Leonine, A24 Set Up New Distribution Label in Germany, Austria; ‘Wizards!,’ ‘Iron Claw’ First Titles to Be Released (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Charlie Harper,” starring Emilia Jones from Oscar-winning film “Coda,” has been sold to multiple international territories. The film will be directed by Tom Dean and Mac Eldridge from a script written by Dean. Toby Wallace (“Babyteeth,” FX’s “Pistol”) will star opposite Jones. The film has been sold to Germany/Austria (Tobis), France (SND), Japan (Kinoshita), Australia/New Zealand (Roadshow), Spain (TriPictures), Scandinavia (SF Studios), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Israel (Forum Film), South Africa (Empire), Latin America (Sun), Portugal (NOS), Greece (Odeon), Middle East (Front Row), Benelux (The Searchers), Baltics (ACME), and Eastern Europe (Unicorn).

Sophia Scorziello editor Seth Rogen’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” has released another trailer, previewing the new take on the classic comic book characters Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. The film is set to premiere Aug. 2, 2023. The reptilian brothers are voiced by Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo) and Brady Noon (Raphael). Supporting voices include Jackie Chan (Master Splinter), Ayo Edebiri (April O’Neil), Rogen (Bebop), John Cena (Rocksteady), Giancarlo Esposito (Baxter Stockman), Post Malone (Ray Fillet), Paul Rudd (Mondo Gecko), Maya Rudolph (Cynthia Utrom), Hannibal Buress (Genghis Frog), Rose Byrne (Leatherhead), Ice Cube (Superfly) and Natasia Demetriou (Wingnut).

Heidi Klum shared a cheeky snap to Instagram Friday as she soaked up the sun on the French Riviera. The 49-year-old supermodel posed topless in a pair of black thong bikini bottoms while relaxing on a balcony overlooking the ocean.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros Discovery promised to give writers and directors proper credit on its Max streaming service, but don’t expect the fix to happen anytime soon.

is ready for more adventure!The Paramount+ series dropped the full official trailer for season 2 on Wednesday, which offered a first look at the crossover episode with stars Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid playing the live-action versions of their animated characters.The two-minute trailer is full of fun, spiciness and intergalactic adventures as Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the USS Enterprise confront dangerous stakes, explore uncharted territories and encounter new life and civilizations. The crew will also embark on personal journeys that will continue to test their resolve and redefine their destinies.

Alison Herman TV Critic The Apple TV+ comedy “Platonic” is a reunion of the 2014 movie “Neighbors” (and its 2016 sequel “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”), again pairing stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne with the writer and director Nicholas Stoller. But “Platonic” also models itself after another, more enduring classic: Nora Ephron’s “When Harry Met Sally,” a film explicitly referenced in the pilot of “Platonic” and the greatest work of art drawn from the essentially trite question of whether (straight) men and women can be friends. In “Neighbors,” Rogen and Byrne played spouses. In “Platonic,” they’re long-estranged besties who rekindle their codependent bond. As premises go, it’s a thin one. Ephron’s opus is now 34 years old, and even “When Harry Met Sally” was less seriously engaged with the idea of friendship between the sexes than using the setup as a showcase for Ephron’s wit, Meg Ryan’s charm and Ryan’s chemistry with Billy Crystal. “Men and women don’t really hang out with each other at our age,” says Sylvia (Byrne), a former lawyer who’s now a stay-at-home mother of three. Her argument is half-hearted, unconvincing and immediately dismissed by her husband Charlie (Luke Macfarlane), who encourages Sylvia to get in touch with craft brewer Will (Rogen) in the wake of his divorce. 

Paramount has bumped up its nationwide release date for the CG-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem from Friday, August 4 to Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

Naman Ramachandran Filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph’s critically and commercially acclaimed Malayalam-language film “2018,” which released on May 5, will bow pan India on May 26 in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages. The Hindi-language version of the film will be released via E4 Entertainment. “2018” narrates the story of the devastating Kerala floods that occurred in 2018 when people from all walks of life came together to survive the calamity. The film aims to convey the message that humanity can win over adversity. It stars Netflix’s “Minnal Murali” lead Tovino Thomas alongside Indrans, Kunchacko Boban (Netflix’s “Ariyippu”), Aparna Balamurali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Asif Ali, Lal, Narain, Tanvi Ram, Sshivada, Kalaiyarasan, Aju Varghese, Siddique, Joy Mathew and Sudheesh. It released in its home state Kerala and in a few neighbouring states and has earned more than $16 million theatrically so far, including U.S. and U.K. box office.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Kirsten Niehuus, CEO at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, which funds films and TV series production in the Berlin region, and Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films, which promotes and supports the release of German films abroad, welcomed a wide array of guests to their garden party at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. Three Medienboard-funded films are in this year’s Competition: Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters,” Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero,” and U.S. helmer Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City.” Niehuus told Variety: “Those are three very different productions, but it shows the spectrum [of films] that Medienboard supports.” Tunisian films, like “Four Daughters,” need international co-production funding to get made, she said, and “we believe in world cinema, so were very happy [to back it].” Hausner is “one of the most impressive female filmmakers [in the world], and I think there should be more female filmmakers on the Croisette and every other ‘A’ festival,” she said. “Asteroid City” is “the best of American arthouse filmmaking; very stylish, with a great narrative – so we love it,” she said.

Naman Ramachandran XYZ Films has unveiled the first clip from Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection “In Flames,” a Pakistani-Canadian horror film directed by Zarrar Kahn. The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year. In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Andrew Ross Sorkin is the co-creator of the Showtime series “Billions,” but he isn’t really known for drama in his professional life, just financial reporting. So it came as something of a surprise on Monday, when the CNBC and New York Times journalist got up on stage at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall to tout some of the dramatic fare that NBCUniversal was able to cobble together for the advertisers and media buyers assembled in the audience. It was all part of the industry’s annual “upfront,” when U.S. media companies try to sell the bulk of their advertising inventory before the release of their next cycle of programming.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Variety and Gotham Film and Media Institute kicked off the Cannes Film Festival in style, bringing together entertainment industry insiders and festival attendees for a welcome party at the newly revamped Carlton Hotel. The outdoor courtyard was filled with producers, executives and financiers and other Hollywood players, including Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, Martin Scorsese’s daughter Francesca, FilmNation’s founder Glen Basner, Cinetic Media boss John Sloss, CAA’s Ben Kramer and Black Bear International’s John Friedberg.  At the event, Leonine Studios was honored with the International Achievement in Film Award, a recognition designed to spotlight the honoree’s recent achievements. The German production, licensing and distribution company was formed by Fred Kogel in 2019 and established itself as one of Europe’s biggest movie buyers. It’s picked up more than 40 feature films, such as “Hunger Games,” “John Wick: Chapter 4,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Knives Out.”

J. Kim Murphy Investigation Discovery has partnered with Michael Bay, with the filmmaker slated to executive produce a new true crime documentary series for the network. Kathleen Finch, chairman and chief content officer for the U.S. Networks Group at Warner Bros. Discovery, made the announcement Wednesday morning during the company’s Upfront presentation. The series is set to premiere in 2024 and will “expose a terrifying, yet little known, true crime story.” “When Michael Bay first approached us to collaborate on a true crime project, we instantly knew we wanted to join forces,” Jason Sarlanis, president of crime and investigative content for linear and streaming at ID, said in a statement. “Michael Bay is an incredibly dynamic filmmaker and producer whose vision and storytelling appeals to audiences far and wide. This partnership will be the perfect addition to our blockbuster nights on ID.” 

Naman Ramachandran Sky and AMC have unveiled several first look images for the upcoming historical psychodrama series, “Mary & George,” starring Oscar and BAFTA-winning actor Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”), alongside Nicholas Galitzine (“Cinderella”) and Tony Curran (“Mayflies”). “Mary & George” is inspired by the true story of Mary Villiers, who moulded her beautiful and charismatic son, George, to seduce King James VI of Scotland and I of England and become his all-powerful lover. Through scheming, the pair rose from humble beginnings to become the richest, most titled and influential players the English court had ever seen, and the King’s most trusted advisors. All this at a time when England’s place on the world stage was under threat from a Spanish invasion and rioters were taking to the streets to denounce the King.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Trace Lysette is in a hotel room on 8th Street in New York City when she jumps on a Zoom video call with Variety to talk about her new movie, “Monica.” In just a couple of hours, she’s set to walk the red carpet at the indie drama’s premiere at the IFC Center. “I used to turn tricks a few blocks from there,” Lysette says. Like so many trans women, Lysette once turned to sex work as a means of survival. “I was a young person alone in New York doing God knows what to survive,” says Lysette, who was raised in Ohio. “Last night we had a screening at The [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community] Center here. That was so heavy for me because I got my gender identity therapy there 20 years ago.”

Shares of Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch owner News Corp. rose 6.5% in morning trading after the news and book publisher posted a slight decline in revenue for its fiscal third quarter as the advertising market softened, but reported progress on cost-cutting measures it said would save $160 million this year.Shares gained $1.02, or 6%, to $17.85, in morning trading after earlier reaching as high as $18.68.

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Mendes has a mammoth hit on his hands with The Motive and the Cue, which has been playing to packed houses on the National Theatre’s 890-seater Lyttelton proscenium stage.

New Music Friday! The weekend is here, which means more streaming, new playlists and the best that music has to offer. ET has you covered for everything in between.Ed Sheeran leads this week's releases with, pronounced «Subtract,» Sheeran's fifth studio album.

Naman Ramachandran Yash Raj Films’ Bollywood blockbuster “Pathaan,” headlined by superstar Shah Rukh Khan, is set for a historic theatrical release in Bangladesh, Variety has confirmed. Hindi-language Bollywood films, while very popular in the country, have not been released in Bangladesh since the country’s formation in 1971, in a bid to protect the country’s local film industry. In 2009, the decision was relaxed to allow “Wanted,” starring Salman Khan, to open in the territory. However, the release was met with protests led by a local film industry organization and the film was pulled from the 50 cinemas it was running in after a week. In February this year, a consortium of 19 Bangladesh film associations decided to allow Hindi-language films to release in the country and suggested that 10 films release a year. “Pathaan” then will become the first Hindi-language film to enjoy a wide release in Bangladesh.

The nominations for the 2023 Tony Awards were announced this week and every actor who is nominated for their performance in a musical showed up for the Meet the Nominees event!