Sony Classics Acquires Rights To Cannes Competition Title ‘Compartment No. 6’

Christopher Vourlias German sales outfit Patra Spanou Film has acquired the international sales rights to “Blue Moon,” the feature debut of Romanian director Alina Grigore, which will world premiere in main competition at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival.“Blue Moon” follows the psychological journey of a young woman, played by Ioana Chitu, who struggles to receive a higher education and escape her dysfunctional family.

Christopher Vourlias Memento International has acquired the international sales rights to “Captain Volkonogov Escaped,” from Russian writing and directing duo Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov, which will world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, Variety can reveal.The film tells the story of the titular Captain Volkonogov, a well-respected and obedient law enforcer in the former Soviet Union, who witnesses his colleagues being suspiciously questioned.

Sony Pictures Classics has taken North America, Thailand, France, and China rights to Craig Roberts’ The Phantom of the Open.

EXCLUSIVE:  Brian and Mark Gunn are set to adapt the screenplay for Sony Pictures and Escape Artists’ The Kaiju Score based on the AfterShock Comics’ series by James Patrick and artist Rem Broo.

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures International Productions has acquired global remake rights to Price Of Parenting (Mes très chers enfants), the upcoming French comedy directed by Alexandra Leclère, whose credits include the French box office hits The Price To Pay and The Roommates Party.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music Group will acquire the assets of 12Tone Music, the label founded by industry veteran Doug Morris after he stepped down as CEO of Sony Music, the companies announced Tuesday (July 20).Founded in 2018 and most recently distributed by Warner’s independent label and artists services arm ADA, 12Tone’s catalog and roster include artists such as Aftermath’s four-time Grammy winner Anderson .Paak, country legend Dolly Parton, the 88 Rising collective

EXCLUSIVE: Natalie Chaidez (The Flight Attendant, Queen of the South) has acquired the film and TV rights to Chicano writer Oscar “Zeta” Acosta’s novels Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo and The Revolt of the Cockroach People and will executive produce and supervise writing for an upcoming TV series.

“This stuff is junk, what we’re doing,” Bill Murray deadpans in the middle of “New Worlds: The Cradle of Civilization.” The live audience onscreen—a strange sight after a year and a half of social distancing and no live performances—laughs. Murray hams it up: “Is it too late to get some moussaka?” Then he smiles knowingly and nods.

Pat Saperstein Deputy EditorSony Pictures Classics announced Thursday it has acquired rights for North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East for “Compartment No. 6,” the Finnish film that premiered in competition in Cannes.Acquired from Totem Films, it’s the second feature directed by Juho Kuosmanen, and is based on the novel by Rosa Liksom.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSamuel Goldwyn Films has acquired all U.S. rights to Pan Nalin’s (“Samsara”) India-set tale “Last Film Show” which world premiered at Tribeca last month.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMubi, the London-based streamer and theatrical distributor, has acquired North America, U.K. and more territories on Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s “Lingui, The Sacred Bonds,” a highlight of the Cannes Film Festival competition.The powerful Chadian abortion drama has received unanimous critical praise and is being talked about as a potential Palme d’Or winner at the midpoint of the festival.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAsghar Farhadi, an Oscar winner for “A Separation” and “The Salesman,” is in Cannes with “A Hero,” the Iranian auteur’s fourth film to world premiere in the festival’s competition after “The Past,” “The Salesman” and Spanish-language “Everybody Knows.”“A Hero,” which sees Farhadi returning to filmmaking in Iran, is about a man named Rahim who is in prison because of an unpaid debt.

EXCLUSIVE: One of the longest ongoing creative partnerships between a showrunner and a studio is set to continue. Vince Gilligan, creator of the blockbuster Breaking Bad franchise, which has spawned two hit series and a movie, has re-upped his overall deal with Breaking Bad producer Sony Pictures Television.

Christopher Vourlias Three years after his musical drama “Leto” bowed on the Croisette, Kirill Serebrennikov returns to Cannes’ main competition with “Petrov’s Flu,” a deadpan, hallucinatory romp through a post-Soviet Russia in the grips of a mysterious flu epidemic. The acclaimed director spoke to Variety about living with fear and making the most out of solitude.How did you get involved with “Petrov’s Flu”? I was hired to write the script.

Norwegian actor Anders Danielsen Lie will be busy in Cannes with two films world premiering in Competition. It’s not a new phenomenon for onscreen talent to be supporting various movies, but Lie stands out as likely the only professional actor who will be heading to the Palais while taking time off from his other job as a full-time physician: the doctor has lately been working with the Covid-19 vaccination program in Oslo, and has for years straddled both callings.

Sony Pictures has landed an interesting and unorthodox lead for their latest kids’ movie that will take place in New York City and will have musical numbers.

annual event on the Riviera will file past a pair of sniffer dogs posted at the entrance to the Palais where screenings are held, Cannes town hall has said. The hounds handled by the local Municipal Police have been trained to detect Covid-19 through human sweat as part of a prevention program trialled in France.

Christopher Vourlias Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun returns to the sun-scrubbed Sahel region of West Africa for his latest feature, “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds,” which competes for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.Set on the outskirts of the capital city of N’Djamena, “Lingui” is the story of a single mother, Amina (Achouackh Abakar Souleymane), whose already fragile world threatens to collapse when she learns that her daughter, Maria (Rihane Khalil Alio Brahim), is pregnant — a

EXCLUSIVE: Redbox Entertainment has acquired the North American distribution rights to She Ball, a new film written, produced, and directed by Nick Cannon. The film will be simultaneously in theaters (20 total) and widely available On Demand including Redbox on August 6, 2021.