RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 is coming to MTV and the network has revealed who will join the judging panel throughout the season to find “America’s Next Drag Superstar.”
Mainstage judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley and Ross Mathews will be back on the panel. Ts Madison has been upped to a rotating member of the judges’ panel as they decide who will lip-sync for their life or “sashay away.”
This season’s guest judges also include music, television, comedy and film icons Ali Wong, Amandla Stenberg, Harvey Guillén, Hayley Kiyoko, Julia Garner, Janelle Monáe, Maren Morris, Megan Stalter and Orville Peck.
The 16 queens will compete for the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” and a cash prize of $200,000 – the highest in herstory of the main franchise.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 premieres on MTV on Friday, January 6 at 8 p.m. ET with a commercial-free premiere episode and a limited-commercial part two. [Source]
When it comes to turning Emmy nominations into Emmy wins, Julia Garner is so far batting a thousand. The actor was nominated in 2019 and 2020 in the supporting actress in a drama series category for “Ozark” — and she won both times.
Now, Garner has doubled her Emmy nominations tally to four, picking up another supporting actress nod for the final season of “Ozark” and also landing one for her “Inventing Anna” role, as lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie.
Given her “Ozark” success, that nomination wasn’t a shock. But the success of “Inventing Anna” at the Emmys — including in the key limited or anthology series category — was a bit of a surprise, especially given the expectation that another Netflix series, “Maid,” would make the cut.
Yet in hindsight, it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. By now it’s clear that Julia Garner should be added to the list of awards catnip — the roster of stars that continue to amaze on screen, and whose work has not gone unnoticed by industry voters. Think of other awards favorites like Olivia Colman or Sarah Paulson (who returns to the Emmy table this year with “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” her eighth nomination).
Garner has clearly impressed over the years on “Ozark” as Ruth Langmore, but has also shown her range in recent years via “Waco,” “The Americans,” “Dirty John” and now, “Inventing Anna.”
In playing socialite huckster Anna Delvey, Garner had to perfect a bizarre, one-of-a-kind accent while playing a character whose demeanor is more or less bored psychopath. Shondaland’s Betsy Beers told me why they felt so fortunate to land Garner for the role.
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As Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements ramp up the output from their Tomorrow Studios shingle, they’ve identified the first project they plan to bring out via their new deal with Julia Garner.
Garner and her producing partner Rowan Riley, via their company Alma Margo, sealed a first-look deal with Tomorrow earlier this year. Their first series will be a drama about an international jewel heist titled “Balabusta.”
“She’s very engaged and involved in every step of the way,” Adelstein said of Garner. “That’s probably one of the best deals we’ve ever made. We’re really happy to be in business with her.”
Garner, of course, is on a roll, having scored Emmy nominations this week in both lead actress in a limited series (for “Inventing Anna”) and supporting actress in a drama (for “Ozark”). Garner already has two Emmys, having won for “Ozark” in 2019 and 2020 in the supporting drama actress field.
“Balabusta” is one of several projects in various forms of development at Tomorrow Studios. As Variety exclusively reported on Wednesday, Tomorrow has also struck a deal with Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions to jointly adapt Jonathan Frazen’s novel “Freedom” into a series.
“Freedom,” which was released in 2010 and named one of the New York Times’ 10 best books of the year, will be adapted into a TV series by writer and playwright Melanie Marnich (“The Affair,” “Big Love”). The story follows a St. Paul couple who start out as idealistic parents, but begin to question everything as the American society around them starts to crumble.
“The book is fantastic and there’s just nothing better than getting a piece of material from a writer like Melanie Marnich,” Clements says.
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Back in January, it was announced that Inventing Anna lead Julia Garner had signed on to star in Paramount Players’ Apartment 7A. Little was known about the project other than the fact that it had been described as a “psychological thriller.” Yet interest in the film still felt high, primarily because of who was involved with it. In addition to starring a two-time Emmy winner in Garner, Apartment 7A also had the buzzy Natalie Erika James attached to direct. Riding high off the critical acclaim of her feature debut Relic, James seemed like the perfect match for Garner.
It’s been six months since then, however, and aside from a casting announcement that put two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest in a still-undisclosed role, there’s been very little word about what viewers could expect from this dynamic duo. But with production recently wrapping on the film, details may be starting to trickle out. (Watch out, Barbie. There’s another film to obsess over.) According to horror entertainment site Bloody Disgusting, who were speaking “on good authority,” the upcoming Apartment 7A just might be a “top-secret Rosemary’s Baby prequel that’s about the woman who dies outside the apartment when Rosemary moved in.”
According to their reports, it all makes a lot of sense. Most obviously, Paramount Pictures owns the rights to Rosemary’s Baby. But after further sleuthing, Bloody Disgusting also discovered several more details that seemed to align, if not exactly confirm the rumor. First was the fact that John Krasinski was a producer on the film; according to BD, the A Quiet Place star and director was attached to direct a remake of the film a decade-and-a-half ago. Then, there’s the fact that actress Amy Leeson’s IMDb page listed her role in the project as “Rosemary Woodhouse.”
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“Inventing Anna” actress Julia Garner has been offered the role of Madonna in a forthcoming biopic about the pop icon, sources familiar with the project told Variety.
Garner has emerged the favorite from over a dozen candidates, one insider added, and has for months been speculated as a frontrunner for the part — a performance Madonna will shepherd herself as director. Garner’s team is considering and expected to accept the offer, said another source.
The film is set up at Universal Pictures, and will follow the early days of the oft-controversial artist and queen of perpetual reinvention. Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley won the script in a multi-studio bidding war, and Amy Pascal is attached as a producer.
A production timeline and other principal cast is still unknown. Actors in contention for the role include the previously reported Florence Pugh, “Euphoria” star Alexa Demie, and Odessa Young. Singers including Bebe Rexha and Sky Ferreira have also been floated. The audition process was reportedly grueling, as the music-heavy production requires a skilled singer and dancer.
Upon announcement, Madonna said she hoped to “convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being, trying to make her way in this world. The focus of this film will always be music. Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive. There are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell it than me. It’s essential to share the roller coaster ride of my life with my voice and vision.”
Langley praised Madonna as “the ultimate icon, humanitarian, artist and rebel.” [Source]
Julia Garner is going into business with Tomorrow Studios. The Ozark star — who formed Alma Margo with producing partner Rowan Riley — has signed a first-look deal with the company founded by CEO Marty Adelstein.
Garner is a two-time Emmy winner for her performance as Ruth Langmore in Netflix’s Ozark. She also headlines Netflix’s Inventing Anna, and is set to star In Paramount Players’ psychological thriller Apartment 7A that will be directed by co-writer Natalie Erika James.
Tomorrow Studios, which CEO Adelstein runs with President Becky Clements, is behind series including TNT’s Snowpiercer, Netflix’s Cowboy Bepop, HBO Max’s 10-Year Old Tom and Showtime’s Let The Right One In.
“Above all else, Alma Margo is looking for bold and original content, so we thought it only natural to partner with a studio that also fits that description,” said Garner and Riley. “We are incredibly proud to be working with Tomorrow Studios who exhibit every quality that we’re looking for in a partner: intelligence, drive, experience and passion.”
“As we continue to grow Tomorrow Studios, we’re thrilled to partner with Julia, Rowan and their team at Alma Margo to create compelling scripted series with a global reach,” added Adelstein and Clements. “We share their enthusiasm for meaningful programming and love their focus on elevating emerging talent.” [Source]
