Morgan Freeman, ‘SEAL Team’s’ David Boreanaz, ‘Bridgerton’s’ Simone Ashley Among Stars at Monte-Carlo Television Festival

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Squid Game” creator, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk and the show’s protagonists Lee Jung-jae and Wi Ha-Jun will be attending Italy’s Lucca Comics and Games festival on Oct. 31 to tease the hit Netflix series’ second season. The hotly anticipated second instalment of the Korean-language survival drama series is set to launch on Netflix by the end of the year.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Fingernails,” starring Jesse Buckley, Riz Ahmed and Jeremy Allen White, is to close the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The tender and idiosyncratic romantic drama, co-produced by Cate Blanchett, is the sophomore outing from director Christos Nikou, who made a splash with his debut “Apples.” The film centers on the Love Institute, a scientific organization that tests the mutual compatibility of people who have decided to embark on life’s journey together.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian crime/action genre specialist Stefano Sollima – who is known for milestone TV series “Gomorrah” and Hollywood movies such as “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Without Remorse” – is officially launching a film and TV production shingle named AlterEgo in tandem with ace U.S. showrunner Gina Gardini and longtime collaborator, writer/director Ludovico Purgatori.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Bridgerton” star Florence Hunt, Jim Sturgess and Australia’s Teresa Palmer (“The Clearing,” “The Fall Guy”) have joined the cast of “Mix Tape,” a music-themed drama series. The Australian-Irish co-production shot in Sydney in May and is now underway in Dublin. The series is adapted by Irish writer Jo Spain (“Taken Down,” “Sanditon”) from the popular and critically-acclaimed novel of the same title by Jane Sanderson.

Manchester United are reportedly preparing a second bid for Jarrad Branthwaite.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Karla Sofía Gascón, who delivered a breakthrough performance as a ruthless narco gangster transitioning in Jacques Audiard’s crime musical “Emilia Pérez,” has revealed how she fought to get the part. “At the beginning, (Audiard) did not consider me for the role (of Juan “Manitas” Del Monte), he only wanted me to play the female role after the transition,” the Spanish actress said during a masterclass at the Biarritz’ Nouvelles Vagues Festival, speaking in a packed theater.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Wim Wenders will be a special guest of Italy’s Cinema Ritrovato Festival dedicated to cinematic treasures of the past where a freshly restored copy of his “A Trick of the Light” (“Die Gebrüder Skladanowsky”), which pays tribute to forgotten pioneers of the moving image, will have its world premiere. Shot by Wenders with a group of students from the Munich Film Academy in 1995 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of cinema, the film is about the origins of cinema and its German inventors: the Skladanowsky brothers who On Nov.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Leading Danish actor Trine Dyrholm, who headlined Oscar winner “In a Better World” and Sundance Audience Award winner “Queen of Hearts,” is to star in four-part miniseries “Dependency.” Maren-Louise Käehne, whose credits include “Queen of Hearts,” “Blackwater” and “The Legacy,” has written the screenplay, which is adapted from the autobiographical novel of the same name by Danish poet and author Tove Ditlevsen. Apple Tree Productions, the Danish company headed by “The Killing” producer Piv Bernth and Lars Hermann, is producing the show, and Danish broadcaster TV2 is on board, Bernth told Variety at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Flow,” a director-driven animated feature which world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and just swept three awards at Annecy Film Festival, has been embraced by a raft of major distributors in key territories, including the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy. The movie is represented internationally by Charades.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Extinction,” the Malaysian-produced animation that is playing at the Shanghai International Film Festival, has struck its first international rights sales deals. The film was recently picked up by All Rights Entertainment, the Paris, Hong Kong and Los Angeles-based sales agency. All Rights has subsequently licensed the title to Magic Film for the CIS region, to Dazzler Media for the U.K., to Red Cape Distribution for Israel and to Bir Film for Turkey.

UK drama The Gathering was the big winner at the Golden Nymph Awards, which were announced at the closing ceremony of the Monte Carlo TV Festival.

The Munich International Film Festival will screen 152 films from 53 countries during its 41st edition, which runs from June 28 to July 6. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent U.S.-based Italian director Mitzi Peirone’s comic horror thriller “Saint Clare” has been set as the opening night film of Italy’s upcoming Taormina Film Festival with protagonist Bella Thorne in attendance. “Saint Clare” follows Peirone’s debut, the horror film “Braid,” which launched from Tribeca in 2018. Based on U.S.

Jack Grealish won't be gracing the pitch in Germany this summer as Gareth Southgate omitted him from the England squad for Euro 2024 – with injury troubles throughout the season being a contributing factor.

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has been omitted from the England squad for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany following a hugely disappointing season.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Along with a red-carpet opening ceremony, a press conference with the members of the main competition jury is a staple event of major film festivals and the 26th edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival kicked off in traditional form on Friday. Along with Vietnam-French director Tran Anh Hung, previously revealed as jury president, the other members of the decisive committee this year are: Australian director and screenwriter Rolf de Heer; German director Matthias Glasner; Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka Fai; Argentinian director Santiago Mitre; Chinese director Sonthar Gyal; and, the jury’s only woman, star actor Zhou Xun. A packed audience lobbed familiar questions about the criteria they jurors would employ to decide the Golden Goblet prize winners, and what informs those views.

Marta Balaga The Monte-Carlo Television Festival has rolled out the blue carpet welcoming star guests for its 63rd edition, but it also has an eye on the future.“We’re always working towards expanding and developing the festival. Each year, we get better and better,” executive director Cécile Menoni says.Listing “fabulous highlights,” Menoni gushes over this year’s Crystal Nymph winner: Morgan Freeman.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week we’re talking to leading German producer Fabian Gasmia, whose credits include Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper, Leos Carax’s Annette and, more recently, Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry starrer Treasure, which has its North American premiere at Tribeca last weekend. Gasmia, who set up production banner Seven Elephants in 2018 with directors Julia von Heinz, Erik Schmitt and David Wnendt, talks us through building that outfit, his “special relationship” with France and why he thinks German cinema is having a “renaissance.”

Anna Marie de la Fuente Eurozoom, a leading French distributor for Japanese animation, has forged a strategic partnership with major French animation producer Special Touch Studios, led by founder and CEO Sebastien Onomo. “We both share the same passion for animation and want to tell bold stories with a particular attention to professional diversity,” said Eurozoom’s CEO-Founder Amel Lacombe, who added that they were jointly working on a six-animation feature lineup. Leading the pack is “Melvile,” directed by Romain Renard and Fursy Teyssier.

Prime Video Italy is taking a leap “not only at national level but at international level” with its originals strategy, its scripted boss has said.