Gaumont Announces Development Of Six-Part Bio-Series On French First Lady Brigitte Macron

Dennis Harvey Film Critic In an odd quirk of distribution timing, this month has seen the arrival of no less than two imported, semi-comedic thrillers featuring decrepit apartment building invaded by giant spiders. Already playing U.S. theaters is the Australian “Sting,” which is fun, if formulaic.

French director Laurent Cantet, who won the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2008 for The Class, has died at the age of 63.

A new season of Drag Race France is on the way!

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent In the run-up to its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Francis Ford Coppola‘s 135-minute epic “Megalopolis” is on track to sell to a French distributor, Le Pacte. The indie company, presided over by veteran French distributor Jean Labadie, is currently negotiating a deal. It seems like an odd match for such a pricey movie considering Le Pacte’s fairly modest size.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Two of France’s fastest-rising young stars, Lyna Khoudri (“Papicha,” “The French Dispatch”) and Rio Vega ( “Deerskin,” “Sorry Angel”), will lead the French voice cast of animated feature “In Waves,” an unconditional first love story, and tale of loss and memories adapting American illustrator AJ Dungo’s same-titled multi-prized graphic novel. An anticipated banner prestige animation title from Paris-based Silex Films (“The Lost Boys,” “This is My Mother”), “In Waves” lead producer, the feature also marks the first animated co-production of both Anonymous Content (“The Revenant,” “Spotlight”) and Charades, behind sales of Jeremy Clapin’s “I Lost My Body” and Mamoru Hosoda’s “Mirai,” both Oscar nominated titles.

Refresh for latest…: For the fourth weekend in a row, Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was the top studio movie at the global and international box office. While it’s true there have not been a whole lot of wide releases on a worldwide level since the start of the year, it’s heartening to see continued play for the big titles. 

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic For readers of Alexandre Dumas’ novel, extravagant French adaptation “The Three Musketeers – Part II: Milady” packs its share of surprises: killing off important characters, sparing others and reimagining allegiances that have stood for nearly two centuries. For viewers of “Part I: D’Artagnan,” however, this swashbuckling sequel feels totally in keeping with what has come before.

A suspected people smuggler has been arrested in Stockport as part of a series of dawn raids carried out by the Home Office. Four men, who are believed to have smuggled 50 people into the UK illegally, were detained on Wednesday (April 18).

Manchester Airport has announced a new direct route to one of Europe’s smallest countries. Luxair has now launched flights between Manchester and Luxembourg.

The Vicar Of Dibley star shared her thoughts on what she perceives as society’s quickness to cancel people, saying “we are expected to present ourselves as perfect”.This follows French being told to “catch up” in a conversation surrounding JK Rowling’s controversial comments about the trans community.Speaking recently on the Happy Place podcast with Fearne Cotton, French began: “We’re all talking about inclusivity and favouring difference and all the rest of it. And that’s all great, I love the idea of that, but that’s not how we’re living.”She explained: “We’re living the opposite of that – we’re massively intolerant, quick to blame, litigation, bullying and trolling and all of this dreadful stuff which has got nothing to do with understanding how other human beings operate.”French continued: “We are people who know we make mistakes, we know we have shortcomings, we know all this stuff but because we are expected to present ourselves as perfect and only celebrate all the perfect things, it’s just wiped out any margin for error.The British comedian also spoke about the need for “robust debate” and a greater understanding between people.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, will be the subject of a biopic series produced by French mini-major Gaumont. The six-part show is being penned by Bénédicte Charles and Olivier Pouponneau, who previously teamed on the thriller series “J’ai menti.” Titled “Brigitte, une femme libre” (“Brigitte, a free woman”), the series will chart the life of French President Emmanuel Macron‘s wife. Gaumont is keeping the plot of the show under wraps and will be announcing the cast in the next few weeks.

The Cannes Film Festival is around the corner next month, so all the satellite sidebar festivals that orbit it are preparing their line-ups. The latest is Cannes Critic Week, organized by France’s Film Critics Union, which will run May 15-23.

French Montana is claiming THAT screenshot of a huge business deal included… Taylor Swift?!

Studiocanal’s The Copyrights Group Bolsters Exec Team

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic SPOILER ALERT: The following essay discusses key plot points, including the ending. Last weekend, I took in “Le Samouraï” for what must have been the sixth or seventh time, relishing the new 4K restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece (now playing at Laemmle theaters in Los Angeles). As I exited the screening, I discreetly eavesdropped on my fellow audience members. Most seemed impressed.

French filmmaker Xavier Gens has directed a shark thriller titled Under Paris for Netflix. Check out the film’s first trailer above. 

THE BOYZ have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘Zeneration II’ world tour, featuring concerts in Asia, the US, Europe and more.Today (April 8), THE BOYZ announced the first batch of dates for their upcoming 2024 ‘Zeneration II’ world tour. The trek will follow their 2023 ‘Zeneration’ world tour, which had featured 24 dates in Asia.‘Zeneration II’ will kick-off in July with a three-date show in South, South Korea, before the boyband head to the US for a solo tour the first time since 2022.

Alexis Jandard, a French diver, added a memorable twist to the inauguration of the Paris Aquatics Centre, a venue slated for this summer’s Games, with a comical mishap that left spectators chuckling.Donning the tricolor trunks of his homeland and eager to impress French President Emmanuel Macron, Jandard enthusiastically began his dive. However, what followed differed from the graceful display he had hoped for.

French Canal+ Group’s operation to take full control of African media and entertainment giant MultiChoice appears to be moving forward with both parties announcing they had finalized the terms of the mandatory offer in a joint statement on Monday.

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