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Sherlock Fans, Rejoice! Maigret Reboot Is Here To Scratch Your Detective Drama Itch ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

British detective dramas have amazed audiences for quite a long time now. BBC’s Sherlock was an explosive offering that kept the audience engaged throughout its run and even afterwards. Sherlock Holmes has been and continues to be one of the most loved sleuths of the 20th century. There was a recent spinoff on the Sherlock Holmes story with the drama Sherlock & Daughter starring David Thewlis and Blu Hunt in the lead. If you are still missing a good old sleuth drama, then PBS has a new offering for you.

Titled Maigret, this PBS detective drama is an adaptation of the Jules Maigret novels by Georges Simenon. This novel series is touted to be the second best selling sleuth story after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creations. PBS’ Maigret is a modern-day adaptation of the novel,...

Watch out, Sherlock Holmes, because the date is set for the arrival of Paris's most beloved detective on PBS Masterpiece. A new teaser trailer for Maigret has just been released, introducing Benjamin Wainwright as the titular world-famous sleuth in the first-ever modern-day-set adaptation of Georges Simenon's bestselling detective stories. It offers a peek into his vividly depicted Paris, full of glitz, mystery, danger, and warmth alike. Along with the footage from the reboot came the exciting news that this new take on the Parisian will make his first appearance on U.S. television screens on October 5.

The new spin on Maigret takes Chief Inspector Jules Maigret through the city of love, from its upper-class luxury hotels and mansions to local bistros and bars, and the many haunts inhabited by the criminal underground. As seen in the trailer, what sets him apart from other famous sleuths is that he approaches every case with understanding,...

Hulu has released the official trailer for its latest limited series, “Washington Black,” starring Ernest Kingsley Jr. and Sterling K. Brown The eight-episode series is set to release on July 23 on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.

The series, based on Esi Edugyan’s best selling novel of the same name, follows George Washington “Wash” Black, an 11-year-old boy born on a Barbados sugar plantation, whose prodigious scientific mind sets him on a path of unexpected destiny in the 19th century. After an accident forces him to flee, he is thrust into a globe-spanning adventure that challenges and reshapes his understanding of family, freedom and love. As Wash begins to navigate his journey into uncharted lands and impossible odds, he finds the courage to imagine a future beyond the confines of the society he was born into.

Additional cast members for “Washington Black” include Tom Ellis, Rupert Graves,...

Exclusive:France’s Pyramide International is launching sales on Pascal Bonitzer’s Maigret And The Dead Lover starring Denis Podalydes as the renowned French police inspector.

The film, now in post, marks a new direction for the well-known IP after disgraced actor Gerard Depardieu notably starred as the same character in Patrice Leconte’s 2022 film Maigret.

The character is based onis based on Georges Simenon’s series of 75 best-selling Belgian books about a Parisian detective solving crimes.

Maigret And The Dead Lover isproduced by Sbs Productions and is about the death of a former ambassador whose long romance with a princess leads to a suspense-filled investigation.

Exclusive: The American Play Company, most recently led by Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas and his business partner, Mark Shankman, is being acquired by the theatrical division of International Literary Partners.

With roots dating to the 1880s, Apc was once an agency representing clients like George Bernard Shaw, Jerome Kern and J.M. Barrie. It went on to control the estates of Damon Runyon, whose writing formed the basis of Broadway musical Guys & Dolls; and Cornell Woolrich, whose story “It Had to Be Murder” was the source of Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rear Window. Apc also has a stake in the estates of authors including Maurine Dallas Watkins, who wrote the 1926 play which inspired the Broadway musical Chicago.

“Mark and I are so excited for this next great chapter for Apc and its catalog of iconic literary legacies,” Douglas said. “We look forward to working with Michael and the entire team...

The first sexual assault trial against French actor Gérard Depardieu has begun in Paris, with Depardieu in attendance.

Two women accuse the French acting legend, famous for his roles in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), Green Card (1990) and The Last Metro (1981), of assault alleged to have taken place in 2021 on the set of French feature The Green Shutters.

The two female crew members — a set decorator and an assistant director — allege Depardieu sexually assaulted them during the filming of Jean Becker’s period drama. Depardieu denies the charges. The film, based on Georges Simenon’s 1950 novel, stars Depardieu as a celebrated but tyrannical actor grappling with personal and professional decline.

Monday’s proceedings mark the first time Depardieu will be tried on official sexual assault charges. Over the past several years, Depardieu has faced a growing number of allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior, which he has vehemently denied.

Depardieu was initially scheduled...

Updated 2.45 am Pt: Gérard Depardieu arrived at a Paris court for his trial on sexual assault charges on Monday to feminist protests outside the building and a media scrum inside.

The trial will examine two separate accusations by a set decorator and an assistant director – referred to as Amélie and Sarah – who say they were sexually assaulted by Depardieu on the set of Jean Becker’s The Green Shutters in 2021.

Based on the eponymous 1950 novel by Georges Simenon, Depardieu stars in the film as a tyrannical, celebrated actor at the height of his powers, in the grip of a personal crisis.

The trial comes amid at least 20 public allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior against Depardieu, which he denies.

These accusations have destroyed his reputation as one of France’s most celebrated actors, whose some 200 credits include Oscar-nominated performance in Cyrano de Bergerac as well as his role opposite Andie MacDowell...

Banijay Entertainment is set to impress at the upcoming London TV Screenings with one of the most extensive and diverse lineups in global TV in terms of both quality and quantity. This year’s showcase, Banijay @ BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, open exclusively to buyers, will spotlight 13 scripted titles, 15 factual series, nine new unscripted formats, and six third-party shows featuring some of the most anticipated new programming on the market.

The event will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 26, across three sessions and is expected to attract a record number of global buyers eager to explore Banijay’s diverse offerings.

Leading the charge for Banijay is “Maigret,” the first contemporary TV adaptation of the iconic detective novels by Georges Simenon, heading for PBS Masterpiece. Written by Patrick Harbinson, the market debut – produced by Playground, behind “Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light” – introduces a fresh take on the legendary Parisian Chief Inspector Jules Maigret.

Masterpiece on PBS has just unveiled the first look at Benjamin Wainwright (Belgravia: The Next Chapter) as Paris’s most renowned detective, Chief Inspector Jules Maigret, in the upcoming contemporary adaptation of Maigret. Based on Georges Simenon’s iconic novels, PBS have put a new spin on the legendary sleuth, as the upcoming series repositions him as an up and coming star in the Police Judiciaire — someone who is methodical, voracious in his approach, and with a knack of getting inside the minds of criminals. It's the first time the character of Maigret has been adapted in a modern setting, which should make it one of the most anticipated crime series on the horizon.

Welcome to Deadline’s London TV Screenings Hot List, our definitive look at next week’s buzzy event taking Soho by storm. If you’re wondering who’s exhibiting, what’s on offer and want to dive deeper into the distribs’ strategy, we’ve done the hard work for you, presenting profiles from more than 30 exhibiting sales houses. Below, check out our first set of profiles for all the London TV Screenings founders, along with the outfits based in the UK. Read on, and find all our London TV Screenings content here.

The Founders

All3Media International

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Key Shows

Diddy: In Plain Sight – Channel 4 doc going inside the horrific allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Chess Masters – Primetime BBC competition format in which amateur players will battle it out across a series of rapid chess games.

Trespasses – Gillian Anderson-starring adaptation of the Louise Kennedy book set in 1970s...

1. Sanshiro Sugata (1943)

Akira Kurosawa‘s directorial debut is based on the homonymous novel by Tsuneo Tomita, the son of prominent judoka Tsunejiro Tomita, with the main character drawing from Shiro Saigo, one of the earliest disciples of Judo, a martial art that was originally created by Jigoro Kano. The film revolves around the challenges Sanshiro Sugata faces, both from himself and from opponents, in his effort to prove judo’s superiority over traditional jujitsu techniques. Gennosuke Higaki, the “villain” in the story, is also based on a real-life fighter, Mataemon Tanabe, who is considered one of the greatest modern jujutsuka.

Buy This Title 2. The Most Beautiful (1944) 3. Sanshiro Sugata Part II (1945)

Susumu Fajita’s performance is a key factor here, as he highlights Sanshiro’s struggle as he thinks about where his path has led him thus far, and how many opponents he has left shattered and disgraced along the way.

“10 Days of a Curious Man” is a Turkish movie starring Nejat Isler. With Riza Kocaoglu, Kadir Çermik, Ilayda Akdogan, and Senay Gürler. It is directed by Uluç Bayraktar, and written by Damla Serim. Based on the novel by Mehmet Eroglu.

Our friend Sadık, played by the magnetic Nejat İşler, returns—seductive, resilient, and now, an aspiring novelist. You know, it’s a tough profession and quite challenging, so his quest for fresh narratives propels him into a new case, this time entwined with real estate speculation.

Plot Summary

Sadık is a seasoned man who has left behind the vices of drugs and alcohol. In an attempt to rebuild his life, he pens a novel that is dismissed for its lack of suspense. Determined to infuse some excitement into his existence, he starts investigating the disappearance of a woman, an online dancer, which leads him into the murky underworld of real estate speculation in Istanbul.

Is it possible that network television is so back? That's the immediate reaction to hearing CBS bought a new workplace comedy pilot starring Tim Meadows. Per Deadline, the sitcom is called Dmv, and Meadows "will play former high school English teacher Gregg, the examiner who likes to get through the driving tests,...

A new adaptation of Georges Simenon’s novels, “Maigret”, is heading to Masterpiece Mystery on PBS, with production underway in Budapest. The series will feature a contemporary take on the iconic Parisian Chief Inspector Jules Maigret, played by Benjamin Wainwright. The show is produced by Playground, with Colin Callender and David Stern serving as executive producers. […]

New ‘Maigret’ Adaptation Heading to Masterpiece Mystery...

Bottoms star/co-writer Rachel Sennott’s next project has officially landed a series order at HBO.

The premium cabler has picked up an untitled comedy — starring, written and executive-produced by Sennott — in which “a codependent friend group reunites, navigating how the time apart, ambition, and new relationships have changed them,” per the official synopsis.

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In addition to Sennott (The Idol, Call Your Mother), the...

Colin Callender’s Playground will adapt Georges Simenon’s best-selling detective novels “Maigret” into a television series set to air in the U.S. on PBS under the “Masterpiece” banner.

The adaptation of the streetwise Parisian Chief Inspector Jules Maigret has started production in Budapest. Callender and David Stern will executive produce for Playground.

Benjamin Wainwright will play Maigret and Stefanie Martini stars as Madame Louise Maigret.

“George Simenon’s creation of Jules Maigret holds a firm place in the pantheon of great literary detectives and we are incredibly grateful to our partners ‘Masterpiece,’ Banijay, Ilp and John Simenon for their trust and support as we endeavor to bring a contemporary Maigret to a new, worldwide audience,” Stern said. “Patrick Harbinson’s brilliantly fresh take on this iconic IP is reflective of Playground’s ambition to expand our growing slate of contemporary returning dramas that speak to a global marketplace.

The first contemporary TV adaptation of Georges Simenon’s beloved Jules Maigret detective novels is coming to PBS Masterpiece. The network announced its new series Maigret, along with the official list of stars, on Tuesday, September 10. The Jules Maigret series is the second best-selling detective series ever, behind only Sherlock Holmes. Based on the beloved books about the streetwise Parisian Chief Inspector Jules Maigret, Maigret will star Belgravia‘s Benjamin Wainwright in the titular role with Stefanie Martini as Jules’ wife, Madame Louise Maigret (above). Read on for all the details on the new detective series, including additional stars. What is PBS’ Maigret about? Patrick Harbinson serves as lead writer and executive producer on behalf of Windhover Films and will direct the first two episodes of the series. Colin Callender and David Stern executive produce for Playground, the Golden Globe and BAFTA award winning production company behind upcoming series Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light...

A new iteration of one of the most beloved detectives in fiction is coming to PBS.

The public broadcaster has ordered Maigret, a series based on Georges Simenon’s novels about Jules Maigret, a chief inspector for the Paris police. Production on the series, which stars Benjamin Wainwright as the title character, has begun in Budapest; it will air under PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery! banner.

Simenon published more than 100 novels and short stories about Maigret, selling more books than any other detective series aside from Sherlock Holmes. The new Maigret series, produced by Playground (Wolf Hall, All Creatures Great and Small), is set in the present and will position the character as an unconventional young detective with something to prove, a rising star in the Police Judiciaire who is relentless in his investigations and has both an uncanny ability to get under the skin of the criminals he is chasing and...

The long-gestating TV adaptation of Georges Simenon’s Maigret has landed at PBS Masterpiece, with Belgravia: The Next Chapter’s Benjamin Wainwright and Stefanie Martini (Prime Suspect 1973) playing the eponymous leads.

From Colin Callender’s Wolf Hall producer Playground, the series follows the detective and his wife in Paris. Maigret is a rising star in the Police Judiciaire, relentless in his investigations, with an uncanny ability to get under the skin of the criminals he is chasing and a matchless knowledge of Paris and its inhabitants. Lead Wainwright played Lord Frederick Trenchard in MGM+ sequel series Belgravia: The Next Chapter, which followed on from Julian Fellowes’ original.

Patrick Harbinson is writing Maigret and the cast includes Blake Harrison, Reda Elazouar, Kerrie Hayes, Shaniqua Okwok and Rob Kazinsky, with Nathalie Armin set to play Prosecutor Mathilde Kernavel.

The Maigret books are the second best-selling detective series of all time behind Sherlock. Playground licensed them from Georges Simenon Limited and unveiled the development three years ago, at which point Red Arrow Studios International – which is no longer attached – was co-producing. Banijay Rights has since boarded and will sell globally.

The previous Maigret TV adaptation aired on ITV for two seasons from 2016, starring Rowan Atkinson.

Playground Joint MD David Stern said: “George Simenon’s creation of Jules Maigret holds a firm place in the pantheon of great literary detectives and we are incredibly grateful to our partners and John Simenon for their trust and support as we endeavor to bring a contemporary Maigret to a new, worldwide audience.”

Harbinson will direct the first two episodes of the Maigret series with Faye Gilbert directing 3 and 4, and David Evans taking 5 and 6. Susanne Simpson serves as the executive producer on behalf of Masterpiece the lead commissioning broadcaster, with John Simenon executive producing on behalf of Georges Simenon Limited. International distribution will be handled by Banijay Rights, the global sales arm of Banijay Entertainment.

Playground has been busy of late. The indie has completed the second in the Wolf Hall franchise, also for Masterpiece and the BBC, and is working on an Inspector Lynley Mysteries adaptation for BritBox International.

Andrew Bendel’s UK production outfit Blue Horizon Productions has joined forces with Marco Belardi’s Italy-based Greenboo Production to coproduce wartime romance The Italian Chapel.

Italian director Francesca Archibugi is working on her own version of the script, based on an original screenplay by John Wrathall.

Set in Orkney, The Italian Chapel is about a clash between the local community and prisoners of war and how romance springs up between a prisoner and an islander. Inspired by a true story, the film was originally developed by Working Title Films and the BFI.

It is one of a number of...

This week’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris will kick off with the Tuesday night world premiere of Pascal Bonitzer’s “Auction” – a ripped-from-the-headlines ensemble drama set in the crosshairs of high art and high finance.

Produced by Sbs Productions and sold by Pyramide International, the art-world saga follows – among others – a hotshot auctioneer, his less-than-reliable assistant, and the working class bloke who sets the narrative in motion upon realizing that his erstwhile innocuous wall art bears the signature of Egon Schiele.

Writer-director Pascal Bonitzer originally thought to explore this world of high-verve auctioneers as a series, but keyed into the story’s singular, cinematic potential thanks to the real-life discovery of Schiele masterworks thought lost during World War II.

“I was fascinated by this collision of two worlds,” Bonitzer tells Variety. “On the one hand, these auctioneers need to play a game – they must seduce potential sellers, wresting artifacts from...

Exclusive: The company that holds rights to the literary estates of Langston Hughes and Evelyn Waugh is heading on a West Coast charm offensive and has snapped up the estate of Somerset Maugham.

International Literary Properties (Ilp) launched in 2019 but has so far focused on the UK and East Coast. Over the coming weeks, however, UK and Europe CEO Hilary Strong has numerous meetings in the diary with LA producers as Ilp looks to strike deals for adaptations of books from its 50-author roster across TV, film and in other areas.

“As we continue to buy considerable assets we need to broaden our relationships with the U.S. production community and showrunners,” Strong told Deadline. “We are going out to make sure people understand the message so we can start to develop producer networks in Hollywood akin to what we have on the East Coast and in the UK.”

Hilary...

Hungarian director Béla Tarr will receive the Honorary Award of the European Film Academy president and board at the 36th European Film Awards in Berlin on Dec. 9.

“With this award the European Film Academy (Efa) wishes to pay special tribute to an outstanding director and a personality with a strong political voice, who is not only deeply respected by his colleagues but also celebrated by audiences worldwide,” Efa said on Wednesday. “Béla Tarr is the sixth filmmaker to receive this recognition – earlier recipients were Manoel de Oliveira, Michel Piccoli, Sir Michael Caine, Andrzej Wajda and Costa-Gavras.”

Born in Hungary, the auteur started experiments in filmmaking at the age of 16. His feature debut, Family Nest. In 1982, The Prefab People received a special mention at the Locarno Film Festival. Tarr followed that up with Almanac of Fall (1984) and Damnation, which was nominated for the first European Film Awards in 1988.

One of Tarr’s best-known films is Sátántangó,...

Beloved actor Michael Gambon has passed away at the age of 82, it has been confirmed. Renowned for his performances both on screen and on stage, Gambon died peacefully following an illness. “We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon,” reads a statement on behalf of his wife Lady Gambon and son Fergus, released via his publicist. “Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia. Michael was 82. We ask that you respect our privacy at this painful time and thank you for your messages of support and love.”

For an entire generation, Gambon was known for playing Albus Dumbledore in many of the :a[Harry Potter films]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/every-harry-potter-movie-ranked/' target='blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} – taking on the role of the Hogwarts headmaster from 2004’s :a[The Prisoner Of Azkaban]{href='https://www.

Michael Gambon, a protégé of Laurence Olivier and giant of the British stage who portrayed Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, apparently with little effort, in the final six Harry Potter movies, has died. He was 82.

“The Great Gambon,” as Ralph Richardson once called him, died “peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia,” according to a family statement provided Thursday by a publicist.

Among the first group of actors recruited by Olivier for the National Theatre Company in the early 1960s, Gambon, a Dublin native, was nominated 13 times for an Olivier Award, winning in 1986 and ’90 for Alan Ayckbourn’s A Chorus of Disapproval and Man of the Moment, respectively, and in 1988 for Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge.

He received another one for his turn as a recently widowed businessman trying to reunite with his former mistress in Skylight,...

The actor doesn’t move much but brings off the Parisian copper’s air of worldly, tolerant bemusement

Maybe it’s a surprise that Gérard Depardieu has not before now taken on the one fictional character of comparable French iconic status to himself: Georges Simenon’s Parisian police commissaire Maigret. Well, it’s now Depardieu’s turn to put on the detective’s trademark overcoat, hat, pipe, and wintry half-smile of detached amusement at human nature and the criminal mind.

This film, directed and co-written by Patrice Leconte, is based on the 1954 novel Maigret and the Dead Girl; it feels like a feature-length Sunday-night TV drama, and at 74 Depardieu is surely a couple of decades older than the usual Maigret. He is also a rather stately and well-nourished figure – when his doctor asks him if he feels tired in the medical checkup scene at the beginning of this film, Maigret...

Exclusive: France tv distribution has launched sales on French director Benoît Jacquot’s upcoming crime thriller Belle starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Guillaume Canet.

The work is adapted from the 1951 novel The Death Of Belle by the iconic Belgian writer Georges Simenon who is best known for his novels about Paris detective Maigret.

Canet and Gainsbourg will play a couple leading a peaceful existence in a small provincial town. He is a teacher and she runs an opticians practice.

Their life is turned upside when Belle, a friend’s daughter who is lodging with them, is found dead in her room. The husband becomes the prime suspect as the only one at home at the time.

He finds himself subject to humiliating questioning by the police, ostracized by colleagues and treated with hostility by the local townspeople. In this small town where nothing is a secret the question on everyone’s lips is,...

Highest honors go to this stylish, cinematically refined adaptation of a George Simenon thriller. Michel Blanc becomes a person of interest for a murder investigation mainly because he’s disliked and anti-social; Sandrine Bonnaire is the neighbor that he peeps at nightly, to stir his secret passion. Director Patrice Leconte directs with almost perfect control, turning the show into an emotional workout.

Monsieur Hire

Blu-ray

Cohen Film Collection

1989 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 79 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / Available from / 29.95

Starring: Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier, André Wilms, Eric Bérenger, Marielle Berthon, Philippe Dormoy, Marie Gaydu, Michel Morano, Nora Noël.

Cinematography: Denis Lenoir

Production Designer: Ivan Maussion

Costume designer: Elisabeth Tavernier

Film Editor: Joëlle Hache

Original Music: Michael Nyman

Scenario, adaptation and dialogue by Patrice Leconte, Patrick Dewolf from the book Les fiançailles de M. Hire by Georges Simenon

Produced by Philippe Carcassonne, René Cleitman

Directed by Patrice Leconte

We’re fond...

Exclusive: International Literary Properties (Ilp), which holds rights to the estates of the likes of Evelyn Waugh, Maigret author Georges Simenon and Van Der Valk’s Nicolas Freeling, has bolstered its legal team with a triple hire including Disney alum Lisa Logan.

Logan joins as General Counsel for Emea alongside new North America VP, Legal and Business Affairs, Barbara Cohen and Rights Manager Sabina Pekin.

Logan, who will be the primary legal resource in terms of managing IP, is an industry veteran who worked for more than a decade in-house with Disney, Nickelodeon and Discovery Channel before moving to private practice. She is a former Partner and Head of Media/TV at Gately and then Simkins.

Cohen will lead business affairs for North American acquisition activity and Pekin, who will report to Logan, will manage contracts and rights.

Hilary Strong, CEO of Ilp in the UK and Europe, said “the...

Hungarian auteur will also mentor young Egyptian filmmakers at the festival.

Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr is to receive a lifetime achievement award at the 44th Cairo International Film Festival (November 13-22).

The award-winning film director, producer and screenwriter will also mentor a workshop with young Egyptian filmmakers at the festival and will separately deliver a masterclass at the event.

The festival will also screen 4K restorations of Tarr’s 2000 feature Werckmeister Harmonies and 2011 drama The Turin Horse, considered two of his finest works. This will make Ciff “one of the early platforms to screen Tarr’s newly restored film copies,...

Montreal event to run July 14 to August 3.

Organisers at the 26th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival have announced that the world premiere of K.C. Carthew’s Polaris will open the Montreal festival, set to run from July 14 to August 3.

The eco action fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic world is distributed in Canada by Filmoption International and is among the second wave of titles and events announced on Thursday (June 2). They include a spotlight on queer cinema and new work from Neil Labute, Patrice Leconte and Shinichiro Ueda.

Labute’s horror-comedy House Of Darkness gets its international premiere and...

Montreal event to run 14 to August 3.

Organisers at the 26th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival have announced that the world premiere of K.C. Carthew’s Polaris will open the Montreal festival, set to run from July 14 to August 3.

The eco action fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic world is distributed in Canada by Filmoption International and is among the second wave of titles and events announced on Thursday (June 2). They include a spotlight on queer cinema and new work from Neil Labute, Patrice Leconte and Shinichiro Ueda.

Labute’s horror-comedy House Of Darkness gets its international premiere and stars Justin Long and Kate Bosworth.

Antonio Campos, creator of the new HBO Max miniseries The Staircase, walks hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante through his favorite films noir.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Afterschool (2008)

The Devil All The Time (2020)

Rashomon (1950) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera (1996)

Raw Deal (1948) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

T-Men (1947) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)

House of Bamboo (1955) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Pickup On South Street (1953) – Sam Hamm’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Naked Kiss (1964)

Reign of Terror (1949)

Detour (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Scarlet Street (1945)

The House on 92nd Street (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Barry Lyndon (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Killing (1956) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary

Kiss of Death (1947) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Kiss of Death...

“Fate’s the one to blame!”

Lies and Deceit: Five Films by Claude Chabrol – a new 5-disc set will be available on Blu-ray February 22nd from Arrow Video

Too often overlooked and undervalued, Claude Chabrol was the first of the Cahiers du Cinema critics to release a feature film and would be among the most prolific. The sneaky anarchist of the French New Wave, he embraced genre as a means off lifting the lid on human nature. Nothing is sacred and nothing is certain in the films of Claude Chabrol. Anything can be corrupted, and usually will be.

Arrow Video is proud to present Lies & deceit: Five Films by Claude Chabrol. Featuring Cop Au Vin (Poulet au vinaigre), Inspector Lavardin, Madame Bovary, Betty and Torment (L’enfer), this inaugural collection of Claude Chabrol on Blu-ray brings together a wealth of passionate contributors and archival extras to shed fresh light...

“Maigret,” Patrice Leconte’s adaptation of Georges Simenon’s literary masterpiece with Gerard Depardieu, has pre-sold to major territories ahead of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris where the movie is having its market premiere.

Represented in international markets by Snd, “Maigret” was picked up for Italy (Adler), Germany and Austria (Koch), Benelux (Athena), Switzerland (Pathé), Span (Selecta), Poland (Monolith), Cis (Capella), Australia and New Zealand (Palace), Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia (Blitz), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Greece (Spentzos), and Czech Republic and Slovakia (Mediasquad).

“We had terrific response from distributors when we launched the project during last year’s EFM,” said Ramy Nahas, head of international sales at Snd.

“Patrice Leconte has crafted an instant classic and Gerard Depardieu yet again delivers an incredible performance,” said Nahas. The executive said he expected to lock additional deals following the film’s market premiere at the Unifrance event and is already in negotiations for several key territories.

Snd is set to host market premieres for Patrice Leconte’s period detective film “Maigret,” as well as high concept comedies “Employee of the Month” and “The Bodins” at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, a showcase of French content hosted this week in Paris.

“Maigret,” based on Georges Simenon’s literary masterpiece, will star Gérard Depardieu (“Cyrano de Bergerac”) as detective Maigret, who investigates the death of a young girl in 1953. During his inquiry, Maigret crosses paths with Betty, a young offender who reminds him of the dead girl. The movie will be released by Snd on April 6.

“We’ve pre-sold ‘Maigret’ across 90% of Europe, it’s really a highlight on our slate due to the strength of the franchise, director and cast – Gerard Depardieu is outstanding in this role,” said Ramy Nahas, head of international sales at Snd.

“Employee of the Month” will be directed by French comedian Jerome...

Ivan de Wiel, private banker from Geneva, Switzerland, arrives in Buenos Aires with his wife Inès. A military coup has plunged the country into turmoil. De Wiel is in Argentina to take over the business left behind by his banking partner René Keys (Alain Gegenschatz), who had disappeared without a trace in Andreas Fontana’s haunting Azor, co-written with Mariano Llinas.

1977 in A Book of Common Prayer Joan Didion writes: “The day Luis was shot Elena flew to exile in Geneva, a theatrical gesture but unnecessary, since even before her plane left the runway the coup was over and Little Victor had assumed temporary control of the government.” The characters inhabiting Didion’s invented Central American nation Boca Grande could...

Andreas Fontana’s haunting Azor, co-written with Mariano Llinas, stars Fabrizio Rongione and Stéphanie Cléau: “The cinematography was done by Gabriel Sandru and we were talking a lot about that.”

Andreas Fontana’s Azor, co-written with Mariano Llinas, shot by Gabriel Sandru with costumes by Simona Martínez, stars Fabrizio Rongione and Stéphanie Cléau.

Andreas Fontana with Anne-Katrin Titze on Jorge Luis Borges: “Borges of course in terms of literary inspiration is very important.”

In my discussion with the director we touch on the influence of Howard Hawks and Jorge Luis Borges, Joan Didion’s codes and games, casting director Alexandre Nazarian, the cinematography, costumes, and filming in Argentina with non-professional actors, “men who are very impressive”.

Boredom is seen as “divine punishment,” old money...

Colin Callender’s Playground and Red Arrow Studios International are joining forces to co-develop a premium English-language returning drama series based on Georges Simenon’s classic Inspector Maigret novels. Georges Simenon Limited (Gsl) will act as co-production partner.

Playground’s option deal with Gsl extends to all 75 novels and 28 short stories based on the Jules Maigret character who solves murders using his understanding of human motives and emotional makeup. Above all, he is a cop. From the back alleys of Paris to the glamorous beaches of the South of France and beyond, Maigret’s reputation is so highly regarded that officers come to shadow him and observe his uncanny ability to get under the skin of the criminals he is chasing. But, it is only his devotion to his craft and his love for his wife, Madame Maigret, that satisfy him.

The Inspector Maigret books, along with Simenon’s extensive body of work,...

Georges Simenon Limited (Gsl) has signed a licence and co-production arrangement with Colin Callender’s Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning Playground (“Howards End”) to co-develop with Red Arrow Studios International a new English-language returning Inspector Maigret drama series.

The series will be based on Georges Simenon’s iconic series of novels about the ingenious French detective Jules Maigret.

Playground’s option deal with Gsl extends to all 75 novels and 28 short stories based on the Jules Maigret character. The Maigret books have sold over 600 million copies worldwide and have been translated into more than 50 languages.

Maigret has been portrayed by a host of popular actors over the years in series and films, including Richard Harris (pictured), Rowan Atkinson, Michael Gambon and Jean Gabin.

The adaptation will be executive produced by Colin Callender, David Stern and Scott Huff for Playground, Tim Gerhartz and Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia for Red Arrow Studios International and John Simenon...

International Literary Properties, the New York- and London-based rights management outfit, has expanded the role of its UK CEO Hilary Strong to include Europe. In her new remit as CEO of UK and Europe, the former Agatha Christie Ltd CEO will be responsible for the company’s UK and European acquisition program. She will also have global responsibility for Ilp’s TV and film exploitation of the estates in its portfolio.

Ilp was formed in late-2019 to acquire rights in literary estates from authors and their heirs and to exploit those rights through all media platforms including TV, film and theater. The New York-headquartered business is led by literary veteran Scott Hoffman as Global CEO and Ted Green as Executive Chairman. Strong works alongside Anthology Group founder, Bob Benton in the UK and Europe.

Last year, Strong brokered an eight figure multi-estates deal that included such writers as Georges Simenon,...

An adaptation of the book by Georges Simenon, Patrice Leconte’s new film starring Gérard Depardieu and currently being shot has arrived in the French vendor’s well-stocked line-up. The international sales division of Snd is setting a course for the 71st Berlinale's European Film Market (online 1-5 March), armed with a watertight line-up of 10 titles, which now includes a particularly interesting new work which began filming on 8 February: Maigret and The Mysterious Dead Girl by Patrice Leconte, an adaptation of the detective novel of the same name by the prolific Belgian writer Georges Simenon. This will be the 30th feature film to come courtesy of the seasoned and eclectic director, who was well-received...

With 2017’s “This Is Our Land,” director Lucas Belvaux examined the ways in which far right movements attract, recruit and reformat new converts, curdling contemporary anxieties for acrid political goals. With his follow-up, “Home Front,” the Franco-Belgian auteur explores the roots of those prejudices. The film, which was part of Cannes’ selection last year, is screening this week at UniFrance’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris (Jan. 13-15).

Adapted by Belvaux from Laurent Mauvignier 2009 novel “The Wound,” the film follows two working-class cousins as they fulfil their colonial military duties in 1960s Algeria and as they nurse their scars and traumas in Burgundy of 2003. While the more cerebral Rabut has tried to forge ahead, his cousin Bernard remains a livewire, looking for any provocation to snap back into violence. Local draw Catherine Frot rounds out the cast.

Synecdoche and Artemis Productions are producing. The Party Film Sales in partnership...

Serre-moi fort

Mathieu Amalric should be ready to reveal his eighth feature with Serre-moi fort, a working title which means: hold me tight. Produced by Yael Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez, with support from the Cnc, this stars Vicky Krieps and Arieh Worthalter (Girl). Amalric’s Public Affairs premiered in the 2003 Directors’ Fortnight lineup at Cannes, where he returned to compete in 2010 with On Tour, winning the Fipresci Prize and Best Director. His 2014 Georges Simenon adaptation The Blue Room went to Un Certain Regard, as did 2017’s Barbara, which won the Poetry of Cinema Award in the sidebar and took home nine Cesar awards, winning two, including Best Actress for Jeanne Balibar.…...

The Covid-19 crisis has devastated cinema attendance. Several major cinema chains have closed around the world. In the face of adversity, this year’s 12th edition of the Lumière Festival in France’s Lyon, which runs Oct. 10-18, aims to fly the flag of cinema even more forcefully than ever, through its on site mix of career tributes, restored classics, world premieres of new films and a classic film market.

Veteran French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier (“My Journey through French Cinema”) has played a key role in organizing this year’s line-up, including the tribute to the classic French screenwriter Michel Audiard, who would have turned 100 this year, the award of the Lumière Award to Belgian directing duo, the Dardenne brothers, tributes to Oliver Stone and Viggo Mortensen, and a career tribute to French actress Sabine Azéma, who starred in two films by Tavernier. The Festival also pays homage to American...

If adultery was as drab and zestless a business as it’s made to look in “Lovers,” nobody would engage in it — in which case Nicole Garcia’s languid, boilerplate-stylish romantic melodrama would gain at least a measure of the novelty it so sorely lacks. Unspooling in competition at the Venice Film Festival, this French three-hander offers an old-fashioned blend of desire, betrayal, criminal activity and young, naked, attractively entwined bodies. So why is it so plodding and unsexy, and why do the lovers of the title generate nary a matchstick spark between them? A marginal effort for all involved, “Lovers” sees actor-turned-director Garcia failing to regain form after 2016’s turgid Marion Cotillard vehicle “From the Land of the Moon,” and while the star trio of Stacy Martin, Pierre Niney and Benoît Magimel will generate some interest on home turf, few distributors abroad will be seduced.

That Garcia and regular...

As Disney quietly disappears huge swathes of film history into its vaults, I'm going to spend 2020 celebrating Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox Film Corporation's films, what one might call their output if only someone were putting it out.And now they've quietly disappeared William Fox's name from the company: guilty by association with Rupert Murdoch, even though he never associated with him.***The mid-fifties were, it seems, a time for Georges Simenon adaptations. Of course, Hollywood had to make his glum procedurals a good deal more optimistic: generally, in his policiers, the only thing staving off total tragedy is the "successful" conclusion of the case. He's too concerned with human frailty and too little interested in law and order for this to ever seem triumphal.A Life in the Balance, directed by Harry Horner (Red Planet Mars), transfers the action of Simenon's just-published Sept petites croix dans un carne to Mexico,...

A few weeks after it acquired rights to 12 notable author estates, London/New York management outfit International Literary Properties has set a first-look deal with BBC Studios. Under the pact, both BBC Studios Production and its portfolio of independent producers will have the opportunity to explore the intellectual property owned and managed by Ilp for screen adaptation.

Formed in November 2019, Ilp was set up to acquire rights in literary estates from authors and their heirs and to exploit those rights through all media platforms including TV, film and theater. The BBC Studios deal is the first major production partnership announced by Ilp.

Ilp currently holds the rights for authors including Georges Simenon, Eric Ambler, Margery Allingham, Edmund Crispin, Dennis Wheatley, Robert Bolt, Richard Hull, George Bellairs, Nicolas Freeling, John Creasey and Michael Innes as well as 20% of Evelyn Waugh’s estate.

Chaired in the UK by CEO Hilary Strong (formerly...

International Literary Properties, the newly former London- and New York-based company that this month acquired the estates of 12 late authors, has signed a first-look deal with BBC Studios, marking its first major production partnership. 

Under the deal, announced Tuesday, BBC Studios Production, the production arm of BBC Studios, and its portfolio of independent producers can explore the intellectual property owned and managed by Ilp. 

Set up last year, the company holds the rights for authors including Georges Simenon, Eric Ambler, Margery Allingham, Edmund Crispin, Dennis Wheatley, Robert Bolt, Richard Hull, George Bellairs, Nicolas Freeling, John Creasey and ...

Launched in November, London/New York book rights outfit International Literary Properties has acquired 12 literary estates from the UK’s Peters, Fraser + Dunlop. The eight figure deal sees Ilp acquire the rights formerly held by the agency for the estates of Georges Simenon, Eric Ambler, Margery Allingham, Edmund Crispin, Dennis Wheatley, Robert Bolt, Richard Hull, George Bellairs, Nicolas Freeling, John Creasey, Michael Innes and Evelyn Waugh.

Ilp was set up to acquire the rights in literary estates from those who have inherited them, or from living authors, and will work to exploit those rights through all media platforms including TV, film and theater. Many of the estates acquired under the current deal include the detective, spy and crime genres. Simenon is best known as the creator of French Detective Jules Maigret, for example. Bolt, however, was a playwright who also penned the scripts for Lawrence Of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Man For All Seasons.