‘Godzilla x Kong’ Sequel Gets New Title – Film News in Brief

The European Film Academy (EFA) has unveiled 462 film professionals as new members in an announcement timed to coincide with Europe Day on May 9.

Nicolas Cage (Renfield) and writer-director Andrew Niccol (Anon) will reteam with Vendôme Pictures, the Academy Award winning studio behind CODA, on Lords of War — a sequel to the 2005 crime thriller Lord of War, which starred Cage as Yuri Orlov, a composite character based on numerous arms dealers.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Pema Tseden, the Tibetan art house film director known for “Jinpa” and “Balloon,” has died. He was 53. It is understood that he was in Tibet when he died suddenly of an unspecified illness. Some unconfirmed Chinese-language media said that he had a heart attack. The news was reported by the China Academy of Art, where he taught as a professor. “Pema Tseden, a famous Tibetan director, screenwriter and professor at the Film School of the China Academy of Art, died in Tibet in the early hours of May 8 due to an acute illness. Due to the sudden incident, the school will work with Mr Tseden’s family to deal with the follow up matters. The relevant information will be announced in due course,” the Academy said in a statement.

EXCLUSIVE: Fivel Stewart (The Recruit) has signed on to star opposite Acoryé White in Bellmount, an action thriller that White will also direct, in his second outing behind the camera, from his own script.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Maggie and Grogu are teaming up for a galactic adventure in honor of May the 4th. Disney+ announced this week a new crossover short film between “The Simpsons” and “Star Wars.” Titled “Rogue Not Quite One,” an obvious play on the franchise’s 2016 film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” the animated short will star the Springfield toddler as she evades the Empire in her very own aeronautical pram inspired by Grogu’s in “The Mandalorian.” In the four minute short, per the release, “Homer loses track of Maggie who hops in Grogu’s hovering pram for a hyperspace-hopping adventure across the galaxy. Facing a squadron of Imperial TIE fighters, Maggie brings the battle to Springfield in this epic short celebrating all things ‘Star Wars.'”

Pinewood Group, which runs Pinewood and Shepperton Studios — home to blockbusters including “No Time to Die” and “No Time to Die” has acquired full ownership of Pinewood Toronto Studios. Based in downtown, Toronto, the facility houses 16 purpose-built sound stages, including the mega stage, one of the largest of its kind in North America, and recently added 170,000 square feet of production space. Netflix shares part of this studio space, 84, 580 square feet to be exact, with their long-term lease on four sound stages and adjacent offices. “We have worked with our partners for many years to create the City’s pre-eminent studio, and we’re now delighted to have bought it,” said Paul Golding, chair of Pinewood Group.

Chukwudi Iwuji was a kid growing up in Nigeria and Ethiopia, he imagined he could fly. The second youngest of five, he would spend hours on his own, meticulously reenacting scenes he’d seen on TV, playing every part himself. Virtually all of what captured his imagination were American shows and films from the 1970s and ’80s: “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “The Godfather” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” via broadcast reruns and bootleg VHS tapes. After he first saw “Star Wars,” he would stare intensely at a plastic cup, willing it to move. And “Superman,” of course, convinced Iwuji he could leap tall buildings in a single bound.

New York lawmakers finally signed off on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s state budget including significant sweeteners for film and TV production in a package that now runs through 2034 — the day after the WGA went on strike, ushering a period of grave uncertainty for the entertainment industry.

has been renewed for season 2. The political drama starring Keri Russell has quickly captured the attention of audiences. With 57.48 million hours viewed in just the first weekend, the series quickly topped Netflix's weekly global top 10 English-language series list. Created by Debora Cahn, is described by Netflix as «a high-stakes, contemporary political drama about the transcendence and torture of long-term relationships, between countries and people.» Season 1 follows a newly appointed U.S.

Last year, on the Debut episode of her Sonic Symbolism podcast, Björk revealed she’s always been determined that her role as a woman in the global electronic music scene not be limited to that of Smurfette — the only female Smurf. “I want to be all the Smurfs,” she declared.

Heading back to the court. Nia Long’s ex-fiancé, Ime Udoka, has scored a new basketball coaching job following his suspension from the Boston Celtics.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to star in “Expendables 4” filmmaker Scott Waugh’s upcoming action thriller “Breakout,” which Anton will sell at the upcoming market in Cannes.  Schwarzenegger will lead “Breakout” in the role of Terry Reynolds. After Terry’s stepson is framed and sentenced to serve 25 years in a foreign country, he makes it his mission to break him out of jail. Terry will have to dodge prison wardens and the race of time if he wants to aid his stepsons flee from the country.  “Breakout” serves as Schwarzenegger’s return to action films since the blockbuster franchise installment “Terminator: Dark Fate” and ahead of his Netflix series “Fubar,” which is set to release in May. 

EXCLUSIVE: MVD Entertainment Group has claimed North American rights to the darkly comedic thriller Wrong Reasons, marking the feature debut of writer-director Josh Roush. The film, executive produced by and featuring Kevin Smith (Clerks III, Red State), is slated for release on digital, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on August 15.

It may feel like a lifetime ago, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but “Godzilla Vs. Kong” was one of 2021’s highest-grossing films.

“Godzilla vs. Kong” series, that initially started with the 2021 feature of the same name directed by Adam Wingard (“The Guest”). We don’t get much in 35-seconds but we do get a shot of King Kong himself on his throne, surrounded by the bones of, no doubt, a legion of enemies.

XYZ Films has hired Manon Barat, a former executive at the Spanish sales company Film Factory, to head a slate of titles that will fall under the company’s newly-launched global film initiative, New Visions.

EXCLUSIVE: The 2006 film Starter for 10, which helped launch the big-screen careers of James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rebecca Hall, Dominic Cooper and James Corden, is being developed into a stage musical.

We have good news and bad news for “Star Trek” fans. The good news is that there’s a new “Star Trek” film in development, with an Oscar-winning actor in the lead role.

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