Banijay Appoints Netflix Exec As CFO; ‘Black Mirror’ BAFTA Honor; Abacus Adds Sales Exec – Global Briefs

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix has come on board for the second year to support the Short Film Camp, a film industry training program for professionals from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The SFC is led by Purin Pictures, a film funding body backed by the Purin Foundation. The event, running for ten days (Dec. 2-12, 2022) in Bangkok, Thailand, will involve 12 teams of directors and producers. The 24 participants will receive mentoring that aims to hone their writing, producing and directing skills. The workshop culminates in a live pitch of their short film projects, where four winners will receive funding and post-production support to produce their short films.

Marta Balaga Winter is coming, but not at Netflix, as the streamer will be launching its reality show “Summer Job” – produced by Banijay Italia – before the end of the year. “I am proud, because it’s an original show made for Italy,” said Tinny Andreatta, VP of content for Italy, at MIA Market on Wednesday. Netflix has been eager to expand its unscripted content. “We know our members love it. It’s a really exciting and growing area for us,” added Larry Tanz, VP of content for EMEA. Mentioning some recent successes from “Young, Famous & African” to “I Am Georgina,” both coming back for a second season, as well as new Spanish offering “Who Likes My Follower?”

Netflix is currently in talks to stream upcoming Korean blockbuster The Match exclusively on its platform.South Korean news outlet The Korea Herald reported on October 12 that The Match – which stars Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun and Hellbound’s Yoo Ah-in as its leading stars – is currently considering forgoing a theatrical release in favour of a Netflix premiere.The producers of The Match had reportedly previously sorted out a release date for its theatrical premiere, but are now in talks to change tactics considering local movie theatre attendance has yet to improve since the ease of COVID-19 restrictions in South Korea. However, representatives of Netflix told The Korea Herald that “nothing has been decided yet”.Based on true events, The Match follows the tale of two notable Go (a traditional Chinese board game) players set in the ’80s and ’90s.

Netflix has revealed its debut slate of original Thai productions, including four feature films and two TV series.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief International streaming company Netflix has unveiled six new titles representing its first wide-ranging slate of content from Thailand. Its four films and two series span the comedy, suspense and comedy drama genres and hail from six different local production firms – GMM Studios, International, GDH, Song Sound Productions, Transformation Films, 18 Tanwa and Jungka Bangkok. Significantly, too, they are sourced from established directors or producers. Writer-director Prueksa Amaruji’s dark comedy film “Lost Lotteries” is produced by Ekachai Uekrongtham (“Beautiful Boxer,” “Pleasure Factory”) and will stream from mid-November.

Netflix Among Buyers Of Doc On Dutch Soccer Manager Louis Van Gaal

Hello Sunshine has added two senior executives. Stefanie Markman is joining the Candle Media company as General Counsel and EVP, Business and Legal Affairs, and Wifreddy Chiang as EVP, Finance and Accounting.

Netflix has announced the cast for its forthcoming K-drama, Dak Gang Jeong (literal title).According to a report by South Korean media outlet Asian Economy, the streaming platform’s newest Korean series is set to star Kim Yoo-jung (Lovers of the Red Sky), Ahn Jae-hong (Be Melodramatic) and Ryu Seung-ryong (Jirisan).ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo was reportedly in talks to join the cast, but no decision has been reached regarding this offer at the time of publication.Based on a webtoon named after a Korean chicken dish, Dak Gang Jeong is a comedy surrounding a machine that turns people into fried chicken. Kim is set to play Min Ah, a girl who is turned into fried chicken after mistaking the machine for one that helps people with fatigue.Ryu will be playing Choi Sun-man, a father who will do anything to reverse the machine’s effects on his daughter; while Ahn will be playing Go Baek-joon, an intern with a crush on Min Ah.Dak Gang Jeong will be helmed by Lee Byung-hun, who has previously worked with several members of the cast—namely Ryu on the 2019 film Extreme Job and Ahn on 2019 K-drama Be Melodramatic.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a hot one. In a splashy deal, Netflix has pre-emptively landed feature rights to upcoming book Dark Wire, which uncovers the true story of how the FBI launched a fake telecom company and became a phone service provider to the one of the world’s most notorious gangs, culminating in the arrest of more than a thousand international criminals.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may be looking to soften the edges of their upcoming Netflix show.

K.J. Yossman Tom Hardy is set to narrate a natural history series for Sky Nature, titled “Predators.” Set to launch in December, the series will follow five apex predators as they fight to survive in some of the world’s most challenging environments: polar bears in Canada, wild dogs in Zimbabwe, puma in Chile, lions in Botswana, brown bears in Russia and cheetahs in Tanzania. It also represents Sky’s first co-production with Netflix. The series was produced by True to Nature and Sky Studios in association with Netflix. It will launch on Sky Nature and Sky’s streaming platform NOW in December. A Netflix release date hasn’t been confirmed.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kevin Mayer says that the investment strategy at Candle Media, the hard-charging entertainment startup that he heads with Tom Staggs, is product of his career time at Disney and TikTok. While those two companies are behemoths and Candle Media a newcomer, the claim is not as outlandish as it seems. At Disney, Mayer was largely responsible the launch of the direct-to-consumer streaming businesses that became Disney+. And as Disney, Pixar and other group content was made exclusive and contained within a walled garden, it stoked demand for premium independently-made content. Candle Media sets its sights on becoming just such a supplier.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The life of global porn icon Rocco Siffredi is the subject of a new Netflix original series titled “Supersex,” which has started shooting in Rome. The seven-episode drama is freely inspired by the real life of Siffredi, who has more than 1,500 hardcore films to his name. But, in an interesting career twist, Siffredi has also shot two arthouse pics, Catherine Breillat’s “Romance” and “Anatomy of Hell.” His Budapest-based Rocco Siffredi Prods. is a porn industry powerhouse. Siffredi was also the subject of the documentary “Rocco,” directed by French duo Thierry Demaiziere and Alban Teurlai, which screened at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. 

Damian Terriquez (All Rise) and Kaleb Horn (Hardy Boys) have been cast in key recurring roles opposite Miss Benny and Kim Cattrall in Netflix drama series Glamorous, from Jordon Nardino (Star Trek: Discovery) and Damon Wayans Jr.

EXCLUSIVE: Following the success of one of Netflix’s biggest films of the summer in Purple Hearts, Netflix has moved fast to work with the films star as sources tell Deadline Sofia Caron is set to join Taron Egerton in the Netflix and Amblin thriller Carry On. The streamer is also reuniting with Harder They Fall breakout Danielle Deadwyler, who has also joined the ensemble that also stars Jason Bateman. Jaume Collet-Serra is directing. TJ Fixman penned the first draft of the screenplay, with Michael Green doing the most recent polish. Dylan Clark will produce. The film marks the first production to come out of the overall deal Amblin signed with Netflix last June.

A consortium led by Banijay chairman Stéphane Courbit is leading the race to acquire French broadcaster M6, according to reports, with shares in the Bertelsmann-owned network spiking on news of several planned offers.

A true story about a creep who stalks a family in their New Jersey home is now the subject of The Watcher, a Netflix limited series from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan that premieres Oct. 13.

Jen and Judy are back, and it's for the last «f**king» time. Netflix's favorite foul-mouthed duo return in the first teaser for the final season of the dark comedy , which the streamer released during the Tudum fan event on Saturday. Christina Applegate, Linda Cardellini and James Marsden star in the twisty half-hour series from creator Liz Feldman, with the latter introducing the teaser for fans to enjoy.The video begins by rehashing the events of the previous two seasons, taking fans back to the beginning when Jen (Applegate) met Judy (Cardellini) after her husband was killed in a hit and run.

EXCLUSIVE: Snagging some of the best and the brightest from Disney, Netflix and Paramount, law firm Yorn Levine is expanding, again.