Cannes: IFC Films, Shudder Buy Isabel May Film ‘Menace'(EXCLUSIVE)

Tributes have been paid to the Indian media baron Ramoji Rao, who has died at the age of 87.

Brent Lang Executive Editor TodayTix Group has acquired Arthouse, a full-service digital advertising agency. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies said that Arthouse will operate independently. The company’s founder, Sara Fitzpatrick, will continue to oversee the business with her team.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Midas Man,” an upcoming drama about Brian Epstein, the visionary manager who helped turn the Beatles into the biggest thing in pop culture, has sold North American distribution rights to Briarcliff Entertainment. The company will distribute the movie in collaboration with Studio POW and American Entertainment Investors. It stars Jacob Fortune-Lloyd of “The Queen’s Gambit” as Epstein.

Happy post-conviction day? Yesterday, Donald Trump became the first former American President to be convicted of felony crimes as a jury found him guilty on all 34 charges in his scheme to influence the 2016 election with his hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels who said the two engaged in sex while he was married to his current wife (oh, and he has three more criminal cases to deal with too). Trump has also been in the news for the film, “The Apprentice,” starring Sebastian Stan, which premiered at the recent Cannes Film Festival to solid reviews.

Angelina Jolie,Brad Pitt,Johnny Depp, and Lady Gaga.Angelina Jolie will have to produce 8 years of NDAs for ongoing legal battle with Brad PittShiloh Jolie-Pitt is celebrating her 18th birthday! Her choreographer opens up about her personalityVariety reports that a group of awaited films are almost guaranteed to be accepted at the festival, including “Maria,” the biopic starring Angelina Jolie depicting the life of Maria Callas, and “Joker: Folie a Deux,” starring Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix’s foil. The festival might also include a reunion between Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt, with his new “Wolfs” also being in the mix.

Sony is in talks to purchase Queen‘s music catalogue in a potential $1 billion (£800m) deal.According to Bloomberg, Sony is allegedly working alongside another investor on the purchase of the catalogue – which includes hits such as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Radio Gaga – which would be the largest sale of its kind.The transaction would include merchandising and other business opportunities. The Bloomberg report shared that talks were still ongoing and could potentially not result in a deal.As per company filings, Queen’s surviving members – Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon – and the estate of late frontman Freddie Mercury are all equal shareholders in Queen Productions Ltd and reported revenues of $52 million (£40.8 million) in 2022.Back in 2021, Bruce Springsteen sold his back catalogue to Sony for an estimated $500 million (£393 million).

Naman Ramachandran Debbie Harry, lead vocalist of the band Blondie, headlines the cast of the Tribeca-selected short “Catharsis.” Brian Logvinsky’s directorial debut follows a dancer savant on the brink of self-destruction, confronted by a peculiar psychotherapist who delves into his subconscious. The 17-minute film blends surrealism, performance art and horror, drawing from Logvinsky’s own Soviet-American heritage. Harrison Ball stars as Alex, a gifted but troubled dancer grieving his mother’s death.

Jamie Lang Announced from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Projeto Paradiso – a Brazilian private foundation that supports local film and TV professionals – is teaming with the Centre des Écritures Cinématographiques (CECI) – an artistic cultural center in Moulin d’Andé, France – on a new screenwriting residency for Brazilian filmmakers. The initiative, part of the Projeto Paradiso Residencies Program, has also received support from the French Embassy in Brazil.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sideshow and Janus films (“Drive My Car”) have acquired all North American rights to Payal Kapadia‘s “All We Imagine as Light,” the first Indian film to screen in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years. The movie will world premiere on Thursday, May 23. It’s also one of only four films in the Competition directed by a woman.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent A new Saudi Arabian film studio with deep pockets and Hollywood connections is launching from the Cannes Film Festival with a slate of film and TV projects. The Los Angeled-based 3SIX9 Studios – announced at an event on a yacht in the bay of Cannes – is co-founded by actor and producer Daya Fernández, who serves as CEO; Inga V.

Kevin Costner and Sienna Miller make rare red carpet appearances with their respective children at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival premiere of their new film Horizon: An American Saga held at Palais des Festivals on Sunday (May 19) in Cannes, France.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Tom Felton, best-known for his role as Draco Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” franchise, is to star in the $15 million action/sci-fi film “Altered,” alongside Richard Brake (“Game of Thrones,” “Barbarian,” “Mayor of Kingstown”), Igor Jijikine (“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”), Aggy Adams (“The Witcher”) and Liza Bugulova. The film is set in an alternate present, where most of the human population have undergone genetic enhancements.

EXCLUSIVE: IFC Films has acquired North American rights to Memoir of a Snail, a stop-motion drama from Adam Elliot — the writer-director behind the Academy Award-winning 2004 short Harvie Krumpet.

Jamie Lang International sales and distribution outfit Pink Parrot Media has closed several key deals for Doce Entertainment and Mr. Miyagi Films’ animated kids and family feature “Hanna and the Monsters.” Agreements have been made with World Visions for CIS, Boxoo for South Korea, Front Row for the Middle East, GPI for the Baltics, Cinetel for Hungary, Wediacorp for Turkey and Movie Company for Benelux.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent New films by Julio Medem, Alejandro Amenábar, Alberto Rodríguez, Isaki Lacuesta, Jonas Trueba and Oliver Laxe join a brace of smart thrillers in a rich Cannes lineup from Spain. “8,” (Julio Medem) Medem (“The Red Squirrel,” “Julia and Sex”) returns towhat he does best: a love story transcending time and space and a poetic critique of recent history, according to sales agent Latido Films. “Fariña’s” Javier Rey and “La Mesías” Ana Rujus star as the lovers.

Naman Ramachandran Woman-focused streamer Herflix, the Female Film Club, female empowerment community Yes She Cannes and French management and production company Sisterland have teamed to launch female collective Her Club Cannes. Attended by some 250 invited film professionals, the event aims to highlight the power and importance of women in film.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Zurich and Berlin-based distrib DCM has nabbed Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice” ahead of its May 20 world premiere in Cannes, where its screening in competition. Written by Gabriel Sherman, “The Apprentice” follows Donald Trump’s real estate career in New York during the 1970s and ’80s and his relationships with lawyer Roy Cohen (Jeremy Strong), wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova) and father Fred Trump (Martin Donovan).

An iconic sci-fi star is joining a legendary science-fiction fantasy series. Sigourney Weaver, known for her turn as Ellen Ripley in the “Alien” series, has been cast in the upcoming “Star Wars” film, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” according to THR.

IFC Films released a new trailer for the new revenge horror film “In A Violent Nature” that the studio will release exclusively in theaters on May 31. The terrifying movie— reported to have made some audience members violently ill and vomit recently— focuses on a resurrected corpse named Johnny that brutally kills, trying to get back his locket after it’s removed from his tomb in the woods.

Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Roy Lee and Steven Schneider’s genre label Spooky Pictures have set the third feature under their multi-picture slate deal with sci-fi horror Menace. Directed by Randall Okita (See For Me), the film stars Isabel May (1883) who also serves as an executive producer via her banner Una Vaca Productions.