MIA Speakers to Include Paramount, Imagine Documentaries Execs — Global Bulletin

Naman Ramachandran The proposed merger between Indian powerhouse Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Sony‘s Indian TV businesses, which has been nearly two years in the making, is likely to be delayed further, Sony said in a filing on Friday. The companies cleared a key regulatory hurdle in August, but there are other matters pending, especially that of leadership. The original plan had foreseen that Zee’s CEO Punit Goenka would be its captain, while Sony would own a 51% controlling stake.

Naman Ramachandran The BBC has commissioned “Doctor Who: Unleashed,” a 30-minute factual entertainment series that will accompany the upcoming new season of “Doctor Who.” The companion show, hosted by Steffan Powell, will kick off after every episode of “Doctor Who” and will provide insights into how it was made and feature interviews with cast and crew. “Doctor Who,” which is celebrating its 60th anniversary with David Tennant as the 14th Doctor, returns in November with three episodes. Jemma Redgrave reprises her role as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Neil Patrick Harris will play the Toymaker, an all-powerful enemy last seen in 1966.

Naman Ramachandran The 2024 edition of the U.K.’s annual Brit Awards will take place on March 2 and will continue its primetime slot on broadcaster ITV1 and streamer ITVX, live from The O2 arena in London. Damian Christian, managing director and president of promotions at Atlantic Records (part of Warner Music U.K.) will continue as chair of the Brit committee for 2024; Sally Wood will stay on as executive producer of the show for Brits TV; and Misty Buckley will return to design the set for the awards.

Big Brother,” which first launched 23 years ago, is set to return to ITV screens on Oct. 8.

K.J. Yossman To mark the 25th anniversary of the “Harry Potter” books being published in the U.S., the Empire State Building is set to be lit up in Hogwarts house colors at sunset on Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s MIA market dedicated to international TV series, animation, feature films, and documentaries is set to feature a panoply of 62 projects from 36 countries for its upcoming 9th edition. Though European content remains the core of the curated pre-Mipcom event that will run Oct.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Director Clara Law (“The Goddess of 1967”) has been set as president of the jury which will discern this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards. She will be joined by Malaysia’s Yeo Yann Yann (“Ilo Ilo,” “Wet Season,” American Born Chinese”), German producer Anna Katchko (“Stepne,” “Happiness”), and Faisal Baltyuor, producer and CEO of Muvi Studios in Saudi Arabia. A separate jury for documentaries and animation will be headed by Taiwan-based Myanmar director Midi Z, India’s Rima Das and Japanese documentary maker Toda Hikaru. The APSAs will be presented at a ceremony in Gold Coast, Queensland on Nov.

Naman Ramachandran British actor Vanessa Redgrave will receive the European Lifetime Achievement award for her outstanding body of work at the European Film Awards. Hailing from an illustrious family of actors, Redgrave’s first lead in “Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment” (1966), by Karel Reisz, won her best actress at Cannes and scored BAFTA and Oscar nominations.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), which enjoys the support of cinema greats Martin Scorsese and Amitabh Bachchan, is conducting the third edition of the Biennial Audio-Visual Archival Summer School in partnership with the International Federation of Film Archives. The global film preservation training workshop is coming to India for the first time and will be held at the India International Centre in Delhi Oct.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. broadcaster ITV has signed a deal with UEFA to become the new home of England men’s soccer qualifying games. All European qualifiers, UEFA Nations League ties and friendlies between major tournaments will be shown on ITV from September 2024 through to June 2028.

The Toronto International Film Festival, CJ Cultural Foundation and the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), have unveiled the CJ & TIFF K-Story Fund. It is an initiative to foster, support and champion Korean Canadian and American filmmakers looking to develop their first or second feature film. It will have an annual budget of $30,000 for a three-year period and support three creative teams.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung (“Minari,” “Pachinko”) will headline the Actors’ House section of the upcoming Busan International Film Festival, it was announced on Thursday. Introduced in 2021, Actors’ House is a special series that connects audiences and film enthusiasts with iconic actors from the current generation through its in-depth discussions. “There’s much anticipation to hear her words of wisdom, as she’s known for her insightful observations,” said the festival. Others this year include: Han Hyo-joo, Song Joong-ki and Korean-American actor and author John Cho.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Indian channels aggregator, Tata Play Binge, is soon to incorporate Apple TV+, a first-of-its-kind collaboration for Apple TV+ in India. The move means that series such as “Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking,” “Silo,” “Hijack,” “Foundation,” “Tehran,” “Servant,” “Platonic,” “Severance,” “The Morning Show,” “Bad Sisters,” “Slow Horses” and “Prehistoric Planet,” and Apple Original Films including “CODA” and “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” “Ghosted,” and the recently premiered “The Beanie Bubble” will be available on the platform.

Gisele Bündchen has been focusing on herself following her divorce from Tom Brady. The supermodel, who is currently booked and busy with multiple fashion campaigns, has been spending some quality time at the gym, working on her fitness and diet, as she is visibly more muscular.TOM BRADY AND GISELE BÜNDCHEN’S SON IS READY TO BECOME AN NFL STARGISELE BÜNDCHEN AND ADRIANA LIMA JOIN VICTORIA’S SECRET NEWEST CAMPAIGNDuring a recent outing in Miami, Gisele was photographed leaving the gym and running some errands.

Paramount’s Nicole Clemens, Imagine Documentaries boss Sara Bernstein and Severance producer Nicholas Weinstock are among the first tranche of speakers for this year’s MIA market in Italy.

Federation Studios Taps TF1 Head Of Drama

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Entertainment, sports and brand licensing firms WildBrain CPLG and WildBrain Ltd. have brokered location-based entertainment (LBE) deals on behalf of Peanuts Worldwide for “Peanuts,” “Teletubbies” and “In the Night Garden” with China’s Max-Matching Entertainments. These are expected to lead to the opening of family entertainment centers and IP-themed hotel rooms for each brand in Beijing, in Zhongshan City, Guangdong and a third city yet to be announced.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Abacus Media Rights has pre-sold the feature documentary “The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee,” to Sky Arts, SBS Television Australia; to NonStop Entertainment for Scandinavia, Iceland and the Baltics and to Movistar for Spain. Lee is known as the Dracula character and for transitioning from 1960s Hammer horror films to a distinguished acting career that encompassed James Bond films, the “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” franchises. Less well-known are his aristocratic Italian roots, a close family connection to James Bond novelist Ian Fleming, Lee’s wartime experiences in the British and Finnish military, post-war Nazi-hunting adventures and a side career as a heavy metal rock singer. As an actor, Lee achieved a Guinness world record for the highest number of screen appearances. Produced in association with the British Film Institute and Trigger Films by Canal Cat Films, “Life and Deaths” is an innovative documentary which uses fresh interviews, archive material and multiple forms of traditional and cutting-edge animation, including marionation, to bring one of the world’s leading actors back to life on screen.

Bad Boy has made good. Adding yet another accolade to his collection of wins, mega magnate Sean “Diddy” Combs, 53, is poised to receive the distinguished Global Icon Award at MTV’s 2023 Video Music Awards on September 12. “He’s a legend in hip hop, a multi-industry mogul, and now… the GLOBAL ICON at this year’s VMAs,” MTV tweeted Tuesday, announcing the “Bad Boys For Life” lyricist’s forthcoming honors.

Argentina superstar Lionel Messi has delivered a simple message to Inter Miami supporters after helping the club to another important victory over LAFC - where several Hollywood A-listers watched on.