Celine Song’s ‘Materialists’ Adds Zoë Winters, Dasha Nekrasova, Louisa Jacobson and Marin Ireland (EXCLUSIVE)

Brazilian production powerhouse Gullane, which is behind Netflix’s “Senna” and Cannes competition title “Motel Destino,” has closed international co-production pacts on new projects from Cao Hamburger (”The Year My Parents Went on Vacation”) and Sandra Kogut (“Three Summers”). France’s Playtime and Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes will co-produce Hamburger’s “School Without Walls.” Playtime will also handle international sales on the true and inspiring story of Braz Nogueira, principal of a public school in Heliopolis, one of Brazil’s biggest slums.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Johnny Depp-directed film “Modì,” about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, has secured a distribution deal in Italy, where it will be released by emerging production/distribution player Be Water. Above is a first-look image from the set of the film, which is now in post.

Christopher Vourlias The Intl. Emerging Film Talent Foundation (IEFTF), a new Athens-based venture established to provide support for unheard and unseen talent, launches May 18 at the Cannes Film Festival during the ceremony for the Arab Cinema Center film awards at the Plage des Palmes.

Katcy Stephan Rock Soul Productions, the entertainment company formed by CEO Fantasia Barrino Taylor and president Yvonne McNair, is bolstering its ranks. It’s tapped Teddy Riley for management, music production for film/TV soundtrack scoring and producing on Broadway. It has also partnered with Adam Blackstone for musical supervision, creative direction and development for scripted and non-scripted content, and Dennis Reed for management, music direction, songwriting, and vocal coaching.

K.J. Yossman Israel’s foremost documentary market CoPro has unveiled its main slate ahead of the event next month.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Los Angeles- and Bangkok-based sales firm EST N8 has bulked up its Cannes Market film sales slate with a trio of completed Asian titles. “Mash Ville” stars Jeon Sin-hwan (“The Housemaid,” “Time Renegades”) and Park Jong-hwan (“Concrete Utopia,” “Hell Is Other People”) and weaves together the lives of pseudo-religious believers and eight strangers in a rural area. When their paths cross they must fight for survival.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Tubi hired Mike Bidgoli, a six-year veteran of internet giant Meta, as chief product and technology officer for the Fox-owned free streaming service. Bidgoli, who reports to CEO Anjali Sud, will be responsible for leading the product and engineering teams overseeing the product experience and innovation strategy for Tubi.

Annika Pham Rome-based sales outfit Intramovies has picked up international rights to “Uncle Jens,” the directorial debut of Norwegian helmer of Kurdish origin Brwa Vahabpour, credited for the hit series “Countrymen.” Renée Hansen Mlodyszewski, associate producer on “The Worst Person in the World,” is producing for True Content Production, the Oslo branch of Scandi group True Content Entertainment, headed by Yellow Bird founder Ole Søndberg. Anda Ionescu of Bucharest-based Tangaj Production serves as co-producer.

In the fuselage of a C-47 transport plane, a group of high-ranking Nazis in uniforms stripped of their insignia are facing their captors. Among them, Hermann Göring strikes up a conversation with a U.S. military psychiatrist, Lt. Colonel Douglas Kelley. “Howie here tells me you do magic,” Göring says to Kelley. Kelley nods and shows him a quick coin trick. “Very good,” Göring responds. “But I am going to show you a real magic trick someday. I am going to escape the hangman’s noose.”

Naman Ramachandran Indian streamer SonyLIV has unveiled the actors playing Pakistani leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah and his sister Fatima in its magnum opus series “Freedom at Midnight.” Based on the 1975 non-fiction book of the same name by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, the political drama delves into India’s independence movement, weaving together untold tales and critical moments from the era when the country’s then British colonial rulers partitioned the country into India and Pakistan in 1947. Formerly a member of the Congress party that the leaders of India’s independence movement, including Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru also belonged to, Mohammed Ali Jinnah became the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the formation of Pakistan.

Dakota Johnson is enjoying some downtime on set with her big brother!

K.J. Yossman Lionsgate will handle U.S. distribution of eagerly awaited “Greenland” sequel “Greenland: Migration,” Variety can confirm.

Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal are locking lips on set of their new movie!

Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal are all starring in a new movie together, and we have the first photos of them on set!

Emily Longeretta Apple TV+’s highly anticipated adaptation of Laura Lippman’s mystery novel “Lady in the Lake” — starring Natalie Portman — will premiere with the first two episodes on July 19, the streamer announced Wednesday. The seven-part limited series follows a bored Jewish housewife (Portman) in the 1960s, who divorces her husband and moves to Baltimore to work as an investigative journalist.

K.J. Yossman Jessica Henwick (“Glass Onion”) and Alisha Weir (“Abigail”) have been tapped for new animated feature “The Land of Sometimes.” They will join “Star Wars” icon Ewan McGregor and “The Crown” star Helena Bonham Carter on the project, which also features one of the final performances from the late “Monty Python” alum Terry Jones. The film, which is repped by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution for global sales, is set to be shown to buyers in Cannes next week with director Leon Joosen (“The Little Mermaid”) on hand to introduce the project.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Hassie Harrison (“Yellowstone”), Jai Courtney (“Terminator Genisys”) and “Heartbreak High’s” Josh Heuston, soon to be seen in “Dune: Prophecy,” will star in the horror thriller “Dangerous Animals.” Adding edge to the package, Australia’s genre auteur Sean Byrne (“The Loved Ones,” “The Devil’s Candy”), one of the highest rated horror directors of all time on Rotten Tomatoes, is directing “Dangerous Animals” which will be brought onto the Cannes market by David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment. Starting principal photography on Australia Gold Coast on May 7, “Dangerous Animals” is produced by London and Sydney-based Brouhaha Entertainment, behind Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” and Guy Pearce-led “The Convert,” sold by Mister Smith, in conjunction with LD Entertainment (“Jackie,” “Ben Is Back”), Oddfellows Entertainment and management-production firm Range Media Partners.

AURORA has added two extra shows in Dublin and Edinburgh to her upcoming UK and European tour – see all the dates below. The Norwegian alt-pop singer is preparing to release her new album ‘What Happened To The Heart?’ in June, after which she will be playing a string of shows around the continent in September and October.

Lexi Carson The female drivers of Formula 1’s F1 Academy have a docuseries about them currently in the works at Netflix courtesy of Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine Variety has learned exclusively that the docuseries, which was announced as being in development last year, is now in production will be available to stream globally on Netflix in 2025. No network or streamer was attached at the time of the original announcement.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Indie Sales has acquired Japanese director Momoko Seto’s “Dandelion’s Odyssey,” an ecological fable animated by Guionne Leroy (“Toy Story”) and scored by Nicolas Becker (“Sound of Metal”) and Quentin Sirjacq. Shot from Japan to Iceland, “Dandelion’s Odyssey” is an adventure set in a dystopian world and is reminiscent of “Microcosmos,” with plants and animals as the main characters. The feature boasts a mix of timelapse photography, as well as live-action shooting and 3D animation.