The international hit musical coming to Salford

Refresh for latest…: A busy holdover weekend for wide studio releases was led by the trio of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two. And, in a soaring performance, Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar winner The Boy and the Heron swooped into China helping the market set a new Qingming holiday record. 

Emiliano De Pablos Spain’s film and TV industries are in their second wave as standout content providers for global streamers. Some of the country’s most intriguing titles will take the international stage this weekend at MipTV in Cannes. Built on a foundation of hits such as “The Red Band Society,” “Grand Hotel,” “Velvet” and “Locked Up,” a new era of internationally renowned content creation in Spain kicked off in 2018 with Alex Pina’s blockbuster series “Money Heist,” picked up by Netflix.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer When the Writers Guild of America went on strike last May, union leaders argued that artificial intelligence posed an existential threat to writers, painting a picture of a dystopian future in which TV shows might be crafted by one writer and a machine. Ten months later, the tone in Hollywood labor circles has shifted significantly. At a March 3 rally in Los Angeles, Matthew Loeb, international president of IATSE, argued that AI has the potential to make union members’ jobs easier.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Mario Van Peebles has been tapped to direct “That’ll Be the Day,” the story of how Buddy Holly and other musicians of the late 1950s helped give birth to rock ‘n’ roll and influence the wider societal and cultural landscape, including the civil rights movement. Music has been central to much of Van Peebles’ work, from his 1991 gangster movie “New Jack City” to his work on “Wu-Tang: An American Saga,” which he co-executive produced for Hulu.

FBI: International is going strong!

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Long Live the Tyrant: Life and Times of Giancarlo DiTrapano,” a feature documentary about the independent book publisher, is being developed as an Italy-U.S. coproduction. DiTrapano is described by Ian Thornton, one of the film’s producers, as the “Basquiat of the New York literary scene.” The film is written by Guia Cortassa and directed by Cortassa and Vittorio Antonacci.

"2024, we coming," was the pledge Jesse Lingard made on New Year's Eve, with the Burj Khalifa as his backdrop on an Instagram post to his nine million followers.

The Goat Life (previously titled Goat Days) will release in theaters across the UK, India, Australia and France today.

Ahead of this forthcoming summer's transfer window, Manchester United are already being linked with a catalogue of players.

Bruce Springsteen is set to become a Fellow of The Ivors Academy – making him the first international songwriter to receive the honour.Announced today (March 25), The Boss is set to receive the award at this year’s instalment of the Ivors, which will take place at Grosvenor House in London on Thursday, May 23.Becoming an Academy Fellow is the highest honour the organisation bestows, and with it, the iconic singer, songwriter and guitar becomes the first-ever international songwriter that the Academy has inducted into Fellowship in its 80-year history.“I’m proud to be the first international songwriter to be recognised by The Ivors Academy. In addition to recognising my songwriting, the award stands as a tribute to the fans and friends who have supported me and my work for the last fifty years,” Springsteen said of the announcement.

Steve Clarke won’t throw the baby out with the bathwater after a Dutch drubbing as he looks to earn a first win in seven games when Northern Ireland visit Hampden for a friendly.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Bavaria Fiction’s documentary unit, founded in March 2022, has been spun off as a separate brand called Icon Docs. The unit produces both films and series for cinema, TV and streamers.

A house in Greater Manchester was swept off the market less than a week after being put up for sale - despite having a hefty price tag. The 'time capsule' property in Altrincham, Trafford, which has been in the same family since the 60s, proved to be a hit with buyers looking for a big project.

Club football may be on pause at the moment but that doesn't mean Manchester United's star men have had their feet up.

Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 had a rock ‘em sock ‘em weekend at the international box office, adding $55.3M from 69 markets for a $135M overseas running cume, and $268.2M global (there are several key markets still to release, including France, Australia, the UK and Korea). 

Lise Pedersen The ongoing war in Gaza was high on the agenda at the awards ceremony of CPH:DOX, Copenhagen’s international documentary film festival, with numerous filmmakers calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as they picked up their awards. Opening the ceremony following a concert by the locally-based Middle East Peace Ensemble, artistic director Niklas Engstrøm told the crowd gathered in Copenhagen’s historic Kunsthal Charlottenborg, which is home to the fest throughout the 10-day event: “It felt right to start with this basic human message of hope and peace.” On the theme of conflicts past and present, Italian director Alessandra Celesia picked up the top Dox:Award for “The Flats,” a powerful, timely and haunting film about a community living in the shadow of the pain and trauma of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Sony Pictures Television‘s President of International Production, Wayne Garvie, has said the scripted TV landscape in the post-peak TV era is like “going back to the future” — especially with his Netflix hits The Crown and Sex Education coming to an end.

It's the first international break of the year as Celtic's domestic season goes on ice until March 31.

EXCLUSIVE: AGC Television is dropping a hot TV project into this week’s Series Mania market in Lille.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Spinning audiences back to the mid-1970s, UFA Fiction‘s latest period series “Disko 76” is set in a pivotal time in the industrial heartland of West Germany as a new American pop music craze takes over the airwaves and dance floors. The six-part series, which premiered at the recent Berlinale Series Market, continues its international rollout at Series Mania in Lille before bowing on the RTL+ streaming platform on March 28 and on RTL Group channel Nitro on April 1. UFA Fiction quickly won over RTL+ with the idea from former UFA Fiction producer Benjamin Benedict of a family story set in the disco era, says fellow producer Sinah Swyter.