Keshet International Boards Israeli Thriller ‘Trust No One’ From Ron Leshem/Amit Cohen, Among New Scripted Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent With an International Panorama spangled by gems  – think Spain’s “Apagón,” Sweden’s “Blackwater,” and Canada’s “Disobey” and “Little Bird” – Series Mania also weighs in this year with one, if not the, strongest and most mouthwatering of international competitions in its history.  Including the opening and closing series, Amazon’s “Greek Salad” and Netflix’s “Transatlantic,” nearly all the global streamers have titles in the lineup, from Apple TV+’s “Drops of God” and Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies.” The lineup also features some A-List international writing talents, such as the U.K.’s Jack Thorne and Israel’s Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen, whose “The Virtues” and “No Man’s Land” rank among the most memorable of recent Series Mania competition titles, and closing the festival, out of competition, “Unorthodox’s” Anna Wenger.”Fleeting Lies” also represents one of the first series from Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s El Deseo label in Madrid, opening series “Greek Salad” Cedric Klapisch’s first works a TV series creator.

Ariana Madix has remained relatively quiet since the Vanderpump Rules scandal broke, but that’s about to change, ET has learned. A source tells ET, “Ariana is getting ready for the reunion. She’s preparing herself and getting in the correct mindset for it.

Marta Balaga High-flying Access Entertainment, a division of Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries and equity investor in A24 and “His Dark Materials” producer Bad Wolf, is investing in “Red Skies,” one of the biggest titles set to world premiere at this year’s Series Mania, in main International Competition.   Blavatnik and Danny Cohen, Access Entertainment president, will serve as executive producers on “Red Skies,” a position they also hold one upcoming movies such as Beau is Afraid, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonathan Glazer’s “Zone of Interest,” “Iron Claw,” starring Zac Efron, and “Conclave,” from Edward Berger, director of “All Quiet on the Western Front.”  

Netflix has released the trailer for its upcoming Lewis Capaldi documentary film, How I’m Feeling Now.The trailer offers fans an intimate look at the singer’s life behind-the-scenes as he deals with anxiety and the pressure of living up to the world’s idea of success following his debut album.“I think I’ve never been more insecure in my life than I am now,” he admits in the trailer. “And I think that’s got worse the more successful I’ve got.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the erotic thriller documentary “We Kill For Love” ahead of its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival. The company is planning a domestic release later this year and will represent the film for international sales with a launch at the upcoming Marche Du Film in Cannes. Written, produced, and directed by Anthony Penta, “We Kill for Love” depicts the long-gone world of direct-to-video erotic thriller, an American film genre that once dominated late night cable television and the shelves of neighborhood video stores.

In “Kill Boksoon,” a female hitman finds out that killing is simpler than raising a kid. Fresh off its world premieres at the Berlinale last month, South Korean director Byun Sung-hyun‘s new film stars “Secret Sunshine” actress Jeon Do-yeon as an assassin that sees her family and professional lives collide to antic results.

Marta Balaga Israel’s Reshet 13 is attached to “Dust and Coal,” selected for Series Mania’s Forum Co-Pro Pitching Sessions.  The eight-episode thriller focuses on a Mossad assassin, Esther, whose world collapses when her father reveals to her that she is, in fact, a Syrian sleeper spy. Planted in Israel as a child, as part of a KGB program, her activation time has come.   Produced by Ronen Ben Tal for Bental Productions Ltd and France’s Morgane Le Moine for First Love, the show was created by Ben Tal, Ron Ninio – who will also direct – Eleanor Sela and Ofer Seker, co-creator of “Uri and Ella”, now airing on HBO Max.

Midwife Pip Podcast that she started to feel "guilty, freaked out and panicked" and questioned whether she had made the "wrong decision". Chloe explained: "I felt very isolated, very alone. [I was] quite depressed and quite freaked out.

The Vaccines‘ guitarist Freddie Cowan has revealed ‘Begin Again’, the third single to be released as part of his upcoming solo album. Check it out below.The new track will feature as part of the artists’ new solo endeavour, Freddie & The Scenarios – a project that sees Cowan take on the role of frontman alongside some other famous faces.Entitled ‘Begin Again’ the latest single is centred around the motif of ‘rebirth’, and explores themes of self-doubt and fear, as well as the importance of transforming your outlook.Joining Cowan on the track are his recently-appointed bandmates – all of which form supergroup, The Scenarios.

EXCLUSIVE: Drift director Anthony Chen is gearing up to direct his first US-set project, Heartbeat: A New York Story, about the rarely-told experiences of the Asian gay community during the AIDS epidemic in 1980s New York.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck appear to be moving forward with plans to buy a new house together.

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor Things are moving fast at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard. The bicoastal law firm has announced a new co-head of its entertainment practice, new co-heads in the Los Angeles office, a partner promotion, and further development of its art law group.   Caitlin S. DiMotta (above right) has joined Frederick P. Bimbler (above left) in heading up the firm’s entertainment practice. Based in Los Angeles, DiMotta joined the firm in 2021 and works with clients in all areas of development and publishing in the television, literary, comic book/graphic novel, and motion picture industries.   With almost 30 years’ experience in entertainment law, Bimbler has long advised clients in the areas of motion picture, television, theater, and performance art. His portfolio includes clients on both coasts, and he will co-head management of the firm’s Los Angeles office with partner Sarah Conley Odenkirk.  

Can someone be replaced without complications? When it comes to pop culture, there’s a constant flow of trends, but sometimes, a memorable figure breaks through to defy it all. Carl Nargle is striving to maintain his own relevance in IFC Films’ “Paint.” The comedy stars Owen Wilson as the unforgettable character with more than a passing resemblance to public broadcasting icon Bob Ross; Nargle’s place as Vermont’s top TV painter is jeopardized when an interloper threatens to destroy everything.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While the market for foreign-language cinema has shrank, the packed opening of the Rendez-Vous with French cinema in New York hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and Unifrance on March 1 underscored American audiences’ enduring love for Gallic fare. At least when it comes to New Yorkers. Some of France’s brightest writers/filmmakers, including Alice Winocour (“Paris Memories”), Rebecca Zlotowski (“Other People’s Children”), Sebastien Marnier (“The Origin of Evil”) and Cesar-winning star Virginie Efira and famous actor Melvil Poupaud traveled to New York with Unifrance, the French film promotion org. On top of presenting their movies, some talents on the ground took part in masterclasses at Film at Lincoln Center, Columbia University and Brooklyn College, as well as a creative workshop with emerging filmmakers participating in the Gotham Marcie Bloom Fellowship in Film.

Even geniuses need help sometimes.

K.J. Yossman The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) has announced a host of new appointments, including seven trustees. The new trustees include Miranda Wayland, head of U.K. and Europe creative EDI for Prime Video and Amazon Studios, Labour politician and member of the House of Lords Judith Blake, Oxford University Shakespeare professor Judith Buchanan, Coutts media finance exec Judith Chan, PZ Cussons finance exec Helen Selwood, former CFO Shona Spence and business consultant Caroline Spicer. They join current RADA Council members Lolita Chakrabarti, Chipo Chung, Tim Clark, Paul Clay, Martin Donnelly, Buster Dover, Tanya Moodie, Maxine Peake, John Romeo, Tanya Rose, Tamar Thomas and chair Marcus Ryder.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Music Box is unveiling the trailer for “Revoir Paris,” a French drama boasting a Cesar-winning performance by Virginie Efira. The movie, which bowed at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight and played at Toronto, will have its New York premiere on June 23 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Film Center. A meditation on healing, the film tells the story of Mia (Efira), a married translator who survived a mass shooting in a Paris restaurant, and feels haunted by the trauma, yet unable to recollect memories of the tragic attack. Determined to reconstruct the sequence of events and reestablish a sense of normalcy, Mia finds herself repeatedly returning to the bistro where the shooting happened. In the process she forms bonds with fellow survivors, including banker Thomas (Benoît Magimel) and teenager Félicia (Nastya Golubeva). Efira, who just won a Cesar Award for her role in the film, stars opposite Magimel, the Cesar-winning actor of “Pacifiction,” as well as Grégoire Colin (“Both Sides of the Blade”) and Golubeva (“Annette”).

Seven months after landing the highly coveted top jobs at Warner Bros. Motion Picture studios, Co-Chairpersons Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were bestowed with the PGA Milestone award tonight and paid respect for their mega industry mentors, remembered emotionally their cinematic NYC and New Jersey youths, and gave a huge shoutout to their new boss, Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian actor-turned-director Andrea Di Stefano, whose gritty police drama “The Last Night of Amore” is launching from the Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Special Gala section, reps an Italian anomaly. “Amore,” which refers to a police lieutenant named Franco Amore, oddly marks Di Stefano debut directing an Italian-language film after helming well-received U.S. indie thrillers “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” with Benicio del Toro, and “The Informer.”  Sumptuosly shot in 35mm film and set in present-day Milan, “Last Night of Amore” harks back to Italian genre films of the 70s and 80s but has a fresh contemporary feel. The plot sees the good lieutenant, played by Italian A-lister Pierfrancesco Favino (“The Traitor,” “Nostalgia”) being called on the night before retirement to investigate a crime scene where his best friend and long-time partner Dino has been killed during a diamond heist. Complications ensue, things get very frantic, and we learn how his love for his wife Viviana, played by Linda Caridi (“The Ties”) will help Amore survive the longest and most challenging night of his existence.

Prime Video has secured the return of Dave Bautista (Knock at the Cabin), Chloe Coleman (Avatar: The Way of Water), Kristen Schaal (What We Do in the Shadows), Ken Jeong (The Afterparty) and others for their My Spy sequel, My Spy: The Eternal City. Among the new additions to the ensemble in the second installment are Anna Faris (Mom), Craig Robinson (The Office) and Flula Borg (Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin).