Sweden Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Fisher King, the leading Finnish company behind some of Scandinavia’s biggest scripted hits including “Bordertown” and “The Helsinki Syndrome,” has gone bankrupt amid challenges that have thrown the Scandinavian TV industry into turmoil. Beta Film, which acquired Fisher King in 2019 and subsequently launched the umbrella banner Beta Nordic Studios, said the company was declared bankrupt on Dec.

Annika Pham Chosen by Variety as one of 10 Euro Directors to Watch at 2013’s Karlovy Vary’ with her debut “Eat Sleep Die,” a Venice Critics Week winner, Sweden’s Gabriela Pichler confirmed her unique voice with her sophomore pic “Amateurs”, voted best Nordic film at the 2018 Göteborg Film Festival. At this year’s 47th festival, she makes her comeback with “Painkiller,” her first foray into long-form scripted format, co-written with her life partner Johan Lundborg, who also serves as DP and editor. The six-part series is a feisty socially-anchored comedy, which delves into complex mother-daughter dynamics and gentrification in Göteborg, driving class divides.As explained by the writing duo, the starting point for the story was Pichler’s personal experience of juggling between her work as a celebrated rising Swedish filmmaker, and the reality of her own mother’s struggle with chronic pain.

Young Royals is returning for a third and final season on Netflix!

Sir Elton John has announced a new book detailing his five-year farewell tour, entitled Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour.Earlier today (January 25), Elton John took to his Instagram account to announce the release. “I am incredibly excited to announce my new book, Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life On Tour, which goes behind the scenes on my final tour, from Allentown, PA, to Stockholm, Sweden and everywhere in between,” its caption read.

Marta Balaga Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, died in 1961. But questions surrounding his tragic passing in a plane crash, and his sexuality, refuse to die down. “We know who he is, but we don’t know that much about him,” says director Per Fly, now bringing “Hammarskjöld – Fight for Peace” to the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For?’ and Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ are among the tracks nominated for Best Original Song at this year’s Oscars.The two compositions for the film Barbie are among the five nominees in the category, which were announced earlier today (January 23).The other songs to get a nod were ‘Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)’ from Killers of the Flower Moon, with music and lyrics by Scott George, ‘It Never Went Away’ by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson, from American Symphony, and ‘The Fire Inside’ by Diane Warren, from Flamin’ Hot.It is the second Oscar nomination for Eilish, who previously won in this category in 2022 for writing and performing the title track of the James Bond film No Time to Die. She wrote ‘What Was I Made For?’ with her brother Finneas O’Connell, and it has also been nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the Grammys.Were she to win, Eilish would join an elite group of composers to have won multiple Academy Awards for Best Original Song, a list that includes Elton John, Randy Newman, Burt Bacharach, Tim Rice and Giorgio Moroder.‘I’m Just Ken’ was written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, the latter of whom is the frontman of Swedish electro-pop band Miike Snow.

Michaela Zee Concert promoter Goldenvoice has announced the 2024 lineup for the fourth annual Just Like Heaven Festival, which will take place at Brookside at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on May 18. The Postal Service is set to headline the one-day event, where the indie pop supergroup will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its only studio album “Give Up.” The Postal Service will be joined by frontman Ben Gibbard’s other group Death Cab for Cutie, as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of “Transatlanticism.” The Just Like Heaven lineup also includes Phoenix, The War on Drugs, Miike Snow, Passion Pit, Alvvays, Two Door Cinema Club, Phantogram, Metric, Gossip Tegan and Sara, Washed Out and many more.

Zara Larsson has shared a brand new single called ‘You Love Who You Love’ – listen to it below.The anthemic song is the latest preview of the Swedish pop artist’s fourth studio album, ‘Venus’, which is out on February 9 via Sommer House/Sony Music (pre-order/pre-save here).Larsson’s latest offering was produced by rising duo MTHR alongside the singer’s frequent collaborators MNEK and Danja, per a press release.“We started writing over Pride, and began talking about how amazing it is that anyone can love anyone – but that doesn’t mean you always should!” Larsson explained in a statement.“We’ve all had that friend, or been that friend, who keeps going back to someone who’s bad for them, and ‘You Love Who You Love’ is saying enough is enough.”In one verse, Larsson sings: “It’s like we goin’ ’round in circles/ He does this on purpose to keep you near (Ah)/ This toxic love makin’ you feel like you’re insane/ He promised you he was gonna change, but he’s the same.”Tune in here:‘You Love Who You Love’ follows on from Larsson’s 2023 singles ‘Can’t Tame Her’, ‘End Of Time’ and ‘On My Love’ (featuring David Guetta).Speaking to NME last summer, Larsson explained that her then-untitled fourth record would see her “do a little bit of this and a little bit of that” musically. “It’s very me to do that!” she added.As for how ‘Venus’ compares to 2021’s ‘Poster Girl’, Larsson told NME: “This [album] is still pop, but it has an element of stillness to it as well.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba will be coming to the big screen, along with a sneak peek at the new season.Described as an extra-sized blockbuster experience, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- will allow fans to revisit the finale of the Swordsmith Village Arc while also getting a glimpse at the highly anticipated Hashira Training Arc (season four).The upcoming event marks the first time the finale of the Swordsmith Village Arc has ever been shown in cinemas, and also the first-ever showing of the Hashira Training Arc‘s beginning.Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- will screen in UK cinemas from February 23.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Christian Wikander, the well-respected Swedish executive who joined Banijay nine months ago as global head of scripted, will be stepping down from his role on Feb. 2.

Annika Pham Passion and Perseverance, the two watchwords at this year’s TV Drama Vision in Göteborg will resonate across this year’s program where a record 700 delegates will take the pulse of what’s hot and upcoming from the Nordics and Europe. Unfolding parallel to the Göteborg Film Festival, the Nordics’ biggest TV drama showcase and networking event will run Jan 30-31. “This is what we need!” said TV Drama Vision honcho Cia Edström about the passion infused in the 60-plus series to be showcased – and about perseverance in the industry, to be debated by the 100 guest speakers – including U.S.

Alex Ritman The nominees for the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards are set to be revealed on Thursday, with Naomi Ackie and Kingsley Ben-Adir — both former BAFTA Rising Star nominees — making the announcement at 12 p.m. U.K. time (4 a.m.

The move in recent years to make the Oscars a truly global event in terms of the membership drive by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has paid off particularly well this year: Eligible voters from a record 93 countries submitting ballots in the Academy Awards’ nominating round, which ended Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Salaud Morisset, the Paris- and Berlin-based sales and production outfit, has closed deals on “Excursion,” Una Gunjak’s feature debut which won the Jury Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival. Salaud Morisset, which also co-produced “Excursion,” has closed sales deals with Angel Films (Denmark), Filmin (Spain), Zero em Comportamento (Portugal), Access Cinema (Ireland), JUNO11 Distribution (Hungary), Hakka Distribution (Tunisia), Fivia (Slovenia), MCF MegaCom (Montenegro & North Macedonia), No Blink Film (Bulgaria) and Silver Screen (Romania).

The British Film Institute has revealed the list of TV, film, and animation companies that have won funding from its latest £3.3M ($4.2M) Global Screen Fund payout.

Viaplay is targeting double-digit profit margins in five years’ time following the recapitalization program that it hopes will end months of strife, although it has once again downgraded financials for the coming year.

Former England soccer team manager Sven-Goran Eriksson will continue to contribute to a Prime Video documentary about his life and career, despite his terminal cancer diagnosis.

Max Martin had written that song for TLC. He wrote it as, like, an R&B record,” Barry Weiss — who was then president of Spears’ label, Jive Records — told The Post.

Canal+ has officially upped its stake in Viaplay to 29% after the rubberstamping of the against-the-ropes Scandi outfit’s recapitalization program.

Eurovision Song Contest.Organisers of the contest faced backlash and boycott calls in December after allowing Israel to participate in 2024 competition – which is due to take place in Malmö, Sweden from May 7-11 – despite the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.Since Hamas forces launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, at least 22,835 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, amounting to one per cent of the territory’s total pre-war population of 2.27million (per CNN).The petition urges a ban over alleged “war crimes” in Gaza, adding that if Israel is not excluded, they want public broadcaster Yle to withdraw Finland’s entry.Yle said it is monitoring the position of the organiser of the contest, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).One of the petition’s authors, Lukas Korpelainen, told newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet (via BBC) that it was not acceptable for Israel to “take part in the Eurovision Song Contest to polish its image”.Others who have signed the petition include Finnish artists Olavi Uusivirta, Paleface and 2011 contestant Axel Ehnström.Signatories have accused Yle of double standards, noting that the broadcaster was among the first to demand a ban on Russia from the 2022 contest after its invasion of Ukraine, saying “we expect the same active defending of values from Yle now as well”.Russia was banned from competing in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, which was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra.Yle representative Ville Vilén said the situation in Israel and Gaza was “not quite the same”.“As gruesome as it is, it is not a war of inter-state aggression like between Russia and Ukraine,” he told Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat.Yle’s head of communications, Jere Nurminen, told

Ellise Shafer Max‘s first unscripted originals in Spain will include local adaptations of “Naked Attraction,” “Naked and Afraid” and “Peking Express.” Max is set to launch in the country in the spring. “With the launch of Max, we will continue to produce quality scripted projects and we will enhance the unscripted offering by adding premium documentaries and entertainment shows appealing to a wider audience,” said Laura Carafoli, SVP TV networks and digital local production in Italy and Iberia.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has confirmed he has been diagnosed with cancer after announcing he was stepping back from football in 2023 to "focus on my health and family".The 75 year old football manager, who managed England men's team from 2001 until 2006, shared the sad news on Thursday, 11 January in an interview on Sweden's P1 radio station, revealing he has "at best a year to live". "Everyone understands that I have an illness that is not good. Everyone guesses it's cancer and it is.

Marta Balaga Picture Tree International has boarded international sales and debuted the trailer for Miia Tervo’s upcoming comedy “The Missile,” set to world premiere at Göteborg’s just-announced Nordic Competition. Produced by Finland’s Kaisla Viitala at Elokuvayhtio Komeetta and Estonia’s Daniel Kuitunen at Stellar Film, the movie will be distributed in Scandinavia by Aurora Studios. Tervo’s second feature after the award-winning “Aurora” – which opened the Swedish fest back in 2019 – teases a “uniquely crafted mix of political satire, heartfelt comedy and kitchen-sink drama, rooted in Northern brevity and melancholy,” according to its description.

EXCLUSIVE: Queer Eye producer Scout Productions is behind a number of interesting consumer product line including a Lego tie-up with the fab five as well as a Funko Pop range and a Walmart furniture line.

Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival unveiled its 2024 lineup today, featuring 250 feature films set to screen across ten days, with highlights including Handling the Undead, Norwegian filmmaker Thea Hvistendahl’s feature debut, starring Renate Resinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie. Other buzzy titles include the Finish title The Missile from filmmaker Miia Tervo and Morbius director Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaker with Madame Luna.

Annika Pham Actors Ewan McGregor, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, directors Ruben Östlund, Ernst de Geer, Ramata-Toulaye Sy and Cannes Film Festival honcho Thierry Frémaux are some of the stellar guests set to walk the red carpet at the 47th edition of Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival. This year’s Göteborg Fest unspools from Jan. 26 to Feb.

The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the competition titles selected for its 47th edition, which runs from January 26 to February 4. (Scroll down for the full list).

UPDATED, 12:28 PM: A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty today to charges stemming from an allegation that he pulled a gun on a fellow rapper during a 2021 altercation in Hollywood and then fired at him soon afterward during another confrontation.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is coming later this year, and several performers are already being announced as official contestants!

John Mayer has spoken out about his desire to get married.The musician made an appearance on podcast Comfort Food, hosted by the late Bob Saget’s wife Kelly Rizzo, where he spoke about his hopes for his love life.“People don’t think I want to be married. I absolutely want to be married,” he said.He continued to call himself “actually fairly well-adjusted,” saying: “I so badly want to get married if only for my wife to just know in her heart, like, ‘John will know what to do.’ I just think that level of being relied on is the hottest thing in the world to me.

Xumo & Euro Nets Cling To ‘Silverback’

Alex Ritman David Tennant is set to host the BAFTA Film Awards for the first time. The actor — best known for playing Doctor Who — will oversee proceedings during the U.K.’s biggest night for film on Feb. 18 at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Elvis Presley is set to join ABBA in the strange new world of immersive concerts more than 45 years after he passed away.

Ellise Shafer Ewan McGregor is set to receive the Honorary Dragon Award at this year’s Göteborg Film Festival in Sweden. The “Star Wars” and “Trainspotting” star will attend the festival to collect the honor and participate in an Actors Talk. He will also be present at the Nordic premiere of his latest film, Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch,” and a retrospective of his most notable films will be featured at the festival.

Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival has tapped actor Ewan McGregor to receive its honorary dragon award for career achievement during its 47th edition, running from January 26 to February 4. 

Following last year's smash hit biopic Elvis, starring heartthrob Austin Butler, which won him, amongst others, an Oscar nomination, and Priscilla, about his relationship with Priscilla Beaulieu showing in UK cinemas, the iconic Elvis Presley has never been more front of mind. And now an immersive concert experience coming to London, with an AI king of rock ‘n’ roll performing on stage, is set to bring the late crooner's incredible legacy to life.