Motion Picture: Tennis Rom-Com ‘Love Love’ Adds Desmond Chiam And Kam Patterson To Cast, ‘Michael’ Star Larenz Tate Joins The Team At Vault

Danny Ramirez - Chris DELMAS

Action/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Andrew Bachelor is directing and starring in the supernatural horror film Tap Twice. Production just wrapped. “The film follows a grieving couple who retreats to an isolated estate where the walls record every word  and a presence learns to speak in their voices.” Others in the cast include Chelsea Tavares (All American), Joel McKinnon Miller (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Carson Fagerbakke (Shifting Gears), Augusta Liv (The Beauty), Gillian Nation (Euphoria), and Joe Massingill (Spider-Noir).

Danny Ramirez joins the star-studded cast of Miami Vice ‘85 alongside Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler. Production will begin later this year. The film is slated for a May 19, 2028 release. It is unknown who Ramirez is playing in the project.

Sasha Calle (Rip) is set to star alongside Jamie Foxx in Deadlocked, a new action feature from Amazon MGM Studios. The film, written by Eric Scot Anderson (The Black Fox) and Matt Takejiro Bosack (CBS’ NCIS: Hawai’i), and based on their original idea, is being made for streaming. Directed by Nikhil Bhat, Deadlocked follows a grieving former Marine serving jury duty who is forced back into action when the trial of the century turns into a deadly hostage situation as the defendant’s daughter seizes the courthouse to free her father.

Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Andrés Almeida, Martin Bats Bradford, and Erika Ringor join the cast of Supermax from Amazon MGM Studios. Character details are currently under wraps. Production of the project has just kicked off today in New South Wales, Australia, with support from the NSW Government through Screen NSW’s Made in NSW Fund. The film follows two FBI agents (Will Smith and Anna Sophia Robb)  investigating a seemingly impossible murder within the impenetrable walls of a maximum-security prison. Others set for roles include Jaafar Jackson and Jason Clarke.

Algee Smith - Paras Griffin

Drama: Algee Smith (Euphoria) is set to portray Warren G in the long-awaited Snoop Dogg biopic from Universal Pictures. Production is slated for mid-September of this year. Craig Brewer is directing Snoop, which is being produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, the veteran producer behind the semi-autobiographical Eminem drama 8 Mile, and the company’s Allan Mandelbaum.

Camron Jones (Panic) joins Universal Pictures' Snoop Dogg biopic as Tupac Shakur. Jonathan Daviss, one of the stars of the Netflix series Outer Banks, is portraying Snoop Dogg, who emerged from Long Beach, California, in the 1990s to become one of the biggest names in rap. The film has been casting up until recent weeks and now has Myles Bullock as Dr. Dre and Lauren London as Snoop Dogg’s mother on the roll call.

Universal Pictures Snoop Dogg biopic,Snoop adds Laya DeLeon Hayes, Olly Sholotan, Corey Champagne and Jonica Booth. Hayes will portray Shante Broadus, Snoop’s wife, Sholotan will play rapper Kurupt, Champagne will portray Nate Dogg and Booth will play The Lady of Rage. Craig Brewer (Song Sung Blue)  is set to direct the film based on his rewrite of Joe Robert Cole’s original script.Snoop Dogg and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker will produce. The project will contain songs from Snoop Dogg's vast catalog of work. The film is the first project under Death Row Pictures’ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment. 

Portrait of an Artist: Stephen Curry is set to release October 9, 2026 exclusively in IMAX theaters. Gotham Chopra directed the film, which portrays NBA superstar Stephen Curry reaching a record 4,000 three-pointers on the court and the shooting mastery behind the Golden State Warriors team leader’s sport greatness. IMAX, Religion of Sports, Unanimous Media, and NBA Entertainment produce the film. A total of 21 IMAX proprietary cameras were used in Chase Center to capture Curry before and during a historic game against the Sacramento Kings, where he needed just two three-pointers to surpass a key milestone. The documentary around that single day and single game also weaves into the account of Curry’s on-court artistry the thoughts of other innovative artists like Viola Davis, Rick Rubin, Patti Smith, and Jon Batiste. Disney is distributing the film.

Liza Koshy and Dean Winters are set to star in the fantasy drama short film Old Soul from Andrew Rea, the online creator of Binging With Babbish. Per the official logline, it “follows a life-changing encounter between two desperate strangers” and “introduces ‘The Entity,’ an immortal, body-shifting consciousness trapped in an infinite cycle and searching for its true purpose.” Rea plans to expand the project into three feature-length thrillers set across the globe. Production on the short film recently wrapped in New York. The short film is preparing for a film festival run and an eventual release on Youtube.

Rachel Zegler - Udo Salters

Comedy/Dramedy/Musical: Amazon MGM Studios’ new romantic comedy Love Love adds Desmond Chian (You, Always) and SNL actor Kam Patterson to the ensemble. Key character details remain under wraps. They join the previously announced leads Isabel May and Tyriq Withers. With additional cast members Adeline Rudolph, Audra McDonald, and Dylan McDermott. The film is currently in production.

Tommy Davidson (Proud Family) and Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris) are set to star in the new family comedy feature: Search Party: Where’s Paw Paw? The project recently wrapped production in Los Angeles. Victoria Monai Richards is directing the film in her directorial debut. Richards also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Sherrie Richards and will star, rounding out the main cast with Daisy Fernandez and Nijah Brenea. “Search Party: Where’s Paw Paw? is an early 2000s-inspired, PG-rated comedy following three best friends on one wildly unforgettable search party that is full of heart, chaos and family love.”

Rachel Zegler (Y2K) joins She Gets It From Me as Oscar winner Marisa Tomei’s daughter. The film wrapped production in July in New York and is currently in post-production. The comedy-drama,She Gets It From Me,followsZegler and Tomei as a daughter and birth mother reunited after a lifetime apart, feeling their way through the “awkward, funny, wild and deeply moving process of becoming part of each other’s lives.”

The award-winning filmmaker Ramona S. Diazis launching her next project: a feature documentary based on an extraordinary 2017 article in The Atlantic magazine titled My Family’s Slave. The magazine piece, a personal essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning Filipino American writer Alex Tizon, recounts the story of Eudocia Tomas Pullido, “an enslaved woman who served [Tizon’s] family ceaselessly for 56 years.” Diaz is teaming up with producers Diane Quon (Oscar nominee, Minding the Gap) and Third Culture Content’s Janice Chua. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lee Daniels serves as an executive producer on the project.

Alliance Cinema is backing Davie Mamet’s Speed the Plow as an equity financier. Speed the Plow, currently in post-production, marks Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Mamet’s return to directing. Adapted from his acclaimed Broadway play, the feature stars Anthony Mackie, Ben Mendelsohn, Sharon Stone, Emily Alyn Lind, Chris Bauer, and Rebecca Pidgeon. The new film will diverge from the play to an extent and will be set at the fictional American Prestige Studios. The film used some AI in its production. Tyler Payne, Douglas Riggs, Jiarui Guo, Vince Jolivette, and Richie Hill of Filmopoly produced the project.

Lovell Adams-Gray, Kiana Madeira, Joanne Jansen, and Orville Cummings are set to star in a string of Ron & Aussie features. Ron & Aussie Productions (Morningside) has signed a three-picture deal with Toronto-based Launch North, the Canadian arm of Los Angeles-based media company The Launch Company (Kristallnacht). The first feature will begin shooting in Toronto this fall. All three films will be directed by Dias and written by Jansen and Dias. The remaining titles and additional details from the slate are due to be announced on September 11, 2026, during the TIFF event Big Day Out, presented by Big Picture. Joane Jansen said the following about the three-picture slate: “Ron and I wrote these three films for the people we wanted to see on screen. And we get to make them in the city they came out of. That is not a small thing for a Canadian company. I am looking forward to introducing the stories and the people behind them at Big Day Out.” 

DomiNque Perry - Bennett Ragli

Industry: DomiNque Perry signs with ColorCreative for representation in all areas. The actress and singer made her feature debut alongside Kevin Hart in the 2015 comedy Get Hard. Most recently, Perry starred in the STARZ original feature Unexpected Christmas. Raj Raghavan, ColorCreative’s Head of Talent, told us: “DomiNque is the total package—talent, charisma and dedication. We are thrilled to be representing her as she embarks on the next chapter of her career.”

Samuel Manroe Jr. has passed away at 52. The character actor had been on life support after a long battle with severe meningitis amid a months-long hospitalization. The star of Menace II Society was born in Los Angeles on November 28, 1973, Monroe landed his first acting role in the Patti LaBelle-starring series Out All Night, and he went on to appear in The Lion’s Den and The Steve Harvey Show.

Michael Wright (Five Heartbeats) has passed away at age 70. The New York native was also memorable as a resistance fighter on V in the mid-1980s. Wright died last Wednesday in Los Angeles of heart failure and complications from Marchiafava-Bignami disease, a rare degenerative neurological disorder. 

The Paramount-WBD antitrust lawsuit is heading to the Supreme Court in a red state versus blue state showdown over the multi-billion dollar merger. Iowa and Montana are going to the Supreme Court to put a halt on antitrust efforts to prevent the $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. “This case is about the legal limits on politicized antitrust enforcement by a small handful of states seeking to enjoin a $110 billion merger that the United States, most American states, and competition regulators worldwide have cleared,” insists the two red states in their Motion for Leave to File a Bill of Complaint against the 12 blue states led by Golden State AG and MAGA anti-poster boy Rob Bonta.

Larenz Tate (Michael) is looking to expand his influence in Hollywood by joining the team behind Vault, a new streaming and distribution platform focused on empowering indie filmmakers. The platform Vault, which is already live, serves as a hub for independent film, television, documentaries, short-form content, and music. The platform offers free access to viewers, as well as a subscription model that provides a more curated viewing experience. (More than 50,000 subscribers have signed up to date, according to the release.) Their mission is to connect creators with a global audience. Tate is working with Kenneth Gifford, founder of the Newark International Film Festival, for the project, along with his brothers and business partners Larron and Lahmard Tate. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta faces more pressure to change his stance on the Paramount-WBD merger. Bonta managed to stall the multi-billion-dollar merger until next spring related to the argument that the merger will harm theaters and cable providers. However, last week, Cinemark joined AMC and Regal in backing the merger. “That defection prompted the exhibitors’ trade group Cinema United—once a staunch Bonta ally — to go wobbly and push for a settlement.” Paramount has tried various ploys to put political pressure on Bonta, including op-eds, letters from allies, threats to leave California, and politicians’ statements, which Bonta has largely brushed off. He canceled an August 24, 2026, meeting with Paramount after details leaked and accused the company of “playing games.” 

The Asian American Foundation and Sundance Institute have announced their 2026 cohort of fellows. Through the scholarship, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) artists working in film and television will receive resources to further their professional development, such as access to a network of peers and mentors. The 2026 STATUS index found that 39% of Americans can’t name a single famous Asian American, and when people do picture us on screen, martial arts stars are often the first thing that comes to mind,” said Norman Chen, the CEO of TAAF. Six AAPI artists were selected for the Fellowship program, consists of a year-long fellowship designed to advance their careers with hands-on guidance and support. Fellows also receive a $20,000 unrestricted grant. The artists chosen for the fourth cohort are Kyle Casey Chu, Bryson Chun, Patrick G. Lee, Thanh Tran, Renee Zhan, Erin Lau, Miida Chu, Astor Kim-Stark, Chona M, Oanh-Nhi Nguyen, Kanitha Heng Snow, and Tim Xayasomloth.

Lux Angeles Studios has hired Binh Dang as the final piece of an executive puzzle assembled as the company eyes production on indie pics in the $10M-$20M range. Dang will be head of production. He will work alongside a new-look executive team comprising co-CEOs Matt Macur and Rebecca O’Hara, chair Steve Fabos, COO Lenny Vitulli, CRO Thomas Walton, and Creative Executive Damien Douglas. Lux Angeles is attempting to create a bridge between Hollywood and Thailand to access the latter’s country’s production infrastructure, crews, locations, and tax incentives. 

Filmmaker Julius Onah has signed with Theresa Kang’s Blue Marble Management for representation across film, television, and all media. The filmmaker is currently in post-production on Samo Lives, a biopic centered on Jean-Michel Basquiat for Neon, produced by Fifth Season, Macro, and Neon. The film stars Kelvin Harrison Jr, Antony Starr, Jeffrey Wright, Chase Sui Wonders, Danny Ramirez, and Dane DeHaan, among others. Onah continues to be represented by WME and Danny Passman of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc.

The Poof Point star Raquel Lee claims in an extremely graphic negligence suit against the Walt Disney Company that she was “repeatedly raped, sexually assaulted, sexually abused and sexually harassed” on the Utah set of the 2001 movie when she was 14 years old. The company knew about it and did nothing to stop the violence, the Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV participant says. “John Doe (“Mr. Doe”), an on-set, adult, middle-aged, male employee of Disney who was involved in the filming of the movie,” states the August 21 filing in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Lee, now Raquel Lee Boileau, with intentional vagueness about the alleged predator. “Mr. Doe’s sexual abuse of Ms. Boileau was apparent to the adults on Disney’s set. Defendant Disney repeatedly failed Ms. Boileau. Disney facilitated and concealed Mr. Doe’s severe sexual abuse of Ms. Boileau.” Ms.Boileau remarked, “Disney has caused irreparable and devastating harm and must be held accountable,” the action claims. “Defendant failed to use reasonable care in investigating the circumstances on set and did nothing to reasonably investigate, supervise, or monitor and/or terminate Mr. Doe to ensure the safety of child actors.”

Veteran media and entertainment executive Steve Shikiya has been named Chief Operating Officer of Anonymous Content. Shikiya will be reporting directly to President and CEO Darren Walker. Shikiya will oversee Anonymous’s day-to-day business operations, which include finance, corporate development, business affairs, and human resources. Shikiya will work intimately with leadership across the management, production, and brand studio businesses to support the company’s continued growth. Shikiya’s appointment follows the recent hires of Liza Burnett Fefferman as Chief Communications and Marketing Officer and Michael Sinclair as Chief Legal Officer.

Producer Manny Halley is taking over Pacoima Studios through his Imani Media Group with a long-term lease for the San Fernando Valley facility formerly operated by Quixote North Valley Studios. It will be rebranded as Imani Studio. Halley has a 25-year lease with an option to buy the complex of four sound stages across 125,000 square feet on a six-acre campus. The land on which the studio sits remains under Rexford Industrial Realty ownership. In April, it was reported that Quixote was exiting most of its leased sound stage facilities in L.A. amid a pullback in the space by its parent company Hudson Pacific, reflecting ongoing disruption in the space. Production, softer overall, continues to migrate around the country and overseas, chasing the best terms.

Megan Ellison’s Annapurna has reduced its workforce by roughly 30 employees. The producer of A24’s hit arthouse comedy The Invite counts around 189 staffers. Reportedly, cuts were made in all divisions, TV, film, and indie games. A representative for the studio released the following statement: “The reduction reflects business conditions. Annapurna is an independent entertainment and media company operating in shifting market conditions and is realigning to meet the changing landscape. We understand that those employees impacted are being supported through the transition. We’re still looking into whether any top-level executives were let go.” Annapurna is  been behind many auteur-driven features American Hustle,and I Love Boosters from Boots Riley and Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee.