Hungarian broadcaster RTL Klub has boarded “Balaton Brigade,” a Cold War spy drama set on the shores of Hungary’s Lake Balaton in the summer of ’86, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is among the projects that will be pitched this week at the Berlinale Series Market’s Co-Pro Series. The show follows a secret agent
Month: March 2021
In today’s Global Bulletin, Marc Anthony and JC Acosta plan a MipTV keynote, “My Name Is Leon” reveals casting details, Rubicon announced spring delivery for its Norwegian drama series “Nach” and CPL Productions extends its multi-year deal with Red Arrow Studios. MARKETS MipTV and ViacomCBS International Studios have revealed that singer, songwriter, producer Marc Anthony
Jason Derulo has signed with Atlantic Records, the company announced Monday morning. The signing also continues a partnership between Atlantic and Derulo’s Future History label, which recently released “Lifestyle,” the singer’s latest single featuring Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. Derulo also released the single “Take You Dancing” on APG via Atlantic last summer, but has now
Filmmakers need to be a bit psychic. They work on projects for years, not knowing if the fickle audience will connect with the themes and topics when the film eventually opens. In 2020, the movie gods have smiled: A number of awards contenders are centered on health and work — concerns that are especially crucial
For someone who follows the awards season with a close, particular eye, you read the tea leaves of a cinematic year based on precedent. What have the Oscars done in their history that warrants such a prediction or outcome? Statistics are heavily scrutinized and precedents are meant to be broken under the right circumstances, as
Aside from being well-made and effective as a movie, Warner Bros.’ “Judas and the Black Messiah” has a goal: to counter decades of government lies about the Black Panther Party. The party was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966, and ceased operations in 1982. The film, which started streaming Feb. 12, centers
Swedish singer-songwriter has signed with Sony Music Publishing, the company announced Monday morning. The singer, whose new album “Poster Girl” will be released on Friday, has enjoyed a solid run of hits over the past few years, including “Ruin My Life,” “All The Time,” “Lush Life,” and “Never Forget You,” as well as collaborations like
Deepa Mehta’s had her fair share of tough shoots. “Water” had to be moved from India following protests and lensed in Sri Lanka, but she never had one that was affected by a pandemic. “Funny Boy,” released by Ava DuVernay’s Array, is streaming on Netflix. Mehta, who has filmed a couple of other movies in
Less Is More (LIM), a European development scheme for limited-budget feature films, has unveiled its selection of 16 projects, a majority of which are from women filmmakers and talents coming from theater, visual arts or documentary. In spite of the pandemic, the 7th edition received as many as 350 applications from more than 70 countries.
Rising Russian director Kirill Sokolov (“Why Don’t You Just Die!”) and “Vikings” star Danila Kozlovsky have boarded “Alone in the Ocean,” a big-budget survival drama based on the true story of a Soviet man who spent three days lost at sea. Pic is produced by Artem Vasilyev of Metrafilms, Roman Borisevich of Plan 9 and
The story of Ted Kaczynski, better known to many as the Unabomber, has played out on-screen several times since his 1996 arrest following the most expensive FBI manhunt in bureau history. However, the former math prodigy-turned-terrorist’s years of isolation living in a small cabin in the Montana wilderness have never been tackled with the commitment
Perhaps it’s because “Memory Box” is freely adapted from co-director Joana Hadjithomas’ teenage letters and diaries that this is the most affectingly Proustian of the filmmaker’s works made with Khalil Joreige. “Perhaps” because it would be wrong to treat this richly multi-layered exploration of memory and how it’s processed across generations as a standard fictionalized
ITV Studios has acquired a controlling stake in Apple Tree Productions, the Danish production outfit founded by BAFTA-winning producer Piv Bernth. ITV Studios previously had a 25% stake in the business, which has now risen to 51%. Apple Tree will now be part of ITV Studios’ international production group with bases in 12 countries, under
Silver Bear winner Radu Jude (“Aferim!”) returns to the Berlin Film Festival this year with the competition feature “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” the story of a schoolteacher whose life is turned upside-down after a sex video shot with her husband is leaked on the internet. The acclaimed writer-director spoke to Variety about how
If you thought the Dardenne brothers were the only game in town when it comes to fraternal auteur duos making unvarnished studies of life on the skids in working-class Belgium, newcomers Harpo and Lenny Guit have at least one surprise in store for you. If you’re thinking of the Dardenne brothers at all, however, the
Producer Gian-Piero Ringel, Oscar nominated for Wim Wenders’ “Pina,” and writer-director Sven Bohse, who directed true crime miniseries “Dark Woods,” a ratings hit last year in Germany, will be presenting their political thriller “Hinterland” this week as part of the European Film Market’s Co-Pro Series program. They spoke to Variety about the eight-part series. In
Lily Franky (“Shoplifters,” “Like Father Like Son”), Ciaran Hinds (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” “The Terror”) and Ryô Nishikido (“Hospitality Department”) have joined the cast of Oscar-nominated “Philomena” producer Gabrielle Tana’s forthcoming film “Cottontail,” starring Jessie Buckley. BAFTA “Brit to Watch” director Patrick Dickinson directs. Japanese actor Franky replaces Ken Watanabe, who
Novelist Amy Tan’s centrality to the history of Asian American representation in literature and on-screen cannot be overstated. And the late James Redford’s pleasant, sympathetic biographical documentary, “Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir” is careful to avoid any such overstatement: It presents Tan’s fascinating life story from an intimate perspective, which is engaging and compelling on the
Spotify users worldwide will no longer have access to music tracks from K-pop acts represented by Kakao M, an offshoot of Korean internet giant Kakao Corp. The global music streamer’s deal with the label has expired and has not been renewed. “Spotify can confirm that starting March 1, 2021, Kakao M’s catalogue will no longer
China’s $1.2 billion Lunar New Year box office broke world records earlier this month, but Chinese film buyers and sales agents are not jumping to interpret that as a sign of lasting market recovery, particularly for arthouse productions and indie firms. Despite astonishing ticket sales, some 80% of the six-day holiday box office went to
Pat Kiely, the former managing director of Virgin Media Television, Ireland, has launched entertainment media venture BiggerStage. The Dublin-headquartered company is set up with a three-pillared approach. It will develop original content for the global market and position Ireland as a hub for international television production. It will represent established talent in broadcasting and entertainment
Time’s Up has called on NBCUniversal to reform the Golden Globes after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association leadership addressed the absence of Black members within the organization on Sunday’s telecast. HFPA President Ali Sar, Vice President Helen Hoehne and former president Meher Tatna took the stage to discuss the issue during the show, with short
Hong Kong- and Paris-based sales company All Rights Entertainment has teamed up with the Reface face-swapping app to launch high-profile indie animation “Gulliver Returns” at the European Film Market. The English-language film was initially launched for pre-sales at the American Film Market in November 2019. It was completed last month at the Animation Studio 95
Three of Spain’s most prominent international sales agencies have banded together to form a new association, VICA. Filmax, Film Factory and Latido, who together represent the largest volume of cinematic content produced in Spain, point to key factors that propelled them to form the new alliance. Among them is the ongoing changes in consumer viewing
Turns out there’s a lot of room in that gray Borat suit. Sacha Baron Cohen, who celebrated wins for best actor and best picture motion picture comedy or musical for his “Borat Subsequent Movie Film” at the Golden Globes on Sunday, reflected in a backstage press conference about the fearless filmmakers at his side. “It’s
Andra Day was effervescent on Sunday evening after winning the Golden Globe Award for lead actress in drama for portraying the legendary jazz musician in “The United States Vs. Billie Holiday.” She gushed about her experience working with director Lee Daniels and all that he did to make her soar in the role of the
Uncharted Territory and Rise Pictures have joined forces to produce “Igraine the Brave,” a 3D-animated fantasy adventure based on the novel by bestselling author Cornelia Funke. The story follows young Igraine, who comes from a family of magicians but unlike her parents and brother, she’d much rather be a knight than a wielder of magic.
“Nomadland” director Chloe Zhao knows she’s wandered directly into the history books. Ever humble and even-keeled, Zhao reflected on dual wins at Sunday’s Golden Globe awards — where she was the first woman of Asian descent to win best director (and second woman in the history of the show), as well as best motion picture
Prince Harry’s reaction to “The Crown” has been humbling for Emma Corrin, the British actor who made a huge splash with her role as Harry’s mother in the Netflix drama series that swept its categories at Sunday’s Golden Globes. Corrin earned one of the show’s four wins, for lead actress in a drama series for
The Golden Globes are facing down a scandal that has felt, in moments over the past week, practically existential, with Los Angeles Times reporting indicating both a systemic and corrupt self-dealing and a total lack of Black members. Both of these strands have always been understood by some portion of the viewership as part of