Taskovski Acquires Locarno’s ‘Chocolate Mountain,’ Produced by Venice Winner Marco Visalberghi (EXCLUSIVE)

A24 is teaming up with filmmakers Max Eggers (The Lighthouse) and Sam Eggers (Olympia) — otherwise known as The Eggers Brothers —  on their feature directorial debut, The Front Room, a psychological horror pic that will star Brandy Norwood (Queens), Kathryn Hunter (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Andrew Burnap (Snow White) and Neal Huff (Waves).

Phil Spector.Titled Spector, the upcoming four-part series will explore his conviction for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson in 2009.One of the most influential music producers of the 20th century, Spector worked with everyone from The Beatles and John Lennon to the Ramones and Celine Dion, as well being the driving force behind many era-defining songs.An official description of the docuseries reads: “In the early hours of February 3rd, 2003, a 911 call was placed to the Alhambra, California Police Department reporting the fatal shooting of a woman. The location, an eccentric French chateau style mansion known as The Pyrenees Castle, was the home of legendary music producer Phil Spector.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian sales company True Colours has taken international sales on Venice Horizons opener “Princess,” a gritty drama about a young African sex trade victim, directed by Italian auteur Roberto De Paolis.De Paolis, whose 2017 debut “Pure Hearts” launched positively from Cannes, recently described the film to Variety as “the unfiltered story of a young Nigerian who prostitutes herself in Ostia, outside Rome, in a seaside pine forest.”“Princess” (see first-look trailer above) features Glory Kevin, a real victim of the sex trade, in the title role plus other non-professional actors with similar backgrounds. Rounding out the cast are Lino Musella (“The Young Pope”), Salvatore Striano (“Caesar Must Die”) and Maurizio Lombardi (“The New Pope”).

Mark Wright has laid down the rules of his new home after he and wife Michelle Keegan finally moved into the lavish £3.5 million Essex mansion. The couple, 35, have undergone two years of renovations on their sprawling pad, showing much of the process in footage on social media. Mark shared the first rule at the home to followers previously, as he revealed newly-fitted white carpets in a video.

William Earl “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa and producer Peter Safran have reteamed to develop a feature biopic about Duke Kahanamoku, the legendary Hawaiian Olympic swimmer who is widely credited with popularizing surfing as a sport.Momoa and Safran have teamed with producers Susan Miller Carlson and Eric Carlson of Carlson Company to bring Kahanamoku’s story to the screen. Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, known for penning “Conviction,” a 2018 Black List selection, is at work on the script.Kahanamoku was the subject of the “American Masters” documentary “Waterman — Duke: Ambassador of Aloha” that debuted on PBS in May and was narrated by Momoa, a fellow Hawaiian.Kahanamoku was a five-time Olympic medalist who broke records as a champion swimmer.

EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to the edge-of-your-seat documentary thriller Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche, a “gripping account of the deadliest avalanche in U.S. ski resort history.”

EXCLUSIVE: Chipo Chung and Anthony Mark Barrow have joined the cast of Black Cake, a family drama in the works for Hulu that’s based on the book by Charmaine Wilkerson.

Hilary Linstead, the agent, casting director and film producer who launched Australia’s first talent agency, has died aged 83.

Mark Hoppus has hinted that Tom DeLonge could rejoin Blink-182 after the pair recently reconciled.It comes after the bassist opened up about a home visit with DeLonge and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker that has left the trio in “a really great place right now.”“It was the first time that all thee of us were in the same room in like five years,” Hoppus recalled to People magazine of the informal meeting, which took place before he began chemotherapy in 2021.“It’s actually better than it used to be. There was no agenda.

Tubi continues to expand its adult animated programming, giving a green light to Breaking Bear, an adult animated comedy series from The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia director Julien Nitzberg, Creepshow producer Cartel Entertainment, and Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge’s To The Stars Media (Monsters of California).

Closing the chapter. Mark Harmon opened up about his departure from NCIS for the first time since his character’s final appearance last fall.

Marcus Mumford got candid in a recent interview where he revealed he is a sexual abuse survivor.

A second chance at love! After a tumultuous first marriage, Christina Ricci found what she was looking for in husband Mark Hampton. 

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAmazon Prime Video’s Italian original series “Prisma,” which launches on Aug. 10 from the Locarno Film Festival, sees the streamer revisit the theme of gender identity fluidity after “Transparent” while catering to a young adult audience and also connecting with Italy’s neorealist roots.The eight-episode show (watch exclusive clip) – which marks the first TV series to premiere at the prominent Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema – is centered around identical adolescent twins Marco and Andrea, who challenge gender norms in different ways, along with their group of friends who are also going through a similar journey.“Prisma” is set in the city of Latina, just south of Rome, and its surrounding area, which used to be a swamp until the land was drained under Fascist rule.

Conor Ryan is currently starring in the National Tour of the Tony-winning musical Moulin Rouge and we caught up with the rising star to learn more about him!

Healthy hindsight. Aaron Rodgers is opening up about his relationship with ex Danica Patrick — and he has nothing but appreciation for the time they shared together.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Rome-based indie distributor Intramovies has snapped up international sales rights to Locarno contender “Nightsiren” (“Svetlonoc”) by Tereza Nvotovà.The Slovakia-Czech Republic production turns on a young woman who returns to her remote mountain home to seek answers about her traumatized childhood. The deeply superstitious villagers turn on her, accusing her of witchcraft and murder.As Nvotová, who co-wrote the screenplay with Barbara Namerová, explains in her statement, “Nightsiren” “seeks to dispel outdated myths surrounding womanhood, drawing a line between ancient misogynist superstitions and their resurgence in the modern world.”“Even though women are no longer being burned at the stake, they’re still targeted for their sexuality, emotionality and reproductive choices.

Mark Hoppus has told fans there’s “no news to share”, amidst recent rumours that Tom DeLonge was rejoining Blink-182.The Blink-182 singer and bassist took to his Discord to celebrate 30 years of the band when he was alerted by his followers to the speculation. Yesterday, DeLonge shared an Instagram profile with a classic photo of Blink in the ‘90s captioned with the band’s handle.Hoppus said: “There is no news to share.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentGiuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-winning film “Cinema Paradiso,” about a marvellous Sicilian cinema where a boy nicknamed Toto embarks on a lifelong love affair with the movies, is being spun off into a high-profile TV series that Tornatore will write and direct.The six-episode “Paradiso” show is being developed by prominent Rome-based producer Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) through his new shingle Bamboo Production, which he launched in February. Belardi said he’s in advanced talks with an unspecified U.S. streamer to come on board.