StudioCanal Hires Jed Benedict To Launch In-House Genre Label

Marks and Spencer is launching a new ITV show in a bid to find their next designer. One fashion fan will win the 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity to create their own clothing line with the retailer.

Netflix have confirmed the release date for a new thriller series starring British actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

EXCLUSIVE: Depp v. Heard producer Empress Films has hired in the U.S. and UK following its deal with Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After creating a U.K. genre label with Jed Benedict, Studiocanal has forged a partnership with French production company WTFilms to focus on genre films.

Studiocanal has announced a partnership with French production and sales company WTFilms (What The Films).

Naman Ramachandran Four African screenwriters will pitch stories spanning genres at the 15th edition of Series Mania in Lille, France. Pitching this year are Kelly-Eve Koopman (South Africa) with urban fantasy “Facing the Mountain”; Moreetsi Gabang (Botswana) with crime drama “Outreach”; Tiah Beye (Senegal/Côte d’Ivoire) with comedy-drama “Brouteure” (“The Yahoo Girl”); and Wanjiru Kairu (Kenya) with political satire “Serikali Saidia!” The shows are under the aegis of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a training program for African episodic screenwriters from Realness Institute.

Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath first wailed on their guitars in public — has been designated an important historic building after 15,000 people signed a petition calling for the building and surrounds to be saved from redevelopment. Birmingham, England’s scruffy second city, may not get much attention from outside the country, but the brawling industrial burg changed rock music forever in the 1970s when the likes of Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest and Ozzy & Co.

The drama surrounding Princess Catherine’s doctored photo continues!

Trevor Nelson has spoken to NME about his career, the state of UK R&B, and shared some advice for young people on getting into the media industry.The DJ and radio pioneer was speaking to NME after hosting a panel talk at the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies’ London campus.As part of Confetti’s 2024 Industry Week inviting leaders from the worlds of music and media, Nelson spoke to Crowd DNA content and media agency professional Andy Crysell, actor and movie producer Hester Ruoff, former head of content at Spotify Vino Vethavanam, and Dale Davis – the former musical director for Amy Winehouse.Having started out working in a record store before becoming a DJ and presenter on the then-pirate radio station KISS FM, the MBE recipient told the crowd that the biggest low point of his career came after the channel was legalised in 1990.“I had a daytime show and, two years into that show, I got fired,” Nelson told the panel and audience. “When my boss told me in he was in tears because he couldn’t believe I had just been fired, and I didn’t care.

RAYE has hit out at industry executives for underpaying songwriters while taking huge profits for themselves.The British artist – who took home a record-breaking six BRIT awards this month – said that songwriters are left “fighting over scraps of publishing”.Speaking in an interview with the Daily Star‘s ‘Wired’ column (per MusicNews), the ‘Escapism’ singer said: “For an industry that profits off songs, you got these CEOs and big label execs living in their fat huge Chelsea mansions, living a beautiful life, meanwhile songwriters you are profiting off are broke, can’t afford rent and fighting over scraps of publishing that is sat in bank accounts for two years before they receive a penny, because publishers have kept it in there so they can collect interest and make a whole separate business.”The artist also broke down the payment model for artists and songwriters, explaining: “Every single song that’s released in the world, there are 100 royalty points.“The label will take, say, 80 points. The artist, in a good deal, will take maybe 20, 15, or maybe 12 and then producers get four points, but it has to come out of the artist’s points.“And the songwriter doesn’t even get one point.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The 44th edition of genre film festival Fantasporto, which runs in Portugal’s second city Porto from March 1-10, has bestowed its best film award on Japanese sci-fi fantasy pic “From the End of the World,” directed by Kaz I Kiriya. The movie follows 10-year-old Hana, whose dreams transport her across various eras in Japanese history, and have the ability to save humanity. The jury’s special award went to “The Complex Forms,” Italian director Fabio D’Orta’s debut feature.

Meghan Markle has reportedly hired a UK-based PR person, sparking questions like "Why now? " This is the first time Prince Harry and Meghan have had a UK-based employee since they left the UK in 2020, according to Pandora Forsyth who recently appeared on GB News. Forsyth finds the timing curious, asking, "Why now? Why the business change? " Anne Diamond, the host of GB News, suggests that the new PR hire might be planning to recommend that the Sussexes spend more time in the UK as a way to win over the public.

Mark Wright's new clothing launch didn't have the best start, with no one turning up to meet the former TOWIE star.The new fitness wear company Aytee7 is the brainchild of him and wife Michelle Keegan and launched at Manchester's Trafford Centre on 8 March. However, photos from the event suggest that perhaps Mark and Michelle overestimated their customer base, with not a single person showing up to purchase clothes.

NME about the launch of their new ReBalance initiativ eand his commitment to supporting emerging women and non-binary artists..The festival boss, who is behind Reading & Leeds, Download and more, spoke to NME around the relaunch ReBalance – a year-long development programme that provides opportunities to women and gender-expansive artists throughout the UK.Initially, the programme was launched in 2017 and ran for three years, before ultimately being shelved due to COVID. Now, six up-and-coming acts have been announced as participating in the revamped 2024 programme, and are set to receive expert mentorship in the studio, as well as a guaranteed slot at a Festival Republic event in 2025.“I launched it in 2017 because it was apparent — and continues to be apparent — that there is an insufficient number of women and non-binary people getting into recording studios and getting their albums made to the standard where they can get airplay,” Benn told NME, explaining how the initiative looks to offer more than just the opportunity to perform on a festival stage.“It’s the easiest thing in the world to just put more women and non-binary people on a stage at a festival, but if the audience don’t know them, they won’t receive them well and that won’t do their career any good,” he continued.

A hike in subscribers for French pay-TV giant Canal+ Group as well as a successful year at the box office in France for Studiocanal helped drive positive 2023 results for parent company Vivendi, which were released Thursday evening after the close of the local stock exchange.

Francesca Orsi Wins Series Mania Award

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Studiocanal, the European powerhouse behind “Paddington,” has created a genre label dedicated to the development, production and distribution of horror, thriller, sci fi and action films and TV series. The company has hired Jed Benedict, a well-known executive who previously worked for the U.K. distribution banner Elysian Film Group, to run the new label.

Viggo Mortensen really puts the word multi-hyphenate to good use for his second directorial effort The Dead Don’t Hurt as he also wrote, co-stars in and composes the music for this distinctive Western film, which played at the Glasgow Film Festival earlier this week after world premiering to critical acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival last year. 

REM, Amy Winehouse, Florence & The Machine, Adele, The Killers and Nick Cave. It was also the venue for Kings Of Leon’s first UK show in 2006.The former Edwardian dance hall has been used as a music venue since 2001, when it was restored by its current owners, Charlie Raworth and Emma Hutchinson.Now, Bush Hall has confirmed its future as a music establishment is under threat and they are four months away from “making a hideous decision” about whether to cease hosting live music events.

EXCLUSIVE: Aardman, the iconic UK animation studio behind Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run, has rejigged its top team and brought in a BBC Studios executive to oversee an IP push.