Exclusive: Ali Afshar’s Esx Entertainment is entering into the horror space with the feature The Necklace starring sisters Madeleine & Violet McGraw, each of whom have garnered widespread acclaim for
gripping performances in M3GAN and 2021’s The Black Phone respectively. Cameras will roll this summer.
Afshar produced the Netflix streaming hit A California Christmas and I Believe in Santa along with the hit HBO Max original A Christmas Mystery, both of which starred Violet McGraw.
The screenplay was written specifically with the McGraw sisters in mind by Afshar collaborator John Ducey . The pic is being directed by Chilean filmmaker Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz, who helmed Pumpkinhole and HBO’s Perry Mason.
Said Afshar, “Madeleine and Violet are among the brightest lights of this generation of young actors, and an absolute joy to work with. Each brings a unique energy to the screen and, together,...
gripping performances in M3GAN and 2021’s The Black Phone respectively. Cameras will roll this summer.
Afshar produced the Netflix streaming hit A California Christmas and I Believe in Santa along with the hit HBO Max original A Christmas Mystery, both of which starred Violet McGraw.
The screenplay was written specifically with the McGraw sisters in mind by Afshar collaborator John Ducey . The pic is being directed by Chilean filmmaker Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz, who helmed Pumpkinhole and HBO’s Perry Mason.
Said Afshar, “Madeleine and Violet are among the brightest lights of this generation of young actors, and an absolute joy to work with. Each brings a unique energy to the screen and, together,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Paul Rosicker, an agent at Gersh for over 35 years, is moving into management after founding Quest Entertainment and Management with his husband, manager and producer Brian Ferrantino.
Rosicker started at Gersh three weeks after graduating from UCLA in 1988, and was promoted to agent within three years, after starting out in the mailroom. Prior to his departure from the agency, he served as Senior Vice President, focusing on television talent and helping to build a department that now claims over 300+ series regular clients.
Ferrantino has had his own shingle, Ferrantino Entertainment, since 2010. Prior to that, he worked for Robert Duvall’s production company, Butcher’s Run. While there, the company produced Scott Cooper’s Academy Award-winning debut feature Crazy Heart, starring Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal, as well as the Emmy-winning AMC Western miniseries Broken Trail.
Clients joining Rosicker and Ferrantino at Quest include Emmy winner Brendan Hunt, the co-creator...
Rosicker started at Gersh three weeks after graduating from UCLA in 1988, and was promoted to agent within three years, after starting out in the mailroom. Prior to his departure from the agency, he served as Senior Vice President, focusing on television talent and helping to build a department that now claims over 300+ series regular clients.
Ferrantino has had his own shingle, Ferrantino Entertainment, since 2010. Prior to that, he worked for Robert Duvall’s production company, Butcher’s Run. While there, the company produced Scott Cooper’s Academy Award-winning debut feature Crazy Heart, starring Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal, as well as the Emmy-winning AMC Western miniseries Broken Trail.
Clients joining Rosicker and Ferrantino at Quest include Emmy winner Brendan Hunt, the co-creator...
- 2/14/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Christmas Chronicles – Picture: Netflix
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and if you’re wondering what Netflix’s most popular original Christmas movies and series have been, we’ve got the top 50 from the past few years.
All data below was provided to What’s on Netflix exclusively from the excellent team at FlixPatrol, with whom we’ve collaborated on a number of articles, and they also power our top 10 hub page.
We’re going to split this list into two parts. First, we’ll cover the Christmas movies, shows, and specials that have picked up the most points in the United States, and then we’ll move onto the global list. The global list collects the points for 80+ Netflix countries.
As a quick refresher, points are picked up every time a show or movie gets featured in the daily top 10. If you’re a movie that ranks #10 for one day,...
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and if you’re wondering what Netflix’s most popular original Christmas movies and series have been, we’ve got the top 50 from the past few years.
All data below was provided to What’s on Netflix exclusively from the excellent team at FlixPatrol, with whom we’ve collaborated on a number of articles, and they also power our top 10 hub page.
We’re going to split this list into two parts. First, we’ll cover the Christmas movies, shows, and specials that have picked up the most points in the United States, and then we’ll move onto the global list. The global list collects the points for 80+ Netflix countries.
As a quick refresher, points are picked up every time a show or movie gets featured in the daily top 10. If you’re a movie that ranks #10 for one day,...
- 12/22/2023
- by Kasey Moore
- Whats-on-Netflix
Amazon Freevee has announced that it will stream Casa Grande, a bilingual limited series that examines the everyday realities and conflicts between California’s migrant workforce and the landowners who reap the profits.
Created by Lauren Swickard (A California Christmas) and Ali Afshar, Casa Grande follows the intertwining lives of various families in the farmlands of Northern California and is described as an “upstairs/downstairs story transposed from turn-of-the century English countryside to rural America.” It stars John Pyper-Ferguson, Christina Moore, Madison Lawlor (Juniper), Karen Bethzabe (Babylon), Javier Bolaños (All American), Raquel Dominguez (Chicago Med), James Marsters (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Kate Mansi (Days of Our Lives), Daniel Edward Mora (Coco), Loren Escandon (The Baxters), and Ali Afshar (He’s Just Not That Into You).
All five one-hour episodes of the English and Spanish language limited series will premiere on Monday, May 1.
“We...
Created by Lauren Swickard (A California Christmas) and Ali Afshar, Casa Grande follows the intertwining lives of various families in the farmlands of Northern California and is described as an “upstairs/downstairs story transposed from turn-of-the century English countryside to rural America.” It stars John Pyper-Ferguson, Christina Moore, Madison Lawlor (Juniper), Karen Bethzabe (Babylon), Javier Bolaños (All American), Raquel Dominguez (Chicago Med), James Marsters (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Kate Mansi (Days of Our Lives), Daniel Edward Mora (Coco), Loren Escandon (The Baxters), and Ali Afshar (He’s Just Not That Into You).
All five one-hour episodes of the English and Spanish language limited series will premiere on Monday, May 1.
“We...
- 3/20/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
Amazon Freevee has landed the exclusive first-run U.S. rights to “Casa Grande,” a bilingual limited series that follows the tales of California’s hardworking, often undocumented migrant workforce, as well as the wealthy landowners in Northern California.
The series, which consists of five one-hour episodes, premieres May 1 on Freevee. Lauren Swickard (“A California Christmas”) and Ali Afshar created “Casa Grande,” which comes from Afshar’s Esx Entertainment shingle.
Series stars include John Pyper-Ferguson, Christina Moore, Madison Lawlor (“Juniper”), Karen Bethzabe (“Babylon”), Javier Bolaños (“All American”), Raquel Dominguez (“Chicago Med”), James Marsters (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer”), Kate Mansi (“Days of Our Lives”), Daniel Edward Mora (“Coco”), Loren Escandon (“The Baxters”) and Ali Afshar (“He’s Just Not That Into You”).
Latin filmmaker Gabriela Tagliavini (“Despite Everything”) directed the series; Swickard serves as showrunner and also wrote the series with Alex Ranarivelo and Michael Cruz. Other executive producers include Ava Rettke and Daniel Aspromonte.
The series, which consists of five one-hour episodes, premieres May 1 on Freevee. Lauren Swickard (“A California Christmas”) and Ali Afshar created “Casa Grande,” which comes from Afshar’s Esx Entertainment shingle.
Series stars include John Pyper-Ferguson, Christina Moore, Madison Lawlor (“Juniper”), Karen Bethzabe (“Babylon”), Javier Bolaños (“All American”), Raquel Dominguez (“Chicago Med”), James Marsters (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer”), Kate Mansi (“Days of Our Lives”), Daniel Edward Mora (“Coco”), Loren Escandon (“The Baxters”) and Ali Afshar (“He’s Just Not That Into You”).
Latin filmmaker Gabriela Tagliavini (“Despite Everything”) directed the series; Swickard serves as showrunner and also wrote the series with Alex Ranarivelo and Michael Cruz. Other executive producers include Ava Rettke and Daniel Aspromonte.
- 3/20/2023
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
The holidays started early in Tinseltown (and elsewhere), beginning with James Cameron missing his own “Avatar: The Way of Water” Hollywood premiere, knocked down with a bout of Covid and moving on to New York’s first look at “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Santa turned up at Christina Moore and John Ducey’s “I Believe in Santa” Netflix premiere and there was even a Christmas Con! Meanwhile, Damien Chazelle brought a much less family-friendly flick, “Babylon,” to the City of Angels in another splashy premiere.
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
Dolby Theatre, Hollywood
Stars Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington attend the U.S. premiere of “Avatar: The Way of Water” in Hollywood. (Courtesy 20th Century Studios)
It was well worth the wait! Disney transported fans into Pandora for the “Avatar: The Way of Water premiere” at the Dolby Theatre. Stepping inside, it was as...
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
Dolby Theatre, Hollywood
Stars Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington attend the U.S. premiere of “Avatar: The Way of Water” in Hollywood. (Courtesy 20th Century Studios)
It was well worth the wait! Disney transported fans into Pandora for the “Avatar: The Way of Water premiere” at the Dolby Theatre. Stepping inside, it was as...
- 12/23/2022
- by Jenny Peters
- The Wrap
Singer Meghan Trainor, who is married to ‘Spy Kids’ actor Daryl Sabara and has a 20-month-old son Riley with him, hopes to welcome another little one next year before hopefully expanding her brood to four in total.
“Hopefully, I’ll be pregnant. I’m trying to make four children, so I’ve got to get on it! After having a baby, I was like, there’s nothing I can’t do. So now I’m just trying to knock off all my dreams on my dream list,” she said when asked about her plans for 2023, reports aceshowbiz.com.
Meanwhile, the ‘Made You Look’ hitmaker added that when it comes to Christmas, she has bought Riley a total of eight outfits for the holiday season even though it has been “tough” to source to find little boy outfits for the festive period.
She told People: “I got him eight outfits. It...
“Hopefully, I’ll be pregnant. I’m trying to make four children, so I’ve got to get on it! After having a baby, I was like, there’s nothing I can’t do. So now I’m just trying to knock off all my dreams on my dream list,” she said when asked about her plans for 2023, reports aceshowbiz.com.
Meanwhile, the ‘Made You Look’ hitmaker added that when it comes to Christmas, she has bought Riley a total of eight outfits for the holiday season even though it has been “tough” to source to find little boy outfits for the festive period.
She told People: “I got him eight outfits. It...
- 12/22/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Netflix’s Addams Family series Wednesday extended its reign atop the streamer’s English TV List, pulling in an additional 173.96M hours viewed for the week of Dec. 12. The series also increased its overall tally to 1.19 billion hours viewed to remain the second Most Popular English-language series on Netflix in its first 28 days of release, closing in on all-time champ, Season 4 of Stranger Things (1.35 billion hours).
With the release of Volume II, documentary Harry & Meghan added 97.71M hours viewed to finish at #2 for the week, 179.26M hours total.
The highest new English TV entry was The Recruit, starring Noah Centineo, which debuted at #3 with Ok 52.3M hours viewed.
On the English Films List, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio rose from #2 in its opening weekend to #1 in its second week with 39.38M hours viewed. It was followed by a holiday-themed debut, I Believe in Santa (19.96M hours viewed), as well as another newcomer,...
With the release of Volume II, documentary Harry & Meghan added 97.71M hours viewed to finish at #2 for the week, 179.26M hours total.
The highest new English TV entry was The Recruit, starring Noah Centineo, which debuted at #3 with Ok 52.3M hours viewed.
On the English Films List, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio rose from #2 in its opening weekend to #1 in its second week with 39.38M hours viewed. It was followed by a holiday-themed debut, I Believe in Santa (19.96M hours viewed), as well as another newcomer,...
- 12/21/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
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