Russia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Egyptian-born comedian Bassem Youssef claims he lost a role in James Gunn‘s Superman Legacy movie due to his public support of Palestine, however, a source close to production tells Deadline, that’s not the case: Youssef was never formerly offered the role.

Joe Biden said that he was “both not surprised and outraged” by the reported death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in prison, blaming it on Vladimir Putin.

Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and critic of Putin, has died at 47.

Alexei Navalny, who has led the main opposition to Vladimir Putin for years and was the subject of an Oscar-winning doc, has died, according to state reports citing the Russian prison service. He was 47.

Berlinale, which looks to be one of the most politically charged editions in recent history. Several filmmakers have already canceled their participation to the festival in protest of Germany’s attitude towards Palestinian voices, while more than 50 Berlinale workers have signed an open letter this week demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and asking that the festival leadership take a “stronger institutional stance” on what the statement calls “the current assault on Palestinian life” and calling on the festival to take a stance that is “consistent with those taken in response to other events that have struck the international community in recent years.” The war in Gaza followed Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Oct.

Christopher Vourlias K5 Intl., the international sales arm of K5 Media Group, has acquired world sales rights excluding North America to “Stay Online,” a tense Ukraine war drama that was entirely shot in the Eastern European country after the Russian invasion, the company announced at the European Film Market. The film, which debuted last year at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival, recently sold to Dark Star Pictures for North American distribution in a deal brokered by XYZ Films. A U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taipei and Los Angeles-based Organic Media Group has picked up rights to U.S.-produced classical music documentary title “Crescendo” and will be launching it at the European Film Market, which accompanies the Berlin Film Festival. The picture had its first commercial release in South Korea in December and became the highest grossing foreign documentary in the last three years.

Alissa Simon Film Critic As some former European Shooting Stars celebrate Oscar noms for their latest films, the Europe-wide initiative to draw attention to up-and-coming performers coordinated by European Film Promotion introduces another 10 talents during the Berlinale. From Feb. 16-19, the selected actors will participate in workshops, as well as meetings with producers and casting directors.

The build-up to the 74th Berlin Film Festival (Feb 15 – Feb 25) has been highly politicised and the international jury press conference this morning was no different.

Christopher Vourlias One year after sharing the stage at the European Film Market as joint Countries in Focus, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia continue to shine. Despite the downturn sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, the lingering fallout from the ongoing war in Ukraine and the growing economic uncertainty worldwide, production across the region has been at or near record highs in recent years.

Alex Ritman “Superpower,” the Sean Penn fronted and co-directed documentary following the Oscar-winner as he embeds himself with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky in the wake of Russia’s invasion, has scored new sales. Ahead of the Berlinale, where “Superpower” first premiered in 2023 while still in production, Fifth Season — which financed the film alongside Vice Studios — has unveiled broadcast deals with streamer Stan and Nine Network (Australia), Movistar Plus (Spain), HBO (CEE and Baltics), PCCW for Now TV (Hong Kong and Macau), DPG Media (Belgium), A+E Networks/History Channel (Germany) and Kyivstar TV (Ukraine).

Steven Ostrow, the actor and singer best known as the creator of The Continental Baths gay men’s bathhouse where Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, and other stars launched their careers, has died. The Brooklyn native passed away on Feb. 4 at a rest home in Sydney, Australia, where he has lived since the 1980s.

never not in. “Red is ; it's never out of fashion,” , MAC Cosmetics' Director of Makeup Artistry, tells Glamour. “There's always a moment for red, whether it's in the lives of people in every day, or high glamor on editorials and runways."That said, we've seen lots more red lipstick as of late, and most notably on .

The host of Hot Ones has a hot new relationship on his hands!

Tom Cruise appears to have a new girlfriend. After many years of him keeping his relationships private, sources confirm that Cruise is dating Elsina Khayrova, a Russian socialite. According to new reports, the two are an item, with their closest friends knowing about the relationship.

A group of 400 actors, musicians and entertainment execs including Helen Mirren, Liev Schreiber and Gene Simmons have penned an open letter supporting the decision for Israel to remain in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Tom Cruise has a new girlfriend! That’s the word on the street, at least!

Lisa from the K-pop group BLACKPINK will make her acting debut in the upcoming third season of The White Lotus. The casting news was first announced by Variety.

Tom Cruise has reportedly gone "official" with his new girlfriend, a 36 year old Russian socialite called Elsina Khayrova.The Hollywood mega star best known for starring in hugely-popular aviation blockbuster Top Gun as well as the Mission Impossible franchise, is said to have enjoyed a slew of luxurious dates at her Knightsbridge home. The ultra fancy apartment is thought to be worth a whopping £10 million. Friends have reportedly claimed that the couple are "growing closer" all the time, and Tom is spending more and more time at his girlfriend's home.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The CGI animated sequel to “Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness,” the hit adventure film based on the Dark Horse comics which sold around the world, has lured buyers ahead of the European Film Market. Titled “Chickenhare and the Very Very (Very) Old Groundhog,” the movie is budgeted at $23 million (a large budget by European production standards) and brings back the creative team behind the first film.

Kamila Valieva blamed her positive drug test on WHAT?!?

BAFTA-winning Once Upon a Time In Northern Ireland creator James Bluemel has found his next project, an exploration of space.

J. Kim Murphy Tucker Carlson has shared his longform interview with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, discussing the political leader’s justifications for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The video, running more than two hours, represents the first time that the Russian leader has been interviewed by a Western journalist since the conflict started nearly two years ago.

3 min read Despite staunch criticism from the West, Russia is continuing its crusade against the rainbow community in defence of what it calls “traditional family values”. Coming into effect on January 10, […]

If Scott Mann’s 2022 ball-tingler Fall gave you a sense of vertigo then we advise you to stay clear of this new documentary feature from director Jeff Zimbalist and co-director Maria Bukhonina, a Sundance debuting white knuckle love story about a couple of Russian climbers who fall for one another atop some of the world’s tallest buildings.Skywalkers: A Love Story starts with a trigger warning. Actually, two.

Tucker Carlson‘s just-released interview with Vladimir Putin shows the former Fox News host has left shameless behind for pure sycophancy.

EXCLUSIVE: WTFilms has snapped up international sales rights for Dutch directorial duo Steffan Haars and Flip Van Der Kuil’s English-language debut Krazy House following its world premiere at Sundance.

Noel Gallagher has joked that he wants to create his own political movement called ‘The After Party’ to “deal with these Russians”.The High Flying Birds singer and former Oasis member weighed in his thoughts on the current political climate during a new appearance on the Funny How? podcast, and jokingly explained how he would deal with issues if he were to have his own party.Talking to Matt Morgan in the interview, Gallagher said he would develop his own party called ‘The After Party’, and their motto for change would be that ‘It’s Going To Get Worse Before It Gets Better’.“I’d say, ‘I told you it was going to get worse,’ but then it would be better,” he said (via Far Out), later giving an example of how he would confront Vladimir Putin and try to get Russia to “leave the Ukrainians alone”.“I could deal with these Russians. I’d just sit Putin down, and say, ‘Look, little guy – alright mate? What seems to be the problem?… What would you do if I taught you to play guitar? Leave the Ukrainians alone?’“Then I’d go all gangster and say, ‘Mate, look at you.

Guy Lodge Film Critic In “Porcelain War,” a resilient Ukrainian couple divide their time between two seemingly antithetical pursuits: When enterprising Slava Leontyev isn’t training fellow civilian soldiers in the ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion, he and his partner Anya Stasenko are skilled ceramic artists, casting and painting dainty porcelain figurines inspired by local nature and folklore. If the title already suggests something pointed in that disparity, this emotive debut by Leontyev and American co-director Brendan Bellomo leaves nothing to chance in ensuring we get it: Porcelain, we are told, is “fragile but everlasting, and can be restored after hundreds of years.” Lest the point still be lost on us, the couple’s combined voiceover later offers a blunter paraphrase: “Ukraine is like porcelain — easy to break, but impossible to destroy.” The metaphor is clear enough, then; whether it’s quite complex enough to sustain a feature-length documentary is another question.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has landed the Sundance Film Festival buzz title documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story. The film premiered January 18 at The Ray Theatre.

Michaela Zee Netflix has acquired “Skywalkers: A Love Story” following the documentary feature’s debut at the Sundance Film Festival. “Skywalkers,” which premiered Jan. 18 at the Ray Theatre, follows daring couple Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus from Moscow, who saved their relationship and career by climbing one of the world’s tallest buildings.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Comedian Bert Kreischer is sticking with Netflix, signing with the streamer to film two more stand-up comedy specials. This reps the fourth and fifth specials for Kreischer at Netflix, following “Razzle Dazzle” (2023), “Hey Big Boy” (2020), and “Secret Time” (2018). The first of the two specials will be filmed by Kreischer at the Mahaffey Theater in St.

Serbia has jumped to the defense of its countryman Milos Bikovic after Ukraine attacked HBO‘s decision to cast the Russian sympathizer in The White Lotus.

It might come as a surprise to most that the skirmish between Russia and Ukraine has been active for nearly a decade. However, international headlines would raise awareness to new heights upon Russia’s invasion of its neighbor in February of 2022.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor PBS and ABC News were among the top winners at the duPont-Columbia Awards, some of the top honors accorded each year to audio and video reporting done in the public interest. The 15 award winners of 2024 were announced Thursday during a special ceremony. The awards have been administered since 1968 by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Army experts have revealed who is exempt from being compelled to join the forces and what it means if someone refuses to sign up.