Latest news with #InStarland
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Rivals' Breakout Bella Maclean Cast in Ray Panthaki's Directorial Debut ‘In Starland' (Exclusive)
British actress Bella Maclean, best known to audiences for her role in the Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper's Rivals, has landed a lead role in Ray Panthaki's new indie, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. In Starland follows a middle-aged man, played by Sing Sing breakout Clarence Maclin, struggling to break free from the confines of his small town. That is, until, he meets a group of bold young artists — Maclean among them — that transform his perspective. Black-ish actor Marcus Scribner and Top Dog's Maxwell Cunningham will also star. More from The Hollywood Reporter Lea Massari, Italian Cinema's Anti-Diva, Dies at 91 Lux Pascal's Deluxe Debut Paprika Studios and Seefood TV Execs Talk Formats - and No, This Is (Mostly) Not About Cooking Shows Maclean made her television debut in BBC One's Silent Witness before joining the cast of season four of Netflix's Sex Education as school student Jem. In 2024, the young actress portrayed Agatha 'Taggie' O'Hara in Disney+ series Rivals, the overlooked daughter of Declan (Aidan Turner) and Maud (Victoria Smurfit) who struggles with dyslexia while trying to pursue culinary dreams. She's set to return in season two after the series was met with widespread critical acclaim. Panthaki's upcoming project, co-written with Jason Kavan, is his directorial debut. The British star has acted opposite Stephen Graham in Marcella (2016-2020) and Boiling Point (2021), the latter of which earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination, as well as Gangs of London (2020) and The Serpent Queen (2022), among other credits. Panthaki will produce In Starland alongside Daniel Khalili (Trespass Against Us) under their newly formed production company Le Bateau Lavoir, which succeeds Panthaki's Urban Way, Variety was first to report. Emmy-winning producer Daisy Allsop will also produce under her Archface banner. Production on In Starland got underway in Mississippi in April. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'We All Have Challenges of Monetization': Engagement, Money and the Impact of AI Take Center Stage at NATPE Budapest
Follow the money and follow the audience and its needs in the streaming age. That was one point that television industry leaders agreed on in Central and Eastern Europe at this week's NATPE Budapest, even if their specific strategies may differ. 'We are following people wherever they watch — whether it's linear, paid streaming or free streaming,' Levente Málnay, the Hungary-based managing director and executive vp, AMC Networks International, Central and Northern Europe, shared during a panel discussion with top industry players entitled 'View from the top: Where do we go from here?' 'And we follow the money, because it's key to identifying the proper revenue model.' More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Rivals' Breakout Bella Maclean Cast in Ray Panthaki's Directorial Debut 'In Starland' (Exclusive) Lea Massari, Italian Cinema's Anti-Diva, Dies at 91 Lux Pascal's Deluxe Debut Monetization, though, has been one key challenge, he highlighted. 'The output of this industry has never been this good and this rich. So if we just look at the amount of fiction programming, I don't know about you guys, but even if I'm up until 4 a.m., I still cannot watch everything I really would like to watch,' he shared. 'But the problem is: we all have challenges of monetization, so the audience is somehow not yet paying for all of it. So I guess our primary challenge is to figure out how to satisfy, at the same time, our great audience and also our shareholders.' Málnay believes that content is still king. 'The key is our fantastic content. Eventually, good content makes its way to viewers — wherever they are,' he told The Hollywood Reporter. 'And we do produce a lot: amazing fiction by our parent company in the U.S. I am incredibly proud of simulcasting such popular original productions as The Walking Dead: Dead City season two in most Central and Eastern European countries. And locally we have top sports, documentaries and cooking [shows] produced or commissioned by AMC in multiple languages with talent from all over the region.' Stella Litou, CEO of the Central European Media Enterprises (CME)-owned RTL Croatia and Pro Plus Slovenia, on the same panel emphasized that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to attract audiences. Lauding the launch of the Voyo streaming service in Croatia in August 2023, she said: 'What's important at the end of the day is to be able to keep our viewer in front of the big screen for as long as possible, whether we do this on the linear channel with our news and our live content and our events, or whether we do it by catch-up on previews … or via originals.'While Netflix & Co. are competitors for many, producer Magdalena Szwedkowicz, whose MAG Entertainment has quickly developed a reputation for its high-quality productions, such as the Netflix hit film Forgotten Love (Znachor) and SkyShowtime series Sleboda (Deadly Ties), lauded the company and its peers. 'I'm so grateful for streamers in this world, because if I were waiting for broadcasters to make decisions… well, it seems they make slower decisions than streamers,' she said during the panel. Those 'very much need to address and target the local audience, because they are global,' she explained. 'They have enough global content. So they need to reach local audiences.' How does she look to reach audiences? 'Never, ever underestimate the audience,' she said. 'Audiences today are so sharp and intelligent. They know when you're trying to be cheap, when you're trying to be hollow. And they will stop watching. But they follow an emotional, deeply grounded story, and that's what I'm trying to deliver. … It's about the connection with the audience. That's what's most important.' One of the biggest challenges for the industry and producers like her is balancing quality with sustainability. 'Audiences expect high production value, and we're committed to delivering that,' Szwedkowicz also told THR. 'But the cost of producing quality content keeps rising, while networks and platforms are under increasing pressure to monetize. This makes it harder for them to invest in exclusive content on their own. At the same time, this challenge creates an opportunity. It pushes the industry toward more strategic partnerships — between producers, platforms and even across borders. Co-productions, flexible rights models and shared risk are becoming essential. For our company, that means being agile, building trust-based relationships and staying focused on stories that travel and resonate.' Meanwhile, George Levendis, managing director, ANT1 TV, Mak TV and Antenna Studios, shared insight into the TV and streaming market in Greece during the panel discussion. 'The free-to-air market in Greece tends to be reasonably stronger than other markets because it's highly competitive, with five to eight channels,' he explained. 'And as a result, the transition to other platforms has been slightly slower, or certainly, free-to-air has a base that is still reasonably strong, and that's mostly due to the very strong content.' He expressed confidence in Antenna's strategy even though global streamers, particularly Netflix, made inroads, helped by the COVID pandemic. 'The market is changing. It's changing quickly,' he said. 'We're trying to adapt to it, but we are the leader in terms of that SVOD strategy.' Indeed, Levendis highlighted, 'we seem to be the only channel at the moment to have an SVOD play [with ANT1+]. Most of the channels still tend to be running either advertising [streaming] or simply catch-up [services].' Daniel Grunt, CEO of CME's Nova Group in Czechia, told THR that the battle for viewers' time and engagement is a core element of today's industry — and that AI could have a significant impact on the bottom line. 'Audiences today face an overwhelming amount of content but limited time and attention. That's the biggest challenge,' he argued. 'And it's a challenge that's only going to grow with the rise of generative AI. We're entering a new phase where higher-than-average quality video content generated by AI tools can be produced faster, cheaper and in much larger volumes. Barriers to entry are dropping dramatically, and AI agents will likely take over roles traditionally held by content curators and distributors, including aggregators and even TV operators.' Szwedkowicz also mentioned AI in receiving one of the inaugural NATPE Honors Europe: 'Today, as AI begins reshaping so many aspects of our industry, it's easy to get distracted,' she said. 'But I think we all love that at the heart of it, this business is all about people. It's about creativity, it's about storytelling, it's about empathy. And as a result, the challenge and opportunity for us is to nurture the [technological] innovation and try to stay grounded in the business reality.' Levendis also highlighted AI as a key theme. 'AI is everywhere in our industry conversations right now, and for good reason,' he told THR. 'We're already seeing practical applications in how we develop content, understand our audiences, and run our business more efficiently.' How is Antenna looking to use the emerging technology? 'We're taking a measured approach, using AI where it actually solves real problems our teams face. It's helping us spot audience trends we might have missed, making our content easier to find across different platforms, and giving us better insights into what viewers want,' he explained. 'The key is making our people more effective at what they already do well, not trying to automate creative decisions. At ANT1 TV, we've started using AI for things like improving our international content localization and making our marketing more targeted. We're also testing whether it can provide useful feedback during script development, not to make creative choices, but to give our development teams additional data points when they're evaluating projects.' Levendis summed up Antenna's use cases for AI this way: 'What we're learning is that AI is very good at processing large amounts of information quickly, but it can't replace the creative instincts that drive good storytelling. It works best when it handles the analytical work so our creative people can focus on the parts of their jobs that actually require human judgment. Its value depends entirely on how thoughtfully you use it.'Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marcus Scribner & Maxwell Cunningham Join ‘Sing Sing' Breakout Clarence Maclin In Ray Panthaki Drama ‘In Starland'
EXCLUSIVE: Marcus Scribner (Black-ish) and Maxwell Cunningham (Top Dog) are set to join Sing Sing's Clarence Maclin in the indie drama In Starland, marking the feature directorial debut of British actor-filmmaker Ray Panthaki. A story about the trials of middle age, In Starland examines a man wrestling with the challenges of small-town life, watching as his world shifts when he encounters a fearless group of young artists. Panthaki penned the original story, co-writing the script with Jason Kavan. More from Deadline Juno Temple To Star In 'The Husbands' TV Series Ordered By Apple From A24 As She Continues Negotiations For 'Ted Lasso' Tia Carrere Joins Daisy Ridley & Alden Ehrenreich In Rom-Com 'The Last Resort' 'Grown-ish': Yara Shahidi and Marcus Scribner Talk Closing The Chapter On The Johnson Family & Sticking The Landing With Series Finale Panthaki is also producing alongside Daniel Khalili (Trespass Against Us) under their newly launched Le Bateau Lavoir, along with Daisy Allsop for Archface. Production is set to kick off in Mississippi this month. Scribner is best known for starring in ABC's Emmy-nominated sitcom Black-ish, along with the recently wrapped Freeform spin-off Grown-ish, where he reprised as Andre Jr. For his work, he has been nominated for five NAACP Image Awards, winning twice. Notable feature credits include How to Blow Up a Pipeline, Farewell Amor, and How I Learned to Fly. Most recently seen starring in Season 2 of crime thriller Top Dog, Cunningham has also been seen in the recent Netflix rom-com One More Time, and will be seen coming up in the series A Life's Worth. Scriber and Cunningham are both with Artists First. Scribner is also repped by CAA and Del Shaw Moonves; Cunningham by Agentfirman in Sweden. Best of Deadline 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More 'Michael' Cast: Who's Who In The Michael Jackson Biopic Jonathan Majors' Film And TV Roles - Photo Gallery
