EXCLUSIVE: Around 25 layoffs are incoming in the BBC Children’s & Education department, while BBC Studios Kids & Family team has seen a similar number depart since December. The decisions have been made independently of each other, we understand, and a voluntary redundancy process will now commence within Children’s & Education. Staff were informed yesterday afternoon by email. BBC Children’s hits include the likes of Hey Duggee, Oliver Twist adaptation Dodger (pictured) and Blue Peter . Following an 18-month review that has just concluded, the circa-25 layoffs will be within the presentation sub-division, which promotes kids content via links and resources, and the educational production sub-division, which will see a senior leader restructure. BBC Children’s & Education, which is based in Salford and runs channels CBBC and CBeebies along with online content and educational resources, is preparing to take the older-skewing CBBC channel online … [Read more...] about Layoffs To Come In BBC Kids Departments
Bts yet to come
Destry Allyn Spielberg’s Directing Debut Will Be ‘Please Don’t Feed The Children’; ‘Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery Starring
EXCLUSIVE : Michelle Dockery is set to star in Destry Allyn Spielberg ’s directorial debut, Please Don’t Feed the Children. The elevated genre feature film will begin production late April in New Mexico. Scripted by Paul Bertino, the psychological thriller is produced by Jason Dubin and his Perry Street Films, Josh Kesselman and Michael Hagerty. In Please Don’t Feed the Children, after a viral outbreak ravaged the country’s adult population, a group of orphans heads south in search of a new life, only to find themselves at the mercy of a deranged woman harboring a dangerous secret. Spielberg, daughter of The Fabelmans helmer, will do this film before the one on which she originally expected to make her feature debut, Four Assassins (and a Funeral) . The latter, a Kingsman- meets- Knives Out meets- Succession -style script by Ryan Hooper that made the 2021 Black List , will percolate a bit longer but is still in the works from Basil Iwanyk & Erica … [Read more...] about Destry Allyn Spielberg’s Directing Debut Will Be ‘Please Don’t Feed The Children’; ‘Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery Starring
M88 Sets Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown As First Athlete Client
EXCLUSIVE : Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown has signed with M88 for management, becoming the first athlete to join the company’s roster of artists and cultural leaders. M88 will now look to create and develop opportunities for Brown in both the entertainment and strategic partnership spaces. The No. 3 pick overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brown joined the Celtics at just 19 after negotiating his own contract. The two-time All-Star in 2019 became the youngest member of the National Basketball Players Association’s executive committee, joining as Vice President and being reelected this year. Brown aided, as VP, in the creation of THINK450, which helps NBA players gain control of their name and likeness. He’s also has proven a community builder as the host of a rookie event put on during the NBA summer league in an effort to build connection among players. Brown dedicates himself off the court to social justice, with a particular focus on changing inequity … [Read more...] about M88 Sets Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown As First Athlete Client
‘Grand Death Lotto’: Ayden Mayeri, Seann William Scott, Dolly De Leon & Donald Elise Watkins Join Amazon Action-Comedy
EXCLUSIVE : Amazon Studios has begun setting the supporting cast for its Paul Feig -helmed action-comedy Grand Death Lotto , with Ayden Mayeri ( Somebody I Used to Know ), Seann William Scott ( Welcome to Flatch ), Dolly de Leon ( Triangle of Sadness ) and Donald Elise Watkins ( Project Artemis ) signing on for roles. John Cena, Awkwafina and Simu Liu lead the ensemble of the pic now in production, as previously announced. The Amazon Original Movie is set in a very near future, in which a Grand Lottery has been established in economically challenged California. The only catch? You’ll need to kill the winner before sundown in order to legally claim their prize. New L.A. transplant Katie (Awkwafina) accidentally finds herself with the winning ticket and must join forces with amateur jackpot protector Noel (Cena) to make it to sundown in order to claim her multi-billion-dollar prize, all while dealing with Noel’s protection rival Louis Lewis (Liu), who also … [Read more...] about ‘Grand Death Lotto’: Ayden Mayeri, Seann William Scott, Dolly De Leon & Donald Elise Watkins Join Amazon Action-Comedy
Longtime UTA Agent Bec Smith Joins Anonymous Content
EXCLUSIVE : Anonymous Content has hired longtime literary agent and former UTA partner Bec Smith as a partner and manager in their Los Angeles-based lit team. We revealed Smith’s impending exit from UTA last month. The respected veteran has amassed a client roster including directors and writers such as Coline Abert, Levan Akin, Jane Anderson, Benedict Andrews, Emily Atef, Anthony Chen, Eva Husson, Ellen Kuras, Katrin Gebbe, Sebastian Junger, Julia Leigh, Phillip Noyce, Joshua Oppenheimer, Jennifer Peedom, Maria Schrader, Tali Shalom-Ezer, Dawn Shadforth, Kirsten Sheridan, Goran Stolevski, Warwick Thornton and Max Werner. The 16-year UTA veteran had been a partner in the Motion Picture Literary department but also worked closely with the UTA Independent Film Group. She worked on the packaging of projects including I Feel Pretty, Mary Magdalene, Brigsby Bear, The Circle, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Margin Call, The Spectacular Now, The Skeleton Twins, In a World, … [Read more...] about Longtime UTA Agent Bec Smith Joins Anonymous Content
Netflix Unveils 2023 Polish Slate Putting Accent On Local Stars At Warsaw Event
Netflix unveiled its slate of Polish-language series and films due to hit its service in 2023 in a “See What’s Next” event in Warsaw on Tuesday. Since arriving in Poland in 2016, the platform has steadily ramped up production of local content and has gotten behind 40 original local Polish films and series to date The 2023 offering is topped by eight Polish features, including four new titles: Kiss, Kiss!, Phenomenon , Soulcatcher and Squared Love Everlasting , as well as three series Absolute Beginners , Infamy and Feedback , about an alcoholic former rock star and adapted from the Polish best-seller of the same name by Jakub Żulczyk. Spanning romantic comedies, thrillers and sci-fi and coming-of-age dramas, the feature slate taps into a raft of popular local acting talent. Kiss, Kiss! features top actor Mateusz Kościukiewicz ( The Informer , Mug ) as a womanizer who decides to test his powers of seduction by pursuing a woman who is about to marry … [Read more...] about Netflix Unveils 2023 Polish Slate Putting Accent On Local Stars At Warsaw Event
Finland’s ‘Yours, Margot’ And Belgium-Uruguay Co-Pro ‘The Invisible Ink’ Win Beta And Series Mania Seriesmakers Initiative
A project from Finland and a Belgium-Uruguay co-production have won the Seriesmaker initiative here at Series Mania . The projects, Yours, Margot and The Invisible Ink , both bag €50,000 ($54,000) each after winning the Beta Development Awards. They were announced minutes ago at Lille’s Series Mania Forum event, which is into its second day. Yours, Margot is an eight-part drama from Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen and producer Jussi Rantamäki. The logline is: “After discovering her father’s letters to an unknown lover, Vilja unearths her family’s traumatic past in 1980s East Berlin.” Kuosmanen’s 2021 road movie Compartment No 6 won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival official competition, and his biographical film The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki won Prix Un Certain Regard at Cannes Film Festival. The Invisible Ink comes from director César Díaz and producer Fernando Epstein, and also runs to eight parts. It follows a former Uruguayan … [Read more...] about Finland’s ‘Yours, Margot’ And Belgium-Uruguay Co-Pro ‘The Invisible Ink’ Win Beta And Series Mania Seriesmakers Initiative
Former Marvel And DC Comics Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras Joins Martial Arts Fantasy Outfit Immortal Studios
EXCLUSIVE : Bob Harras , the former editor-in-chief of both Marvel and DC Comics , has joined Immortal Studios as editor-at-large of its senior management team. Harras comes aboard after the fan-driven launch of the company’s four comic book titles — Adept, Assassin G, Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen and Fa Sheng — that serve as the foundation of its storyverse. Immortal Studios is a transmedia, direct-to-consumer entertainment company with a focus on the ancient Chinese martial arts-fantasy genre also known as Wuxia. At Marvel, Harras spearheaded titles such as the X-Men , Avengers , Spider-Man , Hulk and Deadpool in addition to the rest of the Marvel line. He was story consultant for the animated Fox TV series X-Men . His writing credits include the Avengers , Namor and the limited series Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D . At DC he oversaw editorial for comics including Batman , Superman and Wonder Woman . He also headed up MAD … [Read more...] about Former Marvel And DC Comics Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras Joins Martial Arts Fantasy Outfit Immortal Studios
‘Smash’ Musical Heading To Broadway With Steven Spielberg, Neil Meron & Robert Greenblatt Producing
Smash is finally heading to Broadway . In an announcement long awaited by fans of the 2012 NBC series, a stage musical adaptation is planned to arrive on Broadway during the 2024-25 season, with a lead producing team of Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron and Steven Spielberg . A top flight creative team is attached, including director Susan Stroman, composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman , book writers Rick Elice and Bob Martin, and the TV series’ choreographer Joshua Bergasse. Spielberg, whose original idea led to the NBC series, said in a statement, “ Smash is near and dear to my heart, and it was always my hope that a musical inspired by the show would eventually come to the stage. We now have an incredible creative team, and I’m looking forward to completing the Smash journey which began with my producing partners over ten years ago.” In addition to new music, the stage version will include many of the Shaiman-Wittman songs from the TV series, including the … [Read more...] about ‘Smash’ Musical Heading To Broadway With Steven Spielberg, Neil Meron & Robert Greenblatt Producing
Issa Rae Enlists CAA’s Talitha Watkins To Head ColorCreative Management
EXCLUSIVE : Having just come off the fourth season of HBO ’s Insecure , Issa Rae and her producing partner Deniese Davis is making some very secure moves into the management space. Rae and Davis have brought CAA ’s Talitha Watkins onboard to top the newly formed management division of their 2014 formed ColorCreative banner. “ColorCreative has always prioritized women and minority creators and venturing into management allows us to double-down on our commitment,” Rae told Deadline today of their buildout. “We are absolutely thrilled to have Talitha come in and expand the division and look forward to representing the brightest and sharpest storytellers within our community,” the past and perhaps future Emmy nominee added in the bold walk it like you talk it move. “My time at CAA was truly transformational,” Motion Picture Agent Watkins noted. “The leadership and the culture of collaboration have left me with lessons I will take throughout my life.” … [Read more...] about Issa Rae Enlists CAA’s Talitha Watkins To Head ColorCreative Management