Daniel Zovatto to Star Opposite Russell Crowe in Screen Gems’ Supernatural Thriller “The Pope’s Exorcist”

Daniel Zovatto exorcising his right to work…

The 31-year-old Argentinian-Costa Rican actor will star opposite Russell Crowe in Screen Gems’ supernatural thriller The Pope’s Exorcist.

Daniel ZovattoDirected by Julius Avery, the film stars Crowe as Father Gabriele Amorth, the legendary Italian priest who performed over 100,000 exorcisms for the Vatican—drawing on his international bestselling memoirs An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories.

Father Amorth, who died in 2016, left behind a trove of additional accounts of his exploits pulling the devil out of people all over the world.

Screen Gems acquired his life rights for the project, along with rights to his memoirs.

Details on Zovatto’s role have not been disclosed.

The Pope’s Exorcist has been gestating at Screen Gems for a number of years, with Ángel Gómez having previously been attached to direct as of 2020.

Evan Spiliotopoulos wrote the current draft of the script, with revisions by Chuck MacLean, which is based on Michael Petroni-revised original drafts by Chester Hastings & R. Dean McCreary.

Zovatto can currently be seen on HBO Max’s Station Eleven and has also appeared on series like Penny Dreadful: City of Angels and Here and Now.

His other notable film credits include Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, Drake Doremus’ Newness, Fede Alvarez’s Don’t Breathe, David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows, and the late Lynn Shelton’s Laggies.

Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” Named Top Film by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Guillermo del Toro’s latest project is resonating with the ladies…

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has selected the 53-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s The Shape of Water as its top film, with del Toro earning top director honors, and Sally Hawkins winning its bravest performance award.

Guillermo del Toro

Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird was also honored with three awards that included best supporting actress for Laurie Metcalf and two awards for Gerwig for best woman director and best woman screenwriter.

The alliance awards are called the EDAs in honor of AWFJ founder Jennifer Merin’s mother, actress Eda Reiss Merin. The Florida Project won two EDA Awards for best supporting actor for Willem Dafoe and best breakthrough performance for Brooklynn Prince.

In the EDA special mention categories, documentary filmmaker Agnes Varda was voted to receive the Actress Defying Age and Ageism Award, while receiving the best documentary award for her film Faces, Places.

Kate Winslet won the organization’s Actress Most in Need of a New Agent for Wonder Wheel and The Mountain Between Us.

The alliance also honored Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd and all women who spoke out against sexual harassment with the EDA Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry. The Annual AWFJ Hall of Shame Award was bestowed upon the high-profile group of those accused of sexual abuse including Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Brett Ratner.

“This past year was an important year for women to feel empowered to speak out and be heard,” said Merin. “The need for gender parity and gender diversity in the movie industry is patently clear, and the time to stop sexual harassment in all industries is now. These goals are fundamental to AWFJ’s mission and its core values.

“I am thrilled that for this year’s awards, our AWFJ members voted to honor such a diverse array of talent and to recognize those who are leading with their voices to put an end to long time misconduct, making the 2017 EDA Awards particularly relevant when art and film must be the vanguard of social progress.”

Guillermo del Toro Earns PGA Awards Nomination for “The Shape of Water”

The recognition for Guillermo del Toro’s latest monster-piece continues…

The Producers Guild of America has announced its film and television nominees for the 29th annual PGA Awards, with the 53-year Mexican filmmaker earning a nod for his critically acclaimed film The Shape of Water.

Guillermo del Toro,

For the first time, a tie in the voting means 11 films are vying for the marquee Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, rather than the usual 10.

In addition to del Toro’s The Shape of Water, the nominees include The Big Sick, Call Me by Your Name, Dunkirk, Get Out, I, Tonya, Lady Bird, Molly’s Game, The Post, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Wonder Woman.

The PGA Awards will be handed out on January 20 at the Beverly Hilton.

Here are the nominees for the 29th annual PGA Awards, co-chaired Donald De Line and Amy Pascal:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Big Sick
 Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel
Call Me By Your Name
 Producers: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Marco Morabito
Dunkirk Producers: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
Get Out Producers: Sean McKittrick & Edward H. Hamm, Jr., Jason Blum, Jordan Peele
I, Tonya
 Producers: Bryan Unkeless, Steven Rogers, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley
Lady Bird Producers: Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill
Molly’s Game Producers: Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal, Matt Jackson
The Post
 Producers: Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger
The Shape Of Water
 Producers: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
 Producers: Graham Broadbent & Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh
Wonder Woman
 Producers: Charles Roven & Richard Suckle, Zack Snyder & Deborah Snyder

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Boss Baby
 Producer: Ramsey Naito
Coco
 Producer: Darla K. Anderson
Despicable Me 3
 Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy
Ferdinand
 Producers: Lori Forte, Bruce Anderson
The Lego Batman Movie
 Producers: Dan Lin, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures:
Chasing Coral
 Producers: Jeff Orlowski, Larissa Rhodes
City of Ghosts
 Producer: Matthew Heineman
Cries from Syria
 Producers: Evgeny Afineevsky, Den Tolmor, Aaron I. Butler
Earth: One Amazing Day
 Producer: Stephen McDonogh
Jane
(This film is still in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility this year.)
Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower 
(This film is still in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility this year.)
The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee
 Producers: Teddy Kunhardt, George Kunhardt

The producers of the programs in the following six categories are in the process of being vetted for awards eligibility this year, and the winners will be recognized at the official ceremony on January 20. 

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

Big Little Lies (Season 1)
The Crown (Season 2)
Game of Thrones (Season 7)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 1)
Stranger Things (Season 2)

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 9)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 1)
Master of None (Season 2)
Silicon Valley (Season 4)
Veep (Season 6)

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and limited series.

Black Mirror (Season 4)
Fargo (Season 3)
FEUD: Bette and Joan (Season 1)
Sherlock: The Lying Detective
The Wizard of Lies

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

30 for 30 (Season 8)
60 Minutes (Season 50)
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Season 9, Season 10)
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (Season 1, Season 2)
Spielberg

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Season 2)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (Season 15)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Season 4)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Season 3)
Saturday Night Live (Season 43)

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:

The Amazing Race (Season 29)
American Ninja Warrior (Season 9)
Lip Sync Battle (Season 3)
Top Chef (Season 14)
The Voice (Season 12, Season 13)

The Award for Outstanding Short-Form Program:

Better Call Saul’s Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training (Season 1)
Carpool Karaoke (Season 1)
Humans of New York: The Series (Season 1)
National Endowment for the Arts: United States of Arts (Season 3)
Viceland at the Women’s March (Season 1)

The Award for Outstanding Sports Program:

All or Nothing: A Season with the Los Angeles Rams (Season 2)
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Season 12)
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (Season 23)
SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt (Season 3)
VICE World of Sports (Season 2)

The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program:

Doc McStuffins (Season 4)
Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2017
School of Rock (Season 3)
Sesame Street (Season 47)
SpongeBob SquarePants (Season 10, Season 11)