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Amy Pascal Asks Hollywood To Eliminate Gay Slurs And Stereotypes From Movies

By JEN YAMATO | Friday March 22, 2013 @ 12:20pm PDTTags: Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures

Sony Amy PascalIt’s rare for moguls to push moral responsibility to Hollywood, let alone action. Last night at a sold-out LA Gay & Lesbian Center gala that raised $1 million for homeless gay and lesbian youth, honoree Amy Pascal asked the industry to scrutinize its depiction of LGBT characters in film and television: “How about next time, when any of us are reading a script and it says words like fag, or faggot – homo – dyke – take a pencil and just cross it out”. Below are excerpts from the Sony Pictures boss’ prepared speech.

No matter who we are, no matter what we are, no matter where we come from, we learn about ourselves and each other in two ways. The first way is what we hear – in our families, from our friends, and from our schoolmates. The second way is what we see – on television and in the movie theater. Now, there is not much any of us can do about what people hear from families and friends, but there is a whole hell of a lot we can do about what people see.

The images that impacted me as a teenager had lasting influences on my entire life and I bet that is true for most of us. What we see in the media today affects everybody, whether it’s film, TV, radio, magazines or the internet. What the media says about your sexual orientation, and the color of your skin, and the shape of your eyes, and your ethnicity… what you look like, what you weigh, what you wear, how poor you are, how awkward you are, how educated you are, and how different you are… this stuff really sinks in. What we see teaches us about how to feel about ourselves and how to feel about each other.

And now, I’m talking about kids who are gay and I’m talking about kids who aren’t gay. One group needs affirmation and the other group needs education. And, if I’m being honest, neither of those issues are high on any movie studio or TV network’s agenda…

The Celluloid Closet was made almost 20 years ago and certainly attitudes have changed, but maybe not quite so much as you or I would want or hope. Television has been much more progressive and credit has to be given to producers like Max Mutchnick and David Kohan and Ryan Murphy for really changing things.

Now movies need to catch up. There are magnificent movies being made about gay subjects with gay characters, like Brokeback Mountain and Milk. Anyone would have been proud to have made those movies. I know I would be. But when you think about some of these films, even our favorite ones, there is a theme that runs through them.

Brokeback Mountain, Milk, Boys Don’t Cry, Philadelphia, The Hours, Gods and Monsters, The Talented Mr. Ripley, A Single Man, My Own Private Idaho, Cloud Atlas – in all these movies, the main character is murdered or martyred or commits suicide or just dies unhappily. And there are far more pernicious and dangerous images that confront gay kids and their parents: the lesbian murderer, the psychotic transvestite, the queen who is humiliated and sometimes tossed off a ship or a ledge. It’s a big joke. It still happens. READ MORE »

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Antoine Fuqua Eyes ‘Training Day’ Re-Team With Denzel Washington In ‘The Equalizer’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday March 21, 2013 @ 10:30am PDTTags: Antoine Fuqua, Big Deals Film, Denzel Washington, Sony Pictures, The Equalizer
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: On the eve of the opening of his latest film Olympus Has Fallen, director Antoine Fuqua is in early talks to re-team with his Training Day star Denzel Washington on The Equalizer for Sony Pictures and Escape Artists. That is the film that has had a lot of helmers chasing after the script by Richard Wenk prompted the studio to expedite Washington’s deal and set a late spring start date, likely in Boston. The film is a smartly budgeted thriller based on the TV series that will come in around $50 million and is designed to launch the first franchise for Washington, who’s coming off an Oscar-nominated turn in Flight.

Fuqua directed Washington to an Academy Award for Best Actor in Training Day for his portrayal of a crooked cop who creates havoc for a recruit (Ethan Hawke) he’s supposed to be training to join an elite undercover force. It was a full out badass performance, and Fuqua and Washington have been looking to work together ever since. This certainly seems like a strong fit for the helmer whose recent films have included Brooklyn’s Finest and Shooter. Read More »

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Sony Pictures Scaring Up ‘Goosebumps’ Director; Rob Letterman In Talks To Helm Feature From R.L. Stine Fright Novels

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday March 19, 2013 @ 3:58pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Goosebumps, R.L. Stine, Rob Letterman, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures is negotiating with Rob Letterman to helm Goosebumps, the feature film based on the R.L. Stine young-adult fright book series. Letterman certainly seems qualified for rustling up scares for a family audience; his … Read More »

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NY Governor Touts ‘Spider-Man 2′ As State’s Biggest Film Production Ever

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday March 13, 2013 @ 12:57pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, New York, Sony Pictures, The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Hollywood studios rarely disclose lots of details about spending plans for their big-budget productions. But Sony is making an exception for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to help New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo build his case for the production tax incentives that he wants to extend for five years. The movie should generate 3,500 jobs, cast 11,000 extras and occupy the biggest stage footprint ever seen in New York, the state says today. That’s “great news for our local communities and fans of the franchise,” Cuomo says. Long Island will benefit most. Spider-Man 2 will require “massive sets” at two facilities in Long Island (Grumman Studios and Gold Coast Studios) and one in Brooklyn (the Marcy Armory). About a third of the new jobs and extras will come from Long Island. In addition, the production will tap several local businesses to handle food and equipment. For example, it will pay Mobile on Demand Storage of NY $279,000 for container rentals, Pride Equipment Corporation $130,000 for crane rentals, U.S. Coffee $32,000 for beverages, Quick Auto Parts $19,000 for auto parts, and Bagelboss $16,000 for food. The production will need 3,000 hotel room nights in Bethpage and Plainview, and another 3,000 in Rochester. Sony expects the shoot to last 150 days, with 50 in Bethpage and as many as 15 in Rochester. On Friday, the producers will look for specific locations in Rochester, including one for a car chase. Read More »

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Mark James, Last Gotham-Based Creative Exec At Major Studio, Leaving Sony Pictures To Form Book-To-Film Scouting Venture

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday March 13, 2013 @ 12:49pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, James Literary Consulting, Mark James, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: After spending the last eight years as Director of Development for Sony Pictures in New York, Mark James is leaving that post. On April 2, he’ll launch James Literary Consulting, a book-to-film scouting company. James has been a sharp exec for Sony, responsible for finding and championing books for features. Among the books he identified early and helped shepherd are Julie & Julia, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and the Michael Grant novel Bzrk, which the studio bought for Josh Donen to produce.

James will begin his venture scouting for two clients: Columbia Pictures and Michaels-Goldwyn, the production partnership between Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn. James had experience with them when he was an executive in the Paramount Pictures New York office for four years, helping steer such books to that studio as Twilight Saga and Sahara. Before that, James worked for Deb Schindler and for Julia Roberts’ Gotham-based companies. He started as an editor at Avon Books and Regan Books, working with such authors as Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman and James Carlos Blake. Read More »

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‘Django Unchained’ Set For April 11 Release In China

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday March 13, 2013 @ 11:00am PDTTags: Box Office, China, Django Unchained, Sony Pictures

UPDATED: The controversy here in the U.S. over Django Unchained‘s depiction of slavery apparently didn’t bother China’s oft-finicky film czars. Django has been cleared for an April 11 release in the territory, after the film already has … Read More »

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Sony Sets Christmas Wide Release For David O Russell Untitled Film

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday March 12, 2013 @ 11:56am PDTTags: ABSCAM, Big Deals Film, David O. Russell, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

BREAKING: Sony will open the David O Russell-directed drama formerly known as American Bullshit in limited released December 13, with a wide opening planned for Xmas Day. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian … Read More »

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Sony Pictures, Scott Rudin Plot Feature Film Adaptation Of ’70s TV Series ‘Good Times’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday March 12, 2013 @ 10:00am PDTTags: Good Times, Phil Johnston, Scott Rudin, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin will turn the groundbreaking ’70s sitcom Good Times into a feature film. They’ve set a writer, Phil Johnston, whose most recent credits include Wreck-It Ralph and Cedar Rapids. Rudin will produce the family comedy with Eli Bush.

While Rudin is selective about the remakes with which he becomes involved – Manchurian Candidate, Shaft and Sabrina – I think this has a lot of potential. The series, which aired on CBS from 1974-79, was one in a series of socially aware Norman Lear-generated sitcoms that pushed the envelope by mixing comedy with topicality and hot-button issues. Others included All In The Family (bigot patriarch), One Day At A Time (struggling single mother) and Maude.

Good Times focused on working-class couple James and Florida Evans as they raised three kids while struggling with hard financial times, unemployment and keeping their kids away from temptations that came with living in a Chicago housing project. The movie will be set in the 1960s, which gives Johnston a rich and politically charged period to mine. Read More »

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Sony To Make Another Film With Nancy Meyers

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday March 11, 2013 @ 4:06pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Nancy Meyers, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

Sony Pictures Entertainment has closed a deal with Nancy Meyers to direct an untitled film to be produced by Matt Tolmach and Nancy Meyers, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for the studio. Meyers rewrote a screenplay that was originally written by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber.

The deal returns Meyers to Columbia Pictures, where she previously made The Holiday and Something’s Gotta Give.

In the new film, the life of an American young woman gets turned upside down when she begins dating a very unlikely young man. The complexities that follow are bigger than both of them. The comedy is set entirely in the UK, the film will have an all British cast with the exception of the female lead.

Read More »

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Sam Taylor-Johnson In Talks To Helm ‘A Reliable Wife

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday March 7, 2013 @ 12:21pm PSTTags: A Reliable Wife, Nowhere Boy, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Taylor-Johnson is in talks to direct A Reliable Wife, Sony Pictures‘ adaptation of the Robert Goolrick bestselling novel. The thriller has a script by Andrew Kevin Walker, and takes place in 1909 Wisconsin where successful … Read More »

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Rupert Wyatt Steps Away From ‘The Equalizer’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday March 5, 2013 @ 1:05pm PSTTags: Denzel Washington, Rupert Wyatt, Sony Pictures, The Equalizer
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Rise of the Planet Of the Apes helmer Rupert Wyatt broke off talks to direct The Equalizer at Sony with Denzel Washington. He had another obligation and skeds ultimately didn’t mesh, I’m told. Sony and Escape Artists will lock in a helmer shortly.

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Sony Sets Oscar-Winning ‘Undefeated’ Helmers For Pic About Dallas Cowboys Player Jesse Holley

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday March 5, 2013 @ 12:03pm PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Dallas Cowboys, Dan Lindsay, Jesse Holley, Sony Pictures, TJ Martin
Mike Fleming

Jesse HolleyEXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures has acquired Jesse Holley, the working title for a film based on the unlikely rise the wide receiver who played for the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots after getting an invite to Cowboys training camp after winning 4th and Long, a reality series. The pic was sold in a pitch that will be written by Randy Brown, who scripted the Clint Eastwood-starrer Trouble With The Curve, and it will be produced by Neal Moritz and his Original Film banner. Dan Lindsay & TJ Martin, who won last year’s Oscar for Best Documentary for their gridiron film Undefeated are attached to make their narrative debut as directors.  Read More »

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‘Annie’ Release Set For Christmas Day 2014

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday February 27, 2013 @ 9:43am PSTTags: Annie, Sony Pictures

Sony said when it announced that Quvenzhané Wallis will play the lead role in Annie, the reimagining of the stage musical being directed by Will Gluck, that it planned a winter holiday 2014 release. Now it … Read More »

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Post-Oscars, Senate Intelligence Committee Closes ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Probe

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday February 25, 2013 @ 4:40pm PSTTags: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Sony Pictures, Zero Dark Thirty

It appears the Senate Intelligence Committee probe into Zero Dark Thirty is over. A Congressional aide today confirmed to Reuters that the Committee led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Senators John McCain … Read More »

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‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’s Quvenzhane Wallis To Play ‘Annie’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Sunday February 24, 2013 @ 10:59am PSTTags: Annie, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Big Deals Film, Quvenzhane Wallis, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

BREAKING: Sony Pictures and Overbrook Entertainment have found their title character for Annie. They’ve set Oscar nominated Beasts Of The Southern Wild star Quvenzhane Wallis to play the role, in a film to be directed and produced by Will Gluck. Also producing are James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith producing through Overbrook, with Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Jay Brown and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith through Marcy Media. That was the role that Willow Smith was going to play, but she grew out of it during the film’s long period of development. The contemporized re-imagining of the Broadway musical will shoot later this year for holiday 2014 release. Gluck, the helmer who directed Easy A and Friends With Benefits for Sony-based Screen Gems, signed on last month. Gluck has been revising a screenplay written by Emma Thompson and rewritten by Aline Brosh McKenna based on the musical and its book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin. That’s based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip. Wallis is up for Best Actress today–youngest ever in that category–for her cute as a button portrayal as Hushpuppy in Beasts Of The Southern Wild. She was six when she made that film and is now nine, but is even more adorable, if that is possible. She’s repped by ICM Partners. Here is the official word from Sony:

Overbrook Entertainment, Marcy Media,  director Will Gluck and Sony Pictures Entertainment have cast Academy Award®  nominee Quvenzhané Wallis, the star of Beasts of the Southern Wild, in the title  role of Annie, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia  Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for the studio.

Read More »

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Rupert Wyatt Eyeing ‘The Equalizer’ With Denzel Washington

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday February 19, 2013 @ 11:11am PSTTags: Rise of the Planet Of The Apes, Rupert Wyatt, Sony Pictures, The Equalizer
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes helmer Rupert Wyatt might well have found his next film after stepping out of the Apes sequel. I’m told that he’s in early talks to helm The Equalizer for … Read More »

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Sony Pictures Renews Pay TV Carriage Deal With Starz

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday February 11, 2013 @ 6:27am PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Big Deals TV, Sony Pictures, Starz

This is a big deal for Starz, which you can see in the 7.8% jump in its shares in early trading this morning: Sony could be the only major studio providing recent hit movies to the premium network after 2016, when Disney moves its new releases to Netflix. The deal negotiated by Sony Pictures TV will keep the studio’s movies on Starz through 2021; the previous deal would have expired in 2016. Many analysts feared that without Sony, Starz would have to struggle to produce original shows to fill its schedule. And Starz’s market valuation likely would have plummeted if it lost Sony; Liberty Media spun off Starz last month. Janney Capital Markets’ Tony Wible observed a few weeks ago that “Sony is the only major studio Pay TV deal that anyone can hope to secure this decade.” And Barclays’ Chris Merwin noted that “other bidders, particularly Netflix and Amazon, could make competitive offers” to land Sony. Read More »

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Oscars: Will Politics Change The Race?

By PETE HAMMOND | Saturday February 9, 2013 @ 8:17am PSTTags: Argo, Bill Clinton, Politics, President Obama, Silver Linings Playbook, Sony Pictures, The Weinstein Company, Vice President Joe Biden, Zero Dark Thirty
Pete Hammond

Everyone knows that with all of the rampant campaigning going on, Hollywood’s Oscar season can get quite political, but this year it’s literally poliitics. And not as usual. An infusion of real politicians, and political issues, have been characterizing … Read More »

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Ex-Exec Michael Costigan Returns To Sony In Producing Pact

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday February 5, 2013 @ 4:31pm PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Michael Costigan, Scott Free, Sony Pictures
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Entertainment has made a two-year exclusive first-look deal with Michael Costigan and his COTA Films. It brings him back to the lot where he spent nine years as an executive working on such films as Charlie’s Angels, Gattaca, The People Versus Larry Flynt, Girl, Interrupted and Bottle Rocket.

The deal was brokered by Columbia Pictures president Doug Belgrad and president of production Hannah Minghella.

Costigan left Sony and was exec producer of Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, before he took the role of president for Ridley and Tony Scott’s Scott Free, where he served from 2005 to 2012. There, he was exec producer of Prometheus, The Counselor, Robin Hood, Body Of Lies and American Gangster from the Scott brothers, and he produced the Mark and Jay Duplass pics Cyrus and Welcome to the Rileys. More recently, he produced Stoker, the Park Chan-wook-directed film that stars Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and Matthew Goode, and the Zal Batmanglij-directed The East, which stars Brit Marling, Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgard. Both those films premiered at Sundance. Costigan also produced Out Of The Furnace, the Brad Ingelsby-scripted drama directed by Scott Cooper and starring Christian Bale, Casey Affleck and Woody Harrelson.

Related: Scott Free President Michael Costigan Leaving To Be Producer Read More »

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