Zendaya and Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Challengers’ to Skip France Theatrical Release, Debut on Prime Video

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent During a masterclass at the Nouvelles Vagues Festival in Biarritz, France, Penélope Cruz revealed that she will soon make her directorial debut with a mystery documentary feature. Cruz, a guest of honor of this inaugural edition of Nouvelles Vagues, took part in a Q&A following the French premiere of “On the Fringe,” a commentary on Spain’s eviction crisis which she produced with Alvaro Longoria. Set over the course of 24 hours in a working class neighborhood of Madrid, the film follows several marginalized characters whose fates are intertwined as they struggle financially and face eviction. Cruz said she set up her production company, Moonlyon, with Laura Espeso (“The Good Boss”) and Spanish powerhouse Mediapro Studio in 2022 to pursue “meaningful” projects as a producer and director.

Roadside Attractions has released the trailer for “Dreamin’ Wild”, the upcoming biographical music-drama that tells a moving story about prevailing against all odds.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Nouvelles Vagues, a new international festival dedicated to films about youth, is set to make a splashy debut Wednesday in Biarritz, a surf haven in southwestern France, with Penélope Cruz as its inaugural guest of honor. Launching with partners such as Chanel and leading French pay TV banner Canal+, Nouvelles Vagues was founded by fashion veteran Jérôme Pulis, who worked at Christian Dior for 16 years and producer Sandrine Brauer. The pair have enlisted former Locarno artistic director Lili Hinstin as programming chief. The festival is kicking off Wednesday evening with the screening of Tina Satter’s “Reality,” the Berlinale breakout film starring Sydney Sweeney, followed by a gala dinner hosted by Chanel. “Reality” was acquired by HBO Films for North America on the heels of its critically acclaimed world premiere at Berlin. Metropolitan FilmExport, the French distributor of “Reality,” is holding the local premiere of “Reality” at Nouvelles Vagues ahead of its theatrical release in August — a sign that the festival is perceived by French industry players as a potentially strong launchpad in a crowded marketplace.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Samuel Goldwyn Films has unveiled the trailer for “Simone: Woman of the Century,” a biopic of Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became health minister of France and championed the 1975 law that legalized abortion in France.  Directed by Olivier Dahan, best-known for his Oscar-winning Edith Piaf biopic “La Vie en Rose,” “Simone” boasts powerful performances by Elsa Zylberstein and Rebecca Marder. The key cast is completed by Elodie Bouchez, Sylvie Testud and Olivier Gourmet. The film was a box office hit in France, where it was released by Warner Bros and ranked as 2022’s third highest-grossing French-language hit with over 2.5 million tickets sold. Samuel Goldwyn Films is planning to release the film in U.S. theaters, opening in New York and Los Angeles on Aug. 18, followed by a wider rollout.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, Rachel Zegler and Emily Mortimer are in talks to join the cast of “Paddington in Peru,” the third opus of the beloved bear’s adventures. Set to start filming on July, the third installment film will also star Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin. Ben Whishaw and Imelda Staunton will also be back as the voices of Paddington and Aunt Lucy, respectively. Filming locations will include the UK, Peru and Colombia. The movie will mark the feature film directorial debut of Dougal Wilson, and reteams Studiocanal with Heyday Films following their collaboration on the first two films of the Paddington franchise. Studiocanal is fully financing and will distribute in the UK, France, Germany, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand as well as through partners in China and Japan. Sony Pictures will distribute in the USA, Canada and other key international territories including Latin America.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French actor-director Nicolas Bedos has been placed in police custody in Paris following a police complaint filed by a woman for an alleged sexual assault, Variety has confirmed. The alleged incident occurred during the night of June 1 in a Parisian club where Bedos allegedly put his hand on the crotch of the woman who was wearing jeans, according to news agency AFP, which reported that it had access to the police complaint. Bedos’ attorney Julia Minkowski declined to comment. A source close to Bedos told French journalists that if such act had occurred, it had to be “accidental.” Bedos has been in custody since Wednesday afternoon.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Francois de Brugada, the long-running boss of Banijay France, will be stepping down in September to lead FL Entertainment’s newly created division dedicated to live events. Named Banijay Events, the division will build on Banijay’s parent company FL Entertainment’s recent investment in The Independents, a global marketing and communications group for luxury and lifestyle brands, as well as Banijay’s acquisition of Balich Wonder Studio, the Italian entertainment group. FL Entertainment said Banijay will be able to seize opportunities within the live event industry as it “remains largely unconsolidated and has a business model very similar to that of content production and distribution.” Banijay reached €3.2 billion ($3.5 billion) in revenues for 2022.

Zendaya sparked an online frenzy after the first trailer for director Luca Guadagnino’s new film “Challengers” was released.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Leos Carax, whose latest film “Annette” won best director at Cannes in 2021, will shed light on his enigmatic and singular body of work in his next project “It’s Not Me.” The self-portrait film reunites Carax with French actor Denis Lavant whom he directed in five of his most famous films, including “Boy Meets Girl,” “Bad Blood,” “Lovers on the Bridge,” and Berlinale prizewinning “Holy Motors.” Les Films du Losange, the Paris-based company which won this year’s Berlinale Golden Bear with Nicolas Philibert’s On The Adamant, will distribute “It’s Not Me” in France, as well as represent the film in international markets. “It’s Not Me” also reteams Carax with Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema, who produced “Annette.” After world premiering at Cannes, the ambitious English language musical drama went on to win many laurels, including best director at the Cesar Awards. It also earned a Cesar nomination for Driver, and a Golden Globe nomination for Cotillard.

Challengers, a tennis drama starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, has dropped.Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Bones And All) has directed the film, which arrives in US cinemas on September 15.It follows the drama on and off court between former tennis prodigy-turned-coach Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), her husband and failing tennis pro, Art (Faist) and fellow tennis player Patrick (O’Connor), who is Art’s former best friend and Tashi’s ex boyfriend.In the trailer, snippets of Tashi strategising for her husband’s professional redemption are shown, winding up with a match against Patrick. Flashbacks to Tashi, Art and Patrick engaging in a threesome of some description when they were younger are also shown.Meanwhile, in other related news, Zendaya is set to reprise her role as Chani in Dune: Part Two – and the official trailer was released last month.Zendaya, who plays the lead in HBO‘s Euphoria series, also joined the series’ soundtrack star Labrinth onstage at Coachella Festival 2023 in April, making her first live performance in more than eight years.The actress and musician released her self-titled debut album in 2013 ahead of a tour that wrapped in 2015.

Challengers, the latest from Italian director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) offers up romance and intrigue, and allows our girl Z to do what she does best: . Here's everything we know about the new movie:Zendaya plays Tashi, Mike Faist (West Side Story) plays Art and Josh O'Connor (The Crown) plays Patrick, who meet as teens on the tennis circuit. Per , other cast members include Jake Jensen and A.

The tennis world is intense on and off the court.

After incredible, award-winning success with his film, “Call Me By Your Name,” filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has been happily toiling away in the horror film genre with his last two movies, “Suspiria” and “Bones & All.” Now, it appears the filmmaker is leaving the gore behind for something new—a sports drama titled “Challengers.” READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023 As seen in the trailer for “Challengers,” the film follows the story of a young professional tennis prodigy who is at the top of her game.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are currently being raided by French judicial police. The raids could be part of two preliminary investigations launched in 2017 and 2022 on charges of suspected illegal conflict of interests and favoritism, according to BFM TV. The searches are taking place at several sites, including organization committee and at Solideo, the public institution in charge of spearheading the constructions and renovations tied to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to the news org AFP. Paris 2024 confirmed the raids to local outlets including RMC Sport which leaked an internal memo saying that they were “fully collaborating with police to facilitate their investigation. The teams of the judicial police will be on the ground at least today to collect documents,” the letter continued.

“Challengers”, the anticipated tennis drama starring  Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and “West Side Story”’s Mike Faist, will skip out on a French theatrical release and premiere on Prime Video instead.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent London-based outfit Film Constellation has scored a first round of pre-sales on its upcoming family CG animated feature “The Growcodile” at the Annecy Animation Film Festival. “The Growcodile” tells the story of a young girl and her rather unconventional pet, a crocodile named Gilbert. The feature is being adapted by Luuk van Bemmelenfrom from the bestselling children’s book “Crocodile came within!” from renowned Dutch author Paul Van Loon. The animated film, which is expected to be delivered during the fourth quarter of 2025, has pre-sold to Poland (Kinoswiat), Eastern Europe (ProRom), CIS & Baltics (Volga), Portugal (Nos), Greece & Israel (Tanweer), Turkey & MENA (Italia Film), and Vietnam (Lumix), with several other territories under offer and in discussion. KMBO will release it in French theaters.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sapan Studios and IFC Films have acquired U.S. rights to “The Pot-au-Feu,” Trần Anh Hùng’s (“The Scent of Green Papaya”) lush gastronomy-themed romance which competed at the Cannes Film Festival and won best director. The movie is headlined by two of France’s biggest stars, Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel, who won this year’s Cesar Award for “Pacifiction.” “The Pot-au-Feu” was produced by Olivier Delbosc at Curiosa Films and is represented in international markets by Gaumont.  The movie is one of the first titles co-acquired by Sapan Studios and IFC Films as part of their output deal. Sapan Studios is a new TV and film production/distribution company run by former AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Apple TV+ will be tapping into France’s lavish culinary heritage with “Carême,” a new original series about the world’s first celebrity chef, Antonin Carême, which will be directed by Martin Bourboulon (“The Three Musketeers: d’Artagnan”). Set in the 19th century, the eight-episode French drama will chart the sprawling story of Carême, who rose from humble beginnings in Paris to the height of culinary stardom in Napoleon’s Europe. He not only became an iconic chef, he also became a spy for France as his talent and ambitions attracted the attention of powerful politicians, including Napoleon. The series will shed light on the miserable reality of 19th century kitchens, contrasting with the opulence of the mansions and sophisticated of aristocrats.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Vivendi, the parent company of Canal+ Group, has received the green light from the European Commission to proceed with the acquisition of Lagardère, the French media, publishing and travel retail conglomerate. This European Commission has given its approval under Vivendi’s two proposed commitments, starting with the sale of 100% of the share capital of its publishing group Editis, as well as the full sale of Gala magazine. Vivendi said it expects to close both deals by the end of October. It entered into exclusive negotiations to sell Editis to a subsidiary of Czech Media Invest (CMI) founded by Daniel Kretinsky, in March. With the acquisition of Lagardère group, Vivendi’s payroll will rise to 66,000 employees compared to 38,000 at the end of December 2022, with a stronger presence in key markets such as France, the U.K., Spain and the US.