Month: April 2022

Idris Elba will star in a new thriller series at Apple TV+ titled “Hijack.”  The streaming service said in a press release Thursday that the 49-year-old Elba will star in and executive produce the series, which is written by Lupin creator George Kay and directed by Jim Field Smith. Kay and Smith will serve as executive producers with Elba, Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta and Kris Thykier.

Hijack follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven hour flight, and authorities on the ground scramble for answers. Elba will play Sam Nelson, an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but, his high-risk strategy could be his undoing.

Hijack is the first project to emerge from Elba’s first-look deal with Apple TV+ and will consist of seven episodes.

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AMC announced Thursday it has green lit the Bob Odenkirk series ‘Straight Man,’ set to premiere in 2023.  Odenkirk has wrapped filming on Better Call Saul, which will air its season finale this summer.

Odenkirk will play William Henry Devereaux Jr., chairman of the Railton College English department in Straight Man, which AMC describes as ‘a mid-life crisis tale.’  Odenkirk compared Straight Man to Better Call Saul, sharing in a statement: “I have loved the mix of comedy and drama in ‘Better Call Saul,’ and this is another story with a unique dynamic, and the kind of closely observed character writing and exploration that AMC has become the touchstone for.”

Straight Man will consist of eight one-hour episodes, airing on AMC and streaming on AMC+.

Bob Odenkirk to Stay on AMC Post-‘Saul’ With New Series ‘Straight Man’

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The 1980s-set comedy The Goldbergs has been renewed for its 10th season on ABC. The renewal arrives a month after star and exec producer Wendi McLendon-Covey signed a new deal to return with producers Sony Pictures Television.

Before McLendon-Covey’s new deal, the future of The Goldbergs was in jeopardy, despite being the longest-running live-action comedy currently airing on broadcast TV. The show had to write in the passing of George Segal (who played the beloved Pops) in Season 9, and is currently working around the departure of star Jeff Garlin, who played patriarch Murray Goldberg. Garlin exited in December following an HR investigation that stemmed from multiple complaints over his behavior on the set of the comedy.

The Goldbergs is a semi-autobiographical comedy based on the childhood of series creator Adam F. Goldberg, who served as showrunner until season seven. Alex Barnow and Chris Bishop have helmed the series since then and exec produce alongside Doug Robinson and series star Wendi McLendon-Covey. The cast also includes Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia and Sam Lerner.

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Actor Ezra Miller, the star of the upcoming DC film ‘The Flash,’ was arrested Tuesday in Hawaii for the second time this year. The Hawaii Police Department said Miller was arrested for second-degree assault at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at a private residence in the district of Puna, near the town of Pāhoa.

Police say that Miller became angry after being asked to leave a get-together and allegedly threw a chair that struck a 26-year-old female in the head. According to a press release, “during the course of their investigation, police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut.”  The unnamed woman refused treatment for her injury, according to police. Miller has been released from jail pending further investigation.

Last month, Miller was arrested in Hilo, Hawaii and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment after an incident at a karaoke bar.

The Flash is currently slated for a summer 2023 release.

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Jason Momoa is set to star in Warner Bros. Studios’ upcoming live-action ‘Minecraft’ movie.  Momoa is in final negotiations to star in the live-action film based on the massively popular video game.

Minecraft is a first-person survival game developed and published by Sweden’s Mojang Studios. The first installment in the franchise debuted in November 2011, with the latest, ‘Minecraft Dungeons,’ being released in May 2020. Minecraft allows players to mine materials and use blocks to create structures and virtual worlds. It is the best-selling video game of all time, with more than 238 million copies sold.

Warner Bros. has been developing a project based on the video game for years, at one point, Steve Carell was expected to star in Minecraft’s movie adaptation.  Napoleon Dynamite filmmaker Jared Hess will direct the Minecraft film, from a script by Chris Bowman and Hubbell Palmer; and Jill Messick will receive a posthumous producing credit for developing the movie before her death in 2018.

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