‘Casablanca Beats’ Filmmaker Nabil Ayouch is Wrapping ‘Everybody Loves Touda,’ MK2 Films Boards Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French broadcaster France Televisions has been blamed by supporters of Gerard Depardieu, the Oscar-nominated actor of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” for contributing to the downfall of one of country’s most iconic actors with a bombshell documentary about his history of sexual abuse allegations which aired on Dec. 7.

Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart – check out the clip above.Directed by Rose Glass (Saint Maud), the romance thriller follows gym manager Lou (Stewart) who falls in love with bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian). Their relationship, however, escalates into a revenge story as they face dangerous threats from Jackie’s criminal father.Other cast members include Ed Harris (Westworld) as Lou’s father, Jena Malone (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Anna Baryshnikov and Dave Franco (The Disaster Artist).Love Lies Bleeding is co-written by Glass and Weronika Tofilska, with Andrea Cornwell and Oliver Kassman serving as producers.It marks director Glass’s second film following her breakout feature debut Saint Maud, which was nominated for two awards at the BAFTAs in 2021.In a five-star review of Saint Maud, NME described Glass as a “must-watch filmmaker” who “could well prove to be a defining voice in the future of British horror”.Love Lies Bleeding is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “The Count of Monte-Cristo,” the new period epic from the team behind “The Three Musketeers,” is getting ready to hit the market after its five-month shoot wrapped this month. Producers Dimitri Rassam at Mediawan-owned banner Chapter 2 and Pathé have unveiled a first still of the movie (above), which stars Pierre Niney as the iconic title character.

Ray Romano has weighed in on the possibility of rebooting his hit ’90s sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond.Speaking on the latest episode of HBO‘s Real Time With Bill Maher, Romano emphatically shut down talks of reviving Everybody Loves Raymond. When asked if the show could come back in some form, Romano told Maher, per Variety: “As far as a reboot, well it’s out now of the question because unfortunately the parents are gone: Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts.”Peter Boyle, who played Raymon’s father Frank, died in 2006 shortly after the series concluded.

Valerie Wu Intern “Everybody Loves Raymond” will not be getting a reboot, according to Ray Romano. On “Real Time With Bill Maher,” Romano addressed the possibility of a reboot, saying, “As far as a reboot, well, it’s now out of the question because unfortunately the parents are gone: Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts.” Boyle and Roberts portrayed Romano’s parents Frank and Marie Barone on the sitcom. Roberts died in 2016, while Boyle died in 2006, shortly after the show ended.

Frasier got one. Roseanne got one. But Ray Romano says don’t hold your breath for an Everybody Loves Raymond reboot.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Next Step, a program organized by Cannes Critics’ Week whose recent alumni include Molly Manning Walker (“How to Have Sex”), has unveiled the participants of its milestone 10th edition. Spearheaded by Thomas Rosso, a producer turned artistic director, the workshop selects emerging directors who have had their short films play at Cannes’ parallel section, Critics’ Week, and helps to develop their feature debuts.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor London-based international documentary sales and production outfit Dogwoof has boarded world sales for Shiori Ito’s feature documentary, “Black Box Diaries,” which will receive its world premiere in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The film follows director and journalist Ito’s courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “The Summer With Carmen,” Zacharias Mavroeidis’ queer comedy, has been acquired in major territories since world premiering at the Venice Film Festival. The movie, which is represented by Be For Films and had its North American premiere at AFI, recently won three prizes at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. It will be released next year by Cinobo in Greece, Epicentre in France and Xenix Filmdistribution in Switzerland.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Former French President François Hollande is part of the voice cast for “Silex & the City – The Movie,” a big-screen spinoff of the popular short-format animated series set in the Stone Age. “Silex & the City” is adapted from the comic book series by the same name created by French cartoonist Jul, which has sold over a million copies.

Earlier today, the lineup was finally announced for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Once again, Sundance has cemented itself as the premier festival in the U.S.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent BUENOS AIRES — In one of the first deals to close at this week’s Ventana Sur market, Spain’s Latido Films has boarded “Lo Que Quisimos Ser,” written-directed by Alejandro Agresti, produced by Fernando Sokolowicz at Aleph Media, and Gastón Duprat, who have teamed as producer and co-writer-director on “The Distinguished Citizen,” “The Man Next Door,” and “The Artist.” “Lo Que Quisimos Ser” marks the latest film from Agresti, one of Argentina’s most international talents best known for a Hollywood sojourn which saw him directing Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in “The Lake House” and writing Argentina-set, English-language “No somos animales,” with John Cusack. Of his Argentine film, “Valentín” weighs in as a big-hearted coming of age tale of a cross-eyed and very lonely young kid.

The Match Factory has acquired international rights to the newly restored 4K version of Fatih Akin’s documentary Crossing The Bridge: The Sound Of Istanbul ahead of its retrospective screening at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran Shah Rukh Khan‘s “Jawan” and “Pathaan,” Rajinikanth‘s “Jailer” and Sunny Deol‘s “Gadar 2” are among the most popular Indian theatrical releases of the year on Amazon’s online entertainment database IMDb. The IMDb year-end rankings mirror the films’ box office performance as the charting films are the biggest Indian hits of the year. Netflix occupies the top two spots in IMDb’s 10 most popular streaming films of the year with “Lust Stories 2” and “Jaane Jaan.” Hitmaking duo Krishna D.K.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Somewhat mysterious and fearless, Oscar-winning British actor Jeremy Irons has played a host of different characters during his decades-long career, from Adrian Veidt in Damon Lindelof’s TV series “Watchmen,” to Rodolfo Gucci in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in “Munich: The Edge of War” and Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Extended Universe films, including the latest “Justice League.” Reteaming with Palme d’Or winning Bille August for the third time, Irons will next play Abbé Faria, a noble and wise character, in the prestige limited series “The Count of Monte Cristo,” starring opposite fellow British actor Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantès. The premum limited series is distributed worldwide by Mediawan Rights, in cooperation with CAA (for North America).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent In one of the biggest co-production deals unveiled at Content London, Mediawan‘s label Atlantique Productions has joined forces with Participant to make an ambitious limited espionage thriller series based on the Pegasus spyware scandal. Amit Cohen (“False Flag,” “Bad Boy”) and Ron Leshem (“Euphoria,” “No Man’s Land”) are on board as creators and showrunners for the mini-series which will adapted from the bestseller “Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy.” The book charts the sprawling international investigation conducted in 2020 and 2021 which revealed how governments used Pegasus spyware technology to spy on politicians, activists and business executives.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent São Paulo-based activist producer Maria Farinha Films, behind Globoplay hit “Aruanas” and one of the global South’s key impact entertainment companies, has boarded Marcel Beltrán’s mystery drama “Moa,” a big double winner at Locarno’s 2022 Open Doors. Produced by Paula Gastaud at Cuba’s Mediocielo Films, “Moa” is now set up as co-production with Mediocielo Filmes, also in São Paulo, and Maria Farinha Films, and the Dominican Republic’s Stems Group.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Less than three months after being tapped CEO of Banijay France, Alexia Laroche-Joubert, a well-known industry figure, has enlisted Authentic Media, a leading French premium scripted banner that will join the “Peaky Blinders” production-distribution powerhouse. The acquisition of Authentic Media, who produced hit French adaptations of series such as “Rita” and “This is Us,” will further bolster Banijay France’s portfolio of scripted labels.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After being convincingly portrayed by Marion Cotillard in the 2007 film “La Vie en Rose,” legendary French singer Edith Piaf will come to life in an animated biopic “Edith” that looks to break new ground by using AI to recreate her voice and image. When Warner Music, which is producing the feature-length movie with Paris-based company Seriously Happy, broke news of the project last week, it stirred an avalanche of reactions — many of them skeptical — across social media. To clear up some concerns and shed light on the decisions behind the creative endeavor, Variety spoke to Julie Veille, who came up with the original idea, and Gilles Marliac who are co-producing through their banner Seriously Happy and co-wrote the script.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Oscar winner Jeremy Irons has joined the cast of Palme d’Or-winning director Bille August‘s prestige limited series “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which also stars Sam Claflin. A sprawling adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel, the English-language series is produced by Mediawan’s banner Palomar, the leading Italian company behind “Inspector Montalbano” and “The Name of the Rose,” in collaboration with another Mediawan label, France’s DEMD Productions.