Luxembourg Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Roland Emmerich’s upcoming gladiator series Those About to Die has been picked up by Prime Video across Europe.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Prime Video has acquired the Ancient Rome gladiator drama series “Those About to Die” in multiple European territories. The show is directed by “Independence Day” helmer Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner. The 10-episode first season will debut exclusively on Prime Video in Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, Turkey, Andorra, Monaco, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Seven films have been selected for the 11th edition of Final Cut in Venice, the works-in-progress section of the 80th Venice Film Festival. Final Cut in Venice, which runs Sept. 3-5, provides support for the completion of films from Africa and five Middle Eastern countries: Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. It is one of the programs run by the festival’s industry section, Venice Production Bridge. Over three days, the working copies of the selected films will be presented to producers, buyers, distributors, post-production companies and film festival programmers. The first two days are devoted to screenings, and then one-to-one meetings between the producers of the projects and the professionals attending the Venice Production Bridge will take place on the third day. The program will conclude with the awarding of prizes in kind or in cash, the purpose of which is to provide support for the films’ post-production.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Les Films du Losange has unveiled the trailer for “Un Silence,” Joachim Lafosse’s thought-provoking film starring Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Devos that will world premiere in competition at San Sebastian Film Festival. Tackling themes of abuse, the timely film revolves around Astrid (Devos), the wife of an acclaimed lawyer (Auteuil). Silenced for 25 years, her family balance suddenly collapses when her children initiate their own search for justice. One of Belgium’s leading filmmakers, Lafosse is best known internationally for 2012’s “Our Children,” a heart-wrenching drama based on a true story starring Emilie Dequenne and Tahar Rahim. “Our Children” represented Belgium in the Oscars race. “Un Silence” will mark Joachim’s follow up to “The Restless,” which competed at Cannes in 2021 and also explored imploding family dynamics.

Japanese Breakfast will not be playing Glastonbury Festival 2023 after all.Today (June 25), the singer took to social media to announce that she will not be able to perform at the festival over “travel delays”. “We hustled out of Luxembourg at 9 pm, woke for customs at 3 am, and again for a 6 am ferry, hired an additional driver to floor it to our 12:30 set and due to various travel delays out of our control we are just not able to make it in time.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s feature debut “Goodbye Julia,” a timely morality tale that takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan and won the Un Certain Regard section’s Prix de Liberté (Freedom Prize) at Cannes, has scored a raft of sales following its launch. The first Sudanese film ever to screen in Cannes official selection, “Goodbye Julia” is the story of two women — one from the North, the other from the South — who are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities in the currently war-ravaged country.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival’s Eastern Promises industry platform has unveiled 27 film projects that will be showcased during its Works in Progress, Works in Development – Feature Launch and First Cut+ Works in Progress presentations. The most promising projects, selected by international juries, will receive awards with a total value of 115,000 EUR.  The showcasing of projects to industry professionals will take place in Karlovy Vary, during this year’s KVIFF Industry Days on July 3 (Works in Progress and Works in Development – Feature Launch) and July 4 (First Cut+ Works in Progress). For Works in Progress, 11 fiction and documentary feature films in the late stage of production or post-production from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa have been selected.

Asda is to buy the majority of EG Group's UK and Ireland operations in a deal worth over £2bn.

Naman Ramachandran Current COO Fatima Djoumer has been appointed CEO of the Europa Cinemas network. Djoumer succeeds founder Claude-Eric Poiroux, who is stepping down from his role as general director after 30 years. Poiroux has been awarded the title of honorary president, recognizing his contribution to the creation and development of the network, which now includes more than 3,000 screens in 744 cities across 38 countries. The network was set up in 1992 to provide operational and financial support to cinemas that undertake to give a significant part of their screenings to non-national European films and to put in place activities for young audiences.

Fatima Djoumer has been appointed General Director of independent exhibitor network Europa Cinemas, replacing Claude-Eric Poiroux who is stepping down after 30 years in the role.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent German producer Silvana Santamaria has come on board as a lead producer on “The Witness,” the new Tehran-set project reuniting Jafar Panahi and Nader Saeivar that Arthood entertainment is selling in Cannes. Saeivar will direct “The Witness.” Saeivar wrote “3 Faces,” the Panahi-directed drama that premiered in 2018 in Cannes where it won the award for best screenplay. Panahi, who is one of Iran’s most prominent auteurs, was recently released from Tehran’s Evin prison after being incarcerated for “propaganda against the system.” He is expected to work very closely with Saeivar on “The Witness” shoot and be on set every day, as he did for Saeivar’s previous films “No End” and “Namo,” according to Santamaria. Panahi will also serve as editor on this previously announced film that is expected to start shooting soon.

EXCLUSIVE: Here at the Cannes Film Festival, Mubi has taken rights in North America, UK, Italy, Latin America, Turkey, India and Benelux to Un Certain Regard movie The Delinquents (Los Delincuentes).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has closed two multi-territory deals for Bulgarian gay summer-romance film “Liuben,” directed by Venci Kostov. The film has been acquired by TLA Entertainment for North America, France, U.K. and Ireland, and Cinemien for Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy and Sweden. “Liuben,” which has its world premiere at Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival in June, is the first openly gay film from Bulgaria. Roma actors, who are usually absent from Bulgarian cinema, play lead roles in the film.

IMAX is ramping up its operations in France, as well as expanding its longstanding relationship with Kinepolis in Europe and North America. In France, IMAX will aim to nearly triple the number of its systems from the 22 currently in operation to more than 60. One of those will be in partnership with Belgian exhibitor Kinepolis in Nimes.

Anna Marie de la Fuente The Eternal Memory Chile, U.S. DIRECTOR: Maite Alberdi Alberdi’s follow-up to Oscar- nominated “The Mole Agent” snagged Sundance’s top doc award and a worldwide distribution deal with MTV at Sundance. Co-produced by Fabula, it centers on a loving elderly couple struggling with the man’s fading memory.  The Cardinal (“El Cardenal”) Chile, Argentina, Brazil

Naman Ramachandran Revenues at Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group, a media giant which owns Fremantle, slid 9% to €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) for the first quarter of 2023, financial results released on Thursday have revealed. The group attributes this to “significantly lower TV advertising revenue,” particularly in Germany, and the disposals of RTL Belgium and RTL Croatia. Fremantle’s revenues were down 5.6% to €435 million (Q1/2022: €461 million), mainly due to timing effects of production deliveries, the group said. The group’s total advertising revenue fell to €700 million (Q1/2022: €829 million), of which €545 million represented TV advertising revenue (Q1/2022: €653 million), €76 million digital advertising revenue (Q1/2022: €83 million) and €39 million radio advertising revenue (Q1/2022: €46 million). Distribution revenue was down by 1.8% to €107 million (Q1/2022: €109 million).

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Magnolia Pictures International has acquired worldwide sales rights — including U.S. sales rights — to heist comedy-drama “The Delinquents” from Argentinian writer-director Rodrigo Moreno (“The Custodian”). The film will world premiere as part of the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. In “The Delinquents,” the routine lives of two bank employees, Morán and Román, break down when Morán steals a small fortune from the bank’s vault. On the run, he glimpses a possible alternative to the gray life he’s been living and, in addition, falls in love. But he is forced to choose between this radical alternative and following through on his heist plans, so he resigns himself to a short prison stint. His colleague Román, unwillingly in possession of the stolen money, feels trapped by the secret he’s keeping; his paranoia increases until he too finds a way out, and also discovers a new love. But, bound by their common destiny (highlighted by the similarity of their names), the two protagonists are inevitably drawn together again.

< 1 min read Luxembourg’s openly gay Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has condemned Hungary’s implementation of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, explicitly targeting the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán. Bettel comments follow Hungary’s enactment of a highly controversial Child Protection Act in June 2021, which prohibits discussions about LGBTQ+ individuals in schools and media.

With Summer on the horizon, people are booking their Summer holidays in locations like Spain, Greece, Africa and the Caribbean thick and fast. There are currently plenty of holiday offers from travel operators like TUI, EasyJet and First Choice.

Sargon of Akkad as the first regent to rule, an orphan turned royal cup bearer with a goddess on his side, Sargon conquered and unified Mesopotamia some four thousand odd years ago.In ancient Egypt, pharos wore crowns to connect them to depictions of their deities and to invoke the power they possessed. These days, crowns and kings are more about pageantry than pagan veneration and only twelveEuropean nations maintain a form of monarchy; Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the Vatican and of course the UK and its colonies which we now call territories because colonialism was and is the scourge of humanity, owed in large part to the monstrous monarchs that propagated it.

Cristiano Ronaldo thanked Bader Almotawaa after the Kuwait international graciously accepted being passed as the most-capped men's player.

Cristiano Ronaldo reunited with a couple of his former Manchester United teammates while on international duty with Portugal this week - finding particular joy in seeing Diogo Dalot once again.

Naman Ramachandran Revenues at Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group, a media giant which owns Fremantle, climbed 9% to a record €7.2 billion ($7.6 billion) for the financial year 2022. However, the company’s EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortization) slid 6% to €1.08 billion, down from €1.15 billion in 2021. RTL attributes this to higher streaming start-up losses and lower TV advertising revenue at RTL Deutschland, and the exits of RTL Belgium and Groupe M6. These effects were partly offset by record adjusted EBITA contributions from RTL Nederland and Fremantle, RTL said. The RTL Group has interests in 56 television channels, nine streaming services and 36 radio stations. The group’s content business, Fremantle, is one of the world’s largest creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content, including “American Idol,” “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The X Factor.” 

reported on Friday. The company was founded in 2021 by Travis Montaque, Richelieu Dennis and Bonin Bough and recently put in a bid of $400 million for Vice Media.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Silicon Valley investment firm Maum Capital Group has struck a strategic and financial alliance with Globalgate, the local-language film and TV production consortium assembled by Lionsgate. The move involves an investment of unspecified value and significance into Globalgate. It also sees the appointment of Globalgate’s executive chairman William Pfeiffer as CEO of Maum affiliates, including Maum Culture Innovation and Maum Studio, which are focused on content-based businesses. The Maum-Globalgate alliance “furthers Maum’s plans to harness and expand Korean and global content, filmmakers, and talent on the worldwide stage,” the companies said in a statement. Korean music and TV content is currently among the most exportable, following the successes of BTS and Blackpink, TV hit “Squid Game” and the Oscar success of “Parasite.”

Dutch-born filmmaker Malou Reymann picked up the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the Göteborg Film Festival Saturday evening with her second feature Unruly.

The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the 53 Nordic Films that will take part in the latest edition of the Nordic Film Market, running February 2 – 5. Scroll down for the list.

New research has discovered that during the ongoing cost of living crisis, people in the UK claiming their State Pension entitlement only just break even despite an increase to weekly payment rates in April. The research, conducted by pension advisors Almond Financial, looked at the current State Pension in comparison to the average cost of living in the UK.

Holy Spider breakout Zar Amir Ebrahimi will head the jury of the Nordic Competition at the 46th Göteborg Film Festival, running from January 27 – February 5.