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5 days ago
- Entertainment
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Locarno Director on ‘Dracula,' Jackie Chan and Hosting a Film Festival With the World 'in Flames'
The 78th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival has a lot to offer movie buffs. There is auteur cinema, both from established and new voices, big-screen classics, plus experimental fare, Cannes highlights, and stars like Jackie Chan, Emma Thompson and Lucy Liu who will receive fest honors. Some of the more high-profile titles screening at this year's fest, running Aug. 6-16 in the picturesque Swiss lakeside town, include Dracula by Romanian director Radu Jude, the latest from Abdelletif Kechiche, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, this year's Cannes winner, Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident and Legend of the Happy Worker, which was executive produced by David Lynch and directed by veteran editor Duwayne Dunham, who worked with Lynch on Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet. More from The Hollywood Reporter YouTube Heading to Mipcom as TV Market Embraces Creator Economy 'I Saw the Face of God in the Jet Wash,' Cornwall, Callum Turner, Truth, and Super 8 Adventures: A Chat With Mark Jenkin Tomorrowland Main Stage "Severely Damaged" After Catching Fire, Festival Set to Continue Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro is the man who is once again in charge of serving up an eclectic lineup full of 'the pleasure of cinema,' as he likes to say, to festival audiences and industry attendees alike. Nazzaro spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about how Locarno78 will reflect the state of the world, screening a timely-sounding TV series, bringing the controversial Kechiche to Locarno and how special it is for him and Locarno to honor those big stars. Congratulations on the great lineup. Any insight you can share into how tough it was to put together what looks like an exciting mix of serious art-house films, from established and new voices, more offbeat-sounding fare, as well as broader-appeal movies? We were extremely tough on ourselves, and unfortunately, the selection process was also very harsh, because a lot of films that we loved didn't make the cut. Sometimes I say that the quality of a selection is as good as the films that did not make the cut. In unveiling this year's lineup, you noted that the festival does not take place in a vacuum. How is the state of the world reflected in the 2025 ineup? This is something that really kept our minds busy all the time, because we are all complex beings. As someone who belongs to a lineage of cinephiles, we always try to protect our cinephilia from the outside world, especially people like me who have grown up in Italy, where there is this ideological mortgage coming from our cinephile ancestors with political engagement and a political outlook on the films and whatnot. So we try to break free of this cage. But somehow, everything that is going on in the world keeps asking you questions. So, what really is the place of a certain film in this specific moment? I really wish I could just be in my own mental space where cinephilia reigns supreme. But then you have to ask yourself serious questions: how do you pick a film and contextualize a film in the framework of a world that seems to be falling apart? I know this sounds a bit sanctimonious, because we still have the privilege of going into a dark cinema and watching a film. But how do we not abuse this kind of privilege, and how do we not make it just a selfish thing? I know this sounds terribly abstract because it does not have a straight answer. But it goes back to the fact that cinema is at its most political and free when it is completely 2025 will also feature two films that seem to refer to the Gaza conflict: by Palestinian director Kamal Aljafari in the main competition and Israeli director Eran Kolirin's in an out-of-competition slot. Why did your team pick these two, and did you select films from different perspectives on purpose?It would be wrong on so many levels to think that one thing evens out another thing. It would be the worst mistake to do something like that. It would be terrible. We have a film about Gaza, because it's a film that was supposed to be Kamal Aljafari's first film, when he was looking for a friend in Gaza, around the early years of the 2000s, when the so-called largest open-air prison in the world was creating the preconditions of the unspeakable tragedy that we are witnessing today. And the reason why we picked that film as programmers was that we see a filmmaker who, while he thinks he's making something, he's actually creating his very own archive of himself, his family, his land, his homeland and so on. This material somehow got lost, and then Kamal retrieved it again, and it's a very fascinating story. And somehow this material has become timely. We also have the new film by Eran Kolirin, who is an extremely outspoken Israeli filmmaker. That is not a film about Gaza. It's really a film about the Israeli and Jewish Zionist identity. It shows: 'What we were, what we thought we were, what we have become.' And it's a completely no-budget film in black and white. It's a film made in sketch episodes. And it's terribly prophetic in a Bron is doing double duty at Locarno this year. He has the documentary in an out-of-competition slot, and his series , about the Iran-U.S. nuclear talks at Lake Geneva in 2015, which sounds so timely. It's not the first series you screen at Locarno, but it's still rare. How did that decision come about? This is the second time in my years that we will show a series. We also screened, a couple of years ago, an Italian teen TV series called Prisma, which was a very big success for Amazon. The Deal is interesting. I got an email with the six episodes. I usually look into something just to have a taste of what it is. I was immediately hooked. Director Jean-Stéphane Bron is known as a documentary filmmaker, and suddenly he's in this environment where he creates this six-episode TV series about the behind-the-curtain dealings of the 2015 Lausanne Iranian nuclear deal talks. It's extremely interesting, and it's also eerie in a way, because when we picked it up, I thought this is a really interesting Swiss production about something International, and it looks a bit like 24 or The West Wing, this kind of American political TV series. Then history creeps up on you, and suddenly it happens again. History is quicker than cinema. So, we go back to your earlier question. We felt that history was urging us, pushing us, as if [to say]: 'It's not good enough. You have to do better.' Suddenly, when we were watching, I was telling my team: We need to be able to ensure that the films we select will also tell, retrospectively, something to someone who will study what happened in Locarno while the world was in flames. I didn't simply want the idea that even with the world going out of balance, we were just involved in our tiny cinephile squabbles. We wanted to have films, cinema, that look head-on into is again showcasing a range of cinema today, including comedies and some outrageous-sounding films. Can you talk a bit about why it's key for you to not solely focus on serious, even gloomy, art-house fare despite Locarno's strong art-house reputation? My team and I always try to create a program that is as diversified as possible. I don't want that after 11 days, people go back home and say the only thing they saw were long takes and people staring into a void. I want people to go on a ride, on a trip. So you can have challenging films and funny films, you can have documentaries, and you can have genre films, but not because of a high priest of eclecticism. A comedy is there because it's an interesting film. And if a film takes three hours to get its point across, and we select it, it's because we sincerely believe it is a film that needs to be enjoyed on its own terms. As you can also see with Dracula, Radu Jude resists, stoically, the temptation to make beautiful films. And I mean that as the highest possible praise! And, luckily, we have extremely intelligent genre filmmakers who don't care about sticking to the rules of so-called genre filmmaking and go their own crazy ways. Are there any countries represented in Locarno for the first time this year or represented again after a long break? We finally have Japan in the competition again. For certain reasons, we didn't manage to get a film for a while, and it was really weighing heavily on my mind. I thought we should try to find one, because we receive a lot of film submissions, but we also actively look for films since all of us have a large network. And we found Sho Miyake's Tabi to new Abdellatif Kechiche film, , the final movie in his trilogy, is probably one of the most controversial selections for this year's fest. Kechiche, who won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 2013 for , has been confronted with criticism of harsh and controversial working conditions on his sets, as well as a sexual assault allegation, which he denied, and a probe which was dropped. Why did you decide to screen his new film at Locarno despite all this? We are obviously all aware of what happened, the backlash, and the aftermath of it, and so on. But then we got in touch with the producers, and we had an opportunity to see the film. And the film is in no way controversial. The film is simply a reminder of the tremendous talent that Kechiche is. It's such a staggering talent — the film seems to be light-footed, light-hearted, and quickly made as if it had been shot in an afternoon among friends. It was like when you drink a glass of natural still water, which is fresh, and then you think: Oh, I never tasted water before. What I mean is I think the film deserves a chance. It does not mean that we condone certain behaviors. The official stance of Locarno is very clear on that. But the film is not about this. It's about something else, and I think it deserves to be shared. It's a wonderful film. Let me return to the theme of the timeliness of the Locarno lineup and how it fits into the state of the world. Miguel Ángel Jiménez's , starring , will world premiere on the Locarno Piazza Grande. The film feels like a reference to our time's discussions about the power of rich people, given all the current talk about tech billionaires. Any insight on what made you bring that film to Locarno? It's a very old story about a patriarch who does not want to share his wealth, including with his daughter and offspring. It's a story about greed. It's a story about living in a world of your own making. It's also very Greek. It's about an ogre that lives on an island, and everybody is willing to please this ogre. So it's a story that resonates with ancestral echoes. Willem Dafoe plays this character with extreme gusto, and he [channels] some great, great actors, but I don't want to give it away. But when you say [billionaires] today, obviously, there are those names that pop into your mind inevitably. And if people see it that way, I cannot say anything against that. Locarno will also welcome some big names who will receive honors this year: Jackie Chan, , , Milena Canonero and . How did you decide who to honor this year? It's really about the wish of having a larger family. As a Hong Kong cinema fan — I've written three books on Hong Kong — Jackie Chan is a dream come true. Lucy Liu is one of the greatest actors in the world. Emma Thompson is a genius — craft and talent incarnated. Milena Canonero, it goes without saying, is a Renaissance genius. So it's really not about the fetish of the names. It's really about the pleasure of having these people become part of the Locarno of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Wit's Caroline Servy Maps Europe's TV Reset, From True Crime Boom to Format Frenzy
Speaking at Spain's Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, The Wit's Caroline Servy cast a picture of a European content landscape that is evolving and consolidating, but far from collapsing. The trends she highlighted will do much to explain trading and company strategies in the long run-up to October's Mipcom. Here are five key takeaways: More from Variety Banijay's DLO Producciones Unveils 'La Caza. Irati' Part of a Bid With Movistar Plus+ to Consolidate a Major Spanish Crime Franchise RTP Boards Lorena Iglesias' 'Millennial Mal,' From Tornasol Media, Ukbar Filmes, Filmin (EXCLUSIVE) 'The Boss' Team - Francella, Cohn, Duprat - Drop International Trailer for 'Homo Argentum' (EXCLUSIVE) From Peak to Plateau: A Market Coming Off the Boil, Not in Freefall The golden age of content glut is officially over but Europe's scripted and unscripted sectors remain healthier than pre-pandemic levels. Scripted commissions in Western Europe fell 17% from 2022-23, but remained up 1% versus 2018-19. Unscripted fared better, down just 6% on the year and still up 18% over 2018-19. Streaming platforms saw even sharper pullbacks: original productions in Europe dropped 14% year-on-year. Still, global streamers remain entrenched — 40% of their non-U.S. productions now originate from Europe, led by the U.K. and Spain. 'We could rather talk about a new normal for an industry,' Servy said. 'with commissioning volumes that remain well above pre-COVID levels.' Europe's Creative DNA: Co-Pros, IPs and the Rise of Reality-Based Fiction European scripted output is distinctively shaped by three dominant forces: co-productions, real-life inspiration and IP-based storytelling. A striking 41% of titles launched in the past year were based on either factual events or existing properties, with book adaptations leading the charge. 'True crime, in particular, has exploded — up 233% since 2018,' Servy noted. Detective dramas (22%) and comedies (also 22%) continue to outperform global genre averages. Meanwhile, thrillers are enjoying a renaissance, as audiences seek smart, serialized narratives with high emotional stakes. Formats Consolidate, Reboots Rise, Game Shows Resurge While original format creation may have slowed, adaptation is on the rise, 7.7% of all premieres in Europe this year were based on pre-existing formats, a notable jump from 5.3% across 2020-25. The market has pivoted toward a consolidation phase where reboots, returning seasons and spin-offs dominate. Game shows in particular are booming, making up 33% of all unscripted adaptations up from 25% over the previous five-year average. Examples of the trend: Talpa Studios' 'The Floor,' Can't Stop Media's 'The A Talks' and WB's 'The Golden Bachelor,' which collectively notched up 15 new adaptations this year in Europe. The U.K. Still Rules — As Both Exporter and Now Importer Britain remains the leading format exporter into Europe, accounting for nearly 24% of all adapted titles with hits like Love Productions' 'The Piano' topping sales charts. But in a shift, the U.K. has also entered the top 10 list of importers, with ITV alone adapting six formats this past season. Spain, meanwhile, has emerged as the continent's second-biggest buyer of international formats, driven by both private networks and regional public broadcasters such as FORTA.'Traditionally strong exporters… are also looking increasingly keen on adapting formats from all regions,' said Servy. Streamers Are Top Format Buyers — But Still Playing It Safe Amazon and Netflix now rank as the world's top two format importers — edging out traditional broadcasters like Netherlands' RTL4. Half of their adaptations are in-house, the other half acquired from third parties. Still, global platforms continue to favor established IP over creative risk. Reboots, upcycled reality franchises and formats featuring YouTube talent are increasingly common, as are gimmick twists on classic competition formats. If there's one throughline the analysis showed, however, it's resilience. Content pipelines may be narrowing, but they're also sharpening. As Europe leaves the binge commissioning era, it does so perhaps with a stronger sense of what works, and for whom. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Mediapro Studio to Adapt ‘Beauty and the Beast' Writer Evan Spiliotopoulos' First Novel (EXCLUSIVE)
L.A.-based the Mediapro Studio U.S. & Canada has secured film adaptation rights to 'The Museum of Cursed Artifacts,' an upcoming novel by Evan Spiliotopoulos, writer of 2017 Disney blockbuster 'Beauty and the Beast.' Described by the Mediapro Studio as action-packed, blending suspense, adventure and supernatural twists, 'The Museum of Cursed Artifacts' begins with a famed entrepreneur completing his collection of cursed artifacts. He then takes his life in a shocking manner. More from Variety TrustNordisk's 'The Last Viking' Tempts Buyers International Emmy Winner Aokbab Chutimon to Star in Thai Horror 'Fortune Seekers' as Night Edge Pictures Debuts Sales in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE) Saudi Arabian Film Pioneer Faisal Baltyuor Appointed Red Sea Film Foundation CEO His family, gutted that he blew all his money but still hoping to turn a profit with this macabre museum, assemble leading experts to verify the items' authenticity. All hell literally breaks loose. In what the Mediapro Studio calls a 'highly competitive deal,' rights to the novel were acquired in a two-book deal with Emily Bestler Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Spiliotopoulos — whose screenplay credits also include Russell Crowe starrer 'The Pope's Exorcist,' 'The Huntsman: Winter's War' and 2019's 'Charlie's Angels' — is attached to pen the screenplay. 'Securing the film rights to this remarkable novel is a testament to the immense talent behind it and the strong belief we have in its potential,' said J.C. Acosta, head of the Mediapro Studio U.S. & Canada. 'We are excited to collaborate on a project that is sure to captivate audiences, and we are proud to have it as part of our film slate.' Verve, who represents Spiliotopoulos, held the auctions for both the scripted film and book rights, with both entities selling within days of each other. 'You never know if your weirdest ideas will ever see the light of day. I'm grateful to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and The Mediapro Studio for not only seeing the light — but running straight into the darkness with me,' said Evan Spiliotopoulos. 'This is one of the most original and scary novels I have ever read,' said Emily Bestler. After the presentation of its first English-language slate proved a highlight at October's Mipcom, The Mediapro Studio US & Canada is rapidly carving out a reputation in the U.S. market as a bullishly expanding player as both a co-production partner and home to top-notch talent. Mipcom's slate unveiled projects by John Turturro, Melissa Leo, '24' showrunner Evan Katz and Oscar winner Juan José Campanella. In March, The Mediapro Studio US & Canada boarded as a co-producer a biopic on MMA fighter Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez, produced by Keanu Reeves and Fisher Stevens. This month, The Mediapro Studio US & Canada and BBC Film announced 'The End of It,' starring Rebecca Hall, Gael García Bernal, Noomi Rapace and Beanie Feldstein and launched for Cannes by Bankside Films and WME Independent. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Series Mania Booms, Grows Market Edge, Anticipates New U.S.-Europe Tensions: These and Other Takeaways from the 2025 Edition
LILLE, France 2025 looks set to go down in history as the year that Series Mania, already the biggest TV festival in Europe, stepped up to another level. Exhibition booths at the Grand Palais' newly expanded second floor stretched from one side of its second floor – and the Palais is very grand – to another. Floor traffic was packed, charging up from second to third and fourth floors with more exhibition space with an energy reminiscent of Mipcom back in the day. Multiple keynotes, especially those made available to the public, were sold out. Charlie Brooker's could have given his 'Black Mirror' Masterclass twice over and still have had SRO. More from Variety ZDF, RTVE Show Off Their Genre-Defying Procedural 'Weiss & Morales' at Series Mania Gaumont Television President Isabelle Degeorges Teases Cédric Anger's Upcoming 'Auteur' Series, Calls for Teamwork: 'We Are Stronger Together' BBC Revenge Thriller 'Reunion' Says 'What It Means to Be a Deaf Person From the Point of View of a Deaf Person' Amanda Seyfried, in town for 'Long Bright River,' Pamela Adlon, Series Mania's jury president, and Christina Hendricks, teasing 'Good American Family' and presenting 'Small Town, Big Story,' added star dazzle to this year's edition. The Series Mania lineup came in for large praise as well. 'The selection of series that I saw here is amazing,' said U.S. filmmaker and series creator Jennifer Fox, at Series Mania with 'Ruth's Ghosts' AT its prestigious Co-Pro Pitching Sessions. 'We aren't getting that quality of series in America. You're seeing much smaller countries produce these diamonds. And the sad thing is that most of these series I'll never see in America. Now I want to come every year!' What happened to Series Mania and other takeaways: Series Mania Gears Up as a Market Series Mania, Europe's foremost TV co-production forum, is shaping up as a true-blue TV market. Some tell-tale signs: *Attendance at the Series Mania Forum, the festival's industry zone, was tracking for 4,600 a week before the event. Walk-through traffic at the actual event looks like final figures could best significantly higher. *Led by AGC TV's Kaley Cuoco starrer 'Vanished,' multiple international distributors used Series Mania to bring new shows to market. *Others – Sony Pictures Television's with 'Long, Bright River,' All3Media's with 'Protection' – announced worldwide sales on flagship titles. So What's Happened to Series Mania? Explanations cut various ways. Multiple companies have looked to Series Mania, not Mip London, to take up the slack of MipTV Cannes' demise. Also, this year's event coincides with a consolidation of an old new normal. Pubcasters and private-sector networks accounted for over 80% of European series commissions in 2023, according to figures aired by the European Audiovisual Observatory at Series Mania Forum's opening session. That figure was still over 70% 2H 2024, Ampere Analysis reports. So companies which spent much of the peak TV boom snagging streamer orders have now turned to selling their property on the open market or are looking abroad for partners, or working new market dynamics. 'A key market trend is a desire for producers and networks to work toward more flexible distribution models and windowing, especially within Europe,' ex Netflix international head Erik Barmack, at Series Mania with Icelandic series 'Fusion,' told Variety. Again, that requires negotiations best made face-to-face at markets. Where was the U.S.? The other contributing factor to Series Mania's burgeoning market profile is of course the relative pull back in global streamer commissions. In recent Series Mania editions, the global streamers – Netflix, WBD, Prime Video – galvanised the Forum with new project slate announcements. With Gerhard Zeiler, WBD president of international, pulling out of a session because of ill-heath and Netflix and Prime Video fielding creatives and European execs for their sessions, it was left to Paramount Global Content Distribution's Lisa Kramer, and CBS Studios' Lindsey Martin to fly the U.S. studio honcho flag at Series Mania. 'Vanished' looks like a text book example of how to structure a series with Europe. As the U.S shows urgently need to tap European soft moneys for shows, expect a tsunami of stateside execs to hit the French festival next year. Europe Goes It Alone? Just a few years ago, high-end U.S.-U.K. co-productions were all the rage. This year at Series Mania, the mother of all deal announcements was made by two of the biggest public broadcasters in Europe. Building on 'Honey' and 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder' deals, the U.K.'s BBC and Germany's ZDF unveiled a partnership to produce together premium drama series. U.S. President Donald Trump complained in February about what he called unfair tax regimes and U.S. streamer investment quotas in Europe. In one Forum session, Olivier Henrard, at French film-TV agency CNC, said he expected a 'much more aggressive' U.S. stance on such obligations. 'What we see happening across the Atlantic, there is a strange alliance between those who have been elected by promoting fake news and those who make the real disappear,' Bruno Patino, head of pubcaster Arte France, said at Lille, urging for 'collaboration' between European players. As Europe debates new global streaming regulation in Europe as part of an E.U. Directive for 2026, its relations with the U.S government may be in for a rocky ride. The Downside For all its vibrancy, 2025's Series Mania still unspooled in a post-Peak TV environment. Producers and international distributors are now chasing 75% of the peak-TV market, Ampere Analysis' Guy Bisson observed at Series Mania, Though bossing Europe, factoring in inflation, pubcaster and commercial broadcaster revenues are both edging down, observed Gilles Fontaine, from the European Audiovisual Observatory, as the Series Mania Forum's opening panel on Tuesday. 'I wouldn't talk about crisis, but I'm saying it's tough. There's no money to throw away,' said Mediaset's Carolina Lorenzon. That realism ran through Series Mania panels. 'We all feel there's less money,' Isabelle Degeorges, Series Mania's Woman in Series, told Variety. The major narrative of Series Mania is how the industry is reacting to such straightened times. AI Comes to the Rescue Companies embrace of AI can only be understood in such a context. 'The fear of of disintermediation is so great in Hollywood. There's an existential challenge in Hollywood with TV production right now. There's a fear of people losing their jobs and a fear of television going away altogether for user generated content and other things,' Erik Barmack said at a panel during Thursday's Lille Dialogues at Series Mania. 'The only way to sink those fears is by using AI ethically and responsibly, to bring the cost of television down without permanently destroying what it means to be in a creative industry.' Co-Production The major reaction from most companies to tougher market conditions is, however, co-production. There are signs also that international co-production is now kicking in. 20 in 2015, TV co-productions between different-language countries grew to 60 in 2023, the EAO estimates. 'There's a real willingness among the creative community and producers to find series which are organically international and that's very fresh. Public broadcasters can go in directions which are not that obvious in terms of commercial success,' France Televisions' Manuel Alduy said at a Forum panel, citing Series Mania competition player 'Kabul.' The Market Paradox ''Top End Bub' feels like a hug. It's everything we need right now: a series that is about love, family, friendship, community and offers the escapism that everyone is seeking for. A perfect show for the whole family set in a tropical place. And let's be honest, who doesn't need a hug these days?' ZDF Studios Director of Drama Yi Qiao said at Series Mania. Concurrently, other shows – 'M. Son of the Century,' Jennifer Fox's well-received 'Ruth's Ghosts' – were hailed for their compelling timeliness. The market is ever clearer what it wants. Escapism and social relevance both rank high in appeal. Relevance Noir 'You've put crime thriller in the title, could you make that crime drama thriller?' Many journalists at Series Mania will be familiar with this request from PRs. And the PRs will be right. Crime ruled at Series Mania in terms of market offer, from 'Long Bright River' to the announcement of a new season of 'Midsomer Murders' to ZDF Studios's 'Weiss & Morales,' a big poster emblazoning the outside wall of the Grand Palais. The titles are more than just thrillers, however. 'Reunion' is a thriller that then focuses on the deaf community. 'Long Bright River' uses a murder mystery to talk about addiction and family. Even 'Weiss & Morales,' an escapist blue sea procedural immersing viewers in the sun and stunning landscapes of the Canary Islands posits a happily assumed modern masculinity on the part of Spanish cop Raúl Morales. In this, creators, often schooled years ago on arthouse, have their cake and eat it too making crime dramas which are also about something. The Deals Deals announced by Variety at this year's Series Mania. *U.K. TV network BBC and German broadcaster ZDF have forged a partnership to produce premium drama series together. Kicking off the deal, the partners have ordered comedic Cold War thriller 'Honey,' from Sally Woodward Gentle's Sid Gentle Films, best known for 'Killing Eve.' *Making it one of the hottest properties at Series Mania, Sony Pictures Television's 'Long Bright River' has nearly sold out all major markets worldwide, SPT revealed at Series Mania. *James Norton will lead and produce a miniseries, 'Wavewalker,' adapted by 'Adolescence' writer Jack Thorne. *Kaley Cuoco, Sam Claflin, Karin Viard and Matthias Schweighofer are set to star in suspense thriller 'Vanished' from AGC Television, which launched sales at Lille. *European TV giant Beta Film announced it had boarded crime series 'Cecilie Mars,' created-helmed by Christoffer Boe ('Warrior') and produced by Karoline Leth ('The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen') for Zentropa Entertainments ('In a Better World,' 'Another Drink'). *Arte France, the French part of the pan-European public broadcaster, has boarded 'The Anatomy of a Moment' ('Anatomía de un Instante') the upcoming Movistar Plus+ series from Spain's Alberto Rodríguez ('The Plague'). *All3Media revealed legendary detective drama 'Midsomer Murders' is initiating production on Season 25. The show airs in nearly 200 territories. *Series Mania development program Seriesmakers unveiled new projects from 'Pusher,' 'Blackport,' 'The Cakemaker' creatives in a high-caliber lineup. *Fifth Season has secured global distribution rights, excluding the Nordics, to 'Vaka,' a six-part dystopian thriller series from Skybound Entertainment, the company behind 'Invincible' and 'The Walking Dead.' The show premieres on Prime Video in the Nordics. *M-K Kennedy, Studiocanal's executive managing director of TV series, revealed new details of 'Apollo Has Fallen,' which will hop from country to country and star Ritu Arya and Tewfik Jallab, alongside Jacek Koman and Richard Dormer, among others. *'Gulliver's Travels' is set for 'fun' TV series adaptation with 'Full Monty' producer Uberto Pasolini serving as showrunner. World sales will be jointly handled by Germany's Beta Film and ZDF Studios. *Studiocanal brought to market Canal+ gritty mafia thriller 'The Corsican Line' with 'Furies' star Lina El Arabi, '24: Legacy' Lead Raphaël Acloque. Pierre Leccia writes-directs, reuniting with 'Mafiosa' producer Nicole Collet at Image et Compagnie. *All3Media International, which has sold 'Fleabag' and 'Midsomer Murders,' has struck key deals in multiple territories for New Pictures' six-part witness protection thriller, 'Protection.' *The Duplass Brothers Productions' 'Penelope,' an acclaimed coming of age drama, is heading to Sky in U.K., Ireland after a Fremantle deal. *'Yours, Margot,' by 'Compartment No. 6' director Juho Kuosmanen, a 2023 Seriesmakers winner, has been boarded by Elisa a late step towards production. *Former Studiocanal boss Didier Lupfer has teamed with Édouard Boccon-Gibod and Tariq Krim to launch The Media Company with AI-enhanced projects. *France TV Distribution's Corsica blood feud thriller 'Vendetta,' from 'A Prophet' producer Marco Cherqui, will launch at Series Mania *Vivica A. Fox, Lynn Chen, Dwayne Perkins have boarded multicultural rom-com 'Love Bait,' as producer Quentin Lee of Margin Films brigs onto the market rom-com TV series 'Morning, Paris!' at the Series Mania Forum. *Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha are set to lead BBC Drama 'The Cage' from Element Pictures. *Federation Studios and TAICCA inked a strategic partnership at Series Mania to bridge European and Asian content markets. *Banijay's producers of Prime Video Hit 'Cult' are allying for true story 'The Kiabi Scammer.' *REinvent International Sales has boarded crime series 'The Pushover' from 'Fatal Crossing' creators. *About Premium Content (APC) has acquired international rights to Norwegian drama 'Requiem for Selina,' a hot property on the pre-sales market before its premiere at Series Mania International Panorama. *MFF & CO has expanded its series slate with espionage thriller 'Pegasus' and psychological horror 'Lusus.' *Nordisk Film Production's Marike Muselaers drilled down on its new production slate, including the unannounced Norwegian blue-sky crime 'Sogn Murders,' commissioned by TV 2 Norway. *Viaplay Content Distribution has pre-sold 'A Life's Worth' to Spain and Greece. Produced by Yellowbird in co-production with Viaplay and Arte France, the International Panorama title has also licensed to Arte for France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria; Viaplay holds other world rights. *British network Channel 4 has commissioned its first digital original drama, 'Beth,' a three-part sci-fi thriller starring Nicholas Pinnock, Abbey Lee. *At Series Mania's Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, Australia's Wooden Horse, behind Disney+'s 'The Clearing,' will unveil new project 'The Chaplain,' which promises a potentially captivating blend of drama and comedy, set against the bustling backdrop of an international airport. *Dario Argento's 1985 horror classic 'Phenomena' — 'Creepers' in the U.S. — is getting a series adaptation from Italy's Titanus Production, to be revealed at Series Mania's Pitching Sessions. 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