Spain Sales Surge, as Companies Embrace Split Rights Deals, Unveil New Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

Miranda Lambert is far from the first country singer to release her own cookbook — but she has a special reason why the two are so closely connected.«Country gal singers love them a cookbook,» the singer laughed with ET's Rachel Smith as the pair discussed Lambert's upcoming offering, . «Almost all of us have a moment that we talked about in the kitchen.

Dolly Parton is taking her music in a new direction. ET's Rachel Smith spoke to the 77-year-old singer, and she dished all about her upcoming rock album, .Parton decided to put out a rock album after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an honor she initially declined. Eventually, though, sheopted to accept the distinction «gracefully,» and, in response, put out an album befitting of it.

Team, In response to the current market conditions and business realities facing VMG and the broader news and media industry, we are moving forward on some painful but necessary reductions, primarily across our News business. We are transforming VICE News to better withstand market realities and more closely align with how and where we see our audiences engaging with our content most.

K.J. Yossman Keira Knightley is set to star in Netflix series “Black Doves,” the streamer unveiled today. Written by “Giri/Haji” showrunner Joe Barton, the drama will see Knightley star as Helen, a woman with a secret identity who embarks on a passionate affair. When her lover falls victim to London’s shadowy underworld, Helen’s employers send an old friend, Sam, to protect her. The two of them soon embark on a high octane adventure set against a backdrop of diplomatic tension and Christmas. “‘Black Doves’ is the story of two old friends coming back together, finding trust in one another in a world where trust can get you killed and, ultimately, changing the course of each other’s lives forever,” reads the logline.

Netflix on Tuesday announced the new animated films In Your Dreams and Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, coming to the platform in 2024, also setting new voice cast for the fantasy adventure Nimona and offering new first-look stills from each of its animated titles debuting over the next 18 months, which you can view above and below.

The Black List and the GM Incubator Fund have today announced the launch of a new Writer-Driven Shorts Program, which will provide two emerging, diverse filmmakers with $100,000 grants enabling production on shorts based on their feature script. General Motors will provide both selected filmmakers with vehicles for use in their shorts, which will ultimately be submitted to major festivals and aim for 2024 awards consideration.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Magnolia Pictures International has acquired worldwide sales rights — including U.S. sales rights — to heist comedy-drama “The Delinquents” from Argentinian writer-director Rodrigo Moreno (“The Custodian”). The film will world premiere as part of the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. In “The Delinquents,” the routine lives of two bank employees, Morán and Román, break down when Morán steals a small fortune from the bank’s vault. On the run, he glimpses a possible alternative to the gray life he’s been living and, in addition, falls in love. But he is forced to choose between this radical alternative and following through on his heist plans, so he resigns himself to a short prison stint. His colleague Román, unwillingly in possession of the stolen money, feels trapped by the secret he’s keeping; his paranoia increases until he too finds a way out, and also discovers a new love. But, bound by their common destiny (highlighted by the similarity of their names), the two protagonists are inevitably drawn together again.

The Only Way Is Essex favourite Dani Imbert has sadly confirmed that her fiery romance with on-screen co-star Roman Hackett has been nipped in the bud, revealing to fans that she's already moved on.The former flames began a romance during filming of the widely-adored ITVBe series - with Dani and Roman having joined the show as newbies back in 2021 - but after leaving fans in limbo for several weeks, yesterday she broke the news of their split. And Dani, 25, exclusively told The Sun this week that she has reunited with a mystery man she enjoyed a fling with before meeting Roman, 20.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Connecticut is set to declare Sunday, April 23, 2023 as “Little Richard Day” in honor of the late performer’s “incomparable contributions to the history of music in America.” And no, the rock n’ roll icon doesn’t hail from the Nutmeg state. He was born in Georgia and lived in California, Tennessee and other ports of call until his death in 2020. Rather, Gov. Ned Lamont is issuing the proclamation in recognition of the release this month of “Little Richard: I Am Everything” and Connecticut’s many ties to the production. The film, which Magnolia bought out of the Sundance Film Festival, will premiere at the Bedford Playhouse, which is hosted by the Greenwich International Film Festival on April 23. It was produced by Greenwich International Film Festival board member Robert Friedman and produced and directed by Lisa Cortés, a Connecticut native and an alumna of Yale University.

Charna Flam London’s West End smash hit “Death Drop” is headed across the pond. The killer comedy drag show, starring some of the most famous drag queens, is coming to New York this summer. “Death Drop,” is set to begin its off-broadway previews on June 30, followed by opening night on July 13 at New World Stages. The show stars “RuPaul’s Drag Race’s” Jujubee as Summer Raines, Willam as Shazza and Shuga Cain as Lady Rosebud von Fistenberg. Joining the “Drag Race” alum include Peachez Iman Cummings (“Worst Cooks in America”) as Morgan Pierce, Wang Newton (“Sacred Wounds”) as Phil Maker and the “Death Drop” writer Holly Stars as the Bottomly Sisters. Kiki Ball-Change will serve as an understudy. Additional casting will be announced soon.

Disney said today that “affordable and attainable housing” around Walt Disney World, which it first announced a year ago, will be ready to open in 2026. “This type of land contribution is unique and is one of many ways we are making a lasting impact in Central Florida,” according to a post on the Disney Parks Blog. It comes two days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis included a lack affordable housing on his list of reasons to slam the House of Mouse.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Ashland Hill Media Finance has launched a global sales company headed by industry veteran Tamara Birkemoe. Palisades Park Pictures is launching ahead of next month’s Cannes Film Festival, with operations in Los Angeles and London. The venture, which will soon unveil its inaugural slate of projects, comes a year after the launch of Ashland Hill, which was set up last May by Joe Simpson, Simon Williams and Jonathan Bross. Ashland Hill will continue its operations financing films, while PPP will board sales on a handful of Ashland Hill Media Finance titles in addition to a slate of third-party titles.

Fremantle UK has named departing Thames boss Amelia Brown as its new CEO.

EXCLUSIVE: After a spirited auction that brought 20 suitors into play, Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner emerged victorious with a six-against seven-figure deal for People Hacker, a book that tells the story of Jenny Radcliffe. A former burglar, con artist and expert in deception and physical infiltration, she became the secret weapon of corporations trying to close security gaps that led their companies to be hacked and robbed. The security and espionage expert would demonstrate skills on her employers who would find their security codes and contents of safes in her hands.

Emiliano De Pablos Spain’s fast-growing production house Mediacrest Entertainment is launching high-concept eco-reality contest format “El pueblo” (“The Village”), which will have its international market premiere at this week’s MipTV trade fair. Designed as a primetime reality show, “El pueblo” has been structured as a social experiment, charting five families’ attempt to settle in an abandoned village, guided by the principles of sustainability and globally connected self-sufficiency.  The families’ will create their own rules, events and traditions, will initiate agriculture and livestock initiatives and start trading with nearby towns, sand later with the world. The twist: Only one winning family finally gets to stay in the village.

Emiliano De Pablos A post-lockdown trend, unscripted commissioning has shot up from 32% of global commissions in fourth quarter 2019 to match scripted with 52% in 2022 Q4, according to Ampere Analysis. The spike in Spain is even stronger: 2022 Q3 saw 166 unscripted titles announced, compared to 40 scripted, 1Q 2023 96 vs. 23. As elsewhere, with fiction production costs soaring, unscripted has found a bigger demand among Spanish streamers and broadcasters, looking for less budget-heavy fare. “Probably the pandemic oversized fiction. Now audiences are looking for a good time, opting for entertainment formats with less dense narratives,” argues Daniel Domenjó at Mediacrest, producer of TVE’s hit daily game show “El cazador” and new reality format “El pueblo.”

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Ron Bernstein, a veteran rights agent who has brokered adaptive deals for modern classics like “No Country for Old Men” and “Blackhawk Down,” has joined the Agency for the Performing Arts. He will serve as senior vice president of media rights, a mantle he will take up after a 23-year run at ICM Partners. Bernstein joins APA partners Steve Fisher and Debbie Deuble Hill in the publishing and media rights group. APA president Jim Osbourne announced Bernstein’s hire, effective Thursday. The addition is another big score for APA as the representation business continues to shift amid consolidation. Over a long and enviable career, Bernstein has represented some of the most acclaimed novelists, authors and journalists in the marketplace and sold the rights to countless feature films, limited series and shows to major buyers.

Emmerdale fans were treated to a third twist in the ongoing fight to bring down Home Farm owner Kim Tate, as another character was revealed to be embroiled in the plot to help Caleb and Nicky Miligan claim back their fortune. During Tuesday night’s episode, Caleb confirmed that a mystery character, who appeared to be a solicitor, was helping with their plot to target Kim without her even knowing.The solicitor was seemingly revealed to be in on the plan to steal Kim's fortune including her hidden money - while it's not even known for sure if Caleb is lying about their identity.

Emiliano De Pablos Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has struck a VOD deal with Walter Presents to bring noir thriller series “Sequía” (“The Drought”) to the U.S, U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. The suspense series is co-produced by Spanish and Portuguese public broadcasters RTVE and RTP, in collaboration with Atlantia Media and Coral Europa.  “The Drought” is set in a small submerged village on the Spanish-Portuguese border that re-emerges from a huge dam built in the 1990s after a severe drought. Two skeletons are also unearthed, revealing evidence of a bloody crime. 

Simu Liu is unleashing his musical side with the release of his new single.