In today’s film news roundup, Chris McKay is attached to direct “Jonny Quest,” Greg Berlanti is directing a Rock Hudson movie, documentary “The Last Race” gets an early release, and Valeria Golino is honored.
DIRECTOR ATTACHMENTS
Chris McKay, director of “The Lego Batman Movie,” is attached to helm a live-action “Jonny Quest” movie for Warner Bros.
Producers are Rideback’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich along with Adrian Askarieh of Prime Universe. Daniel Alter will executive produce.
“Jonny Quest” first appeared as an animated sci-fi series in 1964 through Hanna Barbera. The narrative focused on an 11-year-old boy, his sidekick Hadji, his scientist dad, secret agent Race Bannon, and pet bulldog, Bandit. The show led to several series and TV movies.
Richard Donner, Dwayne Johnson, and Robert Rodriguez have been involved in development of a “Jonny Quest” movie for the past two decades. McKay is also attached to direct the live-action “Nightwing” for Warner Bros. The news was first reported by the Wrap.
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Universal Pictures has optioned “All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson” written by Mark Griffin and attached Greg Berlanti to direct and produce.
Sarah Schechter will also produce for Berlanti Film Corp. and Sherry Marsh for Marsh Productions & Entertainment. Universal’s Kristin Lowe will oversee production for the studio.
Berlanti recently signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. TV after setting a new record for a producer with 15 live-action scripted series on the air at once, including “Riverdale,” “The Flash,” and “Supergirl.” He directed “Love, Simon,” starring Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, and Josh Duhamel.
Griffin is represented by APA. Berlanti and Schechter are represented by WME and Felker Toczek Gellman Suddleson. The news was first reported by THR.
SCREENINGS
Magnolia Pictures is announcing one-night-only advance screenings of Michael Dweck’s documentary “The Last Race” on Nov. 14.
The film centers on Riverhead Raceway, the last operating stock-car racetrack on Long Island. The film, which world-premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, will play in select Regal Cinemas locations for one night with an exclusive conversation between NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and ESPN’s Marty Smith.
“The Last Race” will hit VOD platforms, and will open full theatrical runs in New York and Los Angeles on Nov. 16. It’s directed and produced by Dweck. The film was also produced by Gregory Kershaw.
HONOR
Valeria Golino and Annabelle Attanasio will be honored by Luce Cinecittà with the Cinecittà Key Award at a black carpet event during AFI Fest on Nov. 13 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
The Cinecittà Key Awards were introduced in 2017 as a platform to give recognition to actors, filmmakers, and other prominent media personalities, Italian or of Italian descent for their positive representation of the Italian-American community and body of work. The first award recipient was Italian-Canadian actress Sarah Gadon of Netflix’s “Alias Grace.”
Golino is best known to American audiences for her roles in “Rain Man,” the two “Hot Shots” movies, “Immortal Beloved,” and “Leaving Las Vegas.” She also won the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival for “Mario’s War” and “Human Capital.”
Attanasio is an Italian-American actress/writer/director, known for her role in the CBS series “Bull.” Her other credits include “The Knick,” “Barry,” and “Paint It Black.” She has also directed her first feature film, “Mickey and the Bear.”