‘The Hypnosis’ Director Ernst De Geer on Crafting a Satire About Second-Hand Embarrassment

Football could undergo yet another change to its laws, with the offside rule potentially being adapted in a bid to make decisions simpler for officials. The proposal, which is being driven by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his role as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, is designed to make the rule easier to understand and less controversial.

Karim Ainouz film “Firebrand,” in which she stars as the 16th-century British queen Catherine Parr opposite Jude Law’s King Henry VIII. For Vikander, it marked a return to the Czech Republic, where she made her first international movie, 2012’s “A Royal Affair,” starring as another queen, Denmark’s controversial 16th-century monarch Caroline Matilda.In between those two royal dramas, Vikander has starred in movies that include “Anna Karenina,” “Ex Machina,” “Jason Bourne,” “The Green Knight” and “The Danish Girl,” for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.During her trip to Karlovy Vary, Vikander sat down with TheWrap for a discussion of “Firebrand,” the importance of depicting honest, unapologetic women onscreen and just how disgusting it was to smell the special perfume Jude Law commissioned to capture the scent of a dying Henry VIII.

Will Tizard Contributor Alicia Vikander, the Swedish actor who won an Oscar for her role in “The Danish Girl” in 2015, has taken on a remarkable range of characters in recent years – but is still stretching her boundaries, she says. Speaking at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where she presented the historical drama “Firebrand” on opening night, Vikander says she’s now prepping for films that offer distinctly different challenges than her turn as Catherine Parr, the only one of Henry VIII’s six wives to outlive the marriage. One character she admits she’s still deciphering is the central figure in the upcoming sci-fi feature “The Assessment,” a feature project with Paris-based writer/director Fleur Fortuné.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kelly Clarkson appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” and clarified the tension behind the making of her hit single “Since U Been Gone,” which still carries a “bad vibe” for her to this day. Clarkson was asked by host Andy Cohen to respond to a revelation in Clive Davis’ memoir in which the mega-producer claimed he had to force Clarkson to record “Since U Been Gone.” “Let’s give some backstory,” Clarkson said. “I was lied to, and they told me there are these producers who want to work with you and there’s this song. It had dummy lyrics. They didn’t have lyrics in. They said they wanted me to work with it. I was told to write to the song.”

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are embracing the relaxing warmth of the summer sun.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Viaplay Group has unveiled its new operating model and executive management team for the Nordics as it anticipates an economic downturn. Earlier this month, Viaplay issued a warning over its second-quarter results and told employees that it would merge the Swedish and Norwegian units of its production arm into a new entity named Viaplay Studios. The listed banner also has new leadership — Anders Jensen stepped down and was replaced by Jorgen Madsen Lindemann as Viaplay’s CEO and president. Under the new operating model, which will be effective on July 1, the daily operation and strategic development of the businesses will be spearheaded by country management teams. Madsen Lindemann will be interim CEO of the Swedish and Finnish operations; Lars Bo Jeppesen has been appointed as EVP and CEO of the Danish and Icelandic operations and will join on Aug. 1.; and Kenneth Andresen has been appointed as interim CEO of the Norwegian operation.

Viaplay has unveiled a new operating model as it battles the economic downturn.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Prime Video has unveiled 12 new unscripted reality and entertainment series coming to the Nordics, including an adaptation of the hit format “LOL: Last One Laughing” for Denmark and Norway. The streamer has also renewed the Swedish version of “LOL: Last One Laughing” for a second season. All Nordic versions of “LOL: Last One Laughing” are filmed and produced in Sweden by Jarowskij in Sweden, Metronome in Denmark and Nordisk Banijay in Norway. New Prime Video shows also include the Norwegian docu-reality series “Girls of Oslo,” a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of of well-known influencers Sophie Elise, Isabel Raad, Nora Haukland and Anniken Englund Jørgensen. “Girls of Oslo” is produced by Salto Film and will launch this Fall on Prime Video in Norway.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Eye Eye Pictures, the banner recently launched by the producers of Joachim Trier’s Oscar-nominated “The Worst Person in the World,” has started filming “Armand,” a feature film starring Cannes prizewinning actor Renate Reinsve. Charades has come on board to handle international sales on the film. “Armand” marks the feature debut of Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, whose short film “Fanny” was nominated for an Amanda Award, Norway’s equivalent to the Oscars, in 2017. The story follows a 6-year-old boy, Armand, who is accused of crossing boundaries against his best friend at elementary school. While no one knows what actually happened between the two boys, the incident triggers a series of events, forcing parents and school staff into a captivating battle of redemption where madness, desire and obsession arise.

Happy birthday, Ariana Grande! The American pop queen is celebrating her 30th birthday today (June 26), so we're marking the occasion by revealing her Official Top 20 biggest songs in the UK.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent High-flying Madrid-based Caballo Films, behind Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” and “Riot Police” and Borja Soler’s “The Route,” has put into development a fiction series adaptation of Mabel Lozano’s prized same-titled non-fiction work. Shaping up as a deep drill-down into the growth of prostitution in Spain into large-scale organized crime, “El Proxeneta” packs a powerful talent package of creator-writers Isabel Peña, co-writer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas” and “Riot Police,” and Eduardo Villanueva, a co-scribe on “Riot Police” and producer on “Stockholm.”  Pilar Palomero, a Spanish Academy Goya best picture winner for “Schoolgirls,” will direct the series, her first TV work beyond one episode of “Venga Juan.”

Five-year-olds in Britain are, on average, up to seven centimetres shorter than children in other wealthy nations, new data has revealed.

The Hives played an early set on The Other Stage at Glastonbury 2023 today (Friday June 23), pulling in the first massive crowd of the weekend.The Swedish indie icons were first on the stage, which will later see performances from the likes of Krept & Konan, Chvrches, Fred Again.., and headliner Wizkid.After opening with recent single ‘Bogus Operandi’ from upcoming album ‘The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons’, frontman Pelle Almqvist told the packed out field: “Put your hands up for The Hives. Looking good, Glastonbury.”Introducing ‘Walk Idiot Walk’, he said: “Ladies and gentlemen, it sure is a pleasure and privilege to be playing for you wonderful people tonight… or is it this morning?” After a brief pause, he continued: “Did you guys just wake up? We’d like to thank all the bands who warmed Glastonbury up for The Hives, and all the bands who will cool you down offer.”Noting the huge audience gathered, the frontman joked that there were “900,000 people attending The Hives concert. Never before has this happened in the history of man”.Best.

Icona Pop is back with another bop, and we want to give Just Jared readers a chance to get to know them even better!

BBC Studios has bought STV, the Copenhagen-based producer of a local Scandinavian remake of The Office. The Scandi company will be rebranded under a BBC Studios moniker.

Kinetic Content, it never has been.  Most of the popular unscripted shows today — from “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “American Idol” to “The Bachelor” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” premiered in 2010 or before. The global “reality boom” exploded 25 years ago. In the years to follow, the majority of unscripted content that debuted took off for a moment and later fizzled out.  In fact, in the last 12 years, only four global non-scripted format hits have spawned multiple localized international versions in a foreign language, all while hitting the No. 1 ranking for their platform in their most recent season: “Married at First Sight,” “Love Is Blind,” “The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On” and “The Masked Singer.” 

Pharrell Williams presented his hotly-anticipated debut collection as Louis Vuitton's creative director in his first fashion show for the house during Men's Paris Fashion Week. A historic backdrop for a historic night.

Arctic Monkeys are officially back on the road in support of their 2022 album The Car.

K.J. Yossman Embracer Group, the Swedish gaming conglomerate that snapped up the rights to “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” in a surprise deal last summer, has finally revealed how much it paid – and it seems like they got a bargain. The Karlstad-headquartered company has confirmed it spent SEK 4.2 billion – $395 million at today’s conversion rates – to acquire Middle-Earth Enterprises from the Saul Zaentz Company last August. At the time the deal was announced, Embracer and Saul Zaentz declined to say how much the “Lord of the Rings” holding company had sold for. But estimates at the time projected the rights – which include worldwide rights to films, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks and stage productions – were worth up to $2 billion.

Sweden’s Embracer paid nearly $396M for the rights to the Lord of the Rings franchise.