Meredith Wieck: Celebs Rumors

Lionsgate is on to its next pot of gold, after tapping director Felipe Vargas to helm a new film in the Leprechaun horror franchise, Deadline can confirm.

EXCLUSIVE: 1883 breakout Isabel May is set to star opposite Jurnee Smollett in the thriller Sunflower, which Misha Green is directing for Lionsgate, in her feature debut.

Misha Green and Jurnee Smollett will embark on their third collaboration with Green’s directorial feature debut, “Sunflower.”The Lionsgate film has been described as a thriller about two women who attempt to escape from a remote sunflower farm, where they are being held hostage by a deranged college professor.Green will write and direct, as well as produce along with Craig Flores. Production is slated to begin this summer.“’Sunflower’ was the first script I sold when I landed in Hollywood, and now having the opportunity to make it my first feature directorial outing feels like kismet,” said Green in a statement.

EXCLUSIVE: Misha Green will reteam with her Underground and Lovecraft Country star Jurnee Smollett for the Lionsgate thriller Sunflower. Green will direct off a script she wrote and produce with Craig J. Flores and his Bread and Circuses Entertainment banner.

EXCLUSIVE: Antonia Thomas (The Good Doctor), Will Davis, Adelle Leonce (A Discovery of Witches), William Hope (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Steven Cree (Terminator: Dark Fate) and Sharon D Clarke (Broadway’s Caroline, or Change) will join The Hunger Games franchise’s Sam Claflin in the Lionsgate supernatural thriller, Bagman.

which TheWrap first reported.The prequel film in the franchise, which has grossed more than $3 billion globally, is based on the bestselling novel by Suzanne Collins and is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 17, 2023.Francis Lawrence returns to the series, having directed the sequels “Catching Fire” and both parts of “Mockingjay.”Collins, Tim Palen and Jim Miller will serve as executive producers on the new project.

Woody Harrelson is in negotiations to lead the ensemble of “Sailing,” a new comedy musical by “Rock of Ages” creator Chris D’Arienzo, for Lionsgate.Taking place in the late seventies, the film will chronicle the adventures of a group of musicians as they make their way into the sounds and lifestyle of “yacht rock,” a variation of soft rock that came to prominence on FM radio during that era.Jeremy Plager, who worked with D’Arienzo to sell the pitch, will develop and produce with Harrelson and Megamix’s Jonathan Levine and Gillian Bohrer as part of the production banner’s first-look deal with Lionsgate.“Everything about the yacht rock vibe, ethos and lifestyle will be brought on board this fun and hilarious nostalgic comedy,” said Lionsgate president of production Erin Westerman in a release. “We’re thrilled to be working with Jeremy, Jonathan, Gillian, Chris, and Woody, and we’re confident that it will not only have a phenomenal soundtrack, but it will also put you in a summertime mood.”Harrelson, who starred in last year’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” adds to a slate that includes “The Man From Toronto” opposite Kevin Hart and Cannes’ 2022 Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness.” Prior to “Rock of Ages,” D’Arienzo wrote “Jordeys,” “Hot,” and “Barry Munday,” which he also directed.

EXCLUSIVE: Three-time Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson is in talks to join Lionsgate’s ensemble 1970s jukebox musical Sailing from Rock of Ages creator Chris D’Arienzo.

which the Wrap first reported.The prequel film in the franchise, which has grossed over $3 billion globally, is based on the bestselling novel by Suzanne Collins and is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 17, 2023.Francis Lawrence returns to the series, having directed the sequels “Catching Fire” and both parts of “Mockingjay.”Collins, Tim Palen and Jim Miller will serve as executive producers on the new project.

and Steven Caple Jr? Please don’t wake me up from this dream. Temple Hill is one of the heaviest hitters in adapting YA, so I know ‘Thieves’ Gambit’ would have already been in brilliant hands, but add one of the most iconic studios in Hollywood, an ingenious pro like Christina, and one of the best directors in town too and it’s no wonder I’m questioning if this is reality.

Lionsgate has acquired motion picture adaptation rights to Thieves’ Gambit, an upcoming young adult thriller novel by Kayvion Lewis that has been generating deals and buzz ahead if its planned fall 2023 publish date. Steven Caple Jr, whose directing credits include Creed 2 and the upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, is attached to helm.

which the Wrap first reported.The prequel film in the franchise, which has grossed over $3 billion globally, is based on the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins and is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 17, 2023.Francis Lawrence returns to the series, having directed the sequels “Catching Fire” and both parts of “Mockingjay.”Collins, Tim Palen, and Jim Miller will serve as executive producers on the new project.

Tom Blyth is playing the role of Coriolanus Snow. Rivera also joins his fellow “West Side Story” alum Rachel Zegler who is set to play Lucy Gray Baird in the film.The prequel film in the franchise that has grossed over $3 billion globally is based on the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins and slated to hit theaters on November 17, 2023.Lawrence returns to the series having directed the sequels “Catching Fire” and both parts of “Mockingjay.”Collins, Tim Palen, and Jim Miller will serve as executive producers on the new project.

EXCLUSIVE:  Lionsgate has picked up an action comedy pitch from writers Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Mamrie Hart for Zoë Bell to direct, inspired by the stuntwoman’s viral short film Boss Bitch Fight Challenge. 

Borderlands, an adaptation of the bestselling videogame, starring Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black; The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, starring Nicolas Cage in the role of Nicolas Cage; Shotgun Wedding, starring Jennifer Lopez; White Bird: A Wonder Story, a companion film to the 2017 hit, which Myers also oversaw, and About My Father, which stars comedian Sebastian Maniscalco alongside screen legend Robert De Niro.   Returning to Lionsgate as executive vice president of production is Brady Fujikawa, who most recently served as head of development at BRON Studios. In his previous position at Lionsgate, Fujikawa championed several projects that are now some of the studio’s most highly anticipated, including The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, starring Nicolas Cage; and London, based on a Jo Nesbø story, with Oscar Isaac attached to star and Ben Stiller attached to direct.   Meredith Wieck has been promoted to senior vice president.

Adele Lim will make her directorial debut with an untitled comedy starring “Emily in Paris” actress Ashley Park.The R-rating intended comedy will follow four Asian American women as they set off on a journey to Asia to find their birth mothers. Lionsgate and Point Grey Pictures will produce the film together, with Point Grey’s Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, and Josh Fagen producing the film.

Abby Ryder Fortson, who stars as Ant-Man/Scott Lang’s daughter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, has been set to play Margaret in Lionsgate’s feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s iconic Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the studio confirmed Friday. Also aboard is Rachel McAdams who will play Margaret’s mother, Barbara.