AFM 2022 Sets New Programming & Speakers

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has pre-bought North American rights to under-the-radar Pretty Boy Floyd biopic Good Side Of A Bad Man, which begins principal photography today in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

EXCLUSIVE: Beta Cinema has unveiled a raft of first deals for German director Kilian Riedhof’s drama You Will Not Have My Hate, inspired by the experiences of French writer Antoine Leiris, whose wife was killed in the November 13, 2015 terror attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris.

The new Kander & Ebb stage musical New York, New York, inspired by the 1977 Martin Scorsese film starring Liza Minnelli and ‎Robert De Niro, will begin performances Friday, March 24, 2023 and officially open Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at Broadway’s St. James Theatre.

EXCLUSIVE: Documentary+, the free streaming service launched by non-fiction studio XTR, has launched its latest slate of original feature docs.

Barunson E&A, the production company behind Oscar-winner Parasite, is set to officially launch its new international ventures at the upcoming American Film Market as it looks to expand into co-production, financing and sales.

Taylor Swift’s fans have channeled Sally Field to deliver a message: they really, really like her.

EXCLUSIVE: Corsage and Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps has been set to lead ghost story Went Up The Hill with Stranger Things actor Dacre Montgomery.

Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have picked up Ray Romano’s feature directorial debut Somewhere in Queens, which previously had a world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. The three-time Emmy winner also co-wrote, stars and produced the film. Roadside plans to give Somewhere in Queens a theatrical release next year. The pic currently stands at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor CANNES — International TV sales veteran Jim Packer has set a multi-year deal with Lionsgate that will keep him on the senior management team as president of worldwide TV distribution. News of his contract extension was revealed Oct. 17, just as the Mipcom content marketplace kicks off this week in Cannes, bringing the global TV community together for the first full time in three years. Packer has been with Lionsgate since 2011. The news that he has re-upped comes at a time of uncertainty for the studio. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has said the company, which is home to the Lionsgate studio and Starz pay TV platform, is considering options for separating those assets, possibly by selling off the studio to focus on building up Starz.

this weekend’s sold-out BravoCon and host a panel at the three-day Javits Center event called “The Jersey Boys,” featuring the husbands from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” The panel would be a testerone-rich companion to a panel starring the Garden State’s housewives. But, as infidelity rumors swirled around New Jersey housewife Melissa Gorga and the longstanding feud between Gorga and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice reignited, Bravo execs had to come up with a new plan.

Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are stepping out for a screening of their new movie at the 2022 New York Film Festival.

Manori Ravindran International Editor New York’s South Asian International Film Festival has appointed Chayan Sarkar as its new president. A filmmaker, entrepreneur and festival director, Sarkar is also the founder of the Indian International Film Festival of Queensland in Australia. He takes over from SAIFF founder Shilen Amin, who will step down as president, but will remain a member of the festival’s board of directors. Sarkar joins SAIFF as the festival enters its 19th year as a leading film festival in the U.S. for new cinema from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, and within the Indian diaspora. In recent years, SAIFF has become increasingly influential as a platform for South Asian cinema, both in the U.S. and internationally. Fourteen of India’s submissions for the international feature film Oscar have had their North American premieres at the festival.

Emily Longeretta Lifetime’s holiday movie slate is here! The network’s annual “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” event kicks off on Nov. 5 with new movies premiering every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday all season long! This year, the slate includes 26 new holiday films. Melissa Joan Hart executive produces and directs her fourth Lifetime movie this year with “Santa Bootcamp,” starring Emily Kinney and Patrick Cassidy.

Emily Longeretta “Dancing With the Stars” took on once of its most popular weeks on Monday night, with each star performing routines to hit Disney+ songs. While many of the routines were on the faster side, the emotion was still running high. Selma Blair and Sasha Farber were tasked with a quickstep to “The Muppet Show Theme” from “The Muppet Show,” and she was feeling the pressure. Ahead of her routine, she admitted that after performing blindfolded last week, she thought she would receive higher scores than four 7s — the scores she’s gotten every week. She said it was a “wake up call” that she wasn’t impressing the judges the way she wanted. Luckily, after this week’s quickstep, the pair were thrilled to receive four 8s for the first time.

Crunchyroll is adding some new shows!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter WWE is shaking up their commentary teams, Variety has learned exclusively. Beginning with this week’s season premiere episode of “SmackDown,” the commentary team for the shows will be as follows: On “SmackDown,” Michael Cole and Wade Barrett will be the main commentators, with Barrett moving over from the “NXT” commentary team. Samantha Irvin will serve as the ring announcer, with Kayla Braxton and Megan Morant serving as backstage interviewers. At “Monday Night Raw,” Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves will the commentary team. Patrick has worked as a backstage correspondent, a play-by-play commentator for “WWE Main Event,” and the host of “Raw Talk.” Mike Rome will be the ring announcer. Cathy Kelley and Byron Saxton will conduct onscreen interviews. Kelley is returning to WWE after leaving the company in 2020. Saxton has been working on the “Raw” commentary desk along with Graves and Jimmy Smith of late.

German powerhouse Constantin Film and Frank Spotnitz’s Big Light Productions have teamed to make a high-end drama series about the events surrounding the Nuremberg Trials.