ITV Studios To Distribute Miniseries ‘The Great Fire’
ITV Studios Global Entertainment has come aboard to distribute miniseries The Great Fire, with a launch set for next year’s MIPTV. The four-part series is produced by Ecosse Films, the company behind biopic Diana with Naomi Watts and the original UK format of Mistresses. Written by Tom Bradby, ITV News Political Editor and author of Shadow Dancer, The Great Fire follows the lives and loves of both historical and fictional characters in a world where, on the surface, the rich have everything and the poor have nothing. Set in 1666, events unfold over four consecutive days as the Great Fire of London indiscriminately engulfs the city. The Great Fire is executive produced by Douglas Rae and Lucy Bedford for Ecosse Films.
‘Young Detective Dee: Rise Of The Sea Dragon’ Opens Big In China
Tsui Hark’s Young Detective Dee: Rise Of The Sea Dragon notched the fourth-biggest opening day ever for a domestic film in China this weekend with $9.2M. According to FilmBizAsia, the 3D film falls in behind Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons ($13.7M), Tiny Times 1 ($13.2M) and Painted Skin: The Resurrection ($11.7M) on the list. The Huayi Brothers production took in $15.1M over two days and accounted for about 30% of all screenings nationwide. FBA said Detective Dee has a “strong head start” going into the weeklong National Day holiday, which starts today. The other domestic films opening in time for the holiday are 3D fantasy The Fox Lover, road comedy Bump In The Road, the Pang Brothers’ firefighter drama Out Of Inferno 3D and sci-fi sports drama Amazing.
Endemol Inks Format Deals In Central and Eastern Europe
Endemol has made deals for a pair of formats to territories in Central and Eastern Europe. The celebrity talent show Your Face Sounds Familiar has been sold to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as a 12-episode co-production between Czech Television (CT1) and Slovak Television (STV1), and to Emotion Productions in Serbia. IT will bow in the regions next year. The new reality format Grading Mom and Dad has been commissioned for a first series by public broadcaster CT1 in the Czech Television and ONT channel in Belarus. The show, which sees kids grading Mom and Dad’s parenting skills, will launch with a 12-episode run in 2014 on Czech Television and a six-episode run later this year on ONT.
‘Battle For Homs’, ‘Banaz: An Honour Killing’ Win International Emmys
The Battle for Homs and Banaz: An Honour Killing won International Emmys for News & Current Affairs during a ceremony Tuesday at Lincoln Center in New York. Battle for Homs, produced by Channel 4 News, won the News category. The story covers the start of the shelling of Homs by Syrian government forces in February 2012 and the breaking news around the few independent journalists in Homs at the time, including the late Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, who died reporting on the events. Banaz, produced by Hardcash Productions and Fuuse Films for ITV, won the Current Affairs category. The film chronicles the brutal “honour” killing of Banaz Mahmod, a young British Kurdish woman in suburban London. Banaz was raped and murdered by her own family, with the agreement and help of a large section of her own community, because she tried to choose a life for herself.
Revolver Entertainment Picks Up London-Set ‘The Comedian’
LA-based distributor Revolver Entertainment, now separately owned and managed from its former UK-based sister outfit, has acquired first-time director Tom Shkolnik’s The Comedian. Set in London, it follows the life of a struggling stand-up comic (Edward Hogg, Mary Queen Of Scots and Jupiter Ascending). Elisa Lasowski and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett also star. It’s produced by Dan McCulloch and Bertrand Faivre for The Bureau. Revolver recently inked content deals with DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse, Shaw Communications, Bell TV, XBOX, Hulu, and others.
Hong Kong Romantic Drama ‘Lost For Words’ Coming To North America
Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley J. Orzel’s romantic drama Lost for Words will be released theatrically in select North American cities by AMC Independent, beginning October 18 in LA, NY and Toronto. The multi-lingual, cross-cultural production stars Sean Faris (Never Back Down), Grace Huang (The Man With The Iron Fists), Will Yun Lee (The Wolverine, Hawaii Five-0), Terence Yin (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) and Hong Kong actress Joman Chiang (Fog, The Drunkard).
Philippe Stoltz Tapped As Managing Director At H2O Productions
H2O Productions, the Banijay Group-owned French producer founded by Cyril Hanouna, has appointed Philippe Stoltz as Managing Director. Stoltz most recently was head of reality and docu-reality and executive producer at Endemol France. He joins H2O this month. H2O’s slate is headlined by TV-themed daily panel show Hands Off My Set! which airs on France’s D8. Stoltz’s credits at Endemol include Secret Story, Star Academy and Undercover Boss.