Up until Thursday night, New York Film Festival had never once featured a TV show on its annual premiere lineup, so when Benny Safdie approached NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim with a new series he created alongside Nathan Fielder, the likelihood that it would get a big-screen premiere was low. But Lim gave it a
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher made an appearance on the “Today” show Friday morning to share her perspective on why the union’s talks with the AMPTP broke down. “It really came as a shock to me because what does that exactly mean and why would you walk away from the table? It’s not like we’re asking
For the past two years, Holly Humberstone has been living on the road. After growing a passionate fanbase in her native U.K. with the 2020 EP “Falling Asleep at the Wheel,” the singer-songwriter hopped across the pond for two back-to-back, life-changing opening gigs: first for indie favorite Girl in Red, followed by a stint on
Meghan McCain is so done with TV. After four years on “The View,” the political lightning rod needed a breather. “This is so superficial,” McCain says when asked why she does not miss being on television every day. “My hair and skin were so thrashed because I wore hair extensions, and bleached my hair and
“Sidonie in Japan” will travel far and wide, as international agent Indie Sales has posted a raft of new sales out of Rome’s MIA Market. Starring Isabelle Huppert and directed by Elise Girard, the wistful romance world premiered out of Venice’s independent, auteur-oriented sidebar Venice Days last month. The Paris-based sales company has altogether secured
Finland’s industry is ready to appeal to the government as the future of a film and TV production incentive is under threat, with a 25% cash rebate levied on spend on foreign and Finnish shoots in the country conspicuously absent from a provisional budget for 2024, announced Monday. “People have been hopeful, so they didn’t
Speaking at a panel held at the MIA Market in Rome, Netflix execs laid out a European strategy based on cultural and regional specificity alongside wider international format exchange. “We want to create stories that are really rooted in our country’s culture and tradition,” said Italian content VP Eleonora Andreatta. “[And in order] to be
Best Buy is checking out of the DVD business. The consumer-electronics retailer will phase out sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs both in-store and online in early 2024, according to industry sources familiar with the company’s plans. Best Buy made the initial decision to end DVD sales nine months ago, according to one source. Best
French sales powerhouse Charades Films, which is attending MIA Market in Rome this week, has acquired international rights to Emma Dante’s third feature “Misericordia.” The film will premiere in competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on Nov. 11, and will hit theaters via Teodora on Nov. 16 in Italy. Charades also handled Dante’s
“Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light” continues to ward off the darkness. LevelK’s Czech stop-motion animation has sold to over 40 territories, including Germany (Eksystent Distribution), France (Eurozoom /Panoranime), Spain (MODIband Projectes Culturals), Italy (Just Wanted), Portugal (Film4you), Israel (New Cinema), Slovenia (Demiurg), MENA (Empire Networks), Switzerland (Out-side the Box), Estonia (Estin Film) Sweden (Njutafilms)
Imagine Documentaries, the non-fiction branch of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, is looking to boost a new generation of documentary talent. Speaking at a panel at Rome’s MIA Market, Imagine Documentaries president Sara Bernstein revealed that her company has signed a development deal with filmmakers Isabel Bethencourt and Parker Hill, whose teenagers-in-Texas portrait
Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari‘s “Terrestrial Verses,” the sole Iranian film which premiered in Cannes’ official selection, has been acquired by KimStim for North American distribution. The movie, represented in international markets by Films Boutique, will soon play at U.S. festivals, including Chicago, Mill Valley and AFI Fest. A satire of the Iranian regime, “Terrestrial Verses” follows
Facing tight budgets and continued uncertainty in the entertainment sector, buyers at this year’s MipJunior are expected to largely stick to tried and true IP, but many still see opportunities for exciting original content. In addition to presenting the hottest new kids’ shows from around the globe, MipJunior, which runs Oct. 13-15, will examine the
CANNES — Bowing at MipJunior both Season 3 of CG animated megahit “The Adventures of Paddington,” targeting free-to-air sales, as well as brand new toon titles such as “How To Squoosh” and “Scarlet Rose,” European powerhouse Studiocanal, owned by Vivendi’s Canal+ Group, is powering into the kids IP and premium series business, marking its most
Iqbal H. Choudhury’s “The Wrestler” and Mori Tatsutya’s “September 1923” were announced joint winners of the New Currents competition at the Busan International Film Festival. “The Wrester” “was like a single round match, magically depicting an exciting narrative,” the jury said. “We support the bravery to face the history that had been forgotten,” the jury
Neom, the Saudi Arabian region on the Red Sea that is aiming to become a major film and TV production hub, has forged a strategic partnership with the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) to set up training programs for young Saudi content creators. The full-service Saudi production hub, which is becoming a major driver of the
Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival has unveiled the program for its 27th edition, which will take place in the Czech city of Jihlava between Oct. 24-29. The festival will showcase 357 films in both competitive and non-competitive sections, with 115 world premieres, 22 international premieres and 17 European premieres. This year’s program touches on themes
Not even five years have passed since Saudi Arabia first opened up for tourism in 2019 and, yet, the country’s entertainment industry seems to have evolved at an astronomical rate. With multimillion-dollar film and TV project development initiatives available to both local and international companies, high rates of content consumption and an overwhelmingly young population
Beta Film has released a moving trailer for the Ukrainian war drama “In Her Car,” a gripping series about the ongoing crisis told through the eyes of those who are living it, the company announced ahead of Mipcom. “In Her Car” (10 x 30’) is produced by Starlight Media and Gaumont in co-production with France
CANNES — Germany’s Story House Pictures, producer of the Beta Film/RTL mega-hit “Sisi,” sold to 120 territories, has optioned what looks like one of the biggest and most ambitious projects coming onto the market at this year’s Mipcom: “The Book of Longing,” a six-part English-language series with an international cast based on the international bestseller
Microsoft‘s deal to buy Activision Blizzard got the green light Friday from regulators in the U.K. — clearing the way for the $68.7 billion blockbuster acquisition to close nearly two years after it was announced. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday, Oct. 13, announced the approval of the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition. The
SAG-AFTRA has canceled pickets in New York and Los Angeles on Friday due to “potential safety concerns that are unrelated to our ongoing strike,” the guild announced Thursday night. “Stay safe and see you on the picket lines next week,” said the statement from SAG-AFTRA. The AMPTP broke off talks with the AMPTP on Wednesday
The Walt Disney Company is donating $2 million to organizations providing humanitarian relief to those affected by the Israel-Hamas war. “In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks targeting Jews in Israel this past weekend, we must all do what we can to support the innocent people experiencing so much pain, violence, and uncertainty —
The world will never know what was going through 26-year-old Christian missionary John Allen Chau’s head when he was shot and killed by arrows off the coast of North Sentinel Island. There are jokes, of course, and educated guesses, but the best most of us can do is search inside ourselves for the answer. That’s
If there’s a pop musician of the last 60 years who deserves a great documentary, it’s Antonio Carlos Jobim. Some might bristle at my description of him as “pop.” In Brazil, where Jobim, one of the prime architects of bossa nova, is considered a national treasure, he’s simply thought of as a composer, placed on
Creative Artists Agency chief executive officer Bryan Lourd shot back at eyebrow-raising comments by longtime rival agency CEO Ari Emanuel on Thursday, regarding recent litigation brought on to CAA by actor Julia Ormond. Emanuel, CEO of the parent company to WME, attended Bloomberg’s Screentime conference this week and called for Lourd and his longtime partner,
SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from Episode 2 of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” which debuted today on Netflix. During an ’80s flashback in Mike Flanagan’s new horror series “The Fall of the House of Usher,” two characters have a decidedly contemporary conversation during which they discuss
After making it known in September that he’s interested in acquiring ABC from Disney for a price tag of $10 billion, Byron Allen assures Variety he still has his eyes set on ABC and promises he’s ready play ball when Disney is ready to sell. “I think ABC’s a real possibility. They say they’re not
The LGBTQIA+ arts and entertainment organization Outfest has announced the postponement of the Legacy Awards to 2024 and the suspension of programming, citing struggles amid the current “financial climate” of Hollywood. Outfest’s board of directors released a statement on the decision. “To ensure that Outfest endures and thrives for the next 40 years in its
Taylor Swift has traveled back to Kansas City for the Chiefs’ NFL game against the Denver Broncos, one day after the premiere of her “Eras Tour” film Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Since Swift was first rumored to be dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Swift has now appeared at three of tight end’s last