Fundamental Films chairman Mark Gao and his CEO Ivy Hua are in Cannes to reconnect with the international industry as part of the Shanghai-based company’s return to international acquisitions and production.
07.05.2024 - 10:35 / deadline.com
Studiocanal has appointed former Netflix France exec Isabelle Pain as Head of Global Acquisitions & Analytics in a new position created in response to the company’s international expansion.
Pain will be responsible for the company’s overall film acquisition strategy, overseeing multi-regional acquisitions and ensuring pan-regional acquisitions are aligned.
Based in Paris, Pain will report to Ron Halpern, EVP Global Production & Talent Management.
Studiocanal said Pain would work with all its subsidiaries, as well as with all Canal+ Group’s entities, its myCANAL platform and its channels in France and abroad.
Recent high-profile acquisitions by Studiocanal have included Past Lives (for Germany, UK, Australia, New Zealand), Wrath of Man (Australia, Germany), Saw X (Australia, New Zealand, Germany), Orphan: First Kill (Australia, New Zealand, Germany), John Wick (Australia, New Zealand), Parallel Mothers, Pain and Glory (Germany), and Miraculous Ladybug (Poland, Germany).
Studiocanal said the creation of the Head of Global Acquisitions & Analytics was in response to the international expansion of both Studiocanal and the wider Canal+ Group.
“We are delighted to have Isabelle Pain as Head of Global Acquisitions & Analytics for Studiocanal’s films,” said Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh.
“The international expansion of Studiocanal, which is already a leader in Europe, plus the growth of our cinema releases across an increasing number of countries, means we need to further strengthen our strategy around film acquisitions. In light of this, Isabelle’s expertise will prove essential, helping to strengthen the distribution of our content across all our regions and beyond.”
Pain arrives from Netflix France where she was Content and
Fundamental Films chairman Mark Gao and his CEO Ivy Hua are in Cannes to reconnect with the international industry as part of the Shanghai-based company’s return to international acquisitions and production.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William will attend ceremonies in France to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. They will honour the brave soldiers who put their lives on the front line.
Prime Video’s German series Maxton Hall – The World Between Us has been handed a swift recommission after becoming the streamer’s most-watched international show of all time in its first week.
Imax has committed screens around the world to show Francis Ford Coppola‘s magnum opus “Megalopolis,” the company’s CEO Richard Gelfond confirmed at a Cannes Film Festival event on Thursday. The film’s trailer, which debuted on Tuesday, said that “Megalopolis” would be coming to Imax theaters this year — but it was not specified that the release would be global. The run-up to the premiere of Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed epic at Cannes on Friday has been filled with anticipation and controversy, partly because “Megalopolis” has yet to secure a U.S.
Interpol has issued a global 'Red Notice' for an escaped fugitive known as 'The Fly' after a brutal prison van attack in France killed two police officers.
International crime-fighting organisation Interpol has issued a global 'Red Notice' for an escaped criminal known as 'The Fly'. The move is part of a manhunt to capture Mohamed Amra, 30, who managed to escape a prison van following an incident that left two guards dead at a toll booth on a motorway in northwest France.
Naman Ramachandran The film adaptation of popular comic strip “Natacha (Almost) Air Hostess” boasts an all-star cast. The cast includes Camille Lou (“Anthracite”), Vincent Dedienne (“We Can Be Heroes”), Fabrice Luchini (“The Empire”), Didier Bourdon (“Cocorico), Elsa Zylberstein (“Coup de Chance”), Isabelle Adjani (“Wingwomen”) and Baptiste Lecaplain (“Meet the Leroys”). The film is loosely based on the comic strip of the same name created by screenwriter François Walthéry, which was published by Editions Dupuy, and which comprises 23 albums and has sold more than five million copies.
Leo Barraclough International Features Editor As Cannes Film Festival kicks off, the Paris-based international sales company MK2 Films has revealed it has acquired three films and made substantial investments in new restorations, set against the backdrop of a strong presence at Cannes Classics. MK2 Films has entered into a collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation on the global rights (excluding the U.S.) for two films directed by artist Niki de Saint Phalle: “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” (1976) and “Daddy” (1973).
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The feature “Tales of Taipei” is a tribute to the low-pressure, culturally rich city, which has been shaped by its regional neighbors, taken in diverse peoples and distilled the multiple competing influences into a messy, happy-go-lucky morass. Produced by Bowie Tsang and Amy Ma, the film calls on 10 directors hailing from Malaysia, France, Bhutan and Hong Kong, and Taiwanese locals Yin Cheng-han and Remii Huang to contribute.“Everything is possible in Taiwan, everything exits side by side,” says Tsang, who was born in Hong Kong. “We have old Chinese myths.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Omar Sy, the charismatic French actor of heist show “Lupin,” is set to star in “French Lover,” Netflix‘s romantic comedy that will mark the directorial debut of Nina Rives. Sy, who is currently attending the Cannes Film Festival and sits on Greta Gerwig’s competition jury, will star opposite Sara Giraudeau (“Bernadette”), Pascale Arbillot (“Lost Bullet”) and Alban Ivanov (“C’est la vie”). Hugo Gélin, who previously directed “Love at Second Sight” and “Two Is a Family,” a pair of heartwarming comedies which thrived at the French box office, is serving as artistic producer on the film.
Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” climbed to $72.5 million at the international box office in its first weekend of release. The newest film in the long-running “Apes” series also notched No. 1 in North America with $56.5 million, bringing its initial global tally to a promising $129 million.
EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is beating its chest towards a $125M global bow this weekend. At the international box office, we understand the Wes Ball-directed installment is at around $31M through Friday. As Anthony has reported, domestic is looking at a $52M-$55M start for the full frame.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Studiocanal has unveiled an exclusive first-look still of Matt Dillon and Anamaria Vartolomei (“Happening”) starring as Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider in Jessica Palud’s movie “Maria,” which is slated to bow at the Cannes Film Festival. Palud’s film sheds light on the tragic life of Maria Schneider, who starred opposite Marlon Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Tango in Paris” at the age of 19 and never recovered from the shoot. The film depicts how Schneider was imposed an un-simulated rape scene on the set of “The Last Tango in Paris” by Bertolucci and Brando.
Top Middle East and North African independent distributor and talent agency MAD Solutions is adding a new string to its bow with the launch of Arab cinema-focused international sales company MAD World.
A brand new private terminal delivering a ‘premium sanctuary’ is coming to Manchester Airport, with food curated by one of the city's most acclaimed chefs. Guests will be able to book a BMW to whisk them to their flight at the new "state of the art facility".
Ben Croll A competitive tax rebate, combined with public and private initiatives to revitalize the local infrastructure, has substantially boosted the number of international productions shooting in France. Last revamped in 2020, Gaul’s Tax Rebate for International Production scheme now supplements a 30% across-the-board rebate with an additional 10% — applicable on all eligible expenses — for productions that spend $2.2 million with local VFX and post houses. And once the tax incentive put France back on the map, the country’s flourishing production ecosystem has kept projects on site longer than ever before. “The preconceived idea that France was too expensive clearly has changed,” says line producer John Bernard of Peninsula Film. “Projects with strong French DNA have very much embraced the whole process, basing themselves in France from beginning to end, using local crews and amenities.
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Isabelle Huppert will preside over the main jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival. The revered French actor has a longstanding rapport with the Lido, having won Venice’s Coppa Volpi for best actress twice, first with “Story of Women” in 1988, and subsequently with “La Cérémonie” in 1995, both directed by Claude Chabrol.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A week before its kick-off, the Cannes Film Festival has made a last-minute addition with “Moi Aussi,” a short film directed by Judith Godreche. The actor-turned-filmmaker made headlines in recent months for spearheading France’s new MeToo reckoning with her revelations that she had been preyed upon and groomed as a minor by directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. Both directors have denied her allegations of sexual assault.
MadRiver Pictures has closed a multi-year equity financing and distribution deal with several major international distribution partners which gives it the ability to fully finance films at a budget of $25M-$75M for the global theatrical marketplace.
Rudie Obias editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Vive la France! Vive la WWE! The first major event after Wrestlemania XL is also one of the biggest events in Europe. The WWE is going international with Backlash France 2024.