‘Living Is Easy’ Director David Trueba’s ‘Jokes & Cigarettes,’ About a Sad Comic Genius, Pounced on by Film Factory (EXCLUSIVE)

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Bringing one of Spain’s biggest potential box office hits onto the market at the AFM, Filmax has secured international sales to “A Moroccan Affair,” the third installment in the most successful Spanish movie franchise in history. “Moroccan Affair” is produced by Telecinco Cinema and Lazona, the duo behind comedies “Spanish Affair” (2014) and “Spanish Affair 2” (2015), which still rank as the biggest, and third-biggest, respectively, Spanish-produced box office hits of all time at Spain’s box office, grossing a combined €90.9 million ($96.3 million).

“I don’t want to give away too much, but we’ve thought about it,” Tom Quinn, then the co-president of Radius-TWC, said about the acclaimed 2014 horror “It Follows” in 2015, a year after it became a hit. “Flip the title.

Brent Lang Executive Editor David Robert Mitchell and Maika Monroe are reuniting on “They Follow,” a sequel to the 2014 cult horror hit, “It Follows.” Neon, the Oscar-winning studio behind “Parasite,” will co-produce the movie and release it domestically. The studio will introduce it to international buyers at this year’s American Film Market. Principal photography will commence in 2024.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Amazon MGM Studios, the renamed joint venture of Amazon Studios and MGM, has acquired rights to James Ponti’s popular children’s book series “City Spies” and is developing a film based on the first novel. The idea is for the initial installment to launch a global franchise, described by the company as a “four-quadrant action-adventure that will delight audiences of all ages and as a universe-building property for the studio.” The story follows a 12-year-old coding prodigy, who is recruited by an eccentric MI6 agent to join the City Spies, a team of kids from around the world who feel unnoticed in their own lives.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Avengers” filmmaker Joe Russo has caused quite a stir on social media for posting a response to a recent TikTok featuring Martin Scorsese. The Oscar winner’s daughter, Francesca, posted a TikTok this month in which Scorsese playfully directs his dog, Oscar. Russo responded by posting a video in which he tells Scorsese they share the same muse.

If you’re a fan of David Fincher, you know the filmmaker has flirted with the idea of sequels in the past. Most notably, the director was long attached to a sequel to the hit horror film, “World War Z.” However, in recent years, there has been quite a bit of chatter about a sequel to his award-winning 2010 film, “The Social Network.” Obviously, there’s plenty of new developments in the social media world to warrant another film, but in addition, writer Aaron Sorkin has even teased the possibility of it happening.

the genius of Robin Williams, when he died in 2014, and they won’t question the genius of Perry, who died Oct. 28 at the too-young age of 54 — and created comedy gold for 10 years as a shining star in the “Friends” firmament along with Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox and David Schwimmer.Perry was at the head of that supersized comedy class with his wisecracking Chandler Bing, one of the most indelible characters in television history.

David Fincher isn’t quite ready to give a “like” to the concept of doing a sequel to his 2010 Academy Award-winning film about the founding of Facebook, The Social Network.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent “No Me Sigas,” the directorial debut of “Anything’s Possible” writer Ximena García Lecuona, and “Malamuerte,” from Caye Casas, a rising star of pitch black Spanish comedy, both feature in a rich and far-ranging 2023 Blood Window Lab, the project platform of Ventana Sur’s genre forum, which unspools Nov. 27-Dec. 1.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The “Fantastic Beasts” movie franchise is “parked,” director David Yates said in a new interview with Total Film magazine. The franchise, headlined by Eddie Redmayne, is a prequel to “Harry Potter” that was designed by author J.K. Rowling as a five-film series.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Rodrigo Sorogoyen, director of ‘The Beasts,’ the Best Foreign Film winner at France’s 2023 Cesar Awards, has gone into production on a new series, “The New Year’s Eves.” Following on Sorogoyen’s acclaimed “Riot Police,” and his episode in “Offworld,” chosen by Variety as one the best international series of 2022, “The Beasts” is produced by Movistar Plus+, the biggest Spanish pay TV/OTT operator, in collaboration with Madrid-based independent production house Caballo Films (“Riot Police,” “The Route”), co-founded by Sorogoyen. Movistar Plus+ International will handle distribution outside Spain.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Sales agency Sola Media is set to present its new project “The Sloth Lane” to buyers at the American Film Market. The animated film, an addition to the “Tales From Sanctuary City” franchise, is described as “a story of self discovery, family and friendship.” Australia’s Like a Photon Creative is producing the film and Sola Media is handling world sales, after recently acquiring international distribution rights for the next three animated feature films in the Sanctuary City franchise.

Naman Ramachandran Jon Hamm, Ryan Coogler and Molly Shannon are among the luminaries headlining a new podcast that reunites former Sundance Film Festival directors John Cooper and Tabitha Jackson. Titled “The Film That Blew My Mind,” the first season of the podcast will have 20 episodes and will be co-hosted by Cooper and Jackson.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In news that is sure to move waves in Spain, Portugal and beyond, former Netflix exec Juan Mayne, a name inextricably linked to the build of Spain as a global film-TV power, has been appointed as SkyShowtime regional content director for Iberia, encompassing Spain and Portugal. The move creates an effective new streaming door to knock on for Spanish producers as some other – though not all – platforms are curbing commissions or orders in the two countries.

Naman Ramachandran Top Indian actor and emerging producer Taapsee Pannu is on a tear with a welter of projects lined up. Pannu debuted as a producer with horror-thriller “Blurr” (2022) that she co-produced via her Outsiders Films. The company’s next, “Dhak Dhak,” which follows four women who set out for a road trip to the highest motorable pass in the world on a motorbike journey of self-discovery, went on theatrical release on Oct.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent CANNES — Germany’s Story House Pictures, producer of the Beta Film/RTL mega-hit “Sisi,” sold to 120 territories, has optioned what looks like one of the biggest and most ambitious projects coming onto the market at this year’s Mipcom: “The Book of Longing,” a six-part English-language series with an international cast based on the international bestseller of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. The novel has been translated in 17 languages and will be the third adaption of one of Kidd’s bestselling works. Her 2001-novel “The Secret Life of Bees” sold 8 million copies and was turned into a major award-winning motion picture starring Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, and Jennifer Hudson.

William Earl New Zealand journalist and director David Farrier‘s debut feature documentary, 2016’s “Tickled,” was a look at the underground world of competitive tickling and the bizarre cast of characters behind the subsequent fetish videos. Farrier has followed “Tickled” with “Mister Organ,” a profile of a litigious man living in the shadows. In this case, it’s New Zealand’s Michael Organ, whom Farrier first stumbles upon as an overzealous parking lot attendant at an antiques store, before discovering more strange details about his life.

Since NASA’s conception just over six decades ago, 600 astronauts have traveled to space, yet only 18 have been Black Americans. Hindered in equal parts by racial discrimination and the lack of educational and economic resources given to the Black community in the space administration’s formative years led to a significant racial disparity among those who aimed to reach for the stars.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Mexico’s Mónica Lozano, producer of Alejandro González Iñarritu’s “Amores Perros” and Eugenio Derbéz’s “Instructions Not Included,” has boarded “Cepeda,” an envelope-pushing Mexico-set procedural, turning on a Mexican cop who’s an Indigenous woman and great at her job. Development over the last two years has been financed by Acuña’s Chile-based Promocine.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Animated feature directors of “Elemental,” “Nimona,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and “Trolls Band Together” will attend the second annual “Sketch to Screen: Top Animated Contenders” panel at SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Hosted by Clayton Davis, senior awards editor for Variety, the panel will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 24.