Amazon Prime Video India Strikes Major Licensing Deal With ‘Housefull’ Franchise Producer Nadiawala Grandson Entertainment

Naman Ramachandran Global short film network ShortsTV has launched its SVOD service on Amazon Prime Video Channels in the U.S.The service is available as an add-on subscription to Prime members at $1.99 per month after a seven-day free trial. Available at launch are 500 short films, including “The Continuing and Lamentable Saga of the Suicide Brothers,” starring Kiera Knightley and Rupert Friend; “Nancy, Sid & Sergio,” starring Charlie Cox; “Silent Things,” starring Andrew Scott, “Interstate,” starring Gina Rodriguez; and “Hotel,” starring Art Malik.In addition, alongside ShortTV’s annual theatrical release of Oscar nominated shorts, Prime members will also get access to these, as well as original shows taking audiences behind the scenes on the road to the Oscars, including leading film festivals and award shows including the BAFTAs, and interviews with award-winning filmmakers.

said in a statement, per Variety.Representatives for Paramount Global did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.Annecchino will be replaced on an interim basis by a collection of Paramount executives, according to the company’s statement. These leaders include JC Acosta (president, International Studios, Streaming and Networks for Southern Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa); Maria Kyriacou (president, Australia, Canada, Israel, and U.K.); and Mark Specht (executive VIP and managing director, Central and Northern Europe and Asia).

Paramount Global’s International CEO Raffaele Annecchino has been placed “on leave,” according to an internal note seen by Deadline.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentRaffaele Annecchino, president of Paramount International Studios, Networks and Streaming, is leaving the company.A terse internal Paramount memo obtained by Variety says that JC Acosta, president, International Studios, Streaming and Networks for Southern Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa; Maria Kyriacou, president, Australia , Canada, Israel and UK; and Mark Specht, EVP and managing director, Central and Northern Europe and Asia, “will be stepping in as interim heads to lead the international business.”There was no immediate comment from Paramount International on Wednesday.As he rose through the ranks at what is now Paramount Annecchino is known to have had a close rapport with Paramount CEO Bob Bakish, but it appears that this rapport has suddenly gone sour.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorApple is looking for more streaming kicks from sports.The tech giant has struck a ten-year rights pact with Major League Soccer, in a deal that will make Apple TV app the exclusive place to see every single live MLS match beginning in 2023. The new rights deal will tie Apple to soccer until 2032, and is the second recent sports deal it has made in recent months, after unveiling a pact in April to show Friday-night games from Major League Baseball.“For the first time in the history of sports, fans will be able to access everything from a major professional sports league in one place,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in a statement.

Today is the day when bids are to be submitted for rights to the Indian Premier League, a cricket league whose games are a massive draw across South Asia and other parts of the world and have helped propel Disney’s global rollout of Disney+.

EXCLUSIVE: Mila Kunis has partnered with superhero creator Sharad Devarajan of Graphic India to launch Armored Kingdom Media Inc.—a new entertainment franchise spanning a Web3 trading card game, digital comics, animation and film, which will be built on the carbon-neutral, community-driven blockchain, NEAR. To commemorate the launch of the sci-fi/fantasy franchise, a limited-edition Issue #0 comic book NFT will be made available for free, for seven days only, at this link.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSouth Korean TV network MBN is to give a weekly primetime slot this summer to a localized version of studio-based reality show “Mystery Duets.”The concept sees the nation’s most famous singers and celebrities perform a duet without knowing with whom they share the stage. It is only in the middle of the song that they discover each other’s identity as the screen between them rises.

Kasang Kulim Zoo in the Riau province of Indonesia, Newsflare reported. The 19-year-old allegedly taunted the resident orangutan — and that’s when the peeved primate grabbed him by the arm and yanked him toward the cage, as captured in an alarming video with more than 16.5 million views on Twitter alone.“The visitor wanted to take a video [and] create content without permission,” an outraged zookeeper identified only as Ides told the outlet. “He crossed the safety distance barrier.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video India has set its first Tamil-language long-form scripted original series, “Suzhal – The Vortex,” written and created by Pushkar and Gayatri (“Vikram Vedha”).The eight-part crime thriller revolves around the investigation of a missing girl that wreaks havoc and disrupts the fabric of a small town in South India. It is produced by Wallwatcher Films and directed by Bramma and Anucharan M.

Cineflix Rights Goes On Scripted Sales Spree

Naman Ramachandran “Sex Education” producer Eleven has revealed a cast of rising stars for upcoming BBC and Netflix horror series “Red Rose.”Created by the Clarkson Twins – Michael and Paul (“See,” “The Haunting of Bly Manor”), the eight-part series explores the relationship between teenagers and their online lives. Set over a long hot summer following high school, the teens’ friendships are infiltrated by the Red Rose app, which blooms on their smartphones, threatening them with dangerous consequences if they don’t meet its demands.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video India has signed a worldwide exclusive multi-film licensing deal with Sajid Nadiadwala’s Bollywood production house Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment (NGE).NGE’s upcoming slate includes “Bawaal,” starring Varun Dhawan (“Coolie No. 1”) and Janhvi Kapoor (“Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl”), directed by Nitesh Tiwari (“Dangal”).

India Willoughby has called out the BBC over comments one of its producers has made on social media, asking how the statements made by Keaton Stone ‘fit under BBC impartiality and values’. The 54-year-old presenter, who was revealed as Britain’s first transgender newsreader in 2016, shared several screenshots of comments Keaton made on Twitter. She penned: ‘Hi @bbcpress @BBCTheOneShow – your producer @kerastase is calling trans people “bad guys” who “do things to women” and brainwash kids – while planning what will clearly be a hit piece demonising the trans community.

India’s All That Breathes followed up its victory at the Sundance Film Festival by winning top documentary honors in Cannes.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Jackie Shroff (“Sooryavanshi”) will play the lead in Singapore-France-India co-production “Slow Joe,” it was revealed at the Cannes Film Market.Shroff will play the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha, known as Slow Joe, a former heroin addict and drug dealer who was born in Mumbai, was disowned by his family, heartbroken at 50 and who moved to Goa and cleaned up. On a trip to Goa in 2007, Lyon-based French musician Cédric de la Chapelle met Joe, now a frail 64-year-old who was making ends meet as a hotel room broker. Joe, also a poet and musician, sang for de la Chapelle, who was captivated by his voice and recorded some of his a cappella songs.Back in France, de la Chapelle played Joe’s songs for music producer Olivier Boccon-Gibod of Horizon Musiques, who was also entranced.

Indian streamer SonyLIV and Applause Entertainment are returning to the underworld of fraud. The pair are working on Scam 2003: The Telgi Story and cast Gagan Dev Riar to play the lead.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has boarded “Darlings,” headlined by top Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and directed by feature debutant Jasmeet K. Reen.Written by Reen, Parveez Sheikh (“Queen”) and Vijay Maurya (Disney+ Hotstar series “The Great Indian Murder”), “Darlings” is billed as a dark comedy which explores the lives of a mother-daughter duo trying to find their place in Mumbai, seeking courage and love in exceptional circumstances while fighting against all odds.The film is produced by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Bhatt’s Eternal Sunshine Productions.

EXCLUSIVE: Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Crazy Rich Asians producer SK Global, Jeff Sagansky and Florence Sloan have teamed to launch Jaya Entertainment, a content company focused on developing, producing and financing premium international series. Top TV producer Kaplan, prominent media investor Sagansky, Sloan and SK Global (via Ivanhoe Pictures) previously partnered in a Mumbai-based venture that produces hit Hindi-language Netflix series Delhi Crime, which won the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series and returns for a second season on the streamer later this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Prime Video India bosses Aparna Purohit and Gaurav Gandhi have outlined their strategy for super-serving the country’s diverse audiences, and revealed a plan to push into true crime and investigative doc series.