Fremantle Set to Acquire Asacha Media Group

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor A new Los Angeles film festival featuring independent films, documentaries and artist talks is set for April 4-7 at venues in Chinatown, Eagle Rock and Filipinotown. The Los Angeles Festival of Movies was launched by Micah Gottlieb and Sarah Winshall, and will open April 4 with Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow.” Closing night film is Conner O’Malley and Danny Scharar’s “Rap World” on April 7. Both films screen at Vidiots.

Rachel Weisz and Polly Stokes are taking their slate to Fremantle.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros. is to handle the Southeast Asia theatrical release of Philippines-produced drama film “Under Parallel Skies.” The picture will have its world premiere this weekend as part of the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. Directed by Sigrid Bernardo, “Under Parallel Skies” follows the story of a Thai bachelor, portrayed by major local star Win Metawin, who travels to Hong Kong in search of his missing mother.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Studiocanal, the European powerhouse behind “Paddington,” has created a genre label dedicated to the development, production and distribution of horror, thriller, sci fi and action films and TV series. The company has hired Jed Benedict, a well-known executive who previously worked for the U.K. distribution banner Elysian Film Group, to run the new label.

At 77 years young and with nearly 20 feature-length films under her belt, French filmmaker Claire Denis is still going strong with no plans to retire. In a new interview with Screen Daily at a Qumra event in Doha, Qatar, Denis confirmed talk of a new film shot in Cameroon, a country she lived in as a child.

French director Claire Denis is set to return to West Africa for her next feature film, an adaptation of late French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès’s 1980 work Black Battles With Dogs (Combat de nègre et de chiens).

Rolling Stone expose is breaking down alleged “Queer Eye” behind-the-scenes drama between its “Fab Five:” food and wine expert Antoni Poworski, 39; design expert Bobby Berk, 42; grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness, 36; culture expert Karamo Brown, 43; and fashion expert Tan France, 40. According to the outlet, sources close to the show said that Van Ness (who uses they, he, and she pronouns) was emotionally “abusive” and had “rage issues.” Sources used words like “monster,” “nightmare” and “demeaning” to describe Van Ness – whose onscreen persona is bubbly, cheerful and accepting of everyone, frequently encouraging people to reach their full potential by saying, “Yas queen!” “When he comes on set, everything changes if he’s in a bad mood,” one source said.

Berlin Film Festival 2025 Dates 

Barry Keoghan is showing up for Sabrina Carpenter!

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer “The Last Animal,” the award-winning bestselling novel from Ramona Ausubel, has been snatched up for film adaptation by production companies Walden Media and Big Beach. Ry Russo-Young has been set to direct the feature based on the emotionally resonant story.

This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will feature a masterclass and career retrospective of UK-Irish writer and director Martin McDonagh.

Alex Ritman Well-established Italian producers Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli — who left their Fremantle-owned banners, Wildside and The Apartment, respectively, earlier this year — are returning to the growing TV and film powerhouse with their new scripted outfit. The duo — who co-founded “The Young Pope” and “My Brilliant Friend” production house Wildside in 2009 before Mieli exited to set up The Apartment, which was behind the recent hit “Priscilla” — are yet to reveal details of their new company.

Sonia Rovai and Annamaria Morelli have been named as the new bosses of Wildside and The Apartment, respectively.

K.J. Yossman The MTV Europe Music Awards will take place in Manchester, U.K. this November, the network has confirmed.

Neon announced on Tuesday that it will bring Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay‘s acclaimed drama Origin back to 500 U.S. theaters on February 28, for a one-night-only special screening event, featuring an exclusive pre-recorded introduction and post-screening Q&A with DuVernay.

The Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival on Monday revealed 11 new recipients for its annual RE:Focus Fund, celebrating its fifth year of supporting filmmakers identifying as women, non-binary and/or trans. 

Timothée Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve have said that they spoke to each other in French on the set of their new film, Dune: Part Two.The pair were speaking to the The New York Times to promote the new film, which is the second part of the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 896-page sci-fi novel, and the writer of the interview noted that they were speaking in French each other when they arrived. Villeneuve is from Quebec, the French-speaking area of Canada, while Chalamet is a dual American and French citizen.“It was the way that we were able to find intimacy in the chaos.

Memoirs of Hadrian, a seminal novel about the life and death of a Roman emperor, is becoming a TV series. 

In the latest major M&A deal to hit Europe, Fremantle has acquired Asacha Media Group, the growing owner of Death in Paradise producer Red Planet, Arrrow Media and Italy’s Stand By Me.

BTS‘ J-Hope will be launching his docuseries, Hope on the Street, March 28 on Prime Video, with episodes released weekly every Thursday and Friday.