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Jonathan Swift’s classic satirical adventure ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ is getting a contemporary reimagining for the small screen.

Emmy and BAFTA-winning writer Tom Bidwell (“Watership Down”) has created and written a new six-part TV series — entitled “The Gullivers” — and is working alongside producers Xavier Marchand and Casey Herbert for Moonriver TV and Leo Becker for Federation Studios.

The fantasy adventure series is in development with a major European broadcaster, according to the producers, and follows on the heels of Moonriver’s recent series “Nautilus,” inspired by Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea,” currently on Amazon Prime in the U.K., Stan in Australia and France 2 and awaiting rollout by AMC in the U.S. Federation is no stranger to Verne’s universe either, having previously adapted “Around the World in 80 Days” for Masterpiece PBS, BBC and the European Alliance.

Bidwell’s take on the story is...

Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michaël Youn, Nawell Madani, Carla Poquin, Jérôme Le Banner, Matthias Quiviger, Kaaris | Written by David Charhon, Vincent De Brus, Sebastien Fechner | Directed by David Charhon

The Gardener (Le Jardinier), not to be confused with the Gary Daniels/Robert Bronzi film, reunites Jean-Claude Van Damme and David Charhon who directed him in The Last Mercenary. And like that film, it’s an action comedy, but with the comedy dialed up a bit higher, and the action a bit more on the brutal side.

This time out, The Muscles From Brussels plays Leo, a man who simply wants to tend to plants on the large estate owned by Serge Shuster Special Adviser to the President of France. Nobody seems quite sure how he ended up with the position, and they think he’s a bit odd, but he does a good job so they’ve let him stay on.

As 2024 comes to a close, we here at JoBlo.com would like to take a moment to pay tribute to some of the people who sadly passed away this year. Our deepest respect goes out to everyone in the industry we have lost, and our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of those who died in 2024. These talented individuals will always be remembered for their impact on the world of film and television.

In Memory Of…

David Soul

David Soul died on January 4th at the age of 80. The actor was best known for playing Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson on Starsky & Hutch alongside Paul Michael Glaser.

Although Starsky & Hutch would become one of the most iconic shows of the ’70s, Soul and Glaser had no clue it would become as successful as it did. “We didn’t have a clue it was going to be so successful.

Simon West’s “Old Guy,” starring Christoph Waltz, Cooper Hoffman and Lucy Liu, will make its world premiere as the opening night film at this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival.

West and Waltz are expected to attend the screening on Oct. 17, kicking off the 25th edition of the Festival from Oct. 17-24. The Avenue will release “Old Guy” in the spring of 2025.

Waltz will receive the Icon Award at the screening in celebration of his storied career. He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his performances in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds” and “Django Unchained.” His other credits include “Big Eyes,” “The French Dispatch,” “Horrible Bosses 2,” “No Time To Die,” “Spectre,” and “Water for Elephants.” His upcoming projects include “Dracula: A Love Tale” and “Frankenstein.”

“The Festival is thrilled to host the World Premiere of Simon West’s ‘Old Guy’ as the Opening Night Film to kick...

Fred M. Wilcox's 1956 sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet" was a notably opulent affair, at least as sci-fi films go. Its budget at the time was only $1.96 million (which shakes out to about $22 million today) comparatively small to the historical epics Hollywood was overspending on at the time; "The Ten Commandments," for instance, cost a whopping $13 million, while 1956's Best Picture winner, "Around the World in 80 Days" cost about $6 million. "Forbidden Planet" was a production on par with 1953's "War of the Worlds," a colorful, large-scale production infused with fantastical spacecraft and weird robots. Robby (voiced by Marvin Miller), the robot featured in "Forbidden Planet," reportedly cost $125,000 to make — about a million in today's dollars.

The production designer on the film was Arthur Lonergan, the Oscar winner behind "The Oscar." Prior to "Forbidden Planet," Lonergan had an extensive career working on shows like "Mr. & Mrs. North," and on low-profile films like "Black Beauty,...

The Avenue has landed North American rights to the action comedy “Old Guy,” starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman.

Simon West directed the film, while “The Last Son” scribe Greg Johnson penned the script.

The film follows aging contract killer Danny Dolinski (Waltz), who still believes he’s the best at what he does. Stuck at a dead end but vying for the love of club manager Anata (Liu), Danny is thrilled when The Company pulls him back in the field — but it’s only to train Gen Z newcomer Wihlborg (Hoffman), a prodigy assassin with an attitude. The mismatched pair is asked to eliminate top members of a competing crime syndicate and, in the process, uncover their employer’s true motive: removing the old guard in a full takeover. However, The Company didn’t anticipate that Danny’s experience, coupled with Wihlbord’s brilliance, could enable them...

The films in the running for the 2024 Best Original Score Oscar are “American Fiction,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Poor Things.” Our current odds indicate that “Oppenheimer” (3/1) will take the prize, followed in order of likelihood by “Killers of the Flower Moon” (4/1), “Poor Things” (9/2), “Indiana Jones” (9/2), and “American Fiction” (9/2).

Just two of the five musicians on this roster are returning contenders, with the first-timer subgroup consisting of Jerskin Fendrix (“Poor Things”), Laura Karpman (“American Fiction”), and Robbie Robertson (“Killers of the Flower Moon”). Robertson, who died last August at age 80, is this category’s eighth posthumous nominee and first since 1977, when Bernard Herrmann earned dual bids for “Obsession” and “Taxi Driver” nearly 14 months after his death. He would be the fourth deceased composer to win an Academy Award, following Victor Young and “Limelight” (1973) duo Raymond Rasch and Larry Russell.

Of the...

Heading into the Academy Awards on March 10, with Golden Globe, BAFTA and Grammy wins behind him, “Oppenheimer” composer Ludwig Göransson would seem to have the original score Oscar sewn up.

The Swedish composer, already an Oscar winner for 2018’s “Black Panther,” spent nine months writing three hours of music for Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic. His combination of orchestral and electronic elements, often given prominence in the storytelling, deepened the movie experience.

“We had three months of experimenting and writing, coming up with the sonic landscape of the score,” Göransson says, and that was before Nolan even shot a foot of film. During the editing process, “they’ve already put my music in those scenes,” and it’s then a matter of tweaking and carefully conforming the music to the cut.

The “Oppenheimer” score ranges from “an intimate personal journey to an operatic piece,” Göransson notes. He used a 65-piece...

‘A French slasher throwback… deadly serious in giving its audience the pleasures of a damn good scare’

Mark Kermode

Prepare for some pulse-racing, heart-pounding High Tension. The fantastic French horror from Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Piranha 3D) gets a brand-new Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray Dual Edition Box set release from masters in the field Second Sight Films.

A new entry to the French extremity movement on its release in 2003, this fearsomely violent slasher stars Cécile de France (The French Dispatch, Around the World in 80 Days) and Maïwenn (One Deadly Summer, The Fifth Element), as two best friends whose sleepover goes shockingly awry. This brutally violent, fear-fuelled cult classic arrives in the Limited Edition and Standard Edition 4K and Blu-ray versions, on 22nd January 2024.

Alex (Maïwenn) and Marie’s (Cécile de France) study-weekend takes a savage turn, when a murderous maniac (Philippe Nahon – Irreversible), turns up on their doorstep.

Two songs from “Barbie” are Oscar-nominated, part of a diverse collection of songs and musical scores nominated for the 96th annual Academy Awards.

“What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, and “I’m Just Ken,” by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, were chosen by the 390 voting members of the Academy music branch. Three “Barbie” songs were shortlisted (Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” being the third) but only two can be nominated, per Academy rules.

The “Barbie” songs are already considered frontrunners, and if either number prevails on March 10, the Oscar will go to a pair of songwriters who already have one of those golden statues. Siblings Eilish and O’Connell won for 2021’s James Bond film “No Time to Die,” while Ronson and Wyatt were two of four 2018 winners for Lady Gaga’s song “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born.”

They will compete against Jon Batiste...

Tisa Farrow, the actress who appeared in such 1970s films as James Toback’s Fingers and William Richert’s Winter Kills, has died, her sister Mia Farrow announced. She was 72.

She died unexpectedly on Wednesday, “apparently in her sleep,” Mia Farrow reported on Instagram.

“If there is a Heaven, undoubtedly my beautiful sister Tisa is being welcomed there,” she wrote. “She was the best of us — I have never met a more generous and loving person. She loved life & never complained. Ever.”

Tisa Farrow made her onscreen debut in Homer (1970), portraying the girlfriend of a high school student (Don Scardino) deeply affected by the Vietnam War, and she also starred in the low-budget horror films Zombie (1979), directed by Lucio Fulci, and Anthropophagus (1980).

In her most prominent role, Farrow played a woman who has a kinky romance with a disturbed loner (Harvey Keitel) in writer-director Toback’s Fingers (1978). She then showed...

Pictures: Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox

We’re only a handful of days into the New Year, but we’re already receiving news of what movies and TV shows will leave Netflix UK in February 2024.

In case you missed it, we’re also keeping track of all of the movies and TV shows leaving Netflix UK in January 2024. If you’re looking for the US removals list, you can find all the departures for those in our February list here.

As a reminder, we typically get word of Netflix removals around 30 days before they’re due to happen. Netflix removes titles because much of its library consists of licensed titles. These licensed titles are essentially rented to Netflix for a fixed period of time, and when that time is up, they’re removed from the platform.

Unlike the United States, Netflix UK doesn’t confirm or publicize its own list of removals,...

Glynis Johns, remembered by movie audiences as Mrs. Banks from Mary Poppins and by Broadway devotees as the first person to sing Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” on a national stage, died Thursday of natural causes at an assisted living home in Los Angeles. She was 100.

Her death was announced by her manager and publicist Mitch Clem. “Today’s a sad day for Hollywood,” Clem said in a statement. “She is the last of the last of old Hollywood.”

A Tony winner (Best Actress/Musical) for her performance as Desiree Armfeldt in the original 1973 Broadway cast of the Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler A Little Night Music, Johns both debuted and, due to her widespread acclaim, helped popularize what would become perhaps Sondheim’s most beloved and well-known songs with “Send in the Clowns.”

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, the Welsh Johns made her West End debut in 1931 at age...

2024 really is the year of the Difficult Second Series: after wowing us in 2023 and even earlier, shows like The Tourist, Extraordinary, The Rig, Suspect and Bad Sisters are on the way back for another helping this year, but the question is: will they live up to series one?

In among this, a trio of behemoth shows coming back: Doctor Who will return for series 14, or season one as it’s being styled, the first with Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa, Wolf Hall is returning after nine years to cover the late Hilary Mantel’s final book in the trilogy, The Mirror and The Light, and dystopian anthology series Black Mirror will return to Netflix for its seventh series. There’s even talk of a prequel series to Red Dwarf, if that comes off.

This is our round-up of the British TV shows we’re most excited to see returning for new...

Federation Studios, the Paris-based indie production and sales outfit behind popular French series “The Bureau,” is preparing to hit the sales block, Variety has confirmed.

Federation Studios has started discussions with investment banks in recent weeks for an advisor role, according to Reuters, which was first to report the news and said the banner could be valued at over €500 million ($535 million).

The company, which was founded by industry veteran Pascal Breton, indeed started these preliminary talks with financial advisors months ago and is looking sell to large chunk of the outfit, if not a majority stake, according to sources. The sales process could be launched during the first half of 2024. Federation Studios declined to comment on the reports.

Federation Studios previously ramped up its international business with the backing of Montefiore Investment, a French private equity firm which invested €50 million into the outfit in 2021. Several companies are already potentially interested in the asset.

French production powerhouse Federation Studios is investigating strategic options that could include its full or partial sale, according to a Reuters news agency report on Thursday.

The report said that the Paris-based company been auditioning investment banks for an advisor role in recent weeks.

One source told Reuters that the company could begin an auction process next year, but the report also added that the current talks might not lead to any concrete sale plans.

A potential deal would see the company valued at around 500 million euros ($535m), it added.

Prolific French producer Pascal Breton launched Federation in 2015 and it has since grown into one of Europe’s leading production groups, with landmark shows including The Bureau and Around The World In 80 Days.

Montefiore Investment agreed to put €50m into the company in staggered phases in 2021, to accelerate its international grow.

The rest of the privately-owned company is mainly in the hands of Breton.

Over the course of more than a century, nearly every one of the hundreds of acting Oscar winners has shared the big screen with at least one other film academy honoree. In some special cases, viewers have been treated to extraordinarily star-studded movies that feature six or more Oscar champs, with the record for largest Academy Award-winning ensemble standing at an even dozen. Check out our photo gallery in which we break down the 22 movies that each include performances by at least six acting Oscar recipients.

The eclectic entries on this list cover a staggering eight decades of film history, having all been released between 1939 and 2019. Collectively, they themselves won 22 Oscars from 73 nominations, with standouts including respective 1940 and 1957 Best Picture winners “Gone with the Wind” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” The only directors with multiple films on the list are George Marshall (“Variety Girl” and “How the West Was Won...

Over the course of more than a century, nearly every one of the hundreds of acting Oscar winners has shared the big screen with at least one other film academy honoree. In some special cases, viewers have been treated to extraordinarily star-studded movies that feature six or more Oscar champs, with the record for largest Academy Award-winning ensemble standing at an even dozen. Check out our photo gallery in which we break down the 22 movies that each include performances by at least six acting Oscar recipients.

The eclectic entries on this list cover a staggering eight decades of film history, having all been released between 1939 and 2019. Collectively, they themselves won 22 Oscars from 73 nominations, with standouts including respective 1940 and 1957 Best Picture winners “Gone with the Wind” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” The only directors with multiple films on the list are George Marshall (“Variety Girl” and “How the West Was Won...

Fear Street author R. L. Stine recently revealed that Netflix will "probably" make more installments in the critically acclaimed film series.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, Stine reflected on his legacy, stating that he's "done everything you can think of and it’s all so far beyond what I ever dreamed." He continued, "When we started out I said, 'Let’s do two or three [Goosebumps books].' I never dreamed that it would last this long. It’s all a big surprise to me. I’m excited to have a new TV show going [on Disney+] and we’ll probably do more Fear Street movies too, and you know, that’s a thrill for me." Stine previously hinted back in July 2022 that Netflix was developing more Fear Street movies "because the first ones did so well last summer."

Related: Goosebumps' Rob Letterman & Nicholas Stroller Honor R.L. Stine's Legacy

Netflix's Fear...

Cannes — Bowing at MipJunior both Season 3 of CG animated megahit “The Adventures of Paddington,” targeting free-to-air sales, as well as brand new toon titles such as “How To Squoosh” and “Scarlet Rose,” European powerhouse Studiocanal, owned by Vivendi’s Canal+ Group, is powering into the kids IP and premium series business, marking its most significant expansive strategic move since initiating premium TV production.

This supercharged kids TV drive looks set to play out in multiple ways at this year’s MipJunior trade fair, which unspools at Cannes over Oct. 13-15.

In one milestone move, on Oct. 6 top exec Françoise Guyonnet was named Studiocanal CEO Copyrights Group and EVP Kids’ Brands. Her appointment came just two days after Studiocanal unveiled a big new potential franchise, CGI animated series “Miffy.”

In another strategic departure, Studiocanal, working hand in hand with parent Canal+, is also growing a sales slate of premium but smaller animation IPs – “How To Squoosh,...

Broadcasters in France, Germany and Italy have joined forces on family adventure series “The Emperor’s Stone: The Search of La Buse’s Treasure,” which will be produced under the Alliance, a partnership formed in 2018 by leading European pubcasters to finance ambitious, internationally-driven series.

Commissioned by France Télévisions, Zdf and Rai, “The Emperor’s Stone: The Search of La Buse’s Treasure” won the call for projects launched in 2022 by the Alliance. So far, as many as 10 shows have been produced via the Alliance, including “Mirage,” “Germinal,” “Around the World in 80 Days” (pictured), “Leonardo,” “Survivors,” “The Swarm” and “The Reunion,” among others.

“The Emperor’s Stone: The Search of La Buse’s Treasure” is being produced by Mathieu Ageron, Maxime Delauney and Romain Rousseau for Paris-based Nolita; Andrew Rosen and Anthony Leo for Canadian outfit Aircraft Pictures (“Circuit Breakers”); and David Wicht for Film Afrika in South Africa (“One Piece,...

Jon-Michael Ecker has proven to be a talented and versatile actor in both Mexican and American productions, showcasing his abilities in a range of genres and roles. Ecker's standout performances include playing charismatic villains, such as an arms dealer and hitman in NCIS: New Orleans and a serial killer and gang leader in Criminal Minds. Ecker's roles in films like Cantinflas and Gingerbread Miracle allow him to showcase his ability to excel in quirky comedies and display a more light-hearted side of his acting abilities.

While Jon-Michael Ecker is best known for playing Lieutenant Greg Grainger, in season 9 of NBC's Chicago Fire, he has consistently proven to be a very talented actor in all the various other shows and films that he has starred in. Son of Brazilian American actor Guy Ecker, who is best known for his role as Detective Luis Perez in the NBC series Las Vegas,...

In a significant declaration of large intentions and strategy at Studiocanal, owned by Vivendi’s Canal Plus Group, Françoise Guyonnet has been appointed Studiocanal CEO Copyrights Group and EVP Kids’ Brands as the European production-distribution giant looks to drive powerfully into children’s IP.

Studiocanal described the appointment in a written statement on Thursday as “a confident move for the studio which wishes to accelerate growth in children’s IP.” Copyrights Group is an international intellectual property management agency, it added.

The new high-ranking role for Guyonnet at Studiocanal has been announced just two days after it unveiled plans at Brand Licensing Europe (Ble) to produce with Superprod Group and Mercis a CGI series of world famous character “Miffy,” created in 1955 by Dutch author-illustrator Dick Bruna. Guyonnet said the move underlined “our ambition in the quality franchise space.”

Significantly, Guyonnet has served as Studiocanal director of TV series from 2017. Her...

Marco Chimenz, Co-CEO of Italy’s Cattleya the prominent ITV-owned outfit behind “Gomorrah” and “ZeroZeroZero,” will be leaving the company in January to join pan-European powerhouse Federation Studios.

At Federation Chimenz will serve as group co-managing director of the expanding production and distribution studio that currently comprises 35 production companies, working closely with founder and CEO Pascal Breton and Federation co-director Lionel Uzan.

Founded in 2013, Federation is a production, financing and distribution studio with subsidiaries and associate production companies based in Paris, Los Angeles, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Cologne, London, Brussels and Tel Aviv. The group’s best-known titles include “The Bureau,” “In Treatment,” “Baby,” “Hostages,” “Marseille,” “Bad Banks,” “Your Honor,” and “Around the World in 80 Days.”

Chimenz will continue to work with Cattleya’s Spanish affiliate on several productions until 2025. He will also continue to operate with longtime collaborator Joshua Berman, who is currently head of business affairs at Cattleya.

Bass Reeves is a significant historical figure who became one of the first black U.S. Marshals after the Civil War, capturing dangerous outlaws during the 19th century. The upcoming series Lawmen: Bass Reeves will premiere on Paramount+ and chronicle Reeves' life and law enforcement career in the late 1800s. This portrayal of Bass Reeves will be the tenth notable one in film and TV, with previous actors including Gary Beadle, Colman Domingo, and Adrien Holmes. David Oyelowo's performance in the upcoming series has the potential to be a defining role in his career.

The upcoming Lawmen: Bass Reeves won't be the first time that historical figure Bass Reeves has been portrayed in Western films and television. Reeves is one of the most significant figures in American history following the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment which freed all slaves in 1865. Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas under...

The new movie Zombie Town is now playing in movie theaters, and it includes a reunion for comedy greats Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase.

Decades ago, Aykroyd and Chase had risen to fame as two of the most popular names in comedy, as each were a part of the original cast of Saturday Night Live. After finding great success in Hollywood with various movies, the two had come together again for Zombie Town, an R.L. Stine adaptation. The film is now officially playing in movie theaters, and to get a sneak peek, you can view the official poster and trailer for Zombie Town below.

Related: 10 Great Actors Almost Cast In Iconic Christmas Movies

Zombie Town is specifically based on the R.L. Stine book of the same name published in 2012. Directed by Peter Lepeniotis (The Nut Job), the film also stars Marlon Kazadi (Riverdale), Henry Czerny (Mission: Impossible - Dead...

Germany has picked Ilker Çatak’s schoolroom drama The Teachers’ Lounge to represent the country for the 2024 Oscars in the best international feature category.

An independent jury picked the feature, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, from a 12-title shortlist.

Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, Around the World in 80 Days) stars in The Teachers’ Lounge as an idealistic and ambitious young teacher who sees her life unravel after a spate of stealing at her school sets off a series of events that bring out the ugliest aspects of her fellow teachers, parents and the pupils themselves. Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Kathrin Wehlisch, Uygar Tamer and Özgür Karadeniz co-star.

The film won the Europa Cinemas Label prize as best European film in Berlin this year and beat out Edward Berger’s four-time Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front to take the top...

A wannabe "Jaws" rip-off theorized what would happen if a killer whale wreaked revenge on humanity -- "Orca" was a warning. Let's be honest: it's kind of a surprise that it's taken this long for killer whales to revolt against humans. We've poisoned their oceans, killed their young, and forced them into a life of showbiz in cramped theme park pools. Humans had a good run but it seems that orcas are the new mammals in charge.

Sailors working off the coast of Western Europe have reported a series of attacks by a group of orcas they said seemed to be "coordinated." This included striking and sinking a number of boats, although no human casualties have been reported. Some scientists said spikes in aggression may have been started by a female orca nicknamed White Gladis, who is believed to have suffered trauma after a collision with a sailboat.

While other...

Hey, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" fans. It's that time again. We've got more great news for you guys because ABC is serving up another brand new installment of Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight, April 26,2023, and we've got some new preview information for it. In tonight's new, April 26, 2023 edition, you guys are going to see another set of actors arrive on the set, and a new musical performance is going to round everything out. The first description for tonight's new, April 26,2023 episode reveals that 69 year old Irish actor Pierce Brosnan is going to hit up the set ,tonight, to talk with Jimmy. Pierce has had a very long and successful acting career. He's been in productions like: DC's Black Adam movie, Die Another Day movie, The Simpsons tv show, Tomorrow Never Dies movie, GoldenEye movie, Mrs. Doutfire movie, The Lawnmower Man movie, Around The World In 80 Days, Remington Steele tv show, Moonlighting tv show,...

Once pitted against each other as rivals, streamers and broadcasters have become unlikely allies in the face of increased competition and economic pressure following the pandemic and the launch of more content viewing platforms.

Even in France, where Netflix was referred to as the “devil” by France Televisions president Delphine Ernotte Cunci in a 2019 interview, the tide has turned and a number of ambitious series have been jointly financed by both local broadcasters and streamers.

Examples of collaborations vary from period drama series such as “The Bonfire of Destiny” and “Women at War,” from TF1 and Netflix, to action series like Ziad Doueiri’s “Dark Hearts,” from France Televisions and Amazon Prime Video. What do these shows have in common? They shot in French with local casts, and have the high budgets and production values that are typically allocated to international co-productions like “Marie Antoinette,” which shot in English and...

A number of great movies are leaving HBO Max at the end of March, so it’s time to prioritize these titles in your queue. Filmmaker James Gunn’s sequel/soft reboot “The Suicide Squad” will depart the streaming service on March 22 after first hitting HBO Max the same day it was released in theaters back in 2021. Similarly, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” was whisked away on March 1 after also getting a day-and-date release in 2021 (sorry/not sorry if you missed it).

You also only have until March 7 to stream “Just a Boy From Tupelo: Bringing Elvis to the Big Screen,” a short documentary on the making of the Oscar-nominated biopic “Elvis.”

Other noteworthy films leaving HBO Max this month include “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Contagion,” the extended version of “Dances with Wolves,” “Ghostbusters,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Love & Basketball” and “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

There’s nothing quite like when HBO is airing one of its trademark watercooler-worthy dramas weekly. Thankfully, we’ll get to it experience exactly that and more on HBO Max in March 2023.

The big ticket item on HBO Max this March is undoubtedly Succession Season 4 on March 26. Part prestige drama and part screwball comedy, Succession is about as fun a watch as they come. Season 4 of the series about egregious wealth will find the Roy siblings reeling after trying and failing to take down their father, Logan (Brian Cox).

HBO Max’s other major TV option this month is another weekly release from HBO. Matthew Rhys returns as the titular lawyer in Perry Mason Season 2 on March 6. Season 1 of this period piece reboot flexed the classic TV character’s detective skills. From the look of the trailer, it seems as though this is the year Perry makes his name in the court room.

İlker Çatak’s The Teachers‘ Lounge, a German drama set in a primary school, has won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European film in the Panorama section of the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.

Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, Around the World in 80 Days) stars in The Teacher’s Lounge as an idealistic and ambitious young teacher who finds herself at odds with fellow teachers, parents and an inflexible and frustrating bureaucracy. Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Kathrin Wehlisch, Uygar Tamer, and Özgür Karadeniz co-star.

“The film explores key subjects like the prevalence of bureaucracy in schools and issues of race and class, but above all it is a compelling rollercoaster of a drama,” the Europa Cinemas jury said in a statement.

The Europa Cinemas prize is backed the Europa Cinemas theatre network, an association of independent theater owners, representing more than 3,000 screens in over 700 cities across Europe,...

This list applies to UK streaming services

When I find myself in times of trouble/Streaming channels come to me/Speaking words of wisdom/ Watch TV/Watch TV-eeee/Watch TV-eeee/There will be an answer: watch TV (repeat to fade).

Go on, do it, it’s good advice – we all need a bit of escapism now and then. All of the below are British dramas currently available on UK streaming services, some free-to-air, some subscriber-only, some short, some long, some old favourites and some new arrivals, all in pleasing alphabetical order.

We’ll keep this list updated as new series are added and taken away. If you’ve children to entertain, then here’s our list of the top kids’ shows currently available on UK streaming services, and if you’re in need of a laugh, here’s our collection of the best British comedy TV shows. Sorted.

A Discovery of Witches...

It’s easy to get caught up in awards season excitement as the Oscars approach – the glitz and glamour of the red carpet generating global talking points, memes and pub chatter for weeks on end.

But when it’s really broken down, the Oscars are essentially just a microcosm of Hollywood. It’s a depressing fact that films directed by previous winners have more chance of being nominated than those directed by newcomers.

Because of this, the best film in any given year almost never wins the evening’s most coveted prize – in fact, it’s sometimes not even nominated in the first place. The ceremony in 2021, which saw Parasite take home the top prize, was a rare exception.

Over the decades, there have been countless glaring omissions – films that were nominated but were beaten by far inferior films and classic films that failed to secure a single nomination.

As the 2023 Oscars approach,...

The box office success of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey poses the question of which other public domain tales are best suited for the horror genre…

A good story remains paramount to a successful horror movie, but the heightened genre has also found considerable success through chilling adaptations. A major hurdle in any adaptation of an existing work is securing the copyright or license to legally be allowed to reinterpret this source material. Plenty of horror movie pipe dreams couldn’t come to fruition precisely because the rights for certain properties couldn’t be acquired. But an interesting wrinkle when it comes to the acquisition of rights is stories that have entered the public domain.

Written works typically enter the public domain seventy years after the death of their latest living author. It’s a situation that means that certain texts, like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are free to be tackled...

Film has secured multiple deals in Europe and beyond.

Brussels-based sales company Be For Films has agreed multiple deals for İlker Çatak’s The Teachers’ Lounge, which recently world premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlinale.

The film, which stars Leonie Benesch, has sold in Europe to France (Tandem), Benelux (Cineart), Italy (Lucky Red), Spain (A Contracorriente), Greece (Cinobo), Hungary (Mozinet) and Switzerland (Filmcoopi).

It has also sold to Madman for Australia and New Zealand, New Cinema in Israel, Bir Film in Turkey, Moving Turtle for Mena and Dhl Studio in South Korea.

Be For Films says discussions are ongoing for the USA,...

Anton, the London-based company behind “Mothers’ Instinct” and “The End We Start From,” has hired Fremantle alumni Sangeeta Desai and Sarah Doole to spearhead its newly launched TV production arm.

Anton said it will seek to attract leading creatives to launch production scripted labels across Europe. The banner will also look at direct, and first-look deals with established on- and off-screen talent.

“I’m delighted that Sangeeta and Sarah are joining Anton to launch and run our new TV arm,” said Sebastien Raybaud. “Their expertise, experience and enthusiasm will be invaluable. This move marks an important milestone in the development of the company,” Raybaud continued.

Desai added that “Anton has quickly gained a reputation for shaking up the way feature films are financed and produced.” She said she looked forward to exploring “how we can take advantage of Anton’s agility and flexibility to offer some of Europe’s best...

Anglo-French firm looks to drive TV production expansion.

Anglo-French production and financing outfit Anton has hired former Fremantle execs Sangeeta Desai and Sarah Doole to launch a dedicated TV production division.

Anton’s TV division will aim to produce premium talent-driven content for global audiences. It will also seek to partner with leading creatives to launch scripted labels across Europe. The business will also look at direct and first-look deals with established on- and off-screen talent.

Desai, whose recent roles include board director at Boatrocker Media, CEO of Osn, as well as global COO and CEO of emerging markets at...

İlker Çatak’s fourth feature stars Leonie Benesch.

Brussels-based sales company Be For Films has boarded İlker Çatak’s The Teachers’ Lounge, which world premieres in the Panorama section at next month’s Berlinale.

The film stars Leonie Benesch as an idealistic young teacher who tries to get to the bottom of a series of thefts at the high school where she works. But she reaches breaking point as she finds herself mediating between outraged parents, opinionated colleagues and aggressive students. Benesch made her name in Michael Haneke’s award-winning drama The White Ribbon, and has since gone on to star in The Crown,...

To win a Best Picture Oscar, a film has to have something about it.

Only 90 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the 6,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.

Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.

By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.

When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.

Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.

To win a Best Picture Oscar, a film has to have something about it.

Only 90 films in history have been given this award. They’re not voted on by the eccentric members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who pick the Golden Globes, or by specialist groups of critics, but by the 6,000 members of the Academy. That is to say, the choice is made by distinguished figures from within the industry.

Sometimes, though, they do still make some baffling choices.

By the time the Oscars roll around at the end of the awards process, a herd mentality tends to have set in.

When everybody has already voted at all the other awards shows for, say, The King’s Speech or The Shape of Water, the Academy members follow suit. It’s rare for a Best Picture winner ever to be a complete surprise.

Nonetheless, a few questionable films have stolen glory that rightfully belonged elsewhere.

Tenure starts January 30.

Rosalie Cimino has been named managing director and producer of Anonymous/Federation, the Paris-based joint venture between US management and production house Anonymous Content and rapidly expanding European independent studio Federation Studios.

Cimino is a former talent agent and partner at Ubba since 2010 after eight years at Intertalent alongside top French agent François Samuelson. She has managed the careers of several turned global stars including Matthias Schoenaerts, Mélanie Thierry, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Albert Dupontel, Alexandra Lamy, Anouk Grinberg, Nadine Labaki and Veerle Baetens.

Cimino is currently working on the follow-up to Baetens’ feature directorial debut When It Melts,...

Rosalie Cimino, a talent agent and partner with French agency Ubba, has been named the new managing director at Anonymous Federation, the recently-launched production joint venture owned by Anonymous Content and Federation Studios.

Cimino will take over in her new role Jan. 30, running Anonymous Federation alongside Federation’s Pascal Breton, Lionel Uzan and Patrick Wachsberger and Anonymous’ Dawn Olmstead, David Levine and David Davoli.

True Detective and Mr. Robot producer Anonymous launched the new Paris-based group with Federation, whose productions include French series The Bureau, German drama Bad Banks and pan-European limited series Around The World In 80 Days, late last year. It’s the latest international expansion for Anonymous, which already has production outlets in the U.K. (Chapter One), Scandinavia (AC Nordic) and South America (AC Brazil).

As an agent, Cimino has managed the careers of such European stars as Matthias Schoenaerts (The Swimmer), Veerle Baetens (The Broken...

Exclusive: Anonymous Content and Federation Studios have appointed Ubba agent Rosalie Cimino as MD and producer for Anonymous Federation, their French joint venture.

She will lead the Jv alongside Pascal Breton, Lionel Uzan and Patrick Wachsberger on behalf of Federation, and Dawn Olmstead, David Levine and David Davoli on behalf of Anonymous Content.

Ciminio begins her new role effective January 30. Among projects already underway, she is working on Veerle Baetens’s new film. The actress and director’s first movie, When It Melts, is currently in competition at Sundance in the World Drama category.

Cimino was a talent agent and partner at French talent agency Ubba since 2010 and before that spent eight years at agency Intertalent. She has repped or worked closely with talent including Matthias Schoenaerts, Mélanie Thierry, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Albert Dupontel, François-Xavier Demaison, Alexandra Lamy, Jérémie Guez, Coralie Fargeat, Anouk Grinberg, Nadine Labaki, Veerle Baetens, Hervé Hadmar,...

Comedies such as “Serial (Bad) Weddings 3” and family fare, including “Pil’s Adventures” and “The Wolf and the Lion,” helped the overseas box office for French movies climb back in 2022.

While international ticket sales for French movies were still 32.5 down compared with pre-pandemic times, admissions grossed €167.4 million (180 million) from 27 million admissions in 2022 – a 51.8 year-on increase.

Figures highlighting the performance of French movies in theaters at festivals and on streaming services were unveiled by Unifrance, the French film and TV promotion org, during the Export Day, which took place on Tuesday in Paris.

“Youth and family audiences were the first to return to theaters (when they reopened), and so films targeted at these demographics performed best,” said Unifrance in its study. Theaters in most countries around the world were indeed shut down for several months in 2021.

The org’s co-managing director Gilles Renouard also noted that there was a “concentration of...

French films drew 27m spectators worldwide in 2022 for a gross of €167.4m (180m), according to the annual report of France’s cinema export agency Unifrance released on Tuesday.

The admissions figure represented a 51.8 hike on 2021 when cinemagoing remained severely impacted worldwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic but is 32 lower than the average of 40m entries per year for the previous decade.

The figure is also way below the bumper years of 2012, 2014 and 2015, when French cinema generated international entries of 144m, 120m and 114m respectively thanks to films as diverse as The Intouchables, The Artist, Lucy, Le Petit Prince and Taken 3.

Breaking the 27m admissions figure down, majority French productions generated 17m of these entries, representing a 78.9 rise on 2021, while 19.6m of the admissions were for French-language productions.

The body noted that the headline admissions figure was achieved in a context in which the overall domestic box office fell 26, while key markets such as Germany,...

While Jackie Chan has always been an affable and comedic performer, even going back to his early martial arts films from the 1970s, something curious happened when he broke into the Hollywood mainstream in the late 1990s. Producers looked at Chan's playful, heroic, somewhat goofy charm and shifted it into overdrive. Chan's American films, as a result, tended to be incredibly broad, full of silly mugging, "culture clash" humor, and a general lack of stakes. Chan's first major American hit was Brett Ratner's "Rush Hour" in 1998, a serviceable but largely unremarkable police comedy wherein Chan played opposite Chris Tucker. That film was such a runaway success (it made over 244 million worldwide) that a pattern was immediately set for Chan. Pair him with an unlikely co-star, put him in generic action scenarios, and watch the money roll in. 

The next few years saw such pieces of mainstream fluff as Kevin Donovan...

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Breakout talents from festival favorites Saint Omer and Tori and Lokita, new faces from Netflix hits The Playlist and Babylon Berlin, and discoveries from arthouse features from across Europe are among the top 10 talents picked to be the 2023 European Shooting Stars.

The annual list of up-and-coming actors from across Europe — which has proved a reliable talent spotter over the years — was unveiled Wednesday by European Film Promotion, which organizes the selection.

The eight women and two men picked by the Shooting Star jury will attend the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where they will be introduced to the international industry, and meet with talent agents, directors and producers.

Previous European Shooting Stars have included the likes of Michaela Coel (2018), Luca Marinelli (2013), Riz Ahmed (2012), Alica Vikander (2011), Daniel Brühl (2003), Ruth Negga (2006) and Matthias Schoenaerts (2003).

Here’s a short introduction to next year’s class:...

Each year we are proud to partner with the European Film Promotion to celebrate ten emerging European talents as part of their ongoing Efp Shooting Stars programme. Today we’re pleased to join the reveal of 2023’s cohort, who we’ll be getting to know better next year at the 73rd Berlinale.

Here are 2023’s European Shooting Stars:

Joely Mbundu (Belgium), Alina Tomnikov (Finland), Leonie Benesch (Germany), Thorvaldur Kristjansson (Iceland), Benedetta Porcaroli (Italy), Yannick Jozefzoon (The Netherlands), Kristine Kujath Thorp (Norway), Judith State (Romania), Gizem Erdogan (Sweden) and Kayije Kagame (Switzerland).

We’ll be meeting with each of the Shooting Stars out in Berlin next February and speaking to them. So, remember to check back next year for those interviews.

In the meantime, here are more details about each of the intake from the Efp themselves.

Belgium / Joely Mbundu ©Tina Herbots

Joely Mbundu hails from Villeneuve-St-Georges, France and attended school in Flanders,...