Yle Sales Swoops on ‘Linda’s Room,’ a Finnish Drama Thriller About Sexual Abuse, Ahead of MipTV (EXCLUSIVE)

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic There’s no rule that says that when the son or daughter of a famous filmmaker becomes a director too, he or she has to follow in their parent’s artistic footsteps. But the children of director David Cronenberg have turned out to be chips off the old shock-theater block. In movies like “Possessor” and “Infinity Pool,” the 44-year-old Brandon Cronenberg has proved himself to be a skillful purveyor of body horror and I-dare-you-not-to-look-away extremity.

There’s a nice trio of specialty films to highlight this weekend from Joanna Arnow, Uberto Pasolini and Caitlin Cronenberg‘s feature directorial debut.

Hallmark Channel is bringing back the Brenner brothers for the holidays.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based Picture Tree Intl. has acquired the international sales rights, excluding the Nordic countries, for the Finnish daughter-father comedy “Butterflies” (Perhoset). “Butterflies” is directed by Jenni Toivoniemi, based on a screenplay by Anna Brotkin.

Phillipa Soo is set to star alongside Joshua Jackson and Don Johnson in Dr. Odyssey, a new ABC drama series from Ryan Murphy, which is targeting a fall launch. It hails from 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Tyler, the Creator is no doubt one of the greatest showmen working today in hip-hop. During his headlining set on Saturday night (April 13) at Coachella, the rapper once again proved just that, transforming the main stage into a desert canyon and using lighting and projections to create an ambiance so vivid and entrancing that it could only have sprung from an imaginative mind as his own.

Coachella on Saturday (April 13), Tyler, The Creator brought out two major guests: Childish Gambino and A$AP Rocky.While taking over the main stage as tonight’s headliner, the ‘This Is America’ singer showed up to perform ‘Running Out Of Time’ from Tyler’s 2019 album ‘Igor‘. Glover appeared while the stage was dark, wearing a bucket hat and an oversized cardigan.TYLER THE CREATOR AND CHILDISH GAMBINO YALL !!! pic.twitter.com/QSIDsBCt11— Mukarram Rasheed (@mukarram_jarral) April 14, 2024Tyler, the Creator and Childish Gambino together, y’all ready for this?pic.twitter.com/LzL6rw2LvG— Ace (@ThatUchihaGuy) April 14, 2024“You know what’s sick, I used to hate that n****.

Parents have been given a guideline on the best way to speak to teenagers about sexual health and relationships. A recent report has revealed that nearly a fifth of young people use the internet as their main source of information about sex.

Annika Pham Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has closed Spain and Portugal with AMC Networks International Southern Europe, on the Finnish suspense disaster drama “Seconds”, Variety has learned exclusively. One of REinvent’s MipTV highlights, “Seconds,” made a strong debut on Finnish pubcaster Yle this week, according to head of drama, Jarmo Lampela. “It will easily go over the average viewing target,” he said.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Leading European distributor Global Screen, part of Telepool, has secured further international sales of high-end drama “Davos 1917” at MipTV. New acquisitions of the six-part thriller include SBS Australia, TVP in Poland and Big Tree Entertainment in India and the subcontinent. “Davos 1917,” which launched at the end of last year on SRF in Switzerland and ARD in Germany, has already been bought by a strong lineup of premium international broadcasters and streamers across North America, Europe and Asia.

Annika Pham Copenhagen-based DR Sales has secured major sales on the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner and Visions du Réel Grand Angle entry “A New Kind of Wilderness.” The film, directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, has been acquired by ZDF and Arte for Germany and France, Cinema Delicatessen for the Netherlands, Dalton Distribution for Belgium, Against Gravity for Poland, Kino Pavasaris for the Baltics and Stardust for Japan. “From the moment ‘A New Kind of Wilderness’ was presented to us, we fell in love with the film,” said DR Sales’ Freja Johanne Nørgaard Sørensen.

The boss of Mediawan has praised the “very smart” buying community who in recent years have moved on from a domineering TV rights position.

Marta Balaga The votes are in: Atmospheric (and claustrophobic) Finnish mystery thriller “Icebreaker,” already one of the most buzzed of projects hitting the competition, has been crowned the winner of the 8th edition of MipDrama, receiving its Coup de Coeur award. Sold by About Premium Content, created by Mia Ylönen, who exec produces with Aleksi Bardy, the Elisa Viihde-commissioned show “Icebreaker” is set on a stranded boat. As its crew members start to disappear, one by one, coastguard Sanna Tanner (Jessica Grabowsky) is trying to find answers – but what she is dealing with goes way beyond rational explanations.

Zoe Saldaña and her husband, Marco Perego, have been giving fans a peek behind the curtain of their relationship, revealing a charming yet dramatic anecdote about their engagement. During a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the couple shared the heartfelt story of how Perego proposed to the Avatar actress – a tale marked by a “dramatic” communication mishap.As Perego recounted on the show, the proposal adventure began with a trip to the Dominican Republic, where a significant portion of Saldaña’s family resides.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Women’s pro hoops are coming back to Amazon‘s Prime Video for at least two more years. Prime Video and the WNBA on Friday announced a rights renewal deal under which Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive U.S. streaming partner for a package of 21 games each season, including the Championship Game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Annika Pham Keshet International (KI) has picked up global rights to Finnish sci-fi thriller “Valhalla Project” (“Operaatio Valhalla”), produced by L.A. and Helsinki -based Snapper Films for Finnish streaming service Elisa Viihde.

EXCLUSIVE: House of Ninjas creator Dave Boyle and the star and co-EP of the Netflix series, Kento Kaku, are opening the doors to their new production company, Signal181.

K.J. Yossman Rob McElhenney’s More Better Productions and Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) are set to co-produce a docuseries about the first doping-friendly sports championships, Variety can exclusively confirm.

Annika Pham On the eve of the global content market MipTV in Cannes, Viaplay Group’s Vanda Rapti, EVP Viaplay Select and Content Distribution, has offered a confident outlook on the Scandi streamer’s international activities and content sales. The sales executive, who joined the group in 2003, was able to announce exclusively to Variety a string of new deals on Viaplay’s premium Nordic scripted content.

Marta Balaga Emma Thompson is Team Finland all the way and she wants you to know it. In an emotional letter shared with local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the actor detailed her experience working on Brian Kirk’s upcoming action thriller “The Fisherwoman.” Set in Minnesota, the film will see two-time Oscar winner as a widow who, while trapped in a blizzard, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenager. “They had no snow [in Minnesota] owing to the changing climate, [so] the decision was taken to shoot all the exteriors in Finland.