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Will Packer

Kevin Hart to Star in ‘Fight Night’ Crime Drama at Peacock

Peacock and Kevin Hart are stepping into the boxing ring. The NBCUniversal streamer has ordered a limited series titled Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist that will tell the story of an armed robbery orchestrated around Muhammad Ali’s 1970 comeback fight in Atlanta. Hart will star in the series and serve as an executive producer. […]

Will Packer Launches Management Firm, Shayla Cowan to Run (Exclusive)

Producer Will Packer has launched a management company, Collective Edge, set to be run by longtime Will Packer Productions exec Shayla Cowan. Packer will be managed by Collective Edge which, Cowan said in a statement, will be “dedicated to creating a community of innovators who continuously push boundaries, inspire one another, and redefine what is […]

Jordan Peele, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Lulu Wang and Kevin Feige Top USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Adobe Foundation’s New Inclusion List

Jordan Peele, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Lulu Wang, Kevin Feige, Will Packer, Universal and A24 are among the most inclusive directors, producers and distributors in Hollywood, according to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Adobe Foundation’s newly unveiled The Inclusion List The first-of-its-kind ranking system for representation and inclusion in Hollywood films based entirely on data was […]

Will Packer Is “Pulling” for Will Smith After Oscars Slap Video Apology: “I Love the Fact That He’s Being So Transparent”

Will Packer says that he is “pulling” for Will Smith following the actor’s recent Instagram video statement over his behavior at the 2022 Oscars ceremony, during which he slapped Chris Rock on the Dolby Theatre stage. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight on the carpet of the producer’s new film The Beast, Packer shared […]

Will Packer Media Taps Sabrina Wind to Lead Scripted Development, Production

Will Packer Media has a new person leading its scripted TV efforts. Producer Sabrina Wind has joined the company as head of scripted television and production. She’ll be in charge of developing and producing Will Packer Media’s TV projects and working with creators and producers. She’ll report to the company’s president, Alix Baudin. “I am beyond […]

Oscars Producer Will Packer Explains Why Will Smith Was Not Removed From the Show

Will Packer is shedding light on what happened behind the scenes at the Oscars after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage in one of the most shocking moments in Academy Awards history. The producer of the 2022 telecast sat down with Good Morning America for an interview airing five days after the show, in which […]

Oscars: Will Packer Says LAPD Was Prepared to Arrest Will Smith, Citing Battery

Will Packer, who produced the 2022 Oscars ceremony that aired Sunday, is speaking out following the fallout surrounding Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage. In a preview clip shared by ABC News ahead of Good Morning America’s interview with Packer that airs in full Friday, the producer said that the LAPD was ready to arrest […]

Oscars Producer Will Packer on Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock: “This Was a Very Painful Moment for Me”

Oscars 2022 producer Will Packer took to Twitter again on Monday morning to address one of the most shocking moments in Oscars history, which unfolded Sunday night when an enraged Will Smith struck presenter Chris Rock onstage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Packer didn’t officially comment on the incident Sunday night, but posted this […]

Will Packer Addresses “Misconceptions” Over Decision to Not Present Craft Categories Live at Oscars

Will Packer, the producer of the 2022 Oscars, addressed the controversy around the Academy’s decision to not present eight crafts categories live during the show this year, saying that everyone involved “values every last category, every last area.” “They’re our peers,” he said during a press conference on Thursday, which included Regina Hall and Wanda […]

Will Packer on Restoring the Gold to the Oscars: “I’m All About the Entertainment Value”

Super producer Will Packer packs a 100-watt smile and an unstoppable laugh that lights up any set or studio meeting. Now comes an impossible task that could make even one of Hollywood’s most prolific and commercially successful showmen insecure: getting the average viewer to give two cents about the Oscar telecast after years of declining […]

Will Packer Sets Adaptation of Heist Story ‘Love and Theft’ at Universal

Universal and Will Packer Productions are teaming for an adaptation of Stan Parish’s romantic heist story Love and Theft. Leon Chills, whose credits include Netflix’s Spinning Out and Amazon’s The Wilds, will pen the global feature that is set in Las Vegas, Mexico, and Spain. The novel, which was published by Penguin Random House imprint […]

Florida A&M Names Amphitheater After Will Packer

Florida A&M has named a new performing arts amphitheater in honor of alumni and producer Will Packer. The naming comes after Packer made a sizable donation to the school, where he earned an engineering degree. Packer, the principal behind Will Packer Productions and Will Packer Media, was most recently announced as the producer of the […]