John Hopewell

John Hopewell

Olive Kitteridge, Mare of Easttown and… Penny Wilding? In ‘After the Party,’ Series Mania Winner Robyn Malcolm Joins the Ranks of TV’s Most Beloved Anti-Heroines

“After the Party” came from anger, says co-creator Dianne Taylor. “It came from a lot of anger.”  “Robyn delivered an amazing audition for something I wrote, and the director said ‘no.’ He said she was ‘too mature’ for the role, even though it was written for someone her age. We decided to make something together, where a […]

‘La Lucha,’ Set in the World of Wrestling, Rolls in the Canary Islands as Homegrown Cinema Blooms (EXCLUSIVE)  

After a decade working as a creative producer and DP (“White on White”), José Angel Ayalón, co-founder of Tenerife-based El Viaje Films, has moved into production on “La Lucha,” a feature film set against the background of lucha canaria wrestling, a contact sport dating back to ancient times. “La Lucha” marks the latest title from […]

BBC Three Series ‘Boarders’ Exposes Dirty Little Secrets – and Hidden Racism – of Britain’s Private Schools: ‘These Posh White Guys Do Some Crazy Things’

Forget “Saltburn” – now, it’s up to BBC Three’s series “Boarders” to take an honest look at Britain’s most exclusive private schools.  “You hear so many horror stories about these places, but it’s a rite of passage. So many of our PMs and people of power went there. I think there is something called ‘boarding […]

Stranger than Most Fiction: New South Korean Shows Introduce a Woman Traveling in Time To Save Her Favorite Star, Kid Teaming Up with a Kidnapper and a Man Who Dies 12 (!) Times

South Korean dominance shows no signs of stopping, delivering even more outrageous storylines. In SLL’s “Death’s Game,” a Prime Video Original fantasy drama based on a webtoon, a hard-working man – “who knows how to make lemonade out of the lemons,” said sales executive Youseon Jee at Series Mania – finally reaches his breaking point.  […]

‘You Can’t Manufacture Authenticity’: the Makers of Australian Series ‘House of Gods’ Talk Challenging Stereotypes, Religion and Community

“House of Gods,” a Matchbox Pictures six-part series, boasting an entirely Arab Australian cast, presents a perspective seldom seen on screen, a Muslim community in Fairfield, Australia.  “You can’t manufacture authenticity. Audiences are so intuitive and adept, they can smell if something is off a mile away. So for us, having actors who understood the […]

Why Series Mania Has Grown So Big, This Year’s Buzz Titles and Other Takes on the Top European TV Festival   

LILLE, France  –Bowing in 2010 as a boutique event at Paris’ Forum des Images – though launched with an absolute conviction in the cultural import of premium TV series, Series Mania will kick off its 15th edition on March 15 in Lille, Eastern France, reconfirming it status as the biggest dedicated TV festival in Europe.  It does so […]

Tuva Novotny Starrer ‘All and Eva’ from ‘New Comedy Queen of Sweden’ Johanna Runevad, Takes Love Seriously, Sells to Australia, Spain and Greece (EXCLUSIVE)

“All and Eva,” starring “Annihilation’s” Tuva Novotny, has been acquired by Australia’s SBS, EITB, the Basque Country public broadcaster in Spain, and Vodafone TV in Greece, ahead of its SeriesMania premiere. “We are extremely excited about the fast-growing global buzz around this charming dramedy and thrilled for many more markets to come on board, once they […]

Beta Boards Canneseries’ ‘Operation Sabre,’ About the Killing of Serbian PM Zoran Đinđic: ’People Who Fight for Change Are Always a Timely Topic’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Beta Film has acquired international distribution rights to Serbian crime thriller “Operation Sabre” (“Sablja”) about the assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić.  The eight-hour series – selected for Canneseries’ Long Form Competition – is created and directed by Goran Stanković and Vladimir Tagić. The duo already collaborated on “Morning Changes Everything” and wrote […]

‘Saturn Return,’ ‘Radical,’ ‘Little Loves’ Top Spain’s Malaga Festival

MALAGA — Isaki Lacuesta’s “Saturn Return” (“Second Prize”), always a frontrunner topped this week’s Malaga Festival winning its best picture and, with co-director Pol Rodríguez, best director awards.  The double plaudit delivers further recognition for a feature which pulls off the double achievement of being formally radical and great fun at one and the same […]