Warner Bros. Discovery Shares Rise After Upgrades on Merger Integration Progress

Surprise! Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley have welcomed their second child together!

Marta Balaga Norwegian animation “Pesta,” directed by Hanne Berkaak, will head to the Frontières Platform in May. Directed at genre film professionals, the event is organized by the Fantasia International Film Festival with the Cannes’ Marché du Film. The film, set in 1349 during the outbreak of the Black Plague, will see two teenagers, Astrid and Eilev, fighting for their forbidden love among the apocalypse as Astrid, a nobleman’s daughter, struggles with her growing desire for “the outcast heathen.”  Granted development funding from the Norwegian Film Institute, “Pesta” is produced by Mikrofilm’s Tonje Skar Reiersen and Lise Fearnley. It’s also named after a shadowy figure from Norwegian folklore, a personification of the plague itself.

Ben Croll Running concurrent with the wider festival, NewImages’ mercantile section has become an event unto itself, hosting a global who’s who from the XR scene while helping in no small part to reshape the field. As it stands to welcome nearly 250 participants – roughly half divided between market participants and heavyweight decision makers – this year’s fully in-person event should do little to reverse that trend. “We’re very international,” says XR market head Ellen Kuo. “With more than half of our participants coming from outside Europe, and with several coming from the U.K., Italy, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Poland, I call [our network] Paris beyond Paris.”

Olivia Wilde wants the court to intervene in her dispute with Jason Sudeikis.

Marta Balaga Nina Kiri, known for her role as Alma on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” has joined the cast of dystopian sci-fi adventure “Absolution.” The title will be brought onto the market at Cannes’ Marché du Film Frontières platform, featuring in its Proof of Concept strand.    The Serbian-Canadian actor is no stranger to genre, having appeared in “The Heretics,” “The Haunted House on Kirby Road” or “Let Her Out.” Soon, she will also be spotted in Christos Nikou’s “Fingernails” alongside Jessie Buckley.  Directed by Filip Kovacevic, “Absolution” – a co-production between Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro – takes place in a barren wasteland, far removed from the mythical city of gods, with only one human settlement left. 

Ben Croll Paris’ NewImages Festival and parent organization Forum des Images have recently launched NewImages Hub, a support network offering XR professionals a set of complementary creative and mentoring programs throughout the year. Divided into three poles, the new lab will help immersive projects across development, production, and distribution, offering residencies and networking assistance at each phase. Administered by Forum des Images – a non-profit cultural organization subsidized by the City of Paris – and supported by France’s CNC, NewImages Hub will oversee international writing residencies both in Paris and abroad, while developing additional workshops with partners in Taiwan, Chile and South Africa. The new lab will also administer existing programs in Rome, Ecuador and Taipei, while making industry analysis available to all.

Ben Croll Running April 5 – 9 at Paris’ Forum des Images, this year’s NewImages Festival reflects a young medium ever on the move, an ecosystem looking backwards and ahead in order to reimagine itself for the here-and-now. “We don’t want to be limited by someone else’s vision,” festival director Michele Ziegler tells Variety. “We don’t want the metaverse of tomorrow to dictate what is art and culture today. We want to stir things up.” Encompassing VR games and documentaries to mixed media installations and AR works for social media, the 13 projects competing for the NewImages top prize collectively trace the wider currents remaking a protean industry – while this slightly smaller selection compared with previous years reflects a young festival itself undergoing some change.

Frank Rizzo Some Broadway wags might have scoffed at the idea of a cornpone musical comedy and its punny promotions. But with its exuberance, heart and non-stop yucks, “Shucked” is the surprise delight of the season. Minus stars and featuring a new Broadway composing team and an original book, this old-pro production is a throwback to the joys of lightweight musical comedy: where fresh talent is discovered, songs are catchy, jokes are plentiful and characters are appealing, fun and sweetly simple. Yet as one character in the show says, “There’s a cornfield of difference between simple and stupid. That’s a simple mistake stupid people make.”

Ben Croll Paris-based XR distributor Diversion Cinema has scooped up a pair of award-winning titles, adding director Singing Chen’s “The Man Who Couldn’t Leave,” and both director Thierry Loa’s “21-22 China” and his follow-up “21-22 USA” to a premium catalog of prestige immersive fare. Produced by The Walkers Films and Outland Film Production, “The Man Who Couldn’t Leave” won the top prize at last year’s Venice Immersive and will be presented in competition at this year’s NewImages Festival. Directed with aplomb by Singing Chen, the heartbreaking docudrama recounts the history of political repression in mid-century Taiwan, filling a 360 screen with handsome chiaroscuro compositions supporting classical film language.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Neopol Film, a production company based in Frankfurt, and Munich-based sales agency The Playmaker have teamed for a second time with writer and director Lukas Rinker, following their collaboration on his debut feature, black comedy “Holy Shit!,” which was sold by The Playmaker to multiple territories last year. Producers Tonio Kellner, Andrea Simml and Jakob Zapf will be pitching Rinker’s latest feature film project, eco-horror “Paws,” at Frontières, a market and networking platform focused on genre film financing and co-production between Europe and North America. Frontières is organized by the Fantasia Intl. Film Festival, in partnership with the Cannes Film Market, and takes place on May 20 and 21 in Cannes.

Amazon Studios’ robustly entertaining, real-life drama definitely has the makings of one. It’s far and away the most likable film released so far this year.There’s a starry cast led by Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck, who also directs his best movie since “Argo” 11 years ago. Running time: 112 minutes.

When we spoke to Louis Tomlinson ahead of the release of his Number 1 album Faith in the Future last year, he couldn't have been more complimentary about collaborators DMA'S.

A man says he is living every young lad’s dream after earning up to £50,000 a year by playing FIFA in his bedroom for eight hours a day. Alex Shaw, 24, first became hooked on the hit EA Sports football game when he bought FIFA 12 for his PlayStation 2 aged 13.

Drivers making journeys this Easter weekend are being warned to expect severe queues on roads, with up to 17 million leisure trips predicted to be made.

The list of candidates has been released for the ‘all-out’ local elections in Wigan for 2023 with every seat on the council up for grabs.

Just how good are Manchester City this season?

Rylan Clark fans have told the star 'it should have been you' as he mocked up a version of his own movie poster just before it was revealed that he had landed a huge soap role. The BBC Radio 2 host took to Twitter with a picture of himself in an ad for the new Barbie movie.

Activision Blizzard has detailed recent changes to its Ricochet anti-cheat system, including developer-side match replays and a number of creative ways to frustrate Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 cheaters.In a blog, posted yesterday (March 5), Activision Blizzard confirmed that its kernel-level anti-cheat software Ricochet had been updated with “several new layers of security and detections” to battle cheaters.One such feature is a new replay investigation tool, which will allow teams at Activision Blizzard to watch any completed match to review its footage for signs of cheating.At the “highest tiers” of ranked in Modern Warfare 2, Activision has shared that matches will be automatically recorded in case they need to be investigated for cheating.“Though it’s a new tool for Team Ricochet, Replay has already helped with investigations into suspicious accounts resulting in permanent bans,” shared the company.Additionally, Ricochet has been updated with new software to detect third-party hardware, which can be used to minimise recoil for users. Anyone caught using this sort of hardware will first receive a warning about their device, but continued use can lead to suspensions or even bans.Elsewhere, a number of creative in-game solutions from Call Of Duty: Vanguard have been implemented in an attempt to frustrate cheaters during matches.

Mae Muller has spoken to NME about her hopes for the competition, and how her song aims to “make people feel empowered”.Last month it was announced that Muller will be representing the United Kingdom at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, heading to Liverpool in May with her track ‘I Wrote A Song’.Co-written with Karen Poole (Kylie Minogue, David Guetta, Galantis) and Lewis Thompson (Anne-Marie, Little Mix, Steve Aoki), the song seeks to pull victory from the jaws of defeat following a breakup, as Muller explained.“A lot of my music can come from a place of pain, even though the outcome is quite sassy and liberating,” she told NME. “This was one of those moments where I wanted to write something that made people feel empowered.

SZA has been announced as the latest headliner set to appear at the 2023 Open’er festival, which will take place in Poland this summer.The long-running festival will be held at Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport in Gdynia and will run from June 28 to July 1.The singer-songwriter – whose real name is Solána Imani Rowe – will perform on the second night of the festival (June 29), in the headline slot. She also joins other previously announced headliners at the four-day stint – including a co-headline set with Lil Nas X and Lizzo on June 28, and Kendrick Lamar, who will close the festival with his performance on July 1.Arctic Monkeys were the first leading act to be added to the bill.

This week, DMA'S look set to score their highest-charting UK album of their career with their fourth studio record How Many Dreams?

A royal expert claims Prince Harry has "ended any relationship" he had with his family as he "knew exactly what he was doing" when he publicly hit at out at them on numerous occasions.

It seems like everywhere we turn celebs are giving their long hair the chop, and the latest A-lister to become a fully fledged member of the bob fan club is supermodel Cara Delevingne.The 30 year old model-turned-actor has never been afraid of a dramatic cut, and has experimented with pixie cuts, waist length extensions and even a shaved head, as well as trying out platinum blonde, red, and dark brunette colours over the years. Although she has recently returned to what is considered her signature a style – a warm blonde shade that reaches her chest – it seems Cara is already ready for a fresh new look, and has gone for a dramatic chop, cutting several inches off the length.

Lewis Capaldi teased a SKIMS' partnership with Kim Kardashian in a hilarious new photoshoot which left fans all saying the same thing.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery is giving a league of would-be providers of TV-audience measurement its own appraisal. After tapping Comscore, iSpot.TV and VideoAmp last year to help build a new suite of technologies that will help count viewers across linear, digital and connected television, the big entertainment company is paring down its provider list. Comscore and VideoAmp will serve as partners during Warner Bros. Discovery’s efforts during the industry’s next “upfront” sales session. “Our methodology was quite rigorous,” says Andrea Zapata, the company’s executive vice president and head of ad sales research, measurement and insights, in an interview.

Nancy Meyer‘s new rom-com might get a green light at Warner Bros after Netflix pulled the plug on it.

What’s David Robert Mitchell been up to lately? Well, since “Under The Silver Lake,” not much, but that’s about to change. Deadline reports that Mitchell has his next project lined up at Warner Bros., and the director is teaming up with Anne Hathaway and the Bad Robot crew for a new mystery project.

Anne Hathaway (Eileen) has signed on to star in a mysterious new film that David Robert Mitchell (It Follows, Under the Silver Lake) will direct for Warner Bros. Pictures, Bad Robot and Jackson Pictures.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery received stock upgrades from two media analyst firms Friday for, among other things, making the decision to tie bonuses for CEO David Zaslav and his team to free cash flow performance. “We threw everything and the kitchen sink at a Downside Case scenario for WBD, and it still delevers to 3x by ’25E,” Wells Fargo analysts wrote in a research note published Friday, in which they upgraded WBD’s stock to “overweight” with a price target increase from $13 to $20 per share. “We now have conviction in FCF to limit downside, while the stock has asymmetric upside.” Meanwhile, Wolfe Research moved WBD from its “peer perform” rating to “outperform” and also upped the price target to $20. (At time of publication Friday, WBD stock was trading at $14.51 per share.)

plug on the project earlier this week due to budget issues. Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender and Owen Wilson were previously in talks for roles in the film which centered on an above-the-line filmmaking duo who reunite on set after falling in and out of love with one another.“Paris Paramount” would have been Meyers’ return to the director’s chair since helming 2015’s “The Intern,” which starred Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway.Talent deals with Warner Bros. Discovery would need to be reworked since the cast previously had buy-out deals because their deals were for Netflix.

Just days after parting ways with Netflix, Nancy Meyers next movie has found a new home as sources tell Deadline Warner Bros. is in early talks to acquire the project. Sources stress no deal is done and they are exploratory talks but add there is something to it and discussions have begun on various details about project. Deadline reported on Tuesday that the film was leaving Netflix after the studio pulled the plug due to budget concerns. Meyers moved quickly to take the project out to other studios and Warner Bros. is looking like the front-runner to land the film. Meyers will write and direct the project but what is unknown is if the all-star cast will still be joining. Meyers was in talks with Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Owen Wilson and Michael Fassbender to star but given that was the plan when Meyers had a much larger budget it is unknown if those actors stay committed to the project.

EXCLUSIVE: Once again, All Rise is facing a possible cancellation. The cast of the courtroom drama series, led by Simone Missick, has been released by producing studio Warner Bros. Television.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Hispanic has partnered with GroupM and Cocina Media on “El Toque de Aarón.” The all-new original seriesfollows celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez and his team as they help Latino restaurants in the Los Angeles area reach new heights. Kimberly Clark’s VivaÒ Paper Towels Brand will be an integrated sponsor, with other GroupM clients featured throughout the series. Sánchez will also act as an executive producer. The six-part series unfolds in Latino restaurants with great potential, ready to seize the opportunity to optimize their business – from devising a more exciting menu to improving the overall aesthetics to streamlining their execution and raising their public profile. Sánchez will help reimagine these restaurants to bring out their true soul, with a revamped menu and a refreshed space. In each 30-minute episode, the culinary wizard will put his personal touch on each menu item, while mentoring each restaurant’s chef and sharing tips and tricks of the trade along the way. Helping to round out the renewals with much-needed renovations are designer Cris Mercado (“HGTV Star; Remodelaciones con Celebridades“) and project manager Ángel Riveros (“Hogar Star”). Complicating matters is the fact that they have only four days to achieve this mission. The clock is ticking.

EXCLUSIVE: Illumination/Universal/Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros Movie just landed on tracking this morning ahead of its Easter weekend release, and the animated film is shaping up to make at least $85M-$90M+ over its Wednesday through Sunday launch and that’s on the conservative side.

A big feature of the TCM Classic Film Festival is providing world premieres of major restorations of some of those classics. This year’s 14th annual fest is no different as Turner Classic Movies has announced its opening night, April 13, will feature the premiere of a 4K restoration of Howard Hawk’s 1959 Western Rio Bravo, in partnership with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, as part of the yearlong celebration of Warner Bros’ 100th anniversary.

The 14th annual TCM Classic Film Festival will open with a restoration of “Rio Bravo” (1959) and appearance by Paul Thomas Anderson and Steven Spielberg in celebration of Warner Bros.’ 100th anniversary.Running from April 13-16 in Hollywood, the program will open with a conversation between TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and “Rio Bravo” star Angie Dickinson, who starred alongside John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson. The screening will mark the world premiere of the 4k restoration of the Warner Bros.