Berlinale Series Selection ‘The Fall’ Producers Firefly Prep Serbia’s First Superhero Series (EXCLUSIVE)

BreAnna Bell Following its March 4 live debut, Chris Rock’s “Selective Outrage” standup special opened to promising figures as Netflix’s first jump into live content. During the Feb. 27-March 5 viewing window, the special managed to land on the Netflix Top 10 US chart on the English-language TV list at No. 7 despite a small window of availability. (Because the show aired late on Saturday night, only the first day and a few hours of viewing was counted during this week’s window.) Live from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, Rock’s first standup show following the infamous Oscar’s slap was one of several live offerings on Saturday as Netflix accompanied it with pre- and post-show coverage featuring appearances from Ronnie Chieng, Leslie Jones, Deon Cole and Arsenio Hall, among others, as well as appearances and commentary from Amy Schumer, Cedric the Entertainer, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes. The special first debuted in the US, and hasn’t been counted on Netflix’s global charts yet.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sideshow and Janus Films have bought North American rights for “Orlando, My Political Biography,” Paul B. Preciado’s film which won four awards at the Berlinale. In “Orlando, My Political Biography,” Preciado sheds light on Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando,” the first novel in which the main character changes sex in the middle of the story.  A century later, Preciado, who is a trans writer and activist, decides to send a film letter to Woolf, telling her that Orlando has come out of her fiction and is living a life she could have never imagined. Preciado organizes a casting and gathers 26 contemporary trans and non-binary people, from 8 to 70 years old, who embody Orlando.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Shea Whigham has been cast in a recurring guest star role in the “Bass Reeves” series currently in production for Paramount+, Variety has learned. David Oyelowo stars in the series based on the life of the titular legendary law man. The series also stars Barry Pepper, Dennis Quaid, Forrest Goodluck, Lauren E. Banks, Grantham Coleman, and Demi Singleton. Per the official logline, the show “will bring the legendary lawman of the wild west to life. Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.”

Fall Out Boy have announced two intimate UK shows and shared the tracklist for their upcoming new album ‘So Much (For) Stardust’.The band will release their eighth studio album – and first in five years – on March 24, via Fueled By Ramen.Ahead of the record’s arrival, Fall Out Boy will return to the UK for two tiny shows in Manchester and London. The US band will play at Manchester’s Band On The Wall on March 15 and London’s Heaven on March 16.Fans who pre-order the new album from Fall Out Boy’s UK web store before 2pm GMT on March 7 will get exclusive ticket access to the special gigs.

EXCLUSIVE: MRC has made a deal to develop Pornsak Pichetshote’s Eisner Award-winning graphic novel bestseller The Good Asian into a series. James Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett are producing for Atomic Monster. Will Rowbotham and Luke Maxwell are producing for 3 Arts. 

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Demi Singleton is the latest addition to the cast of the “Bass Reeves” series at Paramount+, Variety has learned exclusively. Singleton will appear in the period drama as a series regular opposite series lead David Oyelowo, who will star as the titular legendary lawman. Additional cast members include Barry Pepper, Dennis Quaid, Forrest Goodluck, Lauren E. Banks, and Grantham Coleman. Per the official logline, the show “will bring the legendary lawman of the wild west to life. Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.”

Sideshow and Janus Films have picked up the North American rights to “Afire,” which won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at Berlinale 2023. A theatrical release is planned for Summer 2023.From writer-director Christian Petzold, the film follows four young people who convene at a holiday house by the Baltic Sea.

EXCLUSIVE: Grantham Coleman (Rustin) is the newest addition to the Paramount+ limited series Bass Reeves, exec produced by and starring David Oyelowo.

Sideshow & Janus Films have snapped up North American rights for Mexican director Lila Avilés’s family drama Tótem following its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale last week.

Taylor Fritz just reached a new career-high!

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales outlet New Europe Film Sales has sold North American distribution rights for its Berlinale-selected drama “Delegation” to Greenwich Entertainment. “Delegation” is a story of three Israeli high school friends who take part in a class trip visiting Holocaust sites in Poland – their last time together before going to the army. During the trip, shy boy Frisch, aspiring artist Nitzan and class heartthrob Ido deal with issues of love, friendship and politics against the backdrop of concentration camps and memorial sites. The journey will change them forever. The deal for the film, which had its premiere in the Generation 14Plus competition, was negotiated by Naszewski and Greenwich co-president Edward Arentz.

EXCLUSIVE: Mandalay Television is continuing to ramp up its slate of book to series adaptations.

Hong Sang-soo’s latest film, “In Water,” has been bought by Cinema Guild for North American distribution on the heels of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. The film played in the Encounters section and is expected to have its North American premiere at a festival later this year. Cinema Guild will be releasing “In Water” theatrically. Described by Cinema Guild as Hong’s “most overtly experimental work to date,” “In Water” follows Seongmo (Shin Seokho), a young man who recently gave up acting and has decided to make a film with his own money. He and his two friends venture to the rocky shores of a large island to shoot the movie together. His former classmate, Sangguk (Ha Seongguk), will operate the camera and Namhee (Kim Seungyun) will act in it. The only problem is that Seongmo hasn’t decided what to make. As he wanders in the rocks and wind, Seongmo searches inspiration but what he finds is a young woman picking up trash. And that’s all he needs.

Ernie Hudson is recalling his time on Ghostbusters and how difficult it was for him. The actor played Winston in the Ivan Reitman-directed movie.

American distribution following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Cinema Guild will release the film in theaters following its North American festival premiere later this year. The film tells the story of a a pair of wayward young people who abandon theirnewborn child on a stormy night in the mountains of Greece. Taken in by a family of farmers, Jon grows up without knowing his father or mother. Years later, after a tragic accident, he is sent to prison, where he meets Iro. The two form a connection, expressed through music, that will, by turns, haunt them and uphold them the rest of their days. Freely inspired by the story of Oedipus, Schanelec’s latest is as terrifying as myth and as gentle as a folk song.

Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler director Felicity Morris has said the documentary market is going to contract and warned filmmakers against “chasing the next viral story that everyone is talking about.”

Marta Balaga Crime shows look for a new angle, argued Berlinale Series participants on Monday.  There is no shortage of new offerings, from Berlinale Market Selects’ “Two Sides of the Abyss,” Serbia’s “The Fall” or South Africa’s “Donkerbos,” created by Nico Scheepers, to China’s melancholic, decades-spanning “Why Try to Change Me Now,” with Golden Bear winner Yinan Diao attached as executive producer. But while there is still an appetite for traditional detective stories, producers and broadcasters are venturing out of the “damaged, middle-aged white detective slot on a Sunday night,” suggested All3Media International’s Rachel Glaister. They are also thinking about their younger audience.

Shades of Blue creator Adi Hasak didn’t mince his words when discussing the state of U.S. television at the EFM’s Berlinale Series Market today.

“I think we need to find a way to avoid the U.S. brainwash,” said Newen Connect CEO Rodolphe Buet at this morning’s Berlinale Series Adapting to the Market session.

Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone & Kevin Connolly To Star In Dark Comedy ‘Krazy House’Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone, and Kevin Connolly have signed on to star in the dark comedy Krazy House from writer-directors Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil. Production on the pic has just been completed in Amsterdam. The cast is rounded out by Gaite Jansen, Walt Klink, Jan Bijvoet, Chris Peters, and Matti Stooker. Maarten Swart will produce the film for Kaap Holland Film, in a co-production with Haars and van der Kuil. Kaap Holland Film’s Jorn Baars and XYZ’s Todd Brown are executive producers. Splendid Films is handling distribution in the Benelux. XYZ has North American sales rights.