Latest in Global Showbiz Briefs

ITV is shortly to begin production on Season 2 of Grantchester, for air in 2016. The period drama about a sleuthing vicar is produced by Lovely Day. James Norton is returning as Sidney Chambers, the charismatic, charming, crime-fighting clergyman, and Robson Green will return as his partner in crime, Police Inspector…

Australians in Film has unveiled the finalists for its 7th annual Heath Ledger Scholarship. The bursary was created in honor of the late Oscar winner and aims to provide a bridge for actors who have achieved a level of success in Australia, in order for them to establish themselves as working actors in the States. The…

Although the Sundance London Festival was shelved this year, Sundance Institute is planning to return to the British capital in 2016 and will also run an event in Hong Kong this September. The programs are made up largely of titles that have already played Park City in an effort to share independent films with…

ITV has set the cast for three-part drama Midwinter Of The Spirit which is to air on its ITV Encore pay service. Anna Maxwell-Martin (The Bletchley Circle) will play Merrily Watkins, a single mother who isn't your average country vicar — she's also one of the few female priests working as an exorcist. David Threlfall…

The Cannes Film Festival is partnering with luxury and sport brand group Kering to launch the first Women in Motion program at this year's event in May. The aim is to "celebrate the talent of women in cinema and encourage reflection on their contribution to and role in the film industry," Kering said. The partners…

Janus Films has unveiled the release of new 4K restorations of Satiyajit Ray’s Bengali-language cinematic milestone The Apu Trilogy. With the original negatives severely damaged in a nitrate fire in 1993, restoration of the trilogy, considered to be perhaps the greatest film in Indian film history, was long thought…

In a first for ProSiebenSat.1, the station family has entered a content licensing deal with NBCUniversal. The agreement gives ProSiebenSat.1 wide-ranging exclusive linear rights, plus free catch-up rights in Germany to the studio’s new U.S. sitcoms and select drama series. In addition, ProSiebenSat.1 is also taking…

Dean Devlin's Electric Entertainment has taken all foreign rights to Ridley Scott's untitled PBS Civil War drama. The six-part series, a blend of hospital drama and family saga, will be shot in Virginia and is scheduled for a winter 2016 premiere. The sales team will introduce the series to foreign buyers at the…

Studiocanal has hired Shana Eddy-Grouf as SVP of International Production and Development. She will be based in Los Angeles, looking to generate production opportunities for the European mini-major. She will also support Studiocanal's U.S.-based producing deals with The Picture Company and Grand Electric…

With filming now wrapped on Dad's Army, Universal Pictures, Screen Yorkshire and DJ films have set a February 5, 2016 UK release date. Universal Pictures International will distribute the film locally and has world rights. It's based on the classic British sitcom and stars Bill Nighy, Catherine Zeta Jones, Toby Jones…

Christopher Eccleston has been cast with Marsha Thomason (White Collar) and Paterson Joseph (The Leftovers) in ITV's new four-part drama series Safe House. Produced by Eleventh Hour Films, Safe House is a thriller set in the wilderness of England's Lake District. Eccleston plays Robert, a former detective who is asked…

The UK's Icon Film Distribution has acquired A Hologram For The King. The Tom Tykwer-directed comedic drama stars Tom Hanks and is based on the eponymous novel by Dave Eggers which Tykwer adapted. Also starring are Sarita Choudhury, Omar Elba, Tracey Fairaway, David Menkin and Tom Skerritt. The highly-anticipated…