Monte-Carlo Industry Program Focuses on Docs, AI and Ad-Supported Models

Legendary Olympic athlete Michael Johnson has called on sporting brands to support athletes who want to speak out about social change and other issues meaningful to them. 

Princess Charlene of Monaco is simply stunning during a rare, solo appearance!

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have boarded “Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story” as executive producers. The documentary short, co-directed by Zeberiah Newman (“Unexpected”) and Michiel Thomas (“Game Face”), is a portrait of West Hollywood candlemaker Tim Sullivan. It chronicles the 82-year-old Bronx native’s journey coming out as a gay man, how he got sober more than 40 years ago and his tradition of hiring homeless and newly sober people at his company, Timothy Jay Candles. McCarthy and Falcone tell me in a statement, “Once we heard the lovely story of Tim Sullivan and began to understand how many people he’s helped in his life through the making of beautiful candles, we realized these filmmakers were telling exactly the kind of story we want to help get out into the world.”

The French film Le Colosse aux Pieds d’Argile and UK-Australia series Ten Pounds Poms took the top fiction prizes at the 62nd annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival, which were handed out Tuesday in Monaco. See the full winners list below.

Ben Croll “The Fragile Colossus,” “Ten Pound Poms” and “The Seed” ruled the roost at this year’s Monte-Carlo Television Festival, with the three programs collecting two prizes each at a small-screen showcase that ran June 16 – 20 in the Monaco capital. Produced by Make It Happen Studio and Shoot Again Productions in partnership with TF1 France, telefilm “The Fragile Colossus” took home Monte-Carlo’s Golden Nymph for best film and the special jury prize. The French drama follows a one-time rugby star (played by soccer player-turned-actor Eric Cantona) confronting his history as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, and is based on the life and memoires of rugbyman Sébastien Boueilh.

fashion for a teen girl deemed “too heavy” because she has already developed curves. So she dropped 20 pounds and immediately signed with NEXT, an even bigger agency. Her ascent was swift, with the Pennsylvania native landing in the pages of Vogue and shooting campaigns for top couture brands like Chanel. And then, the red flags emerged just as quickly. At 16, she was booked on a shoot with a photographer who had been publicly accused of sexual coercion. That same year, one of her representatives offered her some dangerous advice on how to get catwalk thin. “I remember my agent saying, ‘Cotton balls are organic, so it’s fine if you just swallow them to make yourself feel full,’” she says. Not long after, Seay-Reynolds was runway ready and made the Fashion Week cut for Louie Vuitton, Chanel, Saint Laurent, Fendi and Marc Jacobs in New York, Paris and Milan. At her first-ever show, the backstage bathroom scene was troubling. “On either side of me were size zero girls puking their guts up,” she recalls. There was also a financial shocker. Shesays she received just $130 for the six weeks of grueling work. “I don’t know if that is how much I should have made or if my agency just took that money. I have no idea because they don’t give you receipts,” she explains. 

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media has struck a partnership with TikTok, with an initial focus on Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to uncover underrepresented independent authors and literary material from the #BookTok community.

Josh Duhamel and wife Audra Mari are back on the red carpet for the premiere of Buddy Games 2: Spring Awakening during the 2023 Monte Carlo TV Festival on Sunday (June 18) in Monaco.

Zeeko Zaki‘s fiancée Renee Monaco is showing off her engagement ring!

Raymond Lee is showing off his better half – Stacy Kusumolkul – on the red carpet while attending the 2023 Monte Carlo TV Festival in Monaco over the weekend.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Speaking at Monte-Carlo Television Festival Sunday, cast members from the fantasy series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” expressed their feelings about the racist trolls who objected to the Prime Video show’s diverse and inclusive casting when it first launched. Last month, Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays the Elven warrior Arondir, told Variety that Prime Video provided an on-set therapist to help the actors deal with the racist backlash against its casting. He revealed it wasn’t just attacks on social media. “My phone got hacked. I had bank account attempts of being hacked. My PayPal got hacked. My friends got messages. I got death threats. I got things mailed to me. People found out my address. It was a lot of that,” Córdova recalled.

Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney have navigated the world of Vanderpump Rules and beyond side by side.

Samba Pa Ti‘ or ‘Europa‘ — the ballads,” Santana, 75, told The Post from his home in Hawaii. “We made an impact on the world as far as facilitating a vibration that makes people feel spiritual and sexually aroused at the same time.” The dad of three — who may or may not have been listening to his favorite artists Marvin Gaye, John Coltrane, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Nina Simone and Tina Turner when his own children were conceived — said his sensual sound unites him with fans across continents.“Because people grew up listening to this music in their living rooms, people made love with them and so somehow we became like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, part of an institution,” he said.“I could go anywhere in the world, Ireland, Japan or Africa, and I’m not a tourist, I’m part of the family.”The native of Autlan, Mexico, whose father was a violinist, started as a street musician, and quickly realized his talent would one day become his profession.“My father would enter me into contests and I would always win,” he said.

Ben Croll Running the Monte-Carlo Television Festival since 2012, Laurent Puons has always tried to look ahead. From his embrace of streamers and digital platforms back in 2017 to his growing emphasis on diverse formats, the festival director sees his summer showcase as a bellwether event for the wider television industry – and what the industry could use right now, in Puons’ view, is flexibility.  “There are already so many festivals today dedicated to series,” Puons explains. “But Monte-Carlo follows a wholly different concept. We’re a home for all kinds of content, and one of the only festivals with both fiction and factual competitions. And when you see what’s broadcast on platforms like Netflix and Amazon, [you need to cover that full range.]”

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Best-selling novelist and showrunner Harlan Coben kicked off the 62nd edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival Friday with an expression of solidarity with the striking members of the Writers Guild of America, of which he is a member. Coben, the co-showrunner and executive producer of Prime Video series “Harlan Coben’s Shelter,” which opened the festival with the world premiere of its first episode, said he wouldn’t be taking part in the promotion of the show at the festival to demonstrate his support for the strike. Standing on stage alongside Monaco’s Prince Albert II, the festival’s honorary president, Coben said: “I am just going to say I am supporting the Writers Guild of America, my union, that is striking right now, so I am not going to participate in any of the question and answers, and none of the media – I’m just here for the prince, and will introduce you to the wonderful cast who will take over for you.”

her new Hulu show “Vanderpump Villa.”According to the just-posted casting announcement, the openings include: Head Chef, Mixologist, Sous Chef, Line Cook, Housekeeper, Fine Dining Server, Event Coordinator, Event Assistant and Estate Manager.The staff will navigate every extravagant desire of their well-to-do guests in the French countryside under the watchful eye of Vanderpump, who, with husband Ken Todd, share decades of experience in the restaurant and nightclub industries.Vanderpump was born and raised in London, but lived in Monte Carlo and the South of France before moving to California.“I feel very close to France,” Vanderpump told TheWrap earlier this year after visiting Paris for the design fair Maison D’Object. “I lived in France for seven years.” One of her Vegas restaurants, Vanderpump à Paris, is French-themed, so she has a great affinity for the country and culture.Vanderpump fans will also recall that “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” filmed its Season 3 cast trip in Paris.Given “Vanderpump Villa” is being cast, it’ll have a different vibe than “Vanderpump Rules,” Bravo’s long-running show that started as series chronicling the lives of an existing group of friends employed at Vanderpump’s restaurant SUR.

The adventures of “Queen of the Universe” season 2 are about to get bigger and better than ever before.

Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss didn't exactly hide their attraction to one another. During the «Secrets Revealed» episode of on Wednesday, Sandoval and Leviss flirted right in front of Ariana Madix while she was still in a relationship with the former.In one unaired scene, Sandoval told Madix what went down during a guys' get-together he had, a night fans now know was when he first hooked up with Leviss.

He would like to be excluded from this narrative. Tom Schwartz opened up about the challenges he’s faced in the aftermath of Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ affair.

Fashion giant PrettyLittleThing has been praised after launching a stunning swimwear and lingerie collection that celebrates women with stoma bags and mastectomies. The "game changing" collaboration is PLT's first ever post-surgery swim collection that is designed to be both comfortable and empowering.