News

Exclusive: Before filming got underway last month on action film The Beast, Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger) came aboard as director, taking over from the previously announced James Madigan (The Meg second unit director).

The team is halfway through an eight-week shoot in Madrid and Spain’s Canary Islands. As we previously revealed, Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad) and Guy Burnet (Oppenheimer) are starring.

The project had been due to start in early September but was pushed back a little due to LED stages needing further tech prep, we’re told. No reason was given for Madigan’s exit.

The film’s title refers to a presidential limousine nicknamed “The Beast” by the Secret Service. In the movie, when a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S., the president (Jackson) uncovers the extent of The Beast’s highly classified offensive capabilities.

Keith Kjarval (Tin Soldier...

Exclusive: Night Train Media is launching a digital label.

Industry veteran Caitlin Meek-o’Connor will lead Night Train Digital, having joined Herbert L. Kloiber’s production and financing business last year.

The unit will focus on producing and managing TV and digital-first content across a number of platforms. It will manage all existing YouTube and social channels for Eccho Rights, the London-based distribution business owned by Night Train, and will take a broader look at the wider Night Train group and external clients.

“Night Train Digital represents our commitment to expanding our digital footprint and enhancing our content strategy,” said Kloiber, CEO of Night Train Media. “With Caitlin Meek-o’Connor at the helm, we are poised to explore new opportunities and deliver engaging digital-first content to global audiences.”

Meek-o’Connor had joined Eccho Rights a year ago as Digital Commercial Director, overseeing the scripted distributor’s direct-to-consumer offers. Prior to that,...

Exclusive: Filming is due to get underway in Spain on September 4 on Samuel L. Jackson and Joel Kinnaman action film The Beast.

The film’s title refers to a presidential limousine nicknamed ‘The Beast’ by the Secret Service. In the movie, when a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S., the President (Jackson) uncovers the extent of The Beast’s highly classified offensive capabilities.

Guy Burnet (Oppenheimer) is joining the cast as the main adversary to Jackson’s President. Filming is due to take place in the Canary Islands and Madrid.

James Madigan (The Meg second unit director) is directing off a script by Umair Aleems (Kate).

Keith Kjarval (upcoming Tin Soldier) is producing through his Unified Pictures banner alongside Wayne Marc Godfrey (Wind River) and Nicki Cortese (Ricky Stanicky) for Bright White Light who are also financing the film. Fifth Season (Ambulance), John Logan Pierson...

International distributor Eccho Rights will be handling first window sales throughout Central and Eastern Europe on the Roland Emmerich-directed ancient Rome series “Those About to Die,” starring Anthony Hopkins as as Emperor Vespasian.

The Stockholm-headquartered Eccho Rights – which is owned by German investment and co-production outfit Night Train Media, headed by Herbert L. Kloiber – will be launching regional sales at the NATPE Budapest market later this month on the hotly anticipated 10-episode gladiator show.

The first season of “Those About to Die” is set to drop July 18 on Peacock in the U.S., as previously announced. The show is a Peacock Original and the streamer’s biggest budget production to date.

Eccho Rights will also be handling second window sales on “Those About to Die” in several unspecified Western European territories, according to a statement. An Eccho rep declined to specify on which Western European territories they have the second window rights.

European powerhouse Mediawan has acquired Leonine, a leading production and distribution group active in German-speaking markets.

With the acquisition of Leonine, Mediawan will boast a portfolio of 85 labels, a catalogue spanning 30,000 hours of premium content and revenues exceeding €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion). Mediawan’s worth is now believed to be in the $2-billion range. The deal is an all-stock transaction; both companies have the same shareholder, the U.S. private equity fund Kkr whose stake in Mediawan will still be below 50%, according to a source close to the company.

Mediawan now has a significant footprint in all major European markets, including German-speaking territories which represent the continent’s second largest TV market. The pact positions Mediawan as one of the world’s biggest super indies with a large proportion of scripted business across prestige series and movies. Mediawan now spans 13 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux and the U.K.

Exclusive: Signature Entertainment has acquired the UK and Irish rights to British romantic-comedy This Time Next Year, starring Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Lucien Laviscount (Emily in Paris).

The movie revolves around Minnie and Quinn, who while together at a New Year’s Eve party quickly realize they share a connection – they were born on New Year’s Day of the same year, in the same London hospital, one minute apart. Minnie grew up convinced that the mysterious Quinn – born first – stole the name her mother planned for her, and with it all her luck, setting her on a path of misfortune. Horrified at the misunderstanding, Quinn is set on making amends.

Also starring are John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral), Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton), Monica Dolan (Cyrano), Mandip Gill (Doctor Who) and Anita Dobson (Eastenders).

Signature will release on June 3 of this year. The deal was negotiated...

Suits’ Patrick J. Adams and Unbelievable’s Merritt Wever are confirmed to star in BBC and Netflix’s Lockerbie series. Filming is now underway in Scotland on the six-episode series based on the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight.

Connor Swindells (Sas Rogue Heroes), Peter Mullan (Ozark), Tony Curran (Mary & George), Eddie Marsan (Ridley Road), Lauren Lyle (Vigil), Andrew Rothney (The Undeclared War), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey), Parker Sawyers (Spy/Master), James Harkness (The Sixth Commandment), Khalid Laith (Cobra), and Amanda Drew (Wolf) were also just announced as starring in the drama.

“On 21 December 1988, flight Pan Am 103 was en route from Heathrow to JFK when a bomb exploded in its hold over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people, including 43 British citizens and 190 Americans. It was the worst-ever terror attack on British soil and the first major one on US citizens,” reads BBC and Netflix’s synopsis. “Lockerbie will focus...

Exclusive: Patrick J. Adams, star of Suits — the most watched series on Netflix and all streaming in 2023 — is returning to the platform with a new show, Lockerbie. He will star opposite Connor Swindells of Netflix’s Sex Education who has been cast as the lead in the BBC and Netflix six-part limited series. Merritt Wever, two-time Emmy winner, for Netflix’s Godless and Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, also stars in the BBC/Netflix series based on the real events surrounding the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the joint Scots-u.S. investigation which sought to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The cast also includes Ozark alum Peter Mullan, Tony Curran (Mary & George), Downton Abbey‘s Phyllis Logan, Eddie Marsan (The Pact), Lauren Lyle (Vigil), Andrew Rothney (The Undeclared War), Parker Sawyers ( P-Valley), James Harkness (The Sixth Commandment), Khalid Laith (Vigil), and Amanda Drew (Wolf).

On 21 December 1988, flight Pan Am 103 was en route from...

German-born laywer acquired hundreds of film and TV projects as pre-buys from US producers.

International media consultant and producer Thomas Augsberger has passed away suddenly at his home in the Hollywood Hills. He was 60 years old.

The German-born lawyer was founder of Eden Rock Media, a film and television production company and media consulting business.

Augsberger advised a number of high-profile media clients over the years, most prominently Germany’s Leonine Studios. Before Leonine, Augsberger spent 23 years as an advisor to Dr. Herbert Kloiber’s Tele Muenchen Group as Tmg’s exclusive North American representative in the US.

Augsberger’s...

Thomas Augsberger, the producer, international film consultant, former Lionsgate board member and founder of Eden Rock Media, has died. He was 60.

Augsberger died suddenly on Monday, November 27, at his home in the Hollywood Hills, members of his family told The Hollywood Reporter.

The German-born and trained attorney was best known as the longtime consultant and North American representative for Herbert Kloiber‘s German mini-major Tele Muenchen Group (Tmg). After Leonine acquired Tmg in 2019, Augsberger continued to advise the company on film projects and acquisitions.

Over more than two decades, Augsberger acquired hundreds of film and TV projects for the German market from producers, sales agents and studios, making him one of the most important figures on the independent scene. He helped secure prebuys of Marvel’s Iron Man, Summit Entertainment’s Twilight and Lionsgate’s John Wick and Hunger Games franchises, including the recent prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,...

Exclusive: Alfie Allen, Charlie Murphy and Jack Gleeson are to star in a Dutch-Belgian thriller series from Ozark co-creator Mark Williams, Night Train Media and Submarine.

They are starring alongside emerging Dutch star Martijn Lakemeier in the eight-part drama, which is for Dutch streamer Videoland and Belgium’s Streamz.

Production has begun in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with Williams directing along with Arne Toonen, and we hear the ambition is for Safe Harbor to be a returner that aims to balance edge-of-the-seat thrills with character-based stories and a twisty plot line. Further shooting will take place in Belgium and Ireland, Deadline understands.

The series follows gifted hacker Tobias (Allen) and his ambitious best friend Marco (Lakemeier), who are intent on cracking into the tech billionaires club. They are plucked from quiet obscurity and plunged headfirst into...

2023’s American Film Market may be shaping up for “a rather quiet year,” says Martin Moszkowicz, chairman of the executive board at Germany’s Constantin Film. That said, Moszkowicz will stay in Los Angeles for around 10 days. “We have so much business there – and much of it is not related directly to the market,” he says.

That seems very natural for one of Europe’s not only biggest but most ambitious and successful production-distribution companies, producer of “Resident Evil,” which has diversified fast, consolidating a robust domestic production-distribution business while shaping major plays for the international market and ramping up TV revenues.

Moszkowicz hits the AFM just weeks after “Dear Child: Limited Series” has hit Netflix’s Top 10 of most-watched non-English language TV series in the global streamer’s history. For 2024, Constantin has “Hagen von Tronje,” a revisionist retelling of the Nibelungen saga, which weighs in as one of its biggest movies ever.

Exclusive: Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Golden Circle) and Lucien Laviscount (Emily In Paris) lead the feature rom-com This Time Next Year, for which we can share an official first look above.

The film is adapted by writer Sophie Cousens from her novel of the same name and is directed by Nick Moore, editor of hit comedies such as Love Actually, Notting Hill, and The Full Monty. Joining the film’s cast are Golda Rosheuvel, John Hannah, Monica Dolan and Mandip Gill (Doctor Who).

Protagonist Pictures is representing worldwide rights. Synopsis reads: Flung together at a New Year’s Eve party, Minnie (Cookson) and Quinn (Laviscount) quickly realize they share a connection- they were born on New Year’s Day of the same year, in the same London hospital, one minute apart. Minnie grew up convinced that this mysterious...

Toronto – Korean Fund Established

The Toronto International Film Festival, Cj Cultural Foundation and the Korean Film Council (Kofic), have unveiled the Cj & TIFF K-Story Fund. It is an initiative to foster, support and champion Korean Canadian and American filmmakers looking to develop their first or second feature film.

It will have an annual budget of $30,000 for a three-year period and support three creative teams. Applications begin in November, with the recipients set to be announced in 2024. In addition to receiving the development prize, the selected participants will each receive direct one-on-one mentorship on story development with Cj Cultural Foundation.

TIFF chief programming officer, Anita Lee, called the fund, “a groundbreaking initiative providing support for filmmakers from diasporic communities.”

“It is our hope that this fund helps filmmakers in North America who are of Korean backgrounds, unleash their creative potential,” said Heekyung Jo Min, head of corporate social responsibility at Cj,...

Eccho Rights’ co-founder Fredrik af Malmborg has stepped down from his CEO role.

Herbert L. Kloiber, Chairman of the Eccho Rights Board and CEO of Eccho’s mother company Night Train Media, will assume the role on an interim basis as Eccho integrates into the wider group. Night Train acquired Eccho in July last year, in a major move for a relatively quiet international distribution M&a market.

Kloiber said: “I would like to express our profound gratitude to Fredrik. His vision and determination have been the driving force behind Eccho Rights’ reputation and success, particularly in building a vast content catalogue and a trusted brand for Turkish drama series around the world.”

The news comes ahead of Mipcom Cannes next month, and a day after we revealed another long-serving European sales chief, Stuart Baxter, was leaving his post at eOne.

As part of the changes, Oskar Malmquist, Eccho’s Head of Business Affairs,...

Exclusive: With Mipcom on the horizon, Sweden’s Eccho Rights is building out its sales team by hiring well-respected exec Tess Charman.

The Stockholm-based distributor has named former Warner Bros International Television Production, eOne, MGM and Avalon exec Charman as its Director of Sales for Continental Europe.

Starting on September 1, Charman will take on European and pan-regional sales (excluding Iberia), focusing on Eccho’s slate of English- and Nordic-language titles. Eccho’s slate includes BBC drama Granite Harbour, Swedish series As Long As We Live and Viaplay show Honour. She’ll work out of Eccho’s London office.

Charman has worked in international distribution for several major UK and US entertainment businesses. She was most recently VP of Emea for Avalon Distribution, the sales arm of UK management and production biz Avalon, and held senior sales roles at eOne, MGM and Warner Bros.

She’s joining a sales house that...

Exclusive: A second major transatlantic drama series on the Lockerbie bombing terror attack is in the works — this time at the BBC and Netflix.

The British broadcaster and U.S. streamer will co-produce Lockerbie, a factual drama that will explore the joint investigation into the 1988 disaster by Scottish and American authorities.

Pan Am Flight 103 was en route from Heathrow to JFK when a bomb exploded in its hold over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people. It was the worst terror attack ever on British soil.

Line of Duty producer World Productions is making the six-part series in association with MGM Television and Night Train Media. It was developed by MGM and Night Train alongside filmmaker Adam Morane-Griffiths, who initially brought the project to the partners alongside Sara Curran back in 2020.

The BBC and Netflix commission comes more than a year after Sky and Peacock came together to greenlight a separate series,...

In the four years since roaring to life, Leonine Studios has reshaped Germany’s film and television landscape, becoming a leading player in Europe’s biggest and most competitive market.

The company is receiving Variety’s International Achievement in Film Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Built by industry veteran Fred Kogel with financing from U.S. private equity group Kkr, Leonine Studios is an entertainment conglomerate that has brought together some of Germany’s most successful production and distribution companies under one roof.

“I always wanted to establish and create a company as a home of talents – the best people in the German business and then internationally – and create a new company for the digital age,” says Kogel, Leonine’s CEO. “That was the reality behind bringing Leonine to life in 2019 as that was the first time that German content could travel the world. That was the rationale.”

“It...

Exclusive: Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Golden Circle) and Lucien Laviscount (Emily In Paris) are underway on feature rom-com This Time Next Year, which heralds from producers Night Train Media and BlackBox Multimedia.

The film is adapted by Sophie Cousens’ from her novel of the same name and is being directed by Nick Moore, editor of hit comedies including Love Actually, Notting Hill and The Full Monty.

Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide sales and will introduce the project to buyers at the upcoming Cannes market.

The film will chart the story of Minnie (Cookson) and Quinn (Laviscount) who are born in London on New Year’s Day, in the same hospital, one minute apart. Thirty years later — and very different people — they find themselves thrown together again in the same city on New Year’s Eve.

Producers are Giuliano Papadia for BlackBox Multimedia and Herbert L. Kloiber for Night Train Media,...

Roland Emmerich’s large-scale gladiator series “Those About to Die,” starring Anthony Hopkins as Emperor Vespasian, has started shooting at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios.

Several new cast members have been announced, including “Game of Thrones” alumn Iwan Rheon.

Rheon, who in “Thrones” played the villainous Ramsay Bolton – and can currently be seen in Emmerich-produced film “The Magic Flute” – will replace Lorenzo Richelmy who has exited the Peacock show due to scheduling conflicts.

Also joining the “Those About to Die” cast are Liraz Charhi (“Tehran”) who will play Berenice, Queen of the conquered Judeans; and Rupert Penry-Jones (“The Batman”) as retired general Marsus who aspires to succeed Vespasian on the imperial throne (they are pictured above).

Other new cast additions to the swords and sandals series shot at Cinecittà are Johannes Haukur Johannesson (“Vikings”) as Norse gladiator Viggo; Eneko Sagardoy (“Elite”) as talented chariot driver Andria; Pepe Barroso (“45 rpm”) as Fonsoa...

Roland Emmerich is filling out his Colosseum, with a new troop of actors to complete the cast of Those About to Die, a gladiator action series which the Independence Day director has begun shooting in Rome.

Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon, Vikings actor Johannes Haukur Johannesson and Alicia Edogamhe, best-known for Netflix series Summertime, are among the new additions to the ensemble cast, as well as Tehran actress Liraz Charhi, Britain’s Rupert Penry-Jones (Mi-5), Elite actor Eneko Sagardoy, Gonçalo Almeida (Amor Amor), Kyshan Wilson (Viola) and Pepe Barroso (Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming Gran Turismo).

They join two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins headlines the series as Roman emperor Vespasian. Previously-announced cast include Tom Hughes, Sara Martins, Jojo Macari, Gabriella Pession, Dimitri Leonidas, and Moe Hashim.

Rheon has been cast as ambitious crime boss, Tenax. He replaces the previously announced Lorenzo Richelmy, who was unable to participate in the series due to scheduling conflicts.

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...

Peacock has scored some serious talent for its upcoming gladiator series, For Those About to Die.

Two-time Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins has joined the epic historical series in the pivotal role of Emperor Vespasian, it was announced today by the show’s studio AGC Television via Chairman and CEO Stuart Ford.

Those About to Die is an epic drama set in the complex and corrupt world of spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition.

The series introduces an ensemble of diverse characters from all parts of Roman society who collide at the intersection of sports, politics and dynasties of the ancient world.

Hopkins, the first major cast member announced for the project, plays Vespasian, the Emperor of Rome and head of the Flavian bloodline.

He is battle-tested, a rural upstart who claimed his throne after victory in a bloody ten-year civil war.

He is aging and is despised by the Patricians jockeying for...

Peacock will air series in the US. High End Productions holds European rights, AGC controls remainder of the world.

Anthony Hopkins has joined Roland Emmerich’s gladiator series Those About To Die for AGC Television.

Hopkins, who currently stars in Armageddon Time, will portray what is described as the “pivotal role” of the pivotal role of Emperor Vespasian in the epic drama that will air on Peacock in the US.

Production is scheduled to commence at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios in March. Robert Rodat, whose credits include Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot, wrote the screenplay to the series which takes place in the complex,...

German financier-distributor Night Train Media has bought factual indie Curve Media, the prolific UK producer behind Discovery’s Salvage Hunters and Line of Duty star Vicky McClure’s BBC doc series Our Dementia Choir.

Night Train was a number of interested investors after Deadline revealed over the summer that the indie was assessing options, appointing GothamStreet to explore.

BBC Studios used to have a minority stake in Curve and that stake has been bought out by Herbert L. Kloiber’s Night Train.

Run by former Cineflix execs Camilla Lewis and Rob Carey, Curve has developed a reputation over the years for producing respected high-volume factual and, more recently, premium docs. Other credits include the likes of Channel 4’s The Greatest Auction, Paramount+’s Hot Yachts and Sky doc The Scream.

Day-to-day management will remain with Carey and Lewis, who retain significant equity stakes in Curve.

Night Train said the...

Protest

Oscar and Venice-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras and fellow filmmakers Georgia Oakley (“Blue Jean”), Roberto Minervini (“What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?”) and Ondi Timoner (“Last Flight Home”) were among those who protested against the imprisonment of Iranian filmmakers and other incarcerated artists around the world, and to demonstrate support for the tenacious women of Iran who are challenging for their freedom at the BFI London Film Festival on Monday.

They joined festival director Tricia Tuttle, producer Madeleine Molyneaux (“Gospel Hill”); actors Aurélia Petit (“Saint Omer”) and Taki Mumladze (“A Room of My Own”); actor and writer Mariam Khundadze (“To Batumi and every single memory”); writer Morgan M. Page (“Framing Agnes”); industry leaders Tabitha Jackson, Clare Binns and Jason Wood; and other festival delegates in a moment of solidarity and reflection.

They stood together holding the names of imprisoned Iranian filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof, Mostafa Al-Ahmad and Jafar Panahi,...

Click here to read the full article.

Game of Thrones and The Nun actress Charlotte Hope is set to appear as Micki Pistorius, South Africa’s first-ever serial-killer profiler, in Catch Me a Killer, a new true crime series from Germany’s Night Train Media and South Africa’s M-Net/Showmax.

Hope, who played Myranda in Game of Thrones and headlined Starz’s The Spanish Princess as Catherine of Aragon, will star in Catch Me a Killer, which is adapted from Pistorius’ memoir. Set in the mid-90s, the series traces Pistorius’ quest, as a newly-qualified forensic psychologist, to track down South Africa’s most feared killers at a time when the country was gripped by an epidemic of rising crime and mass murder.

“It is always a challenge and a privilege to recreate a real life character and Micki is no exception,” Hope said in a statement. “Micki herself...

Jessica Alexander, who starred in the recent psychological horror movie A Banquet (pictured above) and the dystopian thriller Glasshouse, is now playing the lead role in Fallen, a supernatural series being made for the Brazilian streaming service Globoplay. Fallen is now filming, and given the fact that most of the cast are not Brazilian I have a feeling the show is going to be available on other services than Globoplay at some point.

Alexander’s co-stars include Alexander Siddig (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso), Gijs Blom (The Letter for the King), Timothy Innes (The Last Kingdom), Josefine Koenig (My Name Is Josy), Lawrence Walker (The ReZort), Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness (Days of the Bagnold Summer), Laura Majid (Five), Courtney Chen (FBI: International), and newcomers Esme Kingdom, Maura Bird, Samantha Bell, and Julian Krenn.

Inspired by Lauren Kate’s bestselling Fallen series of novels, the first season of the...

“Shantaram” star Alexander Siddig is set to lead a supernatural series for Brazilian streaming service Globoplay.

“Fallen,” which has begun principal photography, will star Siddig alongside Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”), Jessica Alexander (“Get Even”), Gijs Blom (“The Letter for the King”) and Timothy Innes (“The Last Kingdom”).

Produced by Silver Reel and Night Train Media, and co-produced with Globoplay, “Fallen” (8 x 60′) follows the story of Luce, a young woman who is sent to a cult-like rehab facility called Sword & Cross to serve time for a crime she can’t remember committing.

Among the other residents, she encounters the enigmatic Daniel (Blom) and exasperating but irresistible Cam (Innes), all of whom are under the watchful eye of the sinister chief doctor Howson (Siddig), and devout twin sisters Miriam and Sophia (Niles). Luce must untangle the mystery of who she is and why she has a connection to Daniel that goes far...

Click here to read the full article.

Night Train Media, the German production and investment group run by Herbert L. Kloiber has acquired Swedish distribution and sales group Eccho Rights from Korean media giant Cj Enm, Night Train announced Thursday.

Based in Stockholm, with offices in Istanbul, London, Madrid and Seoul, Eccho Rights is a leading player in the international scripted TV business and was one of the first companies to see the potential in non-English-language drama, particularly from Scandinavia, Turkey and South Korea. The group licenses some 17,000 hours of drama per year and operates direct-to-consumer digital channels that reach more than 10 million subscribers worldwide. Eccho Rights series include Viaplay’s Swedish hit Threesome, the Channel 5 drama Compulsion and South Korean film trilogy Midnight Thriller. The group is also the international distributor for Servant of the People, the Ukrainian comedy series that launched the real-life political career of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Herbert L. Kloiber’s Night Train Media has acquired scripted distributor Eccho Rights from Korean giant Cj Enm, with Eccho Co-Founder Nicola Söderlund retiring.

The 40-staff Eccho, which has offices in Stockholm, Istanbul, London, Madrid and Seoul, will retain independence with Frederik af Malmborg continuing to act as CEO, while Night Train’s Kloiber becomes Chairman of the Eccho Rights board and the Night Train continues to co-finance with third party distributors. Handan Özkubat will continue as Eccho Director of Turkish Drama and digital operations, as will Adam Barth, Director of Co-Production, Development and Acquisitions.

Cj Enm, which recently bought 80 of Endeavor’s scripted content business, acquired Eccho four years ago and the distributor has since been a leader in Turkish, Scandinavian, South Korean and some European drama, shopping the likes of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People, which has seen an uptick of sales since the war,...

German investment and co-production outfit Night Train Media has fully acquired Swedish distributor Eccho Rights, buying Korean media group Cj Enm’s majority stake in the business in the process, Variety can reveal.

The Stockholm-headquartered Eccho Rights is best known for a rich catalogue of Turkish content — which travels extremely well internationally — as well as Scandinavian, Western European and Korean programs. Cj Enm bought a majority stake in the company in December 2018 as part of a drive to expand in Europe, but has now fully sold that stake into Night Train Media.

The deal for Eccho comes almost exactly a year after Night Train Media, which is backed by private equity company Serafin Group, bought a majority stake in Paul Heaney’s London-based distribution outfit BossaNova. It also comes amid a period of significant consolidation within global TV distribution, which recently saw Blue Ant Media take 100 ownership of U.K.

Rupert Everett is to star in AGC Television, Lionsgate Television and Night Train Media espionage drama Gray, which has entered production in Toronto, as the series rounds out key cast. Check out a first-look picture of leads Lydia West and Patricia Clarkson above.

AGC Studios’ TV arm is producing, with Lionsgate, whose involvement was previously announced, and Night Train co-financing. Lionsgate Television International will shop the show internationally in partnership with Herbert L. Kloiber’s Germany-based Night Train. AGC Studios will distribute in the U.S., represented by CAA.

The show stars Clarkson as CIA spy Cornelia Gray, who comes in from the cold after 20 years in hiding and discovers a new mole within her old spy network. Lydia West (It’s a Sin) co-stars.

Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding), Wendy Crewson (Pretty Hard Cases) and Shawn Doyle (Star Trek: Discovery) also have roles, with Tim Rozon (Wynonna Earp, Schitt’s Creek), Jamaal Grant and Benjamin Sutherland announced today to round out the key cast.

John McLaughlin (Black Swan) is writing, based on an idea from author David Baldacci.

Exec producers are AGC’s Stuart Ford and Lourdes Diaz, Clarkson, McLaughlin, Baldacci, director Ruba Nadda, Marc Shmuger, Lionsgate’s Agapy Kapouranis and Elliott Brannon and Night Train’s Kloiber.

Click here to read the full article.

Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding, the Shrek franchise), Wendy Crewson (Pretty Hard Cases, Peacock’s Departure) and Shawn Doyle (Paramount+’s Star Trek: Discovery, Netflix’s Frontier) are joining stars Patricia Clarkson and Lydia West in espionage thriller series Gray.

Other new cast members unveiled on Thursday are Tim Rozon (Schitt’s Creek), Jamaal Grant (USA’s Chucky, Amazon’s The Expanse) and Benjamin Sutherland (Epix’s Billy the Kid, OWN’s The Kings of Napa) round out the cast.

AGC Television, Lionsgate and Night Train Media also announced that principal photography on the eight-part show has started in Toronto and released a first-look photo. Gray is directed by Ruba Nadda (Roswell, NCIS: Los Angeles) who previously worked with Clarkson on the film Cairo Time. The series is written by John McLaughlin (Black Swan, Hitchcock) based on an idea from best-selling author David Baldacci...

The adaptation of T.M. Logan’s novel “The Holiday” has an exclusive trailer and a U.S. release date as it announces a raft of sales.

The four-part limited drama – about “a dream family vacation that quickly turns into a nightmare” – will bow on Spectrum in the U.S. on June 20.

It stars Jill Halfpenny (“Humans”), Owen McDonnell (“Killing Eve”), Lara McDonnel (“Belfast”), and Aidan McArdle (“The Trial of Christine Keeler”). Rounding out the cast are Siobhan Hewlett (“Sherlock”), Liv Mjönes (“Hostage”), Andrew Macklin (“Doctor Who”), Cat Simmons (“Killing Eve”), Milly McCann (“Herself”), Aidan McCann (“Red Rock”) and newcomer Shaun O’Callaghan Wade.

“The Holiday,” which was shot in Malta, tells the story of a family who set off on an idyllic break, joined by some old friends. Things quickly begin to unravel, however, when Kate (Halfpenny) realizes her husband is having an affair with one of the them. “Tensions run...

Paramount Plus has revealed a further slate of scripted and unscripted U.K. original series ahead of the launch of the streaming service in the U.K. this summer.

Scripted original series commissioned by Sebastian Cardwell, deputy chief content officer, U.K., Paramount, as part of the streamer’s plans to greenlight 50 new international scripted originals in 2022, include “The Ex-Wife” (4×60″), based on Jess Ryder’s the hit psychological thriller novel, where a woman’s world of a perfect house, a loving husband and a beautiful little girl is turned upside down when her husband’s ex-wife won’t leave them alone.

Céline Buckens (“Showtrial”) plays the lead role in the series, which is co-produced by Clapperboard Studios, BlackBox Multimedia and Night Train Media, with Night Train Media financing and controlling worldwide distribution rights.

“The Ex-Wife” is written by Catherine Steadman who will also serve as executive producer on the series alongside Mike Benson for Clapperboard,...

Trailer

Variety has been given exclusive access to the international trailer for “Into Dust,” an upcoming dramatic short from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel produced by Grain Media, Rideback and Fuse Entertainment. The short will launch this Friday on streaming platform WaterBear and be available to watch on Apple TV and Roku devices.

“Into Dust” is the true story of Perween Rahman, an activist who was murdered after she stood up to Karachi’s water mafia in the South of Pakistan. Set against the growing global water crisis and its impact on food, health, energy, governance and political stability around the world, the film not only depicts Rahman’s inspiring work, but the fight by those close to her to continue that work after her death, and to battle the forces who cut her life short.

In the trailer, we’re introduced to Rahman, played by Indu Sharma, and...

Spy City creator William Boyd is penning a $20M series about the tragic life of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and his wife Charlotte of Belgium for Herbert Kloiber and Constantin Film’s High End Productions.

The four-part series Maximilian and Carlota will begin filming next year in Austria, Northern Italy, France and Mexico, with a budget estimated to reach the $20M mark.

The young Hapsburg, who was Kaiser Franz Josef’s brother, and his Belgian princess allowed themselves to be persuaded by Napoleon III to sail to the other end of the world in 1864. They sought to do justice to both their own progressive ideals and the political interests of the major European powers as rulers of the Mexican people and were used as political pawns in European colonial politics.

Kloiber, who founded High End Productions earlier this year, said he had been “intrigued” by the story for more than 30 years.

Arrow International Media Creates Head Of Production Posts

American Monster producer Arrow Media has promoted Stephanie Mavropoulos and Carrie Pennifer to joint Heads Of Production posts. Reporting to Managing Director Iain Pelling, the pair will be responsible for overseeing Arrow’s burgeoning factual slate of premium content for major US and UK broadcasters and platforms such as Investigation Discovery’s American Monster and See No Evil. Both have been with the firm for around a decade.

BossaNova Unveils Originals Slate

Fledgling UK factual distribution outfit BossaNova has unveiled shows in the UK, Canada and Australia as part of its second slate of original productions. The quintet of programs includes two series of Seven Australia’s Extreme Tow Truckers, UK regional producer Bright Button’s Hidden Histories of WW2, CBS Reality’s Murder: First On Scene, Sky History/Sbs’ Secrets of the Lost Liners and Canadian Super Channel’s Mysteries of the Ancient Dead.

The CW has acquired the US rights to the action series “Professionals” starring Tom Welling, Brendan Fraser, and Elena Anaya.

The premiere date for the show’s U.S. broadcast debut will be announced at a later date.

“Professionals” follows Vincent Corbo (Welling), a top-tier security operative, who is paid to protect the interests of rich and powerful clients by any means necessary – legal or not. After a next-gen medical satellite explodes on launch, Corbo is hired by the rocket’s designer – billionaire futurist Peter Swann (Fraser) – who suspects sabotage. Complicating Corbo’s new gig is his former paramour and now Swann’s fiancée, medical visionary Dr. Grace Davila (Anaya), who is racing to help stave off a global catastrophe.

As Corbo and his team of veteran security professionals investigate the rocket disaster, they expose a lethal conspiracy of Swann’s corporate rivals, corrupt government officials, and a shadowy crime...

The CW is continuing its interest in international series. The youth-skewing network has acquired Professionals, a loose remake of the Christian Slater-fronted action movie Soldiers of Fortune for Scandinavian SVOD service Viaplay.

The series, which was first revealed by Deadline in 2019, stars Smallville’s Welling as Vincent Corbo, a top-tier security operative, who is paid to protect the interests of rich and powerful clients by any means necessary – legal or not.

After a next-gen medical satellite explodes on launch, Corbo is hired by the rocket’s designer – billionaire futurist Peter Swann, played by Fraser, who suspects sabotage. Complicating Corbo’s new gig is his former paramour and now Swann’s fiancée, medical visionary Dr. Grace Davila, played by Wonder Woman’s Elena Anaya, who is racing to help stave off a global catastrophe. As Corbo and his team of veteran security professionals investigate the rocket disaster, they expose a...

Warner Bros. International Television Production Germany (Wbitvp Germany) has acquired the exclusive international rights to bestselling Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson’s “Dark Iceland” series of crime novels and will co-produce with Herbert L. Kloiber’s Night Train Media.

The “Dark Iceland” series comprises six novels — “Snowblind,” “Blackout,” “Rupture,” “Whiteout,” “Nightblind” and “Winterkill” — published between 2010 and 2020. Set in a remote Icelandic fishing village, they follow protagonist Ari Thór Arason — a rookie detective on his first posting — troubled by a complex past that he is unable to leave behind.

Jónasson said: “I am incredibly honoured and thrilled to be working with Warner Bros. Itvp Germany and Night Train Media. It will be a dream come true to see Ari Thór and the ‘Dark Iceland’ series brought to life on the screen, and I believe that in Warner — with its strong vision and long history of fantastic storytelling — we have found the perfect partner for that adventure.

Former Tele München Group managing director Herbert Kloiber’s Night Train Media has taken a majority stake in London-based non-scripted distributor BossaNova as it looks to align its documentary and drama businesses.

Under the deal, BossaNova — founded last year by non-scripted veterans Paul Heaney and Dina Subhani — will have access to an acquisition fund to fulfil the company’s mission of co-creating and co-funding projects by matching producers with the most relevant platforms and broadcasters: a clever model in the non-scripted arena that was popularized by Heaney at his former company, Tcb Media Rights, which was sold to “Pooch Perfect” distributor Beyond Rights last summer.

Earlier this year, as part of its inaugural BossaNova Development Day, the distributor connected with more than 50 buyers and commissioners from 35 channels and platforms with 30 producers, who pitched over 75 new projects. The company has also recently made its first volume catalogue buy, acquiring more than...

Herbert G. Kloiber, former head of German distributor Tmg, is teaming with Constantin Film to launch High End Productions, based in Vienna.

The aim is for the new company to produce premium European fiction series for the international market under the guidance of MD Jonas Bauer.

Bauer most recently worked at Studiocanal, where he was Head of Acquisitions and Co-productions from 2012 until 2020. He had been executive producer for Tandem Productions since 2005 and (co)-produced and financed numerous projects there, such as Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth and Shadowplay.

Kloiber said: “After 50 years of entrepreneurial activity I decided to take a two-year break. But there are still some exciting projects waiting for first-class production. Both bestselling novels and great historical figures have always fascinated me personally. I would like to realise these with one of the world’s foremost media companies.”

Martin Moszkowicz, CEO, and Oliver Berben, Deputy CEO,...

Exclusive: Munich-based Night Train Media, the company launched last year by former Tele Munchen Group MD Herbert Kloiber, is making its first movie investment in thriller Freegard, starring James Norton (Little Women), Gemma Arterton (The King’s Man) and Shazad Latif (Star Trek Discovery).

Production starts May 31st in London on the feature, which will also star Marisa Abela (Industry), Edwina Findley (The Wire), and Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh).

Based on true events, the movie will chart the story of career conman, Robert Freegard, played by Norton, with Gemma Arterton as the woman who brought him down. Freegard was a master manipulator who convinced countless victims he was undercover MI5 in order to extort and kidnap them. Initially falling for his charms, Arterton’s character became the architect of his downfall and her actions led to his conviction and arrest.

Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn will direct from a script...

“Schitt’s Creek” director Jerry Ciccoritti has signed on to direct and produce a TV adaptation of “The Psychology of Stupidity” by Jean-Francois Marmion. Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell’s Stone Village Television, the producers behind NBC series “Las Vegas” and the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries “Empire Falls,” are teaming up with Herbert Kloiber’s Munich-based production outfit and finance firm Night Train Media to helm the book-to-screen project.

Per the half-hour comedy’s description, “The Psychology of Stupidity” follows neuroscientist psychologist Anthony, who opens a practice to try to cure people of stupid behavior under the mantra that until you accept your own stupidity, you can‘t expect others to stop acting so stupidly. Part survival guide, part self-help, the behavior of the characters will be recognizable to everyone who is truly honest with themselves. “The Psychology of Stupidity” is the first book in a series in...

Korean-American star Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok), star of the upcoming Marvel film “The Eternals” will produce and star in “The Club,” an action series derived from South Korean scripted format “The Trap.”

The production brings together Gorilla 8 Productions, a company owned by Don Lee and B&c Content’s Chris S. Lee, and U.S.-based Starlings Television. No broadcaster or streaming partner has been announced.

Starlings Television president Chris Philip and Starlings Entertainment CEO Karine Martin, who set up the project and take executive producer credits, have attached Jack LoGiudice as showrunner.

The series pitches Lee as a veteran detective investigating a mysterious group of hunters who have attacked a famous news anchor and his family while on a camping trip. The detective, who lost his own son in a hit-and-run, finds himself mired in a twisted mystery orchestrated by an elite and powerful group with disturbing appetites.

In today’s Global Bulletin, Discovery Plus U.K. commissions Diego Maradona doc; BBC One marks 80th anniversary of the Blitz with a new TV special; Channel 5 orders “The Holiday” series; The TV Collective (Tvc), Fremantle and Indigo Talent Breakthrough Leaders team on Breakthrough Leaders initiative; Viasat and Zdfe deal on a raft of programming and InWild will broadcast the #terramatters Festival this holiday season.

Commissions

Following the death of Argentine soccer superstar Diego Maradona, Discovery U.K. has commissioned ITN Productions to produce the fast-turnaround documentary “What Killed Maradona?”

After his Nov. 25 death, the official cause was given as a heart attack. Discovery’s new special will examine the accumulating circumstances of the player’s life which may have contributed to his untimely end. It will feature interviews with sports scientists, doctors and people close to Maradona who discuss how his career and off-field habits likely impacted his health and personal life.

Fremantle Backs Diversity Leadership Scheme

Fremantle has teamed with The TV Collective, Indigo Talent, and former ITV Studios executive Remy Blumenfeld to launch a scheme that will work with 50 middle-to-senior Bame professionals to help them break into industry leadership roles. Under the Breakthrough Leaders initiative, those chosen will be mentored by a top industry figure, have access to coaching, and be part of a cohort of fellow executives. Nominations can be submitted here, with a deadline for entries being set for January 15. The scheme is designed to address industry concerns that there are plenty of entry-level initiatives for people from diverse backgrounds, but Bame professionals are hitting a glass ceiling when it comes to breaking into top roles. Fremantle’s own global leadership team is made up entirely of white executives, while in the UK, Fatima Salaria and Athena Witter are part of the top team.

Discovery Orders Maradona Doc...

In today’s Global Bulletin, WarnerMedia appoints Vanessa Brookman as head of kids for Emea, Discovery commissions two new unscripted series while Channel 5 gets a pair of dramas and the Göteborg Film Festival selects “Tove” as its opening film.

Appointment

WarnerMedia has announced that Vanessa Brookman will be promoted to the newly created position of head of kids for Emea, effective immediately.

The move brings, for the first time, all WarnerMedia’s operational, editorial and creative responsibilities for kids’ content and channel brands in the region under a single remit. The consolidated portfolio includes Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Boing and Cartoonito as well as digital properties on third-party and WarnerMedia streaming platforms.

Brookman will collaborate closely with Johannes Larcher and Christina Sulebakk at HBO Max to improve the platform’s offerings for kids before it launches across Emea markets.

A near-six-year vet at WarnerMedia, Brookman has worked in senior content,...