International Insider: Depp Travels to Cannes; Disney EMEA discount; British studios crippled; ‘DAM’ opens SA floodgates; ‘M3GAN’ creators in profile

Hello Insiders, Jesse Whittock back in the hot seat. Johnny Depp, Disney and a bizarre British government agency called the Valuation Office Agency were in international film and TV news this week. Be sure to sign up for the Insider newsletter by clicking here. Let’s go.

Depp goes to Cannes

Cannes, you dig it: Zac Ntim with this report… The 76th Cannes Film Festival kicks off in just over a month and news is pouring in from the Croisette this week as festival organizers prepare the official selection press, confirmed for Tuesday 13 April. This year’s festival takes place May 16-27 and we now have our opening film: Johnny Depp’s comeback film Joan of Barry. The French-language film, directed and starring Maïwenn, will have its world premiere on May 16 and will be released in French cinemas the same day. Depp plays King Louis XV. and speaks French in the film, which is based on the life of Jeanne du Barry, the last royal mistress of Louis XV. at the court of Versailles. The film’s debut on the Croisette was long anticipated, but it remains a bold and somewhat controversial decision, marking Depp’s first film role in three years following the conclusion of his tumultuous defamation trial against Amber Heard.

Star Power: Also confirming that Martin Scorsese will join Maïwenn and Depp on the Croisette, debuting his latest work, Killer of the Flower Moon, on May 20 with stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Disney’s Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fortune, takes over the festival on May 18. Mr. Indy himself, Harrison Ford and director James Mangold will walk the red carpet at the premiere, to a soundtrack by John Williams. The festival also offers a career tribute to Ford, 15 years after his debut Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. With only the three films above confirmed, it’s shaping up to be a very busy year on the Croisette. That’s likely to upset some industry insiders, who quietly said the event has gradually ceded star power to fall festivals like Venice and Toronto. Here and here we’ve listed some of the other hit movies we hear could be in the mix. Visit Deadline when the celebrations begin and read the full story Joan of Barry here in the meantime.

Disney EMEA clips

support, support: Disney announced a massive company-wide reorganization and downsizing in February as the combination of its all-in bet on streaming profitability, declining advertising and falling stock prices caused major headaches for CEO Bob Iger. Iger confirmed that 7,000 employees would leave, with the first of three expected layoffs now underway in the US. London headquarters and other EMEA outposts brace for bad news. Rumor has it that right after the Oscars, Iger traveled to London to talk to the best wind players. Although we do not know the nature of these conversations, we can assume that the conversation was about cost cutting.

What we know: The staff anticipates downsizing and layoffs of approximately 5,000 Disney employees outside the United States. Disney+, which has the most international teams, is the most obvious place to fall, but we hear many other divisions are expecting an involvement. “There will undoubtedly be cuts, so we are waiting for names and numbers of people,” a source told us. Of course, Disney isn’t the only American giant being forced to make tough decisions to keep the economy going, and it’s not all doom and gloom with companies like Disney+ Germany announcing a new original this week. Also note that Disney is holding its Star Wars Celebration Europe in London this Easter weekend. Thousands of Jedi disciples are at the ExCel Center right now, and our intrepid reporter Zac is on hand to catch the best news. Read more here, while our full report on the EMEA cuts can be found here.

British studios crippled

Stressful issue: Talk to any Brit and they’ll tell you their bills are going up almost every month at the moment. The British studios are certainly not immune to this, which has now been overthrown in the sub-regions by a so-called “studio tax”. Jake has been following this story for the past few months as studio bosses got the government to reconsider a plan that has now raised their property taxes to potentially fatal levels. The Valuation Office agency (those people again) this week officially released an update to their “Approximate Values” which they use to calculate non-domestic property prices in England and Wales, pushing prices higher. Pinewood and Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden pay high eight-figure fees, while indies such as Twickenham Film Studios have quadrupled rates. There is a mix of confusion, fear and anger among studio executives, but they remain hopeful that the worst of the fallout can be reversed. Otherwise, there are fears that the additional costs will be passed on to manufacturers, making the UK’s thriving manufacturing sector less attractive to outside investors. Much more details here.

South Africa breaks out

‘DAM’ straight ahead: We traveled to South Africa (via Zoom) to interview filmmaker Alex Yazbek about his glamorous psychological thriller series DAM for our latest Global Breakouts feature on Tuesday. What you will read in our editorial is a fascinating look at both the Showtime Original and South African production and society in general. Yazbek reveals how his show, which follows a young woman who returns to South Africa from abroad for her father’s funeral before things turn strange, supernatural and complicated, attempts to break the various rules set by the country’s production company , to break – especially with characters of different races, interacting through danger and history rather than through stereotypes and clichés that are not meant to offend. South Africa is a country with a difficult and sometimes terrible political and social past, so it is striking how DAM try – and succeed – in doing something else. As Yazbek tells us: “I will not let my guilt manipulate me.” Go deeper.

‘M3GAN’ creators on NZ

M3GAN brand: As Avatar: the way of water broke box office records, another film shot in New Zealand unexpectedly hit the box office, M3GAN. Diana sat down with the makers of the cheesy cult horror film to discuss why New Zealand’s Auckland is becoming one of the world’s top film and TV locations. For all the Hollywood dudes who think New Zealand is just too far from home, producer Adam Hendricks noted that Auckland reminded him of LA “in a lot of ways”. The Blumhouse and Atomic Monster production began streaming on Peacock in the US last month after earning more than $176 million at the box office worldwide. Lots of wisdom here so read on.

The most necessary

🌶️ Hot: Around jam sandwiches! The long awaited Paddington in Peru Filming begins in July, as Andreas revealed on Monday.

🌶️ And one more: Paolo Sorrentino starts shooting a new movie in June. Details are scarce, but here’s what we know.

🌶️ A spicy third: Directed by Siddarth Anand Tiger vs Pathan, the latest spy universe franchise from Yash Raj Films. Liz with it.

🌶️ Other: Cameron Britton and Taylor Russell are the latest names linked to Na Hong-Jin’s Korean thriller hopeto Andreas’s double dig.

🌶️ One more, please:kill Eve Writer Georgia Lester covers the kidnapping of British model Chloe Ayling for the BBC. Jake was the first.

🦁 Rename: MGM’s international streaming service is now called MGM+ International.

🗞️ message type: ITN’s exciting producer Chris Shaw looks back on 40 years with the British news organisation. He sat down with Jake.

🤝🏽 cultural pact: Amazon will work with the Indian government to boost the country’s creative industries.

🎭 Enter new shelves: Winner of the Olivier Award Standing on the edge of heaven will move to the Gillian Lynne Theater early next year. Nice of Baz.

🚪 Leave: Nicky Gray, Fremantle’s long-time head of HR, as revealed by Max.

🏪 New Store #1: Richard Bacon launched Yes Yes Media with an eclectic mix of supporters.

🏪 New Store #2: British VFX company Jellyfish Pictures has opened an outpost in Mumbai, Zac revealed.

🍿 box office: The Super Mario Brothers MovieOutside the US, Just Peachy’s revenue is skyrocketing, Nancy reported.

Zac Ntim contributed to this week’s Insider.