Production has started in London on Amazon original romantic comedy film “The People We Hate at the Wedding,” headlined by Allison Janney, Kristen Bell and Ben Platt. The cast also includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson (“The Lord of the Rings”), Karan Soni (“7 Days)”, Dustin Milligan (“Schitt’s Creek”), Tony Goldwyn (“King Richard”), […]
Foreign Gist
A24 has released a trailer for “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Joel Coen’s new adaptation of the classic play by William Shakespeare premiering at the New York Film Festival in September. Shot in black-and-white, Coen’s take on the Scottish Play stars Denzel Washington as Lord Macbeth and Frances McDormand as Lady […]
Bloody Disgusting, the horror fandom and entertainment outfit first launched 20 years ago, is under new ownership: Streaming media company Cinedigm has acquired Bloody Disgusting to beef up its horror portfolio. The amount Cinedigm is paying for Bloody Disgusting in the cash-and-stock deal was not disclosed, but Cinedigm said it […]
Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel of the hip-hop group Fugees have reunited to announce their first tour in 25 years and first shows in 15 years, celebrating the anniversary of their blockbuster 1996 “The Score,” the group announced Tuesday morning. The 12-city tour launches Wednesday (Sept. 22) with a […]
Nathalie Trafford’s Paraiso Production Diffusion and Jérôme Vidal’s Noodles from France and Roberto Rodríguez’s Elamedia and Luis Miñarro’s Eddie Saeta from Spain have teamed to co-produce Javier Rebollo’s “Dans la chambre du Sultan.” A multi-prized Spanish film director, Rebollo won San Sebastian’s best director with “La mujer sin piano” (The […]
This year’s Tokyo International Film Festival will give gala positions to two American movies. Clint Eastwood’s “Cry Macho” has been set as the opening night title and will play on Oct. 30. Stephen Chbosky’s “Dear Evan Hansen” has been announced as the title for the feelgood closer on Nov. 8, […]
French genre specialists La Fabrica Nocturna Cinéma (“The Heiresses”) and Basque indie label Sayaka Producciones (“70 Big Ones”) have joined previously announced producers Sr. & Sra. – an up-and-coming San Sebastian-based production house owned by Moreno and producer-director Leire Apellániz – on director Pablo Hernando’s (“Berserker”) genre thriller “One Whale.” […]
International documentary film festival IDFA has revealed the first films selected for its 34th edition, which runs Nov. 17-28 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. These are the program curated by the event’s guest of honor, the German filmmaker, media artist and writer Hito Steyerl, and a selection of four films directed […]
Reggaeton star, actor and philanthropist Don Omar has signed a multiyear partnership with Saban Music Group (SMG). The label founded by entertainment giant Haim Saban and headed by CEO Gustavo López is home to such acts as Static and Ben El, Nakkia Gold and Chesca, among others. “I am thrilled […]
A fast-changing audiovisual ecosystem in Europe has spawned new initiatives in a bid to level the playing field among established media companies and streaming platforms. The European Union has adopted the new Creative Europe 2021-2017 program with a hefty budget increase that is now being implemented with a Media and […]
In “Blue Moon,” young Irina dreams of University in Bucharest while her chaotic, rural family serves to undermine her future. Alina Grigore’s directorial debut premiers in competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival, and follows Irina’s psychological take on ‘blood for blood.’ Grigore – who wrote and starred in Berlinale […]
Influencer marketing platform company CreatorIQ is acquiring analytics provider Tribe Dynamics in a deal worth around $70 million, sources tell Variety. For marketers, the deal combines Tribe Dynamics’ analytics and benchmarking solutions — which have focused on beauty and fashion brands — with the ability to make those insights actionable […]
Nigerian media conglomerate EbonyLife Media and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) have set Alo, an initiative offering a platform for writers of African heritage. The word Alo is from the Yoruba language and translates as “once upon a time.” The initiative will open Sept. 24 through Nov. 5, when writers can […]
Although the pandemic has pole-axed many independent distributors, some like Alexandre Mallet-Guy at Paris-based Memento Distribution have managed to weather the storm. The company has had prestige auteur films playing in the festival circuit this year; at Cannes with multiple films in competition, including Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, District 13th,” Oscar-winning […]
SALES Abacus Media Rights has sold documentary “The Beatles and India” to HBO Max for Latin America, BritBox North America for the U.S. and Canada, Channel 4 for the U.K., Foxtel for Australia, Channel One for Russia, and A Contracorriente Films for Spain, with more deals in the pipeline. Inspired […]
A bevy of owners of local TV stations have already moved to stop selling ads based on traditional TV ratings. Nielsen intends to start helping the effort next year. The measurement giant, which has been under scrutiny in recent months for what media and advertising companies believe is a slower […]
Finnish producers are hailing a new partnership aimed at combatting climate change on projects shooting in the country, says Anni Wessman, head of APFI, the film and TV producers’ association in Finland. The initiative, done in concert with the Albert international environmental nonprofit focused on the film and TV sector, […]
Sky Original’s fifth and final season of “Gomorrah,” RTL Group and Beta Film’s German-language “Sisi,” and Canal Plus’ hip-hop themed “All The Way Up” will — rather fittingly — join the David Tennant-led, Slim Film+Televison/Federation co-produced “Around the World in 80 Days” for an internationally accented edition of Canneseries, which […]
Finnish series “Mister8,” produced by It’s Alive Films and sold internationally by Federation Entertainment, will celebrate its international premiere at Canneseries. The series festival will take place on Oct. 8-13 in Cannes, alongside the 37th edition of the MipTV market. Starring Krista Kosonen (spotted in “Blade Runner 2049”) and Pekka […]
There’s a new kid in town, who is actually an old kid in town, at the Basque public broadcaster EiTB. After 15 years working at Discovery in the U.K. – latterly as its VP, editorial department, EMEA – Unai Iparragirre has returned to his native Northern Spain and taken over […]
Eva Longoria, Anne Hathaway, Debbie Allen, Peter Dinklage, Richard Gere, Connie Britton and other Hollywood notables have signed an open letter urging world leaders to make COVID-19 vaccines widely available in developing countries. On Tuesday, humanitarian organization Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) released the open letter with more […]
Beijing-based distributor Hugoeast Media has acquired Chinese distribution rights to Cannes Directors’ Fortnight player ‘The Tale of King Crab,’ the first feature venture into narrative fiction of Italian filmmakers Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis. Hugoeast Media plans a limited theatrical release in Chinese theaters in the course of […]