WK Entertainment Launches Film Studios With Music Content and Podcast Production (EXCLUSIVE)

Variety’s Miami Entertainment Impact list will be celebrated April 13 at the Miami Entertainment Town event, presented by City National Bank. CEO The Latin Recording Academy   Abud’s appreciation for Miami is multi-layered.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Elsa Zylberstein (“Simone: Woman of the Century”) will star as the French feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir in a feature film that will be penned by Oscar-winning writer Christopher Hampton and directed by Anne Fontaine. Zylberstein’s Sonia Films will produce the film with Philippe Carcassone’s banner Cine@ and Master Movie, the production vehicle of Marco and Lola Pacchioni. Rather than a biopic, the movie will revolve around the passionate transatlantic romance between de Beauvoir and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Nelson Algren. Zylberstein has scooped the adaptation rights of de Beauvoir’s “Lettres à Nelson Algren” from Gallimard. Through those letters, the film will chart the pair’s affair, which spanned nearly two decades from 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, to 1964. Two-thirds of the movie will take place in Chicago, and the reminder will unfold in Paris.

From the Bachelor mansion to the driving range! Michelle Money and Mike Weir have been going strong since 2016.

Naman Ramachandran Global talent management company YMU has launched its U.S. social division under the leadership of Deanna Ritter, who will report into Lucy Loveridge, global MD, social. Ritter, who will serve as U.S. managing director, social, at YMU, will be supported by senior director of talent Haley Henning. Both executives are from the Be Social Group where, as MD, Ritter ran the creator partnership and talent management teams, developing growth and revenue strategies for key influential digital clients and brands in fashion and lifestyle; and Henning, as director of talent, led the talent management team and managed brand and digital operations for a diverse roster of clients including podcast hosts, content creators and actors.

Emanuel Okusanya Nigerian superstar Davido is set to take over as a guest host on Apple Music’s “Africa Now Radio” on April 7, the platform announced today. Fresh off a sold-out concert at New York’s Irving Plaza, Davido will take over the radio show to talk about the creative process behind his latest album “Timeless,” and will additionally highlight a long list of his favorite rising artists. These include such acts as Lojay, Victony, and Asake, with the latter being featured on his focus track “No Competition.” Davido will further highlight Lojay — whose song “Monalisa” scored a top ten slot on Billboard’s U.S. Afrobeats songs chart — as his Africa Rising artist to watch on Friday’s show. “I’ve chosen Lojay because I feel like he’s very into his craft, he’s diverse, and I love when artists really get into their production,” Davido said of the pick in a statement. “He does everything, he reminds me of myself in the early stages.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s Cinecittà Studios are generating a profit for the first time in years amid a radical upgrade, overhaul, and expansion of the filming facilities where Hollywood productions are now flocking on a scale that is starting to be comparable with its glory days. Roland Emmerich last month started shooting his gladiator series “Those About to Die” starring Anthony Hopkins as Emperor Vespasian; Joe Wright is in the midst of production on TV series “M,” about Benito Mussolini’s rise to power; and in January cameras started rolling in the “City of Cinema” on Netflix’s period soap “The Decameron.” These are among the biggest international productions lured by the storied studios in recent years, also thanks to Italy’s 40% cash back tax rebate.

Thailand’s government has doubled the cap on its production incentive to THB150M ($4.4M), while an increase in the cash rebate it offers to 30% is also being considered.

wcinkala pmc-editorial-manager Variety announced Thursday the programming for its second annual Miami Entertainment Town lunch, to be held on Thursday, April 13, in Miami. The event, in partnership with CN Bank, celebrates the growing entertainment and media industry based out of Miami and recognizes those profiled in Variety’s Miami Entertainment Impact Report. At the celebration, Ronald Day, President of Entertainment and Content Strategy for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, and Karen Barroeta, Executive Vice President of Production and Development Telemundo Global Studios, will participate in a keynote conversation with Rodrigo Nieto-Galvis, Entertainment Banking Team Leader at CN Bank Miami. The conversation will be centered around Telemundo’s strategy and around music and original programming based out of Miami.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France engaged in a record 144 international co-productions in 2022, while the number of majority French movies produced dropped by 10% to 208 titles, according to a study unveiled by the National Film Board (CNC). For the first time since 2003, half of the movies produced in France were international co-productions (with 33 countries) last year, compared with 42.1 % in 2021 and 39.6 % between 2017 and 2019. Investment in films dropped by 12.8% to €1.18 billion ($1.30 billion) compared with 2021, while foreign investment broke a 10-year record. In France, TV channels as well as streamers (since the start of 2022) are required to invest a percentage of annual revenue on French and European productions. As such, they invested a total of €280.78 million in 159 films in 2022, a 8.3 % drop compared with the average invested between 2017 and 2019.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Lauren Probyn Aouad has joined UTA as a marketing executive, marking the company’s first senior hire in its newly opened Atlanta division. As an executive, Aouad will be responsible for growing the division’s presence within the community and developing new partnerships with brands at the intersection of entertainment and advertising. She will report to Julian Jacobs and David Anderson, UTA partners and co-heads of the entertainment and culture Marketing division. She will work closely with Steve Cohen, partner and co-head of UTA’s Atlanta office. “We’re excited to welcome Lauren to our team,” said Anderson, “Our group has expanded substantially over the past few years, both domestically and globally, and we look forward to having her help us grow the business.”

K.J. Yossman “The Rising” Season 2 has been canceled just months before production was due to start, Variety has learned. Cast and crew were gearing up for the Sky Studios show when they were told to down tools two months before principal photography got underway. “It was canceled before they were due to start filming,” a source familiar with the project told Variety. “All the cast and everything [were ready to go] and they just pulled the plug.” Variety understands there were a “number of reasons” the production will not go ahead. The second season, which was set to be titled “Risen,” was due to have a similar premise to the first but with different characters, settings and themes, turning the show into something of an anthology series.

Twice-impeached former president Donald Trump hasn’t been arrested yet, but Jimmy Fallon is pretty sure he’s starting to feel the heat. During Monday night’s episode of “The Tonight Show,” Fallon joked that the location of Trump’s first official 2024 campaign rally was the clearest sign of that.On Saturday, Trump stopped in Waco, Texas to make his first official campaign bid to the people and, as always, his speech was full of lies and gripes about how he’s being treated unfairly.

J. Kim Murphy Tommy Wiseau is back behind the camera again. The director and star of “The Room” has debuted the trailer for “Big Shark,” his first follow-up feature to his trademark 2003 cult melodrama. “Big Shark” follows three firefighters, Georgie, Patrick and Tim, as they work to save New Orleans from an attack by — you guessed it — a very big shark. While this first look at “Big Shark” is only now being debuted online, the trailer has already been playing for audiences at theatrical screenings of “The Room” over recent months. “Big Shark” will kick off its rollout on April 2 with a debut screening at Cinema 21 in Portland, Ore. Screenings will follow over the coming months, with a tentative schedule of engagements hosted by Prytania Theatres at Canal Place in New Orleans (April 28 and 29), the Balboa Theatre in San Francisco, Calif. (May 5 and 6), the Landmark Westwood in Los Angeles (June 2 and 3) and the Village East by Angelika in New York City (August 10, 11 and 12).

Amber Dowling Cineflix Productions has confirmed it is in development with comedian Bonnie McFarlane on a scripted comedy series based on her 2016 memoir, “You’re Better Than Me.” The project is inspired by McFarlane’s time as a high schooler in Cold Lake, Alberta, in the mid-1980s. McFarlane serves as the creator and writer for the half-hour series, which takes place on a farm “294 kilometres outside the nearest pizza delivery zone.” There, a 16-year-old Bonnie flexes her smart mouth, hangs out with her BFF bovine, and recognizes that she’s not the easiest person to get along with.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Eyeconic Pictures, the recently formed production company from Al Bravo and Niko Foster, has announced that Mena Suvari (“American Beauty”) has joined the cast of action thriller “The Wrecker,” which stars Foster. Tyrese Gibson (“The Fast and Furious” movie franchise) and Harvey Keitel (“Reservoir Dogs”) were previously announced to the cast. Chad Michael Collins, Ego Mikitas and Danny Trejo round out the key cast. Production is currently taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Art Camacho is directing from an original screenplay by Foster, which follows a dishonorably discharged ex-marine named Tony, now turned car mechanic, whose life takes an unexpected turn when his reckless brother makes a bad decision gaining the unwanted attention of a notorious crime boss.

Luther: The Fallen Sun re-written to make the film a little less scary than the original TV series.Netflix‘s cause for concern in terms of terror were prior criticisms aimed at the BBC series that gave birth to the film. Luther has frequently been spotlighted for its graphic violence against female victims – something that supposedly worried the streaming giant.According to Luther writer and creator Neil Cross, as reported by LadBible, Netflix were worried about the original script being too “frightening” for audiences as it opened with a female victim.

Ed Meza @edmezavar The Barcelona-set feature “La nit no fa vigília” and Argentine film “Hidden City” (“Ciudad Oculta”) won the Malaga Festival Work in Progress awards for Spanish and Latin American projects on Friday. “La nit no fa vigília” (which roughly translates to “The Night Does Not Keep Watch”) centers on a young man who lives with and cares for his aging, frail grandmother, but still finds time for a nocturnal social life. It was among the frontrunners to win at the awards ceremony. A joint project from a student collective comprising Laura Corominas Espelt, Laura Serra Solé, Clara Serrano Llorens, Gerard Simó Gimeno, Ariadna Ulldemolins Abad and Pau Vall Capdet, “La nit no fa vigília” also won the industry magazine Cine y Tele prize.

Amanda Dudamel is following the path to success, after becoming the fan-favorite participant in Miss Universe 2022. It’s no secret that the fashion designer has been looking for the right moment to make her fashion dreams come true, and she is now pursuing her passion.Amanda announced the exciting news to her fans and followers and social media, receiving all the support, as she embarked on a new business venture, creating her new Spring/Summer collection, which focuses on headscarves and bandanas, to be released on Sunday, March 19, 2023.“I am extremely happy to have shared with you the launch date of this special edition of headscarves that were designed with a beautiful concept,” Amanda said, adding that she would be giving more details in the upcoming days.Fans of the Venezuelan designer are already asking to see more of the new collection, and even requesting more items.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Paramount+ is launching its first-ever mobile-only streaming subscription plan in Mexico and Brazil. Paramount+’s Basic Plan, described as “competitively priced,” will be available from April 18. It will allow subscribers to stream content on one mobile device or tablet at a time, uninterrupted and without ads. “This new offering is part of our broader strategy to scale Paramount+,” said Marco Nobili, executive vice president and international general manager for Paramount+. “With multi-tier pricing options, Paramount+ will reach even more subscribers by fitting diverse customer choices and grow our global direct-to-consumer distribution. With mobile entertainment consumption increasing around the world, a mobile-only option will make our slate of programming more accessible to our audiences in mobile-first countries.”

EXCLUSIVE: Indie film distributor Good Deed Entertainment has today announced the launch of their new production division, to be led by Head of Production and Development Phil Garrett.