Film and TV Briefing: Friday 17 February 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
The Government Restart Scheme has reportedly left some producers in the lurch (Deadline)
Bruce Willis’ family announces that the star has dementia (BBC)
Filming to resume on ‘Rust’, with Alec Baldwin to remain in lead role (The Guardian)
Oscars president admits poor handling of response to Will Smith slap (Variety)
BBC commissions Grenfell Tower drama (Variety)
Scrapped ‘Batgirl’ film was hampered by Scottish weather (BBC)
John Cleese warns of less physical comedy in ‘Fawlty Towers’ reboot (Deadline)
Further calls for BBC chairman to resign (BBC)
BBC to air documentary and podcast series about Kanye West (The Hollywood Reporter)
Andrea Riseborough says she has been “deeply impacted” by Oscars nomination row (BBC)
Features and commentary
The magic of Disney: is it wearing off? (BBC)
How Hallmark built an empire of rom-coms (The Guardian)
Playing a TV villain (The Guardian)
Industry announcements
BFI commits to up to £6m of funding for documentaries over the next three years (BFI)
ScreenSkills launches new Discover Creative Careers 2023-2025 programme (ScreenSkills)
2023 London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2023: full programme announced (BFI)
Resources
Selling yourself as an independent producer (Pact)
Pact ‘Industry Trends’ series: new episode on “network programming in the streaming era” (Pact)
Legal updates
IPSO to formally investigate Jeremy Clarkson’s Meghan Markle column in The Sun (Variety)
