Hungary Exempts U.S. Cast, Crew From European Union Ban (EXCLUSIVE)

The Guinness World Records gave the James Bond film “Spectre” the honor of having the biggest explosion on film, but the “Transformers” director begs to differ.“James Bond tried to take the ‘largest explosion in the world’,” Bay, 57, recently told Empire Magazine. “Bulls—t. Ours is.”He’s referring to his 2001 WWII film “Pearl Harbor” that was released almost 15 years before “Spectre.”The war film contains a 40-minute scene in which the Japanese bomb of Pearl Harbor in Honolulu and a massive explosion combusts.“[Producer] Jerry Bruckheimer showed Ridley Scott the movie,” Bay told the publication. “And the quote [from Scott] was, ‘F—k me.’ No one knows how hard that is.

Steph McGovern has teamed up with her father, professional artist Eamonn, for a great cause. The 39-year-old is supporting a new skill sharing initiative celebrating the talents older people can share with the younger generation.MORE: Steph McGovern offers intimate glimpse into 'little holiday with family'The TV star can vouch for this desire to learn, which is why she likes to spend some of her free time learning to paint with her creative 68-year-old dad Eamonn.WATCH: Inside Steph McGovern's weight loss journeyThe campaign is all part of the #GenerationWOW campaign (which stands for wonderful older wisdom) from Specsavers Home Visits, together with u3a (University of the Third Age).MORE: Steph McGovern reflects on 'terrible pregnancy sickness' with glamourous throwback photosSEE: Steph McGovern shares envy-inducing hot tub selfie during romantic spa tripOpening up about her family time, Steph explained: "My father is a brilliant artist, so I grew up surrounded by paints, brushes and all the other bits and bobs used to create his beautiful images and sculptures."I'm not sure I've inherited his talent, but I don’t do too badly thanks to the tips he has given me.

Chris Willman Music WriterTaking an obvious cue from the popularity of Peter Jackson’s recent “The Beatles: Get Back” documentary, Paul McCartney has announced what he’s calling his “Got Back” tour, a 13-city, 14-gig outing through the U.S. that begins just a little more than two months from now.“I said at the end of the last tour that I’d see you next time.

RZA and DJ Scratch have released their new single ‘Fate Of The World’ – you can hear the track below.The song is taken from the pair’s forthcoming collaborative album ‘Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater’, which is set for release on March 4 via 36 Chambers ALC/MNRK Music Group.After sharing the video for its title track earlier this month, RZA and DJ Scratch’s ‘Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater’ is now being previewed by its latest single ‘Fate Of The World’.The Danny Hastings and RZA-produced video for the song, starring RZA himself, has also been released, which you can see below.‘Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater’, which can be pre-ordered here, is described as “a love letter to the kung fu movies that aired each Saturday on local TV channels when there were only 5 channels to choose from”, and will see RZA “sparring with Bobby Digital, his more aggressive alter-ego”.“Lyrically the hip-hop part of me had a chance to re-emerge during quarantine,” RZA recently said in a press release announcing the album.“Giving Scratch the reins as a producer and me taking the reins as an MC, that’s what frees me up creatively and lets me play more with lyrical gags and lyrical flows because I don’t have to be focused on everything.” Last month the US government shared a series of new photos of Wu-Tang Clan‘s one-of-a-kind album, ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’.

Sabrina Carpenter just released a music video for her new single “Fast Times”!

Bryan Cranston is opening up about his "white blindness," and how his recognition of it led him to turn down a directing job. Back in 2019, the Emmy-winning actor was approached by Matt Shakman and asked if he'd be interested in directing a play based on Larry Shue's 1984 comedy "The Foreigner." It's about an Englishman who prevents the conversion of a Georgia fishing lodge he's staying in into a Ku Klux Klan meeting place.

This Morning underwent an unexpected shake-up during Friday's instalment of the ITV daytime show (February 18) as presenters Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond left the regular studio. Instead, the Friday duo went to the Saturday Night Takeaway stage in another area of the ITV lot where they met up with NTA legends and presenting duo Ant and Dec for a chat.

Director Brad Bird is returning to animated feature films, but won’t be heading back to Pixar. Bird previously worked with the Disney-owned animation house leading two Best Animated Feature Oscars for his work on “Incredibles” and “Ratatouille.” According to Deadline, Bird is teaming up with disgraced former Pixar head John Lasseter and Skydance Animation for an original feature film, “Ray Gunn” that the filmmaker will direct from a script he co-wrote with Matthew Robbins.

Mark Wahlberg has been with the “Uncharted” movie for a very long time, but not always in the same role.Based on the popular video game series by publisher Naughty Dog for PlayStation, “Uncharted” follows a pair of intrepid explorers – Nathan Drake (Tom Holland), a plucky young adventurer just starting out, and Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) a seasoned, some would say disaffected, pro. Together they search for legendary missing gold, running afoul of less scrupulous treasure hunters led by a villainous Antonio Banderas (chewing every piece of scenery in sight).Originally, Wahlberg was attached to play Nathan Drake in the film, first for director David O.

You’ve probably seen the memes about how Adam Sandler dresses when he’s in public. Basically, he looks like he’s ready to play an impromptu 3-on-3 basketball game at the drop of a hat.

Showtime is on a bit of a roll lately. Obviously, the network has series such as “Billions,” which is consistently lauded as one of the best shows on TV.

EXTRAORDINARY Escapes viewers were left blushing after Sandi Toksvig's travel show took a VERY rude turn. Thursday saw the return of Sandi's Channel 4 programme, with comedienne Sarah Millican joining the host in Devon.

Something to celebrate. Nearly four months after Delilah Belle Hamlin opened up about her past overdose, she has reached an impressive milestone in her health journey.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentEuropean pay-TV operator Sky and Sony Pictures Television have agreed a new long-term partnership across the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.The deal includes a multi-year extension across all markets to the exclusive first pay window, and access to Sony’s film library, and extends to all of Sky’s transactional services across its markets.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentThe U.K. government is to exempt some leading U.S.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentAlthough the public part of this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival — the key event for the film business in Central and Eastern Europe — was canceled, the festival is pressing ahead with its industry section, Eastern Promises, which runs July 6-8 in an online format.Eastern Promises selects 41 projects in development, production and post-production from Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa, and presents them to potential co-producers, sales companies, international buyers and festival programmers.An addition to the section is First Cut Plus, which will feature eight films in post-production from Central and Eastern Europe.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentThe head of the film commission in the Czech Republic, which recently hosted shows like “Carnival Row” for Amazon and “The Falcon & Winter Soldier” for Marvel/Disney Plus, has written to Hollywood studios to reassure them that the European Union ban on U.S. citizens will not apply to those working in the film and TV production sectors.On Tuesday, the EU named 14 countries from outside the bloc whose citizens can enter from July 1, but the U.S.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentLondon-based production, finance and sales company Film Constellation and the global curated streaming service MUBI have partnered to host an exclusive premiere of Werner Herzog’s “Family Romance, LLC” on July 3 in the U.S., featuring an exclusive introduction and interview with Herzog.In other international territories, the company is collaborating with the local theatrical distributor, including U.K.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentBron Studios, whose film credits include “Joker,” “Bombshell,” “The Way Back” and “Greyhound,” has partnered with director Kornel Mundruczo (Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Award winner “White God,” Cannes competition title “Jupiter’s Moon”), and Alexander Rodnyansky, producer of Oscar-nominated films “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” to produce the television drama series about a woman who becomes a pioneer in the changing porn industry of the 2000s, while struggling to raise a teenage daughter.The pilot was developed by Mundruczo and screenwriter Kata Weber, who previously collaborated on “White God,” “Jupiter’s Moon,” and the upcoming “Pieces of a Woman,” starring Shia Lebouf and Vanessa Kirby, also

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentSolveig Langeland’s Stuttgart-based sales agency Sola Media has sold CGI animated feature film “Moonbound” to multiple territories.The film, directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi on a production budget of around $9 million, will be released in Germany and Austria by Little Dreams and Warner Bros.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentAt the virtual Cannes market, the Exchange is pre-selling political thriller “The Independent,” the narrative feature debut of twice Emmy-nominated director Amy Rice, starring “The Big Sick” star Kumail Nanjiani. Variety spoke to Rice about the film.In “The Independent,” America’s first viable independent presidential candidate is poised for victory when an idealistic journalist uncovers a conspiracy, which places the fate of the election and the country in his hands.Rice, whose credits include HBO’s “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama,” is scheduled to shoot the movie next year.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentBerlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed key territories on its bittersweet portrayal of the end of a relationship “Are We Lost Forever.”The Swedish LGBT drama, the feature debut of director David Färdmar, has been picked up by Outplay in France, Salzgeber in Germany, Peccadillo Pictures (U.K./Ireland), Arti Films in Benelux and Surtsey Fim in Spain. Films Boutique is in advanced negotiations for a sale to North America.The film starts with the ending of a relationship.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentBeta Cinema has closed numerous deals on its Cannes virtual market slate, spearheaded by all-rights deals on Berlin competition entries “Berlin Alexanderplatz” to Le Pacte for France and “My Little Sister” to Weltkino for Germany, as well as “The Auschwitz Report” to Signature Entertainment in the U.K./Ireland.As well as the French deal, Burhan Qurbani’s new adaptation of Alfred Döblin’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz” was picked up by distributors in multiple countries. Scanbox took it for Scandinavia, while New Horizons bought the film for Poland, Discovery for former Yugoslavia, Beta Film Bulgaria for Bulgaria, and Mozinet for Hungary.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentWith many film lovers nervous about returning to movie theaters in the post-COVID era, a couple of Czech tech pioneers have come up with a service that enables films to be screened easily and legally in alternative settings, either outdoors or in non-theatrical venues, such as a bar or a restaurant.On Thursday, Ctirad Hemelík and Vít Krajíček will present their innovative movie distribution service Artinii to industry players as part of Cannes Market’s NEXT section for cutting-edge cinema technologies.

Leo Barraclough Senior International Correspondent“My name is Udo,” says Udo Kier sitting in his home in Palm Springs, a converted library built by Swiss architect Albert Frey. The German actor – whose more than 260 screen credits include films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Gus Van Sant, Lars von Trier and Alexander Payne – has connected by Zoom for our call, which I had been told was no certainty, due to his lack of technical savvy.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentJan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales agency New Europe Film Sales has closed several deals with leading independent distributors on the upcoming supernatural drama “Lamb” by Valdimar Jóhannsson, starring Noomi Rapace.The film was picked up by distributors in France (The Jokers), Germany (Koch Films), Poland (Gutek Film), Benelux (The Searchers), Hungary (Vertigo), Czech Republic (Artcam), Austria (Filmladen), Denmark (Camera Film), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Slovakia (ASFK), former Yugoslavia (Five Stars/Demiurg), Estonia (Must Käsi), Latvia (Kino Bize) and Lithuania (Scanorama).“Lamb” is a story of an Icelandic couple, María (Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason), who live with their herd

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentMunich-based sales agent Global Screen has sold 3D animated movie “OOOPS — The Adventure Continues,” which has its market premiere at Cannes’ online market, to multiple territories. Variety has been given exclusive access to the film’s trailer.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentMunich-based sales agent Global Screen has closed deals on major territories for nature documentary “The Hidden Life of Trees,” based on Peter Wohlleben’s non-fiction bestseller, which has been published in more than 40 countries.Capelight has acquired all rights for North America, with Metropolitan picking up France.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentMunich-based sales agent Global Screen closed major European deals for drama “Veins of the World,” the fiction feature film debut of director-screenwriter Byambasuren Davaa, whose “The Story of the Weeping Camel” was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary, and sold to more than 60 territories.“Veins of the World,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and will also be screened at the Marché du Film Online, has been picked up by Les Films du Preau for France, Surtsey Films for Spain, Angel Films for Scandinavia and Filmcoopi for Switzerland. Further deals are in negotiation.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentVariety has been given access to the first exclusive clip for horror movie “The Banishing,” which will have its market premiere during the Cannes Marché du Film this week, with WestEnd Films handling sales. Variety spoke to its director Christopher Smith, whose previous genre movies, “Creep,” “Triangle” and “Severance,” earned him a cult following.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentPicture Tree Intl. has acquired international sales rights to the Norwegian romantic comedy “Diana’s Wedding,” directed by Charlotte Blom, and will selling the film at Cannes Market Online.Nordisk Film will handle distribution in the Scandinavian territories, with a theatrical release in Norway scheduled for Sept.