International joint ventures

EXCLUSIVE : Crunchyroll has tapped Nichole Sakura ( Superstore ) for the title role in the English-language dub of their acclaimed animated feature Suzume , which in addition to the original subtitled version, debuts in theaters in Australia and New Zealand on April 13, coming to the U.S., Canada, the UK and Ireland the following day. Others cast in the pic from decorated Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai ( Weathering with You ), which bowed in Japan in November, include Josh Keaton, Jennifer Sun Bell, Joe Zieja, Rosalie Chang, Amanda C. Miller, Mela Lee and Cam Clarke. Bill Millsap served as English voice director. The film produced by CoMix Wave Films and STORY inc. tells the coming-of-age story of 17-year-old Suzume (Sakura), whose journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu (located in southwestern Japan) when she encounters a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins … [Read more...] about ‘Superstore’s Nichole Sakura To Lead English-Language Voice Cast Of Crunchyroll’s ‘Suzume’

EXCLUSIVE: Fledgling U.S. production company Catalyst Studios has announced eight-part docuseries EmpowHer going behind the scenes of the films on its inaugural slate driven by six female and non-binary directors and producers. Catalyst Studios was launched last May as a joint venture between social entrepreneur Holly Levow and producer Paul Kampf of Equitas Entertainment, and Mark Pennell of Beacon Pictures, with a focus on emerging talent and diverse storytelling. EmpowHer will follow the journeys of filmmakers from across Catalyst Studios’ slate including Michelle Salcedo with Switch & Bait , starring Otmara Marrero and Katie Clarkson-Hill; Joanne Mitchell with Sybil ; Siri Rødnes with Follow Me starring Connie Nielsen, and Colombian auteur Ana Maria Hermida with the recently announced coming-of-age feature film Alix. Further filmmaker subject s include Tamika Miller ( Honor Student , Station 19 ) and Milena Grujic ( The Future is Bright … [Read more...] about Catalyst Studios Launches Docuseries ‘EmpowHer’ Going Behind The Scenes Of Inaugural Female-Driven Slate

EXCLUSIVE: Hot on the heels of longtime client Michelle Yeoh becoming the first Best Actress Oscar winner of Asian descent for Everything, Everywhere All At Once , Artist International Group is expanding. AIG has named Kimberly Hines as partner, and Ian Stack as manager. They join AIG’s international talent and producing divisions. They will be based in New York and Rome. The two will be focused on representing international actors, directors and writers as well as producing film and television. Hines, who most recently was at Framework Entertainment, brings decades of experience working as a producer, talent agent, and talent manager. She will bring her clients to AIG. Her list includes Mickey Rourke ( The Wrestler ), Til Schweiger ( Inglorious Bastards ), Oliver Masucci ( The Swarm ), Balthazar Getty ( Megalopolis ), Jacqueline Bisset and others. Stack had also been a manager and producer at Framework. Prior to Framework, he was an Associate Producer … [Read more...] about Artist International Group Expands, Hires Kimberly Hines As Partner & Ian Stack As Manager

Top International execs from ZDF Studios, Fremantle , All3Media and Banijay have said the potential U.S. writers strike and changing market economics can create opportunities to strike new business. As Banijay Rights CEO Cathy Payne put it, likening the challenging of leaving previous market conditions behind to bouncing back after being dumped: “When one door closes, another one opens.” She was talking during a Series Mania panel on windowing and content financing this afternoon in France. International distribution companies are already wrestling with myriad content financing issues as the U.S. market corrects after streamers’ spending momentum slows. All eyes are now turning to the discussions between the WGA and AMPTP, and one potential upshot if a strike kicks off will likely be more international business for U.S. networks. All3Media International CEO Louise Pedersen said U.S. execs at the London TV Screenings at the start of the month had begun … [Read more...] about Banijay, Fremantle, All3Media & ZDF Debate Market Economics And Writers’ Strike: “When One Door Closes, Another Opens” — Series Mania

EXCLUSIVE: The cast is coming together on Paramount+ and Showtime’s upcoming limited series A Gentleman in Moscow . BAFTA nominee Leah Harvey, Johnny Harris, Paul Ready, Alexa Goodall, John Heffernan, Lyès Salem, Fehinti Balogun, Bj ö rn Hlynur Haraldsson, Dee Ahluwalia and Anastasia Hille have joined Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the ensemble drama that eOne is making in association with Paramount. The series is based on Amor Towles’ internationally bestselling novel. Ewan McGregor is starring in the series as Count Alexander Rostov, a Russian aristocrat who’s forced to make a life for himself in a hotel after being banished there by a Soviet tribunal. RELATED: 2023 Showtime Pilots & Series Orders Mary Elizabeth Winstead already has been cast to star opposite the Star Wars and Trainspotting actor as glamorous, self-made film actress Anna Urbanova. Harvey, who was BAFTA-nominated for AppleTV+ drama Foundation , plays wise … [Read more...] about ‘A Gentleman In Moscow’: Leah Harvey, Paul Ready & More Join Paramount+ & Showtime Drama Series

Work has begun on Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight ’s Birmingham TV and film studio. Digbeth Loc. Studios will complete in July and filming will begin in October, including on Knight’s upcoming BBC drama Two Tone. The 80,000 sq ft Digbeth Loc. Studios will create 760 new jobs, according to its founders, contributing £30M ($36.6M) to the local economy as it acts as a regeneration project for the Digbeth area in the West Midlands. Knight, who is also helming the BBC and FX’s upcoming Great Expectations adaptation, had a vision to create a long-term cultural legacy for Birmingham and he forged the idea for Digbeth Loc. with business partner Piers Read, the CEO of TIME+SPACE. The studios are the first such project in Birmingham, which has been boosting its local TV and film industry in recent years. Knight is also involved with the Birmingham Create Central grouping of producers and creatives, which champions local talent. Birmingham City Council has … [Read more...] about Work Begins On ‘Peaky Blinders’ Creator Steven Knight’s TV & Film Studio, First Projects Will Film Later This Year

EXCLUSIVE: Greek production and sales house Heretic has upped its longtime head of sales and acquisitions exec Ioanna Stais to partner. Stais, who has been with the company since 2014, has been a key driver behind Heretic’s bustling film sales slate which has included Berlin Golden Bear winner Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn from director Radu Jude, and Omar El Zohairy’s Feathers , which won Cannes Critics’ week in 2021. In 2019, the company handled world sales for Retablo , Peru’s official submission for the International Oscar, which was also nominated for a BAFTA Outstanding Debut Award and Best International Film for the Film Independent Spirit Award. The company recently boarded world sales rights for Jude’s latest project, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World , as well as Sundance doc And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine , which it sold widely. “Having joined the company almost from its very founding, I couldn’t be prouder for what … [Read more...] about Greek Outfit Heretic Promotes Head Of Sales Ioanna Stais To Partner

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a positive one for the Euro film industry – shooting has resumed on Tochter (English translation Daughter ), a co-production between significant producers from Germany, Greece and Italy. The project is being heralded as one of the first post-COVID international co-pro to get back underway in Europe, which has been confirmed by two major bodies EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) and ACE Producers. The only other one I am aware of Margrete – Queen Of The North , a significant Nordic project that resumed filming in the Czech Republic on June 15. Pic is based on German author Lucy Fricke’s best-selling novel of the same title and is being directed by Nana Neul ( To Faro ). Producers include Bettina Brokemper of Heimatfilm , whose credits span Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built and Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs . Warner Bros Germany is a co-producer and will handle the local release. Also onboard are Giorgos Karnavas and … [Read more...] about Cameras Rolling In Greece On ‘Tochter’, First European Co-Pro To Resume Post-COVID

EXCLUSIVE : The first new A24 project to emerge since the studio’s record-breaking Oscar haul last week is international TV series Young Mungo , which is being adapted by Scottish-American author Douglas Stuart from his acclaimed novel. The series, about the dangerous first love of two working class men in Glasgow, is being shepherded by A24’s international heads Piers Wenger and Rose Garnett, and marks a coup for the pair given the stellar reviews and buzz around its author. Published last year, Young Mungo is the second novel from Stuart after Booker prize-winner Shuggie Bain , which Euphoria and Everything Everywhere All At Once producer A24 is currently making into a series with the BBC. A broadcaster has yet to be set on Young Mungo . The story follows Protestant Mungo and Catholic James who live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, … [Read more...] about A24 Reteams With ‘Shuggie Bain’ Author Douglas Stuart For ‘Young Mungo’ TV Series

Welcome to Global Breakouts , Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you. This week we head down under to Australia , where Paramount+ original Last King of the Cross has been making a serious racket. Telling the true story of gang warfare in the notorious Sydney Kings Cross district, the 10-part crime thriller harks back to classics such as The Godfather . Its journey to screen has been a lengthy but enjoyable one, say producers. Name : Last King of the Cross Country : Australia Network : Paramount+ Australia Producer : Helium Pictures International sales : Cineflix Rights For fans of : Godfather, Gomorrah Neighbours may have felt like the only Australian TV drama … [Read more...] about ‘Godfather’-esque Crime Thriller ‘Last King Of The Cross’ Is Proving That Australian TV Drama Is So Much More Than ‘Neighbours’