Maserati Origins Biopic in Motion From Producer Andrea Iervolino Following Lamborghini and Ferrari Movies (EXCLUSIVE)

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Los Angeles-based Italian director Andrea Pallaoro’s delicate drama “Monica” is finally set to open in U.S. theaters via IFC following its world premiere at last year’s Venice Film Festival. The film starring transgender actor Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) as a woman who returns home to the Midwest to care for her dying mother, played by Patricia Clarkson, marked the first time an openly-transgender actress headlined a Venice competition title. In “Monica” Lysette plays a woman who from Los Angeles goes back to her suburban midwest home for the first time since she was a teenager to care for her mom who had rejected her when she transitioned.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While she retired prematurely at the age of 39, Brigitte Bardot has left an indelible mark on France’s popular culture in the 1960’s and 1970’s. With her wild blonde mane, smoky eyes and pouty lips, Bardot became a symbol of a modern and effortlessly sexy French woman, and a style emblem that continues to inspire current trends. The event series “Bardot,” which is penned and directed by Daniele Thompson (“The Queen Margot”) and Christopher Thompson (“La bûche”), world premiered at Series Mania Festival to unanimous praise and has been pre-sold by Federation nearly worldwide. “‘Bardot’ is like the French ‘The Crown’ because Bardot embodied France, and through her journey we reminisce about many parts of France’s history and popular culture in the 1950’s and 1960’s,” Federation’s boss and “Bardot” producer Pascal Breton told Variety.

Shenanigans for all! Tyler Hynes is all-in on another collaboration with his Three Wise Men and a Baby costars — as long as Hallmark is on board.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli, whose trilogy of female biopics, “Nico, 1988,” “Miss Marx,” and “Chiara” all launched from the Venice Film Festival, is set to direct the TV series “Fireworks” depicting the struggle of Italy’s partisans against Nazis and Fascists through the point of view of a twelve-year-old girl named Marta. Shooting is set to start on May 8 in the Piedmontese Alps on “Fireworks,” which is being produced by Domenico Procacci’s Fandango and Rome shingle Matrioska. Fandango, who is the show’s lead producer, is in advanced talks with Italian state broadcaster RAI to come on board. Fandango is also talking up the six-episode limited series at the Series Mania confab in Lille, France, where they are seeking prospective international partners.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian Canadian actor Giacomo Gianniotti, who played Dr. Andrew DeLuca on “Grey’s Anatomy,” is set to star in “Inganno,” Netflix’s Italian adaptation of the U.K. TV series “Gold Digger” that starts shooting this week on the Amalfi coast. The taboo-breaking show – which was dubbed a “toyboy thriller” by the British press – depicts the passionate and turbulent relationship between an older woman and a man who is half her age. In this case the affair disrupts and subverts Italian social and family norms. A “Gold Digger” adaptation for Indian audiences is also reportedly in the works. “Inganno,” which means “deceit” in Italian, is being directed by Neapolitan auteur Pappi Corsicato whose “The Seed of Discord” competed at the Venice Film Festival in 2008. Corsicato’s visual style is often compared to Pedro Almodovar, of whom he has been an assistant.

disgraced Prince of York, 63, is reportedly “going to any length possible to worm his way back into public life,” according to ex-Member of Parliament Norman Baker.Andrew is set to attend Tuesday’s Royal Victorian Order, a celebration commemorating loyalty to the Crown where honor is bestowed up those who have served the monarchy.However, former MP Baker — a member of the Privy Council, a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the UK — has proclaimed that Andrew shouldn’t be allowed to show his face there. “The only order he should be given is the order of the boot,” Baker, 65, told the Sun, referencing how global opinion of the rebellious royal has taken a nosedive.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer HGTV is about to make Barbie fans’ dreams come true with the ultimate home-reno series based on everyone’s favorite doll: “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.” Premiering this summer, the Ashley Graham-hosted four-episode event is launching ahead of the July 21 release of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie as part of a giant cross-network promotion across Warner Bros. Discovery linear channels to support the much-anticipated Warner Bros. Pictures film. “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge” will feature eight teams of HGTV superstars (and one Food Network star) as they transform a Southern California home into a real-life Barbie Dreamhouse, as supermodel Graham — who has her own Barbie modeled after her and will be driving a Barbie pink corvette on the show — hosts. The teams will overhaul areas of the home with an era-specific style, such as an early 1960s atomic age kitchen, a ‘70s disco vibe for Ken’s Den and a main bedroom decked out in ‘80s glam.

Kate McKinnon is ready to go cosmic.The former “Saturday Night Live” cast member is set to star in Searchlight’s “In the Blink of an Eye,” a sci-fi epic from “WALL•E” director Andrew Stanton, TheWrap has confirmed.The script, which finished in the top 25 of the 2016 Black List, was written by Colby Day. Back then, the project was described as exploring “the entire history of the universe and our species through three interwoven storylines that question the very nature of life, love, mortality, where we’ve been, and where we’re going; the past, present, and future of the human race.” Other projects that were in that list includes Liz Hannah’s “The Post,” made by Steven Spielberg; “O2,” made as “Oxygen” by French filmmaker Alexandre Aja for Netflix; and “Free Guy,” made with Ryan Reynolds.While details are being kept under wraps, the original script followed characters in three different time periods – a family of Neanderthals., a woman in modern day and a genetically augmented character in the distant future.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi’s documentary about love, memory and Alzheimer’s disease “The Eternal Memory” has scored a slew of international sales after making a splash at Sundance and Berlin. Dogwoof, the British sales company specialized in high-profile docs, has announced multiple deals on “Eternal Memory,” which won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Documentary in January and was a recent standout at the Berlinale where it had its European bow. The hot doc is screening later this week at the CPH:DOX documentary film festival in Copenhagen. Dogwoof partnered with MTV Documentary Films to represent “The Eternal Memory” for international sales soon after its Sundance premiere. They have now scored sales on the doc to: Edge Entertainment (Nordics); Madman (Australia and New Zealand); Sherry Media (Canada); I Wonder Pictures (Italy); BTeam Pictures (Spain); Periscoop (Benelux); Atnine Film (South Korea); Synca (Japan); LEV (Israel), and Restart (Former Yugoslavia).

Naman Ramachandran Writer, producer and script editor Cassandra Johnson-Bekoe has joined U.K. independent production company DARE Pictures in the newly created position of head of scripted development. Johnson-Bekoe was previously senior development executive at Daniel Kaluuya’s production outfit 59%, overseeing the company’s slate and generating new IP across international and regional markets. Prior to this she worked in scripted development and her credits include “Ted Lasso” season 2 (WarnerBros/Apple+), “Riches” (Greenacre Films for ITV), “Secret Invasion” (Marvel Studios) and “The Chemistry of Death” (Cuba Pictures Ltd, for Paramount+). Reporting into DARE CEO Derren Lawford, Johnson-Bekoe will focus on developing the company’s scripted slate, as well bringing with her an original slate of IP and working on new drama and film projects with a view to taking them from pitch to commission with a particular emphasis on the U.S. and African markets. She will identify and develop relationships with emerging and established storytelling talent.

Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are teaming up onscreen!

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Aardman Animations’ founder Peter Lord and “Waltz With Bashir” director Ari Folman are set to receive Pulcinella Career Awards at Italy’s Cartoons On The Bay TV animation festival which is broadening its scope. The event launched in 1996 by Italian state broadcaster RAI has now expanded beyond TV toons to comprise video game productions, the comic book world, transmedia storytelling and metaverse animation content. Reflecting its more high-tech horizons, the fest’s 27th edition – which will run May 31-June 4 in the Southern seaside city of Pescara – will also be celebrating “Cuphead,” the hit Canadian video game that’s become a Netflix series, and bestowing its creator Maja Moldenhauer with its new Transmedia Award.

King Charles has snubbed Prince Andrew once more after reportedly refusing to pay out for his brother's Indian healing guru.The disgraced Prince allegedly submitted an expense claim to the Privy Purse for his live-in yoga instructor, expecting it to be signed off with no challenge. However, the King is said to have denied the Prince's request, instead telling Andrew he will have to pay for his instructor himself.The Duke of York has been using the instructor for several years and costs £32,000 a year, according to The Sun.The paper says that the guru comes to live with Andrew in the Royal Lodge for a month at a time, helping to "heal" him by using chanting, massages, and holistic therapy.

Naman Ramachandran After a blockbuster debut in 2022, the London Action Festival is set to return this summer for its second edition. The festival is timed to be squarely in the middle of the summer action movie season. This summer will see the release of “Fast X,” “Kandahar,” “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One” in the May-July time frame and the festival will unspool June 21-25. Highlights of the inaugural edition included The World’s Greatest Screening Ever… Probably! – an enhanced screening experience of “Die Hard” with director John McTiernan; a making of “Jurassic World Dominion” with an Academy Award-winning VFX panel presented by Proof Inc. and director Colin Trevorrow participating; exclusive previews of season 2 of Sky original “Gangs of London” with director Corin Hardy and MARV’s “School Fight” from stunt coordinator turned director Damien Walters; and screenings of “Predator” and “Con Air” followed by panels with directors McTiernan and Simon West.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian star author Robert Saviano, whose mob exposé “Gomorrah” spawned both Matteo Garrone’s eponymous prizewinning movie and the groundbreaking crime series that plays stateside on HBO, is making his directorial debut. Saviano will direct “I’m Still Alive,” an animation adaptation of his graphic novel illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka (“Waltz With Bashir”). “Still Alive” examines the anti-mob activist’s life under armed guard since being forced to live with police protection shortly after 2006 when Saviano’s account of the inner workings of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate was published. Just like Saviano’s graphic novel, “I’m Still Alive” will feature illustration’s by Hanuka, an Eisner-winning cartoonist who is known, besides “Bashir,” for his autobiographical strips “The Realist” and for graphic novel “The Divine.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Warning: This story contains a graphic image. David Cronenberg has made a short film featuring female wax corpses made during the 18th century in Italy. The wax figures were intended for medical studies, in order to train surgeons prior to operating on real bodies. The Canadian director, known as the father of body horror thanks to films such as “The Fly,” “eXistenZ,” and his latest pic “A History of Violence,” has been recruited by Italian fashion house Prada to shoot the short film. It features anatomical wax works from the La Specola museum in Florence, one of the oldest scientific museums in Europe. The museum is currently being renovated and is closed to the public.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Khaby Lame, the Senegalese-born Italian social media personality who is the world’s most followed content creator on TikTok, has joined “Italia’s Got Talent” as a juror. Lame is a former factory worker in Italy who after being laid off from his job in March 2020 launched a TikTok channel in which he performed absurdly comic skits that went wildly viral. The TikTok star whose comedy bits started with ironic takes on “life hacks” relies on iconic facial expressions and body language in videos delivered without speaking so that the humor is understood universally. The short-form comedy video virtuoso, who has more than 154 million followers on TikTok, will now be making his debut as an Italian TV personality on the hit talent show.

King Charles has reportedly kicked Prince Harry and Meghan Markle out of Frogmore Cottage and offered the keys to his brother Prince Andrew.

King Charles has reportedly evicted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from their UK base of Frogmore Cottage following the publication of Harry's memoir Spare earlier this year.The book saw the Prince share some intimate details of his personal and royal life, including claims that his brother Prince William physically attacked him, and that it was Charles who first called him the "spare" - almost immediately after he was born. And now the Sussexes frosty relationship with the Royal Family has been hit by another blow, with the couple reportedly being kicked out of Frogmore Cottage.The couple are thought to be arranging for any items they still have at Frogmore to be sent to their home in California, ahead of the change in residence.

Julia MacCary editor Carl Reed, one of the producers of the Oscar-winning short “Hair Love,” and co-founder of Lion Forge Animation has launched Composition Media, an animation studio headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.for a global audience that highlights minority and underrepresented communities. “I am incredibly excited to finally unveil our animation studio and showcase the incredible work our team has been pouring their hearts and souls into,” said Reed. “Our aim is to break the mold and elevate the art of animation by producing content that truly represents our audiences. But more than that, we want to push the boundaries of what animation can be. It’s time to move past the limitations of animation as just a genre and explore the limitless possibilities of this medium.”