Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘The Hand Of God’ Named Best Film At Italy’s David Di Donatello Awards

CANNES – Despite the passage of time, very little has changed over the decades in the small Irish fishing village depicted in “God’s Creatures.” There is work. There is family.

After breaking out internationally in 2012 with his Oscar-nominated drama The Broken Circle Breakdown, and making his Hollywood debut in 2018 with Beautiful Boy, Felix van Groeningen makes his Competition debut in Cannes with The Eight Mountains, perhaps the most understated film of his career so far.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBrazil’s economic powerhouse, São Paulo is emerging as a key film-TV player in Brazil’s post-pandemic mix. In one move, São Paulo State and City authorities are teaming to power up a new cash rebate for shoots, international and national, to more than four times the endowment of its first edition in 2021. Launched last July by Spcine, the city’s go-ahead film commission, the first shoot spend rebate in Brazil had a total annual budget of $1.6 million. This time round, now also backed by São Paulo State, 2022’s endowment will come in at R$40 million, $8 million at current exchange rates.Given a return of 20%-30% of expenditure that will make $36 million of various titles’ shoot spend in São Paulo eligible for the rebate program.

Julian Dennison (Godzilla vs Kong), Minnie Driver, James Rolleston (The Dark Horse) and Erana James are set to star in New Zealand coming-of-age tale One Winter from directors Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFremantle and Webtoon Studios, which is the entertainment arm of user-generated fiction and comics entertainment outfits Wattpad and Webtoon, have announced a new partnership that will see them co-develop a slate of European film and TV projects.These will be adapted from successful Spanish, Italian, and English language stories with built-in global fandoms on Wattpad and Webtoon, they said in a statement.Under the deal Fremantle, the production and distribution powerhouse owned by Germany’s RTL Group, and Webtoon Studios will be co-producing the content for worldwide distribution.The non-exclusive partnership will give Fremantle access to Webtoon Studios IPs spanning a wide range of genres, and also to their data-backed insights into what fans love about them. The two companies said they will be working with the original Wattpad authors to develop local and regional hits with global appeal in Spanish, Italian, and English-speaking countries.Fremantle has a robust European drama slate comprising Luca Guadagnino’s coming of age drama series “We Are Who We Are” and Tobias Lindholm-directed “The Investigation” and Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated film “The Hand of God,” to name a few.

Fremantle has struck a deal with Wattpad Webtoon Studios to develop a slate of European projects adapted from Spanish, Italian and English-language stories with existing global fandoms.

Samuel D. Hunter’s A Case for the Existence of God was named best play of the 2021-22 season today by the the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, with David Lindsay-Abaire’s and Jeanine Tesori’s Kimberly Akimbo chosen as best musical.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentSince Cinecittà Studios was founded in 1937, the sprawling facilities have driven the golden age of Cinema Italiano.The famed city of cinema has also, albeit intermittently, been a magnet for international productions and endured wild fluctuations in the country’s political climate, before recently reemerging as a new frontier for the country’s film and TV industry.Located in the heart of the Mediterranean basin, a short ride from the center of Rome and its airports, Italy’s top production hub has to date, hosted more than 3,000 films that have earned 53 Oscars.During the period following World War II, the studios forged close ties to Hollywood, which helped the Italian industry gain its international standing. The myriad Italian pics made at the studios range from Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960) and “8½” (1963) to Nanni Moretti’s “Sogni D’Oro” (1981), Sergio Leone’s epic “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984), Giuseppe Tornatore’s “The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean” (1998) Paolo Sorrentino’s “Il Divo” (2008) and, more recently, his TV series “The New Pope” in 2019.

Ellise Shafer Emily Blunt will star in “Pain Hustlers,” a criminal conspiracy film directed by “Fantastic Beasts” helmer David Yates that will be introduced to buyers at Cannes.From a script by “The True American” writer Wells Tower, the film is produced by Lawrence Grey through his Grey Matter Productions banner and Wychwood Pictures.The movie’s official logline reads: “Dreaming of a better life for her and her young daughter, Liza Drake (Blunt), a high-school dropout, lands a job with a failing pharmaceutical start-up in a yellowing strip mall in Central Florida. Liza’s charm, guts and drive catapult the company and her into the high life, where she soon finds herself at the center of a criminal conspiracy with deadly consequences.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentDisney, Amazon, Netflix and Showtime all have TV series of different types either recently shot or set to shoot in Sicily.As one of its first Italian originals, Disney+ has commissioned a still-untitled TV series about Sicily’s Florio family, who, during the 19th century, built an economic empire on the island and became known as the merchant princes of Europe.Casting is now underway for this high-end period epic, to be directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese (“Perfect Strangers”) and produced by Rome-based Lotus Prods., a unit of Leone Film Group. The Sicilian skein, which is expected to start shooting in July, is based on local bestseller “The Lions of Sicily,” by Stefania Auci, that has been translated in several languages.

K.J. Yossman Anna Faris, Alicia Silverstone and Patrick Wilson are set to join leads Susan Sarandon and Jaeden Martell in John Krokidas’ upcoming feature “Tunnels.”Bankside Films have acquired the film from “Kill Your Darlings” director Krokidas, which is based on a screenplay by Victoria Rose.In “Tunnels,” Martell (“Knives Out”) and Oscar-winner Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”) play a duo who strike up the unlikeliest friendship in the wake of unthinkable tragedy.Sarandon stars as Ruby, a woman whose grandson becomes a school shooter.

BAFTA TV Awards speech. The 56-year-old won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Help, a Channel 4 drama set in a care home in Liverpool. She plays Polly, a resident in the care home.

A Stockport gin distillery has picked up a prestigious award at The Gin Guide Awards 2022. Stockport Gin’s Twist of Lime Edition was named Best in England and Best in Britain at the spirit awards.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNetflix on Friday officially opened its Italian base in Rome, in a classy neoclassical building near the iconic Via Veneto, and announced a substantial slate of originals that stand as testament to what co-CEO Reed Hastings called the streaming giant’s “growing business in Italy.”“The breadth and variety of our Italian slate perfectly represents our ambitions,” said Hastings, who took the stage at the presentation’s conclusion. Hastings took the opportunity to note how pleased he is that Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” which Netflix produced, scooped top honors at Italy’s David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film prizes, earlier this week.Netflix’s new Italian slate is headlined by a high-end English-language series adaptation of “The Leopard,” the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

Cruz Beckham has posed in a 70's inspired look and it's uncanny just how similar he looks to his famous dad David. The 17 year old son of David Beckham and Spice Girl Victoria Beckham sent fans wild when he shared the picture of himself in a 70's inspired suit on his social media.Taking to Instagram, Cruz shared the picture with the caption: "My audition outfit for @silksonic." The teen celebrity referenced Silk Sonic, the R&B collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak, who debuted with their first single last year. Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter.