Canadian unscripted producer Sean Connolly has set up his own production business and tied up a multi-year strategic deal with compatriot firm Great Pacific Media.
21.04.2022 - 15:19 / variety.com
K.J. Yossman Originating as a Tumblr webcomic by U.K. writer and illustrator Alice Oseman, upcoming Netflix series “Heatstopper” tells the story of two British teenagers, Nick and Charlie, who navigate their friendship as their feelings turn romantic.Patrick Walters, head of development at production company See-Saw, first came across the queer comic in 2018 when Oseman launched a Kickstarter campaign from her bedroom to turn the series into a graphic novel, and immediately knew it was crying out for an on-screen adaptation.Four years and one pandemic later, “Heartstopper” will drop on Netflix on Friday, April 22.
Walters sat down with Variety ahead of the launch to talk about the process of bringing the series from page to screen. Congratulations on the imminent launch! How are you feeling about it?I’m really excited. We did a content day with the cast last week so I saw them all again and I spent time with Alice and everyone’s just so excited.
And because they’re so young, it’s really nice being around that energy, where it’s like, the rest of their lives are about to begin. It’s very sweet.How did you come across “Heartstopper?”I read the first volume of the graphic novel at the tail end of 2018, just before it was about to be launched by Hachette as a published graphic novel, it was a webcomic. I remember I bought a copy via that Kickstarter campaign and I didn’t realise but Alice was actually sending those copies out from her bedroom.
It was completely self-funded and much smaller than it is now in scale. And so I read that and fell in love with it. And then just through her agent asked for a meeting and when we met up, and I pitched her See-Saw as the home for it.And did everyone at See-Saw get on board pretty
.Canadian unscripted producer Sean Connolly has set up his own production business and tied up a multi-year strategic deal with compatriot firm Great Pacific Media.
David Bowie will be honoured with a new stage performance at the National Space Centre, with four shows slated to go down later this month.The show, titled Bowie: Oddity To Mars, features a live performance from the five-piece tribute band David Live – named for Bowie’s 1974 live album – alongside projections of footage provided by NASA, and an additional visual element developed by the Space Centre’s own in-house team.NASA’s footage, which will be delivered in the show as a 360-degree projection, was shot during the journey of Apollo 17 – the Apollo program’s final mission to Mars in 1972. The show itself will celebrate the same stretch of Bowie’s career that the Apollo program ran for, beginning with 1969’s self-titled record and ending with ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’ (which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year).The show will take place in the Space Centre’s Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium – the largest of its ilk in the UK – on Friday May 20 and Saturday 21.
Will Smith has been announced for the fourth season of Netflix’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman.The actor’s appearance on the show however was filmed prior to his altercation with Chris Rock at the Oscars, so the incident won’t be addressed.In March, Smith struck the comedian on-stage during the ceremony following a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Following numerous apologies over the incident, Smith resigned from the Academy and was subsequently banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years.The fourth season of Letterman’s talk show, set to debut on May 20, will also feature interviews with Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Kevin Durant, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Ryan Reynolds.
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentA nationwide referendum is to be held in Switzerland on May 15 on a proposed law that would force streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to re-invest 4% of their local revenues in Swiss film and TV productions.Dubbed “Lex Netflix,” the Swiss law –– which is modeled on European regulations that don’t apply in the country as it’s not part of the E.U. –– is sparking plenty of controversy.“Lex Netflix” is being opposed by Swiss groups of different political stripes who say it goes against the principles of the country’s fiercely free-market economy.
Neil Patrick Harris is single and ready to mingle in his latest series.
Neil Patrick Harris’ return to series television is coming this summer.
Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix has ordered a docuseries from Shawn Levy, Vox Media Studios and The Verge about how technology will affect the basic aspects of our lives in the future, Variety has learned exclusively.Titled “The Future Of…,” the show asks: “What if we could look into the future to see how every aspect of our daily lives — from raising pets and house plants to what we eat and how we date — will be impacted by technology?” Per Netflix, “We can, and should, expect more from the future than the dystopia promised in current science fiction. ‘The Future Of…’ will reveal surprising and personal predictions about the rest of our lives — and the lives of generations to come.”The series will be released globally in two batches, with the first six episodes premiering Tuesday, June 21, and the remaining six episodes on Tuesday, June 28.
Not a second goes by we don't crave news of a Spice Girls reunion. Oh, how we long for the day Emma Bunton, Geri Horner, Mel B, Melanie C (and Victoria Beckham) are announced for Glastonbury's legends slot. How we dream of them performing at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee party.
Dave Chappelle has been attacked by a man during a Netflix stand-up show at the Hollywood Bowl.Footage has surfaced online from last night’s show (May 3) which appears to show a man charging and tackling the comedian.The man was then said to have been dragged away by security, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Following the incident at the Netflix Is A Joke festival, Chappelle regained his composure and joked that “it was a trans man” in reference to the backlash last year over his stand-up special The Closer, where he described himself as “team TERF” as he spoke on the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling.Dave Chappelle just got attacked on stage pic.twitter.com/E4gAfmkPgQ— Hoodville (@Hoodville_) May 4, 2022Here is a video of the aftermath.
It was announced last year that Netflix is working on a That ’70s Show sequel series and now the cast has been confirmed!
returns next month to the network with a new special that may get him “cancelled” again. “Speshy Weshy”, filmed at the Gramercy Theatre and airing May 3, includes the 37-year-old funnyman riffing on woke topics and recounting the backlash he gets on social media for “being part of the grey-zone silent majority.”Distefano didn’t start standup until he was 26, quitting his job as a pediatric physical therapist to take the plunge.
As Netflix continues its push into potential franchise fare, we’re getting our first look at the Russo Brothers’ big-budget espionage thriller The Gray Man, starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. The film based on Mark Greaney’s 10-book series will hit theaters on July 15 and start streaming on Netflix a week later. Check out the first-look photos above and below.
Cat Deeley and her family moved back to London at the beginning of the pandemic after living in America for 15 years. A terrifying ordeal that affected her husband Patrick Kielty and their son Milo at a mall triggered the family to return to the UK – but Cat has now revealed she is planning to return to the City of Angels, albeit temporarily.MORE: Cat Deeley recalls her extraordinary first date with Patrick KieltyThe presenter has opened up about her move to the Telegraph, revealing that she is planning to return to LA with her family in tow to host the new series of So You Think You Can Dance, but it will only be during the school summer holidays.WATCH: Cat Deeley shares rare video of sons Milo and James on the farmCat, who has two sons with Patrick, Milo, six, and James, three, also opened up about moving back to the UK in 2020, revealing that they wanted to be "closer to family".RELATED: Cat Deeley's sparkling engagement ring from Patrick Kielty is astonishingREAD: Cat Deeley shares never-before-seen photo from hospital after welcoming son Milo"We wanted the boys to go to school here, not because it's better, just because we understand it more.