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Tony Amatullo Dead: ‘2 Days in the Valley’ Producer Was 76

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Tony Amatullo, a location manager and producer with credits including Fame, The Goonies, The Color Purple and 2 Days in the Valley, has died. He was 76.

Amatullo died Sunday of acute myeloid leukemia at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, his son Nico Amatullo told The Hollywood Reporter.

The native New Yorker also served from 2000-05 as vp production at Warner Bros., where he worked on series including ER, The West Wing and Third Watch. And for his final project, he executive produced, directed and co-wrote Surviving on LES (2021), about gentrification and the changing culture of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

“Tony often compared producing to walking a tightrope — balancing creativity, logistics and big personalities,” his family said. “It was a challenge he embraced wholeheartedly, bringing both a passion for storytelling and a steady hand to every project throughout his career.”

Born and raised in Hell’s Kitchen, Tony Eugene Amatullo Jr. attended Power Memorial High School before earning his bachelor’s degree in Film, Cinema and Video Studies from City University of New York.

Not long after graduating, he moved across the country to pursue a career in the entertainment industry and worked as a production assistant and then as a location manager for commercials, television and film.

He was an associate producer on the 1980s TV series Fame and Miami Vice and a location manager on two notable films released in 1985, Richard Donner’s The Goonies and Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple.

Amatullo also was a line producer on Above Suspicion (1995), starring Christopher Reeve and Joe Mantegna, and an executive producer on the John Herzfeld neo-noir 2 Days in the Valley (1996) and on the Reelz reality series Beverly Hills Pawn in 2013-14.

Survivors include his wife, Mariana, the daughter of an Argentine diplomat whom he met on a tour bus in Kyoto, Japan, and his sons, Nico and Leonardo.

“Tony found joy in the day-to-day moments of life,” his family noted, “gardening, making the perfect pizza at his home in Pasadena, taking long walks through downtown Manhattan, swimming daily, fishing and hunting for antiques and hidden treasures in the many flea markets he visited around the world. … He will be deeply missed and forever remembered by all those who loved him.”

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Ben Hardy Will Lead ‘Stillwater’ Show At Prime Video

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Ben Hardy has been cast in the leading role of Daniel West in the upcoming Prime Video series Stillwater, from Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television and Skybound Entertainment.

Stillwater is a mind-bending horror thriller that focuses on ex-con Daniel West. When Daniel receives a mysterious letter promising answers about his past and a substantial inheritance in the small town of Stillwater, he discovers a community where nothing ever ages, no one ever dies, and nobody ever gets out.

The one-hour drama hails from Executive Producers Greg Berlanti (You, The Flash) and Carly Wray (“Watchmen,” “Westworld”), based on the Skybound graphic novel by Chip Zdarsky and Ramón K Pérez. Wray & Berlanti co-wrote the pilot episode.

Stillwater is produced by Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, Skybound Entertainment and Amazon MGM Studios. The series was given an eight-episode series order ahead of San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026.

Hardy most recently starred in New Line’s The Conjuring: Last Rites, which debuted as the highest-grossing horror opening of all time. Other recent credits include Vanessa Caswell’s Love at First Sight and Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd’s Unicorns, which earned Hardy a British Independent Film Award nomination. Previously, he starred as Queen drummer Roger Taylor opposite Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody. He also starred in the HBO Max/BBC limited series The Girl Before, Amazon
Studios’ The Voyeurs opposite Sydney Sweeney, X-Men: Apocalypse and Michael Bay’s 6 Underground. Hardy is repped by UTA, Principal Entertainment LA and Independent Talent Group..

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BBC Tech Teams Hit With Fresh Round Of Cuts, 110 Layoffs

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EXCLUSIVE: The cuts keep coming at the BBC.

BBC Media Tech, the division that powers the UK broadcaster’s online services like iPlayer, has today announced a fresh £37 million ($50M) round of savings after delivering £42M of cuts earlier this year.

Around 110 staff in the unit will face compulsory redundancy, while 35 vacancies will be closed. The BBC expects to make a further 180 Media Tech layoffs through voluntary redundancy, which includes the 150 Deadline reported on last week.

This will not be the last of the cuts, either. Kelly Kowal, the BBC chief operations and portfolio officer, told staff in an email that Media Tech will need to find an additional £23M of savings in early 2027.

The BBC Media Tech cuts follow similar savings announcements in BBC Sport and local radio. Deadline also revealed last week that channel closures are imminent, with insiders expecting BBC Three to be moved online for a second time in a decade.

BBC Media Tech will contribute £102M of savings to the corporation’s overall target of £500M, which the BBC must deliver because of the growing number of Brits who are refusing to pay for the licence fee.

The BBC tech division will embrace AI to reduce costs, according to Kowal. The unit is also expected to focus on fewer products and push more resource into boosting iPlayer. Matt Brittin, the BBC director general, has been candid about the need to improve iPlayer recommendations and user experience.

Kowal told employees: “I want to recognise the uncertainty and worry this news will create, particularly those potentially affected by redundancy or worried about their role. There is no easy way to make these choices, but we will be caring, respectful and considered in how we help people work through their options.”

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‘Wildwood’ Studio Laika To Receive 2026 Gotham Film Awards Tribute

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EXCLUSIVE: Laika, the animation studio that has scored six Oscar nominations for its stop-motion films including Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and Two Strings since its founding in 2005, will be honored with the Gotham Anniversary Tribute at this year’s Gotham Film Awards.

The tribute commemorates Laika’s 20 years of storytelling and the release of Wildwood, its newest film, which hits theaters October 23 via Fathom Entertainment. The pic will have its world premiere at the London Film Festival October 11 and 10 days later serve as the opening-night film at AFI Fest.

It marks the first tribute award revealed for the 36th annual Gothams, put on by the Gotham Film & Media Institute, which take place this year November 20 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

“After 20 years of pushing the boundaries of modern cinema and animation, this moment feels like both a celebration and an evolution for Laika,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the institute, which earlier this year teamed with the animation studio to launch Laika x Gotham Animation Accelerator for creators working on animated short films. “With Wildwood, Laika’s most ambitious film to date, and the launch of Laika Live Action opening up new creative territory, the studio continues to expand the possibilities of what handcrafted storytelling can be. We can think of no more fitting honoree for this year’s Anniversary Tribute, and we’re thrilled to welcome the Laika team to celebrate with us.”

Travis Knight, Laika’s president and CEO, directs Wildwood, which was written by Chris Butler based on Colin Meloy’s novel. It centers on headstrong teenager Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), who after her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows launches with her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay) a rescue mission into the Impassable Wilderness — an enchanted forest hidden just beyond Portland, OR.

It voice cast also includes Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits and Richard E. Grant.

“We’re deeply honored that The Gotham is recognizing Laika at a moment when we’re celebrating two decades of filmmaking and bringing Wildwood to audiences,” said David Burke, Laika’s Chief Marketing & Operations Officer. “Our partnership on the Laika x Gotham Animation Accelerator reflects something we care deeply about: creating meaningful opportunities for bold new voices to push animation forward. We’re grateful to The Gotham for this recognition and for a partnership grounded in a shared belief in original, ambitious storytelling.”

More Gotham tributes will be rolled out throughout the fall, with nominations in the 10 competition Gotham Awards categories to be revealed October 27.

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