Month: May 2022

French filmmaker Léa Mysius follows her nose in “The Five Devils,” focusing on the sense of smell. That’s her protagonist’s special gift, one that scares her mother (“Blue Is the Warmest Color” actor Adèle Exarchopoulos) but allows her to venture beyond the constraints of time and space. Shown in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight – with Wild
0 Comments
With “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” debuting Friday on Disney+, English composer Natalie Holt becomes the first woman to score a live-action “Star Wars” project, on the heels of her success with Marvel’s “Loki.” She spent four months on the project, including two months in Los Angeles recording with many of the same musicians who recorded John Williams’
0 Comments
A day after Don McLean pulled out of the NRA’s Memorial Day concert in Houston scheduled for this weekend, Larry Gatlin and Larry Stewart of Restless Heart have pulled out as well. The concert is part of a larger rally organized by the National Rifle Association, featuring speeches from former President Donald Trump, Texas Governor
0 Comments
Rent the Runway is heralding a summer wardrobe of unfettered exuberance: bold color, big prints, skin-baring cut-outs, and event-ready elegance. The luxury rental service’s Design Collective is back, this time featuring exclusive collections from four designers known for their electric, eye-catching pieces: Esteban Cortazar, Jonathan Saunders, Busayo Olupona, and jewelry designer Pamela Love. Since its
0 Comments
Veteran music promoter, filmmaker and venue owner Peter Shapiro is lifting the curtain on a career that spans 10,000 concerts. “The Music Never Stops: What Putting on 10,000 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Magic,” will be released by Hachette Books on August 2. Described as “perhaps the most notable
0 Comments
The Banff World Media Festival will honor late filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée posthumously with its Canadian Award of Distinction next month, the event announced on Thursday. Vallée will be joined in being honored at Banff’s Rockie Award Gala by “American Auto” star Ana Gasteyer, who will receive the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, and the “Yellowjackets”
0 Comments
President Joe Biden will welcome superstar South Korean group BTS to the White House on Tuesday to “discuss Asian inclusion and representation” and to “address anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination,” according to an announcement from the White House released Thursday. Biden and the group “will also discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion and BTS’
0 Comments
The first news about a virtual ABBA show broke in 2016. Six years later, “Voyage” is set to open at the purpose-built 3,000-seat ABBA Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Along the way, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus wrote two new songs for the show and reunited with Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad
0 Comments
Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), the catalog division of Universal Music Group, has promoted Sujata Murthy to executive vice president of media & artist relations, effective immediately. In her role, Ms. Murthy will continue to be responsible for the label’s media department and oversee press strategy and campaigns, as well as work closely with artists, managers and estates
0 Comments
Powerhouse producers Valeriy Fedorovich and Evgeniy Nikishov, the creative duo behind Netflix’s first Russian original series, “Anna K,” quietly left 1-2-3 Production in early March and are now focused on their Moscow-based shingle MC2. Though the announcement was formally made just days removed from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Fedorovich said the plan to leave the
0 Comments
Veteran Hollywood multi-hyphenate George Gallo (“Bad Boys,” “The Comeback Trail”) is attached to direct “Gambino,” a high-end biopic about organized crime boss Carlo Gambino that Gallo is co-writing with two-time Oscar winner Nick Vallelonga (“Green Book”). The ambitious project, announced in Cannes, is being lead produced by Julius R. Nasso, also a Hollywood veteran, best
0 Comments
In a historical first, the Cannes Festival and its market, the Marché, hosted the inaugural Venezuela Film Hub (VFH), surprising many international participants by its presence, given the mostly abysmal news coming from the South American country, crippled by the government’s economic mismanagement and U.S. sanctions. Spearheaded and fully financed by The Visionist Advisers, a
0 Comments
Justin Timberlake, one of the most successful pop singers of the past 20 years, has sold a song catalog to Hipgnosis Song Management, the company has announced. Hipgnosis has acquired 100% of all of Justin Timberlake’s copyright, ownership and financial interests of the writer and publisher’s share of public performance income, and the catalog of musical compositions written
0 Comments
Global streamer and distributor MUBI has struck again, this time snapping up select markets for Lukas Dhont’s keenly anticipated “Close.” MUBI has acquired the U.K., Ireland, Latin America, Turkey and India for the Cannes competition title, which will have its world premiere on Thursday at the festival. The film stars Lea Drucker, Émilie Dequenne, Kevin
0 Comments
CASTING Nomzamo Mbatha (“Coming 2 America”) is set to star in period drama “Shaka Ilembe” about the iconic African king. The series is set in 1700s and will also star Lemogang Tsipa and newcomer Ntando Zondi, who will both play Shaka at different ages, Thembinkosi Mthembu as King Dingiswayo and Senzo Radebe as King Senzangakhona.
0 Comments
In a panel discussion provocatively entitled “Content Scramble for Africa,” guests at the Cannes Film Market’s Cannes Docs sidebar were invited to interrogate the sustainability of current forms of collaboration between the African continent and the Global North in documentary filmmaking. Moderated by IDFA programmer Sarah Dawson, the panel included Laurent Bitty, president of Africadoc-Côte
0 Comments
The Saudi Film Commission has announced its long gestating incentive for film productions in the kingdom which consists of an up to 40% cash rebate. Ever since it lifted its 35-year-old religion-related ban on cinema in 2017, Saudi has been experiencing a boom in all aspects of film industry activity,  becoming West Asia’s top-grossing territory
0 Comments