News

A movie shooting on location is often compared to a circus, because both are self-contained communities of performers and laborers that visit for a short time, rile up the locals, then pull out, leaving sawdust and elephant dung in their wake, literally and/or figuratively.

Nobody knows this better than Robert A. Halmi, who came to Georgia as a 23-year-old producer 45 years ago to make a TV movie titled “When the Circus Came to Town” that was actually filmed “under the big top” in a tent.

Halmi says they didn’t worry about outside sound leaking in through the thin canvas walls and ruining the dialog because, “in those days, everything was looped anyway.”

Sound recording standards have changed in the ensuing decades, but not as much as the production landscape in Georgia, thanks to the film and TV incentive enacted by the state in 2008 offering an uncapped tax credit...

Great Point Media has leased the studio since 2020.

The Welsh government has sold Cardiff-based studio space Seren Studios to media infastructure company Great Point Studios for £9.35m.

Great Point Media, founded in 2013 by UK-based Jim Reeve and US-based Robert Halmi, had been leasing the studio under a 10-year deal since 2020.

Halmi is also CEO and founder of New York-based offshoot Great Point Studios, that has developed Lionsgate Studios in Yonkers, New York, as well as additional studio campuses Buffalo, New York and Newark, New Jersey.

In addition to the sale of the site, the Welsh government and Cardiff Capital Region...

Lionsgate continues to expand its production footprint, this time as anchor tenant with naming rights to the new 500,000 square-foot Lionsgate Studios Atlanta.

The 40-acre, $200 million complex in Douglas County (the site of some location filming for The Hunger Games) will be up and running in late 2023. About 16 miles from Atlanta center and 25 minutes from the Atlanta Airport, it will include 12 large sound stages, office and support space, a back lot and parking for 400 cars and 100 trucks. Owned and operated by Great Point Studios, Robert Halmi’s film and television infrastructure group, it will offer a full set of production services on site including grip and electric, equipment, props, set building, restaurants, location catering, cleaning service and security.

“Lionsgate Studios Atlanta becomes our third state-of-the-art production complex with proximity to a major metropolitan area, allowing us to continue to scale our film & television production operations, create hundreds of local jobs and invest in regional economic growth,...

New Jersey has struck separate pacts with Netflix and Lionsgate to transform vacant properties and bring more studio production facilities to the Garden State.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled Dec. 21 that Netflix has submitted the winning bid for a redevelopment plan for the long-shuttered former Army facility in Fort Monmouth, N.J., about 50 miles east of Trenton.

The same day Lionsgate disclosed a pact with New Jersey Economic Development Authority to advance a plan to establish Lionsgate Newark Studios. That venture is billed as generating up to 600 jobs and up to 800 million in economic impact for Newark and the state.

“This transformative investment will serve as a cornerstone in our efforts to create a thriving industry from whole cloth,” said Murphy of the Netflix plan for the sprawling Fort Monmouth property. “As a result of nearly a billion dollars in film production spending, New Jersey will further solidify its...

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New Jersey has given Lionsgate a “Studio Partner” designation as the state expands its tax credit program to draw more high-profile film and TV projects to shoot locally.

The Hollywood studio, long with an eye to controlling production costs, will now see additional above-the-line wage and salary costs as qualifying expenses to be offset by New Jersey’s film tax credit program.

Lionsgate has been increasing its production footprint in the Tri-State area as its Lions Gate Films division becomes the anchor tenant in a 125 million Newark, New Jersey studio complex, Lionsgate Newark Studios, to be owned and operated by Robert Halmi’s Great Point Studios.

In 2019, the company revealed that it will also anchor a 100 million studio complex in Yonkers, 20 minutes from Manhattan, built by Great Point Capital Management, a media-focused investment fund run by Halmi, president and CEO of Hallmark Entertainment,...

A VR executive and a seasoned Olympics broadcaster have unveiled BlueStar Studios, a 180 million, 53-acre campus in Forest Park, Ga, the latest in a stream of projects to address booming demand for production space in the state.

Studios are scarce everywhere, but Georgia’s 30 tax credits remain a huge draw and the cost of doing business is lower than New York, Los Angeles or Vancouver, which is why BlueStar founder and CEO Rich Goldberg set it there. The former executive at Jaunt and DirecTV brought on Mark Parkman, who led the International Olympic Committee’s global content strategy, including the launch of a Dtc service, as well as broadcast operations for 12 Olympic Games. The Georgia native is COO.

BlueStar will house 600,000 square feet of production and office space and 18 sound stages from 5,000 to 40,000 square feet. The historic Fort Gillem headquarters building will serve as a centerpiece of the campus, set...

Robert Halmi’s Great Point Studios, owner and operator of the new Lionsgate Studio Yonkers and other projects, has named former Warner Bros. Entertainment and New Line executive Wendy Rubin chief financial officer.

Rubin was most recently SVP at WarnerMedia, overseeing content creation and finance for all unscripted TV shows owned and produced by Warner Bros. She was responsible for overhead operations and productions of multiple divisions of Wbtv Group and served as its primary interface with WB corporate finance. She prepared budgets and supervised production cost reporting.

Previously, Rubin served as CFO at NorthSouth Entertainment, producer of unscripted and factual programming for clients like HGTV, History Channel, TLC, Discovery+, TruTV, A&e and Food Network; CFO at Donovan and Green, co-creator of the American Girl brand; director of home entertainment at New Line Cinema; and VP of Program Finance at Children’s Television Workshop.

Rubin is an independent director of Basis Technologies,...

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which earlier this month closed its 375 million acquisition of Redbox, has set the combined company’s new senior management roster.

Galen Smith, former CEO of Redbox, had previously been confirmed to stay on after the deal. Smith will be executive vice chairman of Redbox and Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, overseeing long-term planning including strategy, mergers and acquisitions and corporate services.

Former E.W. Scripps exec Jonathan Katz had also been announced as president of the merged company. He will lead day-to-day operations, including streaming, kiosk, distribution and studios.

Both Smith and Katz will report to Bill Rouhana, CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

A number of execs will report to Smith. They include Peter Binazeski, SVP Corporate Communications; Chief People Officer Marisa Famulare; Chief Innovation Officer Jason Kwong; Chief Financial Officer Chris Mitchell; Chief Strategy Officer Elana Sofko; and Chief Legal Officer Fred Stein.

Robert Halmi’s Great Point Studios has acquired Hudson Scenic, a Tony-nominated builder of set designs, custom fabrication and automation services for theater, film, TV and theme parks with credits ranging from Hamilton, Hadestown, Aladdin and The Lion King to the Times Square Ball.

The shop is just a mile down the Hudson River from the new Lionsgate production campus in Yonkers, owned and managed by Great Point. Halmi said that given explosive demand for studio space and a massive backlog led by “all the streamers, who want shows faster, anything you can do to help speed that up” helps – in this case “building sets before they [productions] get here” with easy transport to the studio, versus construction directly on site, which can be time consuming.

“And you will get the sets cheaper because we have a 100,000-square foot facility. We have the wood. We have the steel. And we can...

Mubi Go, which has helped buoy NYC’s arthouse market by offering members a free movie ticket a week at participating theaters, expands to LA today where the biz could really use a boost. The films are curated and the first is Apple’s Cha Cha Real Smooth.

Mubi, a global streaming service, production company and film distributor, launched Mubi Go in New York last fall and will continue expanding to major markets through 2022 with Chicago next. “We’re being very careful and methodical about the rollout,” said distribution chief Chris Wells.

Mubi members get Mubi Go as a perk. The company doesn’t release subscriber numbers but Wells said its NYC base jumped by 30 after it added Mubi Go.

Movie picks include its own releases, like Lingui, The Sacred Bonds, but mostly from other distributors from Drive My Car, The Power of the Dog and Passing to We’re...

Exclusive: Screen Media has acquired North American rights to the road-trip comedy The Nan Movie, written by Catherine Tate (The Office) and Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), with plans for a day-and-date theatrical and on-demand release this July.

The film will serve as the origin story of Joannie Taylor aka Nan—the foul-mouthed grandmother character first introduced by Tate on her multi-award-winning BBC series, The Catherine Tate Show. It follows Nan as she goes on a wild road trip from London to Ireland with her long-suffering grandson Jamie (Mathew Horne) to make amends with her estranged and dying sister Nell (Katherine Parkinson). Through a series of flashbacks, we see the young sisters fall in love with the same handsome GI during World War 2 and how the consequences of this love triangle shaped Nan into the cantankerous old b*****d she is today. Militant vegan arsonists, Australian rugby teams, all-night raves and...

In a potential windfall for New York’s film industry, Lionsgate Studios is now open for business. And when the $500 million Yonkers, N.Y., operation expands to a million square feet and 12 soundstages by mid-2023, it will become one of the largest production facilities in the East Coast.

Great Point Studios (Gps), which is building and managing the production campus it owns for Lionsgate Entertainment, is also partnering with S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University to create a hands-on filmmaking course. “We’re bringing in cinematographers and other professionals for one-week rotating seminars this spring,” CEO Robert A. Halmi says. “Students will learn how to work in grip, electric, wardrobe, catering, security and other departments. They’ll get to watch films being made and assist in making them.”

Four students from each class will earn internships as production assistants, moving between sets in Los Angeles; Buffalo, N.

Synopsis

Astronaut John Crichton assumes he’ll be home in time for dinner. But a freak accident during an experimental space mission catapults him across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield. Suddenly, he’s trapped among alien creatures wielding deadly technology – a battle that 20th century sci-fi pop culture never prepared him for. Hunted by a merciless military race, Crichton begins his unforgettable quest for home. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of this groundbreaking, epic sci-fi adventure that has become a fan favorite around the world.

Blu-ray Bonus Materials

Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars 2-part Finale Miniseries Audio Commentaries Archival Documentaries, Featurettes and Inside Looks Behind-the-Scenes Interviews Deleted & Director’s Cut Scenes Alternate Version of the Season 2 Premiere TV Promos And More!

Cast And Crew

Creator: Rockne S. O’Bannon

Executive Producers: Rockne S. O’Bannon, Robert A. Halmi, David Kemper, Brian Henson, Richard Manning

Cast: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Gigi Edgley,...

Steve Coogan, Neve Campbell and Taylor Russell will star in Frank Coraci’s indie film Hot Air.

The project, which will start shooting in New York on July 24, follows a conservative talk radio host who finds his world turned upside down when his 16-year-old niece comes crashing into his life. What follows is a relationship that will change both their lives.

Aimee Keen, Coraci and Susan Leber are producing the project. Robert Halmi, Jim Reeve, Coogan, Will Reichel, Eric Robinson and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein will serve as executive producers on the film. Great Point Media is fully financing the film,...

Chris O’Dowd, Andie MacDowell star in family drama.

IFC Films has acquired Us rights to Russell Harbaugh’s Tribeca premiere Love After Love.

Chris O’Dowd and Andie MacDowell star in the tale of a college professor played by MacDowell whose family attempts to deal with the death of her college professor husband, played by Gareth Williams.

The couple’s two sons – a successful book editor played by O’Dowd and a struggling artist played by James Adomian – react in wildly different ways as the family lurches towards acceptance. Harbaugh and Eric Mendelsohn wrote the screenplay.

Juliet Rylance and...

Jamie Patterson's latest film, Caught, described as an alien home invasion thriller, will have its world premiere at the Fantasporto International Film Festival in Portugal, between February 24th and March 4th. Caught stars Cian Barry from ScreenAnarchy fave Nina Forever, and April Pearson from the UK sensation that MTV couldn't handle, Skins. We were given a selection of stills and the key art to share with you. London. February 13, 2017. Following the official announcement from the Fantasporto –Oporto International Film Festival, Executive Producers Robert Halmi and Jim Reeve, and Producers Christina O’Shea-Daly, Jeremy Davis and Alex Francis are thrilled to celebrate the world premiere of award-winning director Jamie Patterson’s (Fractured, City of Dreamers) alien home invasion thriller, Caught, as an official selection in the Fantasy...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Robert Pattinson western, Michael Douglas-exec’d drama among 10-15 strong slate.

UK fund manager Great Point Media is launching its most ambitious film sales slate to date with more than ten films debuting at the Afm.

Having previously invested in a number of films to have secured Us deals this year, including Rachel Weisz drama Complete Unknown [pictured] which went to Amazon, and Christine Vachon-produced The Goat, which was sold to Paramount for the world, the three-year-old company is now going hard at the international film sales space on projects it has invested in at an early stage.

Owned by former Rhi Entertainment president Robert Halmi Jr and former Ingenious executive Jim Reeves, Great Point’s Afm slate includes Alicia Vikander and Eva Green drama Euphoria, Sally Potter’s The Party; William H Macy-directed Krystal; Christine Vachon-produced Where Is Kyra? with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland; Ansel Elgort-Suki Waterhouse drama Jonathan; Katie Holmes comedy...

Exclusive: Frank & Lola, Matthew M. Ross’ masterful feature directorial debut that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, is getting a December 9 theatrical release in 20-25 markets. Universal acquired the title out of the festival for $2 million, but Paladin is distributing through its partnership with Great Point Media, the company which Frank & Lola producer Robert Halmi Jr. owns. Ross is a former Variety film reporter and Filmmaker editor, and he nurtured…...

Plus: ‘Anything’ wraps Los Angeles shoot; monterey media acquires ‘No Pay, Nudity

Concourse Media and Ontario-based funding partner Productivity Media said on Friday they have acquired Impossible Things, which they claim to be the industry’s first feature-length screenplay written by augmented intelligence.

Concourse Media’s Andrew Felts (pictured at left) and Matthew Shreder (pictured at right), Productivity Media CEO William Santor, and Greenlight Enterprise founder Jack Zhang will attend Toronto next month to introduce the augmented intelligence software to the industry.

The script was created by Greenlight Enterprise’s intuitive data and analytics tool that uses audience taste, plot attributes and industry trends culled from social media data points to shape storylines and target locations and cast.

Impossible Things centres on a grieving mother who begins to see visions.

Principal photography recently wrapped in Los Angeles on Anything, featuring Mark Ruffalo as executive producer alongside Great Point Media’s Robert Halmi and Jim Reeve. Timothy McNeil’s directorial...

Following the recent news that Taissa Farmiga and Alexandra Daddario were added to the film adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s 1962 novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, it’s now been revealed that Crispin Glover has joined the movie’s ranks in a key role.

According to THR, Glover will portray Uncle Julian Blackwood in the gothic film. Suffering from gangrene and unable to move without the aid of a wheelchair, Uncle Julian mourns the suspicious demises of his wife and brother.

Glover joins a cast that includes Farmiga and Daddario as “agoraphobic sisters” and Sebastian Stan (Captain America: Civil War) as a cousin of the family who stirs things up upon his arrival at the Blackwood home.

Produced by Michael Douglas, Jared Goldman, Robert Mitas and Robert Halmi Jr., We Have Always Lived in the Castle is directed by Stacie Passon from a screenplay she co-wrote with Mark Kruger.

While Shirley Jackson is perhaps best remembered for leaving an eerie imprint on the literary world with The Haunting of Hill House, she also sent shudders down readers’ spines with 1962’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The last book written by Jackson is now finding new life in a big screen adaptation that recently added Taissa Farmiga and Alexandra Daddario to its cast.

The news of Farmiga and Daddario’s casting comes from Borys Kit at THR, who reveals that the actresses have joined Sebastian Stan (Captain America: Civil War) in the movie. According to THR, the duo will play “agoraphobic sisters who become divided by the cousin’s arrival.”

Neither actress is a stranger to the horror genre. Farmiga recently played the lead role in The Final Girls, appeared in multiple seasons of American Horror Story, and plays a key role in Ti West’s upcoming Western,...

Kayti Burt Aug 10, 2016

Where We Have Always Lived In The Castle is coming to the screen, with The Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan, taking a lead role...

Sebastian Stan does creepy oh-so-well, and the Captain America star will be bringing his talents to the horror film Where We Have Always Lived In The Castle, a film adaption of the short story written by Shirley Jackson — best known for her novel The Haunting Of Hill House.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stan is playing the role of creepy cousin Charles Blackwood in a story about a New England family who has lost four of its number to a mysterious poisoning several years prior. In the time since, the family has isolated itself from the rest of the town in the hopes of staying safe, using rituals and talismans to keep the hostile townspeople away. When Charles shows up on the scene intent on acquiring the family's fortune,...

Exclusive: Robert Halmi, Jr. and Jim Reeve will executive-produce feature now underway in UK.

Frances Ha actress Mickey Sumner has joined April Pearson (Skins), Cian Barry (Nina Forever) and Ruben Crow (Austenland) in horror Caught, which is currently shooting in the UK.

The film tells the story of a journalist couple who invite a man and woman into their idyllic village home, but what begins with an informal interview descends into a nightmarish fight for survival.

Robert Halmi Jr (Olympus) and Jim Reeve (Foyle’s War) are executive producers for Great Point Media, which will also handle world sales.

Jamie Patterson (City Of Dreamers) is directing the script written by Dave Allsop and Alex Francis, from a story developed by Allsop and Clint Langley.

The film is a Gael Films, Dandelion Productions and Castleview Films production, produced by Jeremy Davis, Christina O’Shea-Daly (The Fixer) and Francis.

The feature marks the first for former Maven Pictures senior...

Exclusive: Robert Halmi Jr.'s Great Point Media has come on board to finance development and production for Solo Pass, Ronald De Feo’s novel, optioned last May for Steve Buscemi to direct and The Gotham Group and Olive Productions to produce. In addition, Stu Zicherman (The Americans) has been hired to adapt the book for big screen. Published by Other Press in 2013, Solo Pass follows the story of a psychiatric patient confined to the psychiatric ward of a city hospital…...

Antonio Campos’ films premiered at Sundance and stars Rebecca Hall as the journalist Christine Chubbuck who committed suicide on air in 1974.

Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, Maria Dizzia, Timothy Simons, and J. Smith-Cameron also star in the Us Dramatic Competition entry.

The Orchard plans an awards run for Christine backed by a theatrical release and will open the film later in the year.

Craig Shilowich wrote the screenplay and produced with Melody C. Roscher. Campos’ Borderline associates Sean Durkin and Josh Mond served as executive producers with Robert Halmi, Jr., and Jim Reeve.

The Orchard negotiated the deal with UTA Independent Film Group and Wme Global for the filmmakers.

Read More: Oscilloscope Picks Up Sundance Next Drama 'The Fits' in Pre-Festival Deal Filmmaker Joshua Marston has been a fixture of the Berlin International Film Festival over the past several years thanks to "Maria Full of Grace" and "The Forgiveness of Blood," both of which picked up prestigious awards before earning further acclaim at international film festivals. For his latest film, "Complete Unknown," Marston is heading to Sundance, and it seems his efforts are already paying off. Amazon Studios acquired the picture, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and the film is slated for a fall release. Starring Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz, the drama follows a couple whose life is thrown into disarray after a mysterious former flame reappears. Lucas Joaquin, Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen produced "Complete Unknown," while Robert Halmi Jr. and Jim Reeve served as executive producers. CAA and Wme repped the filmmakers. With...

Remarkably in a career spanning more than a decade, this formerly untitled project counts as Joshua Marston‘s first feature in the English language and only third feature film. He debut film was workshopped at the 2002 January Screenwriters Lab and was presented at the 2004 edition of the fest and not only would the tense drama play extremely well theatrically, it nabbed it’s star Catalina Sandino Moreno an Oscar nomination. Marston, who takes on a lot of projects namely television gigs between his feature films (Maria Full of Grace was followed by 2011’s The Forgiveness of Blood) he nonetheless been part of the fabric of Sundance working as an advisor at the Institute’s Labs since 2011. Starring Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon, Kathy Bates and Danny Glover, lensing on his third feature commenced late last year and frankly this could shore up just about anywhere on the film festival circuit. Now titled Complete Unknown,...

You can only have an actor attached for so long until they “grow” out of the role and you can only have a director on board for a short lapse until they move onto other projects. The wobbled history of Goat, a book to film adaptation begins back in 2004 when we first reported that David Gordon Green would direct the project. A 2005 update that Emile Hirsch would topline and then the baton was passed onto Jeff Nichols in 2007 when he was suppose to have taken over the director’s chair. Flash-forward to late last year when James Franco joined forces with Killer Films, and Andrew Neel (a fiction and non-fiction filmmaker with already five features under his belt including 2012’s King Kelly) was hired – thus landing the coveted directing gig. Production took place in May in Cincinnati, and if this takes a truly savage, rough hewn approach, no doubt that...

WWE Studios and Great Point Media are set to co-develop the George Raymond Wagner biopic "Gorgeous George".

The story chronicles the life and career of Wagner, a professional wrestler and sports entertainer credited with inspiring the flamboyant personas of performers such as Muhammad Ali and James Brown. This personality helped bring sports into the TV age.

Comedian and actor Josh Gad and partner Ryan Dixon will pen the script while Robert Halmi Jr. will produce. Gad recently wrapped production on Disney's "Beauty And The Beast" and begins work in January on "Russ And Roger Go Beyond".

Source: Variety...

WWE Studios and Robert Halmi Jr.’s Great Point Media are moving forward with a biopic about Golden Age professional wrestler Gorgeous George (real name George Raymond Wagner), and it's been announced that they've tapped Josh Gad and his writing partner Ryan Dixon to pen the script. Gad and Dixon don't have that many writing credits to their name, but they did write the script... Read More...

WWE Studios announced last night it set Josh Gad and Ryan Dixon to script its biopic of flamboyant wrestler George Raymond Wagner, better known as Gorgeous George. WWE is working on the film with Robert Halmi Jr.'s Great Point Media. The wrestler was a TV fixture in the early days of pro wrestling. Let’s see if Gad dons the spandex to play him. Gad next plays Roger Ebert opposite Will Ferrell’s Russ Meyer in Russ and Roger Go Beyond, the film about their collaboration on B…...

Robert Halmi Jr’s Great Point Media is also backing the George Raymond Wagner biopic

Gad and longtime writing partner Ryan Dixon will write the screenplay about the legendary professional wrestler and sports entertainer.

Gad voiced Olaf in Frozen and recently wrapped production on Disney’s Beauty And The Beast opposite Emma Watson and Luke Evans and is scheduled to begin production in January on Stx Entertainment’s Russ And Roger, playing Roger Ebert.

WWE Studios will handle worldwide rights.

Exclusive: Donald Sutherland and The Maze Runner‘s Blake Cooper are starring in Measure Of A Man, with Jim Loach (Orange and Sunshine) directing a script by David Scearce (A Single Man). The pic, an adaptation of Robert Lipsyte’s Ya novel One Fat Summer, just got underway this week in Rhode Island. Christian Taylor is producing through Taylor Lane Productions with Weedon Media and Great Point Media, whose Jim Reeve and Robert Halmi are exec producing with Scearce and…...

Jason Michael Berman and Laura Rister have set Elle Fanning and Diego Luna to star in the sci-fi.

Sundance Film Festival and Berlinale alumnus Clay Jeter will direct Io, which was developed at the Sundance Institute’s Writers Lab. Jeter co-wrote the screenplay with Will Basanta and Charles Spano.

Io was selected for the first Sundance Catalyst Forum (Creative Investor Lab) in 2013 and has the support of the San Francisco Film Society.

The film centres on a young survivor of a cataclysm who races to find a cure for poisoned Earth before the last shuttle departs for a distant new home.

The producers are in talks with Robert Halmi’s financier Great Point Media and have targeted the start of principal photography for later this year.

Elijah Wood will star opposite Nicolas Cage in Benjamin and Alex Brewer’s The Trust.The film follows two crooked police officers who discover a hidden safe. Benjamin Brewer and [link...

Movie adaptation of BBC teen magazine show Friday Download to begin shooting this week.

Friday Download, the BAFTA-winning kids TV show that begins its eighth series on Cbbc in the UK next month, is to be adapted for the big screen.

The Friday Download Movie will begin a four-week shoot on Sept 6, primarily in Wales, in and around Swansea.

It will be directed by John Henderson (The Borrowers) and the script has been written by Toby Davies, who has penned British TV series such as Yonderland, Crackanory and Sorry I’ve Got No Head.

Producers are Pilot Media directors Jules Elvins and Dan Shepherd (Chalet Girl, Mr Nice), and Jeremy Salsby of Saltbeef TV, who created the show.

The film has been fully financed by Great Point Media, run by producers Jim Reeve and Robert Halmi Jnr.

International sales will be handled by Genesis Film Sales.

The TV series, which launched in 2011, is a weekly magazine show that...

The death of Robert Halmi Sr., the vastly respected producer of ambitious and Emmy-winning TV projects who led a very full life over 90 years, stirred plenty of comment and reaction on social media and beyond. Below is a sampling of reactions from some of the industry’s notables, including producer Gale Anne Hurd‘s (The Walking Dead) simple homage of two hashtags. R.I.P. Robert Halmi Sr. http://t.co/YpNuUGW8aA via @deadline #Legendary #Producer — Gale Anne Hurd (@GunnerGale) July 31, 2014 Sad to see that Robert Halmi, King of the Miniseries has passed ! R.I.P. Robert Halmi Sr. http://t.co/YHFnKAc4GH via @deadline — Sharon A. Fox […]...

Independent distributor Cinedigm has agreed to distribute an octet of new cast-driven sci-fi and thriller features from Robert Halmi Jr.’s Great Point Media in a new multi-picture partnership between the companies. Cinedigm will take all U.S. rights to the films including theatrical, digital, VOD, home entertainment, and TV in addition to having first look rights to Great Point Media’s development line-up. First pair of features are slated for late 2014. Emmy and Golden Globe-winning producer Halmi has over three decades of film and TV under his belt, including genre titles Dinotopia, Arabian Nights, The 10th Kingdom, Cleopatra, Alice in Wonderland, […]...

Cinedigm Corp and Robert Halmi Jr’s Great Point Media have signed a multi-picture distribution and production output deal.

Great Point Media will deliver a minimum of eight cast-driven films primarily in the sci-fi and thriller genres, which Cinedigm will channel through its burgeoning distribution pipeline that covers theatrical, digital and VOD, physical home entertainment and television.

Cinedigm also gets a first look at Great Point Media’s development slate. The first two films are expected to be delivered by late 2014, with the balance delivered in 2015.

“We are excited to be in business with Cinedigm,” said Great Point Media chairman Halmi Jr. “We have over 30 films, two mini-series and six television series in various stages of production and development and by collaborating with Cinedigm we feel these projects will all have a better chance of success.”

“I’ve admired the prolific work of Robert Halmi Jr for years and am thrilled at the opportunity to be his...

Exclusive: There is a change at the top of production and distribution company Sonar Entertainment, which specializes in scripted series, miniseries and TV movies. Stuart Till has abruptly stepped down as CEO, with respected industry veteran Gene Stein tapped new CEO. I hear the changeover happened yesterday in a company meeting where Stein was introduced to the 50-person staff. As he transitions out of the CEO role, Till will return to the company’s board of directors. The hire of Stein, who will be based in Los Angeles, represents an indication Sonar intends to focus on series. “Sonar continues to strengthen its brand identity as a leading global producer and supplier of outstanding series, miniseries and television movies,” said Gabriel de Alba, Chairman, Board of Directors for Sonar Entertainment. “Gene Stein is a dynamic and inspiring executive who has the vision, the leadership skills and the relationships within the creative...

Us producer and writer Frank Spotnitz hits Croisette with multiple announcements. YouTube head of Entertainment Alex Carloss examines platform’s pulling power.

Old and New Media were out in force at Miptv on Tuesday (8) as veteran producers and writers unveiled projects and new media heavyweights YouTube and Twitter discussed the pulling power of their platforms for traditional content creators as well as newcomers.

A round-up of the day 2 events:

Previews

Us writer and producer Frank Spotnitz joined Olivier Bibas, producer and managing director of Paris-based Atlantique Productions, for a breakfast preview of the second series of Transporter adapted from Luc Besson’s popular film franchise.

UK actor Chris Vance returns as the no-nonsense extreme courier Frank Martin opposite Italian actress and singer Violante Placido in a new character role as his right-hand woman.

“We want to keep the identity of the original but also deepen Frank’s world,” said Spotnitz, noting each episode...

Syfy announced two upcoming projects this morning: "Z Nation," a 13-episode zombie series from The Asylum set to debut in the fall, and "Olympus," a new mythological drama that will take viewers into the action-packed world of humans, gods, and monsters.

From the Press Releases

"Z Nation": Syfy announces "Z Nation," a 13-episode zombie series set to debut in the fall of 2014.

From production company The Asylum (Sharknado), the action-horror series depicts the epic struggle to save humanity after a zombie apocalypse. The series, which will air on Syfy, will be produced by The Asylum and sold internationally by Dynamic Television.

Karl Schaefer ("Eerie Indiana," "Eureka," "Stephen King's Dead Zone") will serve as executive producer and showrunner. "'Z Nation' will take viewers where no zombie has gone before,” says Schaefer. The show, he continues, adds “a sense of hope to the horror of the apocalypse – our everyday heroes take the fight to the zombies.

Producer Robert Halmi Jr. and writer Nick Willing - the duo behind the mini-series "Tin Man," "Alice" and "Neverland" on Syfy - are returning to the network for the new 13-part series "Olympus" which will premiere in 2015.

The story is set after a few brave men and women banished the Greek Gods to the realm of the unconscious – a place they called the Kingdom of Hades.

Now, a fresh-faced young man transforms into a ruthless leader of men and becomes a match for the Gods themselves. Various characters from mythology will be incorporated into the show which begins filming this summer in Vancouver and London.

Syfy has also announced plans for "Z Nation," a 13-episode action-horror zombie series from "Sharknado" producers The Asylum. It is scheduled to debut in the fall.

Karl Schaefer ("Eureka," "The Dead Zone") will serve as executive producer and showrunner on the project which aims to...

In recent years, Syfy has become better known for shlocky creature features like Sharktopus and Sharknado than high-quality sci-fi/fantasy programming, but the channel has been taking steps over the past few weeks to reclaim its title as the resident channel for sci-fi aficionados. Hot on the heels of ordering a TV adaptation of the Bruce Willis classic 12 Monkeys, green-lighting miniseries Ascension and drama Dominion, and renewing series Helix, Continuum, Lost Girl, Defiance and Haven, Syfy has ordered a miniseries rooted in Greek mythology, titled Olympus.

The 13-episode series will tell the story of a group of brave men and women who banished the gods to “the realm of the unconscious: a place they called the Underworld, or the Kingdom of Hades,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Olympus follows a man named Hero, who grows from a young boy into a brilliant leader capable of taking on the gods themselves.

Content Media Corporation’s Content Television and Digital division has entered into a two-year agreement with Great Point Media, the London-based TV/film company founded in 2012 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Jim Reeve. Under the deal, Content Television, headed by President Greg Phillips, will have international distribution rights to Great Point Media’s TV output and will have the option to collaborate on packaging, creative development and sales of television content on the international market. The two companies are expected to have a slate of projects ready by Mipcom in the fall. According to Reeve, the emphasis will be on drama series, though miniseries — where Halmi Jr. and his father, Robert Halmi Sr., have a long tradition — likely also will be represented. For Phillips, “the appeal was that you’ve got a top-quality supplier [in Great Point Media].” Content Media also has a first-look deal with Edyson Entertainment in Los Angeles and Toronto and represents Jigsaw Productions,...

Us film and TV producer to receive lifetime award at TV festival.

Jerry Bruckheimer is to receive the Honorary Golden Nymph Award at the 54th Annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival recognizing his lifetime achievements in film and television.

The presentation will be made by Prince Albert of Monaco at the Opening Ceremony of festival, which runs June 7-11, 2014.

Bruckheimer’s films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, The Rock, Armageddon and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, earning more than $16 billion.

In TV, his titles include the CSI franchise, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Dark Blue, The Amazing Race and new series Hostages.

In the 2005-06 season, Bruckheimer had a record-breaking 10 series on network television.

His projects have collectively received 41 Academy Award nominations (six wins), 118 Emmy Award nominations (22 wins), 23 Golden Globe nominations (four wins) and 30 People’s Choice Awards nominations (15 wins) among others.

Others to receive the Honorary Golden Nymph Award includ Dick Wolf, Anne Sweeney...

M. Night Shyamalan and Marti Noxon are teaming for a new Syfy pilot, "Proof."

Noxon and Shyamalan will co-write and executive produce the project with Shyamalan attached to direct the pilot, Syfy announced Friday. "Proof" follows the son of a billionaire technology guru whose parents suddenly die in a tragic accident. The son then offers a large reward to anyone who can find proof of life after death.

Ashwin Rajan, the head of Shyamalan's Blinding Edge label, will also serve as executive producer.

Noxon's TV credits include "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Mad Men" and "Glee." Shyamalan became well-known for his twisty feature films including "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs." He recently wrapped "After Earth" starring Will Smith.

Syfy is also getting in a business with Bryan Fuller. The network has ordered "High Moon," a pilot based on John Christopher's novel "The Lotus Caves." Fuller will serve as an executive producer along with Matthew O'Connor,...

As we have been telling you, there is a new Treasure Island ahead for us this Saturday on Syfy, who is showing the four-hour miniseries all in one night. More about that below. This version bears little resemblance to any recent pirate movie, other than the ship, ocean, and island involvement. We’ll have a review for you a little later.

For now, check out what star Eddie Izzard (Riches, Oceans 13, Mockingbird Lane), Executive Producer Robert Halmi Sr. of Rhi (Tin Man, Alice, Neverland), and Syfy Executive Vice President of Programming and Movies Thomas Vitale had to say about the production, during a recent Q&A session with the media, including SciFi Mafia. They started the session with a brief statement by Mr. Halmi:

Robert Halmi Sr.: I first saw Treasure Island in 1935 in Budapest, I was 11 years old. The movie actually was made in ’34, but it took a year to get to Budapest,...

Here's an interesting tidbit buried in a story over on Variety (thanks to DC reader Jinx for pointing it out)! Apparently there's a TV show in the works based upon the hellish antics of everyone's favorite Cenobites and their unlucky puzzle box.

After bankruptcy and the departure of its founder, Rhi Entertainment has rebranded as Sonar Entertainment and tapped Stewart Till as chief executive.

The move, announced Saturday at the MipTV market in Cannes, comes as Sonar tries to expand the scope of its production-distribution business beyond the made-fors that had been the forte of company founder Robert Halmi Sr.

Halmi exited Gotham-based Rhi in February. His son, Robert Halmi Jr., ankled as CEO last July, when Till was tapped as co-interim CEO along with Mike Corrigan and David Salzman.

"Rebranding as Sonar Entertainment represents a fresh start and a solid business strategy for growth and expansion," said Sonar chairman Gabriel de Alba.

Rhi Entertainment Inc. has rebranded as Sonar Entertainment Inc. and appointed Stewart Till CEO, board chairman Gabriel de Alba announced at Miptv in Cannes. The company also unveiled a package of disaster-themed and other miniseries, regular series and and a quartet of two-hour TV movies. Following the departure of Robert Halmi Jr. last summer, Till had served as co-interim CEO with Mike Corrigan and David Salzman. Robert Halmi Sr. exited in February. De Alba described Till as “the ideal executive to lead Sonar into the future.” Till added that “We have spent many months preparing for this moment and I am excited to say that we are hitting the ground running with a number of major programming announcements – and more to come shortly.” From the release: • Disaster Pack, Volume One – Sonar will distribute five four-hour mini-series, all with disaster themes. These include Category 8 (the sun’s inner core sends massive...

You gotta give writer/director Nick Willing credit. He continues to mine public domain works to give them modern day twists and gets Syfy to pay for them. Overall, these have been largely hit or miss affairs which began way back in 2007 with Tin Man, reimagining L. Frank Baum’s Tin woodsman as a sheriff in Oz with Neal McDonough doing his best with weak material. It was still head and shoulders about the god awful 2009 debacle Alice, that proved Willing had no ear to the lyricism of the authors he was pillaging.

Undaunted, thanks to positive ratings from an undiscerning audience, last winter Willing returned with Neverland, a prequel to James Barrie’s Peter Pan. In this version, it all began centuries ago, when the pirate Elizabeth Bonny (Anna Friel) came upon a glowing orb amongst her spoils and when she tired of it and used it for target practice,...