. The film reveals how corporate consolidation has gone unchecked by our government, leaving us with a highly efficient yet shockingly vulnerable food system dedicated only towards increasing profits. Seeking solutions, it introduces innovative farmers, food producers, workers’ rights activists, and prominent legislators such as U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Jon Tester, who are facing these...
In the sequel, which world premiered at Telluride, directors Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo reunite with investigative authors Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) to take a fresh look at food in the U.S. The film reveals how corporate consolidation has gone unchecked by our government, leaving us with a highly efficient yet shockingly vulnerable food system dedicated only towards increasing profits. Seeking solutions, it introduces innovative farmers, food producers, workers’ rights activists, and prominent legislators such as U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Jon Tester, who are facing these...
- 11/9/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Award-winning feature documentary “Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory” has inked a deal with Sonder Entertainment for a national theatrical tour beginning in October to coincide with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory,” a Jubilee Production, will screen in theaters nationwide and into next year ahead of its digital release in February.
Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Justin Johnson, the feature documentary tells the story of Johnson’s parents’ resilience in the face of a breast cancer diagnosis and unilateral mastectomy — which unexpectedly leads them to launch a novel homespun prosthetic nipple business. They hide this endeavor from their five children, church and small community.
“Mom and Dad’s journey, filled with love, humor, and ingenuity amidst adversity, has blossomed into a project that has already touched thousands of hearts in our festival run. I’m excited to partner with Sonder Entertainment to share this poignant yet humorous film with audiences nationwide,...
Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Justin Johnson, the feature documentary tells the story of Johnson’s parents’ resilience in the face of a breast cancer diagnosis and unilateral mastectomy — which unexpectedly leads them to launch a novel homespun prosthetic nipple business. They hide this endeavor from their five children, church and small community.
“Mom and Dad’s journey, filled with love, humor, and ingenuity amidst adversity, has blossomed into a project that has already touched thousands of hearts in our festival run. I’m excited to partner with Sonder Entertainment to share this poignant yet humorous film with audiences nationwide,...
- 10/5/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay, Jaden Thompson and Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American rights to Stage 6 Films, Participant and Symbolic Exchange’s We Grown Now, which had its world premiere in the Centerpiece and Next Wave Selects section at this year’s TIFF. The movie’s writer, director, producer Minhal Baig received TIFF’s Changemaker Award which explores issues relevant to young people and is focused on themes of social change and youth empowerment.
In 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing, their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.
The film stars Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday and Ora Jones,...
In 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing, their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.
The film stars Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday and Ora Jones,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Releasing International will release film internationally.
Sony Pictures Classics will release Minhal Baig’s TIFF premiere We Grown Now from Stage 6 Films, Participant, and Symbolic Exchange in North America.
‘We Grown Now’: Toronto Review
Baig received TIFF’s Changemaker Award for the coming of age drama, which stars Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday and Ora Jones, with Lil Rel Howery and Jurnee Smollett.
We Grown Now marks the filmmaker’s follow-up to her 2019 debut Hala and screened in TIFF Centrepiece and Next Wave Selects.
Set in 1992 Chicago as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion,...
Sony Pictures Classics will release Minhal Baig’s TIFF premiere We Grown Now from Stage 6 Films, Participant, and Symbolic Exchange in North America.
‘We Grown Now’: Toronto Review
Baig received TIFF’s Changemaker Award for the coming of age drama, which stars Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday and Ora Jones, with Lil Rel Howery and Jurnee Smollett.
We Grown Now marks the filmmaker’s follow-up to her 2019 debut Hala and screened in TIFF Centrepiece and Next Wave Selects.
Set in 1992 Chicago as Michael Jordan solidifies himself as a champion,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Sony Pictures Releasing International will release film internationally.
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American rights to Stage 6 Films, Participant, and Symbolic Exchange’s TIFF premiere We Grown Now directed by Minhal Baig.
‘We Grown Now’: Toronto Review
Baig received TIFF’s Changemaker Award for the coming of age drama, which stars Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday and Ora Jones, with Lil Rel Howery and Jurnee Smollett.
We Grown Now marks the filmmaker’s follow-up to her 2019 debut Hala and screened in TIFF Centrepiece and Next Wave Selects.
Set in 1992 Chicago as Michael Jordan...
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American rights to Stage 6 Films, Participant, and Symbolic Exchange’s TIFF premiere We Grown Now directed by Minhal Baig.
‘We Grown Now’: Toronto Review
Baig received TIFF’s Changemaker Award for the coming of age drama, which stars Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday and Ora Jones, with Lil Rel Howery and Jurnee Smollett.
We Grown Now marks the filmmaker’s follow-up to her 2019 debut Hala and screened in TIFF Centrepiece and Next Wave Selects.
Set in 1992 Chicago as Michael Jordan...
- 10/4/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed the North American rights to Minhal Baig’s We Grown Now, which stars and is executive produced by Jurnee Smollett.
Baig, whose debut film Hala premiered at Sundance in 2019, brought We Grown Now to Toronto for a world debut. Domestically, Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in partnership with Stage 6 Films, while Sony Pictures Releasing International will handle the international rollout.
“I could not be more delighted to have found a home for We Grown Now with Sony Pictures Classics. We Grown Now is a film that captures the tender moments of childhood resilience and the power of human connection in the face of adversity,” said Baig in a statement.
The coming-of-age story follows Malik and Eric, best friends played by newcomers Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez, as they face changes to their community in Chicago’s misunderstood Cabrini-Green housing complex. S. Epatha Merkerson,...
Baig, whose debut film Hala premiered at Sundance in 2019, brought We Grown Now to Toronto for a world debut. Domestically, Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in partnership with Stage 6 Films, while Sony Pictures Releasing International will handle the international rollout.
“I could not be more delighted to have found a home for We Grown Now with Sony Pictures Classics. We Grown Now is a film that captures the tender moments of childhood resilience and the power of human connection in the face of adversity,” said Baig in a statement.
The coming-of-age story follows Malik and Eric, best friends played by newcomers Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez, as they face changes to their community in Chicago’s misunderstood Cabrini-Green housing complex. S. Epatha Merkerson,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Minhal Baig’s “We Grown Now,” which bowed Sept. 8 at TIFF, follows Malik (Blake Cameron James) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez), two 10-year-old boys living in Chicago’s Cabrini Green housing project. It’s 1992 and the boys have loving homes overzealous and racist police, crime and an unthinkable tragedy burst through their childhood bubble. Malik’s hard-working mother (Jurnee Smollett) and grandmother (S. Epatha Merkerson) can’t protect Malik from the rest of the world. Baig captures the kids’ innocence, exuberance, curiosity and confusion as events unfold through their eyes and threaten to tear apart the only home they’ve known. Cabrini Green was demolished in 2011. Despite that, Baig was able to interview many people who lived in the community, and their stories fed into her film.
Chicago-based Baig talked to Variety about the film, whose executive producers are Jeff Skoll, Anikah McLaren, James Schamus, Carrie Holt de Lama and Smollett.
Chicago-based Baig talked to Variety about the film, whose executive producers are Jeff Skoll, Anikah McLaren, James Schamus, Carrie Holt de Lama and Smollett.
- 9/8/2023
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
Is there such thing as a sympathetic cause for treason?
Magnolia Pictures documentary “A Compassionate Spy,” directed by two-time Oscar nominee Steve James, captures the controversial true story of Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall. Part of the team behind J. Robert Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb, Hall shared nuclear secrets with the Soviet Union. The documentary is told through the perspective of Ted’s wife Joan Hall, who protected his secret across their 50-year marriage.
The official “Compassionate Spy” synopsis reads: Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team create a bomb, Ted Hall was the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project, and didn’t share his colleagues’ elation after the successful detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb. Concerned that a U.S. post-war monopoly on such a powerful weapon could lead to nuclear catastrophe, Hall began passing key information about the...
Magnolia Pictures documentary “A Compassionate Spy,” directed by two-time Oscar nominee Steve James, captures the controversial true story of Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall. Part of the team behind J. Robert Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb, Hall shared nuclear secrets with the Soviet Union. The documentary is told through the perspective of Ted’s wife Joan Hall, who protected his secret across their 50-year marriage.
The official “Compassionate Spy” synopsis reads: Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team create a bomb, Ted Hall was the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project, and didn’t share his colleagues’ elation after the successful detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb. Concerned that a U.S. post-war monopoly on such a powerful weapon could lead to nuclear catastrophe, Hall began passing key information about the...
- 6/27/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo will topline a film adaptation of the hit play “Prima Facie,” which she will also executive produce.
Participant and Bunya Productions are producing the film, in association with Erivo’s Edith’s Daughter. The film will be directed by BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker Susanna White. Acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller, who wrote the award-winning stage play, adapted the screenplay. Bunya’s Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey and Jenny Cooney will produce the feature alongside Participant; Miller, Erivo, Solome Williams and Participant’s Jeff Skoll will executive produce.
Jodie Comer is currently starring in the Broadway production of “Prima Facie,” which follows Tessa, an ambitious and confident defense attorney from working class roots. A rising star in the high-powered London legal system, Tessa skillfully defends her clients, including those accused of sexual assault. But after she is raped by a colleague, she discovers that the law does not deliver...
Participant and Bunya Productions are producing the film, in association with Erivo’s Edith’s Daughter. The film will be directed by BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker Susanna White. Acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller, who wrote the award-winning stage play, adapted the screenplay. Bunya’s Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey and Jenny Cooney will produce the feature alongside Participant; Miller, Erivo, Solome Williams and Participant’s Jeff Skoll will executive produce.
Jodie Comer is currently starring in the Broadway production of “Prima Facie,” which follows Tessa, an ambitious and confident defense attorney from working class roots. A rising star in the high-powered London legal system, Tessa skillfully defends her clients, including those accused of sexual assault. But after she is raped by a colleague, she discovers that the law does not deliver...
- 5/15/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Cynthia Erivo will star in a film adaptation of the theater sensation “Prime Facie,” Variety can report exclusively.
Participant and Bunya Productions announced Monday that Oscar nominee Erivo will take on the role originated on the West End by actor Jodie Comer. Erivo will also executive produce the project through her banner Edith’s Daughter.
BAFTA winner and Emmy nominee Susanna White will direct. Suzie Miller has adapted her own critically-acclaimed stage play for the screen.
“Prima Facie,” which translates to “at first sight,” tells the propulsive story of ambitious and confident defense attorney Tessa. From working class roots, the rising star in the high-powered London legal system skillfully defends her clients — including those accused of sexual assault. But after she is raped by a colleague, she discovers that the law does not deliver justice along the boundaries of consent.
“I am thrilled to be joining Suzie, Susanna, Participant, Bunya...
Participant and Bunya Productions announced Monday that Oscar nominee Erivo will take on the role originated on the West End by actor Jodie Comer. Erivo will also executive produce the project through her banner Edith’s Daughter.
BAFTA winner and Emmy nominee Susanna White will direct. Suzie Miller has adapted her own critically-acclaimed stage play for the screen.
“Prima Facie,” which translates to “at first sight,” tells the propulsive story of ambitious and confident defense attorney Tessa. From working class roots, the rising star in the high-powered London legal system skillfully defends her clients — including those accused of sexual assault. But after she is raped by a colleague, she discovers that the law does not deliver justice along the boundaries of consent.
“I am thrilled to be joining Suzie, Susanna, Participant, Bunya...
- 5/15/2023
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Chris Pang has joined Hulu’s Interior Chinatown in a pivotal recurring role.
The casting marks a reunion with Interior Chinatown lead Jimmy O. Yang. The two were in Crazy Rich Asians together, where Yang’s Bernard threw Pang’s Colin a bachelor bacchanal aboard a cargo ship in international waters. This time around, Pang plays Older Brother, the charming and talented beloved sibling of protagonist Willis Wu (Yang) whose mysterious disappearance years ago tore the family apart. Now, Willis has an opportunity to investigate his brother’s case when Det. Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet) arrives in the neighborhood with new information.
Interior Chinatown is based on the National Book Award-winning novel of the same name from Charles Yu, who serves as showrunner and is an executive producer on the project alongside Rideback’s Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore and Elsie Choi, Participant’s Jeff Skoll, Miura Kite and Dive’s...
The casting marks a reunion with Interior Chinatown lead Jimmy O. Yang. The two were in Crazy Rich Asians together, where Yang’s Bernard threw Pang’s Colin a bachelor bacchanal aboard a cargo ship in international waters. This time around, Pang plays Older Brother, the charming and talented beloved sibling of protagonist Willis Wu (Yang) whose mysterious disappearance years ago tore the family apart. Now, Willis has an opportunity to investigate his brother’s case when Det. Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet) arrives in the neighborhood with new information.
Interior Chinatown is based on the National Book Award-winning novel of the same name from Charles Yu, who serves as showrunner and is an executive producer on the project alongside Rideback’s Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore and Elsie Choi, Participant’s Jeff Skoll, Miura Kite and Dive’s...
- 4/11/2023
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Documentary specialist Autlook Filmsales closed a raft of sales at a vibrant market during the Copenhagen documentary festival Cph:dox.
“Subject,” directed by Camilla Hall and Jennifer Tiexiera, got picked up by Sweden’s Svt, Denmark’s Dr, Norway’s Nrk, Norway’s Vgtv, The Netherlands’ Vpro, Israel’s Yes Doc, and Madman for Australia and New Zealand. Dogwoof released the film early this month in the U.K.
“Subject” is an examination of the relationship between nonfiction filmmakers and their subjects. It raises important ethical questions during a golden of age for documentaries, when docs are screened by millions of viewers. The film re-visits protagonists of some of the most viewed documentaries of today – “The Staircase,” “The Square,” “Hoop Dreams,” “The Wolfpack” and “Capturing the Friedmans.”
Australia and New Zealand distribution powerhouse Madman Entertainment and Spanish broadcaster Movistar have acquired “The Corridors of Power,” a documentary and upcoming eight-part series.
“Subject,” directed by Camilla Hall and Jennifer Tiexiera, got picked up by Sweden’s Svt, Denmark’s Dr, Norway’s Nrk, Norway’s Vgtv, The Netherlands’ Vpro, Israel’s Yes Doc, and Madman for Australia and New Zealand. Dogwoof released the film early this month in the U.K.
“Subject” is an examination of the relationship between nonfiction filmmakers and their subjects. It raises important ethical questions during a golden of age for documentaries, when docs are screened by millions of viewers. The film re-visits protagonists of some of the most viewed documentaries of today – “The Staircase,” “The Square,” “Hoop Dreams,” “The Wolfpack” and “Capturing the Friedmans.”
Australia and New Zealand distribution powerhouse Madman Entertainment and Spanish broadcaster Movistar have acquired “The Corridors of Power,” a documentary and upcoming eight-part series.
- 3/24/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Updating previous exclusive with trailer: Watch the first trailer Nuclear Now, the pro-nuclear energy documentary from three-time Academy Award winner Oliver Stone. Abramorama and Giant Pictures on March 3 acquired North American rights to the pic, which premiered (as Nuclear) at last year’s Venice Film Festival.
Abramorama will open the film theatrically in New York, Los Angeles, and select markets beginning April 28, bringing it to theaters across the U.S. and Canada on its “Nuclear Now Day” of May 1st, with Giant Pictures then bringing it to digital and streaming platforms.
Related Story ‘Ernest & Celestine: A Trip To Gibberitia’ Acquired By Gkids Related Story Oscar-Nominated Director Simon Lereng Wilmont On Working With Ukrainian Kids In 'A House Made Of Splinters': It's All About Understanding "Their Hopes, Dreams, Fears" Related Story Giant Pictures Takes U.S. Theatrical, VOD Rights To Oscar-Nominated Documentary 'A House Made Of Splinters'
The film that Stone wrote with professor & Ph.
Abramorama will open the film theatrically in New York, Los Angeles, and select markets beginning April 28, bringing it to theaters across the U.S. and Canada on its “Nuclear Now Day” of May 1st, with Giant Pictures then bringing it to digital and streaming platforms.
Related Story ‘Ernest & Celestine: A Trip To Gibberitia’ Acquired By Gkids Related Story Oscar-Nominated Director Simon Lereng Wilmont On Working With Ukrainian Kids In 'A House Made Of Splinters': It's All About Understanding "Their Hopes, Dreams, Fears" Related Story Giant Pictures Takes U.S. Theatrical, VOD Rights To Oscar-Nominated Documentary 'A House Made Of Splinters'
The film that Stone wrote with professor & Ph.
- 3/21/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon has landed the North American rights to Orwell, the Raoul Peck- directed doc about the 1984 author.
The doc, which has the cooperation of the Orwell Estate and is currently in production, will tell the story of the English novelist who is known for his satirical and outright critiques of authoritarianism as seen in his two most famous works: Animal Farm and 1984.
Peck earned acclaim for his feature documentary that centered on the works of another author, James Baldwin, with 2016’s I Am Not Your Negro, which earned an Oscar nomination.
Alex Gibney produced the doc via his Jigsaw Productions, along with Peck for Velvet Films and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content. Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Zhang Xin, Joey Marra, William Horberg, Jessica Grimshaw, Dawn Olmstead and David Levine, along with Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Courtney Sexton and Universal’s Johnny Fewings will executive produce.
“’Who controls the...
The doc, which has the cooperation of the Orwell Estate and is currently in production, will tell the story of the English novelist who is known for his satirical and outright critiques of authoritarianism as seen in his two most famous works: Animal Farm and 1984.
Peck earned acclaim for his feature documentary that centered on the works of another author, James Baldwin, with 2016’s I Am Not Your Negro, which earned an Oscar nomination.
Alex Gibney produced the doc via his Jigsaw Productions, along with Peck for Velvet Films and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content. Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Zhang Xin, Joey Marra, William Horberg, Jessica Grimshaw, Dawn Olmstead and David Levine, along with Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Courtney Sexton and Universal’s Johnny Fewings will executive produce.
“’Who controls the...
- 3/9/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Documentary will examine the British writer’s life, work and legacy.
Neon has acquired North American rights to Orwell, director Raoul Peck’s documentary, currently in production, about author George Orwell.
Examining the British writer’s life, work and legacy and being made with the exclusive cooperation of the Orwell estate, the film is being produced by Alex Gibney for Jigsaw Productions, Peck for Velvet Films and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content. Stacey Offman and Richard Perello will executive produce for Jigsaw.
Zhang Xin, Joey Marra and William Horberg of Closer Media will serve as executive producers alongside Jessica Grimshaw,...
Neon has acquired North American rights to Orwell, director Raoul Peck’s documentary, currently in production, about author George Orwell.
Examining the British writer’s life, work and legacy and being made with the exclusive cooperation of the Orwell estate, the film is being produced by Alex Gibney for Jigsaw Productions, Peck for Velvet Films and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content. Stacey Offman and Richard Perello will executive produce for Jigsaw.
Zhang Xin, Joey Marra and William Horberg of Closer Media will serve as executive producers alongside Jessica Grimshaw,...
- 3/8/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Neon has acquired the North American rights to Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning director, Raoul Peck’s (I Am Not Your Negro) documentary Orwell, the definitive feature-length documentary on visionary author George Orwell, with the exclusive cooperation of the Orwell Estate.
Producers include Alex Gibney for Jigsaw Productions, Raoul Peck for Velvet Films, and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content. Stacey Offman and Richard Perello will executive produce for Jigsaw. Zhang Xin, Joey Marra, and William Horberg will executive produce for Closer Media, alongside Jessica Grimshaw, Dawn Olmstead, and David Levine of Anonymous, and Jeff Skoll and Courtney Sexton of Participant. Johnny Fewings of Universal Pictures Content Group will serve as executive producer on the film, which is currently in production.
“’Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past…,’ wrote Orwell in his novel, 1984. Today, the “newspeak” of authoritarian rule is alive and well and in unexpected places,...
Producers include Alex Gibney for Jigsaw Productions, Raoul Peck for Velvet Films, and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content. Stacey Offman and Richard Perello will executive produce for Jigsaw. Zhang Xin, Joey Marra, and William Horberg will executive produce for Closer Media, alongside Jessica Grimshaw, Dawn Olmstead, and David Levine of Anonymous, and Jeff Skoll and Courtney Sexton of Participant. Johnny Fewings of Universal Pictures Content Group will serve as executive producer on the film, which is currently in production.
“’Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past…,’ wrote Orwell in his novel, 1984. Today, the “newspeak” of authoritarian rule is alive and well and in unexpected places,...
- 3/8/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Lauren Tom (The Joy Luck Club) has joined the cast of Hulu’s Interior Chinatown from 20th Television and creator/executive producer Charles Yu, who wrote the 2020 bestseller of the same name.
Tom will recur as Betty, a successful real estate agent with a sharp suit and sharper tongue. When her assistant drags her out to look at an abandoned laundromat in Chinatown, Betty is clearly irritated, but her attitude changes when she sees her old friend (and new rival), Lily Wu.
Based on the National Book Award-winning book of the same name, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang), a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story–and along the way discovers secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history.
Tom’s credits include Andi Mack, Trollhunters and Goliath. She...
Tom will recur as Betty, a successful real estate agent with a sharp suit and sharper tongue. When her assistant drags her out to look at an abandoned laundromat in Chinatown, Betty is clearly irritated, but her attitude changes when she sees her old friend (and new rival), Lily Wu.
Based on the National Book Award-winning book of the same name, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang), a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story–and along the way discovers secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history.
Tom’s credits include Andi Mack, Trollhunters and Goliath. She...
- 2/28/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
The Oscar® nominated HBO Documentary Film All The Beauty And The Bloodshed, from Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (HBO and Participant’s “Citizenfour”), debuts Sunday, March 19 (9:00-11:00 p.m. Et/Pt) on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
From Participant, All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is an epic, emotional, and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, groundbreaking photography, archival family snapshots and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the opioid overdose crisis.
The critically acclaimed film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in the main competition, where it became the second documentary ever to win the Golden Lion for best film. It was the only film to play at Venice, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and New York Film Festival in 2022. The...
From Participant, All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is an epic, emotional, and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, groundbreaking photography, archival family snapshots and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the opioid overdose crisis.
The critically acclaimed film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in the main competition, where it became the second documentary ever to win the Golden Lion for best film. It was the only film to play at Venice, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and New York Film Festival in 2022. The...
- 2/27/2023
- by Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Exclusive: Camila Cabello has found her next major acting gig on the heels of Prime Video’s Cinderella. The Cuban-born pop star has closed a deal to join Jay Will, Mary J. Blige and Chiwetel Ejiofor in Rob Peace — the drama Ejiofor is directing from his own script, as his sophomore feature effort.
The film, currently in production, is based on Jeff Hobbs’ bestselling biography The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League. It follows Robert Peace (Will), a young man who grew up in a crime-ridden section of Newark, NJ and later graduated from Yale with degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry earned on scholarship. Peace led a dual life living in the insular world of academia and as a lab researcher of cancer and infectious diseases, while at the same time making six figures from the sale of marijuana.
The film, currently in production, is based on Jeff Hobbs’ bestselling biography The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League. It follows Robert Peace (Will), a young man who grew up in a crime-ridden section of Newark, NJ and later graduated from Yale with degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry earned on scholarship. Peace led a dual life living in the insular world of academia and as a lab researcher of cancer and infectious diseases, while at the same time making six figures from the sale of marijuana.
- 2/22/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Magnolia Pictures announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the North American distribution rights to Participant’s documentary “A Compassionate Spy” and will release it later this year.
Directed by two-time Oscar nominee Steve James (“Hoop Dreams”), “A Compassionate Spy” tells the story of Ted Hall, who at the age of 18 was the youngest physicist to work on the Manhattan Project with Robert Oppenheimer. Fearful that an American monopoly on something as devastating as a nuclear bomb could lead to catastrophe, Hall shared key secrets on the bomb’s development to Soviet spies, significantly shaping the course of the Cold War in the decades to come.
“A Compassionate Spy” is also a love story, retelling Hall’s lifelong relationship with his wife Joan, with whom he raised a family while under the shadow of FBI surveillance. The documentary tells Hall’s story through Joan’s perspective, as she kept many...
Directed by two-time Oscar nominee Steve James (“Hoop Dreams”), “A Compassionate Spy” tells the story of Ted Hall, who at the age of 18 was the youngest physicist to work on the Manhattan Project with Robert Oppenheimer. Fearful that an American monopoly on something as devastating as a nuclear bomb could lead to catastrophe, Hall shared key secrets on the bomb’s development to Soviet spies, significantly shaping the course of the Cold War in the decades to come.
“A Compassionate Spy” is also a love story, retelling Hall’s lifelong relationship with his wife Joan, with whom he raised a family while under the shadow of FBI surveillance. The documentary tells Hall’s story through Joan’s perspective, as she kept many...
- 2/16/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Acquisition
Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights from Participant to “A Compassionate Spy,” the new documentary from Steve James. The film, which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival ahead of its North American launch at Telluride, is a real-life spy story about Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Magnolia will release the film in theaters later this year.
“A Compassionate Spy” is presented by Participant and is a Mitten Media and Kartemquin Films production produced by Mark Mitten p.g.a., Dave Lindorff, and Steve James. Executive producers are Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Tim Horsburgh and Gordon Quinn.
The deal was negotiated by Magnolia executive VP Dori Begley and senior VP of acquisitions John Von Thaden; Participant’s Liesl Copland, executive VP content strategy and sales, Adam Macy,...
Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights from Participant to “A Compassionate Spy,” the new documentary from Steve James. The film, which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival ahead of its North American launch at Telluride, is a real-life spy story about Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Magnolia will release the film in theaters later this year.
“A Compassionate Spy” is presented by Participant and is a Mitten Media and Kartemquin Films production produced by Mark Mitten p.g.a., Dave Lindorff, and Steve James. Executive producers are Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Tim Horsburgh and Gordon Quinn.
The deal was negotiated by Magnolia executive VP Dori Begley and senior VP of acquisitions John Von Thaden; Participant’s Liesl Copland, executive VP content strategy and sales, Adam Macy,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran and Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Magnolia Pictures has picked up North American rights to A Compassionate Spy, the new documentary from Oscar-nominated director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Life Itself) from Participant.
The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year, follows the real-life spy story of Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. The story is told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades.
Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help Robert Oppenheimer and his team create a bomb, Hall was the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project, but didn’t share his colleagues’ excitement after the successful detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb. Concerned that the new weapon would give the U.S. a post-war monopoly on global power and could lead to nuclear catastrophe, Hall began passing key information about the bomb’s construction to the Soviet Union,...
The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year, follows the real-life spy story of Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. The story is told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades.
Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help Robert Oppenheimer and his team create a bomb, Hall was the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project, but didn’t share his colleagues’ excitement after the successful detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb. Concerned that the new weapon would give the U.S. a post-war monopoly on global power and could lead to nuclear catastrophe, Hall began passing key information about the bomb’s construction to the Soviet Union,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Autlook Filmsales handles international sales at EFM on story of nuclear physicist Ted Hall.
Magnolia Pictures has picked up North American rights from Participant to A Compassionate Spy, Steve James’s documentary about the controversial American nuclear physicist Ted Hall who passed secrets to the Soviet Union.
At age 18 Harvard graduate Hall became the youngest recruit to the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s. After the United States detonated its first nuclear bomb he became concerned his country had a potentially catastrophic monopoly on the technology and provided confidential information to the Soviets.
The film is told from the perspective of Joan,...
Magnolia Pictures has picked up North American rights from Participant to A Compassionate Spy, Steve James’s documentary about the controversial American nuclear physicist Ted Hall who passed secrets to the Soviet Union.
At age 18 Harvard graduate Hall became the youngest recruit to the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s. After the United States detonated its first nuclear bomb he became concerned his country had a potentially catastrophic monopoly on the technology and provided confidential information to the Soviets.
The film is told from the perspective of Joan,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
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