‘South Park’ parodies weight loss drug craze in new special ‘The End of Obesity’

Murder with the Stars.” Craig Shoemaker penned the screenplay and will serve as a producer, with Jonathan Silverman set to direct and act in the movie. “This concept came to me several months ago, and I knew I was onto something unique and fun,” Shoemaker said. “Since then, the creative process has unfolded effortlessly with two old friends signing on, Jonathan Silverman and Jeff Franklin.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off the Cannes Film Festival where it won several awards, Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed of The Sacred Fig” has been acquired by a flurry of high profile distributors in major international territories. Films Boutique, which represents the critically acclaimed political drama globally, has sold it to Lionsgate for the U.K.

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros’ Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was greeted with a very warm reception during its Cannes Film Festival world premiere in an early showcase last week, and amid much love for franchise architect George Miller. It has followed up with strong critical and social scores. Nevertheless, in this currently wonky theatrical landscape, the prequel underperformed in its global opening this launch weekend, grossing $58.9M from 76 total markets through Sunday.

Bruce Springsteen delivered a moving speech while at the Ivor Novello Awards last night (May 23), and recalled how music from the UK inspired him since he was a teenager.The Boss became the first international songwriter to receive the Fellow of the Ivors Academy at Grosvenor House in London last night, following in the footsteps of Elton John, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Paul McCartney.Becoming an Academy Fellow is the highest honour the organisation bestows, and with it, the iconic singer, songwriter and guitarist becomes the first American songwriter that the Academy has inducted into Fellowship in its 80-year history.He was presented the award by Beatles legend Paul McCartney, who took the opportunity to jokingly roast him before introducing him to the stage. As he arrived, Springsteen delivered a moving speech to the crowd, recalling both what the honour means to him and his long-lasting love of the UK music scene.He also recalled his nerves when first coming to London back in 1975, and what it is like to be performing in the country again, nearly 50 years down the road.Read the full speech from The Boss below.“Back in 1975, I went on the long flight from New Jersey to the UK, with two different guys who had never been on an aeroplane.

Netflix has been branded by some critics as the “most hateable show ever”.Buying London is inspired by the US hit series Selling Sunset, and it follows a group of estate agents who sell expensive properties in the capital, led by property mogul Daniel Daggers.The show was released on the streaming platform this week (May 22), but the early reviews have been less than flattering.The Guardian posted a zero-star review, describing the show as “probably the most hateable TV show ever made”.“I hate that it bases all of its dramatic tension on pitting women against each other,” the review continued. “I hate that it makes Richard Curtis’s film Notting Hill look like a gritty documentary about the mean streets of London.

Anita Gou is no stranger to the festival circuit. Her L.A.-based Kindred Spirit banner saw a raft of its first projects debut at Sundance (think Lulu Wang’s Mandarin-language comedy The Farewell, which made $23M worldwide, Shia LaBeouf-starrer Honey Boy and Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation) but, more recently, her co-production Silent Twins was selected in Un Certain Regard in 2022, while Dominic Savage’s Close To You premiered in Toronto last year. The company’s Mubi-acquired doc The Last Year of Darkness, which explores the lives of alternative Chinese youth, was awarded a Special Mention prize in the Next:Wave section at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival last year.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have responded to allegations that they accepted complimentary flights within Nigeria from an airline company led by a man reportedly under indictment in the United States.

FBI: International is popular, and so are its stars!

Established in 1932, Japan’s Toho Group has grown into a film-industry powerhouse, not only at home but globally. Working across production, distribution and exhibition, it has recently been on an expansion spree, reeling in box office around the world and with recognition from major awards bodies. 

American Idol just came to an end, and we now have a winner of Season 22!

Anne Hathaway– and Jessica Chastain-starring psychological thriller “Mothers’ Instinct” is set for release in Chinese theaters. Directed by cinematographer-turned-helmer Benoît Delhomme, the 1960s film depicts a pair of model homemakers and next-door neighbors whose close friendship is severely undone by sudden tragedy. The film is an English-language remake of the 2108 French-language effort by Belgium’s Olivier Masset-Depasse’s film, which was an adaptation of the 2012 novel “Derriere La Haine” by Barbara Abel. The film will release in China on May 24 on 2,500 screens.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Manila-based production outfit Parallax Studio and entertainment company Saga Film Studios have formed a joint venture that will distribute the two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga” in the Philippines. The deal is the first of a number of acquisitions planned by the joint venture. The “Horizon: An American Saga” films are directed by and star Academy Award winner Kevin Costner.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Neon has bought North American rights to “The Unknown” (“L’Inconnue”), the hotly anticipated next movie from “Anatomy of a Fall”’s Oscar-winning co-writer Arthur Harari. As revealed by Variety earlier this week, the movie will star Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”) and is being represented in international markets. Harari is rolling off of “Anatomy of a Fall” which he co-wrote with director Justine Triet, abd won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Arab cinema continues to break new ground with a fresh crop of social dramas, several of which depict female empowerment in different forms. These range from the tale of a young woman who fakes being dead so she can leave everything behind, to a rape-revenge thriller titled “Beretta,” just like the semi-automatic pistol used by Suad, its mute protagonist. Below is a compendium of promising upcoming Arabic-language films in various stages that will be surfacing either at festivals or on streamers.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Microsoft‘s Activision has launched a new internal, standalone studio with one mission: creating a new narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise. Titled Elsewhere Entertainment, the studio will be headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, with additional staff in the United States.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian-born and Texas-based director Roberto Minervini is known for making hard-hitting documentaries that dissect the backwaters of American society, such as his so-called Texas trilogy comprising “The Passage,” “Low Tide” and “Stop the Pounding Heart.” His most recent doc, “What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?,” about a community of Black people in New Orleans during the summer of 2017 – when a string of brutal killings of Black men sent shockwaves throughout the country – launched from the Venice competition section in 2018. “The Damned,” which premieres on Thursday in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and is Minervini’s first fiction feature, is set during the American Civil War in the winter of 1862.

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Phillippe (Shooter) and Kate Beckinsale (Underworld) are leading thriller The Patient, which is launching in the Cannes market with International Film Trust.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Primates ruled over the North American box office as “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” collected $56.5 million in its first weekend of release. Those ticket sales were a hair above early projections of $50 million to $55 million and were easily enough to tower over the nonexistent competition.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Sam Claflin (“Daisy Jones & the Six,” “Peaky Blinders,” the Hunger Games franchise) and Rupert Friend (“Asteroid City,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Homeland”) will star in the World War II action thriller “Perdition” from writer-director Henry Dunham (“The Standoff at Sparrow Creek”). Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee will produce for Thunder Road Pictures, whose credits include the John Wick franchise, with Claflin executive producing.

Sam Claflin and Rupert Friend will star in Thunder Road Pictures’ World War II action-thriller Perdition. Written and directed by Henry Dunham, principal photography is set for the fall.