News

The UK actors union has threatened to go to the “courts if necessary” if members’ rights continue to be breached in the training of AI models. In an open letter to bosses at the BBC, Disney, ITV and producer trade…

Australian distributor Troy Lum is a key buyer of international and arthouse films through Kismet, and he produces too — now through Brouhaha Entertainment. He explains how he maintains his portfolio. Taste matters, affirms Australian producer/distributor Troy Lum. “The path…

Taika Waititi mixed jokes and sincerity in his acceptance speech for the Norman Lear Achievement Award on Saturday at the Producers Guild Awards for his work in television. He thanked his partners at FX and on the shows Reservation Dogs …

James Ashcoft got the call on a Tuesday. Can you be in New York by Saturday? “Of course.” Leaving home in Mt Maunganui, the film director made for Manhattan, to talk to a guy about a movie. The guy was…

Despite the partial loss of her sight, Auckland photographer and film-maker Serena Stevenson’s latest project is a visionary masterpiece. You could say Serena Stevenson has seen it all. From shooting fashion spreads for glossy magazines to covertly interviewing political activists…

Over the years, Warner Bros. has tried to monetize its catalog of older movies through different subscription streaming services, including FilmStruck — which it shut down less than a year after it launched in 2018. Now, Warner Bros. Entertainment has…

Canada-based prodco and distributor WildBrain has signed a deal to bring Mukpuddy’s new animated kids’ series, Badjelly, to British audiences with ITV, Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster and streamer. Based on Spike Milligan’s book, Badjelly the Witch: A Fairy Story features…

Unprecedented scrutiny is being placed on the finance models of unscripted shows as budgets are squeezed, with cost-efficiency becoming the key metric for Stateside execs. With media companies of all sizes facing diminishing ad returns, senior programming execs at The…