Plan B Entertainment, the award-winning company co-founded by Brad Pitt, is in talks to sell a significant stake to French media group Mediawan.
16.10.2022 - 14:21 / variety.com
Marta Balaga Palestine’s Fresco Films has boarded Tamara Erde and Mathias Énard’s TV one-off “Breaking Bread,” with France’s Haut et Court Doc already locked as the main producer. Tony Copti will produce alongside Emma Lepers. Attempting to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through food, “Breaking Bread” will try to answer one question: Does gastronomy separate us or bring us together? Clocking in at 52 minutes, the documentary – to be shot in Arabic, Hebrew and French – will go into production in the spring of 2023. Mediawan Rights handles the sales.
“There are many documentaries on this subject and most of them show the harshness of the conflict. We loved this project because of its lighter and more approachable perspective on such a dense subject, which creates the opportunity of reaching a wider audience,” says head of documentary sales at Mediawan Rights, Arianna Castoldi.
“Tamara’s gaze, so fresh, human and conscious of the reality of the situation, as well as Emma’s expertise in producing high-value documentaries, are what convinced us to jump on board.” Erde is also hoping to engage viewers in a “direct and sensorial” way, using familiar angles to raise questions about complex matters. “The idea was born when we met with Mathias in his Middle Eastern restaurant in Barcelona. We started to talk about certain dishes he serves there, and realized some differences in the way we perceived them, him from his life in Lebanon and me from my life in Israel.” Erde, also behind “This Is My Land,” is an Israeli-French filmmaker. Énard is a French writer and the Prix Goncourt winner. Described by the directors as an “emancipatory documentary,” “Breaking Bread” will invite the audience to join in their travels and
Plan B Entertainment, the award-winning company co-founded by Brad Pitt, is in talks to sell a significant stake to French media group Mediawan.
A team of painters were at work this week restoring the mega-photographed Hollywood sign, a mission that carries a perverse irony.
Ed Meza @edmezavar A restored version of Iván Zulueta’s ground-breaking 1979 film “Arrebato” (“Rapture”) is screening at the Lumière Festival’s International Classic Film Market (MIFC) in Lyon, France, thanks to Los Angeles distributor Altered Innocence and Madrid’s Mercury Films. The cult film, considered a milestone in Spanish cinema from the post-Franco years, is seen as metaphor for how directors can be consumed by filmmaking. It centers on José, a frustrated low-budget horror movie director trying to complete a film while struggling with drug addiction. When he receives a package from past acquaintance Pedro — a Super-8 film reel and audiotape – José soon finds himself sucked back into the eccentric young man’s vampiric orbit.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Mediawan Kids & Family’s animation label Somewhere Animation is set to produce its first show, “Chefclub Adventures,” a colorful comedy series set in the world of cooking. The Paris-based company, which is dedicated to 2D animation, is partnering up with the popular brand and studio Chefclub to create the series. “Chefclub Adventures” will be distributed in France and worldwide by Mediawan Kids & Family. It will be introduced to buyers at Mipcom Junior as one of the five finalists. Founded in 2016 by the Lang brothers, Chefclub runs an online digital cooking channel and website drawing 2.5 billion views each month worldwide, including 390 million views each month in France and one billion in the U.S., according to Mediawan.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cinemed, the Mediterranean Cinema Film Festival, is partnering up with Lebanese film org Aflamuna / Beirut DC to launch a new co-production and co-financing initiative aimed at high-profile projects from the Arab world. The new program, which is also backed by France’s National Film Board and is part of the festival’s industry showcase Cinemed Meetings, will present seven projects involving 22 Arab countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Liban, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Syria, among others. All selected projects are currently in development and are being brought by filmmakers who have previously directed at least one short film.
Angelina Jolie stated exactly why she wanted to leave the family business — and it’s such a difficult read!
To say Brad Pitt is upset about Angelina Jolie‘s new abuse allegations against him would be an understatement.
Manori Ravindran International Editor Former Warner Bros. Discovery and OSN executives are teaming up to form a new content studio serving the Middle East and North Africa, Variety can reveal. Rise Studios is being set up by industry veterans Emad Morcos, former OSN chief content and commercial officer; Amanda Turnbull, former general manager at Warner Bros. Discovery Middle East, Africa and Turkey; and Amel Farag, former head of content commercial strategy at OSN. Rise will invest in local content and talent in order to launch homegrown film and TV productions on both regional and global broadcasters and streaming platforms.
Sade have been recording new music at Miraval Studios in France, which have been freshly renovated and reopened by Brad Pitt and producer Damien Quintard.The news was revealed yesterday (October 10) in a Billboard cover story in which both Pitt and Quintard were interviewed, with the pair sharing that Sade have visited Miraval Studios in the time since its renovation.Quintard spoke of Sade frontwoman and solo artist Sade Adu, saying that “you could feel the love that she and the band had for [Miraval Studios]”. Quintard went on to explain that the band – who previously recorded at the studio during its active years in the 2000s – are one of the acts with a “special connection [to] Miraval that can’t really be explained.”“It’s a dream come true to see this place activate again,” Quintard said.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Mediawan Rights has expanded its unscripted division with the appointment of former Shine France top executive Jeremy Klif, and is opening up to formats from third-party producers. Klif has been tapped deputy director of international sales for the unscripted unit which was launched by Mediawan Rights’ managing director Valérie Vleeschhouwer, in April. Klif began his career in the U.S. at Mark Burnett Productions, and later worked as head of sales and acquisitions for Shine France (“The Voice,” “MasterChef”) upon his return to Paris. He went on to launch Borderline Media, a production and distribution banner specialized in formats, in 2017. At Mediawan Rights, Klif will work alongside Estelle Bodén, the co-founder of Sweden’s Elk Entertainment, who serves as head of distribution for the division. Like Klif, Bodén has a track record as an entrepreneur and also worked for indies and big groups such as Strix Television.
Brad Pitt is breaking his silence on Angelina Jolie’s abuse allegations!
Brad Pitt has responded to allegations by ex-wife Angelina Jolie of violence and abuse towards her and their children, insisting he is “not going to own anything he didn’t do”. Jolie, 47, has accused the Hollywood actor of pouring wine and beer over their children’s heads and “choking” one during an alleged outburst on a private jet flight from France to Los Angeles. She claims Pitt, 58, pushed her against the wall during a confrontation in the plane’s bathroom, and says the incident ended their marriage.
Brad Pitt will "respond in court" to Angelina Jolie's claims he was violent towards their kids. The 'Maleficent' actress claimed in legal documents earlier this week that her ex-husband had "choked" one of their children and "struck another in the face" during a flight from France to California in September 2016, and while the 'Bullet Train' star's attorney slammed the claims as a "personal attack" and insisted he hadn't been violent towards his brood, his team will seemingly use legal channels to clarify his version of events.
Brad Pitt will respond to abuse allegations made by his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, in court. In a complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles court, Jolie detailed allegations of Pitt's abuse of her and their children. During a September 2016 flight from France to Los Angeles, "Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face" and "grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her," according to the latest filing in the exes' vicious legal battle over a French winery they bought in 2008.
Brad Pitt has denied Angelina Jolie’s allegations that he “choked” and “struck” their children in a contentious incident on the couple’s private jet in 2016.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt called it quits in 2016, but the incident that led to their split has remained contentious years after their divorce.
Angelina Jolie has claimed that her ex-husband Brad Pitt "choked" one of their children and "struck another in the face" during the alleged heated argument on a private plane in 2016, in a bombshell new countersuit.
Brad Pitt is denying new allegations from Angelina Jolie.
Brad Pitt poured red wine and beer over his own children and pushed ex-wife Angelina Jolie against a wall during a bout of violence on a private jet, it is alleged. The Fight Club star, 58, is accused by Jolie of “choking” one of their children and striking another in the face as the family flew back home to Los Angeles in 2016. Jolie, 47, said Pitt was “physically and emotionally abusive” to her and the children, bringing their 12-year relationship to an immediate end and prompting her to file for divorce.