Deadline | Dylan McDermott, Samara Weaving, Jim Parsons, Maude Apatow, Joe Mantello, Laura Harrier and Jake Picking have joined the cast of Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Netflix limited drama series Hollywood. They join previously announced Jeremy Pope, Darren Criss, David Corenswet, Patti LuPone and Holland Taylor.

Few details are known about the series, which Murphy calls “a love letter to the Golden Age of Tinseltown.” It is believed to be set in the 1940s and centers on three lead characters — played by Pope, Criss and Corenswet.

McDermott will play Ernie; Weaving will portray Claire; Parsons will play Henry Wilson; Apatow will portray Henrietta; Mantello will play Dick; Harrier will play Camille; and Picking will play actor Rock Hudson.

Murphy co-created the series with frequent collaborator Ian Brennan. Principal photography got underway this summer, with Pope, Criss and Corenswet all exec producing in addition to starring.

Hollywood is Murphy’s third show for Netflix following The Politician and Ratched, and the first under his mega overall deal with the streamer.

This marks Murphy’s latest collaboration with McDermott who starred in the very first installment of FX’s American Horror Story and can be seen in Murphy’s Netflix series The Politician, which premieres today on Netflix. He’s repped by CAA and Industry Entertainment.

Weaving can be seen as the lead in Fox Searchlight’s thriller Ready or Not, and she also stars opposite Daniel Radcliffe in action comedy Guns Akimbo, which recently made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Weaving recently wrapped Bill and Ted Face the Music, the threequel to the cult franchise. She’s repped by Untitled, WME, Shannahan in Australia and attorney Tara Kole at Gang Tyre.

Parsons co-starred in Murphy’s HBO movie The Normal Heart, earning an Emmy nomination. The The Big Bang Theory alum also is reprising his role from Murphy’s Broadway production of The Boys In the Band in Murphy’s Netflix film adaptation. Parsons, who recently teamed with fellow Big Bang star Mayim Bialik on multi-camera comedy series Carla at Fox and is producing Quibi comedy The Monarchy Is Going to S***, is repped by CAA and Principal Entertainment LA.

Two-time Tony winner Mantello recently directed Murphy’s Tony winner The Boys in the Band and the subsequent film version set to be released on Netflix in 2020. A major Broadway director whose acting breakthrough came in the original, landmark production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Mantello’s stage directing credits include the recent Hillary and Clinton, Three Tall Women and the long-running blockbuster Wicked. He’s set to direct Scott Rudin’s 2020 revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring Laurie Metcalf and Rupert Everett. Hollywood marks Mantello’s return to TV following roles in Dick Wolf’s original Law & Order series and Murphy’s The Normal Heart. He’s repped by CAA.

Apatow, who plays Lexi in HBO’s Euphoria, will next be seen in Universal’s untitled Judd Apatow/Pete Davidson comedy feature. She’s repped by UTA and Mosaic.

Harrier appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming and most recently in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. She will next be seen in features The Starling and BIOS. Harrier is repped by ICM Partners, Soffer/Namoff Entertainment and Peikoff Mahan.

Picking will next be seen as Harvard in Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick alongside Tom Cruise and directed by Joe Kosinski. His other credits include Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Blockers and Only the Brave. Additionally, he has appeared in Patriot’s Day, Goat and Dirty Grandpa. Picking is repped by CAA and Ziffren Brittenham.

Bauer’s TV WEEK is using its latest issue to celebrate women, with the release of its inaugural list of Next Gen Women of Australian television.

The 13-page feature story showcases 37 women who are leading in their field within the Australian television industry. From actresses to writers, producers to reality stars, these women epitomise the modern face of Australian entertainment.

Curated by TV WEEK Editor Thomas Woodgate, the feature is a ‘who’s who’ of the next generation of women changing the face of Australian television.

This year’s list features an array of incredible talent including Picnic at Hanging Rock star Samara Weaving, LA based actress Eliza Scanlen of HBO series Sharp Objects, co-writer and lead actress of Top End Wedding, Miranda Tapsell, and comedian Hannah Gadsby.

The feature follows Screen Australia’s recent update to their 2015 Gender Matters initiatives promise; Australians are now seeing women occupy at least 50 per cent of creative roles in Australia.

Woodgate commented: “We are very excited to share this incredible group of women with our readers. Australia’s amazing young talent are not only doing us proud on the international stage, but also in our own backyard.

“TV WEEK is a passionate supporter of diversity in entertainment, and it’s wonderful to see such a creative group of game changing women leading the charge in this industry. This is the first time we’ve created this special and we hope we to continue it in years to come.” (Read full list at the source)

Showtime shared a video of Samara answering questions from fans earlier tonight, on the set of her television show SMILF! The second season of the show premieres Sunday, January 20, 2019, so make sure you’re all caught up on the first season by then if you haven’t seen it yet. You can watch the new clip of Samara below, and find screencaps in our gallery!

Showtime: Samara Weaving answers some Aussie based questions from fans. Catch up on SMILF Season 1 now! SMILF Season 2 premieres Sunday, January 20, 2019!

The novel Picnic at Hanging Rock is by many considered one of the best Australian novels of all time, and earlier this year, Samara could be seen in a TV mini-series based on the iconic story! She portrayed Irma Leopold in the 6 episodes long show, which was released on May 25th, 2018. The show tells the story of what happens when three schoolgirls and their governesses mysteriously disappear on Valentines Day in 1900, and stars Natalie Dormer, Lily Sullivan, Lola Bessis and Madeleine Madden alongside Samara. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s an absolute must! Even putting my bias aside, Samara was one of the definite highlights – she really blew me away, and it’s probably her strongest performance yet.

Our gallery now has over 2,000 gorgeous HD screen captures for you of Samara as Irma. The show was visually stunning, so pretty much every screencap is like art – and Samara looked incredible in every episode! I have also updated our iconvault with some forum icons from the show, which you can find here. I’ll try to make some twitter avatars later this week, but I hope you enjoy these new additions for now!

Hester Appleyard purchases an isolated mansion out in the Australian bush to transform into a school for young ladies – a few months later, Appleyard College is a success. On Valentine’s Day, 1900, when students and staff go for a picnic to Hanging Rock, three of the school’s star students and their governess mysteriously vanish. Their disappearance leaves a devastating impact on students, staff, their enigmatic and formidable headmistress and the township at large. Theories abound, secrets are exposed and hysteria sets in, until eventually, the lives of the characters unravel.

As mentioned yesterday, Samara has been cast in a new film titled “Ready or Not”! Below you can read more about the project, which Samara is currently filming in Toronto at this very moment.

Moviehole | A cool-sounding new genre film from Fox Searchlight. Fox Searchlight Pictures issued a presser today noting that principal photography on “Ready or Not” has begun in Toronto, Canada.

The film stars Aussie hottie Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, with Henry Czerny and Andie MacDowell. Of the Radio Silence team, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin are directing with Chad Villella executive producing. The script is written by Guy Busick & Ryan Murphy. “Ready or Not is our kind of horror film. With its sly sense of humor this is a genre movie that will leave you terrified, but with a smile on your face, as you leave the theater,” said Greenbaum and Greenfield. “We’ve assembled an amazing cast and crew who have come together to bring this incredible script to life,” said directors Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin.

“We couldn’t ask for better partners than Fox Searchlight and Radio Silence as we embark on this journey,” said producers Vinson and Vanderbilt. “Ready or Not” follows a young bride (Samara Weaving) as she joins her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival. The Radio Silence directing team is comprised of Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin. Script is written by Guy Busick & Ryan Murphy. Tripp Vinson produces via Vinson Films. James Vanderbilt, Bradley Fischer, and William Sherak of Mythology Entertainment are also producers. Executive Producers are Tara Farney, Tracey Nyberg, and Radio Silence’s Chad Villella.

Presidents of Production Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum, Senior Vice President of Production DanTram Nguyen and Creative Executive Richard Ruiz are overseeing the project for Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Exciting news Samara fans! Our girl has got another upcoming project attached to her name, as she has been cast alongside Andie MacDowell and Adam Brody in the upcoming thriller “Ready or Not”. Samara is currently in Toronto shooting the new film! She was photographed on the set in a wedding dress on Wednesday (November 14), and I have updated our gallery with high quality photos – check them out at the link attached, and read more about the film below.

Follows a young woman (Weaving) who is invited on the night of her wedding by her new husband’s rich, eccentric family to participate in a time-honored tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival. Directed by Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Radio Silence, written by Guy Busick and Ryan Murphy. Set for a 2019 release.

Hello Samara fans! During our downtime, Samara was in Auckland, New Zealand, to film her upcoming action comedy “Guns Akimbo”. Our gallery has now been updated with high quality photos of Samara at the set – better late than never, right? By the look of the pics, this role will be something unlike anything she has done in the past, and judging by these, she’s going to slay it! The film also stars Daniel Radcliffe, and is about a guy who relies on his newly-acquired gladiator skills to save his ex-girlfriend from kidnappers. I will update you as soon as there’s any new information on the film!

Miles is stuck in a dead-end job, still in love with his ex-girlfriend Nova. Unbeknownst to him, a gang called Skizm is running a deadly competition within his city in which complete strangers fight to the death for the entertainment of an online audience of millions. When Miles is unwittingly enrolled in the game and learns that Nova has been kidnapped, he must overcome his fears to fight the heavily-armed Nix, win, and save Nova.

Samara, Lily Sullivan & Madeleine Madden are featured in the May 2018 issue of Foxtel Magazine to promote “Picnic at Hanging Rock“! I have updated our gallery with high quality digital scans. Make sure to pick up your own copy if you have it in your area, and stay tuned for more updates related to the show now that the premiere is approaching…

Hello Samara fans! I came online to some very exciting news today… Samara has been cast in a new project! She is set to start alongside Daniel Radcliffe in the NZ filmmaker Jason Lei Howden‘s film “Guns Akimbo“. As the huge Harry Potter fan she is, I can imagine Samara being extremely excited to star alongside the main actor himself – we definitely can’t wait to see her in this! You can read more about the project below, and we’ll keep you updated on anything new about the film.

Kiwi filmmaker Jason Lei Howden began production on Guns Akimbo in Auckland on Saturday, with Samara Weaving joining Daniel Radcliffe in the cast.

The movie is described as an “adrenaline-fuelled, balls-to-the-wall original action comedy” and is the second feature for the writer/director following his hit 2015 horror comedy Deathgasm.

“I am massively excited to be here in Auckland starting filming on Guns Akimbo,” Radcliffe told Newshub. “Jason Lei Howden has written a brilliant and delightfully insane script, and working with him as director and alongside the fantastic Samara Weaving to bring it to life is going to be a lot of fun. If you see me around Auckland looking very worse for wear and covered in blood and bruises, don’t worry – this is probably for filming.”

Weaving, 26, is a former Home and Away star who was last seen on the big screen in award season darling Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Guns Akimbo will follow an ordinary man whose mundane existence is turned upside-down when he finds himself enrolled in a dark social media movement that forces strangers to fight in a city-wide game of death, live-streamed worldwide to a fanatical audience. Howden told Flicks.co.nz he hopes Guns Akimbo beats the ‘high watermark’ set by acclaimed modern action movie John Wick. On social media, the filmmaker has teased fans with glimpses of a rocket launcher and an American muscle car in tweets about the movie. (Source)

Samara and the “Picnic at Hanging Rock” cast are featured in the upcoming issue of Australia Vogue, to promote the new series! They were photographed by Bec Lorrimer, and I love Samara’s look in the shoot. The show will premiere on May 5th, and with it being just a month away now, we’ll hopefully bet getting a lot of new content in the upcoming weeks.

I will start looking for digital scans of their feature as soon as it is released, and make sure to pick up your own copy if you have it in your area.