Producer Of Disney+’s ‘A Thousand Blows’ Staffs Up
Fifth Season-backed London indie The Story Collective is gearing up for buzzy Disney+ drama A Thousand Blows (WT) by staffing up. Elouise West has joined as Head of Commercial, Legal and Business Affairs from Des producer New Pictures and Ceci Mazzarella signed on as Head of Development from Operation Mincemeat maker See-Saw Films. The Story Collective’s debut scripted project, A Thousand Blows, comes from Peaky Blinders writer Stephen Knight and has a cast including Stephen Graham (The Virtues), Malachi Kirby (Small Axe) and Erin Doherty (The Crown).
Juliette Hagopian Launches Film Studio In Canada
Canadian film producer Juliette Hagopian has launched the development of a new film and television studio named Jette Studios in the Manitoba province of Canada. The project will be operated and owned by Hagopian’s company Julijette Inc. alongside production house Volume Global, with a C$30M ($21.9M) investment. The new studio will aim to attract large-scale film and TV productions alongside commercials, animation, and gaming productions. Construction of the studio’s pop-up production soundstage will commence in June 2023, and it will be operational by Fall 2023. Construction of the permanent soundstage structure will begin shortly after and will be operational by the Summer of 2024.
‘Deal Or No Deal’ Revived In UK On ITV
Banijay gameshow Deal or No Deal is returning to the UK after ITV commissioned a long-rumored reboot. Britain’s Got More Talent and Catchphrase presenter Stephen Mulhern will be the new host of the show, in which contestants open red boxes of unknown values to win up to £250,000 ($306,000). The Channel 4 original, which Noel Edmonds hosted, was axed in 2016. Banijay’s Remarkable Entertainment will produce the series, which will air on ITV1 and streamer ITX. No air date has been set. It’s based on a Dutch format that launched 21 years ago.
CBS Reality Orders ‘Donal McIntye’s Killer Evidence’
UK network CBS Reality has ordered Donal McIntyre’s Killer Evidence, a true-crime series in which forensics uncover evidence that brought murderers to justice. Cases will include the ‘Camden Ripper’ Anthony Hardy, who killed three women; Stephen Nicholson, who brutally murdered teenager Lucy McHugh; and double-murderer Mark Brown. Presenter McIntyre has made several series for AMC Networks International – UK-owned CBS Reality in the past. Emporium Productions is making the new show, with Rainmaker Content co-funding and distributing internationally.
Ukrainian Films Win At Vilnius Film Festival
The Ukrainian feature La Palisiada by Philip Sotnychenko picked up the top prize in the official competition at the Vilnius Film Festival in Lithuania. The award comes with an €8,000 ($8,600) prize. Discussing the winning film, the festival jury, headed by Polish distributor Jakub Duszynskis from Gutek Film, said: “Our strong emotional response was connected with an innovative technique and playfulness, which provoked curiosity and a desire to return to cinema.” Mariupolis 2, a documentary that explores the war in Ukraine, won the festival’s Best Lithuanian Film award. On the industry side, the Lithuanian documentary Požerskis: In Focus by Joris Skudra won the Avaka Best Lithuanian Pitch Award.
BBC Studios TalentWorks Names Creators In Residence
The BBC Studios TalentWorks program has names its latest scripted Creators in Residence. Actor Hammed Animashaun and playwright and comedy screenwriter Liz Daramola have been recruited for the initiative, which offers paid placements within BBC Studios’ production units, labels and invested Indies. Animashaun will join BBC Studios Comedy Productions on a six-month contract to develop original TV content. His credits include BBC Studios’ Black Ops, Amazon Studios’ The Wheel of Time and Paramount’s Time Bandits. Daramola is joining Baby Cow Productions for six months, also to develop TV. Her debut play, Bonhomié, was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award in 2020. She’s currently writing on Disney’s kids series PJ Masks.
