Cannes Lions Gong For Netflix’s Ted Sarandos; Studio Pictures Lockdown Quizmaster Option; Discovery+ ‘Estonia’ Sequel; French Animation Short — Global Briefs

Jesse Whittock
·3 min read
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Ted Sarandos To Be Named Entertainment Person Of The Year At Cannes Lions

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos is to be named the 2022 Entertainment Person of the Year at French advertising get together Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The award, presented in recognition of the role entertainment plays in the marketing and communications landscape, will be given to Sarandos Sarandos will be presented with the award at Cannes Lions’ live awards show, on Thursday, June 23. This also marks the first time a Netflix rep speak on stage at the event, with Sarandos joining Sway podcast host and The New York Times opinion writer Kara Swisher to discuss creativity, the need for constant innovation and the future of entertainment with MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan.

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Studio Pictures Options Film Rights To Life Story Of British Lockdown Viral Sensation Jay Flynn

London’s Studio Pictures has optioned the film rights to the life story of Jay Flynn, the creator of British lockdown phenomenon ‘Jay’s Virtual Pub Quiz’, with Garry Jenkins (A Street Cat Named Bob) on board to write the screenplay. Nicola Pearceyof Picnik Entertainment is executive producer on the project, provisionally titled The Quizmaster. Flynn, a former pub landlord, became a viral sensation in 2020 after his weekly online quizzes began to attract hundreds of thousands of players stuck at home around the world. Billed as “funny and uplifting,” the film will tell “a great British underdog story in the tradition of The Full Monty and Eddie the Eagle,” according to Jenkins. “During the early days of the pandemic, we all felt fearful, disconnected, lonely and, at times, hopeless. Up popped Jay as our perfect antidote, the accidental quizmaster the nation — and the wider world — needed,” he added. Adam Rolston and David Braithwaite are the producers.

Discovery+ Greenlights ‘Estonia’ Two-Part Sequel

Discovery+ has greenlit a two-part sequel to Estonia, the documentary that sparked global headlines two years ago when it unearthed a previously unreported hole in the hull of the MS Estonia ferry, which sank crossing the Baltic Sea in September 1994, killing 852 people. The follow up from Monster will focus on recent developments in the MS Estonia shipwreck investigation and explore how the the first doc sparked public debate and sent political shockwaves through the Swedish government. Monster Director Henrik Evertsson said the sequel will “follow the public debate and the government’s response sparked by the documentary; revisiting  key people connected with the investigation and new sources.”

Dandelooo Toon ‘Haut Perché!’ Set For TF1 After Winning TFOU d’Animation Contest

French animation production and distribution company Dandelooo has taken short film Haut Perché! (English working title High Perched) into production ahead of screenings at MIFA and Annecy and all TF1 linear and digital platforms. This comes after it won this year’s TFOU d’Animation Contest, which is TF1 Group’s annual European animation short film competition. Emeline Penet won a Call for Talent Directing initiative that followed Haut Perché! scriptwriter winning the TFOU d”Animation Prize and will direct short 2D film, which is billed as an ode to nature. TF1 Group and SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) co-financed the one-minute, 30 seconds film. “We were charmed by the originality and freshness of Emeline’s proposal, which reflects her talent and enthusiasm,” said Dandelooo’s co-producers Jean- Baptiste Wery and Emmanuèle Pétry in a statement. 

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