KURT WIMMER WRAPS CHILDREN OF THE CORN IN LOCKDOWN: Equilibrium director Kurt Wimmer managed to wrap production on Children of the Corn, filmed entirely during lockdown. The reimagining of Stephen King‘s classic short story—which has already inspired 10 feature films—was shot in Australia. The cast includes Elena Kampouris (Sacred Lies) and Kate Moyer (The Handmaid’s Tale) with Australian talent Callan Mulvey (Avengers: Endgame) and Bruce Spence (The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King).
JOHN CLEESE CRITICIZES BBC’S REMOVAL OF FAWLTY TOWERS EPISODE: The Germans episode of Fawlty Towers has been pulled from the BBC‘s streaming service for offensive language. Originally broadcast in 1975, it features John Cleese as an offensive and rude hotelier telling his staff, “don’t mention the war” and impersonating Adolf Hitler in front of his German guests. The decision follows a new reckoning of what is acceptable in the wake of Black Lives Matter. Cleese dubbed the move “stupid.” He told The Age: “One of the things I've learned in the last 180 years is that people have very different senses of humor. Some of them understand that if you put nonsense words into the mouth of someone you want to make fun of, you're not broadcasting their views, you're making fun of them.” After the outcry, the BBC reinstated the episodes.
LILY JAMES SET FOR PEGGY JO: Baby Driver star Lily James is set to lead Peggy Jo, which will be helmed by Phillip Noyce. The story follows Peggy Jo, who begins holding up banks as an alter-ego named “Cowboy Bob.”
NBC RENEWS ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist will spin again on NBC. Jane Levy stars, with Skylar Astin, Alex Newell, Peter Gallagher, Mary Steenburgen and Lauren Graham also featuring heavily in one of the network’s strongest digital performers. “We were overwhelmed by the number of people who fell in love with Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and how much joy it brought to everyone. We’re thrilled to bring it back and can’t wait to see how Zoey’s journey continues,” said Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, co-presidents of scripted programming at NBC.