Author: Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: The creator of Tilly Norwood, the AI actress who got Hollywood hot under the collar, has stressed that she was not developed using funding from the British Film Institute (BFI). Eline Van Der Velden, the UK-based technologist, shared a statement with Deadline clarifying how her company, Particle6, used a grant from the BFI’s UK Global Screen Fund. Her intervention comes amid concerns in the acting community about the creation of Norwood and how avatars like her could ultimately replace lower profile performers. Alexa Morden, an actress who hosts The 98% Podcast, spotted the Particle6 grant and said she was…

Veteran Korean actors Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho will star in thriller Assassins, directed by Hur Jin-ho (A Normal Family). Set in 1974, the film follows the attempted assassination of Korean president Park Chung-hee on August 15 that year — one of the most consequential days in the country’s history. On track for a release in 2026, the film is produced by Hive Media Corp, the studio behind box office hits 12.12: The Day, Yadang: The Snitch, The Man Standing Next and Inside Men. In Assassins, Park will play the role of a news editor who delves into…

EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has acquired the North American distribution rights to Noseeums, the feature debut from Austin-based director Raven DeShay Carter, following its U.S. Premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival and World Premiere at FrightFest in London. Shot entirely in Florida, Noseeums is described as a socially charged horror feature that blends supernatural tension with a deep-rooted Southern Gothic atmosphere. The film follows Ember, a Black college student invited to a rural estate for a weekend with her white classmates, where she encounters spectral retribution tied to the historic loss of Black land ownership in the American South. Noseeums…

The Smashing Machine may not have been a box office knockout, but Dwayne Johnson‘s turn as UFC fighter Mark Kerr has a big admirer in Christopher Nolan. The Oppenheimer director lavished praise on Johnson during an interview with The Smashing Machine helmer Benny Safdie on The Director’s Cut, the Directors Guild of America’s podcast. Nolan said the performance was “heartbreaking,” adding: “I think it’s an incredible performance. I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years.” Nolan and Johnson have not worked together, but they have spoken with admiration about each other’s work in the…

EXCLUSIVE: Watermelon Pictures – which was launched in 2024 by siblings Hamza Ali and Badie Ali with its roots in Palestinian culture and to amplify underrepresented filmmakers – continues to expand. The Chicago-based company has announced the appointment of Nabil Kazi as Executive Vice President of Marketing & Brand Development. The respected marketing and brand strategist previously held roles at The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, and Illumination Entertainment. His appointment comes as the company continues to grows its presence in the independent film and production space. In its second year of operations, the company is gearing up for…

EXCLUSIVE: The Coven, sales agent of Terrifier 3, has secured worldwide sales rights to thriller Violence, starring Halloween Ends and The Monkey actor Rohan Campbell, Malignant and The Recruit actress Maddie Hasson and The Order star Sarah Grey. Violence will play Brooklyn Horror Film Festival next week and will be on sale for The Coven ahead of this year’s AFM in Los Angeles. Genre vet Steven Schneider (Strange Darling) executive-produces. The synopsis reads: “Henry Violence, an anti-hero in an alternate 1980s world, becomes entangled in a brutal drug war as rival cartels battle for supremacy, forcing him to make difficult choices to navigate the treacherous…

The day should not go by without one more remembrance and appreciation of Diane Keaton. Nearly every obit today after news broke of her death at age 79 rightly had Annie Hall in its headline. And why not? It was that 1977 comedy classic that delivered Keaton her one and only Oscar, defined her fashion sense that carried on for her right to the end, and is being hailed as her greatest role. Woody Allen won the first two of four career Oscars for his screenplay and direction, and the film was named Best Picture. Diane Keaton was Annie Hall,…

Wicked: For Good will feature new original songs for Ariana Grande’s Glinda and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, which will expand their stories beyond their original stage play narratives, director Jon M. Chu said this morning during a session at Deadline’s Contenders London.  Speaking with Deadline’s Baz Bamigboye, Chu said he remembered watching one of the first performances of the original Wicked stage play and always preferred the play’s second half.  “I saw the show before everyone on Broadway, so I was sort of patient zero. I remember what it felt like to watch this new Stephen Schwartz musical. And I thought…

EXCLUSIVE: Wagner Moura, star of Kleber Mendonça Filho’s acclaimed Cannes Film Festival award-winner, The Secret Agent,  is scared of AI and how to deal with it. “Especially,” he warns, “the idea that the truth as we know it, it’s kind of over. That scares the s**t out of me.” He worries that when you see someone speaking in a video or a movie, and you hear their voice and see their face and “it’s not the person, and this is scary.” Then he asks: “Who can we trust?” Brazilian-born, Moura’s concerned too, as we all are, about erroneous information that’s put out…

EXCLUSIVE: Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek, who is best known internationally for his roles in Boiling Point and Swimmers, is soon to hit the big screen in Egyptian father and son drama My Father’s Scent. Deadline can reveal the first international teaser for the film ahead of its world premiere at the Warsaw International Film Festival this weekend, followed by its MENA premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival. In one of his weightiest roles to date, Malek co-stars opposite Kamel El Basha, who won best actor in Venice in 2017 for his performance in Ziad Doueiri’s The Insult. They play…