Banijay CEO Francois de Brugada to Helm New Banijay Events Division

Chris Diamantopoulos took off his shirt while out on a jog with wife Becki Newton on Sunday (July 9) in Los Feliz, Calif.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Monday that extends the state’s $330 million tax incentive for film and TV production. The program will be extended for five years through 2030. For the first time, the credit will be refundable, meaning that companies like Netflix that have little or no state tax liability can receive cash back from the state. That change has been estimated to cost $200 million. The bill is the result of more than a year of bargaining between Hollywood studios, entertainment unions and state lawmakers. In addition to extending the credit, the bill also includes an incentive for productions to hire a diverse workforce, both on screen and behind the camera.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Studiocanal has boarded “A Prophet,” a new television adaptation of Jacques Audiard’s acclaimed 2009 film. The eight-episode limited series started filming on July 3, with “Django” director Enrico Maria Artale and a diverse new cast led by Mamadou Sidibé. The French-language series brings back the award-winning team behind the original film, including creators and writers Abdel Raouf Dafri (“Mesrine,” “Braquo”) and Nicolas Peufaillit (“The Returned”), as well as producer Marco Cherqui (“Savages”), in agreement with “A Prophet” producers Why Not Productions and Page 114. The show, which is filming in Marseille and Puglia, Italy, is produced by Cherqui and Sebastien Janin, former Apple exec and co-founder of Media Musketeers, and co-produced by UGC, Orange Studio and Savon Noir, with the participation of OCS. The key crew includes “Gomorra” cinematographer Ferran Paredes Rubio. Veteran Italian producer Fabio Conversi (“Youth”) is exec producing the series.

As Twitter faces a significant new challenge from Instagram offshoot Threads, CEO Linda Yaccarino is defending her turf.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Alexia Laroche-Joubert, the well-known French producer behind some of the country’s longest-running unscripted hits, has been named CEO of Banijay France. Taking over from Francois de Brugada, Laroche-Joubert will be spearheading the French portfolio which comprises 15 labels spanning non-scripted and scripted, and will be tasked with evolving and diversifying the pipeline, attracting new talent, identifying new areas for growth, and driving collaboration with the wider group internationally to maximise on exploitation opportunities. The appointment takes effect from Sept. 1. Laroche-Joubert has been at Banijay since 2016 and she has served as CEO for Adventure Line Productions (ALP). She recently launched the scripted label Screen Line Productions.

Banijay France has found its new CEO.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Samuel Goldwyn Films has unveiled the trailer for “Simone: Woman of the Century,” a biopic of Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became health minister of France and championed the 1975 law that legalized abortion in France.  Directed by Olivier Dahan, best-known for his Oscar-winning Edith Piaf biopic “La Vie en Rose,” “Simone” boasts powerful performances by Elsa Zylberstein and Rebecca Marder. The key cast is completed by Elodie Bouchez, Sylvie Testud and Olivier Gourmet. The film was a box office hit in France, where it was released by Warner Bros and ranked as 2022’s third highest-grossing French-language hit with over 2.5 million tickets sold. Samuel Goldwyn Films is planning to release the film in U.S. theaters, opening in New York and Los Angeles on Aug. 18, followed by a wider rollout.

The podcast game may not be Meghan Markle strong suit.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Izhar Harlev, the co-creator and head writer for “Mossad 101” and “The Gordin Cell,” is set to showrun “Maggiore,” a thriller series revolving around the sinking of a boat full of Israeli and Italian intelligence officers on Lake Maggiore in the Swiss Alps. Ordered by leading Israeli network Yes TV (“Fauda,” “Shtisel”), “Maggiore” is being developed and produced by Dafna Prenner at Israel’s Artza Productions, the banner behind Netflix’s hit show “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem”; Leo Maidenberg at Paris-based Place du Marché and Jad Ben Ammar at Kador (“Sisters in Arms“) and his new banner Talea Produzioni in Italy. The eight-part series will revolve around the sinking of the small boat on Lake Maggiore on May 28 and the chain of events that followed the tragedy. The boat sank after being hit by a violent storm. Out of the 23 passengers on board, four people drowned, including a former agent of Israel’s spy agency Mossad, two Italian intelligence officers and a Russian woman.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles has announced a special initiative to help save Rockwood Music Hall, the long-running independent New York City music venue, which is in danger of closing. The #PreserveRockwood benefit concert series will launch on June 30 with Bareilles and will be an opportunity to see artists perform in the venue’s intimate setting while helping to keep it alive. 100% of the proceeds from the shows will be donated to Rockwood to help continue a space for independent and emerging artists to perform. Other artists initially joining the series include Chris Thile and Michael Daves (July 1), Amy Helm (July 6), Isabel Hagen (July 10), Ingrid Michaelson (July 20), Elle King (July 31) and The Lone Bellow (August 10), and more.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, Rachel Zegler and Emily Mortimer are in talks to join the cast of “Paddington in Peru,” the third opus of the beloved bear’s adventures. Set to start filming on July, the third installment film will also star Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin. Ben Whishaw and Imelda Staunton will also be back as the voices of Paddington and Aunt Lucy, respectively. Filming locations will include the UK, Peru and Colombia. The movie will mark the feature film directorial debut of Dougal Wilson, and reteams Studiocanal with Heyday Films following their collaboration on the first two films of the Paddington franchise. Studiocanal is fully financing and will distribute in the UK, France, Germany, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand as well as through partners in China and Japan. Sony Pictures will distribute in the USA, Canada and other key international territories including Latin America.

The story of the missing submersible in the North Atlantic Ocean continues to capture the hearts and minds of the American public.

Hit U.S. Gameshow ‘Password’ Coming To ITV

Wendy Rush – who is the wife of Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions and the pilot of the submarine that has been missing since Sunday (June 18) – is the descendent of a couple who died on the original Titanic in 1912.

Alanis Morissette’s musical “Jagged Little Pill” took home two trophies at New York City’s Winter Garden Theatre.Now, nearly two years later, Morissette is heading west to Newark, NJ’s Prudential Center for a one-off concert on Thursday, June 22 at 8 p.m.She’ll be joined by fellow singer-songwriter and ’90s icon Aimee Mann.And if you need last-minute tickets to catch the “Ironic” singer live, “You Oughta Know,” inventory is still available.While no Mori-sseats are overwhelmingly cheap, we found some going for as low as $95 before fees on Vivid Seats.Better yet, if you want to get closer to the action, floor seats can be snagged for $135 before fees.Want to see Alanis and Aimee live together in the Garden State?Here’s everything you need to know and more.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all the best prices on standing room only, lower-level and floor seats for the June 22 Prudential Center concert can be found below.(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Roughly a month before Venice Film Festival’s 2023 lineup announcement, the buzz around the competition is heating up with several star-studded films by heavyweight directors in the mix, including Pablo Larrain (“El Conde”), Michael Mann (“Ferrari“), Sofia Coppola (“Priscilla“), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”) and Michel Franco (“Memory”). These titles are believed to have been officially invited to the Lido in competition, according to inside sources. Larraín’s follow-up to “Jackie,” “El Conde” depicts dictator Augusto Pinochet as a Vampire with a cast led by Chilean star Alfredo Castro.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Leos Carax, whose latest film “Annette” won best director at Cannes in 2021, will shed light on his enigmatic and singular body of work in his next project “It’s Not Me.” The self-portrait film reunites Carax with French actor Denis Lavant whom he directed in five of his most famous films, including “Boy Meets Girl,” “Bad Blood,” “Lovers on the Bridge,” and Berlinale prizewinning “Holy Motors.” Les Films du Losange, the Paris-based company which won this year’s Berlinale Golden Bear with Nicolas Philibert’s On The Adamant, will distribute “It’s Not Me” in France, as well as represent the film in international markets. “It’s Not Me” also reteams Carax with Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema, who produced “Annette.” After world premiering at Cannes, the ambitious English language musical drama went on to win many laurels, including best director at the Cesar Awards. It also earned a Cesar nomination for Driver, and a Golden Globe nomination for Cotillard.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce, technology and entertainment giant, said Tuesday that Joseph C. Tsai will succeed Daniel Zhang as chairman of the group. Eddie Wu (aka Wu Yongming) will take over Zhang’s role as group CEO. Both men are veterans of the group. Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball franchise, is currently Alibaba’s executive vice chairman. Wu is one of Alibaba’s founders and was its original chief technology officer in 1999. He has since held the CTO role at key businesses units including Taobao and Alipay and is currently chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group. Zhang, who took over as group chairman from the iconic Jack Ma, is in the process of orchestrating the biggest restructuring in Alibaba’s 24-year history. Alibaba, which has share listings in New York and Hong Kong, is to transform itself into a holding company with stakes in six separate business units that are free to raise their own capital or even go down the IPO route.

Andy Muschietti, director of “The Flash”, is returning to the DC  Universe.

Banijay has moved into the live events space by acquiring a majority stake in the company that claims to have “organized the highest number of Olympic Games ceremonies.”