Historic Snowfall Delays Spanish Academy Goya Nominations – Global Bulletin
UPDATE: The Spanish Academy has announced that the 2021 Goya nominations will now be announced on Monday, Jan. 18.
In today’s Global Bulletin, historic snowfall in Madrid delays Spanish Academy Award nominations, Sky announces members of its Diversity Advisory Council, Netflix reveals casting for the next season of “Borgen,” documentary “Daisy Maskell – Insomnia and Me” on the way from BBC Three, Endemol Shine Germany teams with Rainer Laux on a new reality production label, “COVID vs The World” documentary gets History Channel premiere dates across Asia, and Gaumont’s “Lupin” becomes Netflix’s first French series to break the Top 10 in the U.S.
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AWARDS
The 2021 Spanish Academy Goya Awards nominations, scheduled to be announced on Monday (Jan. 11), have been delayed after winter storm Filomena dropped 8”-12” of snow on Madrid, paralyzing the Spanish capital. The Academy has not yet stated when the nominations will take place, but record temperatures threaten to keep Madrid moving slowly for most of the week, with public schools already closed until at least Wednesday.
This year’s 35th Goya Awards will be hosted by Antonio Banderas on March 6 in the actor’s hometown of Malaga.
In any given year, it’s rare to see any snow accumulate in Madrid, if any falls at all. Storm Filomena left the municipal government undermanned and under-equipped to deal with the downfall, inspiring groups of citizens to put on whatever winter gear they own, grab brooms and shovels and help clear parking lots and adjacent streets at hospitals, fire departments and police stations around the city. Major highways came to a standstill on Friday during rush hour, leaving people stranded in their vehicles for hours.
#QuédateEnCasa (StayAtHome), a hashtag popularized at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain, was trending across social media platforms over the weekend as elected officials and emergency service workers pleaded with people to stay home as conditions became more dangerous.
REPRESENTATION
Sky has appointed seven leaders in diversity and inclusion to its new Diversity Advisory Council, responsible for advising and guiding the company on issues of diversity, including using its voice externally, and helping to maintain progress towards becoming a more inclusive organization.
The seven-member council includes Caroline Casey, founder of The Valuable 500; Kanya King, founder and CEO of the MOBO Organization; entrepreneur Piers Linney; Leon Mann, founder of The Black Collective of Media in Sport; Ndidi Okezie, CEO at UK Youth; Baroness Usha Prashar, Crossbench Member of the House of Lords; and Roland White, global director of diversity and inclusion for Microsoft.
Sky also confirmed the appointment of its new chief talent, diversity and inclusion officer Denise Peart, who will join the company later this month. Peart will report to Sky’s group marketing, corporate affairs and people officer Debbie Klein.
CASTING
Mikkel Boe Følsgaard and Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, stars of Netflix’s successful Danish series “The Rain,” have joined the upcoming new season of “Borgen” which is being brought back by the streamer and Danish broadcaster DR.
As previously announced, “Borgen” is returning with creator Adam Price and lead actresses Sidse Babett Knudsen and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen on board. The series will launch in 2022 with all episodes set to premiere on DR before becoming available on Netflix around the world.
“Borgen” turns on Birgitte Nyborg (Knudsen), her staff and the media tasked with covering her, this time in her role as Foreign Minister. The show will also follow the journey of Katrine Fønsmark (Sørensen), who landed a job at the nationwide TV station after being Birgitte’s head of press for a while.
Also joining the cast are Özlem Saglanmak, Simon Bennebjerg, Johanne Louise Schmidt and Magnus Millang.
“Borgen” will be produced by SAM Productions and is written by creator Adam Price (“Ragnarok”), Emilie Lebech Kaae (“Ragnarok”), with Per Fly (” Monica Z”) as conceptual director. The series is executive produced by Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen (“Antichrist”) and the producers are Stine Meldgaard Madsen (“Ragnarok”) and Michel Ryddeskov (“Ragnarok”).
FILM
BBC Three has announced a new one-hour film special, “Daisy Maskell – Insomnia and Me,” documenting the U.K.’s youngest breakfast radio host’s struggles with insomnia.
In the film, Maskell will examine the roots of her insomnia through meetings with experts who will shed light on the causes, potential treatments and cures of the disorder. She will explore why thousands of young people in the U.K. suffer from insomnia and meet with several to discuss their shared experience.
“Daisy Maskell – Insomnia and Me,” is produced by Proper Content and was commissioned by Fiona Campbell, controller at BBC Three, and Clare Sillery, head of commissioning, documentaries, history and religion. David Dehaney is the film’s executive producer. Maskell is represented for management by James Gilmore at W!ZARD Talent.
REALITY TV
Banijay has announced that Endemol Shine Germany is teaming with TV producer Rainer Laux to launch Rainer Laux Productions GmbH, a new reality TV-focused production company under the Endemol Shine Germany umbrella.
Having produced several of Germany’s most successful reality programs, such as “Big Brother,” “Celebrity Big Brother” and “Promis unter Palmen” (Paradise Hell), Laux will employ his years of experience to expand the development, production and sales of new reality formats at Endemol Shine Germany.
Several projects for streamers and broadcasters are already underway at the new label, including “Claudia’s House of Love,” featuring reality star Claudia Obert. Beyond his role in developing new reality content, Laux will retain responsibility for all formats with presenter Julia Leischik and reality star Daniela Katzenberger.
DOCUMENTARY
A+E Networks Asia has released premiere details for its upcoming original documentary “COVID vs The World,” an ambitious five country co-production delivered in Asia by the organization’s production teams based in Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul as a collaboration of their respective production teams.
The special will air on The History Channel Asia across Southeast Asia on Jan. 11; Jan. 26 in Korea; and Feb. 14 in Japan.
Chris Humphrey, executive producer of Emmy award-winning “Scars of Nanking,” directs the feature-length documentary, which examines the global outbreak from the point of view of the COVID-19 virus and the scientists working to get ahead of its continued spread.
RATINGS
Netflix’s “Lupin,” headlined by box office magnet Omar Sy, premiered on the service last Friday where it quickly became the first French series to crack the platform’s Top 10 list in the U.S., climbing to the Number 3 spot by Sunday.
The Gaumont Télévision-produced original is an adaptation of French novelist Maurice LeBlanc’s early 20th century books, created by George Kay (“Criminal UK,” “Killing Eve”) with François Uzan (“Family Business”).
“Lupin” turns on Sy’s Assane Diop, out to avenge his father who died after being falsely accused of a crime when Diop was only a teenager.
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