Hello insiders. Jesse Whittock is back this week to take you through the week’s biggest news, with coverage from LA, Greece and the World Cup in Qatar. Here we go.
The world is watching Qatar
World Cup Concerns: The biggest sporting tournament in the world, the World Cup kicks off on November 20 and there is no shortage of controversy. Host country Qatar has a poor human rights record, which is now more than ever in the spotlight. Max and I have spent the last few weeks exploring how broadcasters, sponsors and pundits will perceive the event given Qatar’s disappointing record on LGBTQ+ and women’s rights and its appalling treatment of migrant workers. Who is boycotting, who is speaking out and what campaigns are running? It is clear that TV stations will have to take over their coverage – the tournament itself will replace the regular European football seasons in November and December – but to what extent should they expose wrongdoing? The World Cup is expected to be one of the most watched sporting events of all time, so it’s a moral maze for us all. Read on for the big picture.
AGS – All quiet on the west coast
Back but no big bang: In contrast to the hustle and bustle of Cannes in May, the first American private film market in three years last week was a quiet affair, Andreas reported this week. Notable projects were launched, including Guy Ritchie’s WWII pic The Ministry of Unjust Warfareand A24 impressed with a slate, including a wrestling photo of Zac Efron iron claw and Kristen Stewart Crime love lies and blooms However, few major theatrical releases were seen and no major deals were announced. As Andreas noted, most film markets these days close at least one major studio or streamer deal, but that wasn’t the case with AFM. Santa Monica didn’t even have the usual parties, so the rumor mill must have produced less gossip than we journalists are used to from the cocktail receptions in the industry. There are several reasons for this: International buyers are traveling less and less, the declining world economy and currency problems are part of it. Some argue that the AFM is also sick, but one US vendor made a statement I hear frequently about TV markets like Mipcom: “Until someone comes up with a better plan, the AFM will continue to be an important and very useful exercise for us.” Even the Californian sun doesn’t hurt. Read the full report here.
Greece is the key word
Agog about Agora: On the intrepid Zac Ntim, reporting from Greece: The Thessaloniki Film Festival is Greece’s premier film event, but on Thursday the festival’s Agora taxi bar launched a new International Series section, featuring a collection of masterclasses and discussions with local and international producers. The series sidebar was created to capitalize on the current energy around series production in Greece after recent successes such as that of Christoforos Papakaliatis maestro, which became the first Greek show to be picked up by Netflix. The show will air on Netflix in Greece and Cyprus on December 19 ahead of a global release in 2023. Agora also hosted a masterclass dedicated to acting, with a rare public appearance by prominent French agent Laurent Grégoire, who talked about his career. was an inspiration for the popular series Call my agent. You can read the full summary of the master class here. Thessaloniki lasts until Sunday (November 13).
Zuckerberg’s “last resort”
Meta offer staff: Even the biggest social media companies can’t avoid the digital downturn of 2022, and Facebook parent Meta announced its biggest (well, first actually) layoffs this week. An incredible 11,000 employees are laid off. Add that to the roughly 4,000 Twitter employees that Elon Musk laid off and you suddenly have a very swollen tech job market. Not the most festive news as we head into the holidays. The face of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, wrote a lengthy note to employees lamenting how his own business failures, the general economy and increased competition have led to much lower revenues. “I view layoffs as a last resort,” Zuckerberg wrote in his note — not that it will bring much comfort to those now looking for new jobs. Budget cuts are affecting both the US mothership and international offices, and there are many more to come. Read my report here.
A blue day for Twitter users: New “chief tweet” Elon Musk’s plan to make users pay for their highly touted blue checks — which anyone can verify with $8 a month — began to spiral into predictable chaos this week. Many have already moved to the fledgling social site Mastodon (Masto, what you ask? Read more here), but ultra-free speech advocate Musk believes this is a way for the platform to make some much-needed money. Naturally, there were concerns that people would register under false names and pose as public figures: “Confirmed” reports of former US President George Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair both claiming they were “missing it, Iraqis.” to kill.” . ‘LeBron James’ requested a trade with the Lakers within hours of the system going live. Taking a long-term view, Musk tweeted, “Remember, Twitter will do a lot of stupid things in the coming months do. We’re going to keep what works and change what doesn’t.” Read Jill Goldsmith’s update on Twitterland here.
The M&A team
Can everyone stop buying everything: On Wednesday, everyone on international television decided to buy someone else. The morning started with the latest news that Banijay has taken a majority stake Our sons Co-produced by MoviePlus Productions, one of Israel’s best-known indie companies. Hours later, Fremantle sprung into action and revealed that it had acquired 72 Films, the production company behind successful docs such as 9/11: A Day in America, The Elon Musk Show and Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story. Just when I thought I might have a chance to have a cup of coffee, BBC Studios revealed the purchase of another UK-based unscripted company, Voltage TV. Didn’t anyone tell these people it wasn’t Black Friday in two weeks? Seriously, M&A specialists have been predicting a mini-consolidation boom for some time, and we’re starting to see results.
The essentials
️ Hot piece: Sansa Stark becomes jewel thief: Sophie Turner leads new ITVX drama Johannaas I revealed on Wednesday.
️ Other: Theater director John Tiffany is adapting Nicole Taylor’s Wild Rose as a stage musical based on the story of Baz
️ And this: Five up-and-coming Canadian talents launched a quirky indie music feature We forgot to break upas Mel first reported.
️ One for luck: Philip Glenister and Steffan Rhodri star in a time-jumping BBC crime drama Steeltown Murderswe gave it away.
Royal Return: German historical drama from Netflix The Empress.
📈 Reviews: The crown Season 5 debuted on Netflix and episode 1 attracted 1.1 million viewers on its first day.
In development: The tourist Highview Productions co-producer hires Pip Williams The Dictionary of Lost Words to TV.
New banner: ProSiebenSat.1 brought together its international production resources under the new name Seven.One Studios.
️ Exclusive clip: Watch an exclusive clip from Sky’s upcoming Formula 1 documentary Villeneuve Pironic.
And finally: RIP to British comedy great Leslie Phillips who has died aged 98.
Zac Ntim contributed to this week’s Insider
Writer: Jesse Whittock
Source: Deadline
