Picture Tree International Picks Up Danish Comedy Drama ‘Persona Non Grata’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorLive from New York or Beverly Hills, it’s the 78th Golden Globe Awards.While the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and NBC announced earlier this month that the Globes would be broadcast live from both costs, with Tina Fey from New York’s Rainbow Room (at the top of Rockefeller Center) and Amy Poehler at the Beverly Hilton, plans were not revealed for how presenters and nominees would appear.Variety has learned that Globe producers are

Lego fan's dream of seeing a toy version of an iconic Scottish landmark released could come true, after it reached the required amount of signatures to be considered by the Danish firm.Engineer Michael Dineen submitted his design idea for the Forth Bridge to Lego, hoping that it will help to teach people about how the iconic Scottish rail bridge was built.The design will now be considered by the model company's review team and assessed against a tough set of criteria including playability,

Oscars ceremony. Danish tragicomedy "Another Round" stars former James Bond villain Mikkelsen as a middle-aged alcoholic who vows to get drunk every day, as part of a pseudoscientific experiment featuring three fellow school teachers.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the 15 shortlisted films for the International Film Oscar and despite the lack of screenings and in-person events, it’s a worthy list that should satisfy any cinephile. Among the 93 submissions, acclaimed films such as Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round” (Denmark), Jayro Bustamante’s “La Llorona” (Guatemala), and Philippe Lacôte’s “Night of Kings” (Ivory Coast) all made the cut.

Also Read: Oscars Eliminate Executive Committee Picks for International Feature, Expand ShortlistThe rest of the list: Bosnia and Herzegovina’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” Guatemala’s “La Llorona,” Hong Kong’s “Better Days,” Iran’s “Sun Children,” Norway’s “Hope,” “Russia’s “Dear Comrades!” and Tunisia’s “The Man Who Sold His Skin.”Normally, the general voters would choose all but three of the films on the shortlist, and then an executive committee would look at the results and add three additional

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentRenewing a frequent relationship between one of Europe’s highest-profile distributor-curators of foreign language drama series and one of their biggest suppliers, VOD service Walter Presents has swooped on a six-title drama series package from Germany’s ZDF Enterprises.Deal plays off a just-announced exclusive strategic alliance between Walter Presents and Australia’s Stan, owned by Nine Digital, which charges Walter Presents with securing

Annika Pham Danish helmer Janus Metz’s next feature project after Amazon Studios’ “All the Old Knives,” starring Laurence Fischburne and Chris Pine, will be the Danish drama “Bastard Love,” produced by Jesper Morthorst (“Silent Heart,” “Rita”) and Lise Orheim Stender (“Heartstone,” “Venus Effect”) for Motor.“Bastard Love” will be Metz’s sophomore Scandinavian feature film after the multi-awarded ”Borg vs.

EXCLUSIVE: Jesse Garcia and Victor Gojcaj have boarded Michael Bay’s Endeavor Content-Universal action feature Ambulance. 

EXCLUSIVE: Grammy nominated recording artist Wale Folarin, Cedric Sanders, Jackson White, Colin Woodell and Olivia Stambouliah are joining Michael Bay’s Endeavor Content-Universal action thriller Ambulance, we have learned.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has ordered a new one-hour drama series from Martin Gero and Brendan Gall, Variety has learned exclusively.The six-episode series is titled “Breathe.” When a small plane crashes in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, a lone woman must battle the elements and odds to survive.Gero and Gall are co-writing and executive producing the series, with Gero executive producing under his Quinn’s House Production company. Warner Bros.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSF Studios and sales banner REinvent have unveiled the trailer for “The Pact,” Bille August’s psychological drama based on real events in the life of Karen Blixen, the Danish author best known for her autobiographical novel “Out of Africa.”The film depicts Blixen’s tumultuous relationship with Thorkild Bjørnvig, a promising young poet, after she returned from Africa.

Annika Pham Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired from New Europe Film Sales the Norwegian animated feature “Christmas at Cattle Hill,“ which is produced by the leading animation studio Qvisten Animation (“In the Forest of Huckybucky,” “Louis & Lucas the Big Cheese Race”).The pick-up is the latest Nordic buy from the high-profile U.S.

Ann-Marie Corvin When Anders Thomas Jensen hit 45 years of age the “Adam’s Apple” and “Men & Chicken” director said he had a “minor breakdown,” questioning the point of his life and desperately searching for meaning.Channeling these feelings into the character of a military man with PTSD whose wife has just died in a train explosion that may not have been an accident was the start point of Jensen’s fifth feature as a director: a mid-life noir that straddles action, comedy and existential

Annika Pham Poland’s Opus Film (“Cold War,” “Ida”) and Scandinavian distributor Scanbox are teaming with fast-rising Danish production house Motor on Mads Hedegaard’s directorial debut “Stranger,” co-penned with Jesper Fink (“Margrete-Queen of the North,” “Before the Frost”). Tagged by Motor as “‘Apocalypto’ meets ‘The Revenant,’” “Stranger” will be pitched virtually on Feb.

Netflix has picked up the global SVOD rights to the Sundance documentary “Misha and the Wolves,” it was announced on Monday.In addition, Netflix will debut the film exclusively in North America and other markets.

Ed Meza @edmezavarNew York-based non-profit distributor Cinema Tropical has acquired North American rights to Brazilian documentary “My Darling Supermarket,” the debut feature by Tali Yankelevich.Cinema Tropical plans to release the film in virtual cinemas starting on Feb.

Annika Pham A record 500 delegates have signed up for Scandinavia’s leading TV drama confab, TV Drama Vision, which is set to unspool online over Feb. 3-4, parallel to Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival.Next to honorary guest – Danish writer-helmer Susanne Bier (“The Night Manager”, “The Undoing”), 30 keynote speakers will share their insights, business and creative tips on how to boost global industry resilience at a time of unprecedented challenges under COVID-19.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterArmie Hammer will no longer star in the upcoming Paramount Plus series “The Offer,” which tells the behind the scenes story of the making of “The Godfather,” Variety has learned from sources.It was announced in early December that Hammer was attached to lead the show in the role of Al Ruddy, who produced “The Godfather” back in 1972. The 10-episode series details Ruddy’s experience working on the iconic film.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSF Studios is teaming up with “Easy Money” screenwriter Maria Karlsson on “The Stockholm Bloodbath,” an epic film inspired by the true story of Kristina Gyllenstierna, a fearless woman who fought to protect Stockholm when the Danes invaded the city in 1520.