Frybread Face and Me
Filmmaker Taika Waititi has signed on to executive produce “Frybread Face and Me,” a film about two adolescent Navajo cousins from different worlds who bond during a summer herding sheep on their grandmother’s ranch in Arizona.
Native American filmmaker Billy Luther (“Miss Navajo’) penned and helms the semi-autobiographical project which is one of ten selected as part of 2020 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs. Chad Burris will produce. [Source: Variety]
Anime
Netflix has announced plans to grow its production of anime content by signing four deals with creators – Japan’s NAZ, Science SARU, MAPPA, and Korea’s Studio Mir. Tha takes the streamer’s total content deals in the two territories to nine.
Each deal is a non-exclusive production line partnership with the aim of creating the best content for the global anime community”. So far three key series have resulted to date – “Altered Carbon: Resleeved,” “Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045,” and “Dragon’s Dogma” with more on the way like “Spriggan,” “Vampire In The Garden” and “Super Crooks”. [Source: Netflix]
Pachinko
Lee Min-ho, Jin Ha, Anna Sawai, Minha Kim, Soji Arai and Kaho Minami will lead the cast of the eight-episode big-budget multilingual international drama “Pachinko,” based on Min Jin Lee’s novel, for the Apple TV+ service. Production is slated to kick off next week across multiple continents.
Told in Korean, Japanese and English, it chronicles the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family. Kogonada (“Columbus”) will direct four episodes, including the pilot, while Justin Chon (“Ms. Purple)” handles the other four. Both executive produce while Soo Hugh (“The Terror”) adapts the script and serves as showrunner. [Source: The Live Feed]
Untitled Chris Catrambone Project
Jonathan Mostow (“U-571,” “Breakdown”) is set to write and direct a biopic about American businessman and humanitarian Chris Catrambone. Catrambone founded the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) which provides humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable people around the world. Scott Gardenhour is producing and production kicks off late next year. [Source: Deadline]
Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself
Hulu has scored the rights to “Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself,” a staged film of the illusionist’s one-man stage show that ran Off-Broadway. Frank Oz helmed the feature which will debut on Hulu on January 22nd. The show, exploring themes of identity and illusion, is intentionally being kept vague. [Source: Variety]
