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Horror thrives in situations where someone or something is preying on the vulnerable. It's a frightening set-up, with probable victims unable to contend easily with these forces by definition. The vulnerability of children (like Pan's Labyrinth's Ofelia or The Babadook's Samuel), the grieving (Amelia (Essie Davis), also of The Babadook), the lost (too many to mention), or even the temporarily distracted (so many having sex in so many slashers) easily make for dangerous situations and characters audiences can empathize with. It's truly a match made in hell, at least for our endangered protagonists. There are few communities more vulnerable than the elderly, which James Ashcroft's The Rule of Jenny Pen mines for a harrowing tale about a community plagued by a man with a dark side, and his creepy, creepy doll. It's a fine film that utilizes this vulnerability to strong effect (backed by excellent performances from...

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The following contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World, now playing in theaters.

One of the most alluring aspects of Captain America: Brave New World is the debut of Harrison Ford's Thaddeus Ross. Ford is taking over from the late William Hurt, and brings a sense of intimidation to the role that fans of Han Solo and Indiana Jones will enjoy.

His addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe did raise eyebrows due to his position. Ross went from being a military general to President of the United States. That's a huge promotion, especially for a man who committed disgraceful acts in the past. It had viewers keen to see if there would be revisionist history,...

Thanks to Babygirl, Nicole Kidman just crossed a major box office milestone for the first time in nearly two decades. The 2024 release sees Kidman as CEO Romy Mathis as she attempts an affair with Harris Dickinson's Samuel. Babygirl has earned exceptional reviews, with Screen Rant's Alex Harrison describing it as "fascinating to watch" and "calibrated exactly right to its time". It was officially released on December 25, 2024, and has already earned back its $20 million budget.

This movie is a massive success for Kidman, no matter how its run ends. After all, for the first time since Australia (2008), Kidman has earned over $20 million domestically. Her latest movie currently sits at $21.7 million at the domestic box office, as per The Numbers. While she has achieved that total with other projects, including both the Aquaman movies and Paddington (2014), none of those works saw her in a leading role. It is her first...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has pulled back the curtain on the films eligible for consideration in the Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature categories for the 97th Academy Awards next year.

The list includes 31 toon features, 169 docs and international pics from 85 countries. Preliminary voting for the 97th Oscars runs December 9-13, and all three shortlists will be revealed December 17. The Oscars will be handed out Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

Here are the animated, documentary and international features eligible for the 2024 Oscars:

Best Animated Feature

Art College 1994

Captain Avispa

Chicken for Linda!

The Colors Within

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

Despicable Me 4

Flow

The Garfield Movie

Ghost Cat Anzu

The Glassworker

The Imaginary

Inside Out 2

Kensuke’s Kingdom

Kung Fu Panda 4

Living Large

Look Back

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Mars Express

Memoir of a Snail...

French-German institution Arte was named top broadcaster at this year’s Cartoon Forum in Toulouse, offering a fitting end to an edition that exalted public broadcasters and intra-European cooperation. Attendees at Cartoon Forum’s 35th edition also paid tribute to Germany’s Zdf Studios and Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon, offering respective honors for Investor/Distributor and Producer of the year.

As voted by the near 1000 attendees of the animation confab, the peer-to-peer tributes offer a real-time gauge of industry currents, and here, even more so than last year, public outfits take pride of place. Alongside honors for Arte and Zdf, event organizers also offered a Cartoon Tribute of Honor Rai Kids executive director Luca Milano.

Founded in 1992, European cultural broadcaster Arte is now having a banner year in the digital space. After acquiring the Cartoon Forum-selected series “Samuel,” the cultural service has subsequently turned the short-form title into a non-linear smash,...

On Wednesday, 11 September 2024, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert welcomes the talented actor Samuel L. Jackson and actress Amy Ryan to the show. Jackson is currently co-starring in the all-star Peacock Limited Series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, which based on a real-life 1970s robbery. Colbert also chats to actress Amy Ryan […]

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: Samuel L Jackson, Amy Ryan (CBS Sept. 11)...

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

After a short hiatus, we’re back this week, spotlighting the French animated series Samuel. The show is about a 10-year-old boy living in a small town who keeps a diary documenting his life, from his crush on Julie, to interactions with school mates Basil, Dimitri, Corentin and Bérenice. The unusual program consists of 21 episodes running two to six minutes. Having enjoyed success in France, Germany and Spain, it is now poised for a wider global push following the recent acquisition of...

Exclusive: Paris-based Folivari International has acquired world sales rights for hit French animated series Samuel.

The deal with French production company Les Valseurs follows the short format show’s runaway success in France, Germany and Spain.

Consisting of simple black and white illustrations and a voiceover by creator and director Émilie Tronche, the show follows 10-year-old protagonist Samuel as he navigates the complexities of friendships and crushes while transitioning from elementary to middle school.

The series is produced by Damien Megherbi and Justin Pechberty at Paris-based production and distribution company Les Valseurs, who developed its innovative format that bridges linear broadcasting and social media.

To date, Samuel has generated more than 35 million views on Arte and its social channels in France and Germany.

The series was also a hit for Spain’s national broadcaster Rtve and the regional Catalan channel TV3, and their respective platforms. It is also the first...

British drama series Lost Boys & Fairies has won the Seriencamp Official Competition Award here in Cologne.

The BBC series, which is from Duck Soup Films and sold internationally by All3Media International, is billed as “tender, glittering story of gay couple Gabriel and Andy’s journey to adoption, filled with humour, music, redemption and love.”

Starring Sion Daniel Young (Slow Horses) and Fra Fee (Rebel Moon), it follows Gabriel and Andy, who long to adopt a child and to do so they must convince their social worker Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington) that they’re up to the task. However, Gabe masks demons: the effects of decades of shame having grown up in a society that overwhelmingly treated being gay as a sin.

Welsh playwright Daf James was on the ground to collect the award, which was part of the Seriencamp Conference and Festival Awards Ceremony earlier today. Lost Boys and Fairies was his debut TV project.

Based out of Chile and Los Angeles, Quijote Films, behind Cannes 2023 Un Certain Regard Fipresci Prize winner “The Settlers,” and France’s Les Valseurs, behind Oscar-nominated “,” have tied down a powerful alliance of international partners on “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” the first feature of 2018 Cannes Cinéfondation top winner Diego Céspedes.

Quijote Films’ biggest budgeted title to date, said its head Giancarlo Nasi, “The Mysterious Gaze” goes into production on May 20.

An LGBTQ-themed drama, “The Mysterious Gaze” is set in a mining town where a strange illness is said to be transmitted between men who fall in love with each other.

Produced by Quijote Films and France’s Les Valseurs, “The Mysterious Gaze” has now added new partners in Germany’s Weydemann Bros Film and Wrong Men in Belgium. Further partners, Arte France Cinema and Irusoin, have already been announced.

Weydemann Bros has secured French-German mini traité funding to co-produce the film.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter was created over the past five years. During that span of time, the world was upended by a global pandemic and social strife; Martin Scorsese grappled with the blood on the hands of American history with Killers of the Flower Moon; and Beyoncé brought diamonds and disco to the dance floor on Renaissance. All these vastly different occurrences are components that informed the creation, imagery, and release of Beyoncé’s first-ever country album.

“My process is that I typically have to experiment,” Beyoncé shared in a...