Latest in Saudi Arabia

EXCLUSIVE: One of the hottest and most anticipated films of Sundance 2020 is attracting some very big names. Hillary Clinton is likely to be among the luminaries at today's world premiere of The Dissident, I hear. Whether the former Secretary of State speaks at the screening, Clinton’s presence alone is sure to add…

A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced five people to death for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul last year. The news was first reported by Saudi Arabia's state-run Al-Ekhbariya TV, which also noted that three people were sentenced…

In an earnings call with analysts to discuss AMC Entertainment’s third-quarter results, CEO Adam Aron blasted National CineMedia’s new initiative placing advertisements closer to feature films. Starting last Friday, NCM began running a single 30- or 60-second “platinum spot” immediately before the “attached” one or…

Federal prosecutors are alleging that two Twitter employees were recruited by the Saudi Arabian government to provide personal account information on its critics. The complaint detailing the allegation was unsealed today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Among the accounts compromised were those of a news…

The WWE is to hold its first ever women's wrestling match in Saudi Arabia. The wrestling federation is to host a fight between WWE Superstars Natalya and Lacey Evans at pay-per-view event Crown Jewel tomorrow night (October 31). The match is part of its Riyadh Season, which includes more than 100 events over…

Stephen Colbert dug into U.S. tensions with Iran on Monday night’s edition of The Late Show. The CBS late-night host discussed some of President Trump’s comments after oil fields in Saudi Arabia were attacked by drones over the weekend. “Our top intelligence officials think Iran did it, and so does our top…

Saudi Arabia’s first film festival, the Red Sea International Film Festival, is set to take place in the city of Jeddah between 12 – 21 March, 2020. With a focus on the ‘global south’, the festival’s program will also showcase Arab and international cinema across several sections. Festival director and CEO is Mahmoud…

EXCLUSIVE: Jennifer Hanser, a financial analyst with Deutsche Bank who then went on to work at Merrill Lynch, AOL, FIFA, Major League Baseball and Sony Music Entertainment, has been hired by the Saudi Entertainment Ventures Company (SEVEN) as EVP Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions. Hanser is a key hire. SEVEN was…

The government of Saudi Arabia has said it wants to invest $35B in the country’s entertainment sector with a significant chunk of that money set aside for theatrical growth. The stated investment was unveiled by the General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM), which issues cinema licenses. The aim is to have 2,500…

AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron is over the moon here at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yesterday marked the biggest pre-sales day for the largest exhibitor in the world when Avengers: Endgame went on sale, further proof to what he has been exclaiming for quite some time: Theatrical is still king. No questions about…

The Berlin Film Festival‘s new leadership duo of Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek have revealed some of their new programming team. As anticipated there is a strong Locarno (Chatrian’s former festival) flavour. Chatrian has appointed a seven-member selection committee. Locarno's former head of programming, Marc…

Hasan Minhaj has responded to the Netflix removal of an episode of his Patriot Act show in Saudi Arabia for political reasons. Speaking on Sunday’s mid-season premiere, Minhaj criticized Netflix’s decision to remove the episode from its service in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis claimed that Minhaj’s criticism of Crown…