You might have to wait a whole hour for Kristin Scott Thomas to appear in the guise of carefree and broke aristocrat Bijou in this breezy mid-life crisis drama set in Greece, but once she arrives everything suddenly falls into place.
Two tickets to Greece, the French title from director Marc Fitoussi (Call My Agent) follows two former school best friends Magalie (Laure Calamy) and Blandine (Olivia Côte) as they reconcile decades after falling out and losing touch with one another. Despite the years, Magalie hasn’t changed one bit and is still the life and soul of any party that will have her. On the other hand, stuck up upper middle class Blandine has forgotten how to have fun.
Newly divorced and still pining for her old married life, Blandine is spurred on by her well-adjusted grown-up son, Benjamin (Alexandre Desrousseaux), to take a trip with Magalie to the...
Two tickets to Greece, the French title from director Marc Fitoussi (Call My Agent) follows two former school best friends Magalie (Laure Calamy) and Blandine (Olivia Côte) as they reconcile decades after falling out and losing touch with one another. Despite the years, Magalie hasn’t changed one bit and is still the life and soul of any party that will have her. On the other hand, stuck up upper middle class Blandine has forgotten how to have fun.
Newly divorced and still pining for her old married life, Blandine is spurred on by her well-adjusted grown-up son, Benjamin (Alexandre Desrousseaux), to take a trip with Magalie to the...
- 5/18/2024
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Reflecting the breadth of Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton’s vast network and friendships, an impressive roster of film industry players flocked to celebrate him as he received Variety‘s International Visionary Award at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.
Attendees included CAA’s co-chairman and CEO Bryan Lourd, who said a few words about Capton on stage, as well as AGC Studios’ Stuart Ford, SPC’s Tom Bernard, Netflix’s Larry Tanz and Pauline Dauvin, and Mediawan executives including Elisabeth d’Arvieu and Justine Planchon. The event also gathered star producers within Mediawan’s galaxy, from Hugo Selignac (Chi-Fou-Mi) to Dimitri Rassam (Chapter 2), Matthias Weber (2425 Films) and Federica Sainte-Rose (Blue Morning Pictures), and entertainment attorney Elsa Huisman. There were also leaders from the various streamers, such as Sahar Baghery and Thomas Dubois from Amazon Prime Video in France and Anne-Gabrielle Dauba-Pantanacce from Netflix, among others.
The Variety award coincides...
Attendees included CAA’s co-chairman and CEO Bryan Lourd, who said a few words about Capton on stage, as well as AGC Studios’ Stuart Ford, SPC’s Tom Bernard, Netflix’s Larry Tanz and Pauline Dauvin, and Mediawan executives including Elisabeth d’Arvieu and Justine Planchon. The event also gathered star producers within Mediawan’s galaxy, from Hugo Selignac (Chi-Fou-Mi) to Dimitri Rassam (Chapter 2), Matthias Weber (2425 Films) and Federica Sainte-Rose (Blue Morning Pictures), and entertainment attorney Elsa Huisman. There were also leaders from the various streamers, such as Sahar Baghery and Thomas Dubois from Amazon Prime Video in France and Anne-Gabrielle Dauba-Pantanacce from Netflix, among others.
The Variety award coincides...
- 5/17/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
It’s little wonder why French president Emmanuel Macron was visibly moved as he inducted Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton into France’s Legion of Honor last October, calling the exec “the ultimate French success story.”
In a country rarely known to promote social mobility, Capton-esque career trajectories are scarce. A self-made entrepreneur born into a middle-class Normandy family, Capton began his professional life as a teen with an entry-level internship, eschewing elite universities, making the exec a rare bird among France’s top media execs. For all that, Capton remains more humble than flamboyant, letting his track record speak for itself.
In 2015, he co-founded Mediawan with investment banker Matthieu Pigasse and telecom billionaire Xavier Niel, and since then the group has traversed a tumultuous period marked by a pandemic, strikes and economic recessions by growing stronger.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Pierre-Antoine Capton.
Following its recent acquisition of German...
In a country rarely known to promote social mobility, Capton-esque career trajectories are scarce. A self-made entrepreneur born into a middle-class Normandy family, Capton began his professional life as a teen with an entry-level internship, eschewing elite universities, making the exec a rare bird among France’s top media execs. For all that, Capton remains more humble than flamboyant, letting his track record speak for itself.
In 2015, he co-founded Mediawan with investment banker Matthieu Pigasse and telecom billionaire Xavier Niel, and since then the group has traversed a tumultuous period marked by a pandemic, strikes and economic recessions by growing stronger.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Pierre-Antoine Capton.
Following its recent acquisition of German...
- 5/16/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
“The roles are wonderful now, I think, for women, and so many women are producing for themselves,” marveled Meryl Streep at a Cannes Film Festival “rendez-vous” held on Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the legendary actress collected an honorary Palme d’Or at the fest’s opening night ceremony. (She reported that she didn’t go to sleep until 3 a.m.) “I’m so in awe of the ones who have done that — Reese [Witherspoon] and Nicole [Kidman] and Natalie Portman. Everyone has their own production company!” The mother of four and grandmother of five added with a chuckle, “I had a production company: making babies! I didn’t want to get calls after seven o’clock at night, so I didn’t do that.”
During a conversation with French journalist Didier Allouch in front of a packed Théâtre Debussy within the Palais complex, the 74-year-old reflected on not just how opportunities...
During a conversation with French journalist Didier Allouch in front of a packed Théâtre Debussy within the Palais complex, the 74-year-old reflected on not just how opportunities...
- 5/15/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is officially underway in the South of France as A-listers, auteurs and America’s most revered actress, Meryl Streep, converged at the Palais’ Grand Theatre Lumiere on Tuesday for a typically glamorous opening ceremony.
The anticipation was as thick as the clouds in the sky on Tuesday as rain was not the only threat hanging over the start of this year’s festival. From a possible strike and a fresh #MeToo discussion in France to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, festival officials have faced many questions in the days and hours leading up to Tuesday night. During his annual kick-off press conference, festival boss Thierry Fremaux sidestepped looming issues and tried to center the main attraction and the core mission of delivering world-class cinema. “We are trying to have a festival without these polemics,” he said, encouraging people (particularly the press) to...
The anticipation was as thick as the clouds in the sky on Tuesday as rain was not the only threat hanging over the start of this year’s festival. From a possible strike and a fresh #MeToo discussion in France to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, festival officials have faced many questions in the days and hours leading up to Tuesday night. During his annual kick-off press conference, festival boss Thierry Fremaux sidestepped looming issues and tried to center the main attraction and the core mission of delivering world-class cinema. “We are trying to have a festival without these polemics,” he said, encouraging people (particularly the press) to...
- 5/14/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rolling out the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival where #MeToo controversies threaten to cause disruption. Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival Festival director Thierry Frémaux on the eve of the Festival: 'This year we decided to host a festival without polemics to make sure that the main interest for us all to be here is cinema' Photo: Richard Mowe Ahead of tonight’s official opening of the Cannes Film Festival with Quentin Dupieux’s wacky comedy The Second Act, Festival director Thierry Frémaux held his traditional pre-match kick-off media gathering yesterday (13 May) at which he addressed concerns in particular the #MeToo murmurings and how they might affect the festival.
With outspoken Meryl Streep due to be given a career achievement Palme d’Or as part of tonight’s opening ceremony and the UK’s similarly fearless Andrea Arnold due to be honoured by the Directors’ Fortnight as well...
With outspoken Meryl Streep due to be given a career achievement Palme d’Or as part of tonight’s opening ceremony and the UK’s similarly fearless Andrea Arnold due to be honoured by the Directors’ Fortnight as well...
- 5/14/2024
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
France’s Mediawan has acquired German group Leonine Studios.
The all-stock transaction creates a European-based production and distribution group with a presence across 13 countries, 85 labels and revenues over €1bn. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
Paris-based Mediawan has had a 25% stake in Munich-based Leonine since 2020, and both groups are backed by US private equity firm Kkr. Mediawan was reported to be weighing an acquisition of Leonine back in November 2023.
For Mediawan the deal bolsters its European footprint with the addition of the German-speaking market.
Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton will continue to lead the group while Leonine CEO...
The all-stock transaction creates a European-based production and distribution group with a presence across 13 countries, 85 labels and revenues over €1bn. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
Paris-based Mediawan has had a 25% stake in Munich-based Leonine since 2020, and both groups are backed by US private equity firm Kkr. Mediawan was reported to be weighing an acquisition of Leonine back in November 2023.
For Mediawan the deal bolsters its European footprint with the addition of the German-speaking market.
Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton will continue to lead the group while Leonine CEO...
- 4/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
French studio Mediawan and Germany’s Leonine have signed a deal to merge their operation, forming one of Europe’s biggest film and TV companies.
The all-stock transaction, announced Sunday, will create a mini-major with companies and operations across 13 countries and annual revenues of more than €1 billion ($1.06 billion). Mediawan took a 25 percent stake in Leonine back in 2020. Both companies are backed by private equity group Kkr. The agreement is conditional on regulatory approval.
Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton will be CEO of the new, merged group, with Leonine head Fred Kogel leading operations in German-speaking territories. Kogel will also join Mediawan’s executive committee.
Both Mediawan, launched in 2015 by Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, and Leonine, which Kogel founded in 2019, have followed similar strategies of tapping private equity funding to buy up independent production and distribution companies in Europe. Among the titles produced by Mediawan-owned labels include Netflix hit Call My Agent,...
The all-stock transaction, announced Sunday, will create a mini-major with companies and operations across 13 countries and annual revenues of more than €1 billion ($1.06 billion). Mediawan took a 25 percent stake in Leonine back in 2020. Both companies are backed by private equity group Kkr. The agreement is conditional on regulatory approval.
Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton will be CEO of the new, merged group, with Leonine head Fred Kogel leading operations in German-speaking territories. Kogel will also join Mediawan’s executive committee.
Both Mediawan, launched in 2015 by Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, and Leonine, which Kogel founded in 2019, have followed similar strategies of tapping private equity funding to buy up independent production and distribution companies in Europe. Among the titles produced by Mediawan-owned labels include Netflix hit Call My Agent,...
- 4/28/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
European powerhouse Mediawan has acquired Leonine, a leading production and distribution group active in German-speaking markets.
With the acquisition of Leonine, Mediawan will boast a portfolio of 85 labels, a catalogue spanning 30,000 hours of premium content and revenues exceeding €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion). Mediawan’s worth is now believed to be in the $2-billion range. The deal is an all-stock transaction; both companies have the same shareholder, the U.S. private equity fund Kkr whose stake in Mediawan will still be below 50%, according to a source close to the company.
Mediawan now has a significant footprint in all major European markets, including German-speaking territories which represent the continent’s second largest TV market. The pact positions Mediawan as one of the world’s biggest super indies with a large proportion of scripted business across prestige series and movies. Mediawan now spans 13 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux and the U.K.
With the acquisition of Leonine, Mediawan will boast a portfolio of 85 labels, a catalogue spanning 30,000 hours of premium content and revenues exceeding €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion). Mediawan’s worth is now believed to be in the $2-billion range. The deal is an all-stock transaction; both companies have the same shareholder, the U.S. private equity fund Kkr whose stake in Mediawan will still be below 50%, according to a source close to the company.
Mediawan now has a significant footprint in all major European markets, including German-speaking territories which represent the continent’s second largest TV market. The pact positions Mediawan as one of the world’s biggest super indies with a large proportion of scripted business across prestige series and movies. Mediawan now spans 13 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux and the U.K.
- 4/28/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The next iteration of The Office is coming together.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the new take on the beloved NBC Steve Carell comedy has cast the first two members of what will be the ensemble comedy with Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus) and Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) becoming the first two to join the cast of the potential series.
Reps for Universal Television, which is producing the updated take from creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman (Nathan for You), declined to comment as the details surrounding the project remain closely guarded. A platform for the project has not yet been determined as sources say Daniels and the studio want to make sure the take is right before setting it up at a network/streamer. Peacock remains the exclusive streaming home for Daniels’ The Office after paying millions to secure the rights back from Netflix,...
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the new take on the beloved NBC Steve Carell comedy has cast the first two members of what will be the ensemble comedy with Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus) and Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) becoming the first two to join the cast of the potential series.
Reps for Universal Television, which is producing the updated take from creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman (Nathan for You), declined to comment as the details surrounding the project remain closely guarded. A platform for the project has not yet been determined as sources say Daniels and the studio want to make sure the take is right before setting it up at a network/streamer. Peacock remains the exclusive streaming home for Daniels’ The Office after paying millions to secure the rights back from Netflix,...
- 4/19/2024
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“The White Lotus” star Sabrina Impacciatore and Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera play alternate versions of themselves on the final episode of the Italian adaptation of “Call My Agent,” which was released this weekend on pay-tv Sky Italia.
Shot in September 2023, during the real Venice event, the show sees Impacciatore play the fest’s master of ceremonies who, wearing a red gown, disembarks with her agent from a motorboat on the Lido at the Excelsior Hotel dock, greeted by throngs of fans and paparazzi. She then starts acting a bit strange, speaking to Barbera in English instead of Italian and almost falling into the lagoon, as seen in the above exclusive subtitled clip.
Impacciatore, who played Valentina, the hotel manager in the Sicily-set second season of “White Lotus,” was mostly unknown outside of Italy before appearing in the hit HBO show which also gave her domestic career a nice boost.
Shot in September 2023, during the real Venice event, the show sees Impacciatore play the fest’s master of ceremonies who, wearing a red gown, disembarks with her agent from a motorboat on the Lido at the Excelsior Hotel dock, greeted by throngs of fans and paparazzi. She then starts acting a bit strange, speaking to Barbera in English instead of Italian and almost falling into the lagoon, as seen in the above exclusive subtitled clip.
Impacciatore, who played Valentina, the hotel manager in the Sicily-set second season of “White Lotus,” was mostly unknown outside of Italy before appearing in the hit HBO show which also gave her domestic career a nice boost.
- 4/10/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The talk inevitably turned political at the press conference for Michael Douglas’ forthcoming series “Franklin,” in which he stars as the scientist and statesman.
“The show was a great reminder for me about how fragile democracy is,” Douglas said in response to Variety‘s question during the press conference on Wednesday morning ahead of the Apple TV+ series’ premiere at Canneseries in the South of France later that evening. “And I think that Ben would be highly, highly disappointed in the distortion of either a republic or democracy that the United States has become. I hope that this upcoming election will be a cathartic experience for the United States and turn the page onto a new chapter.”
“A Quiet Place” star Noah Jupe, who plays Franklin’s grandson Temple, said he was intrigued by the fact the story of Franklin’s voyage to France at the age of 70 – to ask...
“The show was a great reminder for me about how fragile democracy is,” Douglas said in response to Variety‘s question during the press conference on Wednesday morning ahead of the Apple TV+ series’ premiere at Canneseries in the South of France later that evening. “And I think that Ben would be highly, highly disappointed in the distortion of either a republic or democracy that the United States has become. I hope that this upcoming election will be a cathartic experience for the United States and turn the page onto a new chapter.”
“A Quiet Place” star Noah Jupe, who plays Franklin’s grandson Temple, said he was intrigued by the fact the story of Franklin’s voyage to France at the age of 70 – to ask...
- 4/10/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Call My Agent’s Laure Calamy stars as a scheming factory worker with designs on a mega-rich fortune in this classy feast of backstabbing, double cross and venal greed
Succession meets Knives Out in this comedy-thriller directed by Sébastien Marnier in what is an extremely French comic style: tongue-in-cheek, a little frothy, tiptoeing close to camp. It stars Call My Agent’s brilliant Laure Calamy as a scheming factory worker who wheedles her way into a dysfunctional mega-rich family. Calamy is often cast as likable, relatable women but here she does a very convincing Isabelle Huppert (circa her Claude Chabrol years); there’s something a bit off about her character from the start, possibly even unhinged.
Calamy is Stéphane – at least that’s what she calls herself. Bored of her job on the production line at a fish factory, and broke, out of the blue she calls her father, a self-made hotel and restaurant tycoon.
Succession meets Knives Out in this comedy-thriller directed by Sébastien Marnier in what is an extremely French comic style: tongue-in-cheek, a little frothy, tiptoeing close to camp. It stars Call My Agent’s brilliant Laure Calamy as a scheming factory worker who wheedles her way into a dysfunctional mega-rich family. Calamy is often cast as likable, relatable women but here she does a very convincing Isabelle Huppert (circa her Claude Chabrol years); there’s something a bit off about her character from the start, possibly even unhinged.
Calamy is Stéphane – at least that’s what she calls herself. Bored of her job on the production line at a fish factory, and broke, out of the blue she calls her father, a self-made hotel and restaurant tycoon.
- 3/27/2024
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
Ahead of its launch in France, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max unveiled at Series Mania Festival its pipeline of ambitious local scripted projects, “Malditos” (working title), the adaptation of “Living with our deads,” the memoir of Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur, and
“Malditos,” created by Jean Charles Hue (“Eat Your Bones”) and Olivier Prieur (“The Accident”), is an action-packed crime thriller revolving around the leader of a Gypsy community and her two sons who struggle to save their clan threatened with eviction by rising waters in Southern France. The series is produced by Eve Muller and Noor Sadar at Mediawan-owned White Lion Films, was penned by Hue, Prieur and Maya Haffar (“En thérapie”). Hue is directing the first five episode and Cécilia Verheyden (“Undercover”) is directing the remaining two.
Max has also boarded the series adaptation of the book “Living with our deads” (“Vivre avec nos morts”), which is...
“Malditos,” created by Jean Charles Hue (“Eat Your Bones”) and Olivier Prieur (“The Accident”), is an action-packed crime thriller revolving around the leader of a Gypsy community and her two sons who struggle to save their clan threatened with eviction by rising waters in Southern France. The series is produced by Eve Muller and Noor Sadar at Mediawan-owned White Lion Films, was penned by Hue, Prieur and Maya Haffar (“En thérapie”). Hue is directing the first five episode and Cécilia Verheyden (“Undercover”) is directing the remaining two.
Max has also boarded the series adaptation of the book “Living with our deads” (“Vivre avec nos morts”), which is...
- 3/20/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Keshet Studios, the U.S. scripted arm of Keshet International, has acquired the U.S. remake rights to the French romantic fantasy thriller series “Vortex” from France TV Distribution.
Based on an original concept by Franck Thilliez, “Vortex” centers on a police captain who stumbles upon a time warp while examining a VR crime scene. He realizes that he can communicate with his lost love, just before her death in 1998. Determined to alter her fate and prevent her murder, Ludovic risks everything, including his life with his new family.
The deal, negotiated by Keshet Studios and Michelle Palant, international sales manager at France TV Distribution, marks Keshet Studos’ first remake deal for a French show.
“Within the first few minutes of watching ‘Vortex,’ I knew this had to be Keshet Studios’ first French adaption for the U.S.,” said Heather Brewster, Keshet Studios’ SVP of scripted. “A deeply emotional, inventive,...
Based on an original concept by Franck Thilliez, “Vortex” centers on a police captain who stumbles upon a time warp while examining a VR crime scene. He realizes that he can communicate with his lost love, just before her death in 1998. Determined to alter her fate and prevent her murder, Ludovic risks everything, including his life with his new family.
The deal, negotiated by Keshet Studios and Michelle Palant, international sales manager at France TV Distribution, marks Keshet Studos’ first remake deal for a French show.
“Within the first few minutes of watching ‘Vortex,’ I knew this had to be Keshet Studios’ first French adaption for the U.S.,” said Heather Brewster, Keshet Studios’ SVP of scripted. “A deeply emotional, inventive,...
- 3/15/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
On Wednesday, Apple TV+ revealed the trailer for “Franklin,” a limited series starring Oscar and Emmy winner Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin. The historical drama premieres on April 12.
The series is set at a pivotal moment in the founding father’s life. He’s in France in 1776, trying to secure the court of Louis XVI’s support for the revolution. There are untrustworthy people all around him, so it’s a dangerous diplomatic chess game he has to play. The series, which is based on historical biographer Stacy Schiff’s book “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America,” presents Franklin’s story as a kind of political thriller.
In addition to Douglas, who also executive produces, the cast includes Noah Jupe (“A Quiet Place”) as Temple Franklin, Benjamin’s teenage grandson who served as his secretary during the diplomatic mission; Thibault de Montalembert (“Call My Agent!”) as...
The series is set at a pivotal moment in the founding father’s life. He’s in France in 1776, trying to secure the court of Louis XVI’s support for the revolution. There are untrustworthy people all around him, so it’s a dangerous diplomatic chess game he has to play. The series, which is based on historical biographer Stacy Schiff’s book “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America,” presents Franklin’s story as a kind of political thriller.
In addition to Douglas, who also executive produces, the cast includes Noah Jupe (“A Quiet Place”) as Temple Franklin, Benjamin’s teenage grandson who served as his secretary during the diplomatic mission; Thibault de Montalembert (“Call My Agent!”) as...
- 3/13/2024
- by Liam Mathews
- Gold Derby
Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for ‘Franklin,’ the upcoming, eight-part limited series starring and executive produced by Michael Douglas.
Led by Douglas in the title role of ‘Benjamin Franklin,’ the series will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes on Friday, April 12, followed by one new episode every Friday through May 17, 2024.
Based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff’s book, “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America,” the series explores the thrilling story of the greatest gamble of Benjamin Franklin’s career. In December 1776, Franklin is world famous for his electrical experiments, but his passion and power are put to the test when – as the fate of American independence hangs in the balance – he embarks on a secret mission to France.
At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Franklin convinced an absolute monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. By virtue of his fame,...
Led by Douglas in the title role of ‘Benjamin Franklin,’ the series will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes on Friday, April 12, followed by one new episode every Friday through May 17, 2024.
Based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff’s book, “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America,” the series explores the thrilling story of the greatest gamble of Benjamin Franklin’s career. In December 1776, Franklin is world famous for his electrical experiments, but his passion and power are put to the test when – as the fate of American independence hangs in the balance – he embarks on a secret mission to France.
At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Franklin convinced an absolute monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. By virtue of his fame,...
- 3/13/2024
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Drops of God creator Quoc Dang Tran is getting into business with HBO. The writer-producer has signed a two-year overall deal with the premium cable network to create and executive produce content exclusive to HBO.
Dang Tran recently gained recognition for creating Drops of God, Apple TV+’s eight-episode international series from Legendary Entertainment, an adaptation of the fan favorite manga about wine, which debuted in 2023.
Dang Tran previously served as a writer on the successful French series Call My Agent, which went on to become a global sensation on Netflix. In 2018, he also wrote on the acclaimed French espionage political thriller series The Bureau for Canal+. The Department (working title) adaptation from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios based on the series, was recently given a straight-to-series order at Showtime.
More recently Dang Tran wrote the popular Netflix horror series Marianne,...
Dang Tran recently gained recognition for creating Drops of God, Apple TV+’s eight-episode international series from Legendary Entertainment, an adaptation of the fan favorite manga about wine, which debuted in 2023.
Dang Tran previously served as a writer on the successful French series Call My Agent, which went on to become a global sensation on Netflix. In 2018, he also wrote on the acclaimed French espionage political thriller series The Bureau for Canal+. The Department (working title) adaptation from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios based on the series, was recently given a straight-to-series order at Showtime.
More recently Dang Tran wrote the popular Netflix horror series Marianne,...
- 3/13/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Well-established Italian producers Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli — who left their Fremantle-owned banners, Wildside and The Apartment, respectively, earlier this year — are returning to the growing TV and film powerhouse with their new scripted outfit.
The duo — who co-founded “The Young Pope” and “My Brilliant Friend” production house Wildside in 2009 before Mieli exited to set up The Apartment, which was behind the recent hit “Priscilla” — are yet to reveal details of their new company. But the pair have now signed a co-production deal with Fremantle that will see them collaborate on several projects.
Among those in production and post-production from the two producers are Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film, Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Limonov -The Ballad,” “Queer” by Luca Guadagnino starring Daniel Craig, the new film by Gabriele Mainetti, “Maria” by Pablo Larraín starring Angelina Jolie, plus the TV series “M. The Son of the Century” by Joe Wright and “Il Mostro” by Stefano Sollima.
The duo — who co-founded “The Young Pope” and “My Brilliant Friend” production house Wildside in 2009 before Mieli exited to set up The Apartment, which was behind the recent hit “Priscilla” — are yet to reveal details of their new company. But the pair have now signed a co-production deal with Fremantle that will see them collaborate on several projects.
Among those in production and post-production from the two producers are Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film, Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Limonov -The Ballad,” “Queer” by Luca Guadagnino starring Daniel Craig, the new film by Gabriele Mainetti, “Maria” by Pablo Larraín starring Angelina Jolie, plus the TV series “M. The Son of the Century” by Joe Wright and “Il Mostro” by Stefano Sollima.
- 2/29/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Out of the many movies you could imagine emerging from the mind of French auteur Bruno Dumont, a Star Wars parody was probably somewhere at the bottom of the list.
And yet it’s been some time since the Cannes Grand Jury Prize laureate, who broke out in the late 90s with viscerally stylized, hard-hitting works of Gallic realism like The Life of Jesus and Humanity, has strayed far from his gritty roots towards a brand of accentuated arthouse satire.
His latest effort, the sci-fi farce The Empire (L’Empire), definitely fits the latter mold, although it’s loaded with enough VFX, light saber battles, spacecrafts and prophecies to give George Lucas a run for his money. That is, if Lucas decided to set the next Star Wars in a sleepy northern French city, used a local mechanic to play one of the leads and tossed in a few flagrant sex scenes,...
And yet it’s been some time since the Cannes Grand Jury Prize laureate, who broke out in the late 90s with viscerally stylized, hard-hitting works of Gallic realism like The Life of Jesus and Humanity, has strayed far from his gritty roots towards a brand of accentuated arthouse satire.
His latest effort, the sci-fi farce The Empire (L’Empire), definitely fits the latter mold, although it’s loaded with enough VFX, light saber battles, spacecrafts and prophecies to give George Lucas a run for his money. That is, if Lucas decided to set the next Star Wars in a sleepy northern French city, used a local mechanic to play one of the leads and tossed in a few flagrant sex scenes,...
- 2/18/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It is increasingly weird to recall that for a while, French director Bruno Dumont was the kind of filmmaker who reminded you, often forcibly and somewhat against your will, that the word “auteur” contains most of the letters of “austere.” “The Empire,” another of the director’s proudly off-kilter comedies that pitches the bumbling denizens of a small French village into a vast, sinister conspiracy extending far beyond their foreshortened horizons, hovers several light years — and two janky light sabers — away from austerity. Unfortunately, though, the air out there is also a little thin on hilarity, with the film’s one-gag setup becoming stretched to the point that it doesn’t even matter that it’s a pretty good gag.
The humor, as ever with the Dumont of “Li’l Quinquin” and “Slack Bay,” derives largely from the collision of the grandiose with the drolly mundane. This time out, harking back to,...
The humor, as ever with the Dumont of “Li’l Quinquin” and “Slack Bay,” derives largely from the collision of the grandiose with the drolly mundane. This time out, harking back to,...
- 2/18/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Bluey Book Reads, a series featuring celebrities, such as Australian music stars Kylie and Dannii Minogue, Hollywood star Eva Mendes, Rob Delaney from Catastrophe and The Office‘s Jenna Fischer, reading books starring Bluey and her family from the hit animated series about Australian Heeler dogs, has launched on the brand’s official YouTube channel.
The digital original features 10 five-minute-long episodes, kicking off with Mini Bluey read by Australian pop stars and sisters Kylie and Dannii Minogue. Other episodes will feature the likes of English actress and producer Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster), French actress and comedian Camille Cottin (Call My Agent, House of Gucci), Australian TV personality and conservationist Bindi Irwin, and U.S. singer and dancer Jordan Fisher (Hamilton).
BBC Studios Social unveiled the news on Monday with BBC Studios Kids & Family and Bluey producer Ludo Studio. BBC Studios Social, part of BBC Studios’ Brands and Licensing division,...
The digital original features 10 five-minute-long episodes, kicking off with Mini Bluey read by Australian pop stars and sisters Kylie and Dannii Minogue. Other episodes will feature the likes of English actress and producer Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster), French actress and comedian Camille Cottin (Call My Agent, House of Gucci), Australian TV personality and conservationist Bindi Irwin, and U.S. singer and dancer Jordan Fisher (Hamilton).
BBC Studios Social unveiled the news on Monday with BBC Studios Kids & Family and Bluey producer Ludo Studio. BBC Studios Social, part of BBC Studios’ Brands and Licensing division,...
- 2/12/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Filming is underway on long-gestating European thriller series The Kollective (6 x 60′), which we can reveal will star Natascha McElhone (Californication), Celine Buckens (Showtrial), Felix Mayr (Unorthodox), Gregg Sulkin (Marvel’s Runaways), Grégory Montel (Call My Agent), Karel Roden (A Spy Amongst Friends), Cassiopée Mayance (The Clearstream Affair), Martha Canga Antonio (Lupin) and Ralph Amoussou (Transatlantic).
Produced by Submarine (Apollo 10 ½) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine’s Femke Wolting, the series was commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group, with Hulu coming aboard for U.S. distribution.
Inspired by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat, the series will span Europe from Budapest and St. Petersburg in the East to London in the West. It will follow a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a web of government lies and corruption.
Produced by Submarine (Apollo 10 ½) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine’s Femke Wolting, the series was commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group, with Hulu coming aboard for U.S. distribution.
Inspired by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat, the series will span Europe from Budapest and St. Petersburg in the East to London in the West. It will follow a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a web of government lies and corruption.
- 1/31/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and EP Daniel Palladino have tapped a Stars Hollow alum for their upcoming ballet drama Étoile.
Yanic Truesdale (aka Gg’s Michel) will recur in the Prime Video series as the head of a Parisian ballet company, our sister site Deadline reports.
More from TVLineTVLine Items: John Boyega in Book of Eli Prequel, Bon Jovi Docuseries and MoreFire Country: Morena Baccarin Cast as Sheriff, to Star in Potential SpinoffWhen Calls the Heart Sets Season 11 Premiere Date, as Hallmark Teases a Whole 'New Style' - Get First Look
Étoile will be set in New York City and Paris,...
Yanic Truesdale (aka Gg’s Michel) will recur in the Prime Video series as the head of a Parisian ballet company, our sister site Deadline reports.
More from TVLineTVLine Items: John Boyega in Book of Eli Prequel, Bon Jovi Docuseries and MoreFire Country: Morena Baccarin Cast as Sheriff, to Star in Potential SpinoffWhen Calls the Heart Sets Season 11 Premiere Date, as Hallmark Teases a Whole 'New Style' - Get First Look
Étoile will be set in New York City and Paris,...
- 1/22/2024
- by Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
Paris-based Urban Sales has acquired Jean-Claude Monod’s queer period drama Girl For A Day and Jul and Jean-Paul Guigue’s hybrid animation Silex And The City and is launching sales for both films at Unifrance’s Paris Rendez-Vous next week,
Set in the 18th century, Girl For A Day is Monod’s debut feature and is based on the true story of a person called Anne Grandjean who was urged to dress as a man and change her name due to her attraction to women, and was then brought to trial. Marie Toscan stars alongside Call My Agent’s Thibault de Montalembert,...
Set in the 18th century, Girl For A Day is Monod’s debut feature and is based on the true story of a person called Anne Grandjean who was urged to dress as a man and change her name due to her attraction to women, and was then brought to trial. Marie Toscan stars alongside Call My Agent’s Thibault de Montalembert,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Baz Luhrmann will preside over the jury for the third edition of the festival
The Red Sea International Film Festival has revealed a starry line-up of juries and honorary awardees ahead of the launch of its third edition in Jeddah on Thursday.
The jury for the main feature film competition will comprise Suicide Squad star Joel Kinnaman, Bafta-nominated actor Freida Pinto, Egyptian Grand Hotel star Amina Khalil, and Spanish actor Paz Vega, known for Sex And Lucía and The Oa. As previously announced, Elvis director Baz Luhrmann will preside over the jury.
The festival in Saudi Arabia, which is set...
The Red Sea International Film Festival has revealed a starry line-up of juries and honorary awardees ahead of the launch of its third edition in Jeddah on Thursday.
The jury for the main feature film competition will comprise Suicide Squad star Joel Kinnaman, Bafta-nominated actor Freida Pinto, Egyptian Grand Hotel star Amina Khalil, and Spanish actor Paz Vega, known for Sex And Lucía and The Oa. As previously announced, Elvis director Baz Luhrmann will preside over the jury.
The festival in Saudi Arabia, which is set...
- 11/27/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Diane Kruger, Indian actor Ranveer Singh, Joel Kinnaman, Freida Pinto and Paz Vega are set to add star power to the third edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, Knight of Cups), Vega (Sex and Lucía, The Oa), Kinnaman (Silent Night, For All Mankind, Suicide Squad) and Egypt’s Amina Khalil (Grand Hotel, Eugenie Nights) are joining the event’s main feature competition jury, which will be led by Baz Luhrmann.
The Red Sea: Shorts competition will be judged by jurors Hana Alomair, a Saudi writer, filmmaker and film critic behind Netflix series Whispers; French-Moroccan actor Assaad Bouab (Call My Agent, Whatever Lola Wants); and Turkish-German director, screenwriter and producer Fatih Akin (Head-On, In the Fade).
Organizers on Monday also unveiled that Singh, Kruger and Saudi actor and writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan will be honored at the fest.
“This year we are honoring Ranveer Singh,...
Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, Knight of Cups), Vega (Sex and Lucía, The Oa), Kinnaman (Silent Night, For All Mankind, Suicide Squad) and Egypt’s Amina Khalil (Grand Hotel, Eugenie Nights) are joining the event’s main feature competition jury, which will be led by Baz Luhrmann.
The Red Sea: Shorts competition will be judged by jurors Hana Alomair, a Saudi writer, filmmaker and film critic behind Netflix series Whispers; French-Moroccan actor Assaad Bouab (Call My Agent, Whatever Lola Wants); and Turkish-German director, screenwriter and producer Fatih Akin (Head-On, In the Fade).
Organizers on Monday also unveiled that Singh, Kruger and Saudi actor and writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan will be honored at the fest.
“This year we are honoring Ranveer Singh,...
- 11/27/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Diane Kruger, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and Saudi actor-writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan are set to receive career honors at Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival, which has also announced its full jury roster.
Joining Baz Luhrmann, who is presiding over the main Red Sea jury, are Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”); Freida Pinto (“Slumdog Millionaire”); Egyptian actor Amina Khalil; (“Grand Hotel”) and Spain’s Paz Vega.
Meanwhile, Turkish-German director Fatih Akin, who directed Kruger in “In The Fade,” will be on the fest’s shorts competition jury alongside Saudi writer and film critic Hana Alomair, who is behind the Netflix Saudi Arabian original “Whispers,” and French-Moroccan actor Assad Bouab (“Call My Agent”).
Dubai-based Iraqi director Yasir Al-Yasiri’s “Hwjn” has been chosen as the opening film of Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival.
The fest’s third edition is set to kick off Nov.
Joining Baz Luhrmann, who is presiding over the main Red Sea jury, are Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”); Freida Pinto (“Slumdog Millionaire”); Egyptian actor Amina Khalil; (“Grand Hotel”) and Spain’s Paz Vega.
Meanwhile, Turkish-German director Fatih Akin, who directed Kruger in “In The Fade,” will be on the fest’s shorts competition jury alongside Saudi writer and film critic Hana Alomair, who is behind the Netflix Saudi Arabian original “Whispers,” and French-Moroccan actor Assad Bouab (“Call My Agent”).
Dubai-based Iraqi director Yasir Al-Yasiri’s “Hwjn” has been chosen as the opening film of Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival.
The fest’s third edition is set to kick off Nov.
- 11/27/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The combined Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India entity has ambitious plans in both the scripted and unscripted spaces, founder and group CEO Deepak Dhar has revealed.
Coming up is “The Donkey Route,” “a cross-border immigration story that is locally based out of Punjab,” Dhar told Variety. “It is about people who think they can travel all the way to the U.S. on foot and it’s inspired by a true story.”
Alongside Indian adaptations of international IP like “Call My Agent,” “The Night Manager,” “Hostages,” “The Good Wife” (“The Trial”) and “Fall” (“Vertige”), Banijay’s Indian scripted originals include “Rani,” “Shrikant Bashir” and “Dahan.” There are four more scripted originals that have been commissioned by streamers.
Banijay Asia recently signed with CAA for representation. “We are really getting ourselves organized to tell Indian stories globally. So we want good and strong representation in the U.S. to pick up the stories,...
Coming up is “The Donkey Route,” “a cross-border immigration story that is locally based out of Punjab,” Dhar told Variety. “It is about people who think they can travel all the way to the U.S. on foot and it’s inspired by a true story.”
Alongside Indian adaptations of international IP like “Call My Agent,” “The Night Manager,” “Hostages,” “The Good Wife” (“The Trial”) and “Fall” (“Vertige”), Banijay’s Indian scripted originals include “Rani,” “Shrikant Bashir” and “Dahan.” There are four more scripted originals that have been commissioned by streamers.
Banijay Asia recently signed with CAA for representation. “We are really getting ourselves organized to tell Indian stories globally. So we want good and strong representation in the U.S. to pick up the stories,...
- 11/26/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
A month that has been absolutely jam packed with new horror comes to a close today, with Halloween fittingly taking place on New Release Tuesday this year. What does that mean? It means you’re getting brand new horror movies On Halloween day – five of them in total.
Here’s all the new horror released for Halloween Day 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
Every story has an origin, and the found footage hit Hell House LLC is no exception. The long-awaited fourth film in writer/director Stephen Cognetti’s franchise is titled Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor, and it’s now streaming on Shudder!
The story takes place in 2021 and follows a group of internet sleuths who travel to the remote Carmichael Manor. Located deep in the woods of Rockland County, New York, the estate is the site of the infamous...
Here’s all the new horror released for Halloween Day 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
Every story has an origin, and the found footage hit Hell House LLC is no exception. The long-awaited fourth film in writer/director Stephen Cognetti’s franchise is titled Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor, and it’s now streaming on Shudder!
The story takes place in 2021 and follows a group of internet sleuths who travel to the remote Carmichael Manor. Located deep in the woods of Rockland County, New York, the estate is the site of the infamous...
- 10/31/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
The Agatha Christie-inspired franchise that began with 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express and continued with 2022’s Death on the Nile has a new entry, A Haunting in Venice (read our review Here), which has racked up over $100 million at the global box office since receiving a theatrical release last month. And now it’s time for it to come home. The digital release of A Haunting in Venice is set for Halloween, October 31st – and the movie will be streaming on Hulu on that same date.
The physical media release will follow next month, with A Haunting in Venice reaching Blu-ray and DVD on November 28th.
Kenneth Branagh has been at the helm of all three of these films and reprises the role of famed detective Hercule Poirot in A Haunting in Venice, which is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve and is...
The physical media release will follow next month, with A Haunting in Venice reaching Blu-ray and DVD on November 28th.
Kenneth Branagh has been at the helm of all three of these films and reprises the role of famed detective Hercule Poirot in A Haunting in Venice, which is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve and is...
- 10/23/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Hercule Poirot hit the high seas in A Haunting in Venice this past September, a supernatural horror movie from Kenneth Branagh that adapts Agatha Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party. Now that the film has crossed $100 million at the worldwide box office, we’ve learned today that A Haunting in Venice is headed home in time for Halloween.
Agatha Christie’s legendary Hercule Poirot returns in a terrifying tale when A Haunting in Venice arrives on digital retailers and Hulu on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
This is the first horror movie from Branagh since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein back in 1994, grafting a spooky skin onto his critically acclaimed tales of Hercule Poirot.
Featuring a screenplay by Oscar nominee Michael Green (“Logan”), A Haunting in Venice was filmed at Pinewood Studios outside London and on location in Venice.
A brilliant acting ensemble portraying a cast of unforgettable characters will be featured, including Kenneth Branagh,...
Agatha Christie’s legendary Hercule Poirot returns in a terrifying tale when A Haunting in Venice arrives on digital retailers and Hulu on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
This is the first horror movie from Branagh since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein back in 1994, grafting a spooky skin onto his critically acclaimed tales of Hercule Poirot.
Featuring a screenplay by Oscar nominee Michael Green (“Logan”), A Haunting in Venice was filmed at Pinewood Studios outside London and on location in Venice.
A brilliant acting ensemble portraying a cast of unforgettable characters will be featured, including Kenneth Branagh,...
- 10/23/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
‘The Movie Emperor’ Review: Andy Lau Plays Vain Version of Himself in Hong Kong Megastar Meta-Satire
In America, doing what Andy Lau does in Hong Kong film industry satire “The Movie Emperor” would likely net him an Oscar nomination. Or at least an MTV Movie Award. Or maybe just the admiration of his peers, considering how few stars are willing to poke fun at their own image, much less entertain the question of what might happen if their fans were to turn on them tomorrow.
Reteaming with “Crazy Stone” director Ning Hao for an ultra-polished, good-sport parody of A-list vanity, Lau plays Dany Lau — not quite himself, but a megastar of roughly his own stature. The movie is loaded with inside jokes, but like French series “Call My Agent,” it should have no trouble translating around the globe. Between Lau’s international standing — bolstered by roles in everything from “Infernal Affairs” to “A Simple Life,” plus a Cantopop singing career — and the script’s deft way...
Reteaming with “Crazy Stone” director Ning Hao for an ultra-polished, good-sport parody of A-list vanity, Lau plays Dany Lau — not quite himself, but a megastar of roughly his own stature. The movie is loaded with inside jokes, but like French series “Call My Agent,” it should have no trouble translating around the globe. Between Lau’s international standing — bolstered by roles in everything from “Infernal Affairs” to “A Simple Life,” plus a Cantopop singing career — and the script’s deft way...
- 10/21/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Self-destructive characters who grift and deceive are ever the province of French filmmakers, from Claude Chabrol to “Tell No One” director Guillaume Canet. In Sébastien Marnier’s sinister and sly domestic thriller “The Origin of Evil,” Laure Calamy plays a woman whose lies can’t stop falling out of her mouth. Calamy is one of the MVPs of the French show business satire “Call My Agent!,” in which she plays a flustered assistant at a fictional talent agency run by ridiculous people. In “The Origin of Evil,” Calamy gives an unsettling performance as Stéphane, a grifter crawling out of a busted relationship and a toxic job at a cannery and into the life of a wealthy man, Serge, played by Jacques Weber. She contacts him out of the blue and insists she’s his long-lost daughter, and the two form a parasitic relationship that recalls the uneasy power dynamics of...
- 9/29/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Partners on the scheme include Gaumont, Eleven, and Maia Pictures.
The Writers Lab UK and Europe has set the 15 participants taking part in the 2023 edition, which for the first time is offering a combined UK and Europe edition, with participants from all four UK nations, plus Ireland, Greece, Italy, Germany and Austria.
The development and marketplace programme devoted to script development for women and nonbinary screenwriters over 40 launched in 2015 with a US edition, expanding to the UK in 2021, and Europe in 2022. It provides an opportunity to discover and nurture new talent, matching selected writers with leading film and TV industry...
The Writers Lab UK and Europe has set the 15 participants taking part in the 2023 edition, which for the first time is offering a combined UK and Europe edition, with participants from all four UK nations, plus Ireland, Greece, Italy, Germany and Austria.
The development and marketplace programme devoted to script development for women and nonbinary screenwriters over 40 launched in 2015 with a US edition, expanding to the UK in 2021, and Europe in 2022. It provides an opportunity to discover and nurture new talent, matching selected writers with leading film and TV industry...
- 9/25/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
So we’re really committing to this cinematic Poirotverse, huh? Ok.
The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is arguably Agatha Christie’s finest creation, next to her own persona of Agatha Christie, Queen of the Whodunit. He’s been played by everybody from Tony Randall to John Malkovich; Peter Ustinov portrayed the deductive sleuth six times, and David Suchet has made a career out of gifting TV viewers with the definitive take on Christie’s murder-mystery icon. He’s graced 33 novels and 51 short stories, which means that Kenneth Branagh — the actor-filmmaker...
The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is arguably Agatha Christie’s finest creation, next to her own persona of Agatha Christie, Queen of the Whodunit. He’s been played by everybody from Tony Randall to John Malkovich; Peter Ustinov portrayed the deductive sleuth six times, and David Suchet has made a career out of gifting TV viewers with the definitive take on Christie’s murder-mystery icon. He’s graced 33 novels and 51 short stories, which means that Kenneth Branagh — the actor-filmmaker...
- 9/16/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
A Haunting in Venice is the third entry in Kenneth Branagh‘s Hercule Poirot film franchise. Directed by Branagh himself from a screenplay by Michael Green, the film is based on a 1969 novel titled Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie. A Haunting in Venice sees the return of Hercule Poirot as he takes on another murder mystery during a Halloween Seance at a haunted palazzo in Venice, Italy.
The supernatural murder mystery film also stars Michelle Yeoh as Mrs. Reynolds, Jamie Dornan as Dr. Leslie Ferrier, Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver, Kelly Reilly as Rowena Drake, Kyle Allen as Maxime Gerard, Emma Laird as Desdemona Holland, Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver, Riccardo Scamarcio as Vitale Portfoglio, Camille Cottin as Olga Seminoff, Jude Hill as Leopold Ferrier, and Amir El-Masry.
A Haunting in Venice – When Did it Come Out? Credit – 20th Century Fox
A Haunting in Venice had its red carpet...
The supernatural murder mystery film also stars Michelle Yeoh as Mrs. Reynolds, Jamie Dornan as Dr. Leslie Ferrier, Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver, Kelly Reilly as Rowena Drake, Kyle Allen as Maxime Gerard, Emma Laird as Desdemona Holland, Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver, Riccardo Scamarcio as Vitale Portfoglio, Camille Cottin as Olga Seminoff, Jude Hill as Leopold Ferrier, and Amir El-Masry.
A Haunting in Venice – When Did it Come Out? Credit – 20th Century Fox
A Haunting in Venice had its red carpet...
- 9/16/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Emmy-nominated “The White Lotus” star Sabrina Impacciatore will play the Venice Film Festival’s master of ceremonies in the upcoming second season of the Italian version of “Call My Agent,” which will also feature a cameo by Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Impacciatore, wearing a red gown, disembarked from a water taxi at the Excelsior Hotel pier on the Venice Lido on Saturday welcomed by Barbera, as cameras rolled for a key scene in the show. Actors playing photographers for the scene and also real paparazzi snapped away upon her arrival.
“’Call My Agent – Italia’ is a true love letter to cinema, its rituals and its protagonists,” Nils Hartmann, EVP of Sky Studios for Italy and Germany, said in a statement. “It is therefore a truly great emotion, and at the same time a great motive of pride for us, to be able to shoot the second season of such...
Impacciatore, wearing a red gown, disembarked from a water taxi at the Excelsior Hotel pier on the Venice Lido on Saturday welcomed by Barbera, as cameras rolled for a key scene in the show. Actors playing photographers for the scene and also real paparazzi snapped away upon her arrival.
“’Call My Agent – Italia’ is a true love letter to cinema, its rituals and its protagonists,” Nils Hartmann, EVP of Sky Studios for Italy and Germany, said in a statement. “It is therefore a truly great emotion, and at the same time a great motive of pride for us, to be able to shoot the second season of such...
- 9/11/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Like Agatha Christie herself, Kenneth Branagh found a reliable formula for mysteries. In his two previous adaptations of Christie novels, he directed and played the cerebral detective Hercule Poirot amid a star-filled cast, in an exotic location with at least one killer on the loose. Murder on the Orient Express (2017), with Michelle Pfeiffer and Johnny Depp, had an enjoyably retro, over-the-top style. Death on the Nile (2022) was a bit less starry and diverting.
Now, A Haunting in Venice sets a definite pattern of diminishing returns. The new film is much pokier in its pacing, with duller characters. Despite some highlights, including Branagh in top form as an even more somber than usual Poirot, the film is watchable but it is also something lethal to a mystery: uninvolving.
The story takes place in 1947 and is very loosely based on a lesser-known, late-career Christie novel, Hallowe’en Party (1969), altering the plot, changing...
Now, A Haunting in Venice sets a definite pattern of diminishing returns. The new film is much pokier in its pacing, with duller characters. Despite some highlights, including Branagh in top form as an even more somber than usual Poirot, the film is watchable but it is also something lethal to a mystery: uninvolving.
The story takes place in 1947 and is very loosely based on a lesser-known, late-career Christie novel, Hallowe’en Party (1969), altering the plot, changing...
- 9/9/2023
- by Caryn James
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kenneth Branagh in A Haunting In VeniceImage: 20th Century Studios
Agatha Christie adaptations continue to prove popular in several mediums so it’s not surprising that Kenneth Branagh’s version of Christie’s Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot, is back for a third go-round. As with his previous two films, A Haunting In Venice...
Agatha Christie adaptations continue to prove popular in several mediums so it’s not surprising that Kenneth Branagh’s version of Christie’s Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot, is back for a third go-round. As with his previous two films, A Haunting In Venice...
- 9/9/2023
- by Murtada Elfadl
- avclub.com
Daniel Grabiner, Amazon’s head of originals for the U.K. and Northern Europe, has exited the company.
He is set to be replaced by Tara Erer, who is head of local original movies for Amazon Studios.
He will formally bow out in mid-October to set up his own production company, Orchard Studios, with ex-The Garden co-ceo Nicola Hill.
The move comes just months after Grabiner was given additional responsibilities and took on the Northern European territories including Germany, the Nordics and the Netherlands. Under his watch Amazon released shows including “Clarkson’s Farm” and the U.K. remake of “Call My Agent,” which was not renewed for a second season.
His boss, Georgia Brown, the former head of European originals, left the streaming platform last year and has not been replaced.
“The exciting news to share today is that Tara Erer will be stepping into Dan’s role, and...
He is set to be replaced by Tara Erer, who is head of local original movies for Amazon Studios.
He will formally bow out in mid-October to set up his own production company, Orchard Studios, with ex-The Garden co-ceo Nicola Hill.
The move comes just months after Grabiner was given additional responsibilities and took on the Northern European territories including Germany, the Nordics and the Netherlands. Under his watch Amazon released shows including “Clarkson’s Farm” and the U.K. remake of “Call My Agent,” which was not renewed for a second season.
His boss, Georgia Brown, the former head of European originals, left the streaming platform last year and has not been replaced.
“The exciting news to share today is that Tara Erer will be stepping into Dan’s role, and...
- 9/8/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
New images from Kristin Scott Thomas’ North Star (formally My Mother’s Wedding), have dropped. The film will have its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and is the directorial debut for Thomas. She also co-wrote the screenplay with John Micklethwait.
The cast includes Academy award nominee Scarlett Johansson, BAFTA award nominee Sienna Miller, and Cannes Best Actress winner Emily Beecham, who play the sisters. Academy award nominee and BAFTA award-winner Scott Thomas plays Diana Frost, their mother.
North Star follows three sisters from very different walks of life return to their childhood home to celebrate a momentous event: the third wedding of their twice-widowed mother, Diana (Kristin Scott Thomas). As the weekend unfolds in unexpected ways, Katherine (Scarlett Johansson), a Captain in the Royal Navy; Victoria (Sienna Miller), a Hollywood star; and Georgina (Emily Beecham), a palliative nurse,...
The cast includes Academy award nominee Scarlett Johansson, BAFTA award nominee Sienna Miller, and Cannes Best Actress winner Emily Beecham, who play the sisters. Academy award nominee and BAFTA award-winner Scott Thomas plays Diana Frost, their mother.
North Star follows three sisters from very different walks of life return to their childhood home to celebrate a momentous event: the third wedding of their twice-widowed mother, Diana (Kristin Scott Thomas). As the weekend unfolds in unexpected ways, Katherine (Scarlett Johansson), a Captain in the Royal Navy; Victoria (Sienna Miller), a Hollywood star; and Georgina (Emily Beecham), a palliative nurse,...
- 9/6/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Hercule Poirot hits the high seas in A Haunting in Venice, a supernatural horror movie from Kenneth Branagh that adapts Agatha Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party.
A Haunting in Venice will open in theaters nationwide September 15, 2023, and Fandango has debuted a new clip today that invites you to the Halloween Party a little early.
In the clip, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) explains that he doesn’t believe in the paranormal, but his belief is tested when a chandelier mysteriously crashes to the ground.
They call it a “jump scare,” kids. Watch the clip below.
This is the first horror movie from Branagh since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein back in 1994, grafting a spooky skin onto his critically acclaimed tales of Hercule Poirot.
Featuring a screenplay by Oscar nominee Michael Green (“Logan”), A Haunting in Venice was filmed at Pinewood Studios outside London and on location in Venice.
A brilliant acting...
A Haunting in Venice will open in theaters nationwide September 15, 2023, and Fandango has debuted a new clip today that invites you to the Halloween Party a little early.
In the clip, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) explains that he doesn’t believe in the paranormal, but his belief is tested when a chandelier mysteriously crashes to the ground.
They call it a “jump scare,” kids. Watch the clip below.
This is the first horror movie from Branagh since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein back in 1994, grafting a spooky skin onto his critically acclaimed tales of Hercule Poirot.
Featuring a screenplay by Oscar nominee Michael Green (“Logan”), A Haunting in Venice was filmed at Pinewood Studios outside London and on location in Venice.
A brilliant acting...
- 9/6/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
"Those two women will steal all my money." IFC Films has revealed an official US trailer for an extra dark wealthy family satire from France titled The Origin of Evil, made by filmmaker Sébastien Marnier. This first premiered at last year's Venice Film Festival, with stops at TIFF and London as well. It also won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at Frameline47. A woman is sucked into a world of secrets and betrayal as the battle over her estranged father's massive estate soon reveals him to be more than the genial patriarch she'd assumed in this twisted satire. Described as a "wildly entertaining thriller that will keep you guessing all the way to the end." Starring Laure Calamy (of Call My Agent! and Full Time) as Nathalie, with Doria Tillier, Dominique Blanc, Jacques Weber, Suzanne Clément, Céleste Brunnquell, and Véronique Ruggia Saura. The twisty, subversive film will release...
- 8/22/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Next month brings A Haunting in Venice, a supernatural horror movie from Oscar® winning filmmaker Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”) that adapts Agatha Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party. Today brings new character posters and a featurette, introducing the many suspects involved in the unsettling thriller.
A Haunting in Venice will open in theaters nationwide September 15, 2023.
Set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve, A Haunting in Venice is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.
Featuring a screenplay by Oscar nominee Michael Green (“Logan”), A Haunting in Venice was filmed at Pinewood Studios outside London and on location in Venice.
A Haunting in Venice will open in theaters nationwide September 15, 2023.
Set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve, A Haunting in Venice is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.
Featuring a screenplay by Oscar nominee Michael Green (“Logan”), A Haunting in Venice was filmed at Pinewood Studios outside London and on location in Venice.
- 8/15/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
World premieres of Netflix’s All the Light We Cannot See, Amazon’s Expats starring Nicole Kidman, and Euphoria creator Ron Leshem’s Hebrew-language drama Bad Boy were unveiled as part of the Toronto Film Festival’s Primetime program on Monday.
TIFF, making a big step up this year for the sidebar of international prestige TV series, will show the first two episodes of All the Light We Cannot See, a limited series starring Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie, written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) and directed by Shawn Levy (Stranger Things).
And The Farewell director Lulu Wang is returning to Toronto with Amazon’s Expats, with Kidman and Sarayu Blue in a drama about a group of close-knit women expatriates in Hong Kong. There’s also first looks for U.K. Channel Four’s Alice & Jack, a romantic comedy that stars Domhnall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough.
Also bowing...
TIFF, making a big step up this year for the sidebar of international prestige TV series, will show the first two episodes of All the Light We Cannot See, a limited series starring Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie, written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) and directed by Shawn Levy (Stranger Things).
And The Farewell director Lulu Wang is returning to Toronto with Amazon’s Expats, with Kidman and Sarayu Blue in a drama about a group of close-knit women expatriates in Hong Kong. There’s also first looks for U.K. Channel Four’s Alice & Jack, a romantic comedy that stars Domhnall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough.
Also bowing...
- 8/14/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ten Percent will not be returning for a second season. The British comedy series, called Call My Agent in the UK, aired on AMC+ and Sundance Now in the US. The series is a remake of Dix Pour Cent (“Ten Percent”), a French comedy that aired for four seasons.
Jack Davenport, Lydia Leonard, Prasanna Puwanarajah, and Maggie Steed star in the series, which is set in a London talent agency as it tries to adapt to an ever-changing industry. The first season was released in 2022 and features cameo appearances from Helena Bonham Carter, Dominic West, and David Harewood.
Read More…...
Jack Davenport, Lydia Leonard, Prasanna Puwanarajah, and Maggie Steed star in the series, which is set in a London talent agency as it tries to adapt to an ever-changing industry. The first season was released in 2022 and features cameo appearances from Helena Bonham Carter, Dominic West, and David Harewood.
Read More…...
- 8/12/2023
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Robert Carlyle (Once Upon a Time), Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who) and Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education) are all set to star in Netflix’s Toxic Town, our sister site Deadline reports.
Penned by His Dark Materials scribe Jack Thorne, the four-part drama series centers on the Corby poisonings — one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals of all time.
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The cast also included Rory Kinnear (Penny...
Penned by His Dark Materials scribe Jack Thorne, the four-part drama series centers on the Corby poisonings — one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals of all time.
More from TVLineTVLine Items: Bass Reeves Series Trailer, MasterChef Renewed and MoreBelow Deck Down Under's Margot Sisson Speaks Out on Sexual Harassment Incidents That Led to Two FiringsHGTV's Good Bones to End With Season 8
The cast also included Rory Kinnear (Penny...
- 8/10/2023
- by Ryan Schwartz
- TVLine.com
“Call My Agent” U.K. — launched locally as “Ten Percent” — will not return for a second season, Variety can confirm.
The re-make of the hit French comedy, which starred Jack Davenport, Lydia Leonard, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Maggie Steed, launched on Amazon Prime Video in the U.K. in April 2022 to high hopes. In the U.S. it premiered on Sundance Now and AMC+.
The original series, titled “Dix Pour Cent” (“Ten Percent”) in France, was a sleeper hit, spawning four seasons and turning its cast, including Camille Cottin and Assaad Bouab, into international stars. Cottin will next be seen in Kenneth Branagh’s “A Haunting in Venice” and Guy Nattiv’s “Golda,” while Bouab recently had roles in “Inventing Anna” and “Bad Sisters.”
The self-referential show, set in the offices of a Parisian talent agency, was also known for its many celebrity cameos including Monica Belluci, Sigourney Weaver and Juliette Binoche,...
The re-make of the hit French comedy, which starred Jack Davenport, Lydia Leonard, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Maggie Steed, launched on Amazon Prime Video in the U.K. in April 2022 to high hopes. In the U.S. it premiered on Sundance Now and AMC+.
The original series, titled “Dix Pour Cent” (“Ten Percent”) in France, was a sleeper hit, spawning four seasons and turning its cast, including Camille Cottin and Assaad Bouab, into international stars. Cottin will next be seen in Kenneth Branagh’s “A Haunting in Venice” and Guy Nattiv’s “Golda,” while Bouab recently had roles in “Inventing Anna” and “Bad Sisters.”
The self-referential show, set in the offices of a Parisian talent agency, was also known for its many celebrity cameos including Monica Belluci, Sigourney Weaver and Juliette Binoche,...
- 8/10/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Pathé feature “Driving Madeleine” has been acquired by Parkland Entertainment for a U.K. and Ireland theatrical release, Variety can confirm.
The French-language film, which played in the official selection at TIFF last year, stars Line Renaud and Dany Boon (“Welcome to the Sticks”).
In “Driving Madeleine” Boon plays Charles, a Parisian taxi driver struggling with the stress of mounting debt and a collapsing marriage. But when he picks up 92-year-old Madeleine (Renaud), his life turns around. The nonagenarian is about to be moved into a care home but, before that, she wants to enjoy one last drive through the French capital to re-visit some of her most poignant memories. Initially, grumpy Charles doesn’t want to take the job but as he spends the day with Madeleine he is soon charmed by her warmth and joie de vivre – and shocked as she slowly reveals the incredible story of her life.
The French-language film, which played in the official selection at TIFF last year, stars Line Renaud and Dany Boon (“Welcome to the Sticks”).
In “Driving Madeleine” Boon plays Charles, a Parisian taxi driver struggling with the stress of mounting debt and a collapsing marriage. But when he picks up 92-year-old Madeleine (Renaud), his life turns around. The nonagenarian is about to be moved into a care home but, before that, she wants to enjoy one last drive through the French capital to re-visit some of her most poignant memories. Initially, grumpy Charles doesn’t want to take the job but as he spends the day with Madeleine he is soon charmed by her warmth and joie de vivre – and shocked as she slowly reveals the incredible story of her life.
- 8/10/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
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