Italy’s Fandango Takes Sales on Margherita Buy’s Directorial Debut ‘Volare’ – First Look Images (EXCLUSIVE)

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian distribution and production company Notorious Pictures is expanding into the TV series sphere by snapping up rights to buzzy literary property “Forbidden Notebook,” a 1952 novel by Italian-Cuban writer Alba de Céspedes that has been recently rediscovered and successfully republished in English. De Céspedes has been described by the New York Times as “a bestselling novelist and political activist in her native Italy” admired for her sensitive depictions of women whose recently rediscovered work “has lost none of its subversive force.” She is considered a source of inspiration for Elena Ferrante, the Italian writer with legions of fervent fans around the world and whose four “Neapolitan Novels” have been adapted into the long-running “My Brilliant Friend” TV series by Italy’s RAI and HBO.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian genre specialist Stefano Sollima, who is known for gritty TV series “Gomorrah” and Hollywood movies “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Without Remorse,” is shooting Netflix original limited series “Il Mostro” about the string of sex-related murders that took place outside Florence from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. “Il Mostro,” which translates as “The Monster,” is the moniker given to the alleged serial killer who committed eight double murders, preying on couples parked in cars in secluded places around Florence. The still unsolved case marks one of the longest investigations into the most brutal serial killings in Italy’s history.

A first look at Peacock’s Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie is finally here!

Filmmaker Pablo Larraín (Jackie) has revealed two first photos of Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in his new film that will explore the life of the legendary singer, often described as the original diva.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s MIA Market, dedicated to international TV series, animation, feature films, documentaries and more, kicked off Monday in the Eternal City’s 17th century Palazzo Barberini. There were some 2,300 registered industry execs on day one – roughly 300 of which are buyers – more than 120 selected projects on display, and plenty of panels.

George Clooney‘s The Boys in the Boat is getting a first look!

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.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Coccinelle Film Sales has acquired world rights to German director Veit Helmer’s poetic love story “Gondola,” which will world premiere at the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival. Helmer is well known on the international festival circuit for funny, fable-like films with little or no dialogue such as “Tuvalu”; the Azerbaijan-set “Absurdistan,” which went to Sundance in 2008; and “The Bra,” that launched from Tokyo in 2018.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Coccinelle Film Sales has acquired world rights to German director Veit Helmer’s poetic love story “Gondola,” which will world premiere at the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival. Helmer is well known on the international festival circuit for funny, fable-like films with little or no dialogue such as “Tuvalu”; the Azerbaijan-set “Absurdistan,” which went to Sundance in 2008; and “The Bra,” that launched from Tokyo in 2018.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian star Luisa Ranieri, who played the emotionally troubled Aunt Patrizia in Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” has joined the cast of the Johnny Depp-directed film “Modì,” about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. The film has started shooting in Budapest. Ranieri is starring in “Modì” alongside fellow Italian Riccardo Scamarcio, who plays the bad boy painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France and became famous for the groundbreaking modern style of his portraits and nudes.

Showtime has set a November premiere date for comedy The Curse, starring Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie. The 10-episode series will launch Friday, November 10 on streaming and on demand for Showtime and Paramount+ subscribers before making is linear debut on Showtime on Sunday, November 12 at 1 pm ET/PT. Showtime also has unveiled an expanded look at images from the series, which will have its world premiere at the 2023 New York Film Festival on Thursday, October 12, screening the first three episodes. You can see the images above and below.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent French multi-hyphenate Lou Doillon, who is Jane Birkin’s daughter, is set to star in Italian comedy “Quasi a casa” directed by Carolina Pavone, a former assistant director on several Nanni Moretti films. Shooting is underway in Rome on the sophisticated comedy, in which Doillon — a model, actor and singer-songwriter, like her half-sister Charlotte Gainsbourg — plays an eclectic, successful singer who strikes up a turbulent friendship with a younger female musician who idolizes her.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sophia Loren is recovering from emergency surgery for a fractured hip following a fall on Sunday in her home in Geneva, Switzerland, according to Italian press reports. Italy’s most famous living movie star, who turned 89 on Sept. 20, suffered multiple fractures after accidentally falling at home on Sunday morning.

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.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Indiana Production – which has just become part of pan-European studio Vuelta Group – is staying true to its roots with production kicking off this month on gender swap movie “Romeo is Juliet,” directed by quality comedy specialist Giovanni Veronesi, just as the company expands its horizons. This latest title in Indiana’s slate stars A-lister Sergio Castellitto and Pilar Fogliati (“Romantiche”) who plays an actress named Vittoria who after being brutally rejected by a cynical stage director when she auditions to play Juliet in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” decides to reinvent herself as a man to audition for Romeo and gets the part.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Netflix on Tuesday unveiled four new Italian originals – two feature films and two series – that confirm its continued investment in Italy as local subscribers grow. The new projects also bolster the fact that the bulk of the streamer’s Italian productions are not high end and have a primarily local focus.

Ellise Shafer Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson play a quirky couple in upcoming drama series “Alice & Jack,” which world premieres on Saturday night at Toronto Film Festival in its Primetime section. According to the show’s official synopsis, “When Alice (Riseborough) and Jack (Gleeson) first meet, they’re bound by a connection so powerful it seems nothing can break it, but will their path lead them to a place of happiness and togetherness? Or will life and their own emotional complexities get in the way? Honest, intimate and surprisingly funny, the series shows love in all its unexpected, technicolor, kaleidoscopic beauty.” Viewers can get a taste of Riseborough and Gleeson’s chemistry in a first-look clip above, in which Jack tells Alice, “I’ll call you,” to which she replies, “Thank you, but if it’s OK with you I’d rather you didn’t.” “I’ll text you?” Jack offers, before the two share an emotional kiss.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong Disneyland has confirmed Nov. 20 as the opening date for the World of Frozen themed land based on the hit animated movies “Frozen” and “Frozen 2.” And, with two months until opening, first look images are now being released. The cinematic land of Arendelle contains attractions that enable guests to participate in Summer Snow Day, the day that the film’s Princess Anna saved Elsa and the kingdom with an act of love, meet Elsa at her Ice Palace, board Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs and enjoy an interactive play experience with the characters at Playhouse in the Woods. The films’ Anna, Elsa and Kristoff characters are represented by fully-electric ‘Audio-Animatronics’ figures, which Walt Disney Imagineering says are its most advanced. Visitors to the land can wear rosemaling patterned clothes, add glittering ice-inspired face paint, style their hair like Elsa or wear a cape like Anna. Landmarks within the new land include: North Mountain, with its peak as the highest point in Arendelle; the Ice Palace where Elsa unleashes her icy powers freely for the first time; Arendelle Castle, home of the royal family; the Bay of Arendelle, featuring the small fishing boat that Anna fell on when she met Prince Hans; Clock Tower where Anna danced with Hans; and Friendship Fountain where Elsa uses her magical powers to freeze its water into snowflake ornamentations. There are new retail and food and beverage facilities, as well.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian producer and director Ginevra Elkann, whose delicate first feature “If Only” opened the 2019 Locarno fest garnering critical praise, is at the Toronto Film Festival with her tonally different follow-up, “I Told You So.” The movie features a group made up mostly of women who are having a mental meltdown amid an unprecedented January heat wave in Rome. As the heat rises, so do the characters’ obsessions with sex, food, drugs, alcohol, and religion. The eclectic ensemble film, which was conceived by Elkann and her co-writers during the pandemic, features a star studded cast comprising Danny Huston – speaking perfect Italian on screen – as a heroin-addicted Italian-American priest.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Emmy-nominated “The White Lotus” star Sabrina Impacciatore will play the Venice Film Festival’s master of ceremonies in the upcoming second season of the Italian version of “Call My Agent,” which will also feature a cameo by Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera. Impacciatore, wearing a red gown, disembarked from a water taxi at the Excelsior Hotel pier on the Venice Lido on Saturday welcomed by Barbera, as cameras rolled for a key scene in the show.