Friday, April 27, 2018

China Internet Company Partners on James Cameron's "Terminator" Revival

Skydance Media Announces Tencent to Partner on Terminator Project

Tencent Will Co-Finance and Distribute the Film in China

SANTA MONICA, Calif. & BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Skydance Media, LLC (“Skydance”), a diversified media company that creates event-level entertainment for global audiences across multiple platforms, and Tencent Pictures, the film and television arm of Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited (“Tencent”), announced today that Tencent will co-finance as a global partner the upcoming Terminator film directed by Tim Miller and produced by James Cameron and David Ellison. Under the pact, Tencent will also handle the distribution, marketing and merchandising of the film in China. This is the first collaboration between the two companies since they entered into a partnership, with Tencent making a strategic investment in Skydance Media.

    “This franchise is hugely popular with Chinese audiences and will greatly benefit from the massive reach and valuable know-how Tencent has in marketing, distribution, games, and more.”

“We are thrilled Terminator will be our first collaboration with Tencent, and we believe that partnering this early in the process, prior to production, will allow both companies to fully maximize the opportunity,” said Jesse Sisgold, Skydance Media President & COO. “This franchise is hugely popular with Chinese audiences and will greatly benefit from the massive reach and valuable know-how Tencent has in marketing, distribution, games, and more.”

"We are truly excited to be partnering with Skydance on the newest chapter of this iconic franchise. With Skydance's savvy production expertise and impeccable taste in talent, along with Tencent's tremendous marketing and distribution capabilities in China, we believe the success of Terminator will serve as a benchmark for future collaborations," said Edward Cheng, Vice President of Tencent and CEO of Tencent Pictures.

The upcoming Terminator movie will be a direct sequel to Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, both reprising their iconic roles as “The Terminator” and “Sarah Connor” from the first two Terminator films. The new story will introduce the next generation of characters played by rising stars Mackenzie Davis (Blade Runner 2049, “Halt and Catch Fire”), Natalia Reyes ("Lady, La Vendedora de Rosas"), Diego Boneta (“Scream Queens,” Rock of Ages), and Gabriel Luna (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) Specific details on the characters are being kept under wraps.

Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox are also co-financing the film, which is scheduled for U.S. release the Friday before Thanksgiving on November 22, 2019. The movie will be distributed domestically by Paramount Pictures and internationally (excluding China) by 20th Century Fox.


About Skydance Media, LLC
Skydance is a diversified media company founded by David Ellison in 2010 to create high quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences across platforms, including feature films, animation, television, gaming and digital. To date, Skydance has produced and financed 15 feature films, which have cumulatively grossed nearly $5 billion in worldwide box office. Skydance TV launched in 2013, creating 8 premium series to date, with current distribution partners that include Apple, Amazon, AMC, DirecTV, Hulu, Netflix, and The Paramount Network. Skydance Interactive is a multifaceted game studio with premier brand games, including Archangel VR. In the last four years, the Company has grown from 15 employees in Santa Monica to over 150, with facilities in Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Hollywood and Vancouver.

About Tencent Holdings Limited and Tencent Pictures
Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Tencent’s social products WeChat and QQ link its users to a rich digital content catalogue including games, video, music and books. Its proprietary targeting technology helps advertisers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Tencent’s infrastructure services including payment, security, cloud and artificial intelligence create differentiated offerings and support its partners’ business growth. Tencent invests heavily in people and innovation, enabling the company to evolve with the Internet.

Tencent Pictures, the film and television arm of Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited (“Tencent”), has been a key strategic partner on a number of high profile global films such as Universal’s Warcraft, Warner Bros’ Kong: Skull Island, and most recently Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman.

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Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Amazon Gives "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" a Second Season - Before First Season Arrives

Amazon Renews Prime Original, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, for Second Season on Prime Video Ahead of August 31 Global Series Debut, from Paramount Television, Skydance Television and Platinum Dunes

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon announced it has greenlit season two of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan ahead of its global series debut set for August 31, 2018 on Prime Video. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, from Paramount Television and Skydance Television, is a reinvention with a modern sensibility of the famed and lauded Tom Clancy hero played by John Krasinski (A Quiet Place, 13 Hours). The creators of the series, Executive Producers Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel) and Graham Roland (Fringe, Prison Break), will continue to serve as Co-Showrunners. Additionally, Krasinski, who also serves as an Executive Producer, will be reunited with Wendell Pierce (The Wire) who will reprise his role as James Greer in the eight-episode second season.

    “The new season will take our unexpected hero to a new, exciting and dangerous world.”

In season two, Jack Ryan confronts the forces in power in a dangerous, declining democratic regime in South America. The second season commences production this summer in Europe, South America and the United States.

After Amazon’s Super Bowl ads, Amazon saw a more than 400% increase in Prime members placing Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on their watchlist.

“With so much early anticipation for Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan from our customers and personally having the pleasure to preview the exhilarating, action-packed first season, we are excited to greenlight a second season of the series months ahead of its debut,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. “The new season will take our unexpected hero to a new, exciting and dangerous world.”

“We’re thrilled that the first season has generated so much enthusiasm,” stated Cuse. “We couldn’t be happier to be working with Amazon and to be filming very near the Amazon to tell the next great Jack Ryan adventure.”

“From day one we only had one actor on our casting board for this series – John Krasinski,” said Amy Powell, President of Paramount Television. “We are so excited that he is our Jack Ryan and we get to make another season with this incredibly talented team. We have been blown away by what our whole team has delivered for season one and we can’t wait for everyone to see it this summer.”

The show is produced by Paramount Television, Cuse’s Genre Arts, Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and David Ellison’s Skydance Television. Executive producing along with Cuse, Roland and Krasinski are Platinum Dune’s Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller. Additionally, Lindsey Springer, Mace Neufeld, Vince Calandra, Andrew Bernstein and Skydance’s Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross will also executive produce the second season with Allyson Seeger serving as a co-executive producer.

Prime members will be able to stream Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan exclusively via the Prime Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV, mobile devices and online at http://www.amazon.com/originals. Members can also download the series to mobile devices for offline viewing at no additional cost to their membership.

The first season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan will be globally released on August 31 and available on PrimeVideo.com for Prime Video members in more than 200 countries and territories.

Customers who are not already Prime members can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime. For a list of all Prime Video compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.


About Prime Video
Prime Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch - all with the ease of finding what they love to watch in one place.

  •     Included with Prime: Watch thousands of popular movies and TV shows, including our award-winning Prime Originals such as The Grand Tour, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Sneaky Pete, Academy Award-winning Manchester by the Sea and The Salesman, and Academy Award-nominated The Big Sick, exclusives, live sports and licensed and self-published content available in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide
  •     Watch More with Prime Video Channels: Prime members can add 100+ channels like HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, CBS All Access, Cinemax, and more—no extra apps to download, and no cable required. Only pay for the ones you want, and cancel anytime. To view the full list of channels available, visit www.amazon.com/channels
  •     Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new-release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers
  •     Instant Access: Instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Prime Video app on TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Fire tablets and Apple TV or online. For a list of all compatible devices visit www.amazon.com/howtostream
  •     Enhanced Experiences: Make the most of every viewing with 4K Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range (HDR) compatible content. Go behind the scenes of your favorite movies and TV shows with exclusive X-Ray access, powered by IMDb. Save it for later with select mobile downloads for offline viewing

In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited fast free shipping options across all categories available on Amazon, more than two million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, secure photo storage with Prime Photos, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, unlimited access to a digital audiobook catalogue with Audible Channels for Prime, a rotating selection of free digital games and in-game loot with Twitch Prime, early access to select Lightning Deals, exclusive access and discounts to select items, and more. To sign-up for Prime or to find out more visit: www.amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

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Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Key Dates for 91st / 2019 Oscars Announced

THE ACADEMY AND ABC ANNOUNCE KEY DATES FOR 91ST OSCARS

THE OSCARS AIRS LIVE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2019 ON THE ABC TELEVISION NETWORK

The Academy and the ABC Television Network today announced key dates for the 91st Oscars®. The Academy Awards® presentation will air live on ABC on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, 2019.

Academy key dates for the 2018 Awards season are:

Sunday, November 18, 2018                       Governors Awards
Monday, January 7, 2019                            Nominations voting opens
Monday, January 14, 2019                          Nominations voting closes
Tuesday, January 22, 2019                          Oscar Nominations Announcement
Monday, February 4, 2019                          Oscar Nominees Luncheon
Saturday, February 9, 2019                         Scientific and Technical Awards
Tuesday, February 12, 2019                        Finals voting opens
Tuesday, February 19, 2019                        Finals voting closes
Sunday, February 24, 2019                         91st Oscars

The date for the 91st Oscars was previously announced.

The 91st Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Monday, April 23, 2018

BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for April 25, 2018

BOOM! STUDIOS

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Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 25, 2018

DARK HORSE COMICS

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DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 25, 2018

DC COMICS

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Dynamite Entertainment from Diamond Distributors for April 25, 2018

D. E.

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