Film Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Naman Ramachandran Welsh actor, writer and director Celyn Jones has set “Madfabulous” as his next directorial venture. The British indie is based on the true story of Henry Cyril Paget, fifth Marquess of Anglesey, who was once one of the richest men in Britain but died penniless and forgotten at the age of 29 in France.

Michaela Zee Investigation Discovery has set the U.S. premiere date for “Spacey Unmasked,” as well as released a first look at the docuseries about Kevin Spacey. “Spacey Unmasked” will premiere Monday, May 13, at 9 p.m.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Multinational studio Dori Media Group (DMG) is presenting two episodes of its gripping new series “Amia” at the LA Screenings along with a notable lineup of scripted and unscripted series, encompassing various regions, languages and cultures. Filmed mostly in Uruguay as well as Argentina, “Amia” is inspired by the terror attacks of 1992 on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and in 1994 against its Argentinian Jewish community, specifically the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association. “Amia” tracks the journey of a Mossad operative grappling with the loss of his sister in the 1992 Embassy attack.

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.

Travis Kelce is getting the Ryan Murphy treatment!

Coronation Street fans were left doing a double-take as a snap posted by Charlie Wrenshall initially sparked concern. The actor has been winning praise for his portrayal of Liam Connor in the ITV soap.

Disney+ series Movingand historical action film 12:12: The Day took home the top prizes at the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards, one of Korea‘s most prestigious entertainment award ceremonies.

EXCLUSIVE: Toronto-based genre sales specialist Raven Banner has added Neon Noir horror pics Brute 1976 and Garden of Eden to its Cannes Film Market slate.

EXCLUSIVE: Babylon Berlin star Lars Eidinger is leading futuristic romance movie Behind the Knothole, with producers seeking financing at Cannes.

EXCLUSIVE: Production, finance, and sales company Panorama Motion Pictures will make its Cannes market debut with a slate of projects from Catalyst Studios and other independent producers.

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.

Alex Ritman Writer-director S. Craig Zahler (“Bone Tomahawk”) is set to reunite with his “Dragged Across Concrete” and “Brawl in Cell Block 99” star Vince Vaughn and Oscar winner Adrien Brody (“The Pianist”) for upcoming crime thriller “The Bookie & the Bruiser.” Anton will introduce the film to international distributors at the upcoming Marche du Film in Cannes. UTA Independent Film Group and Range Media Partners arranged the financing and will be representing the North American distribution rights.

Alex Ritman Alexander Skarsgard (“The Northman,” “Succession”) and Harry Melling (“The Pale Blue Eye,” “The Queen’s Gambit”) are set to lead the cast of “Pillion,” described as a “fun and filthy romance with heart” and being produced by multi-Oscar-winning powerhouse Element Pictures. The film — to be launched in Cannes by Cornerstone, which is handling worldwide sales — marks the feature debut of Harry Lighton, whose short “Wren Boys” was nominated for best British short at the 2018 BAFTAs, was nominated for a BIFA and had its U.S. premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent French director Jonathan Millet riffs on manhunt tropes in “Ghost Trail,” the psychological thriller that will be the Cannes Critics’ Week opener. Variety has been given an exclusive first-look clip from the film, which is inspired by real-life events. “Ghost Trail” is the story of a Syrian man named Hamid who is part of a secret group pursuing fugitive leaders that perpetrated horrors in the name of the Syrian regime during the country’s civil war.

Emily Longeretta Apple TV+’s highly anticipated adaptation of Laura Lippman’s mystery novel “Lady in the Lake” — starring Natalie Portman — will premiere with the first two episodes on July 19, the streamer announced Wednesday. The seven-part limited series follows a bored Jewish housewife (Portman) in the 1960s, who divorces her husband and moves to Baltimore to work as an investigative journalist.

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.

Mubi has acquired worldwide rights for French director Coralie Fargeat’s English-language body horror movie The Substance ahead of its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival this month.

Sheffield DocFest, the U.K.’s premiere nonfiction film festival, today revealed the full lineup for its 31st edition running June 12-17. Among the highlights: the world premiere of Tilda Swinton’s feature directorial debut, The Hexagonal Hive and a Mouse in a Maze, co-directed by Bartek Dziadosz.

EXCLUSIVE: The stars of the 1980 classic 9 to 5 will be reuniting on the red carpet in Hollywood.

Alex Ritman Mubi has kicked off its 2024 Cannes Film Festival early and in style, acquiring worldwide rights to one of the buzziest films set to premiere in competition. The arthouse distributor, production banner and streamer has landed Coralie Fargeat’s body horror “The Substance,” starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Denis Quaid, picking up all rights for North America, U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America and Benelux, where it will release theatrically this year. Mubi has also acquired the rights for Turkey and India.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor North West is set to make her Hollywood Bowl debut next month at Disney’s live-to-film concert/screening of “The Lion King.” West, the daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, is set to star alongside Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Billy Eichner, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver, Jennifer Hudson and Bradley GIbson. Broadway actress Heather Headley and Lebo M. round out the cast.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music (This article is unintentionally a counterpoint to my colleague Owen Gleiberman’s considerably more-positive take on the Beatles‘ “Let It Be” film, restored by Peter Jackson and released today on Disney+.) When I was a Beatles-obsessed seven-year-old, my mother, in an act of selfless parental love, took me to a Fab Four film festival: “Hard Day’s Night,” “Let It Be,” “Yellow Submarine” and “Help!,” one after the other. My mom was a cool assistant professor of English at the local university who dressed “hip,” loved music and picked up some listening habits from her students.

SquareOne Entertainment, part of rising European film studio Vuelta Group, has acquired German film and TV production, distribution and licensing company Telepool, which was owned by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook. The news was announced Wednesday by Vuelta Group chairman Jerome Levy and CEO of SquareOne and Vuelta Group Germany Al Munteanu.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett is set to star as the leader of the “Alpha Gang,” an alien invasion comedy by “Sasquatch Sunset” filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner. The hot package will be launched at Cannes by MK2 Films (“Anatomy of a Fall”) handling international sales and CAA Media Finance handling North American distribution rights. “Alpha Gang” is set to start filming in the Fall.

Jeremy Clarkson was seen comforting Kaleb Cooper as he struggled to hold back tears over a loss on Clarkson's Farm.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea’s second most important generalist film festival, on Tuesday announced “The Major Tones” and “Time to Be Strong” as the Grand Prix winners of its two competition sections. The festival continues until Friday. Directed by Argentina’s Ingrid Pokropek, “The Major Tones” is a mystery film about a youngster with a metal plate in her arm which begins to receive peculiar messages in Morse Code. It premiered at the Mar del Plata festival and also played in Berlin’s Generation KPlus section.

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.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Indie Sales is re-teaming with rising Belgian filmmaker Laura Wandel on her sophomore feature “In Adam’s Interest,” having previously sold around the world her critically acclaimed feature debut “Playground” which premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. “In Adam’s Interest” also reunites Wandel with producer Stéphane Lhoest at Belgium’s Dragons Films, and is produced by Delphine Tomson at Les Films du Fleuve, the Dardenne’ brothers banner. Co-producers are Jan de Clercq at Lunanime, who will release the film in Benelux under his distribution company Lumière; and Marie-Ange Luciani‘s Les Films de Pierre, the Oscar-nominated outfit behind “Anatomy of a Fall.” Memento will release “In Adam’s Interest” in French theaters.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Isabelle Huppert will preside over the main jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival. The revered French actor has a longstanding rapport with the Lido, having won Venice’s Coppa Volpi for best actress twice, first with “Story of Women” in 1988, and subsequently with “La Cérémonie” in 1995, both directed by Claude Chabrol.

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.