The Hobbit

EXCLUSIVE: Boy, does Joe Roth have the hot hand when it comes to irreverent fairy tale fare. Deadline revealed last Thursday that the Oz The Great And Powerful producer had partnered with Jane Startz Production to acquire movie rights to The School For Good And Evil. After a spirited auction, Universal Pictures won the property in a seven-figure deal for book and scriptwriting fees. It’s the first title in a novel trilogy by Soman Chainani that will be published in the U.S. by HarperCollins on May 14 and in the U.K. on June 6. The trilogy tells the story of ordinary boys and girls who are kidnapped from their homes and sent to The School for Good and Evil, where they are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains, princesses and witches. The protagonist is Sophie, a beauty who is dumped into the School for Evil while her homely best friend Agatha is taken to the School for Good. Both girls find their fortunes reversed and are forced to confront the truth about their unexpected destinies. The book debuts this weekend number 7 on The New York Times Bestseller list. Universal is an easy fit for Roth and his top exec Palak Patel, both of whom will produce with Jane Startz. Roth and Patel produced Snow White And The Huntsman at Universal, ... Read More »

EXCLUSIVE: There is a change at the helm of the CW’s high-profile new drama series Reign. Co-creator/executive producer/co-showrunner Stephanie SenGupta has departed, leaving co-creator/executive producer Laurie McCarthy as the sole showrunner. The move is not completely unexpected as there had been chatter that the two didn’t quite see eye to eye. SenGupta, who I hear originally came up with the idea for Reign many years ago, is moving on to focus on creating a new show on her own. The CBS TV Studios-produced Reign, a soapy reimagining of the teenage years of Mary Queen of Scots in the French Court, is one of the buzziest new CW series and landed the coveted post-Vampire Diaries slot on the fall schedule. SenGupta most recently served as co-executive producer on CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, also produced by CBS Studios. She came out of the Law & Order camp, having worked on both the mothership series and on spinoff Criminal Intent.