Rosario Fiorello on Breathing New Life Into Italian Public TV and Infuriating Harvey Weinstein

Ariana Madix doesn’t have any sympathy for Raquel Leviss — and she doesn’t think fans should either!

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s RAI Cinema, which has four titles in this year’s Cannes selection, has closed a deal on Ron Howard’s next movie “Origin of Species,” a hot project at the Cannes market starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Ana de Armas, Jude Law and Alicia Vikander. RAI Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco said the company – which is the film arm of Italian state broadcaster RAI – has teamed up with Rome-based Lucisano Media Group to acquire Italian rights from CAA Media Finance on Howard’s survival thriller penned by Noah Pink (“Tetris”) about a a group of eclectics who turn their backs on civilization and head to the Galapagos. In Cannes, RAI Cinema also picked up Italian rights from Gaumont on family movie “Moon The Panda,” by French humans and animals adventures specialist Gilles de Maistre, known for “Mia and the White Lion”and “The Wolf and the Lion.” De Maistre’s latest, about the friendship between a boy and a panda, is set to shoot later this month in China’s Sichuan mountains.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor “Euphoria” actor Jacob Elordi and Zachary Quinto star in “He Went That Way,” a film based on the wacky true story of a celebrity animal trainer (Quinto) and his TV chimp Spanky, who spent three days with a serial killer (Elordi) in 1964. While some press reports have described the film as a queer project, Quinto tells me we won’t be seeing him and Elordi steam up the screen: “I wouldn’t say it’s an overtly queer story, but I will say that there are undertones of both emotional and physical tension between these two characters.” The actors became close during filming. “We talked a lot about his desire to do theater,” Quinto recalls. “I was like, ‘Go do a play in London. Go do a play in New York. That’s where you really cut your teeth.’ I’m sure we’ll see him onstage at some point.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Live sports streaming service DAZN and social analytics firm Videocites have forged a partnership to fight rampant sports content piracy in the social media sphere. Dubbed “The Netflix of Sports,” DAZN is a leading premium live sports platform with a footprint comprising Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, U.S. and the U.K. The company boasts that Videocities’ cutting-edge technology will now enable DAZN to automatically remove 98% of the thousands of pirated streams detected on social media within minutes with unprecedented efficiency, it said in a statement. NBA Equity is an investor in Videocites which has several offices around the world, including in Tel Aviv and one recently opened in New York.  

Coffee, donuts, and a side of celebrity. The Newport, Rhode Island, Police Department was treated to a surprise visit by the longest reigning cast member of "Saturday Night Live," Kenan Thompson, Saturday morning. Accompanied by Newport's Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong, Thompson popped in for a quick visit with the force while in town filming the recently announced sequel to his infamous "Good Burger" film.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission, will preside over the jury of the Malta Film Commission’s inaugural Mediterrane Film Festival celebrating movies from the Mediterranean Basin. The fest, which will take place in Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other locations on the island between June 25-30, will showcase films from each of the MED9 nations, an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states. It comprises: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Besides Wotton the other jury members are “Triangle Of Sadness”actor Zlatko Burić; Cypriot filmmaker Tonia Mishiali; French actor and director Vahina Giocante; Greek producer Amanda Livanou; Italian journalist Boris Sollazzo; Maltese critic Mario Azzopardi; Portuguese journalist and programmer José Vieira Mendes; Slovenian journalist Tina Poglajen; and Spanish programmer Carlos Reviriego.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Nanni Moretti’s “Il sol dell’avvenire” (“A Brighter Tomorrow”), a multi-layered love letter to filmmaking in the age of streaming giants, has scored a slew of sales ahead of it’s Cannes bow. French sales company Kinology has sealed deals to Moretti’s latest work with a slew of territories including Germany (Prokino); Spain (Caramel Films); Benelux (Cineart) and Switzerland (Xenix Filmdistribution).  Additional countries that have taken a shine to “Brighter Tomorrow” are Portugal (Midas Filmes); Austria (Filmladen); Ex-Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom Film) Greece (Feelgood Entertainment); Hungary (Circo Film); Israel (Lev Films and Cinemas); Latin America (Providences Films); Romania (Independent Film);  and Turkey (Filmarti).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Veteran Italian auteur Silvio Soldini (“Bread and Tulips,” “Emma”) is set to direct “The Tasters,” which will reconstruct the true untold story of the women conscripted to be Adolf Hitler’s food tasters. The Nazi-era drama — which will mark Soldini’s first foray into German-language cinema — is based on the bestselling book “At the Wolf’s Table,” by Italian author Rosella Pastorino, about a group of women who were recruited by the SS in 1943 to make sure that food to be served to Hitler was not poisoned. Forced to eat what might kill them, the tasters start to split into two factions: those loyal to Hitler, and those who insist they aren’t Nazis, even as they risk their lives everyday for the Führer.  “At the Wolf’s Table” has been translated in 46 countries.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Yes, the Cannes Film Festival has only just started. But Hollywood is already quietly planning for the Venice Film Festival lineup, as the unofficial launch of awards season in late August is starting to shape up with several high-profile titles, Variety has learned. Among the films in contention to bow on the Lido: Luca Guadagnino’s sexy tennis comedy “Challengers,” starring Zendaya and Josh O’Connor, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ surrealist science-fiction romance “Poor Things,” with Emma Stone and Marc Ruffalo, among entries believed to be locked-in for a Venice launch. Zendaya was last in Venice in 2021 with “Dune,” but Denis Villeneuve’s sequel, which has an early November launch date, is not expected to follow suit to the fest.

Mary & George, an upcoming queer period drama, has just released the first-look images of Julianne Moore in character. In this dramatic retelling of real-life British history, the actress plays Mary Villiers, a ruthless woman who used multiple avenues to rise to the height of English society — including bribing politicians and working with criminals.

The Duchess of Sussex is being celebrated for her vision.

WhatsApp has unveiled a new feature that will allow users to hide their "most intimate conversations" from prying eyes, Meta has said.

Another scandal surrounds the Vanderpump Rules cast and this time Lala Kent is opening up about her life with Hollywood producer Randall Emmett in Hulu’s The Randall Scandal: Love, Loathing, and Vanderpump. Watch the trailer in the video posted above.

From New Year’s Eve to behind-the-scenes of Bravo. Andy Cohen documented 2022 in his new book, Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up, and Us Weekly is rounding up the biggest nuggets for reality TV fans.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Emmy Award-winning director Adam Bernstein (“30 Rock,” “Fargo,” “Better Call Saul”) is set to helm new Prime Video Italy original “Costiera,” an English-language action drama set on Italy’s iconic Amalfi Coast. The high-end show is being co-produced by Amazon Studios and Luca Bernabei for Lux Vide, the prominent Italian company behind financial thriller “Devils” that is owned by Fremantle. Though production on “Costiera” is set to start on location this summer, the international cast is being kept under wraps. Under a highly innovative deal structure, Fremantle will handle global sales on “Costiera” in all territories outside of Italy, France, Spain and Portugal where Amazon is holding on to full exclusive rights.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian producer Luciano Sovena, who was instrumental to bringing early works by several of Italy’s now-prominent auteurs such as Alice Rohrwacher, Luciano Frammartino, and Saverio Costanzo, to the big screen, has died. He was 73. News of Sovena’s sudden death was announced on Sunday by the Rome and Lazio Film Commission Foundation, of which he was president. The cause of death was not disclosed. The foundation paid tribute to Sovena as “A great and generous professional; a friend of Italian cinema,” in a statement. It went on to note that he was “Ironic, ‘simpatico’ and open to everyone.”

A new investigation into the suspicious death of a Scots mum on a Greek island 14 years ago has ruled it was foul play.

GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) announced recipients for 18 of this year’s 33 categories for the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Maren Morris received the Excellence in Media Award, introduced by Cynthia Lee Fontaine and Alyssa Edwards, and Jonathan Van Ness received the Vito Russo Award, presented by ALOK at the star-studded ceremony at the Hilton Midtown in New York.

Todd Gilchrist editor The explosive growth of film and television production in New Mexico has broadened perceptions about its eclectic landscape in a short amount of time, but despite increasingly well-documented evidence to the contrary, some misconceptions stubbornly persist. “One of the main comments I hear is ‘I didn’t know New Mexico has trees,’” says Amber Dodson, director of the state’s film office. While the state’s natural elements are undoubtedly beautiful and have stood in as a range of locales for countless film and TV productions, they’re only one factor in the state’s transformation from a short-term production location to a true hotspot for studios looking to put down roots.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “The Eight Mountains,” Belgian directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s Italian-language drama about friendship, mountains and growing up, scored the top prize at Italy’s 68th David di Donatello Awards. Besides winning best picture, the film also scooped statuettes for best non-original screenplay, photography and sound. Given that the directors are not Italian, it was a particularly significant victory for “Mountains,” which was praised as “quietly magnificent” by Variety critic Jessica Kiang. The film, which is currently playing well on the U.S. arthouse circuit, tracks the decades-long friendship between two Italian boys named Pietro and Bruno — one from the city, the other a shepherd boy from the Alps.