“Air” director, producer and star Ben Affleck will receive the first-ever Gotham Visionary Icon and Creator Tribute at this year’s Gotham Awards ceremony. The tribute award was created for this year’s ceremony to recognize cultural icons and the filmmakers responsible for bringing those icon’s stories to life. The Gotham will honor the visionaries behind the
MK2 Films has acquired a collection of films and TV series directed by Bruno Dumont, the award-winning French director behind “Life of Jesus,” “Slack Bay” and “Humanity.” The acquisition, unveiled during Mipcom Cannes, covers the bulk of the director’s work, spanning eight films and TV series including “Li’l Quinquin,” which premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Viaplay Content Distribution has partnered up with German broadcaster ARD Degeto to co-produce “Ronja the Robber’s Daughter,” an epic adventure series. ARD Degeto will join the series’ existing co-production partners, Filmlance International, Film i Väst and Ahil Films. Along with co-producing, ARD Degeto will also premiere “Ronja” in Germany — in addition to other Viaplay
Riz Ahmed has posted an impassioned plea on social media calling for “an end to the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza’s civilians” amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. “We are told there are two sides to what is happening in Israel and Palestine. But in my heart, I know there is only one —
Two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne shared his passion for film and his thoughts on contemporary American cinema with the audience at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon where he is premiering his eighth feature film, “The Holdovers,” under the French title “Winter Break,” on October 15th. In a conversation skilfully led and translated by Los
Mipcom Cannes, the international TV conference, opened on a solemn note with market director Lucy Smith paying tribute to the “innocent victims in Israel and Gaza.” Smith addressed the reverberations of the Israel-Hamas conflict at the market and within the industry. Out of the 70 Israeli industry executives who had registered for Mipcom, only a
‘ELSBETH’ FLIES TO FRANCE Paramount Global Content Distribution has licensed the highly anticipated CBS Studios series “Elsbeth” to TF1 in France. Starring Emmy Award winner Carrie Preston, “Elsbeth” is based on the popular character of Elsbeth Tascioni, the astute but unconventional attorney featured in “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight.” “The series has been
Warner Bros. Discovery will be launching its streaming service Max in France, one of its top European markets, next summer, Variety has learned. The launch in France and in Belgium will follow a rollout in 22 countries across the Nordics, Iberia, Spain, the Netherlands and Central Eastern Europe in the spring. The European plan was
Veteran media exec Christian Toksvig is launching Cocoa Media, a distribution company dedicated to placing content on Free Advertising Supported Television (FAST) platforms. Cocoa has pacted with cutting edge Turkish content aggregator Merzigo to bring Turkish dramas into the FAST sphere. Toksvig, a former SVP Of HBO Max In EMEA who previously served as commercial officer
TIGER LEAPING TO HOLIDAY FRAME India’s Yash Raj Films has set a mid-November release date through the Diwali holidays for “Tiger 3,” its anticipated spy-action film starring Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi. Holiday complexities have caused the company to devise what it called a “strategic and unique release plan.” Having previously only released
“Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent” announced the cast for its initial season at MIPCOM on Monday, confirming six full-time leads for the Canadian iteration of the longest-running scripted drama brand in TV history. The all-Canadian cast includes Aden Young (“Rectify”) as Det. Sgt. Henry Graff, Kathleen Munroe (“City on Fire”) as Det. Sgt. Frankie
Hitman dramedy “Knok,” pandemic-thriller “LT-21,” and dystopian sendup “Rictus” will head off Have A Good One’s (HAGO) Mipcom slate, as the Paris-based TV development and sales company has boarded two additional series currently in production. Produced by Mifa Pictures (Groupe StoryPlus) and N22 Productions for 13ème Rue France, and created by Guillaume Duhesme, Bastien
Distributor All3Media Intl. has sold “The Long Shadow,” written by “Lupin” creator George Kay, to Sundance Now, which has taken exclusive rights in the U.S. and Canada. All3Media Intl. has also secured deals for the show across Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In Germany, MagentaTV has acquired the seven-part drama, which will launch on the
Frank Spotnitz’s Big Light Productions, the company behind such hits as “The Man in the High Castle” and RAI’s “Leonardo,” has snagged the rights to L.M. Logan crime thriller novel “29 Seconds.” Founded by its CEO Frank Spotnitz, who was also an executive producer and writer of the seminal sci-fi drama series “The X-Files,” Big Light
Another year, another crossroads for the content business. As buyers and sellers gather in Cannes this week for Mipcom, change is in the air yet again on both sides of the Atlantic. In the U.S., the largest media conglomerates are all in rebuilding mode, even the mighty Disney. The Europe and the U.K., on the
European powerhouse Studiocanal, part of Vivendi’s Canal+ Group, has rolled out robust sales on Xavier Dolan’s Sundance-selected psychological thriller “The Night Logan Woke Up,” Spanish period drama “The Vow” and a bevy of first documentaries. The deals underscore the continuing upside for Studiocanal of illustrious cinema talent exploring premium TV direction, as well as the
Audiovisual from Spain, an umbrella brand created to support Spanish content producers and distributors, is organizing the first Brand New Spanish Content Breakfast, an invitation-only sales event for international buyers, It’s unclear what’s being served but if it’s a typical Spanish breakfast, then expect some pinchos de tortilla, café con leche and some bollos (buns), at least.
Set in a pre-#metoo era, Oz girl-band drama “Paper Dolls” has been realized by an all female filmmaker team shedding light on this darker era for women in the music industry. Former MTV Australia chief Mark Fennessy executive produced the 8-part scripted drama for Paramount + through his two-year-old banner Helium. eOne is launching international
Spain’s TV fiction industry is exercising some caution after high-end Spanish-language series lifted off in 2018. “We all wanted to launch so many projects, so many new platforms arrived that there was no time for analysis,” says Bambú co-founder Ramón Campos. As streamers scale back on originals and sales cycles slow, the industry has time
Spain’s TV market saw 82 new fiction series commissions over September 2022 to August 2023, 61% of them aimed at exclusive online release, compared to 52% the year before, according to TV research firm The Wit. A few years ago, online was an afterthought. Now, to various degrees and in different ways, it is replacing
Unrecognizable from her co-starring and breakout role in 2018 hit “Burning,” Jeon Jong-seo is the centerpiece, the tortured protagonist and the athletic avenger, but not the titular dancer, in Netflix movie and Busan International Film Festival selection “Ballerina.” In the hands of fast-rising director Lee Chung-hyung, Jeon is a coolly calculating female former bodyguard who,
“Rick and Morty” has finally revealed the voice actors who are replacing star Justin Roiland. Ian Cardoni is the new voice of Rick Sanchez and Harry Belden is Morty Smith. Their names appeared in the credits for the Season 7 premiere on Sunday night. The opening credits also omitted the usual “Created by Justin Roiland
A dearth of new release films allowed Zhang Yimou’s “Under the Light” to retain a comfortable lead at the China box office over the weekend, in its third week of release. The contemporary crime drama film earned $13.5 million (RMB97.2 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. Since releasing on
Nearly one and a half years after Season 5 of “Love Is Blind” wrapped, Netflix filmed the reunion — not live this time around. On Sunday night, married duo Lydia Velez Gonzalez and Milton Johnson sat down with the other singles from the season — Johnie Maraist, Chris Fox, Stacy Snyder, Izzy Zapata Jr., Talyor
It took a village of creatives at Disney Animation to pull off “Once Upon a Studio,” the animated short that celebrates 100 years of stories and magic. Iconic characters like Snow White and Peter Pan feature alongside Robin Williams’ Genie in a cast of 543 characters from more than 85 feature-length and short films. And
Hollywood is mourning Suzanne Somers, star of sitcoms “Three’s Company” and “Step by Step,” who died Sunday after a long battle with breast cancer. The actor would have celebrated her 77th birthday on Monday, Oct. 16. Somers was known for her roles as bubbly “dumb blonde” Chrissy Snow in “Three’s Company” and single mom Carol Foster Lambert in “Step by Step.”
South Korean cinema box office slumped to its second lowest weekend of the year, continuing a recent weakening trend that was briefly punctuated last month by the local holiday season. Between Friday and Sunday, aggregate nationwide revenues in Korea were just $5.11 million. Since the end of summer, there has only been one weekend when
Will Smith has responded to wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s statements about their turbulent relationship in her forthcoming Oct. 17 memoir, “Worthy.” In an email to the New York Times, Smith expressed that Pinkett Smith’s revelations about their marriage in her memoir “woke him up.” He realized “she had lived a life more on the edge” and
Daniel Kaluuya world premiered his feature directorial debut, “The Kitchen,” at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday night, calling it “one of the best days of my life.” Kaluuya was on hand alongside his co-director Kibwe Tavares, producer Daniel Emmerson and several of the film’s actors, including “Top Boy” star Kane Robinson and newcomer
The world premiere of “Control,” Kevin Spacey‘s first film since he was acquitted of sexual assault, has dealt with a few setbacks after a London cinema dropped its offer to host due to the actor’s involvement in the micro-budget Welsh thriller. The Prince Charles Cinema, an avid supporter of independent film located in Leicester Place,