Sweden Showbiz Latest News and Updates

It's a pop emergency - Madonna is in the studio with Max Martin working on new music. 

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on industry players outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week we’re talking to Heretic co-founder Giorgos Karnavas about the growth of his Athens-based production and sales house he started in 2013 with Konstantinos Kontovrakis. The company played a pivotal role in co-producing Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner and Oscar contender Triangle of Sadness, its first English-language production. 

Lise Pedersen Paris-based CAT&Docs has come onboard as sales agent for Italian-Swedish director Erik Gandini’s “After Work,” which had its world premiere in the main competition at CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival. Variety speaks to the director at the festival. In this stunningly cinematic doc, lensed by Ruben Östlund’s long-time DOP Fredrik Wenzel and shot in the U.S., Italy, South Korea and Kuwait, Gandini explores the notion of work in the 21st century, as automation and technology free up time, and asks what the future could be like in a work-free society. One of the inspirations for the film, Gandini says, was Swedish sociologist Roland Paulsen’s writings on the ideology of work, which is rooted in the notion of a work ethic developed some 350 years ago.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LILLE, France — The gauntlet thrown down by the opening stretches of Viaplay banner title “The Fortress,” one of nine series in main competition at Series Mania, is to believe that this is fiction.  News footage plays of a pandemic, then a war; huge protests rage around the world as Norway’s prime minister addresses his nation to announce that Norway is building a wall to keep everybody else out. That’s been done before (Israel) and in metaphorical terms (Brexit).  Cut to nine years later: Norway is a bucolic paradise, Sweden next door a refugee camp hell, until strange bacteria kills fish and then humans, and Norway will, foreseeably, need international help and “what starts as a wall, ends as a prison,” comments Filippa Wallestam, Viaplay Group chief content officer.

Lise Pedersen Los Angeles non-profit The Film Collaborative has boarded Swedish director Tove Pils’ debut feature “Labor,” which is competing in the Nordic:Dox section at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, CPH:DOX. The film follows Hanna, who leaves her family and girlfriend behind in her small Swedish hometown and travels to San Francisco to explore her sexuality in the city’s vibrant queer scene. She soon meets Chloe, a professional dominatrix, and Cyd, a trans man who works as an escort for gay men. Together with her new friends, she embarks on a journey that takes her further and further away from her life in Sweden. “Labor” was shot over more than a decade, and one of the reasons it took them so long to put the film together was their concern for the protagonists’ anonymity and the effect it might have on their lives, Pils explains to Variety.

The director of the latest superhero flop is getting candid.

Congratulations are in order for Alexander Skarsgard!

Ed Meza @edmezavar International distributor Eccho Rights has inked landmark deals for Turkish drama series “Golden Boy” with broadcasters in Sweden and Finland.The show, which has enjoyed huge success on Turkey’s Star TV since launching in September 2022, is the first Turkish drama to be picked up by Swedish and Finnish broadcasters. In Sweden, TV4 acquired “Golden Boy” for its TV4Gold and Sjuan linear channels, as well as streamers CMore and TV4 Play. In Finland, Eccho Rights’ deal with MTV Oy represents the first time ever that a Turkish series has been licensed by a Finnish broadcast group, with “Golden Boy” to stream on CMore and Katsomo in Finland.

Glasgow City’s Hayley Lauder says she’s ‘delighted’ after signing a new deal that take her beyond a decade at the club.

Icelandic Political Drama ‘The Minister’ Greenlit For Season Two

Madonna has revealed that she is currently working on new music with Max Martin.The singer took to social media yesterday evening (March 20) to share an image of herself and the Grammy-winning Swedish producer/songwriter sitting together in a recording studio.“When in doubt go to work,” she captioned the photo. “Nothing shuts down the noise or the naysayers More then [sic] being in the creative process !!” Madonna added a range of music-related emojis and the hashtag #MaxMartin.The behind-the-scenes picture sees the pair writing notes on pieces of paper in front of speakers and a computer screen – check out the post below.When in Doubt go to Work ………..

Alexander Skarsgard has finally confirmed that he became a father last year and now fans are likely looking for more information on his partner!

tweeted with a shrug emoji. “I wasn’t expecting a repeat of the first movie critically but I was still a little surprised because I think it’s a good film. Oh well.”As of Monday, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” has a middling 52% rating among all critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Lise Pedersen Oscar-nominated and double Palme d’Or winning film company Plattform Production (“Triangle of Sadness,” “The Square”) has premiered its latest film, “A Tiger in Paradise,” by director and editor Mikel Cee Karlsson, as part of a live event that received a standing ovation at CPH:DOX, one of Europe’s leading documentary film festivals. Set in the picturesque Swedish countryside, the doc takes viewers on a surreal journey into the inner world of Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter José González. Peppered with songs from his latest album “Local Valley,” introspective musings, self-deprecation and playful special effects involving moving portraits, looping techniques and Conway’s famous Game of Life computation model, the film opens with a disarmingly candid disclosure by González about his past mental health issues.

Holly Willoughby appeared mortified as she threw her head into her hands when a popular This Morning segment took a chaotic turn. The presenter was back fronting the ITV daytime show alongside co-host Phillip Schofield as the pair kicked off a fresh week of shows on Monday (March 20).

Louise Redknapp shares an incredibly close bond with her two boys Charley and Beau, and on Sunday, the sibling duo marked Mother's Day in the sweetest way possible.For the special occasion, Charley, 18, and Beau, 14, treated their mum to a gorgeous bouquet of fresh flowers teeming with roses and hydrangea. Alongside their touching gift, Louise's sons included a Mother's Day card which featured the words 'Mum' in addition to 'Lots of love.'WATCH: Louise Redknapp shares video of son finding out she was on The Masked DancerShowing her appreciation, Louise, 48, took to Instagram with a snapshot of her touching gifts.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The duo behind the hit Nordic franchise “Snabba Cash,” helmer Jesper Ganslandt and screenwriter Oskar Söderlund, have re-teamed on “Cry Wolf,” an action thriller series starring British musician-turned-actor Eliot Sumner (“No Time to Die”). Ordered by Swedish broadcaster TV4, “Cry Wolf” is based on “Vargasommar,” the anticipated debut novel of Hans Rosenfeldt, the BAFTA-nominated creator of “Bron” (“The Bridge”) and British series “Marcella.” Fifth Season has boarded international sales. “Cry Wolf” will also star Eva Melander (“UFO Sweden”) and Henrik Dorsin (“Triangle of Sadness”). It will start filming in in Haparanda, near the border of Finland, in July. Melander is set play Hannah Wester, a 54-year-old police officer whose quiet life in Haparanda gets turned upside down after a wolf is found dead. The ordinary investigation becomes a sprawling criminal case connected to a bloody drug deal in Finland and sparks a series of brutal events.

EXCLUSIVE: The Bridge creator Hans Rosenfeldt has set his next project, a return to the canon of crime author C.J. Tudor.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Mobile 101, a Nokia Story,” a series about the dramatic rise and fall of the Finnish phone company, has been acquired by Disney+ and Walter Presents in multiple territories. The series was produced by Finland’s Rabbit Films and is represented in international markets by the outfit. The six-part series, which sheds light on how a small Finnish company specializing in rubber boots became the world’s biggest mobile manufacturer at the turn of the 21st century, has been picked by Disney+ Italy, Netherlands and Belgium. Walter Presents, meanwhile, bought it for the UK & Ireland. RUV Iceland has also acquired season one of the series.

Someone just bought a fast family car with a famous former owner. A 1988 Volvo 740 wagon originally owned by the late actor Paul Newman has been sold on the Bring A Trailer auction website for $80,740. That's over $20,000 more than the list price of a new Volvo wagon today.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent With an International Panorama spangled by gems  – think Spain’s “Apagón,” Sweden’s “Blackwater,” and Canada’s “Disobey” and “Little Bird” – Series Mania also weighs in this year with one, if not the, strongest and most mouthwatering of international competitions in its history.  Including the opening and closing series, Amazon’s “Greek Salad” and Netflix’s “Transatlantic,” nearly all the global streamers have titles in the lineup, from Apple TV+’s “Drops of God” and Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies.” The lineup also features some A-List international writing talents, such as the U.K.’s Jack Thorne and Israel’s Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen, whose “The Virtues” and “No Man’s Land” rank among the most memorable of recent Series Mania competition titles, and closing the festival, out of competition, “Unorthodox’s” Anna Wenger.”Fleeting Lies” also represents one of the first series from Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s El Deseo label in Madrid, opening series “Greek Salad” Cedric Klapisch’s first works a TV series creator.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Xavier Henry-Rashid’s London-based sales agency Film Republic has closed deals for multiple territories on “F*cking Bornholm,” a tart comedy of social discomfort. The film had its international premiere in the main competition section of Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where it won the Europa Cinemas Label award. In his review, Variety’s Guy Lodge commented that Polish writer-director Anna Kazejak‘s “precise, piquant film deserves wider festival exposure and discerning distributor interest.” It has now been acquired by Iceland’s Bio Paradis, Arsenal for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Lithuania’s Garsas, Slovenia’s RTV, Israel’s Yes and Sweden’s Lucky Dogs. The international trailer has its debut below.

Vivienne Chow To the 12 members of Mirror, forming a boy band and becoming Hong Kong’s Canto-pop singing sensation upon winning a reality show in 2018 was a dream come true. Five years on, the boys are dreaming bigger than ever. “Some of us really want to join Marvel,” Mirror member Edan Lui tells Variety in an interview. The statement may come across as a joke. But no, it is not, as fellow member Anson Lo, Lui’s co-star in the 2021 hit ViuTV BL drama “Ossan’s Love Hong Kong,” echoes: “We want to get on some talk shows in the U.S. as well, or any Hollywood movies, TV, live performances. Yes, please invite us.” The band’s Hollywood wishlist did not emerge just out of the blue. It came after the recording of their English debut single “Rumours,” a catchy EDM-influenced tune that has just been released worldwide Friday (March 17), along with a storied music video that follows the 12 members — Frankie Chan, Alton Wong, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau, Anson Kong, Jer Lau, Ian Chan, Jeremy Lee, Keung To, Tiger Yau, Lui and Lo — on a secret mission after a mysterious girl, jammed with dance sequences set in the Hong Kong streetscape.

A gang locked up following a spree of car thefts were linked to a burglary at the family home of Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof. Declan McClusky, Alan McCabe, Kade McEwan and Christopher Ward were sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court this week for their part in a conspiracy to burgle homes from December 2021 to March 2022.

Tiger Woods and ex-wife Elin Nordegren have been through the ringer since the former couple first met at the Open Championship in 2001.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Viaplay’s newly launched U.S. streaming service has unveiled the trailer for its anticipated original crime series “Cell 8” which will premiere exclusively in North America on the platform on April 13. The 6-episode series shot in both Swedish and English, and revolves around the justice system and death penalty. “Cell 8” tells the story of a man presumed dead who is arrested on a ferry between Sweden and Finland. Detectives Mariana Hermansson (Mimosa Willamo) and Ewert Grens (Leonard Terfelt) who proceed to the arrest are thrown into a mysterious and increasingly dark series of events. The case soon reveals a personal connection not only to Hermansson herself, but to a Death Row prisoner in the U.S. and a grieving parent consumed by the quest for revenge.

Running smoothly. Tiger Woods and Erica Herman are in the middle of a messy split, but he and ex-wife Elin Nordegren are getting along well, an insider exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly.

The Masked Singer is back for season nine!

The Shazamily is back, and on a much larger scale, but at its heart this superhero saga is still about family, and that’s the good thing here.

Many people probably start their day off with a coffee or two to help them wake up - but it turns out your morning cuppa may also be protecting you from certain health conditions.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, has revealed the first slate of films to screen as part of its Special Presentations program at the 30th edition of the festival, running April 27 to May 7 in Toronto. The Special Presentations program, which features high-profile subjects, award-winning films and filmmakers, and original perspectives on current events and pressing issues, will screen in cinemas across downtown Toronto during the festival. The program covers an extensive array of subjects, from a behind-the-runway look at racial diversity in the fashion industry to a harrowing documentation of the recruitment of child soldiers in Uganda. International premieres include “Black Barbie: A Documentary,” a deep dive into the true story of Black Barbie, from her origins to her contemporary presence; “Food and Country,” New York Times’ food critic Ruth Reichl’s uncovering of our broken food system, and the innovators risking everything to transform it; “Stephen Curry: Underrated,” the story of one of the greatest NBA players working today; and “Periodical,” an eye-opening documentary examining the politics, science, and mystery of the menstrual cycle.

May 17-28, 2022: “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Elvis” hit the Croisette in CannesThe Cannes Film Festival is always a rich source for entries in the Oscars Best International Feature Film category, and the 2022 festival was no exception. A dozen of its films were submitted by their home countries to the Academy, and two, “EO” and “Close,” were nominated.

The perfect match. Hugh Grant has offered rare glimpses at his marriage to Anna Eberstein over the years.

Three Pines” has been by canceled by Prime Video after just one season. The streamer confirmed to Variety that it has opted not to bring the Alfred Molina-starring show back for another run following an eight-episode first season that wrapped on Dec. 23. “We are proud of the work done on the series and the opportunity to work with great partners,” a representative for Prime told Variety via email. “Three Pines” was produced by Sony Pictures Television-owned Left Bank Pictures and aired exclusively on Prime Video in Canada, U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Greenland. The series is based on Canadian author Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series of novels, which take place in and around a remote, fictional Quebec village called Three Pines.

Loreen - the Swedish pop star best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 with Euphoria - will once again represent her home country following her victory in this year's Melodifestivalen.