In the last year, Megan Ellison has moved from respected producer of multiple Oscar contenders to another deep-pocketed Hollywood player who failed to appreciate the hazards of building a distribution company.
On Tuesday, a series of news flashes telegraphed a company in trouble.First, Jay Roach’s untitled movie starring John Lithgow as Fox News chairman and sexual harasser Roger Ailes, which was set to start shooting in just two weeks, is being shopped to other distributors.
Canadian financier Bron Studios was set to co-finance the reported $35-million production written by Oscar-winner Charles Randolph (“The Big Short”).
Focus Features is reportedly in talks to acquire the film.
Annapurna had just announced casting of Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch; he joins a strong ensemble including Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Kate McKinnon, and Margot Robbie as Megyn Kelly.Second, it was revealed that, some months ago, Annapurna dropped Lorene Scafaria’s Jennifer Lopez exotic dance movie.
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