EXCLUSIVE: LA and Germany-based producer-financier Alliance Cinema, whose credits include My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Dark Tide, has joined David Mamet’s Speed The Plow as an equity financier.

Speed The Plow, currently in post-production, marks Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet’s return to directing. Adapted from his acclaimed Broadway play, the feature stars Anthony Mackie, Ben Mendelsohn, Sharon Stone, Emily Alyn Lind, Chris Bauer, and Rebecca Pidgeon.

As we told you earlier this year, the new film will diverge to an extent from the play and will be set at the fictional American Prestige Studios, where junior executive Bob Grant (Mackie) is appointed to a head of production role. Grant is emotionally and philosophically unsuited to a job overseeing the production of schlock, but is aided, or impeded, by a studio time server, Charlie Fox (Mendelsohn); an office temp, Karen (Lind); and crazed movie star Gemma Speed (Stone).

The film, which also had help from A.I. on its journey through production, is produced by Tyler Payne, together with Douglas Riggs (Steak & Rosé), Jiarui Guo (Incandescent Productions), Vince Jolivette, and Richie Hill of Filmopoly. International sales are being handled by The Solution Entertainment Group, while Milestone Studios will oversee U.S. sales.

Separately, Alliance Cinema’s Jeanette B. Milio and her producing partner Iris Ramos have secured the exclusive worldwide adaptation rights to the Brazilian novel Diary Of A Weird Girl, written by author Thalita Rebouças and published by HarperCollins Brazil.

The plan is for the YA novel to be developed as a TV series for global audiences with Alliance now deciding on the best creative team to take it forward.

The book follows Carol, a 13-year-old girl who feels “weird” and navigates the ups and downs of pre-adolescence. The story takes in first crushes, school pressures, friendship conflicts, parental separation, and loneliness.

“We’re thrilled to bring one of Brazil’s most beloved young adult novels to television,” said Jeanette B. Milio. Iris Ramos added. “Thalita Rebouças has created unforgettable characters that resonate across cultures, and we look forward to introducing this inspiring story to audiences around the world through a high-quality international television series.”

Thalita Rebouças commented: “The love that Brazilian readers have shown Diary Of A Weird Girl has been the greatest gift. Some stories are simply meant to travel, and I’ve always believed this was one of them. I’m delighted to be partnering with Jeanette Milio and Iris Ramos to bring the novel to the international screen, and I can’t wait for audiences around the world to meet her.”

EXCLUSIVE: André “3000” Benjamin (High Life; Jimi: All Is by My Side) is returning to the Scooby-Doo franchise with a recurring role on Netflix’s upcoming series Scooby-Doo: Origins, which is currently filming in Atlanta. Cathy Moriarty also will recur on the live-action series, which has been garnering strong buzz internally ahead of its 2027 global release.

Scooby-Doo: Origins, from Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, is the second live-action take on the beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoon after the 2002 movie. Benjamin is bridging the two; He and Big Boi’s OutKast, along with Killer Mike and Sleepy Brown, co-wrote the song “Land of a Million Drums,” for that film, which spawned a 2004 sequel.

Benjamin and Moriarty join previously announced Scooby-Doo: Origins leads Mckenna Grace as “Daphne Blake,” Tanner Hagen as “Shaggy Rogers,” Abby Ryder Fortson as “Velma Dinkley,” Maxwell Jenkins as “Fred Jones,” and of course, Scooby-Doo himself, along with Paul Walter Hauser, Rusty Schwimmer, Peter Macon, Jona Xiao, Dani Deetté, Elysée Sanvillé, Alex Isles, Avery Kristen Pohl, Pamela Mitchell, Ross Kimball, Sara Gilbert, Wynn Everett, Sauriyan Sapkota, and Bruce McGill.

Scooby-Doo: Origins is a described as a modern reimagining of the iconic mystery-solving group of teens and their very special dog. During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy (Hagen) and Daphne (Mckenna Grace) get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma (Abby Ryder Fortson), and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy (Maxwell Jenkins), they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets.  

Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg serve as showrunners, writers, and executive producers. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman (via Berlanti Productions and its overall deal with Warner Bros. Television), André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Adrienne Erickson (via Midnight Radio), and Toby Haynes (EP/Episode 101 Director) also executive produce. Warner Bros. Television is the studio.

André 3000 starred as Jimi Hendrix in the 2013 film Jimi: All Is By My Side, for which he earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. He also appeared in the films Four Brothers, High Life and White Noise, among others.

Oscar-nominated for her role in Raging Bull, Moriarty recently appeared in guest-starring roles in Will Trent and Elsbeth among others.

EXCLUSIVE: The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th is off to a, well, roaring start on Bravo.

The premiere welcomed 2.5 million total viewers across platforms in its first week, marking a 112% increase over the previous season premiere, per a combination of Nielsen data and internal NBCUniversal streaming numbers.

Per Nielsen, the episode was up 97% on Bravo linear. On Peacock, NBCU says that the premiere was up 110% to achieve a streaming series high for Ultimate Girls Trip franchise. The episode also ranks as Bravo’s No. 6 biggest season premiere in Peacock history after seven days, the media company adds.

The growing audience is also fueling buzz on social. The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th has tallied 97 million impressions to-date, NBCU says.

The Real Housewives franchise appears to be firing on all cylinders, lately. The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 20 debuted to 2.4 million total viewers across platforms, which is a 15% increase season-over-season. Through 13 episodes, The Real Housewives of Atlanta is averaging 2.6 million total viewers across platforms after 35 days. That’s a 5% increase overall, but the show is up 22% on Peacock specifically.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Real Housewives franchise, Season 5 of Ultimate Girls Trip features Teresa Giudice, Luann de Lesseps, Kyle Richards, Vicki Gunvalson, Gizelle Bryant, Porsha Williams, and Lisa Barlow. Throughout the season, the women are traveling to some of the iconic locations from the franchise’s history, starting in Orange County and visiting Beverly Hills, Atlanta, Miami, and New York City. 

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th is produced by Shed Media with Lisa Shannon, Dan Peirson, Darren Ward, and Barrie Bernstein serving as executive producers. Andy Cohen also serves as executive producer.