Berlinale Competition Film ‘Music’ Finds U.S. Distribution With Cinema Guild (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Drift director Anthony Chen is gearing up to direct his first US-set project, Heartbeat: A New York Story, about the rarely-told experiences of the Asian gay community during the AIDS epidemic in 1980s New York.

Sammo Hung will be presented with a lifetime achievement honor at the Asian Film Awards. The ceremony was back as an in-person event after a two-year absence and has shifted back to Hong Kong after previously being held in Hong Kong, Macau and Busan. Hung will accept the award on Sunday at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Hung’s career as an actor, action choreographer, director and producer spans some 60 years. His acting credits include action comedies “Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog” and “Odd Couple,” paranormal horror comedies “Encounters of the Spooky Kind” and “The Dead and the Deadly,” comedy film series “Lucky Stars” and gangster action film “Shanghai, Shanghai.” In 1982, Hung won the best actor prize at the second Hong Kong Film Awards for his directorial effort “Carry on Pickpocket,” as well as best action choreography for “The Prodigal Son,” which he also directed and starred in.

Naman Ramachandran Siva Ananth, one of the producers of Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus “Ponniyin Selvan: 1,” is ecstatic about the film’s rich haul of nominations at the Asian Film Awards. The film has received a total of six nominations, including for best picture. It is an adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s classic Tamil-language novel. The story is set in 10th century India during a tumultuous time in the Chola empire, when the power struggle between different branches of the ruling family caused violent rifts between the potential successors to the reigning emperor and a civil war became imminent. All the political and military turmoil led to the Cholas becoming the most prosperous and powerful empire in the continent and one of the most successful and longest-reigning in history.

Shakira has revealed that her viral hit ‘Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53’ was actually inspired by Depeche Mode.Speaking on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Argentinian producer and DJ Bizarrap explained that the day before he went into the studio with Shakira, he made two potential beats for their collab.Shakira then went on to explain how she was instantly drawn to one of the instrumentals. “It reminded me of Depeche Mode,” she said.If you listen to [‘Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Driving ever more into Latin America, Wild Sheep Content, the L.A.-based label of former Netflix head of international original series Erik Barmack, has launched the Mexico City-based Wild Sheep Latin America as well as a dedicated film completion finance-distribution fund targeting five-to-eight investments a year in the region.  “Three Idiots” producer Jimena Rodríguez, who also created the distribution arm of Mexican exhibition giant Cinepolis, will head up Wild Sheep Latin America following on her production with Barmack of a burgeoning line in star-studded, character-driven crime thrillers begun by Netflix Mexico original “Invitation to Murder.”

Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves comes a new music reality competition called, which they promise is a «fresh take on» the TV genre as it «breaks down barriers in country music by providing an extraordinary opportunity to diverse artists from around the world.»  Ahead of the eight-part competition's debut on Apple TV+, the streaming platform released a trailer, offering the first look at what's to come from this one-of-a-kind experience.  On the show, three groundbreaking country artists and scouts -- Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton and Orville Peck -- have each handpicked a roster of what they consider to be «exceptional up-and-coming talent» and invited them to live together in a house in Nashville, Tennessee, where they'll showcase their unique sound and style for the judges.While there, the twelve contestants will vye for the chance to win «a life-changing experience from Apple, including global exposure across the Apple TV+ and Apple Music platforms.»In addition to watching the extended preview for the reality series, check out the three scout's full roster of competing artists below:    Chihuahua, Mexico Ale infuses herself into her music and bilingual lyrics with the mariachi, norteño, banda and other sounds she heard growing up in Mexico. At the age of 16 she taught herself how to play the guitar, and is now on the way to establishing herself as an independent singer-songwriter with a loyal following she’s gained from her popular YouTube channel.    New Delhi, India Dhruv, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer-songwriter and producer, started his musical journey at the age of seven.

EXCLUSIVE: Cinema Guild has nabbed North American rights to the feature doc Our Body directed by Venice prize winner Claire Simon (The Competition), which premiered to critical acclaim at last month’s Berlin Film Festival before touching down stateside at MoMA’s Doc Fortnight as well as True/False. Pic is slated for release in theaters later this year.

Naman Ramachandran Yash Raj Films’ 2018 hit “Sui Dhaaga: Made in India” will release in China on March 31. Starring Bollywood A-listers Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, the film follows an unemployed small-town man who defies all odds and naysayers and revives his family’s garment business. The film’s plot is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy that Indians should be self-dependent to achieve their goals. Dhawan plays a tailor, while Sharma plays an embroiderer in the film who, as husband and wife, team to fulfil their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. The film is directed by Sharat Katariya and produced by Maneesh Sharma and Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films. The trio previously collaborated on the hit “Dum Laga Ke Haisha” (2015).

“The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon teased former president Donald Trump for making “some pretty intense promises” during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday.During his speech, Trump said that he was his supporters “warrior,” “justice” and “retribution” for those who have been “wrong and betrayed.”“He’s either running for president or auditioning to be the next John Wick,” Fallon joked. “He was like, ‘I am your retribution,’ and then he kind of went off the rails after that.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian star author Robert Saviano, whose mob exposé “Gomorrah” spawned both Matteo Garrone’s eponymous prizewinning movie and the groundbreaking crime series that plays stateside on HBO, is making his directorial debut. Saviano will direct “I’m Still Alive,” an animation adaptation of his graphic novel illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka (“Waltz With Bashir”). “Still Alive” examines the anti-mob activist’s life under armed guard since being forced to live with police protection shortly after 2006 when Saviano’s account of the inner workings of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate was published. Just like Saviano’s graphic novel, “I’m Still Alive” will feature illustration’s by Hanuka, an Eisner-winning cartoonist who is known, besides “Bashir,” for his autobiographical strips “The Realist” and for graphic novel “The Divine.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Michelle Yeoh was already an actor star overseas by 1997 thanks to popular Hong Kong movies like “Police Story 3: Super Cop” and “Supercop 2,” but it wasn’t until the James Bond tentpole “Tomorrow Never Dies” opened that year that Yeoh had her Hollywood breakthrough. The actor played Wai Lin, a Chinese spy who is highly skilled in marital arts and bucks every “damsel in distress” and “Bond girl” stereotype. “The first movie I did after I came to America was ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ with Pierce Brosnan,” Yeoh recently told People magazine. “James Bond at that point had only been known as macho, and the girls were just the ones with cutesy names.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sony Pictures Classics has bought “The Teachers’ Lounge,” Ilker Çatak’s drama which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, for North America, Latin America and Eastern Europe (excluding Hungary). “The Teachers’ Lounge” marks the fourth feature from Çatak, who co-wrote the screenplay with Johannes Duncker. The movie played in the Panorama section and won the Europa Cinemas Label award for Best European film, as well as the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award. Produced by Ingo Fliess and shot by award-winning cinematographer Judith Kaufmann (“Corsage”), “The Teachers’ Lounge” stars Leonine Benesch (“The Crown”), Michael Klammer, Rafael Stachowiak, and Eva Löbau.

new “baby mama” in mind should he choose to welcome baby No. 13.The 42-year-old host was joined by “The Real Housewives of New York City” alum Luann de Lesseps, 57, on Wednesday’s episode of “The Masked Singer” as she provided the judges with clues to guess the identity of the masked performer Medusa.But before the cabaret singer could give her hints, Cannon told the audience that the duo “have a love thing going” — to which she replied, while caressing his shoulder, “We do, we do,” according to The Sun. Lesseps then joked to Cannon that she “wouldn’t tell — if he didn’t,” as judge Robin Thicke perfectly interjected, “We will all find out nine months later.”The remark both stunned and amused the fellow judges and live audience, the outlet reported.

Angelique Jackson Launch Releasing, the independent film distribution and production company, has announced its 2023 development slate following last year’s releases, Lionsgate’s “The Black String,” starring Frankie Muniz, and “The Translator,” which world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Highlights include the action-comedy “Andy Somebody” and two sequels to the animated franchise “Riki Rhino,” which the company will executive produce. “At Launch Releasing, our passion and mandate is really simple – we want to find movies that we love and share them with audiences. When we saw ‘Andy Somebody,’ we instantly fell in love with its underdog story and its quirky comedic characters and we’re looking forward to audiences joining us on this really fun ride,” stated Sheldon Brigman, the company’s CEO. “Whether it’s genre titles such as ‘Mr. Sleep’ or captivating human interest films such as ‘The Translator’ where complex characters make life and death decisions in war torn Syria, Launch Releasing is proud to have curated a diverse and distinct slate.”

Haley Lu Richardson is officially a Jonas Brothers video girl! The actress -- who is an outspoken Jonatic — appeared alongside Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas in the «Wings» music video. And it was a dream come true. «It was beyond cool,» Richardson told ET's Denny Directo on Sunday at the 2023 SAG Awards.

Kristen Stewart has served one look after another while acting as the jury president at the Berlinale International Film Festival, and her latest look is perhaps her most daring yet.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlinale competition film “Music” opens with gray clouds racing across the face of a Greek mountain as a storm prepares to break. It is a suitably dramatic prelude to the tumultuous events that will unfold, albeit rendered in an understated manner by German director Angela Schanelec, who won the Berlinale best director award in 2019 for “I Was at Home, But.” As the storm lifts, an abandoned baby boy is rescued a paramedic, who names him Jon. Years later, Jon, now a young man, kills another man, accidentally, and ends up in prison. Here, he is tended to by a female guard, Iro, as his eyesight begins to deteriorate. When he is released, the two get married and have a child. But several years later, his wife discovers a terrible secret.

Kane Brown was asked to return and host this year's CMT Music Awards, it was an «immediate yes!»The country music star is preparing for his third consecutive hosting gig at the upcoming awards show, and he'll have friend and fellow performer Kelsea Ballerini by his side once again.«My first CMT was my first award,» Brown told ET's Cassie DiLaura, explaining what the show means to him. "[It's the] only award show I've hosted and it's just cool, getting to keep doing it and getting to keep getting more comfortable.«Noting that he hopes to „bring the excitement“ to this year's show, Brown praised Ballerini as a „natural sweetheart“ who is the perfect hosting partner.»It's cool to be doing it with somebody I'm familiar with," he added.

Naman Ramachandran Acclaimed actor Vijay Varma is one of the leads in “Dahaad” (“Roar”), the first Indian series to compete in the Berlinale Series Competition. Produced by Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby and directed by Reema Kagti (Amazon Prime Video series “Made in Heaven”) and Ruchika Oberoi (Venice winner “Island City”), the other leads are Sonakshi Sinha, Gulshan Devaiah and Sohum Shah. “‘Dahaad’ is about the investigation of a series of crimes conducted by a small town, rookie police officer at a small police station in Rajasthan [western India] – there are these disappearing girls and somehow the young police officer finds a certain similarity between these these disappearances,” Varma told Variety. “It’s a slow burn, investigative drama and it’s also very atmospheric and moody and noir-ish.”

Hong Sang-soo’s latest film, “In Water,” has been bought by Cinema Guild for North American distribution on the heels of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. The film played in the Encounters section and is expected to have its North American premiere at a festival later this year. Cinema Guild will be releasing “In Water” theatrically. Described by Cinema Guild as Hong’s “most overtly experimental work to date,” “In Water” follows Seongmo (Shin Seokho), a young man who recently gave up acting and has decided to make a film with his own money. He and his two friends venture to the rocky shores of a large island to shoot the movie together. His former classmate, Sangguk (Ha Seongguk), will operate the camera and Namhee (Kim Seungyun) will act in it. The only problem is that Seongmo hasn’t decided what to make. As he wanders in the rocks and wind, Seongmo searches inspiration but what he finds is a young woman picking up trash. And that’s all he needs.