Sky Studios Touts Flexibility, European Collaboration As Keys to Success

Long-serving Sky Deutschland exec Quirin Schmidt is moving to Gaumont as an executive producer in April.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief C More has commissioned a second, six-episode season of ITV Studios Finland’s glossy detective drama “Helsinki Crimes” (aka “Harjunpää”). The first season of Helsinki Crimes became one of C More’s most-watched crime series to date. After its launch on Netflix last year, in regions across CEE, Benelux, Austria and the Nordics, the series was one of the top ten most-watched series, and the third most-watched in Finland.  In the new season, Chief Constable Timo Harjunpää, portrayed by Olli Rahkonen, and his murder team investigate bloody clashes between street gangs, love scams and a wave of burglaries.

Sky and AMC’s upcoming Mary & George adaptation has found its King James I.

Bob Yari and Marvin Peart have today announced the launch of WonderHill Studios, a new production and distribution company that will operate in the independent space, focusing on film and television production, domestic film distribution, acquisitions and foreign sales.

Sex Education season four – offering that “it’s very new.”Netflix‘s British television show follows the lives of the students, staff, and parents of the fictional Moordale Secondary School, as they contend with various personal dilemmas – often related to sexual intimacy.In season three of the series, viewers will recall that Maeve (Emma Mackey) had taken an offer to study abroad in the United States, where she left behind her best friend Aimee (played by Wood).In an interview with Capital Breakfast, Wood detailed how her character manoeuvres through high school now that her friend is across the country.“We’re at a new school. For my character she hasn’t got Maeve because Maeve is in America,” Wood said.

While there has been a swirl of reports lately that Marvel Studios is going to slow down the number of TV series released on Disney+ in a year, that doesn’t mean the studio is canceling any series it already has in active development, including the highly anticipated series, “Wonder Man.” Not only are they moving toward production, but it seems as if the “Wonder Man” series has found yet another actor to add to the cast.

K.J. Yossman Former Amazon Studios Europe boss Georgia Brown has revealed her first industry role since leaving the streamer last year. She is set to chair a skills task force for the U.K. screen industry with the intention of focusing on critical labor shortages in the production sector. Joining her on the task force will be senior representatives from major U.K. broadcasters BBC, ITV and Channel 4 as well as international studios and streamers including Prime Video, Netflix, Disney and NBCUniversal, key orgs such as ScreenSkills, PACT and the British Film Commission and national screen agencies. The British Film Institute (BFI) have convened the task force following a skills review commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport showing crew shortfalls will soon reach breaking point. Its remit is to produce and support a plan of action that will result in growth, training and increased retention in the screen sector as well as improvements in equity, diversity and inclusion and mental health. Where appropriate, the task force will make recommendations to the U.K. government.

Former Amazon Studios Europe boss Georgia Brown is to chair the BFI’s Skills Task Force, which has been assembled to address major skills shortages in the UK film and TV sector over the next five years.

Brent Lang Executive Editor When it opened in 1995 in Times Square, the All Star Café was supposed to be the sports world’s answer to Planet Hollywood. Not only was it developed by the same restaurant chain, but it borrowed from its playbook, attracting legends such as Joe Montana, Shaquille O’Neal, Ken Griffey Jr. and Andre Agassi to serve as ambassadors to the brand. But what began as a red carpet extravaganza slowly deteriorated, a victim of changing tastes and rocky finances.   Now, Sports Illustrated Studios and 101 Studios, the company behind “Yellowstone,” are partnering with Stephen Curry, the nine-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA champion and two-time NBA MVP — and his Unanimous Media multimedia company — to produce a feature film and documentary about the All Star Café’s rise and fall. It is based on a 2020 article by Jon Wertheim.

The Last of Us has become Sky’s biggest finale audience for a U.S. debut series of all time.

Naman Ramachandran BAFTA-winning producer Patrick Spence is leaving ITV Studios after three years, Variety has confirmed. Spence, who serves as creative director, will leave at the end of March, ITV Studios managing director Julian Bellamy told staff via an internal memo on Thursday. Spence will continue to partner with ITV Studios on upcoming projects including “People vs. Post Office” (working title). Spence joined ITV Studios in 2020 and secured several acclaimed commissions, including the BBC’s drama-romance “Ralph & Katie,” a spin-off of “The A Word,” about the lives of a couple with Down syndrome; ITVX’s “Litvinenko,” about the investigation into the death of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko; the BAFTA-nominated Cold War spy drama “A Spy Among Friends,” also for ITVX; and post-pandemic frontline medical drama “Maternal” for ITV.  

Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz has called the plethora of shows on the market “really confusing” for viewers.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Ne-Yo and rapper Lil Yachty are among the eight notable names who have been hit with Securities and Exchange Commission charges for violating securities laws in touting crypto currencies. The SEC on Wednesday disclosed that charges were filed against eight celebrities in connection with the broader investigation of crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three of his companies: Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc., which marketed crypto asset securities under the brand names Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT). The eight boldface names were charged with “illegally touting TRX and/or BTT without disclosing that they were compensated for doing so and the amount of their compensation,” according to the SEC.

Soccer AM has reportedly been cancelled by Sky after almost 30 years on the air.The popular Sunday morning TV show will be removed from Sky’s broadcasting schedule at the end of the current Premier League season, with 10 episodes still remaining.A spokesperson for Sky did not confirm the show’s cancellation, but said consultations were underway as they aim to “adapt to the evolving needs” of viewers.“Soccer AM has played an important role in our coverage of football for the past three decades, and we continually adapt to the evolving needs of our customers,” the spokesperson said (via The Guardian).“We now go into a period of consultation to discuss the proposed changes with our people. We are unable to provide more detail while these consultations are underway.”Soccer AM was launched on Sky Sports in 1995.

Lise Pedersen Los Angeles non-profit The Film Collaborative has boarded Swedish director Tove Pils’ debut feature “Labor,” which is competing in the Nordic:Dox section at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, CPH:DOX. The film follows Hanna, who leaves her family and girlfriend behind in her small Swedish hometown and travels to San Francisco to explore her sexuality in the city’s vibrant queer scene. She soon meets Chloe, a professional dominatrix, and Cyd, a trans man who works as an escort for gay men. Together with her new friends, she embarks on a journey that takes her further and further away from her life in Sweden. “Labor” was shot over more than a decade, and one of the reasons it took them so long to put the film together was their concern for the protagonists’ anonymity and the effect it might have on their lives, Pils explains to Variety.

The Hollywood Reporter.Alonso’s departure from Marvel Studios marks the end of an era. As one of the most influential executives in Hollywood, Alonso has played an instrumental role in shaping the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and pushing for greater representation in the industry.During her 17-year tenure at Marvel, Alonso helped turn the company from one that was squandering its intellectual property into one of the biggest money-makers in Hollywood.

Eddie Redmayne, fresh from The Good Nurse, is set to play another killer.

Selome Hailu Eddie Redmayne has been cast in “The Day of the Jackal,” Peacock and Sky’s upcoming reimagining of Frederick Forsyth’s novel and Universal’s film of the same name. He will also executive produce the thriller series. Redmayne will play the Jackal, who is hired by the OAS, a French dissident organization, to kill then-president of France Charles de Gaulle. Redmayne recently starred opposite Jessica Chastain in Netflix’s “The Good Nurse.” He is also known for playing Stephen Hawking in James Marsh’s 2014 biopic “The Theory of Everything,” which earned him the Oscar for best actor. Redmayne’s other prominent credits include “The Trial of The Chicago Seven,” “The Danish Girl,” “Les Miserables” and the “Fantastic Beasts” films.

intimacy coordinator who has been involved with TV series such as “Sex Education,” “Normal People” and “I May Destroy You,” is working to create a two-year program being dubbed the “world’s first degree in intimacy practice.”O’Brien, 56, is the founder of the UK-based Intimacy on Set, a consultancy specializing in helping actors in film, TV and theater move through sexual content and scenes with nudity.She’s teaming up with the Mountview Academy of Theatre in East Anglia, England, to create the program, which will launch in September. “To ensure we develop a profession which can proudly grow with excellence we need to be able to train talented individuals who can navigate the both physical and emotional journey that each actor will go on, and can responsibly and safely deliver the intimate content as envisioned by the director, the storytelling, and each character,” O’Brien said in a statement.

SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative settlement with the studios regarding unpaid Covid testing stipends. The stipends in question are for Covid testing payments on days when performers also were paid for fittings.