Jane Rosenthal News

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation's premier member organization of independent storytellers, announced today the nominees for the 29th Annual IFP Gotham Awards. Ten competitive awards will be presented to independent features and series. In addition to the competitive awards, Gotham Tributes will be given to actors Laura Dern and Sam Rockwell, director Ava DuVernay, and the Gotham Industry Tribute to Glen Basner.

Last night, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts honored iconic composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim at its annual American Songbook gala. Celebrated director and frequent Sondheim collaborator Lonny Price directed the evening's centerpiece, Beautiful Girls, A Musical Tribute, which featured show-stopping Sondheim compositions that explore a variety of women's stories through music.

Filmed last night, Sunday, June 9, live at the Netflix FYSEE space, the special event marked the first time executive producer Oprah Winfrey interviewed The Exonerated Five - Antron McCray, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Yusef Salaam.   

Netflix and OWN announced today that the closing night of Netflix's Emmy® FYSEE showcase, featuring a special in-depth conversation hosted by executive producer Oprah Winfrey, with Emmy®-winner Ava DuVernay and the cast of their four-part limited series, When They See Us – will be recorded to premiere on Netflix and OWN, Wednesday June 12 at 10p ET/PT (immediately following the Season Four premiere of DuVernay's critically acclaimed “Queen Sugar” at 9p on OWN). Oprah Winfrey Presents When They See Us Now, will also feature Winfrey's sit down interview with The Exonerated Five men of the Central Park Five 1989 case for the very first time. These conversations, closing out Netflix's immersive FYSEE experience, will take place at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 9th.  

Based on a true story that gripped the country, When They See Us will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The four part limited series will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem -- Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, the series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.

Based on a true story that gripped the country, When They See Us will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The four part limited series will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem -- Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, the series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.

In 1989, the media dubbed them the Central Park Five and they were forever linked together by that moniker. On May 31, their true story will come to Netflix as a four-part limited series from Academy Award® Nominee and two-time Emmy Award® Winner Ava DuVernay.  Now titled When They See Us, the series is based on the stories of the five men who were wrongly accused of a crime they did not commit.  

The Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, will open its 18th edition with the world premiere of the HBO Documentary Film The Apollo. Helmed by Academy and Emmy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams, The Apollo chronicles the unique history and contemporary legacy of the New York City landmark, the Apollo Theater. The film will debut at the iconic theater itself on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 and later this year on HBO. The feature-length documentary weaves together archival footage, music, comedy and dance performances, and behind-the-scenes verité with the team that makes the theater run. The Apollo features interviews with artists including Patti LaBelle, Pharrell Williams, Smokey Robinson, and Jamie Foxx. The documentary is produced by Lisa Cortés, Nigel Sinclair's White Horse Pictures, and Williams. The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 24-May 5.

Eko, the trailblazing leader in interactive video entertainment and storytelling, announces Timeline, a digital adventure series produced by Will Gluck's Olive Bridge Entertainment and developed in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Created and written by two-time Blacklist screenwriter Neal Dusedau, executive produced by Scott S. Kramer for Olive Bridge, and directed entirely by Kimmy Gatewood (GLOW), the series will consist of four, 15-minute episodes that invite viewers to influence and experience the storyline through Eko's patented, next-generation interactive streaming technology. Timeline, launching in 2019, was developed under the auspices of a strategic joint venture between Walmart and Eko, dedicated to original, interactive video entertainment.

Forget about the king, it's good to be QUEEN: the iconic rock band scored its highest-charting album in 38 years with the Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack (Hollywood Records), which surged from No. 25 to No. 3 on The Billboard 200 (a 187% increase) and is currently No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 and Top Rock Albums charts.

From the award-winning indie team behind the hit animated shorts Invasion! and Asteroids! comes an experience about the sacrifices we can all make to help our larger community, Crow: The Legend. Inspired by the classic Native American legend about the origins of the bird, Crow: The Legend respectfully illustrates the sacrifices the bird must make. As the most beautiful animal of the forest, Crow must risk everything to save those around him. With themes of diversity and self-sacrifice for the greater community, Crow demonstrates how one single act of sacrifice can have a profound impact to our world. 

AT&T Presents: Untold Stories is proud to bring the program's first-ever film – NIGERIAN PRINCE – to audiences nationwide on Friday, October, 19.  Untold Stories is a film initiative created by AT&T and Tribeca to ensure diverse voices in storytelling are heard and seen in theaters and living rooms across the country.  Written and directed by newcomer Faraday Okoro, and filmed in Lagos, Nigeria, the film is a heist thriller about a Nigerian-American teenager sent to visit relatives in Nigeria against his will, later to join forces with his internet scammer cousin in an attempt to return to the United States on his own.

Actor, producer and director Robert De Niro will headline the Opening Keynote event on Wednesday, October 17 at NAB Show New York. In a Q&A with “Deadline Hollywood” Contributing Editor Dade Hayes, De Niro will discuss the future of film and entertainment, drawing on his four decades in the entertainment business.

QUINCY Launching on Netflix and Select Theaters Next Friday

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY is pleased to announce the Super Showcase performance of OWEN & MZEE: THE TRUE STORY OF A REMARKABLE FRIENDSHIP the #1 New York Times best-selling children's book about the friendship between a tortoise and an orphaned hippopotamus written by father and daughter team Craig and Isabella Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu . The musical features book and lyrics by Michelle Elliott and music and lyrics by Danny Larsen. Stanley Mathis is the Director/ Choreographer and Costume Designer.

The courtroom comes to order in Ava DuVernay's Central Park Limited Series as The Affair's Joshua Jackson, Hamilton's Christopher Jackson, and 12 Years A Slave's Adepero Oduye join the cast.

Calling all TV fans, the Tribeca TV Festival is back on the big screen bringing audiences together to discover new series and be the first to see favorite new season premieres. The 2nd Tribeca TV Festival will celebrate unforgettable storytellers who have shaped what 'peak TV' is today and introduce new voices in episodic storytelling. Over four days at Spring Studios in New York City, each event will feature a conversation with the stars and creators of favorite and soon-to-be-favorite shows. The 2018 Tribeca TV Festival will take place September 20-23. Tickets go on sale today, August 22, at 11am ET at tribecafilm.com/TVFestival.

Ava DuVernay's central park crime drama unveils its leading men. The actors will portray the real-life teens and adults at the center of the Central Park Five Case.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY is pleased to announce the Super Showcase performance of OWEN & MZEE: THE TRUE STORY OF A REMARKABLE FRIENDSHIP the #1 New York Times best-selling children's book about the friendship between a tortoise and an orphaned hippopotamus written by father and daughter team Craig and Isabella Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu . The musical features book and lyrics by Michelle Elliott and music and lyrics by Danny Larsen. Stanley Mathis is the Director/ Choreographer and Costume Designer.