How Universal Doubled Down on Big Movies and Came Out on Top

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer It’s something out of a movie, the way a young Donna Langley first discovered the magic of film. The chairman of NBCU studio group and chief content officer was in her late teens, broadening her horizons in Paris away from her upbringing on the tiny Isle of Wight off the English Channel. It was there she saw films like Jean-Jacques Beineix’s “Diva,” Luc Besson’s “Le Grand Bleu” and retrospectives on the works of auteurs like Jean-Luc Godard.

King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William will attend ceremonies in France to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. They will honour the brave soldiers who put their lives on the front line.

Prime Video’s German series Maxton Hall – The World Between Us has been handed a swift recommission after becoming the streamer’s most-watched international show of all time in its first week.

Gerhard Zeiler, president of Warner Bros. Discovery international, said an HBO output deal with Sky overseas will likely not look the same if it’s renewed. Sky has licensed content through the end of 2025 but it comes as no surprise that WBD will look to tweak that as Max expands globally. The streaming service wants a beachhead in the UK, Germany, Italy (and other markets) and needs HBO and Warner Bros. programming.

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Dr. Bijukumar Damodaran‘s next film “Papa Buka” will commence principal photography in Papua New Guinea in July. The film will follow Indian historians Romila and Anand who go to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to write a book about the Indian soldiers who fought with the British and Australian armies against the Japanese during WWII in the country.

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran producers Frida Torresblanco (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Frank Murray (First Reformed) have teamed up to launch Hangtime International Pictures, a new transatlantic production company headquartered in London and New York.

A WASTE firm has pointed the finger at axed Green Party minister Lorna Slater for them suffering a £150million loss over the failed bottle recycling scheme.

All eyes were on Olly Alexander as he took to the stage at Malmo Arena in Sweden to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest. And it while it wasn't meant to be for us this year, with a brutal zero points in the public vote, we did fair slightly better than last year.

It's nearly that time again for the Eurovision grand finale to appear on our small screens.

A brand new private terminal delivering a ‘premium sanctuary’ is coming to Manchester Airport, with food curated by one of the city's most acclaimed chefs. Guests will be able to book a BMW to whisk them to their flight at the new "state of the art facility".

Rising Riyadh-based independent studio Telfaz11 and newly launched UK distribution label Metis Films are partnering to release Saudi hit Mandoob in the UK and Ireland.

previously expanded into the Asia Pacific region last year, with SXSW Sydney in 2023.As well as continuing to welcome the world’s leading speakers, which have previously included Barack Obama, Dave Grohl, Steven Spielberg, Tilda Swinton and more, the UK edition promises to “bring its own distinctive personality, driven by London’s internationally renowned cultural life and creativity, its status as a global meeting place, and its proximity to other major creative and tech centres in Europe”.In addition to the keynotes and innovations in tech, the event will showcase a range of musical performances from both big names and emerging talent.

Alex Ritman With vibrant green carpets no doubt already having been sourced for its various global premieres, “Wicked” is expected to be one of the biggest movie events this winter. It certainly ticks all the necessary boxes — a major musical adaptation of one of the world’s most successful stage shows and featuring an all-star cast led by the almost-EGOT Cynthia Erivo and, in her first feature-film lead role, pop princess Ariana Grande.

The boss of P&O Ferries has been slammed after he admitted that he couldn't live on the £4.87 he pays some of his crew.

Vin Diesel is set to enter production on Riddick: Furya, the anticipated fourth installment of the Riddick franchise, on August 26.

After debuting early last weekend, Universal’s The Fall Guy expanded to 78 overseas markets during its sophomore session, adding $25.4M for a running total of $36.9M at the international box office. That’s in line with Bullet Train and above The Lost City at the same point in release. Globally, the David Leitch-directed action romance is at $65.4M. 

EXCLUSIVE: Harry Potter star Tom Felton has boarded Gandhi, the Hansal Mehta-directed streaming series about the iconic Indian nonviolent resistance leader from Applause Entertainment.

Shogun director Jonathan van Tulleken will lead a TV adaptation of Andrew Michael Hurley‘s debut novel, The Loney.

ITV bosses reportedly tried to get Rageh Omaar to hand over his bulletin to one of his co-stars after he became unwell live on air.The ITV News international affairs editor, 56, was presenting the News At Ten programme on Friday, 26 April, when he appeared to struggle to read the news bulletins sparking concern online. Following the broadcast, ITV said the presenter had become "unwell" live on-air and was "receiving medical care". It has been reported that Rageh insisted that he continued and refused to hand over to a replacement host from the regional news, even though after the show he was taken straight to hospital where he then spent the night after staff at the broadcaster called paramedics.

Jack Dunn GKIDS and European animation distributor Anime Ltd. have acquired global rights to Naoko Yamada’s new film “The Colors Within.” GKIDS has acquired the film for North America, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, while Anime Ltd. has acquired the film for the United Kingdom, Ireland, and all of Europe.