Into the darkest corner

There was a moment last November when Channel 4 ’s senior executives breathed a sigh of relief. Sat at the top table of Channel 4’s 40th birthday party, Chief Executive Alex Mahon was flanked by her friend Elisabeth Murdoch and doyens of UK broadcasting, including BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive. They were raising a glass to a British success story in a rare public display of unity. On the same table was Thérèse Coffey, a senior government minister who had survived three prime ministers in the space of little more than three months. Her presence at the V&A Museum event bemused others, who believed the government only had hostile intentions for Channel 4 after sanctioning a sale of the broadcaster against its wishes. Things soon got weirder. Coffey turned to Mahon and asked if she could raise a glass to Channel 4. She then proceeded to surprise the room full of TV luminaries by serenading her hosts with a rendition of happy … [Read more...] about Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominated producer David Permut and Jamie Cohen of Australian-based Clockwork Films have acquired the narrative motion picture and television rights to award winning journalist and author David Kushner ’s book, The . The book tells the true story of the birth of the internet and two men’s ensuing battle over who controlled the rights to the multi-million dollar domain name: “sex.com.” This epic, decade long war took them from the boardrooms of Silicon Valley to a gun fight on the bordellos of Mexico – and to the edges of their sanity. Along the way involving the likes of an eclectic cast of porn stars and programmers, billionaires and brainiacs, goons and gangsters. In one corner is the hapless in-love, visionary tech entrepreneur Gary Kremen, who in 1994 used a $2,500 loan to create the first online dating service, Match.com, in hopes of driving love and connection over the internet. Seeing the value of domain names, he quickly bought several … [Read more...] about David Kushner’s ‘Players Ball’ Book About Sex.com Rights Fight Acquired By David Permut & Clockwork Films

TMZ.com Steve-O says Bam Margera has yet again fallen off the wagon -- which leaves him with no choice but to accept that his old friend might turn up dead one of these days. As you know, Bam's been on the road with his 'Jackass' costar ... opening for Steve-O on the first leg of his comedy tour. Bam even brought his son Phoenix onstage with him at one of the stops. All seemed to be well -- that is, until Bam posted a shocking caption this week that spurred a hard truth from Steve. Steve-O Bam threw up a pic of himself, Johnny Knoxville and SO, writing ... "One arm is a best friend who had my f***ing back all along, another arm is a poser. A pro creation thief. If Jeff tremaine was in this photo, he would be to greedy to fit. F*** jeff. Remember I tattooed that on me long ago jeff? It’s because I knew who you were all along." He added, "@steveo much love and respect." Steve-O responded in a since-deleted comment ... … [Read more...] about Steve-O Bracing for Bam Margera’s Death, Has Tried Everything for Sobriety

EXCLUSIVE: Paul McCartney ’s incredible creative output in the decade after he left The Beatles will come into focus in Man on the Run (working title), a documentary to be directed by Oscar and Grammy winner Morgan Neville . MPL and Polygram Entertainment – the film and television unit of Universal Music Group – announced the project today, a day before the 65 th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The feature film will explore “Paul McCartney’s extraordinary life following the breakup of The Beatles and how the love he shared with Linda McCartney influenced a journey that would lead to the formation of Wings and more of the greatest music ever created.” Neville, whose directing credits include 20 Feet From Stardom , Won’t You Be My Neighbor , and Roadrunner: An Anthony Bourdain Movie , has been granted access to never-before-seen home videos and photos from the archives of McCartney and his late wife, Linda. The archival material will be … [Read more...] about Paul McCartney’s Decade-Long Creative Surge Post-Beatles To Be Explored In ‘Man On The Run’ From Oscar Winner Morgan Neville

EXCLUSIVE : Bohemian Rhapsody screenwriter Anthony McCarten will write the script and produce a narrative film based on Three Identical Strangers . The film, being mounted by Raw, Film4 and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, is based on the smash hit documentary film from last year. McCarten has the unusual distinction of seeing his last three films resulting in Best Actor Oscar wins for the films’ stars. Before Bohemian Rhapsody and Rami Malek, that was Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour and Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything . McCarten was Oscar nominated for all three films. The New Zealand-born writer’s next film is The Pope , starring Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis opposite Anthony Hopkins who plays Pope Benedict. McCarten stays in non-fiction mode with Three Identical Strangers . Set in New York and Long Island, the docu told the fascinating true story of Robert Shafran , David Kellman and Eddy Galland , three complete strangers who inadvertently … [Read more...] about Anthony McCarten To Script Narrative Adaptation Of Lauded Docu ‘Three Identical Strangers’ For Raw, Film4 & SKE