Cannes Takes Shape & Disney Cuts Near EMEA – Deadline

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock back in the hot seat. Johnny Depp, Disney and a bizarre UK government department called the Valuation Office Agency were in the international film and TV news this week. Make sure to sign up to the Insider newsletter by clicking here. Let’s go.

Depp Goes To Cannes

Cannes you dig it: Zac Ntim with this report… The 76th Cannes Film Festival opens in just over a month and news has come gushing out of the Croisette this week as festival organizers ready the Official Selection presser, which was confirmed Tuesday for April 13. This year’s festival will run from May 16-27, and we now have our opening film: Johnny Depp’s comeback movie Jeanne du Barry. Directed by Maïwenn, who also stars, the French-language pic’s world premiere will take place on May 16, and the film will be released in cinemas the same day in France. Depp portrays King Louis XV and speaks French in the film, which takes inspiration from the life of Jeanne du Barry, Louis XV’s last royal mistress at the Court of Versailles. The film has long been expected to debut on the Croisette, but remains a bold and somewhat controversial pick that marks Depp’s first feature film role in three years following the conclusion of his tumultuous defamation trial against Amber Heard.

Star power: Also confirmed to be joining Maïwenn and Depp on the Croisette is Martin Scorsese, who will debut his latest work, Killers Of The Flower Moon, on May 20 alongside stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Disney’s Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny, will take over the festival on May 18. Mr Indy himself, Harrison Ford, and director James Mangold will be among the stars to tread the red carpet to a John Williams soundtrack at the premier. The festival will also host a career tribute to Ford 15 years after it debuted Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. With just the three confirmed films above, it’s shaping up to be a seriously buzzy year on the Croisette. This should excite some of the industry insiders who have quietly grumbled that the event has gradually ceded star power to fall festivals like Venice and Toronto. Here and here we’ve listed some of the other buzzy movies we hear could be in the mix. Check back on Deadline as festivities begin and read the full report on Jeanne du Barry here in the mean time.

Disney EMEA Cuts

Brace, brace: In February, Disney announced a massive company-wide restructure and downsizing, as its all-in bet on streaming profitability, advertising downturns and stock price dips combined to cause CEO Bob Iger one big headache. Iger confirmed 7,000 staff would leave, with the first of three expected waves of redundancies now underway in the U.S. As is often the way with the major studios, international cuts will inevitably follow, and Max and I have been hearing from multiple sources that staff at its London HQ and other satellite offices in the EMEA region are bracing for bad news. Word is Iger travelled to London immediately after the Oscars to speak with top brass. While we don’t know the nature of those talks, we can surmise the conversation of cost-efficiencies was addressed.

What we do know: Staff are expecting content cuts and redundancies from Disney’s circa 5,000 staff outside the States. Disney+, which has the most international teams, is the obvious place for the axe to fall but we’re hearing that numerous other divisions expect to be involved. “Undoubtedly there will be cuts, so we are waiting for names and headcount to emerge,” one source told us. Of course, Disney isn’t the only U.S. giant being forced to make tough calls to make the economics work, and it’s not all doom and gloom, with Disney+ Germany this week announcing a new original, for example. Also of note, Disney is holding its Star Wars Celebration Europe in London this Easter weekend. Thousands of Jedi disciples are at the ExCel Centre right now, and our intrepid reporter Zac is on the ground hoovering up the best of the news. Read more about that here, while our full report on the EMEA cuts can be found here.

UK Studios Crippled

Taxing issue: Speak to any Brit, and they’ll tell you their bills are rising on an almost monthly basis at the moment. The UK’s studios certainly aren’t immune to that, and they’ve now been walloped in the nether-regions by a so-called ‘studio tax.’ Jake has been following this story over recent months, as studio bosses have lobbied for the government to rethink a plan that has now increased their property tax bill to potentially fatal levels. The Valuation Office Agency (those guys, again) officially brought in an update to its “rateable values” assessment this week, which it uses to calculate rates on non-domestic properties in England and Wales, and is pushing prices way up. Pinewood and Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden are paying fees well into the eight-figure territory, while indies like Twickenham Film Studios have seen rates quadruple. There’s a mix of bafflement, fear and anger among studio chiefs, but they remain hopeful the worst impacts can be reversed. If they’re not, the concern is the additional costs are passed on to producers, making the UK’s thriving production sector less attractive to outside investors. Much more detail here.

South Africa Breaks Out

‘DAM’ straight: We headed to South Africa (via Zoom) to interview filmmaker Alex Yazbek about his buzzy psychological thriller series DAM for our latest Global Breakouts feature on Tuesday. What you’ll read in our feature report is a fascinating look at both the Showtime Original and South African production and society more generally. Yazbek reveals how his show, which follows a young woman who returns to South Africa from abroad for her father’s funeral before things turn strange, supernatural and complicated, tries to break down the various rules that the country’s production business has erected — most notably with characters of different races interacting through jeopardy and story rather than stereotypes and cliches designed not to offend. South Africa is a country with a difficult and, at times, awful political and social past, so it’s notable how DAM is trying — and succeeding — in doing something different. As Yazbek tells us, “I will not be manipulated by my guilt.” Go deeper.

‘M3GAN’ Makers On NZ

‘M3GAN’s mark: As Avatar: The Way of Water was breaking box office records, another film shot in New Zealand unexpectedly made a dent in the cinema goers charts, M3GAN. Diana sat down with the campy cult horror flick’s producers to discuss why New Zealand’s Auckland is becoming one of the world’s top spots to shoot TV and film. For any Hollywood types who think NZ is just too far away from home, producer Adam Hendricks noted Auckland reminded him of LA “in a lot of ways.” The Blumhouse and Atomic Monster production began streaming on Peacock in the U.S. last month after doing more than $176M worldwide at the box office. Plenty of wisdom here, so read on.

The Essentials

?️ Hot One: Marmalade sandwiches all round! The long-awaited Paddington in Peru will start filming in July, as Andreas revealed Monday.

?️ And another: Paolo Sorrentino will start filming a new movie in June. Details are scarce, but here’s what we know.

?️ A spicy third: Siddarth Anand will direct Tiger vs Pathaan, the latest in Yash Raj Films’ spy universe franchise. Liz with this.

?️ Another One: Cameron Britton and Taylor Russell are the latest names attached to Na Hong-Jin’s Korean thriller Hope, per Andreas’ double scoop.

?️ One more, please:Killing Eve writer Georgia Lester is giving the kidnapping of British model Chloe Ayling the TV treatment for the BBC. Jake was first.

? Rebrand: MGM’s international streaming service will now be known as MGM+ International.

?️ News man: ITN’s exiting producer Chris Shaw reflects on 40 years at the UK news org. He sat down with Jake.

?? Cultural pact: Amazon will work with the Indian government to promote the country’s creative economy.

? Treading new boards: Olivier award winner Standing at the Sky’s Edge will transfer to the Gillian Lynne Theatre early next year. Nice one from Baz.

? Exiting: Fremantle’s long-serving HR boss Nicky Gray, as Max revealed.

? New shop #1: Richard Bacon launched Yes Yes Media, with an eclectic mix of financial backers.

? New shop #2: UK VFX firm Jellyfish Pictures launched an outpost in Mumbai, Zac revealed.

? Box office: The Super Mario Brothers Movie‘s takings are mushrooming outside the U.S. Just Peachy, reported Nancy.

Zac Ntim contributed to this week’s Insider.