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With increasing class disparity, the pervasion of hyper consumerism, and corporate control over every sphere of life, it’s no wonder that in art and literature, eat-the-rich has become a subgenre in itself. The existing inequality, the negligence of the so-called one percenters towards the plight of those in need, and the inevitable conflict between different strata of the economic hierarchy make for relatable, engrossing narratives. But the issue is, among the numerous movies released nowadays that deal with this particular topic, only a few actually manage to ask the right questions with an understanding perspective. Unfortunately, Netflix’s German drama, Delicious, isn’t one of those, and despite having the right intention to portray the ever-growing and persistent class divide, it ends up demonizing the oppressed class in the most weird way possible. The characterization feels largely derivative as well, and the narrative as a whole is very predictable.

Apple TV+ has confirmed that the streaming platform's new dark comedy series, Where's Wanda?, will be returning with new episodes. The development follows the German show debuting on Apple TV+ in October 2024, garnering high praise that resulted in a perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Per Apple TV+, Where's Wanda? has officially been renewed for Season 2. The second season will consist of eight episodes, as was the case with Season 1. A premiere date hasn't yet been announced for the second season, though Apple TV+ subscribers can stream the first season now while waiting for the new episodes.

The show stars Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (Love Actually), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (The Vault), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (The Gryphon), and Leo Simon. The first season was created, written, and executive produced by Royal Television Society nominee Oliver Lansley (Flack), alongside award-winning executive producers Nataly Kudiabor (Arthur's Law...

Apple TV+ has announced an eight-episode second season for the German-language dark comedy Where’s Wanda? UFA Fiction produces the series.

The series stars International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (Love Actually), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (The Vault), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (The Gryphon) and Leo Simon, as they return for season two of this “colorful, quirky caper.”

Following its global debut, Where’s Wanda? has been hailed as an “electrifying,” “standout” series keeping “viewers on the edge of their seats” with “a unique blend of dark comedy and suspense,” and featuring “immensely likable, and often affecting performances” by its “talented cast.”

Season one achieved a rare perfect 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans applaud the “beautiful” show as the “kind of gem Apple only seems capable of creating” and “a compelling new addition” to “Apple TV+‘s expanding international offerings.”

The Klatts (Axel Stein and Heike Makatsch) are back!

Apple TV+ has given the greenlight to a second season of its debut German original Where’s Wanda?.

Starring Heike Makatsch (Love Actually) and Axel Stein (The Vault), the dark comedy follows the Klatts. Just as they thought their lives were finally returning to normal, their daughter Wanda (Lea Drinda) is caught seemingly red-handed, standing over a dead body. They will need to do everything in their power to prove her innocence and to avoid losing her again, as their investigation to find the real murderer takes them into the criminal underbelly of their sleepy suburban town.

Where’s Wanda? is produced by Germany’s UFA Fiction. It is one of a number of Apple TV+ non-English language shows, joining the likes of France’s La Maison and Spain’s You Would Do It Too. Yesterday, Apple launched Berlin ER, the German-language medical drama co-created by former emergency room physician-turned-screenwriter Samuel Jefferson.

UFA Hires ‘September 5’ Exec Producer Christoph Müller

Fremantle’s German production house UFA has hired Constantin Film’s Christoph Müller for its cinema division. The producer, who is an exec producer on the Golden Globe-nominated September 5, joins from Constantin Film and will begin at UFA Fiction on February 1, 2025. He also is known for productions including the Oscar-nomnated Sophie Scholl, box office hit Er Ist Wieder Da and Elyas M’Barek and Sönke Wortmann’s films Contra and Der Nachname. “We want to open up new business areas and continue to expand on already successful ones,” said Sascha Schwingel, CEO of UFA. “I am therefore very pleased that we are now strengthening our team with Christoph Müller, who is a renowned producer of cinema productions that delight audiences and critics alike. With him on the team, we will significantly increase the rate of our successful cinema productions.” Sebastian Werninger, Managing Director of UFA Fiction,...

Beta Cinema, Constantin Film, Zeitsprung Pictures and UFA Fiction have unveiled the first look photo of “The Physician II,” the sequel to the hit historical epic.

The original film, released in 2013, sold to over 60 territories and became an international box-office hit. In Germany alone, the film earned $42 million at the box office, with 3.6 million admissions.

“The Physician” director Philipp Stölzl once again brings together a stellar ensemble of international stars and rising talents: Tom Payne reprises his role as the passionate physician Rob Cole and shares the screen with Emily Cox (“The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die”), Aidan Gillen, Áine Rose Daly, Owen Teale, and Liam Cunningham.

The shoot took place from August to October 2024 in Hungary, Cologne and Berlin. Constantin Film is releasing the film in German cinemas on Dec. 25, 2025, and Beta Cinema is handling international sales, presenting first materials at the upcoming American Film Market.

The story...

Apple TV+ has announced the programming that will be added to the streaming service next month. The Apple TV Plus October 2024 lineup includes Before, Curses! Season 2, Disclaimer, The Last of the Sea Women, Shrinking Season 2, Tú También lo Harías, and Where’s Wanda.

Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment. It is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens.

Shrinking Season 2 Apple TV Plus October 2024 Schedule

Available October 2

Where’s Wanda? (Comedy Series)

“Where’s Wanda?” is an eight-episode German-language dark comedy produced by UFA Fiction, starring International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (“Love Actually”), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (“The Vault”), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (“The Gryphon”), newcomer Leo Simon, entrepreneur, actress, and author Nikeata Thompson (“How to Dad”), presenter and actress Palina Rojinski (“Welcome to Germany”), Kostja Ullmann (“My Blind Date With Life...

Apple TV+ today unveiled the trailer for Where’s Wanda?, the eight-episode German-language dark comedy produced by UFA Fiction. The trailer allows you to watch it in German with English subtitles or dubbed in English.

Apple TV+’s first German original will premiere globally, with the first two episodes on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, followed by one episode weekly through November 13.

The series stars International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (Love Actually), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (The Vault), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (The Gryphon), and newcomer Leo Simon.

Entrepreneur, actress, and author Nikeata Thompson (How to Dad), presenter and actress Palina Rojinski (Welcome to Germany), Kostja Ullmann (My Blind Date With Life), and rising star Harriet Herbig-Matten (Maxton Hall) also star.

Where’s Wanda? tells the story of Dedo and Carlotta Klatt (Stein and Makatsch), who are desperate to locate their missing 17-year-old daughter, Wanda (Drinda), who disappeared months ago without a trace.

Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for ‘Where’s Wanda?,’ the eight-episode German-language dark comedy.

The series tells the story of Dedo and Carlotta Klatt (Stein and Makatsch), who are desperate to locate their missing 17-year-old daughter Wanda (Drinda), who disappeared months ago without a trace. When the police fail to find her, the family takes matters into their own hands, obtaining surveillance devices with the help of their tech-savvy son Ole (Simon). Disguising themselves as employees of an electrical company, they bug first their neighbourhood and then half their suburb, finding out that behind closed doors none of their neighbours are who they pretend to be.

It stars International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (Love Actually), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (The Vault), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (The Gryphon), newcomer Leo Simon, entrepreneur, actress and author Nikeata Thompson (How to Dad), presenter and actress Palina Rojinski (Welcome to...

Today, Apple TV+ unveiled the premiere date for its first German-language series Where’s Wanda?, which will debut globally on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, with the first two episodes, followed by a new episode every Wednesday through November 13, 2024.

The eight-episode dark comedy, produced by UFA Fiction, stars International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (Love Actually), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (The Vault), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (The Gryphon), newcomer Leo Simon, entrepreneur, actress and author Nikeata Thompson (How to Dad), presenter and actress Palina Rojinski (Welcome to Germany), Kostja Ullmann (My Blind Date With Life) and rising star Harriet Herbig-Matten (Maxton Hall).

Where’s Wanda? tells the story of Dedo and Carlotta Klatt (Stein and Makatsch), who are desperate to locate their missing 17-year-old daughter Wanda (Drinda), who disappeared months ago without a trace. When the police fail to find her, the family takes matters into their own hands, obtaining surveillance...

Apple TV+’s debut German original drama Where’s Wanda? will launch globally on Wednesday, October 2.

The first two episodes will drop that day, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through to November 13.

The series was Apple’s first German scripted series order and the industry has been awaiting its launch, with some suggesting its success or otherwise will color how the global streamer approaches commissioning in the country going forwards. “The show has been in post for ages, and everyone is really hoping is does well when it launches,” a source in Germany told us this summer as part of our deep dive into German TV drama.

The eight-part dark comedy stars Heike Makatsch (Love Actually), Axel Stein (The Vault), Lea Drinda (The Gryphon), Leo Simon, Nikeata Thompson (How to Dad), Palina Rojinski (Welcome to Germany), Kostja Ullmann (My Blind Date with Life), Harriet Herbig-Matten, Devid Striesow (All Quiet on the Western Front...

Exclusive: Tom Payne, the British actor who starred in Fox drama series Prodigal Son, has new representation.

Payne has signed with Independent Artist Group in all areas. He was previously repped by UTA and, before that, Paradigm.

He most recently starred in the Blumhouse feature Imaginary and his next role is in Kevin Costner’s western Horizon: An America Saga.

Elsewhere, he played Paul “Jesus” Monroe on The Walking Dead and his breakout role was in Michael Man and David Milch’s HBO series Luck.

Other roles include in Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, opposite Amy Adams and Frances McDormand, The Physician, BBC drama Best, Miss Marple and Wuthering Heights.

It is the latest actor signing for Independent Artist Group, which was created as part of the merger between APA and Agi last year. Other recent signings include Regina Hall, William H Macy, Nathalie Emmanuel, Terrance Howard, Ken Jeong,...

Iconic German film and TV executive Jan Mojto is launching a partnership with longstanding friend and UFA head Nico Hofmann that will produce German and European series and films for the international market.

They are joined in the unnamed venture by Beta producer Jan Wünschmann.

The partnership was announced Wednesday, on the eve of the annual Berlin Film Festival. No projects were disclosed.

Hofmann and Mojto are connected by half a lifetime of producing. With “The Tunnel”, the duo pioneered the TV event genre in Germany in the early 2000s. Since then, two dozen collaborative and internationally successful television and film productions have followed. These include hits “Generation War,” “Dresden,” “The Tower” and “The Same Sky.”

“This partnership is the fulfillment of a long-held wish. Nico Hofmann is one of the best German producers; He is a gifted storyteller. His professional and personal qualities, which I have known for more than 25 years,...

Amazon is diving into The Swarm, snatching up rights for its Prime Video service across sub-Saharan Africa for the ecological thriller from Game of Thrones producer Frank Doelger.

The limited series, adapted from Frank Schätzing’s international best-seller, tells the story of a series of escalating disasters emerging from the world’s oceans. As scientists around the globe rush to discover their cause, it becomes clear that there is something bigger at play: an intelligent life force, dwelling in the deeps that is manipulating all life below the surface.

Barbara Eder (Barbarians, Concordia), Luke Watson (Ripper Street) and Philipp Stölzl (The Physician) directed the series, which features an ensemble cast including Alexander Karim (Dying of the Light), Cécile de France (The New Pope), Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, The Crown), Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt) and Takuya Kimura (2046, I Come With The Rain). Doelger produced through his Intaglio Films, together with Eric Welbers,...

Fremantle, which is at Venice with two films in competition –– Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” and “America Latina” by Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo –– is ramping up its film side.

The Rtl Group-owned company “that everyone used to associate with [TV franchise] ‘Got Talent’ is becoming one of the biggest independent film production studios in Europe” says its COO Andrea Scrosati.

It’s rising power in feature films isn’t being noticed because of Fremantle’s model of owning a panoply of indie companies, many of which are in Europe, including two in Italy, 12 in the Nordics, German studio UFA and Fiction Valley in the Netherlands.

But “nobody is connecting the dots,” Scrosati says.

Fremantle, besides having some 60 TV series in the works, in 2021 produced 14 movies. Most of these are being made through its Italian labels The Apartment and Wildside; others are via several other European outfits that Fremantle...

Sky Studios and Gaumont have teamed on “The Wasp,” the first Sky original comedy to be produced for Sky Deutschland.

The six-part series follows Eddie Frotzke, a fallen professional dart player who, after a prolonged career slump, wants to return to his former glory. With the help of his old buddy Nobbe, also a rusty dart pro but dealing with a drinking habit, Eddie wants to find his way back into life and his career, proving that he was not called “The Wasp” for nothing.

The series is created and written by Jan Berger (“Der Medicus”) and will be directed by Hermine Huntgeburth. Florian Lukas (“Good Bye Lenin!”) will play Eddie. Andreas Bareiss and Sabine de Mardt are executive producing for Gaumont with Quirin Schmidt for Sky Studios.

Shooting is scheduled to begin later this year. The project is supported by the Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw and the Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg.

Madrid-based international TV powerhouse The Mediapro Studio has sold banner series “The Head” to HBO Max for the U.S. as it powers into English-language production, partnering with John Turturro, “Casualty” writers Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, U.K. producer Big Talk and London-based director Guillem Morales.

The drive into U.S. and now most especially U.K. production marks the latest strategic growth in one of the fastest ramp-ups in drama series production in Europe, spearheaded by Laura Fernández Espeso, appointed The Mediapro corporate director in October 2019 and chief executive last month.

“We are making a large bet on fortifying our position in the U.S., U.K. and Latin America, and feature film production, and are proud to be working with a huge range of high-caliber partners,” Fernández-Espeso told Variety.

Underscoring her point, she noted four U.S. projects now in development; a production alliance with Erik Barmack,...

German entertainment giant Ufa is continuing its push into feature films with a slew of high-profile projects, including an upcoming Siegfried and Roy biopic and a sequel to the 2014 historical epic “The Physician,” starring Tom Payne (“Prodigal Son”).

The ramp-up follows the huge box office success last year of Oscar winner Caroline Link’s “All About Me,” based on the childhood memoir of German comedian Hape Kerkeling, which became 2019’s second biggest local box-office hit with €31.25 million ($35.34 million) via Warner Bros.

Other upcoming titles include Leander Haussmann’s highly anticipated Cold War laffer “A Stasi Comedy,” which Constantin Film is set to release next year. Set in the 1980s, the film centers on a young agent of East Germany’s infamous state security service, played by David Kross (“Balloon”), who is sent to infiltrate East Berlin’s counterculture scene and who, years later, is confronted with the possibility of his...

German entertainment giant Ufa is continuing its push into feature film with a slew of high-profile projects, including an upcoming Siegfried and Roy biopic and a sequel to the 2014 historical epic “The Physician,” starring Tom Payne (“Prodigal Son”).

The ramp-up follows last year’s huge box-office success of Oscar-winner Caroline Link’s “All About Me,” based on the childhood memoir of German comedian Hape Kerkeling, which became 2019’s second biggest home-grown box-office hit grossing €31.25 million ($35.34 million) via Warner Bros.

Other upcoming titles include Leander Haussmann’s highly anticipated Cold War laffer “A Stasi Comedy,” which Constantin Film is set to release next year. Set in the 1980s, the film centers on a young agent of East Germany’s infamous state security service, played by David Kross (“Balloon”), who is sent to infiltrate East Berlin’s counterculture scene and who, years later, is confronted with the possibility of his secret Stasi past coming to light.

Exclusive: Tom Payne, star of Fox’s drama Prodigal Son, has signed with UTA. The actor will be repped by the agency across all areas.

The move comes as he prepares for the second season of Prodigal Son, the crime drama he stars in alongside Michael Sheen. He plays Malcolm Bright, the son of notorious serial killer The Surgeon, played by Sheen.

Prior to Prodigal Son, Payne starred as Jesus Monroe on The Walking Dead, where he debuted during Season 6 of the AMC zombie drama. He also starred as Leon Micheaux in HBO’s Luck from creators Michael Mann and David Milch, and opposite Tom Hardy in ITV’s Wuthering Heights miniseries.

The British actor got his start on BBC drama Waterloo Road and played iconic soccer player George Best in the BBC’s Best: His Mother’s Son.

On the feature side, he made his debut in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day...

Miami — In a coup for both parties, The Mediapro Studio has forged an alliance with Wild Sheep Content, the new and fast-growing Los Angeles-based content production company of Erik Barmack, the former Netflix executive who spearheaded the U.S. streaming giant’s game-changing drive into original non English-language productions around the globe – which is now a centerpiece of the U.S. streaming giant’s business model.

A game changing former Netflix vice-president of International Originals, Barmack’s philosophy was that “international shows can come from anywhere and be seen everywhere,” as he said at MipCancun. At Netflix, he proved that with shows like “La Casa de Papel” Part 3 and “Elite” from Spain, Denmark’s “The Rain,” Germany’s “Dark” and “Sacred Games” from India.

That philosophy remains at Wild Sheep whose first development slate includes a French-language version of the Stephen King novel, “The Plant,” produced with France’s Edouard...

Madrid-based The Mediapro Studio and Paraiso Pictures announced at Miami’s Natpe Tuesday a co-production agreement for a new series based on the true story of a drug kingpin turned government operative after the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001.

“El Medico,” to be shot in English, is executive-produced and directed by Netflix’s “Fauda” Season 1 director Assaf Bernstein, and will enlist Academy Award-nominated producer Michael Nozik (“The Motorcycle Diaries”).

After one of his former partners becomes linked to the Sept 11 attacks, a silver-tongued drug boss called El Medico – the person’s real name who inspired the character is classified – sees his plea deal with the federal government rescinded. Accused of being a terrorist, he is coerced into cooperating with law enforcement and intelligence agencies in an increasingly dangerous plot to take down nacro-terrorist groups from the inside.

Now working for the government, El Medico proves to be a top notch operative and...

The life story of magicians and entertainers Siegfried and Roy is coming to the big screen. German multihyphenate Michael Bully Herbig, one of Germany’s biggest stars and most successful directors, is partnering with Ufa Fiction to direct two feature film projects, including a biopic about the German-American entertainers, whose Las Vegas act with big cats made them world-famous.

Herbig most recently directed the 2018 real-life hit drama “Balloon,” about two East German families who tried to escape to West Germany in a hot-air balloon in 1979. The critically acclaimed film earned about $8 million at the German box office for Studiocanal last fall.

Long in development at Ufa originally as a TV production, the big-screen “Siegfried & Roy” will tell the story of Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Uwe Horn, who met on a cruise ship in 1960 and, driven by their common passion for the art of magic and illusion, went on to developed their famous act.

Netflix has released the first trailer for a new German crime thriller called Dogs of Berlin. After the death of a high-profile soccer star, two contrasting police officers are thrust into a battle with Berlin's underworld as tensions mount throughout the city.

The movie is also said to involve neo-Nazis, football fans and policemen who cause chaos and order in the capital. It actually looks like a fun a gritty movie.

The film stars Fahri Yardim (The Physician) as a cop named Erol Birkan, and Felix Kramer (Dark) as the rival cop Kurt Grimmer.

The series will premiere on the streaming service December 7th.

Olivier Martinez has signed with Apa, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

The French actor is best known stateside for his role as Diane Lane’s lover in Adrian Lyne’s 2002 adultery drama Unfaithful. His performance in 1993’s Un, deux, trois, soleil won him the Cesar Award, France’s highest film honor, for most promising actor.

Martinez most recently starred on National Geographic Channel’s Mars. His other feature credits include Julian Schnabel’s Before Night Falls (starring opposite Javier Bardem); S.W.A.T., opposite Colin Farrell; Taking Lives with Angelina Jolie; Dark Tide (where he met former wife Halle Berry); and The Physician...

"The Physician" helmer Philipp Stolzl and writer Jan Berger are re-teaming for a film about German magicians turned Las Vegas performers Siegfried & Roy at Ufa Fiction.

Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Uwe Horn were a Las Vegas institution who regularly performed at the Mirage Resort and Casino for fourteen years before an on-stage tiger attack in 2003 brought a sudden end to their careers. Roy was left partially paralyzed by the attack.

Nico Hofmann will produce while Siegfried and Roy themselves will serve as executive producers alongside Sebastian Werninger and Jan Mewes. Pixomondo ("Game of Thrones," "The Walking Dead") will provide the visual effects.

Source: THR...

Las Vegas legends Siegfried & Roy are to be the subject of a biographical miniseries directed by The Physician helmer, Philipp Stölzl, for Germany’s increasingly international Ufa Fiction. Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Uwe Horn will exec produce the story of their lives via the duo’s S&R Enterprises. The pair met on a cruise ship in 1960 and developed their first joint show, driven by a shared passion for the art of magic and illusion. From 1990, they headlined Vegas…...

Las Vegas performers Siegfried & Roy are getting the biopic treatment. The German magicians and entertainers, who were a Las Vegas institution before an onstage tiger attack brought a sudden end to their careers, have signed a deal for a film version of their extraordinary lives. Philipp Stolzl, director of 2013 period drama The Physician, has signed on to helm the project for German studio Ufa Fiction. Physician screenwriter Jan Berger will pen the script. Ufa's co-ceo Nico Hofmann will produce. “The image of Siegfried and Roy floating down onto the stage in their fantastical outfits, landing amidst a

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Stars: Tom Payne, Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgard, Olivier Martinez, Emma Rigby, Elyas M’Barek, Fahri Yardim, Makram Khoury, Michael Marcus, Stanley Townsend | Written by Jan Berger, Philipp Stölzl, Simon Block, Christoph Müller | Directed by Philipp Stölzl

When nine-year-old Rob Cole (Tom Payne) feels the life force slipping from his mother’s hand upon her death he is unaware that his gift of sensing impending death would lead him from 11th Century England to a medical school at Ispahan. At a time when Christians are banned from becoming a student at the school, Cole disguises himself as a Jew to become famed physician Avicenna’s (Ben Kingsley) student.

The Physician uses the history of medicine as the foundations of a story that focuses on the power of superstition and religion to hold back progress. In it we see how the Barber (Stellan Skarsgard) is held back from saving lives as to...

Mexico’s Kings of Nowhere wins doc prize; Thank You For Bombing wins Switzerland, Germany, Austria award.Scroll down for full list of winners

Grimur Hakonarson’s Rams (Hrútar) has won the Golden Eye for Best International Feature Film at the 11Sth Zurich Film Festival (Sept 24-Oct 4).

The film, about two estranged brothers who have to reunite to save their sheep during an outbreak of disease, is Iceland’s submission for the Oscars for Best Foreign-Language Film.

Zff’s international jury, headed by Carol producer Elizabeth Carlson, awarded the title as well as a cash prize of more than $25,000 (CHF25,000).

It continues a strong festival run for Rams, which won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in May before going on to screen at Karlovy Vary, Telluride and Toronto among others.

International sales are handled by New Europe Film Sales, which has sold the film to around 40 countries. Cohen Media Group handle Us distribution.

It also marks...

Another new face is coming to "The Walking Dead" in season 6. British actor Tom Payne has joined the cast of the AMC zombie drama as a recurring character, with an option to return in season 7, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Spoilers ahead!

Payne ("Luck," "The Physician") will play Paul Monroe, aka Jesus (pronounced like the Biblical figure). In the comics, he is a resident of Alexandria who moved there from a place called Hilltop Colony. Paul is described as "a rare logical man and skilled adviser with a strong sense of morals and values who is well-adapted to the new world."

Paul becomes a key figure in the Alexandria group's fight against the brutish Saviors, led by the evil Negan. However, it's unclear if Negan will be introduced this season. Other signs have pointed to this season's villain being Gregory, who runs the Hilltop Colony.

"The Walking Dead" season 6 premieres October 11 on AMC.

One of the most beloved characters from Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic book series has now been cast in AMC's TV series adaptation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Payne (Luck, The Physician) has been cast as Paul Monroe, aka Jesus (known as such due to his similar appearance to the biblical figure), in The Walking Dead. Payne will make his first appearance as the character sometime in season six.

For those unfamiliar with the comic book series, Jesus is revered by readers for many reasons [spoilers ahead]. Artist Charlie Adlard first brought Jesus to life in issue #91. A skilled hand-to-hand fighter and resourceful survivor, Jesus hearkens from the Hilltop Colony and helps maintain relationships between his home and other communities. Below, you can view an image of Jesus from the comics.

Payne joins a growing season six cast that recently added Xander Berkeley in an unknown role (that could...

The Missing Picture producer Catherine Dussart to head documentary jury.Scroll down for titles in competition

The juries for the 11th Zurich Film Festival (Sept 24-Oct 4) have been unveiled.

Elizabeth Karlsen, producer of Todd Haynes’ Carol, will head the international feature film jury, which will comprise ‘71 director Yann Demange; French producer Rosa Attab; German actress Maria Furtwängler; and German director Katja von Garnier.

The international documentary film jury will be presided over by Catherine Dussart, the French producer of Rithy Panh’s Oscar-nominated The Missing Picture, which won the Un Certain Regard award at Cannes 2013.

The doc jury includes French director Abbas Fahdel, Belgian editor Joelle Alexis, German director Alexander Nanau and UK director/producer Havana Marking.

The Focus: Switzerland, Germany, Austria jury will be headed by German producer Nico Hofmann (The Physician), also co-ceo of Ufa Group.

The jury comprises German writer/director Anika Decker, German actor Alexander Fehling, Austrian actress...

In Alcon Entertainment’s fast-paced, high-adrenaline action thriller Point Break, a young FBI agent, Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey), infiltrates a cunning team of thrill-seeking elite athletes – led by the charismatic Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez). The athletes are suspected of carrying out a spate of crimes in extremely unusual ways.

Deep undercover, and with his life in imminent danger, Utah strives to prove they are the architects of this string of inconceivable crimes.

The film, inspired by the classic 1991 hit starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, is scheduled for release in 3D and 2D in select theaters on December 25, 2015.

Check out the new trailer and featurette below.

The film is replete with the most daring athleticism ever seen in a motion picture. These action adventure feats are performed by elite athletes representing the world’s best in class in big-wave surfing, wingsuit flying, sheer-face snowboarding, free rock climbing, and high-speed motorcycling.

Point Break...

Apparently the first look at the upcoming Point Break remake from director Ericson Core was shown during CinemaCon down in Las Vegas yesterday and with that comes the first looks at Luke Bracey and Edgar Ramirez in the film playing FBI agent Johnny Utah and extreme sports enthusiast and criminal Bodhi respectively. The duo are playing roles made popular by Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 film, and for many this remake is completely unnecessary, but it's set to arrive on December 25 nonetheless. One week after Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, which is to say... we'll see how this turns out. This updated version will follow a similar premise as the first as a young FBI agent, Johnny Utah (Bracey), infiltrates a cunning team of thrill seeking elite athletes, led by the charismatic Bodhi (Ramirez). The athletes are suspected of carrying out a string...

Universal Pictures International’s local language strategy, including English language films with specific appeal to local languages in the UK and Australia, is paying dividends for the studio. Upi enjoyed successful local-language productions in six major European territories in 2014.

The Physician, the English-language German production based on Noah Gordon’s bestseller that Universal acquired for distribution in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland, was the fourth-highest-grossing German film of the year, with a cume of $42.8 million.

Russian fantasy adventure Viy grossed $34.2 million in Russia to become Universal’s highest-grossing film of all time in that country.

Spanish Affairs, a comedy, is currently at $67 million in Spain alone, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever and second in the all-time list in the country behind Avatar‘s $91 million cume.

Mrs Brown’s Boys, based on Irish comedian Brendan O’Carrell’s hugely popular foul-mouthed matriarch, brought in $28 million from the UK and Ireland.

Alcon Entertainment’s action-thriller Point Break, starring Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey, Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer and Delroy Lindo, begins principal photography today, it was announced by Alcon principals Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.

The production will film on four continents, including North America, Europe, South America and Asia, and features stunts performed by the world’s top extreme sports athletes, as opposed to stunt performers. Locations set for filming include Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Mexico, Venezuela, French Polynesia, India and the United States. Alcon will release through its output deal with Warner Bros. Pictures.

Ericson Core (“Invincible”) is directing from Kurt Wimmer’s (“Salt,” “Law Abiding Citizen”) screenplay. Ramírez (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Che: Part One”) stars as Bodhi and Bracey (“G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” upcoming “The Best of Me”) will portray Johnny Utah.

Point Break is inspired by the classic 1991 hit starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves.

In “Point Break,...

A host of young talent is set to star in a new "quantum theory" thriller DxM announced at Cannes today.

The story follows a group of young bio-engineers who realize that quantum theory can be used to transfer motor skills from one brain to another. Believing this will lead to intellectual equality among humans, the group soon faces dark forces threatening to subvert the technology as an instrument for mass control.

Tom Payne (represented by Curtis Brown) leads the group as Jaxon, described as extremely intelligent and motivated, and the driving force behind the new technology. Tom also recently filmed the leads in The Physician and British indie feature Winter (aka Barking at Trees).

Melia Kreiling (represented in the UK by Piers Nimmo) plays Stella, a mystery to the rest of the group, a highly skilled bio engineer who specialises in everything. Part Greek and part American, Melia trained in...

Sam Neill and Melia Kreiling [pictured] will star in the thriller, directed by Andrew Goth.

Here in Cannes, Red Bull Media’s film production label CineMater has confirmed casting on its $15m quantum theory-based thriller DxM, directed by Andrew Goth.

Sam Neill will star in the thriller alongside a cast of emerging talents, among them Tom Payne (The Physician), Melia Kreiling (Guardians Of The Galaxy), Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Dominique Tipper and Oliver Stark. The film will also mark the first film for world champion free runner, Ryan Doyle.

DxM is now in pre-production with principal photography to start in June. CineMater is selling the production at the Cannes Market.

Here in Cannes, CineMater is also continuing sales on its natural history themed $10m drama The Way Of The Eagle starring Jean Reno.

CineMater has three “brands”: Terra Magna (feature docs for the big screen), Wild Drama (movies where nature take a role) and Real Fear (dramatic films based on...

Exclusive: Munich based Beta Cinema has arrived in Cannes with new pick-ups that could provoke heated debate.

Beta is launching We Are Young, We Are Strong by young Afghan-German director Burhan Qurbani in the Cannes Marché. The film explores the driving forces of xenophobia during the violent riots of 1992 in freshly reunited Germany

Based on historical facts and currently in post-production, it recounts the violent xenophobic riots in Rostock in 1992 from the perspectives of three different characters: a Vietnamese woman settled in Germany, a young hooligan involved in the night’s riots and his father, a local politician, trapped in the dilemma of advancing his career or standing up for his ideals.

Devid Striesow, Jonas Nay and European Shooting Star Saskia Rosendahl headline the cast of the film, which is a Ufa Fiction production in co-production with cine plus, Zdf and Arte.

It marks the follow up to Qurbani’s Berlinale competition title, Shahada.

Also...

Constantin Film has been named by the German Federal Film Board (Ffa) as the nation’s top producer of German films for the ninth consecutive year in 2013 and the top distributor for the tenth consecutive year.

The Munich-based producer-distributor was allocated around €2.2m ($3m) “reference funding” in total by the Ffa to invest in future film projects and theatrical campaigns.

The company attracted €1.6m ($2.2m) production “reference” funding based on the box office of such releases as Bora Dagtekin’s comedy Fack Ju Göhte (Suck Me Shakespeer) which was seen by more than 5.8 million cinemagoers last year, as well as Sherry Hormann’s 3096 Tage about the abduction of Natascha Kampusch, and the comedy Dampfnudelblues.

In addition, eight successful releases including Fack Ju Göhte, Fünf Freunde 2, Ostwind and Dampfnudelblues earnt Constantin’s distribution arm €633,000 ($875,000) in distribution “reference” support.

Constantin Film subsidiary Rat Pack Filmproduktion, who was the main producer of Fack Ju Göhte, received the second...

Constantin Film has been named by the German Federal Film Board (Ffa) as the nation’s top producer of German films for the ninth consecutive year in 2013 and the top distributor for the tenth consecutive year.

The Munich-based producer-distributor was allocated around €2.2m ($3m) “reference funding” in total by the Ffa to invest in future film projects and theatrical campaigns.

The company attracted €1.6m ($2.2m) production “reference” funding based on the box office of such releases as Bora Dagtekin’s comedy Fack Ju Göhte (Suck Me Shakespeer) which was seen by more than 5.8 million cinemagoers last year, as well as Sherry Hormann’s 3096 Tage about the abduction of Natascha Kampusch, and the comedy Dampfnudelblues.

In addition, eight successful releases including Fack Ju Göhte, Fünf Freunde 2, Ostwind and Dampfnudelblues earnt Constantin’s distribution arm €633,000 ($875,000) in distribution “reference” support.

Constantin Film subsidiary Rat Pack Filmproduktion, who was the main producer of Fack Ju Göhte, received the second...

May 2nd 2014 sees the release of Plastic. Based on a true events Plastic tells the story of a ring of university students led by Sam (Ed Speelers) who become credit card thieves in order to supplement their income.

Events soon spiral out of control as they accidentally rob a notorious gangster Marcel (Thomas Kretschmann). Now owing a bigger debt then ever, the students decide to target big spenders who frequent Miami on spending sprees. Marcel decides to set his henchman Tariq (Mem Ferda) off in pursuit, to Miami, in order to force them to pay ten times the amount they stole, with interest.

In order to clear this huge debt, the students Fordy (Will Poulter), Yatesey (Alfie Allen), Rafa (Sebastian De Souza and Frankie (Emma Rigby) led by Sam (Ed Speleers), plan a daring jewellery heist which makes matters a whole lot worse.

Cast: Ed Speelers (Downton Abbey)

Will Poulter...

The heist thriller Plastic is getting set to release in the United Kingdom. As the film reaches its May 2nd, 2014 release date, more and more promotional material is being revealed. The latest material is hosted here, with the film's official poster. As well, a behind-the-scenes still has been released for the film, which is hosted below and features villains Tariq (Mem Ferda) and Marcel (Thomas Kretschmann). The film's story begins with a credit card fraud racket. Several friends use the cards to supplement their income, but they steal from the wrong man. Now, Marcel has tasked the thieves, Sam and Fordy, to come up with the money they owe him, in only a few days. Plastic has an all star cast. Castmates include: Ed Speelers (Downton Abbey), Will Poulter (We’re the Millers), Alfie Allen ("Game of Thrones"), Sebastian De Souza (The Borgias), Emma Rigby (The Physician), Mem Ferda (Pusher), Thomas Kretschmann and Graham McTavish.

Today's Indie Beat brings forth casting news on the upcoming film, which is based on a true story, Plastic. Come inside to learn more about the film and see the cast list!

Based on a true events Plastic tells the story of a ring of university students led by Sam (Ed Speelers) who become credit card thieves in order to supplement their income.

Events soon spiral out of control as they accidentally rob a notorious gangster Marcel (Thomas Kretschmann). Now owing a bigger debt then ever, the students decide to target big spenders who frequent Miami on spending sprees.

Marcel decides to set his henchman Tariq (Mem Ferda) off in pursuit, to Miami, in order to force them to pay ten times the amount they stole, with interest. In order to clear this huge debt, the students Fordy (Will Poulter), Yatesey (Alfie Allen), Rafa (Sebastian De Souza and Frankie (Emma Rigby...

Efm: Brisk business for Beta Cinema; Pandastorm buys five.

Beta Cinema’s two Competition titles – Dietrich Brüggemann’s Stations Of The Cross and Edward Berger’s Jack – were the Munich-based sales company’s top-selling titles at this year’s European Film Market (Efm).

Stations Of The Cross has been sold to France (Memento), Italy (Satine Film), Spain (Caramel), Poland (Aurora), Benelux (Wild Bunch), Portugal (Vendetta Films), Greece (7 Films), Scandinavia and the Baltic States (Nonstop), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery) and Hungary (Circo).

As reported by ScreenDaily yesterday, the UK (Arrow) has also taken the drama, which had been the top-rated film of the Screen jury before Richard Linklater’s Boyhood was screened.

Further interest has been shown from the Us and Australia for the Ufa Fiction production, which received the Silver Bear for Best Script and the Ecumenical Jury’s prize for the best film in the Competition..

Jack has been acquired for France (Diaphana), Japan (Showgate), Norway (Europa...

Exclusive: Everardo Gout’s $35m adaptation of The Postcard Killers heads up slate.

Bavaria Film and Senator Film’s joint venture, Bavaria Pictures, is lining up adaptations of international bestsellers and local comedies for the next 12 months.

Production is set to roll later this year on Mexican director Everardo Gout’s $35m adaptation of James Patterson and Liza Marklund’s thriller The Postcard Killers as a co-production with the UK’s Good and George Films.

Bavaria Pictures’ Jan Kaiser told ScreenDaily that €1.6m funding has come from the Bavarian regional film fund for the project which is being handled internationally by Film Nation.

Meanwhile, a spring 2015 start is scheduled for the filming of an adaptation of the first book in Oliver Poetzsch’s The Hangman’s Daughter series.

Bavaria Pictures is speaking with Us partners to become partners on the $20m project which already has Munich-based Lionsheart as a co-producer.

According to Kaiser...

Filming has begun in Yorkshire on a ghostly psychological thriller Altar from the director of Neverland, Nick Willing. When a  family move to a large house in rural Yorkshire, events take a terrifying turn.

Screen International Star of Tomorrow 2013 20 year old Antonia Clarke (represented by Troika) plays the 16 year old daughter. Antonia was recently seen in two other ghostly roles in ITV's supernatural drama Lightfields and the BBC's psychological drama The Thirteenth Tale.

Rising star Adam Thomas Wright (represented by Susi Earnshaw Management) plays her younger brother. 13 year old Adam recently won a scholarship to Susi Earnshaw Theatre School and will next be seen playing a young Tom Payne in medieval period feature The Physician.

Matthew Modine and Olivia Williams star as their parents.

Altar was cast by Amy Hubbard, with filming scheduled to complete by the beginning of February.

Bruce Labruce’s film [pictured] will have its world premiere at Berlinale; Beta Cinema picks up Alain Gsponer’s Solothurn opener Akte Grüninger.

Berlin-based Raspberry&Cream has picked up its second Bruce Labruce title, Pierrot Lunaire, which will have its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Forum Expanded section next month.

Sales company m-appeal’s label for often sexually charged films had been launched in 2010 with Labruce’s La Zombie, shown at the film festival in Locarno. M-appeal had previously handled sales on the director’s 2008 film Otto.

The new 56-minute black-and-white feature, which is produced by Labruce’s regular collaborator Jürgen Brüning, is inspired by composer Arnold Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, which is based on the poems of Albert Giraud and is widely regarded as one of the most influential works composed in the 20th century.

The plot of Labruce’s new film centres on a young woman regularly dressing as a man, who falls in...

Beta sells other territories on the film based on Noah Gordon’s trilogy of books.

The Physician’s producers Wolf Bauer and Nico Hofmann have indicated that they may take on the other two books of Noah Gordon’s trilogy, of which The Physician is the first part: Matters Of Choice and Shaman.

Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily ahead of the world premiere of The Physician in Berlin on Monday evening, Bauer explained: “We have discussed this with Noah Gordon and would have access [to the properties].”

“But we won’t have this discussion before the film has reached 3m admissions in Germany and Spain,” said Bauer, who is currently reading Shaman for the seventh time.

Moreover, the producers would have freedom in casting since Shaman is set in the 19th century some 800 years after the events in The Physician.

Hofmann revealed that, as part of the film’s financing from broadcaster Ard Degeto, a longer...