Banijay France, Malika Abdellaoui Team on Marathon Studio to Increase Scripted Output (EXCLUSIVE)

Samuel Goldwyn Films has nabbed the North American rights to Savage State, David Perrault's period western drama. An early 2021 release is planned for the film about a family of French settlers who flee Missouri to return to Paris as the American Civil War breaks out.

Jamie Lang Following Chile’s most successful theatrical release of 2020 and high-profile streaming premieres in Latin America and the U.S.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer“Penguin Bloom,” the Toronto International Film Festival player led by Naomi Watts, has been acquired by Netflix in key territories.The streamer will roll out the film in North America, the U.K., France and select countries in Asia on Jan. 27.Oscar nominee Watts stars in the real-life survival story of Samantha Bloom, an active and vibrant Australian mom who is paralyzed from the chest down on holiday with her family.

European film, TV and media group Wild Bunch is moving to strengthen its involvement in production and co-productions in France, placing longtime in-house execs Adeline Fontan Tessaur and Jerome Rougier in charge of the effort. They will respectively continue as Managing Director of Elle Driver and Director of French Theatrical Distribution, and will spearhead acquisitions with a particular focus on co-productions. The first films will be announced in the coming weeks.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentParis-based company Alba Films has acquired French distribution rights to Sabrina Van Tassel’s timely social justice documentary “The State of Texas vs. Melissa.”The documentary premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and recently made its U.K.

straight to your inbox every day for freeRafael da Silva told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to keep fighting as Manchester United manager. United recorded a 4-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League on Tuesday evening - a result that keeps them top of Group H.

Spandau Ballet and EastEnders star Martin Kemp has recalled the moment son Roman nearly died in his godfather, George Michael’s pool.

Martin Freeman, who you may know best from his work in Sherlock, Black Panther, and The Hobbit, was seen with his arm around French actress Rachel Mariam!

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAppropriately blessed by sunshine in Spain, though the whole event went online, the Malaga Film Festival’s Spanish Screenings wrapped Friday, though films will continue to screen another week given the demand for screenings. The equivalent of France’s UniFrance Rendez-vous with French cinema in Paris, the Screenings were a bellwether for far larger trends coursing the American Film Market and the international market at large.

Vaca Films (“Extinction”) is producing with Sábado Películas (“A Perfect Enemy”), La Ley del Plomo AIE (“Gun City”) and France’s Playtime whose current slate includes Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, 13th District.” “Project Emperor” is expected to start filming in April.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorEXCLUSIVE: It was October 2019 and, in this different world, French millionaire Stéphane Courbit had just realized a years-long ambition in seizing control of Endemol Shine Group. His plan was simple: combine his company Banijay with his new $2.2BN asset to create a globe-straddling super producer.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBrooklyn-based distributor KimStim has acquired North American rights to Brazilian director Maya Da-Rin’s feature debut “The Fever” (“A Febre”), which world premiered in competition at Locarno and played at Toronto in 2019.The film is represented in international markets by Pierre Menahem’s French sales banner Still Moving, who negotiated the deal on behalf of the producers with KimStim’s Mika Kimoto.

Vanessa Hudgens is ready for the start of something new! ET's Katie Krause spoke to the 31-year-old actress, who gushed over co-star Ashley Tisdale's baby news.Tisdale revealed back in September that she and her husband, Christopher French, are expecting their first child. A month later, the actress shared that she has a daughter on the way.«Oh my gosh, it's so exciting,» Hudgens said.

Kelsey Stratford has shared a sweet update on her little sister Kennedy, who is in intensive care battling coronavirus. On receiving a cute message from eight-year-old Kennedy on her family group chat, the TOWIE star updated her 123,000 friends and followers on Instagram.The 20-year-old shared a sweet picture that had been taken of Kennedy's newly French plaited hair that had been done by a nurse, the little girl told her family, "nurse done my hair".