Bavaria Fiction Unveils Documentary Label Icon Docs, Projects Include ‘Hitler in Hollywood,’ ‘The Park – New York’s Revolutionary Heart’

Hollywood actor John Goodman looked unrecognisable after shedding an incredible 200lbs in weight as he was spotted in New York with a dramatically different physique on Wednesday.The Flintstones star, 71, was snapped looking svelte as he showcased his newly slimmed-down figure in a green hoodie, jeans and slip-on shoes. John and his wife Anna Beth Goodman, 55, were spotted after they flew into John F Kennedy International Airport, with the A-lister briefly stopping to sign some autographs for fans.The star's public appearance after he continues to share rare insights into his 17-year weight-loss journey; in 2007 he vowed to transform his life and went on to shed an astonishing 14 stone.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Federation Studios has acquired distribution rights to “The Morning After,” an eight-part comedy series headlined by up-and-coming British actor Amara Okereke (“In the Lost Lands”). It filmed on location in Cape Town in South Africa. The show is produced by Paris-based company Paradoxal and Cape Town-based outfit Both Worlds, which previously partnered on “Recipes for Love and Murder.” The series is co-produced by SWR, ARD FabFiction and Prime Video Africa.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Germany’s Beta Film is bringing the love story between a Dutch prince and a beautiful Argentinian financier to the Croisette. The world premiere of “Máxima” screens out-of-competition at Canneseries on April 9 after being teased at the London TV Screenings in late February.

A French adaptation of Beta Film‘s International Emmy-winning Turkish thriller series Persona is in the works with a female protagonist.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Germany’s Beetz Brothers and South Africa’s Storyscope have partnered to co-produce “Free at Last,” a premium documentary series re-telling of the history of Apartheid. The series will unveil the true stories behind the oppressive and racist regime that ruled South Africa for decades, weaving together exclusive accounts from both victims and perpetrators, unseen footage and previously unpublished documents.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Pure Fiction Television, the independent production company helmed by Tom Winchester (“Shogun,” “Clickbait,” “The Capture”), has secured the rights to bestselling author Dolores Redondo’s Baztan Trilogy and the prequel, “La Cara Norte Del Corazón” (The North Face of the Heart), and is developing them into a returning, premium international TV series. The trilogy and prequel novel, which feature homicide detective Amaia Salazar, are gripping psychological thrillers infused with mystery, mythology and superstition, set in the beautiful Basque region of Northern Spain, as well as in New Orleans.

Refresh for latest…: A busy holdover weekend for wide studio releases was led by the trio of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two. And, in a soaring performance, Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar winner The Boy and the Heron swooped into China helping the market set a new Qingming holiday record. 

An earthquake has shaken the densely populated New York City metropolitan area and much of the Northeast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A preliminary magnitude of 4.8 was recorded as locals reported feeling the quake.

Could Scottish soccer be the next to benefit from Hollywood investment?

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor U.S.-based global distributor PBS Intl. is bringing a squad of sports-themed documentaries to MipTV to tie in with the Olympic Games that’ll run this summer in Paris. “Olympic Dreams” travels to Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest nations, as it struggles to recover from its 11-year civil war.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer When the Writers Guild of America went on strike last May, union leaders argued that artificial intelligence posed an existential threat to writers, painting a picture of a dystopian future in which TV shows might be crafted by one writer and a machine. Ten months later, the tone in Hollywood labor circles has shifted significantly. At a March 3 rally in Los Angeles, Matthew Loeb, international president of IATSE, argued that AI has the potential to make union members’ jobs easier.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Moved from its usual December berth last year, the 12th Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama) runs April 4-7, replete with new industry activities and double the number of films since its previous edition. True to its mandate to serve as a showcase for Central American and Caribbean cinema, the festival’s program this year includes a bevy of acclaimed films from the region, including two Panamanian Indigenous-themed features, “Bila Burba” and “God is a Woman.” Recent years has seen the growing international recognition of pics from the region, with Nelson Carlo de los Santos becoming the first Dominican – and first Latin American – filmmaker to snag the best director Silver Bear at the Berlinale for his drama, “Pepe.” Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss’ sophomore feature, “Memories of a Burning Body,” clinched the Audience Award for best fiction film in the Panorama section of the A-list German festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor ZDF Studios is set to launch sales on documentary “Tepui – Into the House of Gods” at MipTV. The 50-minute film will “take viewers on a journey to a forgotten world isolated for millions of years – the tabletop mountains in southern Venezuela,” the distributor said.

Andrew Garfield is sparking romance rumors with Dr. Kate Tomas, and the potential couple was seen on a double date with Phoebe Bridgers and Bo Burnham on Friday (March 30) in Malibu, Calif.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Long Live the Tyrant: Life and Times of Giancarlo DiTrapano,” a feature documentary about the independent book publisher, is being developed as an Italy-U.S. coproduction. DiTrapano is described by Ian Thornton, one of the film’s producers, as the “Basquiat of the New York literary scene.” The film is written by Guia Cortassa and directed by Cortassa and Vittorio Antonacci.

Steve Clarke won’t throw the baby out with the bathwater after a Dutch drubbing as he looks to earn a first win in seven games when Northern Ireland visit Hampden for a friendly.

Sony Pictures Television‘s President of International Production, Wayne Garvie, has said the scripted TV landscape in the post-peak TV era is like “going back to the future” — especially with his Netflix hits The Crown and Sex Education coming to an end.

The eagerly anticipated musical Come From Away is coming to The Lowry Theatre.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor A panel moderated by the European Audiovisual Observatory at Series Mania Tuesday looked at four key trends in series production in Europe. Warning Signs?Gilles Fontaine, EAO’s head of department for market information, said there were warning signs of a downward trend in the number of seasons being produced, first in the U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: Leonard Cohen had a huge impact on generations of fans, and So Long, Marianne star Alex Wolff is no different.