News Analysis India

Tag: Netflix

  • ‘White Collar’ actor Matt Bomer joins Michelle Monaghan in Netflix thriller 

    By Express News Service
    Matt Bomer will star opposite Michelle Monaghan in Netflix’s upcoming thriller limited series, Echoes. Created and written by Vanessa Gazy, Echoes is about identical twins Leni and Gina (played by Monaghan).

    They share a dangerous secret, and their carefully choreographed but convoluted world comes crashing when one of the sisters goes missing.  

    Bomer will play Jack Beck, Leni’s husband. When his wife disappears mysteriously, it’s Jack who has the most to lose as her secret life comes to the surface.

    13 Reasons Why showrunner Brian Yorkey is onboard the project as the co-showrunner and executive producer. Apart from writing Echoes, Gazy will also executive produce the series alongside Quinton Peeples, who will double up as the co-showrunner. Imogen Banks and Endemol Shine Banks Australia are also onboard as the executive producers.

  • Netflix bags worldwide rights for Will Smith’s ‘Fast & Loose’

    By Express News Service
    Will Smith’s upcoming action thriller Fast & Loose has been acquired by streaming platform Netflix.Filmmaker David Leitch, known for movies such as Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw, will direct the project from a script by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber.

    Smith plays a man who wakes up in Tijuana, Mexico, with memory loss. As he discovers his past, he learns he’s been living two lives, one as a crime kingpin and the other as a secret CIA agent.

    Leitch and Kelly McCormick will produce for 87North along with STXfilms and Smith through his Westbrook Studios. Jon Mone, Ryan Shimazaki and James Lassiter will also serve as producers.

    Smith will next feature in Warner Bros’ biographical drama King Richard. He is playing the role of Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. He will also star in the remake of the 1980s John Hughes classic Planes, Trains & Automobiles along with Kevin Hart. 

  • Netflix bags worldwide rights for Will Smith-starrer ‘Fast & Loose’

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Hollywood superstar Will Smith’s upcoming action thriller “Fast & Loose” has been acquired by streamer Netflix.

    Filmmaker David Leitch, known for movies such as “Deadpool 2” and “Hobbs & Shaw”, will direct the project from a script by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber.

    According to Deadline, Netflix recently won worldwide rights to the action thriller after the project hit the market in February this year.

    Smith, 52, will star in the movie as a man who wakes up in Tijuana, Mexico, with no memories.

    As he pieces together his past, he learns he’s been living two lives, one as a crime kingpin and the other as an undercover CIA agent.

    Leitch and Kelly McCormick will produce for 87North along with STXfilms and Smith through his Westbrook Studios.

    Jon Mone, Ryan Shimazaki and James Lassiter will also serve as producers.

    Smith will next feature in Warner Bros’ biographical drama “King Richard”.

    He is playing the role of Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams.

    He will also star in the remake of the 1980s John Hughes classic “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” along with Kevin Hart.

  • Anthony Mackie, David Harbour to star in family adventure ‘We Have A Ghost’

    By Express News Service
    Anthony Mackie and David Harbour are all set to star in Netflix’s upcoming family adventure film titled We Have A Ghost.

    The streamer has tapped filmmaker Christopher Landon to write and direct the film. Other lead actors include Jahi Di’Allo Winston (Charm City Kings), Tig Notaro (Army of the Dead), and Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus). Erica Ash, Isabella Russo, Niles Fitch, Faith Ford, and Steve Coulter are also a part of the cast.

    Based on Geoff Manaugh’s short story, Ernest, We Have A Ghost centres on Kevin, who discovers that a ghost named Ernest is haunting his new home.

    Kevin subsequently becomes an overnight social media sensation, along with his family. But when he and Ernest go rogue to investigate the mystery of the latter’s past, they become targets of the CIA.

    Landon is adapting the short story to screen. Dan Halsted is producing, alongside Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen and Isaac Klausner. The project’s executive producers are Christopher Landon, John Fischer, Geoff Manaugh, Korey Budd and Nathan Miller.

    Landon, best known for Happy Death Day films, most recently directed Universal’s slasher comedy Freaky.

    His other directorial titles include Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse and Paranormal Activity: the Marked Ones. His credits as a writer include Freaky, Happy Death Day 2U, Scouts Guide, four Paranormal Activity Films (2, 3, 4 and The Marked Ones) and Disturbia.

  • Lee Byung-hun to star in and produce Netflix project

    By Express News Service
    South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun will act in and produce Netflix’s upcoming film I Believe In A Thing Called Love. The project is a feature adaptation of American author Maureen Goos’ young adult romance novel of the same title.

    The story follows Desi, an extremely talented high school senior who decides to use the laws of K-drama romances to land herself a boyfriend.

    Lee, famous for films such as G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its sequel, Terminator Genisys and The Magnificent Seven, will play the role of Desi’s father.

    Yulin Kuang, who previously worked in the Netflix series The Healing Powers of Dude, will adapt the novel for the feature film.  Lee will produce the film along with A-Major Media’s Mary Lee and BH Entertainment’s Charles Pak.

  • Romain Gavras and Ladj Ly collaborate for a Netflix film

    By Express News Service
    French-Greek filmmaker Romain Gavras and French filmmaker and screenwriter Ladj Ly are all set to collaborate for an upcoming film for Netflix.

    Plot details, titled and the genre of the film are currently kept under wraps. The film is now in production in France.

    Gavras will helm the film, which has a screenplay that he wrote along with Ly. Elias Belkeddar (My Days Of Glory) is also a writer on the project.

    The project has roped in actors Dali Benssalah, Anthony Bajon, Cesar Winner Alexis Manenti, Ouassini Embarek, and newcomer Sami Slimane to star in the film.

    Iconoclast is producing the film, with Netflix aiming for a release in 2022. Gavras’ credits include 2018’s The World Is Yours and 2020’s Our Day Will Come. Ladj Ly wrote and directed the 2019 Oscar-nominated feature Les Miserables.

  • Netflix’s Bridgerton halts filming for one day as crew member tests COVID-19 positive

    By Express News Service
    The shoot of season two of Netflix’s Bridgerton was halted for 24 hours yesterday after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19.

    Deadline reported that filming is expected to get back underway today as the crew member went into isolation and everyone working on the series was tested for the virus. Fortunately, no cast members were affected.

    Based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels, the first season, which premiered in December last year, revolved around the romance and marriage between the eldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Rege Jean-Page).

    The first season became Netflix’s biggest ever series after it was watched by a record 82 million households around the world. The show was also nominated for 12 Emmy Awards this week. Season two of the show stars Jonathan Bailey, Simone Ashley, Charithra Chandran, Shelley Conn, Calam Lynch, and Rupert Young. It was announced earlier that Page won’t be returning for the second season Bridgerton is produced by Shondaland through the production vehicle Household Pictures.

  • We need more representation, there’s a market for it: ‘Never Have I Ever’ star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: “Never Have I Ever” star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan says the popularity of the young-adult Netflix series, co-created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, proves that there is a growing market for stories with South Asians in the lead roles.

    Ramakrishnan, a Sri Lankan-Canadian, became the breakout star of the series when she beat out competition from 15,000 others in 2019 to land the character of Devi Vishwakumar, an overachieving Indian-American teenager growing up in Southern California, US, and navigating life as a teenager with best friends Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez).

    The streamer released the second season of “Never Have I Ever” on Thursday. After a successful debut, the actor, now 19, said she was initially under a lot of pressure to not let down the fans and creators with season two but eventually decided to enjoy the process.

    “I think the reason why people like the show is because we haven’t seen South Asians take the lead role as often as they should. It’s happened before, I’m sure, and most of the time it’s because they make that space for themselves,” she said, citing the example of show’s co-creator Kaling, who also wrote and starred in “The Mindy Project” and “Late Night”.

    “But that’s not enough. We need more representation and need to see more South Asians take those lead roles because clearly there is a market for it, and a want for it,” Ramakrishnan told PTI in a Zoom interview.

    In the first season, Devi was shown as a teenager with anger issues as she grapple with the sudden death of her father. She is nursing a crush on fellow student Paxton Hall Yoshida (Darren Barnett). But at the end of the first season, she is caught in a love-triangle with her nemesis at school, Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).

    In the second season of the series, narrated by tennis player John McEnroe, Devi is trying to double date Ben and Paxton as her mother Dr Nalini (played by Poorna Jagannathan) prepares to shift base to India. Devi, Ramakrishnan said, is maturing “just a little bit” in the second season.

    She tries to be a good child but is not always successful. “I think she’s grown up a little bit and she understands that there are consequences to her actions. Listening to the voice mails that her dad left, she realises that she can’t just be angry anymore. Season one Devi would probably punch a wall, but now she’s trying to keep it controlled and be a good person. Now Devi tries to take the mature route, even if it doesn’t work out in the end,” the actor said.

    Life has changed in a lot of ways for Ramakrishnan but staying with her parents due to the pandemic has ensured that it’s not too drastic. “My life has changed in a lot of ways because I’m now doing interviews, that’s something I wouldn’t have done before. But then it’s also stayed the same in other ways, like staying still at home and being with my family, still bothering my dog, and that’s probably because of quarantine. It’s helped me stay true to who I am, which I’m very thankful for,” she said.

    The young star, whose parents migrated to Canada from Sri Lanka, said she would have opted for a theatre degree had she not landed the show. She credited her mother for encouraging her to pursue higher studies in the arts as she could see “how much I enjoyed acting, directing, writing and just being a part of the creative space”.

    According to Ramakrishnan, the show may revolve around teens and school life but it resonates with people of all ages as it is relatable, funny, and represents many of them. “It’s slightly different because it’s not necessarily the immigrant story but rather the children of immigrants, that’s what I lived my entire life. I understood the narrative that Devi goes through because that was me. And here’s why I think other people like it, and not just high school kids because it’s really relatable and funny. It’s also a show that hasn’t happened (before). People have been waiting for this representation. They’ve been waiting for this story and see themselves in Devi, even if they’re not 15 or 22,” she said.

    Ramakrishnan has also booked her first film role with “The Netherfield Girls”, a Netflix romantic comedy.

  • ‘The Crown,’ ‘Mandalorian’ top Emmy nominations with 24 each

    By Associated Press
    LOS ANGELES: “The Crown” tied with “The Mandalorian” for the most Emmy nominations Tuesday with 24 apiece, but the Marvel universe also got bragging rights with runner-up “WandaVision.

    The nominations reinforced the rapid rise of streaming, with the top-nominated scripted shows on services that largely emerged in the past two years.

    In the top three categories — drama, comedy and limited series — only the NBC show ‘This Is Us’ snagged a nomination.

    Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ received its fourth nomination for best series, and is likely the streaming service’s best chance to win its first-ever top series trophy.

    The British royal drama moved closer to contemporary events with its version of the courtship and rocky marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin.

    ‘These nominations represent the work done in television through the most challenging year I can think of,’ TV academy chief executive Frank Scherma said before the first nominees were announced.

    ‘While many of us in our medium worked remotely throughout the last 18 months, I have to say it feels so good to be getting back on a set.

    Making great television is a collaborative group effort where the sum equals more than the parts, and I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it.

    The nominees for best drama series are: ‘The Boys’; ‘Bridgerton’; ‘The Crown’; ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’; ‘Lovecraft Country’; ‘The Mandalorian’; ‘Pose’; ‘This Is Us.’

    The nominees for best comedy series are: ‘black-ish’; ‘Cobra Kai’; ‘Emily in Paris’; ‘The Flight Attendant’; ‘Hacks’; ‘The Kominsky Method’; ‘PEN15’; ‘Ted Lasso.’

    The nominees for best miniseries are: ‘The Queen’s Gambit’; ‘I May Destroy You’; ‘Mare of Easttown’; ‘The Underground Railroad”; ‘WandaVision.’

    The nominees for best actress in a comedy series are: Aidy Bryant, ‘Shrill’; Jean Smart, ‘Hacks’; Kaley Cuoco, ‘The Flight Attendant’; Tracee Ellis Ross, ‘black-ish’; Allison Janney, ‘Mom.’

    The nominees for best actor in a comedy series are: Anthony Anderson, ‘black-ish’; Michael Douglas, ‘The Kominsky Method’; William H. Macy, ‘Shameless’; Jason Sudeikis, ‘Ted Lasso’; Kenan Thompson, ‘Kenan.’

    The nominees for best actress in a drama series are: Emma Corrin, ‘The Crown’; Elisabeth Moss, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’; Uzo Aduba, ‘In Treatment’; Olivia Colman, ‘The Crown’; Mj Rodriguez, ‘Pose’; Jurnee Smollett, ‘Lovecraft Country.’

    The nominees for best actor in a drama series are: Sterling K. Brown, ‘This Is Us’; Jonathan Majors, ‘Lovecraft Country’; Josh O’Connor, ‘The Crown’; Regé-Jean Page, ‘Bridgerton’; Billy Porter, ‘Pose’; Matthew Rhys, ‘Perry Mason.’

    The nominees for outstanding variety talk series are: ‘Conan’; ‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’; ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’; ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’; ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.’

    Scherma and father-and-daughter actors Ron Cephas Jones (‘This Is Us’) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (“Blindspotting”) announced the nominees.

    The Sept. 10 ceremony, which last year was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will air live on CBS from a theater and include a limited in-person audience of nominees and guests.

    Cedric the Entertainer is the host.

  • Obamas bringing ‘Blackout’ anthology to Netflix

    By ANI
    WASHINGTON: In collaboration with Temple Hill Productions, the Obamas are bringing a six-part anthology ‘Blackout’ to Netflix under their banner, Higher Ground.

    According to Variety, the project will revolve around six different stories of Black teenagers who find love during a power outage in New York City.

    The project is being developed concurrently as a TV and a film project through Obamas’ Higher Ground’s overall deal with Netflix.

    “When the lights go out and people reveal hidden truths, love blossoms, friendships transform, and all possibilities take flight,” Netflix said in a statement as per Variety.

    Each installment of the anthology will be penned by a different writer. Currently, the writers who have been roped in are Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk and Nicola Yoon.

    Netflix also revealed the storyline for two of the other installments: One is “two boys trapped on the subway come face-to-face with their feelings” and another is: “a pair of best friends stuck in the New York Public Library and surrounded by love stories figure out if there’s one in their future,” as per Variety.

    What is more interesting about the upcoming project is that it will reunite the team that produced ‘Fatherhood’, the Netflix comedy film that starred Kevin Hart as a widowed father.

    ‘Blackout’ is one of the much-anticipated projects for Higher Ground. However, the target premiere date for the anthology has not been disclosed yet.

    As per Variety, the company’s film slate also includes the story of gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, directed by George C. Wolfe, and ‘Exit West’, a refugee love story based on Mohsin Hamid’s novel of the same name.