The genre-bending detective fiction series that is quickly becoming everybody’s favorite of the year is Sugar. The Apple TV+ series created by Mark Protosevich is set in Los Angeles and it follows the story of a private detective John Sugar as he is hired by a big-time film producer Jonathan Siegel to find his missing granddaughter Olivia. While, trying to find Olivia, Sugar stumbles into something far more dangerous than he could have anticipated. Sugar stars Colin Farrell in the lead role with Amy Ryan, James Cromwell, Sydney Chandler, Nate Corddry, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Dennis Boutsikaris starring in supporting roles. If you loved the mystery and thrill of Sugar here are some similar shows you could check out next.
Perry Mason (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – HBO
Perry Mason is a neo-noir crime drama series created by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. Based on a character from Erle Stanley Gardner...
Perry Mason (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – HBO
Perry Mason is a neo-noir crime drama series created by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. Based on a character from Erle Stanley Gardner...
- 4/29/2024
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Germany’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”) sets its sights on the Croisette for the world premiere of Dutch Royal drama “Máxima,” selected to screen out-of-competition at Canneseries on April 9. In tow, Delfina Chaves (“The Secret of the Greco Family”), who portrays the titular character in the series that Variety recently likened to Emmy-Award-Winning Netflix Drama “The Crown.”
Teased at last month’s London TV Screenings, the six-part drama series unravels the love story between then Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander (Martijn Lakemeier) and his enigmatic Argentine love interest, Máxima, who goes on to become Queen, at his side.
Her future fraught with whispers of her father’s political connection to Argentina’s brutal dictatorship, she’s tasked with circumventing harsh truths to remain faithful to her destiny in the narrative that follows her through her formative years.
“You don’t have to know Máxima and the Dutch royal family to enjoy the show.
Teased at last month’s London TV Screenings, the six-part drama series unravels the love story between then Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander (Martijn Lakemeier) and his enigmatic Argentine love interest, Máxima, who goes on to become Queen, at his side.
Her future fraught with whispers of her father’s political connection to Argentina’s brutal dictatorship, she’s tasked with circumventing harsh truths to remain faithful to her destiny in the narrative that follows her through her formative years.
“You don’t have to know Máxima and the Dutch royal family to enjoy the show.
- 3/19/2024
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Coming off his breakout role in Zone of Interest, Christian Friedel has signed with UTA for representation.
Friedel stars as the lead in Jonathan Glazer’s critically acclaimed feature The Zone of Interest, based on the book of the same name by Martin Amis. The film made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 to remarkable reviews, where it was awarded the coveted Grand Prix and has since received a number of accolades including two Oscars for best sound and best international feature film.
Friedel was recently cast in a significant role in season 3 of the Emmy-winning global phenomenon anthology series The White Lotus. He is set to star alongside Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, Aimee Lou Wood, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey and Leslie Bibb, among others. Production is currently underway in Thailand.
Friedel’s first theater engagements took him to the Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel in Munich, the Munich Kammerspiele,...
Friedel stars as the lead in Jonathan Glazer’s critically acclaimed feature The Zone of Interest, based on the book of the same name by Martin Amis. The film made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 to remarkable reviews, where it was awarded the coveted Grand Prix and has since received a number of accolades including two Oscars for best sound and best international feature film.
Friedel was recently cast in a significant role in season 3 of the Emmy-winning global phenomenon anthology series The White Lotus. He is set to star alongside Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, Aimee Lou Wood, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey and Leslie Bibb, among others. Production is currently underway in Thailand.
Friedel’s first theater engagements took him to the Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel in Munich, the Munich Kammerspiele,...
- 3/18/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Sandra Hüller (a Best Actress nominee) and Christian Friedel, stars of Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest — nominated for Best Picture, Best International Picture, Director, Sound, and Adapted Screenplay — are familiar with Shakespeare’s famous verse from Hamlet: ”All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players …” That’s because both thespians have been playing the Danish prince on stages around Germany for years.
Due to Germany’s repertory system in city and state theaters, an actor can revisit an assortment of plays time after time over a number of years.
Friedel tells me that he first played the Dane in 2012. It’s a sort of rock star Hamlet performed with his band, Woods of Birnam. “It can take years until the piece is really finished,” he explains.
He adds that “It changes as you’re getting older,” an experience he feels with movies as well.
Due to Germany’s repertory system in city and state theaters, an actor can revisit an assortment of plays time after time over a number of years.
Friedel tells me that he first played the Dane in 2012. It’s a sort of rock star Hamlet performed with his band, Woods of Birnam. “It can take years until the piece is really finished,” he explains.
He adds that “It changes as you’re getting older,” an experience he feels with movies as well.
- 3/9/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s father-daughter drama Sentimental Value has received €200,000 from the German Federal Film Board (Ffa) and will shoot in Germany as well as in Norway and France later this year.
The film will reunite Trier with Renate Reinsve, the star of his Oscar-nominated The Worst Person In The World, and that film’s writer Eskil Vogt.
The production funding was allocated to the film’s German co-producer Komplizen Film which is producing with Norway’s Mer Film and Eye Eye Pictures, Denmark’s Zentropa, France’s Agat Films, and Mk Production.
The family drama is about two...
The film will reunite Trier with Renate Reinsve, the star of his Oscar-nominated The Worst Person In The World, and that film’s writer Eskil Vogt.
The production funding was allocated to the film’s German co-producer Komplizen Film which is producing with Norway’s Mer Film and Eye Eye Pictures, Denmark’s Zentropa, France’s Agat Films, and Mk Production.
The family drama is about two...
- 3/5/2024
- ScreenDaily
Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s father-daughter drama Sentimental Value has received €200,000 from the German Federal Film Board (Ffa) and will shoot in Germany as well as in Norway and France later this year.
The film will reunite Trier with Renate Reinsve, the star of his Oscar-nominated The Worst Person In The World, and that film’s writer Eskil Vogt.
The production funding was allocated to the film’s German co-producer Komplizen Film which is producing with Norway’s Mer Film and Eye Eye Pictures, Denmark’s Zentropa, France’s Agat Films, and Mk Production.
The family drama is about two...
The film will reunite Trier with Renate Reinsve, the star of his Oscar-nominated The Worst Person In The World, and that film’s writer Eskil Vogt.
The production funding was allocated to the film’s German co-producer Komplizen Film which is producing with Norway’s Mer Film and Eye Eye Pictures, Denmark’s Zentropa, France’s Agat Films, and Mk Production.
The family drama is about two...
- 3/5/2024
- ScreenDaily
TV’s former Supergirl has shared her thoughts on House of the Dragon alum Milly Alcock being tapped to play the Girl of Steel on the big screen, in James Gunn’s new DC Universe.
Alcock will headline the yet-to-be-scheduled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film as well as appear in various DC projects — including a possible role in (the newly retitled) Superman, starring David Corenswet (The Politician) as the titular Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor, Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Elsbeth) as Perry White, Skyler Gisondo (Santa Clarita Diet) as Jimmy Olsen,...
Alcock will headline the yet-to-be-scheduled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film as well as appear in various DC projects — including a possible role in (the newly retitled) Superman, starring David Corenswet (The Politician) as the titular Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor, Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Elsbeth) as Perry White, Skyler Gisondo (Santa Clarita Diet) as Jimmy Olsen,...
- 3/4/2024
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Seriesmakers, a joint initiative of Series Mania, Europe’s biggest TV festival, and European film-tv powerhouse Beta Group, has revealed the 10 top-notch project lineup of the second edition of its novel and high-powered mentoring program for filmmakers making their TV creator debut.
This year’s Seriesmakers features in development drama series from Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (“George Blake”), behind “The Last King Of Scotland,” and from Finnish director Mikko Myllylahti, who burst onto the scene co-writing with Juho Kuosmanen the latter’s “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Makki,” a 2016 Cannes Un Certain Regard winner.
Also in the mix is the highly courted Kaouther Ben Hania, a double Oscar nominee for the “compelling, ambitious hybrid” “Four Daughters,” said Variety, in the doc category and the “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (2020), Tunisia’s entry in international feature.
In all, however, nine of the ten directors winning berths this...
This year’s Seriesmakers features in development drama series from Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (“George Blake”), behind “The Last King Of Scotland,” and from Finnish director Mikko Myllylahti, who burst onto the scene co-writing with Juho Kuosmanen the latter’s “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Makki,” a 2016 Cannes Un Certain Regard winner.
Also in the mix is the highly courted Kaouther Ben Hania, a double Oscar nominee for the “compelling, ambitious hybrid” “Four Daughters,” said Variety, in the doc category and the “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (2020), Tunisia’s entry in international feature.
In all, however, nine of the ten directors winning berths this...
- 3/4/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The logos of streaming services Mhz Choice and Topic. (Courtesy image)
First Look Media and Kino Lorber will merge their streaming service Topic into international TV platform MHz Choice this spring.
Starting April 1, subscribers of MHz Choice will get access to Topic’s library of crime dramas, supernatural thrillers, mysteries and documentaries as part of their subscription. MHz Choice charges $8 per month for access to their streaming TV platform, and an annual plan will have its price lowered to $80 per year, the streamer said.
“MHz Choice is now the ultimate destination for those who love international series, and especially European mysteries and Nordic noir,” Ed Carroll, the President of Kino Lorber Media Group, said in a statement.
When the two services merge, MHz Choice will become the exclusive streaming home of the German thriller “Babylon Berlin,” which was previously available on Netflix. The fourth season of the series will become...
First Look Media and Kino Lorber will merge their streaming service Topic into international TV platform MHz Choice this spring.
Starting April 1, subscribers of MHz Choice will get access to Topic’s library of crime dramas, supernatural thrillers, mysteries and documentaries as part of their subscription. MHz Choice charges $8 per month for access to their streaming TV platform, and an annual plan will have its price lowered to $80 per year, the streamer said.
“MHz Choice is now the ultimate destination for those who love international series, and especially European mysteries and Nordic noir,” Ed Carroll, the President of Kino Lorber Media Group, said in a statement.
When the two services merge, MHz Choice will become the exclusive streaming home of the German thriller “Babylon Berlin,” which was previously available on Netflix. The fourth season of the series will become...
- 3/2/2024
- by Matthew Keys
- The Desk
Kino Lorber’s MHz Choice and Topic will merge into one streaming service, the company announced.
The combined product will become the exclusive U.S. streaming home of hit German series “Babylon Berlin” starting in April. As of Feb. 29, the series is no longer available in the country on Netflix, which previously held the U.S. streaming rights.
Co-created, written and directed by Tom Twyker, Achim von Borries and Hendrik Handloegten, “Babylon Berlin” is based on the novels by Volker Kutscher and distributed by Beta Film. The fourth season of the drama, which has not been available for streaming in North America before, will land on the new service June 25.
Along with “Babylon Berlin,” MHz Choice and Topic’s combined lineup will include “The Killing,” “The Bridge,” “Detective Montalbano,” “The Sea Beyond,” “Pagan Peak,” “A French Village,” “Spiral,” “Beck” and “Murder In.”
Current MHz Choice and Topic subscribers will be...
The combined product will become the exclusive U.S. streaming home of hit German series “Babylon Berlin” starting in April. As of Feb. 29, the series is no longer available in the country on Netflix, which previously held the U.S. streaming rights.
Co-created, written and directed by Tom Twyker, Achim von Borries and Hendrik Handloegten, “Babylon Berlin” is based on the novels by Volker Kutscher and distributed by Beta Film. The fourth season of the drama, which has not been available for streaming in North America before, will land on the new service June 25.
Along with “Babylon Berlin,” MHz Choice and Topic’s combined lineup will include “The Killing,” “The Bridge,” “Detective Montalbano,” “The Sea Beyond,” “Pagan Peak,” “A French Village,” “Spiral,” “Beck” and “Murder In.”
Current MHz Choice and Topic subscribers will be...
- 2/29/2024
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
Babylon Berlin has landed a new U.S. home on a newly-merged streaming service created as Kino Lorber’s MHz Choice and Topic combine.
The boutique streamer will be named MHz Choice and feature the likes of The Killing, The Bridge, Detective Montalbano, The Sea Beyond and Pagan Peak, alongside the popular Babylon Berlin, which moves over from Netflix after three seasons on that streamer.
Kino Lorber said the new streamer will “combine the best European dramas and mysteries with Nordic noir crime and thrillers under the MHz Choice brand.”
The Four Daughters distributor owns MHz Choice and Topic, the latter of which in a Jv with First Look Media under which Kino has a majority stake and management oversight. The news comes a few weeks after we revealed layoffs at First Look production subsidiary Topic Studios.
Viaplay has also exited the U.S. following a disastrous 12 months that has...
The boutique streamer will be named MHz Choice and feature the likes of The Killing, The Bridge, Detective Montalbano, The Sea Beyond and Pagan Peak, alongside the popular Babylon Berlin, which moves over from Netflix after three seasons on that streamer.
Kino Lorber said the new streamer will “combine the best European dramas and mysteries with Nordic noir crime and thrillers under the MHz Choice brand.”
The Four Daughters distributor owns MHz Choice and Topic, the latter of which in a Jv with First Look Media under which Kino has a majority stake and management oversight. The news comes a few weeks after we revealed layoffs at First Look production subsidiary Topic Studios.
Viaplay has also exited the U.S. following a disastrous 12 months that has...
- 2/29/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Kino Lorber’s streaming platform MHz Choice is merging with First Look Media’s Topic platform to create a single North American streamer, operating under the MHz Choice brand, specializing in international series and films for the domestic market.
Kino Lorber and First Look Media launched a joint venture in 2022 that bundled their streaming activities. The new agreement will fold both MHz Choice and Topic into a single platform.
Kino Lorber Chief Operating Officer Martha Benyam will oversee the new combined service, with Lisa Schwartz, Kino Lorber Chief Revenue Officer, overseeing distribution and partnerships, Executive Vice President, Content Strategy Lance Schwulst continuing to oversee programming and Monica Bloom, who joined Kino Lorber from Topic, continuing to serve as Chief Marketing Officer.
The new service has secured exclusive North American rights to award-winning German period series Babylon Berlin from sales group Beta Film and will stream all four seasons of the show.
Kino Lorber and First Look Media launched a joint venture in 2022 that bundled their streaming activities. The new agreement will fold both MHz Choice and Topic into a single platform.
Kino Lorber Chief Operating Officer Martha Benyam will oversee the new combined service, with Lisa Schwartz, Kino Lorber Chief Revenue Officer, overseeing distribution and partnerships, Executive Vice President, Content Strategy Lance Schwulst continuing to oversee programming and Monica Bloom, who joined Kino Lorber from Topic, continuing to serve as Chief Marketing Officer.
The new service has secured exclusive North American rights to award-winning German period series Babylon Berlin from sales group Beta Film and will stream all four seasons of the show.
- 2/29/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Beta Film, the powerhouse behind hits like ‘Babylon Berlin,’ has just given us a sneak peek at their latest project, ‘Rise of the Raven.’ Thanks to Variety, we got our hands on an exclusive first-look image of this 10-part series. They’re calling it one of the grandest European TV productions ever, and that’s saying something.
The story is a labor of love for Robert Lantos, a producer with roots in Hungary and Canada. You might know him from big titles like ‘Eastern Promises’ and ‘Barney’s Version.’ ‘Rise of the Raven’ is his latest passion project, and it’s shaping up to be something special.
This series dives into the life of Janos Hunyadi, a Hungarian army commander. With the actor Gellért L. Kádár bringing Hunyadi to life, we’re taken back to 1456. That’s when Hunyadi pulled off an incredible win at the Battle of Belgrade against a much larger Ottoman army.
The story is a labor of love for Robert Lantos, a producer with roots in Hungary and Canada. You might know him from big titles like ‘Eastern Promises’ and ‘Barney’s Version.’ ‘Rise of the Raven’ is his latest passion project, and it’s shaping up to be something special.
This series dives into the life of Janos Hunyadi, a Hungarian army commander. With the actor Gellért L. Kádár bringing Hunyadi to life, we’re taken back to 1456. That’s when Hunyadi pulled off an incredible win at the Battle of Belgrade against a much larger Ottoman army.
- 2/27/2024
- by Hrvoje Milakovic
- Fiction Horizon
European giant Beta Film, known for ambitious titles such as “Babylon Berlin” and “The Swarm,” has shared with Variety in exclusivity a first-look picture of 1o-part series “Rise of the Raven,” which it hails as “one of the most epic European TV productions of all time.”
“Rise of the Raven” weighs in as a passion project of Hungarian-born and Canada-based producer Robert Lantos, behind “Sunshine,” “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Barney’s Version,” “Eastern Promises” and “Crimes of the Future.”
A highlight at Beta Film’s showcase this Tuesday at the London TV Screenings, “Rise of the Raven” turns on the extraordinary feat of Hungarian army commander Janos Hunyadi, played by discovery Gellért L. Kádár, who in 1456 won a bloody, brutal Battle of Belgrade against a vast Ottoman force twice the size of his troops who were often farm labourers armed with just slings and patriotic fervor.
Hunyadi largely halted a full Ottoman...
“Rise of the Raven” weighs in as a passion project of Hungarian-born and Canada-based producer Robert Lantos, behind “Sunshine,” “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Barney’s Version,” “Eastern Promises” and “Crimes of the Future.”
A highlight at Beta Film’s showcase this Tuesday at the London TV Screenings, “Rise of the Raven” turns on the extraordinary feat of Hungarian army commander Janos Hunyadi, played by discovery Gellért L. Kádár, who in 1456 won a bloody, brutal Battle of Belgrade against a vast Ottoman force twice the size of his troops who were often farm labourers armed with just slings and patriotic fervor.
Hunyadi largely halted a full Ottoman...
- 2/27/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
International independent production company and financier Gold Rush Pictures has signed a deal with Germany’s X Filme Creative Pool to participate in financing and co-produce the next three projects written and directed and/or produced by Tom Tykwer, including features and TV series.
The partnership follows Gold Rush Pictures recent investment in Tykwer’s German contemporary drama “The Light,” the filmmaker’s return to the big screen after seven years and four seasons as writer and director of the hit series “Babylon Berlin.” It is the writer-director’s first feature film since his 2016 adaptation of “A Hologram for the King,” starring Tom Hanks.
Currently in production, “The Light” (“Das Licht”) centres on a troubled family who take on a mysterious woman as a housekeeper. When she successfully shakes up the lives of the family, she then confronts them with the dark fate of her own. The film stars Lars Eidinger,...
The partnership follows Gold Rush Pictures recent investment in Tykwer’s German contemporary drama “The Light,” the filmmaker’s return to the big screen after seven years and four seasons as writer and director of the hit series “Babylon Berlin.” It is the writer-director’s first feature film since his 2016 adaptation of “A Hologram for the King,” starring Tom Hanks.
Currently in production, “The Light” (“Das Licht”) centres on a troubled family who take on a mysterious woman as a housekeeper. When she successfully shakes up the lives of the family, she then confronts them with the dark fate of her own. The film stars Lars Eidinger,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Sebastian Stan, whose “A Different Man” screens in the Berlin Film Festival, Christoph Waltz and Tom Wlaschiha, the “Faceless Man” in “Game of Thrones,” were among the guests at Studio Babelsberg Night, the historic Berlin film studios’ party at Soho House Berlin held to celebrate the 74th edition of the festival. The event was supported by Mexican tequila brand Don Julio, the Motion Picture Assn. and Little Moons. Variety was the media partner.
Among the leading filmmakers welcomed by Babelsberg were Fatih Akin, who won Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2004, Julia von Heinz, whose film “Treasure,” starring Lena Dunham, plays at the Berlinale, and Tom Tykwer, who shot series “Babylon Berlin” at Babelsberg and recently shot feature film “The Light” there.
Christoph Waltz
Other directors and writers at the party included “Dark” creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, who shot Netflix’s “1899” at Babelsberg, Lars Kraume, Detlev Buck and David Wnendt.
Among the leading filmmakers welcomed by Babelsberg were Fatih Akin, who won Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2004, Julia von Heinz, whose film “Treasure,” starring Lena Dunham, plays at the Berlinale, and Tom Tykwer, who shot series “Babylon Berlin” at Babelsberg and recently shot feature film “The Light” there.
Christoph Waltz
Other directors and writers at the party included “Dark” creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, who shot Netflix’s “1899” at Babelsberg, Lars Kraume, Detlev Buck and David Wnendt.
- 2/22/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Argentina’s Daniel Burman’s international spy thriller “Witness 36” has won the coveted Series Mania Award at Co-Pro Series, the Berlinale Series Market’s annual project pitching event.
The prize consists of an invitation to the production’s team to present again at the industry centrepiece at next month’s Lille-based get-together, the Series Mania Forum’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions.
“Witness 36” joins 15 other projects at the Pitching Sessions as a sixteenth project presented out of competition in partnership with the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
The Award seems particularly appropriate, given to one of Latin America’s most prominent filmmakers, who broke out internationally with a double Berlin Silver Bear win in 2004 for his fourth feature “Lost Embrace,” but who has embraced premium drama series creation without giving up his cinema career.
Berlin also saw him announce in 2017 that Mediapro had taken a stake in his TV company Oficina Burman, one of its earliest projects,...
The prize consists of an invitation to the production’s team to present again at the industry centrepiece at next month’s Lille-based get-together, the Series Mania Forum’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions.
“Witness 36” joins 15 other projects at the Pitching Sessions as a sixteenth project presented out of competition in partnership with the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
The Award seems particularly appropriate, given to one of Latin America’s most prominent filmmakers, who broke out internationally with a double Berlin Silver Bear win in 2004 for his fourth feature “Lost Embrace,” but who has embraced premium drama series creation without giving up his cinema career.
Berlin also saw him announce in 2017 that Mediapro had taken a stake in his TV company Oficina Burman, one of its earliest projects,...
- 2/20/2024
- by John Hopewell and Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
An unsung master of movie magic, Solon Luigi Colani has worked on some of the biggest Hollywood movies ever shot in Germany and beyond, among them works by Quentin Tarantino, Ron Howard, George Clooney, Denis Villeneuve, Paul W.S. Anderson, Gore Verbinski and the Wachowskis.
His enormous range of practical visual effects have also become regular fixtures in Germany’s domestic film and TV industry, where he has helped filmmakers and showrunners bring their visions to life.
In Matthias Glasner’s current Berlinale Competition screener “Dying,” for example, he created a pneumatic pump, hose system and the necessary chunky liquid for a dramatic scene in which a character falls ill at the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall.
Colani established his Berlin-based company Pyro Labs in the 1990s as a side business while working as a young It specialist. Initially focused on firework displays for weddings, birthday parties and other live events, the...
His enormous range of practical visual effects have also become regular fixtures in Germany’s domestic film and TV industry, where he has helped filmmakers and showrunners bring their visions to life.
In Matthias Glasner’s current Berlinale Competition screener “Dying,” for example, he created a pneumatic pump, hose system and the necessary chunky liquid for a dramatic scene in which a character falls ill at the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall.
Colani established his Berlin-based company Pyro Labs in the 1990s as a side business while working as a young It specialist. Initially focused on firework displays for weddings, birthday parties and other live events, the...
- 2/18/2024
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
When Laila Stieler’s script for “From Hilde, With Love,” which world premiered Saturday in competition at the Berlinale, first came to director Andreas Dresen he was a little reluctant to take the project on.
The issue was not the script but the subject-matter: set in Nazi-era Berlin, “From Hilde, With Love” is a love story about two real life members of the pro-Communist, German resistance movement known as the Red Orchestra, Hilde and Hans Coppi. More than 50 members of the group were guillotined in Berlin’s Plötzensee Prison between 1942 and 1943, including the Coppis. Hilde gave birth to her son in prison. He is alive today and was consulted about the production.
“I was a little bit afraid of doing these films about Nazi times, because it’s always in sepia colors, you know, very historical, very artificial always, and this is not the style of cinema I like,” he tells Variety.
The issue was not the script but the subject-matter: set in Nazi-era Berlin, “From Hilde, With Love” is a love story about two real life members of the pro-Communist, German resistance movement known as the Red Orchestra, Hilde and Hans Coppi. More than 50 members of the group were guillotined in Berlin’s Plötzensee Prison between 1942 and 1943, including the Coppis. Hilde gave birth to her son in prison. He is alive today and was consulted about the production.
“I was a little bit afraid of doing these films about Nazi times, because it’s always in sepia colors, you know, very historical, very artificial always, and this is not the style of cinema I like,” he tells Variety.
- 2/18/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Andreas Dresen’s favorite Berlinale memory, as you’d expect, involves Currywurst.
“I was on the jury one year, And it was clear I was the local guy among all these big names,” he recalls. “Now the festival had a vegan menu already then, and at the awards dinner, we had great food but they were quite small portions and [jury president] Wong Kar Wai turns to me and says ‘Andreas, can’t we get some real food?’ So I took them all, Susanne Bier, Shirin Neshat, Tim Robbins, everyone in tuxes and evening gowns, to [legendary Berlin snack bar] Curry 36 for a Currywurst. Even Tim Robbins, who actually is vegetarian, tucked in. I personally saw him gobble up three Currywursts. It was the most Berlin moment ever.”
Dresen has had a few. The 60-year-old director has been a regular at Germany’s top film festival since 1991 when his student film So schnell es geht nach...
“I was on the jury one year, And it was clear I was the local guy among all these big names,” he recalls. “Now the festival had a vegan menu already then, and at the awards dinner, we had great food but they were quite small portions and [jury president] Wong Kar Wai turns to me and says ‘Andreas, can’t we get some real food?’ So I took them all, Susanne Bier, Shirin Neshat, Tim Robbins, everyone in tuxes and evening gowns, to [legendary Berlin snack bar] Curry 36 for a Currywurst. Even Tim Robbins, who actually is vegetarian, tucked in. I personally saw him gobble up three Currywursts. It was the most Berlin moment ever.”
Dresen has had a few. The 60-year-old director has been a regular at Germany’s top film festival since 1991 when his student film So schnell es geht nach...
- 2/17/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Filmmaker Andreas Dresen and actress Liv Lisa Fries took part morning in the press conference for new drama From Hilde, With Love, which debuts this weekend in Competition at the Berlin Film Festival.
Dresen’s affecting and resonant film, set in Berlin during the Second World War, charts the little known story of Hilde and Hans Coppi, a young couple who courageously become members of an anti-Nazi group known as The Red Orchestra (Die Rote Kapelle). The two spend a summer together until they get caught by the Gestapo and Hilde is imprisoned, eight months pregnant.
Dresen’s film received a warm response from journalists this morning at the press conference, with many noting they had been moved to tears by the feature.
The German director told the media he was initially attracted by the “humanity” of the story and the character of Hilde Coppi, who he described as “such a decent and brave woman.
Dresen’s affecting and resonant film, set in Berlin during the Second World War, charts the little known story of Hilde and Hans Coppi, a young couple who courageously become members of an anti-Nazi group known as The Red Orchestra (Die Rote Kapelle). The two spend a summer together until they get caught by the Gestapo and Hilde is imprisoned, eight months pregnant.
Dresen’s film received a warm response from journalists this morning at the press conference, with many noting they had been moved to tears by the feature.
The German director told the media he was initially attracted by the “humanity” of the story and the character of Hilde Coppi, who he described as “such a decent and brave woman.
- 2/17/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The American-Israeli director Niv Kleiner (Central Valley) will write and direct the Berlin-set The Liver, a black comedy about a down-on-his-luck DJ trying to secure an organ transplant.
German-Swiss actor Raphaël Tschudi (Anuk III) will play Henri, a former DJ who landed in the German capital many years ago and still barely speaks German, who desperately needs a new liver. When he fails to find a donor among his old Berlin Club buddies, he turns to the black market to find a fitting organ. But the past he’s been running away from will soon catch up with him and he’ll need to make peace with his worst enemies to save his own life.
Emilia Schüle, star of the Canal+ series Marie Antoinette, co-stars, alongside Fauda actress Laetitia Eido, and German actors Winfried Hochholdinger (Babylon Berlin) and Jan Josef Liefers (Tatort, The Tower).
“The Liver is a small, fine...
German-Swiss actor Raphaël Tschudi (Anuk III) will play Henri, a former DJ who landed in the German capital many years ago and still barely speaks German, who desperately needs a new liver. When he fails to find a donor among his old Berlin Club buddies, he turns to the black market to find a fitting organ. But the past he’s been running away from will soon catch up with him and he’ll need to make peace with his worst enemies to save his own life.
Emilia Schüle, star of the Canal+ series Marie Antoinette, co-stars, alongside Fauda actress Laetitia Eido, and German actors Winfried Hochholdinger (Babylon Berlin) and Jan Josef Liefers (Tatort, The Tower).
“The Liver is a small, fine...
- 2/16/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Two heavyweights of German television and film are uniting.
Nico Hofmann and Jan Mojto are teaming with Jan Wünschmann, a producer at Mojto’s company Beta, to create films and TV series in Germany and Europe. Projects will be targeted at the international market.
Hofmann, was the longtime boss of German production giant UFA, and Mojto said they are “connected by half a lifetime of producing” title such as TV event series The Tunnel in the early 2000s and newer series such as Generation War, Dresden, The Tower and The Same Sky.
“Jan Mojto and I have been close colleagues and friends for more than 20 years – our eye for programming, uncompromising quality, and passion for our profession unites us,” said Hofmann. “It is the next logical step in my career to join forces and produce together with Beta Film. The individuals and their creativity are the building blocks for a long-lasting bond.
Nico Hofmann and Jan Mojto are teaming with Jan Wünschmann, a producer at Mojto’s company Beta, to create films and TV series in Germany and Europe. Projects will be targeted at the international market.
Hofmann, was the longtime boss of German production giant UFA, and Mojto said they are “connected by half a lifetime of producing” title such as TV event series The Tunnel in the early 2000s and newer series such as Generation War, Dresden, The Tower and The Same Sky.
“Jan Mojto and I have been close colleagues and friends for more than 20 years – our eye for programming, uncompromising quality, and passion for our profession unites us,” said Hofmann. “It is the next logical step in my career to join forces and produce together with Beta Film. The individuals and their creativity are the building blocks for a long-lasting bond.
- 2/14/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Iconic German film and TV executive Jan Mojto is launching a partnership with longstanding friend and UFA head Nico Hofmann that will produce German and European series and films for the international market.
They are joined in the unnamed venture by Beta producer Jan Wünschmann.
The partnership was announced Wednesday, on the eve of the annual Berlin Film Festival. No projects were disclosed.
Hofmann and Mojto are connected by half a lifetime of producing. With “The Tunnel”, the duo pioneered the TV event genre in Germany in the early 2000s. Since then, two dozen collaborative and internationally successful television and film productions have followed. These include hits “Generation War,” “Dresden,” “The Tower” and “The Same Sky.”
“This partnership is the fulfillment of a long-held wish. Nico Hofmann is one of the best German producers; He is a gifted storyteller. His professional and personal qualities, which I have known for more than 25 years,...
They are joined in the unnamed venture by Beta producer Jan Wünschmann.
The partnership was announced Wednesday, on the eve of the annual Berlin Film Festival. No projects were disclosed.
Hofmann and Mojto are connected by half a lifetime of producing. With “The Tunnel”, the duo pioneered the TV event genre in Germany in the early 2000s. Since then, two dozen collaborative and internationally successful television and film productions have followed. These include hits “Generation War,” “Dresden,” “The Tower” and “The Same Sky.”
“This partnership is the fulfillment of a long-held wish. Nico Hofmann is one of the best German producers; He is a gifted storyteller. His professional and personal qualities, which I have known for more than 25 years,...
- 2/14/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Nico Hofmann, the long-time CEO and current chair of German production giant UFA, maker of Generation War, Deutschland 83 and Charité, is leaving the Fremantle-owned company to go solo, setting up his own production house and joining forces with long-time collaborator Jan Mojto of Beta Film.
Hofmann will be stepping down as chairman of UFA on March 1 and has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Mojto’s Beta Film, producer of Babylon Berlin, that will see Hofmann, Mojto, and Beta producer Jan Wünschmann co-produce German and European series and films for the international market.
Hofmann and Mojto have a history going back decades. The duo pioneered event television and helped elevate German drama to international prominence with such limited series, as The Tunnel (2001), The Tower (2012) and Generation War (2013). These award-winning dramas, co-produced between Mojto’s Beta and Hofmann’s UFA-owned production group TeamWorx (now UFA Fiction), were also ratings hits in Germany and internationally.
Hofmann will be stepping down as chairman of UFA on March 1 and has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Mojto’s Beta Film, producer of Babylon Berlin, that will see Hofmann, Mojto, and Beta producer Jan Wünschmann co-produce German and European series and films for the international market.
Hofmann and Mojto have a history going back decades. The duo pioneered event television and helped elevate German drama to international prominence with such limited series, as The Tunnel (2001), The Tower (2012) and Generation War (2013). These award-winning dramas, co-produced between Mojto’s Beta and Hofmann’s UFA-owned production group TeamWorx (now UFA Fiction), were also ratings hits in Germany and internationally.
- 2/14/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Germany’s UFA Group has brought in a senior Netflix exec, as part of a management re-org.
Natalie Clausen has been named COO of the Fremantle-owned German production giant, and will join its management board on February 19.
She was most recently Senior Production Manager for German-speaking countries, working on productions such as The Empress, Kleo and Liebskind. Prior to Netflix, she worked on big-ticket German shows such as Babylon Berlin and UFA shows Charité and Deutschland 89.
She’ll report to UFA CEO Sascha Schwingel, who took on his role in September. Schwingel replaced Nico Hofmann, who had been with the Generation War maker for more than 25 years.
Clearly, the restructuring didn’t end there, and the addition of Clausen will “provide valuable input to create even more space for creativity in a flexible, lean organization and with the clever use of technology,” according to Schwingel.
Further changes will see...
Natalie Clausen has been named COO of the Fremantle-owned German production giant, and will join its management board on February 19.
She was most recently Senior Production Manager for German-speaking countries, working on productions such as The Empress, Kleo and Liebskind. Prior to Netflix, she worked on big-ticket German shows such as Babylon Berlin and UFA shows Charité and Deutschland 89.
She’ll report to UFA CEO Sascha Schwingel, who took on his role in September. Schwingel replaced Nico Hofmann, who had been with the Generation War maker for more than 25 years.
Clearly, the restructuring didn’t end there, and the addition of Clausen will “provide valuable input to create even more space for creativity in a flexible, lean organization and with the clever use of technology,” according to Schwingel.
Further changes will see...
- 2/9/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Things have been quiet on the Babylon Berlin front since the shock news came down middle of last year that Sky was pulling out of original commissioning in Germany, including on the hit period drama.
Series four aired last fall and fans have been waiting for an update on the fate of series five, which producers said last summer would go ahead without Sky.
In a new interview with Deadline set to run tomorrow, the show’s lead actress Liv Lisa Fries confirmed that the plan is to shoot the “last” series of the show later this year:
“At the end of this year we’re going to shoot the last season of Babylon Berlin. It’s still in financial process but they’re writing. Money is a question mark but my schedule is to shoot it later this year.”
Producer Beta Film couldn’t confirm a timetable or...
Series four aired last fall and fans have been waiting for an update on the fate of series five, which producers said last summer would go ahead without Sky.
In a new interview with Deadline set to run tomorrow, the show’s lead actress Liv Lisa Fries confirmed that the plan is to shoot the “last” series of the show later this year:
“At the end of this year we’re going to shoot the last season of Babylon Berlin. It’s still in financial process but they’re writing. Money is a question mark but my schedule is to shoot it later this year.”
Producer Beta Film couldn’t confirm a timetable or...
- 2/8/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
February is here, and the countdown has begun at Netflix as many major titles are on their way out the proverbial door. With “Dune: Part Two” finally heading to theaters at the start of March, the streamer is giving subscribers one more month to rewatch (or catch up on) 2021’s “Dune,” starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and more. Plus, dive into other unfamiliar worlds with “Dredd,” “Snowpiercer,” and Prometheus.
Watch now before they’re gone: see The Streamable’s top picks for what’s leaving Netflix this month, and check out all the shows and movies leaving the streamer this February!
Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Leaving Netflix in February 2024? “Chicken Run” | Wednesday, Feb. 14
More than 23 years after its release, 2000’s “Chicken Run” still holds the record as the highest-grossing stop motion animated film of all time, beating all “Wallace and Gromit” features to top the list.
Watch now before they’re gone: see The Streamable’s top picks for what’s leaving Netflix this month, and check out all the shows and movies leaving the streamer this February!
Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Leaving Netflix in February 2024? “Chicken Run” | Wednesday, Feb. 14
More than 23 years after its release, 2000’s “Chicken Run” still holds the record as the highest-grossing stop motion animated film of all time, beating all “Wallace and Gromit” features to top the list.
- 2/2/2024
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
Beta Cinema will start selling The Light, Tom Tykwer’s return to the big screen after seven years, at the upcoming European Film Market and has released a first look image of the film.
Beta Cinema is handling sales for all territories except German-speaking territories, France and North America.
Set in present day in Berlin, The Light is billed as a portrait of a modern family between collapse and new beginnings.
It stars Lars Eidinger, who will next been seen be in Matthias Glasner’s Berlinale competiton entry Dying, actress/director Nicolette Krebitz from Aieou and Wild, alongside Elke Biesendorfer,...
Beta Cinema is handling sales for all territories except German-speaking territories, France and North America.
Set in present day in Berlin, The Light is billed as a portrait of a modern family between collapse and new beginnings.
It stars Lars Eidinger, who will next been seen be in Matthias Glasner’s Berlinale competiton entry Dying, actress/director Nicolette Krebitz from Aieou and Wild, alongside Elke Biesendorfer,...
- 2/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Tom Tykwer’s return to the big screen is getting closer. After seven years working in television, co-creating and co-directing, with Henk Handlogten and Achim von Borries, four seasons of acclaimed period drama Babylon Berlin, the German director of Run Lola Run, The International and Cloud Atlas will mark his movie comeback with the contemporary German-language drama The Light (Das Licht).
Tykwer’s production house X Filme Creative Pool, German distributor X Verleih and Beta Cinema, which have picked up international sales rights for the film, on Thursday unveiled the first look of The Light. The still, which almost resembles a Renaissance painting, features star Tala al Deen bathed in a radiant glow from a device on the table in front of her.
Al Deen plays Farrah, a mysterious Syrian woman who enters the lives of the Engels, a middle-class German family whose world is slowly unraveling. Nothing appears to...
Tykwer’s production house X Filme Creative Pool, German distributor X Verleih and Beta Cinema, which have picked up international sales rights for the film, on Thursday unveiled the first look of The Light. The still, which almost resembles a Renaissance painting, features star Tala al Deen bathed in a radiant glow from a device on the table in front of her.
Al Deen plays Farrah, a mysterious Syrian woman who enters the lives of the Engels, a middle-class German family whose world is slowly unraveling. Nothing appears to...
- 2/1/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Babylon Berlin is leaving Netflix next month, and subscribers won't be seeing the fourth season before it goes. The German series premiered on the streaming service in January 2018, and seasons two and three followed. Season four aired on Sky in 2022 but was never released on Netflix.
Created by Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries, and Henk Handloegten, the series is set in 1920s Berlin and is inspired by the novels by Volker Kutscher. Starring Volker Bruch, Liv Lisa Fries, Peter Kurth, and Matthias Brandt, the Babylon Berlin series follows a police inspector from Cologne trying to take down an extortion ring.
Read More…...
Created by Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries, and Henk Handloegten, the series is set in 1920s Berlin and is inspired by the novels by Volker Kutscher. Starring Volker Bruch, Liv Lisa Fries, Peter Kurth, and Matthias Brandt, the Babylon Berlin series follows a police inspector from Cologne trying to take down an extortion ring.
Read More…...
- 1/29/2024
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
The list of movies and television shows that Netflix is removing from the streaming service throughout the month of February 2024 have been revealed.
If you don’t know, each and every month, Netflix has to remove certain titles from the streaming service, likely due to the expiration of various deals with studios.
Head inside to find out what is being removed from Netflix beginning in February..
See the full list of titles that are leaving Netflix in February…
Leaving February 7
MTV Floribama Shore: Season 1
Leaving February 9
Prisoners
Leaving February 10
Father Stu
Goosebumps
Leaving February 14
Chicken Run
Prometheus
Real Steel
Leaving February 19
Operation Finale
Leaving February 23
Married at First Sight: Season 12
The Real World: Season 12
Leaving February 26
19-2: Seasons 1-3
Million Pound Menu: Seasons 1-2
Unsolved: Tupac & Biggie
Leaving February 27
American Pickers: Season 15
Leaving February 28
Babylon Berlin: Seasons 1-3
Morbius
Snowpiercer
The Last Black Man...
If you don’t know, each and every month, Netflix has to remove certain titles from the streaming service, likely due to the expiration of various deals with studios.
Head inside to find out what is being removed from Netflix beginning in February..
See the full list of titles that are leaving Netflix in February…
Leaving February 7
MTV Floribama Shore: Season 1
Leaving February 9
Prisoners
Leaving February 10
Father Stu
Goosebumps
Leaving February 14
Chicken Run
Prometheus
Real Steel
Leaving February 19
Operation Finale
Leaving February 23
Married at First Sight: Season 12
The Real World: Season 12
Leaving February 26
19-2: Seasons 1-3
Million Pound Menu: Seasons 1-2
Unsolved: Tupac & Biggie
Leaving February 27
American Pickers: Season 15
Leaving February 28
Babylon Berlin: Seasons 1-3
Morbius
Snowpiercer
The Last Black Man...
- 1/24/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled a promising competition lineup for its upcoming edition, peppered with prestige star-driven titles such as the New York-set “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara, sci-fi drama “Another End” pairing Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve and its opening film “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer” protagonist Cillian Murphy.
As is customary, political elements play a prominent role. But the complete Berlinale roster revealed on Monday by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek – following previous announcements in past weeks – makes for the fest’s strongest selection in recent memory in terms of heft and ensures a rich red carpet following the Hollywood strikes hiatus.
Rissenbeek and Chatrain started the press conference with a statement on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “Festivals provide a space for artistic expression and enable peaceful dialogue. They are places of encounter and exchange and contribute to international understanding.
As is customary, political elements play a prominent role. But the complete Berlinale roster revealed on Monday by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek – following previous announcements in past weeks – makes for the fest’s strongest selection in recent memory in terms of heft and ensures a rich red carpet following the Hollywood strikes hiatus.
Rissenbeek and Chatrain started the press conference with a statement on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “Festivals provide a space for artistic expression and enable peaceful dialogue. They are places of encounter and exchange and contribute to international understanding.
- 1/22/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli and Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
The 74th Berlin International Film Festival unveiled its full lineup Monday at its official press conference in the House of World Cultures in Berlin. Berlinale managing director Mariëtte Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian presented the films that will compete for this year’s Golden and Silver Bears both in the competition and encounters sections.
Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios, a Berlinale regular and two-time Silver Bear winner — for A Cop Movie in 2022 and Museo in 2018 — returns to Berlin competition with his English-language feature debut La Cocina. Rooney Mara and The Cop Movie alum Raúl Briones star in the drama set over the course of a single day in a bustling New York City restaurant. Briones plays an undocumented cook in a relationship with Julia (Mara), an American waitress who cannot commit to their relationship. Fifth Season and WME are selling North American rights to La Cocina with HanWay handling international sales.
Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios, a Berlinale regular and two-time Silver Bear winner — for A Cop Movie in 2022 and Museo in 2018 — returns to Berlin competition with his English-language feature debut La Cocina. Rooney Mara and The Cop Movie alum Raúl Briones star in the drama set over the course of a single day in a bustling New York City restaurant. Briones plays an undocumented cook in a relationship with Julia (Mara), an American waitress who cannot commit to their relationship. Fifth Season and WME are selling North American rights to La Cocina with HanWay handling international sales.
- 1/22/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“The White Lotus” Season 3 at HBO has added five new cast members, Variety has learned.
Miloš Biković, Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, and Shalini Peiris have all joined the highly-anticipated new season of the series.
They join previously announced new cast members Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, and Tayme Thapthimthong. It was also announced that “The Gilded Age” star Carrie Coon is joining Season 3, while Natasha Rothwell will return to the show in a reprisal of her role from Season 1.
Biković is repped by Artist International Group and at Sv Casting. Friedel is repped by UTA, United Agents, Players Agentur Management, and Narrative. O’Reilly is repped by Link Entertainment and Johnson & Laird Management. Peiris is repped by Insight Management & Production.
The show is set to begin production in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, Thailand, in February. Exact plot details...
Miloš Biković, Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, and Shalini Peiris have all joined the highly-anticipated new season of the series.
They join previously announced new cast members Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, and Tayme Thapthimthong. It was also announced that “The Gilded Age” star Carrie Coon is joining Season 3, while Natasha Rothwell will return to the show in a reprisal of her role from Season 1.
Biković is repped by Artist International Group and at Sv Casting. Friedel is repped by UTA, United Agents, Players Agentur Management, and Narrative. O’Reilly is repped by Link Entertainment and Johnson & Laird Management. Peiris is repped by Insight Management & Production.
The show is set to begin production in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, Thailand, in February. Exact plot details...
- 1/12/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
German actor Christian Friedel melts into his roles, most recently as the commandant of Auschwitz in Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest.”
The Dresden, Germany-based actor and musician fashioned Rudolf Höss as an executive on the rise: he’s a snappy dresser who’s efficient and knows how to get the most out of his employees and equipment —and how to suck up to his bosses. Except that he’s running a death camp and overseeing the murder of thousands of Jews and whoever else the Nazis didn’t like. He also oversees a large family run by his equally striving and efficient wife, Hedwig.
It’s a tough role, but on one Saturday at the London Hotel in West Hollywood, Friedel is dressed in casual chic clothes while his curly hair borders on rebellion, unlike the severe cut Höss sports.
“It’s really precise. It’s like a second skin in a way,...
The Dresden, Germany-based actor and musician fashioned Rudolf Höss as an executive on the rise: he’s a snappy dresser who’s efficient and knows how to get the most out of his employees and equipment —and how to suck up to his bosses. Except that he’s running a death camp and overseeing the murder of thousands of Jews and whoever else the Nazis didn’t like. He also oversees a large family run by his equally striving and efficient wife, Hedwig.
It’s a tough role, but on one Saturday at the London Hotel in West Hollywood, Friedel is dressed in casual chic clothes while his curly hair borders on rebellion, unlike the severe cut Höss sports.
“It’s really precise. It’s like a second skin in a way,...
- 1/10/2024
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
Tom Tykwer is coming back to the movies.
The German director of Run Lola Run and Cloud Atlas has announced his return to filmmaking with the German drama Das Licht (The Light).
The feature, which has just wrapped principal photography, is described as a portrait of a family “between collapse and new beginnings” and deals with the major issues of our time “in a world that is reeling.”
Das Licht is Tykwer’s first feature film since 2016’s A Hologram for the King, starring Tom Hanks. He has spent the past seven years on TV, co-creating and co-directing, with Henk Handloegten and Achim von Borries, four seasons of the acclaimed and award-winning German historic series Babylon Berlin.
Das Licht stars Babylon Berlin alum Lars Eidinger and actor-director Nicolette Krebitz (Wild, My Zoe) as Tim and Milena Engels, a couple whose family, including nearly grown twins Frieda (Elke Biesendorfer) and Jon...
The German director of Run Lola Run and Cloud Atlas has announced his return to filmmaking with the German drama Das Licht (The Light).
The feature, which has just wrapped principal photography, is described as a portrait of a family “between collapse and new beginnings” and deals with the major issues of our time “in a world that is reeling.”
Das Licht is Tykwer’s first feature film since 2016’s A Hologram for the King, starring Tom Hanks. He has spent the past seven years on TV, co-creating and co-directing, with Henk Handloegten and Achim von Borries, four seasons of the acclaimed and award-winning German historic series Babylon Berlin.
Das Licht stars Babylon Berlin alum Lars Eidinger and actor-director Nicolette Krebitz (Wild, My Zoe) as Tim and Milena Engels, a couple whose family, including nearly grown twins Frieda (Elke Biesendorfer) and Jon...
- 12/14/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller bravely take on the terrible challenge of being German actors playing Nazis in Jonathan Glazer’s unsparing Holocaust film “The Zone of Interest.” It’s a task each turned over quite a lot in their minds before agreeing to play Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss and his sociopathic wife Hedwig, who lived with their children in a hardly oblivious bucolic bubble next to the Auschwitz concentration camp at the start of World War II.
“We talked about, in a very intense way, the subject matter, about the fact that, to play these two characters documentary-style, is this right? Is this good? How can you do that?,” Friedel told IndieWire in a Zoom interview from the New York offices of A24, which releases the film this week in select theaters.
Friedel, who is warm and chipper in conversation but totally devoid of emotion onscreen as Höss, is...
“We talked about, in a very intense way, the subject matter, about the fact that, to play these two characters documentary-style, is this right? Is this good? How can you do that?,” Friedel told IndieWire in a Zoom interview from the New York offices of A24, which releases the film this week in select theaters.
Friedel, who is warm and chipper in conversation but totally devoid of emotion onscreen as Höss, is...
- 12/13/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Jonathan Glazer’s brilliant Cannes Grand Prix winner (and a highlight in the Main Slate of the 61st New York Film Festival), The Zone of Interest (UK Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film), starring Sandra Hüller (of Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall) and Christian Friedel (of the Babylon Berlin series) took the best of Martin Amis’s novel and left all exaggerations aside. It is unmistakably a masterpiece and one of the best films in the 2020s so far. The excellent score by Mica Levi prepares us from the get-go. The noise in each viewer’s mind will fill in images, the information you know or surmise. The disquieting sound design is by Johnnie Burn, who also did Glazer’s Under The Skin and is a longtime Yorgos Lanthimos collaborator, including this year’s Poor Things.
The power of...
The power of...
- 10/27/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The founders are producers Roshanak “Rosh” Khodabakhsh and Jorgo Narje.
Netflix and Amazon Studios are among the backers of a new German programme entitled NewMotion to promote greater diversity in the nation’s film industry. It was officially launched at the Explorer Conference at Filmfest Hamburg this month.
The programme is the brainchild of producers Roshanak “Rosh” Khodabakhsh (Port au Prince Film und Kultur Produktion) and Jorgo Narjes (X Filme Creative Pool) in cooperation with the Producers Alliance Initiative for Qualification (Paiq).
“A central element of this initiative is a shadowing programme giving on-the-job training where you follow one person...
Netflix and Amazon Studios are among the backers of a new German programme entitled NewMotion to promote greater diversity in the nation’s film industry. It was officially launched at the Explorer Conference at Filmfest Hamburg this month.
The programme is the brainchild of producers Roshanak “Rosh” Khodabakhsh (Port au Prince Film und Kultur Produktion) and Jorgo Narjes (X Filme Creative Pool) in cooperation with the Producers Alliance Initiative for Qualification (Paiq).
“A central element of this initiative is a shadowing programme giving on-the-job training where you follow one person...
- 10/9/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The official trailer for Netflix’s groundbreaking new limited series “All The Light We Cannot See” has arrived.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr of the same name and starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, “Dark” breakout Louis Hoffman, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti – who stuns in her first ever acting role – the series is directed and executive produced by Canadian filmmaker Shawn Levy, written by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”), and recently had its world premiere at TIFF on September 10.
Aria Mia Loberti as Marie-Laure in episode 101 of “All the Light We Cannot See”. — Photo: Doane Gregory/Netflix
Read More: First Look At Mark Ruffalo In ‘All The Light You Cannot See’, Based On Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novel
The upcoming World War II-set series “follows the story of Marie-Laure (Loberti), a blind French girl and her father, Daniel LeBlanc (Ruffalo), who flee German-occupied Paris with a legendary diamond to...
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr of the same name and starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, “Dark” breakout Louis Hoffman, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti – who stuns in her first ever acting role – the series is directed and executive produced by Canadian filmmaker Shawn Levy, written by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”), and recently had its world premiere at TIFF on September 10.
Aria Mia Loberti as Marie-Laure in episode 101 of “All the Light We Cannot See”. — Photo: Doane Gregory/Netflix
Read More: First Look At Mark Ruffalo In ‘All The Light You Cannot See’, Based On Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novel
The upcoming World War II-set series “follows the story of Marie-Laure (Loberti), a blind French girl and her father, Daniel LeBlanc (Ruffalo), who flee German-occupied Paris with a legendary diamond to...
- 10/3/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Munich-based Beta Film, one of Europe’s leading television companies, and seasoned executive Danny Goldman have joined forces to form London-based Omega Global Media, a distribution business focusing on a selection of high-end English-language TV series. The new entity’s first project is the Canadian crime series “Something Undone,” starring Billy Campbell (“Cardinal”) and Amanda Brugel (“The Handmaid’s Tale”).
The formation of Omega Global Media reflects the partners’ shared conviction that they can co-finance and distribute premium English-language dramas beyond the constraints of the conventional studio, network, and streaming models. The company will be headed by Goldman, a former Sony Pictures Television and Miramax executive, and managing director of Goldridge Media.
Over the course of his career, Goldman has had a leading role in the distribution of many iconic TV series, including “Breaking Bad,” “Damages” and “Seinfield.” Beta Film’s credits include “The Swarm,” “Hudson&Rex,” “Prof T.,” “Babylon Berlin” and “Gomorrah.
The formation of Omega Global Media reflects the partners’ shared conviction that they can co-finance and distribute premium English-language dramas beyond the constraints of the conventional studio, network, and streaming models. The company will be headed by Goldman, a former Sony Pictures Television and Miramax executive, and managing director of Goldridge Media.
Over the course of his career, Goldman has had a leading role in the distribution of many iconic TV series, including “Breaking Bad,” “Damages” and “Seinfield.” Beta Film’s credits include “The Swarm,” “Hudson&Rex,” “Prof T.,” “Babylon Berlin” and “Gomorrah.
- 9/28/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Bertrand Bonello’s inspired The Beast (La Bête) is a highlight of the 61st New York Film Festival Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Jonathan Glazer’s brilliant Cannes Grand Prix winner The Zone Of Interest (UK Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film) starring Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel (of the Babylon Berlin series), Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast starring Léa Seydoux and George MacKay (original score by Bertrand and Anna Bonello); Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves starring Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen (with a Bill Murray and Adam Driver scene from Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die) are three highlights from the Main Slate. Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron in the Spotlight programme round out the four early bird highlights of the 61st New York...
Jonathan Glazer’s brilliant Cannes Grand Prix winner The Zone Of Interest (UK Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film) starring Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel (of the Babylon Berlin series), Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast starring Léa Seydoux and George MacKay (original score by Bertrand and Anna Bonello); Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves starring Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen (with a Bill Murray and Adam Driver scene from Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die) are three highlights from the Main Slate. Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron in the Spotlight programme round out the four early bird highlights of the 61st New York...
- 9/27/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Amazon is diving into The Swarm, snatching up rights for its Prime Video service across sub-Saharan Africa for the ecological thriller from Game of Thrones producer Frank Doelger.
The limited series, adapted from Frank Schätzing’s international best-seller, tells the story of a series of escalating disasters emerging from the world’s oceans. As scientists around the globe rush to discover their cause, it becomes clear that there is something bigger at play: an intelligent life force, dwelling in the deeps that is manipulating all life below the surface.
Barbara Eder (Barbarians, Concordia), Luke Watson (Ripper Street) and Philipp Stölzl (The Physician) directed the series, which features an ensemble cast including Alexander Karim (Dying of the Light), Cécile de France (The New Pope), Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, The Crown), Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt) and Takuya Kimura (2046, I Come With The Rain). Doelger produced through his Intaglio Films, together with Eric Welbers,...
The limited series, adapted from Frank Schätzing’s international best-seller, tells the story of a series of escalating disasters emerging from the world’s oceans. As scientists around the globe rush to discover their cause, it becomes clear that there is something bigger at play: an intelligent life force, dwelling in the deeps that is manipulating all life below the surface.
Barbara Eder (Barbarians, Concordia), Luke Watson (Ripper Street) and Philipp Stölzl (The Physician) directed the series, which features an ensemble cast including Alexander Karim (Dying of the Light), Cécile de France (The New Pope), Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, The Crown), Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt) and Takuya Kimura (2046, I Come With The Rain). Doelger produced through his Intaglio Films, together with Eric Welbers,...
- 9/25/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sascha Schwingel has been named the new CEO of German TV production giant UFA, replacing Nico Hofmann, who will become chair of the Berlin-based company behind such series as Generation War, Deutschland ’83 and Ku’damm 56. UFA is part of global production giant Fremantle.
Hofmann, who has been CEO of UFA since 2017, joined the company in 1998, setting up UFA’s serial fiction group teamWorx (now UFA Fiction). He is largely credited with helping turn UFA into Germany’s leading television producer, with shows across all genres and on air on virtually every German channel and streaming service.
The group consists of four production units: UFA Fiction, which produces high-end drama such as Deutschland ’83, Charité and the recent Disney+ series Sam – A Saxon; soaps division UFA Serial Drama, whose long-running serials include Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten and Unter Uns; UFA Show & Factual, which produce shiny floor shows including the local versions...
Hofmann, who has been CEO of UFA since 2017, joined the company in 1998, setting up UFA’s serial fiction group teamWorx (now UFA Fiction). He is largely credited with helping turn UFA into Germany’s leading television producer, with shows across all genres and on air on virtually every German channel and streaming service.
The group consists of four production units: UFA Fiction, which produces high-end drama such as Deutschland ’83, Charité and the recent Disney+ series Sam – A Saxon; soaps division UFA Serial Drama, whose long-running serials include Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten and Unter Uns; UFA Show & Factual, which produce shiny floor shows including the local versions...
- 9/19/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hofman becomes chairman after 26 years with the company.
Fremantle has named Sascha Schwingel as the CEO of its German production label UFA, replacing Nico Hofman who becomes chairman.
Hofman has been chief executive of the Deutschland 83 and Generation War producer since 2017, but has had a long career with the group beginning in 1998 when he set up teamWorx which is now UFA Fiction.
Schwingel was most recently deputy chief content officer of Rtl Deutschland and before that was CEO of the Rtl Group-owned TV channel Vox Television. Schwingel started his career at teamWorx as a producer and in 2014 moved to...
Fremantle has named Sascha Schwingel as the CEO of its German production label UFA, replacing Nico Hofman who becomes chairman.
Hofman has been chief executive of the Deutschland 83 and Generation War producer since 2017, but has had a long career with the group beginning in 1998 when he set up teamWorx which is now UFA Fiction.
Schwingel was most recently deputy chief content officer of Rtl Deutschland and before that was CEO of the Rtl Group-owned TV channel Vox Television. Schwingel started his career at teamWorx as a producer and in 2014 moved to...
- 9/19/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Beta Film has dropped the trailer for “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster.
The eight-part cinematic show, which is represented in international markets by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”), charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept. 28, 1994, which killed over 850 people.
The series is directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä. While the sinking of the ship is an important part of the show, “Estonia” also spotlights the tentacular probe launched in the aftermath of the tragedy by the Joint Accident Investigation Committee established by Sweden, Estonia and Finland.
Showrunner Miikko Oikkonen, who co-wrote the series with Olli Suitiala and Tuomas Hakola, said that when he “started to read the final report and went through the material, (he) realized the investigation itself was even more interesting than the accident.”
“It was a power play, a political game...
The eight-part cinematic show, which is represented in international markets by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”), charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept. 28, 1994, which killed over 850 people.
The series is directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä. While the sinking of the ship is an important part of the show, “Estonia” also spotlights the tentacular probe launched in the aftermath of the tragedy by the Joint Accident Investigation Committee established by Sweden, Estonia and Finland.
Showrunner Miikko Oikkonen, who co-wrote the series with Olli Suitiala and Tuomas Hakola, said that when he “started to read the final report and went through the material, (he) realized the investigation itself was even more interesting than the accident.”
“It was a power play, a political game...
- 8/31/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Los Angeles, Aug 24 (Ians) Signing up for the best International Feature from Germany, the country has picked Ilker Catak’s schoolroom drama ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ to represent their work for the 2024 Oscars as part of the best international feature category.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, an independent jury picked the feature, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, from a 12-title shortlist.
‘The Teachers Lounge’ has been a massive hit in Europe and film stars Leonie Benesch, and is produced by Ingo Fliess. The movie had its world premiere in Berlinale’s Panorama section, and won the Label Europa Cinemas prize.
Furthermore, it took five prizes at the German Film Awards, including the Lola in Gold for best feature film, and has been shortlisted for the European Film Award.
THR reported, Leonie Benesch stars in ‘The Teachers Lounge’ as an idealistic and ambitious young teacher who sees her...
According to The Hollywood Reporter, an independent jury picked the feature, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, from a 12-title shortlist.
‘The Teachers Lounge’ has been a massive hit in Europe and film stars Leonie Benesch, and is produced by Ingo Fliess. The movie had its world premiere in Berlinale’s Panorama section, and won the Label Europa Cinemas prize.
Furthermore, it took five prizes at the German Film Awards, including the Lola in Gold for best feature film, and has been shortlisted for the European Film Award.
THR reported, Leonie Benesch stars in ‘The Teachers Lounge’ as an idealistic and ambitious young teacher who sees her...
- 8/24/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Germany has picked Ilker Çatak’s schoolroom drama The Teachers’ Lounge to represent the country for the 2024 Oscars in the best international feature category.
An independent jury picked the feature, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, from a 12-title shortlist.
Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, Around the World in 80 Days) stars in The Teachers’ Lounge as an idealistic and ambitious young teacher who sees her life unravel after a spate of stealing at her school sets off a series of events that bring out the ugliest aspects of her fellow teachers, parents and the pupils themselves. Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Kathrin Wehlisch, Uygar Tamer and Özgür Karadeniz co-star.
The film won the Europa Cinemas Label prize as best European film in Berlin this year and beat out Edward Berger’s four-time Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front to take the top...
An independent jury picked the feature, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, from a 12-title shortlist.
Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, Around the World in 80 Days) stars in The Teachers’ Lounge as an idealistic and ambitious young teacher who sees her life unravel after a spate of stealing at her school sets off a series of events that bring out the ugliest aspects of her fellow teachers, parents and the pupils themselves. Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Kathrin Wehlisch, Uygar Tamer and Özgür Karadeniz co-star.
The film won the Europa Cinemas Label prize as best European film in Berlin this year and beat out Edward Berger’s four-time Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front to take the top...
- 8/23/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A few months ago, we heard that The CW had picked up the U.S. rights to the TV series adaptation of author Frank Schätzing’s apocalyptic sci-fi novel The Swarm (you can pick up a copy at This Link). Now Deadline has revealed that The Swarm is set to begin airing on The CW at 9 p.m. Et/Pt on Tuesday, September 12th. A trailer for the show can be seen in the embed above.
The Swarm, not to be confused with the Donald Glover / Prime Video series Swarm, has been a long time coming. In 2006, Uma Thurman and producers Michael Souvignier, Ica Souvignier, and Till Grönemeyer acquired the film rights, with The Silence of the Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally handling the adaptation and Dino De Laurentiis on board to help finance the film. But it didn’t make it into production. In 2018, it was announced that Game of Thrones...
The Swarm, not to be confused with the Donald Glover / Prime Video series Swarm, has been a long time coming. In 2006, Uma Thurman and producers Michael Souvignier, Ica Souvignier, and Till Grönemeyer acquired the film rights, with The Silence of the Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally handling the adaptation and Dino De Laurentiis on board to help finance the film. But it didn’t make it into production. In 2018, it was announced that Game of Thrones...
- 8/11/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
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