Showmax Sets First Original 2D Animated Series ‘Twende,’ Unveils Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Godzilla Minus One,” the biggest picture to date in the Japanese monster movie franchise and the Wednesday night closing gala title at the Tokyo International Film Festival, is set for pan-European release at the beginning of December. Rights were acquired for 38 territories (excluding the U.K., Ireland and German-speaking territories) by theatrical-only specialist distributor Piece of Magic Entertainment from Toho, the Japanese studio that controls the ‘kaiju’ franchise and distributes the picture in Japan from Nov.

Touring the world is part and parcel of every senior royal’s life, and King Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 76, have long been flying the flag for the UK and Commonwealth abroad. Despite both being at an age where they might want to put their feet up, they’re continuing their globetrotting adventures, exploring Kenya this week for their first long haul foreign visit of their reign.These tours are months - sometimes years - in the planning and are orchestrated down to the finest detail, from the minute-by-minute busy schedule to what needs to be brought along for the journey.

It’s not quite “Fight Club,” and it’s not quite “Toxic Masculinity: The Movie” or “Incels R Us,” but the new trailer for the film, “Manodrome” definitely seems like it’s trying to tap into the world of white men struggling emotionally and psychologically, coupled with issues of insecurity and powerlessness, who take the wrong lessons from their troubles and perhaps mental health worries. In “Manodrome,” by South African filmmaker John Trengove, known for “The Wound” and the TV series “Swartwater,” Academy Award-acclaimed actors Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”) and Adrien Brody (“The Pianist”), star in a thriller about one man’s desperate quest to reinvent himself, and his chilling descent into a world of destruction.

EXCLUSIVE: Hugo Weaving is leading Australian streamer Binge‘s first original film, How to Make Gravy.

UPDATE, 8 AM: Christian streamer Minno, along with Slingshot Productions, Sunrise Animation Studios and Angel Studios (The Chosen) have announced a fall release date for Young David, its original animated series about King David as a kid. 

Christopher Vourlias Amazon Prime Video and German broadcaster ARD have acquired the distribution rights to “The Morning After,” an eight-part dramedy series starring rising British actress Amara Okereke (“In the Lost Lands,” “Red Rose”), with principal photography now underway in Cape Town. Created by Thierry Cassuto and Karen Jeynes (“Recipes for Love and Murder,” “Puppet Nation”) and set in Cape Town, the show stars Okereke as a young, aspiring singer from the U.K.

Earlier this summer, Trevor Noah signed a deal with Spotify to host a weekly podcast series. The former host of The Daily Show is launching What Now? with Trevor Noah and it’s exec produced by Ben Winston, former co-showrunner of rival late-night show The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Stars of two Netflix sports series will face off in The Netflix Cup, the streamer’s first live sports event, at a match play tournament next month at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.

Naman Ramachandran Classic cult film streamer Cultpix has signed a content rights partnership with the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI), formerly known as the Taiwan Film Institute. The agreement, the fast-growing streamer’s 50th, will kick off with two films, “The Fantasy of the Deer Warrior” (1961) and “The Bride Who Returned from Hell” (1965), which have both been digitally restored by the TFAI. The partnership was revealed at the ongoing Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France.

“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” wasn’t a box office banger, but the Toronto-set comic book movie eventually got a lot of attention post-release thanks to the popular manga it was based on, a fun soundtrack, and a visually striking throwback tie-in brawler video game.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief India’s Yash Raj Films has set a mid-November release date through the Diwali holidays for “Tiger 3,” its anticipated spy-action film starring Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi. Holiday complexities have caused the company to devise what it called a “strategic and unique release plan.” Having previously only released teaser footage, YRF has now also unveiled a full trailer. Unusually, the film will open in Indian and international theaters on a Sunday – Nov. 12 – the first day of Diwali. “2023 is the year of ‘Adhik Maas’ which has led to complications regarding festival dates.

Amber Dowling “Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent” announced the cast for its initial season at MIPCOM on Monday, confirming six full-time leads for the Canadian iteration of the longest-running scripted drama brand in TV history. The all-Canadian cast includes Aden Young (“Rectify”) as Det. Sgt.

Prime Video today released the official Season 2 trailer for Robert Kirkman‘s adult animated superhero series Invincible from Skybound Entertainment. It was unveiled during Saturday’s Prime Video New York Comic Con panel, along with an exclusive episode clip, and a series conversation with executive producer, co-creator and co-showrunner Kirkman and co-showrunner and executive producer Simon Racioppa.

The animated detective story Grimsburg, starring and executive produced by Jon Hamm (Mad Men), will premiere live to all time zones on Sunday, January 7, immediately following the Fox NFL doubleheader.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Broadcasters in France, Germany and Italy have joined forces on “The Emperor’s Stone: The Search of La Buse’s Treasure,” a family adventure series which will be produced under the Alliance, a partnership formed in 2018 by leading European pubcasters to finance ambitious, internationally-driven series. Commissioned by France Télévisions, ZDF and RAI, “The Emperor’s Stone: The Search of La Buse’s Treasure” won the call for projects launched in 2022 by the Alliance.

Ben Croll Introduced last year, MIA’s dedicated animation program heads into its sophomore edition with a more firmly entrenched industry position and a resoundingly global outlook. With the program scaffolding already in place, MIA curators spent the past year shoring up support and scouting for projects at key markets in Berlin, Cannes and Annecy, resulting in a program of roughly 30 co-production pitch projects and works-on-progress that altogether spans more than 40 countries.

EXCLUSIVE: Rising British actress Leo Hatton has inked with Artists First for management.

Anna Marie de la Fuente This is Why Cinema and Inna Payán’s Animal de Luz Films have licensed drama “Todo el silencio” (“All the Silence”) to Prime Video. This follows that of Animal de Luz’s licensing of Katina Medina Mora’s “Latido” (“Heartbeat”) to the giant platform. “All the Silence” marks the debut feature of award-winning theater director Diego del Rio, based on a screenplay by “La Jaula de Oro” writer, Lucia Carreras.

Naman Ramachandran A first trailer has been unveiled for Bangladeshi filmmakers Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Nusrat Imrose Tisha‘s “Something Like an Autobiography.” The film has its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival, where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. The film follows Dhaka-based married couple, the filmmaker Farhan (Farooki) and actor Tithi (Tisha), who are under societal pressure to have a baby. Tithi conceives and towards the end of her pregnancy term an incident occurs that throws into sharp relief some realities of contemporary Bangladeshi society.

Naman Ramachandran Speciality distributor Cosmic Cat has set U.K. release dates for documentary “Cassius X: Becoming Ali.” The film follows the early years of Cassius Clay, from a bright-eyed rookie boxer from Louisville, Kentucky, to world heavyweight champion and from working class intellectual to one of America’s most influential civil rights campaigners. The film reveals how the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, reinforced by a friendship with revolutionary preacher, Malcolm X, set Clay on the journey to become Cassius X, before his induction to the Nation of Islam and ascension to the name of Muhammad Ali.