‘Of Money And Blood’: Xavier Giannoli Takes Director-Driven Approach To Debut TV Project That Launched At Venice

Stephen Bear has been dumped by his fiancée Jessica Smith and is “begging” her to take him back just six months after he was sentenced to jail. The reality star was was sentenced to 21 months in prison after he filmed a sexual encounter with Love Island star Georgia Harrison on CCTV and then uploaded it online to subscription site OnlyFans .The 33-year-old reality star, who shot to fame on MTV’s Ex on the Beach, denied the allegations but was convicted of two counts of revenge porn and one count of voyeurism after a trial in December.The 22-year-old said yes to Stephen's proposal just before he went to jail, after going public with their relationship in 2021.

Ellise Shafer Landon Barker is following in dad Travis’ pop-punk footsteps, signing to the Blink-182 drummer’s Elektra imprint DTA Records and releasing his debut single, “Friends With Your Ex.” “I’ve been wanting to do this since I was a kid, since I was probably 8 or 10 years old,” Barker, now 19, tells Variety. “Just watching my dad perform, I’ve always been inspired and wanted to be up on stage and move people with music of my own.” Travis Barker provided drums and production on the upbeat “Friends With Your Ex,” which clocks in at just under two minutes and chronicles what Barker calls “a messed up little love story.” “I was friends with your ex/ You were with him when we met,” Barker croons over the song’s driving chorus.

Could Amanda Bynes once again grace our screens soon?

Jaden Thompson The Newport Beach Film Festival, which will run from Oct. 12-19 this year, has announced their opening and closing night films. Marco Perego’s “The Absence of Eden,” which stars Zoë Saldana, will open the festival on Oct.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Filming is now underway in Australia on “Desert King,” a neo-western drama series for Netflix that is positioned to be one of the streamer’s iconic prestige productions in the Asia-Pacific region. The story revolves around money and power in Australia’s harsh Outback regions with filming locations in the remote Northern Territory and near Adelaide, South Australia. When the world’s largest cattle station is left without a clear successor, generational clashes threaten to tear the Lawson family apart. Sensing this once great dynasty is in decline, the outback’s most powerful factions – rival cattle barons, desert gangsters, Indigenous elders and billionaire miners – move in for the kill,” says Netflix by way of a synopsis. While describing the six-part series as “one of the largest local screen productions filmed in both the [Northern] Territory and South Australia,” and “an extraordinary cast,” the streamer has not disclosed the identities of any cast. Directed by Greg McLean (“La Brea,” “Wolf Creek”), the show is a joint production between Easy Tiger and Ronde.

Sophia Scorziello editor Furniture stores are strange places. The liminal feeling they give off is something like a life-size dollhouse or home you once lived in but can’t remember when. If you’ve ever been into an Ikea, chances are you thought about what it’d be like to spend the night in one of the staged rooms that has a sink with no running water.

The CEO of Universal Destinations & Experiences said hopes are high that the new Epic Universe theme park in Orlando set to open next year will extend visitor stays from three or four days to a full week as a new destination for families with kids age eight and above – Universal’s target demo.

When it comes to Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchise filmmaker David Yates returning to the Max TV series, he tells Deadline, “Never say never.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Investors cheered as TKO Group Holdings, the new parent company of UFC and WWE, clambered into the Wall Street ring. Shares of TKO, which began trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, closed up 2.6% on the day, to $103.22 per share after opening at $102. TKO Group has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, per data from CNBC.

Neighbours have described scenes of chaos after two men were seriously hurt following a dispute over fireworks in Bolton.

Gregg Goldstein As a former child dancer, maybe it shouldn’t surprise anyone that 21-year-old Talia Ryder moved so gracefully into singing, directing and acting. But don’t make her choose just one. “I really like making things, whether that’s acting, directing, choreography or all of the above,” she says.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent British director Luna Carmoon’s first feature “Hoard” has scored three prizes at the Venice Critics’ Week where the other standout title is Chilean documentary “Malqueridas.” In “Hoard,” which is set in 1984 London, 7-year-old Maria and her mother live in their own loving world built on sorting through bins and collecting shiny rubbish. One night, their world falls apart, and the film joins Maria a decade later, living with her foster mother.

UFC parent Endeavor Group and World Wrestling Entertainment said today they expect to close the planned merger of UFC and WWE on September 12. That’s on the earlier end of expectations as Endeavor said in August it expected the deal to close in mid-to-late September.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s your first trailer for Liam Neeson crime-thriller In The Land Of Saints And Sinners, which debuts tomorrow at the Venice Film Festival.

Royal Blood have hinted that they’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of their self-titled debut album next year.The rock duo released ‘Royal Blood’ in August 2014. It debuted at Number One on the UK albums chart and was nominated for the Mercury Prize.Now, the band have teased to NME in a In Conversion video chat about their new album, ‘Back To The Water Below‘, that they’ll mark the record’s milestone birthday.

As we officially move into autumn, we’re permanently on the lookout for some must-have pieces to add to our wardrobes that will see us through the colder months. Although autumn and winter dressing is all about being practical, we’re not about to give up on looking stylish either, which is why we’re always looking for those special items that manage to combine the two.

The late William Friedkin’s last project, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, will have its world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival this evening. This afternoon, collaborators on the Showtime/Paramount Global film including producer Annabelle Dunne and editor Darrin Navarro, offered insight into Friedkin’s style of working and what it was like during the shoot. Dunne also spilled more details about Guillermo del Toro’s involvement in the project.

Love him or hate him, Nicolas Winding Refn continues to be a voice of sanity in a film industry beset by upheaval. Variety reports that the Danish auteur went off again about what ails cinema today at the Venice Film Festival in a tribute to Ruggero Deodato.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While at the Venice Film Festival to pay tribute to Ruggero Deodato, “Drive” and “The Neon Demon” filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn participated in a masterclass and bashed streamers for being “overfunded and rotten with money and cocaine.” The director, who previously infuriated some in the film biz by claiming that “cinema is dead,” said he has somewhat changed his mind and will now fight for cinema to continue on because streamers have “kind of saturated everything” and “devalued content to just a swipe.” Refn, who last directed the series “Copenhagen Cowboy” for Netflix, said “it’s incredibly sad and terrifying because art is essentially the only thing – besides, you know, sex, water and happiness — that makes us exist.” “Even though I projected it was dead a few years ago, it has changed into something we have to fight for,” he added. “Theatrical movies are part of what makes us human and experience creativity.” The director, who lives in Copenhagen with his wife and children, went on to tie streamers to the dangers of artificial intelligence saying that it’s “certainly something affecting our industry.” “AI is not an artist,” Refn proclaimed.

Luc Besson’s latest film, “Dogman,” made its world premiere at Venice Film Festival, where it earned an enthusiastic 6-minute standing ovation. That tied the 6-minute ovation Venice audiences gave Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” earlier in the evening on the second night of the prestigious festival.