Global Bulletin: Sam Mendes-Led U.K. Theater Relief Fund Tops $2 Million, Looking for More

Jake Kanter International TV EditorAmazon has donated £1.5M ($2M) to two emergency relief funds aimed at supporting workers in film, TV, and theatre through the coronavirus crisis. The pledges are the first in a $6M commitment to help stricken production communities across Europe recover from an unprecedented pause in work.Amazon will donate £1M to a new COVID-19 Response Fund established by the UK’s Film And TV Charity.

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, Maven Screen Media gets backing, Venice unveils its VR offerings, Little Mix teams with BBC Three and AMC Networks International extends ties with Formula 1. U.K. Creative Content EIS Fund has invested in Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler’s media and entertainment development company Maven Screen Media.The investment was made to bolster Maven’s multi-platform strategy, dedicated to increasing representation of female content creators and pushing

Naman Ramachandran In today’s Global Bulletin, Little Dot buys Dan Snow’s History Hit; ITV and France Televisions order a 9/11 doc; Open City Doc Fest reveals its game plan; and Discovery Denmark commissions Snowman.All3Media-owned Little Dot Studios is acquiring broadcaster and historian Dan Snow’s platform History Hit.

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, Poland makes its Oscars pick, VIS gets a new VP, Transilvania closes its ceremonies, the Barbican plans to reopen its doors, BlackBox Multimedia supports suicide prevention NPO Calm, and Studio 100 readies “SeaBelievers” for Mipcom.Poland has submitted Malgorzata Szumowska’s “Never Gonna Snow Again” as the country’s 2021 Oscar submission, making it the first country out the gate in this year’s Academy Awards race.Set to premiere in competition at the

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, ITV’s “I’m a Celebrity…” relocates, San Sebastián announced WIPs, Mikkelsen is honored, MY Entertainment hires, Banijay finishes German setup and Formula 1 gets an anniversary docuseries.ITV tentpole reality program “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” will trade the jungles of down under for a rundown castle in the U.K.

Jamie Lang ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) has appointed Kathryn Richardson as VP of business and legal affairs for its U.K. operations.

Naman Ramachandran Sky has acquired “The Secret Garden” from Studiocanal and will release the film in U.K. and Ireland cinemas and Sky Cinema channels on Oct.

Jamie Lang Santiago Segura’s “Father There Is Only One 2” has punched €2.14 million ($2.5 million) across its first five days in Spain over July 29-Aug.

Jamie Lang BBC Two has commissioned “Brain in Gear,” a new comedy series produced by BBC Studios, based on the eponymous 2019 BAFTA-nominated BBC short from creator Gbemisola Ikumelo.In the short, Ikumelo plays Remi, an anxious single woman living alone — except for the voices in her head.

Jamie Lang Cineworld will begin reopening its cinemas in England with a lineup featuring a special 4DX screening program that includes four films projected for the first time in the chain’s exclusive multi-sensory 4DX extreme cinema format.Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” Chris Columbus’ “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” Alfonso Cuarón’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” will get Cineworld’s 4DX treatment in 24 cinemas across England.

the Mirror reports. Coroner Alan Blunsdon told the inquest at County Hall in Maidstone that the cause of death was given as morphine toxicity.

Jamie Lang U.K. non-profit ERA5050 has partnered with Comedy 50:50 to launch TellHerVision, a writers’ room mentorship program exclusively for women working in comedy.

The Theatre Artists Fund, spearheaded by Sam Mendes to help support freelancers in the U.K. stage industry struggling during the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, has raised £1.6 million ($2 million) since it launched on July 6, with donations from a number of major stars.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterThree weeks after filmmaker Sam Mendes teamed up with Netflix to launch a $620K (£500K) fund to support the UK’s embattled theater workers, the pot has swollen to $2M (£1.6M) and counting.Prominent figures to contribute include the estate of the late Peter Saunders and Lady Saunders, the UK theater impresario behind The Mousetrap, which joins Netflix as the headline supporter.

Twitter posted a second-quarter loss on Thursday, but the social media giant's stock rose on higher user growth amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company's stock rose by $2.06, or 6 percent, to $39.24 before the market open as investors reacted to the user gains.

Jamie Lang Global SVOD Amazon Prime Video has signed up for a second season of Spanish-language psychological thriller “La Jauria.” The show is the streamer’s first local Original series from Chile, produced by Fremantle and Fabula, run by writer-director Pablo Larraín (“Jacky”) and brother Juan de Díos Larraín (“Gloria Bell”).Starring breakout superstar Daniela Vega (“A Fantasic Woman”), “La Jauria” is showrun by award-winning filmmaker Lucia Puenzo (“XXY”).“For Fabula it is important to tell

Jamie Lang Germany’s ZDF Enterprises, experts in crime and the production and sales outfit behind Nordic Noir original “The Bridge” and Swedish mega-hit crime thriller “Before We Die,”  is at it again. This time round, the commercial arm of German public broadcaster ZDF has greenlit “Body of Water,” an eight-part crime drama showrun and written by Brendan Foley.

Jamie Lang Cairo International Film Festival, having recently confirmed that this year’s 42nd edition will be held in person in November, has opened the window for submissions to the Cairo Film Connection sidebar, part of Cairo Industry Days.In its seven years of operation, Cairo Film Connection has helped Arab filmmakers secure funding and partnerships on more than 100 films from across the region.

Jamie Lang An open letter calling for the immediate release of Egyptian film producer Moataz Abdelwahab was published Friday, cosigned by the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) and its founding institutions, which include the European Film Academy, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Human Rights Film Network, among others.The letter claims that Abdelwahab disappeared from his Cairo office on May 5 and wasn’t seen

Jamie Lang With live performance venues subject to heavy admissions restrictions, U.K.