CAA Signs Emmy-Award Nominated Journalist Anelise Borges (EXCLUSIVE)

Ziwe is back with the second half of the second season of her namesake talk show and she has declared a “diversity war.”

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed Scott Mann, who directed the thriller Fall. That film was released by Lionsgate, grossing $16 million on a $3 million budget.

EXCLUSIVE: UK producer Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor has signed with CAA for representation.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Amara Walker, the CNN correspondent newly assigned to co-anchor weekend mornings, will be represented by CAA. Walker, who joined CNN in 2012, works alongside co-anchor Boris Sanchez. The two also anchor CNN’s 10 a.m. hour on Saturdays. She is based in CNN’s Atlanta studio, and continues to also serve as a correspondent. The current “New Day” airs Saturdays between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and Sundays between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. CNN has announced plans to relaunch morning programming later this year and the weekend show’s name would, presumably, change as part of that move. Walker has reported on such events as the 2021 Atlanta spa massacre and co-hosted a primetime special with Anderson Cooper, Victor Blackwell, and Ana Cabrera, called “Afraid: Fear in America’s Communities of Color.” During the 2020 presidential election and the Georgia Senate runoff, Walker was part of an election night team reporting on President Trump’s repeated attacks against the Georgia Secretary of State, baselessly claiming fraud. Walker began her career at CNN as an anchor for CNN International, where she anchored during the ongoing humanitarian and political crisis in Venezuela, and during large-scale demonstrations against a controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong in June 2019, among other events. She was live on the air as a fire ripped through Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in April 2019. Walker graduated magna cum laude with a dual degree in political science and broadcast journalism from the University of Southern California, and speaks conversational Korean and Spanish.

European Film Academy will honor Italian director March Bellocchio for his mini-series Exterior Night at its 35th European Film Awards ceremony on December 10 in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik.

Naman Ramachandran Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio will be presented with the European Film Academy’s Award for European Innovative Storytelling for his miniseries “Exterior Night.” The director will be guest of honor at the 35th European Film Awards ceremony on Dec. 10 at Reykjavik. In “Exterior Night,” Bellocchio returns to the case of the kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades in 1978, a subject that he tackled in his feature film “Good Morning, Night,” for which he received the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2003 European Film Awards. The academy has also revealed nominations in several categories for the awards.

A famous actor is joining HBO Max’s And Just Like That… for a recurring role in season two!

EXCLUSIVE: In a meta casting, Tony Danza has been tapped for a recurring role in Season 2 of HBO Max’s And Just Like That…

Clayton Davis The Critics Choice Documentary Awards announced its nominees where Sara Dosa’s lava-fueled love story “Fire of Love” led the field with seven nominations including best documentary feature and director. Co-distributed by National Geographic and Neon, the film’s Ryan White’s “Good Night Oppy,” the moving reflection on the Mars rovers, received a hearty six-nom tally including editing and score. “This year’s nominees prove that documentaries of all lengths and formats are advancing nonfiction media like never before,” said Christopher Campbell, Co-President of the Critics Choice Association Documentary Branch.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kamila Andini’s “Before Now and Then” (aka “Nana”) topped the nominations for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with nods in four categories including best film and best director. The film, about a gentlewoman’s memories of escaping from a Communist purge, narrowly headed three films with three nominations each: “Poet” (aka “Akyn”) by Kazakhstan’s Darezhan Omirbayev; “This Is What I Remember” (aka “Esimde”) by Kyrgyzstan’s Aktan Arym Kubat; and Philippines director Lav Diaz’s “When The Waves Are Gone” (“Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon”). APSA casts its net wide, seeking honors for cinematic excellence from 78 countries and territories defined as Asia Pacific. The awards will be presented at a ceremony at HOTA on Australia’s Gold Coast on Nov. 11, 2022.

Normal People producer Element Pictures has made its first signature hire since being acquired by Fremantle, signing up Fleabag indie Two Brothers Pictures drama boss Christopher Aird as Creative Director.

Eddy Cue, who leads Apple’s services business and has spearheaded the company’s push into subscription streaming and live sports, called a recently minted deal with Major League Soccer “a huge global opportunity” for the tech giant.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix’s Director of Local Language Originals for the CEE, Anna Nagler, has outlined the streamer’s ambitions in region, as its biggest drama series from the region, High Water, launches globally today.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Lionsgate Television Group chairman and chief content integration officer Kevin Beggs has signed a multi-year renewal of his contract. “Kevin and his team have done a great job in building Lionsgate Television into a world-class supplier of valuable premium content to buyers throughout the ecosystem,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “Kevin is a trusted partner whose entrepreneurial, innovative and collaborative approach reflects our culture at its best. Under his leadership, our television business is positioned to continue growing its profitability and strengthening its respected brand.” Under Beggs, Lionsgate’s current roster of scripted series include three broadcast TV shows — “Home Economics” at ABC, “Welcome to Flatch” at Fox, and the breakout hit “Ghosts” at CBS. The studio also picked up a series order at NBC recently for an untitled multi-cam from Mike O’Malley with Jon Cryer starring.

EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Martine Syms has inked with CAA.Syms recently made her directorial debut with The African Desperate, which had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and was the closing film at the New Directors/New Films Festival.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that will set workplace safety training and certification standards for companies that produce live events at publicly owned and operated venues. The signing was praised by the California IATSE Council, many of whose members work behind-the-scenes on live events.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a “landmark” bill that creates the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund to supply much-needed support grants to small nonprofit performing arts organizations, helping them offset a portion of their payroll costs. Introduced by Senator Anthony Portantino (D – Burbank), Senate Bill 1116 was cosponsored by Actors’ Equity Association and the Theatrical Producers of Southern California.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Crooked Media is looking to take its progressive-politics podcast empire to the next level. The L.A.-based media company, which produces more than 30 podcasts including the flagship “Pod Save America,” has hired Lucinda Treat, chief legal officer at Vice Media Group for the last four years, as its first CEO. Crooked Media also announced an investment from Soros Fund Management, the investment firm founded by billionaire George Soros, which is taking a minority stake in Crooked. Crooked Media didn’t disclose the amount of funding it received from Soros Fund Management, which represents its first outside financing. The company remains majority owned by founders and “Pod Save America” co-hosts Jon Lovett, Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor.