Lee Daniels to Direct Martin Luther King Assassination Pic; Hawk Koch Elected AMPAS President: Biz Break

Also in Wednesday morning's round-up of news briefs, Paramount Pictures signs a deal with Chinese platform to sent titles for VOD; the SXSW Film Festival is accepting submissions and registration; Selena Gomez to star in a new indie; and Josh Gad boards The Internship.

Producer Hawk Koch Elected Academy President
Koch was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night by the organization's Board of Governors. Koch, who is beginning his ninth year as a governor representing the Producers Branch, has served as first vice president of the Academy during the past year. He previously served three one-year terms as treasurer and one term as vice president. Koch's producer credits include Losing Isaiah and Gorky Park. He recently served as executive producer on Source Code and is executive producer on the upcoming Very Good Girls.

SXSW Film Festival Accepting Submissions and Registration
Submissions and registrations for the 2013 event are now being accepted. Filmmakers are invited to submit their new features, short films, music videos and title sequences to the annual event, a renowned destination for discovery. Last year the SXSW Film Festival featured 132 features and 12 shorts programs, with 74 world premiere features. The next event takes place March 8 - 16 in Austin, TX. More information at their website.

Paramount Pictures Titles to Head to Chinese VOD
Titles including the Mission Impossible series, Transformers, Breakfast at Tiffany's and more will be available via Pay-Per-View and Video On Demand platforms through YOU On Demand Holdings in China.

Around the 'net…

Lee Daniels to Direct Martin Luther King Jr Film
Daniels is teaming up with Hugh Jackman for the conspiracy theory drama Orders to Kill revolving around the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Jackman will star as William Pepper, the lawyer who argued for decades that King was assassinated by unseen forces including the U.S. government, The Guardian reports.

Selena Gomez Joins Parental Guidance Suggested
Gomez will star in the indie film opposite Nat Wolff in the coming-of-age comedy. Austin Stowell (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) will co-star as her overbearing boyfriend. Based on the 2000 novel While I'm Dead…Feed the Dog, the story revolves around 16 year-old Ric Thibault (Wolff) and his crush Nina Pennington (Gomez) as they begin a rock 'n' roll odyssey, THR reports.

Book of Mormon's Josh Gad Boards The Internship
Gad will join Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in the 20th Century Fox comedy about two middle-aged men who start over as interns with Shawn Levy directing, Deadline reports.