News

Some of the U.K. entertainment industry’s best-known names have been awarded the country’s highest honors by the Queen.

Outgoing James Bond star Daniel Craig was honored alongside longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (pictured above with Craig) on the Queen’s New Year Honours list.

Craig, who lives in the U.S., was honored on the ‘overseas and international list’ making him a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (Cmg) — the very same honor the fictional 007 holds in the books. Craig was awarded his Cmg for services to film and theater.

Broccoli and Wilson, meanwhile, were awarded CBEs (which stands for Commanders of the Order of the British Empire) for services to film, drama, philanthropy and skills alongside director Paul Greengrass (“Bourne” trilogy), who received his for services to the arts, and author Anthony Horowitz (the “Alex Rider” series) for services to literature.

Rts Craft Winners Revealed

Channel 4 shows We Are Lady Parts and It’s A Sin were the big winners at last night’s Royal Television Society (Rts) Craft & Design Awards 2021, while the BBC took home 11 of the 29 gongs. Nida Manzoor’s We Are Lady Parts, which was recommissioned yesterday by Channel 4 and US co-producer Peacock, won for Editing – Entertainment & Comedy, Make Up – Entertainment & Non Drama and Production Design – Entertainment & Non Drama, while Russell T Davies’ It’s A Sin took home Director – Drama for Peter Hoar, Editing – Drama and Production Design – Drama. Meanwhile, BBC2/HBO’s Industry won two awards and departing ITV Studios veteran Global Production Director Sally Debonnaire was handed the Outstanding Achievement Award. Sponsored by AppleTV+, the awards celebrate the best in UK off-screen talent.

Warner Australia Betoota Advocate Deal

Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia (Wbitvp) and satirical news site The Betoota Advocate are joining forces on a slate of premium,...

Acquisition

Expanding on their already fruitful non-fiction partnership, Zdf Enterprises and Studio Hamburg Production Group have agreed to a closer working relationship in fiction production starting in January of next year, when Zdf Enterprises will acquire a 49% stake in Real Film, a Studio Hamburg subsidiary. The purchase is currently awaiting approval from German antitrust authorities.

“I am pleased to now extend the excellent collaboration that already exists in the non-fictional area with the Studio Hamburg Production Group to the fictional genre,” said Zdfe president and CEO Fred Burcksen. “Real Film is a great addition to our investment portfolio in fiction programs. I wish the two managing directors of Real Film Michael Lehmann and Henning Kamm every success.”

“We are delighted to be working with Zdf Enterprises to further strengthen the successful Real Film brand,” said Studio Hamburg’s Michael Lehmann and Johannes Züll. “Real Film already produces a wide variety of productions for cinema,...

ITV Studios’ longstanding Director of Production Sally Debonnaire, a former Managing Director of Talkback and Avalon, is to step down after a decade, and her team is to be restructured.

Debonnaire is calling time on an illustrious forty-year career that has seen her spend the last decade leading ITV Studios’ global production management teams, overseeing the group’s expansion to a 60-label business. She was previously Managing Director of The X Factor producer Talkback before moving to do the same at Starstruck indie Avalon Television and subsequently heading up the BBC’s in-house production department. She moved to ITV Studios in 2012 and will depart early next year.

Debonnaire’s departure is initiating a restructure that will see Head of Production For Drama And Continuing Drama Matt Cleary promoted to Director of Production, Scripted, Head of Production Daytime Helen Killeen doing the same for Non-Scripted and ITV Sport Head of Production...