STORM WARNING
“Stormy,” a documentary about former porn star Stormy Daniels, has been picked up by Blue Ant Studios for international distribution.
The launch was announced on Monday, the same day that former U.S. president Donald Trump begins a criminal trial in New York for allegedly covering up hush money payments to Daniels.
“Stormy,” offered as two one-hour episodes or a two-hour feature, is produced by Emmy-nominated producers Erin Lee Carr (“I Love You,” “Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter”) and producer-director, Sarah Gibson (“Orgasm Inc: The Story of One Taste”) who previously made the documentary, “Britney vs. Spears.”
The film is executive produced by Judd Apatow of Apatow Productions (“George Carlin’s American Dream,” “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling”) alongside Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers from Imagine Documentaries (“The Super Models,” “Judy Blume Forever”). Emelia Brown also serves as producer. “Stormy” is currently streaming on Peacock in the U.S.
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CASTING BOARD
Thomasin Lawson, who identifies as non-binary, is set to lead indie feature “All Five Eyes.” They join Greta Bellamacina and Honor Swinton Byrne in the film about three sisters set in an English village in the 1960s.
Alta Global Media has also boarded the project as exec producer, joining EP Carl Black. Robert Montgomery produces for Sulk Youth alongside Grace Cavanagh-Butler and Tara Sheffer.
Slated for an August 2024 shoot, the film is directed by Jaclyn Bethany from a screenplay by Bethany and Bellamacina.
Lawson is repped by U.K. based Mark Jermin management.
RIALTO HIRE
Veteran film distribution and production executive Giles Edwards, has joined Australia and New Zealand distributor Rialto as head of acquisitions, productions & development to expand and diversify their acquisitions slate. Formerly the head of acquisitions & development, Europe for MPI Media Group and Dark Sky Films in the U.S., Edwards also served as head of acquisitions at Metrodome Distribution in UK.
Working closely with and reporting to Rialto CEO Kelly Rodger, Edwards will evaluate American independent, festival-destined international and theatrical-level documentary features as finished films, in addition to engaging with earlier stage projects, potentially to provide financing. The company aims to acquire ten such releases per year.
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with the wonderful Kelly Rogers and Rialto’s ANZ team as well as the diverse and dynamic range of films by leading directors in their formidable slate and plan to continue solidifying our prominent position in the distribution landscape,” said Edwards, who will hit the ground running for Rialto at the upcoming Cannes market.
At MPI and Dark Sky Films, Edwards worked in both production, development and across all aspects of film distribution, including acquisitions, marketing and publicity. Along with acquiring high profile titles for MPI/Dark Sky Films, Edwards was also a producer on some of the company’s most notable original productions including SXSW hits “Girl On The Third Floor,” “Darlin’” and “Broadcast Signal Intrusion.” Prior to that, he was a consultant at Shudder as they launched in the UK and ANZ. This was after a lengthy tenure at Metrodome where he acquired such premium breakout titles as Cannes-winning “Mommy” and “Personal Shopper,” “What We Do In The Shadows,” “The Innkeepers,” “Stake Land,” “The Falling,” “Tangerine” and “Sunset Song.”
HCM PRIZES
“The Gospel of the Beast,” directed by Sheron Dayoc, was named winner of the Golden Star Award for best Southeast Asian Film at the first edition of the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival. The festival ran April 6-13.
Nicole Midori Woodford’s “Last Shadow At First Light” was the winner of multiple awards including the jury prize, best cinematography best screenplay and best visual effects.
Malaysia’s Chia Chee Sum, took the award for best director with “Oasis of Now,” while Vietnam’s Ti Thi Diu, won the best actress award for her role in the picture. Singapore-produced drama “Wonderland” earned awards for best actor (Mark Lee) and best supporting actor (Peter Yu). The best supporting actress award went to Rawipa Srisanguan for “Solids by the Seashore.”
WOW
NetEase, a leading Chinese gaming firm, will reinstate “World of Warcraft” and other video games from Microsoft-owned Blizzard Entertainment in mainland China, the companies said in a joint statement last week.
The two companies broke off their 15-year relationship in 2023 after an acrimonious dispute.
“After a year of negotiations, Blizzard and NetEase are pleased to align on a path forward to once again serve players in mainland China,” the companies said in a post on NetEase Games’ official Weibo account.
The new deal will see the return of “World of Warcraft” and “Hearthstone,” as well as other titles in the Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft universes, according to the statement.
TAIWAN DOCS
The Taiwan International Documentary Festival, organized by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute and scheduled from May 10-19, is poised to unveil treasures of Taiwan’s cinematic history. The festival’s “Reel Taiwan” section will spotlight Taiwan’s largest experimental documentary project to date, “Floating Islands,” a 12-film series of shorts produced between 1999 and 2000 by the Firefly Image Company and producer Zero Chou. They have now been digitized.
“Looking back now, we realize how much these works challenged traditional documentary aesthetics at that time. Additionally, we hope that this retrospective will inspire our audience to reconsider the relationship between the ‘main island’ and the ‘outlying islands’,” said TIDF programmer Chen Wanling. Highlights include; Chen Singing’s “Who’s Fishing?,” delving into the sovereignty dispute between China, Taiwan and Japan over the Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands; Shen Ko-shang‘s “Silent Delta,” which focuses on three northern islands; and Chou’s “Before the Radiation” on Wuqiu Island residents’ resistance against a nuclear waste storage site.
Additionally, in its long-standing Taiwan Spectrum section, themed as Untitled Reel: Amateur, Small-Gauge Films, and Others,” the festival will play a selection of amateur films made between 1920 and the 1970s.
