Sweden Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Netflix launched four new movie titles into the Luminate streaming originals top 10 movies list for the April 12-18 frame, led by “Woody Woodpecker Goes to College” and Swedish drama “Stolen.” Among streaming original TV series, Amazon Prime Video saw “Fallout” spike to more than 5 million views in its first full week in release. Netflix had sleeper successes with true-crime drama “Baby Reindeer” and docu-series “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment.” Documentary film “What Jennifer Did” saw a 696% week-to-week bounce in its first full week in release to 674.2 million minutes watched, or about 7.7 million views. “Woody Woodpecker” was a distant second with 290.8 million minutes watched, or about 2.9 million views.

Incoming Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin insists he has no intention of moving to Pittodrie earlier than June despite his Elfsborg side crashing to their third defeat in a row.

Eurovision Song Contest has been unveiled ahead of the grand final next month.Lighting and Screen Content designer Fredrik Stormby from Green Wall Designs and production designer Florian Wieder are the creative masterminds who helped create, design, and deliver a large-scale and spectacular show to a global audience of over 160million for the 2024 Eurovision final in Malmö, Sweden on May 11.This year’s stage and lighting design for Eurovision will focus on the audience more than ever by having the stage placed in the centre of the arena. By doing so, viewers will be able to experience the unique 360 degree view in the Malmö Arena.The stage will also be shaped like a cross with movable LED cubes and LED floors.

Eurovision Song Contest 2024.According to Eurovision World, the favourites to win the competition have been revealed. Coming in first place is Switzerland’s NEMO, who currently has a 25 per cent chance at snagging the crown this year with their song ‘The Code’.Behind Switzerland in second place is Croatia, whose entry Baby Lasagna is predicted to have a 17 per cent chance of winning with his song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’.

The Swifts and the Kelces are headed across the pond! Together!

Pet Shop Boys have responded to the recent comparisons of their classic single ‘It’s A Sin’ to Olly Alexander’s Eurovision entry ‘Dizzy’.Alexander released the track last month ahead of the Years & Years singer representing the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden next month.‘Dizzy’ was co-written by Alexander and electronic producer Danny L Harle (Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Caroline Polachek). Upon the track’s release, the former explained that it was “inspired by a lot of music we love from the ’80s like Erasure, Adamski and of course Pet Shop Boys”.Some listeners have pointed out similarities to Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s 1987 hit specifically.

Interpol have added four extra European shows to their ‘Antics’ 20th-anniversary tour, which will take place later this year.The album, released in 2004, was the band’s second studio album and peaked at Number 15 on the Billboard 200 and at Number 21 in the UK Albums Chart. The album’s singles included indie disco staples ‘Slow Hands’, ‘Evil’, alongside fan favourites ‘C’mere’ and ‘Narc’.The record cemented the band’s success after the seminal debut ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’ and went on to become a classic of the era.

EXCLUSIVE: Picture Tree International (PTI) has acquired world sales rights for A Quiet Resilience, the debut feature of rising Swedish, fraternal directorial duo Gustav and David Bengtsson.

Lord of the Rings” owner Embracer is separating the group into three games and entertainment companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. Asmodee is a tabletop games publisher and distributor with a studio network and IP catalogue.

What’s Keanu Reeves up to in his post-“John Wick” period?  Well, he’s not quite done with the character yet; he’ll reprise it briefly in the upcoming spin-off “Ballerina,” in theaters next summer.  But Variety reports the actor is in talks to star in a project that’s sure to be an eyebrow-raiser: Ruben Östlund‘s follow-up to his second Palme d’Or winner “Triangle Of Sadness.” READ MORE: ‘Barbie’: Ruben Östlund Says “Mattel Bought Off An American Auteur” & Updates Next ‘Entertainment Down’ Satire Östlund has been teasing “The Entertainment System Is Down” for a while now, but it sounds like he’s finally gearing up to film it. It’s another social satire for the Swedish auteur, about a long-haul flight where the entertainment system stops working, leading passengers to fly into rages.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Keanu Reeves is in talks to star in two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund’s highly anticipated next feature “The Entertainment System Is Down,” Variety has learned. While the exact plot of the movie remains under wraps, Östlund has teased it several times as a social satire set on a long-haul flight on which the entertainment system isn’t working, sparking chaos and rages among passengers.

Keanu Reeves is reportedly eying a role in director Ruben Ostlund‘s new movie The Entertainment System is Down.

Surprise – Tom Payne and his wife Jennifer Akerman have welcomed twins!

Viaplay shut its direct-to-consumer service in February, but the Scandi streamer is still active in the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok inked a partnership with ticketing provider AXS to let users of the popular video app discover and buy tickets to live events. The feature is going live initially in the U.S., U.K., Sweden and Australia, with additional markets to follow at an undetermined date. Now, any certified artist on TikTok can use the in-app ticketing feature to promote their AXS live dates, according to the company.

Manchester United will have to check on several players before their impending FA Cup semi-final showdown vs Coventry City on Sunday afternoon (3.30pm).

Say Lou Lou have released their sultry new single and EP ‘Dust’.The Swedish/Australian twins shared their latest music on Friday (April 12), where they released the video for its title track ‘Dust’. It is the first part of an unknown series of EPs.The steamy video sees the twins dancing seductively with a model, as they sing: “I think you’re not what I want or craving / I think you’re not what I want at all / You don’t hear any words I’m saying / Is it all gonna fall and turn into dust?”Speaking about their new EP, Say Lou Lou describe ‘Dust’ as “a candid collection of songs that chronicle various steps of a break up; mourning, anger, remorse and forgiveness.

Filming begins next week on a big-budget family drama, which producers hope will herald a new era in non-English language shows within the British Isles.

Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli has died at the age of 83.

The 19th edition of the International Youth Media Summit (IYMS) will be held in Zanzibar in July. 

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has laid off a number of staff in its global TV division and is centralizing the team to the U.S. and UK.

German series The Zweiflers (Die Zweiflers) took home the prize for Best Series at the Canneseries Awards last night.

When the teamsheets were distributed at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night, few will have been surprised to see Sarina Wiegman ring the changes for England's clash with the Republic of Ireland.

Deftones and System Of A Down have announced a huge joint headline show for one night only – see all details below.The legendary Californian bands took to social media today (April 9) to announced they were teaming up to play a “stand-alone, once in a lifetime” show at the “historic” Golden Gate Park on August 17.Joining them will be prog-rockers The Mars Volta, Swedish punks Viagra Boys, and Australian industrial duo VOWWS.You can access pre-sale tickets by signing up for either band’s mailing list. General tickets will go on sale this Friday (April 12) – get yours here.A post shared by Deftones (@deftones)This won’t be the only live date the two bands are due to play this year.

Eurovision 2024 fever is in full swing and we’re now just weeks away from the main event in Sweden.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent CANNES — 3CAT, the newly reset Barcelona-based Catalan public broadcaster, and one of the driving forces behind Canneseries highlight “This Is Not Sweden,” is bringing onto the market a new docuseries “Aitana” as the Catalan-language service seeks to cut through the crowd with some of the biggest IPs a territory has: Its soccer stars. Sold as both a 90-minute movie and also a three-part 40-minute episode mini, “Aitana” is an inside-track on Barcelona soccer club’s Aitana Bonmatí, winner of the 2023 Women’s Ballon d’Or for best female soccer player in the world.

EXCLUSIVE: Israeli format Power Couple has been picked up by Banijay in the Nordics and been awarded a slew of recommissions.

The Killing star Sofie Gråbøl has reflected on how her Danish breakout series redefined “national and linguistic borders” when it came to TV viewing.

Malaysia-Singapore-Taiwan co-production Snow in Midsummer and Swedish title Sons took top prizes in the Young Cinema Competition at the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).

EXCLUSIVE: Embankment Films is making Garbo: Leave Me Alone, a feature documentary about the enigmatic movie star who died in 1990. The doc will have previously unseen archive material including personal photographs of Garbo and letters written by the iconic actress, who is regarded as one of the all-time greats.

The Hives have been forced to cancel their Dublin show due to Storm Kathleen – but have announced a surprise Sheffield gig.The Swedish garage rock band are nearing the end of their UK/IE tour, where they were initially due to stop by Dublin’s 3Olympia on April 8.However, after receiving news of Storm Kathleen, the band took to social media to announce a rescheduled Dublin date. They also unveiled a last-minute gig at Sheffield’s Leadmill.“Bad news! Storm Kathleen means we are having to postpone our Dublin show at 3Olympia by 1 week,” they wrote on X/Twitter.

ABBA has issued a rare message to their fans as they mark the 50th anniversary of their Eurovision Song Contest win.

ABBA fans the world over yesterday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Swedish supergroup’s Eurovision victory in 1974, and one crowd were treated to a surprise appearance by band member Bjorn Ulvaeus.

ABBA have marked the 50th anniversary of their Eurovision win with ‘Waterloo’ in a new statement today (April 6).50 years ago today, the Swedish icons, made up of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad, won Eurovision after performing in the final of the competition at the Brighton Dome. In 2005, the track was chosen as the best song in Eurovision’s history as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the contest.In a new statement marking the historic occasion, the band said: “It’s slightly dizzying and deeply humbling to think that millions of you who saw us for the first time in the Eurovision final 1974 have passed our music on not only to one generation, but to several.“We see evidence of that every time one of us visits ABBA Voyage in London and it’s because of this we can celebrate the 50th Anniversary of that event in the knowledge that our songs still resonate around the world.”To further mark the occasion, Andersson has recorded a short piano piece called the ‘Piano Moment’ that will be experienced as if he were at the competition and playing live.

Annika Pham One of the Nordic region’s biggest providers of premium series, Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales, will make a splash at this week’s Canneseries festival and MipTV market. For the second consecutive year, the sales, financing and packaging banner has two titles in competition: the Danish drama thriller “Dark Horse”, due to world premiere in the main competition, and the short form Swedish dramedy entry “Painkiller”, which initially bowed at the Göteborg Film Festival. “Last year we had the Norwegian political drama “Power Play” which won best series, and the Swedish romantic dramedy “Out of Touch” in the short form section.

EXCLUSIVE: Judy Craymer would just love it if Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig could just make herself available to complete the Mamma Mia! movie trilogy.