Industrial Light & Magic Rebrands ILMxLAB as ILM Immersive (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asia Satellite Telecommunications (AsiaSat), a leading operator of satellites, has moved into content distribution with the acquisition of Hong Kong- and U.K.-based TV distributor Lightning International. The diversification was described by AsiaSat as “a strategic move to expand the company’s services and extend its clients’ reach to global audiences through traditional and new distribution platforms including OTT and FAST.” AsiaSat is known to be acquiring 100% of Lightning International, but other deal terms were not disclosed.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Lady Gaga‘s concert film for “The Chromatica Ball Tour” is well on its way, according to the pop singer and actor. On Friday evening, Gaga confirmed the news via Instagram as she gave fans an in-depth explanation of her creative process as of late, also sharing what she has recently been working on. She wrote, “I have been running my start-up Haus Labs, doing philanthropic work, and additionally have been working on The Chromatica Ball film edit.” She added, “Here’s a photo of my working on The Chromatica Ball film edit (that’s a frame from the film behind me) — I can’t WAIT for you to experience it.”A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) The long and detailed caption also notes that she’s been writing and producing music for a “special project.”

In the recent teaser trailers for the Star Wars: Ahsoka series we see many familiar characters. One of which is the Mandalorian Sabine Wren. Sabine made her debut in Star Wars Rebels and quickly became a fan favorite.  For casual Star Wars fans, these trailers may be confusing.

For the second week in a row, no scripted TV series were shooting on location in Los Angeles due to the Writers Guild strike, according to data compiled by FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Killing Romance,” one of the most creative Korean films of the past year, has been set as the opening night title for the upcoming New York Asian Film Festival. The deliberately multi-genre picture tells the tale of a beautiful movie star with dubious acting skills (portrayed by Le Ha-nee) who suddenly quits the industry and retires to newly-married life that turns out to be anything but bliss. When she decides to return to acting she teams up with a fan and an absurd plot to kill her absurdly rich husband. The film is directed by Lee Won-suk who previously attended the NYAFF with his first film, “How to Use Guys With Secret Tips,” in 2013 and returned with his second feature, the big-budget period drama The Royal Tailor, which earned the audience award at NYAFF in 2015.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales outlet New Europe Film Sales has sold its 3D family animation “A Mystery on the Cattle Hill Express,” directed by Will Ashurst, to Viva Kids for North America. The third part in the “Cattle Hill” series is a detective story about the little cow Clara and her friend Gavin who join forces with the world famous detective Agatha Chichester to unveil the thief of a revolutionary Nano-seed stolen from a high-tech laboratory train. New Europe has also sold the film to South Korea (First Run) and South Africa (Red Dot Digitals) and, as previously announced, France (Alba Films), Poland (New Horizons), JUST4KIDS in Benelux, Neo Films in Greece, Birfilm in Turkey, FILMS4YOU in Portugal and Arthousetraffic in Ukraine.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Filmmaker Victoria Bousis has partnered with Unique Network to enhance the immersive film experience of her award-winning film “Stay Alive, My Son.” Inspired by true events and based on the memoirs of Pin Yathay, “Tu Vivra, Mon Fils” (“Stay Alive, My Son”), Bousis says she wanted to “leverage technology to break the rules of traditional storytelling and educating audiences about Cambodia’s history.” The film, which will screen at Siggraph in August and is currently on the festival circuit, uses augmented reality and a virtual world that audiences experience through a VR headset.

Massive release date changes were fairly commonplace over the past few years, as we watched the COVID pandemic shift entire distribution strategies for film studios. Now, it appears the WGA Strike has finally shown its impact on film releases, at least over at Disney, as the studio delays some of the biggest films on its schedule including new “Avengers,” “Star Wars,” and “Avatar” films.

Marta Balaga Disney Branded Television and Disney Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) looks set to reveal a slew of new titles at France’s Annecy Animation Festival. Apart from “Disney Junior’s Ariel,” a new series inspired by “The Little Mermaid,” pre-school adventure series “Magicampers” has also been greenlit.  Set at a day camp for magical creatures – its protagonists, Darly and Loomis, are half-pig and half-Pegasus, and half-donkey and half-unicorn – and created by Obie Scott Wade, it’s set to premiere globally on Disney+ and Disney Junior next year.

David Fortune and producer Kian Clingman competed amongst four other finalists to win $1 million and receive year-round mentorship to produce their feature film.The film concerns a devoted father learning to raise his son — who has Down Syndrome — following the passing of the family matriarch. While adjusting to their new reality, the duo embark on a journey through Metro Atlanta to attend their first baseball game.

Twenty-one years ago, Robert De Niro co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival with Jane Rosenthal. While its dates sandwich it between more prestigious festivals like Cannes and Venice, film fans can’t sleep on the festival, especially because of its world premieres.

wearing flip-flops on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival last month, Jennifer Lawrence is setting the record straight about the fashion statement that had the internet abuzz.«Ok, thank you for bringing this up. I would really like to straighten this out,» Lawrence told ET's Nischelle Turner while promoting her new film,  alongside co-star, Andrew Barth Feldman.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The fourth season of “Emily in Paris” was initially set to start in late summer or early fall in the French capital that gives the show its name, but filming has been delayed by two months due to the writers strike, Variety has learned. That could stretch longer if WGA members remain on the picket line. Netflix declined to comment. The plan is still to start shooting by the end of fall, according to a source close to the streamer. Netflix announced the renewal of Darren Star’s Emmy-nominated romantic comedy in January 2022. Season 3 dropped on the streamer on Dec. 21, 2022 following a massive premiere event in Paris, which lured crowds of overjoyed fans and was attended by Star and the entire cast, including Lily Collins, Ashley Park, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Kate Walsh, Camille Razat, Lucas Bravo, Lucien Laviscount (who wore a shiny purple suit), Bruno Gouery and Samuel Arnold.

Amy Duggar King isn't holding back about her reality TV-famous family.The niece of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar was often featured on the Duggars' TLC reality series, when she was growing up, cast as the more «rebellious» relative, who didn't adhere to her cousins' strict dress code and other doctrines of modesty and obedience.Now, Amy and cousin Jill Duggar Dillard are speaking out in a new Prime Video docuseries, which dives deeper into the Duggars' controversial lifestyle under the teachings of disgraced pastor Bill Gothard and the Institute in Basic Life Principles, or IBLP, a non-denominational Christian organization that espouses homeschooling, female subservience and conservative values.  Jim Bob and Michelle spoke out against the series on Thursday, publishing a statement to their website about the four-partinvestigation.«The recent 'documentary' that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love,» the statement shared in part. «Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format.»The Duggars continue by accusing of painting «so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.»«We have always believed that the best chance to repair damaged relationships, or to reconcile differences, is through love in a private setting,»Jim Bob and Michelle's statement continued.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Prey” director Dan Trachtenberg wanted his “Predator” spinoff, which is set in 1719, to be shot in a naturalistic way, so cinematographer Jeff Cutter made use of available light whenever possible — especially from fire and the moon. In the movie, Comanche warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) tracks and hunts down a killer alien through the woods. “I would use fire as much as possible and augment it if we had to,” says Cutter.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Max will be celebrating Pride Month in June through a series of events, programming and partnerships highlighting LGBTQ+ voices. Among the initiatives will be partnerships with Them and Newfest to help amplify queer voices, stories and content. The streamer has planned an in-app Pride takeover of the LGBTQ+ Voices page which will highlight queer content premiering in June. Among the programs will be the premiere of the HBO documentary “The Stroll,” which tells the powerful and poignant history of transgender sex workers in New York’s pre-gentrified meatpacking district in the 1990s. The Max original documentary reality series “Naked. Loud. Proud.” will stream. HBO documentaries “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed” and TaylorMac’s “24-Decade History of Popular Music” are set to air.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor During the Cannes Film Festival, 20 emerging producers from across Europe took part in European Film Promotion’s promotion and networking platform Producers on the Move. They had been selected by the 37 national film institutes that are members of EFP. Variety invited them to pitch their projects to our readers, which we present below. Gentian Koçi, AlbaniaProject: “Cold Sun” (in development)Director: Gentian KoçiAs he attempts to rebuild his life in his hometown after being freed from jail after serving a 25-year sentence for killing his wife, a man in his fifties falls in love with a woman in her forties and gradually realizes that this love is going to be his true prison.

On-location filming in Los Angeles continues to nosedive amid the ongoing Writers Guild strike, plunging 51.5% last week compared with the same time a year ago. The WGA strike is now in its 23rd day with no signs of abating as films and TV shows shutting down production across the county.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari‘s “Terrestrial Verses,” the sole Iranian film premiering in Cannes’ Official Selection, has been acquired for distribution in key European territories. Represented by Films Boutique, “Terrestrial Verses” has been acquired for France (ARP Selection), Benelux (September Films) and Germany/Austria (Neue Visionen). All three banners are leading distributors in their respective territories. Those deals were closed following the film’s well-received world premiere. “Terrestrial Verses” marks the first collaboration between Khatami and Asgari, who are both acclaimed directors.

Kaouther Ben Hania’s powerful drama “Four Daughters” which mixes documentary and fiction to tell the story of Tunisian mother whose two elder daughters joined ISIS is scoring a slew of sales following its well-received Cannes competition premiere. French company The Party Films Sales has sealed deals on “Four Daughters” for: Benelux (Cineart); Spain (Caramel Films); Italy (I Wonder); Switzerland (Trigon); Sweden (Triart); Denmark (Camera Film); Norway (Arthaus); Finland (Cinemanse); Poland (New Horizons); Greece (Ama Films); former Yougoslavia (Discovery) and Turkey (Bir Film). Rights to the film for multiple other territories are under negotiations, the company said.