Rome Showbiz Latest News and Updates

The Venice Biennale Foundation, which oversees the Venice International Film Festival, has nominated right-wing writer Pietrangelo Buttafuoco to become its new President, according to multiple Italian media sources.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Bhutan’s official Oscar entry “The Monk And The Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom,” has been bought by a raft of well-established international theatrical distributors. Following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, “The Monk and the Gun” has been sold by Films Boutique to Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent). Earlier this week, the crowdpleaser was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S.

If you were one of the few people who caught an IMAX screening of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet when theaters were still largely locked down, you might have seen the music video for Travis Scott’s song “Franchise” ahead of the film. The fawning IMAX press release makes the short video clip sound like a banquet for the senses, boasting of “powerful precision sound and the highest quality crystal clear imagery on the biggest screens.” The collaboration speaks to how Scott has positioned himself as an artist: more than the music, the Travis Scott brand is about visual spectacle.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore’s vintage TV series “Il Camorrista,” starring Ben Gazzara as one of the fiercest bosses of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate, is being unearthed from the vault 37 years after the mobster himself quashed the show before it aired. “Il Camorrista” was shot in 1985 as part of an innovative production mounted by Italy’s glorious Titanus shingle and Silvio Berlusconi’s ReteItalia. The production comprised both a Tornatore feature film by the same title and the five-episode TV show.

EXCLUSIVE: Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Golden Circle) and Lucien Laviscount (Emily In Paris) lead the feature rom-com This Time Next Year, for which we can share an official first look above. 

Rafael Nadal has accomplished a lot in his life, but one of his happiest moments is likely the day he said “I Do” to his wife, Mery ‘Xisca’ Perelló. The couple has been an example of a marriage full of love and support, and on October 19, they celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary.The parents, who just celebrated their son, Rafael Jr’s first birthday on October 8, 2022, tied the knot in 2019. They dated for 14 years before making walking down the aisle.

Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore has shared his memories of the days that followed Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain taking his own life.In an extract published in The Guardian from his autobiography Sonic Life, which is released this week (October 24), Moore recalls receiving a phone call from Sonic Youth’s booking agent Bob Lawton that confirmed the news on the morning of April 8, 1994.“It hadn’t been looking good in the preceding months: the overdose in Rome, reports of Kurt missing in action around Seattle, the intervention by his friends and family,” Moore wrote. “Reportedly Kurt had taken his life three days ago, before being discovered by a worker installing security lighting at his Lake Washington house.”“Kim [Gordon, Moore’s then-wife and Sonic Youth bandmate] was at a photoshoot for the X-girl clothing line that she had co-founded with her friend Daisy von Furth at Daisy’s apartment farther downtown,” he continued.

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Italy and the Vatican City over concerns surrounding political demonstrations.

to the BBC, her agent said, “It is with great sadness we are sharing with you that, following her recent diagnosis with cancer, the star of stage and screen Haydn Gwynne died in hospital in the small hours of Friday 20 October, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family and friends. We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton Hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks.”Born in West Sussex, England, Gwynne rose to prominence in the 1980s with the drama “Nice Work” before going on to star in other British series including “Peak Practice,” “Merseybeat” “Sherlock” and the BBC series “Rome.”In her career, she played a wide range of notable public figures, including Queen Camilla and Margaret Thatcher.

Actress Haydn Gwynne died today following a recent cancer diagnosis. She was 66.

K.J. Yossman Haydn Gwynne, a stage and screen actor who starred in royal comedy “The Windsors” and also appeared in “The Crown,” died on Friday of cancer, the BBC reports.

Actress Haydn Gwynne has died aged 66 following a recent cancer diagnosis.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Beta Film has announced a half-dozen sales to European public broadcasters on high-end period drama “La Storia,” which is Italian pubcaster RAI’s biggest event show of the year and is world premiering at the Rome Film Fest. The sweeping eight-episode saga, set in Italy during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath, is based on a globally bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante, whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference.

Italian actress and screenwriter Paola Cortellesi’s directorial feature debut There’s Still Tomorrow (C’è Ancora Domani) opened the 18th Rome Film Festival on Wednesday evening.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome Film Fest opener “There’s Still Tomorrow,” a bold period dramedy that marks the directorial debut of popular Italian actor Paola Cortellesi, has scored a slew of international sales. The film, shot in black-and-white and set in post-World War II Rome, riffs on Italy’s neorealist past, albeit with a female empowerment element angle and a contemporary A-list Italian cast.

Mayim Bialik I got my nose in around about 4th grade. Before then, I had more of a little button nose. Adorable.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Veteran RAI exec Adriano De Maio has been trying to shake things up at the Italian state broadcaster since last May, when he was appointed head of film and drama. To contend with the unstoppable disruption caused by digital and streaming in Italy’s TV landscape, De Maio is trying to steer RAI toward programming that provides more cultural enrichment, while also catering to the youth demographic that drives traffic on the pubcaster’s RAI Play streaming platform — which has more than 23 million subscribers, way more than Netflix’s Italian customer base. As RAI faces possible budget cuts due to the government’s decision to lower its license fee [RAI’s current allocation for film and TV series was not immediately available], De Maio sat down with Variety in Rome to discuss his vision for the scripted content he’d like RAI to acquire for its viewers.

Strictly Come Dancing professional Graziano Di Prima has opened up about his family back in Italy, revealing that they've only watched the live show once in the five years he's been in the cast. The 29-year-old made his debut in series 16 alongside radio presenter Vick Hope and has since been partnered with Judi Love, Kym Marsh and this year's Zara McDermott.

Zara McDermott has opened up about her relationship with boyfriend Sam Thompson and his feelings about her doing Strictly Come Dancing, revealing that it's "not always completely balanced" for the couple. The 26-year-old Love Island star is currently partnered up with Italian professional Graziano Di Prima on the BBC One show and spends most of her time in training for Saturday night. When asked how she's balanced her relationship with the Strictly experience, Zara told OK! in an exclusive interview that Made in Chelsea 's Sam has been "amazing" throughout.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Any new show by producer Frank Doelger – whose credits include “Game of Thrones,” “The Swarm,” “John Adams” and “Rome” – must rate as an event. That event takes place Oct. 17 at Cannes Mipcom trade fair, with the world premiere of “Concordia,” on which Doelger serves as executive producer and showrunner.

Walk along to the Mariner's Canal around the back of the Lowry Outlet Mall, cutting through onto Eerie Basin - formerly known as Dock 9 - and you'll see very little except for the City Lofts and The NV apartment. However, venture to the end of the dock and you'll find the Anchorage Buildings.

Ben Croll Acclaimed Romanian animator Anca Damian has lined up her next live-action feature. The filmmaker behind Annecy top prizewinner “Crulic: The Path to Beyond” and “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” will write and direct “First People on Earth,” a tragicomic family saga about a biracial woman re-experiencing her native Namibia after decades in Europe. Returning to her birth country for a family funeral, and bringing her non-verbal, pre-adolescent son in tow, the heroine falls in with a troupe of theatrical Bushmen – an Indigenous tribe, divorced from their historic lands, forced to re-enact ancestral myths for tourist dollars.

Whoopi Goldberg has reportedly expressed her concerns about the lack of bees in The Vatican City, and her plans to fix it.READ MORE: Whoopi Goldberg mocks Ted Cruz and Ben Shapiro over ‘Barbie’ criticismThe Oscar-winning actor recently paid a visit to the holy city where she not only met the Pope, but also attended a nearby conservation art exhibition called Changes, which included images of bees and beekeepers at work.After learning that the Vatican isn’t home to any bees, the 67-year old said: “The Vatican should have bees,” according to Vatican News. She raised the increasing endangerment of the insect, adding: “Having bees brings attention to the fact that bees are dying all around the planet.”The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently lists 20 species of bee as endangered, and 11 as critically endangered globally.

Ben Croll A romantic comedy about an Israeli-Palestinian couple based on the real life story of creators Nayef Hammoud and Gal Rosenbluth, the development series “Non-Issue” won the Paramount+ drama prize at this year’s MIA Market, which wrapped its ninth edition on an optimistic note. Of course, well before Friday’s closing award ceremony, the heartbreaking crisis in the Middle East cast a heavy pall over an otherwise ebullient audiovisual market, often informing conversations professional and otherwise.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Investment in original content production continues to grow in Italy where resources across all genres reached a total of €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) thanks to increased investments from U.S. streamers.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor French sales powerhouse Charades Films, which is attending MIA Market in Rome this week, has acquired international rights to Emma Dante’s third feature “Misericordia.” The film will premiere in competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on Nov. 11, and will hit theaters via Teodora on Nov. 16 in Italy.

Ben Croll Imagine Documentaries, the non-fiction branch of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, is looking to boost a new generation of documentary talent. Speaking at a panel at Rome’s MIA Market, Imagine Documentaries president Sara Bernstein revealed that her company has signed a development deal with filmmakers Isabel Bethencourt and Parker Hill, whose teenagers-in-Texas portrait “Cusp” premiered to critical acclaim at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, while praising director Jackie Jesko, whose three-part, true-crime doc “Savior Complex” premiered on HBO last month.

Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart has launched a new creative collective called The Time Experience Project. Listen to their debut single ‘Brings Me Home’ first on NME below.The Grammy-winning musician enlisted a group of writers, actors, filmmakers, composers and performers to join him in the group.

The MIA Market, Rome’s splashy precursor to Mipcom Cannes, is almost over and there has been plenty to digest. Attendants from all over the world including a healthy dose of U.S. C-suite star power have been listening intently in the cinema screening rooms on the Piazza Barberini all week, and there has been plenty to discuss, as execs from around the world ponder a path to normality following a year of chaos and disruption. Meanwhile, the Israeli-Hamas conflict rages and the world mourns, with ripples felt here in Rome. See below for Deadline’s key takeaways from the annual TV and film confab.

Sky Studios Italia has unveiled a restructure and new leadership team on the final day of the MIA Market in Rome.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Hollywood vet Gianni Nunnari, producer on movies including the 300 franchise, Immortals, and From Dusk Til Dawn, is teaming with producer Simon Horsman (Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers, Magazine Dreams) to launch Euro Gang Entertainment.

For the last two days, Whoopi Goldberg has been absent from her moderator seat on The View, with co-host Joy Behar repeatedly teasing a revelation on Monday, Oct. 16, of just where in the world Goldberg is, and what’s she doing there?

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sky Italia is launching a high-profile documentary series with international ambitions titled “The Overlooked Serial Killer,” reconstructing a true-crime case that has gripped millions of Italians. The documentary investigates the connection between Elisa Claps, an Italian teenager who disappeared in 1993, and Heather Barnett, a British woman whose mutilated body was found in Bournemouth in 2002.

Ben Croll Anonymous Content, whose recent productions include Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan’s film “Foe” for Amazon Studios, is looking to expand its international footprint, with new ventures planned in Poland, Germany and Australia, top execs announced on Wednesday. Speaking at a panel held at the MIA Market in Rome, Anonymous Content international president David Davoli and chief creative officer David Levine made clear their group’s vigor for global joint ventures, promising upcoming additions to a portfolio that boasts partnerships with companies in the U.K., France, Scandinavia, Spain and Brazil.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Philippe Bober’s Coproduction Office, whose recent films include Jessica Hausner’s Cannes Competition title “Club Zero” and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness,” has kicked off international sales on Gust Van den Berghe‘s “The Magnet Man.” The Paris and Berlin based production and sales outfit is attending this week’s MIA Market in Rome. Van den Berghe’s previous films, “Blue Bird” (2011) and “Little Baby Jesus of Flandr” (2010), have both premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. “The Magnet Man,” which is in post-production, tells the tragicomic tale of how our greatest talents can become our greatest flaws, and how unpredictable our lives can be.