Exclusive: The extraordinary exploits of convicted fraudster Russell King will be recounted in King of All Cons (Wt), a feature doc that has just gone into production. Emmy-nominated Dash Pictures is making the film with Sky in the UK and Matthew Lorenzo Productions, the indie set up by the titular Lorenzo, a former Sky Sports presenter.
Individuals who King duped included Sven Goran Eriksson, the one-time England soccer team manager, as part of an infamous scheme to buy Notts County, the world’s oldest soccer club. The film will use a mix of archive and interviews with the main players on the story, including Eriksson — who disclosed a terminal cancer diagnosis in January. Former England soccer star Sol Campbell also features.
King’s other nefarious exploits include negotiating a deal to extract all of North Korea’s mineral reserves. The action in the film moves between Bahrain, North Korea, London’s plush Dorchester Hotel,...
Individuals who King duped included Sven Goran Eriksson, the one-time England soccer team manager, as part of an infamous scheme to buy Notts County, the world’s oldest soccer club. The film will use a mix of archive and interviews with the main players on the story, including Eriksson — who disclosed a terminal cancer diagnosis in January. Former England soccer star Sol Campbell also features.
King’s other nefarious exploits include negotiating a deal to extract all of North Korea’s mineral reserves. The action in the film moves between Bahrain, North Korea, London’s plush Dorchester Hotel,...
- 4/9/2024
- by Stewart Clarke
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a change in Tuesday primetime programming on The CW. The network has pulled travelogue series Down To Earth with Zac Efron and Fantastic Friends after just two episodes. Both series premiered on July 18. Remaining episodes will be available on the CW app and cwtv.com.
The CW will air reruns of Penn & Teller: Fool Us (8-9 pm) and Whose Line Is It Anyway? (9-10 pm) in their place.
Down To Earth and Fantastic Friends are the latest acquired series to be pulled from the CW schedule, following the Australian surfing drama Barons, which was pulled after four episodes in June.
Down To Earth with Zac Efron, acquired from Netflix, experienced a 24% drop in viewers from the first episode to episode 2, and Fantastic Friends had low viewership from the start, dropping from 161K viewers in episode 1 to 158K in episode 2. Seasons 1 and 2 of Down To Earth are still streaming on Netflix.
The CW will air reruns of Penn & Teller: Fool Us (8-9 pm) and Whose Line Is It Anyway? (9-10 pm) in their place.
Down To Earth and Fantastic Friends are the latest acquired series to be pulled from the CW schedule, following the Australian surfing drama Barons, which was pulled after four episodes in June.
Down To Earth with Zac Efron, acquired from Netflix, experienced a 24% drop in viewers from the first episode to episode 2, and Fantastic Friends had low viewership from the start, dropping from 161K viewers in episode 1 to 158K in episode 2. Seasons 1 and 2 of Down To Earth are still streaming on Netflix.
- 7/28/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Abacus Media Rights (Amr), an Amcomri Entertainment Company, and Herbert L. Kloiber’s Munich-based Night Train Media (Ntm) are launching pre-sales this week on the dark truths series “Conquistadors: The Rise and Fall” as Content Americas and Realscreen lift off in respectively in Miami and Austin.
The launch comes after Amr took on global distribution rights in association with Ntm on the six-part factual series, produced by Emmy-nominated Dash Pictures and Ntm. It sheds light on the harsh truths surrounding Europe’s dramatic wave of expansion from 1492 after Colombus landed in the Caribbean.
Via reportedly lavish reconstructions, framed by in-depth analysis by historical experts from the Americas and Spain, the series will lift the lid on the reality of the nearly century-long Conquest.
The Conquistadores saw themselves as Christian warriors, bringing God’s word to the world. The reality is that the Conquest, fuelled by Conquistadors’ obsessions with gold, power...
The launch comes after Amr took on global distribution rights in association with Ntm on the six-part factual series, produced by Emmy-nominated Dash Pictures and Ntm. It sheds light on the harsh truths surrounding Europe’s dramatic wave of expansion from 1492 after Colombus landed in the Caribbean.
Via reportedly lavish reconstructions, framed by in-depth analysis by historical experts from the Americas and Spain, the series will lift the lid on the reality of the nearly century-long Conquest.
The Conquistadores saw themselves as Christian warriors, bringing God’s word to the world. The reality is that the Conquest, fuelled by Conquistadors’ obsessions with gold, power...
- 1/24/2023
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Shooting on Fantastic Friends season two is set to wrap, with more Harry Potter and Game of Thrones alumni featuring.
The show from filmmaker Daniel Sharp follows James and Oliver Phelps, aka the Weasley twins from Harry Potter, as they go on adrenaline-fuelled adventures with magical themes, accompanied by famous faces. We’ve got a first look at the season for you here.
Season one featured several Harry Potter stars. Famous faces from the franchise popping up the travelog series this time include Mark Williams, who played the twins’ father in the films, Matt Lewis, Alfie Enoch, Nat Tena and Stanislav Yanevski.
Alfie Allen will become the second Game of Thrones star to feature after Maisie Williams. Corey Mylechreest and Genesis Rodriguez (The Fugitive, Tusk, Man on a Ledge) will also appear.
Producer Dash Pictures has been shooting the show since last year,...
The show from filmmaker Daniel Sharp follows James and Oliver Phelps, aka the Weasley twins from Harry Potter, as they go on adrenaline-fuelled adventures with magical themes, accompanied by famous faces. We’ve got a first look at the season for you here.
Season one featured several Harry Potter stars. Famous faces from the franchise popping up the travelog series this time include Mark Williams, who played the twins’ father in the films, Matt Lewis, Alfie Enoch, Nat Tena and Stanislav Yanevski.
Alfie Allen will become the second Game of Thrones star to feature after Maisie Williams. Corey Mylechreest and Genesis Rodriguez (The Fugitive, Tusk, Man on a Ledge) will also appear.
Producer Dash Pictures has been shooting the show since last year,...
- 1/23/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Sky has greenlit documentaries on England World Cup winner Geoff Hurst, serial killer Fred West and music producer Phil Spector. Scroll down for the full slate below.
The shows come on a seven-strong slate at the Edinburgh Television Festival, which also includes Whales with Steve Backshall, a follow-up to the nature presenter’s Shark series, along with Secret World of Sound [working title] about animal behavior.
Intrusion: Stasi Fc uses personal testimony from survivors and an extensive archive to tell the compelling story of how The Stasi, East Germany’s secret service, abused football to destabilize the last oasis of free speech in the country, meanwhile. Finally, The Good Fight Club will follow a dynamic, young team of mixed martial arts fighters from South East London in training.
The slate, which is led by Matthew Lorenzo Productions’ Hurst: The First and Only, telling off the life of the man who scored a...
The shows come on a seven-strong slate at the Edinburgh Television Festival, which also includes Whales with Steve Backshall, a follow-up to the nature presenter’s Shark series, along with Secret World of Sound [working title] about animal behavior.
Intrusion: Stasi Fc uses personal testimony from survivors and an extensive archive to tell the compelling story of how The Stasi, East Germany’s secret service, abused football to destabilize the last oasis of free speech in the country, meanwhile. Finally, The Good Fight Club will follow a dynamic, young team of mixed martial arts fighters from South East London in training.
The slate, which is led by Matthew Lorenzo Productions’ Hurst: The First and Only, telling off the life of the man who scored a...
- 8/25/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Commission
Former Manchester City and England soccer player Micah Richards fronts “Player Pranks,” a show commissioned by Sky, produced by Zig Zag and Krempelwood. The show sees the Premier League winner team up with his Sky Sports colleague Adam ‘Smithy’ Smith for a top-secret mission to prank the great and good of football. In each 30-minute episode, Micah and Smith take to the field with hidden cameras, ingenious props and comic actors to inject mayhem into the lives of some of the U.K.’s most famous soccer personalities, when they least expect it. Stars include former professional soccer player and manager, Chris Kamara, England national soccer star Jill Scott, Micah’s fellow Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, and former Spurs and England star Jermaine Jenas.
The four-part series will air on Sky Max and Sky Sports this August as part of the countdown to the 2022/23 soccer season.
Former Manchester City and England soccer player Micah Richards fronts “Player Pranks,” a show commissioned by Sky, produced by Zig Zag and Krempelwood. The show sees the Premier League winner team up with his Sky Sports colleague Adam ‘Smithy’ Smith for a top-secret mission to prank the great and good of football. In each 30-minute episode, Micah and Smith take to the field with hidden cameras, ingenious props and comic actors to inject mayhem into the lives of some of the U.K.’s most famous soccer personalities, when they least expect it. Stars include former professional soccer player and manager, Chris Kamara, England national soccer star Jill Scott, Micah’s fellow Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, and former Spurs and England star Jermaine Jenas.
The four-part series will air on Sky Max and Sky Sports this August as part of the countdown to the 2022/23 soccer season.
- 7/20/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The trailer has debuted for six-part travel and magic show “Fantastic Friends,” which is hosted by James and Oliver Phelps, a.k.a. the mischievous Weasley twins of Harry Potter fame.
The show’s cast includes the twin’s Harry Potter co-stars Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) and Luke Youngblood (Lee Jordan), as well as “Game of Thrones’” Maisie Williams, “Outlander’s” Sophie Skelton and “The Sixth Sense’s” Haley Joel Osment.
“Fantastic Friends” is part adventure-travel series, part magic-infused challenge show and part a celebration of friendship. Produced and directed by Emmy Award-nominated filmmaker Daniel Sharp, each episode sees the Phelps twins travel to a destination to meet up with one of their famous friends, who then take on the role of tour guide.
The action moves from Iceland to Ireland, from St. Lucia to Dubai, as the twins expand their horizons and explore new worlds,...
The show’s cast includes the twin’s Harry Potter co-stars Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) and Luke Youngblood (Lee Jordan), as well as “Game of Thrones’” Maisie Williams, “Outlander’s” Sophie Skelton and “The Sixth Sense’s” Haley Joel Osment.
“Fantastic Friends” is part adventure-travel series, part magic-infused challenge show and part a celebration of friendship. Produced and directed by Emmy Award-nominated filmmaker Daniel Sharp, each episode sees the Phelps twins travel to a destination to meet up with one of their famous friends, who then take on the role of tour guide.
The action moves from Iceland to Ireland, from St. Lucia to Dubai, as the twins expand their horizons and explore new worlds,...
- 6/27/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Production
Production has wrapped on “Asian Persuasion,” a New York Asian tale of a down-on-his-luck chef who cooks up a scheme to marry off his ex-wife in an attempt to escape substantial alimony and child support obligations, before realizing that he wants a second chance. Featured actors include Black Eyed Peas’ Apl.de.Ap, Yam Concepcion (“Nightshift”), Janice Sonia Lee (“Emily the Criminal”), Ami Sheth (“Most Beautiful Island”), Rachel Alejandro (“Ang Larawan”), Fe Delos Reyes (“Lumpia with a Vengeance”), Joyce Keokham (“Denture Adventure”), comedian Rex Navarrete (“Badass Madapaka”), Imani Hanson (“An Angry Boy”), Devin Ilaw, Renee Rogoff (“Carma”), Mairin Lee (“Marcy”), Hamilton’s Marc delaCruz, Raw founder Josh Kesselman, CaliStar, and Tony Labrusca. It was directed by Jhett Tolentino from a script by Mike Ang and is now being edited by Aacharee Ungsriwong. Production is by Jhett Tolentino Productions banner in association with Brooklyn-based Planet X Studios.
France-based Cyber Group Studios...
Production has wrapped on “Asian Persuasion,” a New York Asian tale of a down-on-his-luck chef who cooks up a scheme to marry off his ex-wife in an attempt to escape substantial alimony and child support obligations, before realizing that he wants a second chance. Featured actors include Black Eyed Peas’ Apl.de.Ap, Yam Concepcion (“Nightshift”), Janice Sonia Lee (“Emily the Criminal”), Ami Sheth (“Most Beautiful Island”), Rachel Alejandro (“Ang Larawan”), Fe Delos Reyes (“Lumpia with a Vengeance”), Joyce Keokham (“Denture Adventure”), comedian Rex Navarrete (“Badass Madapaka”), Imani Hanson (“An Angry Boy”), Devin Ilaw, Renee Rogoff (“Carma”), Mairin Lee (“Marcy”), Hamilton’s Marc delaCruz, Raw founder Josh Kesselman, CaliStar, and Tony Labrusca. It was directed by Jhett Tolentino from a script by Mike Ang and is now being edited by Aacharee Ungsriwong. Production is by Jhett Tolentino Productions banner in association with Brooklyn-based Planet X Studios.
France-based Cyber Group Studios...
- 6/15/2022
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Ray Winstone’s career includes hit films “Sexy Beast” and “The Departed,” but making his first-ever doc series has proved as challenging as any movie part. “It’s probably the most difficult work I’ve done to be honest with you,” Winstone told Variety. “You are baring all in a way. The camera is on you more or less 24/7.”
The show is “Ray Winstone’s World: Sicily,” a travel series following the London-born actor on a journey around the popular Mediterranean destination.
“I was coming to Sicily for many years and I fell in love with the place,” he said. “And then Bruno [Zoccola], a mate of mine who is a butcher and owns a chain of restaurants, and [sports broadcaster] Matt Lorenzo, a friend, got together and they wanted to do something. It kind of fell into place, thanks in a lot of ways to Matt who put it all together.”
Winstone,...
The show is “Ray Winstone’s World: Sicily,” a travel series following the London-born actor on a journey around the popular Mediterranean destination.
“I was coming to Sicily for many years and I fell in love with the place,” he said. “And then Bruno [Zoccola], a mate of mine who is a butcher and owns a chain of restaurants, and [sports broadcaster] Matt Lorenzo, a friend, got together and they wanted to do something. It kind of fell into place, thanks in a lot of ways to Matt who put it all together.”
Winstone,...
- 5/18/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
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