Film and TV Briefing: Friday 6 May 2022
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
Channel 4 publishes alternative plan to privatisation (The Guardian)
Shareholders sue Netflix following the streamer’s disclosure of subscriber loss (IndieWire)
BECTU says there is “fury” over pay warning issued by NI Screen (BBC)
New report finds that only 17% of European television directors are women (The Hollywood Reporter)
75% of Channel 4’s production could be moved in-house upon privatisation of Channel 4 (Pact)
‘Unchartered’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ lead VOD charts following theatrical release (IndieWire)
Channel 4's attempt to remain independent and DCMS’s initial response (Variety)
Florida taxpayers sue DeSantis over repeal of Disney’s special tax district (The Hollywood Reporter)
Netflix could lose licensed hit shows to rivals (The Guardian)
Netflix axes Meghan Markle’s series ‘Pearl’ amongst cuts to programming (IndieWire)
Amber Heard takes the stand in defamation case brought by Johnny Depp (The Hollywood Reporter)
Paramount+ to be rolled out to UK, South Korea and India (ScreenDaily)
Man charged for on-stage attack on Dave Chappelle at LA comedy festival (BBC)
CinemaCon 2022: Five key points (ScreenDaily)
Sundance Film Festival 2023 will be a hybrid event (IndieWire)
Features and commentary
Should good directors be wary of television? (IndieWire)
Are the forthcoming ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Avatar’ sequels too late? (IndieWire)
Industry announcements
Sir Billy Connolly to receive this year's BAFTA Fellowship (BBC)
The Film and TV Production Restart Scheme has now closed (Pact)
Final consultation on setting up an independent standards authority for tackling bullying and harassment in the UK film and TV industry (The Hollywood Reporter)
Resources
BBC, Channel 4, Paramount and UKTV launch fund to boost production management skills (Pact)
2022 film festivals: Dates, postponements and cancellations (ScreenDaily)
Covid protocols at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (Variety)
Legal updates
Simkins’ Hugo Mason considers what musicians can take away from the Ed Sheeran judgment (Simkins)
