Behind the Scenes Buzz with Hugh Jackman and Harry Connick Jr

VANESSA KIRBY JOINS HUGH JACKMAN IN THE FATHER: Florian Zeller’s The Father is rounding out its cast. Vanessa Kirby is joining the cast alongside Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern. “Vanessa Kirby is for me a very great actress: intense, inventive and powerful,” said Zeller. “I am especially happy to take her on this cinematic adventure.”

HARRY CONNICK JR. SIGNS UP TO PLAY DADDY WARBUCKS: Harry Connick Jr. is set to play Daddy Warbucks in the forthcoming NBC musical, Annie Live! Taraji P. Henson will play Miss Hannigan. A national search is on for Annie. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to play Daddy Warbucks in Annie Live! and working alongside Taraji P. Henson is a dream come true,” Connick said Monday. “I love this show, and its musical message of love and hope couldn’t come at a better time.”

SONY BOARDS THE CALM BEYOND: Sony has acquired worldwide distribution rights to The Calm Beyond, a survivalist thriller and the directorial debut of the late Joshua Wong. He died of cancer in December 2020. The Calm Beyond stars Kara Wang. Before his passing, Wong said of The Calm Beyond, “while being a survival film at its core, it’s really about living with trauma and picking up the pieces of a broken life. How do you live after the storms of your life have hit?”

SKY STRENGTHENS PRODUCTION RULES: Following the Noel Clarke sexual misconduct scandal, Sky is introducing new procedures designed to safeguard cast and crew. Among the new procedures will be a person on each production tasked with enforcing a safe environment, and a way for people to report issues without repercussions.