US private equity investor Access Entertainment has boarded Red Skies, a new Israeli drama series co-created by Euphoria’s Ron Leshem. This marks the first investment in an Israeli TV series for Access Entertainment, which is a division of Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries. Blavatnik, along with Access Entertainment president Danny Cohen, will serve as executive producers […]
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has taken a majority stake in His Dark Materials and I Hate Suzie producer Bad Wolf, with Sky, HBO and Access Entertainment exiting the business. The deal, which emerged last month, will see SPT also acquiring the Wolf Studios Wales sound stage facility in Cardiff, UK, and Bad Wolf’s 30% stake […]
BBC Studios-backed House Productions, the UK indie behind Benedit Cumberbatch-starring Brexit – The Uncivil War, has picked up rights to Jack Fairweather’s biography The Volunteer. The title, which was named Costa Book Of The Year last month, is the untold but true story of Witold Pilecki, a covert operative who volunteered to be captured and […]
Scripted strategies at Sky and HBO are once again aligning, with both of the pay TV giants buying into Jane Tranter’s Bad Wolf Productions. Sky and HBO are already committed to a US$250 million drama coproduction pact, and will now both take stakes in Bad Wolf. Yesterday, Sky revealed A Discovery of Witches, a new […]
High-ranking production execs at ITV Studios (ITVS) and satcaster Sky are joining UK drama house Lookout Point. ITVS creative director Francis Hopkinson (Wallander, DCI Banks) is joining as the senior management team as executive producer, while Louise Mutter is named head of production. Hopkinson will build and develop his own slate and produce new Andrew […]
Access Entertainment has bought James Packer out of PatPac Entertainment, the US prodco the latter founded with Brett Ratner. The deal hands the media arm of Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries Packer’s stake in the RatPac business and a “major piece” of the RatPac-Dune Entertainment venture that co-finances Warner Bros. Pictures films. Access Entertainment president and […]
Fledgling UK drama prodco House Productions has hired a commercial chief, as the firm continues to build its ranks. Haryy Dixon has left Film4 to become commercial director for House, which launched last year and quickly founded backers in the shape of BBC Worldwide and Danny Cohen’s Access Entertainment. Dixon will join in March, and […]
BBC Worldwide, Danny Cohen’s Access Entertainment and UK indie Lookout Point have created a premium drama funding initiative aimed at taking projects straight to series. The operation will be known as Benchmark Television. While it is not a production entity, it will commission projects from third-party producers and writing talent. BBCWW, the BBC’s commercial arm, […]
Former Channel 4 drama chief Tessa Ross and ex-Working Title Television UK boss Juliette Howell can count of the backing of BBC Worldwide and Access Industries for their new indie. The pair will run House Productions as joint CEOs, and will focus on premium television and feature films. News of the indie’s creation broke in […]
Anne Bulford has become the BBC’s first female deputy director general, while channels chief at the UK pubcaster, Charlotte Moore, has been named director of content and sport. The changes were announced to staff internally this morning as part of major restructuring aimed at cutting costs that will reduce top level management from 16 to […]
