Oscar-Winner Guneet Monga Sets Amazon Mini TV Show ‘Gutar Gu’ – Global Bulletin

K.J. Yossman ITVX and Apple TV+ have bucked the U.K.’s downward trend in streamer subscriptions by showing strong growth. According to the analysis from consultancy Kantar, the number of households in the U.K. that subscribe to at least one streaming service fell in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022. The first three months of this year showed 16.10 million households subscribed to at least one streamer while the first quarter of 2022 the figure was 16.91 million and the figure for the same quarter in 2021 was 16.95 million. Despite the consistent drop over the last two years, the research showed that ITVX’s premium service – which launched in the last quarter of 2023, replacing ITV’s previous streaming platform ITV Hub – gained the most number of new SVOD subscribers in the quarter. They were followed by Apple TV+.

Tobi De Graaff Joins Sky Studios

Naman Ramachandran “The Song of Scorpions,” starring Irrfan Khan, Golshifteh Farahani and Waheeda Rehman, written and directed by Anup Singh, will be released in India by Panorama Films and 70mm Talkies on April 28. The film’s release in India was withheld due to the pandemic in 2021. “The Song of Scorpions” is a story of twisted love, revenge and the redemptive power of a song. Nooran, carefree and defiantly independent, is a tribal woman learning the ancient art of healing from her grandmother, a revered scorpion-singer. When Aadam, a camel trader in the Rajasthan desert, hears her sing, he falls desperately in love. But even before they can get to know each other better, Nooran is poisoned by a treachery that sets her on a perilous journey to avenge herself and find her song.

Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament took a hiatus during the pandemic as movie theaters closed for the majority of 2020-2021 and theatrical day-and-date titles on both the big screen and studios’ respective streaming platforms became more prevalent. Coming back from that brink, the studios have largely returned to their theatrical release models and the downstream monies they can bring. Not to mention their power in launching IPs around the world with big global marketing campaigns. When it comes to evaluating the financial performance of top movies, it isn’t about what a film grosses at the box office. The true tale is told when production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs collide with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV. To get close to that mysterious end of the equation, Deadline is repeating our Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament for 2022, using data culled by seasoned and trusted sources.

Irish Oscar winner Martin McDonagh has complained of theatres refusing to perform his work because he would not agree to changes in the language. 

A Hollywood icon! Goldie Hawn has been a major movie star for decades, known for her bubbly personality and humorous characters.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Ryuichi Sakamoto, the renowned composer and member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra who won an Oscar for the score for “The Last Emperor” and composed the haunting score for “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” died Tuesday of cancer at 71.

Naman Ramachandran Blue Ant Media and World of Wonder have launch free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel Drag Race Universe on Amazon Freevee in the U.S. Programming launch highlights on the Drag Race Universe channel include: “Canada’s Drag Race” seasons 2 and 3 (19 x 60’), “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. vs The World” (6 x 60’), “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.” seasons 2 and 3 (20 x 60’). “Drag Race Holland” (8 x 60’), “Drag Race Espana” (10 x 60’), “RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under” seasons 1 and 2 (16 x 60’), the first season of “Drag Race Philippines” (10 x 60’) and “Drag Race Philippines Untucked” (10 x 30’), its companion series that follows the backstage drama.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Veteran film producer Bob Yari (“Crash”) and music executive turned content maker Marvin Peart have formed WonderHill Studios, a film and production entity that will also offer independent theatrical distribtuion.  Yari and Peat privately raised equity for the new company, for which they will serve as co-founders and co-CEOs. The label will also dabble in film acquisitions and rights sales to foreign territories.  “WonderHill Studios is eager to fill a crucial hole within the theatrical and television space, while also focusing on diversity in cinema and television in front and behind the camera. We are dedicated to building a diverse C-suite, and delivering quality independent films to the theatrical marketplace,” Yari said. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Bad Kids,” a hit series from Chinese streamer iQiyi, is to be remade as a Japanese feature film “Gold Boy.” The 12-episode gritty crime thriller depicts the troubles that arise after three children accidentally film a murder. The series was previously licensed to Japanese pay-TV group Wowow.

Michelle Yeoh made history when she became the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress Oscar at the Academy Awards earlier this month. The Malaysian film star told millions of watchers as she held the award for her stunning performance in the highly acclaimed film Everything Everywhere All At Once: "This is a beacon of hope and possibilities."

Owen Wilson is gearing up for  season 2.ET's Ash Crossan spoke to Wilson at the premiere of his new comedy, -- out April 7 — where he shared his excitement over the show's next season and having Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan join the cast.«I guess they have kind of a little shot of Tom Hiddleston and I and Jonathan Majors from season two,» Wilson said when asked about the  teaser at the end of. «And I think that's coming out end of the summer or September.»As for what's ahead, Wilson said the show's second season promises to «get very wild,» now that the Kangs have been unleashed.Season 2 will also see even more famous faces, with the addition of Quan to the cast.«I know.

Oscar winner and Academy member Roger Ross Williams is saying publicly what many in the documentary community have stewed over privately – that the sums of money being spent on Oscar documentary campaigns has “gotten insane.” And Williams, a former Academy Governor representing the Doc Branch, says something may be done about it.

Fremantle Acquires Majority Stake In Belguim’s A Team ProductionsFremantle has acquired a majority stake in A Team Productions (ATP). Based in Belgium, A Team Productions was founded in 2009 and is led by Kobe van Steenberghe and Hendrik Verthé. The company is behind the 2011 short film Land of the Heroes, which won the International Jury Prize at Berlin in 2011. A Team also produced the short Baghdad Messi, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2014. Other credits from the outfit include Patser (Gangsta) by filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. Later this year, A Team will release the feature-length film Baghdad Messi and the high-end fiction series Alter Ego. “I have long admired Kobe, Hendrik, and the whole ATP team’s work,” said Dave Heuten, CEO Fremantle Belgium. “I am excited to be going on this journey with them, finding synergies and developing new content together – I can’t wait to work with this brilliant team and achieve great things together.”

Multistory Media Bolsters Entertainment TeamITV Studios label MultiStory Media has bolstered its entertainment team. Simone Haywood has been promoted to Creative Director for MultiStory London, while Jon Cahn has joined as Executive Producer and Zinia Scroggs has been appointed Series Editor. Haywood was previously Head of Factual Entertainment, steering shows such as Scared of the Dark for Channel 4, BBC Three’s Project Icon, Big Flower Fight for Netflix and Come Dine With Me for Channel 4. Reporting to Chief Creative Officer Ana de Moraes, she will work with Ceri Aston, Creative Director at MultiStory North. Cahn most recently worked on the Danny Dyer-hosted, celebrity show Scared of the Dark, with other credits including Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins and Married at First Sight. Scroggs is currently working on Project Icon with previous credits inlcuding BBC Three’s Glow Up. “Simone is fearless about breaking new ground and grabbing big ideas by the horns… We are excited to give her the opportunity to take the next step in her career, building MultiStory’s entertainment slate with Jon Cahn and Zinia Scroggs, both rising stars whose talents are incredible additions to our team,” said de Moraes.

Peter Werner, Emmy-nominated TV director who won a Best Short Film Oscar in 1977, died suddenly this morning in Wilmington, NC from heart complications following a torn aorta.

Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh's acting roots can be traced back to Manchester, as the city's Metropolitan university has revealed she graduated with a BA in creative arts in 1983.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Indonesian horror feature “Losmen Melati” (aka “Motel Melati”) has set theatrical releases in Malaysian and Singaporean cinemas on April 6, and April 13, respectively, following its release in Indonesia on Thursday.  The film is co-directed by Mike Wiluan and Billy Christian. It tells the story of a secluded and enigmatic guest house, run by its mystifying owner, Madam Melati. As she lures in unsuspecting visitors to the guest house, they are confronted with their worst nightmares, never to be seen again.  The movie features a cast of Alexandra Gottardo (“Tanah Air Beta”), Kiki Narendra (“Perempuan Tanah Jahanam”), Fandy Christian (“Letters for You”) and Samuel Panjaitan (“Ghost also Selfie”). Presented by streamer Catchplay and Infinite Studios, “Losmen Melati” is co-distributed by Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures in Singapore.

Everything Everywhere All at Once” — his first major role in 30 years.“Everything is still so fresh in my mind,” he told Variety in an interview published Wednesday. “And that’s why moving forward I’m still really scared.“Even though I just won an Oscar, I’m still really fearful of what tomorrow brings,” he shared.Quan, an immigrant from Vietnam, had his first acting role in the Harrison Ford-starring movie “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” when he was just 12 years old. The next summer, he played Data in the movie “The Goonies” — but that was it.Until now.“I had a conversation with my agent, and I said, ‘I’m so worried that this is only a one-time thing,'” Quan told Variety about his recent successes.

Ke Huy Quan was on a mission. He’d just been named best supporting actor for his performance as Waymond Wang, the goofy husband of a laundromat owner in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and he wanted to experience the moment with Steven Spielberg. Spielberg, you see, was the filmmaker who cast him in his breakout role in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” when Quan was 12 years old. So during a commercial break in the Academy Awards telecast, Quan, 51, went over to where Spielberg was sitting with his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, whom Quan hadn’t seen since they co-starred in “Temple of Doom” four decades earlier. After hugs all around, Spielberg put his hands on Quan’s shoulders and said, “You are now an Oscar-winning actor.”