Sky Unveils Benito Mussolini Drama Series ‘M. Son of the Century’

NEW YORK -- On a trip to New York in the early 1970s, Robert Evans, the former head of Paramount, discovered a dead rat in his hotel room bed. According to the new Paramount+ series “ The Offer, ” this was not an unfortunate travel experience that today would result in a scathing Yelp review, but a warning from the mafia.Crime boss Joseph Colombo believed Mario Puzo's book “The Godfather” was an insult to Italian Americans and did not want Paramount to adapt it for the big screen.The scene is both horrifying and hilarious as Matthew Goode as Evans high-tails it out of town, after ordering the movie's producer, Al Ruddy (played by Miles Teller), to make it right.What's revealed in the 10-episodes of “The Offer,” debuting April 28, is that pressure from the mafia was just one of many hurdles that Ruddy, Evans and other players navigated to get the movie made.“I couldn’t believe some of the stories," said Goode.Adds Patrick Gallo, who plays Puzo: “if you love the film, you’re not going to believe the kinds of things that went into making it."Although the “The Godfather” is an extreme example, Colin Hanks, who plays one of the suits at Paramount’s then owner, Gulf + Western, says “The Offer” provides a window into just how hard it is to make anything in Hollywood.“It’s an interesting show for the people that have watched ‘The Godfather’ and love ‘The Godfather’ because obviously they’re going to know locations, they’re going to know characters, and there’s going to be some insight into the making of the film.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s True Colours has taken world sales on Italian director Mario Martone’s Cannes competition entry “Nostalgia,” starring Pierfrancesco Favino, who is known to Cannes audiences as the protagonist of Marco Bellocchio’s 2019 drama “The Traitor.”Set in Martone’s native Naples, “Nostalgia” sees Favino play the middle-aged Felice Lasco, who returns to the bustling port city after having lived in Egypt for 40 years. Once back, he drowns into the memories of a distant life he spent in hometown.Martone will be returning to a Cannes competition berth with “Nostalgia” 27 years after his Elena Ferrante adaptation “L’amore molesto” (“Troubling Love”) launched in competition from the Croisette in 1995.

Holly Willoughby is regularly quizzed about where she got her latest dresses, skirts, or tops from as she appears on This Morning from Monday to Thursday. But with her new TV show, her looks are completely different to those seen on the ITV daytime show.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“Bosé,” the highly anticipated Paramount Plus Original, has wrapped production. The announcement comes as Paramount Plus has also confirmed the remainder of the internationally recognised cast of the six-part series, a biopic of Spanish singer-songwriter Miguel Bosé.Two behind-the-scenes images, shared in exclusivity with Variety, also hint at the production ambitions of the series, one of the biggest Spanish-language series to date at Paramount Plus, which turns on one of the most resonant figures in recent times in Spain.

Emilio Mayorga “Journey to Yourland,” “Lumières!” and “Sex Symbols” proved standouts  at Cartoon Next, a new event launched by European association Cartoon Media to explore the ever more hybrid reality of the animation industry as well as other current cutting edge trends.VR, Extended Reality (XR), cross-media and IP extensions were the event’s buzzwords.In a format similar to Cartoon Springboard, which focuses on a new generation of animators, at Next, creators and producers also pitch projects to a bevy of high-profile experts who offer suggestions on how to improve development or the titles’ completion.Among such experts at Cartoon Next’s inaugural edition were Japhet Asher­, founder of U.K. consultancy and IP creation company Polarity Reversal; Orion Ross, VP of original programming and animation at Disney EMEA; Aymeric Castaing, founder of French XR company  Umanimation; Luce Grosjean, who launched France’s Miyu Distribution, devoted to young talents and student films; producer Sébastien Onomo at France’s Special Touch Studios; and producer Anna Schur, head of content at Spanish gaming animation company ZeptoLab.

Jade Goody's son Bobby Brazier admits that he "doesn't miss" his late mum as he doesn't think he was with her "long enough" to develop a close bond.

Manori Ravindran International EditorItalian dictator Benito Mussolini’s rise to power will be chronicled in a new Sky drama, Variety can reveal.Based on Antonio Scurati’s Premio Strega-winning and international bestselling novel “M. Son of the Century,” which traces the birth of fascism in Italy and Mussolini’s ascent, the eight-part series will be produced by Sky Studios and Fremantle-backed The Apartment in collaboration with Pathé.The show will cover the period spanning from the founding of Fasci Italiani in 1919 through to Mussolini’s infamous speech in parliament following the murder of socialist MP Giacomo Matteotti in 1925.

Walter Iuzzolino’s Eagle Eye Drama and Beta Film’s Hotel Portofino has been commissioned for a second series.

Andrea Denver is looking back at the explosive fight between his Summer House co-stars Danielle Olivera and Ciara Miller.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has your first look at the film Across the River and Into the Trees, starring six-time Golden Globe nominee Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan), which is opening the Sun Valley Film Festival on March 30.

Paramount International boss Raffaele Annecchino has talked up the streamer for “launching quicker than others” in key European markets, as he unveiled a tied-up with global Lupin and Narcos production house Gaumont and set titles from France, Argentina and Germany.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentLess than two years after joining France Televisions, former Canal Plus executive Manuel Alduy has contributed to bolstering the French public broadcaster’s roster of international series with shows such as “Bardot,” a mini-series biopic of Brigitte Bardot, and “L’Insoumise” about Alice Guy, the first female filmmaker ever. Ahead of France Televisions’ press conference at Series Mania, Alduy said the broadcaster’s first-look initiative with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has yielded several prestige projects, including “Bardot.” The EBU represents 113 organizations across the 56 countries, including the BBC in the U.K., ARD in Germany, DR in Denmark, SVT in Sweden, Rai in Italy and the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.