Shania Twain on Officially Becoming a Barbie, After Having to Choose Between Guitars and Dolls as a Child

Manchester City's preparations to face Arsenal this weekend have suffered another setback with news of a fifth player withdrawing from international duty.

Steve Clarke won’t throw the baby out with the bathwater after a Dutch drubbing as he looks to earn a first win in seven games when Northern Ireland visit Hampden for a friendly.

Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 had a rock ‘em sock ‘em weekend at the international box office, adding $55.3M from 69 markets for a $135M overseas running cume, and $268.2M global (there are several key markets still to release, including France, Australia, the UK and Korea). 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Just a few weeks after the death of its creator Akira Toriyama, the world’s first theme park dedicated to the “Dragon Ball” universe of comics, movies, and games is set to be built in Saudi Arabia. The “Dragon Ball” park, centred around the world of Son Goku – the young boy with supernatural martial arts powers on a journey to collect seven magical orbs that elicit a wish-granting dragon – will be built in Qiddiya, the entertainment and tourism project outside the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the Qiddiya Investment Company and Toei Animation announced on Friday.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Filmmaker duo Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero have signed with CAA. Valadez and Rondero co-directed and co-wrote “Sujo,” which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize for World Dramatic competition. The film currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Manchester United have already started looking at possible options for Casemiro who could depart the club in the summer, and Joao Gomes has emerged as a potential replacement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Miyazaki Hayao’s “The Boy and the Heron,” which recently won the Oscar for best animated feature film, will head to global streaming giant Netflix later this year, excluding the U.S. and Japan. The hand-drawn, critically acclaimed fantasy adventure film is part of a renewed worldwide catalog deal between Netflix and the Japanese producer Studio Ghibli, sales agent Goodfellas and independent distributor GKids.

EXCLUSIVE: Artist International Group has signed Swedish actor, screenwriter and producer Alexander Karim for management.

With a solid offshore hold, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is closing in on $500M globally. The overseas weekend brought in $51.2M across 73 markets, a 40% drop versus last session (-37% excluding China). The international box office cume through Sunday is $289.4M, and worldwide the running total is $494.7M. The latter figure means the film has already surpassed Villeneuve’s 2021 Dune worldwide.

Liverpool are preparing for their FA Cup tie against Manchester United today, but they'll be doing so without several key players due to injury.

Bruno Fernandes has heaped praise on Marco Reus following Borussia Dortmund's win over PSV Eindhoven. The 34-year-old midfielder fired his side into the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday night with a brilliant effort in stoppage time.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Memento International has closed a raft of deals on “Fremont,” a critically acclaimed film starring Anaita Wali Zada, an Afghan refugee and first-time actor, and featuring “The Bear” actor Jeremy Allen White. Directed by BAFTA-nominated Iranian-born director Babak Jalali, the black-and-white movie tells the story of Donya, a young woman working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in the San Francisco bay. Formerly a translator for the U.S.

Michael Douglas, Kyle MacLachlan, Ella Purnell and Daniel Brühl are among the high-caliber stars who will take part in the 7th edition of Canneseries. The robust lineup, unveiled today by Canneseries’ artistic director Albin Lewi at a press conference in Paris, boasts the world premiere of Apple TV+’s “Franklin,” starring Michael Douglas as one of the Founding Fathers, and Disney +’s “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” with Daniel Brühl as the acid-tongued designer.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Media and entertainment powerhouse Banijay has launched joint venture Dynamic Ally Pictures in Germany, further expanding its scripted capacity in the country. The Berlin-based production company, founded and led by “Helgoland 513” executive producers Veronica Priefer and Johannes Kunkel, is dedicated to developing, packaging and distributing scripted content for the German and international market.

Banijay Germany has taken another step into the scripted market by launching a joint venture with the executive producers behind Helgoland 513.

Sandra Hüller (a Best Actress nominee) and Christian Friedel, stars of Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest — nominated for Best Picture, Best International Picture, Director, Sound, and Adapted Screenplay — are familiar with Shakespeare’s famous verse from Hamlet: ”All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players …” That’s because both thespians have been playing the Danish prince on stages around Germany for years.

Manchester United are considering a swoop for £60million-valued Juventus defender Bremer this summer. That's according to reports from Il Bianconero as the Premier League giants mull over potential replacements for former Real Madrid superstar Raphael Varane - on the proviso he leaves Old Trafford.

Manchester United are interested in Royal Antwerp midfielder Mandela Keita, it is claimed.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Following its world premiere in the competition section of the Berlin Film Festival, Beta Cinema has revealed first sales across Europe and to Australia and New Zealand for Andreas Dresen’s “From Hilde, With Love.” The drama about anti-Nazi activists in Berlin, which is led by “Babylon Berlin’s” Liv Lisa Fries and introduces Johannes Hegemann in his first big screen appearance, will be released in France by Haut et Court, in Italy by Teodora and throughout Scandinavia by Angel Films. Beta Cinema also closed deals for Benelux (September Film), Portugal (Outsider), former Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Cirko) and Czech Republic (Film Europe). Palace Film picked up the film for Australia and New Zealand.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Sundance queer drama “Sebastian,” directed by up-and-coming Finnish-British director Mikko Mäkelä, has been bought by Kino Lorber for U.S. distribution, along with a string of international buyers. Represented in international markets by LevelK, the film made its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.