Netflix Opens Rome Office, Ramps Up Italian Slate Headlined by ‘The Leopard’ Series

Manori Ravindran International EditorThe Cannes Film Festival invited eight male directors for an hours-long symposium on the future of cinema on Tuesday — a session that raised uneasy questions for those working with streaming services, and paid no attention to the lack of female filmmakers on the panel.Moderated by Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux and Canal+ correspondent and festival associate Didier Allouch, guests included Guillermo del Toro, Claude Lelouch, Costa Gavras, Gaspard Noé, Paolo Sorrentino, Nadav Lapid, Mathieu Kassovitz and Robin Campillo. The directors were interviewed individually, with Del Toro present on stage throughout.The session — which ran for two and a half hours, with speakers remaining a mystery until the event was underway — is one of two forums about cinema organized by the festival.

EXCLUSIVE: J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos), Jackie Earle Haley (The First Lady), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Suicide Squad), Jessica De Gouw (The Secrets She Keeps) and Alice Lee (Brittany Runs a Marathon) have signed on to star alongside Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry in the Netflix thriller Our Man from Jersey, from director Julian Farino (Ballers).

Billie Eilish has opened up about her diagnosis of Tourette’s Syndrome in a new interview.Eilish spoke to David Letterman as part of his My Next Guest Needs No Introduction series on Netflix. Other guests on the new series, which is streaming now on Netflix, include interviews with Will Smith, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Durant and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.In the in-depth interview, Eilish opened up about being diagnosed with Tourettes ahed 11, as well as fame and music.Speaking about her Tourette’s Syndrome, Eilish said: “What’s funny is so many people have it that you would never know,” she said, explaining that she knew several artists who also have Tourette’s Syndrome.When Letterman asked if talking about the condition made it worse, Eilish replied: “Not at all.”“I really love answering questions about it, because it’s very very interesting.

Ava DuVernay’s Wings of Fire, an animated series adaptation of the family fantasy books which had been in development at Netflix since 2021, is the latest victim of animation cuts at the streamer, sources close to the project confirm to Deadline. We hear several other projects are not moving forward as well.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorNetflix signed a multiyear services renewal with VFX and animation company DNEG, under which the streamer expects to spend at least $350 million with the company through 2025.The non-exclusive agreement covers the provision of visual effects and virtual production services by DNEG for Netflix series and movies through September 2025. The new deal extends and expands on a previous agreement that the companies signed in September 2020.Under the agreement, Netflix has agreed to assign projects to DNEG worth a minimum of $350 million of its services over the term, “which may be increased if certain project award milestones are achieved,” DNEG disclosed in a regulatory filing.DNEG is working with Netflix on a number of upcoming projects, including “Stranger Things” Season 4; Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out 2”; fantasy action-dramas “The School for Good and Evil” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender”; origin story “The Witcher: Blood Origin”; and upcoming fantasy comedy-adventure “Slumberland” from director Francis Lawrence.

EXCLUSIVE: Ed Skrein (Deadpool) has replaced Rupert Friend in Zack Snyder’s sci-fi epic Rebel Moon for Netflix, following Friend’s exit from the project due to scheduling conflicts, with Cleopatra Coleman (Dopesick), Fra Fee (Hawkeye) and Rhian Rees (Nope) also signing on for roles. The actors join an ensemble that also includes Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Stuart Martin, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Michiel Huisman and Alfonso Herrera, as previously announced.

It's quickly gained something of a cult following with thousands of viewers tuning-in to watch the trials and tribulations of the powerful and posh Bridgerton family of Regency era England in Bridgeton on Netflix - but some of the keenest fans are set to be disappointed when the series strays from its popular original storylines in the next season.

Geeked Week — a five-day virtual fan event which began last year to premiere exclusive news from the streamer — released a trailer for its upcoming content and announced a new set of hosts for this year’s festivities, taking place June 6-10.The trailer, narrated by David Harbour of “Stranger Things,” promises new footage and information about titles like “The Sandman,” based on the 1990s DC Comics of the same name and starring Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie and Kirby Howell-Baptiste. The streamer also teased updates on the highly anticipated third season of “The Umbrella Academy,” action-thriller “The Gray Man,” which features Regé-Jean Page, Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, and — of course — “Stranger Things.”“It’s time to admit that geeks are f—ing great,” Harbour says in the clip.

Netflix’s upcoming Indian musical drama The Archies from director Zoya Akhtar has set its cast. The ensemble, who play characters from the iconic Archie Comics franchise, includes emerging talent such as Mihir Ahuja (Bard of Blood), Khushi Kapoor (The Garhwal Rifles) and Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan in a but role.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentSince Cinecittà Studios was founded in 1937, the sprawling facilities have driven the golden age of Cinema Italiano.The famed city of cinema has also, albeit intermittently, been a magnet for international productions and endured wild fluctuations in the country’s political climate, before recently reemerging as a new frontier for the country’s film and TV industry.Located in the heart of the Mediterranean basin, a short ride from the center of Rome and its airports, Italy’s top production hub has to date, hosted more than 3,000 films that have earned 53 Oscars.During the period following World War II, the studios forged close ties to Hollywood, which helped the Italian industry gain its international standing. The myriad Italian pics made at the studios range from Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960) and “8½” (1963) to Nanni Moretti’s “Sogni D’Oro” (1981), Sergio Leone’s epic “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984), Giuseppe Tornatore’s “The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean” (1998) Paolo Sorrentino’s “Il Divo” (2008) and, more recently, his TV series “The New Pope” in 2019.

Netflix is sharing a first look at Lana Condor‘s new show Boo, Bitch!

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentDisney, Amazon, Netflix and Showtime all have TV series of different types either recently shot or set to shoot in Sicily.As one of its first Italian originals, Disney+ has commissioned a still-untitled TV series about Sicily’s Florio family, who, during the 19th century, built an economic empire on the island and became known as the merchant princes of Europe.Casting is now underway for this high-end period epic, to be directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese (“Perfect Strangers”) and produced by Rome-based Lotus Prods., a unit of Leone Film Group. The Sicilian skein, which is expected to start shooting in July, is based on local bestseller “The Lions of Sicily,” by Stefania Auci, that has been translated in several languages.

Adam ChitwoodThe all-star cast of Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and young Joey King really make this movie. It is just the right amount of chaotic with some pretty sweet connections at the end. Cal Weaver (Carell) is floored when his wife of almost 25 years Emily (Moore) blurts out at dinner that she wants to get divorced.

Deadpool actor has been very open about the joys of becoming a “.” Still, insists that he couldn't be the father he is today without Lively. “Blake runs the show. I would kind of really phone things in if it wasn’t for her.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentReed Hastings made the trek to Rome to open Netflix’s new Italian headquarters in an elegant building just off the Via Veneto of “La Dolce Vita” fame — and the Roman rain gods made sure they knew he was there.Menacing dark clouds interspersed with flashes of sunlight had hovered over the hour-long outdoor presentation of a rich slate of Netflix Italian originals, headlined by a high-end series adaptation of classic Italian novel “The Leopard.” Yet the weather had somehow held up.Right until, that is, a minute after Hastings took the stage.“To start [in Italy] with this facility, with all the creators that we have today, is such an honor, especially as I feel the first drop of rain,” said Netflix’s founder and co-CEO. As it gradually began to pour, Hastings reminisced about the fact that 20 years ago, when his wife and children moved to Rome while he remained in the U.S.

Netflix has opened an office in Italy and unveiled a huge slate of scripted and unscripted series and films from many of the country’s biggest producers, with Co-CEO Reed Hastings detailing the streamer’s roots in the nation.

Will Smith has been announced for the fourth season of Netflix’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman.The actor’s appearance on the show however was filmed prior to his altercation with Chris Rock at the Oscars, so the incident won’t be addressed.In March, Smith struck the comedian on-stage during the ceremony following a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Following numerous apologies over the incident, Smith resigned from the Academy and was subsequently banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years.The fourth season of Letterman’s talk show, set to debut on May 20, will also feature interviews with Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Kevin Durant, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Ryan Reynolds.

The David di Donatello Awards were held in Rome on Tuesday evening, the first time Italy’s equivalent to the Oscar has had a fully in-person ceremony in the pandemic era. Taking top honors was Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God which scooped Best Film and Director as well as Best Supporting Actress for Teresa Saponangelo and a tie for Best Cinematography. In the latter category, The Hand Of God shared the win with Freaks Out, a fantasy drama that likewise debuted in Venice.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentPaolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated autobiographical drama “The Hand of God” took top honors at Italy’s 67th David di Donatello Awards, winning best picture, director, supporting actress and tying for the best cinematography statuette.Sorrentino’s Naples-set film about the personal tragedy and other vicissitudes that drove him to become a top notch film director had been the frontrunner along with young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out.”“Freaks Out” won six prizes, including for its producer, Andrea Occhipinti, as well as cinematographer, set design, and effects.The cinematography prize, which was a tie, was split between “Hand of God” DP Daria D’Antonio, marking the first time this David goes to a woman, and Michele Attanasio for “Freaks Out.” The Davids were held as a fully in-person ceremony at Rome’s Cinecittà studios just as the famed facilities undergo a radical renewal being implemented by former Sky and Warner Bros. executive Nicola Maccanico.Italian Culture Minister Enrico Franceschini took the stage at the start of the ceremony to reaffirm the Italian government’s support for the local film industry, shortly after announcing plans to widen the window between a movie’s theatrical release date and the time it can drop locally on a streaming platform.