Film and TV Briefing: Friday 16 May 2025
Welcome to this week’s round-up of news, commentary and industry announcements that you may have missed from the past week.
If you are looking for advice in relation to any of the issues mentioned, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
In the news
Bafta Television Awards winners in full (Bafta)
Filmmakers voice concerns over threatened movie tariffs (BBC)
Unions urge Donald Trump to support Hollywood tax deductions (Variety)
Robert De Niro hits out at tariff proposals on Cannes 2025 opening night (IndieWire)
‘Saturday Night Live UK’ given six-episode run (Broadcast)
Women direct 11% of worldwide top-grossing films, study finds (Variety)
Hollywood union calls for reinstatement of sacked US Copyright Office head (The Hollywood Reporter)
BBC unveils ‘The Celebrity Traitors’ cast (Royal Television Society)
Fremantle revenue drops amid buyers’ “budget cuts” (Deadline)
UK Government blocks attempt to force transparency over AI and copyright (The Guardian)
Features and commentary
Has the industry already moved on from talk of tariffs? (The Hollywood Reporter)
The burning questions ahead of Cannes 2025 (IndieWire)
How traditional British TV can see off threat from US streamers? (BBC)
What Donald Trump’s tariffs could mean for Hollywood (The Guardian)
Europe’s film and TV dubbers lead fightback against AI (The Hollywood Reporter)
Industry announcements
Arts Alliance launches indie co-production initiative (Deadline)
BBC director general pledges to tackle “crisis of trust” (BBC)
ITV Studios dismisses tariff concerns in earnings report (Broadcast)
Sony Pictures profit drops to $774 million (The Hollywood Reporter)
Resources
Film Skills Fund marks 25th year with record investment (ScreenSkills)
Legal updates
Dave Franco and Alison Brie sued over “blatant rip-off” of indie ‘Better Half’ (The Independent)
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