Month: April 2024

Dutch public broadcaster VPRO has acquired Netherlands broadcast rights to “Daughter of Genghis.” The documentary about Mongolian female nationalist gang leader and single mother Gerel Byamba will make its North American debut at Hot Docs on Monday. The doc, directed by photo-journalists Kristoffer Juel Poulsen and Christian Als, follows Byamba, who is the leader of
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Fred Schepisi is set to direct Israel-based thriller “The Dimona Affair,” Variety has learned exclusively. The project is based on the story of a whistleblower who claimed Israel was building a nuclear weapons program. (The country has always denied it has nuclear weapons). After giving The Sunday Times of London a detailed interview about the
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Magnify, the rebranded international sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” in the run up to its world premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Directed and co-writer by Tyler Taormina (“Ham on Rye”), the film stars Michael Cera (“Barbie”), Francesca Scorsese, Maria Dizzia (“Martha Marcy May
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U.K.-based sales and distribution outfit Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide rights, excluding Canada, to 1980s-set wrestling action-horror “Dark Match.” The film is headlined by professional wrestler and rock musician Chris Jericho and written and directed by Lowell Dean (“Wolfcop”). The film will launch later this year with its festival premiere to be announced imminently. Blue
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International documentary marketplace Sunny Side of the Doc has revealed the 42 projects from 21 countries that make up the official selection for its 2024 edition. As always, the projects are topical and eclectic, ranging from Helene Lam Trong’s “Inside Gaza,” that tells the inside story of the ongoing conflict in the region; to Francois-Xavier Destors’ “Edgar
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“The Imaginary,” an upcoming hand-drawn animated fantasy film from Japan’s Studio Ponoc that will play in competition at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, is set to debut July 5 on Netflix. An Oscar-qualifying run is also planned. “The Imaginary” is directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, whose credits as an animator include Studio Ponoc’s 2017 debut
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Korean comedy action film “The Roundup: Punishment” destroyed all competition in local theaters on its Wednesday opening day. The film earned $4.92 million from 821,000 ticket sales, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That represented a crushing 97% share of the day’s theatrical market. Including a
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Rebel Wilson‘s memoir “Rebel Rising” will be published in the U.K. with redacted passages about her experience working with Sacha Baron Cohen. “We are publishing every page, but for legal reasons, in the U.K. edition, we are redacting most of one page with some other small redactions and an explanatory note,” publisher HarperCollins told The Guardian in
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Showtime’s satirical thriller “The Curse,” created by stars Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie and also starring Emma Stone, has exclusively shared its Emmy submission plans with Variety. The three multi-hyphenates will have more than one chance at recognition across various categories for producing, acting, directing, writing and editing. “The Curse” explores the tumultuous lives of
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A “Barbie” poster signed by Margot Robbie and the original script for “Love Actually” are just a few of the star-studded items taking part in the latest auction for War Child, which advocates for children living through war. Over 70 celebrities have donated rare items to the charity’s “Spring Clean” fundraiser, including War Child global
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Brian Tyree Henry has joined the cast of Universal’s untitled Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry musical project. The Oscar, Emmy and Tony nominee joins Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey and Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph in the coming-of-age musical, set in the summer of 1977 at Virginia Beach and inspired by Atlantis Apartments, Williams’ childhood
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Rachel Stavis, billed as the “Hollywood Exorcist,” is channeling her creativity for a number of upcoming scripted projects. Stavis is an author and filmmaker whose day job — as a “non-denominational exorcist on a mission to create global change by eradicating darkness from one person or place at a time,” per her bio – has
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The 1975’s Matty Healy has weighed in — sort of — on Taylor Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department,” which many speculated includes songs that are written about the singer. In a brief on-the-street interview, Healy is asked to rate Swift’s diss track on the album compared to the 30 other songs. “My diss
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Tracee Ellis Ross is packing her bags and inviting audiences to join her solo travel adventures with the new Roku Original series “Tracee Travels.” The series will chronicle the award-winning actor (“Girlfriends,” “Black-ish,” and most recently the Oscar-winning film “American Fiction”) and Pattern CEO and founder as she “meticulously, laboriously, and sometimes ridiculously prepares for
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Billionaire Mukesh Ambani‘s streamer JioCinema is making a play to become India’s top streaming service by introducing cheap premium tier plans. From April 25, the service’s existing INR999 ($12) annual plan for international premium content is being replaced by a monthly plan of INR29 (35 cents) for a single device or INR89 ($1.05) monthly for
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There used to be a joke in old-school country music: How many girl singers does it take to sing Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”? The punchline was always an eye-rolling “All of them.” It spoke to the ubiquity of Cline’s influence, as well as the tired renditions of Willie Nelson’s torch lament every “chick singer” clung to.
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Angelina Jolie‘s scrapped “Cleopatra” movie was part romance epic and part “political thriller with assassinations and sex,” according to the movie’s original screenwriter Brian Helgeland. The Oscar-winning actor was set to play the Egyptian queen in a tentpole for Sony Pictures that once courted director David Fincher to helm. It never got off the ground.
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Kid Cudi has officially canceled his upcoming Insano world tour after breaking his ankle during his Coachella set on Sunday (April 21). The rapper revealed the news of the tour cancelation on X (formerly Twitter) today, stating that the injury requires a recovery period that interferes with the tour dates. All tickets will be refunded
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