Grammy Winner Flying Lotus Sets Sci-Fi Horror Pic ‘Ash’ As Second Feature

Caitlin Quinlan Filmmaker Ashley McKenzie (“Werewolf”) returns to the Berlinale this year with her second feature, “Queens of the Qing Dynasty,” premiering in Encounters on Tuesday. The writer-director stands out as an emerging Canadian talent, backed by the Toronto Film Critics Assn., who awarded her debut film the $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award in 2017.An impressive new offering, “Queens” showcases McKenzie’s flair for loose, floating narratives and complex characters hoping to break free from their ennui.

EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has acquired Mayim Bialik’s feature directorial debut As They Made Us, starring Diana Agron (Shiva Baby, Glee), Simon Helberg (Annette, The Big Bang Theory), Oscar nominee Candice Bergen (Let Them All Talk, Starting Over) and two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (The Meyerowitz Stories, Rain Main), slating it for release in theaters and on VOD on April 8.

EXCLUSIVE: Bernd Schlotterer’s German outfit Palatin Media is launching world sales on Richard Armitage thriller The Man From Rome. Moonstone Entertainment’s Etchie Stroh is serving as a sales consultant.

Those theatrical motion picture studios earning Oscar Best Picture nominations today will put their best foot forward at the box office, and increase the cinema footprint of their contenders in an effort to capitalize on their success and raise the pics’ profiles.

Oscars, Golden Globes, GRAMMYs, BAFTA Awards and more. Sunday, Jan. 9  The Beverly Hilton Hotel Check out the complete list.After a year of controversy over the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's membership and nominations process, the Golden Globes looked a bit different this year. The HFPA announced just days ahead of the scheduled ceremony that the Globes — traditionally, the kickoff moment of awards season — will be held with no audience and no red carpet.

Christopher Vourlias Paraguayan director Paz Encina, whose striking ecological fable and tale of the pain of exile, “Eami,” won the Tiger Award at this year’s Rotterdam Film Festival, is developing a slate of feature film projects, Variety can reveal.The first project, “Sy,” follows the titular character –  whose name means “mother” in the Guarani language – after she receives the news that she’ll give birth to a savior who will also be the son of her god. “In this project I would like to work on a woman’s dichotomy between motherhood and faith,” said Encina.The second film, “El Único Tiempo,” tells the story of an elderly couple living in exile, where they await news of the son who disappeared during Paraguay’s military dictatorship.

Kellan Lutz is going to be a dad of two! The 36-year-old actor took to Instagram on Thursday to announce that he and his wife, Brittany, are expecting their second child. The couple welcomed their daughter, Ashtyn, last year.Kellan shared a compilation video to announce the news.

EXCLUSIVE: Filming is underway in Alicante, Spain, on Guy Ritchie’s untitled action-thriller, starring Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal.

Kellan Lutz is going to be a dad again!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“That ’90s Show,” the Netflix spinoff of “That ’70s Show,” has set its cast of new Point Place teenagers, Variety has learned.Callie Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide, Mace Coronel, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Reyn Doi, and Sam Morelos have all joined the show as series regulars. They will star alongside previously announced cast members and returning original series stars Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith.As previously announced, the show centers on Leia Forman (Haverda), the daughter of Eric and Donna. She is visiting her grandparents for the summer, where bonds with a new generation of Point Place kids under the watchful eye of Kitt (Rupp) and the stern glare of Red (Smith).Full character descriptions for the new cast members can be found below.

Oscars, Golden Globes, GRAMMYs, BAFTA Awards and more. Sunday, Jan. 9  The Beverly Hilton Hotel Check out the complete list.After a year of controversy over the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's membership and nominations process, the Golden Globes looked a bit different this year. The HFPA announced just days ahead of the scheduled ceremony that the Globes — traditionally, the kickoff moment of awards season — will be held with no audience and no red carpet.

RuPaul Leads The Way On BBC Three Return

Joe Otterson TV ReporterParamount Plus has announced the cast for the upcoming series “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.”The musical series takes place four years before the original “Grease” in 1954. Before rock ‘n’ roll ruled, before the T-Birds were the coolest in the school, four fed-up outcasts dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever.The cast includes: Marisa Davila as Jane, Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia, Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia, Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy, Shanel Bailey as Hazel, Madison Thompson as Susan, Johnathan Nieves as Richie, Jason Schmidt as Buddy, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper as Wally and Jackie Hoffman as Asst. Principal McGee.

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has set out his aims for the remainder of the season.

Flying Lotus has shared details of his forthcoming second feature film Ash, which will contain elements of both sci-fi and horror.The film, announced yesterday (January 26), is the follow up to Flying Lotus’ 2017 theatrical debut Kuso. The musician – real name Steven Ellison – will serve as the film’s director, and will also provide an original score.Ellison will work with production companies XYZ Films and GFC Films on the film – with the former also providing financing for its production.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has ordered the political drama series “The Diplomat” from Debora Cahn, with Cahn also signing a multi-year overall deal at the streamer.Under the deal, Cahn will write and produce series and other projects for Netflix. The streaming giant has ordered eight episodes of “The Diplomat” at 50 minutes each.In the series, in the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat lands in a high-profile job she’s unsuited for, with tectonic implications for her marriage and her political future.

Oscars, Golden Globes, GRAMMYs, BAFTA Awards and more. Sunday, Jan. 9  The Beverly Hilton Hotel Check out the complete list.After a year of controversy over the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's membership and nominations process, the Golden Globes looked a bit different this year. The HFPA announced just days ahead of the scheduled ceremony that the Globes — traditionally, the kickoff moment of awards season — will be held with no audience and no red carpet.