According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, each individual and writing team will receive a $35,000 prize and mentorship from an Academy member throughout their fellowship year. They also will participate in virtual seminars and in-person networking events, including a gala on October 29.

A total of 5,500 scripts from 80 countries were submitted for this year’s competition. The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee is chaired by Julie Lynn (Producers Branch) and the 24 members of the committee include Caitríona Balfe (Actors Branch), Sue Chan (Production Design Branch) and Ehren Kruger (Writers Branch) and Allison Anders (Directors Branch).

The 2024 Nicholl Fellows are (listed alphabetically by author):

Alysha Chan and David Zarif (Los Angeles, CA), “Miss Chinatown”
Jackie Yee follows in her mother’s footsteps on her quest to win the Los Angeles Miss Chinatown pageant.

Colton Childs (Waco, TX), “Fake-A-Wish”
Despite their forty-year age gap, and the cancer treatment confining them to their small Texas town, two gay men embark on a road trip to San Francisco to grant themselves the Make-A-Wish they’re too old to receive.

Charmaine Colina (Los Angeles, CA), “Gunslinger Bride”
With a bounty on her head, a young Chinese-American gunslinger poses as a mail order bride to hide from the law and seek revenge for her murdered family.

Ward Kamel (Brooklyn, NY), “If I Die in America”
After the sudden death of his immigrant husband, an American man’s tenuous relationship with his Muslim in-laws reaches a breaking point as he tries to fit into the funeral they’ve arranged in the Middle East.  Adapted from the SXSW® Grand Jury-nominated short film of the same name.

Wendy Britton Young (West Chester, PA), “The Superb Lyrebird & Other Creatures”
A neurodivergent teen who envisions people as animated creatures, battles an entitled rival for a life-changing art scholarship, while her sister unwisely crosses the line to help.

The 2024 finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):

Kelly Beck-Byrnes, “Where the Boxelders Grow”
Tate Hamilton, “Delivery Girl”
Jamie Murphy, “Lights over Idaho”
Adele Smaill, “No Ghosts Tonight”
Justine Suh, “Deep”

Per the Academy, “The five fellowships are awarded with the understanding that recipients will complete feature-length screenplays during their fellowship year.  The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.”

Past Nicholl Fellowship winners include Allison Anders, Jeff Eugenides and Susannah Grant. In the 39 years in which Nicholl Fellowships have been awarded, 24 of the screenplays written under the program have gone on to be produced.

The post Six Aspiring Screenwriters Win Academy’s Nicholl Fellowships for 2024 appeared first on TheWrap.

“It’s massively frustrating to me. I was not happy with it at all,” Oliver said during a recent interview with New York Times podcasts. “I hope it works because I worry about it … It remains to be proven to me this was necessary.”

Since the premiere of “Last Week Tonight” in 2014, the series has posted its A story — which involves Oliver’s deep dive into the big story of the week — on YouTube the day after the show’s Sunday night episode. This strategy helped the series gain its large following over the past decade. But starting in February of this year, HBO announced it would instead be dropping these clips on Thursdays moving forward.

“When ‘Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’ premiered on HBO, the convenience of watching on Max did not exist, so YouTube allowed flexible viewing for the main story as well as promotional exposure,” an HBO representative told TheWrap at the time. “We are now delaying that availability and hope those fans choose to watch the entire show on Max.”

If Oliver had his way, people would watch “Last Week Tonight” in “its entire form” — not just through clips. “This is partly self-serving, not just that I’d like my employer to be happy, but we do take a lot of effort to make sure the show makes sense as a whole. So if we’re doing a very bleak main story, we like putting real dumb stuff around it,” the comedian explained. A recent example of this was when the series paired its exposé on death penalty drugs with a silly segment about Ilgar Pashayev, a stock photo model from Azerbaijan. But at the same time, Oliver sees a great benefit in posting his deep dives to YouTube.

“What I love about having the show on YouTube is the A story, we can reach beyond HBO subscribers. That’s really important to me. I think it’s a good advert for HBO. I think it reflected really well on them and still does, the fact that they release this main story,” he said. “I would rather they did it straight after the show the way that they’ve always done it, but I’ve very grateful that they’re willing to do it at all.”

When asked if he would still be interested in doing late night in the same format 10 years from now, Oliver said “I hope so if I’m still alive … I have no idea what the future of television is or of late night. There will be a future, but I don’t know what it will look like yet. And I have an active interest for sure in knowing the answer to that.”

“Last Week Tonight” airs Sundays on HBO and streams on Max.

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The new drama series, which was co-created by Murphy and Matt Hodgson, has received a series order, the network announced Monday. The pair will also executive produce the series, which is slated to begin production this fall, alongside Peters, Ramos and Pope.

Though details of plot and character descriptions for “The Beauty” are being held under wraps, the 11-episode series is based on the comic books by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, which centers on an STD that passes along beauty to those whom it impacts.

The description for the Image Comics series is as follows: “Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease? In the world of ‘The Beauty,’ physical perfection is attainable. The vast majority of the population has taken advantage of it, but detectives Foster and Vaughn will soon discover it comes at a terrible price.”

Murphy reunites with Peters after the actor most recently starred in “Dahmer –Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” and previously appeared in nine seasons of “American Horror Story” and served as a producer for a tenth.

Pope starred in Murphy’s “Hollywood” and can also be seen in “The Inspection.” Both Peters and Pope appeared in FX’s “Pose,” which was created by Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals.

Ramos and Kutcher are new collaborators with Murphy, with Ramos best known for starring in “Hamilton,” “In the Heights,” “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” and “Twisters” alongside Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Kutcher is best known for his roles in “That ’70s Show” and “Two and a Half Men,” and recently appeared in “Your Place or Mine” opposite Reese Witherspoon and “Vengeance” alongside B.J. Novak.

Additional EPs for “The Beauty” include Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Nissa Diederich and Eric Gitter. The series is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television.

The post Evan Peters, Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope to Star in Ryan Murphy’s ‘The Beauty’ on FX appeared first on TheWrap.

“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said of the ball player in a statement on Monday. “On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA. Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.”

NBA Global Ambassador and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo passed away today at the age of 58 from brain cancer. He was surrounded by his family.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement. pic.twitter.com/fkFPaiMVD3

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) September 30, 2024

Mutombo’s family previously shared the news that Mutombo was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor two years ago.

The statement continued: “There was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador. He was a humanitarian at his core. He loved what the game of basketball could do to make a positive impact on communities, especially in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the continent of Africa. I had the privilege of traveling the world with Dikembe and seeing first-hand how his generosity and compassion uplifted people. He was always accessible at NBA events over the years — with his infectious smile, deep booming voice and signature finger wag that endeared him to basketball fans of every generation.”

Mutombo, who was literally larger than life, standing at a height of 7-foot-2, was born on June 25, 1966 in Kinshasa of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His full name is Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo. Growing up with nine other siblings, who later attended and graduated from Georgetown University on USAID scholarship and initially had plans to pursue a career in the medical field as a doctor. However, the Georgetown Hoyas basketball coach John Thompson recruited him to play on the school’s basketball team.

In 1991, the Denver Nuggets drafted Mutombo as a fourth overall pick, and became known for his powerful ability to block shots. He played in the NBA for a total of 18 seasons with three other teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, the former New Jersey Nets and the Houston Rockets. He retired from the game after the 2008 -09 season.

Nicknamed Mount Mutombo for his impressive defense, he ended his NBA career with 12,359 rebounds and the 3,289, the second-most blocks next to Hakeem Olajuwon. He averaged 9.8 points and 10.3 rebounds. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, and his No. 55 jerseys for the Nuggets and the Hawks have been retired.

Since the news of his death, the teams he’s played for have honored the player with tributes online.

“We are deeply saddened by the news of Dikembe Mutombo’s passing. Dikembe was a proud and honorable man, who lived up to the definition of a word that became synonymous with his name – humanitarian,” the official page for the Hawks wrote on Monday. The message was penned by Principal Owner Tony Ressler. “He used his many gifts and his platform to improve the lives of everyone he encountered, especially in his homeland of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and throughout Africa. His passion for the game, its growth and the joy he brought to defense – including his undeniable presence and iconic ‘finger wag’ – made him a star on the court and with the fans around the globe … I was fortunate to have been able to call him a friend. My family and I were beyond proud to have him represent the Hawks organization on and off the court. With his jersey in the rafters, his life and legacy will always be remembered in Atlanta.”

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In their own memory of Mutombo, the Houston Rockets shared an image of him making his iconic finger wave.

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A post shared by Houston Rockets (@houstonrockets)

“Today we mourn the loss of a true ambassador of our game, Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo,” the post reads. “Dikembe spent 18 seasons in the NBA, including his final five as a Houston Rocket. His fun-loving personality and trademark finger-wagging endeared him to fans around the world, but Dikembe’s true impact was his passion for helping others. Our condolences go out to his loving family and friends.”

Aside from his athletic career, Mutombo was also a leader of philanthropic efforts, launching his Congo-based Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, which seeks to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of people in Congo. He also sits on boards for the Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the U.S. Fund for Unicef.

Mutombo is survived by his wife Rose Mutombo and his son Ryan Mutombo. In a social media post, Ryan said his father will always be his “hero.”

“My dad will forever be my hero. Not because of his success
— not because of the millions who, over the last four decades, have come to know and love him, My dad is my hero because he simply cared. He remains the purest heart I have ever known,” he wrote on Instagram.

Dikembe Mutombo's son, Ryan, shared a special message honoring his father

(via ryanmutombo/IG) pic.twitter.com/hHvrpJwFDx

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 30, 2024

The post Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Hall of Famer and Shot-Blocking Force, Dies at 58 appeared first on TheWrap.

The bill, proposed by Democratic state Sen. Scott Weiner, mentioned “safety” 42 times and outlined several guardrails it looked to put in place.

That included “implementing the capability to promptly enact a full shutdown” of any AI model, as well as have developers “implement a written and separate safety and security protocol” that would be publicly available.

SB 1047 would also require AI developers advance “the development and deployment of artificial intelligence that is safe, ethical, equitable, and sustainable.” This would be accomplished by, among other measures, “expanding access to computational resources” — although the bill doesn’t say to whom in particular.

Newsom had already hinted he would veto SB 1047 before Sunday. The Democratic governor, while speaking at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference earlier this month, said California needs to be at the forefront of regulating AI. But SB 1047, he said, wasn’t the right way to go about it, because it would “have a chilling effect on the industry.”

Following his veto on Sunday, Newsom said the bill was “well-intentioned” but otherwise insufficient.

“SB 1047 does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data,” Newsom said in a statement. “Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.”

Besides Newsom, OpenAI and Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun also recently came out against the bill.

The bill said that if AI is not “properly subject to human controls” there could be significant public safety risks. That would include rogue AI models “enabling the creation and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” as well as leading cyber attacks.

On Sunday, Weiner said the veto was a “a setback for everyone who believes in oversight of massive corporations that are making critical decisions that affect the safety and the welfare of the public and the future of the planet.”

The post Newsom Vetoes Artificial Intelligence ‘Safety’ Bill appeared first on TheWrap.

Defense attorneys had claimed the prosecution failed to turn over a forensic report and an interview with weapons supplier Seth Kenney. But Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who oversaw the case as well as Alec Baldwin’s, wrote that Gutierrez-Reed “has not established that there is a reasonable probability that … the evidence would have produced a different verdict.”

Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced in April to 18 months for involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Prosecutors argued at the February trial in Santa Fe that she failed to detect a live bullet before loading it into Baldwin’s replica Colt .45.

Baldwin was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, but when his defense team brought to light that prosecutors failed to turn over bullets that were turned over as evidence, Marlowe Sommer immediately dismissed the case, concluding the July trial.

Gutierrez-Reed’s defense made a similar argument, saying prosecutor Kari Morrissey withheld an expert’s report that showed unexplained toolmarks on Baldwin’s gun. The judge wrote that the expert noted the toolmarks would not affect the weapon’s operation.

The armorer is now pursuing an appeal on separate grounds, while Morrissey is seeking to revive manslaughter charges against Baldwin, arguing that the bullet cache was similarly irrelevant to the actor/producer’s case.

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The script for the movie was written by Mirrah Foulkes and Michôd. Production commenced Monday in North Carolina, Black Bear announced while revealing the full cast.

The official description for the movie reads: “The film tells the unbelievable true story of formidable Christy Martin, who rose to fame as America’s most successful female boxer in the 1990s. A naturally gifted fighter, Christy’s life transformed in 1989 when she met her manager, and later husband, Jim Martin. Breaking boundaries, she became the first woman to sign with iconic promoter Don King, and the only female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Christy’s charisma, good looks and unwavering resilience in the ring won her a wide fan base and propelled her to become welterweight champion. Behind this well-honed public persona, Christy tackled personal demons, toxic relationships, and an attempt on her life, proving that a fighter’s hardest won victories aren’t always in the ring.”

The untitled project is being produced by Kerry Kohansky-Roberts for Anonymous Content, David Michôd for Yoki, Inc., Justin Lothrop and Brent Stiefel for Votiv, Sweeney for Fifty-Fifty Films and Teddy Schwarzman for Black Bear, who is also fully financing. Executive producers include Michael Heimler and John Friedberg for Black Bear, Foulkes, Brad Zimmerman for Yoki, Inc., David Levine, Ryan Schwartz and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content, and Harrison Huffman.

Black Bear is handling the international rights, while UTA Independent Film Group, AC Independent (Anonymous Content’s sales and finance division), and Black Bear are co-representing U.S. rights. This picture marks the second collaboration between Sweeney and Black Bear, after this year’s “Immaculate.”

Foster is represented by Range Media Partners and Felker Toczek Suddleson McGinnis Ryan LLP. Wever is represented by Innovative Artists, Viking Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. O’Brian is repped by the Gersh Agency, Luber Roklin Entertainment, RCM Talent & Management, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich, Goodell & Gellman. Embry is repped by Independent Artist Group, Mosaic, and Mark Wetzstein. Gabor by Buchwald. Coleman is repped by TalentWorks and Vanguard Management Group.

The post Sydney Sweeney’s Christy Martin Boxing Movie Adds Ben Foster, Katy O’Brian and More as Filming Begins appeared first on TheWrap.

The Broadway star’s cause of death was cancer after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of metastatic melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma in July.

Born on April 18, 1976, in Findlay, Ohio, Creel received his BFA from UMich and went on to make his Broadway debut in “Thoroughly Modern Millie” opposite Sutton Foster in 2002, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. He received a further Tony nomination for the revival of “Hair” in 2009, and ultimately won his first Tony for “Hello, Dolly!” in 2017.

Creel’s other stage credits include “La Cage aux Folles,” “The Book of Mormon,” “She Loves Me,” “Waitress” and “Into the Woods,” as well as being the creator and songwriter for “Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice,” most recently.

Outside of the theater, the performer had two albums and an EP, in addition to many other recording guest appearances. He could also be seen and heard in “Eloise at the Plaza,” “Eloise at Christmastime,” “Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure,” “Central Park,” “American Horror Stories” and PBS’ 2021 “Wicked” concert special.

He is survived by Ward, pet dog Nina, parents Nancy Clemens Creel and James William Creel, older sisters Heather Creel, Allyson Creel and her partner Jennifer Kolb. Per the family, gifts in Creel’s memory can be made to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids.

The post Gavin Creel, Tony-Winning Broadway Actor, Dies at 48 appeared first on TheWrap.

The moment came during the second segment of the ABC talk show, as Whoopi and her cohosts discussed Donald Trump’s latest attack on Kamala Harris, in which he called her “mentally disabled.” Playing the clips back, Whoopi sighed deeply as they ended, taking a moment to compose herself.

“It is exhausting,” she said, agreeing with Joy Behar. “It’s exhausting. Do we say, ‘Hey listen, pronounce her name right you moron’? Do we have to keep — no, no. No, no, no.” (Those nos were for the audience though, applauding her jab at Trump).

Whoopi added that Trump is “unhinged,” before noting how irritated she is that she hasn’t heard “jacks–t” about Trump’s mental state — she nearly finished the cuss there, but caught herself that time — after months of hearing it about President Biden.

As the conversation continued, the hosts agreed and piled on Trump’s other recent antics, including suggesting an event similar to “The Purge”, where police would be allowed to be violent without repercussions. But, when host Sunny Hostin noted that she hopes people are paying attention, Whoopi bluntly said that she doesn’t believe anyone is anymore.

“I think everyone is at this place where it’s no longer — your shock value has worn off,” she said. “We know you’re gonna say stupid s–t.”

The host definitely didn’t catch herself on that one, though, as the audio cut out, the crowd laughed, and her cohosts giggled a bit while she checked with producers off-screen. Hostin immediately confirmed, “They caught it.”

“I told you I don’t feel good,” Whoopi said before continuing on.

“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. You can watch full episodes later that afternoon on YouTube.

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The new retelling of the F.W. Murnau classic, written and directed by Robert Eggers, arrives in theaters on Christmas Day. And the brand-new trailer for the historical horror epic, which stars Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe, has flown in through an open window. Watch it below.

In “Nosferatu,” which was initially a loose retelling of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” changed just enough to skirt any copyright challenges (later histories claim that the changes were made, in fact, to appease German audiences), Depp plays a young woman who comes under the thrall of a supernatural evil (Skarsgård). Dafoe, who starred in “Shadow of the Vampire,” a fictionalized retelling of the making of “Nosferatu,” appears as the Van Helsing stand-in Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz. Hoult is Depp’s put-upon love interest.

“Nosferatu” has long been Eggers’ passion project, with the adaptation originally announced back in 2015. Eggers had initially cast Anya Taylor-Joy, reuniting the filmmaker and actress from “The Witch” and “The Northman,” and Harry Styles in lead roles, but when the project was finally announced in 2022, Depp had stepped in for Taylor-Joy and Hoult replaced Styles. Styles dropping out had initially jeopardized the fate of the project, but it was quickly continued.

It looks like Eggers has realized his dream beautifully, with stunning cinematography by his regular collaborator Jarin Blaschke (who earned an Oscar nomination for his work on Eggers’ “The Lighthouse”) and an almost uncomfortable amount of dread – and that’s just in the trailer! (We love the giant hand creeping across London.)

Focus Features will release “Nosferatu” on Christmas Day. Open some presents and then get scared to death, sounds good to us.

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