British Film Institute Add 3 To Governing Board
The British Film Institute has appointed three new members to its Governing Board: Sony’s Andrea Wong, Blueprint Pictures’ Pete Czernin and UK TV host Jonathan Ross. Wong is President of International Production at Sony Pictures Television and President of International for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Among other duties, the London-based exec oversees Sony’s creative teams outside the U.S. as well as the 18 owned and joint venture international production companies around the world. Czernin co-founded London-based film producer Blueprint Pictures, whose titles include The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Seven Psychopaths and In Bruges. Czernin is prepping the release of Lone Sherfig’s Posh and is in production on Marigold Hotel 2, which is shooting in India with Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Richard Gere and others. Ross is a veteran of the BBC and now presents The Jonathan Ross Show on ITV. The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Greg Dyke and co-chaired by Libby Savill. The other governors include Warner Bros’ Josh Berger and director Tom Hooper.
Myanna Buring, 3 Others Cast In BBC Two Drama ‘Banished’
Downton Abbey and Ripper Street’s Myanna Buring, along with Russell Tovey (Being Human), Julian Rhind-Tutt (The Hour) and David Wenham (Top Of The Lake) have joined the cast of BBC Two Australia-set series Banished. The Jimmy McGovern-created show charts the lives, loves, relationships and battle for survival of a group of convicts, the soldiers who guard them and the men who govern them in the early days of the penal colony established by Britain in the 18th century. Shooting starts next month in Sydney for broadcast in 2015. RSJ Films and See-Saw Films are co-producing the seven-part drama. Banished is written by McGovern, and Shaun Duggan (Accused) has written one episode. Sita Williams is producer and also executive produces alongside Roxy Spencer and McGovern. Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, and Jamie Laurenson are executive producers for See-Saw; Brett Popplewell and Simon Hailey are co-producers.
Stefan Oelze, Beta Film Team On Seapoint Productions
Stefan Oelze, the former chief creative officer of All3Media’s MME Moviement, and Munich-based Beta Film are launching Seapoint Productions. The TV company will be based in Cologne, Germany, and work across all media platforms in diverse genres. Oelze’s credits include Come Dine With Me, Berlin Day & Night, Let’s Dance, I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! and Just Sue Me! Beta has a catalog of more than 15,000 hours of programs in all formats and genres and is active in national and international productions and co-productions.
Red Arrow International Picks Up Rights To Game Show ‘The Lie‘
Red Arrow International has taken distribution rights to STV Productions’ game show The Lie. The general knowledge quiz was developed in the UK by STV, TV3 and GroupM Entertainment. It’s already aired in Ireland with a 32% share in its slot and been renewed for a second season. The show asks the question: Can you separate fact from fiction? Faced with different statements, a team of two contestants vies for prize money by deciding which is a lie.
Northwood Entertainment Options 1600s-Set Novel ‘The Orenda’
Northwood Entertainment has optioned the rights to Joseph Boyden’s 2013 novel The Orenda. Miranda de Pencier and Boyden will executive produce the project as a television series. The period drama set in the 1600s follows an Iroquois girl, a Huron warrior and a Jesuit missionary during the first point of contact between Native Americans/First Nations and Europeans and illustrates how North America emerged from this world in flux. The book was published in Canada in September, and Knopf will release it in the U.S. in May.
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