Film and TV Briefing: Friday 19 April 2024

In the news

‘Rust’ armourer sentenced to 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter (BBC)

Quentin Tarantino reportedly abandons plans to make ‘The Movie Critic’, which had been set to be his last film (The Guardian) 

NBCUniversal to take a different approach to coverage of the Paris Olympics, with multiple celebrities playing a role (Variety)

Planned Disney, Fox and WBD sports streaming venture faces scrutiny in a letter from US Congressmembers (The Hollywood Reporter)

Martin Scorsese reportedly in talks about a Frank Sinatra biopic (IndieWire)

Netflix’s “global hits” in 2023 were half the level of 2022, partially explained by last year’s strikes (IndieWire)

AI-generated fake ‘James Bond’ trailer starring Henry Cavill generates 2.3 million views (The Hollywood Reporter)

Political ads could be shown on broadcaster streaming services due to “legal loophole” (The Guardian)

Major new film and HETV studio to be built in Stirling on former MoD land (Broadcast)

Travis Kelce set to host game show for Amazon Prime, ‘Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity’ (BBC)

‘Let It Be’, the 1970 Beatles’ documentary about their final album, to be restored and released on Disney+ (The Guardian)

Marvel makes staff cuts (Variety)

BBC plans to remove automatic pay rises for its highest-paid employees and presenters (Deadline)

Amy Winehouse biopic ‘Back To Black’ leads the UK box office with a £2.7m debut (ScreenDaily)

Features and commentary

Ruben Östlund, the ‘Triangle of Sadness’ director, suggests requiring licences to use cameras (The Guardian)

Robert Downey Jr. on his role in ‘Oppenheimer’ (IndieWire)

Industry announcements

Ofcom announces changes to its Access Services Code (Ofcom)

Line-up announced for the UK’s first major film festival dedicated to Muslim cinema (The Guardian)

Cannes Critics’ Week reveals 2024 selection (Deadline)

The line-up for this year’s Tribeca Film Festival (IndieWire)

BFI Discovery fund, which supports features from debut directors with budgets of up to £3.5m, is open for applications (BFI)

Global Production Awards 2024 shortlist (Broadcast)

Resources

Pact’s guidance on recent changes to UK employment law (Pact)

Guidance on calculating the new Independent Film Tax Credit (Pact)

Legal updates

False advertising lawsuit regarding the trailer for ‘Yesterday’ is settled (Variety)

Group of actors sue Casting Network over allegations of a pay-for-play system (Variety)

Hugh Grant settles privacy case against News Group Newspapers (BBC)