Month: September 2023

Miia Tervo’s “The Missile,” an absurdist dramatic comedy based on the real-life story of a Soviet missile landing in Finnish Lapland in 1984, took home the top prize Thursday at the Finnish Film Affair, an annual industry event running parallel to the Helsinki International Film Festival — Love & Anarchy. “The Missile” was one of

Ashley Brucks has been tapped to lead Screen Gems, the Sony Pictures division behind the “Resident Evil” and “Insidious” franchises. A deal hasn’t been finalized and several other candidates were up for the post, but insiders say the job is Brucks’ and expect a formal announcement to come soon. She joins the company from Paramount,

MAKING MAGIC To mark the 25th anniversary of the “Harry Potter” books being published in the U.S., the Empire State Building is set to be lit up in Hogwarts house colors at sunset on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Viewers outside of New York can watch the building’s Tower Lights shine red for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuff,

Oliver Pearn’s feature directorial debut “On the Line” has been snapped up for U.K. and U.S. distribution by Trinity Creative Partnership and 101 Films. Set in Alderney, U.K. in 1964, the film follows a telephone operator, Agnes, who ends up being the pivotal piece of a drama unfurling which puts professional integrity and relationships to

Italian multi-hyphenate Ilaria Borrelli’s Arabic-language feminist drama “The Goat” – featuring Mira Sorvino and John Savage, alongside a stellar Egyptian cast – is set for back-to-back launches at Egypt’s upcoming El Gouna Film Festival, followed by the closing film slot at the Rome Film Festival. A rare, if not unique, case of an Arab production

SAN SEBASTIAN — In a first big deal to be announced during this year’s San Sebastian Festival, Madrid-based The Mediapro Studio, one of Europe’s biggest independent and international creation-production-distribution powerhouses, has acquired Cimarrón, the Uruguay, Argentina and Mexico-based production house and services company. Of “highly significant value,” TMS said Friday, the deal looks set to

Got trauma? A global alien invasion is all it takes for emotionally scarred Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever) to sort through her issues in “No One Will Save You,” an extra-terrestrial creature feature cut from the same cloth as M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs,” where the jump scares are secondary to an earnest (but far less effective) portrait

LevelK has boarded the dark comedic drama “The Kidnapping of a President” by Finnish director Samuli Valkama (“No Thank You”), the company announced this week in Helsinki. The film, which is produced by John Lundsten (“Renki”) and Melli Maikkula (“KilJuset”) for Tack Film, is based on the incredible, pulled-from-the-headlines story of the abduction of the

SAN SEBASTIAN — Paris-based Luxbox has clinched major territory pre-sales on anticipated San Sebastian competition title “Puan,” an original attempt by its writer-directors, María Alche (“A Family Submerged”) and Benjamín Naishtat (“Rojo”) to deliver a state of the nation take on Argentina – and any country in thrall of European ideas – but in a

Spain’s 71st San Sebastian Film Festival is tracking to welcome an even larger industry presence than 2022, currently up 10% in attendance on 2022’s already bullish figures, its status as the biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world remaining undiminished.  Here are 10 key takes on potential highlights and trends which look likely to shape

Prime Video Latin America has snapped up streaming rights to Katina Medina Mora’s latest film “Latido” (“Heartbeat”), starring Oscar-nominated Marina de Tavira (“Roma”). This is the third feature from Medina Mora, whose credits include episodes of Netflix hit “Emily in Paris,” Apple TV+’s “Swagger” and romantic drama, “LuTo,” her debut feature picked up by Netflix.

Much like its protagonist — a ghastly superhero who gains his powers after falling into a vat of chemical waste — “The Toxic Avenger” refuses to die. Made for a paltry $500,000 in 1984, Troma’s cult classic spawned three direct sequels, a rock musical, two video games, a short-lived animated series and now a remake

Some of Colombia’s most prominent producers have banded together to form PI, a new association of independent producers led by Cristina Gallego, behind Oscar-nominated “Embrace of the Serpent” and “Birds of Passage,” who is an official jury member at this year’s 71st San Sebastian Film Festival.  “Colombia has become a production destination for major companies due

The Writers Guild of America and Hollywood’s major studios will meet for a third day of bargaining Friday as Hollywood wrestles with growing hopes of a deal balanced with concerns that key issues in the nearly five-month strike battle remain in contention. “The WGA and [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] met for bargaining

Indian studio Excel Entertainment’s founders Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar have revealed a robust upcoming production slate. Up next is “Fukrey 3,” the next instalment of the hit comedy-crime franchise directed by Mrighdeep Lamba, which is due a theatrical release Sept. 28. Action-drama “Agni,” directed by Rahul Dholakia, is in the works and due a

The biceps and bro love will flow freely this December, as a new sports drama starring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White has been given the greenlight to conduct publicity from striking union SAG-AFTRA. “The Iron Claw,” about the ill-fated American pro wrestling family the Von Erichs, has received an interim agreement from the actors

John Carney’s musical-comedy “Flora and Son,” which was acquired by Apple Original Films after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, is one of the streamer’s multiple awards contenders this year, most notably for best original song. With 18 original songs in the feature, deciding which one to put up for Academy consideration was a