DISTRIBUTION
International distributor Rainmaker Content has sold the Television Academy‘s 73rd Emmy Awards to more than 150 territories. New buyers include AMC Networks International for Central Europe, Catchplay Plus for Indonesia and Taiwan, Mediacorp for Singapore, U-Next Co., Ltd for and Japan and Sky Italia for Italy. Returning broadcasters include Turner (Latin America, German speaking Europe), Extension TV (Series Club) for French speaking Europe, Sky (U.K.), Telefonica (Spain), SIC (Portugal), TV2 (Denmark), M-Net (Africa), OSN (Middle East), Telenet (Belgium) and A serial (Commonwealth of Independent States).
Hosted by Cedric The Entertainer, star and executive producer of CBS comedy “The Neighborhood,” in front of a live limited audience at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, the awards will air on the CBS Television Network on Sept. 19.
Emmy nominated producers Reginald Hudlin and Ian Stewart will executive produce and Hamish Hamilton will direct the telecast for production companies Done+Dusted and Hudlin Entertainment.
“The Crown” and “The Mandalorian” tied for the top spot at this year’s nominations with 24 nods each, followed by “WandaVision” (23), “The Handmaid’s Tale” (21) and “Saturday Night Live” (21).
AWARD
The 17th Zurich Film Festival (Sept. 23-Oct. 3) will honor Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino for his cinematic oeuvre with the A Tribute to… award. Sorrentino will receive the award on Sept. 29, at the premiere of his new film “The Hand of God,” set in his native Naples. The festival will also screen a retrospective of work, which includes the Oscar winning “The Great Beauty.”
“Participating at the ZFF this year, with my most personal film, is very exciting for me because ‘The Hand of God’ speaks also about the moment when each of us takes courage and admits to ourselves and to others that we want to try the unconscious and crazy venture of being a director,” said Sorrentino.
The film stars young actor Filippo Scotti and Sorrentino’s longtime leading man Toni Servillo. The Netflix movie is produced by The Apartment, a Fremantle Company.
SERIES
“The Good Hustle” – (L-R) Gemma Forsyth, Francesca Hung, Tammin Sursok, Sophie Bloom, Brooke Lee and Lisa Flanagan.
Little Giant
Newly-launched Australian production company Little Giant has set ten-part TV drama series “The Good Hustle” as its debut project. Executive produced by Joel Kishinevsky and produced by Elle Croxford and Alexandra Doering, the series probes the lives and careers of five female staff at a high-pressure public relations firm run by an infamous male boss. The cast is headed by Tammin Sursok (“Pretty Little Liars,” “Hannah Montana,” “The Young and the Restless”), Francesca Hung (E! Host Australia), Lisa Flanagan (“Glitch,” “Cleverman”), Gemma Forsyth (“Mako Mermaids,” “H2O: Just Add Water”), Brooke Lee (“Mako Mermaids,” “Stage Mums”) and Sophie Bloom (“Love Child,” “Tricky Business”). Production will start towards the end of the year. – Patrick Frater