Netflix & Ghetto Film School Announce Directing and Producing Fellows (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentIn the run up to Series Mania, European network Arte and German public broadcaster NDR have boarded “Helsinki Syndrome,” a contemporary Nordic Noir thriller series headlined by “Vikings” star Peter Franzén and created by Mikko Oikkonen (“Bordertown”). “Helsinki Syndrome” is the first series jointly produced by Beta Film and leading Finnish production banner Fisher King which is part of the Beta Nordic Entertainment Group.

Downton Abbey is reportedly set to kill off an iconic character in tear-jerking scenes in the upcoming film sequel A New Era. According to new reports, writer Julian Fellowes is said to have "made this death so poignant" in the second movie instalment, which is slated for released in cinemas on Friday, March 18, 2022.

Molly Shannon knows how to turn on the waterworks at will.

Molly Shannon and Jimmy Fallon had a cry-off during the actress’s “Tonight Show” appearance Wednesday.

If you’ve been holding out for the Downton Abbey film sequel, you’ll have to wait a little longer before you can kick back with the Crawley’s once again.

K.J. Yossman Netflix and the BBC will work together, in an unprecedented move, to promote disabled creatives on and off screen.The streaming giant and public service broadcaster have joined forces to develop and fund new dramas showcasing disabled voices over a new, five-year partnership.The two companies will “consider projects from U.K.

Angelique Jackson Emmy winners Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass have teamed up for a new sci-fi movie titled “Biosphere,” directed by Mel Eslyn.The mysterious movie marks Eslyn’s feature directorial debut.

Chris Willman Music WriterThe Nashville Film Festival will return in late September and early October with a hybrid slate of in-person and online screenings and events — with several music documentaries figuring into the programming, including docs about Brian Wilson, the pioneering 1970s all-female rock band Fanny and the MTV-era group A-ha, plus the world premiere of a film that takes John Hiatt and Jerry Douglas into Nashville’s famed RCA Studio B.Music-based films take up only a sliver of

Angelique Jackson If you don’t know what “Tudum” is, allow Regina King, Álvaro Morte, Idris Elba, Chris Hemsworth, Millie Bobby Brown and dozens more of Netflix’s biggest stars to tell you.“Tudum… or not Tudum?” that is the question “Sex Education” star Ncuti Gatwa asks (as Kedar Williams-Stirling cracks up beside him) in a comedic teaser, which explains that “tudum” is the way to spell out the sound you hear when you press play on Netflix.And now, Tudum is also the name of the streamer’s first

Less that a month before the Toronto International Film Festival is set to take place, organizers announced new Covid-19 prevention measures on Twitter. The requirements apply to attendees, staff and visitors.

Clayton Davis Eva Longoria has wrapped production on her directorial feature debut, Searchlight Pictures’ “Flamin’ Hot.”“I’m so honored to have led this team in telling a beautiful story where people can see themselves in these characters and are inspired by the endless beauty and talent that is so rich in our community,” Longoria tells Variety exclusively.

Annika Pham Powered by its famed partners, Oslo-based Motion Blur, one of Norway’s top producers of commercials, features and TV shows, has never been that busy with projects both on home turf and in the U.S.That activity in part rolls off the pulling power of the company’s pedigreed partners: “Karate Kid” helmer Harald Zwart; “Kon-Tiki” and “Pirates of the Caribbean-Dead Men Tell No Tales” co-helmer Espen Sandberg: and producer Espen Horn (“The 12th Man,”, “Amundsen”).Minority shareholder SF

William Earl Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival has announced that it will extend its multi-year partnership with Variety for its 39th edition (March 4-13, 2022). The festival will partner with Variety’s Streaming Room on an International Feature Film Nominees Roundtable scheduled for next year before final voting begins on March 17, 2022.

EXCLUSIVE: Jeremy Garelick has been set to direct a sequel to Murder Mystery, with the expectation that Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler will reprise in the Netflix film. There is a script by James Vanderbilt, and Garelick will do a polish. The fast tracked film will shoot in Paris and the Caribbean.

EXCLUSIVE: We have learned first that Netflix has set the cast for their adaptation of Annie Barrows’ New York Times bestselling book series Ivy & Bean and that is Emmy Award Nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Emmy Award Winner Jane Lynch, Pretty Little Liars‘ Sasha Pieterse, Oscar nominee Nia Vardalos, Garfield Wilson, Jaycie Dotin and Marci T. House.

Netflix has made a ton of different female-led comedy films over the past several years. But none of them has such a strange premise as “Afterlife of the Party.” READ MORE: ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 3 Trailer: The Staten Island Vamps Return in September & Season 4 Greenlit As seen in the trailer for “Afterlife of the Party,” the film follows a party girl that accidentally dies after a night of drunken excess.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix India has revealed quirky romance “Plan A Plan B,” directed by Shashanka Ghosh (“Veere Di Wedding”).The cast includes Riteish Deshmukh (“Marjaavaan”), Tamannaah Bhatia (“Baahubali”), Poonam Dhillon (“Jai Mummy Di”) and Kusha Kapila (“Ghost Stories”).The film follows a matchmaker who believes marriage is for everyone except herself, and a successful divorce lawyer with a secret, who cross paths, and explores if opposites coexist or attract.The film is written by Rajat

sexual battery lawsuit filed by FKA twigs continues.Last December, twigs (real name Tahliah Barnett) sued her ex-boyfriend for alleged sexual battery, citing a pattern of “relentless abuse” that included “assault and infliction of emotional distress”.In court documents filed in February, LaBeouf’s legal team denied “each and every” accusation in the claim.

It's the end of  but just the beginning for the show's fierce new foursome, BluPrint.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterEndeavor Content senior vice president Kristen Figeroid has exited the agency as others in the unit’s sales and distribution unit prepare to head back to WME, sources close to the situation told Variety.Figeroid joined Endeavor Content in 2018 as senior VP of sales and distribution.