German Exhibition & Distribution Orgs Write To Angela Merkel Outlining Re-Opening Plan

A Bavarian radio station apologized Friday for a host’s comments comparing popular South Korean K-pop band BTS to the coronavirus, saying his choice of words had gone too far but was in no way meant to be “hurtful or racist.”

BTS has defended his remarks, saying the group’s nationality had nothing to do with his words.Matthias Matuschik discussed the Korean band’s cover of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’ while on air on Bavarian radio station Bayern3 earlier this week.While talking about the track, he compared the group to the coronavirus, saying he hoped “a vaccine will be available soon” for the band.He continued to insist that he had “nothing against South Korea” and was not xenophobic because he has “a car from South

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Ivanir, the Ukrainian-Israeli actor who has starred in The Good Shepherd and Netflix series Away, has joined the cast of Season 4 of German crime drama Babylon Berlin.

coronavirus, saying his choice of words had gone too far but was in no way meant to be “hurtful or racist.”The statement came after legions of fans accused the station's Matthias Matuschik of racism for his comments on the band's cover of Coldplay's “Fix You,” taking to social media using the hashtags #Bayern3Racist, #Bayern3Apologize and #RassismusBeiBayern3 which translates as “racism at Bayern3.”“Racism is not an option,” wrote one user, @Vroseeeee1 in a blunt tweet in English, German, Korean

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentREinvent International Sales has closed Germany on Charlotte Sieling’s anticipated epic period drama, “Margrete – Queen of the North,” starring Trine Dyrholm (“The Commune”), licensing the film to Splendid Film.The film stars Dyrholm, the award-winning actress of Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Commune” and May el-Toukhy’s “Queen of Hearts,” as Margrete I of Denmark, who is considered the most powerful ruler in Scandinavian history, as she gathered Denmark,

Italy’s most popular tourist sites.Culture Minister Dario Franceschini announced Saturday that Gabriel Zuchtriegel won out over 43 other candidates for the job.Zuchtriegel, 39, has been directing another ancient marvel in southern Italy, the state archeological park of Paestum and Velia.

BERLIN -- Hundreds of German police and other investigators raided more than 20 buildings in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg early Thursday in a crackdown on two feuding organized crime families, authorities said.Berlin prosecutors said on Twitter that two people were arrested in the raids targeting illegal drug and weapons trafficking.In addition, authorities were investigating bodily harm charges linked to a “clash of clans” between an Arabic and a Chechen organized crime

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentWim Wenders’ Berlin-based Road Movies has boarded “This Is Music,” a series whose episode directors – New German Cinema leading light Wenders, singer-songwriter David Byrne, “Skam” creator Julie Andem and “Louder Than Bombs” director Joachim Trier – make the title the highest profile project at this year’s Berlinale Co-Pro Series.Norwegian public broadcaster NRK is backing the development of the series, which has also received support from the

Naman Ramachandran Sky Studios and Gaumont have teamed on “The Wasp,” the first Sky original comedy to be produced for Sky Deutschland.The six-part series follows Eddie Frotzke, a fallen professional dart player who, after a prolonged career slump, wants to return to his former glory.

Germany's box office last year was decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, with official figures showing a 69 percent drop in revenue compared to 2019. The German Federal Film Board (FFA) has published its official figures, showing theatrical revenuefell to just $386 million (€318 million) in 2020, down $857 million (€706 million) from the previous year.

EXCLUSIVE: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has unveiled participants for the sixth edition of its Face To Face With German Films campaign, which this year will be dedicated to local talent across all aspects of the filmmaking world.

Elyas M’Barek, star of Who Am I and hit German comedy franchise Fack ju Göhte, and Deutschland 89lead Jonas Nay have been cast to star in 1000 Zeilen (1000 Lines), a media satire inspired by the real-life 2018 fake news scandal involving disgraced Der Spiegel journalist Claas Relotius. Nay will play Lars Bogenius, an award-winning star writer at a major German news magazine who secretly has been faking his interviews and reporting.

Facebook page that he would appeal the verdict.“As a father, the well-being of my children is the most important thing for me,” he wrote. “William was and is never obliged to appear with us at our shows.

Nearly 200 LGBTQ actors in Germany, including some of the country's biggest film and TV stars, staged a mass coming-out in a German national newspaper on Friday, in a public appeal for more diversity on stage and screen. The 185 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender actors — among them Babylon Berlin star Udo Samel, and Karin Hanczewski and Mark Waschke from No.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentBerlin film sales agent M-Appeal has struck deals with leading German distributors for rock music drama “The Night of the Beast” and family adventure film “Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers.”Alamode, the distributor of specialty titles such as “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and “Les Misérables,” has acquired “The Night of the Beast,” which centers on two fans of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden.