The Tracking Board Daily Debrief (01.27.17)

17 Breakout Actors, Writers, and Directors From Sundance 2017

There was no shortage of amazing films at this year’s Sundance, making the discovery of breakout actors, filmmakers, and writers exciting. Here are 17 names — some familiar faces, others new — that made a considerable impression with their films at this year’s fest.

With Mary Tyler More, Love Really Was All Around

Mary Tyler Moore personified two eras of television. She paved the way for women in comedy. An Academy Award nominee and multiple Emmy award winner, Mary Tyler Moore left a lasting impact on the entertainment industry and she will be missed.

The Academy’s Animation Conundrum

It’s time for animated films to be allowed onto the Oscar playing field and for bodies like the Academy, which are meant to recognize and award excellence in filmmaking, to give them more consideration beyond simply their designated Best Animated Feature category.

More News From Around The Web

• The Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage is set to star in the drama 211 written and directed by York Alex Shackleton. The film follows a good cop trying to dismantle a recent bank heist. (We Got This Covered)

• Dan Mintz’s DMG Entertainment has tapped xXx: Return Of Xander Cage writer F Scott Frazier to adapt fantasy novel Mistborn: The Final Empire. This is the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s popular trilogy published by Tor Books. (Deadline)

• Ethan Hawke and Noomi Rapace will star in Sierra/Affinity’s true-story thriller Stockholm directed by Robert Budreau and based on Daniel Lang’s famous New Yorker article, “The Bank Drama.” (The Wrap)

• Good Girls Revolt alum Genevieve Angelson has landed a role in The Intouchables, the Weinstein Company’s remake of the 2011 French hit that will star Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart. (Deadline)

• The CW handed out official orders to its Dynasty reboot from The O.C. and Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage as well as drama Searchers, from prolific producer Greg Berlanti and The 100 creator Jason Rothenberg. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• ABC has picked up The Trustee, a comedy pilot from writers Jay Scherick and David Ronn, plus executive producers Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman. The hourlong project is described as a fun, female buddy cop comedy. (Variety)

• OddLot Entertainment has acquired screen rights to the bestselling Ali Benjamin YA novel The Thing About Jellyfish. OddLot principal Gigi Pritzker will produce with Bruna Papandrea and Reese Witherspoon. (Deadline)