Ravindran International: Last News

Manori Ravindran International Editor “The Last Days of the Space Age” creator David Chidlow has signed with CAA for representation. The writer-director works across shows in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Most recently, he is the writer, creator and showrunner behind Disney+’s eight-part series, “The Last Days of the Space Age.” Set in 1979 Western Australia, the series is billed as a comedy drama that centers on three families whose relationships are put to the test while major social and political events — such as the Miss Universe pageant and the U.S. Space Station Skylab crashing just outside the suburb — throw everything into disarray.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Love Island” host Laura Whitmore has quit the U.K. reality show after two and a half years.Whitmore, a close friend of former host Caroline Flack, famously took over from the long-time presenter in January 2020, shortly after her December 2019 arrest for domestic assault and two months before Flack’s untimely suicide.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Poldark’s” Aidan Turner will star as a maverick coach guiding an up-and-coming tennis player (Ella Lily Hyland) to stardom in Amazon Prime Video’s new U.K. drama “Fifteen-Love.”Created by Hania Elkington, “Fifteen-Love” explores the fictional story of Justine Pearce (Hyland), a young sports prodigy, who enjoyed a meteoric rise in the world of Grand Slam Tennis, aided by her coach Glenn Lapthorn (Turner), with whom she shared an intense rapport.Together they reached the semi-final of the French Open but Justine’s dream was cut brutally short by a devastating injury and the end of her professional career.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Are You The One?” is crossing the pond.A British version of the hit matchmaking series is launching later this summer on MTV channels outside the U.S. and via streamer Paramount+ in the U.K. The show is the first U.K.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Sex Education” star Mimi Keene has signed with UTA in all areas.Keene stars in Netflix comedy “Sex Education” as Ruby Matthews opposite Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson and new “Doctor Who” star Ncuti Gatwa. Keene’s Ruby is one of the main characters on the show, and rules over fictional high school Moordale with an iron fist, but goes on a journey in the show’s later seasons, eventually striking up a relationship with Butterfield’s Otis Milburn.“Sex Education,” one of Netflix’s biggest shows out of the U.K.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Spinning Gold” director Timothy Scott Bogart has set up his next projects on the heels of his musical biopic about his father, Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart.Bogart will produce the semi-autobiographical feature “North Star” from Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan (“My Left Foot,” “In the Name of the Father”), which tells the story of the director’s early life in Northern Ireland. U2 musicians Bono and The Edge are in discussions to compose original music for the film, Variety can reveal.Meanwhile, Bogart will also write and direct the modern pop-music driven, 1191-set “Marian,” which charts the love story of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, with music from Grammy-winning songwriter Evan Bogart.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Snowpiercer” producer Tomorrow Studios has struck a first-look deal with Frank Spotnitz’s London-based production company Big Light Prods.Under the deal, Tomorrow Studios will tap into Big Light’s network of established and emerging writers and its pursuit of IP for projects to produce together under one development slate.Big Light Prods. specializes in returning and limited dramas for the global market.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” star Simon Merrells and “We Hunt Together’s” Hermione Corfield will lead the sci-fi thriller “A Million Days.”Signature Entertainment (“Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts”) will introduce the film to buyers at next month’s Cannes Film Festival as part of its international sales slate. The film is the third pic from photographer and director Mitch Jenkins, whose debut feature “The Show” was written by graphic novel legend and “Watchmen” creator Alan Moore.The film stars Simon Merrells (who will soon appear in the “Lord of the Rings” prequel series for Amazon’s Prime Video) alongside Hermione Corfield (“Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi”), Kemi-Bo Jacobs (“London Has Fallen”) and Darrell D’Silva (“Wrath of Man”).

Manori Ravindran International Editor“The English Patient” co-stars Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes will reunite in Uberto Pasolini’s “The Return,” a gritty retelling of Odysseus’ return home from war.The film is an original take on Homer’s “The Odyssey” with a script by John Collee (“Master & Commander”) and U.K. playwright Edward Bond, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Blow-Up.”“The Return” is produced by James Clayton and Pasolini for Red Wave Films, while Roberto Sessa’s Picomedia is providing funding.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“It’s a Sin” actor Lydia West is set to star alongside Patricia Clarkson in spy thriller “Gray.”Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios is financing the eight-part show and will distribute it in the U.S., represented by CAA, while Lionsgate International will handle distribution in the rest of the world.West co-stars alongside Clarkson, who plays CIA spy Cornelia Gray who emerges from 20 years in hiding, dodging the government agents who suspected her of being a traitor. But just as she returns to her old life, it’s discovered that there’s a new mole in her old spy network.West replaces “Game of Thrones” star Nathalie Emmanuel, who was previously attached to star in the series.“Gray” is produced by AGC Television, the television production and distribution arm of AGC Studios.

Manori Ravindran International EditorNetflix may not have been at the MipTV market in Cannes in any substantial way this year, but the service was certainly front and center in a keynote by HBO Max International boss Johannes Larcher.In a bold presentation, Larcher pointed to his competitor’s international might as a motivating factor for HBO Max’s own growth outside the U.S. In a number of slides dedicated solely to Netflix, the former Hulu exec highlighted the projected growth in Netflix’s international subscribers from 2021 to 2026 (147 subscribers in 2021 to an estimated 266 subscribers by 2026).“Netflix is clearly reaching saturation in the domestic market.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“The Killing Fields” and “The Mission” director Roland Joffé is in talks to helm an epic drama spanning the two World Wars in a project set up with international film and media fund APX Capital Group.“L’Inverno” is the first pic to emerge from APX’s new Music World Films & TV venture — a new division headed by Mathew Knowles (Beyoncé’s father), who sold his Music World Entertainment Group to APX last month. As part of the deal, the film and TV division of Knowles’ company has been merged with the studio.APX will complete the financing on “L’Inverno,” with the $12-million budgeted movie starting principal photography in Rome, Italy, this fall.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Dexter” and “The Blacklist” producer Daniel Cerone has boarded the U.K. adaptation of Japanese crime drama format “Connected,” Variety can reveal.The veteran producer is overseeing the U.K.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler, one of the most promising directors working in Hollywood today, was detained by Bank of America staff in Atlanta back in January after he was mistaken for a bank robber.The director confirmed the incident to Variety. “This situation should never have happened,” he said.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Sexy Beast” is back, and it’s part of a slate of six international scripted originals heading to Paramount Plus, Variety can reveal.The long-simmering “Sexy Beast” prequel series has evidently been resuscitated for the streamer after being scrapped for Paramount Network in 2020.The U.K.-originated show, based on the cult classic film of the same name, centers on the characters of Gal Dove and Don Logan (originally played by Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley, respectively) as they descend into London’s criminal underbelly during the volatile 1990s.Paramount Plus describes the series as “a love story between two men — à la Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” It’s produced by Chapter One and VIS, with showrunner Michael Caleo (“The Sopranos”) attached. Also heading to Paramount Plus out of the U.K.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“NCIS” is heading down under.The long-running CBS franchise is being adapted for Paramount Plus Australia and broadcaster Network 10 in a deal that marks the first international edition for the CBS Studios-produced juggernaut.“NCIS: Sydney” will launch in 2023 and feature local stories with Aussie actors and producers. “NCIS: Los Angeles” creator Shane Brennan, who is Australian and first joined the franchise back in 2007, is attached.The commission is a clever way for Paramount Plus to bulk up its local offering in Australia, where the service launched in August 2021 and already takes advantage of content from the ViacomCBS-backed local linear offering, Channel 10.Paramount Plus is slowly expanding internationally and will finally launch in Europe this year.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Kim’s Convenience” star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee has set up his next project.The Canadian actor, who played Appa on the CBC comedy over five seasons, is set to host “Fandemonium,” a new series delving into the sub-cultures of makers, artists and collectors inspired by franchises such as Star Wars, Ghostbusters and Nintendo.The show is in development at Great Pacific Media, the factual production company owned by Vancouver’s Thunderbird Entertainment Group, who also produced “Kim’s Convenience.”“‘Fandemonium’ will bring to the forefront the creative enthusiasts who have turned their love of pop culture into something spectacular,” said David Way, president of Great Pacific Media. “Hosted by the acclaimed actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who is a die-hard fan himself, the series will showcase all the creativity and community that a fictional world can create, from a fan-built, one-of-a-kind custom pinball machine to the mechanic who makes screen-accurate movie car replicas to the YouTubers turning fictional movie props into reality.” Lee will investigate different fandoms in each episode, highlighting everything from rare collectables to long-lost props and outrageous fan builds — all while meeting the people behind them.“‘Fandemonium’ is a passion project made for the fans, about the fans, by a fan,” says Lee.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“The Tinder Swindler,” an eye-opening documentary about a notorious con man who used the dating app to defraud multiple women, could be getting the movie treatment.Variety understands that Netflix is in talks with producers about dramatizing the wild documentary that’s likely to make any Tinder user’s blood run cold. Sources indicate that the conversation is in early stages, and that the tone of a potential film is still being worked out.“The Tinder Swindler” debuted on the streaming service only on Wednesday, and it’s already cracking the platform’s Top 10 lists in the U.S.

Manori Ravindran International Editor88Rising co-founder Jaeson Ma and Anonymous Content executive producer Eric Tu are joining forces to launch EST Studios, an independent finance, production and sales outfit geared towards the Asian marketplace.Launching just ahead of the European Film Market — which officially kicks off Feb. 10 — the company specializes in premium film and episodic content.Ma (pictured, left) will serve as the company chairman and co-CEO, with Tu (right) serving as co-founder and co-CEO.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Golda” director Guy Nattiv has joined the Oscar-shortlisted short film “The Criminals” as executive producer.Written and directed by Serhat Karaaslan, a Kurdish director from Turkey, the film centers on a young couple in a small Turkish town looking for privacy. Shortlisted in the live-action short category for the 2022 awards, the film uses genre to discuss the way an oppressive society pushes its civilians to police each other, ultimately turning sex into a subversive act.“The Criminals” is produced by Laure Dahout through her French production company Tiresias Films.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Sopranos” star Joseph Siravo, who played Tony Soprano’s father, has died following a long battle with cancer. He was 64.News of Siravo’s death was confirmed online by actor Gary Pastore, who posted an Instagram tribute to the late actor: “RIP my dear friend, who fought an incredible fight.