Two-Part ‘Quiet Yakuza’ to Make a Noise for Free Stone at TIFFCOM Market

Ellise Shafer As evidenced in its title, music plays a big part in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” In the prequel to the original trilogy, “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler portrays Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12 for the 10th annual Hunger Games, who hails from a musical and nomadic people called the Covey. The film features Zegler singing several songs, including franchise favorite “The Hanging Tree.” Much of the music is folk-inspired, and Zegler sang each track live during filming.

Motorists have been told to avoid the Mancunian Way if possible with a stretch of the flyover to be closed for at least 24 hours whilst emergency repairs are carried out.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Bravo is upping the ante on Erika Jayne, ordering a documentary series following the embattled “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star and pop singer as she mounts a solo Las Vegas music residency. “Erika Jayne: Bet It All on Blonde” will air in two parts in the second quarter of 2024. Combining interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, the doc will follow Jayne as she embarks on her most ambitious stage effort yet — all while grappling with fallout from the implosion of her marriage and civil lawsuits against her and husband Tom Girardi (as well as new criminal accusations surrounding the once-venerated lawyer).

Tim Chan If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The last marquee thoroughbred racing event of the year is upon us with the 2023 Breeders’ Cup. The event takes place Friday, Nov.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese drama film “Mountain Woman,” which was one of the standouts titles at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, is to be represented for global sales by EST N8. Inspired by “The Legends of Tono,” which is Japanese folklore from the Tohoku region, the film depicts a small Japanese village overrun by famine. The burden falls upon Rin, a woman whose connections with the spirit and natural worlds allow her to rise amidst familial conflicts.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ichiyama Shozo assumed control of the program of the Tokyo International Film Festival after a long programming career that included Tokyo and the slightly more indie Tokyo Filmex events. He is also a regular producing partner of Chinese art-house darling Jai Zhangke. These influences have shaped his approach to this year’s Tokyo IFF lineup, he told Variety.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief TIFFCOM, the film market attached to the Tokyo International Film Festival, is set to be more international and more diverse in its first full comeback year after the COVID hiatus. It should also be more pleasant and convenient, having re-located to a more modern venue that is close to the film festival. “Bringing the in-person market back after four years, my priority was to make sure that TIFFCOM could happen during the festival, not some other time,” said Shiina Yasushi, who has headed the market for ten years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan’s Nikkatsu studio is pitching “River” at the top of its TIFFCOM sales slate. The film – on which it shares rights with Third Window Films – is a time loop comedy from Yamaguchi Junta, director of “Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes.” The one-hundred-year-old Fujiya inn stands in a quiet region of Kyoto. An employee is standing in front of the Kibune river at the back of the building when she is called back to work.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong-based studio Edko Films will launch “Table for Six 2,” a sequel to its 2022 smash hit, at TIFFCOM, the rights market attached to the Tokyo International Film Festival. The heartfelt comedy is again written and directed by Sunny Chan, who enjoyed breakout success with “Table for Six,” a comedy-drama that starts with an awkward family reunion dinner where past and present romantic relationships are tangled and almost anything that could go wrong did. For the sequel. Chan has reunited the original cast – Stephy Tang, Louis Cheung, Ivana Wong, Lin Min Chen, Peter Chan Charm Man – for three weddings and their aftermath.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Recently-released titles by – very different – Japanese film icons Yamada Yoji and Shimizu Takashi adorn the TIFFCOM sales slate of Shochiku, one of Japan’s oldest and most powerful film studios. The 91-year-old Yamada, known for classics including “The Yellow Handkerchief” and “The Twilight Samurai,” is behind “Mom, Is That You?,” a heartwarming drama that marks the third picture in his recent “Mother” series, following “Kabei, Our Mother” and “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son.” Starring Yoshinaga Sayuri and Oizumi Yo, the film tells how a dissatisfied salaryman pays a rare visit home and discovers his mother’s previously hidden fashionable and outgoing sides. It released in Japanese theaters on Sept.

Some of the stars of Married At First Sight UK put their glad rags on and enjoyed a night out on Saturday- putting their explosive dinner party behind them. Peggy Rose Lawrence, 32, looked sensational in a black leather skirt paired with a white shirt while she smiled with other members of the MAFS crew including Tasha, Jay and Rosaline.

Mick Jagger has said he regrets having waited so long to record a new Rolling Stones album.The legendary band released ‘Hackney Diamonds’ on Friday (October 20), their first studio record of new material in 18 years – by far the longest gap between releases in the band’s 60-year career.With Jagger now having turned 80, and guitarist Keith Richards set to join him in December, the singer has been speaking to The Guardian, where he was asked whether he regrets the length of time between releases.“Yeah, kind of,” he said. “That I wasn’t cracking the whip. Keith keeps saying in interviews, ‘When Mick’s ready to do a record, I’ll do it.’ I went, OK? If that’s all I have to say, then great! We’d got into this groove of going on big tours.

Life has been busy for TV presenter Gok Wan, which is why it comes as no surprise that he's looking forward to "the moment where I kind of stop." The 49 year old fashion expert and This Morning regular exclusively told OK! that, with his 50th milestone birthday on the horizon next year, he's realising just how busy he has been with his many careers in fashion, TV presenting, being a chef, a DJ and generally running back-to-back. He said: "Sometimes I don't give myself enough brain space to really enjoy moments because I'm just so busy, so I think when I turn 50 I'm going to have a little break.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “This Time,” a romantic drama reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” trilogy, but not officially based on it, has been picked up for global distribution by fast-moving sales company EST N8. The story follows two high school sweethearts who unexpectedly reunite in Los Angeles 23 years after they were separated in Jakarta and must decide if they’re still in love. The film, directed by Sebastien Tobler, stars Ken Kirby (“Good Trouble,” “Dynasty”), Leila Perry (“Filthy Animals”) and was produced by Theresa Chiu. It had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in May. The rights deal was brokered by Tenten Wei and Sophie Shi of EST N8.

Joe Biden called for a massive new aid package for Israel and Ukraine, linking the wars in both countries to American security, while denouncing a rise in anti-semitism and Islamophobia in the U.S.

Michaela Zee The odds weren’t in director Francis Lawrence‘s favor after splitting “Hunger Games: Mockingjay” into two parts. In a recent interview with People magazine, Lawrence admitted he wouldn’t divide the final book into two films if he had the opportunity. “I totally regret it.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Some twenty aspiring film projects have been selected to participate in the inaugural edition of the Qcinema Project Market (Nov. 18-19) that this year represents and expansion of the QCinema Film Festival in The Philippines’ Quezon City. The selected titles include development projects by several of East Asia’s better known independent and art-house directors and projects.

An SNP minister has insisted the party does not take its support for granted after it suffered a heavy defeat to Labour at the Rutherglen by-election.

Angela Rippon was previously told by BBC bosses that her time on television was over due to her age and to "make room for other women" when she was 50. The 78 year old, who is competing on this year's Strictly Come Dancing with partner Kai Widdrington, has opened up about her age and the comments she previously received from TV bosses in a new interview.

People just can’t get enough of “The Crown.” After years of awards season wins, the series has begun to tease its sixth and final season. Well, Part 1 of the final season.