International Insider: Drama In UK Drama; Cannes Plan Underway; Studiocanal Charts TV Path

Welcome back, Insider crew. Jesse Whittock taking you through another eventful week in film and TV. Let’s begin.

Drama In UK Drama

Antitrust the process: Not great news for the UK’s fabled TV drama community this week as we brought news that the antitrust investigation spooking producers will be prolonged for at least six months – and likely far longer. A reminder: the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) probe is examining whether BBC Studios, ITV Studios and four other storied indies colluded by informally fixing freelancers’ wage rates. The extension will see the CMA implement “further investigatory steps” and assessment of evidence” for the next six months, and those Max spoke with said the authority has an enormous wealth of evidence to get through. “Stressed” and “jittery” was the vibe described by one connected source about those being probed, who now face months and months of worry that they will eventually be found guilty of breaching competition law, although at present we understand no assumption is being made to this effect. Drama producers desperate to get back to the day job won’t be best pleased, and for those outside the investigation, there is still that nagging fear that it could be expanded and they could be next. Max’s initial analysis is here.

Loach latest: That wasn’t it for drama in British circles this week, as Jake revealed the latest from the bitter internal dispute at TV and film union Bectu. Director Ken Loach has been restored to a decision-making role after he was suspended last year following a 60-year association with the body. Others were suspended and six more faced disciplinary measures at Loach’s Writers, Producers and Directors branch after a row broke out over the response to the resignation of a representative who wrote a critical letter about the boss of Bectu’s parent union, Prospect. The situation is the latest flashpoint in the uneasy relationship that has existed within Bectu following its merger with Prospect in 2017. “We live to fight another day,” one source familiar with the matter told Jake after the branch members were reinstated.

Yes We Cannes

‘Second Act’ up first: We got our first solid look at the shape of this year’s Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday as French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux‘s comedy road movie Le Deuxième Acte (The Second Act) was set as the opening title. Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphaël Quenard star in the pic and will all be in attendance on the red carpet. Presented Out of Competition as a world premiere on the Croisette on Tuesday May 14, the four-part feature will be released in French cinemas on the same day. The film’s official synopsis reads: “Florence wants to introduce David, the man she’s madly in love with, to her father Guillaume. But David isn’t attracted to Florence and wants to throw her into the arms of his friend Willy. The four characters meet in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.” Dupieux — who was last at Cannes in 2022 with Out of Competition title Smoking Causes Coughing — joins this year’s lineup alongside Aussie filmmaking maverick George Miller, who is taking his latest Mad Max concoction to the Croisette. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke will play in an Out of Competition Gala spot on Wednesday May 15. Miller was last in Cannes in 2022 with Three Thousand Years of Longing with Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba, Out of Competition. The Cannes premiere for the fifth instalment in the Mad Max franchise comes nine years after Warners successfully launched Mad Max: Fury Road at the fest in 2015. This year’s competition titles will be announced next week on April 11 at the ever-important press conference led by festival chief Theirry Fremaux. Greta Gerwig will preside over the main jury for those titles. Picks we have in the running include new features from Athina Rachel Tsangari, Andrea Arnold, Paolo Sorrentino, and David Cronenberg. Check out our full predictions here and here. And if you’re looking for something more immediate from Cannes, Max and Stewart will be hitting the Croisette from tomorrow for Canneseries and the final ever MIPTV. Keep your eyes peeled for coverage.

Studiocanal Charts TV Path

A-OK with M-K: M-K Kennedy’s rise in the European TV scene may have gone somewhat under the radar but that looks likely to change. Netflix’s European production boss was yesterday revealed to have taken up the lucrative role of Studiocanal TV boss and attention now turns to the direction she may take the Paddington and It’s a Sin outfit’s small screen offering. Her role at Netflix was intriguing. She quietly went about building up production hubs across the continent over the past seven years, forming teams that made the likes of Lupin, Berlin, Society of the Snow and All Quiet on the Western Front. At Studiocanal, she takes the helm of a division making the likes of Paris Has Fallen and Thomas Vinterberg’s Families Like Ours, as she replaces Françoise Guyonnet, who has moved into the supercharged kids division. Speaking to Deadline in 2022, Guyonnet had talked about how Studiocanal was taking advantage of the barriers breaking down between TV and film, evidenced neatly by the television version of the popular Has Fallen franchise starring Gerard Butler. In a market experiencing money woes and buyer strife, M-K now takes up the hefty mantle.

Pod One Out

‘News Agents’ changes hands: It’s been a big week for Emily Maitlis, the former BBC journalist and broadcaster. The film based on her legendary car crash interview with Prince Andrew launches today on Netflix (read Pete Hammond’s review here), with Gillian Anderson playing her. However, it’s Maitlis’ current role as co-presenter of British political podcast The News Agents that made Deadline headlines today, as Jake revealed behind-the-scenes strife. Dino Sofos, who co-created the popular podcast, is no longer making the show, with Jake reporting that News Agents owner Global was unhappy Sofos’ Persephonica had launched a rival podcast, Political Currency, hosted by former UK politicians Ed Balls and George Osborne. Dubbed the “Prince of Podcasts” in UK media circles, Sofos was integral to luring Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall away from BBC presenting roles to launch the show, but our sources have said he has not been involved in its production for some time. Global, which owns numerous UK radio stations, has expanded the Agents brand with The Sports Agents and The News Agents — USA, which Maitlis and Sopel present.

Maitlis on Netflix’s ‘Scoop‘: In the past hour, we’ve published an exclusive interview with Maitlis, who is one of the UK’s most prominent media faces — she was the Edinburgh TV Festival’s MacTaggart lecture giver in 2022, as well as the Duke of York’s tenacious Newsnight interviewer. She said she has stayed well out of Scoop‘s development and production, adding: “The last thing they want is me peeking around the edges.” Not only that, but she’s also been authoring a version of the tale for Amazon. She divulged that she has seen and approves of Ruth Wilson’s version of her in Prime Video’s upcoming TV series A Very Royal Scandal, but hasn’t hey sat down to catch Scoop. Don’t fear, Netflix, Maitlis promised she would “get round to it at some stage stage.” Full interview here.

Netanyahu Vows To Block Al Jazeera

News net threatened: Israeli lawmakers this week passed legislation allowing government to temporarily block foreign media outlets deemed a risk to national security. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately vowed to shutter Qatar-based Al Jazeera, as Nancy reported on Monday. He claimed it was a “terrorist channel” and would imminently stop its activity. In response, Al Jazeera, a huge news resource for the Arab world, said it held Netanyahu “responsible for the safety of its staff and network premises around the world,” adding that “such slanderous accusations” would not stop it from doing its work. Bans will last up to a reported 45 days at a time under the terms of the law, which drew consternation from the likes of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Even the White House said it was “concerning” if true. In another horrifying week in the Israel-Hamas War, President Joe Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” after an Israel Defense Force attack killed seven World Central Kitchen team members distributing food in Gaza. Israel has expressed “extreme sorrow” over the deaths and claimed they were not intentional, but anger is still palpable around the world as the violence continues. Attention now turns to whether powerful nations like the U.S. and UK continue to send arms to Israel.

Cinema For Gaza: In related news, TV and film names such as The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer, Tilda Swinton and Succession‘s Brain Cox donated unique gifts to Cinema For Gaza, a fundraising action supporting aid for people in the devastated Palestinian city. The auction had raised nearly $90,000 at press time.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Motherland actor Paul Ready is starring with Elliot Grihault in All That Glitters, a retelling of Romeo & Juliet set in a UK school.

🌶️ Another: Prime Video is reuniting Top End Wedding‘s Miranda Tapsell and Gwilym Lee in Australian rom-com series Top End Bub.

🌶️ Hot Down Under: Australia’s Stan boarded Chris Brancato’s crime drama, Hotel Cocaine. Stewart with the scoop.

📹 Casting: Danny Huston and four others joined Joel Kinnaman thriller Ice Fall, with filming underway in Bulgaria.

🤝🏻 Done deal: France’s Superprod Group acquired Luxembourg animation duo 352 and Mélusine Productions, per Mel’s exclusive.

🖊️ Signing: LA’s 3Point0 Labs signed Latino-focused Luz Films, the indie that co-produced Sundance darling In the Summers.

👩🏻 Advisor: Former Banijay UK CEO Lucinda Hicks is advising British network Channel 4 on its upcoming in-house productions division.

🏆 Awards: Io Capitano and There’s Still Tomorrow dominated the David di Donatello Award noms in Italy.

🏢 Setting up shop: House of Ninjas’ Kento Kaku and Dave Boyle teamed to create Japan-U.S. production house Signal181, per Anthony D’Alessandro.

🏢 Another shop: Dreaming Whilst Black producer Gina Lyons launched Gobby Girl Productions in the UK.

🎙️ Podcasting: WME’s London team added digital agent Millie Webber to focus on creators and podcasters.

🏖️ Sandy: The Sands International Film Festival will open with Naqqash Khalid’s debut feature In Camera and Harry Holland short Last Call.

🧑🏻‍⚖️ Jury: The Killing star Sofie Gråbøl will lead the jury at Canneseries.

⚽ Welcome to… Motherwell?: Ex-Netflix exec Erik Barmack is set to buy a stake in a Scottish Premier League team.