John Candy Documentary Getting Made by Amazon, Colin Hanks, Ryan Reynolds (EXCLUSIVE)

The late comedian John Candy is getting the documentary treatment from Colin Hanks and Ryan Reynolds.

Amazon’s Prime Video is in negotiations to acquire an untitled film that Hanks has been quietly directing. Reynolds — who, like Candy, hails from Canada — is producing alongside George Dewey via his Maximum Effort production company. 

The film will explore the life and legacy of the iconic funnyman Candy, who died of a heart attack in 1994 at the age of 43. But insiders say the film will go beyond the persona and delve into the inner life that Candy kept private off-screen. With the full support of Candy’s widow, Rose, and their two children, Jen and Chris, Hanks will utilize never-before-seen home videos, archives and interviews with the family to explore the man behind the movie star. Candy became one of the most in-demand comic stars of the 1980s and early ’90s, appearing in such films as “The Great Outdoors,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “Uncle Buck” and “Cool Runnings.”Hanks brings to the project a unique vantage. His parents — Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson — starred alongside Candy in the 1985 comedy classic “Volunteers” when the younger Hanks would have been an 8 year old. Candy also co-starred in “Splash” with the elder Hanks the year before — a movie that put both actors on the map. Colin Hanks, who is best known for the “Jumanji” films and an Emmy-nominated turn on FX’s “Fargo,” has been ramping up his directing career in recent years, helming such films as “Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends)” and “All Things Must Pass” and TV series as ESPN’s “30 for 30.” 

He also is producing the Candy documentary with his Company Name partner Sean Stuart and Zipper Bros Films’ Glen Zipper. 

Reynolds boasts an active producing career on many of his own star vehicles like “Deadpool” and “Free Guy.” But he has recently begun to move into the non-fiction space as an executive producer on the FX docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham,” which chronicles his and Rob McElhenney’s acquisition of Wrexham AFC, one of the oldest professional soccer clubs.

Hanks was represented on the Amazon deal by UTA, MGMT Entertainment and the law firm Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver Thompson. Reynolds is handled by WME and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.

Documentary On Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ In The Works, From Jackson Estate And Sony Music Entertainment - DEADLINE

Production is underway on an official documentary about Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the biggest selling album of all time.

The Michael Jackson estate and Sony Music Entertainment are joining forces for the untitled film, which is being directed by Nelson George, the noted music historian, journalist and documentary filmmaker. Thriller has sold 34 million copies in the U.S. alone and an estimated 100 million copies worldwide, won eight Grammy Awards and yielded seven top 10 singles. It was released 40 years ago next month.

The film “takes fans back in time to the making of the record-breaking album and release of revolutionary short films that redefined the music video format and captivated audiences globally,” according to a release about the documentary. “’Billie Jean’ remains the most streamed Michael Jackson song, and ‘Thriller’ is the only music video that has been inducted onto the elite National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.”

George’s documentary will feature “never-before-seen footage and candid interviews,” chronicling “the point in Jackson’s career that launched the singer into mega-stardom and created a pop culture phenomenon that is woven through the culture and continues to influence the worlds of music, television, dance, fashion and more to this day.”

George’s credits include an upcoming documentary about baseball great Willie Mays and the 2015 documentary A Ballerina’s Tale, about Black ballet star Misty Copeland.

“The release of Thriller redefined Michael Jackson, taking him from teen star to adult superstar, who composed memorable songs, sang beautifully and reached the highest level of on-stage performance,” the director said in a statement. “The album, and the short films they inspired, created a new template for marrying music and image. It’s been a privilege to explore this extraordinary album and revisit its magic.”

Along with “Billie Jean,” Thriller included the tracks “Beat It,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” “Human Nature,” the title song and “The Girl Is Mine,” a duet with Paul McCartney, among others. Thriller was released by Epic Records and produced by Quincy Jones, who had collaborated with Jackson on his previous album, Off the Wall. The release announcing the documentary highlighted the groundbreaking nature of Jackson’s album — which was No. 1 for an astounding 37 nonconsecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 — and its singles.

“’Beat It’ was a new kind of pop-rock hybrid and demolished the longstanding segregation between black and white music with Eddie Van Halen’s incendiary guitar,” the release noted. “On ‘The Girl Is Mine,’ a Black man and a white man bantered about the same girl. When a fledgling MTV, which was programming white rock artists almost exclusively, refused to play the video for ‘Billie Jean,’ Epic persisted. Once the wall came crashing down, MTV’s ratings soared and a door was opened for a generation of African American artists.”

John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Jackson estate, commented, “Michael opened and explored emotional depths and pushed the boundaries of sonic innovation on Thriller. In the process, he breached destructive barriers in the music industry and literally united the world through his music: there isn’t a place on this planet that hasn’t been exhilarated by the music of Michael Jackson. This documentary’s exploration of Michael’s process and impact is revelatory.”

Sony Music Entertainment’s Tom Mackay, president, premium content, added, “Michael Jackson’s Thriller marked a momentous and pivotal moment in both music and pop culture around the world. We’re excited to expand the estate’s documentary collection with our upcoming film and look forward to sharing it with fans around the world.”

Jackson died in June 2009 at the age of 50.

The untitled Thriller documentary is the third nonfiction film to focus on a Michael Jackson album. The previous two, Bad 25 and Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, were directed by Spike Lee. The estate is behind other enormously successful MJ productions, including the 2009 film This Is It, the Las Vegas spectacular Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil, and the Tony Award-winning MJ The Musical on Broadway.

Sony Music Entertainment will distribute the untitled Thriller film. Colin Hanks and Sean Stuart from Company Name serve as producers. John Branca and John McClain serve as Executive Producers. No expected release date has been announced.

‘Say Hey, Willie Mays!’ Documentary Scores HBO Premiere Date - DEADLINE

Say Hey, Willie Mays!, the Nelson George documentary that explores the life and career of Major League Baseball icon Willie Mays, will debut Wed., Nov. 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max.

Directed by George, the HBO Sports doc includes exclusive interviews with Mays and his family. The film will have its world premiere at the 2022 UrbanWorld Film Festival on October 27.

“Over the years,” Mays said in a statement, “the fans have given me so much joy, and I am excited to express my thanks again through this wonderful documentary and its telling of the story of my career and life. I have worked hard and been fortunate to do many amazing things over the course of my life, and I am excited and proud that the people who see this film, including younger fans who never saw me play, will have the chance to relive this great journey with me and have a few laughs along the way. Watching this documentary brought a proud and grateful smile to my face, and I hope everyone else enjoys it too.”

The film charts Mays’ life as a beacon of the American Dream, intersecting with a transformative era of the Black American experience, from his formative years playing Negro League baseball in Birmingham, to landing on the country’s biggest stage in New York at the inception of televised games, and expanding with baseball to the west coast during the peak of the Civil Rights movement.

Say Hey, Willie Mays! follows Mays’ life both on and off the field over five decades as he navigated the American sports landscape and the country’s ever-evolving cultural backdrop, all while helping to define what it means to be one of America’s first Black sports superstars.

Said George, “The film is very much a tale of mentorship. Willie was schooled in life and baseball by his father Cat and Negro League players. Later Willie looked out for scores of young Black players including his godson Barry Bonds. An epic American life.”

Interviewees included in the film include Mays, his godson Barry Bonds, son Michael Mays, Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal, alongside the late baseball legend Vin Scully, broadcasters Jon Miller and Bob Costas, and Mays’ biographer John Shea.

Say Hey, Willie Mays! is a Company Name production in association with Uninterrupted, Zipper Bros Films, and Major League Baseball. The film is directed by Nelson George and produced by Colin Hanks, Sean Stuart and Glen Zipper; executive producers from Uninterrupted are LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, Philip Byron and Major League Baseball’s Nick Trotta. For HBO, executive producers Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller and Bentley Weiner; coordinating producer, Abtin Motia.

Happy 90th Birthday Willie Mays! HBO Plans Documentary On MLB Legend & Hall Of Famer

EXCLUSIVE: Baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer has had a record-breaking career, made that fabled Catch and picked up a Presidential Medal of Freedom, among other honors, over his life. Now the legendary Willie Mays is going to be the subject of a HBO documentary.

“Some say that throughout my life I have inspired others, but the truth is that so many have done this for me,” Mays told Deadline today, his 90th birthday “My teammates, my friends, and of course the fans mean so much to me. And so I hope this documentary can give back to all of them something enjoyable and inspiring in return.”

Deadline can report that production has already started on the film on the New York/San Francisco Giants icon. Brooklyn Boheme co-director and The Hippest Trip in America author Nelson George is helming the untitled feature.

“Willie Mays is an American icon, a prime example of black excellence and baseball’s greatest player,” director George says “It’s an honor to be able to chronicle his journey from the Negro Leagues in Alabama, stardom with the Giants in Harlem and to the game’s apex in San Francisco.”

The deep dive film will of course have archival footage of that amazing display by Mays in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, baseball’s Golden Age and a career that spanned from 1951 to 1973 on the field. However, I hear, it will also include contemporary interviews and reflection on Mays and his trailblazing influence in and outside baseball too. Perhaps even a certain POTUS may have something to say … as he did today.

HBO Sports has teamed up with Company Name, UNINTERRUPTED, Zipper Bros Films, and Major League Baseball to produce the documentary on likely the greatest baseball player of all time.

The Willie Mays documentary is expected to premiere on HBO next year before finding a digital home on HBO Max.

Dennis Rodman Runs Amok In Colin Hanks’ ‘The Amazing Adventures Of Wally And The Worm’ – Tribeca Studio

After recounting the slow death of the Tower Records chain in All Things Must Pass and before his Eagles of Death Rock: Nos Amis airs on HBO, Colin Hanks took a pit stop between his feature docs to make the ESPN 30 for 30 short The Amazing Adventures of Wally and the Worm. 

Worm meaning Chicago Bulls defensive champ Dennis Rodman and Wally meaning Wally Blase, the assistant trainer for the team during its 1990s glory days.

On tackling Blase’s story, Hanks said, “It involves helicopters and Lamborghinis and it’s all before cell phones, so it’s not going — I can’t recreate it, there’s nothing I can do. Then someone at ESPN says ‘Why don’t you animate it?'”

Told by both Blase and Rodman with the assistance of photos against a hysterical feature toon of themselves, Wally and the Worm follows the time when Blase was entrusted with babysitting Rodman “for a week and a half doing his physical rehab during the day and then doing the stuff that gets you into rehab at night,” says Hanks. Similar to the rules that came with Gizmo in Gremlins, the one rule Blase had to abide by with Rodman was ‘Don’t take him to Las Vegas.’ Break that, and Blase ran the risk of being fired. From the minute Rodman was on rest, he pulled Blase into an off-the-rails jaunt of nightclubs, wild women, stubborn security guards, Prince and Jay Leno.

“(Former Bulls head coach) Phil Jackson said it best: It’s Almost Famous meets Get Him to the Greek,” says Hanks who here discusses the making of the short and his approach to documentary filmmaking.