Kevin Feige made an appearance at the Loki Season 2 launch event in Hollywood where fans got to see the first two episodes.
13.09.2023 - 10:59 / variety.com
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Nicola Maccanico, a former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec, has been spearheading the radical overhaul of Rome’s Cinecittà Studios since June 2021, when the government-owned facilities secured a multi-million dollar loan provided by the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund to upgrade and expand the iconic facilities. Under Maccanico’s watch, the studios – which now boast 20 state-of-the-art soundstages and one of Europe’s largest LED walls – have become a magnet for Hollywood productions, such as Netflix’s period soap “The Decameron” and Roland Emmerich’s gladiator series “Those About to Die,” which is still currently shooting.
But, of course, the SAG-AFTRA strike is starting to slow things down and could “become a big problem,” as Maccanico tells Variety below. You were just at Venice where several films shot at Cinecittà launched, one being Saverio Costanzo’s “Finally Dawn.” How are the studios doing? Are you feeling the pain of the SAG-AFTRA strike? We are in good health. After bringing the studios back in the black [with a €1.8 million ($1.9 million) profit for fiscal 2022], we are on a growth trajectory for 2023.
We’ve had a great first semester, thanks to productions such as Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” with Daniel Craig, Roland Emmerich’s “Those About to Die” and Joe Right’s “M,” just to name a few. And by the way, Emmerich is still shooting. But, of course, we are starting to suffer the impact of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
So we are growing. But it has to be noted that the strike is an issue and we are all hoping that a solution can be found in coming weeks. If that were not to be the case, it would become a big problem for us.
Kevin Feige made an appearance at the Loki Season 2 launch event in Hollywood where fans got to see the first two episodes.
Stephen Amell angered a lot of people when he made comments about the SAG-AFTRA strike that seemed to imply that he didn’t support the strike.
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent U.S. actor Elena Kampouris (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3”) is set to star in the Sicily-set “Here Now,” a romantic thriller marking Italian director Gabriele Muccino‘s return to English-language filmmaking.
“A lot of very impressive people have led this festival and what connects them is a love for movies and culture and what that can achieve,” Kristy Matheson told Deadline of her new job as Director of the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival.
Patrick J. Adams received a mixed reaction after deleting some behind-the-scenes “Suits” snaps this week.
Reruns of Suits are the hot thing on Netflix, so star Patrick J. Adams thought he’d relish in the show’s success by posting a few BTS photos from back in the day.
EXCLUSIVE: Roland Emmerich is heading to next month’s Mipcom Cannes to present first-look footage from upcoming Gladiator epic Those About to Die.
Jaime Camil is fulfilling a longtime dream of bringing a beloved Mexican game to American audiences. He will host and executive produce the upcoming new CBS series Lotería Loca, premiering Monday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m.
UK industry bodies Bectu and the Writers Guild of Great Britain are saluting the tentative agreement reached on Sunday by the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end the writers strike after nearly five months. They also called for a speedy resolution to the SAG-AFTRA strike. The UK industry has been hard hit by the labor unrest on the other side of the Atlantic.
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian multi-hyphenate Ilaria Borrelli’s Arabic-language feminist drama “The Goat” – featuring Mira Sorvino and John Savage, alongside a stellar Egyptian cast – is set for back-to-back launches at Egypt’s upcoming El Gouna Film Festival, followed by the closing film slot at the Rome Film Festival. A rare, if not unique, case of an Arab production directed by an Italian, “The Goat” stars young Egyptian TikTok star Jessica Hosam as an 11-year-old pregnant orphan named Hadya who after being forced into marriage becomes the target of a western corporation that seeks to control the only water source in her village.
Anna Kendrick and two fellow members of The Barden Bellas joined forces once again on the SAG-AFTRA picket line.
SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.A plethora of stars, including Adam Scott, Lena Dunham and the cast of “New Girl,” have taken to eBay to sell off strange things in an attempt to fill the coffers for out-of-work union members picketing studios. On eBay, a new store has been established by the Union Solidarity Coalition, which is auctioning off celebs’ talents and items to fans.According to the group’s website, it’s hoping to “offer direct financial support to crew members who have lost health insurance due to strike-related shutdowns.”The fund-raiser includes a multitude of listings from A-listers across film and TV that viewers can buy in an effort to raise money for crew members who are financially suffering during the protests.One listing shows “Parks and Recreation” and “Severance” star Scott, 50, offering to walk your dog for an hour — for $3,050!However, your doggo must be located in the Los Angeles area.
Paul Plunkett The entertainment industry can be brutal and punishing even during the best of times, let alone amid disruptive WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. But it’s even tougher for those with disabilities.While there have been highly publicized donations to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation from superstars such as Dwayne Johnson, Oprah Winfrey and other A-listers to help their fellow union members through this challenging time, philanthropic organizations such as the Inevitable Foundation, launched in 2021, have stepped up while keeping their focus on their mission, helping writers with disabilities. “The higher up you get up in the industry, the less representation there is offscreen,” says Richie Siegel, the organization’s co-founder and president, noting that America’s largest minority group, the disabled, is the least visible.
Fans might be worried about their favorite TV shows like The Voice, Dancing With the Stars, The Masked Singer and Bachelor Nation shows like The Bachelorette and new offshoot The Golden Bachelor amid the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Tim Burton and Micheal Keaton’s “Beetlejuice 2” only had a day and a half left of filming when the SAG-AFTRA strike shut production down indefinitely. The Warner Bros.’-backed production started filming in May in London amid the WGA strike. “I feel grateful we got what we got,” Burton told The Independent in a recent interview.
Michaela Zee Drew Barrymore is returning for the fourth season of her eponymous daytime talk show sooner than expected. Barrymore announced on social media that “The Drew Barrymore Show” will begin its fourth season soon, in accordance with the rules of the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes. The actor first referred to her decision to step down as host of the MTV Film and TV Awards in May, in a show of support and solidarity to the striking WGA members.
Michaela Zee Jessica Chastain is encouraging independent producers to sign interim agreements amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. “If a majority of independent producers, come forward and sign the Interim Agreement deal it will show the AMPTP how wrong they are when they say our contract terms are unrealistic or unreasonable,” Chastain wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.
Nearly 30,000 people have signed a petition which urges the British government to give film and TV crews furlough cash, after the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes in the US have left them without work.
Had things gone according to plan, Anna Kendrick would be attending the Toronto International Film Festival in support of her directorial debut, “Woman of the Hour”, which is making its world premiere at the film fest.
The glory days of Cinecitta are evoked in Finally Dawn (Finalmente l’Alba), a sprawling story of uncertain tone – sometimes thrilled, sometimes appalled and sometimes as generally bewildered as nervous ingenue Mimosa (Rebecca Antonaci), an ordinary young woman of Rome who finds herself leading the way through this warren of a Wonderland. Cinecitta has recently revived its fortunes after a long slump, with a slow build of refurbishment and expansion, but director Saverio Costanzo leans heavily into nostalgia for times past, setting his story in the ‘50s when there were still legions of centurions marching around the studio lot and live animals awaiting their close-ups. A lion features here, roaring at passers-by. It may well be the film’s most sympathetic character.