Davina McCall To Host C4 Dating Series; WarnerMedia New Regional Hub For Asia; Finnish Film Affair Winners — Global Briefs

Canneseries Awards: ‘The Allegation’ And ‘Mister 8’ Take Home Prizes

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Walt Disney Company Thursday unveiled twenty new titles in Asia as it expands the footprint of its Disney Plus and Disney Plus Hotstar streaming services in the world’s most populous region.The streaming service is currently available in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, with upcoming launches in South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan in November 2021.“We aim to create fifty original series and shows by 2023,” said

Deon Estus was the bassist for Wham! and George Michael (1963–2016) as well as a singer who had a solo hit with 1989’s “Heaven Help Me.”After joining the R&B band Brainstorm, which had minor chart success in the late 1970s, Estus was invited to play bass with Wham! He recorded and toured with the band, including their groundbreaking tour as the first Western pop group to play in China.

Fugees‘ upcoming international tour dates could be in jeopardy due to an ongoing legal case involving band member Pras.According to Billboard, Pras, real name Prakazrel Michel, is “currently under criminal indictment from the U.S.

JD Linville “Mister8,” a Finnish comedy series produced by It’s Alive Films, is set to make its international debut at Canneseries. In this meet cute turned meet-your-competition, Juho (Pekka Strang) pits himself against his love interest Maria’s (Krista Kosonen) seven other partners – one for each day of the week.

The debut trailer for Home Sweet Home Alone, the new film reimagining of the Home Alone franchise, has just debuted online!

Manori Ravindran International EditorFilmRise has struck an exclusive deal with Japan’s Fuji Television Network for the iconic Japanese culinary competition series, “The Iron Chef.”The New York-headquartered studio and streaming network made the deal with Fuji’s distribution arm, Fuji Creative Corporation. The pact, which spans 7 seasons, covers all SVOD and AVOD rights for domestic and international, and includes the FilmRise Streaming Network.“Iron Chef” first launched on Fuji in 1993.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Battle at Lake Changjin” became the fourth most successful film in the world this year as it maintained its grip on the China box office for a second weekend.Even as the National Day holiday season wound to an end, “Changjin” scored $109 million over the weekend according to data from Artisan Gateway. That gave it a cumulative total of $633 million, earned since Sept.

Annika Pham Paris-based APC (About Premium Content) has acquired world sales rights on the six-part Finnish thriller “A Good Family,” currently filming in Estonia before moving back to Finland.The high-end drama about love, marriage and parenthood is based on Finnish author and screenwriter Petri Karra’s 2019 novel “The Dark Light” (“Musta Valo”).

Japan for his daring concepts that merge art and fashion.On Saturday, Morinaga did not disappoint.The award-winning designer treated fashion editors to a collaboration with Oscar-nominated Japanese animation filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentA trio of well-experienced Finnish producers, Eero Hietala, Lasse Koskinen and Ilkka Hynninen, have joined forces to launch Take Two Studios, a production company which will focus on premium drama, documentaries and podcasts. Hietala and Hynninen previously co-founded Aito Media in 2003 and produced more than 1,700 hours of programming during their 18-year run as co-CEO’s.

Will Tizard ContributorLocal characters in Finnish TV and film are increasingly diverse in ethnicity, disabilities and gender roles, according to industry insiders who took on the issue in Helsinki on Friday at the Finnish Film Affair, but there is still a long way to go.“We know this is not just a Finnish challenge – this is a global challenge,” said Keely Cat-Wells, CEO and founder of C Talent and Zetta Studios, who has also advised organizations from UCLA to Virgin Media on disability

Will Tizard ContributorFinnish film productions, which tend to be small-scale, have some of the lowest carbon footprints in Europe, panelists agreed at the Finnish Film Affair industry event on Friday.

Marta Balaga The Finnish Film Foundation, which receives its funding through the Ministry of Education and Culture from lottery and pool funds allocated for promoting film art, is facing new budget cuts. Its CEO, Lasse Saarinen, speaks to Variety about his battle to minimize the damage.The cut of 440,000 euros ($515,000) introduced this year might be followed by an additional 1.94 million euros ($2.28 million), making up approximately 8.8% of the foundation’s subsidy and operating budget.

Rebecca Davis editorWarnerMedia has opened a new regional hub for Asia, excluding China and Japan, which officially opened on Friday and will be a stepping stone to launching HBO Max in its first Asian markets in the future.The opening signals the full integration of WarnerMedia’s business in the region that includes Warner Bros., HBO and Turner brands.“More than just a new workspace, [our new flagship office] brings together the most incredible parts of our diverse business — from ‘Harry

Will Tizard ContributorThe Finnish Film Affair industry event awarded the upcoming feature “Bubble” with top honors for its fiction in progress pitch on Thursday, capping a competition in which six projects presented a wide range of stories, settings and styles.Mainly Finnish productions pitched their films, some seeking international partners, with most hoping for sales, festival and distribution deals.“Bubble,” the story of a teenage girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother

Marta Balaga Finnish series “Mister8,” produced by It’s Alive Films and sold internationally by Federation Entertainment, will celebrate its international premiere at Canneseries. The series festival will take place on Oct.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBeijing-based distributor Hugoeast Media has acquired Chinese distribution rights to Cannes Directors’ Fortnight player ‘The Tale of King Crab,’ the first feature venture into narrative fiction of Italian filmmakers Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis.Hugoeast Media plans a limited theatrical release in Chinese theaters in the course of 2022.The deal with Hugoeast Media was closed by the international sales arm of France’s Shellac.

Marta Balaga Fresh off another win at Finland’s Jussi Awards, this time for his short film “The Bouncer,” Aleksi Salmenperä is already in post-production with his upcoming feature “Bubble,” about to be presented at Helsinki International Film Festival’s industry event Finnish Film Affair in its Fiction in Progress section. “I was sort of embarrassed by this win,” he jokes.