‘Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles’ Sells to IFC Films (EXCLUSIVE)

Dave McNary Film ReporterIFC Films nabbed North American rights to Stephen Dorff’s mixed martial arts drama “Embattled” and plans to release the film in November.The Blitz Films production marks Georgian-born director Nick Sarkisov’s English-language film debut.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterDave Franco has long struggled against being labeled the “kid brother” type, from the time he was an unknown growing up in Palo Alto, Calif. “My first job was at a mom-and-pop video store when I was 14, and I’ve always looked young for my age,” says Franco. “People would come in wondering why this 9-year-old-looking boy was renting them ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and ‘Basic Instinct.’”Deceptive looks aside, he still was not of legal age to work.

If you polled film fans and asked what the best horror film of the last five years is, they’d likely say “Hereditary.” And though that film is incredibly creepy and unnerving, what elevates it above the rest is the human element at the core, with the true story revolving around a mother and her relationships with her family.

IFC Films’ upcoming release, “The Painted Bird,” is a disturbing film. But that is to be expected when you have a black and white feature set during the end of World War I about a young boy that is on his own, trying to do whatever it takes to survive in the face of violence and brutality.

NEW YORK -- Bachata singer Prince Royce says he got a wake-up call with a COVID-19 diagnosis and now he wants to try and wake others too. Royce revealed that he is recovering from the virus in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.

Join thousands of others who have signed up for the Daily Record newsletter.A creative Hamilton schoolgirl surprised her brother with a handmade 13th birthday cake in a bid to cheer him up.Carly McAulay was so gutted that she missed out on her P7 Townhill Primary School prom, residential trip to Locherbie Manor and leavers’ assembly, that she turned to baking during lockdown.The 11-year-old decided to make different sweet treats in the kitchen and researched everything she could on

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentJuliette Schrameck, the former managing director of MK2 Films (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”), will be joining the well-established French production company Agat Films starting Sept.

Amanda N'Duka pmc-editorial-managerEXCLUSIVE: Jesse James Films, the production company led by Jesse Murphy and James Sears Bryant, has picked up the film and television rights to the soon-to-be-released Cookies & Milk, the debut children’s novel by Shawn Amos, son of Famous Amos founder, Wally Amos.Set to be published in Spring 2022 via Little Brown Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, the story follows a young Black boy named Ellis who begrudgingly is tasked with helping his

Dave McNary Film Reporter“Spencer” — a drama starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana— has sold its U.S. rights to Neon, the production company behind last year’s Oscar-winner “Parasite.” Topic Studios will help distribute the film.Neon and Topic paid $4 million for the rights. The drama centers on a weekend in the early 1990s when Diana decided to separate from Prince Charles. “Jackie” director Pablo Larrain is on board to helm from a script by Steven Knight.

Also Read: The New Look of Documentary Film in a Coronavirus WorldThe documentary was produced by Steve Robillard and Mohamed AlRafi and executive produced by Paula Manzanedo-Schmit and Original Productions’ Jeff Hasler, Ernie Avila, and Brian Lovett.Also appearing in the documentary is the mastermind of the “cronut” Dominique Ansel, and together he and Ottolenghi position their Met event as both an expression and critique of excess.

Justin Kroll Film ReporterCranked Up Films has secured the North American distribution rights to Gillian Wallace Horvat’s feature debut “I Blame Society.”The indie festival favorite follows a struggling filmmaker’s descent into psychopathy. Based on a fictionalized version of herself, Wallace Horvat plays a director looking for her big break by exploring an odd compliment from her friends saying that she would make a good serial killer.

Christopher Nolan’s fight to keep “Tenet” released in July is well-documented. This is a discussion that has lasted months, as the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vivica A. Fox’s return to Lifetime is so, it’s right! The actress stars in and produced two new installments of the Lifetime Movie Network’s ongoing film franchise — and ET has your first look. First up is with Fox as Detective Jones who is tasked with investigating a mysterious break in at the home of a couple, Ashley (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe) and Brad (Stephen Richard Harris), set to be married.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentJan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales agency New Europe Film Sales has closed several deals with leading independent distributors on the upcoming supernatural drama “Lamb” by Valdimar Jóhannsson, starring Noomi Rapace.The film was picked up by distributors in France (The Jokers), Germany (Koch Films), Poland (Gutek Film), Benelux (The Searchers), Hungary (Vertigo), Czech Republic (Artcam), Austria (Filmladen), Denmark (Camera Film), Switzerland

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2 Films (“Maria By Callas,” “Portrait of A Lady On Fire”) has come on board “Louis Armstrong: The Cause of Happiness,” a feature documentary exploring the many faces of the jazz music icon, and set against the backdrop of the social, cultural and political milestones of U.S.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIFC Films is acquiring North American rights to “No Man’s Land,” a modern-day Western set along the border between the U.S. and Mexico.