Prime time for Lopez: Amazon scoops up rights to TV project and film
Prime time for Lopez: Already the star and producer of one romantic comedy in 2022, “Marry Me” actress/producer Jennifer Lopez is poised for another busy year, and at least two of her upcoming projects are “coming soon” to Amazon Prime Video.
The streamer reportedly beat out all the competition and scooped up the rights to the drama series “Backwards in Heels,” which is being developed by Skydance TV and Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions.
Written and directed by prolific storyteller/screenwriter Richard LaGravenese (“The Fisher King,” 1991), “Backwards in Heels” takes place in mid-20th century New York City — specifically, at 140 East 63rd St. on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The location of the historic Barbizon Hotel (the building is now known as Barbizon 63), the residential hotel, which, for much of its existence, served as a home away from home for young women who came to the Big Apple to pursue new career opportunities.
Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, Liza Minnelli and Grace Kelly were just a few of the Barbizon’s former residents before they found fame. The 23-story hotel was known to have strict dress and conduct rules — including no men allowed above the ground floor (male guests were only admitted in 1981) — and the experiences and aspirations of the Barbizon’s female guests in the post-war period circa 1940s-50s stand as the focus of “Backwards in Heels.”
Amazon also landed the rights to stream Lionsgate’s upcoming romantic comedy film, “Shotgun Wedding,” which stars Lopez and Josh Duhamel (“The Thing About Pam”) as an altar-bound couple whose destination wedding spirals into mayhem. The movie is due to hit theaters July 1, and while Prime hasn’t announced a streaming release date just yet, “Shotgun Wedding” will likely have a dayand-date release similar to “Marry Me,” which was available for streaming (on Peacock) the same day the movie landed in theaters.
Morton’s ‘Tales’: AMC has remained tight-lipped about the storylines featured in its upcoming “Tales of the Walking Dead” anthology series, which will debut this summer. Cast announcements haven’t given fans much to go on, either — until recently, anyway.
The third
“Walking
Dead” spinoff has been described as a sixepisode series of standalone stories featuring new and familiar characters, but previously, the only confirmed cast members were all new to the TWD universe: Anthony Edwards (“Inventing Anna”), Parker Posey (“Lost in Space”), Terry Crews (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), Poppy Liu (“Hacks”), Jillian Bell (“Brittany Runs a Marathon,” 2019), Olivia Munn (“The Newsroom”), Jessie T. Usher (“The Boys”), Danny Ramirez (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”), Loan Chabanol (“The Transporter Refueled,” 2015) and Embeth Davidtz (“Old,” 2021).
But after a recent announcement, fans now know that “Tales of the Walking Dead” will bring back at least one classic villain when Samantha Morton (“Minority Report,” 2002) reprises her role as the zombie face-wearing Alpha from Seasons 9 and 10. (In fact, Morton is the first Walking Dead franchise veteran to have signed on to the new series.)
Of course, AMC is keeping any plot details under wraps, so we don’t know if Morton’s episode will provide a prequel story for the character … though fans think this is a likely scenario, given how Alpha was (spoiler alert) killed by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, “Supernatural”) in the parent show. “Mindhunter” actress Lauren Glazier is also confirmed to appear in that episode, according to Deadline.
Ordered to series in
October 2021, “Tales of the Walking Dead” is set to land on AMC between the second and third parts of “The Walking Dead’s” final season.
She’s ‘Coming Undone’: From teen pop star to “Doctor Who,” and “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” to directing the 2019 film “Rare Beasts,” Billie Piper has worn many hats throughout her successful showbiz career.
The next time you see Piper, it’ll probably be in Lena Dunham’s comedy film “Catherine, Called Birdy,” which should debut later this year (filming wrapped in 2021). After that, Piper will star in a TV project with a decidedly more serious tone.
The star is now attached to Netflix’s TV adaptation of “Coming Undone,” the memoir from Empire magazine’s former editor-in-chief Terri White.White is adapting her own memoir, which candidly examines White’s childhood trauma and how it manifested during her tenure as a successful editor, resulting in a mental health crisis and time spent in a psychiatric ward.
The TV project marks the latest team-up between Piper and production company Bad Wolf, whose name is a nod to a “Doctor Who” storyline involving a character played by the English actress. Bad Wolf also produces “I Hate Suzie,” the dramedy co-created by Piper and “Succession” writer Lucy Prebble.
Piper’s work in front of the camera earned her a BAFTA nomination for Leading Actress, and earned “I Hate Suzie” a secondseason renewal, which will likely make its way to HBO Max in late 2022.