Jesse Andrews: Celebs Rumors

Deadpool 3 filmmaker Shawn Levy won’t utter a peep about the prequel for fear of death.

EXCLUSIVE: London and LA-based management and production outfit 42 has hired MXN Entertainment partner Michelle Knudsen in its LA office.

A nontheist advocacy organization is demanding that the Bible be banned from schools in a Florida school district, using the same justification that has been used to censor other literary works.Christopher Line, a staff attorney for church and state separation watchdog Freedom From Religion Foundation, formally requested the Bible be removed from library shelves in Leon County schools after the district pulled several other titles for mentioning sexual assault. The books that were banned include Dead End by Jason Myer, Doomed by Chuck Palahniuk, Lucky by Alice Sebold, Me, Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, and Push by Sapphire.

Editor’s note: Jesse Andrews is author of the novel Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, which is one of five books pulled from the library shelves of high schools within the purview of Tallahassee, Florida-based Leon County Schools superintendent Rock Hanna, after the Leon County chapter of the conservative group Moms for Liberty petitioned the schools to remove the book because of the frank depiction of sex and gender identity issues. The others include Push, the Sapphire-penned book that inspired the film Precious;Doomed by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk; Lucky by Alice Sebold; and Dead End by Jason Meyer. Still being scrutinized is an autobiography of tennis great Billie Jean King, because it discusses her sexuality. This has been an ongoing theme precipitated by policies passed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative Republicans. DeSantis is running for president and probably figured to ride his brawl with Disney into the White House, until Bob Iger began pushing back in ways that have cost revenue and investments it planned for the state of Florida, where Disney is its largest taxpayer and employer. What’s it like to see your book banished for, as Moms for Liberty argued in its email to the school board, violate state law and subject school district personnel to potential felony prosecution and litigation? Here, Andrews — also a screenwriter whose credits include co-writing with Mike Jones Pixar’s Luca — explains it all.

Ryan Reynolds is facing the music.

Ryan Reynolds is gearing up to get his pop star on in his upcoming movie Boy Band.

Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool franchise) is attached to produce and star in Boy Band, a new comedy for Paramount Pictures, Deadline can confirm.

Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.

Also Read: Pedro Almodóvar and Pixar's First Gay Hero Story Make Oscar Shortlists for Short FilmsThe film is written by Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones and produced by Andrea Warren (“Lava,” “Cars 3”). For now, “Luca” is slated to open on June 18, 2021, and it will do so in theaters.