News Analysis India

Tag: Netflix

  • Melissa Barrera to lead survival drama series ‘Breathe’ at Netflix

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Netflix has roped in actor Melissa Barrera to headline its upcoming survival drama show “Breathe”.

    The series comes from “Blindspot” creator Martin Gero and writer-executive producer Brendan Gall, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    Barrera, best known for featuring in Starz series “Vida”, will play Liv, a razor-sharp Manhattan attorney who finds herself profoundly out of her comfort zone when her small plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness, and she must battle for survival.

    Gero and Gall will pen the six-episode series, which will be produced by Warner Bros Television.

    Gero will also executive produce the show through his Quinn’s House banner which is under an overall deal at Warner Bros Television.

    Barrera will next be seen in the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical “In the Heights”, which will release in the US on June 11.

    The actor will also feature in “Scream 5” and Sony’s “Carmen”, a re-imagining of the classic opera.

  • Leighton Meester may star in Netflix’s The Weekend Away

    By Express News Service
    Actor Leighton Meester, best-known for playing Blair Wal dorf in the popular American TV series, Gossip Girl, is reportedly in talks to star in the adaptation of the crime thriller novel, The Weekend Away.

    According to sources, Netflix will be adapting the Sarah Alderson novel into a feature film, with Meester set to star in one of the lead roles. However, an official confirmation on behalf of the streaming giant is awaited.

    Alderson’s novel follows two childhood friends, Orla and Kate, who set out on their annual weekend trip to Lisbon, where Kate mysteriously vanishes without a trace. Actor Christina Wolfe, known for playing the role of Julia Pennyworth in the TV show Batwoman, will be reportedly playing one of the main characters.

    Post her Gossip Girl stint, Meester appeared in films such as The Judge, By the Gun, and Semper Fi. She was last seen in the sitcom, Single Parents, in which she played one of the leads before it ended last year.

  • Carole Baskin denies being part of second season of Netflix drama ‘Tiger King’

    By ANI
    WASHINGTON: American big rights cat activist Carole Baskin recently revealed that she will not be back for the second season of the popular Netflix show ‘Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.’

    According to Page Six, the 59-year-old star Baskin said she was asked to participate in a follow-up to the smash-hit Netflix show but turned the producers down.

    “I told them to lose my number. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me,” the owner of Big Cat Rescue told the outlet.

    Baskin claimed after it had aired the producers had made her believe that she’d be the heroine of the show, then delved into rumours that she had murdered her first husband, Don Lewis, and fed his body to her tigers. Allegations she strenuously denies.

    As reported by Page Six, Baskin- who channelled her controversial story on the show into an appearance on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and various projects like a cellphone game and novelty cryptocurrency, will next be speaking at a ‘Virtual Influencer Summit’ to talk about cyberbullying.

    “The first three months [after ‘Tiger King’ aired] my phone rang incessantly with people screaming obscenities. After that, it slowed down. I didn’t take it personally. But, it really affected my husband [Howard Baskin] and daughter. If someone said something about someone you love, you would want to protect them,” she told Page Six.

    Lewis and Baskin were married in 1991. He mysteriously disappeared in 1997. According to TMZ, his family has hired famed attorney Alex Spiro to investigate. The family also ran an ad during Baskin’s ‘Dancing With the Stars’ debut asking for tips about his disappearance.

    Baskin has been reading from her journals on YouTube in order to “prove” she did not kill her first husband. She told Page Six, it’s all a rumour used by her competition in the big cat business to let her down.

    “Once they tell the media, ‘She killed her husband and fed him to the tigers,’ it worked for these animal abusers to say these things publicly. But it’s not true and all you have to do is look into it and know it’s not true,” she claims.

    Baskin also thinks timing had a lot to do with skyrocketing her to infamy.

    She shared, “Tiger King came out when lockdown happened, you had Joe Exotic saying ‘Carole Baskin was responsible for everything wrong.’ People needed someone to blame. It was a perfect storm.”

    Baskin added, “Had it aired right now, it would have been a different experience…it was still cleverly edited and had things that weren’t true, but I don’t think there would have been a global vitriol and outpouring because people were so scared at the time.”

  • Netflix anthology series based on Satyajit Ray stories to premiere on June 25 

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Netflix’s anthology series “Ray”, based on legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s four stories, will debut on June 25, the streamer said on Thursday.

    Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, Srijit Mukherji and Vasan Bala, the show will present four tales of love, lust, betrayal and truth, tied together by the visionary writings of Ray.

    It will feature an ensemble cast of Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao, Ali Fazal, Shweta Basu Prasad, Anindita Bose, Kay Kay Menon, Bidita Bag, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Harshvarrdhan Kapoor, Radhika Madan, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, among others Each story in “Ray” explores vulnerabilities and multiple shades of each character.

    Bajpayee and Rao star in the first episode, titled “Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa” and directed by Abhishek Chaubey.

    Mukherji has tackled the second and third episodes, penned by writer Siraj Ahmed.

    The second episode, titled “Forget Me Not”, will feature Fazal, Basu Prasad and Bose, while the third episode, called “Bahrupiya”, will star Menon, Bag and Bhattacharya.

    Vasan Bala has directed “Spotlight”, the fourth episode, starring Harshvarrdhan Kapoor, Madan, Sanyal and Akansha Ranjan Kapoor.

    Sayantan Mukherjee serves as the showrunner on the series, which is produced by Viacom 18’s Tipping Point.

    The year 2021 marks the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray, who was known worldwide for making classic movies like The Apu Trilogy, “Charulata”, “Agantuk” and “Nayak”.

  • Charlize Theron, Niki Caro to collaborate for Netflix’s big wave surfing drama 

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Hollywood star Charlize Theron is teaming up with Netflix and filmmaker Niki Caro for a feature film about top female surfers fighting for the right to compete in big-wave contests.

    Theron, who recently starred in Netflix blockbuster “The Old Guard”, will produce the movie through her banner Denver & Delilah, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    It is not yet known whether the 45-year-old actor will also star in the movie.

    Caro, best known for directing “Mulan” for Disney, will helm the feature film, based on a New York Times magazine article.

    Titled “The Fight For Gender Equality In One of the Most Dangerous Sports on Earth”, the article, penned by Daniel Duane, was about female surfers Bianca Valenti, Andrea Moller, Paige Alms and Keala Kennelly fighting for the right to compete in big-wave contests.

    Becky Johnston is writing the screenplay that will follow four women who form a powerful bond as they surf the world’s most dangerous spots and fight for equality in big wave surfing.

    Caro will also produce the film adaptation alongside Theron, AJ Dix and Beth Kono for Denver and Delilah.

  • Lindsay Lohan to star in Netflix’ Christmas romantic comedy

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Actor Lindsay Lohan is going to play the lead role in streamer Netflix’s yet-to-be-titled Christmas rom-com movie.

    According to Variety, Lohan will play a “newly engaged, spoiled hotel heiress” in the film.

    “She gets amnesia after a skiing accident and finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter in the days leading up to Christmas,” the logline reads.

    Makers are yet to announce the rest of the cast.

    Janeen Damian will direct the movie from the script he co-wrote with Michael Damian, Jeff Bonnett and Ron Oliver.

    MPCA’s Brad Krevoy and Riviera Films’ Michael Damian are producing.

    Amanda Phillips and Eric Jarboe are serving as executive producers.

    Lohan had a career breakthrough at the age of 11 when she starred in 1998’s reboot of “The Parent Trap”.

    She followed that with a remake of “Freaky Friday” (2003) and “Mean Girls”(2004), establishing herself as one of the most internationally popular stars from Hollywood.

    She decided to take a break, and stayed away from media in the coming years, eventually moving to Europe and then Dubai In 2019, Lohan had expressed her desire to return to the US and get back to acting.

    She told CNN’s New Year’s Eve special hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen that she wanted to “come back to America and start filming again,” and “taking back the life that I worked so hard for, and sharing it with my family and you guys.”

  • Ewan Horrocks joins final season of Netflix’s ‘The Last Kingdom’

    By Express News Service
    Actor Ewan Horrocks has been roped in to play a recurring role in the fifth and final season of Netflix’s historical drama The Last Kingdom. Horrocks will play the character of Aelfweard, and as per Deadline, he is currently filming in Budapest, Hungary.

    Carnival Films’ The Last Kingdom is based on Bernard Cornwell’s best-selling The Saxon Stories novels. Originally launched on BBC Two in 2015, the show found a new home on Netflix in 2018. Earlier last month, it was announced that the upcoming season 5 will be the final season.

    The final 10-part season will continue to follow the adventures of Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Alexander Dreymon), a warrior born a Saxon but raised as a Dane, in ninth and tenth-century England. Horrocks is currently starring in Sky’s Ancient Rome series Domina as Drusus. The Last Kingdom is written by Martha Hillier and executive produced by Gareth Neame, and Nigel Marchant.  

  • Netflix picks up Arnold Schwarzenegger’s TV series debut

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Streamer Netflix has announced that it has bagged an untitled spy adventure series, featuring Hollywood veteran Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead. The project, which hails from Skydance Television and also starring “Top Gun: Maverick” actor Monica Barbaro, marks Schwarzenegger’s first television project, the streaming service said in a statement.

    Created by Nick Santora of “Scorpion” fame, the story follows a father and daughter who learn that they’ve each secretly been working as CIA Operatives for years. “They realise their entire relationship has been a lie and they truly don’t know one another at all. Forced to team up as partners, the series tackles universal family dynamics set against a global backdrop of spies, fantastic action and humour,” the official plotline read.

    “Fans from all over the world have been asking me for a wild ride like this for years, and now they’re finally going to get it because of our great partners at Skydance and Netflix. “I am beyond pumped to start work on the show with Nick and Monica and the whole team,” Schwarzenegger (73) said.

    Santora created and developed the eight episode show as part of his overall deal with Skydance Television. Schwarzenegger will also serve as executive producer alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost for Skydance, and Santora.

  • Blake Lively to star in Netflix adaptation of ‘Lady Killer’ comic book

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Hollywood star Blake Lively has signed on to headline the Netflix feature “Lady Killer”, based on the Dark Horse Comic series. According to Entertainment Weekly, “The Rhythm Section” actor will also serve as producer on the film to be adapted by Oscar-winning writer Diablo Cody.

    “Lady Killer” is a comic book series written by Joelle Jones and Jamie S Rich, illustrated by Jones, and coloured by Laura Allred. In the film, Lively will play Josie Schuller, who, on the face of it, is the perfect 1950’s housewife.

    But when she’s not catering to the needs of her family, she leads a secret life as a highly-trained killer for hire. The picture will be produced by Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment along with Lively and Kate Vorhoff for B for Effort.

    Cody, whose scripting credits include “Juno” and “Tully”, most recently wrote the upcoming Madonna biopic at Universal, which Madonna will direct. Lively’s husband, actor Ryan Reynolds is best known for playing the foul-mouthed Marvel Comics hero Deadpool.

    In 2011, the couple co-starred in Warner Bros’ “Green Lantern”, which was a DC Comics adaptation.

  • Season two of Netflix series ‘Bridgerton’ begins filming

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Production on the much-awaited second season of the runaway hit Netflix series “Bridgerton” is underway.

    According to People magazine, the leads of the new chapter — Jonathan Bailey, who reprises his role of Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, and Simone Ashley — were spotted at the UK’s Ascot Racecourse on April 30.

    Ashley, who is a new addition to the show, plays Anthony’s on-screen love interest — Kate Sharma. Other “Bridgerton” stars Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton, Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton, Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton, Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton and Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury were also part of the scene.

    Based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels, the show is set in the competitive world of Regency era London high society’s Ton during the season, when debutantes are presented at court.

    The first season, which premiered in December, revolves around the romance and marriage between the eldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Rege Jean-Page).

    It was announced last month that Page, who became a global heartthrob after the smash success of “Bridgerton”, will not return for the forthcoming season. The series also features Nicola Coughlan, Ruby Barker, Golda Rosheuvel, Ruby Stokes, Will Tilston, Florence Hunt, and Bessie Carter.

    Besides Ashley, Charithra Chandran, Shelley Conn, Calam Lynch, and Rupert Young are also part of the second season. Chris Van Dusen is the showrunner of “Bridgerton”, which is produced by media mogul Shonda Rhimes, known for hit shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal”.