Sky Studios Europe Bosses Talk Up Co-Productions With Big U.S. Players — MIA Market

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios Productions is pushing further into the ad-funded programing (AFP) space by hiring a dedicated Head of Branded Entertainment.

Marta Balaga Fremantle bosses Jennifer Mullin and Andrea Scrosati opened up about the company’s three-year deal with Angelina Jolie at Cannes’ Mipcom. “She had plenty of other opportunities,” said Mullin, Group CEO for the super-indie, which produces everything from “Got Talent” and “Idol” to “My Brilliant Friend” and Luca Guadagnino film “Bones and All.” “First of all, [Jolie] is global. We are global. She has impeccable taste, she wants to tell ambitious, impactful stories. All of these notes really align with what we want to do.” “She can tell any story she wants and we can put it anywhere in the world,” continued Mullin. “She felt that Fremantle would offer her the most flexibility and home where she can do her best work.”

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Julianne Moore is set to lead Sky and AMC period-drama series Mary & George, about powerful royal family favourites Mary Villiers and her son George.

ITVX and Viaplay four-partner Litvinenko, which will see David Tennant playing the doomed Russian dissident, has sold into 80 territories ahead of its launch. AMC+ and Sundance Now have taken rights in the U.S., while Prime Video bagged Canada from distributor ITV Studios. 

Andrea Iervolino’s Social Media App TaTaTu Lists On Euronext

Liza Foreman CANNES  —  The four-part drama “Litvinenko,” starring Scottish actor David Tennant, has sold to more than 80 international markets, ahead of its debut on the new ITV streaming service, ITVX in the U.K., and on Nent Group’s Viaplay streaming service in the Nordics, Netherlands, Poland and the Baltics. AMC Networks’ Sundance Now and AMC+ have acquired the exclusive U.S. rights to the drama, and Prime Video has taken the series in Canada.  In Europe, “Litvinenko” will air on M6 in France, ProSiebenSat.1 in Germany, and Sky Italia, amongst others.

Paramount+ has dropped a fresh trailer for Tulsa King, its upcoming mob drama starring Sylvester Stallone. The trailer debuted on-air Sunday during the Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs game on CBS.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s MIA, a market dedicated to international TV series, feature films, animation and documentaries, wrapped its eighth edition on Saturday on a positive note boasting a 20% rise in attendance compared with 2021, having attracted more than 2,400 registered industry execs from 60 countries, more than half of which from Italy. However, the pandemic was still limiting travel last year, which makes comparisons difficult. The mood was undoubtedly upbeat in the halls and terraces of central Rome’s Palazzo Barberini – which besides being Italy’s national ancient art gallery is also the market’s main hub – and in the adjacent state-of-the-art Cinema Barberini movie theater during five days of curated dealmaking and dozens of panels and project pitching sessions involving 70 TV, film, doc and animation projects.

The Weeknd is joining the likes of Michael Myers and Dracula at Halloween Horror Nights, where «Blinding Lights,» «Heartless» and other chart-toppers drown out the screams from park guests in . To get all the behind-the-scenes details, ET spoke with John Murdy, executive producer of HHN at Universal Studios Hollywood, who worked closely with The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, to create a “surreal living nightmare filled with grotesque characters and themes” inspired by his music and short films. “Abel had a very specific idea. He wanted to focus on what he would refer to as ‘the universe of ,’” Murdy explains.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent On a cobblestone-paved square in the ancient town of Tivoli, north-east of Rome, in late September, a large crew is prepping to shoot a key scene in Italian period drama “La Storia,” which will be pubcaster RAI’s biggest event show next year. Based on a bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante – whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference – “La Storia” is set during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath in Italy. The eight-episode series, being unveiled by Beta Film to buyers at Rome’s MIA content market, stars Italian A-list actor Jasmine Trinca – who earlier this year was a member of the Cannes jury – as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution.

Marta Balaga Sky Studios has confirmed its commitment to premium content at MIA Market in Rome. “When we say premium, we talk about mature, provocative, sophisticated storytelling,” said Meghan Lyvers, director of original drama at Sky Studios U.K. Noting the company’s interest in prestige, high-end limited series (“‘Chernobyl’ was an incredible example of that”), “blockbuster” event series, but also ones that can potentially return. An adaptation of Heather Morris’ novel “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” is in the works, which will see Sky partnering up with Peacock. TNT has acquired “The Lazarus Project,” while crime series “A Town Called Malice,” created by Nick Love and launching next spring, will be a “love letter” to the 1980s.

EXCLUSIVE: Dutch producer Submarine’s good week here in Rome at the MIA Market has continued as it unveiled its latest project.

The looming writers strike in the U.S. could be an “interesting opportunity” for producers working outside the country in an era of globalized content, CAA’s head of Global TV Ted Miller told a panel at the MIA Market in Rome on Thursday.

EXCLUSIVE: Sylvester Stallone, Bear Grylls and Endemol Shine North America have established a production partnership with plans to create high-adrenaline series.

Netflix’s Italian arm is hunting for anti-heroes.

EXCLUSIVE: Labid Aziz’s People of Culture Studios is partnering with Man of Action Entertainment (Ben 10), Creation Station and Composition Media to produce the 3D animated family feature Sky & Luna, based on the original IP from Creation Station.

The number of Italian feature films finding a home outside of Italy doubled between 2017 to 2021, according to a new landmark study commissioned by local cinema body Anica.

Broadcaster commissioning initiative The European Alliance has put The Kollective, a journalism-based mystery drama from Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah – The Series, ZeroZeroZero) and producer Femke Wolting, into development.