Kamal Haasan Joins Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan on Cast of ‘Project K’

Ivanka Trump is continuing her Europe trip with a stop in Spain. Accompanied by her family, Ivanka has been photographed in places like Ibiza, enjoying herself in beaches and yachts with some of the most famous people in the world.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £7.1 million ($9 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. The release marked the fifth biggest opening weekend for a film in 2023 in the territory, including previews, with a market share of 43%. In its fifth weekend, Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” racked up a further £1.5 million in second place, taking its total to £25.9 million. Universal’s “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” debuted in third position with £885,056. In its sixth weekend, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” earned £837,859 in fourth place for a total of £25 million.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon miniTV, the free streaming service available on the Amazon Shopping app in India, is dubbing a raft of Korean, Turkish, Mandarin and Spanish dramas into the Hindi language for local consumption under the MiniTV Imported banner. The first set of shows, which streams from July 7, are all Korean and includes “Cheer Up,” “Heart Surgeons” and “Doctor Detective.” Amogh Dusad, head of content, Amazon miniTV, said: “In recent times, the viewing preferences of digital video consumers in India have changed significantly. They love diversity in content offering and are looking for unique stories & captivating characters from across the world. We have curated a list of blockbuster shows, from Korean, Turkish, Mandarin, Spanish and many more languages, that we believe will resonate with Indian viewers.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Bucheon film festival’s Network of Asian Fantastic Films project market wrapped up three days of meetings and pitching sessions on Monday with a prize ceremony that disbursed cash, post-production support and invitations to related genre film events. “The Passport,” a Tamil- and English-language Malaysian project about an Indian rockstar who is forced to confront cultural expectations and her interactions with an imaginary friend, won the headline Bucheon Award for director Ananth Subramanian and producer Bel Choo Mun. It was both a popular choice among other NAFF participants and the unanimous decision of the jury. The numerical winner was “Please Bear With Me,” which saw director Gabriela Serrano and producer Gale Osorio from the Philippines collect three prizes. The project is a sci-fi and social issues mash-up about a call center operative who gets paid in dream-time and uses it to relive her glory days as a pop star. A clearly-surprised Serrano used her second visit to the stage to explain the film’s origins as a deep frustration with seeing Filipina women stuck at the bottom of society and yet apologizing for their ambitions.

Indiana Jones has been entertaining audiences for four decades, and the fifth movie is keeping up the tradition. In the past, Indiana Jones has worked toward stopping the Nazis in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," found himself on a dangerous adventure in India in "Temple of Doom," working against the Nazis to find the Holy Grail in "Last Crusade," and racing against the Soviets in search for a hidden artifact with his long-lost son in Peru in "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." The newest movie, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," follows the famous architect on a journey with his goddaughter, Helena Shaw, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, on their way to find a dial that is said to hold the powers of changing history.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor has spoken out against the gender pay gap that exists in the industry, in which male Bollywood stars are typically paid much more than their female counterparts. Kapoor was speaking at the Creative Industries and Cultural Economy Summit at London’s Nehru Centre as part of India Global Forum’s U.K.-India Week on Wednesday. She was in conversation with Amish Tripathi, minister (culture and education), Indian High Commission and director Nehru Centre, who is also a bestselling author. Kapoor said that while Bollywood is changing, the change isn’t quick enough. “The gender pay gap is humongous. And I don’t think that will be narrowing very soon, unfortunately, but the roles are getting meatier for sure,” Kapoor said, adding that her contemporaries like Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone have pursued films where they could play the central character.

Eric Nam has announced his massive 66-date ‘House on a Hill’ world tour for 2023 and 2024.Eric Nam will kick off his ‘House on a Hill’ world tour with a 39-date trek across the US and Canada that will run form September to the middle of November. It will feature concerts in over 20 states, as well as four shows in Canada.The Latin American leg of the ‘House on a Hill’ world tour will take place in the latter half of November.

Naman Ramachandran Sony Music-owned music distribution company AWAL has launched in India and South Asia, following the acquisition of OKListen, a digital music platform for independent artists and record labels. Based in Mumbai and supported by Sony Music India, AWAL will offer independent artists in the region a range of services including global marketing, creative, synch and brand partnerships, radio promotion and distribution as well as access to real-time music analytics. Vijay Basrur, who founded OKListen in 2012 as India’s first homegrown digital distribution service, has been appointed head of India and South Asia, AWAL, reporting into Lonny Olinick, CEO of AWAL and Vinit Thakkar, managing director, Sony Music India.

Naman Ramachandran In the midst of the England-Australia Ashes cricket series that is scoring record viewership for Sky Sports, a bombshell report has revealed that rot runs deep in the sport in England. The report, published on Tuesday by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), was commissioned by the England Cricket Board (ECB) in 2021 after the Equality and Human Rights Commission was called upon to conduct a formal investigation into allegations of racism in English cricket. More than 4000 people responded to the ICEC’s call for evidence. 87% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi respondents, 82% of Indian respondents and 75% of Black respondents told the survey that they have experienced discrimination.

Kamal Haasan, one of the biggest stars of India’s Tamil-language film industry, has joined Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Disha Patani in the cast of Telugu sci-fi epic Project K.

Naman Ramachandran Indian cinema legend Amitabh Bachchan is venturing into the field of generative AI with studio, aggregator and digital IP monetization platform Ikonz. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) system capable of generating text, images, or other media in response to prompts, with ChatGPT and Bing Chat being current popular examples. Ikonz, which already works with Indian graphic novel properties Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle and Chacha Chaudhary, has a stated vision of “bringing together advanced technologies and cultural icons to create a new era of interactive entertainment.”

The search for a submersible sent to tour the remains of the Titanic dominated coverage across cable news networks all week, along with the tragic news that the vessel most likely suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” killing all five on board.

William Earl For over 30 years, Omaha rockers 311 have been a fixture on alternative airwaves and renowned for their dynamic live shows. The band started in 1988 and their current lineup — Nick Hexum (vocals/guitar), Chad Sexton (drums), Tim Mahoney (guitar), SA Martinez (vocals/DJ) and P-Nut (bass) — has been solid for some 31 years. Blending heavy riffs with reggae flourishes, hip hop verses, funk breakdowns and touching on countless genres, the band’s musical influences are varied and have led to chart-topping songs, including “Down,” “Amber,” “Come Original” and a popular cover of the Cure’s “Love Song.” 2023 is as busy as ever for 311, as the group is headed on a fall tour with openers AWOLNATION, reissuing their debut album “Music” on vinyl, announced a new beer called Come Original India Pale Ale, and even released a TikTok-friendly sped up version of “Amber.” As if that isn’t enough, they’re planning to record a new album during a break on tour.

Ben Croll An evangelist for the premium format, France’s CGR Cinemas has forged a growing number of international partnerships since the exhibition chain began exporting its proprietary Immersive Cinema Experience (ICE) model in 2017. At the start of this year, CGR – through its export arm ICE Theaters – had already opened premium rooms in Barcelona, Los Angeles, New Dehli and Jeddah, among others; by December, the premium format will win over new converts in Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand and Estonia, with even more to come. As part of its strategy, ICE Theaters teams with local distributors and top exhibition chains, lending “legitimacy” to a still-young brand, designed in-house, that outfits a row of LED panels on both sides of an auditorium and fills them with bespoke visuals extending the action onscreen (“It’s like surround sound but for light,” is how an ICE exec describes it).

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has unveiled a new teaser for “The Archies,” a coming-of-age, live action musical set in 1960s India based on the teenagers of Riverdale. “The Archies” is a feature film adaptation of the Archie comics, which are hugely popular on the Indian subcontinent. The teaser, released during Netflix’s Tudum fan event, reveals that the film is set in 1964 in Riverdale, described on a railway sign as a “hill station,” a term dating back to colonial time that refers to a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain. One of the transport links servicing the hill stations are small mountain railway trains running on narrow gauge tracks, known affectionately in India as “toy trains” and the teaser opens with a shot of top train puffing into Riverdale station.

Naman Ramachandran Top Bollywood actor Kiara Advani will join Hrithik Roshan and NTR Jr in the cast of Yash Raj Films’ “War 2,” Variety has learned. Advani debuted with hit “Fugly” (2014) and has starred in several more hits since, including “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” (2016), “Bharath Ane Nenu” (2018), “Kabir Singh” (2019), “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2” and “Jug Jugg Jeeyo” (both 2022). She is also known for Netflix anthology “Lust Stories” (2018) and direct-to-digital Prime Video film “Shershaah” (2021). “War 2” will be directed by Ayan Mukerji, who previously helmed Disney’s Indian mythological superhero film “Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva.”

writers strike that is being branded “Screenwriters Everywhere,” with events planned in major cities including Paris and London. The Writers Guild of America has enlisted members from the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds, Federation of Screenwriters in Europe and UNI Global Union to demonstrate global support for the union’s strike against Hollywood’s largest producers. The unprecedented rallying behind the WGA is especially relevant during this strike given the globalization of content, and the fast-growing international outposts of many “struck” companies, such as Netflix and Prime Video.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) MD and CEO Punit Goenka and chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra from holding any managerial or directorial positions in listed companies. The suspension is while SEBI carries out investigations into allegations of insider trading. On Thursday, SEBI, which is set up to “protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of and to regulate the securities market” issued an interim order naming Goenka and Chandra as “noticees.” The detailed 16-page notice, of which Variety has obtained a copy, makes multiple reference to “siphoning” of funds.

There’s new blood at the top of Fremantle UK’s Too Hot to Handle co-producer Thames and The Apprentice maker Naked.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent ANNECY — Opening under the pall of Thursday’s knife attack, – which prompted a spirited show of solidarity and communal defiance at its opening ceremony on Sunday – this year’s Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival has never been bigger. Creativity is exploding, from “Spider-Verse” and beyond.  Animation is flowering in India and Africa.  Yet studio work, much courtesy of streamer orders, may rebound, but never return to the halcyon levels of the last few years. Theatrical for most animation titles has yet to return, moreover – save for extraordinary mega-blockbusters such as “Across the Spider-Verse” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” 10 takes on this year’s Annecy, the biggest animation festival on the world: