True Colours has taken international sales on Italian auteur Mario Martone’s new film “The King of Laughter” (“Qui Rido Io”) starring Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”) as popular and prolific early 20th century Neapolitan actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta. Martone’s latest three works “Leopardi,” “Capri Revolution” and “The Mayor of Rione Sanità” all launched from
The powerful appeal of K-pop is a major contributor to YouTube taking up position as the dominant streaming video platform in South Korea, a new study has found. Netflix, which has also invested heavily in Korean film and TV, is the leading subscription video service in the country. South Koreans streamed 169 billion minutes of
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the July 5 episode of “The Bachelorette.” Last week’s blast from the past brought former contestant Blake Moynes into the cast for consideration of Katie Thurston’s final rose. Blake — who formerly appeared on Season 16 of “The Bachelorette” — moved into the resort and
Jeff Cohen first met Richard Donner while making “The Goonies,” the 1985 adventure classic about a group of misfit kids hunting for treasure. Cohen played Chunk, a mischevious preteen who loves ice cream and prank calls. Decades later, he credits Donner with coaxing out his performance, but Cohen owes more to the late director than
A man unleashed a racist diatribe against a Black neighbor — and even invited protesters to his front door … but he might not have expected them to show up in droves, especially when he was being hauled off to jail. Check out this wild encounter that was captured in Mount Laurel, NJ Friday, which
Following the news of legendary director Richard Donner’s death, heartfelt tributes are emerging from all over Hollywood, including from Steven Spielberg, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Donner, who directed the original “Superman” film, the 1985 classic “The Goonies” and the “Lethal Weapon” series, died on Monday at the age of 91. Fellow director Spielberg, who
Rachel Nichols typically uses the opening moments of the ESPN basketball program, “The Jump,” to talk about the latest news in the NBA. On Monday, she used it to address a growing story that has her at the center. In July of last year, Nichols was caught on video speaking to representatives of LeBron James
Director-producer Richard Donner, best known for helming the “Lethal Weapon” film series, “The Goonies” and the original “Superman” film, died on Monday. He was 91. Donner’s production company confirmed news of his death to Variety, though the cause was not disclosed. Though not his first bigscreen effort, his big feature break came with 1976’s “The Omen,”
Barry Alexander Brown, the filmmaker and editor long known for his association with Spike Lee, is to receive two lifetime achievement honors this year during the Cannes Film Festival. Lee is present in Cannes as president of the competition jury. The AFI World Peace Initiative and the Better World Forum will honor Brown and Lee
On Monday afternoon, Olivia Wilson had arrived from her home in Tennessee to the Cannes Film Festival, where she’ll be working as an intern at the American Pavilion. But before she got to enjoy the flashiest film festival in the world, she had to spit over and over again in a plastic tube to make
IFC Films will be out in force at the Cannes Film Festival with three highly-anticipated films set for the competition: Jacques Audiard’s black-and-white drama “Paris, 13th District,” Mia Hansen-Løve’s English-language melodrama “Bergman Island” and Paul Verhoeven’s subversive period drama “Benedetta.” This comeback Cannes edition will also mark Arianna Bocco’s first year on the ground as
Italian singer, actor, dancer and TV host Raffaella Carrà — who over the course of a 60-year career became a national pop culture sensation, sold millions of records across Europe, and found TV success in Spain and Latin America — has died, Italian national news agency ANSA and multiple Italian media outlets have reported. Carrà,
Stephen Dorff came out swinging against Marvel and its latest big screen offering, “Black Widow,” as well as its lead star in Scarlett Johansson … for whom he says he feels sorry. The veteran actor straight-up bashed ScarJo’s newest flick in an interview with the U.K.’s Independent outlet … saying, in part, “I still hunt
Thierry Frémaux, artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival, opened up about his discussions with Netflix and the challenges of holding the festival during the pandemic in a pre-festival press conference on Monday. Answering repeated questions about the streaming giant, which does not have a presence at the festival, from the assembled phalanx of global
Quentin Tarantino has announced that he purchased Los Angeles’ Vista Theatre. During the most recent episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Tarantino discussed the future of moviegoing, commenting that some of the big movie chains that have shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic “deserved to go.” “I never like any theater closing, but
Cannes, the world’s most stylish, flamboyant, and glamorous celebration of cinema, returns this week after COVID canceled the 2020 edition. The world is still in the grip of a global pandemic, so this year’s festival should look a lot different than previous iterations, with hand sanitizer and masks becoming the accessory of choice on red
Cinemas and theaters across England will return to full capacity from July 19, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. In addition, live events such as sports and concerts will be allowed to operate as in pre-COVID times at capacity and the one meter social distancing rule will be scrapped. People in England will
A screening of “Black Widow” in the Hamptons over the 4th of July weekend attracted a star-studded crowd. The guest list included David Harbour, who plays The Red Guardian in the latest installment of the MCU, and Drew Barrymore, Ellen Pompeo, Chris Ivery, Brooke Shields, Chris Henchy, Gayle King, Don Lemon, Tim Malone, Zachary Quinto,
China’s two new propaganda films topped the box office over their first weekend in theaters, but it appears that the politically correct content may not prove popular enough to drive sales at blockbuster levels. Most of the biggest local blockbusters set to hit China over the rest of the year are propaganda titles. Though analysts
After seven seasons of gleeful hedonism and wild twists on top of twists, TV’s first iteration of “Gossip Girl” ended with an anti-climax of true loves pairing off and one of the medium’s most nonsensical reveals, period. The show’s narrative had relied on a disembodied source of gossip (voiced by a purring Kristen Bell) to
Herbert G. Kloiber, who was formerly the owner of German TV and film giant Tele München Group (now known as Leonine), and Constantin Film have set up Vienna-based production company High End Productions, which will produce premium European fiction series for the international market. Jonas Bauer has been appointed as managing director. Bauer comes from
STREAMING Over the weekend, the La Biennale di Venezia launched its new Biennale Cinema Channel in collaboration with Italian streamer MYmovies, offering up a streamable selection of films which have featured in previous editions of the Venice International Film Festival but which are not currently available elsewhere in Italy. The channel drops with an initial
A raft of measures taken by China to control its tech firms and expand national security protection are rattling the entertainment sector and internet giants at home and abroad. On Sunday, Chinese regulators shocked stock markets by banning downloads of ride hailing app Didi Chuxing. Other than another enforcement action two days earlier, which blocked
Altitude Film Sales has sold forthcoming Oliver Stone documentary “JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass” in a number of territories including Australia, Italy and Spain. Thirty years after Stone’s wildly successful “JFK,” the director returns with an in-depth look at the assassinated president’s death with new, recently-declassified evidence as well as testimonies from witnesses, historians
A24 has taken all North American rights to “Lamb,” which world premieres on May 13 in Cannes in the Un Certain Regard competitive sidebar. Jan Naszewski’s sales agency New Europe Film Sales confirmed the A24 pickup on Monday. A24 will release the film, which stars Noomi Rapace (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “Prometheus”), later
Sony Pictures Television has announced a first-run feature film slate deal with Turkish pay TV operator Sinema TV that expands the two companies’ existing library content deal. Under this new agreement, Sinema TV will now get first pay-TV window rights to fresh Sony Pictures theatrical titles such as “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Uncharted,” “Ghostbusters:
In 2002, “Ogu and Mampato in Rapa Nui” became Chile’s first animated feature since the silent “Vida y milagros de Don Fausto” in 1924. Less than two decades later, five animated Chilean features in various stages of production are pitching at the Cannes Marché du Film. That kind of growth would be surprising if it
Documentary “The Most Beautiful Boy in the World,” about the teenage actor in Luchino Visconti’s “Death in Venice,” has been sold to numerous territories by Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique. The Swedish film, directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri, premiered in Sundance in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. It receives an online market screening
Michael Flatley, the Irish dance phenomenon best known for “Lord of the Dance,” will open the Monaco Streaming Film Festival with his directorial debut, “Blackbird.” Flatley, who wrote and financed the project, also stars in it as retired MI6 operative-turned-Barbados hotelier Victor Blackley. After a familiar agent — and romantic interest — turns up at
Los Angeles-based 1844 Entertainment has acquired international sales rights and U.S. distribution for Jorge Cuchí’s 2020 Venice Critics’ Week player, “50 o Dos Ballenas se Encuentran En la Playa” (“50 (or Two Whales Meet on the Beach)”). “50” stars young actors José Antonio Toledano as Félix and Karla Coronado as Elisa, two 17-year-olds who together