John Malkovich Backs Studio Plan in North Macedonia – C&E Europe News

Manori Ravindran International Editor More than a year since SkyShowtime was first announced, the SVOD is ready to join the streaming fray in Europe, Variety can reveal. The new platform — a joint venture between Comcast and Paramount Global that was first unveiled in August 2021 — will officially launch on Sept. 20 in the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, before expanding into the Netherlands later this year in Q4. (The service received regulatory approval in Europe back in February.) Meanwhile, the SVOD will continue its roll out across Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) over the coming months and through Q1 of 2023. CEE markets include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Milena Zajović “Hotel Portofino,” starring Natascha McElhone, has returned to Croatia after a summer break to finish filming its second season. It is so far the biggest project filmed in Croatia this year, Film New Europe reports. The producers of the period drama, created by Matt Baker and directed by Adam Wimpenny, are making use of Croatia’s 25% cash rebate for the second year in a row. Sixty filming days are planned, according to the Croatian Audiovisual Center. Tanja Ladović Blažević, head of Filming in Croatia, a department within the Croatian Audiovisual Center, told FNE: “We are especially proud to see an exceptional amount of Croatian professionals engaged in the project. There are 135 Croatian crew members, including 13 out of 14 heads of departments. In addition to that, more than 800 extras have been engaged in filming.”

Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison is no stranger to making the most of the summer. The reality star, 34, recently enjoyed a lavish trip to Croatia with her husband to be, Ercan Ramadan, but the holidaying didn’t stop there. Vicky and Ercan, 38, are currently soaking up the Corfu sunshine as they enjoy the sights the incredible Greek island has to offer.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Discovery is letting go of 29 staff in Europe, including key programming execs, as it moves to phase out HBO Max European originals and shift towards a new local commissioning model, Deadline can reveal.

Annika Pham New Europe Film Sales has added U.K. distributor Signature Entertainment to the slew of global buyers won over by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s “Beautiful Beings,” which has racked up awards from Poland, Bulgaria, Italy and Taiwan, since its first bow at the last Berlinale Panorama. Earlier deals were closed with the U.S. (Altered Innocence), Hungary (Vertigo), Benelux (Arti Film), Germany/Austria (Salzgeber), Spain (Filmin), and CEE (HBO).Billed by Variety reviewer Jessica Kiang as an “Icelandic coming-of age, radiant with violence and tenderness,” Guðmundsson’s drama revolves around a young boy raised by a clairvoyant mother who decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. 

Strictly Come Dancing star Kaye Adams was quick to tell Jane Moore to "shut up" on Wednesday's instalment of Loose Women as the panel discussed sleeping on an argument.

John Oliver called Sarah Palin many things on Sunday night, from a “bulls—” peddler to a “grifter.” But during “Last Week Tonight,” he had a new one for the former Alaska governor now seeking a seat in U.S. House of Representatives: He compared her to a walrus penis.Oliver kicked off the show with a recap of midterm elections across the country, including in Alaska, where candidates are currently vying for the congressional seat vacated by Don Young, who died earlier this year.

Christopher Vourlias On a recent visit to Serbia, actor John Malkovich announced plans to team up with fellow leading men D.W. Moffett and Matt Dillon to build a state-of-the-art film, music and media production facility in neighboring North Macedonia, a small, mountainous country of just two million inhabitants.It might seem a risky gambit for a country with a modest domestic film industry that services few foreign shoots.

The latest piece of the international Warner Bros. Discovery management puzzle has slotted into place, as the wider reshaping of the business continues. WBD General Manager Warner Bros. Discovery CEE, Baltics and Middle East (CEE MENAT) Jamie Cooke, who took on his post in June, has unveiled his team. Senior roles have gone to the likes of Lee Hobbs and long-serving Warner Bros. sales exec Roni Patel.

EXCLUSIVE: Ori Elon, writer and co-creator of Shtisel, is currently working on a biographical mini-series about Austrian-Jewish journalist and playwright Theodor Herzl, who played a significant role in founding the modern state of Israel, Deadline has learned.

tiff.net.The full list of new additions:TIFF DOCS“752 Is Not a Number,” Babak Payami | Canada“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras | USA“Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On,” Madison Thomas | Canada“Casa Susanna,” Sébastien Lifshitz | France, USA“Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels,” Mila Turajlic | Serbia, France, Croatia, Montenegro“The Colour of Ink,” Brian D.

We are now just days away from the biggest boxing night of Anthony Joshua's career when he'll rematch Oleksandr Usyk this Saturday, but prepare to dip into your pockets if you want to watch it live.

Christopher Vourlias Croatia’s Drugi Plan and Bulgaria’s Agitprop, two of the leading production outfits in Southeast Europe, have been attached to co-produce the upcoming drama series “Sabre,” a political thriller revolving around the 2003 assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic produced by Belgrade-based This and That Productions.Created by Goran Stanković and Vladimir Tagić, the series will star Serbian-Danish actress Danica Curcic, known to international audiences for her lead role in the Netflix psychological thriller “The Chestnut Man,” as a reporter investigating the shocking murder.The companies announced the deal on Monday at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where This and That’s “Bad Blood” and Drugi Plan’s “The Silence” were among the top Balkan drama series vying for Heart of Sarajevo TV Awards, which were handed out at a ceremony in the Bosnian capital on Sunday night. “Sabre” was first pitched in Sarajevo three years ago during the CineLink Drama co-financing forum, where it was named best drama project.

(CNN)Olivia Newton-John, the singer and "Grease" star who died on Monday in the United States, will receive a state memorial service in Australia, Victorian state Premier Dan Andrews announced Thursday. In a Twitter post, Andrews said he had spoken with Newton-John's family and they had accepted the offer of a state ceremony.

Victoria Beckham has been spotted sporting a very lavish monogrammed dressing gown while soaking up the sun during a family holiday to Miami. The Spice Girls singer, 48, looked glamorous as she was pictured on the family’s luxury superyacht on the latest leg of the Beckhams’ extended summer holiday after recently setting sail in Croatia and Italy.

Naman Ramachandran Trioscope, the company behind “The Liberator” (Netflix) and George R.R. Martin-produced “Night of the Cooters,” has launched its patented Trioscope Platform to license its proprietary technology to third-party content creators.