Finland Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Love Island couple Lucie Donlan and Luke Mabbott beamed from ear to ear as they celebrated a wholesome weekend at Lucie’s parents’ wedding. Lucie, who has been busy renovating her and Luke’s stunning cottage, took to Instagram to share a glimpse inside the surprise occasion as she watched her parents say “I do”. Prior to the happy couple walking down the aisle, 26 year old Lucie showed off her parents’ choice of flowers as she showed off a stunning bouquet which featured an array of pink and white roses as well as some blue flowers, green foliage and small white buds.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based Picture Tree Intl. has acquired the international sales rights, excluding the Nordic countries, for the Finnish daughter-father comedy “Butterflies” (Perhoset). “Butterflies” is directed by Jenni Toivoniemi, based on a screenplay by Anna Brotkin.

Nathan Patterson will find out this weekend if his Euro 2024 dream is over.

German series The Zweiflers (Die Zweiflers) took home the prize for Best Series at the Canneseries Awards last night.

Annika Pham Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has closed Spain and Portugal with AMC Networks International Southern Europe, on the Finnish suspense disaster drama “Seconds”, Variety has learned exclusively. One of REinvent’s MipTV highlights, “Seconds,” made a strong debut on Finnish pubcaster Yle this week, according to head of drama, Jarmo Lampela. “It will easily go over the average viewing target,” he said.

There’s nothing better than planning the holiday of a lifetime, but often those amazing trips require a hefty long haul flight to get there. Even the most relaxed traveller can struggle after several hours in the air, and it’s not just your tiredness levels that suffer – your body does too.

EXCLUSIVE: Israeli format Power Couple has been picked up by Banijay in the Nordics and been awarded a slew of recommissions.

The boss of Mediawan has praised the “very smart” buying community who in recent years have moved on from a domineering TV rights position.

Nick Cave has announced a European solo live tour for this summer – you can find all the details below.The Bad Seeds frontman is due to hit the road in June for a run of headline dates, where he’ll be “performing songs from his extensive catalogue”. Cave will be accompanied on stage by Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood.He’ll begin the forthcoming stint with three shows at the Onassis Stegi venue in Athens, Greece on June 1, 2 and 3 before an appearance at the Belgrade River Fest in Serbia on June 18.Two further performances are scheduled for Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, Finland (June 25) and the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavík, Iceland (July 1).Tickets go on sale at 10am local time this Friday (April 12) – you’ll be able to buy yours here.

Annika Pham Helsinki-based Yle Sales has picked up global distribution rights to “Linda’s Room” (“Lindan huone”), a Finnish YA drama thriller about consent and sexual abuse to be premiered at Cannes’ content market MipTV. The six-part short form series sparked social media hype among local auds when it launched early February on pubcaster Yle and its platform Yle Areena. The show is being produced by Helsinki-based Komeetta, credited for the Sundance selected shorts “Fucking Bunnies,” “Are You Hungry?” and the Göteborg winning pic “The Missile” and YA short form “Alpha.” Hot talent Kaya Pakaslahti (“Bathroom Stories”, “Limbo”) is directing, based on a screenplay by Laura Majava.

Marta Balaga The votes are in: Atmospheric (and claustrophobic) Finnish mystery thriller “Icebreaker,” already one of the most buzzed of projects hitting the competition, has been crowned the winner of the 8th edition of MipDrama, receiving its Coup de Coeur award. Sold by About Premium Content, created by Mia Ylönen, who exec produces with Aleksi Bardy, the Elisa Viihde-commissioned show “Icebreaker” is set on a stranded boat. As its crew members start to disappear, one by one, coastguard Sanna Tanner (Jessica Grabowsky) is trying to find answers – but what she is dealing with goes way beyond rational explanations.

EXCLUSIVE: The Traitors continued on its path of global domination with 11 territory launches in 2023, unseating The Masked Singer as analysis firm K7‘s Format of the Year after four years of domination.

With the popularity of women’s basketball on the rise, Prime Video and the WNBA have reached an extension of their current rights deal through the next two seasons.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Women’s pro hoops are coming back to Amazon‘s Prime Video for at least two more years. Prime Video and the WNBA on Friday announced a rights renewal deal under which Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive U.S. streaming partner for a package of 21 games each season, including the Championship Game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Annika Pham Keshet International (KI) has picked up global rights to Finnish sci-fi thriller “Valhalla Project” (“Operaatio Valhalla”), produced by L.A. and Helsinki -based Snapper Films for Finnish streaming service Elisa Viihde.

Ellise Shafer TikTok is returning as the official entertainment partner for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. This marks the social media platform’s third year teaming up with Eurovision, the world’s largest music event.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Running April 4-7, the IFF Panama brings to this year’s edition a rich mix of standout director driven titles from Europe, the Spanish-speaking world and beyond, spangled by highlights from Central America, including Panama: “Bila Burba,” (Duiren Wagua, Panama) Documentary. Wagua’s debut feature. The Gunadule nation’s ties with the Panamanian government were fraught with territorial and cultural disputes.

Finnair is expanding its services from Manchester Airport to Helsinki as it celebrates 30 years of direct flights from the Finnish capital to Manchester. The airline will increase capacity to 12 weekly flights this summer, with plans to launch double daily flights by winter 2024.

Marta Balaga Emma Thompson is Team Finland all the way and she wants you to know it. In an emotional letter shared with local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the actor detailed her experience working on Brian Kirk’s upcoming action thriller “The Fisherwoman.” Set in Minnesota, the film will see two-time Oscar winner as a widow who, while trapped in a blizzard, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenager. “They had no snow [in Minnesota] owing to the changing climate, [so] the decision was taken to shoot all the exteriors in Finland.

Olly Alexander and a number of other performers have released a joint statement about their participation in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest after calls to boycott the competition in solidarity with Palestine.Yesterday (March 28) hundreds of queer artists, individuals and organisations called on Alexander to pull out of the competition this year, after its refusal to expel Israel.Now, Alexander, alongside Ireland’s Bambie Thug, Norway’s Gåte, Portugal’s Iolanda, San Marino’s Megara, Switzerland’s Nemo, Denmark’s SABA, Lithuania’s Silvester Belt and Finland’s Windows95Man, have signed a letter outlining their response.“We want to begin by acknowledging the privilege of taking part in Eurovision,” it begins.pic.twitter.com/VBNQWwPe46— olly alexander (@alexander_olly) March 29, 2024“In light of the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and particularly in Gaza, and in Israel, we do not feel comfortable being silent. It is important to us to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and communicate our heartfelt wish for peace, an immediate and lasting ceasefire, and the safe return of all hostages.

EXCLUSIVE: Sources tell us that Regal Theatres VP and Head of Film Andrew Turner is exiting the No. 2 U.S. chain.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent In one of the most anticipated keynotes at Series Mania Festival, JB Perrette, president/CEO of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, dropped the launch date for Max across the first nine European countries on May 21.

Naman Ramachandran Robert Schildhouse will serve in an expanded role at streamer BritBox International following the departure of global CEO Reemah Sakaan. Schildhouse, who previously had stints with Hulu and CBS, joined the streamer in 2022, with his most recent position being general manager, North America, and group editorial for BritBox International, where he was instrumental in driving the service’s business growth in the U.S. and Canada.

Netflix announced six new Nordic feature film productions at its Next on Netflix showcase in Stockholm on Monday.

With a solid offshore hold, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is closing in on $500M globally. The overseas weekend brought in $51.2M across 73 markets, a 40% drop versus last session (-37% excluding China). The international box office cume through Sunday is $289.4M, and worldwide the running total is $494.7M. The latter figure means the film has already surpassed Villeneuve’s 2021 Dune worldwide.

Marta Balaga Be afraid, be very afraid: Finnish mystery thriller “Icebreaker” has just revealed exclusive first-look photos. Set on a stranded icebreaker, it sees coast guard Sanna Tanner (Jessica Grabowsky) leading a rescue team. She comes across a group of survivors – and a frozen body – but over the course of six days, crew members start to disappear.

Love Island stars Zachariah Noble and Molly Marsh have split after seven months together.The pair, who met on the ITV2 dating show last summer, have remained "extremely close friends" and insist they "wish nothing but the best for one another". A rep for both of them told The Sun: "Love Island’s Molly Marsh and Zachariah Noble have made the decision to end their relationship in the last week.

Marta Balaga Finnish comedy “Money Shot,” about an ex-porn star venturing out of her comfort zone, is heading to Canneseries. Sari, now in her forties, gets fired from her last role. Forced to find a new way to make a living, she teams up with Linnea – an aspiring director who struggles to get into film school.

Eurovision 2024 song lyrics after initially sparking controversy.The country received widespread criticism with their entry this year formerly titled ‘October Rain’. Sung by 20-year-old Eden Golan, the track appeared to contain references to the victims of Hamas’ October 7 attacks.