News

Paramount+ has boarded “Zorro” (working title), an adventure comedy series starring Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor of “The Artist,” as the iconic character of Diego de la Vega.

Created by Benjamin Charbit (“Gagarine”) and Noé Debré (“Dheepan”), the anticipated show was bought by Paramount+ for France, the U.K., Italy, Germany and Latin America.

In the eight-part series, Dujardin stars opposite well-known Italian comedian Salvatore Ficarra, and French actors, including Audrey Dana, André Dussollier, Eric Elmosnino and Grégory Gadebois. The show will premiere on Paramount+ before rolling out on the pubcaster France Télévisions.

The series unfolds in 1821 as Don Diego de la Vega becomes mayor of Los Angeles and has to face off a corrupt businessman, Don Emmanuel.

Marc Dujardin’s Le Collectif 64 and Julien Seul at Bien Sûr Productions are producing the series which is penned by Charbit, Debré and Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud (“Le Test”). It’s directed by Jean-Baptiste Saurel...

Exclusive: Drops of God creator Quoc Dang Tran is getting into business with HBO. The writer-producer has signed a two-year overall deal with the premium cable network to create and executive produce content exclusive to HBO.

Dang Tran recently gained recognition for creating Drops of God, Apple TV+’s eight-episode international series from Legendary Entertainment, an adaptation of the fan favorite manga about wine, which debuted in 2023.

Dang Tran previously served as a writer on the successful French series Call My Agent, which went on to become a global sensation on Netflix. In 2018, he also wrote on the acclaimed French espionage political thriller series The Bureau for Canal+. The Department (working title) adaptation from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios based on the series, was recently given a straight-to-series order at Showtime.

More recently Dang Tran wrote the popular Netflix horror series Marianne,...

Big Thief have shared a remastered reissue of their 2016 debut album Masterpiece, out now via 4Ad.

When Big Thief released Masterpiece in 2016, they seemingly became indie rock royalty overnight. The Brooklyn-based band recorded the album in July 2015 at a makeshift studio in an old lakehouse with producer Andrew Sarlo and engineer James Krivchenia, the latter of whom would go on to become Big Thief’s full-time drummer.

Though its title could be used to describe the quality of the record itself, vocalist Adrianne Lenker says Masterpiece refers to “the masterpiece of existence, which is always folding into itself, people attempting to connect, to both shake themselves awake and to shake off the numbness of certain points in their life. The interpretations might be impressionistic or surrealistic, but they’re grounded in simple things.”

In additional Big Thief news, the band has also unveiled an official karaoke YouTube channel so that...

Film starring Sami Bouajila and Julie Gayet started shooting this week in Northern France.

Snd, the film arm of French broadcaster M6, has teamed with prolific French production company Empreinte Cinema for Juan Carlos Medina’s upcoming race-against-the-clock cop thriller The Chase (Abime) starring Sami Bouajila and Julie Gayet.

Snd has international rights for the film and will kick off sales at AFM for the murder mystery meets action film. Snd and Empreinte produce with Paris-based Once Upon A Time on board as co-producer.

The Chase stars Bouajila as a police officer who failed to find the murderer of a young girl 11 years earlier.

Exclusive: Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired international rights for the zany kung-fu-themed action romantic comedy Zenithal.

Vanessa Guide stars as a woman battling to establish peace between the sexes after her longtime boyfriend falls under the thrall of a Machiavellian schemer, who has murdered and harnessed the virulent powers of a famous kung-fu master, as part of a plan to restore absolute male domination.

It is the first feature of Jean-Baptiste Saurel, who has recently been signed as one of the directors on France TV’s upcoming Zorro reboot starring Jean Dujardin, with previous credits including the Disney+ sci-fi French original Parallels.

The feature expands on his provocative 2012 Cannes Critics’ Week short The Dickslap (La Bifle). Bff has released a first-look photo hinting at one of the zany plot twists.

First look at ‘Zenithal’

“Zenithal questions the injunctions of virility through comedy, with a visual style inherited from U.

We may never see other phenomenon like “Squid Game.” Hopefully we do. The Emmys are the kind of voting body/cultural institution that should get that yearly kind of external shakeup, just as film awards have seen non-English language productions catch fire with the public and capture awards attention. Getting to that point for “Squid Game” meant legendary word of mouth, Netflix backing, and a quality series with elements that made voting for it all the easier, a perfect Emmys storm.

But even if those lightning-in-a-bottle circumstances are seemingly impossible to recapture on purpose, the success of “Squid Game” did lay out a roadmap for other potential international hits to succeed on their own. A year after a genuine phenomenon, it seems like the TV world has largely waited for Season 2 of that show to be the next international series to enjoy that kind of success.

What if we didn’t have to wait?...

This Star Trek: Picard article contains spoilers.

The easter egg game is afoot! As was true with Picard’s easter egg bonanza from a few weeks ago, episode 8, “Surrender,” uses callbacks and references in such a way that you can’t actually figure out how the plot would work without this stuff. We know that the final two episodes of Picard season 3 will surely be packed beyond belief with references and Trekkie surprises, but for now, in “Surrender,” the references pack a punch because they make the plot happen.

Here are the best easter eggs and references in episode 8:

Vadic Smoking on the Bridge

Although it’s possible this isn’t an intentional reference, Vadic smoking one of her dusty shapeshifter cigarettes on the bridge of the Titan might be a shout-out to The Wrath of Khan. In that movie, at the very start, there are signs on the...

Exclusive: Universal International Studios (Uis) and Australian indie Matchbox Pictures are developing a TV adaptation of Adrian McKinty novel The Island.

Published last year, The Island follows Heather Baxter, who marries Tom and moves from a small country town to Seattle. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over their new mom. When they discover a remote Dutch island, off-limits to outside visitors, the family talks their way onto the ferry, taking a chance on an adventure far from the reach of iPhones and Instagram. But as soon as they set foot on the island, which is run by a tightly knit clan of locals, everything feels wrong.

The book was a bestseller and comes from the Irish author of 2020’s The Chain and the Sean Duffy...

Stressful days at work take on new meaning when you're a paramedic, and in "Code 3," the upcoming buddy action-comedy from Wayfarer Studios and Circle of Confusion, two paramedics have the wildest day possible (all for our entertainment!). Deadline revealed that Lil Rel Howery ("Get Out") and Rainn Wilson ("Weird: The Al Yankovic Story") will star as the pair of paramedics, saving lives and making us laugh. "Code 3" is still in pretty early production, so details are subject to change and the cast will continue to grow, but the movie already sounds like a lot of fun. 

The work of a paramedic might not seem all that funny (just look at "Bringing Out the Dead"), but given the bizarre situations that many people get themselves into, I can imagine there's still humor to be found. Not every call is a nightmare, and there's probably some ridiculous and funny stuff that happens too.

Exclusive: Apple TV+ has picked up Drops of God, a series set in the world of fine wine based on a Japanese manga property, from Legendary Entertainment.

Deadline understands that the streamer beat out a number of suitors to land the international series, which is in multiple languages including English, French and Japanese.

However, the most interesting element of the deal is that it marks one of the first times that Apple has dipped its toe into international co-productions and licensing; the majority of its scripted series to date have been fully owned originals. We hear that the first season of Tehran and Losing Alice were picked up in a similar manner.

Drops of God is written by Quoc Dang Tran, who wrote on French series Call My Agent and created Disney+’s Parallèles, the streamer’s first French language series, and directed by Oded Ruskin, who has directed episodes...

It's not easy to be the sibling of an ill child. You're expected to be more of an adult than you're prepared for, accept less attention from your parents, be brave and kind, when you yourself are still growing up and need the kind of focus that only a mother or father can give. Girls of this early teenage age are on a strange cusp, with a maturity forced upon them, but without the resources to handle it. Add in some witchcraft and an isolated location, and there's more trouble brewing than maybe one girl can handle. While Mexican director Isaac Ezban usually delves in science fiction, there's always a touch of the fairy tale. So it's no wonder that for his...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Tubi released the official trailer for original movie “Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial,” a fictionalized retelling of this summer’s closely followed defamation trial involving actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

The ripped-from-the-headlines film is set to premiere Friday, Sept. 30, on the free, ad-supported Tubi service. “Hot Take” stars Mark Hapka as Depp and Megan Davis (“Alone in the Dark”) as Heard.

Judging from the trailer, “Hot Take” aims to evenly present both sides of the controversial story of the formerly married couple. “This is not life — no one should have to go through this,” Hapka’s Depp, featuring slicked-back hair tied off in a ponytail, says in court. At another point, Davis’s Heard says, “I have the right to say what happened to me.”

The trailer also references the TikTok trend that emerged during the trial in which users mocked Heard’s emotional testimony on the stand.

The controversial defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is the subject of a new movie, “Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial,” set to debut exclusively on the free Tubi streaming service.

The film stars Mark Hapka as Depp and Megan Davis (“Alone in the Dark”) as Heard. It’s set to premiere Friday, Sept. 30, on Fox’s Tubi. Melissa Marty (“Station 19”) will join Hapka and Davis as Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez and Mary Carrig (“Law & Order True Crime”) will portray as Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft.

“Hot Take” follows the tumultuous relationship — in and out of court — of Depp and Heard, dramatizing the two-month defamation trial that concluded June 1, with the jury finding that Heard had defamed Depp by alluding to domestic violence allegations against him in a December 2018 op-ed piece. The jury also held Depp liable for a defamatory statement made about Heard by his lawyer.

This fall, Disney+ will host its third annual “Hallowstream” celebration, which will include fan-favorite Halloween movies on Disney+ like “Hocus Pocus,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Halloweentown,” “Muppets Haunted Mansion,” and “Zombies 3.” More creepy classics include “Twitches,” “Just Beyond” and “Frankenweenie.” Shocking shorts include “Growing Fangs,” “Zombies: Addison’s Moonstone Mystery,” “Trick or Treat” and “Toy Story of Terror!”

There are also eerie episodes of “WandaVision,” “Glee,” “Even Stevens,” “grown-ish,” “Kim Possible,” “Cars on the Road” and Marvel Studios’ “What If…?” to watch for shorter scary experiences. Brand new Halloween releases on Disney+ will include the frightfully anticipated “Hocus Pocus 2” and Marvel Studios’ special “Werewolf by Night.” Special sing-along editions of beloved films include “The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along” and “Into the Woods Sing-Along.” Frightful favorite films and tv shows available for viewing now include “Zombies 3,” Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales,” “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror I-xxxii,” “Once Upon a Time,...

Sebastian Lelio’s “Wonder,” starring “Black Widow’s” Florence Pugh, “Winter Boy” with Juliette Binoche and directors Hong Sang-soo and Ulrich Seidl will compete in main competition at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival, the biggest film event in the Spanish-speaking world.

In “Wonder,” the latest from Academy Award winning director Lelio (“A Fantastic Woman”),Pugh plays an English nurse brought in to the Irish Midlands in 1862 to observe the alleged miracle of girls going months without food.

Binoche co-stars in “Winter Boy,” from resilient French auteur Christophe Honoré who won at Cannes Un Certain Regard with 2019’s “On a Magical Night.” Hong Sang-soo, the prolific South Korean director, will present “Walk Up,” a film which is billed as taking a gently delightful new perspective on themes dear to his poetics.

Seidl’s “Sparta” forms part of a diptych with 2022 Berlin competition contender “Rimini,” both movies turning on men who cannot escape their past.

Empreinte Digitale, the thriving Paris-based production company behind Disney +’s “Parallèles,” has hired Thomas Saignes, a well-established producer whose track record includes “Bad Banks” and “Parlement.”

Joining from Cinétévé, Saignes will be in charge of producing drama series and one-offs for streaming services and traditional TV channels, as well as spearheading Empreinte’s international co-productions.

Saignes, who is based in Paris and lived a number of years in Montreal, Canada, has been actively involved in the financing and co-productions of films and series with international and European partners, notably Benoit Jacquot’s period movie “Farewell, my Queen.” Prior to Cinétévé, Saignes worked at the Luxembourg-based company Iris where he was involved in the Zdf-Arte series “Bad Banks” which Federation sold around the world. During his tenure at Cinétévé, Saignes collaborated with veteran producer Fabienne Servan-Schreiber and was a driving force behind several ambitious series, for instance Noé Debré’s political...

Bowing in Canneseries official selection, six-episode miniseries “Infiniti” isn’t just for sci-fi aficionados, Empreinte Digitale producer Eric Laroche told Variety.

Co-produced between France and Belgium, the latest Canal Plus offering – created by Stéphane Pannetier and Julien Vanlerenberghe – interweaves multiple storylines, moving from the International Space Station (Iss) that suddenly goes silent to an investigation in Kazakhstan, where a beheaded, wax-covered body is found by a local cop.

Discouraged by his superiors, Isaak (Daniyar Alshinov) decides to solve the mystery, while French astronaut Anna Zarathi (Céline Sallette) pursues her dream of space travel.

“Having more than one genre, especially in a TV series, is very interesting. But one of them still needs to form the skeleton of the show. In our case, it’s the murder mystery,” says Laroche.

“I am not a big traveler, but I live for cinema and for series. The first time I went to New York,...

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In a few short years, laptops went from clunky, quasi-portable machines to thin and light workstations that help make remote work possible.

Although laptops have gotten smaller, the components inside have become more energy-efficient, and the software they run has been optimized to preserve power. These breakthroughs, combined with recent advancements in battery technology, allow laptops to run longer than ever.

Most of us rely on a laptop to get our work done,...

Variety shined a spotlight on European talents at its jam-packed dinner cocktail party at Series Mania Festival in Lille, France.

The event, which was co-hosted by Variety and Series Mania Forum, celebrated Mo Abudu, the CEO of Nigeria’s EbonyLife Media who won the 2022 Woman in Series Award. The party also brought together the laureates of the Copro pitching sessions and over 800 international industry players.

Following an introduction by Series Mania Forum’s head Francesco Capurro, Variety‘s international editor Manori Ravindran welcomed on stage three rising series directors and creators who are part of Variety’s 10 European Talents to Watch: Chas Appeti and Junior Okoli, the cinematographer and director of “Jungle,” and Quoc Dang Tran, the creator, showrunner and writer of Disney Plus’ French original “Parallels.”

“Jungle” is an Amazon Original Series showcasing the creativity of the U.K.’s drill, grime and rap music. Comprising six 30-minute episodes,...

Universal International Studios has struck a first-look deal with “Call My Agent!” and “Parallèles” writer Quoc Dang Tran as it continues a charm offensive directed at international creators.

Uis has inked a first-look deal with the French-Vietnamese writer and showrunner who will develop and produce English and French-language television projects with the studio for the global market. French-language series will be co-produced with the “Marianne” writer’s recently formed label, Daïmôn Films.

“He really leads from themes that speak to his heart versus responding to the industry, so we’re excited to do business with a creator who listens to their gut instead of just what the network is mandating,” Beatrice Springborn, president of Universal International Studios, tells Variety ahead of a keynote at French TV festival Series Mania.

“That has helped him stand out as someone with a real point of view, [who] is a real visionary.”

Dang Tran added:...

Exclusive: Call My Agent! and Marianne writer Quoc Dang Tran has struck a first-look deal with Universal International Studios, becoming the first French writer to sign such a deal with a major studio.

The French-Vietnamese scribe will develop and produce English and French-language television projects with the Universal Studio Group division for the global market, co-produced with his recently-created label Daïmôn Films.

Dang Tran has written on hit French series Call My Agent!, French Netflix horror Marianne and is the creator of Canal+’s Nox.

His Disney+ original Parallèles, the streamer’s first in the French language, will debut on the platform tomorrow and is being premiered at Series Mania, where news of Dang Tran’s partnership has just been unveiled by Universal International Studios President Beatrice Springborn.

Springborn called him an “incredible storyteller and producer who works across all genres and elevates everything he touches.”

“We are honoured he...

Exclusive: The streaming revolution has finally gifted European creatives the opportunity to write sci-fi and other genres, according to Quoc Dang Tran, the creator of Disney+’s first French-language drama Parallèles.

Speaking exclusively to Deadline on the eve of the teen drama’s launch, Netflix’s Marianne creator said he came up with the idea more than a decade ago but there had been “no outlet for sci-fi” and other genres in non-English-language territories.

“Writers like me felt that we had the ability to tell these stories but weren’t allowed to do so,” he said. “For a while if it was fiction it had to be British or American. Some gave up the dream and others persisted.”

Reflecting on the current state of play, Dang Tran credited the streamers with “creating an electric shock” in the content market.

Disney+ alone is creating around one-third of its 60 planned non-u.S.

“Parallels”, a French Disney+ Original live-action TV series, created by Quoc Dang Tran, will stream six new episodes March 23, 2022 on Disney+:

“…’Bilal’, ‘Romane’, ‘Samuel’ and ‘Victor’ see their lives turned upside down when a mysterious event scatters the group into different timelines. The four teenagers will do all they can to understand what has happened and try to get back to the carefree innocence of their former lives…”

Cast includes Thomas Chomel, Omar Mebrouk, Jules Houplain, Jade Pedri, Naidra Ayadi, Guillaume Labbé, Gil Alma , Elise Diamant, Dimitri Storoge, Agnès Miguras, Maxime Bergeron, Victoria Eber and Timoté Rigault.

Click the images to enlarge…...

"Remember the Bermuda Triangle?" Disney has revealed a trailer for a new sci-fi series from France called Parallels, debuting for streaming in just a few weeks. This is actually set around the Large Hadron Collider at Cern, located right on the French-Swiss border. The lives of the four friends Bilal, Romane, Samuel and Victor are completely turned upside down when a mysterious event ensures tears them from their world and each of them finds themselves in a different parallel world. They do everything possible to understand what exactly happened and look for a way to return to their original timelines before alerting their futures. Starring Thomas Chomel, Omar Mebrouk, Jules Houplain, Jade Pedri, Naidra Ayadi, Guillaume Labbé, Gil Alma, Elise Diamant, Dimitri Storoge, Agnès Miguras, Maxime Bergeron, Victoria Eber, and Timoté Rigault. This trailer doesn't look as good as it should. It seems lke a wannabe Disney+ version of "Dark...

Disney Plus has unveiled the trailer and key art for “Parallels,” its new French Original series which has been described as a fantasy sci-fi series in the vein of “Stranger Things.” All six episodes will launch on March 23 on Disney Plus’ platform worldwide.

“Parallels” tells the story of four friends — Bilal, Romane, Samuel and Victor — whose lives are turned upside down when a mysterious event scatters the group into different timelines. The four teenagers will do all they can to understand what has happened and try to get back to the carefree innocence of their former lives.

The series is headlined by teenagers and features many fresh faces, including Thomas Chomel (“Clem”), Omar Mebrouk, Jules Houplain (“Hpi”), Jade Pedri (“Ils étaient dix”), Naidra Ayadi and Guillaume Labbé. Other cast members include Gil Alma (“César Wagner”), Elise Diamant (“Mensonges”), Dimitri Storoge, Agnès Miguras (“Askip”), Maxime Bergeron, Victoria Eber (“Beyond Appearances”) and Timoté Rigault.