News

Indie rock husband-and-wife team Jillie Simon and Thomas Simon have commenced principal photography on their debut feature “Real, True, 100 Percent Love” in Bucharest, Romania, with The Mise En Scène Company (Msc) joining as production and sales consultant.

The romantic spy comedy, written by and starring actor-singer-songwriter Jillie Simon and co-directed by her and Thomas Simon, blends espionage with music in a story following activist and lead singer Elli DeCosta. After her boyfriend mysteriously vanishes, DeCosta’s personal heartbreak escalates into an international adventure involving Russian agents, the CIA, and a journey to rediscover her voice when he suddenly resurfaces months later.

The ensemble cast features Margarette Odette, Josh Cooke, Nathan Sapsford (“The Golden Age”), Marc Duret, and Jackie Hoffman. Grammy-winner Larry Mitchell and European rock band Kumm will also appear in the music-driven project.

“This story reflects so much of my own life – touring as a musician, striving for change,...

London and New York-based film sales agency The Mise En Scene Company (Msc) has diversified, securing world rights to scripted series “Driven.”

The show stars Rebecca Henderson, known for her roles in “Star Wars: The Acolyte” (Disney) and “Russian Doll” (Netflix), and Liza Colón-Zayas from “The Bear” (FX).

Produced by O Positive Films in New York and created by David Shane, represented by 3 Arts Entertainment, “Driven” centers on Theodora “Teddy” Fischer (Henderson), an Uber driver and struggling post-post-modern novelist. Teddy’s life hits rock bottom after getting fired from an animated children’s show for a controversial episode and dealing with her wife’s departure. When she contemplates suicide, a ride request from Yari Alvarez, an overly confident, deaf Puerto Rican yodeler, changes her path. The encounter leads them to Yari’s parents’ McMansion, where they face rejection from Yari’s no-nonsense mother, Reina (Colón-Zayas), and an awkward confrontation with her conflict-avoidant father,...

Screen Media has picked up North American rights to Anchorage, a drug-fueled road trip thriller from first-time director Scott Monahan. The Mise En Scéne Company, which is handling worldwide sales on the film, also signed a deal with Bulldog for U.K. rights.

Anchorage premiered at the Oldenburg International Film Festival, where it won the German independence award for best film, as well as the best actor nod for co-star Dakota Loesch, who also wrote the screenplay.

In the film, Loesch and Monahan play brothers Jacob and John who attempt to drive a trunk full of stolen opioids from Florida to Alaska to cash in big. But a split-second act of violence in the California desert derails their plans and sets them on a crash course with tragedy. Since its Oldenburg premiere, the film has traveled the festival circuit, building up word-of-mouth and winning numerous awards.

“Anchorage is a true...

British entertainment has lost a truly unique talent. From drag to dogs, gameshows to the gay scene, trailblazer Paul O’Grady was one of our very best. Millions of us who’ve savoured his effervescent screen presence over the past 35 years have been left heartbroken by the news that he has died aged 67. O’Grady’s versatile career as a comedian, TV presenter, radio DJ and theatre performer means that there are few Britons whose lives he hasn’t touched. It’s not hyperbole to suggest that he attained national treasure status.

I first became aware of O’Grady – although I didn’t know that was his name back then – on the stand-up comedy circuit during the Nineties. As his drag queen alter ego Lily Savage, he was a roof-raising riot. With near the knuckle gags (“Me and my husband have an open marriage. I’m hopin’ he’ll f*** off...

For Round 3 of Wellington Paranormal, this hilariously spooky mockumentary about a New Zealand police squad tasked with taking down supernatural threats finds Officers O’Leary and Minogue (Karen O’Leary and Mike Minogue) facing “some of their most dangerous cases yet,” says co-creator Paul Yates. (Credit: Stan Alley/New Zealand Documentary Board Ltd) “First, there’s an invisible entity that’s a little bit ‘handsy’ — at least we thought they were hands!” Future calls include a hairy forest-dwelling beast, a sentient blob of sewage grease, ghosts dressed à la Where’s Waldo? and a meteorite crash. Per Yates: “Just a normal week on patrol for New Zealand’s favorite paranormal cops.” Wellington Paranormal, Season 3 Premiere, Wednesday, June 22, 9/8c, The CW...

London-based outfit The Mise En Scène Company has taken global rights to “The Magnificent Meyersons” as part of its European Film Market slate.

Directed by Evan Oppenheimer, “The Magnificent Meyersons” is a New York-set family drama with a sci-fi twist. Its cast includes Kate Mulgrew, Lauren Ridloff, Daniel Eric Gold (“Ugly Betty”) and Richard Kind.

The story centers on a day that starts out like any other, full of small hostilities, self-doubt, moments of tenderness, and the other quotidian battles and joys that comprise a normal day in the big city. But on this day, perhaps the most significant scientific revelation in human history takes place, and the discovery will affect the everyday life of each member of the family in a different way.

Since its formation in 2020, Mise en Scène has been building out a cast-driven slate of movies, and is in development on a number of projects, with...

“American Reject,” a music comedy that delves into the aftermath of a reality singing competition, has secured U.S. distribution with 1091 Pictures.

Fledgling London-based sales agent The Mise En Scene Company, which launched at the 2020 American Film Market, sold the project into the indie distributor, which is known for Taika Waititi’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” and “What We Do in the Shadows.” A spring release is planned.

“American Reject,” directed by Marlo Hunter and produced by Full Armor Films, stars Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone as Kay, a recent reject of America’s hottest singing competition, “Pop Star Now.” As she mourns her public elimination, she’s forced to participate in the network’s “After The Cut” filming, and is sent to her hometown to move back in with her mother and the simple life she left behind.

With nothing on the horizon but a cameraman following her every move,...

In the first co-acquisition partnership between The CW and HBO Max, the broadcaster and streamer have acquired Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s “Wellington Paranormal,” a spinoff from their 2014 movie “What We Do in the Shadows.” The horror comedy will premiere on The CW sometime this summer, and episodes will then be available the next day to stream on HBO Max (as well as on the ad-supported CW app and Cwtv.com).

The show follows the police characters from “What We Do in the Shadows,” Officers O’Leary (played by Karen O’Leary) and Minogue (played by Mike Minogue). As part of the Wellington paranormal unit, they investigate local supernatural activity — of which there is a surprising amount — as supervised by Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu).

Clement, of “Flight of the Conchords,” and Waititi, who last year won an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for his “Jojo Rabbit,” created the show, and...

Wellington Paranormal, a New Zealand horror mockumentary based on Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows film, is coming to the U.S.

The show, which launched on New Zealand broadcaster TVNZ2 in 2018, has been picked up by The CW and HBO Max – the first time the two WarnerMedia brands have jointly acquired a show.

The comedy will launch first on The CW this summer, and each episode will then be available to stream via the network’s ad-supported digital platforms and streaming service HBO Max the day after its linear bow.

Wellington Paranormal follows the adventures of two incurious police officers from the What We Do in the Shadows movie. It revolves around Officers O’Leary (Karen O’Leary) and Minogue (Mike Minogue), who both appeared in the film. They are hard-working members of the Wellington constabulary’s paranormal unit who, under the supervision of...

The CW and HBO Max have jointly acquired the rights to New Zealand series “Wellington Paranormal,” a TV spinoff of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s “What We Do in the Shadows.”

“Wellington Paranormal,” which first aired in the country in 2018, follows officers Kyle Minogue (Mike Minogue) and Officer O’Leary (Karen O’Leary), with both actors reprising their roles from the 2014 film. The pair are “hard-working members of the Wellington constabulary’s paranormal unit who, under the supervision of Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu), investigate supernatural occurrences that arise in the capital of New Zealand on a surprisingly regular basis.”

Every episode of the supernatural comedy series will first air on The CW and will then be available to stream on HBO Max the next day, as well as The CW app and Cwtv.com. Created by Clement and Waititi, who serve as executive producers of the series with Paul Yates, “Wellington Paranormal...

A new version of the Don Quixote yarn will be tilting at U.K. box office windmills soon.

London-based international sales outfit The Mise En Scène Company (Msc) has secured a U.K. distribution deal with Signature Entertainment for “The True Don Quixote.”

The film is a modern adaptation of the classic Cervantes novel from 1605 but set in the wilds of Louisiana, where Quixote dons makeshift armour and trades his half-starved horse Rocinante for a rusty old Vespa.

Tim Blake Nelson (“The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs”) plays Quixote, and the cast also includes Jacob Batalon (“Spider-Man: Homecoming”) as his sidekick Sancho Panza, as well as Brandon Stacy (“The Big Short”) and Ann Mahoney (“The Walking Dead”).

The film is the directorial debut of Chris Poché, whose writing credits include “Kung Fu Panda,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “Smallfoot.”

The deal was negotiated between Msc’s Paul Yates and Signature’s acquisitions and development executive Katie Wilkinson.

New UK Sales Firm Strikes Slate Deal

Exclusive: New UK sales firm Mise En Scene has set a distribution deal with New York and European distributor Spi International which includes all six of the company’s first titles. Spi has picked up non-exclusive rights to What Lies Ahead, starring Rumer Willis and Emma Dumont; I Wrote This For You with Brennan Keel Cook; Eating Cars starring Lexi Pappas, Lauren Ashley Carter; Super November, starring Josie Long, Sean Biggerstaff and Heydon Prowse; Synchronicity, starring Sara Mitich and Ash Catherwood; and Reach, starring Garrett Clayton, Jordan Doww and Johnny James Fiore. London-based Mise En Scene was launched last March by Paul Yates and Netto Fernandes. Spi International and its aggregation service FilmBox operates a portfolio of 42 TV channels and digital services in multiple countries.

Crackle Plus Takes South African Feature

Exclusive: AVOD platform Crackle Plus has picked up rights to South African...

Winners for the 2020 New Zealand Television Awards were announced today, with the event becoming of the few physical screen award ceremonies to be held during the pandemic.

The Luminaries, produced by Southern Light Films and Working Title TV, was the big winner in the drama craft categories with multiple wins including Best Script: Drama for Eleanor Catton, who adapted her Man Booker Prize-winning book for television, Best Director: Drama for Claire McCarthy, Best Cinematographer: Drama for Denson Baker, Best Production Design for Felicity Abbott and Daniel Birt, Best Costume Design for Edward K. Gibbon, Best Makeup Design for Jane O’Kane and Best Post Production Design for Alana Cotton. Lead actor Himesh Patel, who played Emery Staines in the series, won the award for Best Actor.

Taika Waititi, Paul Yates, Jemaine Clement won the Best Comedy award for season 2 of their Wellington Paranormal, while Yates also won Best Script: Comedy for the same program.