Sundance, D.C. Women's Marches Kick Off; Early Buzz Fest Titles; TV Pilot Order Watch

What's news: Park City and Washington D.C. are both gearing up for star-studded anti-Trump Women's Marches today. Plus: All the deals, buzz and early reviews from Sundance, a busy day for TV pilot orders and inside Woody Harrelson's ambitious live film screening. — Matthew Belloni and Erik Hayden. [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment] January 21, 2017 What's news: Park City and Washington D.C. are both gearing up for star-studded anti-Trump Women's Marches today. Plus: All the deals, buzz and early reviews from Sundance, a busy day for TV pilot orders and inside Woody Harrelson's ambitious live film screening. — Matthew Belloni and Erik Hayden. Sundance Buzz, Deals — And March Walking down Main Street in Park City yesterday, you'd never know a new President was being inaugurated, Matt emails: I popped into several storefronts and only one of the businesses with TVs was showing the Trump parade. (An actress I won't name asked that THR turn off the TV in our video lounge because it was airing the festivities). [Today, however, it's the response.] This morning, Chelsea Handler will lead the March on Main. And it's expected to draw hundreds of participants despite pretty constant snow. Meanwhile, festival buzz on Day 2 centered on Michael Showalter's The Big Sick, starring Kumail Nanjiani, which impressed buyers (and critics) and should fetch a massive deal. Also at Sundance... ► Behind a Silicon Valley star's unconventional love story. Tatiana Siegel [profiles] The Big Sick team, which was shot and fully financed by FilmNation in New York in the summer of 2016 and started in part from an idea from Judd Apatow. ► Orchard, CNN Films partner for hunting doc Trophy. The film, which screened in the fest's U.S. doc competition, is an in-depth look at the intersection of big-game hunting. CNN will handle the broadcast, while Orchard has [release plans] for 150+ screens. ► Kristen Stewart to direct short film on gun control. The actress is readying her directorial debut, a short film called Come Swim, produced by Refinery29's Shatterbox Anthology. Stewart: It's "[going to kick ass]." ► Inside THR and Sundance TV’s kickoff party. Jon Hamm, Gwendoline Christie, Pierce Brosnan and more took a break from the slopes to hang out at the soiree at Sundance TV HQ. [Photos.] From the critics... ► The Big Sick, reviewed. Kumail Nanjiani stars alongside Zoe Kazan in the true story of his relationship with wife and co-screenwriter Emily Gordon in Michael Showalter's first straight-ahead love story. [The takeaway:] "A funny and tender drawn-from-life love story." ► Little Hours, reviewed. Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie and Kate Micucci are 14th-century Italian nuns with the hots for Dave Franco in Jeff Baena's Decameron adaptation. [The takeaway:] "A winning ensemble brings present-day attitude to Boccaccio's irreverent sex comedy." ► Killing Ground, reviewed. Idyllic Australian bushland proves an inhospitable place for a romantic holiday retreat in writer-director Damien Power's chilling feature debut. [The takeaway:] "a blunt, brutally effective survival tale." ► Person to Person, reviewed. Michael Cera and Abbi Jacobson lead an appealing ensemble in Dustin Guy Defa's riff on a 2014 short. [The takeaway:] "An enjoyable throwback to a vintage mode of urban ensemble comedy." Elsewhere in film... ► A Dog's Purpose writer: PETA video "mischaracterizes what happened." The Universal film, which had its premiere canceled over the controversial leaked video of a dog performing a stunt, gets defended by its writer W. Bruce Cameron.[Full statement.] ► Tim Story to direct Shaft reboot. The Ride Along director will [helm] New Line's reboot, which is being written by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and The Goldbergs exec producer Alex Barnow. ► Annapurna's new distribution arm to release new Kathryn Bigelow film. The Zero Dark Thirty director's upcoming, untitled film about Detroit’s 1967 riots will become the [first film] released through Annapurna's new marketing operation when it hits theaters on Aug. 4. ► CBS, Paramount settle lawsuit over Star Trek fan film. A deal comes as the the studios were prepared to head to an unexplored copyright galaxy at trial on Jan. 31 over fan film Prelude to Axanar. [The joint statement.] Inside Woody Harrelson's ambitious live film screening. With Lost in London streamed into 550 theaters across the U.S., Harrelson may have the first-ever feature-length film shot in real time and broadcast live, but he says he's not ready [to do it again.] TV Pilot Order Watch A busy Friday for TV deals... ► ABC orders another Greg Berlanti comedy pilot. The single-camera comedy, Raised by Wolves, is Berlanti's second [pilot order] of the season. Written and exec produced by Diablo Cody, it centers on Sheila Gable, a mother struggling to support her five kids. ► CBS picks up Boyhood-style pilot. The network has handed out a [pilot order] to Me, Myself and I, a single-camera comedy that examines one man's life over a 50-year span. Dan Kopelman will pen the script and exec produce alongside Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor. ↱ [On NBC's Good Place finale.] Critic Daniel Fienberg has high praise: "The series ends its first season as my favorite new network show of the year, just ahead of the charming, occasionally caustic, Speechless on ABC." ↲ ► NBC orders mixed race family comedy pilot. The untitled comedy, from Fresh Off the Boat showrunner Nahnatchka Khan and Kourtney Kang, [explores] what it's like to grow up as the only girl in the only mixed race family in the suburbs of Philadelphia. ► NBC orders For God and Country military drama pilot. The drama hails from Homeland producers Keshet Studios, which inked an overall deal with the network in 2015. Dean Georgaris (Life of Pi) will [pen the script] and exec produce the drama. ► Syfy's Happy! pilot finds female lead. Lili Mirojnick has signed on [to star] opposite Chris Meloni in the adaptation of the graphic novel. Happy! follows Nick Sax (Meloni), an intoxicated, corrupt ex-cop turned hit man. In THR, Esq: CA defends IMDb's challenge to actor age law. The state has filed its opposition to IMDb's attempt to stop a controversial new law over the display of an actor's age. The state tells a California federal judge that the statute is more about [contracts than speech.] Women's March Rolls Into D.C. After a chaotic day that saw scattered protests across the nation's capital, around 200 activists gathered last night at a local church to take a breath — and to prep for the Women's March on Washington, Erik [writes:] Inside the peaceful setting, the walls were covered with signs pointing toward phone numbers to call for legal support for #DisruptJ20 protestors along with a number for "calls from jail," the contact info for a medic and a tips line. Multiple people inside, quietly sitting in chairs, were wearing hats in the style of the "Pussyhat Project." "Our country has a majority of good people — good, like-minded people. And when you're out there among them you're going to feel a lot better," said civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom, who said she had represented four Trump accusers. "If you actually believe that something is wrong — that's where too many people on the left have made a mistake because we think we are too cool to use a word like 'morality,' we are too cool to use words like 'evil,' we are too cool to use words like 'right' and 'wrong,'" Hollywood spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson entreated. Lorena O'Neil, covering the rally today, writes: The D.C. march will be held at 3rd Street and Independence Avenue, SW. The rally begins at 10 a.m. ET and the march will begin around 1:15 p.m. ET, running until 4 p.m. ET. [The details]: Gloria Steinem, America Ferrera, Janet Mock, Scarlett Johansson, Ashley Judd and Angela Davis are among the list of expected speakers with performances by Janelle Monae, Maxwell, Angelique Kidjo, Samantha Ronson, and more. Additionally, Patricia Arquette, Olivia Wilde, Cher, Uzo Aduba, Lupita Nyong'o, Julianne Moore, Katy Perry, Amy Schumer, Lena Dunham, Zendaya, Constance Wu and Hari Nef are some of the Hollywood stars expected at the march in D.C. and at sister demonstrations across the country. Q&As: [Patricia Arquette] I [Debra Messing] I [Constance Wu]I[Padma Lakshmi]. What else we're reading... — "How Obama's legacy can help Hollywood work more democratically." A guest column by Paul Scanlan and Jeff Annison in praise of legislation: "the JOBS Act is a shining example of both parties coming together." [[The Hollywood Reporter]] — New Yorker cartoonists live-draw the inauguration. Here's eleven chronological-ish cartoons from the venerable magazine, the last one just a note titled "The End of Sanity." [[The New Yorker]] — "Mr. Reality TV goes to Washington." Critic James Poniewozik writes: His "appeal came precisely from drama and social-media sucker-punches. At a televised inauguration-eve dinner, he was still reliving his campaign fights with relish." [[The New York Times]] — "Hidden Figures adds up to a Hollywood success story." Erich Schwartzel notes: The film's "strong box-office 'hold' is a rare feat in Hollywood, where movies often see grosses fall more than 50% after opening weekend." [[The Wall Street Journal]] Today's Birthdays: Gabriel Macht, 45, Diane Lane, 52, Jim Jarmusch, 64, John Hurt, 77. Follow The News Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.] ©2017 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. 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