Disney Starts to Sell Earlier Than Expected in Upfront Market (EXCLUSIVE)

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBefore finalizing Discovery’s purchase of WarnerMedia from AT&T, David Zaslav spent months holding friendly conversations with Hollywood moguls and influential agents. Now he’s locked in contentious discussions with Madison Avenue.Warner Bros. Discovery is making what media buyers and other executives say are  severe demands on advertisers in the course of discussions around the industry’s annual “upfront” market, when TV networks try to sell the bulk of their advertising inventory.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe TV upfront market doesn’t appear to compute for Microsoft.The technology giant has been telling TV networks and media buyers that it intends to bypass TV’s annual haggle for commercial inventory, according to four executives familiar with recent discussions. The company behind such products and services as Windows, LinkedIn, the Halo video games and Surface tablets instead favors taking its chances in what is known as TV’s “scatter” market, the purchase of ad time bought closer to run date.Microsoft seems to feel that it needs to be cautious in trying to sell consumers expensive hardware and other tech goods at a time when the stock market is churning, according to two of these executives, and when people may be fretting about loosening their purse strings.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWhen James Corden cuts ties with CBS’ “Late Late Show” next year, he may leave with more than people expected.CBS is considering replacing Corden’s distinct program with a multi-host panel, according to three people familiar with the matter, a sign of how late-night is changing as viewers sample the best of the programs via social media rather than watching them in their wee-hours’ time slot. Corden has decided to leave “The Late Late Show” in the spring of 2023.  A panel format could encompass a wide range of concepts, such as the news-roundtable program “Politically Incorrect,” which Bill Maher led on ABC late-nights between 1997 and 2002, or even the frenetic game-show stylings of “@midnight,” which aired in late night on Comedy Central between 2013 and 2017.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Corp. and NBCUniversal have started to write early deals in TV’s upfront market, a sign that networks and at least one large media buyer have started to come to terms on pricing that could govern the flow of millions of dollars of investment from Madison Avenue.Publicis Media, part of France’s Publicis Groupe, has started to wrap some business in this year’s market for advance advertising commitments, according to four executives with knowledge of current negotiations. These people noted that Publicis, which recently won the U.S.

Jessica Kiang In order to return somewhere, you first have to leave it. So it’s arguable whether the initial visit in Davy Chou’s strange, deep, changeable and wise “Return to Seoul” even qualifies in a meaningful sense as a return.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Jackie Shroff (“Sooryavanshi”) will play the lead in Singapore-France-India co-production “Slow Joe,” it was revealed at the Cannes Film Market.Shroff will play the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha, known as Slow Joe, a former heroin addict and drug dealer who was born in Mumbai, was disowned by his family, heartbroken at 50 and who moved to Goa and cleaned up. On a trip to Goa in 2007, Lyon-based French musician Cédric de la Chapelle met Joe, now a frail 64-year-old who was making ends meet as a hotel room broker. Joe, also a poet and musician, sang for de la Chapelle, who was captivated by his voice and recorded some of his a cappella songs.Back in France, de la Chapelle played Joe’s songs for music producer Olivier Boccon-Gibod of Horizon Musiques, who was also entranced.

Naman Ramachandran Deaf Crocodile Films and Gratitude Films have acquired Indian films “Lalanna’s Song” and “Dhuin” for North American distribution. The deals were completed during the Cannes Market.“Dhuin” is one of six Indian titles selected by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for a market screening.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentREinvent International Sales has closed major territory sales on “UFO Sweden,” a science fiction movie adventure from Crazy Pictures, a Swedish film collective whose past credits includes the 2018 hit movie “The Unthinkable.”Described as a mix between “X-Files” and “Stranger Things,” “UFO Sweden” is set in a small town and follows a teenage rebel placed in foster care, who suspects that her father is not dead, but has been kidnapped by UFOs. With the help from a UFO association, she is determined to find out the truth.

An adoptee explores her Korean roots in Return To Seoul, Davy Chou’s engaging drama premiering at Cannes in Un Certain Regard. Newcomer Park Ji-Min plays the magnificently complex Freddie, who was raised in France and has impetuously decided to spend a couple of weeks in the country of her birth.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorChad is leaving Studio 8H.Pete Davidson, who joined “Saturday Night Live” as a relative unknown and has become a superstar whose presence graces gossip pages daily, is expected to leave “Saturday Night Live” after the broadcast of this weekend’s season finale, according to a person familiar with the matter. He is one of a handful of long-serving cast members including Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon whose tenure on the show has come up for scrutiny at the conclusion of recent seasons.

Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk could miss Liverpool's crucial Premier League clash with Wolves on Sunday - a game they must win to have a chance of pipping Manchester City to the title.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefUn Certain Regard title “Return to Seoul” from French-Cambodian director Davy Chou caused an early stir by being one of the first Official Selection titles from this year’s Cannes to secure a U.S. release — through Sony Pictures Classics. That may be a reflection of Chou’s quest for authenticity in a bi-cultural tale about a European-raised woman and her biological family in Korea.

Julia Sawalha took to social media to showcase a beautiful hair transformation at the weekend - and we are obsessed!SEE: Julia Sawalha announces devastating news during lockdownThe Absolutely Fabulous star shared a stunning selfie on her Instagram feed showing off a brand new colour and stunning bouncy blowdry.WATCH:  Ab Fab: The Movie - the cast chat to HELLO!Captioning the post, the 53-year-old wrote: "Thank you @joshwood atelier. Walked in feeling and LOOKING like Big Foot.MORE: Nadia Sawalha shares emotional statement after sister Julia Sawalha's cryptic postREAD: Julia Sawalha devastated after being cut from Chicken Run 2"Huge thank you to @sarah_bower_hair, an extraordinary colourist, and believe me I’ve had a few! Kind, gentle, down to earth and very gifted.

Ghosts has become one of CBS’ biggest breakout comedies but it seems they have musical ambitions.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWhere do you take advertisers if you want them to make a big purchase? To a department store, of course.Paramount Global will take clients who attend its upfront Wednesday afternoon to an after-party in the structure on New York’s Madison Avenue that once housed the big Barney’s department store, one way to emphasize the shopping aspect of the event, in which big U.S. TV companies hope to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory for their next programming cycle.As part of the affair, Paramount has dressed up four windows of the former shopping plaza.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefOdin’s Eye Entertainment has boarded “In Vitro,” an elevated sci-fi thriller starring “Succession” star Ashley Zukerman (“The Lost Symbol,” “Fear Street”) and Talia Zucker (“Lake Mungo”). It is co-directed by Tom McKeith and Will Howarth whose debut feature “Beast” was nominated for best first feature at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEpic Pictures Releasing has licensed North American rights to Korean action film “Hot Blooded,” from leading Seoul-based film sales agency Finecut. The deal is one of several struck by the agency ahead of Cannes, where it is also launching sales on Critics’ Week title “Next Sohee.”Starring Bae Doona and Kim Si-eun, “Next Sohee” is directed by Jung July, whose acclaimed “A Girl at My Door” played in Un Certain regard in 2014.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek opened Disney’s upfront in New York by telling the crowd of advertisers in attendance that the company “the most powerful force in the industry” and “the most enduring and beloved name in entertainment.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSofia Vergara will lend a hand as Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivision moves deeper into the world of streaming.The popular actor, recognized for her turns in ABC’s “Modern Family” and NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” will create an animated series for the company’s new ViX streaming services, which has an ad-supported tier as well as a premium subscription level. Vergara will create and lend her voice to “Koati, The Series,” an original animated program based on the recent movie centered on a family of exotic animals who live in the rainforests of Latin America.

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington is set to star in a new movie about Frankenstein author Mary Shelley.