Film & TV Facility Penzing Studios Opens Doors Near Munich, Germany, With Virtual Production Stage

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSet to celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, the Cannes Film Festival will likely be presided over by a female executive for the first time ever. Variety has confirmed that Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France, Germany, Benelux, Austria and Switzerland, is well-positioned to succeed Pierre Lescure who was re-elected for a third term in June 2020 and is planning to step down after the upcoming edition.Knobloch has yet to be elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, but the German-born, Paris-based executive is being pushed forward by high-profile figures within the French government.

Tool have released a reimagined version of their 1992 single ‘Opiate’.The reworked track, which is officially titled ‘Opiate²’, comes ahead of an accompanying short film that’s released on Blu-ray on March 18.‘Opiate²’ will soundtrack a 10-plus minute short film created by visual artist Dominic Hailstone and guitarist Adam Jones. The disc also features “interviews and insights from special guests” and will come with a 46-page art book with behind-the-scenes photos.The biggest difference between the original song and the reimagined version is structural, with an extended section allowing drummer Danny Carey to hit his skins for longer.

The Co-Founder of the Ukrainian Film Academy has been named Jury President for this year’s Series Mania.

If you’ve seen the hit Netflix series Dark, then you definitely are a Louis Hofmann fan. If you haven’t, it’s time to catch up!

Berlin Film Festival has staged its first in-person edition since 2020, soldiering on amid a wave of the COVID omicron variant in Germany and a last-minute virtual pivot for the European Film Market. Here are our main takeaways below:Film Industry Pining For In-Person Meetings Despite the EFM being online, a clutch of buyers and sellers made the trek to Berlin where they held a mix of online and physical meetings in the Marriott and a very bare Gropius Bau.

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz will co-write and co-direct Spanish Dracula, the true story about how silent film star and Mexican actress Lupita Tovar found a second wind starring in  Spanish language versions of Hollywood films like the Universal classic Dracula. The Weitz Brothers are her grandsons, and they will produce through Depth of Field, along with Pancho Kohner. He is their uncle and author of The Sweetheart of Mexico, a memoir he helped his mother write about her most fascinating life.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorCrime show “Divided We Stand,” which will premiere in Germany on the public broadcaster ARD on Feb. 22 with the title “ZERV,” screened this week at the European Film Market in the Berlinale Series Market Selects section.

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are enjoying a night out together!

Jamie Lang Penzing Studios is in expansion mode, and has begun hosting film and TV shoots in the former airbase 30 KM west of Munich.The refurbished airplane hangars already feature a full-scale virtual production stage with additional sound stages set to open in June and a major investment planned.Developers plan to invest an additional €100 million ($113 million) over the next three years to expand the facility to 12 sound stages with 25,000 square meters of production space and 15,000-square-meters of workshop and office spaces, they announced in a statement on Monday. The new hub will also house post-production, visual effects, gaming, digital media, and technology companies, educational opportunities.

EXCLUSIVE: Organizers of the Berlin Film Festival have told us that the world premiere screening of opening film Peter Von Kant was disrupted last night due to “a server problem”.

Naman Ramachandran Protagonist Pictures has closed multiple deals for several key territories on Sundance selection and Berlin Film Festival competition title “Call Jane.”Territories sold include DCM for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Umbrella Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand, Mis.label for Scandinavia, Eagle for Italy, Shaw for Singapore and Empire for South Africa.Directed by Phyllis Nagy, the Oscar nominated writer of “Carol,” the film stars Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara and Chris Messina. The film follows Joy (Banks), a traditional 1960s housewife who unexpectedly falls pregnant and finds the Janes, an underground abortion movement led by Virginia (Weaver).

coronavirus infection rates to new daily records in Germany, and numerous restrictions remain in place.“We have developed a very reduced format, in consultation with health authorities here in Berlin," the festival's executive director, Mariette Rissenbeek, told Deutschlandfunk radio. The festival's main business has been reduced to seven days, with four days at the end reserved for repeat public screenings.Cinemas will only be half-filled, and movie-goers will be required to show proof of vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19, as well as a booster shot or a negative test.

Ed Meza @edmezavarOrganizers of the upcoming Berlinale continue to plan for a physical festival under strict safety measures, but with the EFM already moved online due to rising COVID-19 cases, this year looks set to be another gloomy gathering, not only for Germany’s dispirited film sector, but also for Berlin businesses bracing for more lost revenue.Local cinema operators and distributors have welcomed the move, but the condensed event and ongoing Omicron scare is likely to keep attendance on the low side.“This is such an important signal for the entire culture and film industry,” says Christian Bräuer, chairman of independent cinema association AG Kino – Gilde and managing director of Berlin’s Yorck-Kino group. “Of course, as social venues, we are aware of our responsibility.

Komplizen Film, the German indie run by Janine Jackowski, Maren Ade and Jonas Dornbach, has joined The Creatives, an alliance of independent production companies that has a three-year partnership for developing and funding series with Fremantle.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe leadup to the 2022 Berlin Film Festival has been a veritable rollercoaster ride for co-directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian due to the global spread of the Omicron variant.But while other top fests such as Sundance and Rotterdam went online again, Berlin has stayed the course due to the two chiefs’ determination to not go virtual and also to keep their February slot, albeit in its current reduced Feb. 10-16 form.

Netflix has shown its commitment to the German-speaking creative scene by unveiling 19 projects from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has doubled its budget to €500 million ($571 million) for German-language productions between 2021 and 2023 and has revealed a raft of new projects.On Tuesday, the Netflix German-language team presented a selection of 19 productions, including previously announced projects, at the Content Remote Show. The shows are from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Gucci family saga isn’t quite over.Just months after the release of Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci” — a film that could see Lady Gaga nominated for her second Oscar — a TV drama and documentary focusing on the Gucci family is in the works from Comcast-backed Sky Studios.The company is in early stages of development on a high-end TV series, and is in pre-production on a documentary series, both of which will tell “the story of a great family and a great brand,” says producer Nils Hartmann, senior VP for Sky Studios Germany and Italy.Both projects were brought to Sky by Leone Film Group, which has an agreement with several members of the Gucci family, including Alessandro Gucci, Guccio Gucci Jr. and Giorgio Gucci.

K.J. Yossman “Breaking Point,” a feature about breakdancing from the directors of hit film “StreetDance 3D” will get its sales launch at EFM.Directed by Dania Pasquini and Max Guia, who helmed both “StreetDance 3D” and “StreetDance 2,” “Breaking Point” is described as “an adrenaline fuelled, high energy deep dive into the world of breakdancing.” HanWay Films are handling worldwide sales for the film, which goes into production in April.“StreetDance 2” alum Niek Traa will reunite with Pasquini and Guia for the new feature, choreographing the dance scenes.