The BAFTA Albert Sustainability Grades For Film And TV Studios Are In; Over Half Of Participants Rank ‘Very Good’ Or Higher

Ben Croll Noemie Merlant’s sophomore feature “The Balconettes” plays as a raunchy horror-comedy with a greater social conscience. The film follows three roommates – an actress, played by Merlant, a camgirl played by “Dune: Part Two” breakout Souheila Yacoub and a frustrated writer played Sanda Condreanu – who are initially infatuated and eventually repelled by a lothario neighbor from across the yard. Exploring questions of coercion and consent with a healthy dose of blood and guts, “The Balconettes” wants to entertain and energize in equal measure.

Ireland’s screen industry is having a moment. With the Cannes Film Festival well underway, there’s a notable strong Irish presence in this year’s line-up including Element Pictures’ three entrants – Competition title Kinds of Kindness from Yorgos Lanthimos, Rungano Nyoni’s sophomore feature On Becoming A Guinea Fowl and Ariane Labed’s directorial debut September Says (both in Un Certain Regard). There’s also Competition title The Apprentice, which is co-produced with Irish outfit Tailored Films and Lorcan Finnegan’s Nicolas Cage starrer The Surfer premiering in the Midnight Screenings strand. Even Andrea Arnold’s Competition title Bird is rich with Irish talent with star Barry Keoghan and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Robbie Ryan both having worked on the film. 

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Signature Entertainment has picked up UK and Irish rights to Unit 234, a thriller starring Don Johnson (Knives Out), Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan: First Kill) and Jack Huston (Kill Your Darlings) from sales agent Radiant Films. 

SpaceNK shoppers are flocking to buy a 'fresh' vanilla scent that they insist is perfect for both cooler and warmer months. Wild Vanilla Orchid by Floral Street is proving popular and is created by one of the most popular noses in the market. The fragrance was first launched in 2017 with Jérôme Epinette working as the nose.The perfumer is known for also working on brands such as Byredo, Commodity and Zara's viral scents - alongside many other huge names.

Brand new bombshells could be revealed about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in an upcoming documentary – and the couple are reportedly worried about what will be unveiled. It appears that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to be the subjects of a German documentary that promises to uncover "fresh secrets".

Marta Balaga Following “The Zone of Interest,” Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” and Berlinale offering “Treasure,” about a Holocaust survivor, the latter starring Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham, Poland might be welcoming more foreign shoots in the future. “I would always be willing to return and shoot in Poland,” says “Treasure” director Julia von Heinz. “Our co-producer Mariusz Włodarski from Lava Films realized that during the tenure of the Law and Justice [PiS] government, there was no chance of obtaining public funding for a story where Polish people are portrayed not just as victims and heroes, but as complex human beings.

EXCLUSIVE: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired Northern American rights for Joachim A. Lang’s historical drama Goebbels and The Führer (aka Führer and Seducer) for a fall 2024 theatrical and digital release.  

Ticketmaster with the code “SOUNDCHECK”. General tickets go on sale on Friday, May 17, at 10am local time via Ticketmaster.NOVEMBER02 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom03 – San Francisco CA – The Regency Ballroom06 – Santa Ana, Ca – The Observatory07 – Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco08 – Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco10 – Denver, CO – The Summit12 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall14 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox15 – Seattle, WA – The ShowboxDECEMBER07 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk09 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club11 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer13 – New York, NYC – Irving Plaza14 – New York, NYC – Irving Plaza20 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall21 – Chicago, IL – Thalia HallBesides announcing their first tour in 10 years, The Blood Brothers have also announced a 20th anniversary reissue of their seminal 2004 album, ‘Crimes’.

The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced today the nominations in seven competitive award categories for its inaugural Gotham TV Awards, recognizing a range of series, including Baby Reindeer, Ripley, The Curse, Shōgun, Bodkin, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Black Twitter: A People’s History as well as performances from Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder in The Curse, Andrew Scott in Ripley, Kristen Wiig in Palm Royale, Richard Gadd in Baby Reindeer, and Lily Gladstone in Under The Bridge, among others. The awards ceremony is set for June 4 in NYC.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Zurich and Berlin-based distrib DCM has nabbed Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice” ahead of its May 20 world premiere in Cannes, where its screening in competition. Written by Gabriel Sherman, “The Apprentice” follows Donald Trump’s real estate career in New York during the 1970s and ’80s and his relationships with lawyer Roy Cohen (Jeremy Strong), wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova) and father Fred Trump (Martin Donovan).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed first sales and released the first-look image from Oscar-nominated Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland‘s biopic of the Czech novelist Franz Kafka, “Franz.” The project has sold to September Film in Benelux, Filmin in Spain, Vertigo in Hungary, MCF Megacom for the former Yugoslavia and Movies Inspired in Italy. The film was previously acquired for theatrical distribution by Bac Films Distribution in France, X Verleih in Germany and Austria, Bioscop in Czech Republic and TVP in Poland.

K.J. Yossman The Ukrainian edition of “The Bachelor” is set to return with 28-year-old war veteran Oleksandr Budko as the lead. Produced by Starlight Media (an STB channel) and Warner Bros.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Conners” has been renewed for Season 7 at ABC, which will also be the show’s last. In addition, ABC has canceled “Not Dead Yet” after two seasons. The final season of “The Conners” will reportedly be shorter than past seasons, with sources saying it will run for just six episodes.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Roadmap Writers, a screenwriting education and training platform based in Los Angeles, is partnering with Hollywood producer Barry Josephson to identify short stories fit for film and television adaptation. The competition, open now and running through June 14, seeks commercial-leaning work and carries a cash prize of $7,000. The top three stories will be published on Roadmap Writers.

Morgan Freeman, Olivier Marchal and Simone Ashley will be lauded at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in June. Prince Albert II of Monaco will present Freeman with Festival’s Crystal Nymph award.

The Met Office has issued thunderstorm warnings across the UK for bank holiday Monday. The yellow warnings, which covers parts of England, Scotland, and Wales, are in force for most of the afternoon and evening.

Chance Perdomo is not being recast.

Daniel Zirilli, a prolific director, producer and writer of action films and more than 200 music videos including the Rolling Stones’ “Voodoo Lounge,” died April 28. He was 58.

EXCLUSIVE: Sky has found its Mozart‘s wife for Joe Barton‘s upcoming Amadeus series about the world’s most famous composer.