Canal+ Group Gets Anti-Trust Approval to Acquire French Pay TV Group OCS and Orange Studio, Under Certain Conditions

Tonight is finally the night we get to see whether the faithfuls or the traitors will come out on top as the second series of BBC’s The Traitors reaches its final episode, and although we’re just as keen to see who will walk away with the prize money, we’re just as eager to see what outfit Claudia Winkleman will be pulling out of the bag for her grand finale look. The presenter has served up many an enviable ensemble throughout the series thanks to her stylist Sinead McKeefrey’s keen eye for oversized kits and statement accessories, but if there’s one look that’ll go down in history, it’s Claudia’s oversized red jumper and khaki scarf combo.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French mini-major Pathé has acquired Les Films des Tournelles, the production company founded by Anne-Dominique Toussaint whose recent credits include Louis Garrel‘s Cesar-winning “The Innocent.” Besides Garrel, Les Films des Tournelles has worked with a flurry of auteurs on some of their most successful films, including Riad Sattouf’s “The French Kissers,” which won the Cesar for best first film in 2010; Nadine Labaki’s “Caramel”; Emanuele Crialese’s “Respiro”; Valeria Golino’s “Miele”; and Mona Achache’s “The Hedgehog.” “The Innocent” won two prizes at last year’s Cesar Awards and screened at Cannes on the 75th anniversary of the festival. Toussaint has also worked with Philippe Le Guay and Emmanuel Carrère.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Webtoons, the digital comics that have been the source material for scores of Korean films and TV series, are to receive a major boost from the South Korean government. Yu In-chon, minister for culture, sports and tourism, on Tuesday said that the government will foster webtoon platform development, launch a major webtoon festival in the autumn of this year and by 2027 open a school dedicated to the emerging genre. Webtoons emerged in the early years of the 21st century shortly after the mass market a acceptance of smart phones – a technology sector where Korea’s Samsung Electronics is a major manufacturer – and are vertically-scrolling comics designed for consumption on a small screen. As a relatively new medium webtoons have escaped some of the strictures of Japan’s manga business or the cartoon industry in other countries. Instead, they have diverse story genres, are cheap to produce, which allows creators from non-professional backgrounds to participate, and have been quickly internationalized through multi-lingual translations and overseas platforms.

Netflix has had a big twelve months when it comes to licensed content.

Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall continued its prize-winning run on Monday at France’s 29th Lumière Awards clinching Best Film and Best Screenplay, while its German star Sandra Hüller won Best Actress.

EXCLUSIVE: With Anyone But You having just crossed $100M at the global box office and Top Gun 3 chatter lighting up the internet, Hollywood man of the moment Glen Powell has found his next project in the shape of thriller Huntington from Emily The Criminal writer-director John Patton Ford.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Dahomey,” a documentary directed by Cannes prizewinner Mati Diop (“Atlantique”) and slated for the Berlinale competition, will be represented internationally by Paris-based Les Films du Losange. The feature marks the directorial comeback of the French-Senegalese talent after winning the Grand Prize at Cannes with “Atlantique” in 2019.

Viaplay‘s Central and Eastern European production division Paprika Studios has exited the Scandinavian media group.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Spain’s fast-growing Secuoya Studios has tapped seasoned Sony Pictures Television International exec Brendan Fitzgerald for the newly-created position of CEO. His most recent position as SPTI’s senior VP of international English-language co-productions makes him the perfect fit for the company’s lofty ambitions.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Already one of France’s most beloved and bankable actors (“The Stronghold”), Gilles Lellouche is about to graduate as a big-shot filmmaker five years after delivering his sophomore outing, “Sink or Swim,” a B.O. hit which lured more than four million moviegoers (over $35 million) in theaters.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Fabula–Fremantle’s “Hot Sur,” The Mediapro Studio’s “El Mal” and “Two Nights in Lisbon,” from Portugal’s Hop Films and the U.K’s Heroes Films, look like potential standouts at next week’s Content Americas Copro Pitch 2024, one of its industry centerpieces. These series projects will be joined by crime mystery thriller “Delito,” from Barcelona’s Grup Focus TV & Films, behind banner Amazon Original “Reina Roja,” “Iron Woman,” a tumultuous political saga from Brazil-based Jarsom Wayans, two high concept doc series – Argentina’s “Climate Migrants” and Brazil’s “Mystery of the Megafauna” – and bio doc feature “Farraquito, a Flamenco Story,” profiling the famed flamenco bailaor.

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock back with you. So much news to get through this week — here’s a pick of the biggest and best stories. Sign up for the newsletter here.

King Charles' Coronation back in May last year was an extravagant event which millions from all over the world tuned in to watch.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Ben Aldridge (“Knock at the Cabin”) and Martina Garcia (“The Hidden Face”) have joined the cast of “Dear Paris,” Marjane Satrapi‘s (“Persepolis”) ensemble drama which is one Studiocanal‘s highlights at this week’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous showcase, along with Gilles Lellouche‘s sprawling romance thriller “Beating Hearts.” “Dear Paris” (“Paris Paradis”), produced by Vito Films, is a dark comedy set in the French capital where a flurry of charming characters confront death only to embrace life once again. The film also stars Monica Bellucci as a narcissistic Italian opera singer and Rossy De Palma as an eccentric elderly Colombian woman, as well as Eduardo Noriega, André Dussollier, Alex Lutz, Roschdy Zem and singer-turned-actor Gwendal Marimoutou (“Sam”).

Ben Croll Orange Studio has boarded true-crime-tinged psychological thriller “An Ordinary Case” and will launch sales at this week’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris. Top-lined, co-written and directed by French cinema stalwart Daniel Auteuil, this pulled-from-the-headlines drama also boasts “Borgen” and “Westworld” star Sidse Babett Knudsen alongside acclaimed actor Grégory Gadebois (“An Officer and a Spy”).

A chance meeting at a New York City hotel brought together multi-award-winning actor Gael García Bernal and Roger Ross Williams, an Academy Award-winning director who wanted to discuss Mexico’s Luchadores Exóticos, specifically trailblazer Saúl Armendáriz, better known as Cassandro.

You might hear the title, Driving Madeleine (French title: Une Belle Course), and then read the logline about a driver taxiing a 92-year old woman around Paris and instantly think “Aha! It is a French Driving Miss Daisy!” Well, having absolutely nothing to do with that 1989 Best Picture Oscar winner that so memorably starred Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, the two films do have something in common. They are both irresistibly cast with exceptional veteran stars who each grab the heart and never let go.

Skincare buffs are going wild over a budget-friendly anti-ageing night cream that works to hydrate the skin, while plumping out the skin, reducing fine lines and give a more youthful 'glow'. The £14 Neutrogena anti-wrinkle cream has been flooded with five-star ratings, with some shoppers saying they've ditched more premium products in favour of it.

EXCLUSIVE: Grasshopper Film and streaming platform DOCUMENTARY+ have acquired North American rights to the Oscar-shortlisted feature Apolonia, Apolonia, a deal announced as the nomination voting window opens for the 96th Academy Awards.

A couple avoided NHS waiting lists by getting a dental appointment 5,900 miles away in Thailand. Jamaica Kelly, 23, decided to tie in an appointment at the dentist during her five-month backpacking stint with her boyfriend, Sam Austen, 23.