EXCLUSIVE: Upgrade Productions, the Los Angeles-based production company focusing on local-language content, has unveiled an initial trio of projects from around the world.
08.04.2022 - 22:33 / deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Chernin Entertainment has hired former Red Arrow Studios Chairman and CEO Jan Frouman.
Frouman is joining the company, which is behind films such as the Planet of the Apes franchise and Ford v. Ferrari and Apple series See, in an unspecified role. Chernin Entertainment reps declined to comment.
He was most recently President of International at Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook, which, earlier this year, took full control of German producer Telepool, where Frouman was previously CEO.
It comes as Chernin Entertainment eyes the acquisition of Red Arrow, the production group behind series such as Netflix’s Love Is Blind and Amazon’s Bosch, although sources caution that his hire is a coincidence rather than directly related to its interest in the European superindie. Chernin Entertainment is understood to be one of a number of suitors that are taking a look at the business.
Frouman was Chairman and CEO of Red Arrow Studios, which houses U.S. production companies including Kinetic Content and The Circus producer Left/Right, between 2010 and 2019. He previously worked in production and content acquisitions at parent company, European media giant ProSiebenSat.1, since 2004, having joined from private equity firm Saban Capital Group.
The full details of his role at Chernin Entertainment are unclear and it’s still to be seen how Frouman will fit into the structure of the company, as it continues to expand its film and television business.
Chernin Entertainment has been ramping up its moves over the last couple of years.
In February 2021, it set up a non-scripted studio run by former ESPN content chief Connor Schell, who was an exec producer on O.J: Made In America and The Last Dance. It also struck a multi-year deal
EXCLUSIVE: Upgrade Productions, the Los Angeles-based production company focusing on local-language content, has unveiled an initial trio of projects from around the world.
Graham McTavish, best known for roles in The Hobbit, Rambo and Outlander, is narrating the international version of Love Nature’s upcoming doc The Ocean’s Greatest Feast.
EXCLUSIVE: Ismael Cruz Cordova (The Undoing) is the latest addition to the cast of Paramount+’s crime thriller, Finestkind. He’s set to star alongside previously announced cast members including Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, Jenna Ortega, Aaron Stanford, Scotty Tovar, Tim Daly, Lolita Davidovich, Clayne Crawford and Meghan Leathers.
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EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Leathers (Don’t Look Up) has signed on for a role in Paramount+’s crime thriller Finestkind, from Academy Award-winning writer-director Brian Helgeland. She joins an ensemble that also includes Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, Jenna Ortega, Aaron Stanford, Scotty Tovar, Tim Daly, Lolita Davidovich and Clayne Crawford, as previously announced.
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Wilson Chapman editor“It’s All Coming Back to Me,” a romantic drama film starring and featuring the music of Celine Dion, will release in theaters Feb. 10, 2023.Formerly titled “Text for You,” “It’s All Coming Back to Me” is based on the 2016 German film “SMS für Dich” by Karoline Herfurth. The film stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas as a woman struggling to move on from the death of her fiancé.
Naman Ramachandran Markus Schaefer will assume the role of president and CEO of ZDF Studios, succeeding Fred Burcksen, who is leaving the company after more than 26 years. Together with co-director Karoline Meichsner-Sertl, Schaefer will be in charge of ZDF Studios’ future plans.Schaefer held various management positions at All3Media Deutschland in Munich from 2004 before being appointed chief financial officer in 2010 and CEO in 2014.
ZDF Studios CEO and President Fred Burcksen is leaving after 26 years with the company and will be replaced by Markus Schaefer in July.
Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re speaking to Romain Bessi, CEO of French group Newen Studios. The company, which is producing Liaison, the first English and French language original for Apple TV+, is ramping up its global ambitions and Bessi takes us through the overall strategy.
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