Italy Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming edition of the Festival of Far East Film in Italy’s Udine (April 24 – May 2). The lineup will include three films by Zhang: his 2023 political thriller “Under the Light” in its competition section; as well as “To Live” and “Raise the Red Lantern” in its restored classics section. The festival’s total lineup includes 74 films in total – 47 in competition and 28 out of competition) from 11 countries.

M&S shoppers 'can’t think of any worse worse' as they show off after a new 'mashup.' Marks and Spencer has launched a brand new food fusion feast - and it has left foodies divided.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival is set to celebrate the centennial of Columbia Pictures with a retrospective featuring classic titles spawned by the Hollywood studio between the dawn of sound and the late 1950s. The Locarno retro, titled “The Lady With the Torch –– The Centenary of Columbia Pictures,” is being curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht, co-director of Italy’s Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, which is dedicated to cinematic treasures of the past and organized in partnership with Switzerland’s Cinémathèque Suisse.

GTR — Gym, Tan, ROAST!!!

Ellie Leach's TV return has been confirmed following her success on Strictly Come Dancing. The actress emerged victorious in the BBC One dance contest back in December alongside dancer Vito Coppola.

Billy Joel only has five concerts remaining at New York City’s Madison Square Garden before he wraps his record-smashing residency at the venue with his 150th concert on July 25.Until then, it isn’t too late to snatch last-minute tickets for his fifth-to-last MSG gig on Thursday, March 28.It won’t be cheap to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer live, though.At the time of publication, the best price we could find on last-minute seats was $304 before fees on Vivid Seats.Floor seats start at $362 before fees — not that much more to sit significantly closer to the stage.Still, while that may sound pricey, there’s an element of scarcity at play here.As we near Joel’s final concert at the Knicks’ home court, it’s likely prices will continue to rise. Therefore, this might be the best deal you see before Joel calls quits on his longstanding MSG stint.Want to rock out to “Only The Good Die Young,” “Uptown Girl,” “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant,” “Movin’ Out” and Joel’s 2024 single “Turn The Lights Back On” live?You’re in the right place, Piano Men and Uptown Girls.We’ve got everything you need to know and more about Billy Joel’s March 28 Madison Square Garden concert below.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all the best prices by section at Madison Square Garden for Joel’ s March 28 concert can be found here:(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time. All prices are in US dollars, subject to fluctuation and include additional fees at checkout.)Vivid Seats is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Elle Fanning is showing support for her older sister Dakota Fanning!

Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid are enjoying a date night!

Did Leonardo DiCaprio and Vittoria Ceretti take their relationship to the next level??

Deadline already told you two years ago that 2 was happening with Paul Feig back in the director’s chair and Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick starring, but today Amazon MGM Studios has made it official that the movie is a go and with the original cast members returning, read Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho, and Kelly McCormack.

A Simple Favor” is coming. The sequel will bring back stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, as well as Paul Feig to direct. Based on the 2017 novel of the same name, “A Simple Favor” told the story of a widowed single mother named Stephanie, played by Kendrick.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Last May, after “Killers of the Flower Moon” premiered at Cannes Film Festival, Martin Scorsese traveled to Rome with his wife, Helen Morris, to attend a conference titled “The Global Aesthetics of the Catholic Imagination.” There, the director announced that he had responded to an appeal by Pope Francis to artists “in the only way I know how: by imagining and writing a screenplay for a film about Jesus.” The conference was organized by Jesuit publication “La Civiltà Cattolica.” It took place after the journal’s editor, Father Antonio Spadaro, held a series of one-on-one conversations with Scorsese that have just been published in Italy in book titled “Dialoghi sulla fede” (“Dialogues on Faith”). The final chapter of this book is titled, as translated from Italian, “Screenplay for a Possible Film on Jesus” by Scorsese.

The Queen has said the Princess of Wales is "thrilled" by all the public support when she met two sisters holding posters with the poignant words "send our love to Kate". Camilla was met by thousands of well-wishers during a visit to a farmers' market in Shrewsbury town centre where two youngsters waited patiently with their mother hoping to catch the royal's eye.

The Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film is launching a new initiative, bannered Cannes Remakes, aimed at fostering remake opportunities for European feature films that have proven successful in their home territories.

A Succession-style boardroom battle is playing out in Europe.

Giovanni Pernice was supported at one of his latest shows by one of his former Strictly Come Dancing partners after he addressed his most recent partnership with Amanda Abbington which came to an abrupt end during the 2023 series.

2024 is shaping up to be quite the year for Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (“Suspiria”). Following on the heels of his new gay romance drama, “Separate Rooms,” which was announced yesterday and starred Josh O’Connor, the “Call Me By Your Name” director has yet another new project in the works, this one with A-lister Julia Roberts.

Giovanni Pernice has been backed by his former Strictly Come Dancing partner amid the drama surrounding Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington.

Nothing says Easter tentpole quite like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire which is set to conquer the world with a box office debut around $135M, bolstered by 63 foreign markets and 3,850 theaters stateside.

BBC Strictly professional dancer Giovanni Pernice has received support from his old Strictly partner during the ongoing controversy with Amanda Abbington. Former Sherlock actress Amanda, 52, claimed she got PTSD after dancing with 33 year old Italian Giovanni on Strictly Come Dancing last year, leaving the show for "medical reasons".Then, it emerged that the mother of two got a "big name lawyer" to retrieve her practice videos from the BBC.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Dahomey,” the Berlinale Golden Bear-winning film helmed by French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, has been sold to a raft of international territories by Les Films du Losange. Along with being acquired by Mubi in key markets, “Dahomey” has been acquired in Australia & New Zealand (Rialto), China (Hugoeast), Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nitrato Filmes), Greece (One From the Heart), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainement), Benelux (Cinéart), Bulgaria (Beta Films), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Mozinet), Czech Republic (Film Europe), Romania (Voodoo), Baltic Countries (Taip Toliau), Poland (New Horizons), Ukraine (Kyivmusicfilm), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), Indonesia (PT Falcon) and Sudu Connexion in Africa.

The assistant of Roberto De Zerbi has admitted the Brighton manager could be tempted by a return to Napoli, should the opportunity arise.

Dakota Johnson is enjoying a day out with a longtime friend.

It looks like Josh O’Connor and Luca Guadagnino may be teaming up again for a new movie!

One of Fremantle‘s leading execs in Europe has become victim of a sophisticated $1M scam.

AC/DC have confirmed the support act that will join them on their upcoming 2024 European tour. Find ticket details below.The Pretty Reckless will be joining the rock veterans for all 24 of their upcoming shows across the UK and Europe later this summer.Comprised of frontwoman Taylor Momsen, alongside Jamie Perkins, Ben Phillips and Mark Damon, the support slot will mark the first time that the New York rock group have performed in the UK since autumn 2022 – when they came across the pond for their ‘Death By Rock And Roll’ tour.The tour dates with AC/DC are set to kick off in Germany on May 17, and will see them play numerous shows across Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, before heading to the UK.Two UK shows are lined up, both of which taking place at London’s Wembley Stadium on Wednesday, July 3 and Sunday, July 7.From there, Brian Johnson and co.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Josh O’Connor is in talks to star in Luca Guadagnino’s new drama “Separate Rooms,” an adaptation of the eponymous novel by the late Italian writer Pier Vittorio Tondelli. The story follows an Italian writer named Leo who is mourning the loss of his boyfriend. O’Connor, who stars in Guadagnino’s upcoming tennis love triangle film “Challengers” alongside Zendaya and Mike Faist, is in advanced talks to play Leo in “Separate Rooms,” whose passionate romance with a shy German musician named Thomas is marked by different forms of separation.

Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice has declared his love for his fans as they rushed to respond to his latest update. The dancer took to social media as he looked back at how his mammoth UK tour is going so far.

K.J. Yossman Fremantle has completed its acquisition of global production studio Asacha Media Group, the company confirmed today. Fremantle acquired the group from founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management Fremantle’s group COO and CEO for continental Europe Andrea Scrosati spearheaded the acquisition.

Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 had a rock ‘em sock ‘em weekend at the international box office, adding $55.3M from 69 markets for a $135M overseas running cume, and $268.2M global (there are several key markets still to release, including France, Australia, the UK and Korea). 

Fremantle Completes Asacha Deal

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” collected $45.2 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing Sony Pictures the studio’s first No. 1 film since last summer.The opening weekend for “Frozen Empire,” in 4,345 theaters, was nearly exactly the same as the $44 million launch for “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” in 2021.“Afterlife” rebooted the franchise with a sequel built around the descendants (Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace) of Harold Ramis’ Egon Spengler, along with Paul Rudd’s seismologist Gary Grooberson.Neither film has been a hit with critics, but audiences have been more receptive.

Amanda Holden is one of the biggest stars of ITV, with a coveted role as a judge on Britain's Got Talent and a radio show on Heart FM - but it doesn't come without its family hardships. The 53 year old juggles her busy working life with being a wife to husband of 16 years, Chris Hughes, and a mum to their two daughters, Alexa, 18, and Hollie, 12, and she often struggles with the dreaded 'mum guilt'. Amanda recently got emotional as she discussed her eldest daughter, Lexi, leaving home soon.

The countdown is on until reality star Vicky Pattison ties the knot with the love of her life Ercan Ramadan.The 36 year old is due to get hitched this summer in Italy and wedding planning is well on it's way. Speaking ahead of the big day Vicky, who got engaged to ex TOWIE star Ercan, 30, in February 2022 after two failed engagements to ex-partners, has given us the details of her big day while revealing that she will actually be getting married twice.

Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper are hitting the town for date night!

SPOILER ALERT – Do not read ahead if you haven’t seen Immaculate yet!