Bull Running Drama ‘Animale,’ Cannes Critics’ Week Closing Night Film, Unveils First Clip (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Shooting has begun on the fourth season of Beta’s hit series “Sisi,” which follows the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Variety has been given the first exclusive pictures from the set of the new season, which will comprise 24 one-hour episodes. Dominique Devenport and Jannik Schümann reprise their roles as Sisi and Franz, while Sven Bohse (“Dark Woods”) returns to direct the new season.

Zhang Ziyi is back on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival after a five-year absence!

The Cannes Film Festival will crown its Competition winners tomorrow night and the consensus seems to be building around a few titles.

Argentinian director Federico Luis’s first film Simon of the Mountain has won the Grand Prize at the 63rd edition of Cannes Critics’ Week.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sideshow and Janus films (“Drive My Car”) have acquired all North American rights to Payal Kapadia‘s “All We Imagine as Light,” the first Indian film to screen in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years. The movie will world premiere on Thursday, May 23. It’s also one of only four films in the Competition directed by a woman.

Naman Ramachandran Sandhya Suri’s fiction feature debut “Santosh,” which bows in the Cannes Film Festival‘s Un Certain Regard strand, has unveiled its first clip. In the film, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh inherit her slain husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of northern India.

Naman Ramachandran Raven Banner Entertainment has launched sales at the Cannes Film Festival‘s market on the reboot of Roger Corman‘s cult sword and sorcery film series, “Deathstalker,” which is currently shooting in Canada. Daniel Bernhardt (“John Wick,” “The Matrix Reloaded”) stars as the titular character in this reimagined instalment, directed by Steven Kostanski (“The Void,” “Psycho Goreman”). Bernhardt plays a barbarian cursed by a magical talisman, leading him into conflict with a malevolent wizard and monstrous assassins.

The anarchic spirit of Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winner Titane lives on in Emma Benestan’s Critics Week closer Animale, the genre-busting debut of a director who cites Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, and the naturalist films of Chloé Zhao as influences. More surprisingly, she also credits Abdellatif Kechiche, since her first break was as assistant editor on his 2013 Palme d’Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Colour. 

Annika Pham The Swiss/French “Dog on Trial” is set to disrupt, move and entertain the Croisette from what is revealed in a first clip from sales outfit MK2 Films, exclusively shared with Variety. The film world premieres at Cannes Un Certain Regard May 19. Writer/actor-turned-director Laetitia Dosch, who delivered what Variety reviewer Peter Debruge called a ‘blazing-wildfire performance’ in the 2017 Camera d’or winner “Jeune Femme”, is herself taking a chance this year on the coveted award. Meanwhile Cosmos the Dog (aka Kodi in the film) will battle for the leather dog collar Palme Dog win.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Country music superstar Tim McGraw is adding to his acting resume with a new drama series at Netflix. Variety has learned that McGraw will star in the untitled series, which is set in the world of competitive bull riding.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Los Angeles-based Scatena & Rosner Films has acquired worldwide rights to horror film “The Hermit,” starring Lou Ferrigno as a cannibalistic pig farmer in his first role playing a creature since CBS TV series “The Incredible Hulk.” They will be launching sales on the chiller, which is now in post, at the Cannes Marché du Film. “The Hermit” is directed by U.S.-based Italian helmer Salvatore Sclafani and produced by Los Angeles- and New York-based Gerry Pass via his Chrome Entertainment shingle in tandem with Sclafani’s First Child Prods.

Cannes parallel section Critics’ Week opens Wednesday with French director Jonathan Millet’s psychological manhunt thriller Ghost Trail (Les Fantômes), starring Adam Bessa as man in in pursuit of a faceless, former torturer.

EXCLUSIVE: Meryl Streep says that a meeting is “imminent” where she’ll hear about the proposals for her to return for a third helping of Mamma Mia!

told Deadline in an interview published on Monday.Costner was referring to the behind-the-scenes strife on the hit Paramount ranch drama, which follows his character John Dutton, and his adult children, including Kayce (Luke Grimes), Jamie (Wes Bentley), Beth (Kelly Reilly) and his son-in-law, Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser). In May 2023, news broke that Costner would not return to “Yellowstone” after Season 5. (This was before Paramount said that Season 5 would be the show’s last.) That same month, it was announced that the show would end with Season 5, leading to speculation that the show was ending in part because Costner was leaving.

Danger has reared its ugly head many times in the village of Emmerdale, and it’s no different this week when Ruby Fox-Milligan (Beth Cordingly) and Caleb Miligan (William Ash) go on the warpath. The pair are waiting for their son Nicky Miligan (Lewis Cope) to wake from a coma – and are out for revenge. Ethan Anderson (Emile John), who left Nicky for dead after a crash, is hit by a car.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor London- and Paris-based production, finance and international sales outfit Film Constellation has unveiled a first exclusive clip from Titus Kaphar’s well-received drama “Exhibiting Forgiveness.” Film Constellation will screen the film for buyers in Cannes on Tuesday. The film received glowing reviews after its January premiere at Sundance in the U.S.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Uwe Boll’s migrant crisis thriller “Run” is making its market debut in Cannes via Stuttgart-based sales company Kinostar. Boll just wrapped shooting on his latest pic and unveiled the first images from the production.

Anya Taylor Joy is making her presence known!

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The trailer (below) has debuted for Leonardo Van Dijl‘s “Julie Keeps Quiet” ahead of its world premiere in Critics’ Week in Cannes. The film’s world sales agency New Europe Film Sales has revealed the first territory deals. New Europe has sold the film to New Horizons for Poland, Kino Pavasaris for the Baltic states, and I Wonder Pictures for Italy.

Cannes Critics’ Week has appointed French producer Sylvie Pialat as president of the jury for its upcoming edition after Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen, who was originally announced for the role, was forced to cancel for personal reasons.