New Mexico Soundstage Investment Promises More Film Production

Royal Blood have announced a series of North American tour dates set to take place later this year.The shows will be in support of their recently announced album ‘Back To The Water Below’, which is set for release on September 8.Split into two parts, the first leg of the tour will see the duo venture to New Jersey’s Sea.Hear.Now festival on September 16 to kick off the live dates. From there they will make stops in Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and more, before wrapping up in New York on October 3, supported by Bad Nerves.For the second part of the North American tour, Royal Blood — comprised of Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher — will head to Los Angeles for a show at The Wiltern on November 9.

Reel talk! North Carolina may be known for its unmatched coastline, the Blue Ridge mountains and Cheerwine, but it’s also the backdrop of some of your favorite movies and television shows.

Charna Flam Early into Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Bollywood career, the Indian-born actress paid back a film production after she backed out of filming within days, due to the “dehumanizing” director on site. In a recent interview with The Zoe Report, the actress explained how nearly two decades ago, as an actress new to the industry, she took money out of her own pocket to remove herself from a set with a degrading crew. Chopra Jonas recalled in the interview that she portrayed a character who was going undercover, and how the unnamed director spoke about her and her appearance to the other crew members.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Ithra Film Productions has launched a new film fund that aims to attract international filmmakers to shoot fully-financed movies in the kingdom on which local talents and crews can cut their teeth. Ithra Film — which is a unit of The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, financed by Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development – is looking to commission and fund up to five films annually. The level of funding was not disclosed, nor was the criteria for selection besides the requirement that they contribute to foster the growth of Saudi Arabia’s embryonic film industry. “We invite international filmmakers to collaborate with filmmakers in the kingdom and join us on our journey to accelerate talent and sector development in Saudi,” said Majed Z. Samman, who is head of performing arts and cinema at Ithra, announcing the fund at the Cannes market during a panel at the Saudi pavilion.

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor Chicago is about to join the growing list of cities where new soundstage construction will boost the local entertainment economy. The Fields Studios – the city’s first purpose-built and, to date, largest film production complex – will open in the first quarter of 2024. Owned and developed by real estate firm Knickpoint Ventures, the new campus occupies the site of the former warehouse and distribution center for the city’s legendary Marshall Field’s department store and its retailers across the U.S. It includes nine soundstages on two lots totaling 132,000 square feet of stage space and over 350,000 square feet of creative and production offices, plus mill and support space, on over 20 acres in Chicago’s Northwest Side.

EXCLUSIVE: J.J. Abrams-exec produced drama series Duster has had its production suspended.

Emiliano De Pablos Anonymous Content has partnered with Spain’s Morena Films, one of the country’s top production companies, to launch a joint venture aimed at developing and producing Spanish-language content for the global market. The alliance marks the fifth international joint venture for Anonymous Content as they continue to build partnerships with local producers and companies in key territories around the world. Anonymous Content’s president of international, David Davoli, and Morena Films CEO Pilar Benito will oversee the joint venture, whose managing director will be named in the coming weeks, the companies announced Friday in a statement.

Naman Ramachandran “To Wong Foo The Musical,” based on 1995 film “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar,” will have its world premiere at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, U.K. The film, which is now considered a cult classic, starred Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing, Robin Williams and Ru Paul. The musical has a book and direction by original film screenplay writer Douglas Carter Beane, with music and lyrics by Lewis Flinn, casting by Sarah Leung and artwork by Feast Creative. Beginning in 1990s New York, the musical tells the story of three drag queens, Vida, Noxeema and Chichi, who embark on a trip across America to attend the drag queen of the year finals in Hollywood. When their car breaks down in Middle America, their lives, as well as those in the town, are turned upside down.

A year and a half after the fatal shooting of its cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the Alec Baldwin Western “Rust” is back on the market at the Cannes Film Festival, shopping for international buyers.

All charges have been dropped against Alec Baldwin over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021, and a resurrected version of the film has almost completed filming in Montana, but the legal battle could be far from over.

Alec Baldwin has set his next project. The actor will star in the upcoming film “Kent State” about the tragic 1970 war protest shootings.

Alec Baldwin has set his next project. The actor will star in the upcoming film, about the tragic 1970 war protest shootings.It's an interesting choice, as the news comes after Baldwin wrapped production on earlier this week.

The Hollywood Reporter.The film will be Slade’s directorial debut.According to Deadline, the film will follow the events that transpired that day and will ask the question of why these massacres continue to happen.“The Kent State shooting was a dark and pivotal moment in our nation’s history. This is a story that needs to be told and surprisingly never has,” producer Tom Ortenberg told the outlet in Sept.

If you did not see the news, Prince Harry, Duchess Meghan Markle, and her mother Doria Ragland were involved in a scary situation last night.

. On Tuesday, Hulu announced that it's ordered 20 more episodes of the reality series about the famous family.The exciting news comes ahead of the season 3 premiere of the series, which is set to premiere May 25 and debut on subsequent Thursdays.The upcoming season will feature Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner as they navigate motherhood, co-parenting, and building their own empires.

Ethan Shanfeld Alec Baldwin took to Instagram to celebrate his last day of filming “Rust,” his upcoming Western film on the set of which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot. Filming restarted last month on “Rust,” a year and a half after Hutchins was killed when a prop gun held by Baldwin discharged. “God it felt good to shave off that beard,” Baldwin wrote on Instagram accompanied by a photo of his clean-shaven face. The actor, who also produces and co-wrote the story of “Rust” with director Joel Souza, also reposted an Instagram story that pictures him embracing his young co-star Patrick Scott McDermott, who wrote in the caption with a heart emoji, “Alec’s last day. I’ll miss you.”

EXCLUSIVE: Password, the game show from Jimmy Fallon and hosted by Keke Palmer, is returning to NBC for a second season.

Shakira’s new life in Miami seems more exciting than ever; the Colombian singer has announced another song between awards shows, events, and dinners with friends. The star, who recently left Barcelona behind alongside her two sons, Milan and Sasha, after separating from Gerard Piqué, is looking forward to another perspective and a bright future in her career and personal life.The singer and songwriter, who used her past experiences as inspiration, took to social media to announce an upcoming song.Una publicación compartida por Shakira (@shakira)The global sensation didn’t reveal much about her new song; however, she did say it is called “Acróstico.” Immediately after, fans began to speculate if Shakira would continue throwing musical jabs at her ex, as she has done with her last four singles.

Katherine Heigl and John Travolta are set to share the screen in a new rom-com.

Paul Plunkett Besides incentives and locations, people make up a crucial component of New Mexico’s production ambitions. The New Mexico Media Academy (NMMA) is getting ready to supply skilled crew for the increasing number of jobs provided by the film and television industry. Headquartered in the Downtown Albuquerque Rail Yards, the NMMA is a collaborative initiative between industry partners, multiple educational institutions and the state to equip New Mexico residents with the education and skills necessary to work in production. “Our students will be trained by the best in the industry on state-of-the-art technology to further cultivate the modern film and digital media workforce we are building,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement announcing the academy’s Albuquerque location.