For 85 Years, Cinecitta Studios Hosted Cinematic Greats and Played Vital Role in Global Productions

As the U.S. streaming giants commission more and more shows from Europe, the continent’s traditional broadcasters now see co-productions as the best weapon in their armory. The LA Screenings continues this week, but across the pond the number of expensive dramas with multiple partners is expanding as channels seek to make budgets stretch further.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Jackie Shroff (“Sooryavanshi”) will play the lead in Singapore-France-India co-production “Slow Joe,” it was revealed at the Cannes Film Market.Shroff will play the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha, known as Slow Joe, a former heroin addict and drug dealer who was born in Mumbai, was disowned by his family, heartbroken at 50 and who moved to Goa and cleaned up. On a trip to Goa in 2007, Lyon-based French musician Cédric de la Chapelle met Joe, now a frail 64-year-old who was making ends meet as a hotel room broker. Joe, also a poet and musician, sang for de la Chapelle, who was captivated by his voice and recorded some of his a cappella songs.Back in France, de la Chapelle played Joe’s songs for music producer Olivier Boccon-Gibod of Horizon Musiques, who was also entranced.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentProlific Italian film and stage director Mario Martone, who is a Venice aficionado, is back in competition in Cannes 27 years after his Elena Ferrante adaptation “L’amore molesto” (“Troubling Love”) launched in competition from the Croisette in 1995. And there is a close connection between these two films that delve deep into the entrails of Martone’s native Naples.In his well-received “Nostalgia”, praised by Variety as Martone’s “most rewarding film in years,” ace actor Pierfrancesco Favino plays the middle-aged Felice Lasco, who returns to the bustling port city after having lived in Egypt for 40 years. Once back, he is caught up in memories of a distant life spent in his hometown, as his criminal youth slowly catches up with him.

Tom Hollander Starring In Billie August Post-WWII Drama ‘Me, You’

Justin Bieber has announced the final international dates for his record-setting Justice World Tour, including a new UK date. Having sold in excess of 1.3 million tickets so far, the Justice World tour will travel to over 30 countries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefCinema box office this year in North America is poised to overtake theatrical revenues in China, the country that has been the world’s largest movie market for the past two years.Before the latest weekend, gross revenues in the year to date stood at $2.38 billion for the North American compared with $2.43 billion for China, according to data from ComScore.U.K.-based research firm Gower Street Analytics forecast that the North American figure would overtake China’s revenues over the weekend or early this week. That reflects business growth in North America and the current reversal in China, where anti-COVID measures are causing renewed cinema closures.Gower Street says that some 85% of global cinemas are now open for business, compared with pre-pandemic levels.

a memo reportedly sent out on Thursday, NPR informed their employees that a tip line has been created for anyone who wants to express “anonymous concern” about co-workers who aren’t masking up in the office, as COVID cases begin to rise again. And for the most part, the hosts of “The View” were not fans of the idea.“I would never do that,” Joy Behar said. “I’m Italian, we don’t snitch.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe British Film Commission (BFC) and the Italian Film Commissions (IFC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that seeks to facilitate high-end film and TV production collaboration between the two countries.The idea is to boost opportunities and incentives for big productions shot in both territories, such as Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” which was filmed in the U.K. and Sardinia, Universal’s “No Time To Die” and the upcoming live-action “Pinocchio” directed by Robert Zemeckis for Disney+.The agreement, which was signed in Cannes, will also strengthen the rapport between the network of regional organizations and partners in both territories, with which both commissions already work so closely.

Richard E. Grant bags guest role in ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ retelling

Naman Ramachandran India’s long awaited location shooting incentive scheme is now a reality. At the Cannes Film Market on Wednesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur revealed a 30% reimbursement scheme for international productions shooting in India.The Indian federal government will reimburse up to 30% of qualifying production expenditure to a maximum of INR20 million ($260,000).

Fremantle’s Fiction Valley Ties With ‘Dirty Lines’ Creator Pieter Bart Korthuis

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Snowpiercer” producer Tomorrow Studios has struck a first-look deal with Frank Spotnitz’s London-based production company Big Light Prods.Under the deal, Tomorrow Studios will tap into Big Light’s network of established and emerging writers and its pursuit of IP for projects to produce together under one development slate.Big Light Prods. specializes in returning and limited dramas for the global market.

Fremantle has struck a deal with Wattpad Webtoon Studios to develop a slate of European projects adapted from Spanish, Italian and English-language stories with existing global fandoms.

‘Trump In Tweets’ Producer Wonderhood Bolsters Senior Team

Andrew Barker Senior Features WriterIconoclastic auteur Peter Greenaway’s first film since 2015 is scheduled to be unveiled later this year, and when it hits screens, the opening credits will feature a company that may not yet be familiar to festival-goers. But if all goes according to their plan, it will be very soon.APX Capital Group’s film fund was launched in October of 2021, with headquarters in New York.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian state broadcaster RAI’s president Marinella Soldi, who is a former CEO of Discovery Networks Southern Europe, has a longstanding rapport with the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s the show on which she remembers first seeing ABBA, one of her favorite pop bands, “with their white flares.” Soldi more recently was mesmerized by Måneskin and the swagger of the Italian glam-rock band, which by triumphing last year at Eurovision, against all odds, caused RAI to be host broadcaster of the 2022 edition of this massive event. Måneskin will be performing during the grand finale on Saturday.In a rare interview, Soldi spoke to Variety about the politically heated lead-up to this year’s contest and the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to ban Russia from competing at Eurovision after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Eurovision Song Contest has returned for another year, bringing with it more musical drama and excitement. So far this year, Russia has been banned from the contest, while Latvia has been stamped with a censorship order and the UK afforded a rare shot at first place in the bookies. Every year, the show is presented by showbiz stalwarts from the hosting nation – and this year is no exception.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentSince Cinecittà Studios was founded in 1937, the sprawling facilities have driven the golden age of Cinema Italiano.The famed city of cinema has also, albeit intermittently, been a magnet for international productions and endured wild fluctuations in the country’s political climate, before recently reemerging as a new frontier for the country’s film and TV industry.Located in the heart of the Mediterranean basin, a short ride from the center of Rome and its airports, Italy’s top production hub has to date, hosted more than 3,000 films that have earned 53 Oscars.During the period following World War II, the studios forged close ties to Hollywood, which helped the Italian industry gain its international standing. The myriad Italian pics made at the studios range from Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960) and “8½” (1963) to Nanni Moretti’s “Sogni D’Oro” (1981), Sergio Leone’s epic “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984), Giuseppe Tornatore’s “The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean” (1998) Paolo Sorrentino’s “Il Divo” (2008) and, more recently, his TV series “The New Pope” in 2019.

EXCLUSIVE: Discovery+ is currently under production on The Culpos (working title), a new reality series following model and social media star Olivia Culpo and her sisters Sophia and Aurora. The streamer will give fans an inside look at the trio as they navigate their lives, loves, and businesses together in Los Angeles when the show premieres later this year.