Updated every Friday 12:00 PM
November 7 - November 13

APPLE TV
Apple Original Films has picked up The Flick, an unpublished short story from writer Matt Hickey set in the high-pressure world of air traffic control. Peter Chernin and David Ready will produce for The North Road Company's Chernin Entertainment. The project marks one of the first features under Chernin Entertainment's recently inked first-look feature deal with Apple TV+. Hickey, the author, will also produce...

The 13th edition of the Geneva Digital Market (GDM), part of the Geneva International Film Festival, hosted a series of lively debates, exploring where traditional film, legacy TV and streaming collide with XR, as well as social media content and platforms. "Audiences are looking for any AI content they can identify and will criticise you heavily for it," said Fritschy, a former journalist. "We tried to use AI to create images for a video about ketamine - and people didn't like it," Afsin said. "You have producers who make documentaries and suddenly they're making games and they're writing books and making television series, and they're not used to it," said Liz Rosenthal, curator of Venice Immersive and Venice Immersive Market. "It's always important to partner with experienced producers, because first, they know the medium and second, they have contacts at channels and with investors, which you don't have." "Any time you're looking for investment for your project, talent is always important," said Rosenthal. "For projects I've been involved in [as an executive producer], it makes a huge difference bringing names on board for voiceovers, especially in VR.".It's much more difficult to sell spec scripts now, says 'American Beauty' and 'Six Feet Under' writer Alan Ball...

Back in September, LEGO teased the first-ever "Star Trek" building brick playset inspired by the long-running sci-fi franchise. A short animated announcement revealed none other than Captain Jean-Luc Picard, one of the best to ever do it, from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," presumably hinting at some kind of LEGO set from the series that began in 1987 and ran for 178 episodes across seven seasons. Now, we have our answer. LEGO has officially announced the first "Star Trek" LEGO set as none other than the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, the signature ship from "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Clocking in at 3,600 pieces, this LEGO set is ready to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life, new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before In addition to creating a detailed LEGO replica of the Enterprise-D from "The Next Generation," the set also includes some fantastic features, starting with the detachable command saucer. Plus, there's a secondary hull and warp nacelles with distinctive red and blue detailing. The ship also has an opening shuttle bay and two mini shuttlepods...

The American Film Market (AFM) is facing potential travel disruption due to the ongoing US government shutdown, with Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) one of 40 US airports where flight capacity is expected to be reduced by 10% by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to reports. It is expected the reduction will only impact domestic flights at this stage. The US government said it is a reaction to air traffic safety concerns, with over one million federal workers, including air traffic controllers, working without pay or on forced leave as US congress fails to agree on a federal funding budget.  Restrictions will go into effect on the morning of Friday November 7, said FAA administrator Bryan Bedford and transportation secretary Sean Duffy. The AFM  takes place from Tuesday November 11 until November 16 at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles' Century City, with many international and US attendees arriving this weekend. The decision could ground around 4,000 flights per day amid what is now the longest US government shutdown in history. Further Californian airports on the list are San Diego International Airport (SAN), OAK Oakland International Airport (OAK) and SFO San Francisco International Airport (SFO), according to ABC News. ...

Japan's animation industry surged 14.8 percent to reach record revenues of $25 billion (3.8 trillion yen) in 2024, with most of the growth driven by the expanding international popularity of Japan's favorite art form. The results were released this week by the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), which presented a preview of its annual Anime Industry Report 2025 at the TIFFCOM content market held alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival. The report showed what a global business anime has become, with overseas revenue accounting for 56 percent of 2024's total sales at $14.25 billion (2.17 trillion yen), while Japanese domestic revenues reached $10.97 billion (1.67 trillion yen), 44 percent. The strong 2024 expansion doesn't even include the historic recent success of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which released on Sept. 12 and has become the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time with a staggering $670 million at the global box office office. The offbeat anime fantasy Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has continued the eye-popping earnings this fall, bringing in $139 million worldwide since its Oct. 24 launch. Both films were released by Sony's anime unit, Crunchyroll, in partnership with Sony Pictures. .

Stan Lee may be known for being the driving force behind Marvel Comics, but it looks like one of the creator's long-lost horror projects with Toxic Avenger creator Lloyd Kaufman is finally about to get a chance to shine after 50 years in limbo. The story takes place on the bicentenary of a famous witch trial, when a Mexican-American woman finds herself accused of witchcraft. Described as a "socially-charged supernatural horror" movie. While Lee is no longer able to see his work come to life, Kaufman will be on board as executive producer, and revealed the news in a special video. Additionally, a new documentary will chart the history of the script and its half-a-century journey....