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Documentary specialist Cinephil has acquired international sales rights for the feature documentary “Viktor,” which will have its world premiere in the Platform program of the Toronto Film Festival next month.

The film is directed and produced by French filmmaker and cinematographer Olivier Sarbil, who won Emmys for “Retrograde” and “Mosul,” and a Royal Television Society award for “On the President’s Orders.” Darren Aronofsky is a producer on the film.

In “Viktor,” Viktor Korotovskyi, a young Deaf man in Kharkiv, watches warily during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A fan of samurai films and raised on stories of war, he dreams of becoming a warrior but is repeatedly denied when he tries to enlist. Eager to find purpose, Viktor embarks on a quest to find his place in the midst of a war he cannot hear.

Sarbil said: “My hope is that this film transcends language...

Sony Pictures Entertainment has upped Louise Heseltine to SVP, Corporate Communications in the Motion Picture Group.

Heseltine will continue to report to Tahra Grant, EVP, Chief Communications Officer, who was promoted earlier this year.

Heseltine joined the Culver City, CA lot in 2020 as VP, Corporate Communications, Motion Picture Group. Over the past 4 years she has strategized and implemented film positioning and comms plans, and drove press efforts for the studio’s ancillary businesses.

In a company email, Grant said “Louise’s analytical grit and global sensibility has long supported our movie campaigns and our film business more broadly. She has navigated complicated industry obstacles with deftness and sensitivity, and is well-positioned to broaden her corporate communications work for the motion picture group.”

Among the theatrical releases Heseltine has worked on at the studio are Uncharted, Gran Turismo, Where the Crawdads Sing, Bullet Train, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Venom: Let There Be Carnage,...

Sony Motion Picture Group has promoted veteran executive Louise Heseltine to senior VP, corporate communications.

Heseltine joined the studio in 2020 as VP of corporate communications for the Motion Picture Group, and worked on Sony titles including “Uncharted,” “Gran Turismo,” “Where the Crawdads Sing,” “Bullet Train,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “No Hard Feelings” and most recently “Bad Boys Ride or Die” and “The Garfield Movie.”

Heseltine will report to the studio’s chief communications officer Tahra Grant, who was promoted earlier this year after longtime leader Bob Lawson was elevated to head of corp comms for the entire Sony group.

“Louise’s analytical grit and global sensibility has long supported our movie campaigns and our film business more broadly,” Grant said in a company memo. “She has navigated complicated industry obstacles with deftness and sensitivity, and is well-positioned to broaden her corporate...

Longtime Russo Brothers partner Mike Larocca is leaving the filmmakers’ studio Agbo that he co-founded at the end of this year, Deadline has confirmed. As the Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Agbo, Larocca focused on creative development and production.

Said Joe and Anthony Russo in a statement to Deadline, “We founded Agbo with Mike seven years ago. In that time, he’s been an exceptional producing partner and an exceptional friend. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and we know Mike will continue to do incredible work in his next endeavor.”

Deadline understands Larocca’s departure is amicable and he’s eyeing the next chapter of his career. He leaves Agbo on high note with the studio being reportedly evaluated at $1.1 billion after receiving a $400M investment (for 38% stake) from Tokyo based video game maker, Nexon Co. Ltd last year.

At Agbo, among other film and TV projects,...

Adam Bessa's career continues to impress with his latest film Harka - which is released in the UK tomorrow (May 5). The French-Tunisian star received critical plaudits for Sofia Djama's Algeria-set drama The Blessed and his multilingual skills saw him go on to reach wider audiences with Matthew Michael Carnahan's Mosul and Netflix's Extraction - the sequel to which will air later this year. In the past year, he's been garnering awards heat for his intense central performance in Lotfy Nathan's Harka, winning the Best Actor award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and at the Red Sea Film Festival.

He plays Ali, a Tunisian scraping by as part of the illegal gasoline trade whose dreams of escaping the country for a better life are scuppered after he finds himself trying to look after his...

Russo discussed Agbo’s upcoming slate at the second-annual Sands International Film Festival of St Andrews.

With the big-budget Amazon franchise Citadel poised to launch on Amazon Prime on April 28, Agbo producer Joe Russo says the model of an English-language ‘mothership’ expanding into local content could have limitless possibilities.

“Because we all consume so much content, and we all basically have a PhD in storytelling, it’s become predictive. I think it’s important to explore new ways to tell stories. It’s also important to create a global community of storytellers, where we can share stories with each other.

Exclusive: Jeremy Steckler is exiting his post as President of Film Production at Imperative Entertainment to focus on producing under his newly launched shingle Enhanced Hammer. In addition to leading his production company, he will act as a consultant to Imperative Entertainment on select projects. Steckler arrived at Imperative in July 2019.

“My happiest experiences over the years both as a producer and a studio executive involved working with storytellers that are operating on the highest levels making memorable, impactful work. I hope to continue to support talent that I both believe in and admire. My production company, Enhanced Hammer, is a nod to a term in the art world that connotates a work of art that is of such high quality that that it can command a premium situation. I hope to do the same in entertainment,” Steckler told Deadline.

The producer’s new shingle will continue to develop projects...

"Nobody was warned by anybody, schools and kindergartens were open." HBO has revealed the official trailer for a chilling new documentary called Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes, from talented doc filmmaker James Jones. This premiered at the Full Frame Doc Festival and will be streaming on HBO Max this month. This powerful and at times graphic film tells the story of the disaster and its far-reaching ripple effects entirely through extraordinary, immersive footage - all shot on-site in the hours, days, weeks, months following the accident. Deeply personal witness testimony helps contextualize the tragedy by providing an overview of life in Chernobyl before the meltdown and its harrowing aftermath. Government propaganda films also illustrate the Soviet Union’s pride in its nuclear program and the many delayed and misleading reports. Everyone knows the story, and there was that great HBO series in 2019, but most of this real footage has never been seen before until now.

Film Constellation represents worldwide sales, co-repping North America with CAA.

Dulac Distribution has secured French distribution rights for Lotfy Nathan’s feature debut Harka, ahead of its Cannes Un Certain Regard world premiere.

The drama was acquired from London and Paris based sales agent Film Constellation, who represents worldwide sales rights, while co-repping North America with CAA.

Screen can exclusively reveal the film’s first image above.

Ali is a young Tunisian who dreams of a better life, and makes a living selling contraband gas at the local black market. When his father suddenly dies, he’s forced to take...

Netflix has been making original content since 2012, and action movies have been a huge part of the equation for some time. This makes sense as action films are a mainstay genre that has put meat in seats for decades, be it in a movie theater or at home watching a direct-to-video offering on cable. The point is, it makes every bit of sense for the largest streaming service in the world to make lots of action flicks, ranging from the biggest of the big, like "Red Notice," to tiny underrated gems like "Mosul."

But what is the best...

The post 23 Of Fans Said This Is The Best Netflix Original Action Movie. Are They Right? appeared first on /Film.

Agbo, the entertainment company founded and controlled by “Avengers: Endgame” filmmakers Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, has sold a minority stake for $400 million to Tokyo-based game maker Nexon. The deal values Agbo at $1.1 billion.

Agbo was established by the Russo brothers and their producing partner Mike Larocca in 2017 and has created such films as the gritty war drama “Cherry,” the action thriller “Mosul,” the black comedy “Assassination Nation,” and “Extraction,” an action film with Chris Hemsworth that premiered on Netflix and inspired an upcoming sequel. In television, the company has been less prolific, producing the Netflix docuseries “Larry Charles’ Dangerous World of Comedy,” but they have other high-profile shows on tap, such as the spy series “Citadel” and the comic book-inspired “Grimjack.”

The Russo brothers are best known for their work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where their credits include “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War.

Film and TV market devoted to scripted and unscripted content will unfold October 13 to 17.

Rome’s Mia film and TV market has unveiled the line-up and highlights of its seventh edition, unfolding October 13 to 17 in and around the Italian capital’s Piazza Barberini district.

The market is expected to be of greater importance for European film buyers and sellers this autumn, after the Covid-19 pandemic deterred many from travelling to Toronto earlier this September and forced the American Film Market (Nov 1-5) to move online for a second year.

In a sign of this, Mia has reported a 30% increase in...

Exclusive: Principal photography has started in Tunisia on contemporary drama Contra, set in the aftermath of the powerful anti-government protests that provoked a wave of change in the region, known as the Arab spring.

The film (previously known as Before Spring) is being directed by Egyptian-British filmmaker Lotfy Nathan and will star French Tunisian actor Adam Bessa, known for his performances in recent action movies Mosul and Extraction.

A modern day parable about resistance, the film centers on the story of Ali, a young Tunisian who dreams of a better life, making a precarious living selling contraband gas at the local black market. When his father suddenly dies, he’s forced to take charge of his two younger sisters and their impending eviction. The movie will feature a combination of local actors and non-professionals.

Nathan’s narrative debut, shot on 35mm film, is being produced by Julie Viez (Long Day’s Journey Into Night...

Exclusive: Billy Bob Thornton, Alfre Woodard and Bridgerton breakout star Regé-Jean Page have rounded out cast of the Russo Brothers’ The Gray Man starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana De Armas. Wagner Moura, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush and Julia Butters are also on board.

Joe and Anthony Russo have been developing the project for some time at Sony, and when the package went back on the market over the summer, Netflix was quick to acquire it and set Gosling and Evans to star. The Gray Man will be the biggest-budget feature film in Netflix’s history.

The production is starting in two weeks in Los Angeles. The film is a piece of the strong partnership Netflix and Agbo have garnered in the past year starting with Extraction, which premiered last April to some of the biggest viewing numbers in streamer history. They also worked on the critically acclaimed Mosul, which bowed in November on Netflix.

The number of films available to Oscar voters in a screening room devoted to the Best Picture category hit the 200 mark on Wednesday, which means that $2.5 million has entered the Academy coffers from films paying $12,500 each to be represented in the screening room.

The members-only Academy Screening Room hit the milestone with the addition of more than a dozen movies this week, including Fisher Stevens’ “Palmer,” Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” John Lee Hancock’s “The Little Things,” the Russo brothers’ “Cherry,” Josh Trank’s “Capone,” the documentary “Coup 53,” the Studio Ghibli animated film “Earwig and the Witch,” the international films “Funny Boy” and “Bacarau” (neither eligible in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category) and some off-the-wall selections, including “Snake White – Love Endures” and “Soorarai Pottru.”

Other late additions to the screening room have included “Minari,” “Promising Young Woman,” “The White Tiger” and “Cherry,” which were not added until January.

One of Netflix‘s more overlooked and underrated original movies of last year was Mosul, the directorial debut of World War Z and Deepwater Horizon writer Matthew Michael Carnahan. The story follows a rookie cop plunged into the deep end when he’s welcomed into an elite Swat unit who patrol the streets of the titular war-torn Iraqi city, where they embark on a dangerous mission.

The grounded and gritty action thriller went down a storm with critics, as it currently holds an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and troubled the streaming service’s Top 10 most-watched list for a couple of weeks when it was released at the end of November. However, several members of the cast have since revealed that they and their families have faced threats on social media from people claiming to be affiliated with Isis.

“When I posted on my social media that the film was going to come out,...

Joe and Anthony Russo are speaking out about their Netflix action project “Mosul” in the wake of its cast members reportedly receiving death threats from Isis. “Mosul,” produced by the Russo brothers and directed by Matthew Michael Carnahan, premiered November 26, 2020 on Netflix and went on to become one of the streamer’s most viewed movies in Europe and the Middle East. Starring Suhail Dabbach and Adam Bessa, “Mosul” is an Iraqi Arabic-language war thriller that follows a Swat police team’s mission to wipe out Isis members who killed their loved ones.

“When I posted on my social media that the film was going to come out, the first day there was a lot from Isis,” Dabbach told Deadline. “They put on a lot of videos and bad words. Like, they have said, now we know you, and you have to watch yourself. Every day, touch your head to make sure it is still on.

Exclusive: Following a heated bidding war, Universal Pictures has landed the rights to an adaptation of the graphic novel The Electric State with Millie Bobby Brown attached to star and Joe and Anthony Russo on board to direct. The Russos will also produce through their Agbo banner. Mike Larocca will also produce under Agbo. The package went out to buyers earlier this week and Universal was quick to acquire the highly-coveted property.

Agbo first landed the rights in 2017 with plans to develop along with Andy and Barbara Muschietti, with Andy circling the directors chair. With the Muschiettis focused on a Flash movie at Warner Bros., the Russos took over the directing reigns and were quick to tap one of Hollywood’s rising stars in Brown to star. The Muschiettis will still serve as producers. Russell Ackerman and John Schoenfelder are exec producing.Insiders say even though this film is being fast-tracked,...

After stepping away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Russo brothers have become more active than ever, attaching themselves to a number of projects spanning multiple different genres. Since Avengers: Endgame was released, the siblings have produced Chadwick Boseman action thriller 21 Bridges, acclaimed horror Relic, pulse-pounding war movie Mosul and upcoming sci-fi Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Joe and Anthony’s next directorial effort, Cherry, will arrive early next year and looks to ride a wave of awards season buzz, before they get back into the blockbuster business on Netflix’s $200 million espionage actioner The Gray Man, which will star Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling and has its eyes on launching a multi-film franchise. There’s also the small matter of Extraction, which was written by Joe and produced through their Agbo company, and went on to become the aforementioned streaming platform’s most-watched original movie ever.

Avengers Star...

Avengers director duo Joe and Anthony Russo have produced an action film which is quite an antithesis of the fantasy-loaded superhero razzmatazz that has come to be their calling card. Mosul is gritty war drama that remains tantalizingly close to the reality it is carved from. The film is deftly executed, and comes with an important socio-political message about war and its aftermath.

Debutante director Matthew Michael Carnahan, who has also penned the film, focuses on an aspect of war-torn Iraq that is normally not a point of interest for Hollywood. Inspired by a New Yorker article titled The Desperate Battle To Destroy Isis, the filmmaker trains his lens on an Iraqi Swat team's action against Isis, duly dramatized to capture some remarkable war violence in the film's 100-odd-minute runtime.

Around the mid to late 2010s, Mosul, one of Iraq's biggest cities, was overrun by Isis. The organisation, known as Daesh in Iraq,...

The Russo brothers bowed out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in spectacular fashion, directing the highest-grossing movie of all-time and drawing the Infinity Saga to an epic conclusion with Avengers: Endgame. Next year’s crime thriller Cherry starring Tom Holland marks the first time since 2006’s You, Me and Dupree that the siblings have stepped behind the camera for a feature film that hasn’t involved superheroes and spandex, but they’ve also branched out into producing through their Agbo company.

Agbo has only been in existence for a couple of years, but the outfit has already explored a wide range of genres from Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation to Extraction, Netflix’s most popular original movie ever, while the Russos also produced Chadwick Boseman thriller 21 Bridges and this year’s acclaimed dramatic horror Relic.

Next up is true-life tale Mosul, which hit Netflix on Thursday. Based on a New Yorker article,...

Netflix have delivered a solid string of action movies this year, from the heightened superhero antics of Project Power to the gritty comic book fantasy of The Old Guard, but the most popular of them all was Chris Hemsworth’s Extraction, which became the streaming service’s most-watched original film ever.

Helmed by a first-time director and produced through Joe and Anthony Russo’s Agbo company, there are superficial similarities between Extraction and Matthew Michael Carnahan’s Mosul, but the latter is an altogether more realistic and gripping exercise in tension than Sam Hargrave’s bone-crunching B-movie.

Based on a New Yorker article, Mosul follows an inexperienced cop paired up with an elite Swat team on the streets of the titular Iraqi city. Falling in line with a squad who have ascended to almost mythical status in the eyes of the locals, Adam Bessa’s Kawa is taken under the...

The Russo brothers’ first movie since Avengers: Endgame might not be arriving until next year when Tom Holland’s Cherry hits Apple TV , but the directors of the highest-grossing movie ever made have kept busy in the interim through their Agbo production company. As well as delivering Netflix’s most-watched original title ever with Extraction, Joe and Anthony are also bringing Matthew Michael Carnahan’s directorial debut Mosul to the streaming service.

Based on a New Yorker article by Luke Mogelson, Mosul follows an inexperienced cop who ends up falling in with an elite Swat team on the streets of the titular Iraqi city as they embark on a dangerous mission fraught with challenges. The movie was originally set for a theatrical release and premiered back in September 2019, before being acquired by Netflix last month.

In our exclusive interview, Carnahan tells us why he settled on Mosul as his first...

The final week of November is upon us, meaning December is just around the corner. Netflix has a bunch of great new titles to come over the next seven days, then, including numerous original movies and TV series. And yes, there are a few early festive treats counted among them.

First of all, Monday the 23rd brings Bruce Willis’ latest actioner, Hard Kill, along with Shawn Mendes film In Wonder and the first season of Strongest Delivery Man. Moving on to Tuesday, we have one of the week’s biggest releases – drama Hillbilly Elegy, starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams, as directed by Ron Howard. Also going up the same day is new docuseries Before 30.

For more, check out the full list of everything hitting Netflix this coming week below:

November 23rd Hard Kill (2020) Shawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020) N Strongest Delivery Man (Season 1) November 24th Before 30 (Season 1) Dragons: Rescue Riders:...

Earlier this year, Netflix and the Russo Brothers teamed up to release the hit film, “Extraction.” The action film is touted by the streamer as one of its most popular releases of all time. And now, the Russos and Netflix are at it again with another action film, “Mosul.” But for this film, there’s no Chris Hemsworth leading the way.

Read More: Russo Brothers’ ‘Cherry’ Lands At Apple In A Deal Reportedly Worth More Than $40 Million

As seen in the trailer for “Mosul,” the film follows the true story of the Nineveh Swat team, a group of police officers that form as opposition to Isis.

Continue reading ‘Mosul’ Trailer: Netflix & The Russo Brothers Team Up For Another Action Film From A First-Time Director at The Playlist.

Netflix has released a harrowing new trailer for Mosul, its upcoming film about an elite group of Iraqi soldiers trying to take down Isis, set to arrive on November 26th.

The film is loosely based on a 2017 New Yorker article about the fight to defeat Isis after it took control of the Iraqi city of Mosul, which is the capital of the Nineveh Province. Mosul is centered around an inexperienced Iraqi police officer named Kawa (played by Adam Bessa), who’s rescued during a firefight by the Nineveh Swat team.

Joe and Anthony Russo are giving a boost to a new international action film by a first-time director through their deal with Netflix, which has produced hits like the Chris Hemsworth-starring Extraction. But the Russo brothers are taking a gamble with the newest action thriller, Mosul, which eschews a big-name star and is entirely in Arabic. Based […]

The post ‘Mosul’ Trailer: Russo Brothers-Produced Netflix Thriller Follows Iraqi Swat Team Fighting Isis Militants appeared first on /Film.

We’ve seen plenty of movies about American soldiers taking on terrorists overseas, but in “Mosul,” a run-and-gun, high-octane action film produced by “Avengers” directors the Russo Brothers, the Iraqi cops are the ones defending their homeland from Isis.

“Iraq without Saddam, without Westerners, without terrorists, we need every bullet,” lead actor Suhail Dabbach says in the “Mosul” trailer. “We are the good guys.”

“Mosul,” which is entirely in Arabic, is produced by Anthony and Joe Russo from director and writer Matthew Michael Carnahan, and the film will debut on Netflix on November 26.

It’s a story about an inexperienced Iraqi cop who is rescued by and joins up with the elite Nineveh Swat team after Isis takes his home in Mosul and murders his uncle. Together, he and a team of 10 brothers-in-arms embark on a dangerous guerrilla operation to wipe out an enemy base and restore order to the lawless territory,...

November is among the least respected months on the calendar. Falling between objectively the two best holidays, November is usually all about recovering from the spookies of Halloween while getting ready for the good vibes the holiday season. For its new releases of November 2020, Netflix has decided to just go ahead and get Christmas over with.

Netflix has already released a list of all its holiday offerings for November and December, and it’s those holiday offerings that take the most prominence this month. The biggest project of all of these is undoubtedly The Christmas Chronicles 2, which premieres on Nov. 25. In this holiday sequel, Kurt Russell reprises his role as Hot Santa Claus who must save the season once again.

On the non-holiday side of things, Netflix’s Emmy-winning series The Crown returns for season 4 on Nov. 15. And speaking of things that desperately want to win awards, Ron Howard...

Though we’re now beginning to see life starting to return to at least some sense of normality, a lot of people are still spending much more time at home than usual thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, and that probably won’t change for a while yet. As such, streaming services are more popular than ever now and thankfully, all of the major players have been delivering the goods when it comes to adding new content.

Of course, Netflix are still the leaders and each and every month they bring us a healthy helping of fresh material that ensures subscribers are kept entertained at all times. Admittedly, the summer was more fruitful in terms of new releases, but there are still a lot of great titles coming down the pipeline as we head into the fall and today, the streaming giant have revealed their November lineup, which you can check out below.

Netflix has acquired Matthew Carnahan’s Mosul and will release the movie in November, Deadline has confirmed.

101 Studios was set to release the movie this year, but theatrical plans did not pan out.

The feature, which made its world premiere at Venice last year, followed by a TIFF debut, is based on the true events of the Nineveh Swat team, a renegade police unit who waged a guerrilla operation against Isis in a desperate struggle to save their home city of Mosul.

The pic was inspired by Luke Mogelson’s 2017 piece for The New Yorker, “The Desperate Battle to Destroy Isis”

Carnahan, who co-wrote World War Z and 21 Bridges, made his feature directorial debut with Mosul, which he also wrote.

Anthony and Joe Russo and Mike Larocca produced for Agbo alongside The New Yorker Studios.

EPs are Todd Makurath, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely for Agbo; Mohamed Al-Daradji; Patrick Newall,...

“Mosul,” an action film that plunges viewers into the fight between a renegade police unit and the Isis fighters who have destroyed their homes, has been purchased by Netflix.

The deal comes over a year after “Mosul” made its debut at the 2019 edition of the Venice Film Festival. That’s partly a testament to how tricky “Mosul” is as a commercial prospect. It’s also because 101 Studios, the label operated by former Weinstein Company executive David Glasser, acquired the film with the intention of releasing it. Those plans fell through and, hence, the deal with Netflix.

“Mosul” was produced by “Avengers: Endgame” directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo through their company Agbo. The brothers used their clout to get the movie made.

“We know it’s unconventional,” Anthony Russo said in an interview with Variety shortly before the film screened at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival. “But we hope that...

Following in the footsteps of Extraction here comes Mosul, a new action flick produced by the Russo Brothers. Matthew Michael Carnahan wrote the movie, which “tells the true story of one group of Iraqi men who fought Isis when the terrorist group took their homes, families, and city.” Mosul previously played the Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. THR […]

The post ‘Mosul’, Produced by the Russo Brothers, Heads to Netflix appeared first on /Film.

Netflix has acquired “Mosul,” an Iraq War drama funded and produced by Anthony and Joe Russo’s production company Agbo, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap. 101 Studios was originally going to acquire the war drama, but talks fell through. Netflix will release “Mosul” in November 2020.

Matthew Michael Carnahan, who wrote the Agbo film “21 Bridges” starring the late Chadwick Boseman, wrote and directed “Mosul.” It’s inspired by an article in The New Yorker by Luke Mogelson about the Nineveh Swat team, an elite police squad of soldiers composed of local Iraqis all fighting Isis. The drama first premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, followed by Toronto.

Waleed Elgadi, Suhail Dabbach and Adam Bessa star in the film as a police squad moving block by block to reclaim their city from Isis, all while nursing their own personal traumas at the hands of the terrorist group.

Mosul, the war action movie produced by Anthony and Joe Russo, is heading to Netflix.

The digital streamer has picked up the movie and will release it in November 2020.

Matthew Michael Carnahan, who co-wrote thrillers such as World War Z and 21 Bridges, wrote the script and made his directorial debut with the actioner, which had it world premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Mosul tells the true story of one group of Iraqi men who fought Isis when the terrorist group took their homes, families, and city. It focuses on the ...

Mosul, the war action movie produced by Anthony and Joe Russo, is heading to Netflix.

The digital streamer has picked up the movie and will release it in November 2020.

Matthew Michael Carnahan, who co-wrote thrillers such as World War Z and 21 Bridges, wrote the script and made his directorial debut with the actioner, which had it world premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Mosul tells the true story of one group of Iraqi men who fought Isis when the terrorist group took their homes, families, and city. It focuses on the ...

Titles include Us box office hit ‘Becky’ and Sundance title ‘Spree’, starring Joe Keery of ‘Stranger Things’.

Australasia’s Rialto Distribution has acquired a raft of new features, including recent Us box office hit Becky and Sundance social media satire Spree.

Nine titles were co-acquired by Rialto and the UK’s Vertigo Releasing, as part of a partnership forged earlier this year, and were closed during the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown. The films will receive a mix of theatrical and digital debuts in Australia and New Zealand across the second half of 2020.

They include action thriller Becky, starring Lulu Wilson and Kevin James,...

Exclusive: CAA last night signed Joe & Anthony Russo, the sibling filmmakers who, after setting the all-time global box office gross record with a $2.79 billion tally for Avengers: Endgame, just saw the Agbo thriller Extraction become Netflix’s most watched movie — 90 million subscribers– and spawned a sequel that Joe Russo is writing for Chris Hemsworth to reprise.

Wme had been the longtime agents for the Cleveland-born duo, and that agency certainly did a good job. I understand that the impetus to move had a lot to do with CAA managing partner Bryan Lourd, and the Russos’ ambitions to build out their Agbo banner. CAA will rep the Russos’ as directors, and Agbo on a case by case basis.

Even as the Russo Brothers were directing two Captain America films that led into the final two Avengers installments that collectively grossed over $6.3 billion for Marvel over seven years, they separately moved aggressively...

Sports Illustrated Studios is launching to develop feature film and television projects as a joint venture between David Glasser’s 101 Studios and Sports Illustrated owner Authentic Brands Group.

The company plans a slate of several television series and feature films per year. 101 Studios will be managing and overseeing all production, distribution and marketing for Sports Illustrated Studios in collaboration with Abg, which purchased Sports Illustrated in May from Meredith Corp. for $110 million.

“At the core of 101 Studios, we seek to tell stories that create cultural conversations, which is the same pillar behind the stories that have been told and continue to be told by Sports Illustrated,” said Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios. “Sports Illustrated has covered every major story in sports since the 1950s and, before the Internet, they were often the only publication covering the most famous and memorable stories in depth. Through this new partnership, we have the...

Jason Bergsman has been named chief executive officer at Joe and Anthony Russo’s entertainment company Agbo.

Bergsman, a veteran of Peter Chernin’s The Chernin Group, will lead all strategy and business operations at the film and TV shop and report directly to the directing team behind “Avengers: Endgame.”

Founded in 2017, the company is riding high on the streaming success of its Netflix original film “Extraction.” The Chris Hemsworth action-thriller made a big social media splash, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the release of the record-busting Marvel film.

“I feel very fortunate for many reasons,” Bergsman told Variety. “On one end of the spectrum, you have the brothers directing the biggest theatrical release in history. And after a week-and-a-half now, what looks like the biggest premiere in Netflix history. It’s a tremendous 12-month period.”

Bergsman will continue Agbo’s expansion into television and other arenas, where the...

Agbo creators Joe & Anthony Russo have hired Jason Bergsman to be the Company’s new CEO. Bergsman will report to the Russo Brothers and will lead all aspects of the Company’s strategy and business operations.

In other changes, Angela Otstot becomes President of Creative, Jake Aust is upped to President of Physical Production, and Nicholas Anglewicz to COO.

Agbo was formed by the Russos as they were directing the final two installments of the Avengers series for Marvel films. Agbo formed in 2017 with private funding to leverage their strength in telling stories with an agnostic approach to distribution. Their last Avengers film, Endgame, became the highest grossing box office hit of all time, and the Agbo produced Extraction is on course to become the most viewed feature film on Netflix. Yesterday, Deadline revealed that a sequel is in the formative stages.

Bergsman will oversee the expansion of this creative...

Promotions announced for Angela Otstot, Jake Aust, Nicholas Anglewicz to COO.

The Russo brothers’ Agbo, riding high as their Chris Hemsworth thriller Extraction heads towards becoming Netflix’s most watched original film ever, has hired former The Chernin Group partner and executive vice-president Jason Bergsman as CEO.

Bergsman, a former board member at Crunchyroll,will lead all aspects of the company’s strategy and business operations and told Screen on Tuesday (May 5) the company will continue to make features for theatrical release and will also partner with streaming platforms where it makes sense.

Agbo also announced on Tuesday (May 5) the...

Joe Russo has closed a deal to write the script for “Extraction 2,” the sequel to the Chris Hemsworth action film that debuted on Netflix on April 24.

No other deals have closed, but Russo’s production company that he runs alongside his brother Anthony Russo, Agbo, is hopeful that Hemsworth will return alongside director Sam Hargrave. Russo also wrote the screenplay for the first film.

Hemsworth stars as Rake, a black ops mercenary who is tasked to rescue an Indian drug lord’s kidnapped son in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Russo, Anthony Russo, Mike Larocca, Eric Gitter, Peter Schwern and Hemsworth produced the action thriller.

Also Read: How 'Extraction' Filmmakers Pulled Off That Sick 11-Minute Shot

On Friday, Netflix announced on Twitter that “Extraction” is on its way to becoming the biggest ever film premiere on the platform, with a projected 90 millions households tuning in in the first four weeks.

For...

Exclusive: As the Chris Hemsworth action film Extraction continues on pace to become Netflix’s most watched feature film ever, the film’s writer, Joe Russo, has closed a deal to write another installment of the high action film. Agbo, the company run by Russo and his brother Anthony, are putting the pieces together and are optimistic that Sam Hargrave returns as director, and that Chris Hemsworth will reprise as mercenary Tyler Rake, though those deals won’t be made by Netflix until the script is ready.

“The deal is closed for me to write Extraction 2, and we are in the formative stages of what the story can be,” Russo told Deadline. “We’re not committing yet to whether that story goes forward, or backward in time. We left a big loose ending that leaves question marks for the audience.”

Those who saw the movie — and judging by Netflix’s...

Condé Nast Entertainment hired Geneva Wasserman as senior vice president of motion pictures, overseeing development of the media company’s slate of feature film properties.

Wasserman, a nearly 20-year veteran of the entertainment industry, most recently served as co-founder and executive producer of production firm Project Z Entertainment.

She takes over the role at Cne after the departure earlier this summer of Jeremy Steckler, previously Evp of film at Condé Nast Entertainment, to join Imperative Entertainment as president of film production. Wasserman will be based in L.A. and reports to Oren Katzeff, president of Condé Nast Entertainment.

“Geneva’s mix of creative brilliance and business savvy made her the ideal candidate,” Katzeff said in announcing her hire. “I know she’ll bring an innovative spirit, helping Cne capture the best that this industry has to offer, and pushing us to expand the way we think about filmmaking.”

Wasserman joins...

Endeavor Content has boarded its first predominantly China-sourced film title, “Guilt by Design.” The company has also appointed Chia Chou as its first China-based sales executive. Both will make their debut at FilMart in Hong Kong this week.

“Guilt,” an action drama, comes from co-financiers and co-producers Grand Canal Pictures, Perfect Village Entertainment and Mei Ah Films. Derek Yee, Jason Guo and Ellen Eliasoph are producing. Endeavor will handle all rights outside China. It will be distributed in China by Mei Ah later this year.

“Guilt” is written and co-directed by Hong Kong filmmakers Lai Siu Kwan, Sze Pak Lam and Yongtai Liu, making their feature-filmmaking debut. It stars Nick Cheung as a juror on a high-profile case who learns that his daughter has been kidnapped. He is forced to decide whether to use his special skills to influence the case as demanded by the kidnappers.

Chou has worked in...

Bing Liu’s skateboarding movie “Minding The Gap” has won the International Documentary Association’s award for top feature of 2018.

Floyd Russ’s “Zion” was awarded best short. Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” won for best limited series and HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” took the ABC News VideoSource Award. PBS’ “Pov” won for best curated series, Showtime’s “The Trade” for best episodic series, Mel Films for best short form series, and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award.

Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.” were each awarded best music documentary while “Bisbee ’17” and “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” were each awarded best music score. The New York Times’ “Caliphate” took the inaugural award in the audio documentary category.

Ricki Lake hosted the ceremonies Saturday night for the 34th...