Timbaland To Exec Produce TV Adaptation Of Graphic Novel ‘Neon Empire’

KT Tunstall has been named as this year’s recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection.Yesterday (May 16), the Ivors Academy announced Tunstall as the 58th recipient of the award, following in the footsteps of Queen, U2, New Order, Pulp, Noel Gallagher and more. Most recently, Kamille was honoured with the prestigious award in 2023.Tunstall will be presented with the award at The Ivors with Amazon Music, which takes place at the Grosvenor House in London, on Thursday, May 23.

The Young Sheldon finale should go down as not just one of , but also one of the finest hours of television, period. The tricky balance of devastation and humor following George's death in last week's episode also had to be intertwined with Sheldon and Amy in the future (Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik, reprising ) in a way that made sense to the viewer.

The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) has appointed Neishaw Ali, President of SPIN VFX, as its new chair and added Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro to its executive board.

EXCLUSIVE: Global communications agency DDA is bolstering its awards offering with the hire of Carola Ash, former AMPAS Vice President of Member Relations and Global Outreach. She joins DDA as Director of International Awards Outreach and will be based in London. 

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Jay Marcus has been working in film and television for more than a decade, but he also has no problem boasting that he is a “theater nerd.” “I could talk about theater more than anything else in the world,” says Marcus, head of scripted film and television at RuPaul’s production company RuCo. “I get giddy about it.” So much so that, in August, he launched The Hollywood Theatre Club. In the first of a now bimonthly newsletter written and distributed by Marcus, he described the club as a “collective of film & TV executives, producers, agents/managers, casting directors and other industry types who come together once a month to see professional theater in L.A.” “I have a lot of hope for theater in L.A., not necessarily as a commercial endeavor but for the key non-profits that are doing great work,” Marcus says.

NFL games on Netflix in a deal announced earlier today will each cost the streamer about the same as one mid-sized film, said Spencer Wang, EVP Finance, IR and Corporate Development.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Neon, the indie studio behind “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Parasite,” has made a pair of key promotions. Elissa Federoff has been named chief distribution officer, having previously served as president of distribution, while Ryan Friscia has been upped to chief financial officer, having previously served as the company’s EVP of finance and business development.

K.J. Yossman U.K. distributor Other Parties has launched a new production arm headed by former Amazon Studios U.K.

Following William Levy‘s (Star, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) success starring in ViX‘s Montecristo last year, the TelevisaUnivision streamer has signed Secuoya Studios and William Levy Entertainment to a production deal. Together, the companies will develop two new projects – the series, Arcadia (w/t) and the film, Bajo Un Volcán (w/t) – both starring Levy, who will also executive produce.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The renaissance of “Doctor Who,” which started its latest season this week, is a 20-year journey that is entwined with the establishment of a thriving TV production scene in South Wales, where it shoots, and the meteoritic rise of the production company Bad Wolf. This dates back to 2003 when writer Russell T. Davies was asked by the BBC’s then head of drama, Jane Tranter, to revive the show and to base the production in South Wales, an area hitherto known for coal mining and heavy industry.

Jamie Lang Swiss production company Contrast Film has appointed former Disney, Global Screen and Blue Entertainment executive Anke Beining as its new commercial managing director. Beining brings with her a strong and diverse history of industry experience. She studied political science in Germany, Switzerland and the U.S.

Daily Mail on Saturday, saying she stood out for being extremely hard working and inquisitive. “She was amazing on staff, but she wasn’t afraid to raise her hand and say, ‘Can you explain? Can you help me with something if I want to be more than just a young star?'” the media power player proclaimed. She said Markle started in a minor role on “Suits,” before becoming a key star after impressing everyone on set with her hard work.

Jeff Bader, president of program planning strategy at NBCUniversal Entertainment, has explained why Quantum Leap has been canceled after two seasons.

EXCLUSIVE: John Pasquin (The Santa Clause, Home Improvement) is reuniting with his frequent collaborator Tim Allen to direct and executive produce ABC multi-camera comedy pilot Shifting Gears (working title), starring Allen and Kat Dennings, from 20th Television.

Producer Patrick Sobelman and Ariane Toscan du Plantier, director of Cinema Distribution France and International at film and TV company Gaumont, have been voted in as president and vice-president of France’s César Academy.

EXCLUSIVE: As they open The Fall Guy, a TV series turned feature, director David Leitch and his 87North producing partner Kelly McCormick are eyeing a beloved graphic novel for a TV series.

EXCLUSIVE: ABC is adding to its collection of game shows.

EXCLUSIVE: Leonardo DiCaprio and revered environmental activist Jane Goodall will executive produce Howl, a film following an abandoned family dog and a young wolf, which will unfold from the animals’ perspective. The Promethean Pictures movie has just entered production, we can reveal. It is not an environment film per se, but the team behind it plans to give moviegoers a transformative view of the natural world.

Angelique Jackson “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish” star Yara Shahidi has signed on to executive produce the documentary “Paint Me a Road Out of Here,” which will make its world premiere at the DC/DOX Film Festival next month. Directed by Catherine Gund, “Paint Me a Road Out of Here” features artists Faith Ringgold and Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter and “uncovers the whitewashed history of Ringgold’s masterpiece ‘For the Women’s House,’ following the painting’s 50-year journey from the Rikers Jail to the Brooklyn Museum in a heartbreaking, funny and true parable for a world without mass incarceration.” Of the painting Ringgold has said: “The women wanted to be free, they wanted to be out of there of course but it was obvious to me that the reason many of them were there was because they had a lack of freedom in the first place.

EXCLUSIVE: Emily The Criminal, the 2022 crime thriller starring Aubrey Plaza, is the latest movie set to be turned into a television series.