‘She Came to Me’ Sells Out Internationally for Protagonist (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Yash Raj Films’ 2018 hit “Sui Dhaaga: Made in India” will release in China on March 31. Starring Bollywood A-listers Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, the film follows an unemployed small-town man who defies all odds and naysayers and revives his family’s garment business. The film’s plot is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy that Indians should be self-dependent to achieve their goals. Dhawan plays a tailor, while Sharma plays an embroiderer in the film who, as husband and wife, team to fulfil their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. The film is directed by Sharat Katariya and produced by Maneesh Sharma and Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films. The trio previously collaborated on the hit “Dum Laga Ke Haisha” (2015).

Nick Cannon’s new game show “Who’s Having My Baby?” sounds more like a sketch than an actual TV show… that’s because you’re right. No, there won’t be a TV show called “Who’s Having My Baby?” because, well, what would that show even look like anyway? Instead, the idea for “Who’s Having My Baby?” is actually a gag, orchestrated by comedian Kevin Hart, as a sketch for an upcoming, not-yet-announced project. According to insiders, all will be revealed as soon as tomorrow, as Hart continues to expand his empire with another comedy franchise inside the NBCUniversal universe. That doesn’t mean Hart and Cannon aren’t having some fun first with the confusion over the faux TV series. Cannon went on Twitter Tuesday to claim he would be starring in E! Entertainment’s “Who’s Having My Baby?” and even shared a teaser. (Yes, that’s a sketch, not a show.) As hosted by Hart, the fake show would appear to be a competition between single women eager to birth Cannon’s next child.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International After several years in the works, British comedy sensation “Motherland” is getting a U.S. adaptation on ABC. Variety understands ABC is close to signing a pilot order for an American remake of the hit BBC comedy. The show was previously set up at Hulu by Lionsgate, which has world distribution rights, but migrated to ABC — which is arguably a much broader platform — last year. “Motherland” has aired on the BBC for three seasons since 2016. Set in a west London neighbourhood, the show follows a wacky group of mothers (and a father) who couldn’t be more different, but are united by the daily school run and a shared abhorrence for those who take parenting a little too seriously.

After three years of taking place entirely online, Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart), the largest content market in Asia before the pandemic, is finally returning as a fully-fledged in-person event (March 13-16, 2023). 

new “baby mama” in mind should he choose to welcome baby No. 13.The 42-year-old host was joined by “The Real Housewives of New York City” alum Luann de Lesseps, 57, on Wednesday’s episode of “The Masked Singer” as she provided the judges with clues to guess the identity of the masked performer Medusa.But before the cabaret singer could give her hints, Cannon told the audience that the duo “have a love thing going” — to which she replied, while caressing his shoulder, “We do, we do,” according to The Sun. Lesseps then joked to Cannon that she “wouldn’t tell — if he didn’t,” as judge Robin Thicke perfectly interjected, “We will all find out nine months later.”The remark both stunned and amused the fellow judges and live audience, the outlet reported.

Dilbert creator Scott Adams after his racist rant.Adams had called Black American people “a hate group” and said white people should “get the hell away from Black people”, following his lead by moving to “a neighbourhood with a very low Black population”.In response, Minhaj used his time as The Daily Show guest host to address Adams: “Kanye heard this and was like, ‘whoa, whoa, my brother… pace yourself.’”The comedian went on to call Adams “a certain type of rich person” and compared him to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.“I can guarantee you: J.K.

A highly sought-after rare 50p coin is allowing people to turn a tidy profit following a bidding war.

Nick Cannon is showing some love to his ex-wife Mariah Carey!

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International BritBox International has reached three million subscribers across its eight international markets, Variety can reveal. The “best of British” streamer, which is backed internationally by BBC and ITV, has reached its latest milestone across the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. (The service launched in the U.K. in November 2019 but split off from the global operation in 2022 and is now integrated into ITV’s streaming offering, ITVX.) “Through what’s been a really challenging time for lots of SVODs, we’ve grown by 15% this year, which certainly exceeds that category growth for the U.S., and lots of our competitors in that set,” Reemah Sakaan, the London-based CEO of BritBox International, tells Variety.

The 1975 frontman Matty Healy and Yungblud have traded blows online in recent days, with Healy impersonating Yungblud in a new video.Last week, Healy received criticism online for his appearance on podcast The Adam Friedland Show.On the show (via Tone Deaf), Healy discussed how he believes Harry Styles “gets a pass” on criticism over alleged “queer-baiting,” and discussed New York rapper Ice Spice‘s heritage – debating whether she has Hawaiian, Inuit or Chinese heritage and impersonating the accents of those countries and regions.In a now-viral tweet appearing to reference the podcast, Yungblud wrote: “Love listening to three privileged white dudes sit around and objectify a young black female artist who’s blowing up. Welcome to your 30’s I guess.”love listening to three privileged white dudes sit around and objectify a young black female artist who’s blowing up.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” topped the box office chart in mainland China on its opening weekend, with a $19.4 million start. But the much-discussed arrival of the Marvel movie was weak compared its franchise predecessor. And its debut was not enough to reignite the China box office market. The film arrived in a fashion that was adequately signalled for marketing purposes. And it opened on a date that was coordinated with the North American and other international debuts. In the context of the Chinese market, the film also had the advantage of landing at a time when the big, Chinese-made, Lunar New Year titles were losing their power.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Sales agency Memento Intl. has unveiled the first clip and poster from Liu Jian’s Berlin competition title “Art College 1994,” which world premieres on Feb. 24. The film is a portrait of youth set on the campus of the Chinese Southern Academy of Arts in the early 1990s. Against the backdrop of reforms opening China to the Western world, a group of college students live in full swing as they take their first steps into adulthood, where love and friendships are intertwined with artistic pursuits, ideals and ambitions. Caught between tradition and modernity, they now have to choose who they want to become. It is the director’s third animation feature after 2010’s “Piercing I” and “Have a Nice Day,” which premiered in competition at the Berlinale in 2017, and quickly built a cult following. “Have a Nice Day” was also honored with the best animated feature award at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Vanessa Redgrave and Freida Pinto have boarded the family feature “The Boy at the Back of the Class,” based on the acclaimed children’s book. Directed by Stephen Herek (“101 Dalmations”), the film centers on a mysterious new boy called Ahmet who joins nine-year-old Alexa’s school. As Alexa learns that he is a refugee, separated from his family, she will do anything she can to help. With the adults out of the way, Alexa and her school friends come up with a daring plan to reunite Ahmet with his family – the start of an adventure that will take them all the way to Buckingham Palace. The film is penned by “A Street Cat Named Bob” screenwriter Tim John. Adam Rolston and David Braithwaite at Studio Pictures are producing. Nicola Pearcey of Picnik Entertainment and Paul Grindey are executive producing. Casting director is BAFTA nominee Carolyn McLeod.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International The U.K.’s British Film Commission and Film in Austria, the national film commission for Austria, have struck a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) paving the way for more film and high-end TV production between the two territories. New film and TV production incentives were introduced in Austria last month, including Europe’s first “green” filming bonus. Meanwhile, in the U.K., statistics released in February revealed that investment into film and high-end television during 2022 reached a record height of £6.27 billion ($7.72 billion). Through the MoU, which will be signed in Berlin on Sunday, the BFC and Film in Austria say they seeks to “encourage greater cultural, commercial and creative exchange between the U.K. and Austria whilst actively working together to foster opportunities to support inward investment film and high-end TV production in both countries.”

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International After breaking into NASA to make his last movie, “Operation Avalanche,” one would think that “BlackBerry” — a film that, on paper, sounds like a standard book adaptation about a Canadian boom-and-bust story — would be a walk in the park for Matt Johnson. For anyone else, it might have been. But short-cuts don’t compute for the Toronto-based helmer. His outright rejection of Hollywood’s camera tricks in place of a wild do-it-yourself approach has made him one of the most radical new voices emerging from Canada. In “BlackBerry,” which world premieres on Friday, Johnson tackles the story of one of Canada’s greatest modern inventions, the BlackBerry mobile phone — tracing its spectacular ascent into a global phenomenon that brought email to users’ fingertips, to its tragic downfall in the wake of corporate mismanagement and the dawn of Apple’s iPhone.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Brazilian animated feature “Perlimps,” Alê Abreu’s follow up to Oscar-nominated “Boy and the World,” has been sold in key territories by Best Friend Forever ahead of the European Film Market. “Perlimps” has been picked up for Japan (Child Film and New Deer), China (DDDream), CIS and baltics (Kinologistica), Sweden (Njutafilm) and Portugal (Films4you). BFF is in advanced discussions to close German Speaking territories, Benelux, Spain, Italy and North America. As previously announced, UFO Distribution will release the feature in France. “Perlimps” was just released last week in Brazil by leading independent outfit Vitrine Filmes and Sony Pictures, which holds Latin American rights.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Blue Fox has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for the family adventure movie “School of Magical Animals” from sales agency Global Screen, which has also sold the film’s sequel to several territories. “School of Magical Animals” will be released with 300 copies in the U.S. on March 24 nationwide. James Huntsman of Blue Fox said: “There is a strong appetite for high quality live action family movies and ‘The School of Magical Animals’ delivers on all fronts.” Global Screen has sold the sequel, “School of Magical Animals 2,” which was the most successful local film at the German box office last year with a $21 million gross, to Spain (Flins & Piniculas), Poland (Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty), Denmark (Another World Entertainment), Hungary (ADS Service), CIS and the Baltic States (Investacommerce), and has closed a worldwide airline deal. It will have its market premiere at Berlin’s European Film Market on Saturday.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor New Europe Film Sales has closed several further distribution deals for animated feature “The Peasants,” the followup to Oscar nominee “Loving Vincent,” which grossed more than $50 million at the global box office. New sales include Benelux (Paradiso), the former Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), Hungary (Vertigo), Portugal (Outsider Films), Turkey (Birfilm) and Scandinavia (Another World Entertainment). The company is in negotiations with buyers in Spain and the Baltics. U.K. and North America rights remain open. Key European sales previously closed include to Plaion in Germany and Jokers in France. “The Peasants,” which is directed by “Loving Vincent” filmmakers D.K. Welchman (formerly known as Dorota Kobiela) and Hugh Welchman, is being produced with the same painting technique as used in “Vincent.” The directors were inspired by a wide repertoire of realist and pre-impressionist paintings to depict the Nobel prize-winning novel of Wladyslaw Reymont on film. Set at the end of the 19th century, it tells a story of love and life in a small community, where rules and traditions dictate everyone’s role.

Anne Hathaway showed off her impeccable sense of style while attending the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival to promote her upcoming movie She Came to Me.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International If you ask Rebecca Miller, it’s getting harder and harder to make movies about people in a room talking. That particular brand of intimate, personal storytelling, the kind the director of “Maggie’s Plan” and “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” is known for, is a challenging prospect for financiers weighing up a Darwinian landscape for cinemagoing. It’s why Miller’s latest, “She Came to Me,” which opens the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday, feels like a triumph for the American director, who marks her return to narrative features after an eight-year hiatus. “Making a movie like this is actually meaningful for independent cinema — it’s meaningful that we got it made,” said Miller. “Every time that happens, it’s a real victory, because it is very difficult … it’s hard to get personal films made.”