easyJet issues travel warning to holidaymakers heading to France

Angus Finney Industry players treading the floors of Le Meridien Delfina, the American Film Market’s new venue, will be besieged by aggressive funding offers and fliers tubthumping diverse landscapes and state-of-the-art facilities from all around the world — marketing tools promoting incentives and driving the heated battle for productions across the globe. The incentive wars have been raging for decades, with several U.S. states and leading producing nations — such as Canada, the U.K., France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Germany — battling over a $177 billion worldwide production pot being spent on film, scripted TV and docs in 2019 alone, according to consultants OlsbergSPI. Given the inherent link between total production spend and automatic funding systems as a crude percentage, that indicates that some $20 billion-$30 billion of tax credits, production rebates and other automatic mechanisms are underpinning worldwide production. But just as the industry at large is reeling from strike actions, the impact of streamers and talk of a “great spend re-correction,” all is not well in the land of automatic funding incentives.

Officials in Europe have confirmed the date the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will come into effect.

Ben Croll The push for greater studio capacity and more ambitious large-scale facilities — both in the Paris region and throughout the country — is a key element of the France 2030 plan. As it stands, France is on track to offer more than two dozen studios by 2024, with flagship developments including the TSF Backlot 77. That sprawling installation, built on the site of a one-time airbase 38 miles east of Paris, will offer Parisian street facades and a number of standing sets encompassing different neighborhoods and architectural styles.

Ben Croll International production spending in France hit record highs in 2022, resulting in 2,220 shooting days that crested above $1 billion in promised investment — and public initiatives had a major role to play. In early 2020, for example, France updated its Tax Rebate for International Production scheme, supplementing a 30% across-the-board rebate with an additional 10% — applicable on all eligible expenses — for productions that spent $2.2 million with local VFX and post houses.

Ben Croll France’s VFX workforce has grown by leaps and bounds over the past three years, with much credit due to a 10% across-the-board tax rebate bonus for international productions that spend more than $2.1 million with local digital outfits. Of course, the fact that American studios could also benefit from the full 40% tax rebate wholly on post-production expenditures has only helped matters further, affording top-trained talent the chance to stay in (or, in many cases, return to) France, proving their mettle on lavish blockbusters shot elsewhere.

British comedy legend Sir Lenny Henry underwent a dramatic three stone weight loss transformation after receiving a grave warning from his doctor regarding his health.

A teenager who decided to skip university now earns £1,000 a month travelling the world on millionaire's superyachts - and people think her life is just like Below Deck. Brooke Ransome, 19, gave up her plans for uni and worked in bars and dance schools so she could save up £3,000 for a three-week deck steward training course.

Frances Bean Cobain and Riley Hawk have tied the knot in an intimate ceremony. The 31-year-old daughter of musicians Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, and the 30-year-old son of legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk got married earlier this month in Los Angeles, after being romantically linked since January 2021.The pair had their special day on October 7 after receiving their marriage license in September in San Diego County.

Paul Scholes has warned that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a lot to do at Manchester United - identifying the stadium, the training ground and the playing squad as areas of the club in need of improvement.

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice that anyone travelling to Greece should know.

Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, has tied the knot with Riley Hawk, son of skateboarder Tony Hawk. Francess is the daughter of Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain - who tragically died in April 1994 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Frances and Riley got hitched on October 7 in Los Angeles after getting their marriage license in September in San Diego County.

Storm Keating has shared a warning to her followers after she had trouble with glass panelling in her home.The TV producer, who is the wife of singer Ronan Keating, took to her Instagram to share a sweet picture of their young children drawing on fogged glass, but wrote a lengthy caption about the trouble they’d been having. She claimed that the glazing company they had used were “trying to wriggle out of replacing it despite promising a 10 year comprehensive warranty” after one of their glass panels shattered during the night, and called it “appalling behaviour".

The UK Foreign Office has issued fresh travel guidance for Belgium after two Swedish football fans were fatally shot in the street in Brussels on Monday. Police have since shot dead a suspected Tunisuan extremist accused of killing the two Swedes.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Warner Bros. Discovery will be launching its streaming service Max in France, one of its top European markets, next summer, Variety has learned. The launch in France will follow a rollout in Northern and Eastern Europe, which is expected to be unveiled by Gerhard Zeiler, president of international at Warner Bros.

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner believes few teams will be able to deal with his side if they can hit their best form this season.

The UK Foreign Office has issued a warning to British travellers in France after a teacher was killed and two others were wounded in a stabbing at a high school in northern France. A man armed with a knife has been arrested by the police and the attack is being investigated as potential terrorism.

British holidaymakers heading to destinations in the Canary Islands this month have been warned of ‘significant travel disruption’ as bus and coach drivers go on strike. Road transport works will walk out across various dates this month in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

The co-heads of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, which was rescheduled at the eleventh hour this week due to the Israel-Gaza crisis, have vowed that the event will go ahead in some shape or form.

A 'fearsome predator' known as the 'floating terror' has been spotted washed up on beaches - as the public are being warned to steer clear of the deadly animals.

EXCLUSIVE: Global docs streamer MagellanTV has struck a multi-year output deal with French producer ZED, with Amazon Women Warriors leading off the pact today.