TV, Film & Media Industry News Roundup, Thursday 6 June 2024

Paramount delays town hall; Cinetic launches division; DuVernay praises Netflix; Women in Animation sessions; Gotham TV winners; New Canadian rules; Bifan AI contest; Blanchett heads Camerimage jury.

Today’s Highlights:

• Paramount Postpones Employee Town Hall: A town hall with co-CEOs Brian Robbins, George Cheeks, and Chris McCarthy is delayed to late June amid M&A questions.

• Cinetic Media Launches Library Services Division: This new unit will oversee the re-licensing iconic indie films from the 1980s and 1990s.

• Ava DuVernay Praises Netflix After Lawsuit Settlement: DuVernay speaks on the settlement with the former Central Park 5 prosecutor and commends Netflix's $1M donation to the Innocence Project.

• Women In Animation Annecy Sessions Line-Up: The event includes panels on tech, content, and gender justice.

• Gotham TV Awards Winners: "Baby Reindeer," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and "Colin From Accounts" win top prizes.

• Canadian Regulator Orders Streaming Giants to Fund Local Content: New regulations are expected to generate $200 million annually for Canadian programming.

• Korea's Bifan AI Film Competition launches its first AI film competition, featuring 15 titles and awards up to $11,000.

• Cate Blanchett Named EnergaCamerimage Festival Jury President: Blanchett will preside over the judging at the Polish festival honouring cinematographers.

• Former Mediawan Execs Launch Animation Production Company: Camille Oesch and Guillaume Schmitt start Kenchana, aiming to create a new animated children's series.

• Tribeca Festival Highlights for 2024: The festival will feature a broad slate of features, shorts, music, games, TV, audio storytelling, and the addition of De Niro Con.

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NEWS

Paramount Postpones Employee Town Hall as M&A Questions Swirl

A town hall with co-CEOs Brian Robbins, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy has been pushed to late June.

From: The Hollywood Reporter

Cinetic Media Launches Library Services Division to Oversee Re-Licensing of Indie Films

Cinetic Media has launched a new unit that will oversee the re-licensing of many of the iconic titles that drove the independent film revolution of the 1980s and the 1990s.

From: Variety

Ava DuVernay Rips Central Park 5 Prosecutor After Lawsuit Settlement, Praises Netflix For “Unwavering Support” & $1M Innocence Project Donation

In the Emmy-winning When They See Us, Ava DuVernay had much to say about the harm heaped on the so-called Central Park 5. Now, she is speaking out about the settlement she and Netflix reached with the former prosecutor in that travesty of justice.

From: Deadline

Women In Animation unveils Annecy sessions line-up

June 10 event comprises three panels exploring tech, content, and gender justice.

From: World Screen

‘Baby Reindeer,’ ‘Mr. & Mrs Smith’ and ‘Colin From Accounts’ Take Top Prizes at 2024 Gotham TV Awards: Full Winners List

On Tuesday evening, “Baby Reindeer” was among the first-ever Gotham TV Awards winners, taking home the prize for breakthrough limited series.

From: Variety

Streaming Giants Ordered By Canadian Regulator to Pay for More Local Movie and TV Content

American digital platforms' first-time rules and regulations are expected to direct $200 million a year into Canadian video and audio programming.

From: The Hollywood Reporter

Korea’s Bifan launches first AI film competition with 15 titles

The films will compete for awards of up to $11,000.

From: Screen Daily

Cate Blanchett Named EnergaCamerimage Festival Jury President

The two-time Oscar winner will preside over judging this year's competition lineup at the Polish festival, which honours cinematographers.

From: The Hollywood Reporter

Former Mediawan execs Camille Oesch Guillaume Schmitt launch animation prodco

Former Mediawan Kids & Family executives Camille Oesch and Guillaume Schmitt have launched an animation prodco called Kenchana. Based in Paris, Kenchana will produce animated children’s series for French and international audiences. The goal is to create new and original 2D and 3D series and IPs for a global market in 11-minute and 22-minute formats.

From: C21

Emerald Fennell Carey Mulligan joined the call for industry bodies to fund UK standards authority CIISA

The Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority’s 2024 launch date is contingent on securing this final funding.

From: Screen Daily

Disney EMEA Posts $4.9 Billion Revenue Driven by Streaming, Films

Disney’s EMEA head office has posted revenues of £3.8 billion ($4.9 billion) in a financial report filed at U.K. business registrar Companies House this week.

From: Variety

Tribeca Festival Raising The Curtain On 2024 With Co-Founder Robert De Niro Front And Center

June skies are evident as the Tribeca Festival gathers indie filmmakers from around the globe. The festival offers a large slate of features and shorts, music, games, TV, audio storytelling, and a significant addition this year in De Niro Con, a tribute to the prolific actor and Tribeca co-founder.

From: Deadline

All3Media Closing Maverick TV USA

Maverick TV USA, the All3Media production company behind series including Netflix’s Barbeque Showdown and USA Network reality series Chrisley Knows Best, is the latest unscripted business to fall victim to market conditions. All3Media is closing the U.S. business, which has been run for the last few years by Simon Knight.

From: Deadline

Endor Productions to close amid "persistently difficult" scripted TV market

UK TV and film production credits include Vienna Blood, State of Play and Restless.

From: Screen Daily

INSIGHTS

‘Eric’ Star Gaby Hoffmann On Working Opposite Benedict Cumberbatch And An Oversized Blue Puppet For Netflix: “It Was Really A Fairy Tale”

In Netflix‘s limited series Eric, Gaby Hoffmann and her husband Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) are the parents of a clever boy who goes missing on the mean streets of ’80s New York City. Desperate to find their only child, Vincent — a TV puppeteer by trade — recreates a life-size blue monster he discovers in his son’s drawings, hoping it will lure the boy home.

From: Deadline

How to Perform Pop Music History … in Drag … for 24 Hours Straight

HBO captures the magic of Taylor Mac’s unmatched 2016 live cultural tour de force, which covered 24 decades, from “Yankee Doodle” to Ted Nugent, and introduces it to a new audience.

From: The Hollywood Reporter

Responder writer 'buzzing' for Liverpool's TV scene

The creator of TV drama The Responder said it was an "exciting time" for the city where the award-winning series is set. The BBC One show is filmed in Liverpool and follows PC Chris Carson, played by Martin Freeman, as a Merseyside Police officer struggling with mental health.

From: BBC

Australian TV Commissioning by Streamers Plummets, Says Lobby Group, as Producers Await Government Intervention

TV content commissioning by streaming companies operating in Australia has tumbled, industry association Screen Producers Australia says.

From: Variety

UK film production spend down 45% in Q1 2024, but high-end TV rises

Film production spending was £211m, down from £381m, according to figures from the BFI.

From: Screen Daily

Jake Gyllenhaal Just Wants to Freak Himself Out

Whether getting ripped for 'Road House,' prepping 'Othello' or pie tasting on date night, the 'Presumed Innocent' star can’t do anything halfway. Now he’s looking to refocus that intensity: “The feeling I want to have is, can I do it?”

From: The Hollywood Reporter

David Lynch’s Secret New Project Is an Album and Music Video with ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ Star Chrystabell

The singer, who played FBI agent Tammy Preston in Lynch's 2017 series, collaborated with Lynch on the “Cellophane Memories” album, which is out on August 2.

From: IndieWire

Issa López Leaned Into Nasty Women and Icy Ghosts to Craft Her Record-Breaking ‘True Detective: Night Country’

Issa López, who will accept the Auteur Award at this month's IndieWire Honors, explains how she advanced Season 4 of the storied HBO franchise, let stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis fly, and added "corpsicle" to the show.

From: IndieWire

How Prime Video’s ‘Expats’ recreated 2014 Hong Kong in Los Angeles - and Hong Kong

Director Lulu Wang worked with production designer Yong Ok Lee to painstakingly recreate Hong Kong as it was a decade ago.

From: Screen Daily

Kim Kardashian & Chloë Sevigny — Actors on Actors

Kim Kardashian and Chloë Sevigny share a love of high fashion and classic Hollywood glam—and Ryan Murphy, one of television’s most prolific creators, also happens to be their mutual boss.

From: Variety

Inaugural Gotham TV Awards Prove There’s Still Room for Smaller Projects to Flourish

The first-ever Gotham TV Awards offered a stark contrast between the Gotham Film & Media Institute’s annual celebration of cinema. While both awards shows were founded to toast independent productions — that is, before the Gotham Awards increased their budget cap eligibility requirements in 2023 — the Gotham TV Awards felt like a strangely intimate gathering that was populated mainly by showrunners, network executives, and the Gotham TV Awards jurors, with a few actors and press sprinkled in.

From: IndieWire

Variety’s Anatomy of A Character: ‘The Crown’ Creatives on Transforming Elizabeth Debicki for Princess Diana’s Final Days

There were two primary casting concerns when the Emmy-award-winning Netflix series about the modern-day British royal family was still in pre-production. First, who was going to play the Queen? Over six seasons, Claire Foy, Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton took on the role of Queen Elizabeth II at various stages of her life. The other casting challenge was how Princess Diana would be handled.

From: Variety

How to win a Bafta

Winners from this year’s Bafta Television Awards offer DQ their thoughts on what it takes to pick up one of the iconic mask statuettes. Spoiler alert: it’s personal.

From: Drama Quarterly

What Do You Do When Crypto Crashes Halfway Through Your NFT Documentary?

"Shark, Pickle, Cone" follows the studio behind "Robot Chicken" as it builds a Rose Parade float backed entirely by NFT holders. The producers tell IndieWire how they weathered a PR storm and why they're still bullish on blockchain technology.

From: IndieWire

Rakuten TV closes in FAST on CEE

According to Anna Michalowska, head of content and marketing country manager at Rakuten TV, Poland currently has the most significant potential in CEE for AVoD and FAST services, but obstacles remain.

From: C21

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