News

Harmony Korine is returning to his “Kids” roots, quite literally. The director’s latest is the upcoming “Baby Invasion,” billed as a surreal home invasion thriller. The feature, produced through Korine’s multimedia design collective Edglrd, uses artificial intelligence technology to swap the intruders’ faces with those of babies. “Baby Invasion” is filmed as a first-person shooter and will be debuting at Venice 2024.

The first Edglrd release, Korine’s divisive “Aggro Dr1ft,” premiered in September 2023 at the festival. It’s since taken an unusual release pattern, with screenings at strip clubs and online premiere via Edglrd’s website.

The official synopsis for Korine’s new film reads: “‘Baby Invasion’ is a new ultra-realistic, multiplayer Fps game following a group of mercenaries using baby faces as avatars to conceal their identity. Tasked with entering mansions of the rich and powerful and leaving nothing behind, players must explore every rabbit hole before time runs out.

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSThe Souvenir Part II.Equity, the British entertainment industry trade union, has greeted the incoming Labour government—the first in fourteen years, having won in a landslide—with demands for reforms to the government’s arts funding.Meanwhile, across the Channel, snap French parliamentary elections resulted in an upset victory for the leftist coalition Nouveau Front Populaire over Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which had promised to privatize, at least partially, the national television and radio broadcaster, amid other cutbacks.IATSE has released more details regarding its tentative contract with AMPTP, including allowances and limitations around the use of artificial intelligence.Teamsters Local 399 is still bargaining with AMPTP and may still be far from resolving issues...

Scarlett Johansson is one of the most successful Hollywood actors out there. That is to be expected from a star who has acted in a plethora of famous works, including the likes of Avengers, Lucy, Her, and Lost in Translation, amongst other famous works. But that doesn’t mean that she has not faced the odd setback. Even she has had to face numerous rejections time and again, including losing out on a role to Lindsay Lohan.

Scarlett Johansson did not have it easy

Scarlett Johansson was turned down for many roles in her early days

Before Scarlett Johansson made it big as a Hollywood star, she had her fair share of struggles in the industry. It must be difficult for fans to believe that the Marriage Story star found it difficult to catch her big break very early.

That is the the case with most stars though. It is...

For When You Get Lost is a dark comedy that explores family dysfunction in a humorous and heartfelt manner. The movie follows June Stevenson as she takes her estranged sisters on a road trip to make peace with their dying father. The film features stunning imagery of the Pacific Coast and delves into the beauty of landmarks and craft breweries.

Officially premiering at the 30th annual Austin Film Festival, For When You Get Lost is a dark comedy that proves one can still come of age when middle-aged. Directed by Michelle Steffes (who produced Short Term 12) and written by Jennifer Sorenson (Orphan is the New Orange), the movie follows June Stevenson (played by Sorenson herself) as she drags her estranged sisters on a road trip to meet with their father and make peace with him before his death.

Inspired by a road trip that took place in real life, For When You Get Lost...

“This is very much about what points will I have to concede if I’m not fighting for it now.”

Actors and artists need to negotiate now to protect labour in anticipation of how powerful AI will become as the technology expands exponentially, a TIFF Industry Conference panel heard on Friday.

The Perspectives session ‘AI and film: bridging the gap between innovation and responsibility’ at Glenn Gould Studio also addressed broader ethical issues of representing marginalised voices in the creation of the technology, consumer protection, copyright and data privacy.

The panel of four speakers referenced the rapid pace at which...

New Delhi, Sep 7 (Ians) Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk fired former Indian-origin Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal because he was not “a fire-breathing dragon” which the social network wanted in order to thrive, according to a new biography of one of the richest billionaires on Earth.

American author-journalist Walter Isaacson has written the book named ‘Elon Musk’ which is “an intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era — a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence”.

According to excerpts published by the Wall Street Journal, Musk was quite opinionated about Agrawal.

“He is a really nice guy, but managers should not aim to be liked. What Twitter needs is a fire-breathing dragon, and Parag is not that,” he is quoted as saying in Isaacson’s book.

In October last year as he acquired Twitter for $44 billion,...

The Austin Film Festival has announced its first wave of screenings for its upcoming 30th anniversary event.

Oscar winner Emerald Fennell’s new film Saltburn has been chosen as the festival’s opening night selection. The MGM and Amazon Studios title stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, and is described as “a wicked tale of privilege and desire.” It’s the sophomore effort by the acclaimed Promising Young Woman filmmaker, who will be in attendance.

This year also includes several world premieres, such as Lena Headey’s feature directorial debut, The Trap, which stars Headey’s Game of Thrones co-star Michelle Fairley, along with James Nelson Joyce.

Other notable titles (full list and descriptions below) include the debut feature American Fiction from writer-director Cord Jefferson, which stars Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown and Tracee Ellis Ross. Also, screenwriter Brian Helgeland returns to Aff with his newest project, Finestkind,...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh – US

Bee Movie – UK

Big Daddy – US

Bill – UK

Brokeback Mountain – US

The Bye Bye Man...

Game of Thrones alumna Lena Headey has been tapped to headline Kurt Sutter’s Western action drama series The Abandons at Netflix.

Created by Sutter, in The Abandons, a group of diverse, outlier families pursue their Manifest Destiny in 1850s Oregon, a corrupt force of wealth and power, coveting their land, tries to force them out. These abandoned souls, the kind of lost souls living on the fringe of society, unite their tribes to form a family and fight back. In this bloody process, “justice” is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law. The Abandons will explore that fine line between survival and law, the consequences of violence, and the corrosive power of secrets, as this family fights to keep their land.

Headey will play Fiona, a strong, devout matriarch who, unable to have her own children, took in four orphans to create her own family. Driven by a higher...

San Sebastian’s pix-in-post showcases, which have launched notable movies – Sebastian Lelio’s “Gloria” – and notable directors – Jayro Bustamante, introducing his debut “Ixcanul” – unspools in 2022, with the screenings of six Wip Latam titles taking place over Sept. 19 – 21. Wip Europe, with four titles, runs on Sept. 19 and 20.

In the mix is an awaited title from Chile, “Penal Cordillera,” directed by Felipe Carmona, produced by Dominga Sotomayor and Omar Zuñiga and sold by Luxbox, and “A Strange Path,” from Brazil’s Guto Parente, whose “The Cannibal Club,” acquired by Uncork’d Entertainment, made a stir by portraying a Brazil in which the rich literally eat the poor.

Also competing in Wip Latam is “A House in the Country,” from Davi Pretto whose “Rifle” – his second film, after the impressive “Castanha” – premiered at 67th Berlinale Forum and won the Grand Prize at Jeonju Intl. Film Festival.

The highest profile title in Wip Europe is “Hesitation Wound,...

Most cheerful movies don’t open with their protagonist in a coma, narrating the events from their hospital bed. But in a fortunate reversal, director Matt Smukler’s “Wildflower” mostly grows from there, into a sweet yet straightforward coming of age drama.

“Wildflower” stars Kiernan Shipka (“Swimming With Sharks”) as Bambi, who prefers to be called “Bea” because her parents named her after a cartoon character. Those parents, Sharon (Samantha Hyde) and Derek, are both intellectually disabled, but living independently in their own house, keeping their family afloat through positive attitudes, good-natured religion and working class stick-to-itiveness.

As we learn from Bea’s flashbacks — in scenes she couldn’t possibly have witnessed or heard about from her parents — Sharon and Derek’s romance was easy for them, but difficult for their own families. Jean Smart and Brad Garrett play Sharon’s mother and father, and Jacki Weaver plays Derek’s mother,...

UK financier Goldfinch has shuttered three of its subsidiary companies.

According to documents on Companies House, Bird Box Distribution Ltd entered a creditors liquidation and Seis vehicle Bird Box Film Development is being dissolved this week. Streaming platform Birdbox.film, a short-lived VOD service, has also gone out of business.

Phil McKenzie, COO Goldfinch, told us: “Goldfinch continues to actively invest in the future of the UK and global independent film industry and operates across a number of lines of business. However, as with most businesses, some ventures are simply more successful than others. Birdbox Distribution Ltd and birdbox.film were only start-up ventures within the Goldfinch group and as with many such enterprises they unfortunately, and after a tough couple of years, became no longer viable and ceased to trade.”

According to Companies House, Bird Box Distribution (Bbd) amassed debts of £363,227. A large part of this debt was a loan owed to a young,...

The company has also shut down its Bird Box Film Development arm.

Three of the subsidiary companies of Kirsty Bell’s family-owned media outfit Goldfinch have gone out of business.

Goldfinch confirmed this week that Bird Box Distribution Ltd, the company set up to assist with film sales and distribution strategy in the UK, has ceased trading.

UK streaming platform BirdBox.Film, launched in May 2020, has also been shuttered, “as it was no longer viable as a business venture for us,” according to a company spokesperson.

A third entity, Bird Box Film Development Ltd, an Seis (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme...

Projects from Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine will participate

Projects from Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine will participate in San Sebastian’s Wip Europa, an initiative for films with majority European productions.

The four projects are all in post-production and will screen to producers, distributors, sales agents and programmers between September 19-21 to compete for the Wip Europa industry award, which assists with post-production, and the Wip Europa award of €10,000.

The second feature from Turkey’s Selman Necar, Hesitation Wound, won a CineLink industry prize at Sarajevo last year and follows an attorney grappling with her...

Festival to close with Pjer Zalica’s ‘May Labor Day’.

New film projects from Bulgarian filmmaker Stephan Komandarev and Renen Schorr, the former head of Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel School for Film and Television, are among the 12 features selected for Sarajevo’s CineLink Work In Progress section.

The festival has also programmed the world premiere of Bosnian-Herzegovinian director Pjer Zalica’s May Labor Day as its closing film, on August 19.

Scroll down for the full list of projects

The Work In Progress strand consists of 10 fiction and two documentary projects, which will be presented to industry professionals including funders, sales agents,...

Former Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs is moving into comics for his new project, with a crowdfunded sci-fi graphic novel that’s at once a sports comic and a polemic against systemic failures that drive the poor to crime.

The Trap centers around Jaylen Robinson, a rising star in the world of the new intergalactic sport, surfriding, even though he hails from the least likely starting point: Earth. But when he needs money in a hurry to repair broken equipment, he agrees to a heist that goes horribly wrong — and threatens to ruin his life completely.

As Briggs describes it, the ...

Former Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs is moving into comics for his new project, with a crowdfunded sci-fi graphic novel that’s at once a sports comic and a polemic against systemic failures that drive the poor to crime.

The Trap centers around Jaylen Robinson, a rising star in the world of the new intergalactic sport, surfriding, even though he hails from the least likely starting point: Earth. But when he needs money in a hurry to repair broken equipment, he agrees to a heist that goes horribly wrong — and threatens to ruin his life completely.

As Briggs describes it, the ...

The 2020 edition of European Shooting Stars has unveiled the 10 young acting talents it will spotlight, with participants arriving with credits including Polish Oscar shortlisted feature Corpus Christi.

On the list is Polish actor Bartosz Bielenia, whose turn as an amateur priest in Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi has already earned him acting awards at the Stockholm, Chicago and El Gouna film festivals.

He is selected alongside Danish actress Victoria Carmen Sonne, who has appeared in Hlynur Palmason’s Winters Brothers and Isabella Eklöf’s 2018 Sundance pic Holiday; she has won two Danish Academy awards (Bodils).

Also named is Swiss actress Ella Rumpf, who lead the cast of Julia Ducournau’s 2016 Cannes selection Raw, which won her the Révelation prize at the 2018 César Awards, and Jakob Lass’s 2017 Berlin title Tiger Girl. Rumpf will also appear this year in upcoming German Netflix series Freud.

Portuguese talent Joana Ribeiro makes the 2020 cut...

The BAFTA Film Award nominations are finally here. On Jan. 7, British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced the full list of nominations ahead of the ceremony, which takes place on Feb. 2, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Joker is the frontrunner with 11 nominations, shortly followed by The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with 10, and 1917 close behind with nine nominations.

As for actors, although the BAFTAs aren't limited to British productions, this year's nominees include plenty of Brits, including Florence Pugh, Taron Egerton, and Anthony Hopkins. We'll have to wait until next month to see all of the winners announced during the ceremony at Royal Albert Hall.

Best Film

1917

The Irishman

Joker

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Parasite

Outstanding British Film

1917

Bait

For Sama

Rocketman

Sorry We Missed You

The Two Popes

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer

Bait Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers,...

BAFTA bigwigs admitted disappointment at the all-white acting nominations unveiled Tuesday, and called on the industry to affect better and faster change. It also promised action on gender equality, telling Variety the next edition of its Elevate program will be dedicated to female directors after women helmers were once again shut out of the main category at the 2020 awards.

“Infuriating lack of diversity in the acting noms,” Marc Samuelson, chair of BAFTA’s film committee, told Variety when asked for his take on this year’s nominations. “It’s just a frustration that the industry is not moving as fast as certainly the whole BAFTA team would like it to be.”

BAFTA faced a barrage of criticism after all of the 20 main acting nominations in the 2020 BAFTA film awards went to white actors and, once again, there was an all-male list of best director noms. Many of the films nominated...

Nominations for the 2020 British Academy Film Awards (otherwise known as the BAFTAs) were announced Tuesday (Jan. 7) just hours before Oscar nominations voting ends. These kudos, honoring the best British and international contributions to film, will be handed out on Feb. 2 in a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London. That is two days before the deadline for academy members to cast their final ballots. The 92nd Academy Awards take place on Sunday, February 9.

“Joker” leads all films with 11 nominations, while “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “The Irishman” tie for second with 10 each. “1917” has nine bids, “Jojo Rabbit” earned six while “Marriage Story,” “The Two Popes,” and “Little Women” received five each.

“Parasite,” “Rocketman,” and “For Sama” earned four each. (Read the full list of nominations below – they are not without their surprises and snubs.) Receiving three bids each were: “Bombshell,” “Judy,” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Hey,"Supernatural" fans. We are back to serve up some new spoiler scoops for you guys. These will be for the next,new episode in the current season 15 line up. That episode is number 9. As most of you are aware, Supernatural is currently on hiatus for the winter break, but it will be returning with the new episode 9 on January 16, 2020. In light of that, we're going to make sure you guys are well prepped for that episode. The lovely CW folks recently served up the official press release for episode 9, which features a few teaser descriptions. We're going to run those buy you guys in this spoiler session. So, with no further ado, let's get into it. To start this session off, The episode 9 press release let us know what the title of episode 9 is. It's officially called,"The Trap." It sounds like episode 9 will feature some very interesting, possible...

Other winners include ’Ghost Tropic’, ‘The Fourth Wall’ and ’A Certain Kind of Silence’.

Immigrant drama I Am No Longer Here, from Mexican director Fernando Frias, has won the Golden Pyramid for best film at the 41st Cairo International Film Festival.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Frias’ timely drama centres on a Mexican teenager forced to move to the Us after getting on the wrong side of a drugs cartel. Its young star, Juan Daniel Garcia Trevino, was feted with best actor.

Also in the international competition, Belgian director Bas Devos won the Silver Pyramid for urban night-time odyssey tale Ghost Tropic.

Further deals secured for ‘The Nest,’ ‘The Most Beautiful Day In The World’ and ‘The Trap’.

Rome-based sales company True Colours has scored a series of deals on four films at Afm, including upcoming comedy drama Superheroes.

Directed by Paolo Genovese, whose credits include Perfect Strangers, Superheroes has been pre-sold to PROvzglyad for Russia and the Baltics, and Swallow Wings for Taiwan.

Principal photography began in September on the film, starring Jasmine Trinca and Alessandro Borghi as a young couple struggling to keep their relationship alive. It is set to be released in Italy by Medusa in the second half...

Further deals secured for ‘The Nest,’ ‘The Most Beautiful Day In The World’ and ‘The Trap’.

Rome-based sales company True Colours has scored a series of deals on four films at Afm, including upcoming comedy drama Superheroes.

Directed by Paolo Genovese, whose credits include Perfect Strangers, Superheroes has been pre-sold to PROvzglyad for Russia and the Baltics, and Swallow Wings for Taiwan.

Principal photography began in September on the film, starring Jasmine Trinca and Alessandro Borghi as a young couple struggling to keep their relationship alive. It is set to be released in Italy by Medusa in the second half...

Marathi drama The Trap (Ghaath) is one of three films co-produced by Drishyam and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio.

Manish Mundra’s indie powerhouse Drishyam Films is moving into regional-language film with Marathi mystery drama The Trap (Ghaath), the third project under a three-picture deal with Jio Studios.

Directed by Chhatrapal Ninawe, the film is set on the fringes of India’s Maoist-affected tribal areas and revolves around the tense interplay between Maoist guerrillas and the police.

The cast includes acclaimed Marathi actors such as Milind Shinde (Babu Band Baja) and Jitendra Joshi, who starred in Netflix web series Sacred Games.

British filmmaker Wash Westmoreland has been named president of the official competition jury for the BFI London Film Festival. 

The Colette and Still Alice director will be joined on the main jury by I, Daniel Blake star Hayley Squires; Sudabeh Mortezai, who won the top prize in London last year with her film Joy; Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, whose directorial debut short The Trap is in the festival lineup; prolific Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy; and Total Film editor Jane Crowther. 

Among the pics to vie for best film honors are Haifaa Al Mansour's Saudi-shot The Perfect Candidate, Shia Labeouf's semi-autobiographical ...

British filmmaker Wash Westmoreland has been named president of the official competition jury for the BFI London Film Festival. 

The Colette and Still Alice director will be joined on the main jury by I, Daniel Blake star Hayley Squires; Sudabeh Mortezai, who won the top prize in London last year with her film Joy; Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, whose directorial debut short The Trap is in the festival lineup; prolific Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy; and Total Film editor Jane Crowther. 

Among the pics to vie for best film honors are Haifaa Al Mansour's Saudi-shot The Perfect Candidate, Shia Labeouf's semi-autobiographical ...

The annual Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Running Aug. 8-17, the shorts film fest brings together premium story creators, top-flight industry leaders and dynamic companies, launching filmmakers into the next stages of their careers.

“We had submissions from 80 countries this year. The event has truly become an explosion of phenomenal short-form content,” says Theo Dumont, co-founder of HollyShorts.

Of a record 6,000 submissions, roughly 400 official selections have been made, spread out over three categories: short film, live action and animation. HollyShorts also engages the community and spotlights short films year-round through monthly screenings, panels and networking events.

“It’s been remarkable to see the exponential growth of the festival over the years as we’re always searching for the next wave of talented filmmakers,” says co-founder Daniel Sol.

The opening night red carpet celebration will be held at the Tcl Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Taking place concurrently...

The HollyShorts 15th annual short film festival will kick off Aug. 8 with a star-heavy slate of films for its opening night, led by Lena Headey’s The Trap, starring her Game of Thrones co-star Michelle Fairley and James Nelson-Joyce.

HollyShorts, the Los Angeles-based short film festival, will also open at Tcl Chinese Theater with screenings of Janina Gavankar and Russo Schelling’s short Stucco, which stars Debra Messing, Aisha Tyler and Michael Ealy.

And Dane Cook will bring his dramedy American Typecast, which he co-wrote with Monib Abhat and in which both star. Rounding out the opening night lineup is writer-director Eli ...

The HollyShorts 15th annual short film festival will kick off Aug. 8 with a star-heavy slate of films for its opening night, led by Lena Headey’s The Trap, starring her Game of Thrones co-star Michelle Fairley and James Nelson-Joyce.

HollyShorts, the Los Angeles-based short film festival, will also open at Tcl Chinese Theater with screenings of Janina Gavankar and Russo Schelling’s short Stucco, which stars Debra Messing, Aisha Tyler and Michael Ealy.

And Dane Cook will bring his dramedy American Typecast, which he co-wrote with Monib Abhat and in which both star. Rounding out the opening night lineup is writer-director Eli ...

Cannes–The Pop Up Film Residency, a mentorship program launched this year by former TorinoFilmLab artistic director Matthieu Darras and Slovak producer Juraj Krasnohorsky, has announced three new residents, four new hosts, and two new creative partners for 2019.

Based in Bratislava, the program offers a three-week residency in Slovakia each month, along with a series of international residencies throughout the year with a growing network of partners, including Cannes Critics’ Week, Eave and the Doha Film Institute.

“The big difference between this residency and other support schemes for talents is that it’s really tailor-made,” said Darras. “Once we really get an understanding of the person, the project, we actually find the good residency.”

A former Cannes Critics’ Week programmer, Darras described the Pop Up Film Residency as a “passion project” designed to offer mentorship on an intimate scale. “I have 20 years of experience running labs, where I usually have programs with 20, 25 projects,...

Pictured: “Little Joe” director Jessica Hausner, Martin Gschlacht, one of the film’s producers, Kirsten Niehuus, with director-producer Cordula Kablitz-Post.

Berlin funding agency Medienboard’s managing director Kirsten Niehuus hosted a cocktail reception on Saturday at Grand Hotel in Cannes to celebrate the five films it funded that feature in the festival program.

The five films are competition titles “A Hidden Life” and “Little Joe”; Un Certain Regard films “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao” and “Liberté”; and Critics’ Week film “The Trap”.

Among the 350 guests were August Diehl, an actor in Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life”; Jessica Hausner, director of “Little Joe”; Albert Serra, director of “Liberté”; Karim Aïnouz, director of “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao”; and Carlo Chatrian, newly assigned artistic director of the Berlinale.

Other guests include Edward Berger, director of “Patrick Melrose,” “Deutschland 83” and “Jack”; Nurhan Sekerci-Porst, producer of Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade...

Exclusive: Manager/producer Brian Sher has signed a first-look deal with Ucp and Wilshire Studios to develop both scripted and unscripted programming. Sher has set his first project under the pact, a scripted comedy Public Figures at Ucp from How To Make It in America creator Ian Edelman starring rapper/actor Lil Yachty (How High 2).

Created by Edelman, Public Figures is inspired by Lil Yachty’s real life experiences, before fame and before music, when he moved from Atlanta to Harlem with five dollars to his name. The series follows a group of late teens/early 20 somethings as they pursue their dreams in New York City.

Sher, Edelman, Yachty and Gregory Jones will executive produce, along with Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “Pee” Thomas via their Quality Control banner.

NBCUniversal’s scripted-focused Ucp and unscripted-centric Wilshire Studios are both run by President Dawn Olmstead.

“Ucp has become the gold standard in scripted television,...

The 2019 Cannes Critics’ Week lineup as been announced, revealing the seven features and 10 short films that will compete in the prestigious sidebar to the Cannes Film Festival. Critics’ Week is celebrating its 58th year in 2019. “Embrace of the Serpent” filmmaker and “Birds of Passage” co-director Ciro Guerra is serving as the president of the Critics’ Week jury.

This year’s Critics’ Week competition includes the world premiere of “Vivarium,” a science-fiction thriller from Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan (“Without a Name”). The movie stars Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots as a young couple who move into a new housing development, only to discover the place is far more surreal than anticipated. “Vivarium” is Finnegan’s second feature. Critics’ Week screens directorial debuts and second features, with first-time films eligible for the Camera d’Or honor. A special screening of “Litigante” from director Franco Lolli will open Critics’ Week.

The 2019 Cannes Critics...

The 58th edition of Critics’ Week has unveiled its program for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The section welcomes first or second features and boasts a number of debuts which will be eligible for the Camera d’Or in 2019. Oscar-nominated Embrace Of The Serpent filmmaker Ciro Guerra is chairing the jury which will screen seven features in competition and 10 short films.

Three special screenings are also included in the lineup, among them the first feature directing effort of Hafsia Herzi. The Secret Of The Grain star’s Tu Mérites Un Amour is described as a passionate love story and an assured debut. Also in special screenings are Franco Lolli’s Litigante, which will open CW, and Heroes Don’t Die, a feature debut from Aude Léa Rapin that stars Adèle Haenel.

The competition titles include Vivarium, the second work by Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan (Without Name). It stars Imogen Poots...

T.I. has got his eye on a new lady! We've got the details on how he's crushing on his stunning -- and Married -- 'The Trap' co-star Teyana Taylor.

T.I. will star in Fox's new police procedural Atlanta's Most Wanted, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jerry Bruckheimer will produce the series while T.I. is also attached as an executive producer.

Atlanta's Most Wanted will center around Marcus Armstrong (T.I.), the son of an Atlanta crime boss who is recruited to join a vice squad investigating new criminal elements throughout Atlanta. Armstrong's precarious partnership with the cops, however, will threaten his own long-held secret, which could derail his entire life.

Seasoned screenwriter Rodney Barnes will pen the Atlanta's Most Wanted pilot.

Stay in the loop on industry and casting news with our weekly write-up on who’s been slated for recent film and television roles! “The Trap”Family comes first, and for one man that could mean putting his dreams on hold. T.I. and Queen Latifah are stepping behind the lens to produce a story by actor Mike Epps, who will also star in the film with T.I. The storyline follows an aspiring chef who decides to return home to his sick mother’s failing chicken shack restaurant. Putting his dreams on hold means fixing his mother’s business while trying to save his drug-dealing brother, who currently manages the restaurant, from his criminal line of work. The project currently only has two names attached but will continue casting with Kim Coleman to round out the remaining roles before production starts. Production is expected to start in June with the foggy...

Ryan Lambie Oct 10, 2019

How crazy was Heath Ledger as Joker in The Dark Knight? We look at what game theory can tell us about the villain and his motivations.

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

“You wanna know how I got these scars?” Heath Ledger’s Joker asks in The Dark Knight. It’s a rhetorical question the Clown Prince of Crime utters twice in the film, followed by two very different stories - one involving his alcoholic father, the other concerning his ex-wife and a razor blade.

These stories are the perfect illustration of the character’s ambiguity, as written by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan. One story could be true, the other false. Or they both might be true; the Joker’s scars may have become as ghoulish as they are because of these two separate incidents. Or maybe neither is true; it’s all part of the trickster’s slippery persona.