Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s ‘Saturday Afternoon,’ Bangladesh Oscar Entry ‘Hawa’ Set SonyLIV Debut (EXCLUSIVE)

Tim Chan If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The GOAT has entered the stadium. World Cup champ Lionel Messi is set to make his Inter Miami debut Friday, as the MLS team faces off against Cruz Azul in the 2023 Leagues Cup. The annual CONCACAF event pits teams from Major League Soccer against teams from Mexico’s Liga MX in an inter-continental face off. Messi is expected to make his Inter Miami debut on Friday, July 21 and you can watch Messi’s first game online through Apple TV+. The streaming service’s MLS Season Pass gets you a livestream of Messi’s debut vs. Cruz Azul, and access to all the Leagues Cup matches online free.

Atom Egoyan will be returning to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to premiere his latest movie, “Seven Veils”.

Indian singer Harrdy Sandhu prophesizes that Punjabi music will take over the world (if it hasn’t already).

Sabbatical Entertainment Sets Distribution Partnership With V Channels Media

EXCLUSIVE: The UK has a new South Asian-focused film talk show.

Naman Ramachandran India is on track to be the international production hub for global reality formats “Survivor” and “Temptation Island,” Banijay Asia CEO Deepak Dhar has confirmed. Dhar had revealed nascent plans for this late last year to Variety and they are now well into fruition. “Survivor” has had more than 50 international versions and “Temptation Island” more than 20. “Significant progress has happened in the last six to seven months in setting up the runway to really pave a lot of productions to happen in India, both reality and scripted. Reality is something that we’ve been pushing, because of the might of our Banijay Group catalog formats – shows like ‘Survivor’ and ‘Temptation Island.’ We are on the verge of setting up a ‘Temptation Island’ hub and ‘Survivor’ hub and a whole lot of the Banijay Group companies would come film here,” Dhar told Variety.

It's a busy time for holidays and lots of people in our region will be jetting off from Manchester Airport.

Tiffany Chen and Robert De Niro made her TV debut during her mother's  interview with Gayle King that aired on Friday. The baby made a brief appearance during the near-10-minute conversation, during which the world-champion martial artist opened up to King about the scary postpartum complication she endured after giving birth to the 79-year-old Oscar-winning actor's seventh child. When asked how her daughter has changed her life, Chen responds that the 3-month-old has «made it more fun» for her and her Oscar-winning partner. «Gia, what's your favorite Robert De Niro movie?» King jokingly asked the baby during her visit, to which Chen replied, «The one in the delivery room, where I'm the star!»WATCH: Robert De Niro’s baby Gia makes her TV debut alongside mom Tiffany Chen and @GayleKing on CBS Mornings.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood A-lister Alia Bhatt will become the first woman to headline a film in leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ spy universe, Variety has learned. The film, where Bhatt is due to play a “super agent,” will commence production in 2024, Variety understands. Bhatt is one of India’s top actors who had a stellar 2022. “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” in which she played the central, title role, had its world premiere as a Berlinale gala screening, was a box office success and was the #1 non-English film and the #1 film in 25 countries on Netflix globally. “RRR,” in which she was one of the leads, was one of the biggest Indian hits of the year and went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has released an action-packed teaser – described by the producers as a ‘prevue’ – for his upcoming film “Jawan” (“Soldier”). The film has Khan playing a dual role and features him in several avatars – as a soldier, a bandaged avenger, and also in a bald persona. The teaser features Tamil-language cinema stars Nayanthara (“Annaatthe”), Vijay Sethupathi (“Vikram”) and teases a special appearance from Deepika Padukone (“Pathaan”). The cast also includes Sanya Malhotra (“Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery”) and Priyamani (“The Family Man”). “Jawan” is directed by Atlee, known for his three back-to-back Tamil-language blockbusters “Theri” (2016), “Mersal” (2017) and “Bigil” (2019), all starring Vijay. It is produced by Gauri Khan for Red Chillies Entertainment and features music by hitmaker Anirudh Ravichander (“Thiruchitrambalam”).

EXCLUSIVE: Callan McAuliffe (The Walking Dead), Blu Hunt (X-Men New Mutants), Samuel Arnold (Emily in Paris) and Annie Q. Riegel (The Leftovers) are starring in a contemporary movie spin-off of Charles Dickens classic Great Expectations.

Adele Lim made her directorial debut with “Joy Ride”, the new comedy feature produced by Point Grey Pictures, the production company launched by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

McKinley Franklin editor Rob Young, the Oscar-nominated sound mixer of “Unforgiven,” died June 11 in Albi, France from complications of a fall he sustained during a trip to Morocco. He was 76. Young was a sound mixer in the feature film industry for nearly 40 years, earning an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Sound for Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western “Unforgiven.” He mixed sound for other popular projects including “William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet” and “Jumanji” in the mid-1990s.  Among his other notable credits were “Catwoman,” “She’s the Man,” “Final Destination 3” “Night at the Museum,” “Jennifer’s Body” and “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.”

EXCLUSIVE: Elias Koteas (Shutter Island) and Brianna Middleton (The Tender Bar) have been set to topline Silent Planet, a sci-fi thriller written and directed by Jeffrey St. Jules (Bang Bang Baby), which has wrapped production in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and been picked up for worldwide distribution by Quiver Distribution.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The Academy of Country Music has rolled out the biggest news about its 16th annual ACM Honors event, happening Aug. 23 in Nashville — who the specially selected honorees will be, traditionally a curated mix of current superstars, veteran artists and industry execs or broadcast personalities. Chris Stapleton, Kane Brown and Tim McGraw are the reigning artist titans represented in the honorary awards, with Breland and Hardy representing a newer guard. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Clint Black and K.T. Oslin are the longer-standing artists getting their flowers from the ACM. Stapleton qualified for the ACM Triple Crown Award after being named entertainer of the year at the most recent ACM Awards for the first time. The honor goes to anyone who gets that top honor after previously having been named male (or female) vocalist of the year and new male (or female) vocalist of the year at the ACMs. Only eight artists have ever achieved the feat. (Stapleton’s predecessors: Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Mickey Gilley, Merle Haggard, Miranda Lambert, Barbara Mandrell and Carrie Underwood.)

may have lost the title of best dressed at the to a one-year-old.That's a joke, of course, but Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas's one-year-old daughter, , did make her Royal Ascot debut wearing a beautiful tiered white dress with floral embellishments and matching sandals. On June 22, shared a gorgeous family photo on Instagram Stories, holding her daughter in her arms as her husband places the child's “first fascinator” atop her head. Chopra further captioned the post, “Ready for Ascot MM?”As for Malti's parents, the wore a white short-sleeved button-up and matching pants while the 40-year-old Citadel actor stunned in a sheer white ensemble by Pooja Rajpal Jaggi and golden statement earrings by Indian jewelry brand Isharya.

Traditional hoop dance artist and TikTok star James Jones, a.k.a. Notorious Cree, reveals he has a music album on the way  — a project that has stemmed from finding fame through his entertaining yet educational TikTok videos.

EXCLUSIVE: Reservation Dogs and Letterkenny star Kaniehtiio Horn has revealed the cast for her feature directorial debut Seeds as production gets underway in Ontario. 

Luke Bryan has kicked off his 2023 Country on Tour with three shows this past weekend.

Scam 1992 is one of India’s highest-profile drama series of the streaming era and its sequel now has a release date.