The writers lab europe

EXCLUSIVE : Amazon Studios Europe Boss Georgia Brown has said “broadcasters and streamers were not investing enough in the non-scripted space” when she joined five years ago, as the SVoD prepares to unveil a suite of true crime docs with a variety of different tones. Speaking exclusively to Deadline after this morning’s UK Showcase event, Brown described Amazon Europe’s decision to “put the same care, attention and love into non-scripted as scripted” over the past five years as “rare.” “Traditionally, I don’t think broadcasters and streamers have done that so much,” she said. “When I joined, other players weren’t making the [non-scripted] shows I wanted to make. There was so much heat on scripted, making bigger-budget scripted, putting bigger stars in scripted, and it felt like a golden moment for drama.” She cited Amazon’s range of sports docs including forthcoming Paul Pogba show The Pogmentary along with reality franchises such as LOL: Last One Laughing and … [Read more...] about Amazon Studios Europe Boss Georgia Brown: “Broadcasters And Streamers Weren’t Investing Enough In Non-Scripted When I Joined”

EXCLUSIVE: Rivulet Films has picked up John Wick writer Derek Kolstad ’s original screenplay Acolyte and will finance and produce the project alongside Swiss distributor-producer Ascot Elite Entertainment. Story is a longtime passion project for Kolstad and follows Robert Miller (aka Acolyte ) who returns home to find his home ransacked and his wife Helen missing, along with top secret files from her harrowing NGO work in Syria. He moves with an intense skill and determination that belies his everyman appearance, assembling his highly classified and long-disbanded team Athena, Helios, Talos, Hades, Cerberus, Icarus and Hermes to execute a most lethal operation: rescuing Helen and bringing hell to her captors and their corrupt political allies. Project will be produced by Rivulet Films’ Rob Paris and Mike Witherill alongside Ascot Elite Entertainment’s Ralph S. Dietrich, Karin G. Dietrich, Stephan Giger and Daniel Hoeltschi. Christopher Milburn, who … [Read more...] about Rivulet Films Acquires ‘John Wick’ Writer Derek Kolstad’s Action-Thriller ‘Acolyte’, Producing & Financing With Ascot Elite

BUDAPEST, Hungary — European and American conservatives descended on this city Thursday morning to bemoan the supposed ‘suicide’ of Western civilization. The impending cultural death was blamed on a variety of causes, including immigrants who were “replacing” native-born workers; communists and “progressivists” pushing “gender madness”; and liberal democracy, which was creating a new “civic religion” out of the rights of man. Speakers, ranging from the CEO of Parler to the Prime Minister of Hungary, railed against the ‘woke’ media and the “unified troops of the international left” during a series of programming blocs with titles like “Western Civilization Under Attack,” “In God We Trust,” and “The Culture Wars in the Media.” It was the opening day of CPAC Hungary, the first European edition of the American Conservative Union’s flagship confab, and dark clouds were forming over Hungary. “James Burnham said that civilization dies only by suicide. I’m afraid that our lack of … [Read more...] about CPAC Europe Is a Safe Space for Authoritarians — and the Republicans Who Love Them

A review of the Atlanta Season Three finale, “Tarrare,” coming up just as soon as I ask my friend’s cousin to pee on you… And here we come to the end of this long-delayed, ambitious, confounding, frequently incredible season of television. Across the last two and a half months, Atlanta has given us four different anthology episodes exploring Black life in America (your mileage will vary on whether this was too many, the perfect amount, or not enough), a locked room mystery , an introspective drug trip with a bonus Liam Neeson cameo, a satire of corporate co-opting of Black celebrity, and more. The one thing Season Three had yet to give us prior to this week, though, was Atlanta going to an absolutely bonkers comedic space in the way we know that it can. Other episodes certainly had their funny moments, particularly whenever Al’s patience was wearing out, but Atlanta is capable of being the funniest show in the world when it wants to be, and it hadn’t yet tried to … [Read more...] about ‘Atlanta’ Ends Its Third Season With Sex, Lies and a Self-Abusing Celebrity

A young man struggles to provide for his family in Harka , Lotfy Nathan ’s debut feature screening in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival . Set in Tunisia, it’s a quietly absorbing portrait of one man’s life in the wake of his father’s death. Ali (Adam Bessa) hasn’t seen his family for a while but is suddenly left in charge of his two younger sisters. Ali sells gas on the streets without a license, and either hides the money he makes or boozes it away. Now, he’s expected to step up and lead a family, even though noone seems to think he’s suited for the job. This is a world where decisions are made out of desperation — and this will be the first of many. Ali is visibly out of place in the family home, where his sisters lead a quiet and studious life — he even opts to sleep outside the house on the street. As his sisters muse on the reasons for this, so do we: does he feel worthless, undeserving of his father’s bed? Is he trying to protect his sisters? … [Read more...] about Cannes Review: Lotfy Nathan’s ‘Harka’

There is a sort of checklist for Finnish films — and I say this with love — that includes snowy exteriors, bleakly austere interiors, ice fishing and someone getting murdered with an axe. The Woodcutter Story ticks every box, plus a few more. Characters who barely speak, for example — and who may, indeed, have nothing to say. When they do, there is a jolting humor that may not be humor at all: their deadpan delivery gives nothing away. This is the Finnish way. Director/writer Mikko Myllylahti — a poet who also penned the script for Juho Kuosmanen’s The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki , which won a major prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 — sets his Cannes Critics’ Week title in an unnamed village in the far north of Finland clustered around a timber mill. Myllylahti’s hero Pepe is a timber worker, played by the same actor who brought such humanity to Olli Maki, Jarkko Lahti. Pepe is a radiant innocent, beloved by all. When we first meet him, it is … [Read more...] about Cannes Review: Mikko Myllylahti’s ‘The Woodcutter Story’

The Islands , a 10-episode drama series, is in the works from BBC alum Stephen McDonogh’s Lone Wolf Pictures, Axel Kuschevatzky, Phin Glynn and Cindy Teperman’s Infinity Hill as well as The Whole Spiel, the company launched last year by former NBC Entertainment Chairman Paul Telegdy and his cousin, Stefan Telegdy. The series, which is being shopped to networks and streamers, tells the story of the Falklands-Malvinas War of 1982 from the point of view of the people who were there and with the involvement of writers and filmmakers from both UK and Argentina. Writing is already underway, with Argentine film and TV writer Sebastian Rotstein ( El Presidente Season 2, Morir de Amor ) on board. The Islands is not a story of failed diplomacy or geo-politics — an angle recently explored on The Crown — but rather an epic portrayal of the brutal realities they brought to a group of extraordinary human beings in a geography that is as bafflingly remote as it is … [Read more...] about Falklands War Drama Series In Works From UK & Argentinian Creative Team, Paul Telegdy, Lone Wolf & Infinity Hill

EXCLUSIVE: MTV Entertainment Studios has greenlit the docuseries De La Calle from creator and host Nick Barili in partnership with Zero Point Zero Productions. The project will take viewers on a journey into the Latino diaspora to explore (and map) the evolution of Urbano music and cultures that ignited the musical revolution of Hip Hop, Reggaeton, Bachata, Latin trap, Cumbia, and other sounds that are influencing music and culture worldwide. Featured artists include Ivy Queen, Residente, Snow Tha Product, Nicky Jam, Youtel of Orishas, Goyo of Chocquibtown, Sech, Arcangel, Renato, Dimelo Flow, Vico C, El Aleman, and Duki. The partnership builds on MTV Entertainment Group’s key strategy and commitment to diverse storytelling and fostering global connections and communities. The series connects the dots of a global movement that has never been told before in this magnitude. Uniting Latino urban music from the US to Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, … [Read more...] about MTV Entertainment Studios Greenlights Music & Culture Docuseries ‘De La Calle’ From Nick Barili

Arun Matheswaran's much-awaited Saani Kaayidham was recently released on Amazon Prime Video on May 6, and the revenge action-drama has caught every cine fan's attention. Apart from being a hard-hitting tale and being a brilliant and mesmerizing piece of cinema, the film is lauded for some stellar performances by the lead duo - everyone's favourite Keerthy Suresh and reputed director Selvaraghavan. Ever since the launch of Saani Kaayidham , fans and peers have been singing praises for the two actors, be it on social media or otherwise. Selvaraghavan's portrayal as Sangaiyyah is leaving audiences surprised and impressed with the director-turned-actor's acting prowess, and Keerthy's Ponni is being touted as yet another award-winning performance by the actor. Reacting to the overwhelming reactions and the positive reviews, actor Selvaraghavan says, "I am thrilled that I began my journey as an actor with Saani Kaayidham . The role I played was a dynamic one and … [Read more...] about Saani Kaayidham: Selvaraghavan And Keerthy Suresh Talk About The Success Of The Film

After expanding her musical output to Broadway with her 2019 Tony Award-winning jukebox musical Jagged Little Pill , Alanis Morissette will soon explore a new sonic territory: meditation music. The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter will release The Storm Before the Calm , an album of guided meditations co-written with Dave Harrington, on June 17. In advance of the album, Morissette dropped track “Safety—Empath in Paradise” — an 11-minute new age epic featuring hypnotic drums and soothing drone sounds. “Meditating rests my interior, to the point where I can have access to ideas and visions and inspirations — I can hear my own capital-S Self,” the “Ironic” singer said in a statement. “Music, for me, is like a portal in a way, an invitation into a state of being that I’m not normally in. Making the record kept me super connected and accountable during COVID, when I felt like I was just going to disappear and float away.” This summer, Morissette will embark on a tour of … [Read more...] about Alanis Morissette Will Guide Fans Through Their Subconscious on New Meditation Album