Molly Yeh Signs Exclusive Deal With Food Network

Naman Ramachandran Director Siddharth Anand is jubilant at the continuing success of blockbuster “Pathaan,” starring Shah Rukh Khan. The film’s revenues have surpassed those of the Hindi-language dubbed version of S.S. Rajamouli’s “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion” in recent days. “Pathaan,” produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF), has grossed $126.7 million, beating the Hindi dubbed version of “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,” which had grossed $98.8 million in 2017. “Baahubali 2,” which was made in the Telugu and Tamil languages, earned $278 million worldwide, making it the second highest grossing Indian film of all time behind 2016’s Hindi-language “Dangal” that collected $311 million globally (much of that from mainland China). “Dangal” collected $65.6 million in India and is now the fourth highest Hindi-language grosser in the country after “Pathaan,” and the Hindi dubbed versions of “Baahubali 2” and “K.G.F: Chapter 2.”

Former Netflix UK Director of Scripted Chris Sussman has signed a deal with Banijay UK.

Emily Longeretta Amid a bit of drama surrounding HBO’s “The Idol,” the Weeknd-led series is in talks to debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May, multiple sources confirm to Variety. Star Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye previously attended Cannes Film Festival and is hopeful the show premieres there, according to one source, but the festival has not yet screened the drama, which has undergone a great number of changes behind the scenes. HBO is not commenting at this time. Though primarily a film festival, a handful of TV series have been brought to Cannes in the past, including “Twin Peaks: The Return” and “Top of the Lake: China Doll.”

Rachel Seo Digital creator, podcaster and filmmaker Markiplier has signed an exclusive video partnership with Spotify for his two podcasts, “Distractible” and “Go! My Favorite Sports Team.” Video episodes of both podcasts will be available to stream on Spotify exclusively. Markiplier is set to debut additional exclusive video content on the platform. “Distractible,” which Markiplier hosts with Wade Barnes and Bob Muyskens, reached the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s podcasts charts the week of its debut in 2021. The podcast centers on discussions of various, seemingly random topics such as anti-aging practices, Halloween candy and roller coasters. “Go! My Favorite Sports Team” is hosted by Markiplier and Tyler Scheid; it launched in 2022 and provides humorous commentary on the world of sports.

Naman Ramachandran Yash Raj Films’ 2018 hit “Sui Dhaaga: Made in India” will release in China on March 31. Starring Bollywood A-listers Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, the film follows an unemployed small-town man who defies all odds and naysayers and revives his family’s garment business. The film’s plot is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy that Indians should be self-dependent to achieve their goals. Dhawan plays a tailor, while Sharma plays an embroiderer in the film who, as husband and wife, team to fulfil their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. The film is directed by Sharat Katariya and produced by Maneesh Sharma and Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films. The trio previously collaborated on the hit “Dum Laga Ke Haisha” (2015).

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. 

EXCLUSIVE: For Banijay Asia’s Deepak Dhar, 2023 is shaping up to be one of the busiest in a three-decade career in Indian media. Not only has he just launched The Night Manager India on Disney+ Hotstar and is delivering several scripted and unscripted shows, he is also working to position India has Banijay’s Asian production hub.

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC is confident that it will stem the flow of its presenter exodus by signing a new deal with its highest-profile news anchor.

Dr. Dre has nothing but praise for Michael B. Jordan's monumental efforts on.

 star Ellen Pompeo, co-star Debbie Allen is sure this won't be her final time on the long-running medical drama.Speaking with ET's Nischelle Turner on the red carpet at the premiere of at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on Monday, Allen opened up about Pompeo's exit — and some of the chatter from fans who were a little disappointed that her departure didn't get a bit more fanfare in the episode.«A lot of people have a lot to say,» Allen quipped. «You know, Meredith Grey is taking a journey to another direction, [but] she's still alive.

Old friends and one-time lovers Elaine (Brittany O’Grady from Season One of “The White Lotus”) and Craig (Nat Wolff) are workaholic employees at a rising game company headed by a divisive tech kid named Sang (Brian Yoon). They make those mobile games to which we’re all woefully addicted, killing brain cells to the rhythm of microtransactions that make people like Sang billionaires.

Naman Ramachandran Damon Wayans Jr. and Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor will create and write the graphic novel “Shogun Run.” Set in 1990s South Central Los Angeles, “Shogun Run” is described as “Big Trouble in Little China” meets “Attack the Block.” Producers David Uslan and Gary Glushon will serve as creative consultants on the project, while the illustrator will be revealed imminently. The graphic novel will be published by First Second, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers, in 2025. A series or film adaptation of the graphic novel is on the cards down the line. Wayans Jr. was most recently in Netflix’s “The Harder They Fall,” which opened the 2021 BFI London Film Festival and went on to win a BAFTA. Bachelor, an internet personality with more than 27 million followers on TikTok as King Bach, is currently in thriller film “Fear.”

Naman Ramachandran A galaxy of A-list talent will participate in SXSW’s inaugural South Asian House initiative. Panel discussion Creating South Asian Content for a Global Audience, will feature actor Rizwan Manji (“Schitt’s Creek”), Emmy-winning producer/writer for Vice, Falguni Adams (“Dateline NBC”) and Apoorva Bakshi, producer of International Emmy-winning series “Delhi Crime,” moderated by CEO of Jingo Media and producer of South Asian House Jitin Hingorani. Another panel, Investing in the Future of Our South Asian Stories, will feature CEO and co-founder of URL Media S. Mitra Kalita and actor Kausar Mohammed (“The Flash”), moderated by co-founder of Box Office Guru Media Gitesh Pandya.

, Nicole is back with Mahmoud's family and is told that she doesn't need friends in Egypt outside of their family.Nicole has moved to Egypt to be with Mahmoud for a second time, after she left the first time due to having trouble adapting to the stricter Muslim culture. For example, Nicole doesn't like adhering to the way women are expected to dress and questioned why Mahmoud doesn't have to follow the same standards. In this clip, she speaks to her sister-in-law, Fatima — who moved from China to marry Mahmoud's brother — and asks her for tips on how she has learned to adjust.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Food Network is adding more than a dash of Italian flare to its next big primetime cooking competition, shooting the eight-episode series on-location in a Tuscan villa where 10 competitors live together while striving to prove their mastery of Italian culinary techniques. Aptly titled “Ciao House,” the “Big Brother”-meets-“Under the Tuscan Sun” competition, hosted and judged by network vet Alex Guarnaschelli and Tuscan-born chef Gabriele Bertaccini, premieres Sunday, April 16 at 9 p.m. on the linear Food Network channel and streams the same day on Discovery+. Per Food Network’s description for “Ciao House”: “From real-life nonnas showcasing how they make pasta from scratch to a lesson with the head butcher of a three centuries-old family butcher business, each challenge is accompanied by a local experience steeped in tradition. The competitors must also navigate alliances and rivalries as they pick their own teams and each week, the losing team must vote off one of their own. In the end, only the last chef standing wins the life-changing grand prize: an immersive culinary education across Italy, training with renowned Italian master chefs.”

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Sales agency Memento Intl. has unveiled the first clip and poster from Liu Jian’s Berlin competition title “Art College 1994,” which world premieres on Feb. 24. The film is a portrait of youth set on the campus of the Chinese Southern Academy of Arts in the early 1990s. Against the backdrop of reforms opening China to the Western world, a group of college students live in full swing as they take their first steps into adulthood, where love and friendships are intertwined with artistic pursuits, ideals and ambitions. Caught between tradition and modernity, they now have to choose who they want to become. It is the director’s third animation feature after 2010’s “Piercing I” and “Have a Nice Day,” which premiered in competition at the Berlinale in 2017, and quickly built a cult following. “Have a Nice Day” was also honored with the best animated feature award at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore and India-based Mumba Devi Motion Pictures is screening two films at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) and has unveiled a slate of future titles. The company, headed by producer Sweta Chhabria and producer-director Aditya Kripalani, makes issue-based films focusing on stories that are mostly to do with gender and burning topics like suicide prevention and mental health. The outfit makes it a point to minimize the male gaze by bringing on board heads of department who are all women. Kripalani and Chhabria’s just-completed Singapore-set film “Grand Sugar Daddy,” which has its market premiere at EFM on Feb. 18, follows a 70-year-old widower who is introduced to the world of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies. The film traces his conversations with a Singaporean Chinese woman, an Indian woman and a transgender Malay.

Selome Hailu Disney+ has canceled two series: “Big Shot” and “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.” From David E. Kelley, comedy-drama series “Big Shot” starred John Stamos as Marvyn Korn, a men’s basketball coach whose temperamental nature has him ousted from the NCAA and ends up coaching girls at an elite private high school. The cast also included Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessalyn Gilsig, Richard Robichaux, Sophia Mitri Schloss, Nell Verlaque, Tiana Le, Monique Green, Tisha Custodio and Cricket Wampler. Kelley co-created “Big Shot” with Dean Lorey and Brad Garrett, and all three served as executive producers along with Bill D’Elia. The series premiered in April 2021, followed by the debut of Season 2 in October of 2022.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Brazilian animated feature “Perlimps,” Alê Abreu’s follow up to Oscar-nominated “Boy and the World,” has been sold in key territories by Best Friend Forever ahead of the European Film Market. “Perlimps” has been picked up for Japan (Child Film and New Deer), China (DDDream), CIS and baltics (Kinologistica), Sweden (Njutafilm) and Portugal (Films4you). BFF is in advanced discussions to close German Speaking territories, Benelux, Spain, Italy and North America. As previously announced, UFO Distribution will release the feature in France. “Perlimps” was just released last week in Brazil by leading independent outfit Vitrine Filmes and Sony Pictures, which holds Latin American rights.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Blue Fox has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for the family adventure movie “School of Magical Animals” from sales agency Global Screen, which has also sold the film’s sequel to several territories. “School of Magical Animals” will be released with 300 copies in the U.S. on March 24 nationwide. James Huntsman of Blue Fox said: “There is a strong appetite for high quality live action family movies and ‘The School of Magical Animals’ delivers on all fronts.” Global Screen has sold the sequel, “School of Magical Animals 2,” which was the most successful local film at the German box office last year with a $21 million gross, to Spain (Flins & Piniculas), Poland (Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty), Denmark (Another World Entertainment), Hungary (ADS Service), CIS and the Baltic States (Investacommerce), and has closed a worldwide airline deal. It will have its market premiere at Berlin’s European Film Market on Saturday.