Audience Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Pan-Arab distributor Mad Solutions is expanding operations by setting up Mad World, a Dubai-based company dedicated to selling Arab movies internationally that will officially launch in Cannes. Touted as Arab cinema‘s first global sales outfit, Mad World segues from Mad Solution’s first foray in the international distribution arena last year with Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia” which they sold widely after it’s splashy launch from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section.

Anna Marie de la Fuente U.K.-French film company Alief has boarded Cinélatino winner Victoria Linares Villegas’ upcoming horror debut “No salgas” (“Stay Quiet”) as its world sales agent and co-producer, teaming up with El Perro de Argento, the Dominican Republic-based production company founded by Linares Villegas and Carlos Marranzini. Alief partners Brett Walker and Miguel Angel Govea are heading to Cannes with a sizzle reel to meet with potential buyers and post-production partners at the Marché du Film.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Lioness” has been renewed for Season 2 at Paramount+, Variety has learned. Previously titled “Special Ops: Lioness,” the series debuted its first season at the streamer in July 2023. It hails from Taylor Sheridan, who produced the series under his expansive overall deal with Paramount.

Lioness — the Taylor Sheridan drama starring Zoe Saldaña and Laysla De Oliveira — has been renewed for a second season by Paramount+.

Britain's Got Talent fans have speculated an incident which occurred during an audition during Saturday's (4 May) show was 'faked', as the Serbat Troupe took to the stage with an incredible acrobatic performance. The foursome immediately impressed the judges - Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli - with their audition, and left the audience stunned with their daring stunts on stage. However, disaster struck during one part of the routine.

Eurovision entry has been booed by the audience during a dress rehearsal, but vowed to continue with the performance.The moment took place at the dress rehearsal for the second wave of semi-finals yesterday (May 8), with the live performance set to take place tonight.In footage captured of the performance, Israel contestant Eden Golan is seen performing her entry song ‘Hurricane’ on the stage in Sweden, while numerous members of the crowd start to boo.The backlash to the performance comes amid controversy about Israel being allowed to compete in the 2024 edition of the song contest in light of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and the footage also shows an audience member shouting “Free Palestine”. Because of the inclusion, there have been a number of calls to boycott the competition from various countries.Over 1,000 Swedish artists, for instance, called for Israel to be banned this year, including Robyn, Fever Ray, and First Aid Kit.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Venice Film Festival will honor Australian director and screenwriter Peter Weir – whose body of work comprises “Dead Poets Society,” “The Truman Show,” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” – with its 2024 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. “With a total of only thirteen movies directed over the course of forty years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.

Jamie Lang Netflix and “Elite” creator Carlos Montero have reteamed on the new medical drama “Breathless,” and Variety has been given exclusive access to new first images from the show. “Breathless” is produced by Montero’s El Desorden Crea and executive produced by Montero and Diego Betancor.

Kim Kardashian is reacting after being confronted about the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg is having a bit of a “hail the conquering hero” moment that very few people would have expected him to be having this far into the 21st century, least of all himself. Although he has had many successes in film and in the theater over the last 60 years or so, he remains most famous as the director of the Beatles documentary “Let It Be” — and that 1970 film remains most famous as something that has been kept locked in the vault since it got a brief VHS and laserdisc release in the early 1980s.

David Benedict Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated film “Spirited Away” won everything from the Oscar for Best Animated Feature to Berlin’s Golden Bear. That there’s an audience for a stage version was evidenced by its 2022 Tokyo run selling out in four minutes. Now in London and performed in Japanese with English surtitles, sales are brisk in the 2,263-seat London Coliseum with the limited run now extended by five weeks.

Donald Glover and Maya Erskine on their own are forces to be reckoned with in Prime Video‘s Mr. and Mrs. Smith. But when they have to face off against one another, things really heat up.

Murtada Elfadl The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival, taking place in Warsaw from Friday until May 16, has grown exponentially in the last few years. In fact it is now, as the people behind it proclaim, “the largest cultural event in Poland.” Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk explains, “There is a culture of watching films and of watching films with subtitles in Poland. It’s quite unique.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Indie streaming platform Dropout, formerly known as CollegeHumor, is vying for a spotlight at this year’s Primetime Emmys with an ambitious campaign to secure its first major nominations. With a passionate and niche audience, Variety has learned exclusively about Dropout’s top contenders submitted for Emmy love, including the innovative game show “Game Changer” and the unique interview series “Very Important People.” “Game Changer,” a standout series hosted by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, turns the traditional game show format on its head.

Netflix has edited out a clip of Kim Kardashian getting booed during a Tom Brady roast special.During The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady, Kardashian was one of the celebrities who roasted the legendary NFL player. However, her roast was greeted with boos from the audience in attendance on Sunday (May 5).Kevin Hart introduced Kardashian and while her initial appearance was met with cheers, it soon turned sour, promoting Kardashian to say: “All right, all right, all right.” Hart can also be heard saying, “Whoa! Whoa!” in response to the boos.Kardashian made several jokes about Brady who she was once rumoured to be dating.She said: “I’m really here tonight for Tom.

Angelique Jackson Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Academy Award winner Laura Dern have signed on to star in “Monsanto,” the latest film from writer-director John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side,” “Saving Mr. Banks”). The film follows the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell), who in 2019 took on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S.

Saturday Night Live‘s Mikey Day understands why Heidi Gardner couldn’t get through last month’s now infamous Beavis and Butt-Head sketch: His Butt-Head face was just too much to take in all at once.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to “Daytime Revolution,” a documentary about the week that John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted “The Mike Douglas Show” in early 1972. Directed by Erik Nelson, with creative consultation from Ono and her son, Sean Ono Lennon, the doc uses archival footage from each of the five 70-minute shows as well as interviews with six surviving guests, including Ralph Nader, to tell the behind-the-scenes story of theses shows.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” opens with Caesar lying in state, surrounding by a horde of mourning chimps, as his dead body is covered in flowers and ritually set on fire. The movie then cuts to the jungle, where a title informs us that it’s “many generations later.” In other words, the tale we’ve been watching in the last three “Apes” films — “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (2011), “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2014), and “War for the Planet of the Apes” (2017) — is now ancient franchise history.

K.J. Yossman Israel’s leading documentary co-production market CoPro is set to return next month for its 26th edition in a hybrid format amidst the ongoing war in the region.

Aramide Tinubu The phrase “we’re our own worst enemies” takes on a literal meaning in Apple TV+‘s “Dark Matter,” based on Blake Crouch’s 2016 novel of the same name, and adapted by the author for television. A massive and intricate puzzle, the series is shocking and unsettling, but doesn’t quite satisfy in the end. “Dark Matter” opens in present-day Chicago.

Rising Riyadh-based independent studio Telfaz11 and newly launched UK distribution label Metis Films are partnering to release Saudi hit Mandoob in the UK and Ireland.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox Corp. said it swung to a profit in its fiscal third quarter despite slumps in advertising revenue, largely due to the absence of charges associated with a massive legal setback tied to Fox News Channel and a boost in affiliate fees.

Speculation is building over whether ABBA will take to the stage at the Eurovision Song Contest later this week.This year marks the 50th anniversary of Sweden having won the contest for the first time back in 1974, when the country was represented by ABBA and the event was hosted by the UK in Brighton. Now, rumours have been circulating that the iconic band could reunite for the contest on Saturday, 11 May – where Olly Alexander will represent the UK with his song, Dizzy, despite dividing audiences during the semi-finals this week.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Director and producer Tom Tykwer has become managing director of Berlin-based production company X Filme Creative Pool, best known for “Babylon Berlin,” alongside Uwe Schott. Tykwer succeeds Stefan Arndt, one of Germany’s leading producers.

German director Tom Tykwer has been named Managing Director of Babylon Berlin producer X Filme Creative Pool as part of a restructure that sees company co-founder Stefan Arndt step down.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent New Dubai-based distribution and production studio The Plot Pictures is headed for the Cannes Marche du Film after snapping up Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) rights to a slew of indie titles across different genres. They include “Locust,” a first feature film from Taiwanese American multidisciplinary artist Keff that is playing in Critics Week, and Nick Hamm’s epic “William Tell.” The Plot Pictures CEO Pratixa Shah and head of sales Ozge Conduroglu – who was previously with Starz Play Arabia – are assembling a slate spanning “different genres, regions, and languages,” as Shah put it in statement.

Naman Ramachandran Revenues at Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group, a media giant which owns Fremantle, rose 2.6% to €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion), for the first quarter of 2024, driven by buoyant TV advertising and streaming. However, this was offset by decreased revenues at the group’s global content business. Fremantle revenues were down 9.2% to €395 million (Q1/2023: €435 million), due to what RTL describes as “timing effects in the U.K., Italy and Germany.” “Revenue from Fremantle is recognized when a show or series is delivered to its clients, i.e.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Playmaker has signed with Neopol Film to handle international sales for their upcoming creature horror thriller, “Paws.” Featuring polar bear creature animatronics from the renowned studio behind “Star Wars” and “Jurassic World,” the film tells the story of a climate researcher stranded in the Arctic who must forge an unlikely alliance with a polar bear in order to survive. The project will feature a stellar international cast, yet to be announced.

Nutsa is joining another competition – 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!!