News

Streaming in Europe on Netflix, “Bardot" is a 6-episode, France-produced drama TV series, created, directed by Danièle Thompson and Christopher Thompson, starring Julia de Nunez as the iconic film actress:

"...the series follows the career of French cinema actress Brigitte Bardot, from her first casting as a teenager...

"...to the filming of Henri-Georges Clouzot's feature "La Vérité"..."

Cast also includes Victor Belmondo as 'Roger Vadim', Jules Benchetrit as 'Sami Frey'...

...Géraldine Pailhas as 'Anne-Marie Mucel'...

...Hippolyte Girardot as 'Louis Bardot', Yvan Attal as 'Raoul Lévy'......

...... Anne Le Ny as 'Olga Horstig', Louis-Do de Lencquesaing as 'Henri-Georges Clouzot'...

...Laurent Stocker as 'Pierre Lazareff'...

...Oscar Lesage as 'Jacques Charrier', Noham Edje as 'Jean-Louis Trintignant'...

...Fabian Wolfrom as 'Sacha Distel' and Mikaël Mittelstadt as 'Gilbert Bécaud'.

Click the images to enlarge...

Less than three months after being tapped CEO of Banijay France, Alexia Laroche-Joubert, a well-known industry figure, has enlisted Authentic Media, a leading French premium scripted banner that will join the “Peaky Blinders” production-distribution powerhouse.

The acquisition of Authentic Media, who produced hit French adaptations of series such as “Rita” and “This is Us,” took a couple of years to materialize and will further bolster Banijay France’s portfolio of scripted labels. These include the in-house outfits Banijay Studio France and Shine Fiction; as well as Fiction’Air (“Les Disparus de la Forêt Noire”); Terence Films (“Rivière-Perdue”); Montmartre; Screen Line (“Trash”); and Marathon, which has three series in development.

Founded in 2011 by Aline Panel, Authentic Media’s production output spans drama, film, and documentary. With 15 projects in development, the company has developed seven seasons of “Sam,” based on the Nordic series hit “Rita” which was created by Christian Torpe for...

Red Bull Studios and London-based Featuristic Films have partnered on “Art of the Jump,” a feature documentary about the life and career of Sébastien Foucan, a well-known French athlete.

Directed by James Kermack, the documentary follows Foucan’s humble upbringing in the French suburb of Lisses to sports stardom. Foucan is known for participating in extreme sports such as freerunning and parkour, where he crosses obstacles through the use of running, jumping, climbing and rolling.

The film is produced by Julien Loeffler and James Kermack for Featuristic Films and Philipp Manderla and Dominique Cutts for Red Bull Studios. Production on the film recently wrapped after shooting across the U.K. and France.

“Sébastien Foucan’s story is a testament to the power of determination, innovation and the relentless pursuit of one’s dreams, dreams that ultimately come at a cost,” said Kermack, who described Foucan as “a man who refuses...

Board makes “difficult decision” ahead of October event.

The ongoing Hollywood strikes have struck again, this time forcing the Franco-American Cultural Fund (Facf) to cancel its Los Angeles event the American French Film Festival.

The Facf, which brings together the DGA, MPA, WGA and France’s authors’ rights organisation Sacem, said its board members made the “difficult decision” this week to cancel, explaining that it was “not possible to continue with business as usual”.

The group said it was “keenly aware of the impact of this decision on the filmmakers, actors, producers, and distributors of the films and series that were due to be featured,...

The American French Film Festival, which had been due to take place in L.A. from October 18 to 22, has been shelved due to the writers and actors strikes.

The Franco-American Cultural Fund (Facf) which oversees the event (formerly known as Colcoa) said it had made the difficult to decision to cancel the 2023 edition after a board meeting.

“The Facf Board of Directors determined this week that it was not possible to continue with business as usual,” the fund said in a statement.

The festival said it would still announce the full 2023 festival slate as originally planned on September 27 to honor the projects that were selected.

Previously announced elements of the program included the U.S. premiere of TV bio-drama Bardot, about the life of Brigitte Bardot, in the presence of co-creator Danièle Thompson.

“The Facf is keenly aware of the impact of this decision on the filmmakers, actors, producers, and...

‘Bardot’ Series Sells After Netflix Launch

Bardot, the French series about the younger years of film star Brigitte Bardot, has sold into a raft of international territories soon after its recent launch on Netflix. The Danièle Thompson and Christopher Thompson series debuted on Netflix in several European territories on August 23, having taken strong ratings on France 2 back in May. Federation Studios, which produces and sells the show, has shopped to AMC Iberia in Spain, Tvp in Poland, Nova in Greece, Mtva in Hungary, Rtvs in Slovaquia, Ltv and Tet+ in Latvia, Err in Estonia and Finch Media, which distributes content in Eastern Europe. Netflix was among a tranche of buyers who had previous bought it, though no U.S. or UK buyer has emerged yet. Federation said negotiations were planned in further European and English-speaking territories. Bardot is set to get a U.S. festival debut at the American French...

The French film star has spoken of her frustration at her lasting fame, but has agreed to a drama series about her life

She is one of cinema’s most celebrated stars but, having made her last film decades ago, Brigitte Bardot cannot understand why anyone is still interested in her life, according to the maker of a new drama series about the French actor.

Bardot expressed her frustration in a letter to Oscar-nominated Monégasque film-maker Danièle Thompson, the writer-director of the new drama series Bardot.

Exclusive: Bardot, the TV drama about the life of actress Brigitte Bardot, is headed Stateside.

The six-part series be presented in its entirety on the closing night of The American French Film Festival (Tafff) and will be competing in the fest’s Best Series Award category. Co-creator Danièle Thompson will attend the screening.

The Federation Studios drama is billed as “a post-wwii Pygmalion story” in which the young Bardot ignites a sexual revolution in France, only to struggle with her role in that and the cult of celebrity that surrounds her.It traces her life the in 1950s from her first audition aged 15 to her explosive international breakout film, God Created Woman to her performance in Henri-Georges Cluzot’s Truth in 1960.

Julia de Nunez plays Bardot, with Vincent Belmondo playing her first husband, writer/director Roger Vadim. Hippolyte Girardot and Géraldine Paihas also star.

Federation produces and distributes the series,...

"Bardot" is the new 6-episode, live-action, France-produced drama TV series, created, directed by Danièle Thompson and Christopher Thompson, starring Julia de Nunez, airing in 2023 on France 2:

"...the series follows the career of French cinema actress Brigitte Bardot, from her first casting as a teenager...

"...to the filming of Henri-Georges Clouzot's feature "La Vérité"..."

Cast also includes Victor Belmondo as 'Roger Vadim', Jules Benchetrit as 'Sami Frey'...

...Géraldine Pailhas as 'Anne-Marie Mucel'...

...Hippolyte Girardot as 'Louis Bardot', Yvan Attal as 'Raoul Lévy'...... 

...... Anne Le Ny as 'Olga Horstig', Louis-Do de Lencquesaing as 'Henri-Georges Clouzot'...

...Laurent Stocker as 'Pierre Lazareff'...

...Oscar Lesage as 'Jacques Charrier', Noham Edje as 'Jean-Louis Trintignant'...

...Fabian Wolfrom as 'Sacha Distel' and Mikaël Mittelstadt as 'Gilbert Bécaud'.

Click the images to enlarge...

</ifram...

“Bardot” star Julia de Nunez didn’t intend to make such a splash this early. As a drama student, she was happy to hone her craft, and planned to someday try for France’s National Conservatory, if they would have her. But when she saw a casting notice for an upcoming series – and one that resonated with her in a personal way – she had to answer the call.

“Of course, I knew Brigitte Bardot as an actress and singer,” de Nunez tells Variety. “And funnily enough I was often told that I resembled her. In fact, I myself noticed the resemblance as a young girl. So it was all the more amusing to read for the role. It made sense somewhere in my life.”

Sufficient to say the Franco-Argentine actress got the role, and would embody the midcentury icon in Daniele and Christopher Thompson’s limited series “Bardot,” which follows the iconic B.

Best-selling novelist and showrunner Harlan Coben kicked off the 62nd edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival Friday with an expression of solidarity with the striking members of the Writers Guild of America, of which he is a member.

Coben, the co-showrunner and executive producer of Prime Video series “Harlan Coben’s Shelter,” which opened the festival with the world premiere of its first episode, said he wouldn’t be taking part in the promotion of the show at the festival to demonstrate his support for the strike.

Standing on stage alongside Monaco’s Prince Albert II, the festival’s honorary president, Coben said: “I am just going to say I am supporting the Writers Guild of America, my union, that is striking right now, so I am not going to participate in any of the question and answers, and none of the media – I’m just here for the prince, and...

UK production company is looking to make as many as 10 films this year.

Bardot and Cold Meat producer Featuristic Films has appointed former Motion Picture Capital production executive Laura Brook as head of film.

The appointment was confirmed this week by Julien Loeffler, managing director at the London-based company which is now looking to expand.

Brook’s appointment follows on from that of former UKTV and Wag Entertainment exec Meredith Coral as Featuristic Films’ head of TV last year.

At Motion Picture Capital Brook worked on projects such as Netflix’s The Titan and Kodachrome with Ed Harris, Elizabeth Olsen and Jason Sudeikis.

Exclusive: Fremantle has acquired global distribution rights to the upcoming Brigitte Bardot documentary.

TF1’s Bardot from Alain Berliner (Ma Vie en Rose), which will air later this year on the French network, is a 90-minute feature from Featuristic Films and Timpelpictures that aims to unearth the true life story of a “muse to the greatest artists who was often misunderstood.”

Fremantle will sell around the world and Deadline can reveal that the likes of Paul Watson, Claude Lelouch, Allain Bougrain-Dubourg and Jean-Max Rivière are taking part in the doc.

Bardot was one of the first French movie stars to attain worldwide fame. The And God Created Woman star lived a life under the spotlight, thrown from success to scandal until she almost completely disappeared. Seen in the present day as an enigma, Bardot, who will shortly turn 90, shares her current outlook on life, being ahead of her time on women’s rights,...

"Bardot" is the new 6-episode, live-action, France-produced drama TV series, created, directed by Danièle Thompson and Christopher Thompson, starring Julia de Nunez, airing in 2023 on France 2:

"...the series follows the career of French cinema actress Brigitte Bardot, from her first casting as a teenager...

"...to the filming of Henri-Georges Clouzot's feature "La Vérité"..."

Cast also includes Victor Belmondo as 'Roger Vadim', Jules Benchetrit as 'Sami Frey'...

...Géraldine Pailhas as 'Anne-Marie Mucel'...

...Hippolyte Girardot as 'Louis Bardot', Yvan Attal as 'Raoul Lévy'...... 

...... Anne Le Ny as 'Olga Horstig', Louis-Do de Lencquesaing as 'Henri-Georges Clouzot'...

...Laurent Stocker as 'Pierre Lazareff'...

...Oscar Lesage as 'Jacques Charrier', Noham Edje as 'Jean-Louis Trintignant'...

...Fabian Wolfrom as 'Sacha Distel' and Mikaël Mittelstadt as 'Gilbert Bécaud'.

Click the images to enlarge...

Once pitted against each other as rivals, streamers and broadcasters have become unlikely allies in the face of increased competition and economic pressure following the pandemic and the launch of more content viewing platforms.

Even in France, where Netflix was referred to as the “devil” by France Televisions president Delphine Ernotte Cunci in a 2019 interview, the tide has turned and a number of ambitious series have been jointly financed by both local broadcasters and streamers.

Examples of collaborations vary from period drama series such as “The Bonfire of Destiny” and “Women at War,” from TF1 and Netflix, to action series like Ziad Doueiri’s “Dark Hearts,” from France Televisions and Amazon Prime Video. What do these shows have in common? They shot in French with local casts, and have the high budgets and production values that are typically allocated to international co-productions like “Marie Antoinette,” which shot in English and...

While she retired prematurely at the age of 39, Brigitte Bardot has left an indelible mark on France’s popular culture in the 1960s and 1970s. With her wild blonde mane, smoky eyes and pouty lips, Bardot became a symbol of a modern, effortlessly sexy French woman and a style emblem that continues to inspire current trends.

The event series “Bardot,” which is penned and directed by Daniele Thompson (“The Queen Margot”) and Christopher Thompson (“La bûche”), world premiered at Series Mania Festival to unanimous praise and has been pre-sold by Federation nearly worldwide.

“‘Bardot’ is like the French ‘The Crown’ because Bardot embodied France, and through her journey we reminisce about many parts of France’s history and popular culture in the 1950s and 1960s,” Federation’s boss and “Bardot” producer Pascal Breton told Variety. “That era is a historical moment where everything changes, where we go from black and white to color,...

Lille’s Series Mania Forum is kicking off today with a packed schedule of talks, screenings and competitions.

Fighting it out in International Competition are the likes of Prime Video’s Toni Collette starrer The Power, Haven of Grace from Magnetic Beats director Vincent Maël Cardona, and Quoc Dang Tran’s Apple TV+ series Drops of God.

They compete against Greek series Milky Way, which opened the festival, Viaplay’s futuristic Russell Tovey drama The Fortress, Red Skies from Israel, The Actor from Iran and Fleeting Lies from Spain. Each will have its world premiere at the event.

The Power is a fantasy series set in a world where the physical balance of power between men and women switches when electric arcs emerge from the fingers of teenage girls all around the world. Debuting later this month, it comes from Sister, the UK producer behind Chernobyl and is based on Naomi Alderman’s sci-fi novel.

Based in the northern French town of Lille since 2018, Series Mania has emerged as a key showcase for premium series and a spotlight for international creators — though, given the wider forces shaping the TV business, that spotlight has often shone on talent from the same three or four territories. And so, when programming the latest edition, the Series Mania brass looked to widen the field.

“This year, we will introduce our attendees to new narrative modes and visual possibilities,” says general director Laurence Herszberg. “Because we’ve discovered so many series from countries that haven’t often attended the major festivals, with creative outputs that are much lesser-known. We want to celebrate them as well.”

Running March 17–24, this edition boasts 55 series culled from 396 submissions encompassing more than 60 countries, with titles from Uruguay (“The Universe Conspires”), Benin (“Black Santiago Club”) and an Indo-Pakistani production (“Limboland”) all appearing at Series Mania for the very first time.

Woody Allen’s ’Wasp 2022,’ ’Murder Mystery 2’ and Apple TV+’s Benjamin Franklin biopic among the prestige projects to shoot.

Paris enjoyed record levels of production in 2022, with 102 features and 68 series filmed in the city throughout the year.

The French capital saw 7,500 shooting days, up from 2021’s then-record 7,000 shooting days. In 2019, before the pandemic, Paris registered 5,000 days of shooting.

Feature film production dipped slightly from 110 films in 2021, but series were up from 64 the previous year.

Among the major international titles filming in Paris were Woody Allen’s Coup De Chance, rumoured to be the prolific director’s 50th and last film.

Event closes with Anna Winger’s Netflix series Transatlantic.

Series Mania will kick off its 2023 event with Cédric Klapisch’s Amazon French Original series Greek Salad before serving up 32 world premieres, an industry Forum, and closing with Anna Winger’s Netflix series Transatlantic.

The International Competition of the annual television festival and industry event includes Franco-Belgian Arte series Grace of Heaven, Apple TV+, France Televisions and Hulu Japan’s Drops of God, Paramount+’s Spanish Fleeting Lies, Reshet 13’s Israeli series Red Skies, Viaplay’s Norwegian The Fortress and Prime Video’s US series The Power. Among the titles from...

The world premieres of Cédric Klapisch’s Amazon Prime Video show “Greek Salad” and Anna Winger’s Netflix series “Transatlantic” will open and close the 2023 edition of Series Mania.

The event will feature masterclasses with “Succession” star Brian Cox, “Westworld” producer Lisa Joy, who also will preside over the international competition jury, Klapisch and renowned French actors Cécile de France (“Lost Illusions”) and Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (“Emily in Paris”).

Series in the international competition this year include Arte’s “Grace of Heaven” (France/Belgium); Apple TV+, France Télévisions, Hulu Japan’s “Drops of God” (France/U.S./Japan); Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies” (Spain); Mega TV’s “Milky Way” (Greece); Reshet 13’s “Red Skies” (Israel); Filimo, Namava’s “The Actor” (Iran); Viaplay’s “The Fortress” (Norway); and Prime Video’s “The Power” (U.S.)

The international jury, which also includes French actor Emmanuelle Béart, British showrunner-screenwriter Chris Chibnall (“Broadchurch”), French-British singer-songwriter and actor Lou Doillon,...