Emerging Filmmakers Bring Genre Twists to Transilvania Co-Production Forum

Boris Johnson for drama This England following his resignation, according to reports.Today (July 7) Johnson agreed to resign as Conservative Party leader and UK Prime Minister, with a new leader set to be appointed by autumn.His departure comes after Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and more than 50 other Conservative MPs resigned from certain roles in the party.According to Variety, upcoming Sky drama This England won’t be filming any scenes to reflect Johnson’s past 48 hours and resignation.

Mario Lopez and Menudo Productions are heading up a global talent search for a new Menudo, a revival of one of the biggest Latin boy bands of all time.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson may have resigned on Thursday in the hours after dozens of staffers quit, but that won’t change the ending of Sky Original series “This England,” TheWrap has learned.The series, which stars Kenneth Branagh as the British leader (who is unrecognizable in the photo above), only covers the first wave of the pandemic. The series will trace the impact of COVID-19 on the nation during its first wave, and while the country and the PM was dealing with Brexit.“This England” is co-written and directed by Michael Winterbottom.

Manori Ravindran International EditorIf you thought Kenneth Branagh was heading back to make-up to shoot scenes as a belligerent Boris Johnson fighting for his premiership against a government uprising, think again.Sources tell Variety that the highly anticipated Sky drama series “This England” won’t be filming any more scenes despite the last chaotic 48 hours for U.K. government, which have culminated in Johnson’s resignation.

Hanging with the royals! As Prince William and Duchess Kate attended a charity polo match together, they had a VIP guest in attendance — their pooch, Orla.

EXCLUSIVE: London-based documentary specialist Dogwoof is continuing its push into the production space as it announces a partnership with Australia-based outfit WildBear Entertainment.

Ashlee Simpson‘s eldest child is all grown up!

Family date night! Ashlee Simpson and ex-husband Pete Wentz’s son, Bronx, joined his mom for a rare dinner out in London — and he looks just like his dad!

Christopher Vourlias Bogdan George Apetri’s “Miracle” took home the top prize in the Romanian Days competition at the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, which saw nine first-time directors among the 12 filmmakers competing in the annual showcase of domestic cinema.It’s the first time such a formidable number of debuts have featured in the competition, offering a snapshot of what the fest’s artistic director Mihai Chirilov describes as a “balanced landscape” of new and established voices in Romania’s celebrated film industry.It’s been nearly two decades since Cristi Puiu’s “The Death of Mr.

Christopher Vourlias Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose feature debut “Pamfir” premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section, and director and former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov (“Rhino”) are among the Ukrainian filmmakers who say they’re “distraught” by the inclusion of a Russian film in the main competition at the Transilvania Film Festival.In a statement posted on Monday to the Facebook page for “Pamfir,” the filmmakers spoke out against the selection of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution” as one of 12 features competing for the Transilvania Trophy, criticizing the “illusion of cultural reconciliation” created by the festival’s decision and insisting that “art does not exist outside of politics.” The filmmakers noted that Kvataniya’s psychological thriller was produced with the support of the state-backed Russian Film Fund as well as Kinoprime, the $100 million film fund bankrolled by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the U.K.

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Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeI’ve long banged the drum that television is better than film, yet even now, the TV industry still carries a bit of an inferiority complex.It’s why those of us who cover TV cringe at filmmakers who finally enter the episodic world — only to proclaim their series is actually a “10-episode movie.”It comes from decades of the small screen being seen as the stepping stone to true stardom and success in the movies. But of course, “prestige TV” has always been around, and it only intensified in the past two decades.The industry has itself to blame for playing second fiddle.For a long time, the Television Academy included a loophole in which Oscar doc contenders could turn around and try again for sloppy seconds at the Emmys — even though the Motion Picture Academy didn’t allow Emmy titles to do the same.

Was Britney Spears‘ mother being sweet or sneaky here? This and much more on our latest podcast! CLICK HERE to watch  this episode of The Perez Hilton Podcast with Chris Booker!

Digital sports firm Fanatics has hired former Dick Clark Productions chief Mike Mahan in the newly created role of CEO of its trading cards and collectibles business.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNatalia Sinelnikova, a rising writer-director who emigrated from St. Petersburg to Germany as a child, is exploring the disrupting force of fear through her critically acclaimed feature debut “We Might as Well Be Dead.”The film, which world premiered at the Berlinale and is having its North American premiere at Tribeca, is both a dystopian and tragicomic satire taking place in a high-rise, secluded building which harbors a carefully-curated community in a world that has fallen apart. The movie follows Anna, who works as a security officer for the building and lives there with her daughter.

EXCLUSIVE: The Gotham Film & Media Institute has announced the 10 projects selected for its prestigious Documentary Feature Lab, an intensive program for first-time filmmakers.

EXCLUSIVE: Big Beach has announced that it will produce the upcoming feature Tropical Gothic from Lingua Franca‘s Isabel Sandoval.

William Earl Variety and Indeed present a night of cocktails and conversation on June 16 in New York City with this year’s 10 Rising Voices finalists from across the United States.Participants include Jalmer Caceres, “Empty Bases”; Leon Cheo, “The 25th Filial”; Shanrica Evans, “Amina”; Justin Floyd, “Malleable”; Georgia Fu, “Maps”; Gbenga Komolafe, “Tofu”; Cara Lawson, “Crooked Trees Gon Give Me Wings”; Tara Motamedi, “Before Dawn Kabul Time”; Urvashi Pathania, “Beast” and Travis Wood, “Black Santa.” The conversation will be moderated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis.Established in February 2021 and now in its second season, Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions and Indeed partnered on Rising Voices to provide resources to the selected BIPOC filmmakers to create the short film that will have premiered earlier in the day at the Tribeca Festival in New York City. The finalists were selected from 900 applicants based on their submitted screenplays.

From the perspective of filmmaker Cooper Raiff, Cha Cha Real Smooth embodies a specific kind of “feel-good” spirit of which he’s always in pursuit.