Banijay Group has set drama veteran Takis Candilis as Head of Scripted. In the newly-created role, Paris-based Candilis will be directly in charge of Banijay's scripted production company in France and will oversee the entire scripted production business for the Banijay Group which recently merged with Zodiak Media…

It says something about Abu Dhabi’s appeal that the emirate could attract two of the biggest franchises in film history to the Middle East at a time when the region is undergoing unprecedented upheaval. Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Furious 7 both filmed significant, and vastly different, sequences in the UAE’s…

EXCLUSIVE: Abu Dhabi’s Media Zone Authority is restructuring its film operations, earmarking more than $100 million to spend over the next five years directly on film and TV production in Abu Dhabi, and shutting down the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. The move to cancel the festival will not affect the operations of the…

EXCLUSIVE: The death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah on January 23 continues to have reverberations throughout the conservative Kingdom and beyond, creating more uncertainty in a media landscape already struggling with multiple regional crises. New Saudi King Salman unveiled a cabinet reshuffle that included Adel Al…

Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald and Image Nation Abu Dhabi are extending their deal for another five years and have named Evan Hayes as president of production at Parkes/Macdonald. Hayes was formerly the president of production at Story Mining & Supply Co. The extension of their joint venture expands the…

Gillian Anderson's UK crime drama The Fall has set its second-season debut. BBC Two tweeted that the show will return at 9PM November 13. The psychological thriller that also stars Fifty Shades Of Grey's Jamie Dornan was a hit in the UK last year, and the second season also will be coming soon to Netflix in the U.S…

EXCLUSIVE: Producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald have acquired an untitled action-comedy set in the world of the Secret Service. Aaron Buchsbaum & Teddy Riley are writing the script. Parkes/MacDonald utilized funds from its development fund with Image Nation. The project came out of a general meeting the…

Los Angeles, CA (December 22, 2011)–National Geographic and Image Nation are consolidating their partnership with Hyde Park/Image Nation to finance and produce a wide array of National Geographic themed entertainment projects designed for global distribution. Hyde Park will be the managing partner, and the venture…

Image Nation has separated its U.S. business from its local filmmaking activity. Michael Garin, who was appointed CEO in February, will continue to be overall head of Image Nation, while running overseas business Image Nation International. Its American partners include Participant Media, Hyde Park Entertainment…