Intl. Emerging Film Talent Returns to Cannes to Show Spotlight on Underrepresented Regions

Britain's Got Talent viewers were shocked to see last year's runner up Tom Ball be revealed as Noodle the CGI cat's identity. During the first audition, the animated creature danced, sang, grooved and swayed throughout the performance, with fans at home loving every minute of the unique entrant to this year’s competition. Fans were left wondering who the professional sounding voice was was behind the CGI and the judges were delighted to find out that it was Tom.

Well, “Sex And The City” fans, hell has frozen over. Variety reports that Kim Cattrall will reprise her role as publicist Samantha Jones in the upcoming season of “And Just Like That…” But there are a couple of caveats to Cattrall’s return: she appears in only one scene, an over-the-phone convo with series star Sarah Jessica Parker.

On-location filming of scripted TV shows in Los Angeles has ground to a near-complete halt in the fourth week of the Writers Guild’s strike, according to data compiled by FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

Variety‘s critics pick the most notable dozen. Distributor: Neon One of seven women filmmakers in competition, Justine Triet has taken a familiar genre (the court- room drama) and turned it on its head. A frustrated writer dies of suspicious causes, leaving behind clues that implicate his wife (Sandra Hüller).

Pierre Creton, has won the SACD Prize, awarded by France’s Writers’ Guild for the best French-language movie in the section. Written by Mathilde Girard, Cyril Neyrat and Vincent Barré, and directed by Creton, who combines his film career with work as an agricultural labourer, “A Prince” has weighed in at this year’s Directors Fortnight as one of the most singular of titles, whose central narrative turns on a horticultural student, Pierre-Joseph. His mentors, botany teacher Alberto and plant nursery owner Adrien, soon become his lovers.

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.

With the Cannes Film Festival heading towards its conclusion on Saturday, the first awards are starting to trickle out. Sidebar Critics’ Week, which is devoted to first and second features, closed this evening, honoring Amanda Nell Eu’s debut Tiger Stripes with its Grand Prize. (Scroll down for the full list of winners).

SkyShowtime CEO Monty Sarhan led a market keynote at Cannes this afternoon, during which he shared the streamer’s forthcoming slate, including a series of original European-produced shows set to hit the streamer this year and into 2024.

French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak has said her ministry is looking at ways to resolve a funding crisis for France’s Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival after its regional support was cut out of the blue earlier this month.

The ongoing Writers Guild strike is continuing to take a staggering toll on films and TV shows that normally would be shooting on location in Los Angeles.

While Southeast Asian films have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival many times before, and even won the Palme d’Or, there’s an energy around the region this year that we haven’t felt on the Croisette at previous editions. 

As the ongoing reports of a backstage 'feud' at This Morning, one source close to the action has claimed that two regulars on the show will not be returning while Phillip Schofield remains in his job.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Esai Morales is in negotiations to star in the action thriller Shadow, which XYZ Films has boarded and will introduce to buyers this week in Cannes.

BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent returned to the famed red sofa this morning following her reported split from her husband. Fans of the long-running show were delighted to see Sally, 51, back on their screens this morning (May 15), with the newsreader, from Wirral in Merseyside, said to be "devastated" after reports she and her husband, businessman Gavin Hawthorn, 52, have amicably decided to part ways. The couple "tried to tough it out for a while" but have since separated after 13 years together, it is reported.

William Earl Variety and the Golden Globes Awards have announced a partnership celebrating breakthrough artists at the Cannes Film Festival. The event will take place on May 19 at the Barriere Beach at The Majestic Cannes. At the event, Variety will present its Breakthrough Awards which highlights actors whose work have them poised to be some of the most promising talents in the business. This year’s recipients include Cannes 2022 Best Actress winner Zar Amir-Ebrahami, Charles Melton who co-stars in Todd Haynes’ “May December”, Tye Sheridan who stars and produced the film “Black Flies”, and Shaunette Renee Wilson who co-stars in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

Fans of the long-running ITV talent show Britain's Got Talent may be disappointed to see that the show is absent from tonight's ITV schedule - although there is a good reason for it being pulled.The show returned for its 16th season last month, with Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden all returning to the judging panel.They were joined by former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli, who stepped in to replace former judge David Walliams after he quit the show after leaked audio saw him making derogatory remarks about contestants. And while the show usually airs on Saturday and Sunday evenings, the latest episode has been pulled from screens tonight.

As the Cannes market heats up before the Cannes Film Festival starts next Friday, another film goes up for sale on the Croisette. Variety reports that Village Roadshow Pictures joins the market now with the epic romance “Eternal Return.” And the film has three intriguing actors as its leads: “Aladdin” breakout actress Naomi Scott, the legendary Jeremy Irons, and “Game Of Thrones” alumnus Kit Harington.

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Documentary Films has pre-bought North American streaming and TV rights to Musk, Alex Gibney’s upcoming documentary about lightning rod entrepreneur and businessman Elon Musk.

Requests by scripted TV production companies to film on location in Los Angeles plummeted 51% in the first week of the Writers Guild’s strike compared to the same week a year ago, according to FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.