Vanessa Kirby & Lauren Dark’s Aluna Entertainment Board Swiss Oscar Entry ‘Thunder’ As Exec Producers

Stray Kids have scored their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with their new single, ‘LALALALA’.Today (November 21), Billboard confirmed Stray Kids’ new achievement in a tweet through its official Billboard Charts account. ‘LALALALA’ makes its debut on the Hot 100 at Number 90 this week.Notably, this makes Stray Kids the second-ever K-pop boyband to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, following BTS.

Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby are stepping out for the UK premiere of their new movies.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed Ilker Çatak, the writer-director behind Germany’s official International Feature Oscar entry The Teachers’ Lounge, for representation in all areas.

Blaga’s Lessons, Bulgaria’s International Film Oscar submission, has set a release in multiple countries.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Holding the world premiere of Ridley Scott‘s “Napoleon” in Paris was a no-brainer for Sony Pictures’ chairman Tom Rothman, due to the film’s French DNA and its subject, the famous French emperor (played by Joaquin Phoenix). “Where else could you begin the worldwide rollout of ‘Napoleon’ than France?,” said Rothman on the red carpet of the event at the Salle Pleyel concert hall, where Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby and Tahar Rahim were able to attend thanks to the end of the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike. But the French theatrical bow comes with a downside for Apple, which financed the pricey movie and will now have to wait 17 months to launch the movie on its service due to France’s strict windowing rules.

Paris’ Salle Pleyel hosted the world premiere of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon this evening, rolling out the red carpet for the epic that stars Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby. Scott, the two leads and actor Tahar Rahim all were in attendance for the unveiling of the film from Apple Original Films and Sony. Watch Scott introduce the pic below.

Naman Ramachandran Mira Nair has boarded Indian filmmaker Sarvnik Kaur’s Sundance-winning documentary “Against the Tide” as an executive producer. The film follows Mumbai-based fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh who are inheritors of the great Koli fishing knowledge system — a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology.

Lupita Nyong’o has joined Goodbye Julia, Sudan’s entry for this year’s Best International feature race at the Oscars, as an executive producer.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o is stepping into an executive producer role to support Sudan’s second-ever Academy Award international feature film submission, “Goodbye Julia.” The timely film, directed by Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani, takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan and won the Un Certain Regard section’s Prix de Liberté (Freedom Prize) at Cannes. “‘Goodbye Julia’ is a powerful representation of the conflict happening in Sudan right now, which affects millions of lives across Eastern Africa,” Nyong’o said in a statement.

The executive producers of critically acclaimed BBC prison drama Time have launched their own scripted production operation.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent U.K. based sales agency Film Republic has picked up Peru’s 2024 Oscar entry “The Erection of Toribio Bardelli,” the latest film from Adrián Saba, one of Peru’s most prominent auteurs on the festival scene. Film Republic has also shared a first international trailer with Variety.

EXCLUSIVE: United Talent Agency has signed Zarrar Kahn, director of Pakistan’s Oscar entry In Flames, for representation in all areas. 

It really does feel as if it’s been a minute since Ron Howard has directed a beloved film. His most recent films, “Hillbilly Elegy” and “Thirteen Lives,” both had big awards season aspirations but seemed to fall short.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Ron Howard is heading into production at the end of November on survival thriller Eden, which was previously named Origin Of Species.

EXCLUSIVE: Los Angeles-based Premiere Entertainment Group has acquired worldwide rights to romantic comedy Plan B, starring Emmy-award winner Jamie Lee (HBO’s Crashing) and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite, Blades of Glory).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Funny Birds,” an heartwarming comedy-drama starring Andrea Riseborough, Catherine Deneuve and Morgan Saylor, has sold in key territories in the run up to the AFM. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the movie is directed by Marco La Via and Hanna Ladoul.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Bhutan’s official Oscar entry “The Monk And The Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom,” has been bought by a raft of well-established international theatrical distributors. Following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, “The Monk and the Gun” has been sold by Films Boutique to Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent). Earlier this week, the crowdpleaser was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: Concrete Utopia, South Korea’s International Film Oscar entry this year, will hit theaters in NY and LA on Dec. 8 with a wide release on Dec. 15.  In the U.S, 815 Pictures and Seismic Releasing are releasing the Lotte Entertainment feature.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios is developing Don’t Come To L.A., a drama series project from rapper-actor YG and writer-producer Damani Johnson (The Crossover, One Piece).

Anna Marie de la Fuente New York-based Cinema Tropical has pounced on the U.S. theatrical rights to Fabián Hernández’s debut feature “A Male” (“Un Varón”), Colombia’s official submission to the 2024 Oscar race. The drama, which had its world premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight last year, will open in New York City on Dec.