WarnerMedia, RTL Deutschland Team Up on ‘Two Sides of the Abyss’

Manori Ravindran International EditorWarnerMedia has struck a first-look deal with German-Turkish director Fatih Akin.The tie-up marks the first exclusive deal of its kind for Akin in his 27-year career. The helmer is best known for such films as “In The Fade” (2017), “Head-On” (2004) and “Soul Kitchen” (2009).

German-Turkish film director, screenwriter, and producer Fatih Akin has signed a first-look deal with WarnerMedia, the first such agreement the filmmaker has made in his career.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCNN and Fox News Channel are fierce rivals, and their anchors regularly take pot shots at each other. But there is at least one thing on which they agree: how much a new subscriber to their streaming outlets ought to pay.CNN will charge $5.99 per month for its new CNN Plus, a subscription-video streaming outlet that is expected to launch in late March, according to a person familiar with the matter, confirming information previously reported by The Los Angeles Times.  That is the same monthly fee sought by Fox News for its Fox Nation outlet.

Russian supermodel Irina Shayk is throwing her support behind Ukraine in the ongoing invasion of the country by her homeland. The Inside Amy Schumer actress took to her Instagram on Tuesday (March 1) to make her stand clear as she pledged financial aid to UNICEF and Red Cross Ukraine. “No To War,” she wrote alongside an image of a peace symbol. “I will be donating to @unicef and @redcrossukraine – Please check my stories for donation links and resources, give what you can. Praying for peace.”

HBO Max and WarnerMedia OneFifty are partnering with the Georgia Latino Film Festival, the Houston Latino Film Festival, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, the Miami Film Festival, the New York Latino Film Festival and the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival to expand their annual Latino Short Film Competition, with submissions open as of yesterday and closing on May 2nd at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Tool have released a reimagined version of their 1992 single ‘Opiate’.The reworked track, which is officially titled ‘Opiate²’, comes ahead of an accompanying short film that’s released on Blu-ray on March 18.‘Opiate²’ will soundtrack a 10-plus minute short film created by visual artist Dominic Hailstone and guitarist Adam Jones. The disc also features “interviews and insights from special guests” and will come with a 46-page art book with behind-the-scenes photos.The biggest difference between the original song and the reimagined version is structural, with an extended section allowing drummer Danny Carey to hit his skins for longer.

Fremantle International Bolsters Scripted

BBC University Challenge fans have been left taken aback by a contestant's daring outfit. Innes was on the programme on Monday night and fans could not help but comment on her outfit.

EXCLUSIVE: Maureen Polo, who has been an exec at WarnerMedia and GM of streaming service Fullscreen, has been named head of direct-to-consumer at Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.

BBC Studios And Sky Deutschland Strike Factual Content Deal

Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios and Sky Deutschland have agreed an output deal for factual content in Germany.The long-term partnership agreement will see Sky Deutschland as the pay TV home for BBC Studios premium factual content in Germany, which will include 150 hours of factual titles from the BBC Studios catalogue. The factual output from BBC Studios can be seen on Sky Deutschland’s Sky Nature and Sky Documentaries channels.BBC Studios titles acquired under the deal include “Greta Thunberg A Year to Change the World,” “Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic,” “David Attenborough: The Sound of Nature” and “Primates.” In 2019, BBC Studios signed a partnership with Germany’s ZDF to produce factual shows, which includes the upcoming “Green Planet” presented by David Attenborough, alongside co-developing scripted TV series.

Maynard James Keenan has shared a humorous new clip of himself trying to play Jenga behind Tool drummer Danny Carey during one of the band’s recent shows.The band are currently on the North American leg of their world tour, which kicked off last month and is set to visit the UK and Ireland in May.In a clip that was shared over the weekend on Keenan’s personal Instagram page, the frontman is seen crouching down behind Carey’s drum kit during one show in an effort to play a game of Jenga.However, Keenan’s Jenga game is ruined after Carey smashes his giant gong at the back of his drum set, causing the frontman to jokingly yell: “What the fuck! What’s wrong with you?!”A post shared by MJ Keenan (@iamthebriefcase)You can watch a clip of the moment, which Keenan captioned “Danny, you son of a bitch! Tryn ta [sic] Jenga back here, ffs”, in the above post.Tool’s tour continues in Pittsburgh tomorrow (March 1). You can see the dates of their UK and European tour below, and find any remaining tickets here.April23 – Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark25 – Spektrum, Oslo, Norway26 – Avicii Arena, Stockholm, Sweden28 – Barclaycard Arena, Hamburg, Germany29 – Festhalle, Frankfurt, GermanyMay2 – AO Arena, Manchester4 – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham6 – 3Arena, Dublin9 – The O2, London10 – The O2, London12 – AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France13 – Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium15 – Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin, Germany17 – Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany19 – Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands21 – Tauron Arena, Kraków, Poland23 – O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic24 – SportAréna, Budapest, Hungary Tool announced yesterday (February 27) that the vinyl version of their 2019 album ‘Fear Inoculum’ will be released in April.

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.

Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) is gearing up for a deluxe box set release of his fourth studio album, 2020's The Slow Rush. The package — originally due out today — is now set to arrive April 8, featuring two transparent-red LPs, alternate artwork, a booklet, and a 2050 calendar.

Bill Maher couldn’t hide his contempt for the country hosting the Winter Olympics on his Friday Real Time. 

K.J. Yossman RTL Deutschland has inked an exclusive multi-year content deal with Warner Bros.

Amazon Prime Video has signed an expanded multi-year licensing deal for Germany and Austria with Leonine Studios.

Sarajevo Director Exits After 27 Years