Tovino Thomas Hit Survivor Thriller Film ‘2018’ Sets Pan India Release (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Big-budget period action film “The Sand Murmurs” is set to start production in China’s remote region of Xinjiang later this month. The film is the tale of a soldier and an enemy nobleman brought together after a once-in-a-century sandstorm. After braving a near-death experience together, the pair find common purpose despite their differences. They also need to work together to find their way out across 800km of desert. The picture is directed by Wu Youyin as an adaptation of his novel of the same title. Wu previously wrote and directed “Till The End of the World,” which released in 2018.

— the hotly anticipated sequel to the 1996 hit — is in full swing and star Anthony Ramos is having an amazing time riding the storm.The 31-year-old stage and screen star walked the red carpet at the premiere of his new action blockbuster,, at Kings Theatre in New York City on Monday, and he spoke with ET's Will Marfuggi about his other pulse-pounding adventure project, currently in production.«We started, we're shooting in Oklahoma right now, so it's been good,» he said, beaming. «I'm having a lot of fun!»News broke back in October that Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment had begun development on , a sequel to the 1996 blockbuster , which starred Helen Hunt and the late Bill Paxton as meteorologists in pursuit of an F5 tornado.Ramos is starring in the project alongside Kiernan Shipka, Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Maura Tierney and Sasha Lane, and he had nothing but love for his cast and crew.«Lee Isaac Chung is an amazing director, Daisy Edgar Jones, one of the best actors I've ever worked with in my entire life.

Talk about legs — or, more appropriately, wings: Paramount/Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick is still playing in Japanese cinemas a full year on from its debut. Continuing on from a stratospheric and super-leggy run, the sequel, on its 365th day of release, became Tom Cruise’s biggest film ever in the market. In doing so, it overtook 2003’s The Last Samurai with JPY 13.71B ($101.5M) — and Maverick is still flying on local screens. It had become Paramount’s No. 1 movie of all time in Japan in August and also marks the same milestone for Skydance.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent David Thion, the French producer of Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning “Anatomy of a Fall,” is reteaming with Guillaume Senez for “Une part manquante,” a Tokyo-set drama which Be For Films is representing in international markets. “Une part manquante” will also reunite Senez with popular French actor Romain Duris, who starred in his 2018 film “Our Struggles” and earned a Cesar nomination for it. Brussels-based Be For Films had sold “Our Struggles” in most major territories and presented at a flurry of international festivals. Duris will play Jay, who hasn’t seen his daughter for nine years since getting separated from his Japanese wife. As a foreigner residing in Japan, Jay was denied custody of his daughter. Hoping to find her somewhere in the city, he abandons his career as a renown chef and becomes a taxi driver. After all these years searching in vain, Jay is about to give up and move back to France when Lily hops in his cab. But she doesn’t recognize him.

Daft Punk‘s ‘Random Access Memories’ has returned to the top of the Billboard Dance/Electronic albums chart.The legendary French duo, who broke up in 2021, released a new anniversary edition of their fourth and final album, which first came out a decade ago last week.Since the release of the anniversary edition, streams of ‘Random Access Memories’ have gone up by over 1,000 per cent, as Billboard report, with the album now sitting atop the Dance/Electronic albums chart.Released as part of the anniversary edition is a previously unreleased song featuring The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, titled ‘Infinity Repeating’.The new version of the album also includes studio outtakes of the album opener ‘Give Live Back To Music’, vocoder tests of ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’ and the song ‘Horizon’, which previously only appeared on the Japanese version of the CD.NME recently explored how ‘Random Access Memories’ became the most hyped album of its era in a special retrospective feature.In other Daft Punk news, earlier this year Thomas Bangalter explained the reasons behind the duo’s split in 2021. “My concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence go beyond its use in music creation,” he said, explaining that fans often misunderstood their music.“[In Daft Punk,] we tried to use these machines to express something extremely moving that a machine cannot feel, but a human can.

Vanessa Hudgens has her next Hollywood project lined up. She’ll co-star the action spy-thriller “The Black Kaiser,” which is a sequel to the film “Polar.”Vanessa Hudgens‘ new documentary explores her ‘witchy awakening’Zac Efron just followed Vanessa Hudgens on InstagramVanessa Hudgens says she is thinking about eloping with Cole Tucker: ‘I’m lost’Variety reports that the project will have her reteaming with Mads Mikkelsen, who plays the lead role. “The Black Kaiser” is a comic book adaptation that follows a hitman that uncovers a deadly conspiracy.

Naman Ramachandran Female Film Club (FCC), an online members club for female filmmakers and creatives, has partnered with French production company Sisterland Connect to advocate for women in film on an international scale. Sisterland Studio and Sisterland Connect bowed at Cannes earlier this week with the launch of an investment fund and production company for women in industry which will target a total of €35 million ($37.5 million) and have already begun the process of curating a selection of films made by women. Led by producer Sandra Rudich and supported by actor, producer and activist Julie Gayet, Sisterland aims to empower women in film and media in France and worldwide by financially supporting and co-producing over 100 female-driven projects within the next seven years.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s RAI Cinema, which has four titles in this year’s Cannes selection, has closed a deal on Ron Howard’s next movie “Origin of Species,” a hot project at the Cannes market starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Ana de Armas, Jude Law and Alicia Vikander. RAI Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco said the company – which is the film arm of Italian state broadcaster RAI – has teamed up with Rome-based Lucisano Media Group to acquire Italian rights from CAA Media Finance on Howard’s survival thriller penned by Noah Pink (“Tetris”) about a a group of eclectics who turn their backs on civilization and head to the Galapagos. In Cannes, RAI Cinema also picked up Italian rights from Gaumont on family movie “Moon The Panda,” by French humans and animals adventures specialist Gilles de Maistre, known for “Mia and the White Lion”and “The Wolf and the Lion.” De Maistre’s latest, about the friendship between a boy and a panda, is set to shoot later this month in China’s Sichuan mountains.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International It’s (finally) official: Prime Video has greenlit Season 2 of “Citadel,” with Joe Russo set to direct the entire season. The first season of the spy drama, which premiered in April, had a number of directors attached, including Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Jessica Yu and Newton Thomas Sigel. On Season 2, however, it will be solely Joe Russo on directing duties, with David Weil returning as showrunner. Prime Video has also revealed that its big-budget original — which stars Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and features Lesley Manville and Stanley Tucci — is its second most-watched new original series outside the U.S. behind “Rings of Power” and its fourth most-watched program worldwide.

We’re getting the first look at Netflix’s anticipated animated series Skull Island from Legendary Television, set to premiere globally June 22, exclusively on the streaming network. In addition to the release date, Netflix has unveiled a teaser trailer and voice cast led by Nicolas Cantu (Dragons Rescue Riders: Heroes of the Sky), Mae Whitman (Family Guy), Darren Barnett (Never Have I Ever), Benjamin Bratt (Poker Face) and Betty Gilpin (Mrs. Davis).

K.J. Yossman Barbara Neri’s LGBTQIA+ play about a woman who claims to be Tennessee Williams heroine Blanche DuBois is set to be adapted as a feature film, with sales launching at Cannes. Neri has partnered with Ango-American filmmaker Jaclyn Bethany’s BKE Productions for the adaptation. According to the logline, “Unlocking Desire” tells the story of “an institutionalized woman who claims to be Tennessee Williams’ iconic heroine Blanche DuBois and must unravel the tragic circumstances that brought her there.” Nancy Oswein (“Betrayed”) is on board to produce the feature, which is set to shoot on location in New Orleans and Detroit later this summer.

Terry Crews has a lot on his plate — but that doesn't mean he isn't willing to take on even more! Between hosting the upcoming season of and developing a new sitcom pilot, the comic actor is still open to the possibility of a long-awaited sequel.ET's Deidre Behar recently spoke with Crews at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, ahead of the season 18 premiere of, and asked about the call from fans for a follow-up to the 2004 cult classic Wayans brothers comedy.«I am staying in shape. I'm ready!» Crews said with a laugh.

Gordon Lightfoot‘s “final album” has been announced.Per record label Linus Entertainment’s official website, the double record, titled ‘At Royal Albert Hall’, will serve as the late Canadian folk singer-songwriter’s final album. ‘At Royal Albert Hall’ was recorded live in 2016 and features a slew of the singer’s biggest hits including ‘Sundown’, ‘Early Morning Rain’ and ‘Waiting For You’.Linus Entertainment wrote in a statement: “In the final weeks prior to his passing on May 1, 2023, Gordon Lightfoot insisted that this live album be released as soon as possible, approving the artwork and making it clear that no changes were to be made to the recording.”Lightfoot’s ‘At Royal Albert Hall’ is reportedly “an unembellished live mix of that nights’ performance, without edits, overdubs, remixing or re-sequencing.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Germany’s leading independent film distributor Leonine Studios and A24 are partnering to set up joint label A24 | Leonine Studios, which will distribute films in Germany and Austria. The first films to be released under the new banner are the newly acquired titles “Wizards!” by David Michôd, starring Orlando Bloom, Naomi Scott and Pete Davidson, and Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw,” with Lily James, Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White. The new label builds on the companies’ collaboration on multi-Oscar winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which was released by Leonine on April 28, 2022, and garnered more than 380,000 admissions in Germany and Austria.

Gordon Lightfoot died on May 1 at the age of 84, but the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter left behind one final album, set to be posthumously released this summer.

Ana de Armas is not stopping any time soon. The actress, who took a brief break from acting to visit her native Cuba, is back in the spotlight, landing a coveted role in the film “Origin of Species.”Ana de Armas’ emotional arrival in Cuba: Watch the teary-eyed reunionAna de Armas surprises a fan in a restaurant in CubaAna de Armas’s fun birthday celebration in Cuba: WatchA post shared by Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl)Deadline reports that De Armas joins a stacked and award winning cast that includes Jude Law, Daniel Brühl and Alicia Vikander. “Origin of Species” will be directed by Ron Howard and is described as a survival thriller with a “darkly comic” edge, telling a story from two different perspectives.

EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Izzard, Antonia Thomas, and John Hannah have joined Emile Hirsch in the psychological thriller Past Life from director and Grimmfest head Simeon Halligan.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian director Gabriele Mainetti, known internationally for genre-bending titles “They Call Me Jeeg” and “Freaks vs. the Reich,” is shooting a kung fu movie set in Rome’s multi-ethnic Piazza Vittorio quarter. Cameras have just started rolling in Rome on Mainetti’s yet-to-be titled third feature that will see him riff on martial arts movie tropes, following his fresh takes on a 1970 Japanese cartoon series in “Jeeg,” and then on the Nazi hunter film genre in “Freaks.”   Vision Distribution will be launching sales on the film at the Cannes Marché du Film.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Prolific German director Jo Baier has officially signed on to write and direct the thriller “Life Through a Dead Man’s Eyes,” about an aging Nazi war criminal on the run from prosecution. The film, produced by Berlin-based Films In Motion in co-production with Banijay’s NL Film in Amsterdam, tells the haunting story of a former Nazi SS death camp guard who tries to evade prosecution by U.S. authorities. In the face of death, he finds himself falling ever deeper into a nightmare that exceeds his worst fears. “Life Through a Dead Man’s Eyes” is set to star Matthias Habich (“Narcissus and Goldmund”) as the former SS henchman and Herbert Knaup (“Sarah Kohr”) as the Nazi hunter on his trail. Also attached is Silke Bodenbender (“One Day We’ll Tell Each Other Everything”).

Kathryn Newton, Angus Cloud, and Will Catlett have been set for Universal Pictures’ untitled monster thriller from Radio Silence. The pic has been set for an April 19, 2024 release.