France’s Canal+ Buying Strategic Minority Stake in Viu, Successful Asian Streamer

hasn't yet heard of the , but when I mention it to the founder and CEO of —a herbaceous, non-alcoholic apéritif that “tastes like summer on the rocks”—she says she can immediately relate. Masarin, who currently lives in California but grew up in Lyon and spent her summers in the South of France, launched Ghia in 2020, two weeks before the pandemic shut everything down.

Escape to the Chateau stars Angel and Dick Strawbridge are set to return to the UK for the first time since their programme was axed by Channel 4. Now, they’re returning to go on tour across the country.

Dick and Angel Strawbridge confirmed they will be returning to the UK for a brief stint following their brutal axe from Channel 4 earlier this year.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Florian Zeller, the Oscar-winning director and playwright of “The Father” and “The Son,” received the Medal of Honor, France’s highest decoration, at an intimate ceremony in Paris on Wednesday. The event, hosted in the gardens of the French authors and composers guild (SACD), gathered a flurry of talent and luminaries from the worlds of film, TV, theater and literature — reflecting the breadth of Zeller’s body of work. Zeller was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honor by France President Emmanuel Macron. Guests included Isabelle Huppert, Pierre Arditi, Catherine Frot and Elodie Navarre who have starred in Zeller’s plays; Christopher Hampton, with whom he shares a best adapted screenplay Oscar for “The Father;” “Simone” actor Elsa Zylberstein; Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton, with whom he launched the L.A.-based company Blue Morning Pictures; Victoria Bedos (“La famille Belier”); Orange Studio’s Kristina Zimmermann and Sebastien Cauchon, who distributed both “The Father” and “The Son” in France; French singer Julien Clerc; French director Anne Fontaine and producer Philippe Carcassonne; as well as Zeller’s wife, Marine Delterme, an actor who was recently signed by WME.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline spoke to leading international sales firm Playtime about why it made sense to join new European film and TV studio Vuelta Group, which we revealed earlier this morning.

EXCLUSIVE: A significant shakeup in the European indie film space is underway with the formation of new studio Vuelta Group, Deadline can reveal.

Brad Pitt is making his movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button seem like a documentary because the actor appears to be aging backward. Last week the 59-year-old was spotted on set in France filming a new commercial, and he looks incredible.

Brad Pitt is giving that French Riviera style.

BBC Unveils Trio Of Animation Series As It Steps Up Search For British ‘Simpsons’

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Alexia Laroche-Joubert, the well-known French producer behind some of the country’s longest-running unscripted hits, has been named CEO of Banijay France. Taking over from Francois de Brugada, Laroche-Joubert will be spearheading the French portfolio which comprises 15 labels spanning non-scripted and scripted, and will be tasked with evolving and diversifying the pipeline, attracting new talent, identifying new areas for growth, and driving collaboration with the wider group internationally to maximise on exploitation opportunities. The appointment takes effect from Sept. 1. Laroche-Joubert has been at Banijay since 2016 and she has served as CEO for Adventure Line Productions (ALP). She recently launched the scripted label Screen Line Productions.

Banijay France has found its new CEO.

Victoria Beckham and Eva Longoria had the best time in France following the highly anticipated Jacquemus fashion show in Versailles. The Hollywood star and the designer were all smiles during a fun outing with a group of friends, including Victoria’s husband David Beckham, and model Isabela Grutman.The pair were spotted sitting front row at the show and shared a sweet moment after it ended, with Victoria sharing a photo on Instagram Stories, showing the actress hugging her from behind.Victoria and Eva seemed thrilled to be in Paris again, as the ‘Spice Girls’ alumn documented their night out on Instagram.

Coronation Street star Samia Longchambon has shared why she took some time away from the cobbles to challenge herself in a new show. The actress, who plays Maria Windass in the ITV soap, revealed back in April that she is one of the celebrities taking part in the next series of Cooking With The Stars.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds is among a group of investors who have agreed a deal to pay €200 million ($218 million) for a 24% stake in the Alpine Formula 1 motor racing team. The deal sees French manufacturer Renault and its sport car division Alpine sell a stake in Alpine Racing to an investor group headed by Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners, and Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Investments. The deal, which values Alpine Racing at about €900 million, covers only the race team, not the wider Alpine road car manufacturer. Alpine Racing SAS, the entity manufacturing F1 engines in France, is also not included in the transaction and will remain entirely owned by Renault.

Two of the most successful specialty films of the year expand this weekend and a handful of others jump into an arthouse market that’s seen few new entrants in recent weeks as wide release piled on wide release.

PCCW and Canal+ have announced a strategic partnership through which the French media giant will become a significant minority shareholder in PCCW’s Asian streaming service Viu. 

Ben Croll Founded in 1966, CGR Cinemas has since grown into France’s second-largest exhibition chain, boasting more than 700 screens across the country and a premium export branch in the guise of ICE Theaters. Since the beginning, the business has both remained in the hands of the Raymond family and stayed anchored in the southwest town of La Rochelle. After putting the company up for sale in 2021, owners Jean-Luc and Charles Raymond canceled the deal this past May, holding on to the company and installing Laurent Desmoulins as directing manager. Both Desmoulins and Charles Raymond will be on-hand at this year’s CineEurope, accompanying the wider ICE Theaters team to showing force on the convention floor.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief NBCUniversal is to expand its One Platform advertising, technology, data and measurement system further into global markets through an alliance with international broadcast and tech partners. The move was announced on Tuesday at the Cannes Lions advertising convention in Cannes, France.International partners include Atresmedia from Spain, Bell Media from Canada, Channel 4 from the U.K., Mediaset from Italy, Seven West Media from Australia, Sky Media from the U.K., Italy and Germany, and Talpa from the Netherlands, TF1 Pub of France, Japan’s Tokyo Broadcasting Systems and Omnicom Media Group. “By bringing together leading local broadcasters and publishers across the world, NBCUniversal seeks to enhance the premium video ecosystem and build the foundation for greater industry advancement and collaboration at an international level, across data and identity, activation and automation, ad innovation, and measurement,” NBCUniversal explained in a statement.

Leigh Francis has announced that for the first time in decades he is ditching his Keith Lemon alter ego for his first ever UK tour. The 50-year-old Celebrity Juice star will embark on an 18-date tour entitled My First Time, which kicks off in Bath on March 6, 2024.

Liam Gallagher has revealed the thing that “freaked him out” after he purchased a mansion previously owned by Noel Edmonds.The former Oasis frontman was co-hosting Jo Whiley’s BBC Radio 2 programme last night (June 15), when he shared insight into something that he came across after purchasing the home.The topic arose when the singer-songwriter was asked about the last thing he spent money on, to which he responded: “Oh, it was probably the house in France. I hate to be flash … It used to be Noel Edmonds’.