| MOST OF THE THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTOR'S TOP BRASS ARE EXITING; MAUDE APATOW'S 'POETIC LICENSE' FORCED TO SEEK NEW HOME |
We understand that Dead Man's Wire distributor Row K's top trio of executives – President Megan Colligan, Chief Revenue Officer Mo Rhim and Chief Marketing Officer Ben Carlson – are in the midst of steering their boats away from the nascent U.S. seller.
The trio are currently negotiating their exits, according to sources, following news that Row K is money-strapped. Meanwhile, parent company Media Capital Technologies (MCT) is trying to course-correct and looking to prioritize more commercial projects over arthouse selections.
Deadline hears that Row K's Toronto Film Festival acquisition, the critically acclaimed Maude Apatow-directed comedy Poetic License (91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), is searching for a new distributor. We're told that Row K can't fulfill its legal obligations on the pic's acquisition. >>>"More Measured" Approach |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
'Party' Time - Laika's live-action division has won the bidding war for Emily St. John Mandel's upcoming novel Exit Party, we understand, and Emma Stone and Dave McCary’s Fruit Tree has boarded as EP. Exit Party will serve as its first live-action TV project under the division’s president, Matt Levin. >>> Low Seven Figures
The Battle Over 'Michael' - “A complete lack of understanding about how the motion picture industry works and the role of producers in it.” That’s what the Michael Jackson estate says of the inquisitive Paris Jackson and her lawyers in the latest fracas over the biopic about her father. >>> Hearing Today
Celebrating Mr. Clutch - Jerry West, the former L.A. Laker who is widely considered one of the NBA’s all-time greats, is getting the documentary treatment. Amazon has ordered Jerry West: The Logo, a feature-length doc about Mr. Clutch, who died in 2024. >>> Final Interview
On The Scene At The Standard Theatre Awards - Deadline's Baz Bamigboye reports from the Standard Theatre Awards in Hampton Court, set in ancient parklands once used as Henry VIII’s royal hunting grounds. Whilst there, he speaks with Rachel Zegler, Cate Blanchett and Hayley Atwell. >>> Breaking Baz |
Less than two weeks after making the surprise announcement that he was departing as correspondent for CBS News, Scott MacFarlane made another on Monday: He’s joining MeidasTouch, the digital outlet that has made a mark with biting content about Donald Trump.
In his announcement video, MacFarlane said that he is “not an opinionist, not an editorialist” but will be an enterprise reporter across the MeidasTouch Network. He will be chief Washington correspondent for the outlet and will anchor a daily program called Scott MacFarlane Reports. He expects to spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill and reporting on the Justice Department, as he did for CBS News, as well as covering the upcoming midterms.
MacFarlane declined to go into details about his contract at CBS News but talked to Deadline about his decision to depart and his plans at MeidasTouch. >>>Q&A |
QUOTABLE
"We’re trying to get a child out of a jail to do a spelling bee." - YouTuber Ms. Rachel on the plight of Deiver Henao Jiménez, a 9-year-old who was detained in early March at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas |
ExclusiveFollowing the global success of The Housemaid, Lionsgate is mounting a sequel. The studio has set Kirsten Dunst to join Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid’s Secret, based on Freida McFadden’s second book in her series.
Mark Ruffalo's counterpart in the second season of Task will be Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali. Ali will play Eddie Barnes, a seasoned and well-respected DEA agent in Philadelphia whose team comes into conflict with Tom’s unit.
ExclusiveStephen Lang has joined The Dregs, the forthcoming comedic thriller starring Emmy-nominated Baby Reindeer breakout Nava Mau, along with Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog), Piper Curda (Hoppers), Maddie Phillips (Gen V), Max Lloyd-Jones (Final Destination Bloodlines), and Charlie Gillespie (Splitsville).
FX is bolstering the cast of its Emmy-winning drama series Shōgun ahead of its upcoming second season, adding newcomer Risei Kukihara, Ryô Satô (Silence), Seishiro Nishida (Atsuhime), Mantaro Koichi (Emergency Room 24 Hours) and Takashi Yamaguchi (Pachinko). |
BY THE NUMBERS
$59M - Amount Bill Cosby must pay Donna Motsinger, after he was found liable for drugging and raping her in 1972 |
MORE NEWS 👦🏻 Adolescence's awards hot streak could be heading for a big crescendo after the Netflix series dominated nominations for the BAFTA Television Awards with 11 across TV and Craft categories.
✝️ Chase Infiniti clinched the lead role in The Testaments from the moment her audition began, creator Bruce Miller recalled in a Series Mania panel Monday. He dove deep into Infiniti's performance in the Hulu series adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel.
🔍 A group of Democratic senators is calling for FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to conduct a “full and independent” review of Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, citing its investment from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. |
| OBITUARIES
🕯️ Valerie Perrine, whose memorable film roles included a porn actress abducted by aliens in Slaughterhouse-Five, Lex Luthor’s secretary in two Superman films and an Oscar-nominated performance as the wife of Lenny Bruce in Lenny, died Monday at her home in Beverly Hills following a 15-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 82. 🕯️ Leonid “Leo” Radvinsky , the owner of adult-content digital platform OnlyFans, has died of cancer, the company confirmed Monday to Deadline. He was 43. 🕯️ Lilias Folan, sometimes described as “The First Lady Of Yoga” because of her nearly 30-year-run as host of PBS' weekday program Lilias, Yoga and You, died March 9 in an assisted-living facility outside Cincinnati. She was 90. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery |
| ON THE RADAR
Tue - NewFronts: Tubi, TikTok; BAFTA TV Awards nominations
Wed - MLB opening day
Thu - NewFronts: Meta, YouTube; Amanda Peet on Seth Meyers |
Happy Hannah-versary - Shanica Knowles, Anna Perez de Tagle-Kline, Miley Cyrus, Cody Linley, Jason Earles and Moisés Arias at the World Premiere of Disney+'s Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. |
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