Latest news with #Gaumont
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Lupin' Returning for Season 4
We don't have to say au revoir to Lupin, merci. Part four of the hit series is already in production in Paris, Netflix said on Monday; it will consist of eight 45-minute episodes. Omar Sy is back as Assane Diop, 'the gentleman thief who has captured the hearts of viewers in France and around the world,' as Netflix likes to tell us. More from The Hollywood Reporter Prime Video Now Reaches 130 Million U.S. Ad-Supported Customers, Amazon Says Peacock's 'Office' Follow-Up Gets First Look and Title: 'The Paper' NBC Hires Michael Jordan to Contribute to NBA Coverage Lupin was created by George Kay in collaboration with François Uzan; Marie Roussin, Florent Meyer and Tigran Rosine also participated in the formation of the series, which is inspired by Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin character. Rosine, Meyer, Mathilde Arnaud, Jean-Yves Arnaud and Pennda Ba are the series' writers; Sy and Louis Leterrier are showrunners. 'I often say that Lupin is an extraordinary plaything. I find great joy in it every time,' Sy said in a statement. 'Together with Netflix, Carrousel, and Gaumont, we've invested the time needed to raise our ambitions and deliver even more surprises and enjoyment, both for us and the audience. The fresh energy from Carrousel Studios aligns perfectly with this vision. I'm eager to share the new episodes with as many people as possible.' Lupin episodes are directed by Edouard Salier, Everardo Gout and Hugo Gelin. In addition to Sy, the Lupin part four cast includes Ludivine Sagnier, Antoine Gouy, Soufiane Guerrab, Shirine Boutella, Théo Christine and Laïka Blanc-Francard. Just how popular is Lupin? The first two seasons parts currently occupy the third and sixth spots, respectively, on Netflix's own all-time rankings for non-English-language TV series. Lupin part one racked up 99.5 million views over the course of its first 91 days of availability; that's more than The Night Agent's first season (98.2 million views), Fool Me Once (also 98.2 million) and Stranger Things 3 (94.8 million), the number eight, nine and 10 shows on Netflix's English-language TV chart (all-time). Gaumont produces Lupin in collaboration with Carroussel Studios. Sy and the Lupin gang shared Monday's news in an announcement video below. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise 'Yellowstone' and the Sprawling Dutton Family Tree, Explained
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Japan's Imagica Group Selects ‘Maria' As First Project For Financing Scheme Supported By Hirokazu Kore-eda
Tomoka Terada's Maria, a drama about a young woman facing an unwanted pregnancy, is the first project to secure financing through a new initiative launched by Japan's Imagica Group and backed by leading filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. The film will be produced by Hana Tsuchikawa, who has worked in production on live-action films by Takashi Miike and other directors, as well as working as a line producer on U.S., UK and other foreign co-productions. More from Deadline 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' Director Christopher McQuarrie Reveals Tom Cruise's Scary New Stunt: "No One On Earth Can Do That" 'Riders Republic' Sets Movie Adaptation With 'Bad Boys' Duo Adil & Bilall Directing For Gaumont & Ubisoft - Cannes Market Chioma Ude On Founding The Africa International Film Festival: "It's Inclusive Of Everything The African Diaspora Has To Offer" Imagica Group, one of Japan's leading post-production and VFX companies, has committed to co-financing five director-driven films from emerging Japanese filmmakers over the next five years. The company said it would invest up to $500,000 (JYP70m) in the first selected film. Kore-eda, who won the Cannes Palme d'Or in 2018 for Shoplifters, is on the jury selecting the projects along with Shozo Ichiyama, programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival, and Yuka Sakano, head of international relations for the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute. Terada, who is also a social worker, moved into filmmaking in 2020 and has worked as an assistant director to Kore-eda and other filmmakers. Her script for Maria follows a young woman in a nondescript, industrial area of Japan who finds herself pregnant with no chance of asking her absent boyfriend or family for support. With nowhere to turn, she approaches a local youth, who is working in a care home and dealing drugs on the side, to see if they can team up to make some money. Imagica Group president and CEO Shunjiro Nagase unveiled the scheme – the company's first foray into production launched to celebrate its 90th anniversary – at an event in the Cannes Marche today. Filmmakers can apply for the funding by partnering with a producer who belongs to an Imagica Group company, which include Robot Communication Inc, P.I.C.S. and OLM. Nagase said: 'The purpose of this project, launched on this milestone, is to provide the next generation of filmmakers with a place to work and to open up new possibilities for Japanese cinema. 'It is our responsibility and investment in the future to create an environment where producers within our group, as well as young directors and filmmakers from Japan and abroad, can freely challenge and express themselves. International film festivals in Europe and elsewhere are highly acclaimed for works depicting social issues and unique artistic expressions, but in Japan, there are still high hurdles to overcome in order to produce such works.' Kore-eda said: 'I sympathize with Imagica Group's efforts to discover the talents of the next generation in the film industry and nurture them to become active on the world stage. I joined this project to see what I can do to help.' Best of Deadline Everything We Know About The 'Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' Movie So Far TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025
Fox News
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Robot with animated face is here to make customer service better
Have you ever wished robots could do more than just follow instructions? Well, that's where Mirokaï steps in. Born from the creative minds at Paris-based startup Enchanted Tools, Mirokaï isn't just another humanoid robot. It's designed to be helpful, engaging and, honestly, a bit enchanting. With its blend of advanced artificial intelligence, storytelling and a dash of charm, Mirokaï turns ordinary moments into something a little more memorable. So, let's take a closer look at what makes Mirokaï so special, how it works and where you might bump into one soon. Mirokaï is a people-friendly humanoid robot powered by advanced AI, designed to be approachable. Its appearance is inspired by anime, giving it a friendly and expressive face that invites interaction. But what really sets Mirokaï apart is the story behind it. According to Enchanted Tools, Mirokaï belongs to a species from space, created long ago to help humans better understand each other. These robots are wise, creative and kind, guiding people to connect and grow. This imaginative backstory, brought to life with the help of the French film studio Gaumont, adds a magical dimension that makes Mirokaï feel more like a companion than a machine. Mirokaï is designed to fit naturally into many different environments. In hospitals and clinics, it can help elevate patient care by assisting staff with routine tasks like transporting medical devices, freeing up nurses to focus on patients. In retail stores, Mirokaï can guide customers directly to the products they're looking for, making shopping quicker and more enjoyable. In nursing homes, it provides companionship to residents and supports caregivers during night rounds, helping to combat loneliness. You might also find Mirokaï at professional events, fairs, hotels, restaurants and airports, where it offers friendly guidance and reliable navigation to visitors. What powers Mirokaï's charm is a combination of sophisticated technology and thoughtful design. Instead of relying on a single AI model, Mirokaï uses multiple large language models to carry on natural, fluid conversations. It also integrates advanced vision language models that help it understand its surroundings in context, while respecting privacy through GDPR-compliant face tracking. One of the coolest features is its unique movement system. Mirokaï balances on a patented omnidirectional ball, allowing it to glide smoothly and silently in any direction. This rolling globe system is perfect for quiet spaces like hospitals and retail stores, where noise can be disruptive. The robot's articulated arms and hands, complete with opposable thumbs, let it grasp and manipulate objects like trays or boxes with confidence, making it genuinely helpful in everyday tasks. Mirokaï's face is actually a projection system, which means it can easily change expressions and emotions to match the conversation, creating a more engaging and intuitive interaction. Its movable ears add an extra layer of visual feedback, making it feel even more alive and friendly. For organizations that want to customize Mirokaï's behavior, there's an easy-to-use "If This Then That" programming interface. This means you don't have to be a coding expert to tailor the robot's functions, whether it's greeting guests, guiding visitors or carrying out specific duties. Enchanted Tools understands that deploying robots like Mirokaï isn't just about the technology. It's also about integration and ongoing support. They collaborate closely with clients around the world to identify the best use cases and ensure smooth implementation. Because robots need maintenance and care, Enchanted Tools partners with local resellers and service providers who are trained to keep Mirokaï running smoothly. This approach guarantees that the robot remains a reliable and helpful presence every day. At the end of the day, Mirokaï isn't just about tech and tasks. It's about bringing a little wonder into our everyday lives. Whether it's helping out in a hospital, guiding you in a store or just making you smile with its expressive face, Mirokaï shows that robots can be both useful and delightful. Who knows? The next time you see one, you might just find yourself chatting with a robot that feels a lot more like a friend. How would you feel about sharing your daily life, or even your workplace, with a robot like Mirokaï? Would you welcome that, or does it make you pause and wonder where the line between human and machine should be drawn? Let us know by writing us at For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Follow Kurt on his social channels: Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions: New from Kurt: Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
CBC
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
In her latest novel, Emma Donoghue boards a train destined for disaster
Set in 1895, Emma Donoghue's latest novel The Paris Express takes readers all aboard a suspenseful train journey from the Normandy coast to Paris. Inspired by a real-life photo of a train hanging off the side of Montparnasse station, she crafted a story that unravels over the course of one fateful day, featuring the fascinating stories of the passengers, from a young boy traveling solo to a pregnant woman on the run, the devoted railway workers and a young anarchist on a mission. Drawing on real people from history and thorough research, The Paris Express is rooted in the political and social themes of the late 19th century. "A lot of this stuff from history is just more interesting than I could invent," said Donoghue, known for her historical fiction writing, on Bookends with Mattea Roach. "Some writers may have imaginations that need no starting substance in the Petri dish, but I don't." Donoghue is an Irish Canadian writer whose books include the novels Landing, Room, Frog Music, The Wonder, The Pull of the Stars, Learned by Heart and the children's book The Lotterys Plus One. Room was an international bestseller and was adapted into a critically acclaimed film starring Brie Larson. She joined Roach to discuss the complexities of the time and the process of writing a novel steeped in historical accuracy. Mattea Roach: How would you describe the role of the railway in France at the end of the 19th century? Why did you want to set a novel at this time and dive into trains? Emma Donoghue: What attracted me was the disaster. I don't want to give any details, but basically there was a famous train disaster and famous photographs of that disaster. I knew that I had to write about this train disaster because the image of that photograph is just so surreal and memorable and has been a popular image on album covers and dorm rooms. But I also was delighted to seize the chance to write about a disaster of any kind because I love the fact that, when a day goes wrong, when a plane goes upside down at Toronto airport, it's affecting all these different people. So it's a wonderful test of character. Would we be the ones helpfully holding the hand of the person beside us or would we be clambering over their heads trying to get our laptops? I wanted a disaster novel and trains were so key to the time. If you see a map of the train lines of Europe, you can see how they made everything possible. They transported talented people like one of the characters on my train, Alice, she's working for Gaumont. She's basically going to invent films the next year. She's there asking her boss for permission to use the camera they have on the weekends. He doesn't see the future, but she does. There's another man on my train, Bienvenue, who's a boy from Brittany and he wants to invent a subway for Paris. Everybody's saying it's a crazy idea. So Paris was this extraordinary centre of the world in that people with any kind of get up and go to them — rebels, bohemians, anarchists, queers — everybody wanted to get to Paris. Being able to get to the big city easily was one thing the trains offered. So there's this extraordinary circulatory system whizzing people to Europe and whizzing products like camembert — the camembert was able to get to its market because trains could move it fast enough that it hadn't rotted. MR: I understand in the process of crafting this novel you spent some time living in Paris. What was it that appealed to you about Paris as a writer that made you want to go first of all, spend a bunch of your own time there, and then really dive in with a historian's lens? ED: It was the other way around. I was going there because my partner is a professor of French and we've spent a few years in France. In the past, we've mostly gone to the lovely warm South, but this time, the kids were older. We thought Paris would be more interesting. So I was going to spend a year there anyway. The only apartment I could find happened to be in the area of Montparnasse on the left bank. So I Googled Montparnasse and there I found the photograph of this crash. I just felt an iron fist gripping my heart saying, "You have to write a book about this." It's the only time I've ever planned to write a book in a place before I go there. I just felt an iron fist gripping my heart saying, "You have to write a book about this." So it wasn't so much being inspired by the place and a novel gradually occurring to me. It was a feeling of, "Okay, this is how I'm going to be spending my year. I'm going to be living in 2022-23, but also in 1895. Every pastry I eat is going to be relevant to the story." MR: How would you describe the role of gender in your writing? ED: It's the door that has opened the way onto a long corridor out of which other doors have opened. I was a very middle class, comfortable girl who did well in school. My awareness of gender and of basically the oppression of women in my teens, especially in the Irish context where there was no reproductive healthcare and so on. That helped make me aware of all the ways in which we are not the norm. Then, when I realized I was queer as well at 14, again, I was like, wow, talk about society's unwritten rules. I'm the other. I'm the one who I thought everybody would hate and despise. And I thought the villagers would come with their fiery torches. That means that I have gone on to write a lot about people of other races, about disability, about people put on show as freaks, about enslavement. So I think it has just sort of opened the doors of my mind. Gender was where it all began and I've retained a very vivid interest in the ways that gender rules structure the world and can limit everybody. I was trying to capture the ways in which trains have often included flirting or picking up strangers. One thing I tried to do in The Paris Express was rather than having the characters who are privileged and nasty and then the brave rebels — I really tried to mix it up. So for instance, there's a sort of unexpected, man, man sexual encounter in the book. I deliberately gave that to a character who's very entitled. He's not a good guy. And yet at that particular moment, I give him this joyful, unexpected encounter because I was trying to capture the ways in which trains have often included flirting or picking up strangers. They bring people together and keep them cooped up together.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Gaumont Germany Is Navigating TV Drama's Big Shake-Up
Getting an international TV show made these days is a tough business. Rising production costs are meeting falling budgets and even the deep-pocketed streamers — who had turbo-charged the global business with big-budget commissions for the past several years — are shifting gears, making fewer shows and focusing more on lower-cost crime shows and less on big-budget drama. More from The Hollywood Reporter Academy "Refused" to Publicly Support Hamdan Ballal, Says 'No Other Land' Co-Director Gemma Arterton, Rafe Spall Set for ITV Spy Thriller 'Secret Service,' Adapted From Tom Bradby Novel How Harlan Coben Hit Novels Become Hit Series Thanks to the Shared Vision of "The Core Four" But Sabine de Mardt continues to find a way. Since taking over as head of the German division of legendary French studio Gaumont in 2018, the veteran producer has delivered a wide range of high-end series, from historic epic Barbarians for Netflix to the post-war drama The Interpreter of Silence for Disney+/Hulu, to In Her Car, a Ukrainian-set psychological drama, produced with some eight broadcasters across as many European countries, and shot amid the ongoing war. Her upcoming slate includes the crime thriller Bone Palace for Netflix, the fantasy-flavored Parallel Me for Paramount+ and a reboot of the classic children's franchise Heidi, being produced for Swiss broadcaster SRF and German streamer RTL+. De Mardt sat down with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of this year's Series Mania TV festival to talk about the changing strategies of global streamers, the growing role of European co-productions and how the Trump government is impacting the business. Gaumont is known for its high-end drama series, but that market has been shaken up in the past few years as the streamers have changed their strategies. When the streamers first arrived, there was the big hope in Germany that we could finally tell darker, more complex stories — all the things that we weren't allowed to tell before. And that was true for a while, but it's striking how the streamers have developed. They initially focused very much on the younger target group, but that's changed. They own the younger demo anyway so they are focusing more on older audiences and on genres like crime and thriller, which has been successful with that audience. Crime is so effective because it has that narrative engine that pulls you in. Even in a brilliant show like The White Lotus, you have the body at the beginning, that helps to drive the story engine. Does that mean the era of daring TV is over? Not entirely. The streamers have a larger data set to work with now and they've determined what is most successful. But if you put the public broadcasters next to the streamers, you can say the public broadcasters are much more willing to experiment, to dare to tackle more pointed topics and themes. This is also due to the fact that they are trying to attract a younger target audience, which the streamers already have. The streamers have become so successful that they are [now] looking more to the older demographic. Our new series for Netflix, Bone Palace, stars Susanne Wolff [aged 51], and Felix Kramer [52], which is a cast for an older target group, not just the very young. Have the streamers' budgets for local-language content come down? It depends on how they evaluate the show. It's very flexible. My experience has been that the streamers will give you the budget you need. But compared to before, getting to a greenlight takes a lot more time. When we made Barbarians [for Netflix] we got the go-ahead based on a short pitch alone. That doesn't happen anymore. Now they are developing more and taking longer to greenlight. When it comes to your more ambitious series you've been doing more co-productions, like your reboot of , which is backed by Swiss public broadcaster SRF and German commercial streamer RTL+. Yes, well with Heidi politics also played a role, because we wanted to make a Swiss series and RTL wanted that too. But we are shooting a historical series, which is relatively expensive for a family program, so it was clear from the start we needed to do co-financing. RTL couldn't or wouldn't have wanted to do it alone. It's clear everyone doesn't have as much money to spend to be able to finance everything on their own. And it's about spreading the risk. A lot of partners are open to co-productions depending on how you reconcile the windowing. There are no real fixed rules yet — you always have to negotiate who gets which windows and how. It's also new territory for the broadcasters, which are slowly getting to grips with it. We're just at the beginning of these kinds of cooperations. As we go forward how it works with the windowing will become clearer. Are the global streamers becoming more open to windowing and licensing, or to taking select territories as opposed to worldwide rights? Yes, definitely. Some streamers will say: I only need the show for Germany or German-speaking territories and you can do what you want with it outside. That's an advantage for producers who can keep some of those rights. For something like Bone Palace, that's a classic financing model. With Netflix, if they want to do a project, they don't need any additional money. But there are other models. For example, we're developing a show now that is a revival of an old brand. I can't discuss it in detail, but we'll be working with a free TV channel and a streamer together, and shooting outside the country to take advantage of tax breaks, but where the main domestic channel will be an American streamer. We did In Her Car, a Ukrainian series, as an independent production with eight different European public broadcasters. In the end, the question is always: What rights are involved? Is it possible to set up financing together with a tax break, inside Germany or outside, where the rights are not affected, or to do it as a co-production where you have a rights split? You've been a loud voice for a reform of the German funding system for film and TV, including requiring the global streamers to pay into a fund to back local productions. Do you expect to push those reforms through? We're very committed to it. If you do the math, it has to happen, because it would give such added value [to the German industry]. At the moment, so much money is being transferred abroad. The idea of an investment obligation is based on the French model so that the profits [from the streamers] don't flow untaxed to the USA, so to speak. Staying with politics, the Trump government has brought a lot of chaos to international trade with his tariff wars. Are you seeing an impact on the film and TV industry? It's still too early to say, but of course, there is a lot of uncertainty. I do think the current moment gives us the chance, in Europe, to reinvent ourselves as Europeans, and come closer together on European issues, to focus on consciously preserving and standing up for our democratic values and our diversity, the polyphony, of Europe. Do you expect to see a backlash in Europe to U.S. content, or to U.S. companies like Netflix and Amazon? I think Netflix and Amazon are very solidly positioned and have the advantage of their local productions. I don't think Netflix is viewed [in Europe] as an extension of the U.S. government. But I do think that a certain narrative, the great American dream narrative, the one that we in Western Europe used to so closely identify with, is being questioned, and reconsidered. There's a new opportunity to strengthen our European identity, and I am really looking forward to that. It's something that's been neglected over the last few years. That's why I'm so happy with In Her Car, because that was such a crazy pan-European cooperation. I'm not talking about making didactic, 'Europe is great' shows but more subcutaneously, conveying the values we stand for — democracy, diversity — in the drama or thriller narratives we develop. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
