The Masked Singer UK has been recommissioned for a rare two-season order as ITV demonstrates its commitment to the format.
27.01.2022 - 13:35 / deadline.com
‘Nautilus’ Producer Moonriver TV Expands Exec Team
Moonriver TV, the producer behind Disney+’s upcoming Jules Verne adaptation Nautilus, has signed Around The World In 80 Days indie Slim Film + Television’s Head of Production Lincia Daniel, while promoting Casey Herbert. Daniel, who has also worked on CBBC series Mystic, joins as Exec Producer, with Herbert promoted to Senior Executive Producer overseeing the creative team in London and working alongside CEO Xavier Marchand on a slate of premium British and International drama projects. Marchand is currently in Australia working on Moonriver’s Disney+ adaptation of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, titled Nautilus. Moonriver recently wrapped on Lesley Manville/Isabelle Huppert pic Mrs Harris Goes To Paris and is also developing Henry Fry’s First Time For Everything, William Boyd’s Notre Dame and Amor Towles’ Gentleman in Moscow. “This is a tremendous start to 2022 and absolutely the right time for Moonriver TV to strengthen its team,” said Marchand.
Denmark’s TV2 Greenlights Shaolin Warrior Format
Danish network TV2 has greenlit a premium adventure series in which celebrities master the ancient martial arts of China’s Shaolin Warrior Monk community. Banijay’s Danish label Metronome is behind Shaolin Heroes, with celebrities embarking on a life changing journey to take on challenges that are not only physical but also philosophical. Metronome is behind Banijay dating format Alone Together and produces The Island, MasterChef and Ex on the Beach in the territory.
Fremantle Picks Up Korea’s ‘DNA Singer’ Rights
Fremantle has acquired non-Asia distribution rights to DNA Singer, the latest potential smash format to emerge from Korea. The show from FormatEast and creator
The Masked Singer UK has been recommissioned for a rare two-season order as ITV demonstrates its commitment to the format.
JYP Entertainment has expanded its existing partnership with US-based label Republic Records.According to a report by Billboard, the South Korean company has opted to expand its existing strategic partnership with Republic Records, which is owned by Universal Music Group. The two companies first started the partnership in 2020, where they foucsed on the international expansion of girl group TWICE.JYP Entertainment and Republic Records’ partnership will now extend to include two more of the K-pop giant’s acts – namely Stray Kids and ITZY – in their plan for promotions outside of South Korea.Both groups will also be receiving support from Republic Records’ subsidiary independent label Imperial, which had previously helped to launch and market TWICE’s recent records since the JYP-Republic partnership had launched.“We are beyond delighted to move forward with Republic Records, the most outstanding label in the United States, in developing the major artist roster of the two companies’ hereafter, starting with the successful kickoff TWICE has brought,” JYP Entertainment CEO Jimmy Jeong told Billboard of the expansion.“We have absolute confidence that, together, we will lead the rapidly changing music industry from both in and out, alongside our prominent artists’ creations,” Jeong added.
Tiger JK is potentially set to collaborate with BTS‘ RM.In the early hours of February 11, the former Drunken Tiger member posted a series of cryptic tweets that seemingly point towards a forthcoming collaboration between him and BTS leader RM. The first tweet simply featured the K-pop idol’s name.RM— 아빠 최고 VITAMIN D (@DrunkenTigerJK) February 10, 2022Soon after, Tiger JK followed it up by alluding that he’s currently in the process of making new music, but did not include any specifics.
Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentOne of Scandinavia’s leading film distributors, Scanbox Entertainment is changing ownership with a new board including CEO Thor Sigurjonsson. The company was bought back from Scanbox Chairman Joni Sighvatsson. New owners include COO Kim William Beich, commercial director Torben Thorup Jorgensen, and producer Chris Briggs.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAfter a flurry that lasted only for the duration of the recent Lunar New Year holidays, theatrical box office in South Korea slumped again over the latest weekend. Nationwide, Korean cinemas earned just $3.22 million between Friday and Sunday. That was the lowest scoring weekend so far in 2022 and followed a disappointing holiday period.The Lunar New Year holidays – if measured from the previous Saturday until Wednesday (Jan 29- Feb.
Angelina Jolie, 46, spent some quality time with her daughter Zahara, 17. The teenagers sported a blue hairstyle for visit to Foxtail Salon in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 5, where she also left with several bags of product. Zahara was casually dressed for the for the mid-50s temperature with a long gray tank top and dark skinny jeans. She wore a cropped white cardigan over top and finished the look with sneakers.
All Of Us Are Dead has helped South Korea set a new record on Netflix in the US.Based on the webtoon Now At Our School by Joo Dong-geun, the series follows a group of high school students who find themselves trapped on campus as a zombie apocalypse spreads like wildfire.After previously topping the charts on Netflix in over 25 countries by January 31, All Of Us Are Dead has now reached the summit of the daily Top 10 list on US Netflix (February 4). As the second non-English-language series to reach that position, the K-drama has helped set a new record for South Korea.Thanks to the success of Squid Game and All Of Us Are Dead, Korea is now the first country to place multiple series not in the English language at the top of the streaming service’s charts, according to Deadline.
All Of Us Are Dead.The actor, alongside co-stars Lee Yoo-mi, Park Ji-hu, Yoo Chan-young and Cho Yi-hyeon, recently spoke to Cosmopolitan Korea about the cast’s processes of bringing their characters to life on the new hit K-drama, and how they attempted to reinvent All Of Us Are Dead as a television series from its origins as a webcomic.“We tried really hard to act like modern Korean high school students,” Park said, per translations by Soompi, pointing out that the show’s source material, titled Now At Our School, had first been released almost two decades ago. “Compared to 13 years ago when the webtoon was made, the culture of high school students is different now.”Keeping that in mind, Park revealed that the cast strove to tweak their characters and on-screen relationships to reflect this change in high school culture.
Annika Pham Stockholm-based production house Hobab whose buzzy Cannes Directors’ Fortnight “Clara Sola” was snapped by New-York-based Oscilloscope Laboratories, is ramping up its ambitions, with female-led projects.“Our vision is to combine arthouse sensitivity with mainstream appeal, and to help talents – both Nordic and international – grow with care,” said Nima Yousefi, producer and joint owner with Peter Krupenin.Pedigree European shingles Finland’s Tuffi Films, Denmark’s Toolbox and Italy’s Intramovies have boarded as co-producers Hobab’s next Swedish feature drama “Sisters,” from first-time fiction helmer Mika Gustafson.Ruben Öslund’s former alumna at Göteborg’s Valand Academy, Gustafson had her international break with the short film “Mephobia,” followed by the doc-biopic “Silvana,” about rapper and feminist icon Silvana Imam. Due to start lensing in June, “Sisters” is penned by Gustafson with actor-screenwriter Alexander Öhrstrand, seen in “The Bridge” and “The Hunt for a Killer.”The coming of age story follows siblings Laura (16), Mira (12) and Steffi (7), fending for themselves in a Swedish working-class suburban housing estate, as their mother vanishes for lengthy periods.
Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentIshihara Shintaro, the former Tokyo governor who first became known as the chronicler of the “Sun Tribe,” privileged kids living lives of leisure and license amidst the poverty of postwar Japan, has died aged 89. The cause of death was not announced.Ishihara’s 1955 award-winning novel “Season of the Sun” was the basis for the 1956 Nakahira Ko film “Crazed Fruit” that launched the “Sun Tribe” boom.
Ethan Shanfeld “Hocus Pocus 2” has wrapped filming and will premiere on Disney Plus on Halloween, according to executive producer Adam Shankman.In an Instagram post on Friday, Shankman wrote, “SISTAAAAAHHHHSSS! Aaaaand that’s a WRAP!!! #hocuspocus2. Congratulations to the amazing team…and the WHOOOOLLLEEEE cast and crew!!! Coming to you #halloween #2022 on @disneyplus.”Disney did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment, but since spooky season programming typically comes out ahead of the holiday, we can probably expect “Hocus Pocus 2” just before Oct.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure” ran off with nearly half the weekend bullion at the South Korea box office. On its heels was political drama-thriller “Kingmaker,” as local titles finally overthrew the long-running “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ahead of a public holiday.Most South Koreans will enjoy two consecutive public holidays on Monday (“Seotdal Geumeum” or New Year’s Eve) and Tuesday (Lunar New Year), meaning that the Friday to Sunday weekend was the first part of a five-day holiday season. The three-day nationwide box office total was $5.58 million.
UPDATED, 3:05 PM: Producer Adam Shankman took to Instagram on Friday to unveil a premiere date for the anticipated Hocus Pocus 2, announcing that the sequel to Kenny Ortega’s 1993 Disney classic will debut on Disney+ this Halloween.
Creeper side-project Salem have released a new version of ‘Fall Out Of Love’, as heard in 2022’s Scream.The track originally featured as the opening track to their 2020 self-titled debut EP but now the duo (Will Gould and Matt Reynolds) have collaborated with alt-pop star Carlie Hanson for a new take on ‘Fall Out Of Love’.The track also plays out over the credits to the recently released Scream 5.“It is such an honour to be involved with the Scream movie soundtrack,” said Gould. “As big fans of the franchise it has been surreal to be asked to be a part of its legacy in some small way.
Lia Maiuri, who handled publicity for NBC’s daytime drama Days Of Our Lives in her previous position at NBCU, has been named Director of Communications for the show’s producer, Corday.