France Télévisions Boss Delphine Ernotte Cunci Talks Debunking Major Societal Issues & “Building A Common Imagination” – Series Mania

Brits who are travelling to France by ferry over Easter have been warned they could face “delays” this bank holiday weekend. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has updated its travel advice for the country.

Cohen Media Group (CMG) has acquired US rights to the feature documentary Slava Ukraini, co-directed by French philosopher and activist Bernard-Henri Lévy.

Friends star Courteney Cox and UK producer Sister are investing in a new production venture from British TV producer Richard Bacon.

Airlines Ryanair and Jet2 have both warned passengers that they could face delays due to French Air Traffic Control (ATC) strikes. The walkouts, which are planned until Saturday, April 8, impact flights passing through French airspace.

Universal Television is developing a series adaptation of Diane Marie Brown’s debut novel Black Candle Women with Jenna Bush Hager, who has a first-look deal with Universal Studio Group, under her production banner Thousand Voices. Hager is teaming with Bel-Air showrunner Carla Banks Waddles and Good Girls creator Jenna Bans, both of whom have overall deals with UTV, for the project.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor GlobeScreen Auditoriums has taken French rights to “Blix Not Bombs,” a documentary about former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, who was given the task of looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, in the period running up to the U.S.-led invasion of the country 20 years ago. The deal was closed by Toronto-based sales agent Syndicado Film Sales, which is also an executive producer on the film. The film had its world premiere at Copenhagen documentary festival CPH:DOX on Monday, the anniversary of the invasion. In the film, Czech-Swedish filmmaker Greta Stocklassa interviews the Swedish diplomatic, now 94 years old, about what happened in the months leading up to war. He describes his meetings with George W. Bush and Tony Blair, his frustration when Colin Powell gave his pivotal speech in the UN Security Council, and his feeling of emptiness when the U.S. started the invasion, despite his reports that his team had found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rodolphe Belmer, the former CEO of Canal+ Group, who recently took the helm of France’s leading commercial channel TF1, said the company looks to forge deeper ties with streaming services, including Netflix, to team on premium content. Belmer, who was part of Netflix’s administration board from 2018 to 2022, explained TF1 is facing a dearth of U.S. content available for its primetime slots. “U.S. series are less and less available because of the vertical integration of big U.S. production companies and networks, so we have to replace the bulk of these programs,” said Belmer, who recently succeeded to Gilles Pelisson as CEO and chairman of TF1.

Casey Bloys wants Kate Winslet to be venerated in the States.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While she retired prematurely at the age of 39, Brigitte Bardot has left an indelible mark on France’s popular culture in the 1960’s and 1970’s. With her wild blonde mane, smoky eyes and pouty lips, Bardot became a symbol of a modern and effortlessly sexy French woman, and a style emblem that continues to inspire current trends. The event series “Bardot,” which is penned and directed by Daniele Thompson (“The Queen Margot”) and Christopher Thompson (“La bûche”), world premiered at Series Mania Festival to unanimous praise and has been pre-sold by Federation nearly worldwide. “‘Bardot’ is like the French ‘The Crown’ because Bardot embodied France, and through her journey we reminisce about many parts of France’s history and popular culture in the 1950’s and 1960’s,” Federation’s boss and “Bardot” producer Pascal Breton told Variety.

After the launch of its first original content in 2022, Disney+ France is expanding and announced a slate of new productions at the Series Mania festival in Lille Wednesday afternoon.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LILLE, France — Paramount+ will be bowing “Drag Race Italia” Season 3 on the streaming service in Italy, followed by the U.S. and Latin America later this year.  The Italian Season 3 follows on the recent announcement of three new “Drag Race” editions in Brazil, Germany and Mexico and a “Global Drag Race All Stars,” which will air on Paramount+ in their respective territories this year, Paramount+ announced Wednesday. “As we expand Paramount+’s global footprint, it was important to recapture ‘Drag Race’ in key international markets and also build an interconnected competition series with a new ‘Global Drag Race All Stars’ – it’s like a global Super Bowl for Drag,” said Chris McCarthy, president-CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Civil unrest in France is hitting drama event Series Mania as transit strikes and protests begin to impact festival goers. The popular European drama festival is held annually in Lille in northern France, and has this year drawn its largest number of delegates to date. But the event’s usually tranquil city setting has taken an unexpected turn amid national turmoil in France due to President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform. Macron’s government is raising the minimum retirement age in France from 62 to 64 years, and prolonging the years of contributions required for a full pension. The reforms were passed last week without a parliamentary vote, prompting widespread protests around the country that have only built upon months of hostilities and strikes by groups such as rail and waste disposal workers.

Piers Morgan Uncensored: "I rung [the bell] three times. It's very hard not to cry, sorry. I'm crying just looking at it again because you wait, you just can't wait to ring the bell and I'm still in God's hands, whether or not you're going to be 100 per-cent or not but you hope for the best because you have.

Popular BBC series The Traitors returned for a hilarious sketch for Red Nose Day, as two iconic contestants joined a a rather star-studded round table.The parody sketch began with Dawn French playing show host Claudia Winkleman, who announced: "I’m actually Claudia Winkleman - half woman, half fringe." Those sat around the table then began to remove their hoods, revealing the famous faces underneath, which included Alison Hammond, Dame Mary Berry, Steve Merchant and Danny Dyer. Actor Ewan McGregor also made an appearance as his Star Wars character Obi Wan Kenobi. As the skit continued, Traitors icon Maddy Smedley was unhooded and accused those around the table of either being traitors or faithfuls.

Marta Balaga It has been over 20 years since Cédric Klapisch delighted audiences with his 2002 comedy “Pot Luck” about a group of twentysomethings sharing a flat in Barcelona.  Featuring the likes of Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France and “Yellowstone” star Kelly Reilly, the film – also known as “The Spanish Apartment” – has spawned two sequels: “Russian Dolls” and “Chinese Puzzle.”  Now, French director is putting the old team back together in the Amazon Prime Video series “Greek Salad,” which opens Series Mania on March 17. But there is a twist. 

Danny Dyer has been confirmed to star in a Comic Relief parody of The Traitors.The sketch, set to air during Friday night’s (March 17) Comic Relief show, will also feature Stephen Merchant, Jennifer Saunders, Mary Berry and Rosie Jones, alongside series one contestants Maddy Smedley and Wilfred Webster.The show’s host Claudia Winkleman will be played by Dawn French, who will assemble the famous faces at the roundtable as they attempt to uncover the traitor.Comic Relief Night on BBC One will be hosted by David Tennant, Zoe Ball, Paddy McGuinness, AJ Odudu and Joel Dommett, with musical performances from Tom Grennan and Zara Larsson.Based on the Dutch series De Verraders, The Traitors debuted in November last year and became the biggest brand-new entertainment launch for the BBC in two years, picking up 34million views on BBC iPlayer.

This Morning presenter Alison Hammond is reportedly set to join The Great British Bake Off when the Channel 4 series begins filming later this year. Alison, 48, will reportedly be replacing Matt Lucas as co-host, after the comedian announced his departure at the end of last year, telling fans that it had become clear he couldn't balance both GBBO and other commitments. Matt's fellow co-host Noel Fielding will be remaining on the show, with Alison set to present alongside him.

Pink Parrot, for example, unveiled a bevy of pre-sales on comedy romp “4 Days Before Christmas,” led by deals with Germany’s Splendid and Kaleidoscope in the U.K. FilmSharks has closed Latin America with The Walt Disney Co./Star Distribution on “Dalia and the Red Book,” as well as Germany, Russia/CIS and Taiwan with the U.S., France, Japan, Spain and Italy in discussions. Open-market international sales for theatrical distribution have sagged terribly in the past two decades on all but standout titles. One exception, which can still deliver seven figure returns, is animation.  Despite a slowing sales cycle, Mafiz and the Spanish Screenings still saw a dizzying slew of announcements. Following, a selection: 

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Penguin” series at HBO Max has added Michael Zegen, James Madio, and Scott Cohen to its cast in recurring roles, Variety has learned exclusively. The three join a cast that includes series lead Colin Farrell, who will reprise the role of Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot from “The Batman, as well as Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, and Clancy Brown. HBO Max is not releasing character details for three new additions, but sources say that Zegen is set to play Alberto Falcone. Alberto is the son of Gotham City crime boss Carmine Falcone, who was played by John Turturro in “The Batman,” and the brother of Sofia Falcone, who will be played by Milioti in “The Penguin.” In the comics, Alberto takes credit for being the serial killer known as The Holiday Killer, who targets Gotham gangsters on a holiday each month.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The trio behind Mediawan, the French company which recently acquired a majority stake in Brad Pitt’s Plan B, have made an offer to buy CGR Cinema, France’s second biggest multiplex chain, Variety has confirmed. The bid has been made by Pierre-Antoine Capton and French telecom tycoon Xavier Niel, the co-founders of Mediawan. Capton and Niel are being backed by a consortium which includes Matthieu Pigasse, a big-time financier who is the third co-founder of Mediawan, among others. The offer values CGR Cinemas below €500 million ($300 million), according to a source closed to discussions. The British fund Aermont Capital has also made an offer, according to the French news site “L’informé.”