Tag: Amazon Studios

One Comment

Eddie Murphy Set To Star In Holiday Comedy Film ‘Candy Cane Lane’ For Prime Video

  By

Eddie Murphy in a Christmas flick? Yeah, I can dig it. The comedy legend is set to produce/star in the upcoming holiday comedy film, Candy Cane Lane.

The deal is with Amazon Studios. It’s actually part of his 3-picture deal with the streaming giant. It looks like Eddie Murphy’s production company acquired the rights to this spec script from writer Kelly Younger. The movie is supposedly inspired by Younger’s childhood holiday experiences.

Production is scheduled to begin this winter in Los Angeles, which means we’re likely looking at a Christmas 2023 release date. And according to the report, it’ll skip theaters and premiere directly on Amazon Prime in more than 240 countries.

Reginald Hudlin will direct the flick, and it’s safe to say, Hudlin is excited:

The holiday season is my favorite time of year—just ask my family about my nine-hour Christmas playlist. I‘m excited to be working again with Eddie Murphy, Brian Grazer, and Amazon.

They’re hoping this movie turns into a holiday classic. No word on who will star alongside Murphy, but we’re sure he’ll have no problem recruiting. If Eddie calls… you pick up!

No comments

Watch Regina Hall In The First Trailer For Drama/Thriller ‘Master’ From Amazon Studios

  By ,

We all love Regina Hall, right? If we can’t agree on that, then we can’t agree on anything in life.

The 51-year-old actress (who looks like she’s in her 30s) stars in the upcoming Amazon Studios thriller, Master, which made its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

In the first feature written and directed by Mariama Diallo, three women strive to find their place at a prestigious New England university whose frosty elitism may disguise something more sinister. Professor Gail Bishop (Hall) has recently been promoted to Master of a residence hall, the first time at storied Ancaster College that a Black woman has held the post. Determined to breathe new life into a centuries-old tradition, Gail soon finds herself wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of Jasmine Moore (Renee), an energetic and optimistic Black freshman.

It received mostly positive reviews coming out of Sundance. It currently sits at a respectable 73 score on Metacritic, with 13 positive reviews, 3 mixed and just 1 being negative.

It’s set to hit a limited amount of theaters on March 18. It’ll also drop across the globe on Prime Video.

Check out the trailer below…

No comments

Eddie Murphy Signs Big Three-Picture, First Look Deal With Amazon Studios

  By

Amazon Studios liked working with Eddie Murphy so much on ‘Coming 2 America’ that they’ve decided to hook him up with a three-picture and first-look deal.

He’ll star in three films for Amazon and help develop original programming for Prime Video and the studio, with the potential to star in them as well.

Head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke, had this to say about the deal…

Eddie is a legend both in front of and behind the camera. With undeniable comedic and dramatic genius, he consistently delivers entertaining, original stories and characters to audiences around the world. We could not be more excited to help carry on the tradition and to officially welcome Eddie into the Amazon family.

Amazon has been quick to make similar deals with other actors in the past, including Michael B. Jordan and Nicole Kidman.

As some of you may remember, Amazon purchased the distribution rights to ‘Coming 2 America’ from Paramount for a cool $125 million.

Murphy’s next project will actually be with Netflix. He’s set to co-star alongside Jonah Hill in a Kenya Barris-directed comedy.

At 60-years-old, Murphy is staying busy and rich.

No comments

Watch The Trailer For Upcoming Documentary About Val Kilmer’s Life

  By ,

You know him as Iceman and Batman, but there’s more to Val Kilmer than the characters he plays on the big screen.

Amazon Studios has released the first trailer for ‘Val‘ — a documentary telling the personal story of the 61-year-old actor, shot over the course of four decades.

The official synopsis from Amazon Studios can be found below:

For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like ‘Top Gun,’ ‘The Doors,’ ‘Tombstone,’ and ‘Batman Forever.’ This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man.”

Leo Scott and Ting Poo worked together to direct the film. They spent over nine months digitizing Kilmer’s home videos in order to use them in their documentary.

They claim the footage Kilmer recorded floored them…

The more of it you get to see, the more you understand who he is now. There was always a sense that he was interested in his own craft. You got the sense from the material that he was knowingly, wisely, gathering some of these things for a bigger story one day.

The movie will have a limited released inside theaters on July 23. It’ll then begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on August 6.

Check out the trailer below…

No comments

Amazon Studios Picks Up ‘Lost And Found’ Film Starring Gina Rodriguez

  By

If you’ve been sleeping on Gina Rodriguez, now is the time to wake the hell up. She’s known for her starring role in the CW series, Jane The Virgin, but she’s so much more than that.

Just recently, she gave an incredible performance in the wonderful film ‘Kajillionaire‘ alongside Evan Rachel Wood.

And now, she’s getting ready to star opposite Zachary Levi in the upcoming comedy adventure, Lost and Found.

The movie will be directed by Steve Pink, based on a script he co-wrote with Jeff Morris. The story is reportedly about a headstrong lawyer ‘and an off-the-grid renegade who reluctantly team up to find a long-lost buried treasure by the Mississippi River.”

Sounds interesting enough for me. A little comedy, a little tension, a little mystery and probably a little romance.

Amazon Studios just recently closed a deal to develop the project. No word on when production might begin, but we’ll keep you posted. Levi and Rodriguez are close friends, so they should have some great chemistry on screen.

No comments

Amazon Studios Picks Up John Cena/Idris Elba Action Film ‘Heads Of State’

  By

Well, it’s time for celebration for screenwriter Harrison Query. He and his author brother Matthew have blown up this past year. Back in June, they landed a seven-figure deal for the project My Wife and I Bought A Ranch.

Netflix made the deal after Matthew wrote a short story on Reddit, which went viral and ended up having six parts. Harrison will be writing the screenplay.

And it looks like that deal opened the door for Harrison, because now he just landed another seven-figure deal. Amazon Studios just made a deal for the upcoming action film Heads of State, starring John Cena and Idris Elba.

The project was sold after a Zoom pitch presentation with the actors, screenwriter Harrison Query, and the producers (The Safran Company’s Peter Safran and John Rickard). The actors are finalizing, and this was a high six figure against low seven figure deal for the writer.  Amazon moved quickly to halt the pitching process and take Heads of State off the table.

Deadline reports that plot details are being kept under wraps, but they do know it’s a ” ’90s style two-hander, a high octane premise that has a bit of Air Force One meets Hobbs and Shaw.”

No word on when filming might begin, but we’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, Harrison will search for his next seven-figure deal.

No comments

Amazon Studios Lands Rights To Thriller ‘All The Old Knives’ Starring Thandie Newton And Chris Pine

  By

Chris Pine and Thandie Newton are set to star in the upcoming spy thriller ‘All The Old Knives‘ which is based on the hit 2015 novel of the same name.

The novel was written by Olen Steinhauer, and he’s also the writer behind the screenplay. Janus Metz is set to direct the movie.

The story is set in the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea and follows ex-lovers — one a CIA spy, one an ex-spy — meet over dinner to reminisce on their time together at Vienna station. The conversation moves inevitably to the disastrous hijacking of Royal Jordanian Flight 127, which ended in the deaths of all on board. That failure haunts the CIA to this day, and Henry has come to Carmel to close the book on that seedy chapter. As they parry, flirting, over California cuisine, it becomes clear that one of them is not going to survive the meal.

It sounds very intriguing. Honestly, I kinda want to read the novel now based on that description alone.

I think this movie has a lot of potential, especially with Newton in a starring role. She’s an incredible actress. If you haven’t watched her in Westworld, you should consider changing that.

No word on a potential release date for this film, but we’ll keep you posted.

No comments

Amazon Studios Purchases Comedy Film ‘Shelly’ Starring Awkwafina And Karen Gillan

  By

Earlier this year, we told you about the comedy film titled ‘Shelly‘ starring Awkwafina and Karen Gillan.

The action-comedy script was written by Liz Storm and Michael Doneger. It was described as Mean Girls meets Barry.

The story takes place a decade after an embarrassing prom prank ran Shelly Wheeler (Awkwafina) out of town and so hardened her heart that she became an ice-cold hit-woman. Revenge threatens to be sweet when she learns her next target is her former high school tormentor, Dianna Park (Gillan). But when Dianna unexpectedly befriends Shelly, the assassin finds herself in with the cool crowd, protecting her old nemesis against another hit crew hired to kill them both.

Sounds pretty entertaining, right? Especially knowing that Awkwafina and Gillan will be the leads.

When we wrote about it, the script was still looking for a home. Now, just a few months later, it has found one.

Amazon Studios has acquired the flick. Jude Weng is set to direct. She’s mainly worked in television, directing episodes of The Good Place, Fresh Off the Boat, Black-ish and Young Sheldon.

No word on a potential release, but we’ll keep you posted.

No comments

Watch The First Trailer For Horror Comedy Film ‘Get Duked!’

  By ,

Amazon Studios has released the first trailer for the horror-comedy film ‘Get Duked!’ from Ninian Doff. It’ll be Doff’s debut feature, so it’s a pretty big deal.

The film stars Kate Dickie, Eddie Izzard, Georgie Glen and James Cosmo.

It’s described as an anarchic cocktail of generational politics, hip-hop loving farmers, and hallucinogenic rabbit shites, that pits the youth of tomorrow against the status quo of yesterday.

Amazon picked up the film after its successful festival run, which started with its world premiere in 2019 at SXSW.

It’s scheduled to be released on Amazon August 28, 2020. Check out the red band trailer below…

No comments

Regina King’s Directorial Debut ‘One Night in Miami’ Lands Record Deal With Amazon Studios

  By

Regina King has been best known for her incredible acting skills, but that will soon change after the release of her directorial debut, One Night in Miami.

The movie, which is based off Kemp Powers’ 2013 stage play, takes place in 1964 and follows a young Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) after he wins the title of World Heavyweight Champion.

The fictional story picks up the morning after the big fight, as Clay and his three closest friends — activist Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke and football star Jim Brown — forge paths to becoming trailblazers in their own right.

Amazon Studios just acquired the worldwide rights, and they plan to release it later this year. Apparently, they think it has the potential to win some awards.

According to the report, several studios were interested in this project, and some even offered more money than Amazon, but King felt like Amazon was the best fit.

Still though, insiders say it was one of the biggest independent film sales in history.

No word on an exact release date, but we’ll keep you posted.