CNBC Mocks Report Out of Sweden of Amazon Eyeing Bid for Electronic Arts: ‘Swedish Meatballs’ (Video)

“… Baby One More Time” being originally sung by anyone else. But if pop impresario Simon Cowell had gotten his way, those infamous lyrics would have been delivered by one of his former UK boy bands — and not One Direction, either.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Is the show going to be over for Showtime? Paramount Global is having “early” discussions about shutting down Showtime as a standalone service and migrating Showtime’s slate of premium content into its flagship streamer, Paramount+, according to a Wall Street Journal report, citing anonymous sources. Paramount has “broached the idea” of shuttering Showtime in talks with “at least one major pay-TV partner,” per the report. In a statement, Paramount did not directly address the question of whether Showtime will continue long-term as a separate service. “We are always exploring options to maximize the value of our content investment by giving consumers access to great Paramount content through an array of services and platforms,” a company rep said in a statement to Variety.

FIFA+ & Others License Football Doc ‘Brazil 2002: The Real Story’

Naman Ramachandran Collective Media Group and Entourage Sports and Entertainment‘s soccer documentary feature “Brazil 2002: The Real Story,” recounting the story of the 2002 World Cup on its 20th anniversary, has sold a raft of territories worldwide. The film uses six hours of unseen archive material shot by Brazilian soccer player Juliano Belletti during the tournament, and also features interviews with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Cafu and Gilberto Silva from the World Cup winning Brazil team; and, from the opposing teams across the tournament, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Oliver Kahn, Hasan Şaş and Marc Wilmots as well as referee Pierluigi Collina. FIFA has taken the film for its own streamer FIFA+, for territories including Asia (excluding Japan), Turkey and New Zealand. This is complemented by deals confirmed by distribution partner Abacus Media Rights including: Canal+ Group for Canal+ Foot and myCanal (France); Sky Deutschland (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg); Sky Italia (Italy, Republic of San Marino, Vatican City, Malta, Capodistria, Montecarlo and Italian speaking Switzerland); DBS Satellite Services (Israel and West Bank); Supersport Africa (for Africa); NOS Portugal (Portugal and PALOPs); Movistar Plus+ (Spain); and Stan Entertainment Pty (Australia).

K.J. Yossman U.K. viewers have taken to Twitter to lambast Comcast-owned network Sky for apparently cutting two jokes related to Queen Elizabeth II in the local broadcast of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.” In HBO’s broadcast, which aired on Sunday night in the U.S., Oliver opens with a joke about the President of Chile before saying: “But obviously, we need to start with the U.K., which is clearly still reeling from the shocking death of a 96-year-old woman from natural causes,” which is followed by laughter. Oliver continues: “It is a big moment which for some reason absolutely everyone felt that they had to weigh in on from [Swedish CGI dance music act] Crazy Frog, which tweeted out ‘RIP the Queen’ [and a] candle emoji – a tweet that’s impossible to read without mentally adding [Crazy Frog’s dance music] – to Dominos U.K. which posted, ‘Everyone at Domino’s joins the nation and the world in mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal Family.’”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent  SF Studios (“A Man Called Otto”) is set to produce and distribute “The Abyss,”  a female-driven Swedish disaster film directed by Richard Holm (“Johan Falk”) and chronicling the tragic events that took place in the mining town of Kiruna. Now shooting on location, the movie is headlined by Tuva Novotny(“Annihilation”) who stars alongside  Kardo Razazzi (“Honour”)and Peter Franzen (“Vikings”), Felicia Truedsson (“Young Royals”), Tintin Poggats Sarri (“Charter”) and Edvin Ryding (“Young Royals”). “The Abyss” stars Novotny as Frigga, who tries to balance her risky job as a security manager in the Kiirunavaara mine with her family life, her new love Dabir (Razazzi) and her ex, who doesn’t want to let go (Franzén). But when the ground suddenly starts to shake under their feet, the puzzle of life doesn’t matter and the struggle to not be pulled into the abyss begins. 

Lily Moayeri The Swedes took over Hollywood Wednesday night when IKEA previewed Obegränsad, a limited-edition collection created in collaboration with the high-profile electronic dance music trio Swedish House Mafia. The launch took place at Goya Studios, complete with IKEA’s signature foods and custom cocktails. The 20-plus pieces of the collection were on tactile display, available for touching, playing and sitting on for the youthful crowd of industry folks, including fellow electronic superstar Madeon, actor Ian Mellencamp and a cross-section of influencers. This meeting of Swedish titans is a natural one that has been in the making since the college days of Swedish House Mafia members Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello, the last two of whom were present at the Hollywood event. During a Q&A, Angello commented, “Growing up, we used to hack IKEA’s furniture all the time.”

Zack Sharf Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu does not like superhero movies. The Oscar winner said in 2014 while promoting “Birdman” that superhero movies were a form of “cultural genocide,” adding, “I don’t respond to those characters. They have been poison because the audience is so overexposed to plot and explosions and shit that doesn’t mean nothing about the experience of being human.” Robert Downey Jr. weighed in on Iñarritu’s comment in 2015 during an interview with The Guardian to promote his turn as Iron Man in the Marvel blockbuster “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” but the actor’s retort was somewhat controversial. Downey Jr. noted that he “respects the heck out of” Iñarritu but also mocked Iñarritu’s Spanish roots by saying, “For a man whose native tongue is Spanish to be able to put together a phrase like ‘cultural genocide’ just speaks to how bright he is.”

Ed Meza @edmezavar Paris-based documentary distributor Lucky You is finding plenty of international buyers for its wide-ranging titles that span history, travel, wildlife and science. Part of French production group Bonne Pioche, Lucky You has seen a slew of recent sales for hit titles like “Science of Emotions,” which examines the impact emotions have not only on people’s well-being but also their entire life. Commissioned by French broadcaster Planète Plus, the doc sold across Europe and North America, including to ZDF in Germany, RAI in Italy and Curiosity Stream in the U.S. Likewise commissioned by Planète Plus, “Science & Sports” looks at the science, engineering and technology that are helping athletes maximize their performance. A Bonne Pioche title co-produced with Japan’s NHK, it likewise sold throughout Europe and beyond, including sales to the BBC in the U.K., Belgium’s RTBF and Canadian channel Ici Explora in addition to deals in China, Western Asia, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Sweden.

Oliver Stone is in Venice this year to debut his latest documentary, Nuclear. Written alongside political scholar Joshua S. Goldstein, the film sets out to re-examine the role nuclear power can play in our lives and makes the case that the energy source is humanity’s only realistic alternative to fossil fuels in the fight against climate change. Deadline sat down with Stone and Goldstein prior to the film’s premiere on the Lido to discuss why the pair decided to link up and how the lengthy production process almost “took the life” out of Stone.

Sweden’s SVT Orders ‘Whiskey On The Rocks’ From Skyverse Nordic

It wasn’t a long weekend for The Weeknd Saturday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The performer stopped his sold-out show during the third song of his set, abruptly walking off the stage.

Ruben Ostlund is paying tribute to Charlbi Dean after her sudden death.

Crown Princess Victoria steps out in two flowy dresses for her attendance at the 2022 Junior Water Prize Award Ceremony held at Norra Latin on Tuesday (August 30) in Stockholm, Sweden.

Actress Charlbi Dean has died aged 32 after a "sudden illness". She was best known for her role on CW show Black Lightning, playing the role of Syonide. She also starred opposite Woody Harrelson in the upcoming film Triangle of Sadness.

D-Block Europe have announced details of a world headline tour – get ticket details and dates below.Following their appearance at Reading & Leeds Festivals, D-Block Europe have confirmed they’ll be heading to North America for their first ever US festival appearance at Rolling Loud New York ahead of a string of headline shows. They’ll then return to the UK for a gig at London’s O2 Arena.