In a move that signals the unexpected strength of the vinyl market, Metallica has acquired a majority interest in one of the largest vinyl pressing companies in the U.S. — Furnace Record Pressing, a leading provider of high-quality vinyl records and related services. The acquisition formalizes a long-standing relationship between the band and the company, which
Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet have announced their upcoming Halloween-inspired variety show, “Halfway to Halloween,” for fans who can’t wait until October 31 to celebrate the spooky. The Boulet Brothers will host and produce the upcoming scripted variety show, which is set to air on AMC+, and the AMC horror streaming platform, Shudder, on April 25.
Fox is hungry for a different kind of advertising dollar. The Fox Corp.-owned broadcast network has thrived for years on outlays from movie studios and fast-food chains, but in 2023, it’s looking to expand its relationship with something that might be more hearty. Armed with its recent launch of the Studio Ramsay Global with celebrity
On the heels of Oscar night, I applaud the broad Asian representation among the winners and am particularly in awe of Michelle Yeoh, who made history as the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress. While this is welcome progress, we are all aware that many extraordinary filmmakers, cinematographers and craftspeople
Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is pink-slipping another 10,000 employees, coming on the heels of laying off 11,000 last fall. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s co-founder and CEO, announced the planned cuts in a memo to employees Tuesday as an “update on our Year of Efficiency.” The 10,000 layoffs represent 11.6% of the 86,482 full-time
Pink Floyd’s proposed $500 million sale of the rights to their iconic five-decade, multiplatinum recorded-music catalog is “basically dead” because the surviving bandmembers “just can’t get along,” four sources close to the situation tell Variety — however, sources close to the band insist that it’s not. “You could say the deal is no longer ‘active,’”
Pablo Torre is about to become a creature of two worlds. The veteran ESPN writer and on-air personality is leaving the Disney sports-media giant — and he’s staying, too. Torre is joining Meadowlark Media, the content company founded by former ESPN chief John Skipper and the sports commentator Dan Le Batard. And yet, Torre is
Aardman Animations’ founder Peter Lord and “Waltz With Bashir” director Ari Folman are set to receive Pulcinella Career Awards at Italy’s Cartoons On The Bay TV animation festival which is broadening its scope. The event launched in 1996 by Italian state broadcaster RAI has now expanded beyond TV toons to comprise video game productions, the comic
Chinese TV producer Linmon Media struck a decidedly international tone during the presentation of its 2023-24 slate at FilMart, with presenters speaking about their Chinese-language projects in only English and Korean, and handing out sleek project literature in multiple languages. Apart from a slate of romance, medical and crime dramas targeted at domestic audiences, the
“The Last of Us” has become the most-viewed title ever on HBO’s subscription streaming service in Europe. Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Tuesday that the first season of the nine-episode apocalyptic-drama has smashed HBO’s SVOD European viewer ratings. This result comes after the season one finale set another ratings high in the U.S. on Sunday
Tull Stories has acquired the BIFA-winning feature film “Our River…Our Sky,” which will be released in U.K. cinemas in September. The film won Best Ensemble Performance at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for two other BIFA awards, including Best Casting (Leila Bertrand) and Best Supporting Performance (Zainab Joda). “Our River…Our Sky”
Santiago Requejo has not only turned his hit short, “All in Favor,” into a theatrical play set to premiere in Buenos Aires in April, he’s also working on a feature film version. The award-winning work, which was shortlisted for this year’s live-action short film Oscar, sets the scene with a friendly meeting of apartment owners
Jose Pozo, director of the celebrated Spanish short “Plastic Killer,” is traveling to the Western U.S. for his next feature film, “Unusual Cowboys,” which he plans to shoot this year. The story follows Milton, a peaceful rancher and occasional musician who loses his daughter in a traffic accident. Her death has a further tragic impact
U.K.- and Hong Kong-based company Phoenix Waters Prods. has formally partnered with Hong Kong’s Agog Films to create Phoenix Waters Asia, a new venture aimed at increasing content production in Asia. The venture was announced on the sidelines of a film investment conference held Tuesday in Hong Kong at the FilMart rights market, where Phoenix
Vivendi has entered into exclusive negotiations to sell 100% of its publishing house Editis to a subsidiary of Czech Media Invest (CMI) founded by Daniel Kretinsky. Following its latest board meeting on March 8, Vivendi said it has received several bids for the sale of Editis and has chosen the offer brought by International Media
Denver-based distributor Fathom Events and Spain’s Bosco Films are teaming to release this September in 700 U.S. theaters the Spanish documentary “Libres” (“Free”). Portraying the cloistered life of 12 monasteries in Spain, “Free” will be the fourth feature both partners jointly release stateside. Their distribution relationship kicked-off last year, with the U.S. release of faith-based
Barcelona-based production-distribution-sales outfit Filmax has taken on international sales on Spanish director Víctor García León’s new comedy “One Hell of a Holiday!” Filmax is presenting the trailer to international buyers at this week’s Malaga Film Festival at Mafiz’s Spanish Screenings Content, a massive industry platform where Filmax is also talking up a raft of titles
David Pujol, whose enchanting drama “Waiting for Dalí” premiered at the Malaga Film Festival on Sunday, has a new feature film project and an international TV series in the works. Pujol has just completed the script for “Rehearsal for a Kiss,” the story of a passionate yet hapless movie theater owner in Barcelona whose love
Malaga’s Animation Day showcases some of the most important animation features in the pipeline in Spain, all made with international partners. On Tuesday, March 14, five recent outstanding Spanish animated works in progress will be pitched by their producers to the international industry during the event. Animation Day forms part of Spanish Screenings Content at Malaga
Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen, behind “Compartment No. 6” and “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki”– both awarded in Cannes – will now turn his attention to new series “Yours, Margot.” The upcoming series is one of the 10 projects chosen for Series Mania and Beta Group’s Seriesmakers. Based on Meri Valkama’s novel,
Singapore-based media and entertainment company mm2 Asia and Taiwan’s Man Man Er are starting development on series ”Tales of Mystery” (working title), a series borne from the strategic partnership of the pair with Taiwanese intellectual property company Million Star (Huaxing) Entertainment, which was revealed in December 2022. The series was announced at Hong Kong’s ongoing
Half of the jokes in “Problemista” fell on deaf ears at the film’s SXSW world premiere, but not because the audience didn’t want to hear them. Rather, the Austin crowd covered up several lines of dialogue with howling laughter seemingly every other time writer-director-star Julio Torres opened his mouth as Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer
In “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the epic culmination of the flamboyantly brutal death-wish-meets-video-game-meets-the-zen-of-Keanu-Reeves action series, our hero finds himself in a Berlin nightclub that resembles a pulsating Bauhaus Eurodisco by way of “Fellini Satyricon.” It’s like a concrete cathedral, with giant mosh pits of dancers throwing their arms up to the heavens as waterfalls cascade
Based on the deafening cheers that shook the walls of the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on Monday, the SXSW Film Festival premiere of “John Wick: Chapter 4” was a rousing success — and that’s before the film had even started. All it took was star Keanu Reeves to step on stage at the behest of
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” won big-time at the 2023 Academy Award ceremony, taking home seven trophies from 11 nominations, including the highest honor of best picture. Seven Oscars for one film does not happen often, and only a couple dozen other films have achieved the status. Before “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Slumdog Millionaire”
The writing team of Iran’s Jafar Panahi and Nader Saeivar, who won best screenplay at Cannes for “3 Faces” (2018) directed by Panahi, have reunited for “The Witness.” To be directed by Saeivar, the project has been selected for the 21st Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently
The Elton John AIDS Foundation raised more than $9 million at its annual Academy Awards viewing party on Sunday night. The star-studded evening featured a performance by Rina Sawayama and Sir Elton John, a dance party into the night and a live auction for original Keith Haring artwork and the host’s iconic crystalized Dodgers robe.
“The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu,” a multi-generational comedy starring “Crazy Rich Asians” actor Lisa Lu, is set for a March 17 premiere at the Laemmle Theater in North Hollywood, following the film’s acquisition by Picturehouse. The coming-of-age story will then have a one-week theatrical run. Reflective of the feature’s expansive crew of female filmmakers, “The
Hong Kong-based indie sales agent Good Move Media has added Japanese music drama “Plastic” to its FilMart slate. The film is directed by Miyazaki Daisuke, the Japanese helmer behind “Yamato (California),” which had festival play in 2016, and 2019 slacker youth title “Tourism” in 2019. The new picture is the story of teenagers Juna and
Chances are, Kim Jones made your favorite sneakers—or at least, they would be your favorite, if they hadn’t sold out in five seconds. He’s the artistic director at Dior Men and the brains behind the “Air Dior” Nikes that literally broke the brand’s website, plus collabs with Converse, those coveted skate slip-ons at Louis Vuitton,