BORN TO RUNWAY

In 2018, after 16 glamour-packed seasons, Heidi Klum famously bid farewell to Project Runway, the wildly successful fashion competition series she helped create in 2004. (The German supermodel even nabbed an Emmy in 2013 for Outstanding Host in a Reality-Competition Program.) Upon her departure, Klum and fellow PR co-host Tim Gunn soon launched another fashion competition series, Making the Cut, on Amazon in 2020. This year, Project Runway is finding a new home on Freeform, and the move spurred an exciting announcement: Klum is back in the judge’s seat. The 21st season marks the glorious return of its original super-host. “We love our baby and we wish our baby good luck; but now we’re ready to pop out a new one,” Klum said about her decision to leave the show in 2018. At press time, there was no news on whether or not fans can expect to see Gunn standing alongside Klum, though rumors abound. The ten-episode show will also stream on Disney+ and Hulu after its Freeform run.

FORBIDDEN KISS

Writer/director Halina Reijn was thrilled when she came up with the idea for her latest film, the erotic thriller with Nicole Kidman, Babygirl. “I always wondered how I could integrate all the different parts of myself, of being a woman, and I felt that some parts of myself that I really like I would like to present to the outside world,” she said. “But some of them I’m incredibly ashamed of, and I’m nervous about. So, I wanted to make a movie that asks the existential question, ‘Is it possible to love and accept all of myself?’ So that is how I started to write. And I wanted to make an entertaining and funny movie as well, but with a darker undercurrent.” Because the film was shot in NYC in many different locations, they had to move quickly. “It’s very costly to shoot there,” she added. “But we really wanted that, because we wanted to make a movie that felt big, that takes you in and is seductive. Since we were limited in the amount of days we had, that put lots of pressure on the actors and all of us.”

TAKE ME TO CHURCH

One of this season’s hottest films is the Vatican mystery thriller Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. Don’t be surprised if the film wins multiple Oscars it’s that good! “Conclave has been a very special project for me the collaboration throughout the whole process has been really rewarding, and I could not be happier that audiences around the world seem to be reacting so positively,” said writer Peter Straughan, who was nominated for Best Screenplay Motion Picture for the Golden Globes. Upon receiving the nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture, Rossellini said: “Right now, all I can think of is my parents Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman and feeling grateful I am their daughter. The words from the prayer “honor the father and the mother…” roam around my brain, making me feel proud of myself.

GAME ON

quid Game mania continues to take over the globe! The South Korean dystopian survival thriller just aired its second season and made Netflix’s Global Top 10 list. With the season two finale ending on a cliffhanger, there’s buzz aplenty for season three. A promotional video was recently released, where Young-hee the doll appears, looking a bit worried that there’s now a brand-new male doll on the scene! “Everyone say hi to Chul-su,” wrote Netflix alongside the teaser. “Squid Game 3 coming 2025.” Squid Game is now number one in 92 countries, breaking the record for most views for a show in its premiere week and breaking into the Most Popular List in record time. Netflix launched a monthslong fan activation promotional campaign, which drew a whopping 6 million people online and 52,000 in-person fans across ten countries with nearly 37,000 participants and 1,700 pink guards in one-of-a kind races and mazes.

ON THE ROAD

If you thought actor Jeremy Piven was hilarious as Ari in HBO’s Entourage, be sure to check him out when his comedy tour goes national. “I love being on the road, being in a room with an audience and having a laugh!” Piven told INDUSTRY. Pressure is a privilege, and I love that privilege. While it can be scary to be on stage, you’ve got to face your fears in this life. Because on the other side of that is something very rewarding.” Piven’s latest project is The Performance, a complex drama co-written and directed by his older sister, Shira, that takes place in Europe in the late 1930s. Filmed in Slovakia, the script is based on writer Arthur Miller’s short story. “I play Harold May, a really talented Jewish tap dancer who gets asked to perform for Hitler in Berlin. It’s a fascinating film; I learned to tap dance for it. It’s truly a miracle it got made it took us 15 years! I am so proud of it; it’s really one of the highlights of my career.” He added: “I’ve never had an experience where I’m with an audience watching the film and they’re gasping at certain points. It’s incredible to know how much they are truly connecting to the scene.”