‘Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens’ Co-Creator Teresa Hsiao Inks Overall Deal With Sony Pictures Television

Sony Pictures Television has named kids programming vet Joe D’Ambrosia has been named EVP & General Manager of its Silvergate Media subsidiary.

Emiliano De Pablos Closing in on one of the leading voices in Caribbean cinema, Sony Pictures Television has acquired from Latido Films Latin American rights to “Hotel Coppelia,” directed by Dominican filmmaker José María Cabral.Produced by Santo Domingo-based Rafael Elías Muñoz at Lantica Media and Cabral’s outfit Tabula Rasa, “Hotel Coppelia” is a real events-inspired drama, set during the 1965 Revolution in Dominican Republic.The story focus on a forlorn band of prostitutes, forced to pick sides when the American military invades and the soldiers hole up in their seaside brothel.“It would be impossible to think of a better house to have ‘Hotel Coppelia’ seen in Latin America,” Latido Films CEO Antonio Saura told Variety about the Sony Pictures deal. “The film deals with great intelligence with important issues of the history not only of the Dominican Republic but of all the region, but seen through the eyes of unexpected protagonists, caught in events that are beyond their reach.

The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey is expanding his relationship with Warner Bros., signing an exclusive, multi-year overall deal with WB Television Group. Under the pact, his first with the studio, Yockey will develop, create, and produce original programming to be produced by Warner Bros. Television for all platforms, including HBO Max, external streaming services, cable, and the five broadcast networks.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSteve Yockey has signed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, Variety has learned.Yockey is best known for creating the critically-acclaimed HBO Max series “The Flight Attendant” starring Kaley Cuoco, which is produced by WBTV.

Sony Pictures Classics has pushed back the release for Roger Michell’s film The Duke, starring Academy Award winners Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, by a month—from March 25 to April 22, 2022. It will be released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on the latter date before expanding to additional cities over the following weeks.

Molly Smith Metzler, creator and showrunner of Netflix’s critically praised limited drama series Maid, is expanding her relationship with the streaming giant. Metzler has signed a multi-year overall deal under which she will write and produce new series and other projects at Netflix. Via her Quiet Coyote production banner, Metzler aims to create content that is impactful and socially-conscious, with empowering roles for women, both on screen and behind the camera.

Anna Marie de la Fuente New York and L.A.-based indie distributor 1091 Pictures, known for such hit releases as Taika Waititi’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” Spirit Awards winner “Christine” and knockout comedy “The Overnight,” has swooped on rights to all English-speaking territories for psychedelic thriller “To the Moon.” The drama, sold by Yellow Veil Pictures, marks the directorial debut of actor Scott Friend (“The Dark End of the Street”), who also wrote and plays a lead role in it.The film, which bows its first poster in Variety, premiered last year at the online film festival Nightstream, and was in selection at the 2020 U.S. in Progress industry showcase organized by Wroclaw’s American Film Festival, which later hosted the film’s international premiere.

Ellise Shafer The SF Studios comedy “A Man Called Otto,” starring Tom Hanks, has been acquired by Sony Pictures for $60 million.The sale marks the largest deal to date at the virtual European Film Market, surpassing Netflix’s $55 million acquisition of “The Pale Blue Eye” last year. Directed by Marc Forster, “A Man Called Otto” sparked a fierce bidding war with Sony ultimately coming out on top with the film’s worldwide rights. It will be released in theaters.Based on Fredrik Backman’s bestselling novel “A Man Called Ove,” the film tells the story of Otto (Hanks), a grumpy and strict widower who upholds the rest of his neighborhood to his staunch rules.

Sony Pictures Television and WarnerMedia have extended a content deal that will see the likes of Spider Man: No Way Home and Ghostbusters: Afterlife made available on HBO Max and HBO channels across Central Eastern Europe.

Maggie Mull, co-creator of Hulu’s upcoming comedy series Maggie, produced by 20th Television, has signed a new multi-year overall deal with the studio. Under the pact, Mull will continue as executive producer and writer on Maggie, as well as create new series and supervise other writers’ comedies, both live-action and animated, for all platforms for 20th TV, a part of Disney Television Studios.

Selome Hailu Maggie Mull, co-creator of the upcoming Hulu comedy series “Maggie,” has signed a multi-year overall deal at 20th Television. At the studio, she will continue working on “Maggie” while also creating new series and supervising other live-action and animated comedies for all platforms.“Maggie,” which Mull co-created with Justin Adler, was originally developed for ABC before moving to Hulu in January.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has signed an overall deal with Leah Fong, co-creator and executive producer on the streamer’s upcoming horror/thriller drama The Midnight Club. Under the multi-year pact, Fong will write and produce new series and other projects.

Sony Pictures Classics has pushed back the theatrical release date for Eva Husson’s romantic drama Mothering Sunday, starring Odessa Young, by a month—from February 25 to March 25. It will open in theaters in New York and Los Angeles, on the heels of a one-week, awards-qualifying run in Los Angeles in November of 2021, before expanding to other markets over the following weeks.

Refresh for latest…: With a major assist from the phenomenal global box office performance of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sony Pictures Entertainment has recorded a third-quarter profit of $1.314 billion, up a staggering 570% from the comparable period in 2020. Revenues saw a 122% increase to $4.063 billion versus the same quarter the previous year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSony’s pictures division achieved net profits of $1.3 billion in the three months to December 2021, boosted by a return to theatrical releasing and the blockbuster performance of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” The $1.31 billion figure compares with profits of $194 million in the equivalent quarter of 2020, and with profits of $288 million in the preceding three months to end of September 2021.Parent company, Sony Group’s net profits grew by 20% in the three months to December 2021 hitting JPY461 billion. Sales were up by 13% to JPY3.03 trillion.The bumper results, unusually, made the pictures division the largest contributor to Sony’s consolidated net profits.

Naman Ramachandran Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired exclusive South Asia media rights for the 2022 Asian Games taking place later this year at Hangzhou, China. SPN will have the rights to broadcast the games across its sports channels in India and the subcontinent including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Maldives, and on streamer SonyLIV through Sept. 2023.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has ordered the political drama series “The Diplomat” from Debora Cahn, with Cahn also signing a multi-year overall deal at the streamer.Under the deal, Cahn will write and produce series and other projects for Netflix. The streaming giant has ordered eight episodes of “The Diplomat” at 50 minutes each.In the series, in the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat lands in a high-profile job she’s unsuited for, with tectonic implications for her marriage and her political future.

Netflix has given a series order to The Diplomat, a political thriller drama created by Debora Cahn (Homeland, The West Wing). Cahn will serve as executive producer and showrunner under a multi-year overall deal with the streamer for series and other projects.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Living,” an acclaimed re-imagining of Akira Kurosawa’s classic meaning-of-life story, has been sold to Sony Pictures Classics follow its premiere at Sundance Film Festival.Sony Pictures Classics, the indie division of Sony Pictures, has acquired rights in North America, Latin America, India, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Germany, South Africa, Southeast Asia, and airlines worldwide. A release date has not been announced yet.“Living” was directed by Oliver Hermanus and written by Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro.