MUSIC
Celine Dion‘s 1995 album “D’eux,” the bestselling French-language album of all time, written and produced by Jean-Jacques Goldman, is being paid homage to by top Canadian and French musicians.
Amuz Distribution has secured the international distribution rights to the TV show “Pour toi Céline – Tribute to the album D’Eux,” produced by SISMYK as part of the Super Franco Fête. The tribute will be recorded on the Agora stage in the Port of Quebec on Sept. 3 and will air on the channels of the M6 Group in France iand on TVA in Quebec.
The tribute will feature Isabelle Boulay, Corneille, Roch Voisine, Véronic DiCaire, Mario Pelchat, Bruno Pelletier, Camille Lellouche, Amir, Christophe Willem, Élodie Frégé, Anggun, Chimène Badi, Vincent Niclo, Axelle Red, Ycare and Anne Sila. They will recreate the songs from the album “D’Eux” and other titles taken from the collaboration with Goldman. The artists will be accompanied on stage by some of Dion’s closest collaborators, including Scott Price, her musical director since 2015, who will provide musical direction and be accompanied by musicians and backup singers from Dion’s Las Vegas showcase.
Dion has canceled all 2023 and 2024 dates on her “Courage” world tour due to her ongoing struggle with arare neurological disorder called Stiff-Person Syndrome. The dates had been rescheduled from 2022.
LINEAR TV EXPANSION IN JAPAN
Warner Bros. Discovery and cable network giant J:COM have stuck a deal that expands their existing TV channel distribution joint venture in Japan with effect from Aug. 1.
The portfolio of linear channels handled rises from two to seven, now including Discovery, Animal Planet, Mondo, Tabi, Cartoon Network, Movie+ and LalaTV. As part of the deal, J:COM will oversee distribution of the seven-channel portfolio to third party cable and DTH operators in Japan.
“All channels will see a significant uplift in titles from Warner Bros. Discovery’s diverse portfolio of much-loved content, and for the first time ever, Discovery and Animal Planet will feature thematically relevant movies within their schedules,” WBD said.
“Beyond the joint venture expansion, the deal also provides additional opportunities for further collaboration between the two businesses, including content for SVOD platforms,” James Gibbons, president & MD, Western Pacific, Warner Bros. Discovery, said.
THEME PARK COMEBACK
Universal Studios Japan has become the third most popular theme park in the world, according to a new report from the Themed Entertainment Association and infrastructure consultancy AECOM, and the busiest of Universal’s parks. The world’s two most popular are Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.
The Osaka-based USJ park attracted 12.35 million people in 2022, a 125% increase from 2021 and a figure equivalent to some 85% of its pre-pandemic levels. It has been boosted by some $700 million of investment over the past ten years and new attractions, including the Super Nintendo World themed area that opened in 2021.
EAZIE DOES IT FOR TAIWANPLUS
TaiwanPlus, a growing English-language news and programming platform, is now available on Singapore’s recently-launched channel aggregator Eazie TV.
“Because of Taiwan’s hotly debated geopolitical status, recent years have seen an increasing demand for Taiwan’s perspective on global events, especially in the regional market,” the government-backed company said.
Eazie TV debuted with a partnership with top mobile phone company M1 last week. It has a roster of over 75 channels available to subscribers.
JAPAN CUTS WINNERS
“Amiko,” a debut feature by Morii Yusuke, was named the winner of the Obayashi Prize for best film at the recent Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film in New York. The film, which examines the loneliness of a seemingly lively and imaginative child, has played at the Rotterdam, Shanghai, Taipei and Bucheon festivals.
The prizes at Japan Cuts were determined by a jury that included critic and essayist Fujii Moeko, Dan Sullivan, programmer at Film at Lincoln Center, and Hong Kong-based distributor Pearl Chan. The jury also recognized director-actor Kono Hiroki’s directorial debut “J005311” with a special mention.
The festival ran July 26 – Aug. 6.
PROMOTIONS
London and Los Angeles-based entertainment company Insanity has promoted Helen Gleave, Issy Lloyd and Neil Ransome.
Gleave, who joined Insanity in 2007, has been promoted to group managing director, with overall responsibility for leading both the entertainment team, and the wider group business. She will continue to represent talent including Alice Levine, Laura Jackson and hit podcast “My Dad Wrote A Porno.”
Lloyd, who started her career at Insanity in 2011 and has signed and developed the careers of clients including Maya Jama, Roman Kemp and Vick Hope, has been promoted to director, entertainment and also joins the corporate board of directors.
Ransome, who joined Insanity in 2012 and was instrumental in launching the company’s digital talent management business in 2015 and the creation of Insanity Studios, has been promoted to creative director, entertainment. His roster includes Zara McDermott and Yianni Charalambous.
LET’S GET PHYSICAL
As the consumption of physical media continues a steady climb in the U.K. in the face of a largely digital world, Utopia Distribution Services and DP World will open the country’s biggest distribution warehouse for physical video and music at the end of August.
The new 25,000 square metre site in Bicester, fitted and operated by DP World, will be a centralized home for U.K. physical distribution. Driven by 80+ state-of-the-art “pick robots,” it will have a daily handling capacity of over 100,000 units, increasing to over 250,000 during peak periods.
Shipping over 30 million units a year across the U.K. and export territories, the warehouse will distribute for 35% of the country’s physical video market and 70% of the music market, amounting to over 50% of the home entertainment and music markets combined.
The U.K.’s home entertainment market saw its 10th consecutive year of revenue growth in 2022 with physical video retail growing to £209 million with sales of Blu-ray and Blu-ray 4K UHD now over 40% of the total market, per Digital Entertainment And Retail Association numbers. Best selling DVDs included “Top Gun: Maverick,” which shipped more than 300,000 physical units, and “Spiderman: No Way Home,” which accrued more than 915,000 sales in ownership formats – a combination of DVD, Blu-Ray, as well as electronic sell-through.
Music body BPI’s numbers reveal that unit sales for physical albums are up year-on-year, supported by a 14% growth in vinyl album sales.
LYNNE RAMSAY TO RECEIVE HonORARY HEART OF SARAJEVO AWARD
Scottish director-screenwriter Lynne Ramsay will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival in recognition of her contribution to the art of filmmaking. The festival raises its curtains on Friday.
The award will be given to Ramsay on Aug. 16 at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema, followed by a gala screening of “You Were Never Really Here.” The film won Cannes Film Festival awards for best screenplay for Ramsay, and best actor for Joaquin Phoenix.
“Ratcatcher,” her debut feature film, had its premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, and was given a Special Mention.
Her next feature, “Morvern Calla,r” premiered in 2002 in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section, where it won the Award of the Youth for best foreign film.
Ramsay’s third feature, “We Need to Talk about Kevin,” was in the main competition section at Cannes in 2011. Tilda Swinton was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the film, which also went on to receive several BAFTA nominations and won best director at the British Independent Film Awards and best film at the London Film Festival.
