Barbara Palvin Short To Play Taormina; Daniel Kaluuya Partners With Roundhouse; BFI Distribution Acquires Cannes Title; Alan Cumming Celebrated At RTS Scotland

Lew Palter, who was featured in an iconic scene of the movie Titanic, has sadly passed away at the age of 94.

True Detective EP Richard Brown’s Passenger has struck a first-look deal with Patrick Daly’s Caledonia Productions.

Italy’s Taormina Film Festival kicks off its 69th edition this evening against the backdrop of its landmark Teatro Antico amphitheatre with a Pavarotti Forever benefit event headlined by Placido Domingo and Vittorio Grigolo.

Bringing artistic expression, sleek sneaker design, and turbocharged horsepower together, livestream shopping platform NTWRK teamed up with Dodge and rapper Tee Grizzley on a one-of-a-kind sneaker helmed by handmade sneaker artist Dexter The Creator.

Barrett Wissman is gearing up for his inaugural edition of the Taormina Film Festival as the newly appointed Executive and co-Artistic Director of the Sicily-set event, running from June 23 to July 1.

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media has struck a partnership with TikTok, with an initial focus on Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to uncover underrepresented independent authors and literary material from the #BookTok community.

Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin are engaged after five years together — but the actual proposal took place months ago.

Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin are engaged!

EXCLUSIVE: Power Book II: Ghost star Woody McClain has signed a publishing deal with the Black-owned comic book publisher Godhood Comics to bring to life The Brotherhood comic series. McClain created the series set to be released later this year and also co-writes alongside DC Comics Milestone Initiative breakout writer Dorado Quick.

Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin have confirmed they're engaged. In a new interview with, the young couple shares when they fell in love, how long Sprouse held on to the engagement ring before popping the question, where they're tying the knot and what makes them nervous about the wedding ceremony.The  alum and the Hungarian supermodel shared that what initially drew them to each other «was our mutual roasting of each other when we first met,» which was eight months before they officially started dating in 2018.«That was something that left a lasting impression,» says Sprouse, who, with Palvin, was being interviewed on Zoom by his twin brother and best man, Cole. «I can tell you the moment I fell in love,» Palvin shares.

Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin are spilling the beans on their upcoming nuptials.

EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Alcazar’s Sundance-lauded feature Divinity will premiere internationally at the Taormina Film Festival on June 29th in Italy. Writer and Director Alcazar and stars Bella Thorne, Karrueche Tran and Moises Arias are set to appear at the Teatro Antico for the celebration.

Thania Garcia Elf.Tech, Grimes’ newly minted AI program, has partnered with TuneCore to let artists distribute collaborations created through Grimes’ Elf.Tech AI to all major streaming platforms. The pilot program will allow artists to employ Elf.Tech, created by Grimes in partnership with CreateSafe, to co-create music with her AI voice and split 50% split of the revenue with her. The “GrimesAI voiceprints” can be exported and included in the creator’s original compositions, then uploaded to TuneCore with GrimesAI as a main or featured artist once Grimes has approved the collaboration. TuneCore will be responsible for surveying the content to ensure it adheres to DSP guidelines, validate accurate royalty splits and ultimately distribute the music to streaming platforms around the world. The initiative is part of Believe’s (TuneCore’s parent company) AI strategy.

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran Actor Alfredo Castro (The Club, No, From Afar) is in the middle of what could be described as a mid-career boom, but he doesn’t think it’ll bring him many plaudits in his native country.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Taormina Film Festival, one of Italy’s oldest movie celebrations, has undergone many makeovers through the years. Held since the mid-1950s in the Sicilian resort that recently got a promotional boost as the location of “The White Lotus” Season Two, this storied summer fest boasts an 8,000-seat open-air ancient Greek amphitheater in the shadow of Sicily’s active Mt. Etna volcano. In 2000, Tom Cruise stood on stage, greeted by hundreds of lit candles and a standing ovation to celebrate his 38th birthday while he was promoting “Mission: Impossible 2.” Ups and downs followed, as several chiefs took the Taormina reins over the the ensuing decades, until more recently the event fell off the international radar.

Blink49 Studios has partnered with Khaled Hosseini’s literary agency Transatlantic, its second major deal with a management company of the past year.

Thania Garcia Mathew Knowles and Emmy-nominated executive producer Tamra Simmons (“Surviving R. Kelly” and “Casey Anthony: Where The Truth Lies”) have joined forces to launch a new media company called Music World TV, Film & Media. Knowles will serve as CEO and Simmons as president, while executives Jasmine Murray and Krystal Rascoe join as head of development and business liaison (respectively). “I can’t wait to see what this next generation of women can accomplish,” said Knowles, whose long and storied career as a music manager has included developing acts like Destiny’s Child and daughters Solange and Beyoncé. “I’m excited for this new journey. I’ve always believed in giving back and what greater gift can you give than the gift of knowledge.”

Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher’s latest pic La Chimera has inked a series of international deals for The Match Factory following its well-received debut at last month’s Cannes Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Gaga Corp. and Goodfellas have revealed new sales on Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Cannes 2023 Palme d’Or contender Monster as the drama enjoys a strong theatrical kick-off at the Japanese box office.

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired all North American rights for Catherine Breillat’s drama Last Summer (L’été dernier) following its well-received premiere in competition in the final days of the Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27).