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EXCLUSIVE: Ori Elon , writer and co-creator of Shtisel , is currently working on a biographical mini-series about Austrian-Jewish journalist and playwright Theodor Herzl , who played a significant role in founding the modern state of Israel, Deadline has learned. I’m hearing the series, which is at early stages, is said to be based on Herzl’s personal diaries and chronicles his journey from a cynical playwright to the leader of a nation. Elon is collaborating on the project with Adv. Inbar Nacht, who is financing the script for the show. Herzl is a prominent figure in Jewish history and is considered the visionary of the state of Israel. Born in 1860 to middle class parents in what is now Budapest, Hungary, Herzl’s career was devoted to journalism and literature. He worked at a newspaper in Vienna before becoming a correspondent in Paris, where he attended the trial of Alfred Dreyfus, a renowned political scandal and anti-Semitic event which saw a French-Jewish army … [Read more...] about ‘Shtisel’ Writer & Co-Creator Ori Elon Making Biographical Series About Zionist Leader Theodor Herzl

China’s Bona Film Group , producer of such hits as The Battle At Lake Changjin , made its debut on the Shenzhen stock exchange on Thursday, with shares closing the day at RMB 7.24 ($1.07). This was a 44% increase from the initial public offering price of RMB 5.03 ($0.74) per share and put the market capitalization at just under RMB 10B ($1.47B), according to the South China Morning Post . The company raised RMB 1.38B ($203M) from the deal. Bona returned to the China exchange after exiting the Nasdaq and going private in 2016. It had previously become the first Chinese film studio to trade on the Nasdaq beginning in 2010. During the pandemic, Bona was behind China’s top-grossing movie ever, The Battle At Lake Changjin and its sequel, The Battle At Lake Changjin II (aka Water Gate Bridge ). Collectively, the patriotic films grossed RMB 9.83B ($1.45B at current rates) in China. In an interview posted to Bona’s website earlier this week, Chairman and … [Read more...] about China’s Bona Film Group Valued At $1.5B In Shenzhen Trading Debut

Israeli network Yes TV has greenlit a second season of Series Mania Award-winning comedy Bloody Murray, we can reveal. Production will begin next year on Stav Idisis’ romcom, which is headlined by Naomi Levov ( On the Spectrum ) and Rotem Sela ( Beauty and the Baker ), who play two 35-year-old roommates looking for love. The Gynaecologist and University Lecturer’s lives change when Murray (Levov) ditches the scene of a hit-and-run and the man she crashed into, Lior, shows up at her apartment – where he meets Dana (Sela) – and the two fall madly in love. Murray realizes her own feelings for Lior and chaos ensues as she convinces herself Lior is the one for her. The show, which won the Best Comedy Award at Series Mania 2022, will launch in 2024. Director is Yogev Yefet, Kastina Communications and Yes TV are producers and Yes Studios handles distribution. Last week , Deadline revealed Amazon Prime Video had struck a deal with Tel Aviv-based Yes Studios for … [Read more...] about ‘Bloody Murray’ Renewed For Season Two By Israel’s Yes TV

EXCLUSIVE : Sweden’s Arvet Agency is producing horror film The Deacon from Venice Award-winning filmmaker Tequoia Urbina . The Stockholm-based company has acquired script and media rights to the project following a deal with Magnolia Tree Productions. Pic is described as a horror story set in the present day about a family who are given shelter by a church community, but all is not what it seems. Atlanta-based filmmaker Urbina directed, wrote and produced Venice Short Film Award winning pic Gehenna and has packaged The Deacon as a “high concept indie horror,” according to Arvet CEO Grace Maharaj. She added: “We are looking for IP to enter the North American market with and when we read Tequoia’s script, we loved the themes she has touched on with family secrets and the vulnerable in society who have nowhere to turn for help when there is an economic downturn.” Maharaj said the project speaks to Arvet’s dual strategy of seeking IP with a “unique Nordic … [Read more...] about ‘The Deacon’: Sweden’s Arvet Agency Behind Horror From Venice Award-Winning Filmmaker Tequoia Urbina

Sky ’s Kenneth Branagh -starring Boris Johnson drama This England has been sold to 88 territories worldwide by distributor Fremantle . Michael Winterbottom ’s highly-anticipated series, which profiles the early days of the COVID pandemic under Johnson’s premiership, has been picked up by Movistar+ (Spain), Viaplay (Nordics and Baltics, Poland and the Netherlands), Cosmote (Greece), OSN TV and OSN+ (MENA), M-Net (South Africa), BBC First (Australia) and TVNZ (New Zealand), amongst others. Fremantle said further deals will be unveiled in the coming weeks. A U.S. buyer has not yet been announced. The show will debut on September 21 on Sky in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Fremantle International CEO Jens Richter called This England a “truly unique drama that combines Michael Winterbottom’s talent for conveying powerful real-world stories with a stunning performance from Kenneth Branagh.” He added: “This dramatic behind the scenes … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson Drama ‘This England’ Starring Kenneth Branagh Sells To 88 Territories

BBC Media Editor and Today host Amol Rajan has been named the next University Challenge presenter, replacing Jeremy Paxman . Paxman revealed he is leaving after three decades earlier this week and Rajan, who also presents on BBC Radio 2, The One Show and has an Amol Interviews series, will take over next year in the hotseat of the ITV Studios show. He will step down as BBC Media Editor but continue his other hosting duties. Based on U.S. format College Bowl, University Challenge involves the brightest students in the country battling it out to answer incredibly difficult questions. Rajan is just the third presenter on the BBC’s longest running show, following in the footsteps of Paxman and Bamber Gascoigne. “Jeremy leaves a very big chair to fill but Amol’s experience, expertise and sense of humour makes him the perfect fit for one of Britain’s longest running and toughest quiz shows,” said BBC Director of Unscripted Kate Phillips. Rajan added: “I … [Read more...] about BBC Unveils Jeremy Paxman’s ‘University Challenge’ Replacement

Married couple Devorah Baum and Josh Appignanesi co-direct and produce the confessional documentary Husband , world premiering at the Edinburgh International Film Festival . Baum is a successful author, academic and speaker; Appignanesi won rave reviews for his last film, Female Human Animal , after his debut, Song of Songs , won awards at London and Edinburgh. And yet, both these Brits are beset by neuroses, as this frank film shows — or possibly exaggerates: the press notes describe it as being “on the cusp between auto-fiction and documentary.” Framed as a follow-up to their 2016 documentary The New Man , Husband is an uneasy and uncertain watch that provokes thought about relationships and feelings while occasionally amusing, in an uncomfortable sort of way. The key story takes place in the U.S., where Baum is promoting a book she has written about dealing with feelings such as guilt, paranoia, envy and self-hatred. With two small children in tow, … [Read more...] about Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Devorah Baum & Josh Appignanesi’s ‘Husband’

EXCLUSIVE: The Writers Guild Foundation has revealed the participants for the 2022 session of the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program. The program’s mission is to provide writers who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, writers with disabilities, and writers over the age of 50, with tools and education to become writers’ assistants and script coordinators, ultimately resulting in meaningful employment opportunities. Out of the 1,205 applications received, 16 candidates were selected: Anpa’o Locke, Christian Mejia, Da Eun Kim, Diarra McCormick, Isabel Meza-Roquebert, Jewel Powell, Lydia Caradine, Malaika Jules, Michelle Driscoll, Olivia Woodward, Peter Lee, Rachel Yang, Reed Tsuda, Renee Ross, Shanice Williamson, and Sherin Shetty. The 12-week course, set to kick off in late August, will be taught by instructors Debbie Ezer ( The Good Doctor ) and Clay Lapari ( Community ), who have extensive experience as writers’ assistants and script coordinators for television. The … [Read more...] about Writers Guild Foundation Reveals 2022 Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program Participants

A pair of Scottish animators struggle to make a film in A Cat Called Dom , world premiering as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival ’s feature strand. Chiefly a live-action documentary, it shows friends and collaborators Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson ( The Making Of Longbird ) trying to shoot a semi-scripted film for Will’s mother, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Their footage and outtakes are eventually worked into more of a behind-the-scenes story, showing the frustrations that get in the way of their filming, and the strain on their friendship. The cat of the title is DOM, an animated feline that lives on Will’s laptop screen and interjects with observations, questions and actions that shed a light on his feelings in a darkly humorous way. It’s a busy mix and scattershot by its very nature; this is a collage of emotions, events and styles that collide in a film that’s openly not what it was originally intended to be. But Anderson … [Read more...] about Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Will Anderson & Ainslie Henderson’s ‘A Cat Called Dom’

An Oscar statue goes missing in Hassan Nazer ’s amiable feature Winners , which had its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival . After the Oscar is inadvertently left in a taxi in Iran, the prize is sent to the post office, where it’s once again lost by a well-meaning postal worker. While he insists that it must have fallen out of his car in a rural location, the authorities insist that the man is detained, assuming theft, until the statue is located. And so there’s a ripple of urgency running through this otherwise gently paced comedy-drama. It’s no spoiler to reveal that the Oscar ends up in the hands of two children: nine-year-old Yahya and his friend Leyla. We’re let in on their secret as they hide the “doll” from their friends and, amusingly, put it in a dress to preserve its modesty (“It’s so Leyla won’t see him naked,” explains the boy). Their efforts to sell the find are thwarted: such items are of no use to the locals. As the … [Read more...] about Edinburgh Film Festival Review: Hassan Nazer’s ‘Winners’