Welcome back Insiders, glad to have you here after a busy week in Cannes and plenty else going on. Sign up here and whatever you do, read on.
Surfing To MIPCOM Cannes
Newly minteds: At this year’s MIPCOM there was a little bit of surf and a whole lot of shine as the edition was dominated by Fox and Fremantle’s Baywatch reboot, along with two newly-minted players emerging at their first big international market. While Baywatch stars Stephen Amell and Brooks Nader (pictured) were given the champagne treatment, execs from the newly-minted Banijay and Skydance were setting out stalls for the first time. Both behemoths (Skydance sales teams have retained their pre-existing Paramount and WB brands for now) had plenty to say to press and hosted swanky events, with many arriving Sunday afternoon in good time for Banijay’s glitzy do in the interior garden of the Hotel Carlton. Banijay bosses Jeff Zucker, Marco Bassetti and Jane Turton were in Cannes along with David Decker, the executive handed the Skydance content sales keys by David Ellison. Both have more to do in terms of reorg and there is still some confusion about how things will shake out at Skydance internationally. We’ve got the lowdown on all that went down in Cannes in our annual takeaways, which reveals the big stars who were in town, the shows making waves and the intriguing questions that hang over the future relationship between traditional TV folk and YouTube, plus plenty more. On the ground, there was an air of determined positivity, with sources we spoke with over the week acknowledging the tricky tightrope of today’s TV industry yet appreciating there are plenty opportunities out there. For now, the tide goes out on another edition of the biggest international sales market in the world. Find all coverage here and read a digital version of our MIPCOM magazine here.
Russell Brand Trial Begins
Watch on Deadline
“Indiscriminate and voracious”: One of the biggest UK entertainment trials in a generation began in earnest Monday, with Russell Brand entering the courtroom to face three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one of indecent assault from six women. Unsurprisingly, there has been an enormous amount of press interest over a figure who used to be a fixture on the big and small screen both in the UK and around the world. Jake has been at Southwark Crown Court and reported in depth as the prosecution first set out opening arguments about the Despicable Me star’s “indiscriminate and voracious” appetite for sexual contact that led to a decade of criminal offending, and then explained each allegation in detail. Some of the women have since been taking the stand. The allegations are wide-ranging, varied and horrific, and Brand will have the chance to defend himself likely in a few weeks’ time. He has always denied all allegations. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks and we will be reporting frequently from the courtroom.
The Deadline Interview: Nicole Wallace
Global Breakout: India’s ‘Hunkkaar’
We love spotlighting Indian streaming hits via Global Breakouts and Hunkkaar felt a shoo-in. This “algorithm-breaking” hit exec produced by Priyanka Chopra is about a teenage girl who accuses a powerful spiritual leader of sexual assault, triggering a chain of reaction that becomes a national story. JioHotstar’s show landed binge audiences, quite the feat for subject matter so dark. “I’m always drawn to stories that have depth and meaning, and Hunkkaar is one such story,” says Chopra. >>>Read The Breakout
The Essentials
🌶️ Hot One: Ralph Fiennes, Tessa Ross and Studiocanal are behind Unbeaten, a biopic of legendary British horse racing trainer Henry Cecil.
🌶️ Another: Ridley Scott collaborator Alexander Witt is directing Feathering the Wind, a coming-of-age feature set against the high-speed world of competitive youth sailboat racing.
🇺🇸 Shocker in the States: Netflix’s content chief Bela Bajaria has been replaced by Peter Rice. Our editor-in-chief Nellie Andreeva’s analysis here.
⛺ Festival latest: Mel had this rundown of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, with local breakouts, Oscar contenders and emerging talents.
🏆 Awards latest: The European Film Awards shortlisted La Bola Negra, Woman Unknown and NAZA for big prizes.
🌆 Skydancing: We had this rundown of the who’s who (for now) at Skydance’s international business, and then broke news that Skydance UK network 5’s much-loved content boss Ben Frow is leaving.
⚽ Goaaaaal: Before news of 1,000 layoffs broke, Netflix struck an intriguing deal to show World Cup soccer in Spain and Andorra.
🌐 YouTube: Meet the content creators making waves in Europe.
🤝 Done deal: Mediawan partnered with Reese Witherspoon to buy her Hello Sunshine outfit from Candle Media.
🏪 Setting up shop: Lionsgate Play boss Rohit Jain launched Hindi and Punjabi streamer Tiger TV in India.
🪧 Protest: Lupin star Omar Sy voiced his support for high school student protests sweeping France.
🍿 Box office: The first two movies under Skydance – Legendary’s Street Fighter and Clockwork’s limited re-release of The Devils – hit theaters around the world this weekend.
🎥 Trail: Check out A Long Winter, the Andrew Haigh adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s short story starring Fred Hechinger, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Caitriona Balfe, Kit Connor and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai.