Yahoo Finance ‘Controlling Britney Spears’ Sells Wide For Red Arrow International – Global Bulletin
SALES
Red Arrow International has sold documentary “Controlling Britney Spears” to a raft of territories. The 75-minute documentary contains new allegations from insiders with intimate knowledge of the pop icon’s daily life under her controversial conservatorship.
The documentary has been sold to Sky (U.K.), Nine (Australia), Crave (Canada), Three (New Zealand), Talpa TV (the Netherlands), VGTV (Norway), TV2 (Denmark), TV4, MTV and Cmore (Sweden and Finland), Discovery (Italy and Philippines), Originals Factory (French and German-speaking Europe), HOT8 (Israel), yes-DBS (Israel), TV Nova’s streamer Voyo (Czech Republic and Slovakia), Pro Plus (Slovenia), Globo for its GloboPlay streaming service (Brazil), and TVN Grupa Discovery (Poland) including for its streaming platform Player.
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“Controlling Britney Spears” is a follow-up to “Framing Britney Spears” and was produced in partnership by The New York Times and Left/Right, a Red Arrow Studios company. It premiered last month on FX and Hulu in the U.S. The film is directed by Samantha Stark, Liz Day is supervising producer and reporter, and Mary Robertson is showrunner.
In a confidential report obtained by The New York Times, Spears told a court investigator in 2016 that her conservatorship had become “an oppressive and controlling tool against her.” The documentary reveals a surveillance apparatus that monitored every move she made.
The singer’s father Jamie Spears was removed from her conservatorship in September and she has since revealed fears about her post-conservatorship life.
Shaw Bros
CASTING
Jeannie Chan (“Cold War,” “Shadow of Justice”) will replace Jennifer Yu in the role of Dr. Mandy Cheung in “Forensic Psychologist,” a Hong Kong crime series about a psychologist who must assess the mental state of various criminals to determine whether they are fit to stand trial. Yu is exiting the show to extend her maternity leave. Produced by Phoenix Waters Productions and AMM Global, the 12-episode series involves multiple directors including showrunner Bizhan Tong (“Lockdown”) who is simultaneously developing an English-language version with Debbie Mason, co-founder of Kudos (“Life on Mars”, “Spooks”). Alongside Chan, other cast additions include singer-turned-actress “JW” Joey Wong (“Fraudstars”), singer Eunice Chan (“Murder Diary”), Stephanie Au (“Battle of the Seven Sisters”), and Stephen Wong Ka-Lok (“Captain of Destiny”). – Patrick Frater
POLICY
U.K. broadcaster ITV has introduced a corporate menopause policy intended to provide greater support and understanding to anyone experiencing menopause, and includes recommendations and ideas for support or adjustments to the working environment that might be made to ensure colleagues feel supported. Including access to support and resources, the policy outlines adjustments including access to desk fans, and quiet working spaces, as well as emphasizing the importance of smart-working conversations, to facilitate flexible working.
The policy was revealed on Monday on daytime talk show “Loose Women,” which is currently campaigning for real change in how the menopause is dealt with, as part of their Menopause Manifesto.
The launch of policy follows a program of awareness-raising, discussion sessions run internally by ITV’s Women’s Network, to bust myths and uncover the facts about perimenopause and menopause. This includes a partnership with “Postcards from Midlife” hosts Lorraine Candy and Trish Halpin delivering a series of talks, as well as a myth-busting panel for staff with ITV daytime stars, including Nadia Sawalha, Linda Robson and Lorraine Kelly.
<img class="size-full wp-image-1235091527" src="https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Winner.jpg" alt=". - Credit: HBO Max" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Winner.jpg 1000w, https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Winner.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Winner.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Winner.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Winner.jpg?resize=681,383 681w, https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Winner.jpg?resize=450,253 450w, https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Winner.jpg?resize=250,140 250w" sizes="(min-width: 87.5rem) 1000px, (min-width: 78.75rem) 681px, (min-width: 48rem) 450px, (max-width: 48rem) 250px" />HBO Max
SERIES
Filming has commenced in Slovakia and The Czech Republic on HBO Max original “The Winner.” The six-episode family comedy is directed by Berlinale winning director Jan Hřebejk (“Kawasaki’s Rose”). The series is produced for HBO Max by ETAMP Film.
Written by Zuzana Dzurindová and Peter Nagy, series tells the story of a fictional Prime Minister of a small European country ending his career in politics and returning to everyday life. However, when his successor radically overturns all the policies that he spent a lifetime building he quickly realises there is very little power in being an ex-prime minister.
The cast includes Ady Hajdu, Ivana Chýlková and Milan Ondrík.
The producer for ETAMP is Jan Bílek, while Tereza Polachova is the HBO Max producer and executive producers are Steve Matthews and Johnathan Young.
BBC/Zoe McConnell
Meanwhile, BBC Three has commissioned a second season of dating reality series “I Like The Way U Move,” in which single professional dancers and rookie non-dancers compete to find a connection both on and off the dance floor. Casting has now begun for season 2. All episodes of series one are streaming on BBC iPlayer now.
The series is a BBC Studios production for BBC Three, commissioned by Fiona Campbell, controller BBC Three and Jo Wallace, commissioning editor Entertainment. Executive producers for BBC Studios are Kelly Lynn and Mel Balac and the series producer is Sarah Church. Commissioning editors for the BBC are Jo Wallace and Neil McCallum. International format sales are handled by BBC Studios.
Courtesy of Tomas Novak
AWARD
Oscar, BAFTA and BIFA winning actor Michael Caine will receive this year’s Raindance Icon Award as part of the 29th Raindance Film Festival (Oct. 27 – Nov. 6). The festival opens with the U.K. theatrical premiere of Caine’s latest film, “Best Sellers” where he stars alongside Aubrey Plaza as a cranky retired author who reluctantly embarks on a final book tour to help out a young publisher.
Previous Raindance Icons are Olivia Colman, Jude Law and Sally Hawkins.
TRAILER
BritBox U.K. has released the trailer for the first TV series from Irvine Welsh, “Crime.” The six-part series will be available as a box set exclusively to stream on BritBox from Nov. 18.
“Crime” follows Detective Inspector Ray Lennox (Dougray Scott), a man engaged in a battle with his own demons, through the demanding and very public medium of serious crime investigations.
The Edinburgh-set series also stars Joanna Vanderham, Angela Griffin, Ken Stott and Jamie Sives. It is directed by James Strong and David Blair and is being produced by for Buccaneer Media and Off Grid Film and TV. Based on his best-selling novel, “Crime” is adapted by Welsh alongside his long-standing screenwriting partner Dean Cavanagh. Executive producers are Welsh, Cavanagh, Scott, Tony Wood, Richard Tulk-Hart, Pamela Hansson and Strong.
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