Malta Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Gladiator 2 have revealed the building of a massive colosseum on a tiny island.Exclusive first-look images from the upcoming sequel have been shared, which show that producers have created a real, life-sized auditorium for the film’s main filming setting.Based in Malta, filming on the film began earlier this month, and Collider have shared first-look images from the set.“I’m standing across the water from the #gladiator2 set in #malta right now,” editor Steven Weintraub tweeted.“Met some people working on the movie. They told me a big and bloody battle was filmed today on the steps leading up to the colosseum.

Netta is back, and it’s “Everything”!

Naman Ramachandran The British Film Commission (BFC) and Malta Film Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU is aimed at enhancing the collaboration between the U.K. and Malta screen industries, as well as facilitating film and high-end TV production (HETV) between the two territories. In 2022, inward investment production spend soared to $7.72 billion in the U.K., while Malta hosted 24 film and TV projects in 2022 alone. Major film and HETV productions filmed across both countries include: Apple TV+’s “Napoleon,” Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion,” (Universal, 2022), Eone/Participant Media/Focus Features’ “7 Days in Entebbe,” 20th Century’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

The Malta Film Commission has outlined its plans to take the Mediterranean island’s burgeoning locations business to the next level as it enjoys its busiest year ever, on the fringes of its new Mediterrane Film Festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Following the announcement of the North American acquisition by Cohen Media, The Match Factory has revealed further sales in key territories for Marco Bellocchio’s Cannes Competition title “Kidnapped.” The film adapts the true story of the kidnapping of the young Jewish boy Edgardo Mortara, starring Paolo Pierobon, Fausto Russo Alesi, Barbara Ronchi, Enea Sala and Leonardo Maltese. The film has its release secured in the following territories: U.K. and Ireland (Curzon), Australia and New Zealand (Palace Entertainment), Japan (Fine Films), Latin America (Cine Video y TV), Spain (Vertigo Films), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Switzerland (Agora Films), Poland (Best Film), Portugal (Alambique), Greece and Cyprus (Rosebud.21), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Aerofilms), Ex-Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), Hungary (Vertigo Media), Baltics (Kino Pavasaris), Bulgaria (Art Fest), Israel (United King Video), Ukraine (Traffic Films), Taiwan (Light Year Images) and Indonesia (Falcon Pictures). Further territories are in negotiation.

Paul Mescal has revealed his monumental body transformation as he prepares for his upcoming Gladiator role.

Jack Grealish is paying no attention to critics of his partying after Manchester City's Champions League win, insisting that he wasn't the only one enjoying the treble success.

England are preparing to continue their qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 against North Macedonia.

England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed he plans to restore some members of Manchester City's Treble-winning squad to his side ahead of Monday night's European Championship qualifier against North Macedonia at Old Trafford.

France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled the prize winners of its biggest edition to date, running from June 11 to 17.

Ben Croll Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach’s hand-painted marvel “Chicken for Linda!” took home dual honors at the Annecy Animation Festival on Saturday, scooping up the festival’s top prize, the Cristal Award for best feature, as well as the Gan Foundation award for distribution. A bittersweet childhood tale that finds screwball humor in mourning and melancholy, the French-language film premiered to some acclaim out of Cannes’ ACID sidebar last month, and was picked up for North American distribution by Gkids while competing in Annecy. “We wanted something both funny and affecting,” said co-director Chiara Malta. “The two elements were never in conflict, because we made the film for children, putting ourselves in their perspectives while adopting their language.”

The final club game of the season may have only ended last weekend but attention swiftly pivots to international football as England continue their qualifying campaign for Euro 2024.

Marcus Rashford will congratulate the Manchester City players when they arrive at St. George's Park for international duty but admits it's 'not nice' to see his club rivals secure a historic treble.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Josh Duhamel will join the ensemble of the survival thriller “Not Without Hope,” an adaptation of Nick Schuyler and Jere Longman’s best-selling book that will be written and directed by Joe Carnahan. Also joining the cast are JoBeth Williams, Quentin Plair, Terrence Terrell and Marshall Cook.  As previously announced, Zachary Levi (“Shazam!”) is starring in the film, which tells the real-life story of a tragic 2009 boating accident involving Schuyler, his friends Will Bleakley (Cook) and NFL players  Marquis Cooper (Plair) and Corey Smith (Terrell). Levi will play Schuyler. The search-and rescue-operation captivated national attention. Duhamel will portray U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close, who oversaw a crew that cut through the ocean to try to find the friends who went missing. Carnahan has some experience orchestrating survival tales, having previously directed “The Grey,” which found Liam Neeson battling very hungry wolves after a plane crash stranded his character in a snowy mountain range. This time the foes are a raging sea, dehydration, severe hypothermia and various marine predators. At one point, “Not Without Hope” was slated to be made as a film starring Miles Teller, but production delays due to COVID scrambled those plans.

Manchester United ace Marcus Rashford has revealed that he switched his TV off ahead of Manchester City laying their hands on the Champions League trophy in Istanbul last Saturday evening.

Ben Croll Gkids has scooped North America rights to “Chicken for Linda!,” a hand-painted, Franco-Italian co-production that premiered out of Cannes’ ACID sidebar and is now competing in Annecy. Written and directed Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, the bittersweet film focuses on the madcap energy of childhood without overlooking the melancholy.  “We wanted something both funny and affecting,” said co-director Chiara Malta. “The two elements were never in conflict, because we made the film for children, putting ourselves in their perspectives while adopting their language.” “And when you’re a child, you go very, very quickly from laughter to tears,” added co-director Sébastien Laudenbach. “Think of children playing in the park. One minute they’re laughing, the next they’re crying, then laughing again.”

Marcus Rashford has given his nod of approval to Olympic great Usain Bolt after the Jamaican superstar replicated his celebration at Soccer Aid on Sunday.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Banijay Rights has closed a major sale on its French drama series “Serial Lover” to Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia. “Serial Lover” marks the debut series for Banijay France’s label Shine Fiction, which is co-producing with Amaury Fournial from Sibaro Films. Written by Alice Den Broek and directed by Fred Berthe, “Serial Lover”‘s synopsis bills the show as “the story of a shrewd man who lives many different lives – a pilot, a surgeon, a broker, a journalist; developing a new personality for every identity and deceiving experts in each field. Handsome, charming, and attentive, exhilarated by his power, the deception becomes an art form as he manipulates all those around him, especially women who he targets and steals from. How many women have fallen in this trap?”

Lacey Chabert gets on the dance floor with Will Kemp one more time in their brand new movie together, The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango.

attending the Cannes Film Festival last week, Scorsese visited Italy and had a conversation with Antonio Spadaro, editor-in-chief of the magazine “La Civiltà Cattolica” — translated to the “Catholic Civilization” — Monday.He revealed in the chat that he recently saw the pontiff, 86.“I responded to the Pope’s appeal to artists the only way I know how: by imagining and writing a screenplay for a film about Jesus,” he said. “And I’m about to start making it.”The “Aviator” director — who was raised Catholic and often deals with religious subjects in his films — also spoke with Spadaro about his acclaim for Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1964 epic “The Gospel According to St.

EastEnders fans are used to seeing her looking dressed down as Bernie Taylor in Albert Square, but actress Clair Norris went for a totally different glam look on a holiday night out. Bernie is usually in comfies as she works at Kathy's cafe in the BBC One soap, so Clair who plays her looked worlds away from the day job in some fun snaps from a trip to Malta. Sharing a photo on Instagram, Clair, 24, sipped a litre cocktail at a bar in Malta and posted a clip of her clinking glasses of a smaller cocktail, too.

Former centre-back Rio Ferdinand believes Harry Maguire must leave Manchester United this summer for the sake of both his club and international careers.

Gareth Southgate has warned Harry Maguire that his lack of minutes for Manchester United 'can't continue forever' if he wants to retain his England place.

In 1857, 6-year-old Edgardo Mortara was stolen from his Jewish family to be raised in a Catholic seminary on the spurious grounds that a maid had secretly baptized him in the cradle. As documented with theatrical extravagance by Italian maestro Marco Bellocchio in Kidnapped (Rapito), it is a story of such unmitigated wickedness that it initially would be hard to believe if it were not meticulously referenced with times, dates and locations reminding us that although this cinematic opera does not have the feel of documented fact, Bellocchio can verify every twist in the tale, chapter and verse. Ultimately, this serves his larger purpose, which is to wind the Mortara family’s trials into the bloody story of Italy’s unification as a secular state.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission, will preside over the jury of the Malta Film Commission’s inaugural Mediterrane Film Festival celebrating movies from the Mediterranean Basin. The fest, which will take place in Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other locations on the island between June 25-30, will showcase films from each of the MED9 nations, an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states. It comprises: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Besides Wotton the other jury members are “Triangle Of Sadness”actor Zlatko Burić; Cypriot filmmaker Tonia Mishiali; French actor and director Vahina Giocante; Greek producer Amanda Livanou; Italian journalist Boris Sollazzo; Maltese critic Mario Azzopardi; Portuguese journalist and programmer José Vieira Mendes; Slovenian journalist Tina Poglajen; and Spanish programmer Carlos Reviriego.

Todd Longwell Located in the Mediterranean Sea, 50 miles south of Sicily and 176 miles east of Tunisia, the island Republic of Malta has a long history as a filming location stretching back to the 1925 silent “Sons of the Sea.” Its picturesque ports and historic sites have made notable appearances in swashbucklers (1995’s “Cutthroat Island,” 2002’s “The Count of Monte Cristo”), sword and sandal epics (2000’s “Gladiator,” 2004’s “Troy”) and more recent titles like Apple TV+’s “Foundation” and last year’s “Jurassic World: Dominion,” shot in 2021, in which dinosaurs chase Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard through the streets of St. George’s Square in its capital city of Valletta.

Eurovision Song Contest has concluded, with 10 countries currently proceeding to the Grand Finals this Saturday (May 13).A grand total of 26 countries will participate in the finals, consisting of 10 finalists from semi-finals round 1, 10 finalists from semi-finals round 2, the “big 5” and Ukraine.The first 10 finalists from semi-finals round 1 has finally been revealed after a slew of performances and voting, with the following countries coming out on top: Norway, Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, Czechia and Finland.Watch Norway’s Alessandra perform ‘Queen of Kings’ below.This means that the countries eliminated from the contest following the first rounds of semi-finals are the Netherlands, Malta, Latvia, Ireland and Azerbaijan.Countries set to take part in the second round of semi-finals on Thursday (May 11) are: Denmark, Armenia, Romania, Estonia, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Georgia, San Marino, Austria, Albania, Lithuania and Australia.Watch Sweden representative Loreen‘s performance of ‘Tattoo’ below.The “Big 5” countries guaranteed a spot in the finals without having to participate in semi-finals are France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Italy, as they contribute the most financially to the Eurovision Song Contest. Last year’s winners Ukraine also automatically qualify for the finals this year.Ireland’s elimination from this year’s contest marks the latest in a string of failed attempts to qualify, with the country not making eight of its 10 most recent attempts.

The 67th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off with a bang on Tuesday night in the UK with the first of two semi-finals. 

The first Eurovision Song Contest semi-final has taken place in Liverpool.

The first round of Eurovision 2023 semi-finals have taken place at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, with hosts Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina welcoming 15 acts to battle it our for a place in this weekend's grand final.