movies

Producer Manny Halley Takes Over L.A.’s Pacoima Studios With Long-Term Lease As Quixote Exits

Published

54 minutes ago

August 27, 2026

Producer Manny Halley through his Imani Media Group has taken over Pacoima Studios with a long-term lease for the San Fernando Valley facility formerly operated by Quixote North Valley Studios.

It will be rebranded Imani Studio. Halley has a 25-year lease with an option to buy the complex of four sound stages across 125,000 square feet on a six-acre campus. The land on which the studio sits remains under Rexford Industrial Realty ownership.

News surfaced in April that Quixote was exiting most of its leased sound stage facilities in L.A. amid a pullback in the space by its parent company Hudson Pacific, reflecting ongoing disruption in the space. Production, softer overall, continues to migrate around the country and overseas chasing the best terms.

Halley said he’s looking both to support California production and use the studio as dedicated home base to develop and produce new projects. He’s shot 18 projects in California, 16 of which received state tax credit incentives.

He will invest up to $5 million in upgrades — including LED volume walls with real-time 3D virtual environments, and XR stages – and explore further investment and enhancements.

“Taking control of this facility is an important next step for us and for the future of production in California,” he said. “With Imani Studio, we have an opportunity to build on an experienced team, invest in the facility and create a production environment that serves filmmakers, producers and productions at the highest level.”

The existing team employed by the facility will remain in place to ensure continuity. Pacoima-hosted productions include MTV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 18 shot there through late July), A24’s MaXXXine, Apple TV+’s Physical, Netflix’s Atlas, and commercials. Projects for Amazon, Fox and BET are upcoming.

Halley’s recent credits include BET original comedy series Lot Patrol, True to the Game trilogy, Dutch, Dutch II: Angel’s Revenge, Aftershock: The Nicole P. Bell Story, A Holiday Chance, Wayward, and Soul Mates.

Halley’s company spans music, management and distribution as well as production. BET executive Brian Rikuda, EVP Enterprise Growth Strategy, Business Operations and Programming Strategy, said supporting Black ownership and entrepreneurship across the entertainment industry is deeply important to the company and “we look forward to supporting Imani Studios’ growth and helping amplify its presence across the entertainment landscape.”

California Film Commission chief Colleen Bell, said facilities like these “help keep productions here, sustain good-paying jobs, and support the thousands of businesses and workers that make up our entertainment economy.”

movies

Debuts Official Trailer For Cannes Palme d’Or Winner ‘Fjord’

Published

5 minutes ago

August 27, 2026

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Neon has debuted the official trailer for Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Fjord ahead of its U.S. theatrical release on October 9.

Reinsve stars as a Norwegian woman who relocates with her devout Romanian husband (Stan) and their five children to a remote, close-knit, coastal town.

Their teenage children form a fast bond with a neighboring family as unease begins to simmer around their rigid beliefs. When allegations of abuse emerge, they are forced to confront a system of judgement that blurs the lines between concern and prejudice.

Neon acquired U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand rights to the film on the eve of its world premiere in Cannes and then scored its seventh straight Palme d’Or win after it scooped the top prize.

Deadline’s Chief Film Critic Pete Hammond praised Mungiu for fearlessly tackling contemporary controversial societal issues without taking sides.

“Fjord is an intelligent and gripping movie that finds its power in providing no easy answers, only questions about what is right and what is wrong,” he wrote.

With strong performances from awards regulars Stan (The Apprentice) and Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Fjord is likely to be part of the upcoming awards season conversation over the coming weeks and months.

movies

Writers Guild Foundation Taps 2026 Veterans Fellowship Cohort

Published

12 minutes ago

August 27, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: The Writers Guild Foundation has revealed the latest cohort military veterans to participate in its Veterans Fellowship program.

The 2026 program will include Jon-Alexander Genson, Kat Castañeda, Manda K. Skelton, Shain Brenden, and Shannon Corbeil.

They will be paired with five mentors: Dennis Lehane (Smoke, Black Bird), David Schulner (New Amsterdam, Memory of a Killer), Aron Eli Coleite (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Locke & Key), Dayo Adesokan (Superstore, Party Down), and Brian Studler (The Blacklist, Motherland: Fort Salem).

The goal of the intensive mentorship program is to provide educational resources, professional guidance, and career-building opportunities specifically to military veterans who are seeking a breakthrough into the television industry.

This is the program’s third year, and once again it will be led by instructor Eli Edelson, a development executive and writer. The fellowship builds on the success of the WGF Veterans Writing Project, which is a yearlong mentorship program that has helped military vets develop their screenwriting craft for more than a decade. Fellowship alumni have had scripts optioned, secured representation and landed positions on shows including Paradise, Watson, Memory of a Killer, and American Blue.

“While the industry landscape continues to be challenging, I believe there will always be a place in Hollywood for writers with incredible stories, and these five talented military service veterans have more than a few stories to tell. With the help of their high-level mentors and the community of the Writers Guild Foundation, I have no doubt they will find their place in the writers’ room before long,” Edelson said in a statement shared with Deadline.

movies

Rafe Judkins Inks Overall Deal With Paramount Television Studios

Published

20 minutes ago

August 27, 2026

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Paramount Television Studios has closed an exclusive overall deal with The Wheel of Time creator/showrunner Rafe Judkins to create, develop, and produce original scripted series for the studio. The pact at Paramount’s streaming-focused studio comes amid an effort by the new regime at sibling Paramount+ to find a platform-defining world-building genre series.

Paramount Television Studios President Matt Thunell highlighted Judkins’ experience in the area.

“I have long been a fan of Rafe’s extraordinary writing and producing and am grateful he chose Paramount as his new creative home,” Thunell said. “We are amazed by his ability to build immersive worlds, craft action-packed stories, and realize vibrant characters. We cannot wait to build with him.”

Thunell and his team pursued Judkins for the deal, which reunites the writer-producer with Chris Parnell who is leading genre development for Paramount+ under Head of Originals Jane Wiseman. As Sony Pictures Television Co-President, Parnell developed The Wheel of Time, calling Judkins “a brilliant visionary” in the 2018 announcement of the project’s series order by Prime Video. The Wheel of Time, based on the novels by Robert Jordan and co-author Brandon Sanderson, ran for three seasons.

“Right now is a time to take risks and be ambitious in television with the kind of stories we tell and the way we tell them, no matter how big or small,” Judkins said. “That’s the kind of television I want to make, and I feel lucky to have found partners at Paramount who are also looking to expand, take risks, and create something new. I’m honored and excited to be in at the ground floor for what Matt and his team are building.”

Judkins previously had an overall deal at Sony TV where he also developed and wrote an earlier version of the studio’s game-based fantasy drama God of War for Prime Video. He began his career as a writer on the NBC drama series My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater and served as a writer-producer on NBC’s Chuck and ABC/Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He most recently created The Red Tent, based on Anita Diamant’s best-selling novel, which is in development at Netflix.

On the film side, Judkins wrote Uncharted, the top-grossing non-sequel film of 2022, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, and more recently did a rewrite on Foreign Relations, starring Glen Powell. He is repped by CAA, Kaplan Perrone, and Hansen Jacobsen Teller.

At Paramount TV Studios, Judkins joins roster of talent that includes Yellowjackets creators Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson, Iron Ocean led by Jessica Biel & Michelle Purple as well as Liz Tigelaar, under a joint deal and CBS Studios. Additionally, the Duffer brothers, Issa Rae and Jon M. Chu have Paramount pacts spanning film and TV.