ABC Signature to Remake Newen’s Hit French Detective Series ‘HIP’

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Newen Connect is building up its English-language scripted slate with timely, high-concept titles, including “Wagatha,” a dramatic reconstruction of the viral court case involving Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy, the wives of high-profile British footballers. Newen Connect has also acquired the Australian supernatural bromance “Limbo,” and the inclusive British mystery thriller “Blindspot.” Written by Chris Atkins, “Wagatha” charts the High Court case which stemmed from alleged leaked Instagram stories in 2019 and opposes Rooney and Vardy. Produced by Chalkboard and commissioned by Channel 4, “Wagatha” stars Chanel Cresswell, the BAFTA-winning actor of “This is England,” Natalia Tena (“Game of Thrones”) and Martin Sheen (“The Departed”). Filming just wrapped in September.

 Anders Holm has signed on for a major recurring role in Apple TV+s upcoming live-action Godzilla and the Titans series based on Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise, from Legendary Television, Deadline has confirmed.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Anders Holm has joined the cast of the live-action Godzilla and the Titans series at Apple in a recurring role, Variety has learned exclusively. Holm is the latest addition to the the series, joining previously announced cast members Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Joe Tippett, Elisa Lasowski, Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell and Mari Yamamoto. Character details are being kept under wraps. The show hails from Legendary Television and is a part of the company’s growing Monsterverse franchise. Per the official description of the series, “Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the untitled series will explore one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.”

Academy Award-nominated writer/director Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton,” “The Bourne Legacy”) is having a moment thanks to the rapturous critical and commercial reception of his new “Star Wars” series, “Andor,” starring Diego Luna. The showrunner is riding high with the praise given to his Lucasfilm streaming series, which presents audiences a very different experience and perspective on the galaxy far far away.

“Interview With the Vampire” is even less new. And yet somehow, AMC’s adaptation of the Anne Rice classic feels like something we haven’t seen before. It’s sensitive, disturbing, campy and beautiful, and while it’s violent, there’s a gorgeous creativity to the violence, as seen in Episode 1 when Lestat (Sam Reid) punches right through a man’s head.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to “Kompromat,” an action thriller film directed by Jerome Salle (“The Largo Winch” ), starring Gilles Lellouche (“The Stronghold”) and Joanna Kulig (“Cold War”). SND, the commercial arm of M6, is representing the film in international markets. Loosely based on a true story, “Kompromat” stars Lellouche as a French diplomat working in Siberia who is arrested overnight by the Russian authorities. Accused of sexually abusing his own daughter and imprisoned, he realizes he is a victim of a Kompromat. Someone is working with the FSB (Federal Security Service) to frame him. His only way out is to escape.

—or rather, it's more like an interpretation of the movie star's life. Based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates, the film is a that mixes real life and fantasy. Of course, some of the biographical elements in the movie are based on fact—including her relationships with high-profile men like baseball star Joe DiMaggio, playwright Arthur Miller, and a president.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent IFC Films has bought North American rights to Sebastien Marnier’s thriller “The Origin of Evil” starring “Call My Agent!” star Laure Calamy. The film world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and had its North American premiere at Toronto. The suspense-filled ensemble film also stars Doria Tillier (“La belle époque”), Suzanne Clément (“Mommy”), Dominique Blanc (“Indochine”) and Jacques Weber (“En thérapie”). Marnier’s follow up to “Faultless”and “School’s Out,” “The Origin of Evil” was produced by Caroline Bonmarchand with Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of mirco_scope with Avenue B Productions executive producing. IFC Films will release the film in 2023.

Wait until Franck hears this. Diane Keaton is open to reprising her role as Nina Banks in the beloved Father of the Bride franchise.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A trio of French films, the melodrama “A Family for 1640 Days,” political thriller “Goliath” and comedy “Adieu Paris,” are set to be released in the U.S. by the New York-based company Distrib Films. Both Fabien Gorgeart’s “A Family for 1640 Days” (“Une vraie famille”) and Edouard Baer’s “Adieu Paris” are represented in international markets by Le Pacte. “A Family for 1640 Days,” winner of the top prize at last year’s American French Film Festival, revolves around Simon, a six-year old adopted boy who is about to reunite with his biological father. The movie stars Melanie Thierry (“En therapie”) and Lyes Salem. Distrib Films is planning to release the film in early 2023 and have it play at festivals.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Lukas Gage has joined the cast of the “Dead Boy Detectives” series at HBO Max, Variety has learned. The eight-episode series was ordered at HBO Max back in April. It is based on the DC comics of the same name as well as “The Sandman,” from characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The official series description states, “It’s a fresh take on a ghost story that explores loss, grief, and death through the lens of Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), two dead British teenagers, and their very alive friend, Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson). So, it’s a lot like a vintage detective series — only darker and on acid.”

Swedish House Mafia have debuted a new collaboration with Alicia Keys at a recent show in San Francisco.The producer trio — who were playing in the city as part of their ‘Paradise Again’ tour — enlisted Keys on stage, where she performed the as-yet unreleased song ‘Finally’. The track itself is a cover of the Kings of Tomorrow song of the same name, which featured the singer Julie McKnight.For their part, Swedish House Mafia and Keys bring an atmospheric touch to the 2000 original, pairing the singer’s R&B vocals with the trio’s trademark build-ups and bass drops.

As David Cronenberg preps “The Shrouds,” he continues to shop around the TV adaptation of his 2015 novel “Consumed.” But now it looks like another Cronenberg-related project will hit TV before that, although the director isn’t directly involved.   READ MORE: ‘The Shrouds’: David Cronenberg Describe His Next Film With Vincent Cassel & Léa Seydoux As “Autobiographical” The Hollywood Reporter reports that HBO plans to give Cronenberg’s 1981 film “Scanners” the series treatment.   Continue reading ‘Scanners’: HBO Is Remaking Cronenberg’s Film Into A TV Series With ‘Black Mirror’ Writer, ‘Lovecraft Country’ Director at The Playlist.

When he’s not making films like “The Cabin In The Woods” or “Bad Times At The El Royale,” Drew Goddard puts his signature on TV shows of all kinds. And over the years, he’s left his mark on shows as diverse as “Alias,” “Lost,” “Daredevil,” and “The Good Place.” Now he looks to do it again with ABC and a pilot of a French detective series the network picked up the rights to last week.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeAs he prepares to celebrate two decades in late night, Jimmy Kimmel has agreed to stick around for at least three more years. Kimmel announced on Tuesday that he would continue his run as host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” through the show’s 23rd season, extending his contract — which was set to expire in the next year. Kimmel has fronted “Jimmy Kimmel Live” as host and executive producer since 2003. “After two decades at ABC, I am now looking forward to three years of what they call ‘quiet quitting,’” he quipped in a statement.News comes as Kimmel prepares to return to Brooklyn next week for the show’s sixth visit to the borough. This marks the first time “Jimmy Kimmel Live” has been back in New York since 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic put such trips to a halt, of course). The late night talk show will once again tape in front of a live studio audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter ABC has ordered a drama pilot from Drew Goddard based on the French series “HPI.” The news comes less than a week after it was reported that ABC Signature had acquired the English language adaptation rights to the series. The official series logline reads, “A single mom with three kids and an exceptional mind helps solve an unsolvable crime when she rearranges some evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department. When they discover she has a knack for putting things in order because of her high intellectual potential she is brought on as a consultant to work with a by-the-book seasoned detective, and together they form an unusual and unstoppable team.”

ABC has given a pilot order to a character-based procedural drama from top TV and film writer Drew Goddard (Daredevil, The Martian) and ABC Signature, where Goddard and his Goddard Textiles are based.

If you’ve seen the original, there’s little point in watching “Goodnight Mommy,” out now on Prime Video. Yes, that 2014 film did not feature a performance by Naomi Watts as the mother who is tortured by her twin sons, but that’s about the only added bonus.

EXCLUSIVE: ABC is developing a character-based procedural drama from top TV and film writer Drew Goddard (Daredevil, The Martian) and ABC Signature where Goddard and his Goddard Textiles are based. I hear the project, based on TF1’s popular detective series HIP (High Intellectual Potential), has been a standout and is looking good for a fall “second cycle” round of pilot pickups, which ABC is planning. According to sources, the network has an early, mid-October script delivery date deadline for a few projects that are in more advanced stages of development to contend for about 2-3 pilot orders. The Drew Goddard drama, which is considered a frontrunner for a spot, is targeted for the 2023-24 season.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Antonin Baudry, who made his feature debut with Netflix’s submarine thriller “The Wolf’s Call,” is set to adapt Homer’s epic war tales of “The Iliad and The Odyssey” into a science fiction series titled “Ulysse.” Pathé has recently boarded the series project which is being co-developed by Axelle Boucai (The Mad’s Women Ball”) and Alain Goldman (“La Vie en Rose,” “The Mad’s Women Ball”) at Paris-based Ness Films. “Antonin Baudry is writing the adaptation and had the idea of transposing these mythological tales in space and in the future,” said Boucai, who cited “Dune” as inspiration.