You are viewing the archive: “James Gandolfini”

‘Criminal Justice’ Starring James Gandolfini Greenlighted At HBO As Limited Series

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 1:30pm PDTTags: Criminal Justice, HBO, James Gandolfini
Nellie Andreeva

Drama Criminal Justice, written by Richard Price directed by Oscar winner Steven Zaillian, and starring James Gandolfini, has been ordered by HBO as a seven-part limited series. The project, originally developed and piloted as a drama series, will now be retooled. The news comes three months after HBO passed on the pilot, which I hear has been garnering interest from other nets. Additionally, Gandolfini and Zaillian, after initially opting for an open-ended series, decided that a limited series would better serve the narrative.

Criminal Justice is a New York-set crime drama loosely inspired by the acclaimed 2008 BBC series of the same name created by Peter Moffat. Price is expected to write all episodes of the project, produced by HBO and BBC Worldwide Prods. I hear it stars Gandolfini as an ambulance-chasing New York City attorney who gets in over-his-head when he takes on the case of a Pakistani (Riz Ahmed) accused of murdering a girl on the Upper West Side. The series co-stars Bill Camp (Lincoln), Payman Maadi (A Separation), and Poorna Jagannathan. BBC Worldwide’s Jane Tranter is executive producing along with Zaillian, Price, Moffat, and Attaboy’s Gandolfini, Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders.  Film Rites’ Garrett Basch is producing. Additionally, Attaboy, which has an overall deal at HBO, has Big Dead Place in development at the network and recently set up movie Bone Wars starring Gandolfini Steve Carell at HBO Films.

Criminal Justice‘s pickup extends the big momentum limited series have enjoyed over the past few months. Today alone, Fox greenlighted two, 24: Live Another Day starring Kiefer Sutherland and M. Night Shyamalan’s Wayward Pines starring Matt Dillon.
Comments (4)

Steve Carell & James Gandolfini To Star In HBO Movie About Feuding Paleontologists

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday April 5, 2013 @ 8:47am PDTTags: Bone Wars, HBO Films, James Gandolfini, Steve Carell
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: After recently co-starring together in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Steve Carell and James Gandolfini are reuniting for another comedic movie, this time on … Read More »

Comments 23

James Gandolfini’s Pilot ‘Criminal Justice’ Not Going Forward At HBO

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday February 19, 2013 @ 5:00pm PSTTags: Criminal Justice, James Gandolfini
Nellie Andreeva

James Gandolfini‘s return to HBO‘s primetime lineup has been put on hold, at least for now. The pay cable network has passed on drama pilot Criminal Justice, which starred The Sopranos alum. Written by Oscar … Read More »

Comments 25

HBO Orders ‘Criminal Justice’ Drama Pilot Starring James Gandolfini, From Steven Zaillian & Richard Price

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday September 19, 2012 @ 9:00am PDTTags: Big Deals TV, HBO, James Gandolfini
Nellie Andreeva

The Sopranos star James Gandolfini is a step closer to returning to HBO‘s drama lineup with a starring role in the network’s Criminal Justice. HBO has given a pilot order to the drama project, written by Oscar nominee Richard Price (The Color Of Money) and to be directed by Oscar-wining writer Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List). Criminal Justice is a New York-set crime drama loosely based on the acclaimed 2008 BBC series of the same name created by Peter Moffat. Joining the ensemble cast led by Gandolfini are Rizwan Ahmed, Bill Camp, Peyman Moadi and Poorna Jagannathan.

The original series consisted of two five-episode seasons, each chronicling the journey of a person charged with murder through the justice system, and each featuring new characters and cast. HBO’s version follows the plot of the first season of the British series, which starred Ben Whishaw as Ben Coulter, a man who takes his father’s cab for a drive and picks up a party girl who takes him to her apartment for a drunken and drug-filled night out. When he wakes up in the morning, Ben finds the girl stabbed to death and, though he can’t remember committing the crime, he is soon charged with it. (Watch a trailer below) The season earned Criminal Justice BAFTA Awards for best drama and best writer, three Royal Television Society Awards and an International Emmy.

I’ve learned that in the U.S. version, the young man is an American-born Pakistani named Naz (Ahmed). Gandolfini plays Jack Stone, a disheveled jailhouse lawyer wearing cheap suits and sandals, who trolls for clients at police precincts. That’s where he sees Naz in a holding cell and appoints himself his attorney. (The character is expected to continue if the series is renewed for additional seasons.) Camp plays the lead detective on the case; Jagannathan — repped by Hartig Hilepo and Smith Talent Group — and Moadi play Naz’s parents. Read More »

Comments 20

James Gandolfini Joins ‘Sopranos’ Co-Stars In Nickelodeon Movie ‘Nicky Deuce’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday September 4, 2012 @ 9:43am PDTTags: Big Deals TV, James Gandolfini, Nickelodeon
Nellie Andreeva

James Gandolfini Nicky DeuceEXCLUSIVE: The Sopranos gang is officially back together! James Gandolfini, the Emmy-winning star of the HBO drama, is doing a cameo in Nicky Deuce, the Nickelodeon TV movie based on the children’s book … Read More »

Comments (7)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus & James Gandolfini Eye New Nicole Holofcener Film

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday May 2, 2012 @ 2:37pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Fox Searchlight, HBO, James Gandolfini, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Nicole HolofcenerEXCLUSIVE: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini are in negotiations to star in a new Nicole Holofcener film from Fox Searchlight. The project is … Read More »

Comments (9)

Brett Leonard To Write Comedy Project ‘Taxi-22′ For HBO And James Gandolfini

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday November 22, 2011 @ 3:21pm PSTTags: HBO, James Gandolfini
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Hung writer-producer Brett C. Leonard has been tapped to write a new script for Taxi-22, HBO’s adaptation of the hit French Canadian series, which is being produced by James … Read More »

Comments (12)

AFM: Wild Bunch Acquires Overseas On Toronto Title ‘Violet & Daisy’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday November 2, 2011 @ 9:49am PDTTags: Alexis Bledel, Geoffrey Fletcher, James Gandolfini, Saoirse Ronan, Wild Bunch
Mike Fleming

Wild Bunch acquired overseas rights to Violet & Daisy, the directorial debut of Precious scribe Geoffrey Fletcher that was screened as a work in progress at Toronto. Wild Bunch will sell at AFM while CAA handles domestic rights. Fletcher wrote … Read More »

Comments (1)

Toronto: Paramount Sets October 2012 Awards-Season Debut For ‘Sopranos’ Creator David Chase’s First Movie

By PETE HAMMOND | Sunday September 11, 2011 @ 8:46am PDTTags: 2011 Toronto Film Festival, David Chase, James Gandolfini, Paramount, Paramount Vantage, Twylight Zones
Pete Hammond

EXCLUSIVE: Although Paramount is represented in Toronto this year by its Sundance pickup and awards hopeful Like Crazy (10/28), which will have its premiere here Tuesday night, and also by Steven Spielberg’s motion capture animated film The Adventures of TinTin (12/23), for … Read More »

Comments (2)

2011 Toronto: ‘Shame’ Will Start Dealmaking Flurry, But Buyers Wait To Be Blown Away

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday September 7, 2011 @ 5:03pm PDTTags: 2011 Toronto Film Festival, Adam Scott, Alexis Bledel, Allen Hughes, Allison Janney, Anthony Hopkins, Anthony Mackie, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ben Foster, Bruce Beresford, Bruce Willis, Carey Mulligan, Catherine Keener, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Christian Bale, Danny Trejo, Eduardo Sanchez, Elizabeth Olsen, Ewan McGregor, Geoffrey Fletcher, Harvey Weinstein, Hugh Laurie, Ice Cube, James Gandolfini, Jamie Linden, Jane Fonda, Jon Hamm, Jonathan Teplitzky, Jude Law, Justin Long, Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lasse Hallström, Luc Besson, Mark Wahlberg, Matthew Goode, Maya Rudolph, Megan Fox, Mia Farrow, Michael Fassbender, Michelle Williams, Michelle Yeoh, Mickey Rourke, Oliver Platt, Peter Morgan, Peter Schlessel, Rachel Weisz, Rebecca Hall, Robert Redford, Robin Wright, Rosario Dawson, Russell Crowe, Saoirse Ronan, Sarah Polley, Sarah Silverman, Selma Blair, Seth Rogen, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Frears, Steve McQueen, Terence Davies, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Zhang Yimou
Mike Fleming

Last year’s Toronto Film Festival started slow for acquisitions, but finished with a flurry of modest distribution deals that served notice the specialty film business had finally pulled out of its nosedive. This year’s festival hasn’t started and … Read More »

Comments (7)

James Gandolfini To Produce & Possibly Star In HBO Antarctica Comedic Drama

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday September 1, 2011 @ 6:34pm PDTTags: HBO, James Gandolfini, Peter Gould
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: HBO has teamed with James Gandolfini for Big Dead Place, a drama based on Nicholas Johnson’s memoir about his stint working for the U.S. Antarctic Program. Gandolfini is executive producing the project, which is being developed as … Read More »

Comments 20

Toronto Taps David Hare’s ‘Page Eight’ As Closer, Bulks Up Slate With Gala Starpower

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday August 16, 2011 @ 7:46am PDTTags: 2011 Toronto Film Festival, Clive Owen, Gerard Butler, Gus Van Sant, James Franco, James Gandolfini, Jason Statham, Nicole Kidman, Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes, Robert De Niro
Mike Fleming

The 2011 Toronto Film Festival has selected David Hare’s spy drama Page Eight, starring Bill Nighy, Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, as its closing-night film and added a slew of Gala premieres and Special Presentations that boost the star wattage with the likes of Robert De Niro, Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Nicole Kidman, James Gandolfini and Gerard Butler. The additions to the previously announced film slate includes a Future Projects lineup that features James Franco and Gus Van Sant reminiscing about My Own Private Idaho, a documentary about Exit through the Gift Shop‘s Mr. Brainwash (Thierry Guetta), and Peter Lynch’s Buffalo Days; and a Wavelengths program of international experimental films. Here is the release about the additional Galas and Special Presentations:

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® announces the addition of 8 Galas and 17 Special Presentations to the high-calibre selection of crowd-pleasers premiering in September. Today’s announcement includes 14 World Premieres and reveals that Festival-goers will be treated to a programming lineup featuring world premieres from directors including Nick Murphy, Gary McKendry, Joel Schumacher, Gianni Amelio, Agnieszka Holland, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Pankaj Kapur, Anne Fontaine, Mathieu Kassovitz and Geoffrey Fletcher. The films unveiled today feature onscreen appearances by Jason Statham, Robert De Niro, Clive Owen, Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes, Imelda Staunton, Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Shahid Kapur, Isabelle Huppert, Saoirse Ronan, Alexis Bledel and James Gandolfini, among others.

This announcement brings the final number of Galas to 20, and the final number of Special Presentations to 67.

GALAS
Closing Night Film
Page Eight
David Hare, United Kingdom International Premiere
Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) is a long-serving M15 officer. His boss and best friend Benedict Baron (Michael Gambon) dies suddenly, leaving behind him an inexplicable file, threatening the stability of the organization. Meanwhile, a seemingly chance encounter with Johnny’s striking next-door neighbour and political activist Nancy Pierpan (Rachel Weisz) seems too good to be true. Set in London and Cambridge, Page Eight is a contemporary spy film which addresses intelligence issues and moral dilemmas peculiar to the new century. Also stars Ralph Fiennes and Judy Davis.

Read More »

Comments (2)

Animated Film ‘Escape From Planet Earth’ Gets Voice Cast

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday August 2, 2011 @ 8:35am PDTTags: Brendan Fraser, Craig Robinson, Escape From Planet Earth, Film Castings, James Gandolfini, Jessica Alba, Rob Corddry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Weinstein Co.
Mike Fleming

NEW YORK, NY August 2, 2011 – The Weinstein Company (TWC) and Rainmaker Entertainment announced today the all-star voice cast for ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH which includes Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba, Rob Corddry, James Gandolfini and Craig Robinson. The 3D animated family comedy is currently in full production.

The announcement was made today by Donna Gigliotti, TWC’s President of Production, and Catherine Winder, President and Executive Producer, Rainmaker Entertainment. Both Gigliotti and Winder serve as producers on the animated feature film.

ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH is directed by Cal Brunker, best known for his work on the animated feature films DESPICABLE ME, 9 and HORTON HEARS A WHO! Producers Gigliotti and Winder are joined by Rainmaker’s Luke Carroll as a producer on the film. TWC Co-Chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein are executive producers. The film was written by Cal Brunker and Bob Barlen based on an original screenplay by Tony Leech and Cory Edwards.

Read More »

Comments (5)

Sony Classics Nears ‘God Of Carnage’ Deal

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday April 7, 2011 @ 12:49pm PDTTags: Christoph Waltz, God of Carnage, Hope Davis, ICM, James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Marcia Gay Harden, Michael Barker, Sony Pictures Classics, Tom Bernard, Yasmina Reza
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: I’m told that Sony Pictures Classics partners Michael Barker and Tom Bernard are tying up a deal to acquire US rights to God Of Carnage, the  Roman Polanski-directed feature adaptation of Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning play. Polanski shot the film … Read More »

Comments (17)

HBO Builds Cast For ‘Hemingway & Gellhorn’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday March 10, 2011 @ 12:53pm PSTTags: Clive Owen, David Strathairn, HBO, James Gandolfini, Molly Parker, Nicole Kidman
Nellie Andreeva

A slew of actors have joined Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman in the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn. The biopic, exec produced by James Gandolfini and directed by Phil Kaufman, recounts the tumultuous romance and subsequent marriage of literary master … Read More »

Comments (16)

David Chase Adds Brad Garrett To Movie Cast

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday February 3, 2011 @ 11:44am PSTTags: Brad Garrett, David Chase, James Gandolfini, Lisa Lampanelli, Movie Deals, Movies
Mike Fleming

HOLLYWOOD, CA (February 3, 2011) – David Chase rounds out the cast for his upcoming film debut for Paramount Pictures. The creator and producer of the multiple Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning critically acclaimed series The Sopranos, announced today that Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett will be featured in

… Read More »

Comments (1)

‘Sopranos’ Big-Screen Reunion: James Gandolfini Joins David Chase’s New Movie

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday January 24, 2011 @ 12:08pm PSTTags: Brad Garrett, David Chase, James Gandolfini, Movie Deals, Movies, TV, Twylight Zones, Twylight Zones Casting
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Well, it is not a Sopranos movie but probably the next best thing for fans of the  HBO mob drama. Former  Sopranos leading man James Gandolfini is set to co-star in Sopranos creator David Chase’s next project,  movie Twylight Zones, which, like the seminal HBO series, is set in New Jersey. It is one of three features Gandlofini will be juggling in the next few months. He is also in final negotiations to join Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock and and Cogan’s Trade toplined by Brad Pitt.

The Paramount-produced Twylight Zones is described as a drama about a New Jersey Rock’n'Roll band and the musical renaissance of the 1960s. It centers on Douglas (John Magaro), a socially awkward teen who begins to shine as lead singer in his band, The Twylight Zones. Gandolfini will play his father, an Italian-American who’s totally disgusted by his son’s infatuation with rock music. UPDATE: Also joining the film are Molly Price as Douglas’ mom and actor-comedian Brad Garrett. Read More »

Comments (11)

‘God of Carnage’ Original Cast Returns For LA Run

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday January 12, 2011 @ 9:50am PSTTags: God of Carnage, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden, Theater, Yasmina Reza
Mike Fleming

With a foot of snow on my Long Island doorstep, it’s already easy to envy anyone in Los Angeles. Now, the original cast of Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning play God of Carnage has agreed to reunite for a six-week run at … Read More »

Comments (3)

TCA: James Gandolfini On ‘Sopranos’ Movie & Reality TV, Kate Winslet On Doing TV

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday January 7, 2011 @ 6:09pm PSTTags: Cinema Verite, HBO Cinema Verite, HBO Mildred Pierce, James Gandolfini, Kate Winslet, Kate Winslet Mildre Pierce, Mildred Pierce, TCA, Television Critics Association
Nellie Andreeva

- Cinema Verite is about the groundbreaking 1970s PBS series An American Family, considered the first reality show. Reality TV “was such an intellectual exercise in the beginning, and it’s turned to such shit,” Gandolfini said. Asked if he watches reality TV, he said that he has … Read More »

Comments 35
More Deadline | Hollywood »