David Awards Signal Shift in Generations and Genres in Cinema Italiano

ESPN is reporting that the NBA playoffs are back for China’s TV viewers after a long banishment over controvesial political statements by an executive.

Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, is finally dishing deets on why he chose to use a pseudonym for his collaboration on her GRAMMY-winning album, Folklore, and the meaning behind said pseudonym.

Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, is finally dishing deets on why he chose to use a pseudonym for his collaboration on her GRAMMY-winning album,, and the meaning behind said pseudonym.During an appearance on Thursday's , the 31-year-old actor said the pseudonym was more about keeping the focus on the track and less about sending Swifties on an Easter egg hunt.«We chose to do it so the people, first and foremost, would listen to the music first before dissecting the fact that we did it together,» he explained. «We did it under the name William Bowery, very fancy.

Taylor Swift shared words of wisdom with New York University's class of 2022 on Wednesday as she received an honorary doctorate.MORE: Joe Alwyn opens up about relationship with Taylor Swift in very rare interviewThe singer was given an honorary doctorate of fine arts and gave the commencement speech to thousands who sat in Yankee Stadium for the special ceremony. "Hi I am Taylor," she began, joking: "Last time I was in a stadium this size I was dancing in heels and wearing a gliterally leotard but this outfit is much more comfortable."WATCH: Taylor Swift shares her fall favorites"I feel so proud to share this day with my fellow honorees who humble me with the ways they improve our world with their work," Taylor continued, adding: "As for me I am 90% sure the main reason I am here is because I have a song called 22."And let me say I am elated to be here as we celebrate and graduate NYU's class of 2022.MORE: Inside Taylor Swift's incredible $81m property portfolio: from New York to NashvilleMORE: Chris Stapleton opens up on his recent Taylor Swift collaboration"Not a single one of us here has done it alone, we are each a patchwork quilt of those who loved us, believed in our futures, showed us empathy and kindness, or told us the truth even when it wasn't easy to hear."The 32-year-old thanked her parents for the "sacrifices they made" for her, and spoke about her life in the public eyes.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRob Reiner is shooting a documentary about Albert Brooks and he’s lined up some major heavyweights to wax poetic about the filmmaker, actor and all-around comic genius.The director tells Variety that he’s already talked to or is planning to interview fellow comedians such as Larry David, Conan O’Brien, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, James L. Brooks, Judd Apatow, Chris Rock, Wanda Sykes and Jonah Hill, as well as Sharon Stone, who worked with Brooks on 1999’s “The Muse.”“Albert is my really, really close friend,” says Reiner.

seven — soon to be eight — revealed to E! News’ Daily Pop he got a consultation to go under the knife for a vasectomy recently.“I don’t know if I would’ve designed it this way, but it’s one of those things when you’re blessed with the gifts of children — and as we all know, I’ve been through so much, I find solace, I find peace in my children and I find purpose,” the “Wild “N Out” host explained. “So, I’m not out here looking.”He continued, “I already went and got my vasectomy consultation. I ain’t looking to populate the Earth completely, but I’m definitely looking forward to taking care and loving all the children that I currently have.”Cannon is currently expecting his eighth baby with girlfriend Brie Tiesi.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHong Kong-based sales firm Golden Network has picked up international rights to Jackie Chan’s upcoming film “Ride On.”The feature has recently wrapped production and is scheduled to be released on Dec. 31 in time for what is normally a peak cinemagoing period in China and elsewhere.Asian films are currently struggling to achieve pre-sales in international markets, but “Ride On” could be an exception.

Everything Everywhere All At Once.The martial arts legend was originally envisioned by directors and writers Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan as playing the movie’s lead role. However, when he said he was unavailable, they rewrote the part for Yeoh.“Jackie actually texted me,” she told the Guardian about his response to the film.

Emilio Mayorga Cesar Cabral’s “Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People,” Roy Ambriz and Arturo Ambriz’s  “Frankelda’s Book of Spooks,” and “Beast” topped the 5th Ibero-American Animation Quirino Awards, which took place May 14 at San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the Canary Island of Tenerife.It’s no coincidence that the three main prizes have gone to stop-motion works. The plaudits offer further proof of a growing mastery of this technique in Latin America, as well as then high level and extraordinary artistic diversity of animation titles coming to of Latin America, which is increasingly acknowledged on international markets.Produced by Coala Filmes and Cup Films in Brazil, “Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People” was also nominated for the recent Platino Awards and took the 2021 Contrechamp Award at the Annecy Int’l Film Festival.

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” stayed on top of the box office charts during its second weekend in theaters, earning an additional $61 million from North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday.With $688 million in global grosses, it’s already one of the highest grossing films of the pandemic and the second biggest of 2022. But a 67% fall is also a steep drop — even for reliably frontloaded superhero films.

Avi Federgreen’s Indiecan Entertainment is launching a genre-focused distribution arm, hot on the heels of releasing Junta Yamaguchi’s time paradox comedy Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes.

Jennie Punter Hot Docs has wrapped its 11-day hybrid edition, handing out three more cash prizes, announcing audience top picks, and tipping the hat to the 225 films from 63 countries that screened during the festival.The animated documentary “Eternal Spring,” by Jason Loftus, won the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary, which comes with Cdn. $25,000 cash, and also claimed the top spot in the overall audience poll of cinemagoers and online doc-watchers.“Eternal Spring,” which had its North American premiere at Hot Docs and has racked up other awards this year at European festivals, mixes 3D and new live footage to trace the story of comic-book illustrator Daxiong (“Justice League,” “Star Wars”), a Falun Gong practitioner, who fled China after police began cracking down on members of the outlawed spiritual group.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNetflix on Friday officially opened its Italian base in Rome, in a classy neoclassical building near the iconic Via Veneto, and announced a substantial slate of originals that stand as testament to what co-CEO Reed Hastings called the streaming giant’s “growing business in Italy.”“The breadth and variety of our Italian slate perfectly represents our ambitions,” said Hastings, who took the stage at the presentation’s conclusion. Hastings took the opportunity to note how pleased he is that Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” which Netflix produced, scooped top honors at Italy’s David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film prizes, earlier this week.Netflix’s new Italian slate is headlined by a high-end English-language series adaptation of “The Leopard,” the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

The David di Donatello Awards were held in Rome on Tuesday evening, the first time Italy’s equivalent to the Oscar has had a fully in-person ceremony in the pandemic era. Taking top honors was Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God which scooped Best Film and Director as well as Best Supporting Actress for Teresa Saponangelo and a tie for Best Cinematography. In the latter category, The Hand Of God shared the win with Freaks Out, a fantasy drama that likewise debuted in Venice.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentPaolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated autobiographical drama “The Hand of God” took top honors at Italy’s 67th David di Donatello Awards, winning best picture, director, supporting actress and tying for the best cinematography statuette.Sorrentino’s Naples-set film about the personal tragedy and other vicissitudes that drove him to become a top notch film director had been the frontrunner along with young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out.”“Freaks Out” won six prizes, including for its producer, Andrea Occhipinti, as well as cinematographer, set design, and effects.The cinematography prize, which was a tie, was split between “Hand of God” DP Daria D’Antonio, marking the first time this David goes to a woman, and Michele Attanasio for “Freaks Out.” The Davids were held as a fully in-person ceremony at Rome’s Cinecittà studios just as the famed facilities undergo a radical renewal being implemented by former Sky and Warner Bros. executive Nicola Maccanico.Italian Culture Minister Enrico Franceschini took the stage at the start of the ceremony to reaffirm the Italian government’s support for the local film industry, shortly after announcing plans to widen the window between a movie’s theatrical release date and the time it can drop locally on a streaming platform.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNew York-headquartered documentary distributor Icarus Films has picked up all North American rights to Hong Kong protest film “Blue Island.” The film plays this week at the HotDocs Documentary Festival in Toronto, Canada.Directed by Chan Tze Woon (“Yellowing”), the film confronts the large-scale protests in Hong Kong, describing events through a mix of documentary footage and filmed reenactments. The distributor has not yet elaborated release plans, but says that it is taking booking requests from museums, arts organizations, film festivals and theaters across North America.“A new wave of young people took back the streets, as one generation after another has done throughout Hong Kong’s history.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union and the loss of arts funding, the Lithuanian national cinema has struggled to make a dent in the Western festival circuit, though that may be changing. Trickle-down from venue-hunting international productions, more generous tax incentives, and co-production agreements have the potential to cultivate a new generation of filmmakers in the same kind of fertile dramatic soil from which, for instance, the Romanian New Wave was harvested: contested historical trauma and an ambivalent transition to the Eurozone.