Dan Sefton To Adapt Ex-Genesis Drummer’s Novel For TV
Mallorca Files creator Dan Sefton is to adapt the story of ex-Genesis drummer Chris Stewart’s life for TV. Based on Stewart’s novel Driving over Lemons, Sefton, along with a team including Simon Lupton, Nick Leese, Alvaro Alonso and Manuel Yebra, will turn the retired musician’s incredible life story into a comedy-drama, with no network attached yet. Stewart, then 17, left Genesis to pursue a career in sheep shearering and writing. Inspired by his family’s adventures, the drama follows Chris, a hapless optimist, and his pragmatic wife Ana, as the couple embark on a new life, uprooting from the UK and relocating to Andalusia in an attempt to build a new life in the Alpujarra mountains. Sefton’s indie Seven Sea Films is producing with Leese’s Tin Hat Film and TV and Spanish production outfit La Pepa. Sefton called it the book “utterly charming and filled with as much warmth as a summer’s day in Spain.”
Smithsonian Channel To Spotlight Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali Story
A Smithsonian Channel documentary will tell the story of Cassius Clay’s transformation into Muhammad Ali. This documentary will air later in the year. Cassius X: Becoming AliThe film is based on Stuart Cosgrove’s book. It will explore the time when Clay fought to become World Heavyweight Champion. At the same, it will also examine his spiritual journey and the beliefs of the Nation of Islam. Two Rivers Media, a Scottish independent media company, is producing the two-parter and it’s being directed by an award-nominated director. Storm Over Brooklyndirector Muta’Ali Muhammad.
Abacus Media Rights Signs BBC Studios/UKTV’s Charalambous
Four Hours at CapitolAndIn the Shadow of 911Abacus Media Rights, distributor, has appointed a BBC Studios/UKTV executive to oversee acquisitions. Charlie Charalambous joins in the newly-created Head of Acquisitions role and will oversee the outfit’s string of heavy-hitting documentaries, which include a number helmed byNeverland is gone‘s Dan Reed. At UKTV, he was responsible for acquiring and investing in programming for the network’s seven channels plus owner BBC Studios’ global channels and VoD services. Deadline announced in November that BBC Studios was searching for a separate global acquisitions director due to an overflow of work.