Good afternoon. Boris Johnson asked, Christmas feels like it has been a lifetime ago. And 2022 is in full swing. Here’s your weekly dose of the biggest news and deep-dives of the week. Keep reading.
Berlin is Back
In-person: Get your Steins ready for the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival It is happening, and it’s happening in person. The European Film Market is happening virtually, but organizers confirmed this week the festival will still take place in person, although there are certain restrictions. International Insider, for one, can’t wait.
Covid-friendlyThe festival will feel slightly less crowded than previous years, even though the Berlin organizers and the industry are collectively sighing of relief. The main offer The price has been decreasedThe new run will last for four days, from February 10-16. Cinemas will now be at half capacity. Red carpets, press conferences, and photo calls will also shrink. The biggest blow to the alcohol-friendly contingent will be of course the ‘no parties’ rule. As the entertainment world longs for those pre-Covid days, one can only hope this sadistic dictat will be lifted in 2023.
More annosBerlin Annos: The festival revealed a big week François Ozon drama Peter Von Kant will open. The film stars Denis Menochet (starring Isabelle Adjani, Hanna Schygulla and Isabelle Adjani) and will receive a world premier at the Berlinale Palast. Von Kant is another example. Tom’s scoop ThursdayIntroduced Iranian movie The Bitter Tears Of Zahra Zand the second reimagining of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1972 drama Petra Von Kant It took them almost as many years. Berlin is the zurückkehrende Seite. festival unveiledThe 10 books featured in the Books At Berlinale this year are part of the Co Production market.
Inside Amazon/MGM’s Action Movie Deal
Model Looks: Jake Gyllenhaal and Guy Ritchie’s new untitled action movie is getting underway this month in Spain. Yesterday, we reported on how the film was funded, including through big deals with Amazon.com and MGM. Both have taken U.S. rights.
Windowing:Amazon paid more than half of the $55M budget. It also secured Europe, Australia and Latin America. MGM has a traditional theatrical window here in the U.S., and will release the film via its United Artists Releasing banner. Yandex, a Russian financier and tech company, provided pre-production finance. Kinopoisk owns all rights to CIS territories. Indie distributors have acquired rights in Asia and the Middle East. Local tax credits in Spain, Comerica Bank and Spain also contribute to the finance puzzle. STX was the middle of most deals.
Box seat deal: The action-thriller was interesting to follow because of its mix streamer/theatrical, studio/indie distributor model. This is indicative the developing independent landscape. A few of these packages were snapped up in recent years by streamers through global deals that were too attractive for producers. The journey of this project was different. Ritchie and his collaborators on the film, Ivan Atkinson, Ritchie’s regular writing-producing colleague, and Josh Berger, an ex-executive at Warner Bros, set themselves up to be able drive their financing strategy and retain creative and financial control.
Amazon Goldwyn-Mayer: Although the U.S.- and international deals were made separately, it is interesting to see the result when you consider the combined buying power that Amazon and MGM will have going forward. Will this model be something the pair look to do more of in coming years as the dust settles on Amazon’s $8.4BN mega-deal for the James Bond studio?
BAFTAs incoming
Spider-Man: BAFTA is impossible: Awards season is hitting its stride and Wednesday saw the release of BAFTA’s long-awaited longlist, but one notable absence was all-conquering Box Office smash Spider-Man, There’s No Way Home. Monday we revealed Sony failed to upload the film to BAFTA’s online streaming platform in time, with the theory being that Sony is sticking hard to its theatrical-only window for the pic and refused to upload due to piracy fears. This may be more frequent going forward.
The rest: It’s hard to draw too many conclusions from the lengthy nomination lists but worth noting is No Time To Die’s 12 appearances, and non-Spider Man Marvel offerings such as Eternals And Shang-Chi Except for a few technical categories, being almost completely ignored Top-tipped photos such as Belfast And The Power of the Dog Both were well represented. Round two nominations are due to close on January 27. The awards will be held in person on March 13. Ozzie comedy queen Rebel Wilson hosts.
HBO Max Euro Moves
Staffing up Turkey & France: HBO Max Europe is going strong as it prepares for 21 territories rollouts in the coming year. Tom announced WednesdayBaris Zavaroglu, Turkcell GM, will be in charge of the Turkish operation. This demonstrates how eager WarnerMedia is for its operations to be present in many territories, even those that are less likely to produce original content. The ARTE France Drama Commissioning Editorial Editor was appointed just a few days later. Clémentine Bobin was added to HBO Max France’s team to work closely with recently appointed VP Vera Peltekian on all things French originals. Netflix was slow to establish bases in major non-U.S. territories. But the new streamer seems to be succeeding.xpand. This is one to be on the lookout for.
Goaaaal+: Paramount+, a new streaming service that is focusing on sports in streamer-world, has won the rights for the Premier League in Mexico. The ViacomCBS streamer will show the top tier of English football for three seasons from 2022/23 onwards and is demonstrating that Amazon isn’t the only one playing in the premium sports game.
Jana Bennett Remembered
“Trailblazer”: As the world heard of the tragedy, tributes flood in. Jana Bennett diesA former History Channel President and Discovery General Manager, as well as a BBC TV boss. She had a greater impact on both sides of Atlantic than many of her peers. BBC Director General Tim Davie called Bennett a “trailblazer” “one of the most talented producers of her generation,”While A+E Networks Boss Paul Buccieri stated that her contributions are appreciated, “too enormous to count.”UK TV trade Broadcast received a slew of tributes from Jane Tranter, Bad Wolf boss and former BBC1 controllers Danny Cohen & Lorraine Heggessey. All of them painted a picture that portrayed a woman with integrity and talent. Bennett, in her usual bravery, made public her rare brain cancer in 2019. She also revealed that she was a trustee for OurBrainBank, an app that allows GBM patients to share their symptoms and information with doctors. She is a huge loss.
Israeli Agent
Arik Kneller seated down: International Disruptor spotlights Arik Kneller (Israeli founder of The Kneller Agency), which boasts a impressive client list that includes names from the ever-interesting Israeli entertainment industry. Our Boys’ Joseph CedarFaudaWriterOur BoysNoah Stollman, co-creatorShtiselOri Elon, a writer and co-creator with Yehonatan indurksy. “I’m so lucky to work with such amazingly talented people,” Arik tells Diana Lodderhose. The complete piece is available here.
Return to The “Flat-Earthers”
Making the world spin: BBC Director General Tim Davie’s editorial boss David JordanThis week, the BBC pledged to give a platform to generate headlines. “flat-earthers”If it means representing all views fairly. Jordan and Davie were being grilled on impartiality in front of a UK House of Lords Committee and, while there was clearly an element of hyperbole in what he was trying to get across, Jordan’s comments raised a few eyebrows. The conversation was hot on Twitter. Meanwhile, Davie sought to explain away BBC News’ high-profile car crash of an interview with Alan Dershowitz in the wake of the Ghislaine Maxwell case, in which the interviewer failed to mention that the notorious lawyer had been accused of historic sexual abuse by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers. Davie blamed personal error rather than recent financial cuts to news division. This led to some red faces at BBCHQ.
Essentials
🌶️ Hot one for the week: Cynthia Erivo, a British nominee for the Oscars two times. It is to star in, and produce sci-fi feature Blink Speed Netflix is available alongside Trial of The Chicago 7 producer Matt Jackson.
🌶️ Another one: Russian media giants Ruben Dishyan and Len Blavatnik Signed a 5-year agreementCo-production and co-finance feature film productions
🌶️ Another one: Channel 4 prison drama Screw Has been sold toBritBox is available in Australia and New Zealand on TVNZ.
🚚 MovingRoxana R., BBC Studios/UKTV acquisitions executive Has been promotedAs the outfit completes a distribution restructuring.
🚀 Rise up: After moving into the top three last week, Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up It is Now secondWith 321M viewing hours, Netflix is ranked number one in all-time Netflix rankings. Only Dwayne Johnson’s Red Notice Go.
🍿 Box officeNancy has the most recent French film export figures From theUnifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris with French Cinema
🎁 Wrapped: Canadian-Lebanese co-production Valley of Exile has finished after a challenging shoot, which had to contend with Lebanon’s collapsing economy, the pandemic and a refugee camp setting. Andreas The scoop.
Andreas Wiseman contributed to this week’s International Insider.