deadline.com - 83 950 Showbiz News and Updates

After 2017’s masterful War of the Planet of the Apes, which completed the trilogy that started with 2011’s Rise and 2014’s Dawn and told the epic story of wise leader Caesar and the apes who created this whole new world, I really thought there was nowhere else to go with this franchise that had itself started so brilliantly in 1968 with the original starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut who lands in this futuristic world dominated by intelligent apes. Many other iterations would come, even a side foray by Tim Burton, but it was that most recent trilogy (the first directed by Rupert Wyatt, the final two by Matt Reeves) that really popped. But being box office successes, 20th Century’s new owner Disney knew there was more to be mined, and they were right.

Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison as well as flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property, his lawyer Babak Paknia announced in a post on X on Wednesday.

EXCLUSIVE: Ron Perlman and Rupert Everett have signed to co-star in Thomas Michael’s upcoming romantic dramedy Out Late revolving around the unlikely romance between a macho, blue-collar Italian widower and a retired dancer.

A Tony Awards simulcast event called Broadway Fanfare will take place outdoors at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park during the awards ceremony on Sunday, June 16.

Saturday Night Live‘s Mikey Day understands why Heidi Gardner couldn’t get through last month’s now infamous Beavis and Butt-Head sketch: His Butt-Head face was just too much to take in all at once.

EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of her acclaimed directorial debut Passing, Rebecca Hall has found her next filmmaking vehicle in Four Days Like Sunday, a mother-daughter drama inspired by her own history, which she’s written to direct and will star in for See-Saw Films.

EXCLUSIVE: Lizzy Greene (A Million Little Things) is set to star in and executive-produce High Tide, a survival thriller that strands a group of friends on a swiftly submerging tidal island deep in the Pacific, where they are soon hunted by the ocean’s greatest predator.

EXCLUSIVE: Afghan Star is a music talent format that ran for 15 seasons in Afghanistan and shephered in a cultural revolution in the country. Launched four years after the fall of the Taliban, the series searched for talented singers before it was canceled when the Taliban regained power and banned music.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) will re-team with his Unhinged director Derrick Borte on the action-thriller Bear Country.

Television Academy chair Cris Abrego announced on Wednesday his appointees to the Television Academy Executive Committee for 2024.

Baby Reindeer‘s real-life Martha will have her say on the Netflix series in a YouTube interview.

Disney+ series Movingand historical action film 12:12: The Day took home the top prizes at the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards, one of Korea‘s most prestigious entertainment award ceremonies.

EXCLUSIVE: Babylon Berlin star Lars Eidinger is leading futuristic romance movie Behind the Knothole, with producers seeking financing at Cannes.

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the upcoming sports streaming venture with Disney/ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery is forging ahead with over 150 engineers now on board dedicated “to building a unique and innovative product” for sports fans outside the traditional cable bundle.

A first-look at the upcoming Apple limited series Lady in the Lake has been released (above) and viewers won’t have to wait too long to see the drama. The seven-part series will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, July 19 followed by new episodes every Friday through August 23.

EXCLUSIVE: Toronto-based genre sales specialist Raven Banner has added Neon Noir horror pics Brute 1976 and Garden of Eden to its Cannes Film Market slate.

EXCLUSIVE: Award-winning Star Wars VFX veteran Joseph Kasparian, whose recent credits include The Mandalorian and Andor, is joining Montreal-based VFX studio RodeoFX in the role of Executive Visual Effects Supervisor.

EXCLUSIVE: Production, finance, and sales company Panorama Motion Pictures will make its Cannes market debut with a slate of projects from Catalyst Studios and other independent producers.

EXCLUSIVE: Pack One Bag is a new podcast documentary series that tells the story of two Italians married on the run escaping Mussolini’s “Racial Laws,” and the story of the family they left behind, fighting to survive the Nazi occupation of Rome.

Paramount+ with Showtime has renewed the series for a seventh season.

EXCLUSIVE: The Voice is headed to the metaverse. The international format is getting an immersive gaming experience that will accompany the TV singing competition format.

Rising Riyadh-based independent studio Telfaz11 and newly launched UK distribution label Metis Films are partnering to release Saudi hit Mandoob in the UK and Ireland.

Fox Corp. saw revenue dip for its fiscal third quarter as advertising slid on tough comps with the Super Bowl broadcast the year earlier.

Mubi has acquired worldwide rights for French director Coralie Fargeat’s English-language body horror movie The Substance ahead of its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival this month.

German TV presenter Stefan Raab is stepping back into the ring with the German boxing champion who broke his nose in a previous encounter 23 years ago.

North West, Broadway’s Heather Headley and Grammy winner Lebo M. have been added to the cast of Disney’s The Lion King 30th Anniversary – A Live-to-Film Concert Event, a musical concert set to run May 24-25 at the Hollywood Bowl.

Sheffield DocFest, the U.K.’s premiere nonfiction film festival, today revealed the full lineup for its 31st edition running June 12-17. Among the highlights: the world premiere of Tilda Swinton’s feature directorial debut, The Hexagonal Hive and a Mouse in a Maze, co-directed by Bartek Dziadosz.

EXCLUSIVE: The stars of the 1980 classic 9 to 5 will be reuniting on the red carpet in Hollywood.

European production and sales studio Vuelta Group has bought German producer Telepool from Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook.

German director Tom Tykwer has been named Managing Director of Babylon Berlin producer X Filme Creative Pool as part of a restructure that sees company co-founder Stefan Arndt step down.

French President Emmanuel Macron has clarified comments he made last year about Gérard Depardieu which seemed to suggest his support for the actor in the face of a tide of sexual assault accusations, which the latter has denied.

Isabelle Huppert has been named as jury president for the main competition of the 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival, running from 28 August to 7 September 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: Rising Brit actor Harry Lawtey (Industry), who will have a key role in upcoming sequel Joker: Folie A Deux, has been set to star as a young Richard Burton in UK feature Mr. Burton, which will also star BAFTA winner Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs. The Post Office) and Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown).

EXCLUSIVE: A new series-focused festival is set to hit the calendar this fall. 

Kate Winslet will be honored with the Munich International Film Festival’s CineMerit Award. The Oscar winner’s movie Lee will also have its European premiere at the Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Popular Channel 4 panel show 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown appears to be the latest to have been hit by the network’s slowdown.