Scanbox Entertainment Changes Ownership, Expands Into Film, TV Production (EXCLUSIVE)

HYBE and YG Entertainment are set to launch a BLACKPINK-themed Korean language learning packet later this year.Earlier today (March 2), HYBE Edu and YG Entertainment announced that they will be launching a BLACKPINK-themed Korean language learning material titled ‘BLACKPINK In Your Korean’, per Kpop Herald.According to Kpop Herald and KBIZoom, ‘BLACKPINK In Your Korean’ hopes to familiarise fans with the Korean language through words and phrases that the K-pop quartet frequently use.The packet will include textbooks, stickers, quizzes and animated videos that will teach learners correct pronunciation. Notably, the videos will be available in Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian..@HYBE_EDU is launching "@BLACKPINK IN YOUR KOREAN," a Korean language education material using the act's IP.

Netflix has acquired global rights to Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between, an upcoming YA rom-com based on Jennifer E. Smith’s 2015 novel of the same name, from Ace Entertainment, which produced all three films in its popular To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise.

Fox Entertainment’s MarVista Entertainment, a prolific producer and distributor of original movies for traditional and streaming networks worldwide, is continuing its expansion into Latin America, signing a major development and production deal with TelevisaUnivision.

K.J. Yossman Sky have released first look images for a new Sky Original drama, “Unwanted.”Inspired by the book “Bilal,” an investigative book from journalist Fabrizio Gatti, the eight-part series tells the story of an undercover human rights defender who is helping migrants journey from Africa to Europe as they battle human traffickers and government officials.Stefano Bises (“Gomorrah”) created and wrote the series in collaboration with with the collaboration of Alessandro Valenti, Bernardo Pellegrini and Michela Straniero.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK government is “monitoring what further action is needed” to help commercial insurers return to market and provide commercially viable rates when the £500M ($680M) Film & TV Production Restart Scheme ends on April 30.

Ireland saw a record-breaking €500M ($570M) production spend across film, television drama, documentary and animation in 2021, according to new figures released by national agency Screen Ireland.

Wilson Chapman editorForbes Entertainment and Entertainment One have partnered to produce multiple projects based on the alleged bitcoin laundering operation of Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein, the companies announced Wednesday.As reported by The New York Times, Morgan and Lichtenstein were arrested on Feb. 8 under charges relating to a 2016 hack of the Bitcoin virtual currency exchange.

The bitcoin money laundering scandal, which has made headlines in the national news recently, will be the subject of two projects from Entertainment One and Forbes Entertainment. The companies have teamed to produce a scripted series and a documentary about the scandal following the Feb. 8 arrest in Manhattan of so-called “crypto couple,” Heather Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, who are awaiting trial on charges alleging they tried to launder $3.6 billion in stolen bitcoin. The scripted project is co-produced by eOne, Forbes Entertainment and Tucker Tooley Entertainment, and the documentary hails from eOne’s Blackfin and Forbes Entertainment.

Atresmedia, owner of the OTT service Atresplayer Premium, is finding the sweet spot between auteur and broad audience shows.Launched two years ago, Atresplayer Premium boasts fast growth in terms of subscriptions – reaching 400,000 users in Spain alone –  and content production volume, readying some 20 new TV projects for this year.Promoting original voices, the platform is winning international visibility. Iconic original series “Veneno,” created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “Los Javis,” successfully launched on HBO Max in the U.S.

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.

Selome Hailu Kevin Costner and 44 Blue Productions have partnered to develop “Onward,” an anthology docuseries about traditions and rituals in Indigenous communities around the world, Variety has learned exclusively.Each episode of “Onward” focuses on a specific Indigenous community and how their people, land and cultures have endured existential threats such as climate change, commercial development and the pandemic.The concept for “Onward” is based on Cale Glendening’s documentary short of the same name, which chronicled his time embedded with Kazakh-Mongolia eagle hunters in the remote Altai Mountains of Mongolia. Glendening writes and directs the series, as well as executive produces alongside Costner, Monitor & Merrimack Pictures’ Glenn Kleczkowski and Mark Gillard.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNordic streamer Viaplay is partnering with filmmaker Mikael Håfström to produce the ambitious period film “Stockholm Bloodbath.” The female-led epic adventure movie will mark the service’s second English-language film original, following Oscar-nominated helmer Lasse Hallström’s biopic “Hilma,” which will premiere later this year.Set in 1520, “Stockholm Bloodbath” explores a dark chapter in Sweden’s history, which saw the infamous massacre of nearly 100 nobles and civilians in the Swedish capital. The story is told through the eyes of Anne and her foster sister Freja as they seek revenge on the men who murdered their family at Anne’s wedding.

K.J. Yossman Tara Reid is set to play an MI6 agent in upcoming espionage thriller “Cold Sun,” Variety can exclusively reveal.Reid will play an inexperienced British spy called Marsha Ravencourt in the film, which has been billed as “Cagney and Lacey with a difference.”Jason Figgis (“The Ecstasy of Isabel Mann”) will direct the feature, which is set to shoot this summer in the U.K.

Big Bang member T.O.P. has taken to Instagram to share how he feels, following his departure from YG Entertainment.Earlier this week, YG Entertainment announced that the rapper has decided to part ways with the agency after 16 years. At the time, the company said that T.O.P.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFox Entertainment has acquired the rights to the Gumby franchise.The deal was made between Fox and the estate of Joseph Clokey, the son of Gumby creator Art Clokey. It gives Fox all rights to Gumby and associated characters across film, television and streaming, consumer products, licensing, publishing, and all other categories.“Competition for globally recognized intellectual property is fierce,” said Charlie Collier, CEO of Fox Entertainment. “Uncovering this gem, with its built-in awareness and affinity, and bringing it to Fox, adds meaningful value and creative possibilities to the IP itself and to multiple divisions of our company.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIdina Menzel (“Frozen,” “Uncut Gems”) and Jae Suh Park (“The Big Short”) have joined Golden Globe nominee Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”) and Alan S. Kim (“Minari”) for “Latchkey Kids,” which David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment has boarded as its sales agent.Starlings Entertainment is also now on board to co-produce and finance the feature, which Mister Smith is launching at this week’s European Film Market in Berlin where it bids fair to become one of the market standouts.Directed by John J.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIFC Midnight and Shudder have closed a multi-territory deal for “She Will,” a psychological horror directed by artist and filmmaker Charlotte Colbert.The film is a gothic fairy tale about Veronica Ghent who after a double mastectomy, goes to a healing retreat in rural Scotland with her young nurse Desi. There, she discovers that the process of such surgery opens up questions about her very existence, leading her to start to question and confront past traumas.

Jennifer Lopez, 52, wowed on Feb. 4 when she made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in an eye-catching set of outfits. The singer performed her new song “Marry Me”, from the new film Marry Me, with Maluma, and wore a flattering white bikini top under a matching cropped blazer and a long skirt. Before she sang, she also wore a long bright red dress with spaghetti straps as she happily chatted with the show’s host, Jimmy Fallon.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCharades (“Petrov’s Flu,””Diamantino”) has come on board “Hit Big”, a dark humor-laced crime film set in Spain and directed by critically acclaimed Finnish filmmaker, Jukka-Pekka Valkeapaa (“They Have Escaped”). Currently in post, the film is being presented at the work-in-progress sidebar of Goteborg Festival’s Nordic Film Market.

Naman Ramachandran In cheering news for the British entertainment business, film and high-end television production spend in the U.K. reached over £5.64 billion ($7.65 billion) in 2021, £1.27 billion higher than for the pre-pandemic year 2019. Official figures published on Friday by the BFI’s Research and Statistics Unit reveal that film production reached £1.55 billion, 3% up on 2020, while high-end TV production soared to £4.09 billion, nearly double pre-pandemic 2019 levels.