Saudi Director Tawfik Alzaidi Talks ‘Mad Max 2’ Influence As He Arrives In Cannes With Ground-Breaking Film ‘Norah’

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Talpa Studios, the company founded by “The Voice” and “Big Brother” creator John de Mol, has recommissioned its hit reality show “Million Dollar Island” for new seasons in the Middle East and the Netherlands, produced at Saudi Arabia’s innovative Neom production hub. The upcoming seasons, respectively titled “Million Dollar Land” for Middle East broadcaster MBC and “Million Dollar Desert” for NET5 in the Netherlands, will be executive produced at Neom by Dubai-based Blue Engine Studios.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” surpassed the $100 million mark globally in its first weekend of release. The fourth installment in Sony’s buddy cop comedy series, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, has collected $104.6 million, including $48.6 million at the international box office. Moviegoers have embraced Smith’s first major film since he assaulted Chris Rock on stage at the 2022 Oscars, though it helped that he returned to theaters with a franchise that has endured over 30 years.

Refresh for latest…: Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die pummeled pre-weekend opening projections, coming in with a $104.6M global bow, including $48.6M from the international box office. While the overseas debut is slightly off 2020’s Bad Boys for Life which did $50.3M in like-for-like offshore markets at today’s exchange rates, that film had strong legs. Either way, Ride or Die‘s start gave some much needed oomph to summer turnstiles. Its launch is 58% bigger than Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Manchester City’s decision to hand Stefan Ortega a new contract casts fresh doubt on Ederson’s Etihad future as the Blues head into what could be an intriguing summer transfer window.

With legacy sequels being all the rage in Hollywood, it’s within reason to imagine that perhaps a world exists where George Miller asks Mel Gibson to return for a new ‘Mad Max’ film in the future. If “Ghostbusters” can do it, so can ‘Mad Max.’ Well, there’s one problem, though–George Miller hasn’t thought about what an elderly Max would be like.

Cristiano Ronaldo has asked Manchester United for a favour following Al-Nassr's defeat to Al-Hilal on penalties in the King Cup of Champions final. The 39-year-old striker was heartbroken and broke down in tears as he ended his second season in Saudi Arabia without any silverware.

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo roams the forest searching for his next victim while discussing “In A Violent Nature.” The movie follows a resurrected killer through the woods as he stalks his victims, all while searching for his stolen necklace.

While some might have predicted it, you wouldn’t be wrong in saying that most people were surprised at the low box office debut for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” The film has made approximately $33 million over the four-day holiday weekend, which is one of the worst Memorial Weekend debuts in decades. That would seemingly stop all discussion about more ‘Mad Max’ films in the near future, which means ‘The Wasteland’ might not ever see the light of day.

according to The Numbers.The Post called the movie, which is both a spin-off and prequel to 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” and stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, “a brutal, exhilarating quest for revenge.”Since it is expected to earn between $31 and $33 million over the four-day holiday weekend, it appears that “Furiosa” will take the title of lowest Memorial Day opening in 41 years, according to Deadline.“The Garfield Movie,” which also opened on Friday, landed in second place with $8.4 million in sales.The New York Times called the animated adventure comedy “an inert adaptation that mostly tries to skate by on its namesake.”The character of Garfield is voiced by Chris Pratt, which the New York Times also bashed as “an overly spunky casting choice that was doomed from the start.”The live-action fantasy comedy “If,” which was in first place last Friday, its first day in theaters, took third place, with earnings of $4.3 million.The movie, which centers around a young girl who sees others’ imaginary friends, marks the first time real-life husband and wife Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds starred in the same movie since 2011’s “Green Lantern.”Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which was in second place last week, slid down to fourth, with a $3.4 million take.The action comedy “Fall Guy,” which was in fourth place last week, moved down a notch to fifth, taking in $1.6 million.

It has been a big week for the beloved 1964 musical, The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the 1964 Palme d’Or and went on to international acclaim and five Oscar nominations, plus served as one of the key inspirations for Damien Chazelle’s Oscar winning La La Land.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga roared through Cannes before it launches in theaters Friday after nearly 10 years in development. The prequel film builds on the Australian wasteland universe established in George Miller‘s four other movies of the franchise: Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

The Directors Guild of America is standing in solidarity with Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof who had fled authoritarian Iran, and is currently at the Cannes Film Festival with his competition title The Seed of the Sacred Fig.

Jack Dunn In 2023, Saudi Arabian film agency Film AlUla formed AlUla Creates, a local initiative that provides funding, mentorship and networking opportunities for Saudi filmmakers and fashion designers. And in just one year, AlUla Creates has exploded into a global brand, already hosting 123 international productions in the scenic valleys of AlUla, Saudi Arabia. “We call it a living museum,” said marketing director at Film AlUla Mahsa Motamedi.

seven children at the premiere of his new Western movie, “Horizon: An American Saga” at the Cannes Film Festival. Costner, 69, was joined at the event Sunday by his daughters Annie, 40, Lily, 37, and Grace, 13, and his sons Cayden, 17, and Hayes, 15.His sons Joe, 36, and Liam, 26, were missing from the family reunion.Costner shares his three oldest kids with his first wife, Cindy Silva, whom he was married to from 1978 to 1994.

Naman Ramachandran Oscar-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and Grammy-winning composer A.R. Rahman, veteran producer Bobby Bedi and the Technicolor Group have unveiled a film project based on Middle Eastern wit Mulla Nasruddin at the Cannes Film Festival. Also known as Nasreddin Hodja, Nasruddin was a 13th century folklore character from what is now Turkey, known for his pithy wit and humorous wisdom.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent A new Saudi Arabian film studio with deep pockets and Hollywood connections is launching from the Cannes Film Festival with a slate of film and TV projects. The Los Angeled-based 3SIX9 Studios – announced at an event on a yacht in the bay of Cannes – is co-founded by actor and producer Daya Fernández, who serves as CEO; Inga V.

Imagine a film where Cate Blanchett plays a version of Angela Merkel. And Charles Dance is a Joe Biden parody in full British accent.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Variety will present a Women in Cinema Panel at the Cannes Film Festival in tandem with the Red Sea International Film Festival featuring top talents from Egypt, India, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Senegal. The panel will take place at La Plage Des Palmes on Saturday, May 18, at 12pm CET.

It’s a momentous Cannes for Cairo-based film professionals Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab as they mark the 15th anniversary of the creation of marketing and distribution company MAD Solutions and the 10th anniversary of spin-off the Arab Cinema Center (ACC).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia leads this year’s Arab cinema contingent at Cannes with pioneering director Tawfik Alzaidi’s “Norah” launching internationally from Un Certain Regard plus a clutch of films in other sections by directors from Egypt, Palestine and Morocco. They collectively reflect both the vibrancy and the many hurdles that filmmakers face in the region.