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Apple Original Films announced the release date for the upcoming Apple Original Film “Sharper,” starring Academy Award winner Julianne Moore. “Sharper” unfolds within the secrets of New York City, from the penthouses of Fifth Avenue to the shadowy corners of Queens. The film is directed by Benjamin Caron and features a star-studded ensemble cast led by Moore, Sebastian Stan, Justice Smith, newcomer Briana Middleton and John Lithgow...

When “Silent Road” a Greek abduction thriller written by Melina Tsampani and Petros Kalkovalis, dropped its first episode on Mediaset Italia’s flagship Canale 5 station this summer, 1.4 million viewers tuned in, making it the second-highest rated show in its timeslot. The series, which follows an affluent Athenian family after a school bus carrying their children is held hostage, set a new benchmark for the Greek television industry. Directed by Vardis Marinakis and produced by Athens-based Filmiki for Greek broadcaster Mega TV, “Silent Road” is being sold internationally by Beta Film...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences comprises about 10,000 entertainment professionals worldwide (around 7,500 U.S.-based). When submitting for international feature, each country can choose one film in any other language but English. But what people may not realize is that every Academy voter has to opt in to watch the international features. The Academy then assigns a required viewing list for each member, which is roughly 20% of the total movies submitted (this year’s total submissions have not yet been announced but are believed to have surpassed 90 films). These required viewing titles must, at minimum, be watched in order to vote for the first round of voting, which narrows the field down to 15 features. After the shortlist is announced in December, the same members must watch all 15 selections to vote during the nomination voting period that ultimately determines the five Oscar-nominated films...

New York-based arthouse distributor Kino Lorber has acquired MHz Networks, the parent company of MHz Choice, an online streaming service dedicated to international television series. Under the deal, announced Thursday, Kino Lorber will add its library of more than 5,000 titles to MHz Choice, which specializes in non-U.S. TV series, streaming such shows as Scandinavian crime dramas Wallander and Beck, or French period procedural Paris Police 1900. MHz Networks, which began as an extension of American Public Broadcasting, launched its SVOD service MHz Choice in 2015. Kino Lorber is one of the most prolific distributors in the arthouse space, with a recent slate that includes such features as Maggie Peren’s WW2 drama The Forger, which premiered in Berlin, Cannes titles 1976 from Manuela Martelli and The Worst Ones from directors Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, and Pietro Marcello’s 2019 Venice Film Festival entry Martin Eden, which starred The Old Guard actor Luca Marinelli...

Turner Classic Movies and Julien’s Auctions are giving you the chance to own an eponymous mechatronic model employed for Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. All you need is an estimated $2 million to $3 million to make it happen.E.T and other movie items will go on the auction block when an event billed as “Icons & Idols: Hollywood” takes place live Dec. 17-18 in Beverly Hills and online at JuliensLive.com. The headliner is the E.T. Hero “No. 1” model that Spielberg brought to life in his 1982 classic. Predating modern CGI technology and effects, the cinematographic marvel, built in 1981, featured 85 points of movement and is regarded as an engineering masterpiece...

The Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia has named Oliver Stone its jury president and unveiled the program for its second edition, which will run Dec. 1-10 in Jeddah.“The three-time Academy Award winner is behind some of the all-time masterpieces of cinema, including Scarface, The Doors, Wall Street, JFK, Midnight Express, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Nixon and Natural Born Killers.”...

Phyllis Nagy's Call Jane is heading to clinics across the U.S. as part of a new partnership with national and local abortion care providers. Planned Parenthood and the Abortion Care Network’s KeepOurClinics.org campaign have been involved with Call Jane from the get-go, ensuring the realities of a pre-Roe v. Wade world and the roadblocks to abortion access were properly conveyed in Nagy's film. With the overturning of the landmark legislation, 18 states have since instituted abortion bans of some sort, once again leaving many women facing massive barriers to reproductive health. The screenings will be held at a number of the organization's clinics around the country as a way of highlighting those roadblocks and as a dedication to the workers at the clinics who have faced a swell of demand due to out-of-state patients seeking abortion access...