Bound Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Focus Features has boarded Goran Stolevski’s anticipated next project, “Housekeeping for Beginners,” ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the Horizons section. Focus will be distributing the film in the U.S. with Universal Pictures handling international distribution (excluding Eastern Europe).

Add Angelina Jolie to the growing list of celebrities lately dipping their toes into producing on Broadway.

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has signed on as a lead producer of the Broadway-bound musical adaptation of The Outsiders, the producing team announced today.

Christopher Vourlias Beta Film has acquired international distribution rights to “I Know Your Soul,” a new series from Oscar nominee Jasmila Žbanić (“Quo Vadis, Aida?”) that premieres Out of Competition next month at the Venice Film Festival. The six-episode limited series is led by European Film Award-winning actress Jasna Đuričić, who plays Nevena Murtezic, a prosecutor in the process of divorce and single mother to a teenage son.

No, it still isn’t over for The Notebook — because its Broadway debut is inching closer.

Mark Sutherland Britpop is back – and so are Blur. The reunited mainstay of the ‘90s movement that ruled the U.K. charts and led to the wider ‘Cool Britannia’ movement — ahem, with Oasis, of course — recently played their biggest shows ever at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent An edgy new voice within the world of French genre, Adrien Beau worked as a designer and scenographer for the likes of Dior, John Galliano and Agnes B before making his feature debut with the offbeat vampire movie “Vourdalak.” Produced by Judith-Lou Levy at Les Films du Bal, “Vourdalak” will world premiere at Venice Critics’ Week and will likely be one of its boldest entries. At a time when horror has become a mainstream genre overloaded with special effects, “Vourdalak” couldn’t be more radical.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand-based specialty sales firm Black Mandala has picked up global rights to upcoming U.S. supernatural horror film “Cheat.” Written and directed by Kevin Ignatius and Nick Psinakis (“The Long Dark Trail”), the film is set for its world premiere at FrightFest. The picture’s premise is the urban legend that a supernatural being from the afterlife will violently murder anyone who cheats on their partner.

Holly Jones A clever study of modern masculinity through the lens of Spain’s polarizing bullfighting tradition, Manuel Manrique’s “Head On The Wall” (“Una cabeza en la pared”) hits Locarno’s Match Me! sessions as part of Madrid-based Kabiria Films production slate, presented by co-founder Diego Saniz. “I think the most interesting thing about “Head On The Wall” is how it talks about global issues from the particularity of something as local and Spanish as bullfighting, taking advantage of it as a metaphor for the contradiction of the human being and the complexity of such a current issue,”Saniz told Variety.

The Ninja Creami ice cream maker has become a TikTok sensation over the past year and now the company is getting ready to introduce your next obsession.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Matteo Garrone, who is a two-time Cannes jury prizewinner with “Gomorrah” in 2008 and “Reality” in 2012, is set to be in competition in Venice for the first time with his immigration-themed drama “Io Capitano.” Shot over 13 weeks in Senegal, Italy and Morocco with a cast of non-professional actors, the Italian auteur’s new film – the title for which translates to “I Captain” – narrates the Homeric journey of two young African men, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe. It depicts their plight through the pitfalls of the desert, the horrors of detention centers in Libya and the dangers of the sea.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International “Scream” star Neve Campbell has boarded the Toronto Film Festival-bound documentary “Swan Song,” about the National Ballet of Canada, as an executive producer. Campbell, who is Canadian, is expected to attend Toronto in support of the film, which follows the ballet company as it mounts a new production of “Swan Lake” directed by ballet icon Karen Kain on the eve of her retirement. The documentary will screen as part of the festival’s Special Presentations program.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cineverse, the streaming and content distribution company previously known as Cinedigm, has acquired North American rights to the Chinese animated fantasy film “Warrior King.” Inspired by the legend of the hero and warrior, King Gesar, the film is directed by Lu Qi from a screenplay by Lu Wunan and Wang Yunsheng. Cineverse says that it will release the film in U.S. theaters Aug. 25, following its international theatrical debut.  The story of Gesar is considered one of Central Asia’s literary classics and was passed down in oral tradition for some 1,000 years, as well as literary, poetic and stage play versions. Its Tibetan iteration may now be the most prominent, It is certainly one of the longest, running to over 100 volumes and a million verses, according to some calculations.   

Things are getting really messy up in the air!

A mum who suffered in pain for eight years and left bed bound by a mystery illness has finally received a diagnosis after travelling to Mexico.

A former beauty queen says she has been left bed bound and unable “to use her hands” after contracting Lyme disease, Kirstie Haysman suffers from painful swollen joints and hardly leaves the house due to the illness.

Bruno Fernandes has not yet reported back for pre-season training at Manchester United due to his post-campaign international commitments.

EXCLUSIVE: Tony Award nominee Vanessa Williams has joined the lead producing team for the Broadway-aimed A Wonderful World, a bio-musical about jazz icon Louis Armstrong starring James Monroe Iglehart.

EXCLUSIVE: Neon has acquired distribution rights to Ferrari, the Michael Mann-directed epic film starring Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kinology has boarded Quentin Dupieux’s (“Rubber”) ferocious comedy “Yannick” which will world premiere in competition at the Locarno Film Festival. The anticipated film is produced by Thomas et Mathieu Verhaeghe at Atelier de production, and Hugo Selignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions. “Yannick” stars Raphaël Quenard, Pio Marmaï, Blanche Gardin and Sébastien Chassagne. Yannick” unfolds during a mediocre stage performance of “Le Cocu” during which an audience member revolts and takes the full reins of the room. “‘Yannick’ is Quentin Dupieux’s most mature film; it’s both melancholic and thoughtful,” said Gregoire Melin, Kinology’s founder and president. “We’re so excited to be reteaming with him after ‘Daaaaaali!’ and ‘Wrong’ on this new film which could become even more cult than his previous movies,” Melin continued. 

Italy-based sales agent Lights On has acquired world rights for Dreaming & Dying, directed by Singaporean filmmaker Nelson Yeo, ahead of its world premiere in Locarno Film Festival’s Concorso Cineasti del presente.

Olivia Rodrigo has “always wanted to go to prom” — but apparently not THAT bad…

Beetlejuice‘s Alex Brightman and Chicago Med‘s Colin Donnell will portray Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider, respectively, in the upcoming Broadway making-of-Jaws comedy The Shark Is Broken, joining the previously announced Ian Shaw (who will play his own father, Robert Shaw).

Recording artist Deborah Cox and Chicago-based actress and singer Melody A. Betts have joined the Broadway-bound cast of The Wiz, with Cox taking the role of Glinda and Betts cast as Aunt Em and Evillene.

A young Scots woman has told how she was left bed-bound with endometriosis for two years.

K.J. Yossman Ming-Na Wen, who voiced Mulan in Disney’s animated feature of the same name, is set to narrate a new documentary titled “Pencils Vs Pixels.” Co-directed by Bay Dariz (“Hypochondriac”) and Phil Earnest, “Pencils Vs Pixels” is a celebration of 2D hand-drawn animation. The documentary, which will have its world premiere at Annecy International Animation Film Festival next week, will explore the Disney-led 2D animation boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s which was soon eclipsed by the dawn of computer animation. But, as the film shows, a resurgence of 2D animation suggests there is still hope for the medium.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Andy Serkis, the award-winning actor (“Lord of the Rings”) and filmmaker, is set to narrate the mixed reality game “Monstrorama” ahead of its world premiere at Tribeca. The experience, slated to compete in Tribeca’s immersive category, takes players on a tour of a secret museum called Monstrorama that’s located thousands of miles underground. The museum is filled with monsters, from the Kraken to the Vampire, the Werewolf and the parasitic Tingler. “Monstrorama” is produced by Atlas V (“Madrid Noir”) and is represented in international markets by its distribution vehicle Astrea.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content and Have a Good One have unveiled an exclusive clip of “Marinette,” Virginie Verrier’s biopic film about the first French female professional soccer player, ahead of its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. The film stars Garance Marillier, the breakout star of Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” and Palme d’Or winning “Titane,” and is based on Pichon’s bestselling autobiographical book. A pioneer of French women’s soccer, Pichon held for almost two decades the record for the number of goals and caps for the French team (men/women combined). She eventually became the first French player to have a career in the U.S..

EXCLUSIVE: Gersh on Monday announced their signing of Gabriella A. Moses, the up-and-coming filmmaker whose debut feature Boca Chica is set to world premiere in International Narrative Competition at the 2023 Tribeca Festival.

Naman Ramachandran The first trailer has been unveiled for Cannes, Emmy and Peabody-winning director Marc Levin’s documentary “It’s Basic,” which will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival. The film examines several pilot programs launched in the U.S. that test the effects of giving everyday people an extra $500 to $1,000 monthly, with no strings attached. It aims to present an unbiased account of the benefits, criticisms, and outcomes of providing unconditional money to people in need, and examines whether Basic Income pilot programs eradicate child poverty and level the racial playing field through community-centric solutions. The documentary features commentary by Michael Tubbs, the founder of Mayors for Guaranteed Income. At 26, Tubbs became mayor of Stockton, California. Under his stewardship, the city saw a 40% drop in homicides in 2018 and 2019, led the state in the decline of officer-involved shootings in 2019, was named the second most financially healthy city in California and was featured in Levin’s HBO documentary, “Stockton on My Mind.”