STUDIOCANAL, Focus Features and Monumental Pictures announced today they will partner on BACK TO BLACK, the highly anticipated feature film about Amy Winehouse’s vibrant years living in London in the early aughts and her intense journey to fame. Acclaimed filmmaker and visual artist Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct and executive produce the film, with break-out star Marisa Abela (INDUSTRY) landing the coveted lead role. Focus will distribute BACK TO BLACK in the U.S., with Universal Pictures International handling international distribution, excluding the UK, France, Germany, Aus/NZ, Benelux, Scandinavia, and Poland which will be handled by STUDIOCANAL. Filming is set to begin on Monday, January 16th in London.

The deal was closed by Anne Cherel, Aska Yamaguchi and Sophie Leuthreau for STUDIOCANAL and Howard Meyers and Marin Babb for Focus Features.

BACK TO BLACK was written by Matt Greenhalgh, reuniting the scribe with Taylor-Johnson following their collaboration on Nowhere Boy in 2009. Featuring many of Amy’s hit songs, BACK TO BLACK has the full support of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and The Amy Winehouse Estate.

Alison Owen (Saving Mr Banks, Me Before You, Elizabeth), Debra Hayward (Les Miserables, Bridget Jones’s Baby) of Monumental Pictures are producing, Nicky Kentish-Barnes (What’s Love Got To Do With it?, Everest) executive produces, with Nina Gold leading the casting of the film. EVP Global Production Ron Halpern and SVP Global Production Joe Naftalin executive produce and are overseeing for STUDIOCANAL.

Amy Winehouse is widely considered one of the greatest artists in recent history, selling more than 30 million records worldwide, and today generating more than 80 million streams per month. Her acclaimed produced 2006 album Back To Black, propelled her to global stardom, going on to win a (then) record breaking 5 Grammy Awards, including Record Of The Year and Song of The Year for hit single Rehab. BACK TO BLACK will focus on Amy’s extraordinary genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did. A journey that took her from the craziness and colour of 90’s Camden High Street to global adoration – and back again, BACK TO BLACK crashes through the looking glass of celebrity to watch this journey from behind the mirror, to see what Amy saw, to feel what she felt.

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson comments: My connection to Amy began when I left college and was hanging out in the creatively diverse London borough of Camden. I got a job at the legendary KOKO CLUB, and I can still breathe every market stall, vintage shop and street… A few years later Amy wrote her searingly honest songs whilst living in Camden. Like with me, it became part of her DNA. I first saw her perform at a talent show at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho and it was immediately obvious she wasn’t just ’talent’… she was genius. As a filmmaker you can’t really ask for more. I feel excited and humbled to have this opportunity to realise Amy’s beautifully unique and tragic story to cinema accompanied by the most important part of her legacy – her music. I am fully aware of the responsibility, with my writing collaborator – Matt Greenhalgh – I will create a movie that we will all love and cherish forever. Just like we do Amy.”

Producer Alison Owen expands: “Amy Winehouse is the greatest musical talent of the 21st century so far. But like so many female icons, the tragedy of her death has seemed to obscure the triumph of her talent…the fun of the noughties, the craziness of Camden, her youth and brilliance – we want to reclaim that for her, with this film.”

The Amy Winehouse Estate added: “We are thrilled that STUDIOCANAL, Focus Features and Monumental are making this movie celebrating our daughter Amy’s extraordinary music legacy and showcasing her talent in the way that it deserves.”

Said Kiska Higgs, President of Production & Acquisitions at Focus, “In Sam Taylor-Johnson’s exquisitely moving portrait of an artist, the genius, the heart, the energy and the woman behind the icon we all know as Amy Winehouse promise to shine through as she deserves. We can’t wait to travel through Amy’s world and hear her voice through the wonderful Marisa Abela, and are looking forward to reuniting with Sam and our friends at Monumental and STUDIOCANAL.”

STUDIOCANAL EVP Global Production Ron Halpern and SVP Global Production Joe Naftalin conclude: “It is our enormous pleasure and privilege to produce and bring this movie to audiences. We are incredibly grateful to our partners at The Amy Winehouse Estate, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Publishing to have the opportunity to tell Amy Winehouse’s story with the use of her extraordinary music – to our partners at Focus Features – and to our amazing director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, and star Marisa Abela, who we are so excited to be working with. Amy Winehouse was a once in a generation talent -and with our producing partners at Monumental Pictures, we will endeavour to do her proud with this movie – and create a music-driven event picture for audiences new and old, that will make us all laugh, cry – and to truly celebrate Amy and her genius.”

Multi prize-winning visual artist and filmmaker Taylor-Johnson helmed the 2015 blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. Her additional credits include the acclaimed John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy and both starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson. She is represented by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Sloane, Offer, Weber, Dern (attorney) and Shelter PR.

Greenhalgh is an award-winning screenwriter best known for Control about Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, Nowhere Boy about John Lennon’s younger years. He was BAFTA nominated in 2018 for Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.

Marisa Abela is represented by WME, The Artists Partnership, Shelter PR. Abela most recently starred in the second season of the hit hedonistic banking drama,“Industry,” from HBO and BBC Two. Her breakout leading role as publishing heiress-turned-investment banker, Yasmin Kara-Hanani, has garnered praise from audiences and critics alike, with Variety calling attention to her “scene-stealing” sensibilities. The critically acclaimed series has been renewed for a third season. She has wrapped production on the Warner Bros. live-action film adaptation from director Greta Gerwig, “Barbie,” opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. This follows her captivating role in the IFC Films and AMC+ espionage thriller, “Rogue Agent,” alongside James Norton and Gemma Arterton. Prior to this success, Abela starred in the improvisational romance from writer and director Jamie Adams, “She Is Love,” opposite Haley Bennett and Sam Riley. She first made her television debut in the action series, “Cobra.” Abela is a graduate of the highly acclaimed Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, where she still resides.

(Photo credit: Universal Music)

Out Tuesday digitally, here’s a look at the Trailer for Oliver Park’s THE DEVIL’S OFFERING.

Synopsis:

A family struggling with loss finds themselves at the mercy of an ancient demon trying to destroy them from the inside.

Director: Oliver Park
Cast: Nick Blood, Emily Wiseman, Paul Kaye and Allan Corduner

VVS Films release THE DEVIL’S OFFERING digitally Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: VVS Films)

Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers in Toronto and Montreal a chance to win Advance Passes to see M. Night Shyamalan‘s KNOCK AT THE CABIN.

Screenings take place on February 1, 2023 as follows:

• Toronto: Scotiabank Theatre at 7 pm
• Montreal: Scotiabank Theatre at 7 pm 

Synopsis:

While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.

From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise). 

Genre: Thriller 

Cast: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn and Rupert Grint

Screenplay by: M. Night Shyamalan and Steve Desmond & Michael Sherman, based on the book The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Produced by: M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock, Ashwin Rajan

Executive Producers: Steven Schneider, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Ashley Fox

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Please indicate your City in the comments. Re-Tweet the below also for another chance!

Rules and regulations here.

Note: Winners will only be contact via a direct message from our official account. Do not respond to third-party comments or messages asking you for your personal information.

Universal Pictures Canada release KNOCK AT THE CABIN, in theatres February 3, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

Hollywood Suite is ready to slice and dice into spring with the exclusive Canadian premiere of the fifth season of horror anthology series Slasher, with back-to-back episodes on April 6, 2023. The highly anticipated new season of Slasher: Ripper starring Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), will roll out new episodes airing Thursdays at 9pm ET on Hollywood Suite. Episodes will be available exclusively on Hollywood Suite On Demand following their premiere.

“Basil Garvey is the most evil character I’ve ever played… and I loved him! Can’t wait for Canada to see Slasher: Ripper in April!” said Eric McCormack.

“We are thrilled to be the exclusive Canadian home of the Slasher franchise,” said Sharon Stevens, Vice President, Programming at Hollywood Suite. “Horror fans won’t be disappointed, with Slasher: Ripper delivering all the terrifying scares and gore they’ve come to expect from the anthology, along with a chilling new setting.”

“It’s fantastic that the Slasher franchise has found such a strong fanbase here in Canada,” added Christina Jennings, Chairman & President, Shaftesbury. “We were delighted to be working with the brilliant Aaron Martin and Ian Carpenter again this season, along with the newest member of the Slasher family, the talented Eric McCormack.”

The new season takes the Slasher franchise back in time to the late 19th century with Eric McCormack as Basil Garvey, a charismatic tycoon whose success is only rivaled by his ruthlessness, as he oversees a city on the cusp of a new century, and a social upheaval that will see its streets run red with blood. There’s a killer on the loose, but instead of targeting the poor and downtrodden like Jack the Ripper, The Widow is meting out justice against the rich and powerful. The only person standing in the way of this killer is the newly promoted detective, Kenneth Rijkers, whose ironclad belief in justice may wind up being yet another victim of The Widow.

Produced by Shaftesbury, the new season of Slasher is executive produced by Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Thomas P. Vitale, Aaron Martin, Ian Carpenter and Adam Macdonald.

Canadian Slasher fans can currently stream Slasher: Flesh & Blood, which was released last fall and stars horror icon David Cronenberg, exclusively on Hollywood Suite On Demand.

Paramount+ today announced that Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman will join the cast of the upcoming original series LIONESS alongside series lead and executive producer Zoe Saldaña, Academy Award winner and executive producer Nicole Kidman, and Laysla De Oliveira. Freeman will play Edwin Mullins, the United States secretary of state. From Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan, LIONESS is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios exclusively for Paramount+.

LIONESS is based on a real-life CIA program and follows Cruz Manuelos (De Oliveira), a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Saldaña will play Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.

LIONESS will also star series regulars Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur and Hannah Love Lanier. The series is executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Malone and John Hillcoat.

Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman ranks within the top 10 highest-grossing actors of all time, with his films having earned over $5 billion in cumulative ticket sales. In 2005 Freeman won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in “Million Dollar Baby.” Freeman also received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for Best Supporting Actor for “Street Smart,” in 1994 for Best Actor for “The Shawshank Redemption” and in 2010 for Best Actor for “Invictus.” He also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance in “Driving Miss Daisy” in 1990. Freeman has been honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award and the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. Freeman also received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor for his distinguished acting and was honored with the Hollywood Actor Award from the Hollywood Film Festival.

In addition to his Academy Award nomination for his role as Nelson Mandela in “Invictus,” Freeman also won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor, received a Golden Globe nomination and a Broadcast Critics Association nomination. Freeman will next be seen in feature films “A Good Person,” “Paradise Highway” and “Muti.” Other feature films include “Vanquish,” “Coming 2 America,” “The Comeback Trail,” “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” “Angel Has Fallen,” “The Poison Rose,” “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” “Just Getting Started,” “Going in Style,” Paramount Pictures’ “Ben-Hur,” “Now You See Me 2” “London Has Fallen,” “Ted 2,” “Last Knights,” “Lucy,” “Dolphin Tale 2,” “Transcendence,” “The Lego Movie,” “Last Vegas,” “Now You See Me,” “Oblivion,” “Olympus Has Fallen” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” Other credits include “Dolphin Tale,” “Born to be Wild 3D,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Bucket List,” “Glory,” “Clean and Sober,” “Lean on Me,” “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “Unforgiven,” “Se7en,” “Kiss the Girls,” “Amistad,” “Deep Impact,” “Nurse Betty,” “The Sum of All Fears,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Coriolanus,” “Attica,” “Brubaker,” “Eyewitness,” “Death of a Prophet” and “Along Came a Spider.”

In television, he was most recently seen in his Emmy-nominated guest star role in “The Kominsky Method” and the sci-fi anthology series “Solos.” He also starred in the children’s program “The Electric Company.” Freeman has served as an executive producer on “Madam Secretary” for CBS, the true drama “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain” and “Princess of the Row.” Freeman also hosted and produced a nonfiction series entitled “Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman.” He narrated the documentary “March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step,” for which he received an Emmy nomination, “The C-Word,” “Island of Lemurs: Madagascar,” “Stem Cell Universe with Stephen Hawking” and “We the People.” Other narrations include two Academy Award-winning documentaries, “The Long Way Home” and “The March of The Penguins.” 

On stage, Freeman won a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Nomination for his role as Zekein “The Mighty Gents.”Other stage credits include the Alfred Uhry play “Driving Miss Daisy.” In 1973 he co-founded the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop, now in its 37^th season, which seeks to serve successful playwrights of the new millennium. 

LIONESS is the latest addition to Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes 1883, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, TULSA KING and 1923 as well as the upcoming series BASS REEVES and LAND MAN.

(Photo credit: Nigel Parry)

She’s honestly never looked better! Miley Cyrus looking well in this new Video for latest single “Flowers“, directed by Jacob Bixenman. The Track co-produced by Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson is from upcoming March release ENDLESS SUMMER VACATION and speaks to loving oneself, a message we all need during these winter blahs. It sounds like a companion piece to “Midnight Sky”, one of our favourite songs by Cyrus.

(Photo/video credit: Sony Music Entertainment)

It’s the need for NEES! It’s been a minute since we’ve seen Liam Neeson. He stars in upcoming Detective Thriller MARLOWE which is a nod to Film Noir and old school Hollywood and we get a brand-new Trailer today!

Synopsis:
MARLOWE, a gripping noir crime thriller set in late 1930’s Los Angeles, centers around a street-wise, down on his luck detective; Philip Marlowe, played by Liam Neeson, who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star (Jessica Lange). The disappearance unearths a web of lies, and soon Marlowe is involved in a dangerous, deadly investigation where everyone involved has something to hide.

VVS Films release MARLOWE February 15, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: VVS Films)

Disney+ unveiled first look images for the upcoming Original psychological drama “Saint X”, adapted from Alexis Schaitkin’s best-selling debut novel of the same name, premiering April 26, 2023 on Disney+.

The series, which is told via multiple timelines, explores and upends the girl-gone-missing genre as it explores how a young woman’s mysterious death during an idyllic Caribbean vacation creates a traumatic ripple effect that eventually pulls her surviving sister into a dangerous pursuit of the truth. 

“Saint X” stars Alycia Debnam-Carey, Josh Bonzie, West Duchovny, Jayden Elijah, Bre Francis, Kenlee Anaya Townsend, Betsy Brandt and Michael Park. The 8-episode series is written and executive produced by Leila Gerstein. Dee Rees (“Mudbound”) will direct and executive produce. Stephen Williams (“Watchmen”) will also executive produce with David Levine and Zack Hayden for Anonymous Content, Aubrey Graham aka Drake, Adel “Future” Nur, and Jason Shrier for Dreamcrew Entertainment (“Euphoria”), Alexis Schaitkin, and Steve Pearlman (“Once Upon a Time”). “Saint X” is a production of ABC Signature. 

(Photo credit: Disney+)

Award-winning pop singer-songwriter RICHARD is wasting no time leaping into the new year with the release of his brand new single, “Red Lights,” available today at all digital retailers and streaming platforms (LISTEN HERE).

Richard wrote “Red Lights” in Nashville with David “Messy” Mescon (Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande) and Kenny Sharp. The track was mixed by the legendary Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Metallica) and produced by Giordan Postorino (Alessia Cara) at Toronto’s Metalworks Studios. Richard is putting the finishing touches on his upcoming debut album, expected later this year.

“I know the energy I want to bring on stage and I feel I caught it on this song,” says Richard. “Releasing music for all artists has been a unique challenge over the past few years, but it feels like we’re back on the right path and I can’t wait to hit the stage again.”

He’ll perform next on January 21 as part of TEDxSurrey at the Bell Performing Arts Centre, with more live dates to be announced soon.

Richard hasn’t let the limitations that musicians have had to face in recent years slow him down. 2020 saw the releases of his anthemic single “Proud” and the hopeful song “The One.” He dropped the sultry “Hands” the following year, and then spent the past few months writing and recording new tracks in L.A., Nashville and Vancouver. To top it off, Richard was the winner of the Jim Beam Virtual National Talent Search, winning a trip to Canadian Music Week for a performance in front of thousands at the 2022 Indie Awards.

“Richard is clearly in-touch with modern-pop influences of today and it’s only the beginning for this jack-of-all-trades. I’m excited to say, his songs, vision and artistry is going to progress quickly and all of Canada will have their hearts taken by this up-and-comer,” said Sally Shaar, lead singer of Monowhales and one of the talent search judges.

At just 23 years old, Richard has a CV that goes back long before he could even legally drive to his own concerts. The charismatic pop singer-songwriter and guitarist already boasts countless accolades and awards, two EPs, and performances on marquee stages from Toronto to Los Angeles and many points in between as both the headliner and a sought-after supporting artist. With his debut album on the horizon, high-profile management with K Music Management, and undeniable momentum, Richard is poised for breakout success in 2023.

Get to know Richard on his YouTube Channel where you can see his Vlogs.

Sphere Films Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win an on-demand rental of Charlotte Wells’ AFTERSUN. The Film was just named Best Picture by the Toronto Film Critics Association.

Synopsis:

At a fading vacation resort, 11-year-old Sophie treasures rare time together with her loving and idealistic father, Calum (Paul Mescal). As a world of adolescence creeps into view, beyond her eye Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Twenty years later, Sophie’s tender recollections of their last holiday become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t, in Charbrlotte Wells’ superb and searingly emotional debut film.

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Please indicate your City in the comments. Re-Tweet the below also for another chance!

Rules and regulations here.

Note: Winners will only be contact via a direct message from our official account. Do not respond to third-party comments or messages asking you for your personal information.

Sphere Films Canada release AFTERSUN, in theatres now and available now on-demand.

(Photo/video credit: Sphere Films Canada)