Notícias

Versatile producer and director who made Prime Suspect an enduring success

Paul Marcus, who has died of cancer aged 56, was best known for his award-winning work as producer of the television series Prime Suspect. However, most of his career was devoted to directing, for theatre and cinema, as well as for TV.

The first series of the police drama Prime Suspect, written by Lynda La Plante and following Dci Jane Tennison (played by Helen Mirren) as she led her first major murder investigation, was aired by Granada TV in 1991, to wide acclaim. Marcus was asked by Granada to take over as producer on the second series. He bravely invited an unknown director, John Strickland, to oversee the drama, but his choice proved justified, with Prime Suspect 2 matching the success of the first series and receiving an International Emmy award as well as Bafta recognition.

Fired by the belief that...

COLOGNE, Germany -- TV-Loonland, the German kids' animation and merchandising group, said Tuesday it has launched a theatrical label -- Loonland Pictures -- to market in-house and third-party feature films for the German-speaking market. The new division will debut with the Dec. 22 launch of Loonland's Heidi remake, which 20th Century Fox and NFP marketing are handling in Germany. Though TV-Loonland's core business is television animation, the company scored a minor hit with its 1999 animated feature Petterson and Findus, which took in more than $6 million in Germany. Loonland also controls U.K. indie theatrical and video distributor Metronome.