Estonian producers and companies are looking to reproduce the success of the breakout drama “Traitor” with two new series set for release in 2024. Financed by Estonian streaming company Elisa and featuring local talent both in front of and behind the camera, “Traitor” was the first domestically produced TV show to have international legs. “Traitor”
Month: November 2023
A few years ago, grip-turned-producer Brian Gork and cinematographer Richard Swindell got the idea they could open their own soundstage complex. “We wanted to design a stage that would essentially be something that would be recommended from every department — art, electric or whoever,” says Gork. Back in the 2000s, it might’ve remained just a
Media and publishing company Condé Nast will lay off upwards of 300 employees, representing 5% of its headcount, and take other cost-reduction measures as it looks to improve efficiency. Condé Nast says it has more than 6,000 employees, meaning the job cuts will eliminate more than 300 roles. The cutbacks were announced by CEO Roger
Former TV news anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are going to tell their story — as well as discuss the news of the day — in a new podcast from iHeartMedia. In January, ABC News parted ways with Robach and Holmes, who had co-anchored the “GMA3” block of “Good Morning America,” after the revelation
After making a promising directorial debut with 2021’s Western “Old Henry,” filmmaker Potsy Ponciroli is back with the twisted black-comedy thriller “Greedy People,” which harkens back to classic neo-noirs like Sam Raimi’s “A Simple Plan” while sampling the idiosyncrasies of a Coen brothers’ film. The original script, by Mike Vukadinovich (Showtime’s “Kidding”), piles on the
As the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, prepares for its 27th edition, Variety spoke with artistic director Tiina Lokk about its ambitions and coming highlights. “If you see the festival like a big building, then all the walls are in and the building is ready, but some rooms are not furnished yet,” Lokk
By the time he launched Mom + Pop Music in 2008, Michael Goldstone knew a thing or two about artists. Operating more behind the scenes than some of his more flashy contemporary A&R types, the Long Island-born music obsessive signed Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine to Epic Records, and then went on to
Netflix is ready to use “The Crown,” “Squid Game” and other signature series to take ad dollars from rival streamers. The company says it will start to offer so-called “title sponsorships” to advertisers ready to align with the new reality series “Squid Game: The Challenge” and the final season of “The Crown” as part of
The second round of performances announced for the 2023 CMA Awards includes two collaborations scheduled for the genre’s reigning superstar, Morgan Wallen — one a medley of country classics with Post Malone and Hardy, and the other with a guest duet partner being held back as a surprise. Also planned for the Nov. 8 broadcast
It seems you can’t aim a camera in New York or New Jersey these days without seeing a studio space that’s brand new, under construction or in the works. Did you miss the Oct. 24 groundbreaking ceremony for the $350 million Sunset Pier 94 Studios, Manhattan’s first purpose-built studio campus with six soundstages totaling 85,000
“Friends” co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane recalled their last conversations with series star Matthew Perry, who died on Oct. 28 at the age of 54, during an appearance on “Today” Wednesday morning. Kauffman spoke to Perry just two weeks ago, saying: “It was great. He was happy and chipper. He didn’t seem weighed down
Fifth Season has nabbed global distribution rights to the Greek teen drama series “Milky Way,” an eight-part coming-of-age story centered on an unwanted pregnancy that’s written and directed by Vasilis Kekatos, who won the Palme d’Or and the Queer Palm at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival for his short film “The Distance Between Us and
“Snow Leopard,” the last film by Tibetan director Pema Tseden prior to his death in May, was awarded the Grand Prix at the closing ceremony of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday. Premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival and later screening at Toronto, the film depicts the argument between
Bollywood war epic “Pippa” will get a direct-to-streaming release on Prime Video. “Pippa” is based on the book “The Burning Chaffees,” written by Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta and the screenplay is by Ravinder Randhawa, Tanmay Mohan and Menon. Ishaan plays Captain Mehta of the 45th Cavalry tank squadron who fought on India’s eastern front during
CBS has pulled “Loteria Loca” from its November schedule and will be replaced by “NCIS” encore events, leading to the premiere of “NCIS: Sydney” on Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. ET. Based on the Mexican game of chance Loteria and hosted by Jaime Camil (“Jane the Virgin”), the game show debuted on Oct. 2 and
Barcelona-based studio Filmax has scooped international rights to “Just One Small Favor,” the new film from Zeta Studios, which is behind Netflix smash hit “Elite” and HBO Max Spanish banner title “García!” Released in Spain by Universal on Nov. 10, “Favor” will receive its market premiere at this week’s American Film Market. Directed by Juana
Tom Tykwer’s first feature film since 2016, “Das Licht” (“The Light”), is set to start rolling this month at Studio Babelsberg near Berlin. The X Filme Creative Pool production, about a troubled family who take in a Syrian immigrant as their new housekeeper, is one of a number of projects heading to the renowned studio
Signature Entertainment has acquired U.K. and Ireland rights to horror thriller “Don’t Move” from Capstone Global. The film follows a seasoned killer as he injects a grieving woman with a paralytic agent. She must run, fight and hide before her body shuts down. The film is produced by Sam Raimi (“Evil Dead Rise”), Zainab Azizi
Umbrella Entertainment has snapped up Luke Sparke’s one-shot horror feature “Scurry” for Australia and New Zealand. Starring Jamie Costa (“Kenobi: A Star Wars Story”) and Emalia (“Paper Dolls”), the film tells the story of two strangers who find themselves trapped underground when their city is attacked by a monstrous threat. “Badly injured and with limited
WestEnd Films has scored multiple sales, including to North America, on British director Patrick Dickinson’s drama “Cottontail,” which stars Japan’s Lily Franky (“Shoplifters”) and Ciaran Hinds. The film, first announced at the AFM in 2019, won the prize for best first feature last week at the Rome Film Festival, where it had its world premiere.
“Unicorns” explores a world not seen much in feature films — the world of “gaysians,” the South Asian gay community in the U.K. The film, directed by Sally El Hosaini (“The Swimmers”) and James Krishna Floyd and written by Floyd, follows Aysha/Ashiq (charismatic newcomer Jason Patel) a queer, Muslim, South Asian drag queen living a
Mister Smith Entertainment has clinched first key international sales on Weston Razooli’s “Riddle of Fire.” Among major territories, Mister Smith has closed Japan (Klockworx), France (ASC Distribution) and Spain (Flamingo Films). Deals build on a co-U.S acquisition by Yellow Veil Pictures and Vinegar Syndrome, which plan a domestic theatrical bow in early 2024, releasing the
High-concept horror film “Rosario” is getting a stellar cast. David Dastmalchian (“Oppenheimer“), José Zúñiga (“Twilight”), Diana Lein (“Fear the Walking Dead”), Paul Ben-Victor (“The Irishman”) and Emilia Faucher (“CODA”) will join rising star Emeraude Toubia (“Shadowhunters”) in the pic. Penned by Alan Trezza (“We Summon the Darkness”), the story, set in New York, revolves around Rosario (Toubia), a successful Wall
Bangkok-based film fund Purin Pictures will disburse $140,000 to three Philippines and one Indonesian film as part of its fall grants. The Purin committee has chosen three fiction and one documentary projects for production support and one documentary project for post-production support. “The Remotes” is John Torres’ first fiction film after two decades of making
“Dancing With the Stars” always goes all out for Monster Night and this year’s Halloween episode was no different. Each pair danced twice on Tuesday night — first, for their solo routines and second, in the group marathon. Many of the duos had a lot of fun with the Halloween theme, including Alyson Hannigan and Sasha
In the early days of the culture war, science stood on one side and religion on the other. In 1925, the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial hung on whether a Tennessee high-school instructor had violated state law by teaching human evolution. He was on trial, but it was really Charles Darwin who was on trial. Darwin
Ramona Singer, late of Bravo‘s “The Real Housewives of New York City,” who will soon be seen on Peacock’s “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy,” will no longer be attending BravoCon as of Tuesday afternoon — after she used a racial slur in a text exchange with a Page Six reporter. The reporter was