Zee-Sony Merger Back On Track; JFK Doc Set For Channel 5/Paramount+; BBC Studios Doc Unit Hire; New Screen Australia CEO; Alauda Ruiz De Azúa Series For Movistar Plus+ — Global Briefs

Jesse Whittock
·4 min read
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Zee-Sony Merger Back On Track

The merger of Zee Entertain Enterprises and Sony’s Indian arm looks to be back on track after an order banning Punit Goenka from managing the new entity was lifted yesterday. The merger of Zee and Culver Max Entertainment was given the go-ahead in August, but the merger has run into several problems. The India Securities and Exchange Board had barred Goenka and his father, Zee founder Subhash Chandra, from the boardrooms of listed companies for a year over allegations of insider trading. However, the Securities Appellate Tribunal has overturned that decision, paving the way for the $10B merger to go ahead and for Goenka to resume his role as MD and CEO of Zee. Sony and Zee have been planning the union for over two years now.

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JFK Doc Set For Channel 5/Paramount+

UK network and its stablemate Paramount+ have ordered doc feature JFK Assassination: Inside the Trauma Room. A third Paramount Global operation, See It Now Studios, is producing alongside Lucky Elephant Media ahead of a late November airdate to coincide with the anniversary of the murder of President John F. Kennedy. Barbara Shearer (Loving Elvis) is directing. The film will reveal medical observations about JFK’s wounds from seven doctors at the Parkland Hospital ER in Dallas who received him after his shooting at the hands of Lee Harvey Oswald. The docs will discuss their memories, including the notion several of them saw a bullet hold entry wound in JFK’s throat, which challenges the government narrative that Oswald acted alone. Paramount+ will stream the doc globally as JFK: What the Doctors Saw. Jacque Lueth, Bill Garnet and Shearer are executive producers, alongside  Lucky Elephant’s Adam Somer, Cheryl Leib, Joseph Leib, and Joseph Marvel and See It Now’s Susan Zirinsky and Terence Wrong. Channel 5 is a co-producer through Guy Davies, who commissioned the film for Channel 5 in the UK.

BBC Studios Doc Unit Hire

BBC Studios has named Georgia Moseley as Head of the Documentary Unit and Katharine Patrick as its Senior Creative Director. The pair will work closely with existing editorial leads and Creative Directors Kirsty Cunningham and Joe Mather to lead a new-look BBC Studios Documentary Unit, which has bases in Cardiff, London and Salford. Moseley is upped from her current role as Creative Director of BBC Studios Factual Podcast Unit and has worked on docs such as the Chuck D-presented Stay Free: The Story of the Clash. She’ll report into Kate Ward, MD of Factual Production at BBC Studios. Patrick joins from Wonderhoos Studios, where she was Head of Factual. BBC Studios Documentary Unit is behind the likes of Channel 4’s Grenfell: The Untold Story, Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride for BBC Two and Michael X: Hustler, Revolutionary, Outlaw for Sky. “In Georgia and Katharine we have found a partnership of two outstanding creative leaders, defined by their passion for documentary in all its forms,” said Ward.

New CEO For Screen Australia

Screen Australia has appointed WildBrain exec Deirdre Brennan as its new CEO. The well-known exec will relocate from North America to replace Graeme Mason. Her previous roles include Director of Television, General Manager and Director of Content at BBC Worldwide Australia, Head of Children’s Television at the ABC TV and General Manager of Universal Kids at NBCUniversal. She’ll formally take up her post on January 8, 2024, taking over from Mason, who is departing the agency in early November after 10 years. Screen Australia’s funding has helped the country become a major production hub for international shoots, with the likes of Stan and Lionsgate’s mega-church drama Prosper and Australia’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, Shayda, among its recent investments.

Alauda Ruiz De Azúa Series For Movistar Plus+

In-demand Spanish director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa is co-creating a four-part drama series for Movistar Plus+. De Azúa recently won three Goya awards for her film Lullaby and was also behind Netflix’s Eres Tú. She is working on the scripts for Querer with Eduard Sola and Júlia de Paz. The series will star Nagore Aranburu (Irati), Pedro Casablanc (Strange Way of Life), Miguel Bernardeau (Elite), Iván Pellicer (Paraíso) and Loreto Mauleón (Patria) in a series about a family divided when the mother goes to the police to accuse her husband of continuous rape during the 30 years of their seemingly perfect marriage. Filming began in Bilbao, Spain, last week and will continue until January before launching on streamer Movistar Plus+ later in 2024. Kowalski Films and Feelgood Media are attached as co-producers. Juan Moreno and Koldo Zuazua are the executive producers.

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