Genre Diversity Key in German Films

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran producer Stephanie Allain has joined David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist, as executive producer. In addition, the first film in the trilogy from Blumhouse and Morgan Creek for Universal and Peacock has recently wrapped principal photography. The pic hits theaters on Oct. 13.

Love Island's Will Young and Jessie Wynter as well as Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan are set to head on their final dates of the series as the much-anticipated final of the show approaches. In Friday's episode, Will and Jessie will receive a text inviting them on their epic date, with the message hinting it will be a barn dance.

This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) will open with two local films – Soi Cheang’s noir thriller Mad Fate and the world premiere of Ann Hui’s Elegies, a documentary about contemporary local poetry.

Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key are stepping into a darker world for season 2.Apple TV+ dropped the official trailer Tuesday for the upcoming six-episode season, which finds Melissa (Strong) and Josh (Key) diving deep into Schmicago, the reimagined world of 1960s and 1970s musicals. Schmicago, they soon discover, is vastly different from the bright and lively colors of Schmigadoon, as familiar scenes from popular musicals like and Hair are sprinkled throughout.«Clearly we're in the next era of musicals here.

Charna Flam ABC has announced Ashley Graham, Vanessa Hudgens, Lilly Singh will host the upcoming “Countdown to the Oscars,” pre-show, airing ahead of the ceremony on March 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on ABC. Leading into the pre-show will be ABC News’ live coverage during the “On The Red Carpet Live: Countdown to Oscars 95,” hosted by Linsey Davis and Whit Johnson and featuring Variety‘s own Elizabeth Wagmeister and Clayton Davis. Hudgens returns for her second consecutive year co-hosting the pre-show, while Graham and Singh join for the first time. In addition to Hudgens, Graham and Singh, the pre-show will include backstage coverage from content creator Reece Feldman. Alongside Feldman, TV personality Rocsi Diaz will also provide an insider perspective, as the correspondent for the Academy’s member viewing party in NYC.

Vanessa Hudgens, Lilly Singh and Ashley Graham have been tapped to host Countdown to the Oscars, the official lead-in to the 95th Oscars, on ABC. The pre-show will air Sunday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT on ABC.

The Only Way is Essex stars Amber Turner and Dan Edgar look as though they’re living the dream, as the couple enjoy a sun-soaked trip to Thailand with friends, including other TOWIE cast members, including Elma Pazar, Chloe Meadows, Courtney Green, James Lock and James 'Diags' Bennewith. The couple, who have recently moved in together, have finished filming the latest stint of the reality show along with their peers, and they've not shied away from sharing their trip on social media.

Tess Daly has an exciting few weeks ahead of her thanks to the release of her new wellness book, titled 4 Steps: To a Happier, Healthier You.After teasing parts of the new offering, the Strictly Come Dancing host - who is set to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary with Vernon Kay this year - shared an intimate selfie with her fans on Friday.WATCH: Tess Daly reveals the secret to her happy marriage to Vernon Kay The stunning image showed the mum-of-two lying down in bed with her pet pooch Micky, and in the caption, she gushed: "The divine urge to get back in bed for cuddles with the pup [dog emoji] #FridayFeeling."Many of her fans rushed to comment on how "beautiful" and "gorgeous" the snapshot was. "Two cuties [heart emojis]," wrote one, while another added: "What a cutie."Later this year, the glamorous TV presenter and her husband Vernon will mark 20 years of marriage.

Love Island hopeful Kai Fagan insists that Sanam Harrinanan must tell him she loves him in a spoiler for Thursday night’s episode. Manchester local Kai entered the South African villa on day one and has since struggled to find his perfect match, filling the time in couples with dumped islanders Olivia Hawkins and Tanyel Revan.

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights for German director Christian Petzold’s new film Afire, following its award-winning world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off her Oscar-nomination for her role in A24’s The Whale, Hong Chau has found her next project as she is set to join Matt Damon and Casey Affleck in in The Instigators for Apple Original Films. Apple recently landed the coveted package, which has Doug Liman on board to direct.

Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly are back with a new batch of famous faces to prank and to lay on entertainment. ITV entertainment show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway returned for a new series on Saturday night (February 25), along with its End Of The Show Show segment, a popular staple of the show that signs things off with a high energy and often hilarious performance.

Vernon Kay will replace Ken Bruce on his BBC Radio 2 mid-morning weekday show, the BBC has confirmed.The TV presenter, 48, will take over in May following the announcement last month that Scottish broadcasting veteran Ken, 72, would be stepping down from presenting his mid-morning show on the station after 31 years. Ken will present his final show on 3 March, the BBC confirmed on Friday.

Vernon Kay has been announced as the new host of BBC Radio 2's mid-morning show, replacing Ken Bruce who has been presenting the show for 31 years.The husband of Tess Daly, 48, is already familiar to Radio 2 listeners as in recent years he's covered for The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, Steve Wright in the Afternoon, Rylan on Saturday and Dermot O'Leary.He also presents Dance Sounds of the 90s on BBC Sounds and Radio 2. Vernon kicked off his radio career at Radio 1 from 2004 – 2012, where he presented Saturday and Sunday mid-morning shows.

Ed Meza @edmezavar “Ctrl: Z. Russian Voices,” a documentary that examines the impact of the Ukraine war on the everyday lives of people in a small Russian town, has sold to broadcaster across Europe, including Franco-German channel Arte, TV 3 in Spain and CNN in Portugal. Distributed internationally by Paris-based Java Films, the documentary was filmed in the small Russian town where director Natacha Rostova, using a pseudonym, grew up. It examines the lasting effects the ongoing conflict is having on the lives of families and couples, ordinary people who are silenced, often too afraid to speak out, while others have become fervent opponents of the war.

BBC Breakfast hosts Sally Nugent and Jon Kay issued a sweet statement to former co-star Dan Walker following the crash which left him lucky to be alive.

Tess Daly and her husband Vernon Kay have been married since 2003 - but they still managed to surprise fans on Monday when Vernon shared a slightly unusual portrait of the happy couple.Taking to Instagram, the former model, 48, posted a snapshot of a questionable portrait in which Vernon can be seen hugging his wife, Tess.WATCH: Tess Daly shares big news as husband Vernon Kay reactsSharing the loft discovery with his followers, Vernon captioned his photo: "Loft deep dive. Found this wedding gift.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Political assassinations, war, espionage, royal scandals, teen angst and magic: new German series are setting the bar ever higher in terms of challenging and risky subject matter. The Berlinale Series Market’s Up Next: Germany showcase on Monday presented four forthcoming series projects that look set to entice international buyers: Presenting “Herrhausen,” creator Christer von Lindequist and actor Oliver Masucci discussed the impact of the 1989 assassination, which continues to reverberate in Germany. It was also the subject of Andres Veiel’s acclaimed 2001 documentary “Black Box BRD.”

The drama never stops on ITV's Love Island, and a teaser for Monday night's episode will see Olivia Hawkins pulling her former partner Kai Fagan for a chat. She was left fuming in the dramatic recoupling following Casa Amor, as Kai chose to recouple with new bombshell, Sanam Harrinanan, despite her also choosing to recouple, with Maxwell Samuda.

EXCLUSIVE: Black Bear International has closed a raft of international deals on EFM titles Longlegs and Fred & Ginger, we can reveal. The two projects were among the most in-demand with foreign buyers and the deals account for the lion’s share of each film’s budget.