International Insider: Analyzing AI; AFM To Vegas; Tales In Tokyo

“Welcome to this week’s edition of Deadline International Insider! As we navigate through the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, it’s clear that AI is not just a buzzword but a transformative force reshaping industries worldwide.”

If you hadn’t guessed already — and I hope you had — the intro above was written by a robot. But it feeds nicely into what we’ve been writing about in the film and TV world this week, so the real Max Goldbart is here and the non-AI-created newsletter is below. Or is it? Please do sign up.

Analyzing Artificial Intelligence

Millions of strands: Each week it feels as though there are immeasurable AI-themed strands we could be pulling on and the last couple have certainly been no different. Debates continue to rage within local and global industries around the ethics, usefulness and necessity of artificial intelligence and the developing, invasive tech was a constant source of chatter at MIPCOM, which came complete with an AI Summit. That conversation was fuelled by news breaking on the first day of the market about a new near-£100,000 ($130,000) per year Head of Generative AI Innovation role being advertised at UK net ITV, which certainly got delegates and scribes talking. The new gig has attracted backlash bordering on vitriol and was addressed by other broadcasting bods over the past few days coupled with a semi-volte face from ITV, while there has been plenty more happening in the growing AI resurrection space.

Is it a big deal?: The ITV job ad sparked immediate response from well-known writers including Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee and Big Boys’ Jack Rooke along with the Writers Guild of Great Britain, described variously as “incredibly depressing”, “unethical” and leading to “cost-cutting in dehumanizing ways.” While no longer accepting applications, the ad remains on LinkedIn. It called for someone to lead on AI strategy development along with “Creative AI Innovation” that includes “spearheading AI-driven innovations in content creation for TV shows, films, and digital-first content.” ITV sources have sought to downplay the AI element of the role (probably not helped by AI being in the title) and have pointed out that the post is wide-ranging and sits within the data and tech team, while clarifying that no writers on ITV shows are about to be replaced by robots (the job is for the ITV network whereas writers would typically be engaged by production companies). But this didn’t stop the backlash, nor did it prevent Channel 4 programs boss Ian Katz taking a bit of a dig at his commercial broadcasting rival during a press lunch in London on Monday when he said “we’re not planning to get AI to write our dramas anytime soon.” Katz’s elaboration, mind, didn’t seem to put Channel 4 that far away from ITV in terms of the way it wants to leverage the tech. He was quick to point out that there are plenty AI tools that can be useful. “I get 30 or 40 program pitches across my desk every week and I guarantee 30 or 40 of those have AI in them [in some way],” he said. “Producers are routinely using AI to do the kind of thing that some poor researcher probably spent hours and hours doing before.” After Katz’s comments and with pressure building, ITV was pressed into making a further statement, with Katz’s opposite number Kevin Lygo and studios chief Julian Bellamy saying “we are not bringing in an AI expert to replace writers or other creators of television programmes.” While likely cursing LinkedIn’s job ad page through gritted teeth, the pair said that, “like many companies,” ITV is “cautiously considering use cases for new generative AI technologies across our business focusing on leveraging GenAI to streamline workflows, automate routine tasks, enhance our creative processes and gain valuable insights from data.” The whole debacle is reflective of the nuanced place that AI finds itself in the TV creation world at this present moment.

Parkinson & Cushing & Downey Jr: Katz was speaking just a few hours after Night Train Digital and producer Deep Fusion Films unveiled a world first in AI replication with a podcast hosted by the late, great British chat show host Michael Parkinson, in which ‘Parky’ will have a completely unscripted conversation with a guest as the tech leverages his back-catalog of more than 2,000 interviews. The very same day, Robert Downey Jr, who is currently starring in a Broadway play about a Nobel Prize lauded novelist who uses AI to pen a new work, generated headlines when he said his law firm will “be very active” were anyone to want to clone his MCU likeness. Reps of former horror icon Peter Cushing will be all too aware of this as they are currently tied up in a legal battle after Cushing was resurrected in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story a decade ago. But that has not stopped Deep Fusion from also recreating the former Baron Frankenstein and Doctor Van Helsing for its new Sky doc Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters, which dropped yesterday. Deep Fusion founder Ben Field stressed to me that this particular doc resurrection has secured all necessary permissions and is “tied to [Cushing’s] significance to the Hammer legacy.” It remains to be seen which big stars are the next to become involved in the artificial space (check this exclusive AI recreation of Ernest Shackleton’s voice, for one), but one thing’s for sure: This debate ain’t goin’ away anytime soon. The force is strong with this one.

Interesting Timing For AFM

We think there’s something else happening on the 5th: A new-look American Film Market (AFM) is set to launch in Las Vegas on Tuesday, unfortunately for the market organizers, however, movies certainly won’t be the central topic on the Strip next week. On the same day as the relaunch, U.S. voters head to the polls for the 2024 presidential election. Still, weary international sellers are set to descend on Sin City to sell their wares, as the venue moves from LA to Vegas. High-profile titles heading for the market include Lone Wolf, an action-thriller that has Mark Pellington signed on to direct with Oscar nominees Lily Gladstone (Killers Of The Flower Moon) and Bryan Cranston (Trumbo) starring. Ted Hope and his Double Hope banner will produce alongside Christine Vachon and her Killer Films banner. Kit Harington and Billy Magnussen are starring in Steve Pink’s horse racing comedy Chariot, which The Exchange will shop, while Penélope Cruz and Johnny Depp will lead Day Drinker for Lionsgate. The studio is selling international rights at AFM. Check back with us next week here for news from the market, and coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris’s election race against Donald Trump will be available here.

Inside ‘Desert Warrior’

Rallying cry: Jake headed to the desert this week. Well not literally, but certainly with plenty gusto as he dove deep behind the scenes of a movie that has been in the ether for several years now and has been the subject of much rumor. Desert Warrior was unveiled in 2021 as a rallying cry for Saudi Arabian filmmaking and was not without splashy talent, assembling a team that featured Sir Ben Kingsley, Anthony Mackie and director Rupert Wyatt. The MBC-backed vision of ancient Arabia was supposed to signal a new era for Saudi Arabian production, but three years on we still have no movie. Jake charted what’s been happening in between, spotlighting creative issues, culture clashes, facility woes and some below-par screen testers. It makes for quite the read and begs the question of whether 2025 will be the year of the Desert Warrior. “We have always held a strong belief in the potential of this movie, and it is gratifying to see that it has evolved into an experience that we, as a group, are genuinely proud to share,” an MBC spokesperson said. Click here and make your mind up for yourself.

Eagle Eyed M&A

Et tu, Turton?: It may have been All3Media boss Jane Turton laying down a marker for upcoming M&A at MIPCOM, but it was Turton’s competitors who were making all the moves this week. During a busy past few days that have signaled the return of a bustling M&A market in earnest, ITV Studios snapped up Walter Iuzzolino’s Eagle Eye Drama, which makes The Couple Next Door (pictured), and Sony Pictures Television acquired Hot Sauce, the new label from Blue Lights creators Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson. Both moves are shrewd. Since launching in 2018, Eagle Eye has gained a reputation for making returnable, sellable fare such as Hotel Portofino and Professor T — shows that ‘keep the lights on’ and are in vogue in this squeezed marketplace. Lawn and Patterson, meanwhile, are two of the most sought-after names in British screenwriting, and the BBC’s Blue Lights is already commissioned up to a fourth season, while being extremely sellable. Sony doesn’t dip into the drama market too often, but when it does it tends to make a splash, and the group now has an enviable stable featuring Left Bank, Bad Wolf and Eleven alongside Hot Sauce. ITV Studios, meanwhile, has had a big year of M&A as it adds Hot Sauce to Sherlock producer Hartswood. Whispers abound at MIPCOM over which thriving production companies will be targeted by the big beasts and focus now switches to Turton’s All3Media, after she teased label acquisitions or launches over the “next few months or years” during her Cannes session.

Tales In Tokyo

Secrets of martial arts: Eyes turn to Tokyo this week for the other TIFF (move over Toronto), with Sara and Liz on the ground for us during another buzzy edition. One of the best things about this particular TIFF is having the spotlight placed on the greats of Asian cinema and you need look no further than Hong Kong martial arts legend Sammo Hung, prolific Japanese martial arts actor Yasuaki Kurata and action director Kenji Tanigaki, who discussed martial arts cinema and shared behind-the-scenes anecdotes together during their fun session. In a year in which two of world cinema’s oldest industries, Japan and Italy, have signed a long-awaited co-production treaty, jury members were on hand to talk about the importance of preserving the cinema heritage on day one earlier this week, with president Tony Leung Chiu-Wai pointing to the impact of the Fellinis and the Kurosawas on younger audiences. These treaties are becoming more commonplace in Asia and it is TIFFCOM, the content market that sits alongside TIFF, which drives much of this forwards. Liz’s behind the scenes look at TIFFCOM, which has a new home at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center in Hamamatsucho, discovers a market finding its feet in a busy fall festival season. Check that one here and the rest of our coverage here. TIFF finishes November 6.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Agenda-setter from Breaking Baz with Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s new musical The Illusionist directed by Sunset Boulevard’s Jamie Lloyd.

🌶️ Another Hot One: Jessica Alba has joined Michael Morrone, Anthony Hopkins and Andy Garcia in Maserati: The Brothers.

🌶️ Still hot: Netflix may have found its next Baby Reindeer in Weather Girl, the latest buzzy project to emerge from the Edinburgh Fringe.

🎤 The big interview: Stewart sat down with Luis Lomenha and Fernando Meirelles to talk about Netflix Brazil’s Children of the Church Steps.

🥧 Bigger slice of pie: I chatted with TV vets Adrian Wills and Simon Brown, who are trying to help content makers seek more residuals from the SVoDs.

🏕️ Festivals latest: Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig continued its award-winning run with the Arab Critics Award at El Gouna, where Mel has been reporting on the ground in Egypt.

🏕️ More festivals: Stick with El Gouna, where Moon Knight director Mohamed Diab revealed fresh details about new feature Lion.

🤑 Fine: UK regulator Ofcom put money where its mouth is by fining GB News to the tune of £100,000 ($130,000).

🇺🇸 ElectionLine: The big day is nearly upon us. Check out all our content over here.

🍿 Box Office: Venom: The Last Dance swung to a $175M global opening helped by overseas.

🤝 Done deal: The first big-screen adaptation of Aussie author Anh Do’s work is coming via a deal between Rose Byrne’s Dollhouse and Foundation Media Partners. 

Zac Ntim contributed to this week’s International Insider. It was written by Max Goldbart and edited by Jesse Whittock.