‘BlackBerry’: Story of Doomed Smartphone Company Casts Jay Baruchel & Glenn Howerton, XYZ Films Boards Sales for TIFF (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Marcus Dunstan, the writer of Saw 3D and Saw VI, is set to direct the horror flick All My Friends Are Dead. Film Mode Entertainment and Roundtable Entertainment will launch sales on the project at the Toronto Film Festival.

Lena Dunham is premiering her new movie at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival!

Daniel Radcliffe is making a rare red carpet appearance with his girlfriend!

Manori Ravindran International Editor IFC Films has acquired the U.S. rights to “Operation Avalanche” director Matt Johnson’s new movie, “BlackBerry,” about the ill-fated smartphone that took the world by storm in the early 2000s. The highly anticipated film, which was first revealed by Variety last month, tells the story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the BlackBerry, and stars an ensemble cast including Jay Baruchel (“This Is the End”), Glenn Howerton (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and Cary Elwes (“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning”). The pic will detail the operations of BlackBerry’s Canadian parent company Research in Motion, which was one of the country’s most illustrious and well-known tech companies before it floundered in legal disputes and eventually lost its market advantage to competitors such as Apple and Samsung. At the heart of the story is the business relationship between co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.

EXCLUSIVE: UK sales firm 101 Films International has acquired worldwide sales rights (excluding North America) for drama feature Marlene, and will launch sales in Toronto this week.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Munich-based Beta Film, one of Europe’s biggest truly independent TV-film groups, has licensed to PPCW Media for Hong Kong and Macau International Emmy winner “Atlantic Crossing,” starring Kyle MacLachan and Sofia Helin. PPC Media has also acquired Alejandro Amenábar’s Movistar Plus+ original “La Fortuna,” with Stanley Tucci and Clarke Peters, a tale of piracy, court room battles and historical justice set between the U.S. and Spain. Reaching more remote places, Beta has also closed Mongolia with Hulegu Media, on “Sisi” a mix of sex, politics and period glam from RTL, Beta and Story House, a modern mindset take on a film icon.  

Trinidad Barleycorn At the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Biarritz, Studiocanal revealed further sales on its high-budget sci-fi thriller “Infiniti,” produced by Empreinte Digitale and Federation Entertainment Belgium. The show has already sold to more than 60 territories internationally, including Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Brazil, and has now been acquired by AMC Networks International, SBS (Australia), Now Studio (Hong Kong), TV2 (Norway), NOVA (Greece), Go3 (Baltics), HOT(Israel) and Telus (English speaking Canada). More deals are in the pipeline. “Infiniti” blends a sci-fi crime thriller with political intrigue and a classic love story woven through, that echoes the current global space race. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based Picture Tree Intl. has added “This Place,” by Canadian debut director V.T. Nayani, to its lineup. The film is to have its world premiere at Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 9 as part of the Discovery and Next Wave Selects sections. The film stars Devery Jacobs, who was the lead actor in “Reservation Dogs” and the upcoming Marvel Studio production “Echo,” and newcomer Priya Guns. The screenplay was co-written by V.T. Nayani, Devery Jacobs and Golshan Abdmoulaie. It tells the story of two young women falling in love for the first time and being jointly challenged by their own family histories, which bear the legacies of loss, migration and displacement.

Amazon Prime Video’s first trailer for “The English” is an unsettling one.

Sébastian Marnier’s psychological thriller Origin Of Evil, starring Call My Agent! actress Laure Calamy as a factory worker who discovers the father she never knew is a wealthy businessman, opens Venice’s Horizons Extra sidebar on Thursday.

Meghan Markle toppled Spotify king Joe Rogan this week to become number one on the platform in six different countries, including the U.S., with her new podcast "Archetypes."  The Duchess of Sussex welcomed her longtime friend and tennis champ Serena Williams as her first guest on the podcast Tuesday.The two talked about how the word "ambition" has become a "dirty, dirty word when it comes to women." In the podcast, the royal said she never personally felt a negative connotation toward "ambition" until she started dating Prince Harry.  "Since I’ve felt the negativity behind it, it’s really hard to un-feel it," she said. "I can’t unsee it, either, in the millions of girls and women who make themselves smaller – so much smaller – on a regular basis." Meghan Markle dropped her first episode of 'Achetypes' on Tuesday.

Meghan Markle has already hit an incredible achievement with her new podcast, Archetypes!

Meghan Markle’s new Archetypes is currently Spotify’s most-listened-to podcast in six countries, overtaking usual U.S. frontrunner The Joe Rogan Experience.

according to The Wrap, in Australia, Canada and the UK, where Markle still has a very loyal fanbase despite her Prince Harry leaving royal life in 2021.“Archetypes” has also outperformed the “Game of Thrones” podcast that was centered around the new spin-off “House of the Dragon,” which premiered on Sunday.In the podcast, Markle discusses the stereotypes faced by women in professional and social environments and featured tennis legend Serena Williams as her first guest.This is not the first time Rogan, who’s had a very fraught relationship with Spotify, has been dethroned. In September 2021, a podcast entitled “Batman Unburied” topped Rogan before he reclaimed the top spot again.Rogan also has some history of beef with Markle, after calling her a “little American hussy” in February 2021, which caused all 113 episodes to be mysteriously removed from the streaming platform.Several Twitter users rejoiced at Rogan’s downfall.“MEGHAN KNOCKED JOE ROGAN OUT OF THE #1 SPOT!!!!! MY GOD THIS IS A HUGE DEAL.

podcast charts, taking the top spot from longtime No. 1 title “The Joe Rogan Experience” in the US. “Archetypes” has also taken over the No.

is almost here. Ahead of its September premiere, Hulu debuted a new extended and emotional trailer, teasing an epic showdown between Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) and June (Elisabeth Moss), who killed Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) at the end of season 4. “He had to pay for what he did,” June is heard saying of Waterford, whom she blames for taking the U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: Evan Williams (Awkward) is joining the cast of original series The Way Home for Hallmark that stars Andie MacDowell and Chyler Leigh.

With high anticipation in the Star Wars community for the Andor television series coming to Disney plus Rouge One: A Star Wars Story becomes even more important to the Star Wars lore as Cassian Andor is a main character in that movie. With the unfortunate news of Andor being Delayed till September Lucasfilm has decided to rerelease Rouge One in 150 IMAX Movie Theaters in the U.S and Canada for one week from August 26th.

Joanna Gaines will tell her story in a new memoir.