Netflix Comedy Pilot ‘Little Sky’ Wraps Filming Early Following Production Disruptions From Picketing

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent New Europe Film Sales is set to launch international sales on “Stepne,”the debut feature of Ukraine’s Maryna Vroda, a best short Cannes Palme d’Or winner, which was announced this July 5 morning as part of Locarno’s main International Competition.  Born in Kyiv, Vroda won a Palme d’Or in 2011 for her short “Cross Country” (“Kross”), a seemingly allegorical psychological drama about a boy who is forced to run, then does so willingly, ending up watching his classmates running a senseless cross-country race as a boy rolls in a transparent ball in a river. “Kross” was inspired by Vroda’s memories of physical education lessons. “Stepne” is equally personal, coming to Vroda when her grandparents died. In it, a middle-aged man travels to his family home to care for his dying mother. He meets his brother and a woman he loves and thinks back to his life choices such as leaving to live in a big city. Then, just before dying, her mother tells her about a treasure she’s buried in the shed.

Naman Ramachandran Kajol and Kriti Sanon will lead the cast of Netflix India’s mystery thriller original film “Do Patti.” The film also marks the producing debuts of Sanon and writer Kanika Dhillon. Billed as a “thrilling suspense-filled ride,” the film is set in the hills of northern India. A director has not been revealed yet. Kajol, one of India’s best-loved actors, has credits that include romance “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,” melodrama “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…,” romantic thriller “Fanaa” and drama “My Name Is Khan.” She made her streaming debut with Netflix film “Tribhanga,” which played from 2021, and stars in a segment of the streamer’s “Lust Stories 2,” which released June 29. She will next be seen in Disney+ Hotstar series “The Trial – Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha,” the Indian adaptation of CBS series “The Good Wife.”

The Stockholm Film Festival has set SkyShowtime as its new official streaming partner in an agreement that will also see the streamer host the festival’s rising star award for new talent. 

according to the United States Geological Survey. It was initially reported at a 4.1 magnitude but downgraded to 3.8.

Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer,” two films that have captured the internet’s imagination with their shared July 21 release, have hit box office tracking with early projections expecting solid results for both films. “Barbie,” as long expected, is projected to take No. 1 that weekend with a $70 million-plus opening.

EXCLUSIVE: Principal photography has wrapped in Italy on Sony Pictures International Productions and Eagle Pictures’ local-language romantic comedy You’ve Got Hotspot (Hotspot – Amore Senza Rete). From director Giulio Manfredonia (Si Può Fare, Qualunquemente, Rocco Schiavone), this is the first of five Italian projects that will see the partners equally involved in production.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Sky Deutschland, the German arm of Comcast-owned pay-TV operator Sky, is pulling out of scripted originals from 2024, Variety can reveal. Staff were notified of the surprise move by Sky Deutschland boss Devesh Raj on Thursday morning, local time. Variety understands that the entire scripted originals team will eventually be disbanded, though shows that have already been commissioned and are in production, such as post-apocalypse drama “Helgoland 513″ and “Das Boot” Season 4, will finish filming. Any projects in development will be “put into turnaround,” as per another internal note from Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz, also seen by Variety.

Naman Ramachandran The British Film Commission (BFC) and Malta Film Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU is aimed at enhancing the collaboration between the U.K. and Malta screen industries, as well as facilitating film and high-end TV production (HETV) between the two territories. In 2022, inward investment production spend soared to $7.72 billion in the U.K., while Malta hosted 24 film and TV projects in 2022 alone. Major film and HETV productions filmed across both countries include: Apple TV+’s “Napoleon,” Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion,” (Universal, 2022), Eone/Participant Media/Focus Features’ “7 Days in Entebbe,” 20th Century’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix deal has been confirmed to be continuing despite speculation it might follow the same fate as their Spotify deal which was axed last week.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has revealed a multi-year series partnership with Indian filmmaker Hansal Mehta. Mehta’s hard hitting crime drama series “Scoop,” his maiden venture for Netflix, bowed earlier this month and was a major success for the service. Inspired by crime reporter Jigna Vora’s book “Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison” and starring Karishma Tanna as crime reporter Jagruti Pathak, the series is set up as the first season of a franchise.  Taking this successful collaboration forward, Mehra will create multiple series for Netflix over the next few years.

Kendra Wilkinson is getting extremely honest about feeling “so lost” following her heartbreaking divorce from Hank Baskett.

There are certain things you can count on. The sun rises in the East. The house always wins. A watched pot never boils.

EastEnders star Ricky Champ delighted fans after he posted a series of pictures reuniting with his former cast members.  The soap actor was well known for playing Albert Square’s Stuart Highway on the BBC drama.  Despite leaving the show to pursue ambitions in Theatreland, the 42-year-old proved he was still very much part of the family with his latest Instagram upload.

Naman Ramachandran Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence is gunning for the laughs in raunchy comedy “No Hard Feelings.” “I think it’s time for a good old-fashioned laugh and it really is hard to make a comedy where you’re not offending people,” Lawrence told Sky News on Wednesday. “Everybody in some sense will be offended by this film — you’re welcome.” In the film, which is rated R in the U.S. and 15 in the U.K., Lawrence stars as a Montauk Uber driver facing bankruptcy who accepts a Craigslist ad to date and seduce an awkward 19-year-old (Andrew Barth Feldman) whose helicopter parents don’t want him leaving for college as a virgin.

Xenonauts 2 is launching in Early Access in July, publisher Hooded Horse has confirmed.While a 2023 release window was confirmed back in January, Hooded Horse has now specified that Xenonauts 2 will be launching in Early Access on July 18.A follow-up to 2014’s Xenonauts, Xenonauts 2 takes place in an alternate 2009 where the Cold War never ended. Against this backdrop, players control a secretive group defending Earth from an alien invasion — a challenge that involves shooting down UFOs, deploying soldiers to fight on the ground, and reverse-engineering advanced alien technology.While Xenonauts 2 will sound familiar to fans of Firaxis‘ XCOM reboot, the sequel is more of a spiritual successor to the original ’90s run of X-COM games, which are seen as more challenging and detail-oriented.https://youtu.be/Y8r4HyUpKfMAs part of Xenonauts 2‘s “in-depth strategic layer,” the game’s Steam page notes that players will need to build bases across the globe, conduct “multiple avenues of research,” and prioritise how scavenged alien technology is utilised.On the battlefield, the sequel will also introduce a new faction: Cleaners, a human group of alien sympathisers who will fight alongside the invaders and work to undermine your defences.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer At long last, Netflix has revealed the first footage of its highly anticipated sci-fi epic from “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss — their first large-scale project at the streamer since signing a mega overall deal in 2019 — and Alexander Woo. Based on the book series by Cixin Liu, the eight-episode drama, which recently wrapped production, will launch in January 2024. Per Netflix’s logline for the sci-fi series, “A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time to a group of brilliant scientists in the present day. As the laws of nature unravel before their eyes, five former colleagues reunite to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.”

Manchester City have one of the easiest starts to the 2023/24 Premier League season after the full fixture list was revealed.

EXCLUSIVE: NBC is not moving forward with Non-Evil Twin multi-camera comedy pilot, starring and executive produced by NBCUniversal late-night star Amber Ruffin.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Killing Romance,” one of the most creative Korean films of the past year, has been set as the opening night title for the upcoming New York Asian Film Festival. The deliberately multi-genre picture tells the tale of a beautiful movie star with dubious acting skills (portrayed by Le Ha-nee) who suddenly quits the industry and retires to newly-married life that turns out to be anything but bliss. When she decides to return to acting she teams up with a fan and an absurd plot to kill her absurdly rich husband. The film is directed by Lee Won-suk who previously attended the NYAFF with his first film, “How to Use Guys With Secret Tips,” in 2013 and returned with his second feature, the big-budget period drama The Royal Tailor, which earned the audience award at NYAFF in 2015.

It’s fun to be the bad guy, right? So, why wouldn’t someone like Nimona strive to be the perfect villainous sidekick? There’s only one problem—the person she vows her loyalty to doesn’t really want a sidekick and actually isn’t really a villain. But they can still wreak some havoc.