News

Friday Night Dinner knows the truth about families. Not that they bicker, mock and childishly compete – sitcom’s known about that since Steptoe & Son. No, Friday Night Dinner knows that families aren’t made up of people; they’re made up of odd habits.

Did you ever invite a friend home from school and pray that none of your family’s Weird Stuff would leak out into the playground the next day? That your mum’s special word for a fart wouldn’t follow you down the corridor into Maths, and the dinner hall wouldn’t echo with the high-pitched voice in which you all talk to the dog? Perhaps you hoped against hope that your brother wouldn’t be wearing his comedy Viz Buster Gonad t-shirt, that no-one would see the wooden clothes peg holding open the choke on your dad’s car, and that nobody would call...

If you listen closely, every year around October 1st you’ll start to hear things go bump in the night… but don’t worry, instead of g-g-g-ghoooosts it’s mostly just the sound of props department interns who have been made to stay late and dig out boxes of bat bunting, dry ice machines and facepaint ready for another round of Halloween TV specials.

Halloween episodes are now a spooky season staple on both sides of the pond, but while the US has been producing Halloween hits like It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and The Flintstones’ ‘A Haunted House is Not A Home’ since the early 1960s, the American tradition didn’t properly catch on in the UK until the 1970s.

Dig through the archives, and – while a couple of spooky stories were read out on Jackanory in the late 1960s, including Doctor Who’s own Jon Pertwee’s memorable reading of Ghoulies,...

Exclusive: Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) is set to remake Ariel Winograd’s Argentinian comedy Mama Se Fue De Viaje (Ten Days Without Mom) in Turkey and South Korea.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group’s local-language production arm has tapped FilmSharks’ subsidiary The Remake Co. for the rights, having previous remade the 2017 title in Spain.

The comedy follows Víctor and Vera Garbor, who have been married for 20 years with four children. Absorbed by his work Víctor largely ignores wife and kids until Vera, overwhelmed by domestic life, decides to take a vacation from her family. There the problems begin.

In Spain, the film was remade was Padre No Hay Más Que Uno (Father There is Only One) with Santiago Segura directing and has spawned two sequels. The original film took 15.8M, while the second grossed 15.3M and the third is set to release in theaters on July 15. Spip also...

Tapping a widely successful genre, Sony Pictures Int’l Productions (Spip) is producing the musical romantic comedy “Voy a pasarmelo bien” (“I’m Going to Have A Good Time”) in association with transatlantic production powerhouse, El Estudio and Spanish pop rock band Hombres G.

The film is inspired by the music of the iconic band which rose to prominence in the ‘80s with their Beatles and British new wave-influenced music.

Based in Madrid, Hombres G is formed by David Summers, Dani Mezquita, Rafa Gutiérrez and Javi Molina who have published 12 studio albums to date and sold more than 20 million records internationally. Among their multiple achievements are an Honorary Grammy Award from the Latin Recording Academy and Spain’s Gold Medal to the Fine Arts.

Spip has also acquired the worldwide distribution rights, with Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia to release the film theatrically in Spain in 2022.

In addition, Spip licensed the film’s U.

Beryl Vertue, Amanda Nevill and Nina Gold were among winners at the annual London event.

Hartswood Films founder and Sherlock executive producer Beryl Vertue, Cbe, has won the Eon Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th annual Women In Film & TV awards in London.

Vertue’s career has spanned almost 50 years during which time she has worked on shows including Up Pompeii, Steptoe and Son, Men Behaving Badly and Coupling as well as recent BBC hit Sherlock. She was presented with the award by the show’s star Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch said: “It is an absolute honour to be able to present The Eon Lifetime Achievement Award to the wonderful Beryl Vertue. We have known each other a long time and not only have I had the pleasure of working with her but I’m very lucky to know her and call such a brilliant woman, my friend.”

Casting director Nina Gold, actress [link=nm...

Beryl Vertue, Amanda Nevill and Nina Gold were among winners at the annual London event.

Hartswood Films founder and Sherlock executive producer Beryl Vertue, Cbe, has won the Eon Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th annual Women In Film & TV awards in London.

Vertue’s career has spanned almost 50 years during which time she has worked on shows including Up Pompeii, Steptoe and Son, Men Behaving Badly and Coupling as well as recent BBC hit Sherlock. She was presented with the award by the show’s star Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch said: “It is an absolute honour to be able to present The Eon Lifetime Achievement Award to the wonderful Beryl Vertue. We have known each other a long time and not only have I had the pleasure of working with her but I’m very lucky to know her and call such a brilliant woman, my friend.”

Casting director Nina Gold, actress [link=nm...

Beryl Vertue, Amanda Nevill and Nina Gold were among winners at the annual London event.

Hartswood Films founder and Sherlock executive producer Beryl Vertue, Cbe, has won the Eon Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th annual Women In Film & TV awards in London.

Vertue’s career has spanned almost 50 years during which time she has worked on shows including Up Pompeii, Steptoe and Son, Men Behaving Badly and Coupling as well as recent BBC hit Sherlock. She was presented with the award by the show’s star Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch said: “It is an absolute honour to be able to present The Eon Lifetime Achievement Award to the wonderful Beryl Vertue. We have known each other a long time and not only have I had the pleasure of working with her but I’m very lucky to know her and call such a brilliant woman, my friend.”

Casting director Nina Gold, actress [link=nm...