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According to Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes, the band “unlocked an unexpected box of curiosity and creativity” when they started making their 2023 album, Danse Macabre. Now, the latest product of that newfound energy has arrived: “New Moon (Dark Phase),” a reimagined version of their 1984 song “New Moon On Monday.”

Released as a single ahead of the upcoming deluxe re-release of Danse Macabre, “New Moon (Dark Phase)” swaps out the original’s pulsing ‘80s synths with a more ethereal, modern arrangement, featuring contributions from former band member, Andy Taylor. Throughout, vocalist Simon Le Bon carries the melody, gracefully slipping into his upper register on the verses and delivering the chorus’ catchy hook.

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Speaking about the release in a new statement, Rhodes explained that the inspiration sparked with Danse Macabre “was somehow still lingering,” which led the band to return to the studio for even more recording.

Two of the biggest TV companies in Europe, Germany’s Zdf and France Televisions, both public broadcasters, have boarded CGI animated comedy drama “20 Dance Street,” which has been greenlit for production.

France Televisions has acquired the series as a pre-sale. In another deal, Belgium public broadcaster Rtbf has picked up the series for Belgium.

The latest show from Federation Studios’ Cottonwood Media, “20 Dance Street,” is being handled for international distribution by Federation Kids & Family and Zdf Studios. It will be introduced to buyers at both this week’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre and Cannes Mipcom trade fair next month. At 26 half-hour episodes, it will be one of the weightiest new European premium animated series hitting these markets.

The series marks one of the few shows pitched at last September’s Cartoon Forum to be greenlit for production as producers face a tough commissioning environment for animation, with state-owned...

It's finally the best time of the year for movies, when all of the biggest titles of the year begin to hit theaters and campaign for those coveted awards. Netflix looks to keep up with the exciting rush of the fall movie season with its own packed slate of original movies starring some of the most talented stars of the screen. The streamer announced its fall movie calendar on Aug. 28.

While most of these movies had been on our radar for quite some time, including Joey King's sci-fi flick Uglies and Rachel Zegler's animated fantasy Spellbound, many of these movies finally received official word on their releases. A handful of Christmas movies, such as Lindsay Lohan's Our Little Secret, and horror titles like Woman of the Hour and Time Cut are some of the top picks this fall.

Unfortunately, one movie that had previously been slated for...

So far in 2024, Netflix movies have been off to a thrilling start with hit titles such as Damsel, Atlas, A Family Affair, and The Union. But the year isn't over yet! To finish out an excellent year of movies, Netflix announced its full slate of fall movies on Aug. 28, and we can look forward to even more hot titles of every genre, from horror to holiday, featuring some of the biggest stars.

Among the biggest and most-anticipated titles on the horizon include Joey King's dystopian sci-fi flick Uglies, which also stars Outer Banks favorite Chase Stokes; horror movies like It's What's Inside, Don't Move, and Time Cut; Anna Kendrick's directorial debut Woman of the Hour; and a full slate of Christmas rom-coms starring Lindsay Lohan, Lacey Chabert, and Christina Milian.

More and more release dates for Netflix movies coming this year have been announced, and below we’ve...

Boss turned stepdad? ? On Tuesday, Netflix released the trailer for the comedy film A Family Affair, out June 28, starring Zac Efron, Joey King, and Nicole Kidman in a less-than-ideal work-family situation.

The trailer opens with a scene of King’s character Zara — a day-to-day assistant to actor Chris Cole (Efron) — letting out a freaked-out yelp and passing out after walking in on her mom, Brooke (Kidman), in bed with Chris.

“Name the movie I won a Teen Choice Award for,” Efron tells Zara to make sure she’s conscious. Her response?...

For years many fans of Pixar films have become familiar with a particular voice in their movies. That voice is actor and comedian John Ratzenberger. While many growing up in the 1980s remember him as Cliff Calvin on the popular sitcom Cheers, children from the mid-1990s to the late 2010s have heard his voice in other places.

Starting in the 1995 animated film Toy Story as Hamm the piggy bank, the actor went on to appear in 23 films for the animation studio. He was P.T. Flea in A Bug’s Life, Yeti in Monsters Inc., The Underminer in The Incredibles, Mack the Truck in Cars, and many more. In essence he became the Stan Lee of Pixar.

However, in recent years, he has been noticeably absent. His last vocal appearance was in 2020’s Onward as Fennwick the Cyclops. There was apparently a cameo in 2020’s Soul, but it was more...

Netflix and the Annecy Film Festival have fostered an incredible relationship over the last several years. No other major studio or distributor has been as omnipresent at the French film festival, and this year should be no different.

Netflix is planning several major sneak peeks of upcoming titles, a work-in-progress session, the world premiere of “Ultraman: Rising,” an exhibition of stop-motion figures from the upcoming Wallace & Gromit film, and two of its titles – “Blue Eye Samurai” and “Pokémon Concierge” – are screening in competition.

On Wednesday, June 12, the streamer will host Next on Netflix Animation: From Twilight of the Gods to Wallace & Gromit, a sneak peek at some of its most high-profile upcoming film and series titles.

“Wallace & Gromit” directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham and several of the film’s puppets will be in Annecy to tease their upcoming film. “Twilight of the Gods” will be presented by director Zack Snyder,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSUntil Branches Bend.Amidst a widespread debate on the merit of U.S. state financial incentives for film and television productions, a Georgia bill that would have limited the sale of tax credits was rejected by the Senate Finance Committee. In recent years, those credits have exceeded $1 billion despite findings that the state makes back only 19¢ on the dollar. Four of the thirteen labor guilds bargaining with IATSE have now reached tentative agreements with the AMPTP: Locals 600 (cinematographers), 729 (set painters), 800 (art directors), and 695. IATSE president Matthew Loeb has threatened to strike if a new contract is not in place when the current one expires on July 31.Due to financial constraints, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival will be...

Five decades ago, a fan picked up a set of the director’s meticulous storyboards for just $50 – including the lost Spellbound dream sequence by Salvador Dalí in which Ingrid Bergman turns into ants

It is Los Angeles in the early 1970s and the critic John Russell Taylor is driving around the San Fernando Valley, checking out the goods on offer at various yard sales. It’s usual for locals to put their bric-a-brac out on their lawns, hoping to raise some cash. What’s less usual, however, is the bounty that Taylor spots in one yard: a series of storyboard panels from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1945 film Spellbound, a thriller about a psychoanalyst starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck.

Taylor recognises them straight away. He is a Hitchcock scholar, who will go on to write the director’s authorised biography. On closer inspection, he notices something else: that one of the...

Netflix on Wednesday unveiled the voice cast of CG animated feature film That Christmas from Locksmith Animation (Ron’s Gone Wrong) and director Simon Otto’s (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy). The movie will star Brian Cox as Santa, Fiona Shaw as Ms. Trapper, Jodie Whittaker as Mrs. Williams, and Bill Nighy as Bill.

They are the residents of a charming seaside town where things turn upside down one Christmas. The film will debut on Netflix later this year.

That Christmas is an adaptation of the children’s book series (The Empty Stocking, Snow Day and That Christmas) written by BAFTA Award-winning and Oscar-nominated writer and director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Yesterday). “A film of firsts, it marks Curtis’ first animation project as well as the directorial debut for animation veteran Otto,” Netflix said.

The film also stars Lolly Adefope, Alex Macqueen,...

Aurore (Louise Chevillotte) with André Masson (Alex Lutz) at Scottie’s in Pascal Bonitzer’s mysterious and witty Auction (Le Tableau Volé)

Catherine Breillat’s incomparably daring Last Summer starring Léa Drucker, Samuel Kircher, and Olivier Rabourdin has received four César nominations: Best Director and Adapted Screenplay, Actress (Léa Drucker), Male Revelation (Samuel Kircher in competition with his brother Paul Kircher for Thomas Cailley’s The Animal Kingdom). In the first installment with Pascal Bonitzer, we start out discussing his work on Last Summer which is based on May el-Toukhy’s 2019 film Queen of Hearts and then delve into his latest film, Auction (Le Tableau Volé).

Pascal Bonitzer with Anne-Katrin Titze on Scottie’s in Auction: “It’s an allusion to Vertigo because it’s a great movie. Scottie’s, yes, it’s Sotheby’s, it’s Christie’s, it’s a big auction house.”

Pascal Bonitzer, who put a...

Rachel Zegler bids emotional farewell to Lucy Gray, her character in The Hunger Games prequel. Zegler won Action Movie Star of the Year at the 2024 People's Choice Awards for her role. Zegler's upcoming projects include Disney's Snow White and Netflix's Spellbound.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes actor Rachel Zegler bids a heartfelt farewell to the film and her character Lucy Gray Baird. Originally introduced in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes novel by Suzanne Collins, Lucy Gray is a member of the Covey and is the female District 12 tribute during the tenth Hunger Games. Zegler's talent as a singer and as an actor brought the musically gifted and complex Lucy Gray to life in the film adaptation, for which Zegler won Action Movie Star of the Year at the 2024 People's Choice Awards.

Zegler is now saying an emotional goodbye to Lucy Gray and to The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes.

Born 125 years ago, Alfred Hitchcock’s unparalleled body of work is a towering influence on virtually every corner of filmmaking. But what new insights can we gain into his process? Alfred Hitchcock’s Storyboards, a new book arriving next week by novelist and Hitchcock scholar Tony Lee Moral, contains a wealth of knowledge as it pertains to the Master of Suspense’s thought process. Ahead of its release from Titan Books, we’re delighted to share exclusive storyboards and more from the book, as well as a chat with the author.

Focusing on the storyboards for nine of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movies––Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest, The 39 Steps, Torn Curtain, Marnie, Shadow of a Doubt, and Spellbound––the coffee-table book includes never-before-published images and incisive text putting the material in context and examining the role the pieces played in some of the most unforgettable scenes in cinema.

It’s already been a busy 2024 for Netflix. Out is long time film chief Scott Stuber; in are live sports (sort of), a huge Sundance splash, and 18 Oscar nominations, the most of any individual studio. What does the next 11 months have in store? Answer: a hell of a lot.

Netflix on February 1 released a teaser video for its biggest properties arriving in 2024, including more than 50 new movies and 90 new and returning series. The highlight is “Squid Game 2,” the follow-up season to the South Korean dystopian smash hit that became Netflix’s biggest show of all time.

At the end of Netflix’s mega-tease, we see Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) and his new bright-red hair walking through an airport when a mysterious voice on his phone tells him, “You’re going to regret the choice you made.”

“I’m going to find you, no matter what it takes,” he says in return.

Netflix is not going to change up its movie strategy in the wake of the exit of film chairman Scott Stuber, according to co-ceo Ted Sarandos.

Sarandos did not directly address Stuber’s departure, news of which came out Monday. But, asked on the streamer’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings interview about whether “recent management departures” might signal a shift away from original movies, Sarandos replied, “We do not plan to change our strategy or the mix [of licensed and original films]. It’s always going to be that kind of blend of, first window, second window and deep catalog. We think that formula works best to entertain the world.”

Netflix’s original movies “are attracting some of the biggest audiences in the world,” Sarandos said, adding that Netflix’s original films outperform licensed titles on balance. He called out “Leave the World Behind,” the dystopian thriller from executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama that stars Mahershala Ali,...

Netflix extended its lead as the world’s biggest premium video-streaming platform — pulling in a better-than-expected 13.1 million subscribers for the fourth quarter of 2023, a Q4 record. The company’s Q4 revenue came in slightly above Wall Street forecasts, while net income fell short.

As of the end of 2023, Netflix counted 260.28 million total members globally. On average, analysts expected the company to report about 8.8 million net new subs for the year-end quarter.

Netflix shares were up more than 8% in after-hours trading on the subscriber beat.

Revenue in Q4 grew 12% year over year, to $8.83 billion, higher than Netflix’s previous forecast due to favorable foreign exchange rates and “stronger than anticipated membership growth,” the company said. Net income was $938 million, or $2.11 per share. Wall Street expected earnings per share of $2.22 on revenue of $8.71 billion, according to financial data provider Lseg (formerly known as Refinitiv).

The Q4 earnings report comes after Netflix announced...

Alfred Hitchcock frequently cast the same actors in multiple films, building strong collaborations based on trust and familiarity. Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, and Cary Grant were some of Hitchcock's most renowned collaborators, delivering exceptional performances in his thrillers. Clare Greet holds the record for appearing in more Hitchcock films than any other actor, making her the director's most prominent collaborator.

Like many famous directors, Alfred Hitchcock frequently cast the same actors in multiple of his films, with one actor appearing in more of his films than any other. Even though he never received an Academy Award for Best Director, despite his five nominations, Hitchcock, known as the "Master of Suspense," is famed for directing some of the best thrillers of all time. His impressive portfolio includes the psychological thriller Vertigo (1958), starring James Stewart, which was named the British Film Institute's greatest film ever made, uprooting Orson Welles' Citizen Kane...

When Nicole Kidman Spoke About Marriage To Tom Cruise In A Rare Interview! ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Nicole Kidman has been working in the acting industry since she was a teenager. Many wouldn’t know, but she bought her first house at 19 and made full payment in cash. She tied the knot with Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise at 22. The Aquaman 2 actress once confessed that her marriage with such a powerful man saved her from sexual harassment. Scroll below for all the details!

Many actresses, including Megan Fox, Brie Larson, Sophie Turner, and Gwyneth Paltrow, have previously shared their casting couch experience in Hollywood. Nicole also admitted that she has suffered #MeToo moments multiple times since childhood but refused to dive into details.

Nicole Kidman on Tom Cruise’s influence

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman met on the Days of Thunder sets in 1989. Within a year, they got married on Christmas Eve in Colorado.

Exclusive: U.S. and UK management and production firm 42 has hired Anonymous Content partner Alex Goldstone as a manager.

All of Goldstone’s existing clients have moved over to 42 with him, including Chris Provenzano, Daisy Gardner (Single Drunk Female), Daniel Syrkin (Tehran), Doug Miro, WGA nominee Evan Dunsky (Nurse Jackie), Tony nominee Heather Hach (Legally Blonde: The Musical), Emmy-winner and Oscar nominee Jeff Blitz, Kyrre Johannessen (The Girl From Oslo) and Samantha Corbin-Miller.

Goldstone began his career in production at Phoenix Pictures, before making the move into literary management. He joined Anonymous Content as a manager/producer in 2008, where he was elevated to partner in 2022. He was most recently an executive produced on three seasons of Alena Smith’s Dickinson for Apple TV+, for which he won a 2020 Peabody Award.

He was born and raised in London, England, but...

1986 was an important year for DC Comics. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" rebooted the decades-old continuity, and Frank Miller reinvigorated Batman with "The Dark Knight Returns." Miller's tale depicted an aged Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement to fight the evils of the 1980s, from street gangs to the Cold War to Ronald Reagan. If you've ever wondered what the beginning of dark and gritty Batman was, it was this book.

The next year, DC was relaunching the main "Batman" title for the "Post-Crisis" era, and Miller was the obvious choice to kick it off. The result was "Year One," running four issues from "Batman" #404-407. The book follows Bruce Wayne's early days as a crime fighter when Gotham City was menaced by the mob, not super-villains. Batman refines his tactics through trial and error and slowly wins the trust of James Gordon — not yet a commissioner, but a rare...

Netflix’s multi-year deal with Skydance Animation, which shifted over from Apple TV+, “helps complement the work that we’re doing” with original animated fare, Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said.

Partnering with third parties across the board “really helps us” to “keep up that scale as we grow,” the exec said on the company’s third-quarter earnings interview. Animation as a subset of the overall content mix has been an increasing priority in recent years, with co-founder and Executive Chairman Reed Hastings first publicly calling attention to it when he was running Netflix as CEO. Alluding to Disney, Hastings said in 2021 that execs were “very fired up about catching them in family animation, maybe eventually passing them, we’ll see.”

Hastings and Sarandos, however, have both conceded that everything in the animation business moves at a more deliberate pace than the rest of their operation. That’s where plugging in Skydance...

David Ellison’s fledgling Skydance Animation — run by head of animation John Lasseter and president Holly Edwards — has moved its movie slate from Apple Studios to Netflix. The multi-year streaming deal commences with next year’s musical fantasy “Spellbound,” directed by Vicky Jenson (“Shrek” and “Shark Tale”), featuring the voice talent of Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, and Javier Bardem, and boasting a score from Alan Menkin and original songs with lyricist Glen Slater. It’s about a princess who tries to reverse a spell that transformed her parents into monsters.

Set for release in 2025 is “Pookoo,” a buddy comedy about two enemies — a woodland creature and a majestic bird — that magically trade places. It’s helmed by former Disney director Nathan Greno (“Tangled”), with original music composed by Siddhartha Khosla.

Also in the works are two prestigious features that are a result of Lasseter’s strong relationships with directors Brad Bird...

Some people say all good things must end, and that is the case for Apple and Skydance Animation, who say they’re parting ways. While this is disappointing news, a silver lining remains. Apple is continuing its partnership with Skydance Media, with plans to work together on live-action film and television projects. The parting comes after the union’s multi-year deal ends. As a parting gift (of sorts), Skydance Animation keeps Spellbound, Vicky Jenson’s animated fantasy epic starring Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, John Lithgow, Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis, and Javier Bardem, to name a few.

Skydance Animation is likely to find a new home quickly, perhaps with a studio more interested in producing animated projects instead of epics like Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Thankfully, Skydance Media remains in a good place with Apple as new and existing projects like Foundation, The Big Door Prize, and...

David Ellison’s Skydance Animation has found a new home at Netflix, ending a lucrative distribution pact with Apple Studios.

Skydance Animation, run by John Lasseter with president Holly Edwards, will now exclusively release its animated movies directly to Netflix in an arrangement that will span multiple years, with the studio’s existing slate also moving exclusively to the streamer.

The first up will be “Spellbound,” which was previously set up at Apple. The film, starring Rachel Zegler and Tituss Burgess, is now set for release by Netflix in 2024, followed by “Pookoo” in 2025. Future films include “Ray Gunn,” directed by Brad Bird and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project directed by Rich Moore. Theatrical releases do not seem to be a part of the new Netflix-Skydance Animation agreement.

While the animation deal has ended, Apple and Skydance will continue its business on live-action films and series, including movies from...

Spellbound is coming soon to Hulu. The streaming service has released a preview for the new series, which is a successor to Find Me in Paris, which ran for three seasons, 2018-20. The new series, created by Jill Girling and Lori Mather, will take viewers back to the Paris Opera Ballet School, but this time the focus will be on magic instead of time travel.

Hailey Melody Romain, Margherita Barbieri, Abigail O'Regan, Sam Darius, Zac Gabriel Werb, Etienne Moana, Imogen Mackie Walker, Gomolémo Tsagaé, Cameron James King, Rik Young, Raven Dauda, Malou Beauvoir, and Charles Baker star in the teen fantasy drama. Read More…...

Netflix Shares “The Fall of the House of Usher” First Look and Premiere Date

Netflix has shared the first look and premiere date for its highly anticipated miniseries adaptation of “The Fall of the House of the Usher.” The latest from Mike Flanagan the horror series is based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, where ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire of wealth, privilege and power, but past secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth.

Check out more first-look images from “The Fall of the House of Usher”

The ensemble cast includes Bruce Greenwood, Carla Gugino, Mary McDonnell, Carl Lumbly, Mark Hamill, Michael Trucco, T’Nia Miller, Paola Nuñez, Henry Thomas, Kyleigh Curran, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel, Sauriyan Sapkota, Zach Gilford, Willa Fitzgerald, Katie Parker,...

Robert Downey Jr. plans to remake Hitchcock's Vertigo, despite its universal praise. He believes he can make it even better, but some consider it redundant. There are other Hitchcock movies that could be remade, such as Spellbound and Foreign Correspondent, which could benefit from modern updates. Downey Jr. would be perfect for roles in movies like Marnie, Rope, and The Wrong Man, and a remake of Suspicion could be truly magical with his performance.

Robert Downey Jr. is set to remake Vertigo, but there are several other Hitchcock movies to remake that would be easier. Some have said that Rdj's Alfred Hitchcock remake plan is a step too far because of the universal praise Vertigo has received ever since its release, making his efforts seem redundant. The actor has stated that he has big plans to make it better, but it's considered one of the very best from the...

Danielle Valentine, the author behind Delicate Condition — the book that’s being adapted for the upcoming season of “American Horror Story” — is giving fans a taste of the 12th season by detailing what her book is about, out August 1.

With all the buzz surrounding the title, Delicate Condition publisher, Sourcebooks, and “AHS” creator, Ryan Murphy, have kept information surrounding both the book and show’s storylines under wraps; however, Valentine is spilling the beans on what fans can expect.

The upcoming psychological horror-thriller centres on Valentine’s lead character Anna Alcott — whom Emma Roberts has been cast as — a New York City-based actress. After Anna’s breakthrough performance in a surprise hit indie film, she’s suddenly left navigating newfound fame “while also desperately trying to conceive a child after multiple failed rounds of IVF treatments,” as per Entertainment Weekly.

In the novel, Anna suspects someone is trying to stop her from getting pregnant,...

There is a lot riding on Vicky Jenson’s upcoming musical animation Spellbound about a princess on a mission to reverse a spell that has transformed her beloved king and queen parents into rampaging monsters.

The film is the second animated feature for Skydance Animation after Luck, which followed its short Blush, and its most ambitious production to date as it attempts to grow into a company rivaling its head of animation John Lasseter’s former homes of Pixar and Disney.

The work also marks Jenson’s first major animation feature in two decades, after Shark Tale (2004) and Oscar-winning Shrek (2001).

Jenson and the film’s Head of Story Brian Pimental hit the Annecy International Film Festival on Tuesday to give a Work in Progress presentation.

“We’re really excited to finally bring you a peak into Spellbound. Skydance Animation is a pretty cool place to work. One of the reasons...

Elliot Page (Oscar-nominee for “Juno” and star of Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy”) and Hillary Baack (“Sound of Metal) will star in “Close to You.” The new film from the BAFTA-winning writer/director Dominic Savage (“The Escape” and “I am Ruth”) will be co-financed by Kindred Spirit, with Anita Gou and Sam Intili executive producing alongside Rolling Dice’s Nai Vazirani.

Executive producers include Matt Jordan Smith of Page’s PageBoy Productions. Producers are Krishnendu Majumdar and Richard Yee who developed the project under their Me + You Productions banner in the UK and Daniel Bekerman and Chris Yurkovich of Good Question Media in Canada. Savage and Page are also producing after conceiving and co-authoring the story together.

Principal photography was recently completed in Canada. The picture stars Page as Sam, who has a fluke encounter with an old friend (Baack) on his way home to a family reunion which...

Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Schigadoon!”) has joined the cast of Skydance Animation and Apple’s “Spellbound.” The film, announced in 2017 initially under the title “Split,” stars Rachel Zegler as Princess Ellian who must manage her kingdom after a spell turns the king and queen into monsters.

Zegler and Burgess will be joined by Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis and Nathan Lane. It will be directed by Vicky Jenson (“Shrek”) with new songs by Alan Menkin and Glenn Slater. Penned by Lauren Kynek and Elizabeth Martin alongside Linda Woolverton, “Spellbound” is produced by John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bruce Anderson for Skydance Animation.

Jenson and Head of Story Brian Pimental will present a “work in progress” panel on Tuesday, June 13 at the Annecy Film Festival. The film is slated for release in 2024, although there is no word as to whether it will have a...

Tituss Burgess has joined the voice cast of Spellbound, an Apple Original Film by Skydance Animation. Additionally, the studio released a new image (above) exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter, in advance of its work-in-progress presentation on Tuesday at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

Slated for a 2024 release on Apple TV+, Spellbound is a musical fairytale that centers on a terrible spell that has turned a king and queen into monsters, leaving their daughter, Princess Ellian (voiced by Rachel Ziegler), to manage the kingdom on her own. It features an original score and songs by veteran composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin), with lyrics by Glenn Slater (Tangled).

Six-time Emmy nominee Burgess provides the voices of Cole Tillerman and Kelleth Vanbeaceler in Apple TV+’s animated series Central Park. He also joined the season 2 cast of Apple’s Schmigadoon as the narrator.

Spellbound‘s voice cast also includes John Lithgow,...

In a show of force, English-language “Spellbound,” the live-action tween series from “Find Me in Paris” creators and production partners will get a Season Two.

Produced by Cottonwood Media, with Zdf, Zdf Studios and the Opéra national de Paris, the 13 new episodes of the ballet/witchcraft series will go into production in August.

The “Spellbound” renewal news comes as Season One is set to roll out in international markets across broadcasters and streaming services from this fall.

Federation Kids & Family, the sales arm of Cottonwood Media parent Federation Studios, and Zdf Studios, the commercial company of German public broadcaster Zdf, will handle worldwide sales.

They will be bringing to market a second season of a premium English-language show targeting a still underserved kids & family market audience worldwide at a time, moreover, when buyers are caught between a rock and hard place: a studio-streamer pull back from original production and the WGA strike,...

Room 999, one of the films premiering in the Cannes Classics section of the Cannes Film Festival, poses the question of whether cinema is dying, a casualty of the digital age, streaming platforms and other factors.

The answer will only become clear down the line, but in the meantime Cannes Classics itself is playing a substantive role in preserving and celebrating cinema, an artform now over 125 years old. Each year, the festival section headed by Gérald Duchaussoy screens a curated selection of newly-restored classics, a lineup in 2023 that includes Hitchcock’s Spellbound (1945), the Armenian romantic drama Hello, It’s Me (1965), Bertrand Tavernier and Robert Parrish’s documentary Mississippi Blues (1983), the German drama Es (1966), and the 1934 French comedy Ces messieurs de la Santé.

‘El Esqueleto de la Señora Morales’

“We want to represent as many cinématographies as possible,” Duchaussoy tells Deadline, employing a French term that refers to the whole of a film and its techniques.

Welcome to the mind-bending world of surreal horror movies, where the boundaries of reality are shattered, and nightmares come alive. In this list, we delve into ten captivating films that defy conventions and transport audiences into a realm where dreams and nightmares intertwine. From twisted narratives to mesmerizing visuals, these surreal horror movies will challenge your perception of what is possible and leave an indelible mark on your psyche.

Libra Films International Eraserhead (1977) A Nightmarish Descent into Madness

Enter the surreal and unsettling universe created by visionary filmmaker David Lynch. Eraserhead immerses viewers in the disturbing journey of Henry Spencer, a man trapped in a nightmarish existence. Lynch’s masterful use of dreamlike imagery and a haunting industrial soundscape turns ordinary experiences into harrowing nightmares.

International Classics Suspiria (1977) A Dance of Darkness and Witchcraft

Dive into the vibrant and atmospheric world of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, where an aspiring dancer...

Outside of mustache maintenance tips, it’s hard to see what common ground Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali and cartoon mogul Walt Disney could possibly hope to find.

Upon schlepping his easel, exotic pets, and political baggage onto American shores, Dali mentioned in a letter in 1937, “I have come to Hollywood and am in contact with three great American Surrealists — the Marx Brothers, Cecil B. DeMille, and Walt Disney.” No one is sure if he was joking or not, as he was not actually in contact with Disney for many years. Harpo Marx? That seems way more likely. But Dali also walked an anteater on a leash with a straight face, so it’s hard to know what he was thinking. Working with a guy who catered to kids might have been exactly the counter-intuitive decision that he savored, much in the Alice Cooper singing on The Muppets variety.

Irrespective of Dali’s thought process,...

Minnie Driver (Speechless) and Amandla Jahava (Rap Sh*t) have been cast as the leads in FX’s Peep Show, a half-hour comedy pilot written and produced by Atlanta and What We Do in the Shadows exec producer Stefani Robinson, who also serves as showrunner. Yana Gorskaya (What We Do in the Shadows) has been tapped to direct.

This marks Driver’s return to FX, where she starred in The Riches, for which she received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

Inspired by the UK series, Peep Show follows the relationship between a long-suffering assistant (Jahava) and her boss (Driver), an emotionally unstable tech entrepreneur.

Related: 2023 FX Pilots & Series Orders

Robinson executive produces along with Dianne McGunigle (Atlanta), Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, and Hannah Mackay and Ben Farrell for Objective Fiction (Feel Good, Peep Show [UK]), part of All3Media’s Objective Media Group. Gorskaya will...

Exclusive: CBC/Radio-Canada has boarded the upcoming Spellbound, a live-action tween drama from the team behind Find Me in Paris.

The Canadian national network has acquired local rights to the show from Federation Kids & Family and Zdf Studios, which are jointly distributing worldwide.

Hulu, Germany’s Zdf and France Télévisions are already attached as co-production partners, with Federation-owned Cottonwood Media producing in association with Opéra National de Paris and Zdf Studios. The same partners, bar France Télévisions, teamed for sci-fi kids dramedy Find Me in Paris between 2018 and 2020.

Filming on the 26-part Spellbound, which has a budget of €15.3M ($16.6M), has now wrapped ahead of a debut later this year. CBC’s English-language streamer CBC Gem will launch it later this year, before French-language service Ici Tou.TV runs it during the 2023/24 broadcast season.

The show follows Cece Parker Jones (Hailey Romain), a vivacious teenager who relocates to Paris from...

Snow White live-action star, Rachel Zegler, reveals why her Disney princess role initially terrified her. Disney’s live-action Snow White will see the West Side Story breakout star take on the titular princess. Directed by Marc Webb, Snow White will also feature Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen and a supporting cast of Andrew Burnap, Luisa Guerreiro, Katie Hardwick, Dujonna Gift, and Joshmaine Joseph. Snow White is slated for March 22, 2024, release.

Zegler explains why she was scared upon embarking on the role of Snow White. Speaking with NME, Zegler notes that Snow White is not just any Disney princess, but the original Disney princess since 1937's animated Snow White was the first Disney princess film. Now acting in the live-action version, this new acting experience made Zegler feel pressured. Check out the full quote from Zegler below:

"I was terrified, terrified, terrified, terrified because you're playing the first one. The...

Back once again live from this year’s Romford Horror Film Festival, our Roving man on the scene Kev sits down to talk about short movie Spellbound and feature film The Creeping, which screened together as part of this year’s event.

Spellbound

James’ dull daily routine is disrupted by a strange apparition that begins to haunt him in his waking moments and dreams alike. Suspecting who might be behind these disturbances, James sets out to confront the culprit.

The Creeping

Due to a traumatic childhood experience Anna hasn’t returned home for many years. With her ailing grandmother, Lucy, suffering with worsening symptoms of dementia, Anna moves home to look after her. Soon after, strange things begin happening. Though benign at first, events soon escalate into a nightmarish fight for life against a malevolent presence. She discovers the ordeal is linked to a dark family secret, a tragic past...

German powerhouse Zdf Studios and U.K.-based Factual Fiction are reteaming for “#DorianGray,” an updated social media spin on Oscar Wilde’s classic, “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

In Wilde’s original, first published as a novella in 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, the self-besotted Dorian Gray sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth, a picture painted of him recording the decay of his soul as in outward appearance he remains physically forever young.

Currently being written by Maiya John, a young London-based screenwriter, the contemporary reimagining is described by Zdf Studios as “a suspenseful ride through the life of a teenager as they construct their identity.”

While navigating sex, and gender, mental health and consent, through tweets and #instagram and Tik Tok videos, Dorian Gray, as in Wilde’s central concept, projects an image of who he’d like to be, rather than who he really is.

If a script involves the antichrist, gruesome deaths, and one spiraling towards insanity as they question whether or not their child is evil, it's safe to conclude the film can be categorized as horror. However, director Richard Donner took a delicate approach when he asked renowned actor Gregory Peck to be a lead role in his 1976 film "The Omen," the fourth film in Donner's directorial career. Donner's filmography is filled with successful and treasured films like "The Goonies". "Scrooged", and "Lethal Weapon." While his work has comedic elements, "The Omen" was far from a feel-good film and yet Donner desperately wanted Peck on board. In order to convince the highly sought-after and acclaimed actor to accept the role, Donner took a grey-area approach and tread lightly about how the film would be categorized.

We'll Never Call It A Horror Film

In an interview with TheLipTV, Donner explains that he went...

Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde won their first-ever Grammys when the bulk of the country music categories were presented during the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony on Sunday afternoon in L.A. The country vocalists’ collaboration “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” was named Best Country Duo/Group Performance, besting nominees like Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

“I’m still working on pulling my dress up,” McBryde said after rushing hand-in-hand to the stage with Pearce. “I’ve known Ashley for a long time and...

Gregory Peck’s leather-bound copy of the To Kill a Mockingbird screenplay will soon hit the auction block.

That wildly significant Hollywood artifact is one of 250 items from Peck’s personal collection — along with items belonging to his late philanthropist wife, Veronique — that will go to the highest bidders on Feb. 23 as part of the Property from The Estate of Veronique and Gregory Peck event, hosted by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.

Peck’s performance in Mockingbird, a landmark 1962 civil rights drama based on the best-selling 1960 novel by Harper Lee, earned Peck the Academy Award for best actor in a leading role — his only competitive Oscar win out of five nominations throughout his career.

Other items up for sale include a copy of the Mockingbird source material inscribed by Lee; copies of Peck’s scripts for classic films like the 1945 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Spellbound, 1953’s romantic comedy Roman Holiday and the 1976 supernatural...

When Ivan Reitman passed away on Feb. 12, 2022 at the age of 75, the Canadian producer, director, and screenwriter was justifiably remembered as one of the driving forces of cinematic comedy for more than four decades. After all, he produced National Lampoon’s Animal House–one of the classic farces of its time–in 1978, before moving on to direct a string of other well-remembered entries in the genre, including Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and Dave (1993), while producing films such as Space Jam (1996), Private Parts (1997), and Old School (2003).

Of course Reitman is best remembered for directing Ghostbusters, the seminal 1984 film that spawned a franchise and has influenced an entire subgenre, the horror comedy, ever since its release.

Ghostbusters wasn’t Reitman’s only foray into horror territory, however. His second feature film as a director was a low-budget horror comedy called Cannibal Girls (released in 1973 and starring Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin!

Exclusive: Skydance Animation has scored a major coup by acquiring rights to make Ray Gunn. That will be the next animated film by writer-director Brad Bird, the Oscar-winning Pixar fixture who made The Incredibles films, Ratatouille and The Iron Giant, as well as the live-action Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. He will direct and produce the film from an original story by him. Bird wrote the script with Matthew Robbins.

John Lasseter, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg will produce for Skydance Animation. Ray Gunn will be Bird’s first animated film since 2018’s Incredibles 2, Pixar’s highest-grossing film of all time. Bird reunites with former Pixar head Lasseter and joins a growing roster of animation talent at Skydance.

“From his work on The Iron Giant to The Incredibles films and the work we did together on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Brad is one of the greatest filmmakers working in the industry today,...

“Blush,” the debut short from Skydance Animation and Apple Original Films, is a semi-autobiographical work about love, loss, and healing from former Disney story artist Joe Mateo (who was behind the Emmy-winning “Prep & Landing”). A horticulturist-astronaut crash lands on a desolate dwarf planet and struggles to survive, only to be saved with the arrival of a bright, outgoing creature, who makes the planet bloom with succulent plants. All goes beautifully until tragedy strikes.

“I lost my wife, Mary Ann, four and a half years ago from breast cancer, and I struggled to go back to work,” Mateo said. “But that same night when I lost her, I couldn’t breathe. I had to call a doctor friend of ours about this panic attack, which I’d never experienced before. And I’m fortunate that I had my kids around me.”

That panic attack and his inability to breathe got Mateo...

“Loki” composer Natalie Holt immediately knew that she wanted the sliding, spacey eeriness of the theremin to musically convey the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) trapped in the retro world of the Time Variance Authority (Tva). And director Kate Herron was on board with it too. They both had an appreciation for the electronic instrument’s iconic presence in “Spellbound,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” and “Star Trek.” They were also fans of theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, and even arranged to license a few of her pieces (including “The Swan”) to sprinkle throughout the score.

“Loki’s such a fascinating character and we can all identify with having a mischievous, cheeky side, a slightly naughty side,” Holt said. “So he’s just revealing more of his [vulnerability] in this show. I felt like it was really important for his theme to have [the theremin] and to integrate it with other instruments and...

How do you score a show that tinkers with time, features a Norse god who is neither hero nor villain, and continually confounds the viewer with new mysteries?

That was the challenge facing English composer Natalie Holt, who with her music for “Loki” becomes only the second woman to compose the dramatic score for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film or TV series.

The music of “Loki” is a bold combination of a traditional orchestra with vintage analog synthesizers, Scandinavian folk instruments and the weird, unsettling electronic sounds of the theremin, once associated with ’50s sci-fi movies.

“He’s a kind of grand, Machiavellian character,” Holt tells Variety from her London studio. “And Tom Hiddleston’s performance has a touch of Shakespeare to it. So I wanted to give him some gravitas and classical weight to his theme, but also have this space-age sound as well.”

Holt had been listening to...

Watch the Trailer for Till Death: "Emma (Megan Fox) is stuck in a stale marriage to Mark and is surprised when he whisks her away to their secluded lake house for a romantic evening on their 10th anniversary. But everything soon changes, and Emma finds herself trapped and isolated in the dead of winter, the target of a plan that gets more sinister at every turn."

Available In Theaters And On Demand July 2

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Watch the Short Film Steam: "In celebration of Pride Month, Brazilian director João Dall’Stella has debuted his latest short film, Steam, free for audiences on YouTube. Over the course of 15 minutes, Dall'Stella follows an attractive young couple who decide to spice things up by visiting a bathhouse, only to find a murderous rampage behind the steam instead.

A native of Brazil, Dall'Stella relocated to Los Angeles to start a film career, helming a number of...