HBO Max To Build ‘The Bridge’ In Hungary
HBO Max’s Hungarian arm will run a local version of Banijay survival format The Bridge. The format tasks bringing contestants together to build a 250-metre-long bridge to an island for the chance to win a large cash prize, and this latest deal marks its sixth international adaptation. Presented by Csaba Magyarósi, The Bridge Hungary is produced locally by Free Monkeys Production, based on the original Spanish format. Production took place neat Lake Belis in Romania, near the Hungarian border. Deadline understands it was given the greenlight before HBO Max stopped commissioning in the CEE region. Most production staff in Europe have now been let go, as Deadline revealed last month.
eOne Bolsters Canadian Non-Scripted
eOne has bolstered its non-scripted offering in Canada by signing a VP Development and promoting Scott Boyd to the same level. Christine Diakos joins in the newly-created post and will focus on the development, creation and pitching of non-scripted content, with a focus on lifestyle, reality and competition series. She joins from Big Coat Media, where she served as a supervising producer on Love It or List It, Love It or List It Vancouver and Jillian and Justin. Boyd, who joined eOne in 2017, will oversee factual, true crime, and docuseries content. Both report to Jocelyn Hamilton, President – Canada, Television. “Christine’s depth of experience in the lifestyle space will be a perfect complement to Scott’s expertise in factual,” said Hamilton.
Topic & AMC Networks Among Buyers Of Icelandic Drama ‘Blackport’
Blackport, a quirky Icelandic drama set in a small fishing village in the 1980s, is headed to the U.S. and Canada via streamer Topic. Distributor About Premium Content has also sold the show to SBS in Australia, AMC Networks International Southern Europe in Spain and Portugal, RTS in Switzerland and TG4 in Ireland, following pre-sales in several Scandinavian territories after its launch at MipTV. The eight-part series, from Gísli Örn Garðarsson (Ragnarok), Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Trapped, Fortitude) and Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir (Prisoners & The Valhalla Murders), is produced by Vesturport and Turbine Studios for Arte in France and RÚV in Iceland. The Series Mania Grand Prize 2-2021 winner follows married couple Harpa and Grimur, who along with their friends build a small fishing empire thanks to the introduction of the fishing quota system in the country. But the struggle for power deeply corrupts the couple, resulting in a feud of jealousy, greed and betrayal.
Sons of Rigor Films and ScreeningRoom Announce Recipients Of Ukraine Film Grant
Sons of Rigor Films and ScreeningRoom have announced the four recipients of their Ukraine film grants. The four chosen projects are Mission 200 by Volodymyr Sydko, Listening to the World by Yelizaveta Smith, Company of Steel by Yuliia Hontaruk, and Christ is Risen by Volodymyr Yatsenko. Each successful project will receive a $5,000 grant, mentoring, and a one-year ScreeningRoom Pro account. Anna Machukh, head of the Ukraine Film Institute and a judge for the grant, said: “The Ukrainian film industry is going through a difficult time. The full-scale war unleashed by Russia affected all spheres of life without exception, including cinema. It is very important that Ukrainian filmmakers now receive support so that they can continue to shoot. After all, art is a mirror of the reality in which we live. And it is important to preserve it, not break it. Therefore, I am very glad that Ukrainian directors got such an opportunity, got a chance to be seen and heard, and I am very grateful for this.”
WildBrain To Launch New ‘Teletubbies’ Series On YouTube
Hot on the heels opf Netflix’s plan to bring back the Teletubbies, the British kids characters will be appearing in a new YouTube show. Teletubbies, Let’s Go! is a CG-animated preschool series produced by WildBrain Spark’s digital studio. It’s set to launch on the official Teletubbies youTube channel at the end of October, with new episodes appearing weekly. The series introduce a new generation of kids to Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po. Multiple new sun babies, reflecting the diversity of the Teletubbies’ audience, and new music will feature in every episode. WildBrain has also announced the third season of Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City, which will produced out of the Canadian company’s Vancouver studio. Season two of the show launches on Netflix on September 21, with several new buyers, including Kids Central in the U.S. and Sandbox Kids (UK, Ireland, US, Canada, France and Ukraine), attached.
Uncork’d Entertainment Buys Creature Feature ‘Croc!’ & Sci-Fi Action Flick (Exclusive)
Uncork’d Entertainment has bolstered by acquiring fun creature feature Croc! and sci-fi action film The Area 51 Incident. Croc! stars Mark Haldor, Sian Altman and Chrissie Wunna and follows the story of a group of killer crocodiles who crash a wedding. It’s from Jagged Edge Productions. The Area 51 Incident, from Dark Abyss Productions, stars Scott Jeffrey and Megan Purvis. The plot sees a wormhole hidden in Area 51 open, with alien invaders soon overrunning the government facility. A group of survivors take refuge in a nuclear bunker, but can they outlast the creatures before the military arrives?