BBC Studios Unveils ‘Artemis Fowl’ Writer Eoin Colfer’s First Live Action Original

Ever since Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland” became a billion-dollar box office hit, one of Walt Disney Pictures’ main goals has been to make live-action adaptations of all their animated classics for a new generation of kids and families. And so far, it’s been mostly working.

Eagle Pictures Seals Italy Distribution & Production Deal With Sony

BBC Studios Science Unit Names First Creative Director

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video Nordics is pushing heavily into the Scandinavian unscripted originals market, unveiling a handful of reality shows at a splashy event in Sweden today. The streamer has also struck a multi-territory movie output deal with Nordisk Film for the likes of John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Hunger Games prequel, we can reveal.

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios Productions is pushing further into the ad-funded programing (AFP) space by hiring a dedicated Head of Branded Entertainment.

Marta Balaga Fifth Season has acquired international distribution rights to Elisa Viihde original series “The Man Who Died.” The company, formerly known as Endeavor Content, is behind “The Lost Daughter” or “Cha Cha Real Smooth.” It also handles global distribution for such hit shows as “Killing Eve,” “The Morning Show” or “Normal People.”  Based on the bestselling book by Antti Tuomainen, the six-episode series is led by Jussi Vatanen, who will next be seen in Aki Kaurismäki’s upcoming feature “Dead Leaves.” Saara Kotkaniemi and Sara Soulié, his co-star in Solar Films’ drama “Forest Giant,” also star.   

Meet any high-profile Indian director or producer these days, and the talk is all about bibles, writers rooms and showrunners, rather than making films. Driving down Mumbai’s main artery, the Western Express Highway, most of the billboards are promoting new premium drama series from Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar, rather than the latest Bollywood release.

BBC Studios Makes Pair Of European Hires

When you’re deep in among the cocktail parties and dinners or meeting up with much missed contacts at Mipcom this week, it might be easy to forget why everyone is there: the shows. To help you remember, we bring you Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best TV being sold in Cannes in 2022. You may hear whispers along the Croisette about the next big global hit, and The Hot Ones is our pick of a wealth of programing, featuring some of the biggest names in television from the top players in distribution.

K.J. Yossman BBC Studios is set to wholly acquire Sid Gentle Films, the production company behind hits such as “Killing Eve” and “Ragdoll.” BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial production and distribution arm, is intent on growing its portfolio of U.K. scripted labels. It already wholly owns Lookout Point (“Happy Valley 3”), Clerkenwell Films (“Somewhere Boy”), House Productions (“Sherwood”) and most recently Firebird Pictures (“Wahala”) and is the controlling shareholder in Baby Cow (“Chivalry”). In 2018 it acquired a 51% stake in Sid Gentle, which was founded in 2013 by Sally Woodward Gentle, with Lee Morris and Henrietta Colvin.

BBC Studios has taken full control of Killing Eve producer Sid Gentle Films.

“The Little Mermaid” is doing swimmingly on the journey to its live-action release.

K.J. Yossman Amazon Prime Video and BBC Studios Factual are the latest comopanies to sign up to We Are Doc Women’s pledge to commit to 50% female directors for their factual output. They follow previous signatories BBC Documentaries, Channel 4 Documentaries, Hilary Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions, Lenny Henry’s Douglas Road Productions, Gordon Ramsay’s Studio Ramsey, and Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse, who have all previously committed to the pledge. Also comprising the 67 signatories are production companies including The Garden, Blast Films, Wall to Wall, Twenty Twenty, Lime Pictures, Minnow Films, Dragonfly Film & TV and Arrow International Media, 72 Films, Dorothy Street Pictures, Rogan Productions, Story Films, Empress Films and Grain Media.

When you’re deep in among the cocktail parties and dinners or meeting up with much missed contacts at Mipcom next week, it might be easy to forget why everyone is there: the shows. To help you remember, we bring you Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best TV being sold in Cannes in 2022. You may hear whispers along the Croisette about the next big global hit, and The Hot Ones is our pick of a wealth of programing, featuring some of the biggest names in television from the top players in distribution.

Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) will invest £1 million ($1.08 million) over three years to develop and support aspiring natural history filmmakers in the U.K. and globally. The NHU produces popular natural history programs including “Blue Planet II,” “Planet Earth II,” “Seven Worlds,” “One Planet,” presented by David Attenborough, “Dynasties,” “Blue Planet Live” and “Springwatch” In places where the NHU is filming, the initiative will fund opportunities for locally based production talent to access in-country training, offer field experience working with NHU teams on location, and invest in local talent to attend U.K.-based training courses. 

Sky Studios Strikes Podcast-To-Screen Deal With Tortoise Media

EXCLUSIVE: James Reed, director of Oscar-winning Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher, has struck a one-year development partnership with BBC Studios.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan’s Toei Animation and Korea’s CJ ENM unveiled a volley of new projects on Saturday flowing from their previously-established cooperation pact. The new shows include: a series that will be produced in both live action and animated formats; a live action series; and a third animation series. “The genesis of this co-operation was the notion that we should play to the strengths of Korean content and Japanese animation,” said Yi Jongmin, the CJ executive who heads the joint venture’s shared control unit. “That was before we factor in language barriers and cultural differences and suffered the disruptions of the COVID pandemic.”

First-Look Image Of Adam Driver In Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’Today the producers of Michael Mann’s upcoming biopic Ferrari shared first-look images from the film’s set, including Adam Driver in costume as Enzo Ferrari. Check out the image above. The film is shooting in Italy and features Driver alongside Penélope Cruz, who plays Laura Ferrari, and Shailene Woodley as Lina Lardi. The cast is rounded out by Patrick Dempsey, Jack O’Connell, Peter Collins, Sarah Gadon, Linda Christian, and Gabriel Leone. Michael Mann directs from a script he co-wrote with Troy Kennedy Martin (The Italian Job). Set during the summer of 1957, the film follows ex-racecar driver Ferrari as bankruptcy stalks the company he and his wife, Laura, built from nothing ten years earlier. Their tempestuous marriage struggles with the mourning for one son and the acknowledgment of another. He decides to counter his losses by rolling the dice on one race – 1,000 miles across Italy, the iconic Mille Miglia.