Connect with us

Entertainment

Adrien Brody, Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt to Star in Last Dance

Published

on

Adrien Brody, Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt will star in the music-driven AIDS drama “Last Dance,” FilmNation announced on Thursday. Karim Aïnouz (“Rosebush Pruning”) will direct from a screenplay by Emily Ziff Griffin, based on her own autobiographical New Yorker article “The Last Dance With My Dad.”

The story follows a celebrated Broadway composer Elliot (Brody) who invites his daughter Emma (Zegler) on a gay cruise through the Caribbean in 1991. But, per the official synopsis, “beneath the joy and abandon, the AIDS crisis casts an ever-deepening shadow. As Elliot retreats from the devastating reality of his illness, father and daughter are forced to confront the unspoken truths between them. In the fleeting time they have left together, can they rediscover each other before the music finally fades?”

Platt will co-star and write original music for the film, while Zegler — fresh off her Broadway run in “Evita” — will sing original songs.

Fifth Season and Lynette Howell Taylor’s 51 Entertainment are producing. Griffin also executive produces. FilmNation Entertainment will launch international sales at the upcoming Cannes market. Fifth Season and CAA Media Finance Group are handling domestic rights.

“I am thrilled to bring to the screen such a unique and moving portrait of a time where hope and celebration allowed our queer community to overcome one of the worst crises of last century,” Aïnouz said in a statement. “When many were dying of AIDS there was a sense of solidarity and fury that made us stronger. ‘Last Dance’ is a universal and urgent tale where joy is taken up as resilience, where the dance floor becomes a pièce de résistance. It is an honour to collaborate with such exquisite talent in order to bring this movie to life in a time where, more than ever, we need fables of hope.”

Aïnouz is repped by CAA, LARK, and Granderson Des Rochers. Brody is repped by CAA, 2PM Sharp, and Kopeikin Law P.C. Zegler is repped by WME, The Initiative Group, and Freundlich Law. Platt is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, Immersive Management, 42West, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hunick Jamie LeVine Sample & Klein. Griffin is repped by WME and Greenberg Glusker.

>

Continue Reading

Entertainment

CNN, MS NOW and Politico Seek to Extend White House Access Order, Warn Trump Will ‘Reinstitute a Complete Ban’ Without It

Published

on






















CNN, MS NOW and Politico Seek to Extend White House Access Order, Warn Trump Will ‘Reinstitute a Complete Ban’ Without It – TheWrap







>

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Kimmel Channels Trump, Promises $5K to Audience If Guillermo Wins ‘DWTS’

Published

on























Kimmel Channels Trump, Promises $5K to Audience If Guillermo Wins ‘DWTS’







>

Continue Reading

movies

CNN, MS NOW And Politico Warn That Trump Will Revive “A Complete Ban”

Published

on

CNN, MS NOW and Politico are warning that the Trump administration will reimpose a “complete ban” on their access to the White House without a judge issuing a preliminary injunction.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order, forcing the White House to restore access to the White House to the outlets as he more fully considers the legal arguments. The TRO lasts for 14 days.

In a filing in federal court on Monday, attorneys for the three news outlets argued that the Trump White House actions since then “leave little doubt that it will immediately reinstitute a complete ban of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico if allowed the opportunity.”

The outlets’ legal team, led by Theodore Boutrous Jr., pointed to the White House’s restriction on CNN from access to State Dinner arrivals on Thursday evening. The network then was barred from serving as TV pooler on Air Force One on Trump’s trip to Tennessee on Saturday, with no replacement stepping in, and leaving a dearth of TV images from the trip.

“Because the ban is an unlawful assault on the most fundamental First Amendment freedoms and will inflict irreparable harm on Plaintiffs and the public if not restrained, this Court should preliminarily enjoin its enforcement pending the resolution of this case,” the news outlets’ attorneys wrote.

Kelly cited a lack of due process by the White House when it pulled dozens of credentials of reporters from the three outlets. While the Trump DOJ has cited standards of “professionalism and decorum” and national security concerns, the media outlets’ legal team called that reasoning that “pretextual” and “post hoc,” as well as vague.

In the latest brief, CNN, MS NOW and Politico also again cited violations of the First Amendment. They noted that Trump has explained the ban by blaming their coverage as “Purposely … negative,” among other things.

“His statements also make clear he implemented the ban to coerce more favorable coverage from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, and to deter other journalists and news organizations from newsgathering and reporting that the President might view as negative,” the news outlets’ legal team wrote. “And his administration has continued to retaliate against Plaintiffs even after the temporary restraining order, only underscoring that Defendants’ motive is to punish and chill journalism they dislike.”

The outlets are asking the judge to prohibit the Trump team from pulling hard pass credentials, or to ensure the reporters of the White House access they had before Sept. 18. In contrast to a TRO, a preliminary injunction would sideline Trump’s ban until a trial is held, or if an appeals court rules otherwise.

Trump initially banned the three outlets on Sept. 18. When the judge granted a TRO last early Thursday, it meant that the White House had to restore hard passes, with reporters not gaining reentry until around noon that day.

The issue of whether the White House can also restrict CNN from the pool is a slightly different, but related issue. It’s also one at the center of another case, involving the Associated Press after it was banned from the pool and other White House events. That case is currently on appeal.

That said, in the latest brief, the three outlets cited the White House’s continued prohibitions on CNN as an example of White House retaliation over protected speech.

For much of last week, there was no TV network pool, meaning that there was little video coverage of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House. The four other networks in the pool — CBS News, ABC News, Fox News and NBC News — initially suspended their participation in protest of the exclusion of CNN. The networks resumed the TV pool coverage this week, but it will be put to the test again on Thursday, when CNN is assigned to that duty.

“Every day, critically important news is breaking at the White House, and the ban will substantially interfere with Plaintiffs’ ability to cover it,” the outlets brief stated. “The ban also inflicts an injury on all news media organizations—which now risk a similar fate if they engage in fact-based, independent reporting the President deems insufficiently favorable.”

The DOJ’s brief in response is due by Friday.

>

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2017 Zox News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by WordPress.