Will Smith’s Global Screen Picks Up ‘Jim Button and the Wild 13’ – EFM (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAlex Pettyfer, whose credits include “I Am Number Four” and “Magic Mike,” is attached to lead director Ricardo de Montreuil’s psychological horror feature “The Lost Ones.”The Exchange is handling the movie’s worldwide sales rights, and will be introducing the title to buyers at the virtual European Film Market, which runs until Friday.The film is the story of a young family on the run from unseen spirits haunting their daughter.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Multi-hyphenate Roselyn Sanchez (“Grand Hotel,” “Devious Maids”) is set to film her directorial feature debut, “Diario: Mujer y Cafe,” in Puerto Rico this summer, said producer Jolene Rodriguez, president of Broken English Prods.

Christopher Vourlias Russian SVOD More.tv is unveiling a slate of original series for foreign buyers at the European Film Market.The four series are a sign of the fast-growing streaming service’s rising ambitions since launching in 2019.

Horror is woven into political drama in La Llorona, the riveting Golden Globe Foreign Language Film nominee and shortlisted International Feature Oscar contender from Guatemala’s Jayro Bustamante. An elderly wealthy man hears ghostly noises in the night.

Manori Ravindran International EditorEva Green, Mark Strong and Chai Fonacier have boarded “Vivarium” director Lorcan Finnegan’s psychological thriller “Nocebo,” which is now in production in Ireland.The film, which marks the first co-production between Ireland and the Philippines, follows a fashion designer (Green) suffering from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband (Strong) until help arrives in the form of a Filipino carer (Fonacier), who uses traditional

Davide Abbatescianni German sales outlet Deckert Distribution has acquired Chris Wright and Stefan Kolbe’s “Anamnesis,” ahead of its world premiere in the Forum strand of the Berlinale.The making of “Anamnesis” started when the two directors first meet Stefan S. in 2015, in the therapy ward of Brandenburg Prison.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorInternational distributor Global Screen, part of Will Smith’s Telepool, has sold crime thriller miniseries “Dark Woods” to U.S., Canada, Spain and France, following its stellar ratings success in Germany.Inspired by a true crime, unsolved for almost 30 years, the six-part show centers on a high-ranking police officer’s desperate search for his sister, and the family’s suffering.

Naman Ramachandran Australia’s Stranger Than Fiction Films and the U.K.’s Arrow Pictures have teamed for theatrical documentary “River,” commissioned by BBC Arts and ABC Arts.Exploring the relationship between humans and rivers, the documentary spans six continents.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorPicture Tree Intl. has picked up the global sales rights on comedy drama “Risks and Side Effects,” which follows a woman’s kidney transplant journey that threatens to break-up her friendships and marriage.

Paris Accord on his first day in office, but the symbolic change finally kicked in on Friday.The new president’s climate agenda was a key difference with Trump and sets the US up for an appearance at Cop26 Climate Change Summit in Scotland in November.The States had been out of the agreement for just over 100 days and the eyes of the world will now be on what the country does to show leadership.After Biden’s victory over Trump, his climate envoy John Kerry claimed on Twitter: “Friends, today we

President Joe Biden stated that COVID-19 vaccines will be widely available to the general public by the end of July during the first televised town hall of his presidency. Speaking with Anderson Cooper on Tuesday during his first town hall since being sworn in, the president touched on pandemic concerns including vaccination availability and school reopenings.

Between Friends is one of the exciting new acts on the music scene, and we want Just Jared readers to get to know them even better!

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentPrinc Films has taken international rights to Slávek Horák’s “Havel,” a biopic about the Czech playwright, dissident and his country’s president Vaclav Havel, and will launch sales at the European Film Market. The film recently received 14 nominations for the Czech Lion Awards, the leading Czech film awards, across all major categories including film, director, screenplay, and all acting categories.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorListen to the theme song of Nicolas Cage’s new horror movie “Willy’s Wonderland” and chances are you won’t be able to get it out of your heard.Here, Variety gives you the first listen to the full creepy, yet catchy “The Birthday Song and Willy’s Jingle.”In the Kevin Lewis-directed film, Cage plays a man whose car breaks down. In order to pay for the repairs, he agrees to clean an abandoned amusement park fun house.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentThe Match Factory is taking a strong slate to the European Film Market, including two world premieres: Anne Zohra Berrached’s “Copilot,” which is in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section, and Christian Schwochow’s “Je Suis Karl,” which is in Berlinale Special.

Manori Ravindran International EditorXYZ Films has boarded action thriller “Yakuza Princess,” starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Japanese-American singer Masumi. The film will be shopped to buyers at the European Film Market (EFM) in early March.XYZ will sell worldwide rights save Latin America for the English-language feature, directed by Vicente Amorim, whose previous film, “Motorrad,” screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017.

Sheridan Smith has seemingly confirmed whether or not she is competing on The Masked Singer as Sausage by performing on another TV show.The 39 year old has been the subject of rumours she is Sausage on the hit ITV show since the second series started in December. However, following her performance on BBC One's Musicals: The Greatest Shows, fans are now convinced she is not behind the mask.