IFC Films & AMC+ Pick Up James Norton & Gemma Arterton Espionage Thriller ‘Freegard’

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights for “Tori and Lokita,” the latest film by two-time Palme d’Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, which world premiered in competition at Cannes. The movie was one of the best reviewed films of the competition and earned the Dardenne brothers the festival’s special 75th Anniversary Prize.A story of human perseverance, the film is set in contemporary Belgium and follows a young boy Tori (Pablo Schils) and an adolescent girl Lokita (Joely Mbundu) who have traveled alone from Africa and pit their invincible friendship against the difficult conditions of their exile.“Tori and Lokita” stars Pablo Schils, Joely Mbundu, Alban Ukaj, Tijman Govaerts, Charlotte De Bruyne, Nadège Ouedraogo, and Marc Zinga.

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights for Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Tori and Lokita which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and was lauded with the Festival’s Special 75th Anniversary Prize. A theatrical release from Sideshow and Janus is being planned.

Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize winner “EO” has been acquired by Sideshow and Janus Films.The companies have the North American rights to the film from Jerzy Skolimowski.The film shows a vision of modern Europe as seen through the eyes of a donkey. Here’s the logline: “The world is a mysterious place when seen through the eyes of an animal.

Reteaming after last year’s collaboration on Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning Drive My Car, Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights to veteran auteur Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO, which won the Jury Prize in Cannes this past weekend. A fall theatrical release is planned.

Rich Flu.As reported in Variety, Culkin will join Daniel Brühl and Rosamund Pike in the new film, which is directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia.Filming will begin on the project this autumn and it’s described as a “high-concept social thriller in which a deadly disease starts killing off the richest people on the planet,” according to Variety.The description adds: “At first it strikes the billionaires, then the multi-millionaires, and so on. With the whole world panicking and headed for collapse, people are trying to flood the market with assets they no longer want, in hopes of saving their skin.”Gaztelu-Urrutia is directing Rich Flu from a script he co-wrote with Pedro Rivero, who he’d previously worked with on The Platform, as well as David Desola and Sam Steiner.Culkin had his breakthrough role in the Home Alone franchise and starred in other 90s films such as The Good Son, My Girl and Richie Rich. After taking a break from acting, he returned with roles in 2003’s Party Monster and 2007’s Sex and Breakfast.

EXCLUSIVE: Angelo Pizzo, the screenwriter behind such titles as Hoosiers and Rudy, is looking to complete a trifecta of iconic sports films with an upcoming title centered on automotive entrepreneur Carl Graham Fisher and the inaugural 1911 running of the Indianapolis 500, which Justin Escue will direct for Above The Line Productions, Diverse Media Group, T-Minus Productions and his company, My First Bike Productions.

IFC Films has nabbed North American rights to “Corsage,” Marie Kreutzer’s bold costume drama starring Vicky Krieps as the Empress Elisabeth of Austria known as Sissi. Represented in international markets by MK2 Films, the movie world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and earned unanimous praises.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIFC Films has acquired North American rights to “R.M.N.,” the new film from acclaimed writer, director and producer Cristian Mungiu, ahead of its world premiere in Cannes this week.It’s a grand reunion for the indie studio and the director, marking their fifth distribution collaboration. IFC Films will release “R.M.N.” theatrically in 2022.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterEdie Falco has been cast opposite Pete Davidson in the upcoming Peacock comedy series “Bupkis,” Variety has learned.The announcement was made during NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation on Monday. “Bupkis” was picked up straight-to-series at Peacock back in April. The show is described as a heightened, fictionalized version of Davidson’s real life.

EXCLUSIVE: Peacock has acquired British drag doc City of Queens, the Sky doc which features star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Bimini Bon Boulash.

Emily Blunt chats with co-star Cillian Murphy as she hits the set of Oppenheimer on Wednesday (May 11) in Los Angeles.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaJosh Peck and Kea Ho have joined the cast of “Junction,” an upcoming drama about the opioid crisis. The film is written and directed by Bryan Greenberg, who is best known for his work as an actor on “How to Make It in America” and “One Tree Hill.” “Junction” will be his feature directorial debut.Peck and Ho join an ensemble that includes Griffin Dunne (“After Hours”), Sophia Bush (“Chicago P.D.”), Hilarie Burton (“One Tree Hill”), Jamie Chung (“Dexter: New Blood”), Michaela Conlin (“Bones”), Hill Harper (“The Good Doctor”) Ashley Madekwe (“Country Lines”), Ryan Eggold (“The Blacklist”), Dascha Polanco (“Orange Is the New Black”), Dash Mihok (“I Am Legend”), Geoff Stults (“Wedding Crashers”), Eddie Kaye Thomas (“American Pie”) and Hannah Dunne (“Marriage Story”).

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, the company’s streaming service for horror, thriller and supernatural content, have acquired the North American rights to “The Reef: Stalked.” The shark survival tale will be released in theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand platforms on July 29, 2022. It will be available to Shudder subscribers on the same day.

EXCLUSIVE: Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One) and Minnie Driver (Rosaline) have signed on to star in Nandor Fodor and The Talking Mongoose, a dark comedy from writer-director Adam Sigal (Chariot), which has entered production in Leeds.

Pop sensation Adele ’s boyfriend, sports agent Rich Paul reportedly spent the 34 year old’s birthday partying with his clients at a swanky £3,000-per head dinner in Miami, instead of celebrating with his partner. Adele herself celebrated the occasion by sharing a series of smiling images on Thursday, along with a caption about how "happy" she is, yet no sign of her was spotted at the flash dinner which saw her partner rub shoulders with sporting legends such as basketball star LeBron James.

EXCLUSIVE: Shudder has come aboard Jenn Wexler’s 1970s supernatural horror film The Sacrifice Game, starring Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Olivia Scott Welch (Fear Street), Gus Kenworthy (American Horror Story: 1984) and Chloë Levine (The OA), which is heading into production next week. AMC Networks’ premium streamer for genre fare now holds all rights to the film in its territories, with Red Sea Media, Inc. having acquired international rights.

Karine Jean-Pierre, a former political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, will step to the podium as White House Press Secretary when Jen Psaki exits next week. She had been the principal deputy press secretary and deputy assistant to President Joe Biden.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorUniversal and Dreamworks have released the first trailer for Jo Koy’s “Easter Sunday.” The film stars the comedian in his first feature film role and is set around a family gathering to celebrate Easter Sunday. The trailer first debuted at CinemaCon.The film. opening Aug.

Kailia Posey is being remembered by those who knew the late pageant star. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Maureen Francisco – who worked with Posey at her most recent pageant – shared that she was "in shock" when she heard the news.  "When I first saw the post that her mom posted about Kailia, I was in shock, I didn’t believe it. At first, I thought maybe her mother’s Facebook got hacked, so I had to wait.