‘CODA’ Associate Producer Stephane Celerier Launches Gemma Pictures With PGS Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Ukrainian film producer and co-founder of the Ukrainian Film Academy Julia Sinkevych (“Heat Singers”) has been selected as jury president for this year’s Series Mania Festival and its international competition. “She has always been committed to supporting Ukrainian artists and the culture of her country from Kyiv, where she lives,” the festival said in a statement.

Oscar and Emmy winner Barry Levinson has been tapped to direct David E. Kelley’s The Missing, Peacock’s eight-episode series based on Israeli crime writer Dror A. Mishani’s international bestselling novel The Missing File. Levinson will direct multiple episodes, including the first, and executive produce the series from Kelley, Keshet Studios and Universal Television

Manori Ravindran International EditorCanada’s Incendo and Los Angeles-based Nicely Entertainment have struck a development and production partnership beginning with the scripted limited series, “The Christmas Checklist.”The four-episode series will be available in the marketplace for the 2022 holiday season.Written by Lisa Hepner (“A Christmas Wish in Hudson,” “Christmas Lovers Anonymous”), “The Christmas Checklist” is a holiday-themed limited TV series targeted for release in December 2022. Incendo and Nicely Entertainment will develop and produce the series with Incendo responsible for distribution in English and French Canada, and Nicely Entertainment overseeing the U.S.

UK TV trade body Pact has called on its 700-strong member base to suspend all co-operation and trade with Russia.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaYellow Veil Pictures has acquired all North American rights to Gaspar Noé’s meta mockumentary “Lux Aeterna.” The studio is planning a theatrical release for the film this spring. “Lux Aeterna” made its world premiere at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and was later selected for the Tribeca Film Festival prior to its cancellation due to the pandemic.“Lux Aeterna” unfolds backstage at a French film production and is stylistically daring, in the manner of many of Noé’s movies.

Clayton Davis Will Smith and Jessica Chastain walked away with leading actor and actress statuettes for their performances in “King Richard” and “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” at the SAG Awards. Their success has catapulted the two to the forefront of their respective Oscar races, which could create a first in Academy Awards history.

Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver step out on the red carpet while attending the 2022 Cesar Awards on Friday (February 25) at L’Olympia in Paris, France.

Pamela Anderson partnered up with Ashoka to launch a line of vegan handbags. The French brand is known for making cruelty-free purses, using apple leather as material for their bags.Lily James almost gave up on playing Pamela AndersonWhy Lily James and Sebastian Stan never saw each other out of character on the set of ‘Pam & Tommy’A post shared by ASHOKA Paris (@ashoka_veganbags)Ashoka launched the handbag on Instagram.

Tunisian-French film producer Tarak Ben Ammar has finalized a deal to purchase Studios de Paris, the production facility outside the French capital which recently housed the Netflix series Emily In Paris and Netflix’s Murder Mystery 2, Deadline can confirm.

EXCLUSIVE: Nicole Kerr has been promoted to VP Entertainment at Jessie Cohen PR & Consulting, where she has been for the past five years. In the newly created leadership position, the veteran will continue rep her full slate of clients spanning film festivals, feature films, filmmakers and talent.

Congratulations are in order for James Gunn and “Peacemaker” star Jennifer Holland. 

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

Manori Ravindran International EditorEntertainment One has hired Left Bank executive producer Sharon Hughff to serve as creative director of scripted television out of the U.K.In her new role, she will oversee the scripted team and pipeline from the U.K., while spearheading efforts to expand the slate into buyers in the U.K. as well as Europe and Asia.

Ben Croll Fueled in no small part by international streamers looking to entrench their market share, production days skyrocketed across the European continent in 2021. But if the last year marked a gold rush for both service providers and content hungry viewers, independent producers have been feeling the squeeze.“It’s not a golden age when it comes to IP retention,” said Katharina Hiersemenzel, senior VP public policy of German mini-major Constantin Film.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentEdouard Weil and Alice Girard, the producers of Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion-winning “Happening” and Valerie Lemercier’s Celine Dion movie “Aline,” won the Toscan du Plantier Award at a fancy Paris ceremony hosted by the Cesar Academie. Weil and Girard, who run the Paris-based production banner Rectangle Productions, were selected by 1,557 voters, including all the artists and crew members who have been nominated at the Cesar Awards since 2008, as well as the 164 members of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema.Besides “Happening” and “Aline,” Rectangle Productions delivered several other critically acclaimed films within the last year, including Jean-Christophe Meurisse’s “Bloody Oranges,” Gaspar Noé’s “Vortex” which played at Cannes.

La Vie En Rose and Netflix’s The Spy producer Alain Goldman has signed an overall deal with Banijay for TV shows and feature films.