News

Fired By Finas

The Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (Finas), the government-backed agency that oversees the country’s film industry, has dismissed its CEO Nasir Ibrahim after less than two years in the job. It follows the return of Kamil Othman who was appointed chairman in February.

Finas notification

The latest move was announced on the organization’s Facebook page, along with the appointment of Rozita Waty Ridzuan as Finas interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found.

The notice was vague on the reasons for Ibrahim’s early termination, explaining that it was part of a wider recalibration of creative industry policies. “This initiative will hopefully further help Malaysian filmmakers and industry players to produce quality films that have high value in both local and international markets,” the statement said.

Swimming Further

Zdf Studios has sold “The Swarm” (8 x 45 mins), by multiple Primetime Emmy award-winner Frank Doelger (“Game of Thrones...

It is the first feature from Bishal Dutta and will premiere at SXSW, with sales launching at EFM.

UK-based sales outfit Protagonist Pictures is launching international sales at this month’s European Film Market (EFM) on Bishal Dutta’s horror It Lives Inside, set to world premiere in March at SXSW in the Midnighters section, with Neon releasing the film theatrically in the US later this year.

The title is produced by US outfits Neon and Get Out and BlacKkKlansman producer QC Entertainment and follows a girl who is desperate to fit in at school, rejecting her Indian culture and...

Exclusive: Netflix has tapped actress Helena Bonham Carter to narrate a blue-chip natural history series about the secret world of baby animals in the wild.

Bonham-Carter will reveal the animals’ moving stories in Wild Babies, which comes from UK indie Humble Bee Films and will run to eight episodes.

Netflix will launch the show globally on May 5 but has kept it under wraps until now.

The character-driven series will follow 17 wild animal families across 16 countries, with lions, wild dogs, sea otters, orangutans, grizzly bears, elephants, bottlenose dolphins and emperor penguins featuring.

Their young will be followed from birth through developmental milestones and coming-of-age moments.

Stephen Dunleavy and Charlotte Crosse are Executive Producers for Humble Bee, which is the Bristol-based producer behind BBC, Netflix and Channel Nine co-production Attenborough’s Life in Colour and Attenborough and the Giant Elephant for the BBC and CBC. Beth Brooks is Showrunner.

“Wild Babies will...

Aacta has revealed those in contention for the major film, television and short-form prizes at this year’s awards, with High Ground leading the charge in the film categories and The Newsreader ahead in television.

The nominations follow those revealed for feature documentary in July, with the technical craft categories still to come.

Aacta also announced today that this year’s awards will move from The Star to the Sydney Opera House, with the ceremony to be held December 8.

There has also been a change in broadcast partners from Seven to 10, where the ceremony will air first followed by an encore on Fox Arena on Foxtel, Binge, and Aacta TV.

High Ground has earned eight nominations, including Best Film. Also nominated for the night’s major prize are Nitram, which earned seven nods, The Dry, which has six, as well as The Furnace, Penguin Bloom and Rams.

The Best Indie Film Award,...

A location has been confirmed for Screen Queensland’s new production facility in Far North Queensland, with the studio to be built on a 6,500 square metre building site just outside the Cairns CBD.

Construction will commence early next year on the facility at the corner of Spence and Fearnley Streets, which is set to house a sound stage and support facilities, including production offices, construction, wardrobe, and hair and makeup departments, along with an events space and permanent creative tenancy opportunities.

The $6.8 million studio forms part of the Queensland Government’s plan to grow the screen industry in Far North Queensland, having appointed Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and Member for Musgrave, Curtis Pitt, as Fnq Screen Champion earlier this year.

Pitt said he was pleased to see the project reach the next stage.

“After months of planning, stakeholder roundtables, and industry consultation, led by Screen Queensland and working with Cq University,...

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” led all programs at this year’s virtual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, with two nods — for best competition series and best ensemble cast in an unscripted series. But the real surprise, as the awards were announced Monday via press release, was the sheer number of ties in top categories.

VH1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” tied with Netflix’s “The Great British Baking Show” (Netflix) for competition series, while “The Masked Singer” (Fox) and “The Voice” (NBC) tied for competition series: talent/variety, and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (Food Network) and “The Oprah Conversation” (Apple TV Plus) tied for structured series.

In the fan voted categories, Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil” host Phil Rosenthal was named male star of the year, while Sandra Lee of TLC’s “Dr. Pimple Popper” (TLC) was named female star of the year. Alex Trebek was honored posthumously with this year’s Impact Award,...

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” won two awards to top all programs in the third annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, the Critics Choice Association and the nonfiction producers organization Npact announced on Monday.

For the third consecutive year, “RuPaul” was named the year’s best competition series, although for the first time it shared the prize with another series, “The Great British Baking Show.” The Critics Choice Association, which is made up of television, radio and internet critics and journalists, is known for a surprisingly large number of ties in its awards shows, and its 2021 winners included deadlocks in three key categories: “RuPaul” and “Gbbs” in Best Competition Series, “The Masked Singer” and “The Voice” in Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “The Oprah Conversation” in Best Structured Series.

“RuPaul’s” second award, for Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, made it the only program with more than one win.

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announced the premiere date for the third and final season of “The Kominsky Method,” and Disney Plus released the trailer for “Big Shot,” starring John Stamos.

Dates

Netflix announced that the third and final season of “The Kominsky Method” will be released May 28. The new season stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Sarah Baker, Paul Reiser, Lisa Edelstein, Emily Osment, Graham Rogers and Haley Joel Osment. “The Kominsky Method” is created by Chuck Lorre, who also serves as executive producer with Al Higgins and Douglas, and produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television. Take a look at some first-look images from Season 3 below.

Netflix also announced that “Life in Color with David Attenborough” will premiere on April 22. The docuseries, is produced by Humble Bee Films and SeeLight Pictures, in association with the BBC. Attenborough serves as presenter, while the...

BBC and Netflix series Attenborough’s Life In Colour sets out to explore the wonder of nature and its kaleidoscope of colors, but for producers at Humble Bee Films, filming the natural history show was far from black and white.

Executive producer Stephen Dunleavy tells Deadline that soon after production got underway on the project, which unites Netflix and the BBC for the first time on a wildlife show, the pandemic ravaged filming plans.

A trip to Costa Rica with the great naturalist, David Attenborough, was in the can, but it was during a visit to the Cairngorms in Scotland early last year that Covid-19 began to rear its ugly head in the UK.

Up to 10 shoots were wiped out by the pandemic, with producers having to abandon travel plans to Italy among other locations, while 95-year-old Attenborough safely ensconced himself at home in leafy south-west London.

Dunleavy toyed with the idea of delaying production,...