Film and TV Briefing: Friday 10 February 2023

February 10, 2023

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 

Lucy Frazer appointed Culture Secretary in cabinet reshuffle (Variety)

CMA interim findings cast doubt on Microsoft's proposed merger with Activision (Variety)

John Cleese to write and star in reboot of ‘Fawlty Towers’ with his daughter (BBC)

Finale of ‘Happy Valley’ is this year’s most-watched television programme so far (The Guardian)

Netflix acquires ‘Scoop’, a film about Prince Andrew's BBC interview (The Hollywood Reporter)

Mediawan Kids & Family acquires majority stake in Wildseed Studios in its first international acquisition (Variety)

Disney announces sequels to 'Toy Story', 'Frozen’, and ‘Zootopia' (Deadline)

BBC Chairman denies arranging Boris Johnson loan (BBC)

Disney working toward making $5.5billion of cost savings (Deadline)

Netflix will block devices attempting to log in to accounts outside a ‘household’ (Variety)

Features and commentary 

Is the ‘Fawlty Towers’ revival a good idea? (The Guardian)

The distinctive cinematography of ‘TÁR’ (IndieWire)

Is CGI kissing the future of film? (The Guardian)

Industry announcements 

Bectu’s response to the appointment of a new Culture Secretary and the “refocussing of DCMS” (Bectu)

Films announced for BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2023 (BFI)

Resources 

ScreenSkills Select Congress 2023 (ScreenSkills)

Pact’s ‘Industry Trends’ series: new episode on “the cruel math” of steaming (Pact)

Tips on hiring production talent (Pact)

Legal updates 

Clarification on the scope of the new Pact Bectu TV Drama Agreement (Pact)

Astrid BulmerAstrid Bulmer
Astrid Bulmer
Astrid Bulmer
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Associate

News & Insights