International Insider: Drama Schools Uncovered; Disney Ads Go Global; Korean ‘Zombieverse’

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent It’s official: Adam Driver, Caleb Landry Jones, Mads Mikkelsen and Jessica Chastain are among the stars set to attend the upcoming Venice Film Festival. Following multiple unsourced reports, the festival has confirmed that Driver is expected on the Lido’s red carpet to promote Micheal Mann’s “Ferrari,” in which he plays the titular character, Italian car racing pioneer Enzo Ferrari; Landry Jones is coming for Luc Besson’s “Dogman”; Mikkelsen will make the trek for Danish director Nikolaj Arcel’s “The Promised Land” and Chastain for Mexican auteur Michel Franco’s “Memory,” her first role since her Oscar-winning performance in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” Also expected on the Lido are Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, who play Priscilla and Elvis Presley in Sophia Coppola’s “Priscilla.” as well as Priscilla Presley herself.

EXCLUSIVE: Amid a focus on content curation and Disney-owned IP, Disney+ is not proceeding with The Spiderwick Chronicles, its live-action series adaptation of the popular children’s fantasy books, Deadline has learned.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Tunisian auteur Mohamed Ben Attia’s new work “Behind the Mountains,” which will soon launch from the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, sees the director add a supernatural element to the social dramas for which he is known. Attia’s third feature reunites the director with Majd Mastoura, star of his breakout drama “Hedi” — about a repressed young man ignited by a free-spirited woman — which won best debut and actor honors at the 2016 Berlin Film Festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety has partnered with brand and culture consultancy BSBP to curate a series of exclusive Q&A screenings in London of some of the industry’s most anticipated films. The screenings, which are targeted at BAFTA and AMPAS voters as well as key players in the showbiz community in the U.K., will take place at London’s The Cinema at Selfridges.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Alireza Khatami, the Iranian director who co-helmed “Terrestrial Verses” — which denounced the country’s authority and was the only film from Iran at Cannes this year — is directing “Things That You Kill,” a political drama about the patriarchy set in Turkey and featuring a starry cast. Shooting recently wrapped in Turkey on Khatami’s new film, which stars Turkish A-listers Ekin Koç (“Burning Days”), Erkan Kolçakköstendil (“Familya,” “Magnificent Century: Kosem”), Hazar Ergüçlü (“The Protector”) and Ercan Kesal (“Once Upon a Time in Anatolia,” “The Three Monkeys”).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Disney+ has kicked off production on the second season of “Extraordinary,” the original comedy series from creator and writer Emma Moran and Sid Gentle Films (“Killing Eve”). A coming-of-age comedy, “Extraordinary” is led by a cast of rising U.K. talent, including Máiréad Tyers (“Belfast”) in the leading role, alongside Sofia Oxenham, Bilal Hasna and Luke Rollason.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent TrustNordisk has unveiled the international trailer and poster for “The Promised Land,” Nikolaj Arcel’s historical epic drama starring Mads Mikkelsen (“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”), which is slated to world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. “The Promised Land” tells the true story of an impoverished captain, Ludvig Kahlen, who set out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal; to build a colony in the name of the King. TrustNordisk is describing the film as “a gripping story about the conquest of the heath, the tale of a proud and uncompromising man, and the woman who becomes his ally in the fight against evil, death and perdition.” Mikkelsen stars opposite Amanda Collin (“Raised by Wolves”).

The idea of exclusivity with streaming services is starting to lose its meaning quite a bit. During the pandemic, it felt as if streaming services couldn’t spend enough money to grab up as many “exclusive” films and TV series to draw in subscribers.

EXCLUSIVE: Small Axe star Shaniqua Okwok has criticized The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama for paying lip service to anti-discrimination pledges after the prestigious UK drama school failed to say whether it disciplined a teacher accused of a “racist incident.”

Telegraph that Walt Disney Studios’ upcoming adaptation — which has already been blasted for being “politically correct” after leaked images showed the seven dwarfs reimagined as “magical creatures” of all sizes and genders — is “insulting” and “woke.”“I mean, it’s a whole different concept, and I just totally disagree with it, and I know my dad and Walt would also very much disagree with it,” he told the Telegraph.Studio bosses have “destroyed” his father’s creation,” said 91-year-old Hand of the adapted edition to his dad’s famed work, according to the outlet.The Mouse House’s modern take on the animated original, which was based on the 1812 Brothers Grimm fairytale, will see a character named “Jonathan” in place of Prince Charming, 22-year-old Hispanic actress Rachel Zegler as Snow White and dwarfs that Disney has said “avoid reinforcing stereotypes.”There have also been rumors that Disney has ditched the film’s classic song, “Someday My Prince Will Come.”“I think it’s pathetic that people feel that way… these are art forms in the world of film today,” Hand said of the updates, which he predicts will make young viewers — especially those who “have never seen the original” — “misunderstand” the film.Meanwhile, her successor as the titular character, Zegler, has blasted the original storyline as being “extremely outdated” with a prince whose behavior is similar to that of a “stalker.”“The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with the guy who literally stalks her.

Afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart bringing you another dose of this here weekly roundup. We’ll be taking a break next week for the August bank holiday but will be back in your inboxes in a fortnight for the new term. In the meantime, sign up here.

EXCLUSIVE: UK drama schools are to be put in the spotlight in a documentary feature film that promises to pull the curtain back on their “toxic culture.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, a top London drama school, had a racist culture in which multiple Black students were called the N-word and were “suppressed” by white tutors, according to an external investigation.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “The Hollow” won the Heart of Sarajevo Award for best TV drama series at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Sunday, and also came away with a host of other awards. The in-competition series came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Slovenia.

EXCLUSIVE: Ciara Charteris went to drama school with her eyes wide open. Born into a dynasty of talent agents, the Poldark actress-turned-safety advocate grew up steeped in stagecraft. “I entered drama school with a lot of privilege and knowledge of the industry,” she recalls. “It meant I was very aware of what was wrong immediately.”

EXCLUSIVE: An announcement today from the Points North Institute will provide a major career boost to a diverse group of documentary filmmakers. 

In the first part of Deadline’s Drama Schools Uncovered series of stories, we revealed that 11 prestigious UK performing arts institutions were hit with nearly 100 complaints over sexual misconduct, bullying, and discrimination.

EXCLUSIVE: Britain’s most revered drama schools have been hit with nearly 100 complaints about sexual harassment, discrimination, and bullying over the past three years, a Deadline investigation can reveal.

EXCLUSIVE: Following the powerhouse Netflix launch of his latest feature, the action thriller Kill Boksoon, Byun Sung-Hyun has signed with Independent Artist Group for representation.

Howdy, Insider crew. It’s the traditionally quiet summer season in TV and film land but European festivals, big-ticket M&A and Middle Eastern politics have ensured it’s not stayed quiet. Jesse Whittock guiding you through.