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Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho, ZQ Entertainment Team On ‘God’s Country’ Starring Melissa Barrera; Egor Abramenko Directing – EFM

by deadline.com Leave a Comment

EXCLUSIVE : Matt Reeves ’ 6th & Idaho is teaming with ZQ Entertainment to produce God’s Country — a new genre film starring Scream VI’ s Melissa Barrera , which will mark the American directorial debut of Egor Abramenko ( Sputnik ).

The film going into production this summer will have Barrera playing a young Salvadoran woman who travels to Kentucky to meet her fiancé. What she uncovers is something sinister beyond comprehension, as her American dream curdles into a nightmare of biblical proportions.

Will Soodik ( Westworld ) wrote the script. Reeves ( The Batman ) and Rafi Crohn ( Tales from the Loop ) will produce for 6th & Idaho, alongside ZQ Entertainment’s Ara Keshishian and Petr Jákl (who financed the development), Adam Kassan ( End of Watch ), and Barrera. WME reps foreign and co-represents domestic rights with CAA Media Finance, and will introduce the project at EFM.

“Egor is an exciting emerging talent,” Reeves told Deadline, “and I’m thrilled to be making a monster movie together.”

Abramenko is a Russian filmmaker who made his feature directorial debut with the sci-fi horror Sputnik . While the film’s 2020 release by IFC Midnight was hampered by the Covid pandemic, the pic drew critical acclaim and a number of major awards nominations including Critics Choice Super Awards in 2021. Other works from the filmmaker include the shorts The Passenger , Capsule and Polaroid Love .

RELATED: Deadline’s Full EFM Coverage

Barrera is best known for her turns in Paramount/Spyglass’ Scream reboot, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In the Heights for Warner Bros. and HBO Max and the acclaimed Starz series Vida . She’ll next be seen in Scream VI , which is out March 10; Sony Pictures Classics’ Carmen with Paul Mescal; and the Anthony McCarten-scripted feature The Collaboration , based on the acclaimed play.

6th & Idaho recently produced the Robert Pattinson starrer The Batman , co-written and directed for Warner Bros. by Reeves, which grossed over $770MM worldwide and is nominated for three Academy Awards . Reeves is currently writing The Batman — Part II for release in 2025; his 6th & Idaho banner is about to enter production on its Batman spinoff series The Penguin , starring Colin Farrell, for HBO Max. Other notable projects from the company include the sci-fi thriller Mother/Android for Hulu, Ordinary Joe for NBC, Tales from the Loop for Prime Video and the upcoming feature Lift for Netflix.

Among the first projects from former CAA agent and producer Ara Keshishian’s company, ZQ Entertainment, is an adaptation of the John Grisham book Calico Joe with George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse, which will have Clooney directing. The company is also in partnership with Anonymous Content on the upcoming book The Devil’s Playbook , currently being written by former Bloomberg reporter Lauren Etter, about the rise and fall of the Juul vaping company. Also in development is a series with Simon Kinberg and Stephen King, based on King’s short story, “Obits.”

Reeves is represented by CAA and 3 Arts; Abramenko by UTA and XYZ; Barrera by WME and Sugar23; and Soodik by WME, 3 Arts and HJTH. Martin J. Barab negotiated the deal on behalf of ZQ Entertainment.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Went Splitsies on a Bank Account in High School

by www.vulture.com Leave a Comment

Photo: Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images

Sometimes, when ya need a run to Dunks, but ya job sucks, ya best bud’s gotta help ya out. It’s all cool — that’s what wicked close friends a’ fo’. So that’s why best Boston buds Matt Damon and Ben Affleck shared a bank account in high school. The two mentioned this extra-special connection on The Bill Simmons Podcast this week while discussing their new movie, Air , and their time living together while attempting to make it as actors. Damon mentioned it almost offhand, in fact, saying, “We had been so used to having a shared bank account in high school, that like …” But then Simmons cuts them off, because … what? “You had a shared bank account in high school?” Simmons asks, incredulously. “Yeah, we had a BayBank account,” Damon says, before Affleck adds, “I still have the checkbook.”

It is comforting to know that Damon and B. Affleck (the B stands for Batman, Boston, and Ben) had rules for their shared funds. “It was unusual, but it was also, like, we needed the money for auditions, for trips to New York,” Damon explains. “You were allowed to take out $10 and get quarters and go to [an arcade] and play video games. Eventually, we were allowed to try to buy beer, which never fucking worked.” The image of these two young actor-bros trying and failing to buy a Sam Adams Winter Lager in Cambridge with the money they made off of some commercials? Friggin’ cool.

David Schwimmer pokes fun at Matt Lucas’s Bake Off stint in last hosting role

by www.mirror.co.uk Leave a Comment

Friends star David Schwimmer poked fun at The Great British Bake Off host Matt Lucas on Sunday evening, as the star-studded edition of the baking challenge got underway.

The 56-year-old was in the infamous Channel 4 tent alongside Matt Lucas, in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.

The first batch of contestants to take up the challenge set by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith were the Friends star, former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson, New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo and actor Tom Davis.

The celebs were tasked with taking on a fiddly French confection and then asked to recreate their most embarrassing celebrity fail in meringue.

As David prepared his meringue effort, Matt visited his bench to talk about why he wanted to take part in the celebrity showdown.

Matt visited his bench to talk about why he wanted to compete (

Image:

Channel 4)

David explained he was a ‘massive fan’ of the show, which is called The Great British Baking Show in the US.

He then jokingly added to Matt, who took over hosting duties in 2020: “Although, I stopped watching about four years ago,” which he laughed along at.

The celebrity special features a total of 20 well known faces in total, who will all battle it out to be star baker.

They also include Loose Women’s Judi Love and Coleen Nolan, Olympian Tom Daley and reality star Gemma Collins .

The 56-year-old was in the infamous Channel 4 tent (

Image:

Channel 4)

Also competing for the infamous Hollywood handshake, is Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden, presenter AJ Odudu, The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades, radio host Adele Roberts and Strictly’s Ellie Taylor.

Comedians Mike Wozniak and Lucy Beaumont, radio presenter Tim Key, filmmaker David Morrissey and TV presenter Paddy McGuiness are also taking part in the Channel 4 show.

Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas, Shaun of the Dead and actress Jessica Hynes complete the star-studded line-up.

David explained he was a ‘massive fan’ of the show (

Image:

Channel 4)

It comes after Alison Hammond has been announced as the next co-host of the Great British Bake Off , following the departure of Matt Lucas late last year.

The television presenter, known as the Friday host of This Morning alongside Dermot O’Leary as well as her recent gig hosting the BAFTA Film Awards alongside Richard E Grant.

Alison had previously braved the tent as a contestant, appearing in one of the Celebrity Bake Off specials.

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Turnaround artist Matt Rhule should deliver results at Nebraska but history says winning will take time

by www.cbssports.com Leave a Comment

USATSI

Nebraska fans had high hopes for the Scott Frost era after the former championship-winning quarterback came to Lincoln fresh off a perfect season with UCF . But following a horrific 16-31 run in fewer than five seasons — the program’s worst stretch in 60 years — the Cornhuskers are starting from scratch once again.

Instead of relying on another Tom Osborne devotee, the Cornhuskers went outside the family and identified former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule as the future. Rhule flamed out of the NFL after barely two seasons, but his college résumé cannot be ignored. He arrives in the Big Ten as one of the biggest turnaround artists in college football .

At Temple , Rhule took the Owls from 2-10 in his first season to 20-7 with an AAC title over his final two years. At Baylor , the program jumped from 1-11 to 11-3 in two seasons, including a No. 7 finish in the final College Football Playoff rankings in 2019. While Rhule left town early, the roster he built was central in the Bears’ Big 12 title run in 2021.

Now, for the first time, Rhule comes to an advantaged program. While the past 20 years have been shaky, Nebraska ranks among the most historic programs in the sport. The program earned eight AP Top 10 finishes between 1993 and 2001 and won three national championships. College football has changed a lot since then, but Rhule is the perfect blend of tradition and modern thinking that could get the ‘Huskers back in the national conversation if things break right.

Here’s what to watch as the Rhule era begins in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Offseason changes

Rhule historically leans on coaches he previously worked with to build his staff, and this one is no different. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield coached under Rhule at both Temple and Baylor, and he comes to Lincoln after helping South Carolina win 15 games over the past two seasons. Secondary coach Evan Cooper and receivers coach Garret McGuire (son of Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire) both played for Rhule before later joining his staff in Carolina. Several other assistants have ties to either Temple or Baylor.

There are a few exceptions. Defensive coordinator Tony White earned the job after transforming Syracuse into a top-25 defense. Offensive line coach and former letter winner Donovan Raiola was retained off Frost’s staff; it probably doesn’t hurt that he is the uncle of quarterback Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2024. In a shrewd move, Rhule also hired Texas high school coach Bob Wager from Arlington Martin to coach tight ends. Expect Nebraska to lean on Rhule’s relationships and recruit Texas hard.

Schematically, it’s difficult to know what direction Rhule’s program will go. White ran a 3-3-5 at Syracuse, a similar look to the one that earned Rhule a trip to the Big 12 title game in 2019 with Baylor. Satterfield coached a multiple pro-style offense at South Carolina, but with some wrinkles to make up for talent deficiencies. However, building a staff that institutes a strong culture is far more central to Rhule’s philosophy than schematics alone.

Roster-wise, Nebraska will look much different. The Cornhuskers brought in a massive 28-man high school recruiting class. Eleven more reinforcements came through the transfer portal. By Week 1, the depth chart will look much different than the 2022 finale.

Names to know

  • Anthony Grant , running back: Grant came to Nebraska as the top JUCO running back in the nation and immediately emerged as a starter. The rising senior led the ‘Huskers with 915 yards and six touchdowns, with 556 of his yards coming after contact behind a struggling offensive line. Grant will miss spring practice to work on academics, but should remain a key playmaker in Satterfield’s offense.
  • Quinton Newsome , cornerback: Newsome was a mainstay at cornerback for a defense that struggled to defend the pass. He played nearly twice as many snaps as any other corner and broke up 10 passes to go along with a pair of sacks. With so much youth on the back end, Newsome allows the new DC White to pencil in one corner of the rotation.
  • Arik Gilbert , tight end: At one time, Gilbert was rated the top tight end recruit in college football history and a consensus top-five prospect. His promising freshman season included 35 catches for 368 yards and two touchdowns. Gilbert failed to contribute after transferring to Georgia , but he has a fresh start with Rhule. Don’t be surprised if Gilbert is the breakout player on this squad.

Spring outlook

Rhule’s debuts have never been especially exciting. His Temple and Baylor squads both regressed in his first year, falling to a combined 3-21. However, Nebraska is not Temple nor Baylor, and the popularization of the transfer portal should help move the process along.

The most pressing question comes at quarterback. Incumbent Casey Thompson returns for his final year of eligibility, but he was inconsistent in his first year with the Cornhuskers. Nebraska added former Georgia Tech starting quarterback Jeff Sims to compete for the job. Additionally, there are four underclassmen hoping to break into the rotation: Chubba Purdy , Heinrich Haarberg , Richard Torres and Logan Smothers . The end of spring practice could prove to be a mass exodus at the position.

The pass-catching unit also needs retooling after losing top receiver Trey Palmer to the NFL Draft . Marcus Washington is set to take on a bigger role, while Gilbert and transfers Josh Fleeks and Billy Kemp will compete for touches.

Nebraska played with two true defensive tackles during the 2022 season, so shifting to a base odd look will provide some competition. The Blackshirts’ top two edge players are gone, which makes the development of JUCO transfer Kai Wallin and Georgia edge transfer MJ Sherman even more important. Luckily for Nebraska, the secondary is completely back.

Culture development sits at the top of the list of priorities, however. Rhule often uses the phrase “One Of Us” to describe the kind of people he wants in his program, which he describes as being the “toughest, hardest working, most competitive” group in the country. During his first year at Baylor, Rhule had no issues benching or cutting players he didn’t feel lived up to expectations, including 1,000-yard running back Terence Williams. Ultimately, 19 of Baylor’s starters from their 2019 11-win campaign earned snaps as underclassmen on the 1-11 squad.

Most likely, Year 1 of the Rule era won’t be as good as Years 3 or 4, but the work to get the payoff starts now.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon had a joint bank account to fund auditions: ‘We were going to help each other’

by www.thenews.com.pk Leave a Comment

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are not just the closest friends but also joint account holders.

On a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon revealed that they shared a bank account during the 1980s to help each other with their auditions and give a kick-start to their acting careers.

As per Variety, Damon shared, “It was unusual, but we needed the money for auditions, a weird thing in retrospect.”

“We were going to help each other and be there for each other. It was like, ‘You’re not going to be alone. I’m not going to be alone. Let’s go out there and do this together,'” Affleck chimed in.

Damon, 52, also added, “As long as one of us had money we knew the power wasn’t going to get shut off. After doing [1992′s] ‘Geronimo’ I probably had 35 grand in the bank. I was like ‘we’re good for a year.'”

“You were allowed to go to [auditions in] New York with the money. You were allowed to take out $10 and get quarters and go to [the arcade] and play video games,” Damon said. “Eventually we were allowed to try to buy beer, which never fucking worked.”