Berlin: Celebs Rumors

Keanu Reeves shares a cute moment with girlfriend Alexandra Grant on the red carpet at the 2022 MOCA Gala held at The Geffen Contemporary on Sunday (June 4) in Los Angeles.

Naman Ramachandran “Billions” actor Damian Lewis, actor-director Rapman (“Blue Story”), writer Salman Rushdie (“Midnight’s Children”) and All3Media CEO Jane Turton are among those in the arts and entertainment field recognized in the annual Queen’s birthday honors.Lewis has been recognized as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama and charity. Also accorded a CBE is filmmaker Isaac Julien, Berlin winner for “Derek.”Rushdie has been accorded the Member of the Order of the Companions of Honor accolade for services to literature alongside illustrator and writer Quentin Blake (“Jackanory”), for services to illustration.Director Andrew Onwubolu, also known as Rapman, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to drama and music.

EXCLUSIVE: Patrick J. Adams (Suits) and Karine Vanasse (Cardinal) have been cast as the leads in an English-language adaptation of time travel drama Plan B for Canada’s CBC.

The Atlanta Pride Committee (APC) is hosting a slew of events this month to commemorate Stonewall Month, Juneteenth, the Pulse Night Club massacre, and National HIV Testing Day. Stay updated and learn more here.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentREinvent International Sales has closed on several deals Alex Herron’s English-language horror thriller “Dark Windows” after unveiling the movie’s first footage at Cannes. “Dark Windows” is being sold as part of REinvent Chills’ label for genre films. The story is about four teenagers who were involved in a car crash and decide to stay at a summerhouse in the countryside to work through their grief.

Die Zeit. “It simply isn’t right to romanticise Russia with lyrics like: ‘I follow the Moskva/ Down to Gorky Park…Let your balalaika sing’“.The band have changed the lyrics to: “Now listen to my heart/ It says Ukrainia/ Waiting for the wind to change,” which are projected on a screen behind the band as they perform.Released in 1991, the perestroika power ballad is the German hard rockers’ most famous song; it was voted song of the 20th century by viewers of the public broadcaster ZDF in 2005.Even though the song was released over a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is widely remembered as the soundtrack to the era of economic and social changes in the former Soviet Union that heralded the end of the cold war.Meine said he composed the words on September 3 and 4, 1989, a month after Scorpions performed at the Moscow Music Peace festival.Elsewhere in the interview with Die Zeit, Meine discussed his friendship with Hanoverian ex-chancellor turned Russian gas lobbyist Gerhard Schröder, whose fifth wedding party he attended in 2018.“I haven’t spoken with Gerhard Schröder for a while,” Meine said.

EXCLUSIVE: Dark Dreams Entertainment, the production company owned by Magic Mike and I Am Number Four star Alex Pettyfer, has received backing from an angel investor and has set a three-picture deal with UK, LA and Buenos Aires-based production firm Infinity Hill.

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has opened up about the emotion he felt on the band’s first night of the ‘Hella Mega Tour’.Armstrong has been touring the US with Fall Out Boy and Weezer as part of the tour and spoke to Kerrang! recently about his feelings getting back to playing live after two years away.“The crowd looked like this giant flock of birds freaking out,” Armstrong said of their first tour date.“Coming offstage, afterwards, no-one could believe what was happening with this shared experience for all of us. And it was like that every single night.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe original “Top Gun” is a study in Hollywood moviemaking of a certain era — an era captured in the pages of Variety as the movie was birthed starting in mid-1983 until its triumphant release by Paramount Pictures three years later.The movie came together during the period when Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer were at the peak of their powers as red-hot producers of culture-shaking films such as 1983’s “Flashdance” and 1984’s “Beverly Hills Cop.” The film that the pair crafted with numerous screenwriters (more on that in the clips), director Tony Scott and veteran producer Bill Badalato launched Tom Cruise to a new level of stardom and created a legacy sturdy enough for Cruise, Bruckheimer and Paramount to leap back to the top of the box office nearly 40 years later with the long-delayed, made-for-movie-screens sequel “Top Gun: Maverick.”As demonstrated by the steady pace of news about “Top Gun,” Simpson and Bruckheimer had a ton of clout with Paramount and the industry at the time. They even were able to control the rights to the soundtrack for the film — something they learned from the success of “Flashdance” and “Beverly Hills Cop.” Simpson-Bruckheimer Prods.

Alexisonfire have announced details of a UK and European headline tour for later this year – get tickets here.The Canadian post-hardcore band are set to release their first new album in 13 years next month after headline appearances at Slam Dunk Festival this weekend (June 3 and 4).Today though (May 30) the band have announced a string of headline shows for later in the year. Kicking off in Cardiff on October 14, the run will see the band visit the likes of Manchester, Leeds and Brighton before taking to London’s Brixton Academy.

Glastonbury 2022’s Pyramid Stage line-up.The band will play the festival’s main stage on the festival’s Sunday morning (June 26) to deliver an anti-war message.They’ve called themselves “ambassadors of free Ukraine” and have punctuated concerts with cries of “Stop Putin!” and “No war!” (via BBC News).DakhaBrakha are currently donating proceeds from their shows to help the Ukrainian army.Meanwhile, Kalush Orchestra‘s Eurovision trophy has been auctioned off online to raise funds to buy drones for Ukraine’s ongoing war against Russia.The Ukrainian rap group triumphed over the UK’s Sam Ryder at the Turin, Italy ceremony earlier this month, receiving a massive portion of the public vote.As BBC News reports, the winning trophy – a crystal microphone – has now been auctioned off on Facebook with the aim of buying drones for Ukraine’s armed forces with the proceeds.Coinciding with a performance from the band at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate – a building often symbolising peace and unity within Europe – for a charity event, the trophy was sold for $900,000 (£712,000).Kalush Orchestra were the bookies’ favourites for Eurovision glory with their rousing folk-rap song ‘Stefania’ before they went on to take the top spot by scoring a massive 631 points – largely from the public vote – to overhaul the UK who were winning after the jury votes at the grand final in Turin.It’s tradition for the winning nation of Eurovision to host the competition the following year.Due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine at the hands of Russia, much doubt has been cast over whether the country will be in a position to be able to do so.

Naman Ramachandran Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, popular winners of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, have raised $900,000 for their country’s military by auctioning their winners’ trophy.The auction for the crystal microphone trophy was conducted on Facebook on Sunday by Ukrainian TV presenter Serhiy Prytula.“You guys are amazing! We appreciate each and every one of you who donated to this auction and a special thanks to Team WhiteBIT who purchased the trophy for $900,000 and are now the rightful owners of our trophy. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Kalush Orchestra posted on Facebook on Monday.

Emilio Mayorga Pedro Almodóvar has put his considerable weight behind Spaniard Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s first feature,”Lullaby” (“Cinco Lobitos”) as it has initiated a spirited run at Spain’s box office.“It is undoubtedly the best debut in Spanish cinema for years,” Almodóvar announced in a statement, describing the mother-daughter relationship drama as “a portrait of the role of women within the family, which is truthful, devoid of sentimentality and that does not exclude humor.”“Life could offer another destiny for women other than caring for the whole family. [The film offers] very accurate interpretations, where Laia Costa stands out and I suppose will sweep all this year’s awards.

'Kebab's done right' reads a sign in the window of the branch of German Doner Kebab (GDK) in Stockport. Perhaps it should read 'kebabs with hype.'

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Lendarys,” a big-budget family adventure animation film that is currently in production, scored a handful of pre-sales during the Cannes Market. Rights sales are handled by Hong Kong-, Paris and Los Angeles-based All Rights Entertainment.With a production budget of $30 million, the film is the directorial debut of Philippe Duchene and Jean-Baptiste Cuvelier.

Caster Semenya is sharing her frustration with trying to prove her womanhood to track officials in order to compete.In a new interview with HBO Real Sports, which aired this week, the 31-year-old South African track star recalled how, as a teenager, she offered to show her body to officials at World Athletics to prove she was a female. World Athletics is the international governing body for track and field.According to Reuters, Semenya, came onto the scene in 2009 as an 18-year-old rookie. She won the women’s 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin by a stunning margin and then was subjected to sex verification testing.

In the mid-1700s, Danish King Frederik V declared that the wild heath of Jutland should be tamed, cultivated, and colonized so that civilization could spread and new taxes be generated for the royal house. However, no one dared to follow the King’s decree.

Top Gun: Maverick” are both surprising and confusing: “Music by Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer. Score produced by Lorne Balfe.”That may sound like a musical mess, but aside from Gaga, all the players have connections to the original “Top Gun” or each other through previous collaborations.

Emilio Mayorga “The Once and Future,” a hybrid project directed by Yeo Siew Hua winner of Locarno’s top prize in 2018 with “A Land Imagined,” will open at the upcoming Singapore Festival of Arts (SIFA).Edson Sidonie’s Buenos Aires-based Bikini Films and Roger García’s General Film Services in the U:S: have teamed for this multi-platform  project which will be made as a feature, opera and performance show.Announced as an “expanded cinema experience,” the story is set in the  near future, when the planet has become unsustainable and humankind prepares for a planetary exodus to escape extinction.Unable to withstand the voyage, people must leave their bodies behind and upload the totality of human experiences into something called The Labyrinth. The human race is finally just one.

This year has produced several films if terrorist attacks in France. One Year and One Night by Isaki Lacuesta (which premiered in Berlin this year) and November by Cedric Jimenez which is being shown out of competition at Cannes, and Alice Winocour’s deeply personal Paris Memories (Revoir Paris) which was inspired by Winocour’s own brother who was in the midst of the November 2015 attacks at Bataclan. The film follows a woman’s journey to recovery after surviving a mass shooting. 

Christopher Vourlias Zeynep Atakan, the producer of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep,” has come on board to co-produce and handle international sales for “Hilal, Feza and Other Planets,” director Kutluğ Ataman’s follow-up to his 2014 Berlin Film Festival player, “The Lamb.”The film begins soon after Turkey’s September 1997 coup, when Hilal and Fatma leave their Muslim town near the Turkish capital, Ankara, to study at the state university in Istanbul. A new law bars Fatma from entering the campus if she wears her religious head scarf.

Radiohead side-project The Smile debuted a new song called ‘Bodies Laughing’ during a recent show in Berlin – check out the footage below.The trio – comprising Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner – are currently out on a European headline tour in support of their debut album ‘A Light For Attracting Attention’, which came out earlier this month.Last Friday (May 20) saw The Smile perform an unreleased number as part of a 16-track set at the German capital’s Tempodrom venue (via Setlist.FM).Footage of the first ‘Bodies Laughing’ airing has since emerged online. “So, yesterday we wrote another new song,” Yorke told the crowd.

As the U.S. streaming giants commission more and more shows from Europe, the continent’s traditional broadcasters now see co-productions as the best weapon in their armory. The LA Screenings continues this week, but across the pond the number of expensive dramas with multiple partners is expanding as channels seek to make budgets stretch further.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorOn Saturday, film and TV funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg celebrated the six films that it funded running in the official program of the Cannes Film Festival.These were Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” in Competition, Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider,” in Competition, Emily Atef’s “More Than Ever,” in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Un beau matin,” in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s “The Natural History of Destruction,” in Special Screening, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ “Mariupolis 2,” in Special Screening.Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding the films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.” Speaking about the type of films Medienboard likes to fund, she said: “Not very original but true – we prefer films that bring something original to an audience. That goes for mainstream as well as young talent and arthouse.

Germany’s Leonine Studios is acquiring Berlin-based Hyperbole Medien.

Neon has acquired North American rights to Ruben Östlund’s buzzy satire, Triangle of Sadness, following its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentPulsar Content has closed a raft of major deals on “La Maison,” Anissa Bonnefont’s erotic drama based on Emma Becker’s controversial bestselling novel chronicling the young author’s two-year undercover experience working as a sex worker at a Berlin brothel. The Paris-based company introduced the title to buyers at Cannes and sold it to Wild Bunch for Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, among other deals. Wild Bunch will team with Capelight for the German release.

EXCLUSIVE: Leonine Studios has taken worldwide rights to German-Norwegian thriller series The Seed (working title), which is set around the explosive takeover of a seed company and comes from Chameleon writer Christian Jeltsch.

Guy Lodge Film CriticIt’s over six years since the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris that ruptured the country’s national consciousness and political agenda, but the events are only gaining currency for European filmmakers. This year’s Berlin festival brought us Isaki Lacesta’s “One Year, One Night,” an impressionistic reflection on survivor’s guilt in the long-term wake of the Bataclan nightclub massacre; at Cannes this year, Cedric Jimenez’s thriller “November” takes a more procedural approach to the aftermath.

Lil Nas X is set to be honoured at 2022 Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony next month.On June 16 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City, the rapper and pop star will become the latest recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award, which is awarded to “gifted young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.”Others to have previously won the award in the past include Drake, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Halsey, John Legend and more.Nile Rodgers, chair of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, said: “Lil Nas X is someone we are very proud to award the Hal David Starlight Award to.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLola Arabia and Dubai’s Charisma Group are readying Agustí Villaronga’s “Arabian Aroma” and Pau Miró’s “Lost Symphony,” the first two titles in a 12-pic production alliance unveiled during the Berlin. FestivalBoth movies are in pre-production, budgeted around $6 million and feature women “who passionately set themselves on a mission,” the partners announced.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorLeading arthouse sales company the Match Factory has acquired the rights to “Bachmann & Frisch,” a biopic about the radical Austrian writer and poet Ingeborg Bachmann, directed by Venice Golden Lion winner Margarethe von Trotta. The film stars Vicky Krieps — who appears in two Cannes Film Festival films this year, “Corsage” and “More Than Ever” — as the poet, and Ronald Zehrfeld (“Barbara,” “Phoenix”) as her partner, the Swiss writer Max Frisch.The pickup follows the international sales success for the Match Factory with Von Trotta’s “Hannah Arendt” in 2012.

Lise Pedersen New voices were given center stage at the Canada Docs-in-Progress Showcase, part of the Cannes Festival’s Film Market, with four first feature-length docs in the final stages of production presented to an industry crowd on Friday.The showcase was brought by Telefilm Canada, in partnership with RIDM (Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal) and in collaboration with Hot Docs.Of the four Canadian projects showcased at last year’s edition, both “Geographies in Solitude” and “Cette Maison” went to world premiere at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival, before moving on to Hot Docs along with “And Still I Sing.” “Geographies in Solitude” picked up three gongs along the way, including best Canadian feature doc in Toronto. “Back Home”This year’s showcase started with “Back Home” by Vancouver-based filmmaker, photographer and artist Nisha Platzer.It follows her pursuit to get to know her older brother more than 20 years after he took his own life. Through vérité scenes shot with her brother’s friends, intimate recollections re-imagined on 16mm and Super8, and lyrical, handmade visuals, “Back Home” explores questions of identity, forgiveness, loss and healing.Platzer, whose last short “Vaivén” (2020) competed at festivals worldwide, works with and teaches handmade film.For “Back Home,” she used experimental techniques on celluloid to play with light and shadow.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentREinvent Intl. Sales has scored sales across its slate, including Alex Herron’s horror film “Leave” and Sanna Lenken’s “Comedy Queen.”“Comedy Queen,” which world-premiered at Berlin and won the Crystal Bear in the Generation section, has sold to Benelux (In the Air), France (Les Films Du Preau), Spain (Yoda Films), Poland (Vivarto), Hungary (ADS Service), Lithuania (Scanorama) and the former Yugoslavia (Fivia).“Comedy Queen” follows Sasha, a 13-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBrazilian writer-director Caru Alves de Souza, whose second feature, “My Name Is Baghdad,” won the Crystal Bear for best film at Berlin’s 2020 Generation 14plus sidebar, has been selected for the Pop Up Film Residency 2022 program.Alves de Souza will use the Residency to develop “Lonely Hearts,” her new fiction feature.The award was announced Saturday at Cannes Marché du Film by Josephine Bourgois and Rachel do Valle, executive director and program director at Brazil’s Projeto Paradiso, which is backing the prize, and former Cannes Critics’ Week programmer Matthieu Darras, creator of Pop Up.Alves de Souza will participate in the mentoring program for the development of a fiction feature, which runs over three weeks, in August, in Vilnius, Lithuania. She will receive a Paradiso Scholarship and travel support in the amount of Reais 5,000 ($1,000), in addition to becoming part of the Paradiso Talent Network.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentSaudi Arabian filmmaker, actress and activist Fatima Al-Banawi (“Barakah Meets Barakah”) is set to make her feature film directorial debut with “Basma,” a bold drama that will tackle the theme of mental illness in her country.The pic, which she also wrote, is set to start shooting in Jeddah in October.Besides writing and directing “Basma,” Al Banawi will be its titular star, playing the 26-year-old daughter of a man who suffers from paranoid delusions. Upon returning from the U.S.