Month: February 2023

Showtime has given a straight-to-series order to the political thriller series “The Department,” with George Clooney attached to direct. Clooney and Grant Heslov will also serve as executive producers via Smokehouse Pictures. The show is based on the French series “Le Bureau des Legendes.” Production is slated to start later this year. “‘The Department,’ based
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In her latest screen project, “Funny Woman,” Gemma Arterton (“The King’s Man”) plays a beauty queen turned comedy queen at the height of the Swinging Sixties. Based on Nick Hornby’s book of the same name and adapted for screen by writer and comedian Morwenna Banks (“Slow Horses”), “Funny Woman” tells the story of Barbara (played
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Hardly a year after it inked its first African content deal — a multi-year licensing agreement with Nigerian production outfit Inkblot Studios — Amazon Prime Video is primed to expand its footprint on the continent, looking to unlock a largely untapped African consumer market and lock down deals with the continent’s top talents. “We now
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The fifth Joburg Film Festival wrapped Sunday night with the caper comedy “The Umbrella Men,” from homegrown director John Barker, a local premiere that cast and crew celebrated by promenading through Nelson Mandela Square with brightly colored parasols. Earlier in the week, the first edition of the JBX Content Market — a two-day industry confab
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Oscar winning filmmakers Asif Kapadia (“Amy”) and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (“Free Solo”), Oscar nominees Maite Alberdi (“The Mole Agent”) and Jessica Kingdon (“Ascension”), and Emmy nominee Jialing Zhang (“One Child Nation”) are among the lineup of speakers at CPH:CONFERENCE, which runs during CPH:DOX, Copenhagen’s documentary film festival. The discussion program, which runs under the banner
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Los Angeles and London-based management and production company 42 has acquired OB Management, an integrated director management and production firm for commercials and music videos. OB founder Otis Bell will stay on to helm the company alongside COO Frida Nilsson. The company will be rebranded as “OB/42” and continue to operate as a distinct entity
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Making “The Elephant Whisperers,” the Indian film nominated in the Oscars’ documentary short film category, was a five-year long journey for director Kartiki Gonsalves. The film follows a couple, Bomman and Bellie, who devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu. The film marks the directorial debut of Gonsalves, a prolific
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“Silver Haze,” directed by Sacha Polak, has debuted its trailer (below) ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section. Polak’s last film, “Dirty God,” was in Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition, and was the opening film of Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam in 2019. “Silver Haze,” starring Vicky Knight and Esme
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Yash Raj Films’ “Pathaan” marks the reunion of two of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, who come together as super spies Tiger and Pathaan, respectively. “Pathaan,” which is part of producer Aditya Chopra’s spy universe, also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham and is directed by Siddharth Anand. Other films in the universe
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Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy delivered hip-hop lovers the ultimate treat with their Grammy performance of “God Did,” which closed out the 2023 ceremony. DJ Khaled started the performance from inside the Crypto.com arena before the camera cut outside, where Khaled joined Legend, Ross, Lil Wayne and more in
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The militant group Boko Haram has been a dangerous and ubiquitous presence in Nigeria and its neighboring countries for many years. In “Le Spectre de Boko Haram,” Cameroonian filmmaker Cyrielle Raingou focuses on their presence in a small village in northern Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria. Her observational and gritty documentary registers the impact
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SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from Episode 4 of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max.  When “The Last of Us” co-creator Craig Mazin pitched a role in the series to Melanie Lynskey, he started with a bang: “He called me and said, ‘I would love for you to play a war criminal,’” Lynskey
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Sam Smith just outdid their recent “Saturday Night Live” performance with “Unholy” collaborator Kim Petras in a horror movie-inspired performance of the smash hit. Smith started the song in red leather, surround a fleet of dancers that evoked Samara from “The Ring,” before cutting to Petras dancing in a cage, flanked by some dominatrices wearing
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This year’s Grammys In Memoriam tribute honored a diverse range of artists who died late last year, including Loretta Lynn, Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie and Migos rapper Takeoff. Barefoot and draped in red, Kacey Musgraves opened the segment by delivering an emotive performance of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Musgraves’ voice was backed by a single Epiphone guitar once owned
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Kim Petras and Sam Smith’s chart-topping collaboration “Unholy” won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance. Smith sat back while Petras accepted the award, giving her the spotlight as the first transgender woman to win in the category. Petras announced, “Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because I’m the first transgender woman to
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