ZDF Enterprises Racks up Sales for Pandemic Thriller ‘Sløborn’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Take-Two Interactive has stopped its business with the Russian market amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine.According to GamesIndustry.biz all game sales, marketing and services have been pulled from Russia and Belarus. According to Newzoo data shared with GamesIndustry.biz, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 5 – which is owned by Take-Two – is the third most popular game in Russia based on monthly users.Take-Two’s decision follows the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24 and sees the company joining the likes of EA, Microsoft, CD Projekt Red and Epic Games in its decision to stop market dealings with Russia.Take-Two vice president of corporate communications Alan Lewis said: “We have watched recent events unfold in Ukraine with concern and sadness.”“After significant consideration, last week, we decided to stop new sales, installations, and marketing support across all our labels in Russia and Belarus at this time.”The Nintendo eShop has also stopped processing payments and gone into what is being called “maintenance mode” in Russia, although as of publication it is unclear if this is Nintendo’s sole doing or that of a third party.Elsewhere, Take-Two has been served a lawsuit concerning the use of loot boxes in its NBA 2K games, with the plaintiff seeking £3.7million in damages.The case says that the “defendant’s unfair, deceptive and unlawful practices, including illegal gambling practices, deceive, mislead and harm consumers”.

EXCLUSIVE: UK sales firm Rocket Science has boarded world sales on Clean, the fly on the wall documentary from Lachlan McLeod (Big In Japan) which premieres in the Documentary Competition section at SXSW.

Fortnite creator Epic Games has announced that it “is stopping commerce with Russia,” joining a growing list of companies that are boycotting the country over its invasion of Ukraine.On Saturday (March 5), Epic Games shared on Twitter that “it is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine.”However, the company added that it is “not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.”Epic is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine. We’re not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) March 5, 2022This means that although fans in Russia will still be able to access titles such as Fortnite, they won’t be able to make any in-game purchases.

PlayStation has pulled Gran Turismo 7 from sale in Russia, seemingly joining several other companies that have stopped selling their products in the country due to its invasion of Ukraine.As spotted by Eurogamer, Gran Turismo 7 is no longer available to purchase on the Russian PlayStation Store.The racing game launched today (March 4) and is available to purchase in other regions without issue. Though Sony is yet to comment on the removed title, the studio is likely joining several other companies in halting game sales in the region.On Wednesday (March 2), Mykhailo Fedorov – Ukraine’s vice prime minister – called on PlayStation and Xbox to “temporarily block all Russian and Belorussian accounts” on their platforms, explaining that “such actions will motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.”Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, studios across the games industry have condemned the military action by halting game sales within Russia.

Bullet Train, an action thriller starring Brad Pitt as a deadly assassin, has been released.Directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde), Bullet Train stars Pitt as Lady Bug, an experienced assassin who boards a Japanese bullet train filled with other professional killers who have been sent to fulfil their own assignments.Based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka, the film also stars Joey King, Andrew Koji, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Masi Oka, Michael Shannon, Logan Lerman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Karen Fukuhara, Benito A Martinez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny, and Sandra Bullock.In the trailer shared by Sony Pictures, Pitt is shown encountering another assassin played by Bad Bunny, soundtracked by Bee Gees track ‘Stayin’ Alive’.Lady Gaga was originally cast for Bullock’s role but she was forced to exit the project over scheduling conflicts with Ridley Scott film House Of Gucci.Along with Bullet Train, Pitt is set to make an appearance in upcoming film The Lost City alongside Bullock and Channing Tatum. He’s also been cast in Babylon from director Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash), set to be released in December.

Snapchat parent Snap Inc. said it is halting ad sales to Russian and Belarusian media buyers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorApple announced several actions it has taken in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including temporarily halting all product sales in Russia.The company also has disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine “as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.”Last week, according to Apple, the company stopped all exports into its sales channel in Russia. It also has limited access to Apple Pay and other services in the country.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSnap, the parent company of Snapchat, is the latest internet company to weigh in on the Russian attack on Ukraine. The social messaging and media company said it has stopped running all advertising in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and is halting ad sales to all Russian and Belarusian entities as part of “complying with all sanctions targeting Russian businesses and individuals.”The company said it continues to offer the Snapchat application in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia “as it remains an important communications tool for family and friends.”The company noted that Ukraine is the birthplace of Looksery, the company whose technology laid the foundation for Snap’s augmented reality platform, “and has been the home of more than 300 of Snap’s most creative and talented team members.” Snap has pledged more than $15 million in humanitarian aid to support organizations providing direct relief to the people of Ukraine.

BBC Studios And Sky Deutschland Strike Factual Content Deal

Many have heard the names Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the mountaineer from New Zealand and Nepal who in 1953 were the first men to summit Mt. Everest. Climbing enthusiasts will have heard about Japan’s Junko Tabei, who was the first woman to reach the highest point on Earth in 1975.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Novelist’s Film,” which Wednesday earned Korean director Hong Sang-soo the Grand Jury Prize in Berlin, has scored multiple rights deals. With Seoul-based Finecut handling the rights sales, the film was licensed to Ama Films for Greece and Cyprus, Mimosa Films for Japan, L’Atalante Cinema for Spain, Arizona Films Distribution for France and to The Cinema Guild for the U.S.Finecut also did European Film Market business with “Contorted,” an unorthodox horror about a family tragedy.

K.J. Yossman Dogwoof will handle international sales for Jason Kohn’s “Nothing Lasts Forever” following its world premiere in Berlin.Kohn spent ten years on the project, traversing across the world and speaking to industry insiders including Dusan Simic, Aja Raden, Martin Rappaport, Stephen Lussier and Chandu Sheta.“Infiltrating the highly secretive diamond industry, Kohn uncovers a threat to the lucrative trade that could devalue every diamond ever mined, effectively destroying the universal symbol of love and commitment,” reads the logline.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentIn the early days of what we used to call “coronavirus” in March 2020, before we all became budding epidemiologists, people flocked to Steven Soderbergh’s eerily prophetic 2011 drama “Contagion” on streaming services. Within a month or so, the movie was propelled from the 270th slot to the second most watched film in the Warner Bros.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Top Argentine sales and production company, FilmSharks Int’l, has picked up worldwide sales rights to Matias Lucchesi’s latest film “The Broken Land” (“Las Rojas”) ahead of its debut at the European Film Market (EFM).This will be the second time for a Lucchesi film to be present in Berlin. Lucchesi snagged the best feature prize at the Berlinale Generation Kplus sidebar with his feature debut, “Natural Sciences,” in 2014.Shot mainly in the majestic Cordillera de las Andes of Mendoza, Argentina, “The Broken Land” can be described as a thriller with Western undertones, highlighted by the soulful music of composer Hernan Segret.Drama centers on two female paleontologists, played by Argentina’s Mercedes Moran (“La Cienaga”) and Uruguay’s Natalia Oreiro (“The Unseen”), who are at loggerheads from the moment they meet. Oreiro’s character, Constanza, has come to the protected national reserve where Moran’s equally strong-willed character, Carlota, has been toiling for years.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentTel-Aviv-based Cinephil, the sales company behind triple-Oscar nominated “Flee,” has snapped up world rights, excluding U.S., to Italian director Nicolò Bassetti’s transgender-themed doc “Into My Name,” which is executive-produced by Elliot Page.UTA Independent Film Group will be handling North American rights. The buzzy doc, which world-premieres at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama Documentary section, stems from Bassetti’s personal experience with the gender transition of his child, Matteo.“Into My Name” provides an intimate look at the universal challenges of gender transition by observing a tight-knit group of trans friends in the central Italian city of Bologna. Cinephil managing director Olivier Tournaud in a statement said that he was “immediately taken” by Bassetti’s “sensitive and relatable exploration of the many facets of gender and even more so the love letter from a father to his son.”“Into My Name is timely and spotlights voices that need to be heard; this is exactly the kind of film Cinephil is proud to represent,” Tournaud noted.Bassetti underlined that for him the doc “is a deeply personal project, both as a parent of a transgender son and as a director who has always explored individual paths that show our shared humanity.” “I trust that together with a strong partner such as Cinephil, we can add to the awareness and understanding of trans issues with international audiences,” the director said.The doc’s characters, Nico, Leo, Andrea and Raff — whose ages span from their mid-20s to mid-30s — come from different parts of Italy, and started their gender transition from a female to a male identity at different times in their lives.

Ed Meza @edmezavarOrganizers of the upcoming Berlinale continue to plan for a physical festival under strict safety measures, but with the EFM already moved online due to rising COVID-19 cases, this year looks set to be another gloomy gathering, not only for Germany’s dispirited film sector, but also for Berlin businesses bracing for more lost revenue.Local cinema operators and distributors have welcomed the move, but the condensed event and ongoing Omicron scare is likely to keep attendance on the low side.“This is such an important signal for the entire culture and film industry,” says Christian Bräuer, chairman of independent cinema association AG Kino – Gilde and managing director of Berlin’s Yorck-Kino group. “Of course, as social venues, we are aware of our responsibility.

‘Righteous Thieves’ First Look

EXCLUSIVE: Lydia Leonard (the English Call My Agent remake), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner) and Sverrir Gudnason (Borg Vs. McEnroe) are leading the cast of Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson’s first English language feature Northern Comfort.

Holly Jones In anticipation of its world premiere at the Berlinale, Latido Films, which is handling international distribution, has provided Variety exclusive access to the international trailer for Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s debut feature, “Lullaby.”The film, which takes an earnest glimpse into the fraught dynamics of cross-generational caregiving, will be included as part of the Panorama strand at the fest, which lends a platform to projects covering societal taboos and topics not oft-breached by commercial cinema.In “Lullaby,” an exhausted Amaia (Laia Costa) is tasked with seeking comfort and aid from her aging parents as her husband, Javi (Mikel Bustamante), follows his career out of town after the birth of their child. A wide range of emotions are displayed as Amaia learns to understand and engage with her mother, Begoñia (Susi Sanchez), while forging her way towards independence. “We never talk about motherhood as a crisis.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor“1341 Frames of Love and War,” which world premieres in the Berlinale Special section of the Berlin Film Festival, has debuted its trailer with Variety. World sales are being handled by Reservoir Docs, excluding North America, Israel, Greece and Portugal, which are being sold by the filmmakers.The film is a documentary portrait of one of the world’s leading war photographers, Israel’s Micha Bar-Am.