International Insider: “Warnamount” shocker; decrease at the box office; BAFTA adaptations

Hello Insider, Max Goldbart takes you into the Christmas holidays with the latest news and analysis of the year. It was great. Thanks to the regular readers who take time out of their busy schedules to delve deeper into this topic each week. As our colleagues across the pond like to say: We appreciate you. We’ll be back with much more in 2024.

“Warnamount” shocker

Bob meets Dave: Save some of your Christmas sympathy this year for media reporters around the world who let out a collective, pained cry in the middle of the holiday season when news broke Thursday of a bombshell meeting between Warner Bros.’ David Zaslav. Discovery (WBD). and Bob Bakish of Paramount Global. Of course, this only means one thing. The ink is barely dry on the WB-D merger and yet the defining story of 2024 may now be the next phase, with a possible WBD-P on the horizon. Although sources stress that the talks are “preliminary” and Shari Redstone is still involved with the company, the mega-merger makes sense as two giants do their best to adapt to an increasingly difficult market while pushing new streaming services and existing linear operations management. . Should a merger take place, it would of course have major international implications, such as WBD, whose creation has led to thousands of layoffs around the world and the departure of seniors, while the international launch of newly launched streamer Max is still to come. All actors involved have had a strong presence outside the US for decades. The terms of the WBD merger mean that Paramount’s addition to the roster can’t happen until after April, but it will obviously be something to watch closely. Plus, this fantastic long read from four of Deadline’s top colleagues explains the pros and cons of the potential deal with a healthy dose of skepticism. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Leave at the ticket office

Effects of a stroke: Gower Street Analytics’ box office forecasts for the next year are released in mid-December and this time there was some bad news. The first post-pandemic decline, according to Nancy’s article, was due to the London-based company’s annual forecast, with Gower predicting that the global box office will fall by around 5% next year. If this value continues, the year will be -20% below the average of the last three years before the pandemic (2017-2019). But it’s not all bad news. Dimitrios Mitsinikos, CEO of Gower Street, explained the reasons for this, saying that the expected decline is in no way a sign of waning interest in films, but is simply a direct result of limited product availability following the strikes, while also pointing to the number of movies It moves release dates to 2025. “With July 2023 being a record month at the global box office, we know there is strong audience demand for compelling theatrical releases,” he added. Keep an eye on Nancy’s weekly box office rounds next year to see if Gower Street’s prediction comes true.

Menu: Speaking of Nancy’s box office coverage, this morning she wrote about the shortlist of fifteen international films that will compete for next year’s Oscar for Best International Film. Read more about the more surprising tips and see the full list of Nancy’s always up-to-date reporting here.

“Emmanuelle” returns

Challenge and Liberation: Earlier this week we gave you a first look at the Audrey Diwan remake Emmanuelle. Diwan’s English language debut is highly anticipated and viewers will be excited to see what direction she takes after the success of the second film. Happen. Andreas got an insight in this direction during an exclusive conversation with Audrey. Although plot details have been kept secret, the contemporary film will take place in a luxury hotel where Emmanuelle (Noémie Merlant) works and the film will “explore her search for pleasure”. Audrey spoke about the challenge and liberation of making the remake of the 1970s cult film starring Sylvia Kristel. “When my producers presented the book to me, I found it interesting but initially had no intention of turning it into a film,” she reveals. Much more here.

Rob and Ian from accounting

Breakout: Few could have predicted that “the” breakout comedy of 2023 could be an Australian series that begins with a car crash complete with nipple flashes. But few could have predicted many of the things that happened this year and on Binge Colin from accounting monumental success is certainly one of them. Jesse had an exclusive interview with producers Ian Collie and Rob Gibson, fresh from the second series of the sitcom written by Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, while the cameras were rolling. With its watchable atmosphere, easy-to-love characters, and addictive “do you want?” storyline (not to mention the dog), Rob and Ian had a front row seat as the reviews and accolades poured in and they recently signed with CAA. Here they talk about the difficulties of selling comedy in Australia, future projects and what the show ended up being called: Colin.

BAFTA adaptations

Streamers beware: BAFTA likes an adaptation. This week’s rule change for the Best Picture category was welcome as the awards body seeks to raise minimum theatrical release requirements and bring them in line with the Oscars. From 2025, films must be shown publicly for the first time to a paying audience on at least 50 commercial screens in the UK for a minimum of seven days, e.g. B. on 50 Widest Point of Release (WPOR) sites or at least 350 impressions. The update appears to be primarily aimed at streamers, both commercial and arthouse streamers, and broadcasters such as Sky, who are becoming increasingly active in major film purchases, Andreas wrote. Longer and bigger cinema screenings can only be a good thing. Anecdotally, I’ve talked a lot lately with friends outside the industry who didn’t even know a particular film was even coming out because they felt these films were being uploaded to streaming platforms without much fanfare. BAFTA’s move could bring about a small change here.

The most necessary

????️ Hot: The crown Producer Left Bank can’t always get what it wants as FX pulls the Rolling Stones series from development.

????️ One second: Disney+ Hotstar is making a scripted series on the power struggle in Bollywood.

????️ Another one: Jonathan Pryce joined Steve Coogan in Peter Cattaneo and 42s. The penguin lesson.

???? West point: Nicole Scherzinger has her sights set on Broadway Sunset Blvd Revival, according to Baz’s insightful outlook on London theatre.

⛺ Last festival: Martin Scorsese is honored with the Berlinale’s Honorary Golden Bear.

⛺ Other festivals: Agnieszka Holland Green border And The farmers will accompany the Polish Kinoteka Film Festival in London.

???? Set up shop: Leonine opened an animation studio and increased her stake in Toon2Tango.

???? U-turn: From British Airways, which revived a Jewish sitcom after it was initially canceled due to the war between Israel and Hamas.

✖️ Closed: The news channel of the oldest state broadcaster in Poland, from which the TVP bosses were removed.

???? Forgiveness?: Laurence Fox’s misogynistic tirade about a female journalist topped Ofcom’s complaint list in 2023.

????️ Registered: The one from Netflix Search for Ola Star Yasmina El-Abd, who signed with Artist International Group.