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Actress Patti Yasutake, best known to Trekkies as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, died on August 5, 2024, of a rare type of T-cell lymphoma. She was 70 years old. 

Nurse Ogawa first appeared on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in the episode "Future Imperfect" more or less as a background character. She was one of Dr. Crusher's retinue of medical staff, there to give viewers the impression that the ship's sickbay was constantly bustling. She went on to star in 14 additional episodes of the show, and was usually merely standing next to Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), passing her tools or saying "Yes, Doctor." She had a good bedside manner, and her repeated appearances had viewers wondering who she was and what her story might be. As the series progressed, Nurse Ogawa's role expanded incrementally, eventually leading to her becoming a legitimate supporting player. 

Indeed, by the show's seventh season, Nurse Ogawa began to...

Only six months after its 2021 edition, Series Mania will be back with a sprawling selection, including the world premieres of Michael Hirst’s “Billy The Kid” (pictured), the Israeli series “Fire Dance” and rap-music-themed French show “Le monde de demain.”

Underscoring the large presence of streamers within the roster, Series Mania will kick off with Netflix’s “Standing Up,” a new comedy series from “Call My Agent” creator and showrunner Fanny Herrero; while Disney Plus’ “Oussekine,” about a tragic case of police brutality in France, will close the festival.

The lineup boasts 58 series spanning from 21 countries. These were chosen from 331 series. The international jury, whose president will be announced later, will comprise of German actor Christian Berkel (“Downfall”), Franco-Belgian actor Cécile de France, Israeli actor Shira Haas (“The Unorthodox”), Turkish creator and director Berkun Oya (“Bir Baskadir”) and French singer-songwriter and model Yseult.

This year’s guests of honor are Michael Hirst,...

Hours after Tom Morello appeared on The Tonight Show to perform “Hold the Line” with the help of Grandson, the guitarist announced his second LP of 2021, The Atlas Underground Flood, out Dec. 3rd.

The Atlas Underground Flood serves as a “sister album” to Morello’s The Atlas Underground Fire, which arrived in October. Like its predecessor, the upcoming LP is an all-star affair, with a guest list that includes Jim James, Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Nathaniel Rateliff, Manchester Orchestra, Ben Harper, X Ambassadors and many more.

Camilla Nielsson’s President tells the tumultuous story of Zimbabwe’s 2018 general election, the first since the country attained independence that Robert Mugabe was not a candidate. It is in many ways a follow-up to Nielsson’s 2014 film Democrats. Editor Jeppe Bødskov discusses his ongoing collaboration with Nielssoni. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Bødskov: I worked with Camilla Nielsson on her previous documentary Democrats. So, I knew her already. I know quite a lot about Zimbabwe and about […]

The post "There Were so Many Parallels and Contrasts": Editor Jeppe Bødskov on President first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Camilla Nielsson’s President tells the tumultuous story of Zimbabwe’s 2018 general election, the first since the country attained independence that Robert Mugabe was not a candidate. It is in many ways a follow-up to Nielsson’s 2014 film Democrats. Editor Jeppe Bødskov discusses his ongoing collaboration with Nielssoni. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Bødskov: I worked with Camilla Nielsson on her previous documentary Democrats. So, I knew her already. I know quite a lot about Zimbabwe and about […]

The post "There Were so Many Parallels and Contrasts": Editor Jeppe Bødskov on President first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Germany’s Maze Pictures has boarded Moscow-based Metrafilm’s Kgb comedy series “Pawns,” from writers Michael and Lily Idov, who penned the 2018 Cannes competition screener “Leto.”

The company, which has offices in Munich, Berlin and Lucerne, Switzerland, is also developing a miniseries based on “Ghosts of Berlin,” a book of supernatural stories by filmmaker Rudolf Herzog (son of Werner Herzog), and the tentatively titled mystery series “Parallels.”

On the film front, Maze Pictures is co-producing David Sandberg’s upcoming action-comedy “Kung Fury 2,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Fassbender. It also co-produced Abel Ferrara’s “Siberia,” headlining Willem Dafoe, which premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

“Pawns” is a Russian-German co-production between Maze Pictures, Metrafilm and Latvia’s Tasse Film.

The series has already secured development support from German regional funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the project is set to shoot primarily in Riga and to a lesser extent in Berlin and Moscow.

The awards ceremony for the most important animation festival of the year was… quiet. Instead celebrating in the iconic lakeside and mountains, this year’s awards were announced via live recording and an emailed newsletter. Annecy International Animated Film Festival went completely online this year.

After a few years with geographical focuses in Asian countries, this year’s festival still has had a relatively kind focus towards East Asian films. Notable Asia-based directors this year include the return of neo media artist Max Hattler (“Divisional Articulations”) with minimalist stop motion “Serial Parallels,” and Yifan Bao’s Satoshi Kon-esque, first film “The Town.” All in all, roughly 25 percent of the 21 awards in total went to Asia-based directors.

For the full list, consult the results below. Keep tabs on our reviews page of some of our festival favorites; Annecy is available to stream (for 17 euros!) until 30 June 2020.

Official Feature Films Competition

Annecy Cristal – “Calamity,...

Luke Eve, creator and director of 'High Life', took home three awards at this year's Melbourne WebFest..

Luke Eve.s High Life took home the most awards at this year.s Melbourne Webfest, earning Best Australian Drama, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Benson Jack Anthony).

Melbourne WebFest is Australia.s only international web series festival, now in its fifth year. Over the weekend it screened a selection of 50 web series from around the world, in addition to hosting industry panels, workshops and a live pitching competition conducted in partnership with ABC iview..

The festival.s keynote speaker, La-based filmmaker Christopher Leone (The Lost Room, Parallels) said: .Like the rise of independent film 20 years ago, we're now witnessing the rise of independent television delivered via the web. Melbourne WebFest is a fantastic event to discover the new wave of television creators and a damn good time..

The festival gave out some 24 awards,...

Rob Leane Nov 18, 2016

Fox is developing The Building, a teens-visit-a-parallel-universe drama executive produced by Neil Gaiman...

Deadline reports that Fox is developing a new fantasy series, with Neil Gaiman attached as an executive producer. It's called The Building, and it's based on the film Parallels, which you may have seen on Netflix. (It's not on there anymore, sadly, at least not in the UK.)

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The film was written and directed by Chris Leone, who has boarded the TV take as an executive producer alongside Gaiman. Albert Kim - who's previously worked on Sleepy Hollow and Nikita - is attached as showrunner.

If you missed the film on Netflix, and want to know what to expect from the telly version,...

Neil Gaiman has teamed up with Angry Films to develop a new sci-fi/fantasy TV series for Fox called The Building, and it sounds like a really cool and fascinating concept! The series is based on a digital film called Parallels that was written and directed by Chris Leone, and it centers on a multiverse skyscraper! Seriously, this series sounds awesome and different from anything that we’re seeing right now. Deadline offers up the following plot information:

The Building involves a large skyscraper that moves between alternate realities and a group of young urban explorers who are in the building and suddenly find themselves on an Earth wherein Reagan was not elected and Russia dropped the bomb. They then figure out they have a limited amount of time to figure out where they are and rescue members of their team before the building shifts again to another reality. They...

Exclusive: Fox has put in development The Building, a drama series from fantasy novelist Neil Gaiman and Angry Films. 20th Century Fox TV is the studio. The Building is based on a digital film called Parallels which has had great success on Netflix. The original film was written and directed by Chris Leone (story by Leone and Laura Harkom). Parallels came out of Fox Digital Studios a division of 20th Century Fox where it was shepherded by head of department David Worthen…...

Kirsten Howard Oct 18, 2016

As we approach the 10th anniversary of The Lost Room, we reminisce about the series with co-creator Christopher Leone...

Many people pine for the one that got away. For a swathe of science fiction fans, their great lost love is Joss Whedon’s space western show Firefly, but for a few of us there was also another sci-fi show cruelly cut off in its prime after just a few great episodes in the 00s – and that show is The Lost Room.

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I didn’t have access to SyFy (which was still going by Sci-Fi Channel back then) when The Lost Room aired, so I missed it. Turns out I wasn’t the only one -...

The Tribe is a post-apocalyptic thriller. From director Roxy Shih, the film is a co-production, from Rumpus Room Productions and Tomato Sunrise Films. Currently, the film is in Cannes, with plans for distribution sure to come this way soon. As well, the film stars: Jessica Rothe (Parallels), Michael Nardelli (Circle), Anne Winters (Tyrant), and Cokey Falkow (Penny Dreadful). And, the film's first trailer shows three sisters attacked by marauding strangers. The film's first trailer is available here: The official synopsis begins with the three sisters. Sarah (Winters), Jenny (Rothe) and Danika (Chloe Jones) have lost their father, to a mysterious pandemic. Now, they must band together, in order to survive. But, the local vagabonds have other intentions for the sisters. A release date for The Tribe has not been announced. However, the film is currently being shown to potential buyers, in one of film's most prestigious events - Cannes. Afterwards,...

Post-apocalyptic thriller, The Tribe, from director Roxy Shih and writers Ian Paxton and Chris Manask is set for an appearance at Cannes with Empress Road Pictures handling worldwide sales.

The film starts its prestigious run with a showing at the Nice International Film Festival, with nominations for seven awards including Best Picture. The film stars: Jessica Rothe (Parallels), Michael Nardelli Anne Winters (Tyrant), and Cokey Falkow (Penny Dreadful). The film’s trailer is available now!

Synopsis:

After a global pandemic, few survivors remain in the world. On a remote ranch, three sisters fight to survive in the arid wasteland, equipped with the lessons their father taught them. When strangers in search of refuge come knocking, Sarah (Winters), Jen [Continued ...]...

The Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMAs) have announced the nominees in the Visual Media categories.

Showcasing the best and brightest in musical creation for visual media, the 5th Annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMAs) will be held at The Fonda Theater in Hollywood on Tuesday, November 4, 2014.

The 2014 HMMAs welcome back celebrity hosts including Oscar nominated actor Eric Roberts, former Matchbox 20 member Adam Gaynor, acclaimed Director/Writer/Producer Andy Fickman and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Education Through Music – Los Angeles (Etmla). Honorees, performers, and special guests to be announced.

The field of entrants were narrowed down to final nominees by the Hmma advisory board and selection committee. The winners will be voted upon by music-media industry professionals comprised of select members of the Society of Composers and Lyricists (Scl), The Television Academy, the AMPAS Music Branch, Naras, performing rights organizations,...

Somehow over the years the Hollywood Music in Media Awards have escaped me. The event's fifth annual slate of nominees were announced today, and it's a pretty standard assortment of names we've been considering at the forefront of this year's Best Original Score Oscar race, from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to Hans Zimmer to the ubiquitous Alexandre Desplat. The nominees were chosen by an "Hmma advisory board and selection committee," and winners will be voted upon by "music-media industry professionals comprised of select members of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, The Television Academy, the AMPAS Music Branch, Naras, performing rights organizations, film music journalists and music executives," according to the press release. You might raise your eyebrow at something like "Interstellar" being on here when it hasn't been screened for these purposes (or much at all, for that matter). The nominations are also based on hearing music via...

Constance Wu is set to star opposite Randall Park in ABC’s single-camera comedy pilot Fresh Off The Boat, written/exec produced by Nahnatchka Khan and exec produced by Jake Kasadan. Based on Eddie Huang’s memoir, it is set in the 1990s and revolves around a Chinese family that moves to suburban Orlando. It centers on hip-hop-loving Eddie Huang, raised by an immigrant father (Park) who is obsessed with all things American and an immigrant mother (Wu) who is often bewildered by white culture. Mrs. Huang is no-nonsense pragmatic woman who believes in tough love. Wu, repped by Talentworks and Generate, starred in the Amazon comedy pilot Browsers and will next be seen in Fox Digital’s Parallels and feature Electric Slide. Body Of Proof alum Windell Middlebrooks has booked a series regular role in NBC‘s comedy pilot Mason Twins. Written/executive produced by June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson,...