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Here’s Which Wednesday Line Jenna Ortega Avoided To Stay In Character (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Jenna Ortega wasn’t about to let Wednesday become another typical teenage drama. She made sure of it. The actress, who nailed her role as the iconic Wednesday Addams, brought her own unique twist to the character—and that included rejecting any line that felt too out of character for the goth queen. She even refused a line about a dress she felt would compromise Wednesday’s authentic edge.

Jenna opened up about this moment in a TikTok video that quickly made the rounds. According to Movie Web, she recalled a scene from episode four where Wednesday was supposed to react to a dress with an overly emotional line. The original script had her saying, “Oh my God, I’m freaking out over a dress, I literally hate myself.” Jenna was left speechless. She felt...

What Did Chris Martin Say About His Bond With Dakota Johnson? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Despite ongoing breakup rumors, Chris Martin revealed that Dakota Johnson is his partner and one of his closest friends. In a candid new interview, he offered a glimpse into their unshakable bond, proudly including her in his inner circle of “best friends.” The Coldplay star mentioned Dakota Johnson, Phil Harvey, Will Champion, Guy Berryman, and his children as some of the most important people in his life.

Chris Martin Didn’t Want To Discuss His Relationship With Dakota Johnson

Martin and Johnson were first romantically linked in the fall of 2017 and made their public debut as a couple at Stella McCartney’s Autumn 2018 Collection event in January 2018.

According to Rolling Stone, the Hymn for the Weekend singer preferred not to discuss his relationship with Johnson, feeling that it was not his story to tell. However, he...

Netflix's biopic Maria depicts Maria Callas' life before she died at the age of 53. With Angelina Jolie at the helm of the Maria cast, the film, which is set in Paris in the 1970s, chronicles what the legendary opera singer was up to after she left the public eye. Maria initially premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2024, before being released in select theaters and then later added to Netflix's library.

Maria is Jolie's first movie in three years since starring as Thena in Marvel's Eternals. While Maria has received mixed reviews, Jolie's portrayal of the titular character is one of the highlights of the movie. Maria Callas had an interesting although tumultuous life and illustrious career, but the movie's director, Pablo Larraín, who is famous for his work on Spencer and Jackie, focused solely on the events that occurred during Callas' final days instead...

Maria Callas was a person of mystery long before her untimely passing. The world wanted to know about the opera singer, and many attempts have been made to dissect her life. The most recent and widely reached has to be Angelina Jolie’s film, which took some very interesting approaches to her story.

Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Maria | Credit: Netflix

There is one very interesting approach that the film took with the aspect of “Mandrax,” turning the drug into an actual person and leaving it to the audience to figure out if he was real or not. However, one cannot help but wonder what the real-life Callas’s relationship with the drug was.

The Personification of an Addiction

Many works over the years have tried to capture the essence of Maria Callas, following her through her life and success as an opera singer. However, Angelina Jolie’s film,...

Taking opera lessons with great masters may not be cheaper than therapy, but it is therapeutic. That's according to Angelina Jolie, who spent seven months learning from all the "right teachers" about the Italian language, different methods of singing, body breathing, and more in preparation for her Maria Callas biopic,...

Angelina Jolie’s performance in Maria eases her return to the award nomination lineup, demonstrating the actress never lost her hypnotizing craft despite her participation in less demanding movies. Coming back to bring opera singer, Maria Callas, to the screen, Jolie delivers a portrayal as exquisite as the artist’s immortal voice recordings, making her a leading contender for the best actress category of the Oscars 2025. Having recently played charismatic characters in Eternals, Maleficent, and the Kung Fu Panda franchise, some viewers might have forgotten Jolie’s outstanding past performances, but Maria is far from being her first Oscar-worthy execution.

The actress is no stranger to great biopic movies, as her characterization of Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart garnered her a Critics Choice Award nomination. Additionally, she knows the role of a tortured celebrity all too well, having won a Golden Globe for her embodiment of real-life supermodel, Gia Carangi.

Maria is a new biographical film about renowned opera singer Maria Callas directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight. Starring Angelina Jolie in the titular role, the film focuses primarily on the final years of Callas' life and the complicated story behind her death. Maria has been a highly anticipated release due to praise around Jolie's performance, with many calling it one of the best of her career and a contender in a year of radically competitive acting performances (as far as awards season goes).

Furthermore, Maria is the third installment in a trilogy of films by Larraín that highlight historical female figures within a concentrated period of their lives, preceded by Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021). The stars of both of these films went on to receive Oscar nominations for their work. Thus, the hype around Maria is understandable, especially as it pertains to Jolie's performance. So, aside from the acting hype,...

Angelina Jolie and Pablo Larraín had been wanting to work together for a long time when “Maria” came up. The filmmaker got his star interested in the role before he wrote the script (with her firmly in mind). The film, the third in his Great Woman trilogy debuted to solid reviews in Venice (where Netflix picked it up) and Telluride and could return the Oscar-winning Jolie to the Best Actress race.

In the film, Jolie plays the Greek opera diva in her last days in 1977 Paris, when she was losing her voice and taking strong drug cocktails that gave her hallucinations. She wanders through Paris in one fabulous outfit after another talking to imaginary journalist Mandrax (Kodi Smit-McPhee) about many of her past lives, which we see in black-and-white flashback.

The movie starts off with Callas in black-and-white close-up singing “Ave Maria” from Verdi’s opera “Otello.” She’s clearly singing,...

Angelina Jolie on Broadway?

After taking home a Tony in June as a producer on best musical winner “The Outsiders,” Jolie tells me she may be interested in making her Broadway acting debut next.

“I would love to, but I’d be very shy. But if you asked me if I would be singing opera a year ago, I probably would have said no,” she told me at the AFI Fest screening of her new Maria Callas biopic “Maria.” “I started with Strasberg and I started in theater so of course I would love to. But deep deep down, I probably don’t think I’m good enough.”

I suggested she consider a musical now that did seven months of intense vocal and singing lessons for “Maria.”

Jolie laughed, “I don’t know if anybody wants that.”

Jolie portrays Callas in the Pablo Larraín-directed drama about the last days...

Filmmakers and distributors of awards-hopefuls have until Nov. 4 to submit their category preference — drama versus musical or comedy — to the Golden Globes organization, which reserves the right to overturn any classification that it finds egregiously inaccurate.

Some of this year’s cases are inarguable — for instance, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, in which characters spontaneously burst into song, is clearly a musical (if not a comedy), and A24’s The Brutalist, in which an immigrant faces all sorts of harrowing hurdles, is clearly a drama. There are, however, also plenty of close-calls, about which many have made assumptions, but, in most cases, not confirmed.

The Hollywood Reporter has been working the phones and can now report which way almost every contender is breaking. This intel is, of course, subject to change prior to Nov. 4, and to being overturned by the Globes thereafter — but it is current as of this writing.

Joining...

It’s hard to watch Maria without thinking about the woman playing Maria. Watching Angelina Jolie in the Maria Callas biopic feels like seeing Jolie for the first time in a very long time, like witnessing the welcome return of an old friend. Her image has largely existed, of late,...

Between Jackie, Spencer, and, now, Maria, Pablo Larraín has thrice committed the cardinal sin of taking a female icon of the 20th century and, in an attempt to hold a mirror up to her multitudes, flattened her into the equivalent of a kitschy postage stamp. Though his sense of style seems like an attempt to absolve him of indulging in the generic tendencies of the biopic, his dependence on repeating the same ideas with the same self-seriousness does a disservice to his supposed goal of bestowing a sense of agency on complex, hyper-surveilled icons of femininity. Too often, as in Maria, he conflates a woman moping around empty rooms to brash music with a more tactile notion of interiority or complexity.

So it’s a shame that Angelina Jolie—portraying Callas in the final week of her life, living somewhat isolated in an opulent Paris apartment—is relegated to playing by the Larraín rulebook.

Mike Marcus of Echo Lake Entertainment producing with director Kaz Kiriya.

Swedish star Noomi Rapace has joined Ezra Miller in The Mourner, further boosting the appeal of Echo Lake Entertainment’s spiritual thriller that Paradigm and CAA represent for the world and will take to Afm next week.

The project is based on the bestselling Japanese novel of the same name by Arata Tendo and will see Rapace play a world-weary homicide detective on the trail of sex traffickers.

The investigator finds spiritual meaning in her life when she comes across a mystical young man (Miller) who mourns those dead...

Since breaking through to U.S. audiences after her electric turn in the original Swedish versions of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and its sequels, Noomi Rapace has forged a fruitful career playing no-nonsense, ass-kicking women in mostly genre fare. She earned positive reviews as the lead in Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus,” though the film was not so fortunate. She struck out again with another critical flop, the Will Smith vehicle “Bright,” a poorly-received stab at Netflix Originals programming. Undeterred, Rapace is returning to Netflix, this time working with director Vicky Jewson on an almost entirely woman-led thriller, titled simply “Close.”

The official synopsis reads: “Inspired by the life of the world’s leading female bodyguard, Jacquie Davis. The film stars Rapace as Sam, a counter-terrorism expert used to war zones, who takes on the job of protecting Zoe (Sophie Nélisse), a young and rich heiress — a babysitting job for her.

Content to kick off sales in Cannes; production to commence later this year.

Whoopi Goldberg and Giancarlo Esposito have joined previously announced Toni Collette and Thomas Haden Church on the comedy Shriver.

Content will introduce the project to international buyers on the Croisette next week. The project is in pre-production and will shoot later in the year.

Shriver centres on a loner who gets mistaken for a famous reclusive author and assumes the writer’s identity.

The loner attends a conference in honour of the writer while masquerading as the star of the show, and falls for an English professor as the real scribe turns up.

Michael Maren directs from a screenplay he adapted from the novel of the same name by Chris Belden.

Thruline’s Josh Kesselman and Alfred Sapse are producing.

Content president of film Jamie Carmichael said: “From the very beginning we just loved the clever premise and I’m already imagining the laugh-out-loud...

Sci-fi described as cross between Arrival, Moon, and The Machine.

Content Media has bolstered its Cannes slate with worldwide sales rights to Seth Larney’s elevated sci-fi 2067.

President of Film Jamie Carmichael and executive vice-president of sales and distribution Jonathan Ford will introduce the project excluding Australia and Canada to buyers later this month.

Larney will direct 2067 from his original screenplay that takes place on an earth ravaged by climate change as mankind looks to the future to solve the problems of the present.

The sci-fi is set to commence production later this year in Australia and is described as cross between Arrival, Moon, and The Machine.

Lisa Shaunessy and Leonie Mansfield of Arcadia serve as producers with Phyllis Laing of Buffalo Gal Pictures, and Kate Croser of Kojo Entertainment. Michael Rymer serves as executive producer.

Larney directed the Malaysian fantasy Tombiruo, which is in post, and served as second unit director on Sundance entry Killing Ground. He has...

It was revealed today that Common (John Wick: Chapter 2, Suicide Squad, Run All Night, Selma, Now You See Me) will star in a new revenge action thriller titled Quick Draw from Content Media and Lorenzo di Bonaventura - producer of the blockbuster Transformers franchise, Deepwater Horizon, Shooter, and the GI Joe franchise among others.

Harris Goldberg wrote the screenplay and will direct the film. Featuring hyper intense shoot-outs, choreographed car chases, and lightning fast hand-to-hand combat, the action in Quick Draw plays out across the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing the film with Content Media's Tom Butterfield and David Greenblatt, through his Greenlit Creative company. In addition to producing Quick Draw, Content Media is handling worldwide sales, while CAA will handle USA. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said this.

"Harris has such an incredible vision for this film that this collaboration is particularly exciting for us.

It was revealed today that Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Riddick, Oculus, Don't Knock Twice) will play the lead role of Mackenzie 'Mack' Wilson in the sci-fi thriller Origin Unknown, and that Content Media has come on board to handle worldwide sales. UK-based Coffee & Cigarettes who act as executive producers on the film brokered the deal with Content Media to represent the film. Here's what Eduardo Panizzo of Coffee & Cigarettes had to say in his statement about the new deal.

"We are delighted to be working with Content Media on this project, they have an exceptional track record and a proven history of success in the Sci-Fi genre."

Origin Unknown is being directed by Hasraf 'HaZ' Dullul (Project Kronos, Sync) an award nominated visual effects artist (Hellboy II, The Dark Knight) who recently signed on to direct the much-anticipated Robin Hood reboot, Robin Hood 2058, produced by Atlas Entertainment (Suicide Squad,...

Katee Sackhoff is no stranger to space. She’s faced otherworldly horrors before in Battlestar Galactica and Riddick, and now she’s setting her sights on Mars in the new sci-fi thriller Origin Unknown.

Press Release: February 2, 2017 – It was revealed today that Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Riddick, Oculus, Don’t Knnock Twice) will play the lead role of Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Wilson in the sci-fi thriller Origin Unknown, and that Content Media has come on board to handle worldwide sales.

UK-based Coffee & Cigarettes who act as executive producers on the film brokered the deal with Content Media to represent the film.

Eduardo Panizzo of Coffee & Cigarettes said, “We are delighted to be working with Content Media on this project, they have an exceptional track record and a proven history of success in the Sci-Fi genre.”

Content’s Jamie Carmichael said, “We love the elevated Sci-Fi space, and Origin Unknown has all...

Back in 2015, Ethan Hawke starred in Robert Budreau’s drama “Born to Be Blue,” about jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. Now two years later, the duo are reuniting for Budreau’s upcoming thriller “Stockholm,” also co-starring Noomi Rapace.

Based on Daniel Lang’s New Yorker article “The Bank Drama,” the film, written by Budreau, tells the true story of the 1973 bank heist and hostage crisis in Stockholm. Giving rise to the psychological phenomenon known as “Stockholm Syndrome,” the events grabbed the world’s attention when the hostages bonded with their captors and turned against the authorities.

No additional details about the actors’ roles were revealed, though production is slated to begin in April. Sierra/Affinity will be presenting the film to buyers for the first time at this year’s European Film Market in Berlin.

Read More: ‘Alien: Covenant’ Trailer: Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace Return to Answer Questions — and Raise...

The company has struck a deal with CNN Films to handle international sales ahead of the world premiere of Greg Barker’s documentary on Saturday.

CNN Films and Passion Pictures produced Legion Of Brothers, about the small deployment of Special Forces troops sent to Afghanistan immediately after the September 11 attacks to thwart the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

CNN retains Us broadcast, theatrical and streaming rights.

Content will take the film to the Efm in Berlin next month where president of film Jamie Carmichael and executive vice-president of sales and distribution Jonathan Ford will introduce to international buyers.

Passion’s John Battsek produced Legion Of Brothers with Barker, Peter Bergen and Tresha Mabile, while Amy Entelis and Vinnie Malhotra served as executive producers.

Barker directed Sundance 2013 selection Manhunt.

“We were immediately struck by the emotional power of Greg’s film,” said Carmichael. “We know that there’s a tremendous level of interest in all things ‘special forces’ and this...

Exclusive: Content’s Afm slate includes Jon Brewer’s Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story.

Content Media has acquired worldwide sales rights to the timely music documentary, Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story.

President of film Jamie Carmichael and executive vice-president of sales and distribution Jonathan Ford are introducing Jon Brewer’s film to the market this week.

While the film is expected to capitalise on global fascination for the late David Bowie himself, who died in January this year, the subject is his frequent collaborator and guitar virtuoso Ronson.

As a member of Bowie’s backing band The Spiders From Mars in the early 1970’s, Ronson contributed to some of the most iconic compositions, lyrics and recordings in contemporary music.

He recorded several solo albums and also earned a reputation as a sought-after session musician who played with Ian Hunter, Lou Reed and Morrissey and toured with Bob Dylan and Van Morrison.

Beside Bowie:...

Adding even more firepower to its international sales slate ahead of Cannes, Content Media announced today that it has acquired international sales rights to “Pistorius” – a documentary feature about the inspiring, Olympic hero turned convicted murderer, Oscar Pistorius.

Content’s President of Film Jamie Carmichael and Head of Sales, Harry White will begin introducing the film to distributors in Cannes next week.

Vaughan Sivell (“Mr. Calzaghe”) is directing the film, which is currently in production, and is producing with Sean Richard with Western Edge Pictures and the Gennaker Group.

“Pistorius” is “Making a Murderer” meets “Senna” – a riveting true-crime story about a beloved sports icon.

At the 2012 Olympics, South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius (aka ‘The Blade Runner’) made history by becoming the first double-amputee sprinter to compete in the Olympics. He was one of the world’s most successful sportsmen, and an inspiration to millions.

Not even a year later,...

Content Media heads to the Croisette with international rights to a documentary about the complicated life of the world-famous athlete.

Vaughan Sivell is shooting the film about the South African, who became the first double-leg amputee to compete at the Olympic Games in 2012.

However, Pistorius fell from grace a year later following the death of his fiancée Reeva Steenkamp that eventually led to his murder conviction.

Pistorius sets out to investigate the truth behind its central character as well as the reputation of South Africa itself as a place of violent crime and corruption.

Sivell also produces the film, styled as Making A Murderer-meets-Senna, alongside Western Edge Pictures colleague Sean Richard and the Gennaker Group.

“Oscar Pistorius captured and then broke our hearts,” said president of film Jamie Carmichael, who is introducing Pistorius with head of sales Harry White. “And there’s a danger South Africa will do the same. Vaughan has struck...

Content Media heads to the Croisette with international rights to a documentary about the complicated and heart-breaking life of the world-famous athlete.

Vaughan Sivell is currently shooting the film about the South African, who became the first double-leg amputee to compete at the Olympic Games in 2012.

However Pistorius fell from grace a year later following the death of his fiancée Reeva Steenkamp that eventually led to his murder conviction.

Pistorius sets out to investigate the truth behind its central character as well as the reputation of South Africa itself as a place of violent crime and corruption.

Sivell also produces the film, styled as Making A Murderer meets Senna, alongside Western Edge Pictures colleague Sean Richard and the Gennaker Group.

“Oscar Pistorius captured and then broke our hearts,” said president of film Jamie Carmichael, who is introducing Pistorius with head of sales Harry White. “And there’s a danger South Africa will do the same. Vaughan has struck...

La-based firm closes deals on genre titles and brings slate to Hong Kong Filmart.

Content Media has closed a series of deals throughout Asia for a hat-trick of titles.

Sci-fi Higher Power, from Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, has been sold to China (Hgc Entertainment), Japan (Ccc / Culture Entertainment), Korea (Entermode). Pan Regional Ptv (Fox International), India (PVR), Malaysia (Vsg), Philippines (Pioneer), Singapore (Shaw), Thailand (Sahamongkol) and Vietnam (Vsg).

Directed by Matthew Santoro, the film centres on an ordinary man who risks his life to save his daughter, and ends up with superpowers. Cast includes Ron Eldard, Colm Feore, Jordan Hinson, Austin Stowell and Jade Tailor.

Supernatural horror film Don’t Knock Twice, starring Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackoff and directed by Caradog James (The Machine) has been sold to India (PVR), Indonesia (Rapi Films), Malaysia (Rain Film), Philippines (Pioneer), Taiwan (Cmc Content), Thailand (M Pictures), Vietnam (Rain Film) and Pan Regional Ptv (Fox International).

Sackoff stars as...

Exclusive: The company has come on board to handle international sales in Berlin on the Sundance Midnight selection.

Content president of film Jamie Carmichael and head of sales Harry White will introduce Carnage Park to international buyers following a rousing reception in Park City.

CAA represents North American rights on Mickey Keating’s 1970s-set thriller about a pair of hapless robbers that flees into a stretch of wilderness occupied by a psychotic ex-military sniper.

Ashley Bell, Pat Healy, Alan Ruck, Darby Stanchfield, James Landry Hébert, and Larry Fessenden star.

Eric B. Fleischman and Sean Tabibian produced Carnage Park via through their Diablo Entertainment label.

This is not the first time Content has headed to the Efm with a Sundance Midnight title and the company has enjoyed success with strong sellers The Pact, The Nightmare and Bound To Vengeance.

“Carnage Park is everything you could hope for in an ultra-cool elevated genre film – full of tension, stylish as hell...

Jamie Carmichael and his team head to Berlin with international rights to the Michael Peña action thriller that is being produced with Jeremy Renner and Don Handfield’s The Combine.

Content will kick off pre-sales at the Efm on the project, which CAA represents in North America.

Dan Bradley will direct The Worker from a screenplay by Kyle Rankin about a former member of Mexico’s elite Special Forces whose wife and son are kidnapped by a cartel.

Renner and Handfield produce alongside Content Media’s Tom Butterfield. Peña will handle executive producer dutiesthrough his Strata Films label with Philip G. Flores.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin later this year.

Content’s international sales slate includes the Manolo Blahnik documentary Manolo; Maria Callas biopic Callas starring Noomi Rapace with Niki Caro directing; sci-fi Higher Power, which Lorenzo di Bonaventura produces; and Joel David Moore’s dramedy Youth In Oregon starring Christina Applegate, Josh Lucas, [link...

Exclusive: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo lead in talks to star as iconic UK soul singer.

Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) is in talks to play the late British soul icon Amy Winehouse in a script biopic that is gathering steam at the Afm.

August Rush director Kirsten Sheridan has written the script and is due to direct the feature, a UTA/CAA package that the two agencies are co-repping, which has a handful of sales companies and financiers circling.

Producers are Dublin–based Subotica Films, producers of Jake Paltrow’s Young Ones and Jimi Hendrix music biopic Jimi: All Is by My Side, and Us outfit City Entertainment, exec-producers of NBC mini-series Rosemary’s Baby.

Music rights are currently in negotiation on the development project.

The script for Amy Winehouse (working title) comes hot on the heels of Asif Kapadia’s successful Winehouse documentary Amy, the box office...

President of film Jamie Carmichael and head of sales Harry White will debut footage from the road trip comedy in Toronto after coming on to handle international sales.

Youth In Oregon stars Frank Langella, Billy Crudup, Christina Applegate, Josh Lucas, Nicola Peltz and Alex Shaffer in the story of a man who must help his embittered father-in-law rekindle his will to live.

Paradigm handles Us sales for the film, which is in post-production.

Joel David Moore directed from a screenplay by Andrew Eisen and the producers are Stefan Nowicki, Morgan White and Joey Carey of Sundial Pictures. Ross M Dinerstein of Campfire serves as executive producer.

“Youth in Oregon reminds us of the importance of family, free-will, and forgiveness – with incredible performances from its stellar cast – that will have audiences laughing through their tears,” said Carmichael.

Content Media’s slate includes Dennis Hauck’s neo-noir Too Late starring John Hawkes; Venice and Toronto selection Janis: Little Girl Blue from Amy Berg...

President of film Jamie Carmichael and head of sales Harry White will debut footage from the road trip comedy in Toronto after coming on to handle international sales.

Frank Langella, Billy Crudup, Christina Applegate, Josh Lucas, Nicola Peltz and Alex Shaffer star in the story of a man who must help his embittered father-in-law rekindle his will to live.

Paradigm handles Us sales for Youth In Oregon, which is in post-production.

Joel David Moore directed from a screenplay by Andrew Eisen and the producers are Stefan Nowicki, Morgan White and Joey Carey of Sundial Pictures. Ross M Dinerstein of Campfire serves as executive producer.

“Youth in Oregon reminds us of the importance of family, free-will, and forgiveness – with incredible performances from its stellar cast – that will have audiences laughing through their tears,” said Carmichael.

Content Media’s slate includes Dennis Hauck’s neo-noir Too Late starring John Hawkes; Venice and Toronto selection Janis: Little Girl Blue from Amy Berg...

Content Media has acquired international sales to Dennis Hauck’s neo-noir detective thriller and will host a private buyers screening in Toronto.

John Hawkes stars alongside Crystal Reed, Dichen Lachman, Natalie Zea, Jeff Fahey and Robert Forster in the non-linear story in the vein of Pulp Fiction, Short Cuts and Memento about a private eye on a perilous missing persons case.

Too Late premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival earlier in the summer.

“Too Late is a cinephile gold dream, with stunning 35mm cinematography, white hot dialogue and a masterful performance from Academy Award nominee John Hawkes,” said Content’s president of film Jamie Carmichael.

“Add to that the smoky clubs, glamorous mansions, scenic vistas and retro-cool drive-in theatres that make Los Angeles iconic and you have a unique, ultra-hip noir thriller to die for.”

Feature debutant Dennis Hauck directed from his screenplay and produced with Alexandra Barreto and John Taylor Feltner.

Content Media’s sales...

Four Australians and three Kiwis have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A record 322 screen practitioners from the Us and around the world have been invited to join the organisation. The previous high was 276 in 2013.

The Down Under contingent comprises visual effects wizards Tim Crosbie and Daniel Barrett, producers Bruna Papandrea and Rebecca Yeldham, sound mixers David Lee and Jason Canovas and writer-director Niki Caro.

Despite the Academy.s efforts to diversify its membership, out of the 25 actors invited to join only seven are women.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said, .It.s gratifying to acknowledge the extraordinary range of talent in our industry. This year, our branches have recognized a more diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before, and we look forward to adding their creativity, ideas and experience to our organization..

This year Crosbie was nominated for an...

Three Australians and one Kiwi have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A record 322 screen practitioners from the Us and around the world have been invited to join the organisation. The previous high was 276 in 2013.

The Down Under contingent comprises visual effects wizard Tim Crosbie, producers Bruna Papandrea and Rebecca Yeldham and writer-director Niki Caro.

Despite the Academy.s efforts to diversify its membership, out of the 25 actors invited to join only seven are women.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said, .It.s gratifying to acknowledge the extraordinary range of talent in our industry. This year, our branches have recognized a more diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before, and we look forward to adding their creativity, ideas and experience to our organization..

This year Crosbie was nominated for an Oscar for best achievement in visual effects for X-Men: Days of Future Past,...

Films include Ewan McGregor’s directorial debut, biopic Callas starring Noomi Rapace and Nick Park animation Early Man.

Swedish major Svensk Filmindustri has closed deals on nine films following discussions at Cannes’ Marché du Film for Scandinavian release.

From Cornerstone, head of acquisitions Robert Enmark signed for Swiss director Vincent Pérez’s Alone in Berlin, based on German author Hans Fallada’s 1947 classic, with Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl and Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt in the leads.

Set in 1940, the film follows a working class couple taking action against the Nazi regime, after their son is killed in the war.

From Lakeshore, Svensk picked up Ewan McGregor’s directorial debut, American Pastoral, adapted from Us author Philip Roth’s Pulitzer-winning 1998 novel.

McGregor will also star alongside Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning in the story of a successful businessman, married to a former beauty queen, whose life falls apart when his daughter becomes a revolutionary.

Svensk closed...

Ealing Studios has acquired a significant stake in TV and film company GreenAcre Films and forged a new creative partnership with the company that will see Ealing Studios expand its TV division.

Having already announced earlier this year the ITV commission of Maigret for two stand-alone films starring Rowan Atkinson, Ealing Studios’ stake in GreenAcre will see them develop a TV slate for both UK and international broadcasters.

It marks the first partnership at the newly restructured Ealing Studios headed by Ben Latham-Jones.

Co-founded by Nadine Marsh-Edwards and Amanda Jenks in 2010, GreenAcre Films became a division of Wall to Wall in 2012. It will continue to co-produce its current drama slate, which includes projects for HBO, BBC and ITV.

As well as developing new TV projects, GreenAcre will also expand its feature film roster which already has a number of titles in development with the BFI.

In a joint statement, GreenAcre co-founders Nadine Marsh-Edwards and Amanda Jenks said:...

Ben Latham-Jones launches slate after buying out Barnaby Thompson.

In a multi-million dollar deal producer Ben Latham-Jones (Nina) has bought Ealing Studios Entertainment - the production arm of the iconic studio - from Barnaby Thompson and will take over the role of head of studio.

Thompson, who is set to focus on directing, will retain his shares in Ealing Studios Operations, which runs the stages and facilities business side of the business, alongside partners, Harry Handelsman and Uri Fruchtmann.

Included in the deal is part of the studio’s catalogue, comprising 26 films while further library and company acquisitions are understood to be in the works for former Fox Searchlight creative director Latham-Jones, who raised a multi-million dollar fund to support Ealing Entertainment, which he has worked at since 2013.

New projects on the outfit’s development slate include Swedish director Jesper Granslandt’s (Blondie) drama Vacation, set to star woman of the hour Noomi Rapace (The Drop) and Marwan Kenzari...

The actress has signed on to star in Red & Black Films’ supernatural horror film on the Content international sales slate.

Caradog James is preparing a July shoot in the UK on the story from Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler’s screenplay about an urban legend involving a vengeful witch.n

Red & Black Films’ John Giwa-Amu will produce with Seymour Films’ Claire Moorsom, while Content’s president of film Jamie Carmichael is on board as executive producer.

Content first partnered with Red & Black Films on James’ sci-fi thriller The Machine.

Content’s sales slate includes Callas to star Noomi Rapace, Cannes selection Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans.

Niki Caro is back to work following McFarland, USA with Callas, a biopic centered around the relationship legendary opera singer Maria Callas (Noomi Rapace) had with Aristotle Onassis over almost two decades. She's acknowledged to be one of the more important and recognizable opera legends of all time and certainly was one of the most emotive and visually dramatic. Caro adapted the screenplay from Alfonso Signorini's biography "Too Proud, Too Fragile" and the first poster is actually a riff on the cover (see right) of Signorini's book. Unfortunately it appears the book isn't available in English as I was only able to find Spanish and Italian versions at Amazon. Content Media will handle worldwide sales and Content's President of Film, Jamie Carmichael said, "We fell in love with Callas instantly. It's such an emotional and powerful story of one of the world's great romances - and we're certain that...

Hollywood has been trying forever to bring the story of opera legend Maria Callas to the big screen. Years and years ago Eva Mendes was attached to a project that never happened, while last year Meryl Streep was briefly linked to a movie that would've been helmed by the late Mike Nichols. But perhaps churning the longest in development has been "Callas," based on the Alfonso Signorini book "Too Proud, Too Fragile." Eva Green was at one point slated to lead but moved on from the project, and four years ago, "Whale Rider" helmer, Niki Caro, signed up to direct. That was pretty much the last we heard of it, but it looks like things are pushing ahead. Read More: Watch: Noomi Rapace Gets Sculpted In Short Film Featuring Score By Flying Lotus Noomi Rapace is now in the lead role, and the first promo image from the movie has...

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” as an opera singer? It’s Cannes time so it’s happening, as Noomi Rapace has signed on to play iconic opera singer Maria Callas in the feature biopic “Callas,” it was announced Wednesday by Content Media. Niki Caro (“McFarland, USA”) is attached to write and direct “Callas,” which is based on Alfonso Signorini’s biography “Too Proud, Too Fragile.” Content Media will handle world sales for “Callas” and introduce the project to distributors for the first time in Cannes. Also Read: 'Child 44' Review: Tom Hardy's a Good Soviet Cop in This Dim,...

Noomi Rapace will play the most influential female opera singer of the 20th century in what is set to be one of the most glamorous projects on the market as Content commences talks with buyers this week.

Niki Caro is attached to direct the Maria Callas biopic from a screenplay she adapted from Alfonso Signorini’s biography Too Proud, Too Fragile.

Callas centres on the American-born Greek soprano’s relationship in her final years with shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, whom she met while married to Giovanni Battista Meneghini.

Guido, Nicola and Marco De Angelis of Italy’s De Angelis Group are producing alongside René Bastian, Linda Moran and Victoria Bousis of New York-based Belladonna Productions and Ben Latham-Jones of the UK’s Ealing Studios and Londinium Films.

James Spring of Ealing Studios, Brett Thornquest of Eclectic Vision in Australia, Jason Van Eman of Weathervane and Content film president Jamie Carmichael serve as executive producers.

“This movie is...

Noomi Rapace is set to play iconic opera singer Maria Callas in the feature biopic Callas. Niki Caro (McFarland USA) is attached to direct from a screenplay she adapted from Alsfonso Signorini's biography Too Proud, Too Fragile. Content Media has come aboard to handle world sales. The biopic focuses on the passionate relationship between the diva and Aristotle Onassis which spanned almost two decades. This is a long-gestating project that resurfaced in Cannes last year…...

Just announced at the Cannes Film Festival, Noomi Rapace is currently training her vocal cords in preparation for a starring role as Maria Callas. The biopic, titled simply Callas, has Niki Caro (Whale Rider, North Country) attached to direct.Callas was one of the most iconic and influential female opera singers of the last century, described by Leonard Bernstein as "the Bible of opera". But her talent as a singer was often overshadowed by a dramatic personal life, and the film centres on her passionate relationship with the fantasically wealthy Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.“This movie", says producer Guido De Angelis, "is about an extraordinary woman whose deepest desire is to lead an ordinary life with the man of her choice. Callas was la Divina, a goddess, who just wanted to be a normal woman; she found out she couldn't. It sounds like an ancient myth. Niki Caro immediately...

While Hollywood has tried for years to mount a Maria Callas biopic (we haven't heard much about Niki Caro's developing movie for a while now), it's not like it hasn't been done. Over a decade ago, Fanny Ardant toplined Franco Zeffirelli's "Callas Forever," and now Meryl Streep — who will be showing off her pipes later this year in "Into The Woods" — is giving it a go. The actress is reportedly reteaming with Mike Nichols (“Silkwood,” “Heartburn,” “Postcards From the Edge,” “Angels in America”) for an adaptation of the Broadway play "Master Class." Told from the perspective of Callas, it frankly covers "her storied career and personal life, which included being dumped by Aristotle Onassis for Jacqueline Kennedy." The project is set up at HBO, and it would mark Nichols' first film since 2007's "Charlie Wilson's War," but it's not clear when shooting will begin. And will also curious...

Meryl Streep is no slouch when it comes to transformative performances, but the latest legend she's set to play will make Anna Wintour look like a pushover. Streep has signed on to star as Maria Callas in an HBO adaptation of "Master Class," an award-winning Broadway play by Terrence McNally that takes place in 1971 at Julliard. In the story, the unforgettable diva is teaching a class while contemplating her astonishing career and dramatic life, which includes a torrid affair with Aristotle Onassis that ends when he leaves her for none other than Jackie O.

"Master Class" will reunite Streep with Mike Nichols, who worked with her on "Angels in America," "Postcards From the Edge," "Heartburn," and "Silkwood." The movie will start filming in January after Streep finishes an entirely different sort of musical performance in Jonathan Demme's "Ricky and the Flash." Streep, who stars as an aging rocker, has...

Niki Caro is set to direct the biopic Callas, charting the tragic relationship between the opera diva and Aristotle Onassis.

Caro, currently in post on McFarland, is writing the story of love and betrayal and said: “I have a great fascination for Maria Callas, who was such a powerful woman and artist, but also troubled and stuck in this very destructive relationship.”

Producers on the Europe-Australia co-production are Gudio, Nicola and Marco De Angelis of Italy’s De Angelis Group, René Bastian and Linda Moran of New York-based Belladonna Productions and Brett Thornquest of Eclectic Vision in Australia.

Filming is set to commence in late autumn on location in Italy, France and the Czech Republic.

Opera singer Maria Callas, who was portrayed in the Cannes opening night film “Grace of Monaco,” will be the subject of a biopic from “Whale Rider” and “North Country” director Niki Caro, the filmmakers announced at Cannes on Monday. In a press release announcing the film “Callas,” writer-director Caro – who is currently in post production on the Disney film “McFarland” — said, “I have a great fascination for Maria Callas, who was such a powerful woman and artist, but also troubled and stuck in this very destructive relationship.” See photos: The Scene at Cannes: Lupita Nyong'o, Blake Lively, Naomi Watts,...

Opera legend Maria Callas has been a talent many have sought to bring to the big screen, with a couple of biopics brewing in the past few years including one by Niki Caro that needs script work and has Eva Green on board, and another with Eva Mendes attached to star. However, before either of those projects come to fruition, it looks like Callas will first be played by Paz Vega in Olivier Dahan's "Grace Of Monaco" starring Nicole Kidman as "Rear Window" actress turned Monaco princess, Grace Kelly. The actress/model joins Kidman and "La Vie En Rose" helmer Dahan in tackling Arash Amel's Black List script, which is set in 1962 when French prime minister Charles De Gaulle gave Monaco's Prince Rainer III, Kelly's husband, six months to change its laws that allowed it to become a tax haven. Kelly, however, managed to maneuver behind the scenes...

Almost all of the music biopics that come around these days focus on rock musicians at their peak in the latter part of the 20th century — one of the many reasons they all feel the same. A different perspective might prove an advantage for Niki Caro, the helmer of Whale Rider, as she tells the life story of opera singer Maria Callas.

THR informs us of the project, which will be co-written by Alfonso Signorini; he’s the author of the book upon which this is based, Too Proud, Too Fragile. Andrea Zoso of De Angelis Group calls this “one of the most important films in the De Angelis dossier,” praising the source material as “the most in-depth to date about the life of the controversial opera star.”

Much of Callas‘ life has the kind of experiences you might imagine, whether it’s parental strife, incredible fame, health problems, and...