Reel Suspects Boards Gary Huggins’ Kansas City, Kansas-Set Comedy ‘Kick Me’

Gary Neville believes Manchester United midfielder Fred has fallen out of favour with manager Erik ten Hag because of the player's ability on the ball.

The prestigious Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon, Switzerland wraps up this weekend, after hosting the world premiere of dozens of documentaries.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Netflix has set Xavier Gens’ (“Gangs of London”) untitled Paris-set genre movie starring Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist“) and Nassim Lyes (“Overdose”) as its next French film original. Set in the Summer of 2024, the film unfolds in Paris which is hosting the World Triathlon Championships on the Seine for the first time. Sophia, a brilliant scientist, learns from Mika, a young environmental activist, that a large shark is swimming deep in the river. To avoid a bloodbath at the heart of the city, they have no choice but to join forces with Adil, the Seine river police commander. Bejo and Lyes star in the film opposite Léa Léviant. The film is produced by Let Me Be and is slated for a launch on Netflix in 2024.

Lise Pedersen “Knit’s Island,” the sophomore feature by French trio Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse and Quentin L’helgoualc’h, competing in the Burning Lights sidebar at Swiss international doc fest Visions du Reél, has been picked up by Vienna-based film sales company Square Eyes. It is entirely shot in the online post-apocalyptic world of DayZ, a multiplayer survival video game set in the fictional post-Soviet Republic of Chernarus, where a mysterious plague has turned most of the population into violent zombies. Under the guise of avatars, the three-member film crew entered this world and made contact with its players. Their goal was to show how the gaming world can be a place where players become part of a strong community, they tell Variety.

Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Film Releasing has acquired international sales rights, excluding North America, to the debut feature from the Burghart Brothers, “Head Count.” The company plans to begin sales on the film during the Cannes Film Market. “Head Count” follows the story of an escaped prisoner, Kat, who finds himself facing an unknown assailant with his own revolver pointed straight at his head. To survive, he must remember what happened on the crazy ride that brought him to this point, one bullet at a time. The cast includes Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”), Aaron Jakubenko (“Tidelands”), Melanie Zanetti (“Bluey”), Chris Bylsma (“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”), Addam Bramich (“Poker Face”), Polaris Banks (“Reklaw”) and Cinnamon Shultz (“Winter’s Bone”).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Memento International has boarded Vladimir Perisic’s Serbian film “Lost Country” which will have its world premiere at Cannes’ Critics Week. Set in Serbia in 1996, “Lost Country” unfolds during the student demonstrations against the Milosevic regime. Story follows 15-year-old Stefan who has to confront his beloved mother, spokesperson and accomplice of the corrupted government that his friends are rising against. The cast is lead by Serbian debuting actor Jovan Ginic and Jasna Djuricic, the actor of Oscar-nominated film “Quo Vadis Aida.” “Lost Country” was penned by Vladimir Perisic and celebrated French writer-director Alice Winocour, whose latest film “Revoir Paris” earned Virginie Efira the Cesar award for best actress.

EXCLUSIVE: Jessica Biel (The Sinner) is set to star opposite Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) in Ursa Major, a sci-fi thriller from twin brother directors Jonathan and Josh Baker (Kin), which will head into production this fall.

Christopher Vourlias Paris-based sales outfit Totem Films has acquired “A Song Sung Blue,” by Chinese director Zihan Geng, and “Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry,” from Georgian filmmaker Elene Naveriani. Both films will premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival. “A Song Sung Blue” is the feature debut of the Beijing-born Geng. The coming-of-age story follows 15-year-old Xian, who’s left in the care of her estranged father, a struggling photographer, after her mother is compelled to travel to Africa for work. Over the course of a restless summer, Xian befriends 18-year-old Mingmei, the daughter of his father’s assistant-turned-girlfriend, and soon finds herself looking up to the older girl.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Sydney Film Festival will present ‘Jane Campion – Her Way,’ a retrospective of films by the pioneering director. Campion herself will appear in conversation with David Stratton on June 10 at the 2023 edition of the festival, its 70th anniversary presentation (June 7-18). Held in association with ACMI and the National Film and Sound Archive, ‘Jane Campion – Her Way’ will encompass screenings of all nine of Campion’s feature films, as well as a selection of her short films. The selection will go on to tour the ACMI in Melbourne (June 15 – July 2) and at NFSA in Canberra (July 20-30). “For our 70th edition, we wanted to present a retrospective commensurate with the milestone, reflecting the audacious and boundary pushing filmmaking synonymous with our festival and region. Campion is a ground-breaking filmmaker who has made a profound impact on cinema with her daring and unforgettable films,” said Sydney Film Festival director Nashen Moodley.

When you hear the iconic HBO intro sound, it often leads into an epic (aka expensive) drama or a show set in Los Angeles or New York, almost inevitably about rich and/or powerful people. With its second season, the Duplass Brothers-produced “Somebody Somewhere” upends that expectation with its gentle, low-key comedy set in Manhattan — Manhattan, Kansas, that is.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Focus Features and Working Title will release Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s “Drive-Away Dolls.” The comedy caper will open in theaters on Sept. 22, 2023. The film follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals. It features an impressive cast that includes Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp and Matt Damon.

Calvin Harris honoured Takeoff’s memory.

EXCLUSIVE: Details are emerging about Wim Wenders’ 3D documentary Anselm, which will gets its world premiere as a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

Boygenius spoke out for trans rights last night (April 15) as they made their second appearance at Coachella 2023.The trio featuring – Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker – previously teamed up with MUNA the previous day (April 14) at the festival to perform the track ‘Silk Chiffon’.Arriving onstage to Thin Lizzy‘s ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’, the band played a host of tracks from their debut album ‘The Record’ including ‘$20’, ‘Salt In The Wound’, ‘Me & My Dog’ and ‘Anti-Curse’.During the set, at one point Baker spoke up for trans rights. “I don’t know if you’ve been checking the news and seeing what’s been going on in Florida and Missouri and some of the other places, but trans lives matter, trans kids matter.

The second edition of the French Comedy Club unfolds at the Lumière Cinéma in Beverly Hills this weekend.

An arrest has been made in the murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee.

San Francisco police have arrested a suspect in the April 4 stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, and say the alleged killer and his victim knew one another.

John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) is set to star opposite Honorary Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) in The Piano Lesson — a Netflix film adaptation of August Wilson’s classic play, which will mark the feature directorial and screenwriting debut of his brother, Malcolm Washington. Pic’s starry ensemble will also include Ray Fisher (Rebel Moon), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), Michael Potts (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and Corey Hawkins (The Tragedy of Macbeth).

EXCLUSIVE: Banijay has backed a TV drama indie set up by Peaky Blinders EP Tommy Bulfin and Apple TV+ commissioner Kim Varvell.

EXCLUSIVE: CBC/Radio-Canada has boarded the upcoming Spellbound, a live-action tween drama from the team behind Find Me in Paris.