REALITY TV’s newest villain Davina Rankin has broken her silence amid a wave of backlash over her “affair” on Married At First Sight. The Brisbane-based contestant, 26, has become a hot topic of conversation this week after viewers watched her pursue a secret relationship with Dean Wells, betraying both of their respective spouses. Far from being apologetic over the scandal during her appearance on A Current Affair on Thursday, Davina appeared to shrug off responsibility. “I’m no stranger to dating, I know what I want, I know what qualities I need in a man,” she told the reporter. “I’m crazy, I’m all over the place all of the time, so I need someone who can keep up with me. More than anything, I almost need someone busier than me to motivate and inspire me.” While admitting the public outcry over her affair has been “quite scary”, Davina was still feeling positive about the sudden attention. “It’s great I guess, but it comes with a lot of criticism ... But if anyone can deal with [the backlash], it’s me,” she said. Viewers have been ruthless in their condemnation of both Davina and Dean after watching Wednesday night’s episode of the show, which saw the pair sneak off to grope each other in the corner while their partners were at a dinner party in the next room.

MARRIED At First Sight’s explosive love triangle is in for a twist that no one saw coming. In a dramatic new teaser, it’s looking likely that unfaithful husband Dean Wells is preparing to doublecross Davina Rankin, the contestant with whom he’s been cheating on his bride with. Last we checked in, Dean and Davina had finally acted on their saucy talk, sneaking off to a private corner of the group dinner party to secretly engage in some heavy petting. During their little session, they both agreed to leave their respective partners during this Sunday’s commitment ceremony. But it appears there may be a major last-minute switch. In the new promo for Sunday night’s episode, it’s apparent that Dean left the dinner party — and his tryst with Davina — and went home to get jiggy with his wife, Tracey. The pair are seen waking up together in a rumpled bed, with Dean telling the camera in private: “There is that fire in the belly with Davina ... but after the dinner party ... Tracey and I had fun, and it was intense.” Later, he seems to be grappling with his impending decision. “I’ve got Tracey here, I’ve got Davina here — either way, I’m going to be the bad guy.” Davina has every right to be suspicious of his intentions, too — it seems he’s also been lifting his game with Tracey outside the bedroom. “Me and Dean are doing really good, actually. I feel like I’ve got nothing to worry about, I’m feeling much better,” Tracey tells the camera. The narrator then reveals that of the three members of this messy love triangle, “one of them is about to get hit by a bus ... and it’s not who you think,” while fellow contestant Nasser can be heard shouting angrily: “He’s played you, and he’s played her!”

Mattel continues their push into film, as J.J. Abrams will be helping the toy company bring The Beastlies to life. Abrams has had a lot of success not only in crafting films and TV, but in producing various content across both mediums. From Lost to Cloverfield to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the storyteller’s influence has continued to expand and he and his company Bad Robot have a lot on the horizon. Though The Cloverfield Paradox was poorly received, there’s still a fair amount of buzz behind Cloverfield 4. Likewise, the Super Bowl trailer for Westworld season 2 proved that the heady HBO series overseen by Bad Robot still has the ability to entice audiences. Along with those franchises and the director’s return for Star Wars: Episode IX, J.J. Abrams is working on a new sci-fi show. The series will be the first series he’s fully created since Alias and his major return to TV following his co-creation of Fringe. Now, the creative has another interesting project in the works in a medium he’s yet to dabble in: toys. Deadline is reporting that J.J. Abrams and Mattel are working together to bring the toyline The Beastlies to life. Created by sculptor Leslie Levings, Abrams first spotted the creatures in 2010 and eventually pitched the idea of a franchise to Mattel during filming for The Force Awakens. No other details on the potential franchise are yet known, but the adorable figures certainly have potential for all sorts of merchandise and animated offerings. The venture may be an unusual one for Abrams, but it’s clear he’s long loved the toys and developing a more family-focused project would make sense. What’s more, being on the ground floor of what could become a popular multi-platform IP is certainly a wise move for Abrams. Mattel will also gain a new line of toys and yet another way to break into film. They will similarly be bringing a live-action Barbie film to life in teh foreseeable future, in the hopes of competing with rival Hasbro on the big screen. For Hasbro’s part, they’ve got films based on Micronauts and G.I. Joe coming up, along with Transformers. In fact, Hasbro announced their new film slate and it seems Transformers will be getting a reboot after Bumblebee. Mattel’s offerings certainly differ from the more action-focused work Hasbro has in mind, but the competition could soon be moot. A recent rumor suggested Hasbro may buy Mattel, merging two of the biggest toy companies in the world. If the deal goes through, Hasbro would have considerably more might to adapt their many toys and IPs into films and TV shows. For now, however, Mattel and Abrams will be working on their own to develop The Beastlies into something.

Marvel’s Black Panther is now in theaters after spending more than two decades stuck in development hell, and it seems the wait was well worth it considering Black Panther is now the highest-rated superhero film on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critic score of 98 percent. The film comes from Creed director Ryan Coogler and screenwriter Joe Robert Cole, with Get On Up‘s Chadwick Boseman playing the iconic Wakandan protector, T’Challa, aka Black Panther. Black Panther is already off to a strong start at the domestic box office, pulling in $25.2 million on Thursday night to top Deadpool‘s February preview record. But what audiences are waiting to see is how well it will do throughout the holiday weekend. Black Panther will top Deadpool‘s February opening record with an estimated 4-day haul of $200 million. The level of hype surrounding Black Panther is undoubtedly impressive, and part of that hype comes from the film being the highest-rated Marvel movie ever to release (that’s including all Marvel films). However, it seems that it’s not only the highest-rated Marvel movie but also the highest-rated superhero movie overall. Rotten Tomatoes reports that Black Panther is currently the highest-rated superhero film of all-time on their website, with a current score of 98 percent. That narrowly beats 2004’s The Incredibles, which has a score of 97 percent, and it’s four percent higher than the nearest live-action competitors: The Dark Knight and Iron Man – both of which have 94 percent ratings. As Rotten Tomatoes points out, Black Panther‘s score will continue to fluctuate throughout its theatrical run, but for now, it’s the highest-rated superhero film on the review-aggregate website. Even if it drops to 97 percent, that means it will still be tied with The Incredibles for the top spot. Plus, it will also retain the title of being the highest-rated live-action superhero film as well. Taking into account how many superhero films are out there and just how long it’s been since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, it’s impressive that the franchise’s 18th installment can release and surpass virtually everything that came before, even without the boost of having other Avengers in the film. And the fact that Black Panther has attained this goal while also being the MCU’s first movie with a black superhero in the lead speaks volumes. Hopefully, that means Marvel will prioritize a Black Panther sequel. It’s also worth noting that, if Black Panther retains a 97/98 percent rating, it still might be toppled when Brad Bird’s The Incredibles 2 hits theaters this summer. After all, it was the first movie that topped the ratings, and if any movie can surpass The Incredibles, it’s the sequel.

Set during the Great Famine of the 1840s, director Lance Daley's Irish revenge western has its world premiere at the Berlinale. A revenge western set against the backdrop of the Great Famine, which devastated Ireland in the late 1840s, is an inspired idea. Black 47 reimagines the rural badlands of the Emerald Isle as a kind of rain-sodden Wild West crawling with gun-toting outlaws, crooked land barons and hard-faced men traversing grand empty landscapes on horseback. The first reaction that Irish writer-director Lance Daly's Berlin world premiere provokes is surprise that no film-makers have exploited this dramatic connection before. The second is disappointment at how many times Daly shoots himself in the foot with this dour, sluggish, cliche-choked thriller. Partly backed with both state film and TV funds from Ireland, Black 47 feels more like a small screen misfire than the grand cinematic epic that this rich story deserves. Theatrical gunpowder is likely to be damp. The Great Famine was a perfect storm of bad luck, rotten politics, religious bigotry, appalling poverty and arrogant British colonial misrule. It was a preventable tragedy which still looms large in Irish folk memory today, especially in nationalist circles, and understandably so. Even after potato blight destroyed the local staple crop that the poorest rural peasants relied on for basic sustenance, English landowners continued to export mountains of farm produce abroad for profit. Changes in tax law initially intended to ease the crisis only led to unscrupulous landlords evicting thousands of impoverished tenant farmers. Around a million people died from starvation or disease, and another million emigrated, shrinking the country's population by close to 25 per cent. Stone-faced and implacable behind an unflattering beard, Australian rising star James Frecheville (Animal Kingdom) stars as Martin Denny, an Irish deserter from the British imperial army who returns home to the rural west of Ireland in 1847 to witness the horrors of the famine first hand. He learns that his mother has already starved to death and his brother has been hanged by an English judge. Meanwhile, a hellish system of forced evictions and demolitions is turfing women and children out out into the deadly rural winter, refugees in their own country. Already brutalized by his battlefield exploits in Afghanistan, Denny is tipped over the edge by the injustice he witnesses in Ireland. Shelving plans to emigrate to America, he embarks on a one-man revenge mission against the bent policemen, brutal army officers, callous rent collectors, corrupt judges and haughty landowners that enforce the murderous British law. In response, the occupying military authorities send Hannah (Hugo Weaving), one of Denny's disgraced former army comrades, to track him down, possibly saving himself from a death sentence in the process. Hannah is accompanied by sneeringly superior English officer Pope (Freddie Fox) and an idealistic young private, Hobson (Barry Keoghan). Ranging across the deep west of Ireland on horseback, the trio are joined by a wily translator with local knowledge, Conneely (Stephen Rea). Both hunter and hunted converge on Lord Kilmichael (Jim Broadbent), a farming baron who is preparing to ship his grain harvest over to England despite the hungry masses thronged outside his gates. There is ample potential in Black 47 for an exciting action thriller, a timely commentary on refugees and occupying armies, or even a period horror movie. Alas, Daly opts for a grindingly earnest depiction of Celtic martyrdom, complete with mist-topped mountains, morbid folk ballads and suspiciously well-fed peasants huddled together in crumbling stone cottages. The English characters, meanwhile, are all cackling, sadistic, racist snobs who deservedly meet grisly ends. It is rare to see a film that makes Mel Gibson's Braveheart look like a subtle,accurate history lesson by comparison. Overblown caricatures are the currency of genre cinema, of course, but here they rob a supposedly serious-minded drama of tension and nuance. Casting Australian leads in an emphatically Anglo-Irish story yields mixed results. Frecheville is a catatonic charisma vacuum as the anti-heroic Denny, letting his unruly beard carry most of the performance. Weaving is a little more convincing as a grizzled war veteran with too much blood on his hands, even if his gruff cockney accent and Clint-style wordless brooding feel labored at times. Irish native Rea at least brings a pleasing hint of impish moral ambivalence to his quietly subversive character, but Broadbent is wasted in his one-dimensional turn as a pompous old aristocratic blowhard. Credit is due to Daly for long subtitled scenes featuring only Gaelic dialogue, which reinforce the cultural gulf between the occupying Brits and their downtrodden Irish subjects. But it is hard to trust a film which presents the rugged widecreen majesty of western Ireland as a big slab of drab, joylessly painted in 50 shades of desaturated gray. For all its noble intentions, Black 47 is not so much Unforgiven as unforgiveable. Venue: Berlin Film Festival (Out of Competition) Production companies: Fastnet Films, Primeridien Productions, Samsa Films, UMedia, Bord Scannán na hÉireann / Irish Film Board Cast: Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Stephen Rea, Jim Broadbent, Freddie Fox, Barry Keoghan, Sarah Greene, Moe Dunford Director: Lance Daly Screenwriters: PJ Dillon, Pierce Ryan, Eugene O’Brien, Lance Daly Producers: Macdara Kelleher, Tim O'Hair, Arcadiy Golubovich, Jonathan Loughran Cinematographer: Declan Quinn Editors: John Walters, Julian Ulrichs Music: Brian Byrne Sales company: Altitude 96 minutes

Riding a towering wave of momentum and frenzied expectations, director Ryan Coogler's Marvel superhero release Black Panther took an incredible $25.5 million from domestic Thursday night previews and now appears ready to shatter box office records with what could be one of the top-5 biggest opening weekends in cinema history, not to mention toppling just about every pre-summer box office record you can imagine. It's almost unthinkable now that Black Panther will deliver anything south of $170+ million through Friday-Saturday-Sunday, and the data strongly indicates possible/likely receipts totaling $200+ million in North America. Looking at the most recent MCU films' opening weekends from the previous three years, we can get a pretty good idea of how Black Panther will perform over the course of the weekend. There are lower-end and higher-end figures to consider, but overwhelmingly the data points to an average outcome where Thursday's domestic box office accounts for about 30-31% of the film's Friday cume and 12% of the total North American opening weekend ticket sales. In that case, the $25.5 million Thursday receipts will translate into an $84 million Friday and a $212 million three-day grand total. The lowest-end domestic performance estimate, using the same MCU data, would indicate a $77 million Friday and $183 million opening. The highest numbers are an eye-popping $90+ million Friday and $230+ million weekend. These latter figures are unlikely, but so too are the lower numbers. If we look at comparisons that include DCEU movies and Deadpool data, then we get domestic averages suggesting a Friday total of about $83 million and $193 million three-day weekend cume. The lowest end with just these data are $75 million for Friday and $153 million over the weekend, while the highest end is $95 million for Friday and a mind boggling $265 million full weekend. Using averages and comparisons from all of the recent MCU pictures combined with DCEU and Deadpool numbers, we still get a likely $83 million Friday (again, this includes the $25.5 million Thursday preview box office) and $202+ million three-day weekend. Doing many variations of comparisons and individual film-to-film analysis, I think the data strongly indicate a highly possible/probable outcome of $80+ million Friday total and $200+ million three-day cume. I don't think it will play any lower than perhaps $180+ million, as a more "worst-case" outcome (relatively speaking, that is, since obviously that's a fantastic number). My own exact domestic estimate is Black Panther will turn its $25.5 million Thursday into an $83 million Friday and $210 million opening weekend. I set $80 million (Friday) and $190 million (weekend) as my low-end figures. The reason for my bullishness is simple: Black Panther is about to officially become the best-reviewed superhero movie of all time, tying or surpassing The Incredibles and winding up several percentage points ahead of any other top-reviewed live-action superhero release; it has a perfect marketing campaign enhanced by fan events and special screenings that have turned the buzz and excitement up to 11; and it has great word of mouth in the mainstream public, with early word that the audience grade will be at least the usual "A" for MCU releases and quite possibly an "A+" due to some audience demos scoring it particularly high while few viewers give it less enthusiastic scores. Those things all translate into repeat viewings, and I think a large number of people will go back for a second look this weekend. Some will see it alone or with a friend/spouse and then return with kids or other family/friends in tow. It's already a must-see event-status release, and it's turning into a must-bring-other-people situation where everyone walks out of the theater already anticipating a return. If Black Panther performs as I expect and tops $200 million, then it will take the #5 spot from Avengers: Age of Ultron (which opened to $191 million) on the list of biggest domestic openings. And if it really can hit in the $210 million range, that would good enough to give Black Panther the third-biggest opening in history. Now, a quick word about what this all means for the potential final box office domestically and worldwide. If it opens to at least $190+ million, that suggests a moderate final domestic cume would be about $410-420 million in North America, or a slightly better total of around $450+ million. A 50-50 domestic/foreign split would thus put Black Panther over $800+ million worldwide in just about any realistic scenario. Even assuming a lowest-end $180 million opening and weak 2x final multiplier, Black Panther would finish with at least $360 million domestic and a hypothetical $720 million global tally (on a 50-50 split, again). Should the domestic/foreign split be something more in the range of 40/60 (as is often the closer comparison for big blockbuster superhero releases), then even a $180 million opening and weaker $360 million domestic total would still point toward a worldwide cume in $900 million territory. So Black Panther's $25.5 million Thursday means we are certainly looking at an opening north of the previous $170 million higher-end tracking estimates, probably north of $180 million, and possibly as high as $190-200+ million. We can entertain hypothetical lower-end scenarios and play things conservative, but at this point there's little real point in denying the obvious -- Black Panther is going to open big enough that we are looking at a $700-800 million minimum final global total, probably in the $800+ million range and with reasonable, good odds of playing toward $900 million. That said, it's still obviously way early and everyone is obliged to pretend we don't know pretty well how these things are going to turn out, so I'll note for the record that it's still entirely possible Black Panther was so front-loaded that it deceived us all, that audiences won't really return for many additional viewings, that it will wind up with merely a $150 million three-day domestic total, that it'll lack good box office legs and have a mediocre run, and that it'll finish with a more modest $300 million in North America and $600-650 million worldwide. That's the worst way it could turn out at this point, and yes it could happen, but for the record it won't and we all know it won't. Consider, though, that such numbers are still pretty terrific, and any movie would love to have this as its doomsday scenario.

Black Panther just scored $25.2 million in Thursday previews. That’s the second-biggest MCU Thursday preview/midnight preview ever, between Captain America: Civil War ($25m in 2016), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($27.6m in 2015). It's the fourth-biggest superhero preview gross, behindAvengers: Age of Ultron, Batman v Superman ($27.7m in 2016) and The Dark Knight Rises ($30.5m in 2012, sans 3D). So, inflation notwithstanding, Black Panther just scored a bigger preview gross than The Avengers ($19m in 2012 starting at midnight). So, yeah, it's going to be a monster hit. It’s the second-biggest pre-summer preview gross ever between the $19 million (in 2012 and in 2D) Thursday-at-midnight opening of The Hunger Games and the $27.7m Thursday gross of Batman v Superman (same weekend in 2016). Among all Thursday preview grosses not in the heart of the summer, it sits behind only the last three Star Wars movies ($56m, $29m and $45m), the four Twilight sequels ($26-$30m in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) and Catching Fire ($25.25m in 2013). That's also the biggest preview gross in history for a non-sequel. The big question is how much frontloading we’ll see. Since this preview number is way above the standard MCU figure save for Avengers 2 and “Avengers 2.5,” I’m expecting more frontloading than the standard 9-12% MCU normal. But if Black Panther ends up the most frontloaded “Thursday-to-opening weekend” title in MCU history, say 15% (Age of Ultron earned 14.5% of its $191m debut weekend on Thursday night), it still gets to $168m over the Fri-Sun frame, which would be around $193m for the full Presidents’ Day weekend. The four-day weekend puts a crimp into predictions, but even a run like Fifty Shades of Grey or Deadpool (the two prior Presidents Day weekend champions) gets this thing to an over/under $250 million for the Fri-Sun frame alone. That seems impossible on its face, and you must presume some severe frontloading from the sheer anticipation factor. But there just isn’t much precedent for a well-reviewed/much anticipated/well-liked film going from a $25m Thursday preview gross to anything other than a boffo Fri-Sun frame. For example, if it ends up as frontloaded as The Dark Knight Rises ($30 million Thursday/$160m Fri-Sun weekend), Man of Steel ($27m/$128m), Batman v Superman ($27m/$166m) or Suicide Squad ($20m/$133m) or Catching Fire ($25m/$158m), we’re still looking at a Fri-Sun weekend anywhere from $135m to $155m. Heck, a Suicide Squad-ish performance ($20m/$133m) gets it to $168m, just above Batman v Superman as the fifth-biggest superhero opening ever behind Iron Man 3 ($174m), Captain America: Civil War ($179m), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191m) and The Avengers ($207m). Aside from having a super-frontloaded opening weekend (think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II, the Twilight sequels or Star Wars: The Force Awakens), a $130 million+ Fri-Sun gross is now all-but-inevitable. And since the film is very good, has plenty of buzzy elements and has been anticipated for essentially a generation, I see little reason for anything beyond normal slowdown. Now that doesn’t mean we should weep in the streets if it pulls a Breaking Dawn and ends up with just $115m over the Fri-Sun frame (and around $135m over the full holiday launch). If I had to put money on it, which I am not, I’m thinking and an over/under $165m Fri-Sun launch and a $190-$195m Fri-Mon debut weekend. And if the numbers are big, I fully expect Disney to underestimate the heck out of the Sunday results so they can get an extra day of positive news when the final figures are even bigger than presumed. One factor will be the sheer number of showings over the weekend essentially bought out for charities, churches and activist groups wanting to make sure that minority kids get to see the movie on the big screen. That may be a drop in the overall bucket, but it may help with post-opening day frontloading and keep the film in the news cycle all weekend long. There is a ton of wiggle room here, so let’s throw out a few benchmarks to consider as the numbers dribble in. An opening above $117 million (Spider-Man: Homecoming) would be the biggest non-sequel MCU launch while an opening above $123m (Thor: Ragnarok) would be the biggest solo MCU opening weekend. An opening above $132m (Deadpool) would be the biggest solo/non-superhero superhero launch of all time. An opening of over $146m (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ) would make it the biggest launch for an MU title without Iron Man. An opening above $147m (Furious 7) would be the biggest launch for a “not a white guy director” movie debut. A debut Fri-Sun launch above $152m (Hunger Games) would be the biggest non-sequel debut ever (and the biggest Marvel Comics adaptation debut, MCU or otherwise, which doesn't feature Iron Man). An opening above $174m (Iron Man 3) would be the biggest solo superhero launch ever, and yes, I’m counting Captain America: Civil War ($179m) as a quasi-Avengers movie. Some of these records are going down, so the only question is which ones or how many will belong to Black Panther by Sunday night.

Jenna Morasca, winner of 2003's Survivor: Amazon (the long-running reality show's 6th season) was arrested last month for DUI, and allegedly bit a cop in the process. According to the police, Morasca was found unconscious behind the wheel of her car in Pennsylvania on January 25 — along with a passenger who was caught putting a Ziploc bag with several syringes into her purse (and who is set to face drug paraphernalia charges). Upon arriving at the scene, officers gave the reality star Narcan (which is used to treat narcotic overdoses in the case of emergencies) and were beginning to transport her to the hospital when she became "combative" with paramedics. Officer Keith Zenkovich wrote in a police report that "[Morasca] was actively resisting the medics who were assisting her and was also observed trying to bite the medics," before continuing to write that he "...held the female's head to the stretcher by placing [his] hand on her forehead." TMZ cites another police officer who'd attempted to subdue Morasca, and was bitten on the forearm. She was ultimately charged with suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia. The police report also details that Morasca's SUV's license plate read "AMAZON." Back in 2002, Morasca was the winner of Survivor: The Amazon, winning $1 million — she had gained notoriety for, along with her fellow contestant Heidi Strobel, stripping naked during a challenge in exchange for peanut butter from host Jeff Probst. (Morasca and Strobel later landed a Playboy cover.) In 2004, she headed back to the CBS reality show to compete on Survivor: All-Stars only to leave the competition early to be with her mother, who was then dying of breast cancer. Morasca remained a fixture on nearly everyone's favorite 2000s reality competition shows. She competed with her then-boyfriend, fellow Survivor winner Ethan Zohn, on The Amazing Race AND Dinner: Impossible AND The Celebrity Apprentice — a power couple if there ever was one. (She and Zohn broke up in 2013.) The reality star has yet to comment on her arrest.

That's a wrap, everyone. With the final installment of Fifty Shades in theaters now, Eloise Mumford, who plays Anastasia's best friend, Kate Kavanagh, speaks to Cosmopolitan.com about shooting Freed (which was filmed at the same time as the second movie). "I’m a very sentimental person, so I get nostalgic very easily," she says. "I have so many people reaching out saying they’re really sad that it’s over. It's bittersweet." Here are five tidbits for fans who aren't ready to let go. 1. The club scenes were awkward to shoot. After Kate and Elliot get engaged — at a club — they decide to hit the dance floor. But the music you hear in the movie is not the music that was playing during filming; on the contrary, the actors were dancing to … nothing. "They do this thing where they play the music for a second, and then they drop it out and have a beat [only]," Eloise explains. "It always make me laugh. Luke Grimes [who plays Elliot] and I have had a fair amount of these dancing scenes together, where we have to be sort of sexily dancing with each other, and it’s actually completely silent while we’re doing it. It brings a certain sort of bonding, having to do this thing that you would never do in real life." 2. The Aspen trip was shot in Whistler, Canada — and hiking in the woods was spectacular. "We all traveled up there and were staying at a hotel together," Eloise says. "It was really beautiful. It was just one of those moments where you’re like, 'Oh my gosh, I just can’t believe this is my job.' There are many unglamorous moments being an actor, and I have had my fair share, so when you have moments like that, you can appreciate them all the more." 3. She improvised her jellyfish line. When Kate and Ana stumble out of the Bunker Club drunk, Kate is in the middle of finishing a story that ends with an out-of-context reference to being afraid of a jellyfish. "They were like, 'says something as you come out,'" she says. Because Kate and Elliott had just been on a trip to Barbados, she knew to focus it on that. "It made me laugh because my dad’s a marine biologist and I have zero fear of ocean creatures," she says. "Of all the things in the world that would make me squeamish, that’s not one of them." 4. Sorry to crush your dreams, but the cast didn’t hang out all the time. "We hung out a fair amount," she says, "but one of the things I really love about this cast is that everybody was really concentrating on making a great movie. People were there to work, which I, as a total nerd, really appreciated." They had the occasional group dinner, "but it wasn’t a wild and crazy thing." 5. For the last time: Jamie and Dakota have chemistry! "I think they’re a delight together," she says. "The thing I love about them together is how much fun you can [sense they’re having] — what a giggle there is in it. And it certainly is like that on set with them as well' they crack each other up continuously. That’s a really fun vibe to be around on set." There you have it.

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The Sports Coalition, which includes prominent leagues such as the NBA, NFL, and MLB, has shared its concerns over sports piracy with the US Trade Representative. The coalition urges the US Government to place the Netherlands and Switzerland on the Priority Watch List, as many pirated games are broadcast from these European countries. While pirated Hollywood blockbusters often score the big headlines, there are several other industries that have been battling with piracy over the years. This includes sports organizations. Many of the major US leagues including the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and the Tennis Association, are bundling their powers in the Sports Coalition, to try and curb the availability of pirated streams and videos. A few days ago the Sports Coalition put the piracy problem on the agenda of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). “Sports organizations, including Sports Coalition members, are heavily affected by live sports telecast piracy, including the unauthorized live retransmission of sports telecasts over the Internet,” the Sports Coalition wrote. “The Internet piracy of live sports telecasts is not only a persistent problem, but also a global one, often involving bad actors in more than one nation.” The USTR asked the public for comments on which countries play a central role in copyright infringement issues. In its response, the Sports Coalition stresses that piracy is a global issue but singles out several nations as particularly problematic. The coalition recommends that the USTR should put the Netherlands and Switzerland on the “Priority Watch List” of its 2018 Special 301 Report, followed by Russia, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles and Sweden, which get a regular “Watch List” recommendation. The main problem with these countries is that hosting providers and content distribution networks don’t do enough to curb piracy. In the Netherlands, sawlive.tv, strikezoneme, wizlnet, AltusHost, Host Palace, Quasi Networks and SNEL pirated or provided services contributing to sports piracy, the coalition writes. In Switzerland, mlbstreamme, robinwidgetorg, strikeoutmobi, BlackHOST, Private Layer and Solar Communications are doing the same. According to the major sports leagues, the US Government should encourage these countries to step up their anti-piracy game. This is not only important for US copyright holders, but also for licensees in other countries. “Clearly, there is common ground – both in terms of shared economic interests and legal obligations to protect and enforce intellectual property and related rights – for the United States and the nations with which it engages in international trade to work cooperatively to stop Internet piracy of sports programming.” Whether any of these countries will make it into the USTR’s final list has yet to be seen. For Switzerland it wouldn’t be the first time but for the Netherlands it would be new, although it has been considered before. A document we received through a FOIA request earlier this year revealed that the US Embassy reached out to the Dutch Government in the past, to discuss similar complaints from the Sports Coalition. The same document also revealed that local anti-piracy group BREIN consistently urged the entertainment industries it represents not to advocate placing the Netherlands on the 301 Watch List but to solve the problems behind the scenes instead.

Olá caro(a) membro(a) do BTNext!! Gostas de inserir conteúdo? Sabes ripar? Gostas de partilhar cultura? A NextGeneration está a recrutar novos Uploaders, só podemos pagar alguns pontos e umas boas sandes de torresmos, mas mais do que isso somos gratos a todos aqueles que de alguma forma trabalham em prol desta comunidade. Estás preparado para esta aventura? Junta-te a nós, clica neste link http://tracker.btnext.com/?p=forums&pid=11&fid=111&tid=3366 podes ainda contactar os dos líderes da Team para obteres mais informações. MarQt: http://tracker.btnext.com/?p=profile&pid=18&memberid=57886 UnknownEagle: http://tracker.btnext.com/?p=profile&pid=18&memberid=59638 GOOGLE TRANSLATION: Hello BTNext member dear !! Do you like to insert content? Do you know how to rip? Do you like to share culture? NextGeneration is recruiting new Uploaders, we can only pay a few points and a good salad sandwich, but more than that we are grateful to all those who somehow work for this community. Are you ready for this adventure? Join us, click on this link http://tracker.btnext.com/?p=forums&pid=11&fid=111&tid=3366 you can still contact the Team leaders for more information. MarQt: http://tracker.btnext.com/?p=profile&pid=18&memberid=57886 UnknownEagle: http://tracker.btnext.com/?p=profile&pid=18&memberid=59638

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Since rising to fame at the start of the decade with movies like Winter's Bone, X-Men: First Class and The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence has become one of Hollywood's most popular stars. Her latest movie is Red Sparrow (adapted from the Jason Matthews-penned book of the same name), which follows a Russian spy who is sent to target a CIA agent for her first mission, but ends up falling for him and considers becoming a double agent. Red Sparrow is still two weeks away from being released to the masses, but early reactions have already come in on social media, and it looks like the movie could be another win for the actress' resume, though it's not for the squeamish. Starting off, CinemaBlend's own Eric Eisenberg praised Red Sparrow for its action and brutality, speculating that this might be the first in a series of movies. Next, The Tracking Board's Jeff Sneider praised Jennifer Lawrence for her performance in Red Sparrow and noted that the movie is just the kind of fare that adults will appreciate. Erik Davis from Fandango also commended Jennifer Lawrence for her work on Red Sparrow, though he did note that the movie is a little longer and doesn't pack as much action as something like the Charlize Theron-led Atomic Blonde. Overall, it sounds like Red Sparrow is a decent action movie that's worth checking out during the spring cinematic season. However, as more reactions and reviews come in, and given the movie's subject matter, it's possible the reception might become more mixed, making it comparable to Jennifer Lawrence's last movie, the extremely polarizing mother! from director Darren Aronofsky. Red Sparrow will be released in theaters on March 2. If you're interested in finding out what other movies are coming later in the year (like X-Men: Dark Phoenix, where Jennifer Lawrence will reprise Mystique), head over to our 2018 release schedule.

There has been a lot of criticism over the last few years aimed at the Fifty Shades film series. However, nobody has thrown quite the shade at the movies than the Russian Culture Minister just did at the most recent entry. As Culture Minister, Vladimir Medinsky is concerned about Hollywood movies that are pushing local films out of the theaters, and he recently took aim at Fifty Shades Freed specifically as a major culprit. Apparently, the final film in the trilogy was so big that it was actually on a majority of screens in Russia over last weekend, which meant that local films had trouble finding an audience. The sarcasm was dripping off Medinsky when he said... I don't know what social issues this unquestionable masterpiece of global cinema is addressing. But cinema chains, moved by the market's invisible hand, gave it 70 percent of all screenings [this past weekend], crashing a number of excellent local movies that are currently in theaters. Vladimir Medinsky hits Fifty Shades Freed pretty hard, since we're not sure even fans of the series would call it a "masterpiece of global cinema." He's clearly unhappy with the situation. It's unclear if he would be kinder if he actually thought the movie was great, but in this case, he's basically writing it off. 70 percent is a huge number of screens, and while The Hollywood Reporter says that Fifty Shades Freed didn't hold that many screens for the entire weekend, it did have that many at various points throughout its opening weekend. Certainly, that's a huge number, so it's understandable that Russia's culture minister would be upset that a foreign film had such a stranglehold on theaters in his country. The fact that he clearly doesn't think much of this particular film certainly doesn't help matters. When one movie has nearly three-quarters of all movie screens it's going to be impossible for any other movies to put together decent box office numbers. However, as the culture minister, it's this man's job to make sure that Russian movies get some degree of support, so of course, he's not happy when something like that happens. Vladimir Medinsky is pushing the Russian government to pass laws that would help protect Russian cinema. He'd like to cap the number of screens that foreign movies can have at any one time, so that local films will still be able to compete. Obviously, Hollywood has been against such things. Russia wouldn't be the first nation to have such rules in place were they to do so. China currently has blackout periods where foreign movies aren't allowed to open. This allows local Chinese cinema to have a chance to flourish and not get overwhelmed by the latest Transformers movie. It's unclear exactly how successful Fifty Shades Freed actually was at the Russian box office, or if Russian critics were moved by the "masterpiece."

There are few movies quite as popular as James Cameron's Titanic. The 1997 classic is one of the highest grossing movies of all time, and has been played regularly on syndication for the decades since its release. Most cinephiles can quote at least one character from Titanic, and fans have been debating about Jack's fate since Rose first promised to never let go. The debate as to whether or not Leonardo DiCaprio's hero could have fit on the door with Rose hasn't stopped over the years, but actor Billy Zane has his own opinion. Zane played the villainous Cal to massive acclaim, and believes the narrative of Titanic needs to see Jack die, for emotional purposes. Your hero had to die. I don't know what else would have done it. It had to happen. Well, that was simple enough. While we'll likely continue debating the weight support possibilities of Rose's door from Titanic's final scenes, Billy Zane doesn't seem to be overthinking it. Jack had to die for the story to make sense, and to carry the epic emotional weight of the over 3 hour film. Billy Zane's comments to People make a great deal of sense, considering the overall theme of Titanic. The story shows how Jack saved Rose's life aboard The Titanic, and did so time and time again. He stopped her from killing herself, showed her new life in the world, and impacted the way she grew into adulthood in America. Rather than going form being Cal's wife to Jack's wife, Rose becomes an independent woman of the world, and experiences all life has to offer. This is what makes Jack's death worth it. If Jack were to survive the entire journey, it would certainly lower the stakes of Titanic's second half. He and Rose are met with multiple threats to their lives during the infamous sinking, including bullets, drowning, and a physical altercation or two. The overall love story wouldn't be quite as epic if Jack has managed to survive long enough to be rescued alongside Rose. Additionally, there is added poetry in the fact that Rose is alone with her memories of Jack. There are no records of him being aboard The Titanic, and it's presumed that Rose cut ties with her mother after surviving the tragedy. As older Rose says "he exists now, only in my memory". Jack surviving the freezing waters on April 14th would have ruined these storytelling moments, and ended the film on too cheesy of a note. Speaking of the ending, Jack's death is what makes the final moments of the film so powerful. Finally at peace, Rose passes on and reunites with the rest of the Titanic's passengers and crew in the afterlife. She and Jack share a kiss, as the audience and the ensemble applauds. Do you agree with Billy Zane's thoughts? Let us know in the comments below. And be sure to check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The horror genre is one of those styles of film that naturally lends itself to the creation of icons. From endlessly iconic, knife-wielding bad guys like Michael Myers in Halloween, to fast-talking creeps like A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger, the world of horror comes chock full of terrifying and iconic personalities. That is something that CinemaBlend touched on in a recent interview with Hellraiser: Judgement's new Pinhead, Paul T. Taylor, and according to the actor, Pinhead is the best horror icon of the bunch because he's far more than just a slasher. Jesus wept, and Taylor explained: To me, he's least like a slasher. He's not a killing machine. His purpose is to serve a higher God. That changed over the years with some of the lesser-known Hellraiser sequels or lesser-liked Hellraiser sequels. That sort of changed the meaning. Number three, he started becoming more of a slasher. They kind of went the Freddy Krueger route with him and made him the star of the movie, which I personally think was kind of the start of, I don't know, it wasn't my favorite thing in the world to see it... In the first movies, what I would say, to answer your question is, it is his eloquence, and his stillness and the threat is terrifying. All he has to do is stand there, and he's terrifying and that exquisite makeup, that exquisite pain that he's in, it's more twisted. Paul T. Taylor is the latest actor to step into the Pinhead role (making him the third to take on the mantle since the iconic Doug Bradley stepped down), and he clearly has quite a bit of love for the character. By his estimation, what makes Pinhead work in his best movies is that he operates under a specific ideology and devotes himself to his suffering. Even when he's doing something rooted in pure evil, he's typically doing so because someone opened the puzzle box, and it's his job to deliver the pain they sought out. Seemingly against the ethos of the character, the "lesser" Hellraiser movies (though it seems that Paul T. Taylor is referring to Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth) eventually tried to move him into Freddy Krueger-esque territory. This involved embracing the goofier immortal slasher tropes that don't quite work anymore, despite the fact that the core of the character lies in his slower and more methodical personality that doesn't rely on racking up a considerable body count or spouting off one-liners. Given Taylor's affinity for the old Pinhead, there's a lot for purists to get excited about with Hellraiser: Judgement's release finally upon us. Hellraiser: Judgement is now available on Digital HD, Blu-ray, and DVD. Make sure to pick up your copy if you want to see Pinhead's latest dastardly deeds, and take a look at our 2018 movie premiere guide for more up-to-date information about all of this year's biggest movie releases, especially the horror movies to watch out for this year.

This Is Us star Justin Hartley thinks if you don't cry watching the TV drama, there's something wrong with you. The US TV series is renowned for pulling on its viewers' heartstrings. On paper, it's a simple family drama but it's made complex by its use of flashbacks and time hops which explore how much a person's past affects so much of their present. "We've read the script, we've shot the scenes and know exactly what's going to happen and still you find yourself getting emotional," Hartley told AAP. "I actually worry about people, they're very few and far between, but people who are like 'yeah I watch the show, I never cry when I watch the show'. I feel a little bit like, not that I'm a doctor, but I feel like they need one. Like 'you need to go talk to somebody, crack that cold heart open'." The show has been a massive hit, pulling in viewers around the world and winning awards including a recent SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Hartley plays Kevin, one of three Pearson siblings whose parents Jack and Rebecca are played by Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore. Unlike other dramas that rely on will-they won't-they romances, viewers of This Is Us have been waiting to find out how Jack dies. His death was revealed early on in the first season, but Hartley says it was never part of a strategy to keep the audience hooked. "The way it happens is very much in keeping with that awesome storytelling where it keeps you on the edge of your seat with sort of a twist at the end," he explains.

BLACK PANTHER (M) Rating: four stars (4 out of 5) Director: Ryan Coogler (Creed) Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Serkis, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, Stan Lee, Sterling K. Brown, Winston Duke. MARVEL CONNECT TO A NEW ROAR POWER BLACK PANTHER doesn’t just hit its marks. It leaves marks. Landmarks. So get in the queue now, people. Black Panther, the first Marvel movie blockbuster to put a superhero of colour at the epicentre of the action, is a must-see for a myriad of great reasons. Much fuss will undoubtedly be made of the blows that Black Panther strikes so emphatically. Not just in the interests of racial diversity on screen (the movie’s raucous, yet respectful embrace of black culture and history is a breakthrough Hollywood moment), but also gender equality (the females of Black Panther are not just passengers in this fast-moving tale, they propel it just as much as the males). Black Panther begins in the wake of those scenes in Captain America: Civil War where we were first introduced to Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his secret superhero guise of Black Panther. Upon the death of his father, T’Challa ventures home to the kingdom of Wakanda, where it is widely assumed he will take the old man’s place on the throne. (First, however, he must fight off any potential challengers to the Wakanda crown. What follows is the best hand-to-hand combat sequence ever seen in a Marvel movie. It’s staged in a rock pool atop a 100 metre-high waterfall, and it just ROCKS. There’s another one later in the movie. Can’t tell you why, though. Sorry. Spoilers, and all that.) A little bit more background about Wakanda. The rest of the world, as is its way, assumes that this is just another typically impoverished African nation. Which is just the way the Wakandans like it. Pretending to be a primitive country turns out to be a brilliant cover for Wakanda, an incredibly advanced, almost utopian society where the understanding, design and deployment of technology is light years ahead of the so-called ‘civilised’ world. The secret to the great leaps forward made by Wakanda is a rare substance known as vibranium, a metallic ore with energy-transferring properties that can be manipulated and controlled in sophisticated ways. An infamous arms dealer, Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), has somehow got his grubby hands on some vibranium, and has every intention to sell it to the highest bidder on the black market. Aiding and abetting this dangerous ploy is Erik Killmonger (a beyond-charismatic Michael B. Jordan of Creed), an ex-US military agent who knows more than he is letting on about the mystical Wakandan way of life. Once he gets his newly crowned head around the Klaue-Killmonger alliance, T’Challa must quickly assemble the best fighting force he can find to repel and extinguish the threat completely. A noticeably high proportion of T’Challa’s closest and must trusted warriors are female. The most dynamic of them is Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), a defiantly independent woman whose commitment to broader social outreach often puts her at loggerheads with Wakanda’s insular instinct to not engage with the wider world. Just as important to the overall feminine fury coursing through Black Panther is the remarkable character of Shuri, played by the surefire breakout star of the picture, Letitia Wright (recently seen in Black Mirror’s Black Museum episode). Shuri, the sarcastic younger sister of T’Challa, is the pre-eminent tech development genius of the Wakanda nation. (Imagine Q from the James Bond movies as a too-cool-for-school African teenage girl.) While she is unmistakably the brains of the outfit - and has a winning way with a withering one-liner - Shuri can also hold her own in the battlefield. As for the rest of the support cast (which includes Daniel Kaluuya from Get Out, Sterling K. Brown, Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker among the well-known names from the top-shelf of African-American acting), they all bring what Black Panther needs in short, sharp and shrewd doses. To be honest, Black Panther is not without some clunky imperfections, a majority of them occurring when the movie must thump out those familiar storytelling beats which remind us of its place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, when it is moving to its own unique rhythm, Black Panther prowls its way past your defences and goes on the attack in a most impressive fashion.

AUSTRALIAN actor Cody Fern is set to join the acclaimed drama House Of Cards for its sixth and final season. Fern — who was awarded the Heath Ledger Scholarship in 2014 — will join the show as a series regular alongside fellow new cast members Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear. The show is currently in production with Robin Wright replacing Oscar winner Kevin Spacey as the lead after he was fired following allegations of sexual misconduct. Fern was most recently seen alongside Darren Criss in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, where he starred as David Madson, the doomed ex of serial killer Andrew Cunanan. He has also starred in The Tribes of Palos Verdes alongside Jennifer Garner. Fern picked up the prestigious Heath Ledger Scholarship in 2014, which rewards up and coming Australian actors. Upon receiving the award, Fern said, “Coming from a small town this wasn’t a possibility, it was a dream.” The actor grew up in the small town of Southern Cross, which sits 370 kilometres east of Perth and has a population of 680. After first pursuing a career in finance, Fern ditched that to follow his acting dreams, reportedly selling his possessions to fund acting classes. The 29-year-old has quickly risen through the ranks after a star turn on stage in the Australian production of War Horse. House of Cards recently resumed production on its sixth and final season after disgraced star Kevin Spacey was fired over sexual misconduct claims. Netflix, which produces the show, cut ties with the star, cancelling a Gore Vidal biopic he was set to star in. Robin Wright’s character Claire Underwood will be front and centre in the show’s final eight episodes after Netflix’s Chief Content Officer said that the finale will “bring closure” for fans of the political drama.

SET among the sunless streets of a neon dystopia, Netflix’s new sci-fi series Altered Carbon is a warning of just how bad things could become if we continue on our current trajectory. The big-budget Blade Runner-esque production set in the 26th century is a world of constant darkness, where the gap between rich and poor is extreme and people can live forever thanks to a technology called ‘stacks’ which allow consciousness to be transferred between bodies or ‘sleeves’. Based on Richard Morgan’s 2002 book, Altered Carbon has at its heart an old-fashioned murder mystery, but this cyberpunk tale is overflowing with themes more relevant than ever. The story centres on Takeshi Kovacs (played by The Killing’s Joel Kinnaman), a former special forces operative who’s been in digital prison for 250 years until he’s brought back to life by ultra-wealthy Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy). Bancroft offers Kovacs a job he can’t refuse: solve his ‘murder’ and receive a pardon and obscene wealth. Bancroft believes he was killed in his home; his stack survived but a glitch meant he’s missing the memory of his death. This puts Kovacs out on the streets of Bay City, a futuristic version of San Francisco, where he must negotiate a violent underworld, a tenacious detective Kristin Ortega (Martha Higareda) and a world corrupted by power, greed and the desire for eternal life. The series is a meditation on immortality, and even Kinnaman admits the temptation to “resleeve” and continue living beyond your natural expiry date is immense. “If you gave me the opportunity personally I think it would be really hard to turn down,” he told Insider. “I’m fascinated by the idea of where we will be in 150 years. “I love life, I would love to continue to live, but I think for society as a whole it would be devastating.” While many science-fiction stories are set in a bleak future destroyed by generations past, Altered Carbon is made more compelling because it’s themes are closer to reality than we’d like to imagine, says James Purefoy. “Our show takes place 350 years in the future but I’m not sure it’s really going to be that long ... if we’re around at all,” he tells Insider. “It’s happening, the evidence is right in front of us. Global warming is happening, the fact that the world is drowning in junk and plastic, it’s happening. “Two-thirds of the world’s population already live in a form of apocalypse and a dystopian future. We’re incredibly lucky, it doesn’t really touch us.” Mexican actor Higareda agrees, saying things in her home country are at breaking point. “Coming from Mexico, this is something we see every day — the difference between the rich and the poor, the gap is just getting wider and wider,” she says. “The interesting thing about science-fiction is that it takes what’s happening in the present and does it exponentially and then it makes us really imagine what that future would be.”

LADY BIRD (M) Rating: five stars (5 out of 5) Director: Greta Gerwig (Nights and Weekends) Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts. Before her life can start movie, she must stop and grow Let the record show we are currently embedded in the richest vein of quality movies on offer for well over a decade. Since Boxing Day, the overall calibre of titles gracing our cinemas has been resoundingly high. It is not going to last. So please, make the most of it while you can. While you’re at it, make sure you get along to Lady Bird, one of the most graceful, funny, alert and alive coming-of-age pictures you will ever have the good fortune to see. Goes without saying this is already a lock for one of the best movies of 2018. “I wish I could live through something,” says 17-year-old Christine McPherson (played by the incomparable Saoirse Ronan) on the eve of commencing her final year of high school. Make no mistake, her wish will be granted by film’s end. And you will be living through it right along with “Lady Bird”, the name by which Christine prefers to be called by everyone she meets. (Those inverted commas are deliberate by the way. That’s exactly how Christine “Lady Bird” Johnson writes it down. You know, just like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.) Yes, Lady Bird is a real character alright. However, being a distinct one-of-a-kind isn’t doing her any favours in her dreary, home town of Sacramento. This bastion of Californian conformity feels like a conspiratorial practical joke against Lady Bird, and her ambition to be accepted into a fancy college on the other side of the country. There is the ferociously fractious relationship Lady Bird shares with her perpetually exhausted and dissatisfied mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf). One or the other may not last the year ahead. In their very first scene together, a blissful listening session to an audiobook suddenly escalates into a bitter argument, which ends with Lady Bird leaving via the nearest door. At this point, I should mention Lady Bird and Marion have this disagreement while in a car travelling just beneath the speed limit. Later in the movie, Lady Bird finds herself drifting further into that cavernous unmarked territory between the cool and the uncool at her rigorously Catholic high school. There will be a so-right-it-just-has-to-go-wrong romance with one boy (Lucas Hedges), and a polar-opposite dalliance with another (Timothée Chalamet, star of the sublime Call Me By Your Name). I could go on and on about the love of clever conversation this film sincerely promotes, its rare ability to pull a moment of palpable poignancy out of thin air, the magnificent performances of Ronan and Metcalf, and the miraculous writing and direction of Greta Gerwig. But I won’t. For you’ll find yourself doing that anyway once Lady Bird has taken flight before you.

He joins Morgan Freeman in the cat-and-mouse style thriller being offered to buyers in Berlin by Highland Film Group. Scott Eastwood (The Fate of the Furious, The Longest Ride) has joined Morgan Freeman in The Manuscript. Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, The Other Woman) has also been lined up to direct the cat-and-mouse style thriller, replacing John Moore who was announced last year and working from a script by Louis Rosenberg and Joe Rosenbaum. Also joining the production is Rob Paris via his eponymous Paris Film Inc. banner, which will produce alongside Mike Witherill (John Wick) and Mark Williams (The Accountant). Highland Film Group is handling international sales and will continue speaking to buyers at Berlin's European Film Market (EFM). The Manuscript centers on an imprisoned genius (Freeman) who writes and sends chapters from a mysterious novel to an aspiring young writer (Eastwood), ensnaring him in a high-stakes ploy to recover $100 million in stolen diamonds. Principal photography will begin in late April in New Orleans. Eastwood, who will next star in Universal Pictures’ Pacific Rim Uprising alongside Star Wars’ John Boyega, is repped by UTA and LBI Entertainment, while Cassavetes is repped by WME and LBI Entertainment. The Highland Film Group's current slate also includes: Michael Cristofer’s The Night Clerk starring Tye Sheridan; the star-studded Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna, and Jenna Dewan Tatum; Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie; Jon Avnet’s Three Christs starring Richard Gere; Eric Bress’ supernatural psychological thriller Ghosts of War starring Brenton Thwaites; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan; and the highly-anticipated remake of The Crow directed by Corin Hardy, which HFG is producing and financing. Paris Film Inc. is currently in post-production on The Last Laugh starring Chevy Chase and Richard Dreyfuss for Netflix. Recent credits include The Blackcoat’s Daughter for A24 and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House for Netflix.

Canadian helmer Luc Picard’s film chronicles Quebec’s fight for independence in 1970 from the perspective of a tenacious 12-year-old girl in Montreal. Luc Picard isn’t the first Canadian director to make a dark cinematic portrait of Quebec’s 1970 October Crisis, where the real-life kidnapping of two government officials by a separatist group, the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ), sparked a countrywide panic. But Picard, also a popular Quebec actor and comedian, is the first to examine his French-speaking province’s struggle for nationhood through the eyes of children. The result is Cross My Heart, a dramatic feature screening Feb. 18 as part of Berlin’s youth-focused Generation sidebar. The film tells the story of 12-year-old Manon, her little brother, Mimi, and two young cousins taking an old woman hostage to forge their own future. “It’s about the kids,” Picard tells THR about his fourth film, in which the army arriving on the Montreal streets to quell the FLQ rebellion, rather than be tackled head-on, lurks in the background, often on living room TV screens. An adaptation of Nicole Belanger’s book, Cross My Heart pushes adults to the background including then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, father of current Canadian leader Justin Trudeau, who suspended civil liberties and ordered the arrest of suspected terrorists. The focus remains on young Manon, played by Milya Corbeil-Gauvreau, as she channels nationalist politics — basically when and how Quebec should strive for independence from Canada — as a fiery, sensitive young girl who just wants to be heard as her father’s illness and poverty devastate her family. “The FLQ is a metaphor in the sense you have young people trying to be true to their principles, and Manon is doing the same, trying to stay young and true,” says Picard of the rebellious teen who promises to never be separated from her little brother as the threat of foster care looms. “It’s a refusing-to-come-of-age story,” Picard adds. As chaos on the streets of Montreal intensifies, the film remains locked on its young protagonists. Throughout, Picard keeps his camera level with his young characters, offering the viewer a childlike perspective on a situation that, as the film plays, becomes increasingly complex. “I just wanted to see the world as they see it,” he says. “I didn’t want to descend to their level. I wanted to learn from them.” And Picard captures working-class Montreal mostly with darkened night scenes, in contrast to a sequence in the Quebec countryside where Manon, Mimi and their cousins find fleeting refuge from family and political turmoil. “I decided early on, I wanted the colors of Montreal to be bleak and dark because that’s where the kids are oppressed,” the director explains. “Then, when they take their lives into their own hands, I wanted the color of the sun and the light everywhere.”