Locarno Monitoring Situation Following SAG-AFTRA Vote, Fest Head Says Strike Is An “Unmistakable Signal” Of The Issues That “Plague” Contemporary Cinema

EXCLUSIVE: With such big 2023 movies such as Kraven the Hunter, the next Ghostbusters, the Zendaya romance Challengers and more moving into 2024 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, exhibition is facing another possible recession should stars remain unable to promote.

Marta Balaga Starring Deva Cassel, Laura Luchetti’s “The Beautiful Summer” (“La Bella Estate”) has bowed sales and a trailer, ahead of its world premiere at this week’s Locarno Festival. In a first deal to go down for sales agent True Colours, Palace Films has swooped on distribution rights to Australia and New Zealand. Xenix Filmdistribution will release in Switzerland “The Beautiful Summer,” which is loosely based on Cesare Pavese’s novel.

EXCLUSIVE: Bella Thorne (Divinity) and Jack Kilmer (Palo Alto) have been set to topline The Tower, one of 102 projects to have been granted a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement following the launch of the actors strike. Also set for the fantastical drama, from filmmaker Adam Sigal (Nandor Fodor and The Talking Mongoose), are Cam Gigandet (Violent Night) and Chris Mullinax (Chariot).

When we dial Locarno chief Giona A. Nazzaro’s line, he’s in the process of slipping into an air-conditioned bar where he can escape the blistering heat that has consumed Southern Europe for much of July.

Marta Balaga Six U.K. works-in-progress have been selected for the 12th edition of Locarno’s First Look, an international launchpad for films in post-production taking place during Locarno Pro Days. Since its introduction in 2012, First Look has already focused on Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Israel, Poland, the Baltic Countries, Portugal, Serbia, Switzerland and Germany This year, the late Mike Hodges – known for “Get Carter” or “Flash Gordon” – will be celebrated in “All at Sea,” produced by Hurricane Films, a semi-autobiographical documentary depicting his life.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Switzerland’s preeminent Locarno Film Festival has tapped arts patron Maja Hoffmann, founder of the LUMA Foundation, to be its first female president in its 70-plus years of existence. The festival’s Board of Directors unanimously approved Hoffmann to succeed Marco Solari who has held the position for more than two decades.

SAG-AFTRA has granted more waivers in recent days that give permission to indie projects to shoot during the current strike, including the independent film The Summer Book starring Glenn Close. Other recent projects that will be allowed to shoot include the TV series Underdeveloped and Sight Unseen.

EXCLUSIVE: There’s not much about the self-tape audition process that Charisma Carpenter likes. There’s hardly any feedback. There are no do-overs. And if she’s not paying a coach to read with her, she’s having to rely on friends in her midwestern town.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Vienna-based sales agent Square Eyes has boarded Tana Gilbert’s feature debut “Malqueridas” ahead of its world premiere as part of Venice’s International Critics’ Week. The documentary was shot entirely on clandestine cell phones by the inmates of a women’s prison in Chile. ” ‘Malqueridas’ forms a collective memory of this often abandoned community, and shows how these mothers – and their love – withstand the trials of life in jail, far from family and loved ones,” according to a press statement. “In prison, they find affection in other partners who share their situation as mutual support among these women becomes a form of resistance and empowerment.”

EXCLUSIVE: For those awards strategists wondering whether stars from indie U.S. films can promote at the fall film festival troika, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says “We’re looking at that issue.”

EXCLUSIVE: Noah Hawley’s Alien FX series has started production in Thailand but without its stars who are SAG-AFTRA members — including the two leads — due to the ongoing strike.

Tehran, the Israeli spy thriller that airs globally on Apple TV+, has become one of the most high-profile TV series to land a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.

Anne Hathaway, Jenna Ortega, Matthew McConaughey and others, are still shooting in the U.S. and overseas.

SAG-AFTRA has granted approval to 39 independent productions to shoot during the actors strike, after confirming that they are not linked to AMPTP companies. The list includes two A24 projects, and Deadline first reported on Monday that faith-based series The Chosen was likely to get one, which now is confirmed.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA has granted approval to 39 independent productions to shoot during the strike, after confirming that they are not tied to AMPTP companies. The list includes two projects from A24, the independent production company: “Mother Mary,” starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, and “Death of a Unicorn,” starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, which is set to begin shooting soon in Hungary. A24 is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said a spokesperson for the company. The projects also include “The Rivals of Amziah King,” starring Matthew McConaughey and “The Chosen,” a TV series about the life of Jesus.

This Morning viewers claim to have spotted the show's new 'permanent hosts' ahead of the show being cancelled. The ITV daytime programme returned to screens on Monday (July 17) with Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary at the helm.

William Earl The SAG-AFTRA strike has shut down scores of film and TV productions as actors picket. While many sets had already shut down as a result of the WGA writers strike, this will effectively slow Hollywood down to a crawl as negotiations continue. Read Variety‘s list of newly-halted productions below, which will be updated throughout the strike. Beetlejuice 2 The Tim Burton production, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as the crude ghost, is almost done with shooting in London, but was still expected to film one more sequence in Vermont when the strike took place.

Production has paused on Deadpool 3 following SAG-AFTRA’s decision to move forward with strike action last night.

Fran Drescher is speaking out in response to the controversy surrounding her recent trip to Italy and meetup with Kim Kardashian.

There is growing angst about the potential impact of the confirmed SAG strike on upcoming A-list festivals such as Venice and Toronto, but the industrial action is already having a tangible effect on festivals around the world with the Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland having to pull a Q&A tonight with actor Matthew Modine.