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Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean sales firm Finecut has inked multiple deals for horror thriller “Noise” and for “A Traveler’s Needs,” the recent Berlin prize-winner directed by Hong Sangsoo.“Noise” is a “multi-sensory and realistic horror” film that intertwines societal motifs of “floor noise” with suspenseful elements. Directed by Kim Soo-jin, the film centers around a woman with a hearing aid haunted by inexplicable sounds linked to her sister’s disappearance in her own apartment and attracting a malevolent presence.

Christopher Vourlias Ukrainian production powerhouse Film.UA is developing a bone-chilling slate of horror films all set within the same cinematic universe, the company revealed exclusively to Variety on the eve of this year’s Cannes Marché du Film. Steeped in local folklore and delving into the rituals, sorcery and mysticism that are woven into the fabric of Ukrainian culture and mythology, the films will transport viewers into a realm where ancient powers stir and darkness reigns, unspooling stories that are rooted in historical and cultural facts and set against the backdrop of current events.

A Scots mum has told how she was made to feel like a 'hypochondriac' when seeking a diagnosis for an invisible condition that led her to retire in her 40s.

A man was left with 'life-changing injuries' after a horror stabbing outside a pub in Middleton. The victim, aged in his 20s, was found injured along Market Place, beside the Assheton Arms Hotel on Tuesday night (May 7).

EXCLUSIVE: The in-demand Sydney Sweeney, coming off hit rom-com Anyone But You and horror pic Immaculate, is shifting gears again as she is set to portray trailblazing boxer Christy Martin in a new biopic which could be a knockout for buyers at the Cannes market where Black Bear will be launching.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has set the producers and producing teams invited to join the PGA Create lab for emerging and mid-career creative producers.

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: 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.

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.

K.J. Yossman Israel’s leading documentary co-production market CoPro is set to return next month for its 26th edition in a hybrid format amidst the ongoing war in the region.

Naman Ramachandran British boxing champion and “Love Island” runner-up Tommy Fury will make his acting debut with Oceana Studios‘ “The Debt Inherited.” The film also marks the directorial debut of Oceana CEO Danny Sawaf. Dubai-based distribution and production outfit Oceana, whose credits include “Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend,” starring Gabriel Byrne and Mira Sorvino, “Monstrous,” starring Christina Ricci, and “Terrifier 2,” will launch sales on “The Debt Inherited” at the Cannes Film Market.

Naman Ramachandran Revenues at Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group, a media giant which owns Fremantle, rose 2.6% to €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion), for the first quarter of 2024, driven by buoyant TV advertising and streaming. However, this was offset by decreased revenues at the group’s global content business. Fremantle revenues were down 9.2% to €395 million (Q1/2023: €435 million), due to what RTL describes as “timing effects in the U.K., Italy and Germany.” “Revenue from Fremantle is recognized when a show or series is delivered to its clients, i.e.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Playmaker has signed with Neopol Film to handle international sales for their upcoming creature horror thriller, “Paws.” Featuring polar bear creature animatronics from the renowned studio behind “Star Wars” and “Jurassic World,” the film tells the story of a climate researcher stranded in the Arctic who must forge an unlikely alliance with a polar bear in order to survive. The project will feature a stellar international cast, yet to be announced.

J. Kim Murphy Ricky Strauss is exiting from his role as head of marketing at Apple TV+ after leading the department for nearly a year and a half. An Apple spokesperson confirmed Strauss would be stepping down from his Culver City-based role.

Ricky Strauss is leaving Apple TV+ after a 16-month stint as Head of Marketing.

BBC Breakfast host Ben Thompson has announced that World Business News is being cancelled by the BBC News channel after more than 30 years. On Tuesday 7 May, he presented the morning edition of the show and revealed it would be the final one. “Before we go, some news about us,” he said.

EXCLUSIVE: We understand Dwayne Johnson is due to be at the Cannes market next week to discuss upcoming A24 wrestling pic The Smashing Machine with potential buyers.

Universal Pictures presentation and Donna Langley — chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and the newly minted chief content officer of NBCUniversal Studio Group — had yet to step on stage. Her team showed off glimpses of the sexy, action-packed tornado sequel “Twisters,” the Gen Z-leaning creepfest “Nosferatu” from Robert Eggers and an extended sequence from the latest installment of Illumination’s “Despicable Me” series.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Audiences may not be the only thing about TV that continues to shrink. Advertisers are expected to once again press for “rollbacks,” or declines in the rates they pay for reaching streaming and TV viewers, in early “upfront” talks with TV networks, according to five media buying executives and other people familiar with these annual discussions in which U.S. media companies try to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory ahead of their next cycle of programming.

Fireworks at Disney’s first-quarter earnings amid a bitter proxy fight quieted down in the second and the company’s commentary on a call today, especially around the parks business, generated some investor angst and knocked the stock lower.

EXCLUSIVE: Shark in the water! The third installment in the hit shark thriller franchise 47 Meters Down is launching at the Cannes market.

Before its debut presentation to ad buyers during the mid-May week of top-tier media and tech pitches, Amazon Ads is rolling out three new streaming video ad formats.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Olivia Colman and John Lithgow head the cast of “Jimpa,” a multi-generational family tale involving a nonbinary teenager and her mother who take a trip to see their gay grandfather. The Australia- and Europe-set film is directed by Sophie Hyde, whose most recent film was the breakout “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.” The film is now in its third week of production in Amsterdam and will later shoot in Adelaide, Australia and Helsinki, Finland. Rights to the film are being handled by Protagonist Pictures in much of the world and by CAA Media Finance in North America, with sales kicking off at the Cannes Market next week.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The video-on-demand streaming sector in Southeast Asia delivered record subscription numbers and subscription revenues in the first quarter of the year, according to a new study. Those trends represent recovery after a tough 2023. Data from consultancy firm Media Partners Asia and its AMPD research affiliate showed VOD usage at a barely changed 96.3 minutes in the five Southeast Asian countries studied (Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia). Total paying subscriptions reached 48.5 million, representing net additions of 652,000 quarter-on-quarter and 1.6 million year-on-year.

look? Of course you were. But could you have imagined the beaded Tom Ford ensemble she ended up wearing? Impossible.Ora took a Biblical approach to the night's “Garden of Time” dress code, wearing strings of multi-colored beads over a sheer nude bodysuit. It's giving check out time at the Garden of Eden.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Roadmap Writers, a screenwriting education and training platform based in Los Angeles, is partnering with Hollywood producer Barry Josephson to identify short stories fit for film and television adaptation. The competition, open now and running through June 14, seeks commercial-leaning work and carries a cash prize of $7,000. The top three stories will be published on Roadmap Writers.

Naman Ramachandran Documentary short “Alt Shift Life,” by Oscar nominee Laura Checkoway (“Edith+Eddie”) will premiere during the Tribeca Film Festival in June. The film examines the impact of AI on the modern job market and rather than evoking fear as some portrayals of AI do, it provides a perspective of hope for individuals navigating the competitive landscape. To illustrate this the film uses the prism of ServiceNow’s RiseUp program that empowers diverse talents to secure career opportunities.

EXCLUSIVE: The Latino Film Institute has set its lineup for the 23rd Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, which will take place from May 29th through June 2nd at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood.

EXCLUSIVE: Political drama-thriller Words Of War, led by an ensemble including Maxine Peake, Ciarán Hinds, and Jason Isaacs, is heading to this month’s Cannes Market. 

Samuel L. Jackson (Captain Marvel) and Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) are set to lead thriller Head Games, to be directed by Anthony Mandler (Monster) from a script written by Colin Liddle (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels).

Naman Ramachandran Raven Banner Entertainment will launch international sales at the Cannes Film Market for Steven Kostanski‘s latest feature “Frankie Freako.” Kostanski’s previous feature “Psycho Goreman” premiered at SXSW in 2020 and gathered a cult following worldwide. Reviewing the film for Variety, critic Owen Gleiberman described the film as “‘The Toxic Avenger’ remade by the Robert Rodriguez of ‘Spy Kids.'” “Frankie Freako” is described by Raven Banner as Kostanki’s homage to the practical-FX-driven monster horror-comedies of the 1980s like “Gremlins 2” and “Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go to College.” It tells the story of workaholic yuppie Conor Sweeney (“The Editor,” “Father’s Day”) whose perfect life is turned upside down when he accidentally unleashes a trio of tiny trouble-makers into his home, led by the maniacal rock-n-roll party monster Frankie Freako.

Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert.com has revealed a way for Tesco shoppers to bag up to £50 in bonus Clubcard points.Tesco is testing out a new "Clubcard Challenges" promotion, where customers can earn extra points by completing certain tasks. These could include spending £20 on the Summer barbecue range over six weeks or buying £10 worth of plant-based meals. If you're selected to participate, you'll be presented with 20 challenges - but you only need to complete 10 to secure the maximum £50 worth of additional Clubcard points.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Nora Arnezeder (“The Famous Five”) and Maria Bello (“A History of Violence”) are set to co-star in “Hell in Paradise,” a female-powered thriller inspired by a true story and produced by EuropaCorp’s Virginie Silla (“Dogman”). Penned by Karine Silla (“A Butterfly Kiss”), “Hell in Paradise” revolves around Nina, a young French girl who leaves her native Marseille and accepts her first job as a receptionist at a luxurious hotel resort on a magnificent island of the Maldives, hoping for a better life.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China- and Netherlands-based sales firm Fortissimo Films has picked up the international rights to new Chinese sports feature film “Wild Punch.” It will launch the film in territories outside mainland China next week at the Cannes Market. Co-directed by well-established director Yu Lik-wai and Wang Jing (“The Best Is Yet to Come”), “Wild Punch is a sports and action drama about a top mixed martial arts athlete who has passed the peak of his career and faces competition from his young and gifted trainee. Both with something to prove, the two will have to face each other in the ring. Yu has directed four feature films, including Cannes competition title “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and Venice title “Plastic City.” He is also well-established as a cinematographer who has worked on films including “Still Life,” “A Touch of Sin,” and “Mountains May Depart” by Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye’s “Love and Bruises” and Ann Hui’s “A Simple Life.” “Wild Punch” is produced by Momo Pictures, the subsidiary of the NASDAQ-listed Zhiwen Group, which is best-known for its Momo instant messaging mobile application.

After debuting early last weekend, Universal’s The Fall Guy expanded to 78 overseas markets during its sophomore session, adding $25.4M for a running total of $36.9M at the international box office. That’s in line with Bullet Train and above The Lost City at the same point in release. Globally, the David Leitch-directed action romance is at $65.4M.