Martin Scorsese’s Jesus Film Collaborator Father Spadaro Reveals Early Draft of Script in New Book – Read an Excerpt (EXCLUSIVE)

Good afternoon Insiders, thanks for always sticking with us. Max Goldbart here talking you through a packed week in the global entertainment world. Read on, and sign up here.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korea’s second largest generalist film event the Jeonju International Film Festival has set eight fiction films by first or second-time feature directors, for its main competition. They are “Cu Li Never Cries,” by Pham Ngoc Lan; “Junkyard Dog,” by Jean-Baptiste Durand, “La Palisiada,” by Philip Sotnychenko; “My Endless Numbered Days,” by Shaun Neo; “Oxygen Station,” by Ivan Tymchenko; “Practice,” by Laurens Perol; “The Major Tones,” by Ingrid Pokropek; and “The Permanent Picture,” by Laura Ferres. Additionally, two documentary features also compete: “After the Snowmelt,” directed by Lo Yi-Shan and “Kix,” by Balint Revesz and David Mikulan. The COVID-pandemic continues to affect filmmaking and festival selection, organizers said. “Even films planned to be made beforehand had to extend their production period due to the pandemic, and many works highlighted the limitations of the production environments, such as smaller cast numbers and minimal locations,” said chief programmer Chun Jinsu. The festival runs May 1-10 in Jeonju, a major town on South Korea’s west coast.

Former Venice Film Festival head Marco Müller has been named Artistic Director of Italy’s Taormina Film Fest. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Marco Mueller has been appointed artistic director of Italy’s Taormina Film Festival, which will have a top notch selection committee comprising British film curator and former London fest chief Sandra Hebron and former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight boss Edouard Waintrop. As anticipated by Variety, Mueller, who over the past decades has headed both the Venice and Rome fests — among several other events — is taking the reins of the storied Sicilian event that has had its ups and downs over the years. Held since the mid-1950s in the Sicilian resort known to U.S.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Prime Video has announced the full cast for action comedy show “Costiera” set on Italy’s iconic Amalfi Coast being directed by Emmy-winner Adam Bernstein (“30 Rock,” “Breaking Bad”) and featuring Jesse Williams (“Take Me Out”) as the lead. The ensemble cast for the English-language series being co-produced by Amazon Studios and Luca Bernabei for Lux Vide comprises British actor Jordan Alexandra (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” “The Winter King”) (pictured, center); Spain’s Alejandra Onieva (“Alta Mar”) (pictured, left); Italy’s Maria Chiara Giannetta (“Blanca”) (pictured, right); Antonio Gerardi; Tommaso Ragno (“Nostalgia”); Amanda Campana; Pierpaolo Spollon; Britain’s Sam Haygarth (“Jojo Rabbit”); and France’s Jean-Hugues Anglade (“Sink or Swim”).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Leading European distributor Global Screen, part of Telepool, has secured further international sales of high-end drama “Davos 1917” at MipTV. New acquisitions of the six-part thriller include SBS Australia, TVP in Poland and Big Tree Entertainment in India and the subcontinent. “Davos 1917,” which launched at the end of last year on SRF in Switzerland and ARD in Germany, has already been bought by a strong lineup of premium international broadcasters and streamers across North America, Europe and Asia.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Dude Perfect, the five-member comedy and sports YouTube creator company, hauled in more than $100 million in growth capital from private investment firm Highmount Capital — which they plan to use to flex their brand well beyond online videos. The companies didn’t disclose the specific dollar figure.

EXCLUSIVE: The company that sells The Traitors format around the world and the Japanese broadcaster behind Ninja Warrior and Takeshi’s Castle have teamed up to create a physical gameshow.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Euro Gang Entertainment, the company launched last year by Hollywood veterans Gianni Nunnari (“300,” “Immortals”) and Simon Horsman (“Legacy: The True Story of the L.A. Lakers”) is ramping up operations in Italy through a partnership with Rome-based Alfred Film, the young shingle co-founded by experienced producers Roberto Amoroso and Maria Theresia Braun.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Cinecittà Studios, which have been undergoing a radical overhaul since 2021, recently released their fiscal 2023 results, which saw the Rome-based facilities turn a profit for the second year in a row after bleeding red ink for years. The iconic studios are being managed by Nicola Maccanico, a former Warner Bros.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Long Live the Tyrant: Life and Times of Giancarlo DiTrapano,” a feature documentary about the independent book publisher, is being developed as an Italy-U.S. coproduction. DiTrapano is described by Ian Thornton, one of the film’s producers, as the “Basquiat of the New York literary scene.” The film is written by Guia Cortassa and directed by Cortassa and Vittorio Antonacci.

Italian film and TV orgs will hold an emergency press conference in Rome next week to discuss the damage being done to their sectors by uncertainty over the future of direct funding and tax credits. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Takashi Yamazaki, the Japanese filmmaker behind Oscar-winning smash hit “Godzilla Minus One,” has signed with CAA for representation. “Godzilla Minus One,” on which Yamazaki served as writer, director and VFX supervisor, earned the first-ever nomination and win for a Japanese production in the VFX category at the Academy Awards earlier this month. The film beat strong contenders such as “The Creator,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

Tony Bennett from the likes of Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse are set to go to auction next month.A trove of items that belonged to the late singer are set to go up for sale at Julien’s Auctions on April 18, including letters and rarities addressed to him from Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Madonna, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones and Barbra Streisand and more.The legendary American singer died on July 21 in his hometown of New York, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was aged 96.The item expected to fetch the most at the auction is a typewritten thank you letter from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

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.

Selena Kuznikov Martin Scorsese is partnering with Fox Nation for an eight-part docudrama series, “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints.” Hosted, narrated and executive produced by Scorsese, the series will encompass eight one-hour episodes exploring the stories of eight figures on their journey to sainthood. The docudrama will premiere in two parts, with the first four episodes set to release on Nov.

Martin Scorsese is exploring the journeys of eight men and women toward sainthood in a new docudrama series for Fox Nation.

Thania Garcia A collection of letters, photos and more from the late Tony Bennett will go up for sale via Julien’s Auctions on April 18. The trove of items includes rarities addressed to Bennett from stars like Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Madonna, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones and Barbra Streisand, among others.

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.