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Juno Studios, co-created by Fiona Lamptey, B-Side Production, at whichMatimba Kabalika is an executive producer, and Rye Lane producer Yvonne Ibazebo’s Turnover Filmsare among the 33 UK film and TV production companies to receive support from the latest round of the BBC’s Small Indie Fund.

The fund will distribute £1.3m between the companies, as well as offering bespoke mentoring. Launched in 2020, the Small Indie Fund supports the growth of small independent production companies from across the UK with turnovers below £10m across film as well as TVdrama, comedy, film, entertainment, factual, daytime and children’s.

The 2025 cohort sees the...

HanWay Films’ Katie Ellen and Fiona Lamptey, co-founder of Juno Studios and formerly of Netflix, are the latest high-profile executives to join the line-up of speakers at Screen International’s ‘The Future of UK Film’ Summit, to be held on September 24, 2024, at BFI Southbank, London.

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Ellen joined UK sales outfit HanWay Films in 2023 in the newly-created role of head of production. She previously worked at the BFI for 12 years, most recently as head of distribution and commercial strategy. BFI FIlm Fund-backed projects Ellen worked on include Scrapper, Aftersun and Triangle Of Sadness.

Lamptey set up Juno Studios...

Bec Mortimer, Fiona Lamptey, Amber Taylor and Vinnie Shergill, four former senior Netflix executives who between them have decades of experience in the entertainment industry involving some of the world’s most successful shows, have joined forces to launch Juno Studios.

Headquartered in London, the new venture is described as an “innovative entertainment studio” with production capabilities and creative expertise across development, production, distribution and marketing.

“Our collective expertise in storytelling runs across development, production, marketing and distribution and we’re excited to bring our entertainment experience to our partners,” the founders said in a joint statement. “Juno Studios operates as an end to end studio with a collaborative cross-platform approach, so we can engage with audiences in the spaces they already love. We are collaborating with writers, filmmakers, on-screen talent, creators, cultural organisations and brands that are intentional about longevity and legacy; who want to bring value to audiences by cultivating belonging.

This past weekend, the Academy Awards went without a host. But thanks to comedian/actress Aubrey Plaza, the Spirit Awards didn't. We told you guys a bit about her hosting gig earlier this week, but now we have a fun update on another project Plaza is working on from an interview she conducted on the Spirit Awards hosting gig. Eventually, the conversation turned to MGM and director Lars Klevberg's upcoming Child's Play Remake and here's what an enthusiastic Plaza had to say on the matter.

"Buckle up. I love it so much. To me, the original is an iconic movie. I haven't seen our film, just the trailer, but it's a real throwback horror movie. It's almost got a Spielbergian vibe to it. The reason I did it was for how beautiful the script was. It doesn't feel like a hokey, shticky, campy movie. If you remember the original Child's Play,...