International Disruptors: How Phil Hunt’s Punk Roots Have Steered Head Gear Into A Prolific Film Financier & Why It’s Important To “Make Assets Out Of Problems”

The Italian premieres of Cannes Film Festival opener Jeanne du Barry starring Johnny Depp and Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny will be among the international highlights of the 69th Taormina Film Festival which gave a taster of its line-up at press conference in Rome on Tuesday.

Once upon a time ago, Nick Cannon was just a father of two, to twin children Moroccan and Monroe, whom he shares with ex-wife Mariah Carey.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Russell Crowe will receive the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (June 30-July 8). The Oscar winning actor will also deploy his musical talent with his band Indoor Garden Party, which will perform at the festival’s opening night concert. The festival also revealed Friday that Johnny Depp would appear in its trailer, which will have its premiere at the opening ceremony. Crowe, who was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia at an early age, began his acting career at the age of 6, working in TV and theater. In 1989, he started working in Australian films, with “The Crossing” (1990, dir. George Ogilvie), “Proof” (1991, dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse), and “Romper Stomper” (1992, dir. Geoffrey Wright). He won two Australian Academy Awards: supporting actor for “Proof” and best actor for “Romper Stomper.”

Miss Flo got it going on!

Florence Pugh has a dramatic new ‘do!

Shalini Dore Features News Editor As the second season of Hulu’s “Taste the Nation” starts streaming May 5, executive producer and host Padma Lakshmi again takes viewers among the immigrant communities in the U.S. via their taste buds. Lakshmi spoke with Variety for AAPI Month ahead of the show’s season premiere. She says she and her team get lots of invitations from around the country asking them to visit and highlight the communities. This season they visit Puerto Rico, the Appalachians, the Afghan community in Washington, D.C., as well as Filipinos in the Bay Area. “We don’t just go into a community, visit them and we’re out and then rinse and repeat in the next town,” she says. “We’re looking at the larger issue of immigration in the country that is so integral to the foundation of our modern republic but also through the ever-evolving thing that is America. Immigration is so uniquely important to this country out of all the countries in the world and it’s what has made it its superpower.”

EXCLUSIVE: Terrence Howard (Empire), JB. Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Rebecca De Mornay (Jessica Jones) are set to star in Giving Thanks, a coming-of-age comedy set in Inglewood, California that will go into production in June.

Dua Lipa is truly a fashion chameleon.

EXCLUSIVE: New Regency is adapting Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian widely considered one of the greatest works of American literature, as a feature film, with John Hillcoat set to direct.

We have a return date for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The longest-running live-action comedy series in television history will launch its 16th season on Wednesday, June 7 at 10 pm ET/PT on FXX and streaming next day on Hulu. The upcoming season also will be available on Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ under the Star banner in all other territories.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International MUBI has acquired all rights for Molly Manning Walker’s directorial debut “How to Have Sex” for major territories. The deal covers North America, U.K., Ireland, Italy, Latin America, Turkey and Benelux ahead of the movie’s world premiere at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. Theatrical releases are planned for key territories, including the U.S. and U.K. In Benelux, the film will be released theatrically in partnership with Imagine Film Distribution. Following theatrical releases, the film will premier exclusively on MUBI in all territories acquired.

The man behind Trafford Centre’s stunning transformation into a dystopian rainforest says he used AI to reimagine the centre because he believes it is ‘outdated’. Bryan Blears shared images of the Trafford Centre looking drastically different from before thanks to the AI image software called Midjourney.

Mubi has acquired British filmmaker Molly Manning Walker’s debut feature How to Have Sex, which is set to debut in Un Certain Regard at the forthcoming Cannes Film Festival.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued an update on how many cost of living payments have been made so far.

Eric Jackson UTA veteran Andrew Thau has been named co-head of UTA Sports alongside Rich Paul, the founder of agency Klutch Sports Group. The two executives have been working together since UTA made a big investment in Klutch in 2019. UTA Sports was created nearly four years ago in anticipation for greater investment in sports while leveraging Klutch’s client sheet, which includes high-profile pro athletes such as Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Paul says appointing Thau was a “no-brainer” due to his rapport and complementary skill sets. “We’re interchangeable in a lot of ways in terms of this initiative,” Paul, a UTA board member, said in a video interview. “You need that duo, that one-two punch, and more. It makes all the sense in the world.”

Princess Beatrice's baby daughter Sienna could be seen showing a glimpse of her red auburn hair in a new snap of the late Queen Elizabeth II.The image was a posed family portrait with the monarch and her young grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the latter days of her life. A few of the great-grandchildren were unfortunately missing from the monumental snap - in particular the Duke of Sussex Prince Harry's children Prince Archie, three, and Princess Lilibet, one, Princess Eugenie's son August Brooksbank, and 34 year old Princess Beatrice's daughter Sienna, who would have been one at the time.

Queen Elizabeth II on her birthday. On April 21, which would have marked the late monarch's 97th birthday, Prince William and Kate Middleton have released a never-before-seen image of the queen taken by the Princess of Wales last summer at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. In the photograph, Queen Elizabeth is seated on a green couch and surrounded by several of her grandchildren and great grandchildren, including Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Also pictured are Prince Edward's children, James, Earl of Wessex, and Lady Louise Windsor, along with Princess Anne's grandchildren, who do not have royal titles: Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Mia Tindall, Lena Tindall, and Lucas Tindall. A post shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales (@princeandprincessofwales)The new post comes just weeks before King Charles III's historic, star-studded coronation ceremony is set to commence May 6. Last month, the king honored his late mother with another throwback image on his first U.K.

Roll up, roll up, Insiders. Cannes has been in the headlines for both film festival and Mip TV reasons this week, so plenty to follow. Jesse Whittock taking you through. Don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter by clicking here.

Jamie Genevieve has admitted that she is turning her placenta into capsules once she has given birth to her first child.

EXCLUSIVE: Head Gear Films has announced a formal partnership with asset management firm Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI), which solidifies the company’s international stronghold in media funding.