Universal International Studios’ Beatrice Springborn Details Deal With Quoc Dang Tran and Global Talent Strategy

Happy Friday readers. Tom Grater here looking back on the week’s top international headlines.

Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios, Screenplay, Disney Plus Hotstar Pact for “Doctor Foster” Indonesian AdaptationBBC Studios property “Doctor Foster” is being adapted by Screenplay Films for Disney Plus Hotstar in Indonesia. “Doctor Foster” is the story of a doctor whose life implodes when she uncovers her husband’s infidelity. The show title in Indonesia will be “Mendua” (Between Two Hearts) and Pritagita Arianegara (“Surga yang Tak Dirindukan 3”) will direct.

Everyone’s favorite French/Argentinian enfante terrible Gaspar Noé’s next film, “Vortex” opens May 6 via Utopia Films. But the controversial filmmaker is staying super busy and is releasing another film this year, “Lux Æterna,” an experimental art film making heavy use of epileptic imagery, split-screen, and 1920s-style film involving witchcraft.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Theodosia,” the Egyptology-themed adventure series which just premiered on HBO Max in the U.S., has been acquired by BBC, along with a bevy of other partners.Produced by Cottonwood Media, “Theodosia” is represented in international markets by ZDF Studios and Federation Kids & Family, a subsidiary of Federation Entertainment.“Theodosia” follows a smart and bold 14-year-old named Theodosia Throckmorton (aka Theo) who is the daughter of two intrepid Egyptologists excavating in the Valley of the Kings. When Theo and her younger brother Henry stumble upon a hidden tomb and a mysterious artefact, the ‘Eye of Horus’, Theo unlocks the power to see and perform true magic, thus discovering a whole new world of mystery as well as danger.

K.J. Yossman It was a quirk of fate that first set Cécile Frot-Coutaz on the path to becoming CEO of Sky Studios, to which she was appointed last year.“I think we all have [those] moments that have quite an impact on your trajectory,” Frot-Coutaz tells Variety. “You may not really realize it when it happens, but when you look back later on, you can see the thread.”For Frot-Coutaz, who is receiving Variety’s Intl.

Paramount International boss Raffaele Annecchino has talked up the streamer for “launching quicker than others” in key European markets, as he unveiled a tied-up with global Lupin and Narcos production house Gaumont and set titles from France, Argentina and Germany.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSuperstar Korean actor and producer Gang Dong-won has signed up with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation outside Korea.Gang joins a string of Korean on-screen talent securing international representation as the country’s creative sector is propelled to the fore by films such as “Parasite” and “Peninsula” and by TV shows such as “Squid Game.”He continues to be represented in Korea and Japan by Lee Gi Wook at YG Entertainment. Gang, who has a mechanical engineering degree and was initially scouted as a model, transitioned to acting in 2004 with “Too Beautiful to Lie” and “Temptation of Wolves,” the latter of which earned him the best new actor award at the 24th Korean Association Critics Choice Awards.

EXCLUSIVE: Call My Agent! and Marianne writer Quoc Dang Tran has struck a first-look deal with Universal International Studios, becoming the first French writer to sign such a deal with a major studio.

A new documentary will tell the story of the remarkable life and untimely death of Moss Side boxing hero Phil Martin

Kenneth Branagh appeared on a recent edition of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” to promote his Oscar-nominated film Belfast.

Ellise Shafer The second installment of HBO’s “The White Lotus” has added Italian stars Beatrice Grannó, Sabrina Impacciatore and Simona Tabasco to its cast.As Variety exclusively revealed in January, the highly-anticipated Season 2 of Mike White’s social satire will take place at a luxurious resort in Sicily. Impacciatore will play Valentina, the manager of the White Lotus Sicily resort.

EXCLUSIVE: The streaming revolution has finally gifted European creatives the opportunity to write sci-fi and other genres, according to Quoc Dang Tran, the creator of Disney+’s first French-language drama Parallèles.

EXCLUSIVE: Glynn Turman (Women of the Movement), Bob Balaban (The French Dispatch), Ron Funches (Undateable) and Jimmy O. Yang (Space Force) are the latest additions to the cast of the upcoming film 80 for Brady, from Paramount Pictures and Endeavor Content. They join an ensemble that includes 7-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady, as well as Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field and Sara Gilbert, as previously announced.

Former glamour model Katie Price has been charged for allegedly harassing Kieran Hayler’s wife-to-be, Michelle Pentecost. In the wake of the charges, the 43 year old will appear in court when she returns to the UK from Thailand, where she’s currently holidaying with fiance Carl Woods. Kieran and Katie were married between 2013 and 2018, and share two kids together; eight year old son Jett and daughter Bunny, seven.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Grown-ish co-showrunner Jeni Rice-Genzuk Henry has signed an overall deal with BET Studios, the venture launched last year by Paramount and BET to generate premium content from Black creators for Paramount+, Showtime, CBS, Nickelodeon, BET+ and BET, as well as select third-party platforms.