Industry News

AVENGERS BEATING BLACK PANTHER IN PRESALES: Avengers: Infinity War is selling twice as many tickets on Fandango as Black Panther (and more than the last seven Marvel Cinematic Universe titles combined)! With about two weeks to go before the movie’s bow, it looks like Infinity War is on track to presell more tickets than any other superhero title in history, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie opens April 27^th. (The Hollywood Reporter – Click our Twitter or Facebook buttons to share this link!)

STAND UP PIONEER MITZI SHORE DIES: Mitzi Shore, who founded the L.A. stand up comedy club The Comedy Store in 1972, had died at 87. Shore led the charge for a generation of comedians who rose to fame after getting their start on her stage. Comedians who cut their teeth at The Comedy Store include Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Garry Shandling, Freddie Prinze, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Chevy Chase, Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay and Jim Carrey. Shore was ill with Parkinson’s disease. She was also Pauly Shore‘s mother. He reportedly brought her back to The Comedy Store for one last visit this week before she passed away.

NBC SETS ROYAL WEDDING SPECIAL: Ahead of one of the biggest weddings of the year (decade?), NBC is premiering a primetime special, Inside the Royal Wedding: Harry and Meghan. Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb of Today are set to host the show-featuring interviews with friends and royal observers-which will air Wednesday, May 16^th at 10 p.m. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry May 19^th.

LIAM NEESON AND LESLEY MANVILLE TO STAR IN NORMAL PEOPLE: Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville have signed on for the love story Normal People, set to begin shooting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in July. The film follows the story of a long-married couple who find that Joan (Manville) is suffering from breast cancer. The treatment exposes the strength of their bond and the challenges they face in the future. Said directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn: “Normal People takes an extraordinary look at ordinary love. It explores big questions and small moments of human connection with unique wit and warmth and a luminous and unflinching candour. We are thrilled at the prospect of bringing this beautiful, honest and unsentimental story to life with Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville in the starring roles, two of the most remarkable actors working on screen today.”