Rome Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent In the early 1970s, Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan wrote and recorded songs for the English version of Italian director Franco Zeffirelli’s film “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” about the early years of St. Francis of Assisi, that evoked the “flower power” hippie movement and developed a cult following. Half a century later, Donovan traveled to Italy last week to watch a freshly restored version of the film in two celebratory events.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor AGC Studios chief creative officer Lourdes Diaz has signed a new multi-year employment agreement and has been elevated to partner with a seat on the board of the independent film and television studio. The promotion comes on the back of founders Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO, and Miguel Palos, chief operating office, themselves signing new multi-year agreements late last year.

Daniel Brühl is starring in a first look at the upcoming Hulu series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Talaria Media is developing a new comedy series about a retired Navy SEAL, Variety has learned exclusively. The untitled single-camera series hails from writer and director Jame Anderson. It is loosely based on stories from Mark Greene’s book “Unsealed” as well as Anderson’s own life and relationship with her father, who was himself a veteran.

Former Fox Television Studios and Shine Americas boss Emiliano Calemzuk is to take charge of Israeli network Reshet 13.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent German director Volker Schlöndorff, who won the Cannes’ Palme d’Or and an Oscar for his 1979 drama “The Tin Drum,” is set to direct a film about how Antonio Vivaldi — the 18th-century Italian composer of “The Four Seasons” — formed what is touted as the world’s first all-female orchestra. Schlöndorff’s still-untitled depiction of this lesser-known aspect of Vivaldi’s career is based on a book by German writer Peter Schneider, which has been adapted for the big screen by Italian scribe Francesco Piccolo (“My Brilliant Friend”) along with the director.

The Easter holidays are fast approaching and many families will be jetting off from Manchester Airport. But those flying with Jet2 have been warned of a big change to its Manchester services which comes into force next week ahead of the school break.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth last month, an orchestral world tour has been announced.Set to kick off in August 2024, the tour will allow fans to “experience all new symphonic arrangements” of the music of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.The show will include “beloved scores” by Nobuo Uematsu and “exciting new contributions” from Mitsuto Suzuki, Masashi Hamauzu, and many other esteemed composers and arrangers. The whole thing will be performed by an orchestra and chorus of over 100 musicians led by renowned conductors Arnie Roth and Eric Roth.“Immerse yourself in the world of one of the most visionary games of all time with this sensational multimedia concert experience,” reads the official Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth tour website.Announcing the FFVII REBIRTH ORCHESTRA WORLD TOUR!Immerse yourself in the world of one of the most visionary games of all time with this sensational multimedia concert experience!Experience all new symphonic arrangements of the music of FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH including… pic.twitter.com/SaaIXh8nHk— Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY (@ffdistantworlds) March 8, 2024Select shows will see appearances from the original composers, with Masashi Hamauzu appearing at Los Angeles, Rotterdam, London, Bangkok, Taipei, New York and Paris while Mitsuto Suzuki is set to take part in shows in Chicago, Munich and Rome.Tickets for the tour are being released in waves, with the first leg on sale this Friday, March 15.

Cat Deeley will front This Morning alongside Ben Shephard from today (Monday, 11 March), much to the delight of fans.The presenting duo are now the permanent hosts of the hit ITV show, which has been fronted by a series of guest hosts ever since Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield quit last year. Speaking about her return to UK breakfast TV, Cat said: "This Morning is a national institution.

As Gordon Ramsay's daughter Holly celebrates getting a new car, the TV chef, who she has a close relationship with, has given her a stern warning about safe driving to ensure she's careful on the roads.The 24-year-old is the proud owner of a new Aston Martin DBX707 sports car, sharing a snap of the luxury vehicle with her 346K Instagram this week as she happily perched on the bonnet outside her parent's home. Holly playfully captioned the snap: "Race ya," alongside a winky emoji, with Gordon sharply commenting: "Drive carefully please." Holly is in the middle of Gordon and his wife Tana's six children, with the couple also parents to Megan, 25, Holly's twin brother Jack, 24, Tilly, 22, Oscar, four, and Jesse James, who they welcomed last year.

Lady Kitty Spencer, Princess Diana's niece, has revealed she has welcomed her first child with husband Michael Lewis.

Lost Frequencies’ “All Stand Together” show at East Williamsburg’s Great Hall. Our bodies sore, voices deflated, ears ringing, and one earring left behind. But, if we had it our way, we’d be crawling back to the stage.When we arrived at the venue just after 10 p.m., the opener, Artemis Orion, was already underway with her first-ever DJ set.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Kevin Spacey will appear as a character named “The Devil” in Italian director Massimo Paolucci’s psychological thriller “The Contract,” which just wrapped principal photography in Rome. The English-language film, described in a statement as having a similar storyline as Alan Parker’s “Angel Heart” and Taylor Hackford’s “The Devil’s Advocate,” also stars Eric Roberts and Vincent Spano, Italian production company TM Entertainment said. Spacey arrived in Rome last December to shoot “The Contract.” Reps for Spacey, Roberts and Spano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Emiliano De Pablos Brand new sales agency Neo Art International has picked up worldwide sales rights outside Italy to Claudio Amendola’s black comedy film trilogy “Cassamortari” (“Funeral Family”). The film trilogy narrates the story of The Pasti Family, a Roman family who work in the funeral business. The three titles of the saga are set up at Rome-based company Paco Cinematografica, and co-produced with Antonia Nava’s Neo Art Producciones in Barcelona.

Nikita Kuzmin is known for his role as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing but he's expected to be swapping the ballroom for the iconic Celebrity Big Brother house when the hit show returns after six years on Monday (March 4).

Paolo Taviani, the iconic Italian director who helmed numerous films with his brother Vittorio, has died. He was 92.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian director Paolo Taviani, who with his late brother Vittorio formed the revered filmmaking duo that in 1977 won the Cannes Palme d’Or for “Padre Padrone,” has died at 92. Taviani died on Thursday in a Rome clinic after suffering from a short illness, according to Italian media reports. “Paolo Taviani, a great maestro of Italian cinema, leaves us,” Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Katcy Stephan Doug Fronk has joined the television literary department at Gersh as an agent and senior vice president. Fronk spent the last three years at A3 Artists Agency as a partner and head of television literary. Before that, he spent 19 years at Paradigm, where he worked his way up to become co-head of the television literary department.

George Clarke is well known for his TV shows like Amazing Spaces and Ugly House To Lovely House. He returns to our screens on Monday, 26 February, with a new series of George Clarke's Remarkable Renovations, where he visits solicitor Dawn, who is embarking on a mammoth renovation of her local village shop in Yorkshire, in a bid to turn it into a home for her and her two sons. But despite being a regular TV fixture, George has a less-known personal life.The architect from Sunderland, who turns 50 in May this year, is a dad to three teenagers and has been married twice.

Christopher Vourlias Abel Ferrara has made a career out of staring unflinchingly into the abyss, interrogating man’s weakness and depravity and daring his audiences to look away. Faced with the catastrophic violence of the war in Ukraine, however, which he chronicles in the Berlin-premiering documentary “Turn in the Wound,” even the iconoclastic director finds himself at a loss — for words, and for easy answers.

Sublime has suggested that they may record new music after the band resumed operations late last year.The band were initially active between 1988 and 1996, before frontman Bradley Nowell died from a heroin overdose at the age of 28.Sublime reformed in 2009 with Rome Ramirez on vocals and guitar. They initially toured under the Sublime moniker for seven months, before Nowell’s estate threatened to sue surviving members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh for misuse of their trademark, and the band then went by the name Sublime With Rome.Last year, Sublime With Rome announced their breakup upon the news that Sublime reunited to play a set with Nowell’s son Jakob on vocals.

MSC Cruises has just unveiled details of an amazing February flash sale, offering flight seats from as little as £99/€99 to the Mediterranean this summer.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Twin directors Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, who are known to Berlin Film Festival audiences for stylishly gritty dramas “Boys Cry” and “Bad Tales,” are back with eclectic detective series “Dostoevskij,” premiering in the fest’s Berlinale Special section. Set in the stark Roman hinterland, the six-episode show — produced by Sky Studios with Rome’s Paco Cinematografica — stars Filippo Timi (“Vincere,” “The Eight Mountains”) as Enzo Vitello, a policeman whose mind is warped by an incident involving his daughter Ambra.

Emiliano De Pablos Spain’s Morena, Mediacrest and Estrategia Audiovisual are joining forces with Italy’s Fandango on “The Sleeper,” a thriller doc following an alleged Caravaggio painting, directed by producer-helmer Álvaro Longoria. Rome-based Fandango also handles international sales rights.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Teresa Cavina has been appointed artistic director of Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival the second edition of which will run June 22-30 in Valletta, the island’s capital. Cavina, who has over twenty years of experience in programming and artistic director roles at festivals including Locarno, El-Gouna, Rome, Venice and Abu Dhabi, is structuring the Mediterrane fest’s selection in four programming strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum – ‘Our Sea’, showcasing narrative and documentary films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions – a selection of experimental VR projects.

Callum McLennan Filmax has taken global distribution rights for “My Friend Eva,” the latest from Spanish director Cesc Gay whose ‘Truman’ proved a notable hit overseas, scoring substantial theatrical returns in several territories. Set against the backdrops of Barcelona and Rome, this romantic comedy boasts Nora Navas (“Libertad”) Juan Diego Botto (“The Suicide Squad”) and Rodrigo de la Serna (“Money Heist”). The film marks the ninth collaboration between Gay and producer Marta Esteban of Imposible Films, dating back to Gay’s breakout “Nico and Dani” and taking in “Truman.” The new film turns on Eva, 50, a married woman on the quest for passion whose life takes a dramatic turn after a serendipitous encounter in Rome.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Revered Italian auteur Paolo Taviani will soon be back in the director’s chair. Shooting is set to start in April on “Canto Delle Meduse,” a pandemic-themed drama helmed by Taviani with Polish-Italian actor Kasia Smutniak (“Domina”) attached to star. The rest of the film’s cast is being kept under wraps.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Harvey Weinstein‘s lawyer urged the highest court in New York to overturn his conviction on Wednesday, saying that too many accusers were allowed to testify at his trial. Arthur Aidala challenged the trial judge’s ruling allowing three women to testify as “Molineux” witnesses. The women spoke about sexual assaults that were not among the charges, but did help establish a pattern of misconduct.

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are reportedly teaming up for the fifth time to reimagine Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime drama High And Low.The pair, whose previous projects include Malcolm X, He Got Game and Inside Man, will begin filming the adaptation in March. The original film is based on Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom and stars Toshiro Mifune as a wealthy man who is forced to pay the ransom money for his employee’s kidnapped son.In 2008, it was reported that Martin Scorsese would be developing a remake of the story, but the project never went ahead.Lee has previously spoken about his admiration for Kurosawa, claiming that his 1986 comedy She’s Gotta Have It was influenced by the Japanese director’s 1950 drama Rashomon.The remake of High And Low will be released in cinemas by A24 before heading to Apple TV+ (as reported by The Guardian).Alan Fox, a former college basketball player and model turned playwright, will write the script.