Dutch publisher pulls Anne Frank betrayal book amid critique

EXCLUSIVE: A Nordic Noir-style thriller about one of The Netherlands’ most high-profile murder cases has been greenlit as the latest Viaplay original and third from Holland.

EXCLUSIVE: Chernin Entertainment has hired former Red Arrow Studios Chairman and CEO Jan Frouman.

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. 

EXCLUSIVE: Hulu has handed a pilot order to History of a Pleasure Seeker, a one-hour musical drama based on Richard Mason’s novel of the same name. Mason is adapting his book himself with Bridgerton director Julie Anne Robinson helming the pilot and exec producing.

French hip-hop series Le Monde de Demain has scooped the Grand Prize at the Series Mania International Competition.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentParamount Plus, which is the global streaming service of recently rebranded Paramount — formerly ViacomCBS — has forged a three-year partnership with Gaumont, the storied French studio behind Netflix’s “Lupin” and “Narcos,” to jointly produce a slate of high-end original shows for its growing subscribers around the world.Under the partnership Gaumont will produce these series in association with Paramount’s international studio, VIS. The shows will be part of Paramount Plus’s stated plans to green light 50 new non-U.S.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentHigh-profile French creators and showrunners, David Elkaïm, Vincent Poymiro, and producer Jeremy Sahel, are joining forces with Anca, a banner which is backed by German powerhouse Beta Group, to develop and produce ambitious TV series.Anca was created in 2021 by Rose Brandford Griffith and Christophe Thoral, two former bosses of Lagardere Studios, to invest in production banners.Elkaïm, Poymiro and Sahel’s production company Perpetual Soup marks Anca’s first investment with a minority stake. Poymiro and Elkaïm are known for having written a pair of top-rated drama series ordered by Arte, “Ainsi soient-ils” and “En Thérapie,” the French adaptation of Hagai Levi’s series “BeTipul” (“In Treatment”).

Emilio Mayorga Award-winning French documentary distributor Java Films has grabbed world rights to Anna Giralt’s “Robin Bank,” a doc competition entry at this year’s Malaga festival.Produced by Jorge Caballero at Catalan-Colombian Gusano Films, Germany’s Indie Film and Catalan pubcaster TVC, in partnership with Arte France – La Lucarne, “Robin Bank” tells the story of Catalan activist Enric Durán who, between 2005 and 2008, managed to take out €500,000 ($550,000) in loans from 39 different banks which he never reimbursed, instead using the money to fund social projects.Imprisoned for two months, Durán was released on bail, and while he awaited trial, fled the country, declaring himself a fugitive. The film received warm a welcome from audiences at its recent world premiere at Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival.‘‘ ‘Robin Bank’ is a unique story that really speaks to our times.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent“Game of Thrones” producer Frank Doelger, after executive producing “The Swarm” through his Berlin-based Intaglio Films, now has two new high-end shows for the international pipeline in the pipeline: “Concordia” and “Doing Good.”During a panel at the Series Mania TV festival Doelger described “Concordia” as “a series about a 21st century community which uses cutting edge AI technology to see if it can create a fairer, safer, society.” Twenty years after this community has been a huge success, “countries around the world are approaching the founders of this social engineering experiment to found similar communities in their countries,” he added.And, “as they research the twenty-year history of this community, they discover that this instance of utopia has provided safe homes for immigrants and thousands of refugees seeking a better life. But they also discover the dark secret that led to its founding.” Doelger — whose Intaglio is a joint venture between German outfits Beta Cinema and ZDF Enterprises — said  “Concordia” will start shooting in September.

Frank Doelger, who was an executive producer on Game Of Thrones between 2011 and 2019, provided an update on his new company in Germany during a Series Mania panel today.

Erik ten Hag's potential arrival at Manchester United will be music to the ears of Donny van de Beek. Currently exiled from the club at Everton, Van de Beek has failed to make an impact since arriving in England. Although he joined in 2020, the Dutchman has remarkably only made 50 appearances at United.

Prince Harry is ready for this year’s Invictus Games.