Ukraine Slams HBO for Hiring Pro-Russia Actor Miloš Biković for 'The White Lotus' Season 3

Following months of rumors that Lisa Manobal of BLACKPINK fame was set to make her acting debut, it was revealed on Monday that she’s joining the cast of HBO‘s The White Lotus for Season 3, the studio confirms. The series will begin production in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok in February and will follow a new group of guests at another White Lotus property.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The CGI animated sequel to “Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness,” the hit adventure film based on the Dark Horse comics which sold around the world, has lured buyers ahead of the European Film Market. Titled “Chickenhare and the Very Very (Very) Old Groundhog,” the movie is budgeted at $23 million (a large budget by European production standards) and brings back the creative team behind the first film.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Global Screen has closed further deals on major territories for its animated adventure film “Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights.” Variety debuts the new teaser (below). Viva Kids has acquired all rights for North America to the latest feature film in the franchise about a flying reindeer, following worldwide hits “Niko & the Way to the Stars” (2008) and “Niko – Little Brother, Big Trouble” (2012), which were sold to more than 120 countries. Further deals were concluded with Flins y Piniculas for Spain, CDC for Latin America, Nos Lusomundo for Portugal, Grand Entertainment for the Middle East and SVOE Kino for Ukraine.

J. Kim Murphy Tucker Carlson has shared his longform interview with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, discussing the political leader’s justifications for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The video, running more than two hours, represents the first time that the Russian leader has been interviewed by a Western journalist since the conflict started nearly two years ago.

Tucker Carlson‘s just-released interview with Vladimir Putin shows the former Fox News host has left shameless behind for pure sycophancy.

EXCLUSIVE: WTFilms has snapped up international sales rights for Dutch directorial duo Steffan Haars and Flip Van Der Kuil’s English-language debut Krazy House following its world premiere at Sundance.

Serbia has jumped to the defense of its countryman Milos Bikovic after Ukraine attacked HBO‘s decision to cast the Russian sympathizer in The White Lotus.

“The White Lotus” — saying that he’s “the Kremlin’s foreign mouthpiece.”“Milos Bikovic, Serbian actor who has been supporting Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, is now set to star in HBO’s ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3,” read a post on X, formerly Twitter, from Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ account.“@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?”Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Biković, 36, shared a poll showing that trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin was higher than for Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Deadline.Biković has starred in a handful of Russian films, including “Sunstroke” (2014), directed by Oscar winner Nikita Mikhalkov. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that Biković filmed a movie in Crimea, the peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014.Biković was awarded Russian citizenship in 2021, when he told the Serbian media outlet Telegraf that he felt an affinity with the country’s culture, according to Deadline.In its post criticizing HBO, the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs embedded a video accusing Biković of supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

HBO for casting Serbian actor Miloš Biković – who is believed to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a starring role in the new season of The White Lotus.Biković was given Russian citizenship in 2021 and was personally honoured by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for his contribution to Russian arts and culture. In 2019, the actor said he had been banned from entering Ukraine for national security reasons.HBO announced earlier this month that Biković would star in the third season of the White Lotus, prompting an immediate backlash from Ukrainian social media users.“Miloš Biković, Serbian actor who has been supporting Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, is now set to star in HBO’s The White Lotus Season 3,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry wrote on X/Twitter on Wednesday.

Ukraine has attacked HBO after The White Lotus cast Miloš Biković, a Serbian actor who has voiced his admiration for Russia and accepted a medal from Vladimir Putin.

HBO in November 2022 announced a third season for , which will bring a new installment of the Mike White-created anthology series to screens.

Jim Carrey‘s recent birthday celebrations has gone viral online.The comedian and actor celebrated his 62nd birthday last week (January 17), enjoying a meal in Los Angeles with a number of famous faces.A photo of the occasion has now appeared online courtesy of friend Jeff Ross, who took to Instagram with a group shot.Included alongside Carrey were Adam Sandler, Seth Green, Ben Schwartz, Howie Mandel, Craig Robinson, Cary Elwes, David Spade, Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Burr.A post shared by Jeff Ross (@therealjeffreyross)“The Laugh Supper ! Happy birthday Jim Carrey ! We love you !” Ross captioned the photo.Many have shared their delight in the comments, with DJ Diplo calling it an “insane group”.“I’m hanging this in my dining room,” another joked, while a third added: “Holy shit! How many legends can fit in one room?!”“Telling my kids this was Jesus Christ and his apostles,” a fourth joked.Carrey is well known for starring in the likes of Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, The Truman Show and recently the Sonic the Hedgehog film series.Back in 2022, he confirmed he was leaving Twitter (now known as X), which comes as a slew of celebrities quit the platform in the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover that year.“I’m leaving Twitter, but 1st here’s a cartoon I made with my friend Jimmy Hayward,” he shared alongside an animated video of one of his paintings.“It’s based on my painting of a crazy old Lighthouse Keeper, standing naked in a storm, summoning the angels and shining his lamp to guide us through a treacherous night.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level. 

Watching the science-fiction space thriller I.S.S., I couldn’t help but get the feeling that maybe this claustrophobic and talky material might be better suited as a stage play than as a movie, where audiences might be anticipating something a bit more compelling along the lines of a Gravity or an Alien.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Jean-Claude Van Damme, the global martial artist turned action hero whose 2021 movie “The Last Mercenary” was a hit on Netflix, has another film on the horizon. He will star opposite Michaël Youn (“BDE”) in “Le jardinier,” another high-voltage action-comedy reuniting him with “The Last Mercenary” director David Charhon.

Sex Education actress Aimee Lou Wood has been cast in the upcoming third season of The White Lotus.The show is set to return to screens in 2025, after filming on the new episodes was delayed due to the actors’ strike. Series creator Mike White will return to write and direct, and the season will be set in Thailand, revolving around a different set of guests at a new hotel.Wood will be joined in the new season by Justified‘s Walton Goggins and Gen V’s Patrick Schwarzenegger, as well as Sam Nivola (Maestro) and Sarah Catherine Hook (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It).Other actors previously announced include Jason Isaacs, known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, as well as Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible, True Detective), Parker Poser (Beau is Afraid, The Good Wife) and Leslie Bibb (Iron Man, Jupiter’s Legacy).Also joining the cast will be Dom Hetrakul and Tayme Thapthimtong, alongside Natasha Rothwell, who will return to her role as Belinda, the spa manager from season one.Speculation around the identities of the new cast members has been swirling for several months.

Ben Croll Capping a growth year that saw Gallic productions draw 37. 4 million global theatrical admissions for a total of $254 million in international receipts, producers and sales agents indicated that geopolitical tensions and eco-responsible transformation would be two of the major stressors on France’s film export business in the months to come.

Cinema export agency Unifrance’s annual international box office report for 2023 revealed on Tuesday that Russia was the top market in terms of admissions for French cinema last year.

French cinema saw its fortunes rise at the international box office in 2023 after three difficult Covid-19 and post pandemic years, according to the annual report of export agency Unifrance released on Tuesday.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Newen Connect has closed a raft of sales on “Kina & Yuk,” a live action family adventure from the team behind “Ailo’s Journey,” ahead of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous showcase. Directed by Guillaume Maidatchevsky (“Ailo’s Journey”), the feature is a wild arctic tale following two foxes who are separated by the melting polar ice and must overcome a number of dangers in the hope of being reunited and raise a family together. The movie was released in French theaters by UGC on Dec.