Astral Projection, the production company set up by Oscar winner Rachel Weisz and British executive producer Polly Stokes (“American Honey,” “Wild Rose”) has signed a new first-look and development deal with Fremantle. The three-year deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for all TV and film projects for Astral Projection, which co-produced “Dead Ringers,” Amazon’s
Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Bruno Dumont’s “The Empire,” a sci-fi satire starring Anamaria Vartolomei (“Happening”), Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent!”), Lyna Khoudri (“The Three Musketeers”) and Fabrice Luchini. “The Empire” just world premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Jury Prize. The movie
The 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival — which runs March 8–16 in Austin, Texas — has cooked up an eclectic spread of studio crowd-pleasers, enterprising TV premieres, and indie gems aiming to break through. Here is some of the most promising fare. Babes The canon of Ilana Glazer-led indies about childbearing expands. Following 2021’s
Nikon aims to expand its reach in the cinematography business. The company revealed that it entered into an agreement to acquire cinematography camera maker Red, which would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikon. Terms and value of the deal weren’t disclosed. “Nikon will leverage this acquisition to expand the fast-growing professional digital cinema camera market,
Director Jeff Wadlow‘s destiny was set into motion before he was ten years old, when a fateful viewing of 1982’s horror classic “Poltergeist” opened his eyes to darkness in the world. “I was a very normal, happy-go-lucky kid, and watching it lined up perfectly with growing up and starting to have more adult thoughts,” he
J.J. Abrams is taking a look back at “Felicity,” the beloved series he co-created that premiered 25 years ago, in a difference kind of rewatch podcast featuring guest appearances by the show’s stars, including Keri Russell, Scott Speedman and Scott Foley. “Dear Felicity,” from Abrams’ Bad Robot Audio and Spotify’s The Ringer, is set to
The annual Academy Awards derby has been a long been a subject of interest for Las Vegas oddsmakers. But since 2019, more than half a dozen states have enacted legislation around sports betting that opened the door to legal wagering on Hollywood’s glitziest annual race. Gambling experts say there are more states to come in
“I’m a director,” Sam Clifford (Chelsea Peretti) says in front of the mirror after landing her first gig directing a play she’s written. “I’m a director. I’m a director.” Whether she’s trying to convince herself or the ensemble of actors she’s pretending to address is easy to discern, especially given the circumstances of her hiring:
U.S. content management, financing and sales banner Cinetic Media has secured world rights to the life affirming doc “Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other,” about legendary photographer Joel Meyerowitz and his wife, artist and author Maggie Barrett. Rising filmmaking duo Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter of London-based Manon et Jacob are making their
Zack Snyder appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” and championed his recent pivot to Netflix. The 58-year-old filmmaker spent the bulk of his career making movies at Warner Bros., but he made the jump to streaming starting with the 2021 release of his zombie action movie “Army of the Dead.” Snyder’s latest Netflix original was
In high school, when I wanted to purchase a T-shirt with holes intentionally perforated throughout, my mother was appalled. I garnered the same reaction when I bought a pair of jeans pre-shredded within an inch of their life, my mother in disbelief: “Why spend money on something that’s so destroyed?” Courtesy of Miu MiuA detail
It’s no surprise that British-Ghanaian R&B singer/songwriter Raye was the center of attention at last weekend’s BRIT Awards — she won a record six trophies at the British Grammy-equivalent ceremony, including Best Artist, Album of the Year and Song of the Year, and during her acceptance speeches made empowering statements like “I’m in control — I’m
ProSiebenSat.1 Group, which owns one of Germany’s leading broadcasters and one of its top streaming platforms, continues to feel the effects of a “challenging” economic environment, but, nevertheless, has pledged to ramp up investment in local shows. On Thursday, the group reported revenues of Euros 3.85 billion ($4.2 billion) in the 2023 financial year, down
Production banner FlipNarrative, set up by Waleed Zuaiter — the BAFTA-nominated star of “Baghdad Central” and “Gangs of London” and Oscar-nominated producer of “Omar” — has optioned the rights to Shannon Chakraborty’s latest novel “The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi,” with plans to develop it into a multi-season series and gaming platform. The book — the first
This year’s nominees for the Royal Television Society Programme Awards have been revealed, with Gary Oldman, Hannah Waddingham and Bella Ramsey making the cut. The BBC leads the list with 51 nods across 30 categories, while Disney+ has earned its first nominations for “Extraordinary.” Channel 4 received 17 nominations, including for comedy series “Big Boys.”
The B2B meetings at Mumbai’s annual Frames media conference have now bloomed into the full-fledged Global Content Market under the guidance of veteran producer Bobby Bedi. Bedi’s credits include some of the landmark titles of Indian cinema, including Shekhar Kapur’s international breakthrough film “Bandit Queen” (1994), Deepa Mehta’s controversial “Fire” (1996), Rani Mukerji-starring relationship drama
Warner Bros. is to handle the Southeast Asia theatrical release of Philippines-produced drama film “Under Parallel Skies.” The picture will have its world premiere this weekend as part of the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. Directed by Sigrid Bernardo, “Under Parallel Skies” follows the story of a Thai bachelor, portrayed by major local star
U.K. commercial broadcaster ITV’s annual results for 2023 were revealed Thursday. Total group revenue was down 2% and total external revenue was down 3% to £3.6 billion ($4.6 billion). Total revenues at ITV Studios, which produces shows including “Fool Me Once” and “Love Island,” grew 4%. The U.K. media conglomerate also revealed linear advertising had
Timothée Chalamet is ready to be a part of the MCU: the “musical cinematic universe.” In a recent interview with NME while promoting “Dune: Part Two,” Chalamet said he wants Austin Butler‘s Elvis Presley to appear in his and James Mangold’s upcoming Bob Dylan film, “A Complete Unknown.” “I can’t wait for that film,” Butler
FESTIVAL The South Asian House initiative is back at SXSW with the festival’s first-ever South Asian music showcase. Featured acts include Jay Dhami, Bodur, Simar, Avara, Meetu Chilana, The Tabla Queen, DJ Anupi, Bollyflow and The Diversity Band. In addition, South Asian co-founder and film producer, Jitin Hingorani (“Zende”), will highlight the Telugu-language film industry
Veteran mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou is to be honored twice over at the Asian Film Awards ceremony on Sunday. He will be presented with a lifetime achievement award and a separate prize for directing the highest-grossing Asian film of 2023. “These two awards are not only a testament to Zhang’s extraordinary achievements, but also
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 11 season premiere of “The Masked Singer,” which aired March 6 on Fox. “The Masked Singer” kicked off its 11th season on Wednesday night — and in perhaps the show’s most unusual reveal ever, comedian Kevin Hart brought his prank war with
“Michael,” the splashy forthcoming biopic about Michael Jackson from director Antoine Fuqua, has added actor Laura Harrier in a key role. Harrier, of “BlacKkKlansman” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” fame, will portray pioneering female music executive Suzanne de Passe in the Lionsgate project. De Passe was a creative assistant to Motown founder Berry Gordy, and is credited
“Nimona,” Netflix and Annapurna Animation’s Oscar-nominated film, is a compelling tale of passion, resilience and searching for community — both on and off the screen. When brave knight Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) is falsely accused of assassinating the queen, he teams up with the chaotic, shapeshifting teenager Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) in the hopes of
The Miami Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 41st edition, including “Thelma,” starring June Squibb, opening the event and Tony Goldwyn‘s “Ezra” as closing night selection. Goldwyn will be honored at the festivl with the Art of Light award along with Alison Brie, while Greg Kwedar, director of “Sing Sing,” will receive the
Bollywood star Sonakshi Sinha is all praise for her director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose anticipated magnum opus series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar” is due on Netflix this year. Netflix describes the series as “an epic saga of love, power, revenge and freedom.” With a cast that also includes Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal,
Man — she feels like a Barbie. And is one, officially, now: Shania Twain has had a one-of-a-kind Barbie made in her likeness by Mattel. The singer joins Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Kylie Minogue and several other renowned entertainers or activists who are getting their own signature dolls as part of Mattel’s celebration of International
Jonathan Taplin is the Director Emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California and the author of “The End of Reality: How Four Billionaires are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars and Crypto.” He was tour manager for Bob Dylan and The Band in 1969. He has written this
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer on the ill-fated Western film “Rust,” was convicted on Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter in the death of the film’s cinematographer. Jurors returned a verdict after less than three hours of deliberations on Wednesday afternoon, following two weeks of testimony about safety lapses on set. Gutierrez Reed was acquitted of a
Oscar producers Raj Kapoor, Katy Mullan, Molly McNearney and Rob Paine, as well as music director Rickey Minor are days away from the 96th Academy Awards. But they took time out on Wednesday afternoon to share insight into what to expect from Sunday’s ceremony. In a conversation moderated by Jacqueline Coley, Awards Editor at Rotten