HRTS Launches Foundation and Fellowship Program

A frantic search is underway to trace a heavily pregnant woman who vanished from a Scots hotel.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentBack in Japan after his Korean-language drama “Broker” won two prizes at this year’s Cannes festival, Kore-eda Hirokazu appeared as a press event in Tokyo on Tuesday to announce the launch of a group of industry professionals who aim for structural reform of the Japanese film industry.The group calls itself the “Association for the Establishment of a Japanese Version of CNC.” The reference is to France’s government-backed oversight body, the Centre National du Cinema et de l’Image Animee. Kore-eda noted the low incomes and long working hours of freelance filmmakers and emphasized the need for reform.

Obi-Wan Kenobi streamer Disney+ will soon be available in 60 territories across EMEA after a series of launches in the region this week.

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Documentary Films is embarking on a documentary about pioneering supermodel Donyale Luna, one of the first Black models to be featured on the covers of major European fashion magazines.

Manori Ravindran International EditorKelvin Redvers, the Indigenous Canadian producer who fought the Cannes Film Festival dress code that prevented him from wearing moccasins on its red carpet, is launching a production company, Variety can reveal.Redvers’ new outfit is called Indigifilm, and will focus on developing and producing scripted and unscripted projects in collaboration with international and Canadian creatives.IndigiFilm has already completed filming on its first feature, “Cold Road,” in partnership with Bell Media’s streaming platform Crave. The thriller was written and directed by Redvers — who is part of the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation of the Northwest Territories — and revolves around an Indigenous woman’s harrowing road trip to be with her dying mother in a remote northern First Nation.

Big Bang’s T.O.P will soon be launching his very own wine label.Today (June 13), the Big Bang rapper unveiled new product images of his upcoming wine label, T’SPOT. The official brand logo features art by Kyoto-based artist Kohei Nawa, who T.O.P also tagged in his post.“Here it is- T’SPOT.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentNickelodeon is launching its Intergalactic Shorts Program 2.0 which opens its search for new and diverse creators from across the globe, Ramsey Naito, president of Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation, announced Monday.The Intergalactic Shorts Program 2.0 will focus on new voices and nurturing their vision for original comedy-drive content with an eye to representation, Naito added.The 2.0 Program will be overseen by Nickelodeon executives Daniel Wineman and Chris Rose.News of the new 2.0 Program comes as Nickelodeon gears up to bow “Rock, Paper, Scissors,”  the first finalised short and series greenlit from the 2019 inaugural program.“Rock, Paper, Scissors” will make its worldwide short debut at France’s Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival during a Nickelodeon Animation presentation on Thursday, June 16.

A new Community Care and Treatment Service (CCATS) has been launched to aid patients in local venues across Perth and Kinross.

Detectives have launched a murder investigation after a man was found dead six days after being attacked in Manchester city centre. David Aubert was assaulted on Bloom Street in the Gay Village in the early hours of June 2, police say.

EXCLUSIVE: While Ben Affleck just started Monday directing the untitled drama about maverick sneaker salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon)’s dogged pursuit to get Michael Jordan to lace up in Nike shoes, Affleck and Damon are getting traction on their own groundbreaking endeavor.

The Spinners Quarter development in Pendleton was officially unveiled recently with Salford ’s city mayor cutting the ribbon. The event marks a milestone for Lovell Together, the joint venture between Lovell Partnerships and Together Housing Group.

It became the speech heard around Hollywood — Jeff Sagansky’s blistering comments last week about the adverse impact the proliferation of the streaming-driven “cost plus” business model has had on profit participation struck a chord in the industry. A week after Deadline wrote about the media investor and producer’s speech at a NATPE event, the discussion over the issue continues, with agencies and unions mulling ways to step in and help the creative talent they represent.

Churning out 22 episodes a season may not appeal to today’s up and coming writers but there’s always been an upside to working on a broadcast TV show, insists uber-producer John Wells: it helps to create well-trained showrunners.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaProducer and entrepreneur Alex Lieberman has launched Bright West Entertainment, a new film finance and production company with a special focus on backing documentary content.The company is making a big splash this month. Three of its next feature documentaries — “On the Line: The Richard Williams Story,” “Subject” and “Rudy! A Documusical” — are set to world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, which kicks off on Wednesday.“I’m focused on financing interesting stories and trying to serve as a catalyst to help projects get made,” Lieberman tells Variety.

Quentin Tarantino And Roger Avary are going back to their South Bay roots. The duo, who first met and bonded while working together at the fabled Video Archives movie rental store in Manhattan Beach, California, are launching a podcast this summer based on the long-closed store’s collection of close to 8,000 VHS tapes and DVDs, which Tarantino now owns.

is on the market for $2.39 million. The home, at 414 W. 51st St., is in the former Cubiculo Theatre, which opened in 1968 as an off-off-Broadway experimental performance space.

Filmmaker Prentice Penny (Insecure) and his A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment banner today announced the launch of The First Up, a new program for writers of color at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Kim Kardashian is getting into the skincare game!

Nick Grimshaw and restauranteur Angela Hartnett have unveiled a brand-new weekly food podcast series, and we’re salivating at the thought of it already. The series, named Dish, will see former BBC radio host Nick, 37, and Gordon Ramsay protégé and Saturday Kitchen star Angela, 53, competing against the likes of other hit food podcasts including Jessie and Lennie Ware’s Table Manners, and Off Menu with comics Ed Gamble and James Acaster.

Showtime announced the new half-hour anthology series Spotlights: A Showtime Short Film Series premiering Sunday, June 12. All 5 episodes will be available on streaming and on-demand for Showtime subscribers and will also air weekly on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT.