Alex Ritman Feathers McGraw is back! The dastardly penguin supervillain is following in the stop-motion footsteps of fellow animation antagonist Mrs. Tweedy and making a grand return to screens, this time in the latest “Wallace and Gromit” feature.
22.05.2024 - 18:37 / variety.com
Christopher Vourlias When it comes to the wild success of the film industry in Hungary, which is the largest production hub in continental Europe and second in Europe only to the U.K., film commissioner Csaba Káel is quick to credit a rich cinematic legacy dating back more than 100 years. “There is a huge tradition,” he said. “We have a special film DNA in Hungary.” The industry’s ongoing success, however, as well as its hopes for the future, is just as reliant on sound policy and investment from the country’s National Film Institute, along with a deep pool of world-class talent that is the envy of industries twice its size.
Those were among the takeaways of a panel during the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film that included Káel, Hungarian producer Ildikó Kemény (“Poor Things”), Hungarian-born and Canadian-based producer Robert Lantos (“Crimes of the Future”), and the U.K.’s Mike Goodridge (“Club Zero”), who spoke about their experiences of filming in the country. The event was moderated by The Hollywood Reporter‘s Mia Galuppo. While focusing on the Magyar industry’s proud past, Káel began by looking toward the future, as he highlighted the long-anticipated expansion of the state-backed NFI Studios, which will add four new sound stages totaling 12,000 sq.
m. by the end of this year. The complex is one of four studios located within a 20-minute drive of the center of Budapest, underscoring the convenience of shooting in the Hungarian capital.
Alex Ritman Feathers McGraw is back! The dastardly penguin supervillain is following in the stop-motion footsteps of fellow animation antagonist Mrs. Tweedy and making a grand return to screens, this time in the latest “Wallace and Gromit” feature.
EXCLUSIVE: As his acclaimed comedic thriller Hit Man approaches its June 7 release on Netflix, filmmaker Richard Linklater may have identified his next project, as sources tell Deadline that he’s in development on a film called Blue Moon.
Christopher Vourlias “Pieces of a Woman” filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó is set to direct “The Revolution According to Kamo,” an epic drama about the early life of Joseph Stalin. The Hungarian filmmaker’s last feature, “Pieces of a Woman,” earned an Oscar nomination for Vanessa Kirby. Oscar-winning filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski (“Cold War,” “Ida”) and scriptwriter Ben Hopkins (“Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie”) penned the original screenplay which was adapted by Kata Weber, a frequent Mundruczó collaborator.
Taylor Swift has dropped a bombshell for her UK fans, announcing the trio of artists set to join her on stage for The Eras Tour's London leg. The global sensation took to social media to reveal that she'll be accompanied by Griff, British singer-songwriter; Benson Boone, American singer-songwriter; and Mette, an American singer, during her June gigs at the iconic Wembley Stadium.
Following his big splash in U.S. Cinema last year with A24’s absurdist Nicolas Cage comedy Dream Scenario, Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli is attached to direct and EP the HBO development series title, The Shards.
The stars showed out in some of their best looks yet to attend the closing ceremony of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Michael McIntyre has dominated Saturday night TV over the last few years, particularly with his BBC series - Michael McIntyre's Big Show - just one year shy of marking a decade on the air. However, it's been a bumpy ride to success for Michael, who once reportedly feuded with TV rival Britain's Got Talent star Simon Cowell. The pair reportedly clashed back in 2018, when Simon Cowell was developing the now-cancelled BBC competition The Greatest Dancer.
Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Steven Spielberg has lined up his next feature film, which will be released in 2026. Universal Pictures is backing the movie, which will open in theaters on May 15, 2026. It’s unclear what the untitled project — which the studio described as a “new original event film” — is about, though Variety previously reported that Spielberg is working on a UFO story.
The Splendour of Life” (“Une splendeur de vivre”) is set to start principal photography at locations across Canada and the Philippines, the producers revealed at the Cannes Film Festival. The ensemble cast includes Camille Rutherford (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Garance Marillier (“Raw”), Sue Prado (“Your Mother’s Son”), Kyrie Samodio (“Hito”) and Amaryllis Tremblay (“Genesis”). Set against a lush countryside backdrop, Marie (Rutherford) questions her relationship, while Noée (Marillier) grieves her father.
EXCLUSIVE: Paolo Sorrentino‘s anticipated new movie Parthenope has sold around the world for Pathé here in Cannes where the film is playing in Competition.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sideshow and Janus films (“Drive My Car”) have acquired all North American rights to Payal Kapadia‘s “All We Imagine as Light,” the first Indian film to screen in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years. The movie will world premiere on Thursday, May 23. It’s also one of only four films in the Competition directed by a woman.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off its buzzy world premiere at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, Oscar-nominated Icelandic filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson’s poignant drama “When The Light Breaks” has sold to a raft of territories. Represented in international markets by The Party Film Sales, the movie has been picked up for Italy (Movies Inspired), Switzerland (Xenix), Norway (Arthaus), Denmark (Ost for Paradis), Finland (Cinemanse), Hungary (Vertigo), Greece (Cinobo), Israel (New Cinema), Poland (Aurora), Turkey (Bir Film) and Baltics (Estofilm).
Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed the first international sales for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film.
Christopher Vourlias After making waves on the festival circuit with a pair of heralded short films, Somali filmmaker Mo Harawe makes his auspicious feature debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with “The Village Next to Paradise,” which premieres May 21 in the French fest’s Un Certain Regard section — the first feature from the African nation ever to screen on the Croisette. An intimate family drama set in a windswept Somali fishing village, “Paradise” follows Mamargade (Ahmed Ali Farah), a single father working odd jobs to provide a better life for his son, Cigaal (Ahmed Mohamud Saleban). They’re joined by his sister, Araweelo (Anab Ahmed Ibrahim), who comes back to live with the duo after her divorce.
Is Billie Eilish going more Taylor Swift? Or are fans just quicker to pick up on this kind of thing thanks to Tay? Either way, we’re kind of into it!
Francis Ford Coppola has lamented the state of modern cinema, claiming some major studios no longer focus on making high quality films.Speaking at a press conference at Cannes Film Festival following the world premiere of his new dystopian drama Megalopolis, Coppola expressed his view that studios are mostly focused on making money due to their high levels of debt.“I fear that the film industry has become more of a matter of people being hired to meet their debt obligations because the studios are in great, great debt. And the job is not so much to make good movies, the job is to make sure they pay their debt obligations,” Coppola told Variety.However, The Godfather director believes streaming services could interrupt the old system and potentially have a positive impact on the industry.
Christopher Vourlias When the creative team behind Prime Video’s splashy fantasy series “The Wheel of Time” began scouring the globe for locations five years ago, it ran into a problem not uncharacteristic of that period of peak TV: It was all but impossible to find a production hub that could both accommodate the show’s sprawling footprint and meet its exacting technical requirements, with studios from Atlanta to London to Budapest booked year-round. The producers ultimately chose the Czech Republic, a country with a rich cinematic history, a competitive 20% cash rebate, skilled crews and a reputation for servicing foreign blockbusters at a fraction of Hollywood or U.K.
John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Few companies in the world have had such as impact on their local film industry than Globo Filmes, the feature co-production arm of Brazilian giant Globo, which is Latin America’s biggest communications conglomerate. Over the last 25 years, Globo Filmes has backed more than 500 movies, almost all through co-production.
EXCLUSIVE: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired Northern American rights for Joachim A. Lang’s historical drama Goebbels and The Führer (aka Führer and Seducer) for a fall 2024 theatrical and digital release.
Viewers were shocked at a throwback picture of Susanna Reid during a segment of Good Morning Britain on Tuesday 15 May when she revealed her acting background.The presenter was interviewing Casualty star Derek Thompson when she opened up about her television beginnings as an actress. Susanna starred in Channel 4’s The Price in 1985 - making Susanna just 13 years old at the time. Ed Balls was particularly intrigued and asked Derek: “Could she have been a star of the stage or the screen rather than television?” Derek looked momentarily confused before confirming: “We all thought you were going to be a star.” As Susanna went on to explain more about her time on television, she dropped the bomb that Succession’s Dame Harriet Walter played her mum.