Bill Thompson Launches Management & Production Company Artists Group | Unscripted

The wait for Max‘s European launch is nearly over.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent In one of the most anticipated keynotes at Series Mania Festival, JB Perrette, president/CEO of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, dropped the launch date for Max across the first nine European countries on May 21.

The Sims, is reportedly in production.The film adaptation is set to be produced by LuckyChap Entertainment, with principals Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara to produce alongside Vertigo Entertainment.The screenplay is set to be co-written by Briony Redman and the film’s director, Kate Herron, best known for directing the first season of Loki.The game’s publisher, Electronic Arts, is also set to have some involvement in the creation and production of the feature film.The Sims is a life simulation video game, in which the player controls an avatar, making them work, build houses, develop relationships, skills and personality traits.The first version of the game was released in 2002, and within two years had sold more than 6.3million copies world wide.Several expansion packs and sequel games later, the franchise has sold nearly 200million copies world-wide, becoming one of the best-selling video games of all time.

EXCLUSIVE: JoAnna Garcia Swisher is expanding her lifestyle platform The Happy Place with the launch of her production banner THP Entertainment, which she will co-run alongside longtime business partner and co-founder, Kate Gordon.

BBC Studios has acquired Werner Film Productions, the company behind Australian drama hit The Newsreader.

Anna Marie de la Fuente With co-production an ever-popular resource for independents and emerging talent, the Madrid Film School (ECAM), hailed as one of the leading film schools in the world, has launched ECAM Forum, a new co-production initiative to run June 10 – 13 in Madrid. An Open Call ending April 9 has been announced March 18 for submissions from local Spanish feature film projects in development or in post-production, and series projects in development.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Lupin” star Omar Sy, “Fast X” director Louis Leterrier and “Gangs of London” producer Thomas Benski have launched Carrousel Studios, a European independent production company with offices in Paris, London, Los Angeles and Senegal. The banner will finance and produce film and TV projects, with an emphasis on elevated action, thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy and comedy. The company will look to tap into tax credits, European incentives and brands to finance content.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hollywood producer and financier Joseph Cohen (“Brokeback Mountain,” “12 Years A Slave,” “Sicario,” “La La Land”) is launching a new company in Hong Kong called MediaRealm Advisors Asia. It will provide consulting services to Asia-based institutional and professional investors looking to invest in American Entertainment Investors mainstream Hollywood movie projects. He is joined in the venture by Hong Kong and Tokyo based Adam Guy Orlebar Garrett.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” creator and star Rob McElhenney is expanding his burgeoning empire with the launch of More Better Industries. The company is comprised of three distinct entities: More Better Productions, More Better Advisory and More Better Ventures. More Better Ventures will invest strategically in sports, entertainment and related properties that further the mission of the other More Better entities.

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran talent agent Fatmata Kamara has joined Independent Artist Group, the agency’s Head of Global Talent, Andrew Rogers, announced on Friday.

EXCLUSIVE: UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has said the 40% indie film tax relief will bring balance to a movie sector that has swung too far towards big-budget fare in recent years.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor-producer Esha Bargate is launching a production company that aims to challenge how Hollywood views and portrays Indian culture and society.

Former HBO Europe execs Johnathan Young and Ioanina Pavel have resurfaced with their own indie.

Thania Garcia Universal Music Group Nashville is stepping into the TV and film landscape with the launch of Sing Me Back Home Productions. Sing Me Back Home Productions will “tap into the deep catalog of artists from throughout UMG Nashville’s history as well as celebrating both newly discovered talent and stories,” according to the company’s official announcement.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy nominee Rain Valdez (Razor Tongue) on Monday announced the launch of Rainbow Entertainment, an equity-centered and trans-led production company focused on elevating BIPOC and queer storytellers, both in front of and behind the camera.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The American Federation of Musicians has struck a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, reaching a deal that union leaders hailed as “a watershed moment for artists” that includes residuals for made-for-streaming content and protections against the use of AI. The AFM announced the deal one day after the sides resumed contract negotiations that began in January.

EXCLUSIVE: Candis Cayne, who made her name as one of the only trans actresses on TV when she featured on ABC drama series Dirty Sexy Money, has launched a trans-focused production company.

K.J. Yossman Author and screenwriter Giles Paley-Phillips is launching a new film production company called Eight Digits.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In an exclusive one-on-one interview with Variety, Fernando Medin, president and managing director of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Latin America and U.S. Hispanic, drilled down onthe company’s programming and growth strategy for the region where it launches its rebranded streaming platform, Max, on Feb.

Carole Horst Highland Film Group shared a first look at “London Calling,” an action-comedy that reunites director Allan Ungar with star Josh Duhamel after the success of the action heist thriller “Bandit.” Film also stars Jeremy Ray Taylor (“It,” “and “It: Chapter Two”), Rick Hoffman (“Billions,” “Suits”) and Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”) Written by Omer Levin Menekse and Quinn Wolfe, “London Calling” sees mediocre hit man Tommy Ward (Duhamel) go on the run and get stuck in L.A. after mistakenly killing a relative of London’s biggest crime boss (Gillen).