movies

‘The Juliet Set’ Filmmaker Niki Byrne Signs with Underground

Published

4 minutes ago

August 21, 2026

Rising filmmaker Niki Byrne has signed with Underground Management.

The move comes as Byrne prepares for the Toronto International Film Festival bow of The Julia Set, which stars One Battle After Another breakout Chase Infiniti, along with Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson.

The feature, a coming of age drama set in the world of competitive mathematics and academia, is generating interest from potential buyers, though it is not expected to be screened for them until the fest. Byrne also is putting together her next film, which she wrote and is being kept under wraps.

Byrne is a California native who attended Boston University, studying history and political science, as well as astrophysics. While writing spec scripts to get her filmmaking career off the ground, she held various jobs, including a communications role at 20th Century Fox before the Disney acquisition in 2019.

Now, she finds herself at a career turning point, with one of the more intriguing sales titles going into TIFF.

A year ago, the fest helped launch fellow Underground client Curry Barker, whose Obsession was acquired by Focus and later became a box office juggernaut.

The Julia Set is produced by Midsommar‘s Jeffrey Penman, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Maze Runner‘s Lee Stollman. Also producing are Anderson, Nick Scherma, Tayler Haynes, Andrey Epifanov and Eleonora Granata-Jenkinson.

In addition to Underground’s Aaron Folbe, Byrne continues to be repped by attorneys Hirsch Wallerstein.

movies

New ‘Serendipity’ Movie: Michael Showalter Directing For Amazon

Published

17 minutes ago

August 21, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: Michael Showalter is set to direct a modern retelling of cult-classic romantic comedy Serendipity for Amazon MGM Studios and Miramax, Deadline has learned.

Script is by Marc Klein, who wrote the original film, with casting underway.

The film will be produced by Showalter and Jordana Mollick for Semi-Formal Productions, alongside Simon Fields, who produced the original. Jonathan Glickman, Alexandra Loewy, and Thom Zadra will exec produce for Miramax, alongside Klein.

Emily Crook is overseeing the project for Semi-Formal, which is under a multi-year, first-look film deal with Amazon MGM, while Arianna D’Andrea will oversee for Miramax.

Directed by Peter Chelsom and starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, 2001’s Serendipity centers on a couple of strangers who fall for each other one Christmas night in New York, despite being engaged to other people. Separating, their potential future together is left unresolved — until, seven years later, each begins searching for the other.

Miramax released the film to major success — a worldwide gross exceeding $77 million — at a much different moment for the rom-com. Peter Abrams, Robert L. Levy and Simon Fields produced. No word yet on whether the new take will be for theaters or streaming.

In a statement on his Serendipity, Showalter said, “I am so honored and excited to get to live inside this iconic funny, romantic and intelligent world that Marc Klein has created. This new Serendipity is not a remake or even a reboot, I’d say it’s more of a rebuttal. Same title. New characters. New story and new ideas about love and relationships. Me and Jordana and everyone at Semi-Formal relish the opportunity to make another film with the whole team at Amazon MGM as well as our new partners at Miramax.”

Clearly, Showalter has major affection for the romantic comedy, in general. In the last decade, he’s dedicated significant focus to the genre, to strong results: Most recently, there was The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine — an adaptation of the novel by Robinne Lee, which a couple of years ago secured Prime Video’s top rom-com debut of all time. Prior to that, he helmed the critically acclaimed Spoiler Alert, based on the memoir by Michael Ausiello, along with Netflix’s The Lovebirds, the Oscar-nominated The Big Sick and the SXSW prize-winner Hello, My Name Is Doris.

On the heels of the Amazon MGM Christmas comedy Oh. What. Fun., Showalter has most recently reunited with the studio to tackle Verity, an adaptation of the thriller novel by Colleen Hoover, which releases in theaters on October 2nd. Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett star in that one.

Showalter is repped by UTA, Artists First and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Klein by 3 Arts, UTA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

movies

Ruby Karp Special ‘I Don’t Trust Adults’ Sets Streaming Premiere Date

Published

29 minutes ago

August 21, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: Comedian Ruby Karp has announced that her new special, I Don’t Trust Adults, will begin streaming on Veeps at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 10.

Performed Off-Broadway at SoHo Playhouse over the course of six weeks, Karp’s I Don’t Trust Adults tells the story of six different adults who caused the self-described “failed child star” to be forever suspicious of adults.

How many adults publicly wrote hit articles on her? How many theater teachers made her cry? Is Mark Zuckerberg allegedly involved in all of this?

It’s a show for young people who dream of having autonomy, for adults who are healing from other adults, and especially, for the theater kids who never got cast.

The special is written and performed by Karp, directed by Britt Berke, and exec produced by Amy Boland.

Karp is a comedian and writer from New York City who performs all over — most notably, at UCB, where she has been hosting monthly shows since she was 12 years old. Previously, she starred opposite singer-songwriter Charlie Puth in his improvised Roku comedy show The Charlie Puth Show. Also a cast member in Season 3 of Dropout’s Smartypants, she’s been featured at JFL, with additional appearances on MTV and Comedy Central, and was named one of the New York Comedy Festival’s Creators to Watch in 2023.

Karp is repped by Buchwald.

movies

White House Derides Rosie O’Donnell Over Jimmy Kimmel Guest Host Gig

Published

36 minutes ago

August 21, 2026

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Rosie O’Donnell’s stint filling in for ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has not gone unnoticed by the Trump White House.

On Friday, they issues a statement about the president’s longtime nemesis. “Rosie O’Donnell is a nasty woman and a total slob whose brain has been completely destroyed by Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle.

O’Donnell finished up her week on Thursday with a parody of Danny Boy, including lines like this: Drop that Big Mac that we all know you are holding, because my dear, I worry for you so. Poor Donny boy, your polls, your polls are falling, your reflecting pool is green as Mountain Dew. Your wig’s a mess, your ballroom is appalling, and with Iran, you bit off more than you can chew.

She then urged him to resign and “make this country great again.”

On Wednesday, O’Donnell made a joke about Trump aide Natalie Harp: “You got to realize it’s time to hang up your wig and let Natalie tuck you in.” One of the bigger stories of the week has been the White House’s nuclear-level response to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who in a recent broadside against Trump said, “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.”

The O’Donnell-Trump feud goes way, way back, so the White House response, first reported by Entertainment Weekly, is not a huge surprise. Also of note: Her guest host stint came just as ABC was taking on the Trump administration over its attacks on Kimmel, The View and ABC News reporting. The network filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC on Tuesday, claiming that the agency’s early review of its broadcast licenses is a Trump administration retaliation over its content.