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The official YouTube channel for Japanese singer AiNA The End has started streaming a music video for her latest digital single song "Hana Muso" ("flower's full glory"). The magnificent ballad tune featuring a gentle and flowing piano melody and string sounds was newly written as the theme song for Mononoke the Movie: The Ashes of Rage , the second film in the animated trilogy that continues the stories of the Medicine Seller from the 2006 TV anime Mononoke , which opened in Japan yesterday. Her 20th digital single song "Love Sick" was also featured as the theme song for the first film, Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain , released on July 26, 2024. The music video was directed by Yoshiharu Seri , known for his Mv works for male idol group King & Prince, Ae! Group, SixTONES, and Super Eight. It consists of two parts: a drama scene of many couples who are not afraid to...

Netflix is doubling down on its investment on Mexico, pledging $1 billion over the next four years.

The move, which was unveiled during a Thursday press conference with co-ceo Ted Sarandos and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, is aimed at “growing the audiovisual industry and creating jobs and opportunities all across the country.”

As part of the investment, the streamer will give $2 million to “elevate” Mexico City’s iconic Churubusco Studios, one of the country’s oldest and largest production facilities. Netflix will also continue creating and funding programs to provide more opportunities to diverse and creative talents behind the camera after unveiling a $1 million fund for this purpose last year.

“President Sheinbaum, at Netflix, we share your vision of a vibrant, prosperous Mexico full of growth and opportunity. And we want to play our part in making it a reality,” Sarandos said. “Our journey in Mexico so far has taken us...

Netflix will invest $1bn to produce series and films in Mexico over the next four years.

The investment, which runs from 2025-2028, was announced by Netflix’s co-ceo Ted Sarandos in a press conference today (February 20) with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum.

Sarandos also said Netflix will invest $2m in Mexico’s Churubusco Studios to help upgrade its facilities.

Netflix first launched in Mexico in 2011. Its first series produced outside the US,2015’sClub De Cuervos, was made in the country.

The streamer opened an office in Mexico in 2019 and set up its Latin American headquarters there in 2020. Since 2019, its employee numbers...

Netflix will invest $1bn to produce series and films in Mexico over the next four years.

The investment, which runs from 2025-2028, was announced by Netflix’s co-ceo Ted Sarandos in a press conference today (February 20) with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum.

Sarandos also said Netflix will invest $2m in Mexico’s Churubusco Studios to help upgrade its facilities.

Netflix first launched in Mexico in 2011. Its first series produced outside the US,2015’sClub De Cuervos, was made in the country.

The streamer opened an office in Mexico in 2019 and set up its Latin American headquarters there in 2020. Since 2019, its employee numbers...

Netflix has committed to invest $1 billion in Mexico for the production of series and films over the next four years, meaning from 2025 through 2028, co-ceo Ted Sarandos said during a press conference with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday.

“This investment, and the productions derived therefrom, will benefit Mexican production companies and will contribute to the growth of the local audiovisual industry and the creation of opportunities nationwide,” the streaming giant said.

Netflix will also invest $2 million in Mexico City’s iconic Churubusco Studios, one of the oldest and largest production facilities in Mexico, to “elevate” its facilities. The streaming company will continue creating and funding programs that help develop diverse and creative talents behind the camera, so that they may develop their careers in the entertainment industry. In August last year, a fund worth more than $1 million was unveiled in Mexico to be used in 2024 and 2025 for this purpose.

The Grammy Awards are known as the biggest night for the music community, celebrating the best music, albums, and performances of the year. However, not every moment at the Grammys is about the glitz and glam. Over the years, the Recording Academy has seen its fair share of awkward and embarrassing moments.

From unexpected stage crashers to speeches getting interrupted, these moments have often left viewers surprised, confused, or cringing. In this article, we take a look at a few embarrassing and awkward moments that people still talk about today.

10. The Dancing Soy Bomb (1998) Bob Dylan and the shirtless crasher | Credits: YouTube

During the 1998 Grammy Awards, the legendary singer Bob Dylan was performing his iconic song Love Sick. Dylan and the music crew were performing live when a shirtless man with the words “Soy Bomb” written on his chest joined the group of singers to do a dance.

It was...

AMC Networks’ Shudder has announced the titles that will be available on the streaming service next month. The Shudder February 2025 slate includes horror, thriller, and supernatural titles.

The February schedule includes The Birthday, The Dead Thing, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person and Little Bites.

Shudder’s expanding library of films, TV series, and original content is available on most streaming devices in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Little Bites Shudder February 2025 Highlights

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person – Streaming on February 10 (US)

Sasha is a young vampire with a serious problem: she’s too sensitive to kill. When her exasperated parents cut off her blood supply, Sasha’s life is in jeopardy. Luckily, she meets Paul, a lonely teenager with suicidal tendencies who is willing to give his life to save hers.

But their friendly agreement soon becomes a nocturnal quest to fulfill Paul’s last wishes before day breaks.

The official YouTube channel for Japanese singer AiNA The End has started streaming a music video for her latest 18th digital single song "Love Sick." The mysterious tune was produced as the theme song for the theatrical anime film Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa, which opened in Japan on Friday, July 26. This is her first theme song work for an anime feature film. Yuki Tsujimoto, known for his Mv works for NAMBA69, UVERworld, and Chanmina, directed the music video. The clip consists of two scenes representing yin and yang, light and darkness, and depicts a heart broken by a sweet disease, but struggling in the dark in search of the light of love. Tsujimoto said on X (formerly Twitter) , "It was a pleasant production period from beginning to end, and during the shooting, people were glued to the monitors as if they had discovered a fantastic creature, and many people were...

Seiko's new limited-edition wristwatch is heavily inspired by the Medicine Seller from the cult classic anime Mononoke. The collaboration piece launches just in time for the new Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa theatrical release.

2024 is a great year for fans of the supernatural horror anime Mononoke. The stage play adaptation finished its second run in Japan in April, and the new Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa launches in theaters on July 26. In an official collaboration with the franchise, Seiko has also announced the release of its Mononoke watch, with a limited run of 2,000 units. Priced at 49,280 yen (about US$844), the item is now available to preorder at the Premico shop (until reservation slots are filled). Exquisitely designed with heavy references to the Medicine Seller, the watch is the perfect accessory for fans of the series. Its subdued mystical aesthetic also complements semi-formal attire and casual chic.

Related New Pumps Based on...

Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa , an upcoming theatrical anime film that continues to adventures of the Medicine Sellar from the 2006 Mononoke TV anime, has published a new animated music video featuring AiNA The End performing “Love Sick”, the official theme song for the film. The movie hits theaters in Japan on July 26, 2024. Kenji Nakamura directs Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa at animation studio Twin Engine Eota. Kitsuneko Nagata provides the original character designs, Yuuichi Takahashi provides the animation character designs and serves as chief animation director, and Taku Iwasaki provides the music. Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa key art Related: Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa Anime Film Reveals New Trailer Crunchyroll currently streams the 2006 Mononoke TV anime and describes it as follows: In feudal Japan, evil spirits known as mononoke plague both households and the countryside. Only one person has the power to kill them where they stand: the Medicine Seller. But in order...

The Outlaw Music Festival Tour has generated much attention due to Willie Nelson’s extended absence from the first two weeks of shows due to illness, Lukas Nelson stepping in for his father with occasional help from guests like Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and Edie Brickell, the triumphant return of Willie on July 4, and the weird Bob Dylan shirt sold every night at the merch stand.

All of that has overshadowed the fact that Dylan is playing some of his loosest concerts in recent memory. After three years of delivering...

Bob Dylan has spent the past two weeks crisscrossing the country on the Outlaw Music Festival summer tour alongside Celisse, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and Lukas Nelson, who has been subbing in for his ailing father, Willie. Most Dylan fans have rightly been focused on his decision to jettison his Rough and Rowdy Ways set list of the past three years, bring in a series of 1950s covers songs he’s never done before, part ways with longtime pedal-steel player Donnie Herron, and reunite with gospel-era drummer Jim Keltner.

This weekend marked the kickoff of the 2024 “Outlaw Music Festival Tour” (get tickets here), and though fans didn’t get to see Willie Nelson (who had to cancel his set “per doctor’s orders”), they did get to see Bob Dylan pull a wonderfully Bob Dylan move by playing an all-new set of ‘50s covers and recent deep cuts.

Dylan’s performances on Friday and Saturday night marked the first time in a few years that Dylan has made major changes to his setlist, which has mostly been populated by cuts from his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways, as well as older original songs.

Get Outlaw Music Festival Tour Tickets Here

Dylan opened Friday’s show with a cover of Willie Dixon’s blues standard, “My Babe,” followed by renditions of Chuck Berry’s “Little Queenie,” The Fleetwoods’ “Mr. Blue,” Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart,” and Sanford Clarck’s “The Fool.

Richard Gere

Photo: Darren Goldstein and Courtesy of Lionsgate

We have good news and bad news for Richard Gere, star of the upcoming drama Longing. The good news: Gere’s character, Daniel Bloch, just found out that he’s a father. The bad: His new son is dead. With his English-language remake of Longing,...

A spin-off of the original anime series, Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, Mononoke is undoubtedly one of the most peculiar original anime series we have on the market. It is an avant-garde series focusing on the supernatural, incorporating elements of mystery and psychological horror, as the series focuses on the unnamed traveling apothecary who is stingy with words. He travels with his medicine cabinet and a box containing a spiritual sword whose pommel is adorned with a monkey’s head, fighting numerous supernatural enemies along the way.

The original anime series ran for 12 series in 2007 but the series is coming back with a feature-length anime movie titled Mononoke: Karakasa, which is going to be released on July 26, 2024 in Japan. Today, a new trailer and a lot of new information has been released, so we are going to report everything to you here.

The Mononoke anime movie was announced back in 2022, as...

Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa , an upcoming theatrical anime film that continues to adventures of the Medicine Sellar from the 2006 Mononoke TV anime, has revealed a new trailer, a new key visual (below), the theme song performer, and ten additional cast members. The film hits theaters in Japan on July 26, 2024. The new cast members include: Kitagawa voiced by Kana Hanazawa Botan Ohtomo voiced by Haruka Tomatsu Fuki Tokita voiced by Yoko Hikasa Awashima voiced by Yuko Kaida Mugitani voiced by Yukana Saburoumaru voiced by Yuki Kaji Hiraki voiced by Jun Fukuyama Sakashita voiced by Daisuke Hosomi Tenshi voiced by Miyu Irino Hokuto Kourogi voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa cast additions Aina The End performs the official theme song for the film, which is entitled “Love Sick”. Kenji Nakamura directs Mononoke the Movie: Karakasa at animation studio Twin Engine Eota. Kitsuneko Nagata provides the original character designs, Yuuichi Takahashi...

Updated with Best Screenplay Award for Switch, written by Sara Robin: The 19th HollyShorts Film Festival has handed out its awards, including the Grand Prix Best Short Award to We Were Meant To, an honor that comes with a $60,000 prize from Panavision.

Tari Wariebi directed We Were Meant To, set in a reality where “Black men have wings and their first flight is a rite of passage.” The film stars Tim Johnson Jr. The Grand Prix Award qualifies the short for Oscar consideration. Also qualifying for the Oscars are Misan Harriman’s The After, which won Best Live Action Short, Rita Basulto’s Humo (Smoke), winner of the Best Animation Award, and Elisa Gambino’s Every Day After, winner of Best Documentary Short.

‘Humo’

The After stars David Oyelowo and Jessica Plummer. Animated winner Humo, meanwhile, “follows a boy called Daniel, who travels to a dark destination known as the smokehouse.

In a HollyShorts Film Festival awards ceremony that took place at midnight the day before a tropical storm was scheduled to his Los Angeles, Tari Wariebi’s “We Were Meant To” won a $60,000 prize and with the win qualified for the Academy Award in the Best Live Action Short category.

The awards were originally scheduled to be handed out on Sunday evening at the TLC Chinese Theatre, but they were moved to the unusual Saturday midnight slot as Hurricane Hilary approached.

“We Were Meant To,” set in a world where Black men can fly, won the Grand Prix for the best short in the 10-day festival, which began on Aug. 10 at the Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood. For the first time, the top film also received a $60,000 prize from Panasonic, in addition to the Oscar qualification.

Three other films also qualified for this year’s Oscars by winning awards at HollyShorts: Misan Harriman’s “The After,...

Still Up, a new series on Apple TV+, follows the story of Danny and Lisa, two best friends bonded by insomnia and the unspoken feelings they have for each other. The first three episodes of Still Up will premiere on September 22, with one new episode airing each Friday through October 27, joining other exciting titles like The Morning Show and Lessons in Chemistry. The ensemble cast of Still Up features talented actors such as Antonia Thomas, Craig Roberts, Rich Fulcher, Blake Harrison, Lois Chimimba, and Luke Fetherston, known for their previous work in various acclaimed projects.

Still Up, a new "almost" romantic comedy starring Antonia Thomas and Craig Roberts, is headed to Apple TV+ this Fall. The streamer revealed that the eight episode series will make its global debut on Friday, September 22. Still Up follows the story of Danny (Roberts) and Lisa (Thomas) who are bonded by a common plight: insomnia.

Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) and the summer boys are back in Season 2 of Jenny Han’s television adaptation of her beloved young adult “The Summer I Turned Pretty” books. Based on the second book in the trilogy, “It’s Not Summer Without You,” Season 2 drops July 14 with three episodes launching on Amazon Prime Video. Belly’s love triangle with Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) is far from resolved, as indicated last season when Belly expressed strong feelings for Conrad, but then kissed Jeremiah before ultimately ending up with Conrad again.

The official trailer for Season 2 debuted Taylor Swift’s “Back to December (Taylor’s Version)” after a short snippet of the singer’s “folklore” song “August” to showcase how the second installment will jump back and forth between the latest summer and the winter before it that Belly spent dating Conrad long distance.

The first season, which...

The thriller is directed by Romanian filmmaker Tudor Giurgiu.

London-based sales agent Reason8 Films has picked up world sales for political thriller Libertate (Freedom), directed by Romanian filmmaker Tudor Giurgiu, ahead of its international premiere this month in competition at Sarajevo.

The feature world premiered at Transilvania.

It is set amid the chaos of the 1989 Romanian revolution, as civilians, the army, the police and the secret service were pitted against each other to control the narrative as communism came to an end.

The thriller is produced by Libra Films (Romania) in co-production with Mythberg Films (Hungary) with support from the...

[This story includes spoilers from the first three episodes from The Summer I Turned Pretty season two, “Love Lost,” “Love Scene” and “Love Sick.”]

The Summer I Turned Pretty is finally back and Gavin Casalegno, who plays Jeremiah, is opening up about how the second season role came into his life.

Following the first season of the Prime Video series — which saw the beginning of what has become a drama-filled love triangle, as well as the return of Susannah’s (Rachel Blanchard) cancer — season two picks up after a year of trials and tribulations for the whole gang, including the death of Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah’s (Casalegno) mom.

Casalegno, Lola Tung, Briney, Sean Kaufman, Rain Spencer, David Iacono, Blanchard and Jackie Chung all return for the new season of the series from Jenny Han, who also wrote the book trilogy of the same name. This season also welcomes new faces, including Elsie Fisher and Kyra Sedgwick.

The first three episodes,...

The television show of the summer for teens sprang from the pages of Jenny Han’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” trilogy. Season 2 of the Prime Video series, which debuted July 14, takes on the events of the second book, “It’s Not Summer Without You.” As with Season 1, several changes were made to the adaptation for the small screen, such as the addition of new characters and the expansion of certain storylines. Other details, large and small, make the show a bit different from Han’s second book, but with the author also serving as showrunner on the series, these changes come naturally.

Season 1 had its own changes that ripple into Season 2, such as Jeremiah’s bisexuality, Laurel’s career as an author (she is a professor in the books) and more. Kyra Sedgewick and Elsie Fisher joined Season 2 as completely new characters that don’t exist in the books.

The Amazon Prime Video series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” has made a splash with its loaded soundtrack. By now it is safe to say that “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and Taylor Swift go hand in hand because author and show creator Jenny Han has made it so.

The first season had five Swift songs ranging from her “Lover” album to “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” and the Season 1 trailer debuted “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” from the yet-to-be-released re-recorded “1989.” Season 2’s teaser was set to “August,” and then the official trailer debuted “Back to December (Taylor’s Version)” shortly before “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” was released July 7. Only time will tell if Season 2 ties Season 1 for how many Taylor Swift songs it contains.

The sequel season’s summer-y soundtrack also contains hits from repeat artists Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler the Creator, Caroline Polachek and more. A Fleetwood Mac ballad punctuates a particularly emotional scene,...

“Last summer felt like a dream,” Belly Conklin (played by Lola Tung) says in the second season’s trailer for The Summer I Turned Pretty, streaming July 14 on Prime Video. “It was unlike any other summer. I want to memorize it all.” Watch The Summer I Turned Pretty Season Two on Prime Video.

Released last month, the show’s Season Two sneak peek featured Taylor Swift’s Folklore cut “August” and “Back to December” from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), even getting a share from Swift herself with the caption...

Prime Video has announced the return of its hit series The Summer I Turned Pretty, launching with three episodes on Friday, July 14, 2023, with new episodes following weekly until the season finale on Friday, August 18, 2023. Based on the best-selling book trilogy from Jenny Han, Season One of the series became the No. 1 show on Prime Video during its premiere weekend. On July 14, The Summer I Turned Pretty Season Two will be a part of the savings, convenience, and entertainment that Prime members enjoy in a single membership. Click Here to view the release date announcement, featuring series stars Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, and Rain Spencer, recurring guest David Iacono, and Elsie Fisher, who joined the cast this season in a recurring role. Jackie Chung and Rachel Blanchard also star, with Kyra Sedgwick joining Season Two in a recurring role. The cast also revealed all eight episode titles for Season Two,...

Are you ready for more of The Summer I Turned Pretty?

Prime Video announced Friday that the first three episodes of Season 2 will launch on Friday, July 14, 2023, with new episodes following weekly until the season finale on Friday, August 18, 2023.

Based on the best-selling book trilogy from Jenny Han, the first season of the series became the No. 1 show on Prime Video during its premiere weekend.

The release date announcement video included stars Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, and Rain Spencer, recurring guest David Iacono, and Elsie Fisher, who joined the cast this season in a recurring role.

Jackie Chung and Rachel Blanchard also star, with Kyra Sedgwick joining in a recurring role.

The cast also revealed all eight episode titles for the upcoming season, allowing fans to speculate which of their favorite storylines from It’s Not Summer Without You, the second book in Han’s series,...

Prime Video is heading back to Cousins Beach this July: Season 2 of the YA drama The Summer I Turned Pretty will premiere on Friday, July 14, with its first three episodes. A new installment will unspool each subsequent Friday until the season finale on Aug. 18.

The show’s cast, including love triangle trio/stars Lola Tung (aka Isabel “Belly” Conklin), Christopher Briney (Conrad Fisher) and Gavin Casalegno (Jeremiah Fisher), shared the date announcement in the above video, as well as all eight episode titles for Season 2. See if you can pick up any clues about which storylines from It’s Not Summer Without You,...

Good news and bad news for fans of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The good news is Season 2 of the Prime Video series premieres on July 14. The bad news: this second season is rolling out new episodes weekly instead of all at once.

The first three episodes of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Season 2 will be released on Amazon Prime Video on July 14, with new episodes rolling out weekly after that until the season finale on Aug. 18. This second season consists of eight episodes in total.

Based on the book trilogy by Jenny Han – who serves as co-showrunner alongside Sarah Kucserka – the second season is based on “It’s Not Summer Without You” and the synopsis is as follows:

“Belly used to count down the days until she could return to Cousins Beach, but with Conrad and Jeremiah fighting over her heart and the return of Susannah’s cancer, she...

Exclusive: Actors Mark McKinney and Daniel Ings have signed on to star in the comedy road movie A Rush of Blood.

We understand British filmmaker Tristan Shepherd will direct the pic from a screenplay he also wrote. Billed as a “comedy, thriller, road trip movie,” the plot follows a British-Canadian couple, who get their last shot at fulfilling their professional ambitions — and any hope of reinvigorating their marriage — when their independent film is selected for Sundance. However, when they accept a ride to Park City with Reegan, a young, self-styled film reporter, who becomes increasingly maniacal as the journey unfolds, their dream slowly turns into a nightmare – more frightening than any film plot they could have ever devised. McKinney will play a character named Larry, while Ings will suit up as a character named Brian.

Producers on the...

Broadcast

The BBC has acquired U.K. free-to-air rights of high profile crime drama “Tokyo Vice” (8 x 60’), which has a pilot episode directed by Michael Mann, from Endeavor Content. The BBC has second window rights for the U.K. and will air it later this year. The series will stream in the U.K. on Starzplay from May 15. Endeavor has sold the series, currently streaming on HBO Max in the U.S., wide.

Co-produced by HBO Max, Endeavor and Japanese broadcaster Wowow, the series is based on American journalist Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat. The series, filmed on location in Tokyo, captures Adelstein’s (Ansel Elgort) daily descent into the neon-soaked underbelly of Tokyo, where nothing and no one is truly what or who they seem. “Tokyo Vice” was created and written by Tony-winning playwright J.T. Rogers, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer.

Even the most die-hard Bob Dylan fans admit that his Never Ending Tour hit some very rough patches in the Nineties. For proof, check out this disastrous rendition of “New Morning” from his June 19th, 1991 gig in Stuttgart, Germany. It stretches for seven minutes, although much of it just the band vamping until Dylan kicks in at the 4:30 mark with incomprehensible muttering that sounds vaguely like the words to the song.

But just six years later, Dylan had completely turned things around and was playing glorious shows, as you...

“Making a playlist is a delicate art,” as High Fidelity‘s Rob (Zoe Kravitz) would say. Whether you’re basking in light of a new crush, celebrating the anniversary of a first date, or wallowing in heartbreak, Rolling Stone has the playlist for you this Valentine’s Day.

If you want to celebrate your partner agreeing to settle down after a long period of “maybe”-ing: Beyonce, “Love on Top”

Beyoncé threw back to the era of New Edition and Whitney Houston with this joyful song, which uses key changes to heighten its ecstatic feel.

With a raft of new streaming services coming our way this year, it’s impressive that Shudder continues to develop compelling content and a solid horror library to keep fans returning. Having already snapped up the rights to Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell, they’ve now announced their full lineup of titles for February 2020, which includes new original series, shorts, and a lot of classic movies.

In terms of original series, Shudder have The Dead Lands on Thursdays through March 5th, with the show adapting a 2014 New Zealand film focusing on Māori mythology. The plot covers a warrior returning from the afterlife who has to contend with the spirits of the recently dead. Given Shudder’s confirmation of a second season for Creepshow, it’ll be fascinating to see what they do with this material as they increase their original series commitments.

On the original movies front, Shudder have Bliss,...

Looking for horror to love this February? Shudder has you covered with their eclectic lineup of original series, new releases, and totally rad films from the VHS era, including Night of the Comet, Child's Play (1988), The Dead Lands, 3 From Hell, My Bloody Valentine (2009), the Horror Noire: Uncut podcast, a "Love Sick" collection that's perfect for Valentine's Day, and much more!

Below, you can check out the full list of titles coming to Shudder in the Us in February, and visit Shudder online to learn more about the streaming service.

Press Release: Good thing 2020 is a leap year, since you’ll need to find room to stream all the amazing movies, series and podcasts we’re serving up this month: new episodes of supernatural mythic adventure series, The Dead Lands; must-see Shudder original/exclusive movies Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell, Fantastic Fest Best Picture winner Dog’S Don’T Wear Pants,...

Tony Sokol Jun 25, 2019

New Investigation Discovery series 'Til Death Do Us Part finds deadly exits to wedding vows.

"Now I'm waiting til the end of time to hurry up and arrive," Meat Loaf sang on the seventies radio staple "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." His character had just promised eternal devotion to co-singer Ellen Foley. Investigation Discovery's upcoming all-new original series Til Death Do Us Part explores couples who didn't have the patience to wait out their wedding vows. From a suspicious carbon monoxide incident, to a parrot who became an eyewitness to murder, each hour-long episode tells a tragic tale of love turned lethal." The series unveils the breaking point in each of these relationships when love and murder collide.

'Til Death Do Us Part features all-new stories of love gone wrong, including "a loving wife turned wiccan, a spouse with a spiraling gambling addiction, and a...

The European Film Promotion (EFP) and the San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 18-27) launched a new promotion initiative entitled "European Distributors: Up Next".

Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.

• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.

Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.

• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.

• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.

Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.

Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”

• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.

Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.

• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.

Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.

Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.

Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.

Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”

Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.

Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”

• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.

Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.

The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.

• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.

Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.

Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.

• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.

There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.

• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).

The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.

• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.

In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.