Author: SD

Paramount Pictures has appointed Josh Goldstine as president, global marketing and distribution, effective immediately. Goldstine will oversee Paramount’s worldwide marketing and distribution operations, reporting to Paramount Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein. Goldstine previously worked at Warner Bros, where he was president of worldwide marketing until the start of this year. At Warner Bros he helped build the campaign for Barbie, which grossed over $1.4bn worldwide in 2023, as well as working on campaigns for tentpoles including Dune, The Batman, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Wonka. Prior to Warner Bros, Goldstine was head of marketing at Universal Pictures, working on franchises including…

Veteran producer Erik Feig will lead Arena SNK Studios, a new production company chaired by Saudi businessman Majid Al-Ibrahim of the broadcaster MBC Group. The new venture will champion worldwide fans and adapt intellectual property from video games, anime, and fandom communities. It is also backed by the Japanese video game company SNK, which was recently acquired by MiSK Group, the foundation established by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. The “significantly financed” Arena SNK Studios – some reports have cited an initial $1bn commitment from investors – arrives with a board that includes former Disney film head Sean Bailey, Andreessen…

Apple Original Films has scheduled a December 12 global streaming date for F1: The Movie after the film’s record-breaking box office run. Joseph Kosinski’s action drama starring Brad Pitt will debut on Apple TV, which has tweaked its name and removed the “+” symbol. The feature has been available for digital ownership on the platform and others for some weeks. F1 has earned more than $629m in worldwide ticket sales since opening over the summer. It ranks as Apple’s biggest theatrical hit, the highest-grossing original Hollywood feature of the year-to-date, and Pitt’s biggest global box office hit in a lead role.…

  Diane Keaton, the quirky and stylish Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall and the Godfather trilogy who worked with Hollywood talents like Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson, has died. She was 79. The news was unexpected. Keaton was not known to have been ill and no cause of death was announced at time of writing. Her friend and First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler said on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one…

Roadside Attractions has picked up North American rights to H Is For Hawk ahead of its BFI London Film Festival slot on Sunday (October 12) and plans a December awards-qualifying run for Claire Foy.  Philippa Lowthorpe directed the film produced by Plan B, which premiered in Telluride and centres on a grieving woman who turns to falconry to navigate her way through the loss of her father. The cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Denise Gough, Lindsay Duncan, and Sam Spruell. Lowthorpe co-wrote the screenplay with Room author and screenwriter Emma Donoghue, based on Helen Macdonald’s memoir of the same name. Foy’s…

Studiocanal’s Scottish drama I Swear and Disney’s AI action Tron: Area will battle it out as the new releases in UK and Ireland cinemas this weekend. Kirk Jones’s I Swear opens in 653 locations. The film tells the true story of John Davidson who was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome in the 80s when the condition was not well known. It had its world premiere at Toronto in the Centrepiece programme. Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson and Robert Aramayo lead the cast. As a director, Jones’s previous films include My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016 – £983,534 opening); What To Expect…

House Productions’ Tessa Ross voiced her support for calls from UK independent producers for the UK government to cashflow the Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC) during a wide-ranging conversation at the BFI London Film Festival today (October 9).  Conclave producer Ross, who was taking part in an on-stage discussion with BFI CEO Ben Roberts, said of her wishlist of interventions to help UK independent producers: “I have a sort of dream, it’s a mad dream, but yes, I would love it if you would cashflow the tax credit. It would be amazing…that pressure is taken away.” The subject was a hot…

Saoirse Ronan is understood to have signed a deal to play Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes’ upcoming The Beatles films. Sony did not return calls to comment after reports appeared on Wednesday morning, however sources said Ronan has signed on. Mendes is directing The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, which Sony Pictures will release in April 2028 in a bold distribution strategy. Linda McCartney was the music photographer and musician who married Paul McCartney and became the keyboard player and back-up vocalist in Wings. She died from cancer in 1998. Ronan will star opposite Paul Mescal as The Beatles…

Paramount Pictures president of domestic theatrical distribution Chris Aronson will depart the studio on December 1 as the executive shuffle under David Ellison’s new ownership continues. Aronson, a widely respected and beloved executive renowned for his insight, sharp wit and flamboyant presentations at CinemaCon, notified staff in a memo on Tuesday morning. There has been no indication from Paramount Pictures co-heads Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg as to who will succeed Aronson. Screen has confirmed that president of international theatrical distribution Mark Viane remains in place. Scroll down to read the full memo Aronson will stay at the studio to…

UK-Ireland top five, Oct 3-5  Rank Film (origin) DistributorOct 3-5 Total Week 1  Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party Of A Showgirl  (US)  Piece Of Magic  £3.5m  £3.5m  1 2   One Battle After Another  (US)  Warner Bros  £2m  £6m  2 3   Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale  (UK)  Universal  £865,075  £15.6m  4 4   The Smashing Machine  (US)   Entertainment Film Distributors  £862,322  £862,322  1 5   The Conjuring: Last Rites  (US)   Warner Bros  £510,757  £17.3m  5 GBP to USD conversion rate: 1.34 Event cinema title Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party Of A…