First Look: Kaleidoscopic Sundance Doc ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ Dizzies With Burst of Pop and Politics (EXCLUSIVE)

It’s that time of year: streamers and cable networks flex their wares and tease their years. Netflix and Prime Video have already done their big 2024 pushes, and today, at the 2024 Winter Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour, it was Apple TV+’s turn.

EXCLUSIVE: In a deal that when closed will be worth $15 million, Warner Bros Discovery has emerged as frontrunner to land the Sundance buzz title documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, sources said. The inspirational film is about the late actor best known for playing the Man of Steel. Docu’s focus is on how he found strength and purpose through activism after he was paralyzed in an equestrian accident. I believe that puts the film in precedent setting territory for a docu launched at Sundance. Numerous bidders have been in the mix, but I hear it’s likely to land at the home of the Superman film franchise.

The Traitors star Evie Morrison is “so proud” to be the last Scot standing in the final five as the BBC show reaches its nail-biting climax tonight.

A formally rigorous and free-associative dive into a decade’s worth of political fighting in the Congo, from roughly 1955 to 1965, Johan Grimonprez’s “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” is a fascinating and sprawling historical overview. Eschewing the usual mix of contextual talking heads, the Belgian filmmaker and multimedia artist instead adopts its narrative approach from the jazz that flows freely throughout the film and helps frame the political struggles of the Congo.

Nadine Shah began a run of UK and European support slots with Depeche Mode last night (January 22), and has shared a new single called ‘Greatest Dancer’ – listen below.The singer-songwriter opened for the synth-pop duo at The O2 in London, which marked the first date of their ‘Memento Mori’ 2024 UK and Ireland tour.Per Setlist.FM, Shah treated the arena crowd to a six-track set that began with ‘Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love)’ from her 2020 album ‘Kitchen Sink’. She also played her 2023 single ‘Topless Mother’, which will appear on her upcoming fifth record ‘Filthy Underneath’.Shah performed ‘Trad’, ‘Fool’ and an unknown song too.

A nanny who was hired to look after Prince Archie by Harry and Meghan said she had a "surprising" first meeting with the couple before she started duties.

KISS OF LIFE have said that they would love to collaborate with Sabrina Carpenter and Usher.KISS OF LIFE recently made a guest appearance on the DIVE Studios talk show The Daebak Show, hosted by Korean-American singer Eric Nam. During their time on the episode, the quartet revealed the artists that would love to collaborate with, including Sabrina Carpenter and Usher.Member Belle mentioned Carpenter as her “dream collaborator”, citing her love for songs such as ‘Because I like a boy’, ‘feather’, ‘Mona Lisa’ and more, before giving the singer a personal shout-out.Nam then echoed Belle’s sentiments, saying that he especially likes Carpenter’s hit song ‘Nonsense’.

Lisa Vanderpump is teasing one thing that will be talked about on the upcoming season of Vanderpump Rules.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Devo is headed to Sundance, not just for the festival premiere of the Chris Smith-directed documentary film that share’s the band’s name, but a Jan. 21 performance by the group at the just-opened Marquis on Main Street.

Johnny Depp‘s new directorial outing Modi, starring Al Pacino, have been released – you can view them below.The upcoming biopic tells the story of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, known as “Modi” to his friends, and is based on Dennis McIntyre’s play Modigliani, with a screenplay by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowski.The synopsis for the story, which takes place over 48-hour period, reads: “On the run from the police, Modi’s desire to end his career and leave the city is dismissed by fellow Bohemians: French artist Maurice Utrillo, the Belarusian-born Chaim Soutine and his English muse and lover, Beatrice Hastings. Modi seeks advice from his Polish art dealer and friend Leopold Zborowski, but the chaos reaches a crescendo when he’s faced with a collector who could change his life.”In the first-look images below, Depp is seen directing his cast, including Pacino who plays real-life French art collector Maurice Gangnat.⁠A post shared by Variety (@variety)The upcoming film, which has now wrapped production, marks the first time Depp and Pacino have worked together since 1997’s Donnie Brasco.

William Earl administrator Johnny Depp is back in the directors chair — complete with his big signature hats — for the first time in decades. Depp is seen directing the cast of the film “Modi” in first look photos that were released from the set. Al Pacino plays a supporting role as real-life French art collector Maurice Gangnat.

Gregg Goldstein When you’ve spent the most memorable years of your career battling gods and single-handedly defeating an army, what’s left for a warrior to do? For “Xena: Warrior Princess” star Lucy Lawless, the answer was making her directorial debut with a doc about a fellow New Zealand icon, daredevil CNN war camerawoman Margaret Moth. Her spellbinding feature, “Never Look Away,” which premieres Jan. 18 at Sundance, was selected for the fest’s World Cinema Documentary Competition.

Ben Croll Noé Debré, the co-writer of “Dheepan” and “Stillwater” and creator of the European Parliament sendup series “Parlement,” marks his feature directorial debut with the bittersweet comedy “A Good Jewish Boy.” Produced by Moonshaker, sold by Charades and making its world market premiere at this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, the freewheeling film follows a 27-year-old man-child Bellisha (Michael Zindel) and his ailing mother, Giselle (Agnès Jaoui), who together make up the last remaining Jews living in a working class neighborhood that all of their friends and family have long since fled. At first that’s just as well for the easy-going Bellisha, but health concerns, prejudice and most of all an acute sense of alienation soon begin to creep in.

A "beautiful" Scottish island hotel is currently recruiting a number of jobs, and accommodation is provided.

Annika Pham Cologne-based The Match Factory has acquired rights to Swedish-Polish helmer Magnus von Horn’s Danish pic “The Girl With the Needle,” billed as a “fairy-tale about a horrible truth.” In the starring roles are Trine Dyrholm (“In a Better World”, “Queen of Hearts”), Vic Carmen Sonne (“Godland”, “Holiday”) and Besir Zeciri (“Wildland”). First clips of the stylised black-and-white chiller will be unveiled at the Works in Progress at Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Given the current dismal political and cultural climate as well as streaming services’ massive appetite for celebrity driven content, it comes as no surprise that the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival is chock full of portrait documentaries. Frida Kahlo, Christopher Reeve, Luther Vandross and Tammy Faye are just a few of the boldface names that are being examined in various docus featured in the Sundance nonfiction lineup. The festival is no stranger to star-driven docus.

Prince William, the heir apparent to the British throne, could potentially break away from the Church of England when he takes over the monarchy from his father, King Charles III. “In royal circles, it is no secret that he does not share the king’s sense of the spiritual, let alone the late queen’s unshakeable devotion to the Anglican church,” Hardman, 59, writes of William in “The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy.” In his book, which is set to hit stores Thursday, one senior staff member claims that the Prince of Wales, 41, is not quite as religious as some might think.

BreAnna Bell Amazon and Tastemade have signed a multi-year first look deal to produce unscripted lifestyle content. Their first venture together as part of the deal will deliver 15 new shows to Prime Video and Amazon Freevee audiences over the next few years.

Peacock has set May 2 as the premiere date for The Tattooist of Auschwitz, the streamer’s original limited series based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Heather Morris. Additionally, the series will air on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland on the same day.

EXCLUSIVE: XYZ Films has acquired all U.S. rights to distribute under-the-radar martial arts sci-fi action threequel Skyline: Warpath, written and directed by Liam O’Donnell (Beyond Skyline) and starring Iko Uwais (The Raid Franchise) and Scott Adkins (Undisputed).