‘Nico, 1988’ Director Susanna Nicchiarelli Set to Shoot TV Series ‘Fireworks’ About Italian Kids Fighting Nazis and Fascists During Resistance (EXCLUSIVE)

return to play Rey in a new, untitled movie. Although the flick will be about Rey, the badass orphan heroine of Episodes VII through IX, it likely won’t be a continuation of the studio’s tentpole Luke Skywalker-Darth Vader series.Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Vanity Fair in 2022, “We are moving on from the Skywalker saga. That’s what’s taking a lot of time, discussion, and thought right now.”Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy says the movie, set 15 years after 2019’s “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,” will “tell the story of the rebuilding of a new Jedi order.”“My heart is pounding,” Ridley said on stage in London.

EXCLUSIVE: Disney+ Hotstar has set Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo as its latest original series.

Love Island star Shaughna Philips has given an insight into her daughter’s birth – revealing the song she listened to as her little one entered the world. Shaughna today announced that she had welcomed a little girl, who she has named Lucia. Announcing the happy news on Instagram, Shaughna wrote: "My darling Lucia, I wish I had you sooner so I could love you longer." The 28 year old star added details about her little one's arrival, as she wrote: "04/04/2.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s Cinecittà Studios are generating a profit for the first time in years amid a radical upgrade, overhaul, and expansion of the filming facilities where Hollywood productions are now flocking on a scale that is starting to be comparable with its glory days. Roland Emmerich last month started shooting his gladiator series “Those About to Die” starring Anthony Hopkins as Emperor Vespasian; Joe Wright is in the midst of production on TV series “M,” about Benito Mussolini’s rise to power; and in January cameras started rolling in the “City of Cinema” on Netflix’s period soap “The Decameron.” These are among the biggest international productions lured by the storied studios in recent years, also thanks to Italy’s 40% cash back tax rebate.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Italian government’s decision on Friday to ban artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT – becoming the world’s first country to block the chatbot – is sparking local controversy. The move is being criticized within the government itself just as Italy’s entertainment industry is up in arms against Silicon Valley on several other fronts. Italy’s Data Protection Authority on Friday said it had ordered California-based OpenAI to temporarily block the country’s internet users from gaining access to ChatGPT following a verified data breach that it claims represents a possible violation of European Union data protection rules.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Andrea Scrosati, who is group COO and continental Europe CEO of Fremantle, isn’t too worried about various types of turbulence that are currently creating anxiety in the U.S. media market such as draconian cost cuts being made by juggernaut groups and the impending prospect of a Writers Guild of America strike. Speaking in Italy at a panel titled “Less is More – What to Do When the Streaming Boom is Over” Scrosati noted that the effect of market consolidation in the U.S. and fear due to plunging stock market results that is prompting cost cuts at Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery certainly means that “some of the big buyers are in a conflict.”

Naman Ramachandran Fremantle and Sinestra, the production outfit from director Johan Renck and producer Michael Parets, are in development on feature film “The Prisoner in His Palace.” The film will be based on Will Bardenwerper’s bestselling book “The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid” that tells the story of 12 U.S. soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein in the months leading up to his execution. It explores the two distinct sides of Saddam Hussein: the cruel tyrant who uses torture and murder as tools and the contemplative prisoner who exhibits surprising affection, dignity, and courage in the face of death. The book delves into the guards’ experiences and shows how Saddam’s presence affected them on a personal level.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Bobby Moresco, who won an Oscar as co-writer of “Crash,” and more recently directed “Lamborghini – The Man Behind the Legend,” is set to direct the biopic “Maserati: A Racing Life” about the family that in 1914 started making the high-performance Maserati automobiles in a garage in Bologna. Like “Lamborghini,” the Maserati origins movie is being produced by Andrea Iervolino’s ILBE Group, in which he is partnered with Monika Bacardi. ILBE has taken a liking for films about Italy’s iconic automakers. They are also among producers of Micheal Mann’s upcoming “Ferrari” with Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Shooting is underway in Italy on Indian action thriller “Salaar” starring Prabhas, who is playing a dual role in the film according to sources. The hotly-anticipated blockbuster written and directed by Prashanth Neel – and produced by Vijay Kiragandur via his Hombale Films shingle – has been filming since mid-March in Matera, the ancient southern Italian town known for its prehistoric whitewashed caves. Matera is the location where, among other international titles, the prologue action sequence for James Bond film “No Time to Die” was shot. The film’s cast also includes Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan and Jagapathi Babu.

EXCLUSIVE: The upcoming second season of HBO’s House of the Dragon will consist of eight episodes, two fewer than Season 1 of the Critics Choice Award-winning Game of Thrones prequel. It is part of a long-term plan for the show, which includes HBO mulling a green light for a third season, I have learned.

The White Lotus” is ready to take on a new country in its third season. The show, which has won numerous awards over its past seasons, is gearing up for a new installment, this time, in Thailand. Jennifer Coolidge sneaks into Jennifer Lopez’s hotel room and leaves a hilarious video on her phoneGolden Globes 2023: Best red carpet looksSources confirmed to Variety that it’s very likely that season three will be shot in a Four Seasons resort, like previous seasons.

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has shared his thoughts on Roger Waters’ re-recording of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ – hailing it as “absolutely brilliant”.Waters announced that he would be re-recording the iconic Pink Floyd LP without his former bandmates earlier this year. The original release – which first debuted in 1973 – is lauded as one of the greatest records of all time, and celebrates its 50th anniversary this month.Now, drummer Nick Mason has shared his opinion on his bandmate’s upcoming release, and confirmed that he has already heard snippets of the project.“I heard the rumour that Roger was working on his own version of it,” he said when speaking at a playback of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’, at London’s Dolby Atmos Immersive Studio.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Fremantle is restructuring management of its Italian operations by promoting Marco Tombolini to the role of CEO Fremantle Italy. Tombolini, who since May of 2022 was Fremantle Italy co-CEO, will now “Take the helm of all areas and functions of the company, with the senior management of Fremantle Italy reporting directly to him,” a Fremantle statement said. Gabriele Immirzi – who had long served as Fremantle Italy CEO prior to sharing the CEO role with Tombolini since last May – has now stepped down but is staying in the Fremantle fold becoming co-CEO with Lorenzo Mieli of The Apartment Pictures.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Venice Film Festival will honor “The Night Porter” director Liliana Cavani and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the Hong Kong star of “In the Mood for Love” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” with its 2023 Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement. Cavani first attended Venice in 1965 with the historical doc “Philippe Pétain: Processo a Vichy,” which won the Lion of San Marco for best documentary. She was back the Lido in 1966 with her TV movie “Saint Francis of Assisi,” and, again, in 1968, with “Galileo,” followed by Patricia Highsmith adaptation “Ripley’s Game,” starring John Malkovich, in 2002 and “Clarisse,” a doc about an order of cloistered nuns in 2012.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Los Angeles-based Italian director Andrea Pallaoro’s delicate drama “Monica” is finally set to open in U.S. theaters via IFC following its world premiere at last year’s Venice Film Festival. The film starring transgender actor Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) as a woman who returns home to the Midwest to care for her dying mother, played by Patricia Clarkson, marked the first time an openly-transgender actress headlined a Venice competition title. In “Monica” Lysette plays a woman who from Los Angeles goes back to her suburban midwest home for the first time since she was a teenager to care for her mom who had rejected her when she transitioned.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian Canadian actor Giacomo Gianniotti, who played Dr. Andrew DeLuca on “Grey’s Anatomy,” is set to star in “Inganno,” Netflix’s Italian adaptation of the U.K. TV series “Gold Digger” that starts shooting this week on the Amalfi coast. The taboo-breaking show – which was dubbed a “toyboy thriller” by the British press – depicts the passionate and turbulent relationship between an older woman and a man who is half her age. In this case the affair disrupts and subverts Italian social and family norms. A “Gold Digger” adaptation for Indian audiences is also reportedly in the works. “Inganno,” which means “deceit” in Italian, is being directed by Neapolitan auteur Pappi Corsicato whose “The Seed of Discord” competed at the Venice Film Festival in 2008. Corsicato’s visual style is often compared to Pedro Almodovar, of whom he has been an assistant.

Sophia Scorziello editor “Indian Matchmaking” Season 3 will premiere April 21 on Netflix, the streamer announced Tuesday. Mumbai’s matchmaker Sima Taparia returns to help single millennials around the world find love, employing decades-worth of experience and traditional methods. This season, Sima’s matchmaking touch will reach from New York to New Delhi, Miami to London, as well as clients both old and new.  “Indian Matchmaking” premiered its first season in July 2020. The show is executive produced by Aaron Saidman, Eli Holzman, Smriti Mundhra and J.C. Begley. Check out some first looks of season three below.  Also in today’s TV news:

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Influential Italian auteur Francesco “Citto” Maselli who worked with Lucia Bosé, Claudia Cardinale, Shelley Winters and Valeria Golino on films that combined his political passion with his bent for female-centered dramas, has died in Rome. Maselli, who was known for making left-wing militant cinema, was 92. The director’s death was announced to Italian news agency ANSA by Maurizio Acerbo, leader of Italy’s small Communist Refoundation Party, the group of die-hard Italian leftists that Maselli championed, and confirmed by the director’s wife. The exact cause of Maselli’s death was not revealed.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Roland Emmerich’s large-scale gladiator series “Those About to Die,” starring Anthony Hopkins as Emperor Vespasian, has started shooting at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios. Several new cast members have been announced, including “Game of Thrones” alumn Iwan Rheon. Rheon, who in “Thrones” played the villainous Ramsay Bolton – and can currently be seen in Emmerich-produced film “The Magic Flute” – will replace Lorenzo Richelmy who has exited the Peacock show due to scheduling conflicts. Also joining the “Those About to Die” cast are Liraz Charhi (“Tehran”) who will play Berenice, Queen of the conquered Judeans; and Rupert Penry-Jones (“The Batman”) as retired general Marsus who aspires to succeed Vespasian on the imperial throne (they are pictured above).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rising Dutch helmer Anton van der Linden, whose show “Marvin?” just world premiered at SXSW, is set to direct “Everygay Life,” a high-concept queer comedy series. Amsterdam-based production banner Explorers of the Unfound is developing the show. The series will revolve around two queer married couples, David and Miles, and Kate and Emma, who are raising children and juggling work responsibilities while navigating society’s preconceptions — often leading to tragicomic situations. “Growing up as gay in a tiny town in the north of the Netherlands you had two choices, you either become invisible or you become invincible,” said van der Linden.