‘Survivor,’ ‘Temptation Island’ Set India as International Production Hub, Banijay Asia Chief Confirms (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Busan film festival’s Asian Project Market is set to welcome several of the region’s top auteurs either as producers or prospective directors at its next edition in October. APM organizers Thursday unveiled 30 projects to be presented during a four-day round of one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions. India’s Rima Das (“Tora’s Husband”) will pitch “Malti My Love.” Japan’s Fukada Koji (“Love Life,” “Harmonium”) will pitch “Nagi Notes.” Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak (“Autobiography”) will pitch “Watch It Burn.” Among the successful producers adding their weight to APM contenders are: Patrick Mao Huang (“Moneyboys,” “Tiger Stripes”) selling Peter Ho’s project “Appetite for Desire”; Jeremy Chua (“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” “Autobiography”), pitching Rafael Manuel’s “Filipinana”; Ichiyama Shozo (“Ash Is Puirest White”) pitching Song Fang’s Japan-China collaboration “Full Moon”; Fran Borgia (“A Land Imagined,” “Tiger Stripes”) pitching Aakash Chhabra’s “I’ll Smile in September”; and Tan Chui Mui (“Barbarian Invasion”) pitching Jian Xiaoshuan’s “To Kill A Mongolian Horse.” The project market and the Asian Contents & Film Market are both scheduled to operate Oct.

Naman Ramachandran Former Disney India head and producer of Sony LIV hit “Rocket Boys,” Siddharth Roy Kapur has hailed the reinvigorated Indian box office and robust streaming space. Nevertheless, he sees challenges ahead.

Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.

Naman Ramachandran Prolific Indian content studio Applause Entertainment, led by Sameer Nair, and acclaimed filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane’s Andolan Films are teaming to produce two politically-charged series. “Black Warrant” is based on the bestselling book “Black Warrant: Confessions Of A Tihar Jailer,” by prison officer Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury, a journalist with vast experience of chronicling India’s prison system.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sound of Freedom, the indie action-drama film that has already earned over $125 million at the North American box office, will begin to move into international distribution from next month.Angel Studios, the crowd-funded, Utah-based production and distribution firm behind the picture, says it has set releases in territories including the U.K., Australia and Latin America. The company explained that it has arranged direct-to-theater distribution deals in Latin America, the U.K, and Ireland. In other territories it will take the more conventional route of partnering with distributors.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Tom and Jerry,” one of the most iconic animation franchises in history, is to get a localized new version made with Southeast Asian audiences in mind. The cat and mouse duo will take their chases to the streets, buildings and cityscapes of Singapore in a 7 x 3-minute series of shorts, produced locally in Asia, and in association with Warner Bros. Animation.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag As the sun almost sets on yet another dramatic season of Love Island, the secrets of villa life continue to emerge. Recently, Leah Taylor, one of the villa's recently dumped Islanders, has spilled the beans about a hilarious escapade involving her bombshell companion, Charlotte Sumner. After being dumped from the villa, Charlotte nearly found herself in hot water for an audacious shopping spree.

Naman Ramachandran Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” are attracting a record number of punters back to the cinemas in the U.K. and India. In the U.K. the Vue cinema chain said that it witnessed its biggest weekend in four years and second biggest weekend in history by admissions, with “Barbie” on track to become the biggest film of 2023, ahead of “Super Mario Bros.” Vue saw more than a fifth of its customers booking tickets to see both films. Over 2,000 sessions sold out for “Barbie,” delivering the largest ever opening weekend for an original, non-franchise film for the U.K. and Ireland market box office.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury are engaged after a romantic proposal four years after meeting in the Love Island villa The couple, who are proud parents to baby girl Bambi, shared the happy news that they're set to tie the knot on Sunday after a gorgeous proposal during their Ibiza getaway. Taking to Instagram, Molly-Mae, 24, shared a gorgeous black-and-white video of the proposal, where she held Bambi and Tommy, 24, got down on one knee. She penned: "Forever.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Tonight's Love Island will see some new arrivals make their way into the villa, as the islanders' friends and family pay them a visit. First to arrive are Zach and Molly’s families as Zach's sister, radio DJ and I'm A Celebrity...

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video and BBC Studios have launched BBC Player and BBC Kids on Prime Video Channels in India. The subscription-based service will provide Indian viewers a curated line-up of popular British content spanning dramas, comedy, documentaries, factual shows, entertainment, lifestyle programming and children’s shows. Prime members can purchase an annual add-on subscription to BBC Player for INR 599 ($7.30) that includes full access to BBC Kids. Alternatively, members can also subscribe to BBC Kids only for INR 199 ($2.42) annually. Title available at launch on BBC Player include “Six Four,” “The Diplomat,” “Chivalry,” “Citizen Khan,” “Sherlock,” “Unforgotten,” “Happy Valley,” “Top Gear,” “The Great British Bake Off,” “This is Going to Hurt,” “Small Axe” and “Strictly Come Dancing.” BBC Kids will feature “Hey Duggee,” “Go Jetters,” “JoJo & Gran Gran,” “Sarah & Duck” and “Junior Bake Off.”

EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaking duo Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton, best known for their Oscar-winning short The Silent Child, have set a new slate of projects at their UK-based production company Slick Films.

Naman Ramachandran India’s media and entertainment industry is expected to reach $73.6 billion by 2027 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.48%, says consultancy firm PwC’s “Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2023-2027” report. In terms of growth percentage, streaming leads the way with revenue surging 25% in 2022 to reach $1.8 billion. The market will continue to grow at 14% CAGR to produce revenue of $3.5 billion in 2027. This will be driven by the competitive SVOD sector, which accounted for 78% of sector revenue in 2022, the report says, adding that while subscription service revenues will expand at 13% CAGR to reach $2.6 billion, ad-supported services (AVOD) will grow at a higher rate, albeit from a lower base.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK has a new South Asian-focused film talk show.

Christopher Vourlias “Stay Online,” a Ukraine war drama from director Yeva Strelnikova which uses the innovative Screenlife format, has dropped a trailer ahead of its world premiere July 22 at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival. Variety has been given exclusive access (see below). Set after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, the film begins when a young woman (Liza Zaitseva) volunteering in Kyiv is given one of the thousands of laptops donated by ordinary Ukrainians to support the war effort. She’s asked to install a sensitive military application and deliver the laptop to her brother serving on the frontline. But the woman receives a mysterious video call from a young boy searching for his father, the laptop’s previous owner, who went missing during the Russian army’s brutal massacre of innocent civilians in Bucha. Reluctantly, she agrees to help find his missing parents — a decision that will ultimately force her to risk the lives of her own loved ones.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei (“The Tambour of Retribution,” “Zero Distance”) is set to direct timely drama “Hobal,” about a Saudi family living in isolation in the desert during the early 1990s. The film will be shot in NEOM, the sprawling production hub in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern corner. “Hobal” will be Alshlahei’s third feature, segueing from his groundbreaking social issues drama “The Tambour of Retribution,” about the forbidden love between an executioner’s son and a wedding drummer’s daughter in turn-of-the-century Riyadh. “Tambour” scored two prizes at the Cairo Film Festival, was released on Netflix, and was Saudi Arabia’s submission for the 2022 best international feature film Oscar.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Federico Fellini’s post-war immigration story “Napoli-New York,” which was penned for the big screen by the famed director but never produced, is set to become a graphic novel written by French comic book writer Jean-David Morvan. Meanwhile, as previously announced, cameras are rolling in Naples on the movie version by Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores. Fellini co-wrote the tale with his frequent collaborator Tullio Pinelli, a writer on the Italian maestro’s “La Dolce Vita” and “8 1/2,” as well as other titles. Turin-based media company Arancia Studio has now attached the prolific Morvan – who has written more than 250 books that have sold millions of copies – for the graphic novel adaptation.

Naman Ramachandran Jaadugar Films and Sameer Raj Sippy Productions have teamed to remake 1970s Hindi-language Indian classics “Mili,” “Koshish” and “Bawarchi” that were produced under N.C. Sippy’s banner. Directed by Gulzar, who would go on to win an Oscar for “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Koshish” (1972), an homage to 1961 Japanese film “Happiness of Us Alone,” starred Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan (nee Bhaduri). It followed a deaf-mute couple who fight against the odds to live a life of dignity. Kumar won best actor and Gulzar best screenplay at India’s National Film Awards. “Bawarchi” (1972), directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, was a remake of Tapan Sinha’s 1966 Bengali-language film “Galpo Holeo Satti” and starred Rajesh Khanna and Jaya Bachchan. In the film, Khanna plays a talented domestic helper who transforms a dysfunctional middle-class family.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief

BreAnna Bell Janet Hubert is making her way from Belair to Serenity, SC (or, more accurately Tampa, Florida) as she joins “Sweet Magnolias” for Season 3. Variety has learned Hubert will guest star as Bev Decatur, Helen’s (Heather Headley) mother. In a moment of crisis, Helen goes to Tampa to visit her mother, needing Bev’s unique blend of humor, compassion, and tough love. “Following the brawl at Sullivan’s, Maddie wrestles with the best way to help Cal and works to clear her own emotional path. Helen faces difficult decisions about the men in her life. And Dana Sue searches for a way to use Miss Frances’ check to help the community, without upending her family. The identity of the tire slasher sends shockwaves through Serenity, the recall causes unexpected consequences, and there are romantic surprises in every generation. Throughout the season, the ladies tackle these problems — and all the complications they cause — with their trademark warmth, humor, and devotion to each other and those they love. And margaritas,” reads the Season 3 logline, per Netflix.