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Global Screen has closed further deals on major territories for its animated adventure film “Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights.” Variety debuts the new teaser (below).

Viva Kids has acquired all rights for North America to the latest feature film in the franchise about a flying reindeer, following worldwide hits “Niko & the Way to the Stars” (2008) and “Niko – Little Brother, Big Trouble” (2012), which were sold to more than 120 countries.

Further deals were concluded with Flins y Piniculas for Spain, CDC for Latin America, Nos Lusomundo for Portugal, Grand Entertainment for the Middle East and Svoe Kino for Ukraine.

As previously announced, the film has already been picked up by Kino Swiat for Poland, Bluelabel for South Korea, Just4Kids for the Benelux, Gpi for the Baltic states, Karantanija for ex-Yugoslavia, Vertigo for Hungary, Zinos Panagiotidis for Greece, Bad Unicorn for Romania, Bohemia Motion Pictures for Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Pro Film for Bulgaria,...

International sales and aggregation company LevelK has boarded Danish 3D animation “Mumbo Jumbo.”

The project, which has kicked off its pre-production phase, is based on the beloved children’s book by Jakob Martin Strid (“The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear”). It will be written and directed by Karsten Kiilerich and produced by Anders Mastrup for A. Film Production.

When Mumbo Jumbo magically grows to giant size, he has to go on a dangerous journey with his three friends, to find the scary witch Baba Yaga so she can turn him small again. It is an adventurous journey which might make Mumbo Jumbo small again, but a whole lot bigger on the inside.

A. Film Production is one of Scandinavia’s most prolific animation companies with their CGI and classically animated feature films and TV series having found appreciative audiences over the past 30 years around the world. The company is...

Family animated movie “Pirate Mo and the Legend of the Red Ruby” proved to be a smash hit with international distributors during the Cannes Film Market, with sales agency The Playmaker Munich delivering the film to multiple buyers.

During the market, The Playmaker announced first presales to Benelux (Just4Kids), Turkey (Filmarti), Baltics (Gpi), Greece (Rosebud) and Bulgaria (Pro Films).

The company has now revealed further sales to Poland (M2 Films), Scandinavia (Njuta Films), Hungary and Romania (Ads), Portugal (Outsider Pictures), and Yugoslavia (Blitz Film).

The distribution partners also include German broadcaster Ndr, Dcm, which will distribute in Germany and Austria, and A Contracorriente Films, which will distribute in Spain.

The film has a planned release of early 2026.

It is produced by Ulysses Films, the company behind box office hits “Amazing Maurice” and “Niko & the Way to the Stars.”

The script for “Pirate Mo,” which is based on Kirsten Boie’s bestselling novel,...

Exclusive: Global Screen has acquired international sales rights to the animated feature Niko – Beyond The Northern Lights, the third instalment of the popular children’s classic about a flying reindeer, and released a first image of the rebooted character.

The new feature comes more than a decade after the first two films in the franchise Niko & The Way To The Stars (2009) and Niko – Little Brother, Big Trouble (2012) proved hits with audiences worldwide.

The first film garnered more than 750,000 admissions in Germany alone and both titles sold to 120 territories.

The new feature is a major European animation co-production reuniting Hannu Tuomainen and Antti Haikala at Finnish company Animaker, with co-producers Emely Christians at Germany’’s Ulysses Films,, Moe Honan at Ireland’s Moetion Films (Two By Two: Overboard!) and Anders Mastrup at Danish company A. Film Production (Checkered Ninja 2).

The third instalment...

Seasoned Finnish producer Ilkka Matila of Mrp Matila Röhr has signed with Estonia’s Taska Film and locked early support from the Finnish Film Institute and local commercial channel MTV3 for the 2.7m film “Between the Hammer and the Sickle.” Nordisk Film holds Scandinavian rights.

To be pitched on Aug. 24 at the Nordic Co-Production Market in Haugesund, Norway, the title will be one of Matila’s most defining projects, a feature which he believes will stay, along the lines of the multi-awarded “Mother of Mine” or “The Eternal Road.”

“Between the Hammer and the Sickle” will be one of the first features ever to portray Finland’s illustrious former president Urho Kekkonen. Head of state for nearly 26 years, Kekkonen served as the longest-serving Finnish president from 1956 until 1981 and masterminded his country’s policy of neutrality, keeping at bay the threatening Soviet Union with which Finland shares 800 miles of border.

“I...

Wesley Mead Dec 21, 2016

Here's day three in our countdown of the top Christmas TV episodes of all time: entries 60 to 41...

This article was first published in December 2015. Read entries 100 - 81 here and entries 80 - 61 here.

See related Sherlock series 4 episode 1 spoiler-free review: The Six Thatchers Sherlock series 4: go behind the scenes; spoiler-free review Doctor Who Christmas special: The Return Of Doctor Mysterio review Doctor Who Christmas special: The Return Of Doctor Mysterio nerdy spots & Easter eggs

Since the medium’s infancy, viewers have enjoyed sharing holidays with their favourite television characters. We grow invested in our friends on screen over the years; spending Christmas with them is a rite of passage, a chance for us to share tradition from our world with the fictional ones we see on screen. Some shows embrace the season wholeheartedly, characters in good spirits and enjoying the trappings of the season; others skew a little darker,...

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Here's day three in our countdown of the top Christmas TV episodes of all time: entries 60 to 41...

Read entries 100 - 81 here and entries 80 - 61 here.

Since the medium’s infancy, viewers have enjoyed sharing holidays with their favourite television characters. We grow invested in our friends on screen over the years; spending Christmas with them is a rite of passage, a chance for us to share tradition from our world with the fictional ones we see on screen. Some shows embrace the season wholeheartedly, characters in good spirits and enjoying the trappings of the season; others skew a little darker, bringing the more oppressive, burdensome side of the holidays to life. Either way, Christmas episodes tend to demonstrate the strengths of our favourite series, and it’s long been a festive ritual of mine to wheel out old DVD sets and settle back for a few favourites during December.

Saturday, December 12, 2015 ratings -- New Episodes: 48 Hours. Sports: Premier Boxing Champions. Special: Mary Poppins, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and The Flight Before Christmas. Reruns: Caught on Camera With Nick Cannon, Gotham, and Rosewood.

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Family Matters aired for nine seasons before it ended, and fans of the series can tune in to Lifetime on Saturday night to see two of the stars of the series together again on the small screen.

Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton, who starred on the sitcom as Carl and Harriette Winslow, will appear together in The Flight Before Christmas, according to TV Line.

The television movie will also star Mayim Bialik from The Big Bang Theory. The film tells the story of a pair of holiday travelers that get stuck together on Christmas.

Were you a fan of Family Matters? Will you watch The Flight Before Christmas for the mini-reunion of two of its stars? Check out the trailer for the Christmas movie below. Tell us what you think.

Rejoice, children who grew up on '90s television! Family Matters' Carl and Harriette Winslow (played by Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton) are reuniting for Lifetime's The Flight Before Christmas. This mini-reunion brings back fond memories of one of our favorite family sitcoms from that Friday night block of Tgif shows back in the day. Harriette was played by a different actress in the last season of Family Matters, so this is the first time the series' stars are reuniting since the second-to-last season of the show, which ran from 1989 to 1998. To celebrate, we're looking back at some of the adorable moments that remind us why Carl and Harriette were so perfect for each...

Days have gone by, but the stars of Family Matters are looking better than ever in a mini-reunion happening this Saturday on Lifetime. Reginald VelJohnson, a.k.a. Carl Winslow, and his TV wife, Jo Marie Payton, a.k.a. Hariette Winslow, will once again share the screen in Lifetime's The Flight Before Christmas. The movie, which stars Mayim Bialik and Ryan McPartlin as two holiday travelers stranded in Montana when their Christmas Eve red eye flight is diverted, debuts at 8 p.m. and also features the reunion of some of your favorite TV parents ever. Since Harriette was played by a different actress in the final season of Family Matters, this is the first time VelJohnson and Payton are reuniting since the...

It’s a rare condition, this day and age, to read any news about the cast of Family Matters reuniting — so let’s all thank Lifetime for making that rarity a reality.

VideosHome Improvement Reunion: Watch Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson Clash on Last Man Standing

Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton, who played Carl and Harriette Winslow on the ABC/CBS sitcom from 1989 to 1998, will once again share the small screen in The Flight Before Christmas, premiering Saturday at 8/7c.

PhotosFuller House: New Photos Reveal the Tanner Home’s Updated Look

Sure, the movie technically stars Mayim Bialik...

Saturday, November 29, 2014 ratings — New episodes: 48 Hours. Sports: College Football: Oregon vs Oklahoma State. Specials: The Flight Before Christmas, The National Dog Show, and The Story of Santa Claus. Reruns: Bones, Sleepy Hollow, and Saturday Night Live.

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These are the fast affiliate ratings. The percentages represent the change since the previous original episode. (Percentages aren't given for reruns or specials.) To see past ratings for a particular show, click the show's link. The show pages are updated with the daily...

Saturday, November 30, 2013 ratings -- New episodes: 48 Hours. Sports: College Football: Notre Dame at Stanford and College Football: UCLA at USC. Specials: The Flight Before Christmas, The National Dog Show, and The Story of Santa Claus. Reruns: Saturday Night Live.

How are your shows doing? Check the season rankings: ABC | CBS | The CW |Fox | NBC

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These are the fast affiliate ratings. The percentages represent the change since the previous original episode. (Percentages aren't given for reruns or specials.) To see past ratings for a particular show, click the show's link. The show pages are updated with the daily final ratings when they become available. Those pages include season averages to date.

The turkey’s stuffed, the pumpkin’s pie’d and the family’s gathered — but don’t neglect your old friend, TV! It’s working Ot this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, serving marathons of fave shows (Castle) and flicks (James Bond), holiday movies (My Santa) and classics (A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving), plus fresh episodes of Glee, Grimm and others. So unbutton your pants and pick up your remote — it’s relaxin’ time. (Sunday’s entrees, including the Walking Dead finale, a great Wife and The Mentalist 2.0 will be covered separately.)

Thursday, Nov. 28

Midnight – 2:40 am Amazing Animation Thanksgiving Marathon (Starz...

Saturday, December 8, 2012 ratings -- New episodes: 48 Hours. Sports and specials: Ultimate Fighting Championship: Henderson vs Diaz, The Borrowers (repeat), Frosty the Snowman (repeat), Frosty Returns (repeat), The Flight Before Christmas (repeat), and The American Giving Awards. Reruns: Castle and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Below are the fast affiliate ratings. The "demo" refers to the 18-49 demographic rating. The percentages represent the change since the previous original episode. Percentages aren't given for reruns or specials. To see past ratings for a particular show, you can find them by clicking the show link.

The show pages are updated with the daily final ratings when they become available (for original episodes). Those pages include percentage changes in both the demo and total viewership, in addition to season averages to date.

ABC

The Borrowers: (movie, repeat) 0.5 rating with...

The ensemble comedy 10 Years follows a group of friends, many of whom haven’t seen each other in quite some time, on the night of their high school reunion. Jake (Channing Tatum) is deeply in love with his girlfriend (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) but runs into his high school flame (Rosario Dawson) for the first time in years; jock Cully (Chris Pratt) married cheerleader Sam (Ari Graynor) but is still haunted by all the classmates he bullied; longtime rivals Marty (Justin Long) and A.J. (Max Minghella) are still competing to impress the hottest girl in class (Lynn Collins); and rock star Reeves (Oscar Isaac) is still too shy to talk to his high school crush Elise (Kate Mara), except through song. The film also stars Brian Geraghty, Ron Livingston, Anthony Mackie, Aubrey Plaza, Scott Porter, Aaron Yoo and Nick Zano. During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, writer/director Jamie Linden (Dear John,...

It seems like every summer we bemoan the death of original ideas in Hollywood, but films set around the winter holidays are rife with concepts that studios will continue to mine until the end of filmmaking as we know it. According to Variety, Paramount Pictures and Walden Media (the company behind the Chronicles of Narnia films) are looking to return to that well of ideas yet again for another holiday-based comedy, this one called The Flight Before Christmas. The idea was hatched by Walden executive Evan Turner, and will follow a family as they deal with the flight from hell on Christmas Eve. Sounds scarier than snakes. No actors are attached yet, but the studios have already hired Jamie Linden to write and direct the project. Linden wrote and directed the upcoming ensemble comedy 10 Years, and also wrote and produced We Are Marshall and the Channing Tatum hit Dear John.

Next month, screenwriter Jamie Linden makes his directorial debut with the high school reunion drama 10 Years starring Channing Tatum and a whole host of name actors and actresses (check out the trailer here). And although it has yet to bow it looks like Linden has his follow-up project already in place.

Variety reports that he has signed on to write and direct The Flight Before Christmas for Paramount Pictures/Walden Media. The movie will follow a family who fly out on Christmas Eve and have to deal with a series of terrible situations along the way (the Variety article simply says “plane ride from hell”, but I figured I’d try to dress it up). As you can tell, The Flight Before Christmas is still really early in its development so don’t expect much news about it for the next few months.

With 10 Years still a few weeks from release,...

Walden Media, the studio behind family films like Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and The Chronicles of Narnia movies, is teaming up with Paramount Pictures for The Flight Before Christmas. As anyone who has flown somewhere for the holidays knows, holiday flights are particularly crazy - the family in this film is experiencing the craziest holiday flight. Of course, two of the top comedies of all time are Planes, Trains and Automobiles - about two guys who team up to get home for the holidays and Airplane! -- so certainly there's plenty of humor to be mined in this premise. 

Jamie Linden (the upcoming Channing Tatum-starrer 10 Years) will write and direct; he was the scribe on Dear John and We Are Marshall. While clearly Linden has a relationship with Tatum, no actors have yet been cast. 

The idea came from Walden exec Evan Turner. Walden's upcoming films include surfer film Chasing Mavericks,...

Para Time

Original UK "Life on Mars" creator Matthew Graham has sold the sci-fi script "Para Time" to 20th Century Fox. Steve Tzirlin is producing.

The story revolves around a group that polices parallel worlds. [Source: Heat Vision]

The Flight Before Christmas

Jamie Linden ("10 Years," "We Are Marshall") is set to write and direct the holiday-themed comedy "The Flight Before Christmas" at Paramount Pictures and Walden Media.

The story will center on a family trying to survive the plane ride from hell on Christmas Eve. No actors are yet attached. [Source: Variety]

Haunt

Andrew Barrer's horror script "Haunt" has been picked up by Qed International to produce and finance. Mac Carter will helm and shooting is slated to kick off in November.

The story deals with a family that moves into a new home with a dark past. When their son becomes involved with a beautiful girl next door, and together they begin to explore their sexual awakening,...

Merry early Christmas to Jamie Linden. The budding writer-director has just been given what could be a sizable gift from Paramount and Walden Media, as the 10 Years filmmaker has been set to write and direct their The Flight Before Christmas project. Variety reports that the film, which sounds as if it was conceived almost totally to serve its punny title and in complete disregard for whether or not this plot sounds funny or fresh, actually comes from an idea from Walden executive Evan Turner and revolves around “a family trying to survive the plane ride from hell on Christmas Eve.” I have broken out in hives already. Linden’s resume may also make you dear readers break out in hives. The filmmaker has previously pulled double duty with screenwriting and producing credits on We Are Marshall (hives because you’re crying too much and it’s irritating your delicate skin) and Dear John (hives because it’s...

Traveling during the holidays is a special brand of torment. From crowded planes, trains and buses, to cumbersome luggage packed with presents, to kids eager for Santa's arrival but impatient with everything else, it's an element of the most wonderful time of the year most of us absolutely dread. So why not make a comedy about it? That's the thought process behind Paramount and Walden Media's collaborative effort The Flight Before Christmas, a comedy dreamed up by Walden executive Evan Turner that will focus on one family's hectic Christmas Eve flight. Variety reports the film is officially in development, with Paramount picking writer turned writer-director Jamie Linden to pen and helm the project. Linden has previously scripted the football-centered drama We Are Marshall and the romantic drama Dear John, based on the Nicolas Sparks' novel. However, he recently branched out into comedy along with helming for his directorial debut...

Finding the sort of Christmas/holiday comedy that the whole family will turn out for is one of the holy grails of Hollywood studios. Now Paramount and Walden Media are hoping they might be on to a winner with The Flight Before Christmas, which Jamie Linden has written and aims to direct.Plot details on the film are scarce according to Variety, but, as you might be able to guess from the title, the story will follow a family trying to stay sane as they weather the flight from hell on Christmas Eve.Walden executive Evan Turner cooked up the original idea, which Linden is turning into a screenplay. The writer, who worked on We Are Marshall and Dear John, has just turned director, working on Channing Tatum romantic comedy drama 10 Years, which is released in the Us on September 21, but has yet to score a date over here.The next step...

Shawn Levy-produced The Flight Before Christmas lands Anne Fletcher as helmer. Anne Fletcher, director of The Proposal is back on directing duties, this time for the Adam Sztykiel (Due Date)-written comedy. There's no plot as yet for the film produced by Shawn Levy's 21 Laps, but apparently Bradley Cooper is already in considerations for the lead. 20th Century Fox will distribute as this is where 21 Laps is based, having distributed both the Night at the Museum films as well as Sztykiel's (boring in my opinion) Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis.

Shawn Levy-produced The Flight Before Christmas lands Anne Fletcher as helmer. Anne Fletcher, director of The Proposal is back on directing duties, this time for the Adam Sztykiel (Due Date)-written comedy. There's no plot as yet for the film produced by Shawn Levy's 21 Laps, but apparently Bradley Cooper is already in considerations for the lead. 20th Century Fox will distribute as this is where 21 Laps is based, having distributed both the Night at the Museum films as well as Sztykiel's (boring in my opinion) Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis.

Shawn Levy-produced The Flight Before Christmas lands Anne Fletcher as helmer. Anne Fletcher, director of The Proposal is back on directing duties, this time for the Adam Sztykiel (Due Date)-written comedy. There's no plot as yet for the film produced by Shawn Levy's 21 Laps, but apparently Bradley Cooper is already in considerations for the lead. 20th Century Fox will distribute as this is where 21 Laps is based, having distributed both the Night at the Museum films as well as Sztykiel's (boring in my opinion) Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis.

At 7, Syfy has the movie Ice Twisters, then the movie Annihilation Earth. At 8, CBS has Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, followed by The Flight Before Christmas and a new 48 Hours Mystery. NBC has It's A Wonderful Life at 8. Fox has a new Cops at 8. Hgtv has Sandra Lee Celebrates: Season of Surprise at 8. Espn has the 2009 Heisman Trophy Presentation, followed by a new 30 For 30. Also at 8: Hallmark has the movie Christmas in Canaan. At 8:30, Nickelodeon has a new True Jackson, VP, then a new episode of The Troop. At 9, Fox has a new America's Most Wanted. CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show at 9. Animal Planet has a new Dogs 101 at 9. There's a new Secret Saturdays on Cartoon Network at 9. At 9:30, Biography has a new Ghostly Adventures, followed by a new Celebrity Ghost Stories. At 10, BBC America has a new Graham Norton Show. At 11, Fox has a new Wanda Sykes Show.

The European Film Academy has announced the creation of a new category for their awards ceremony.

The film institution will be honoring achievement in animation for the first time this year with the European Film Academy Animated Feature Film Award. The distinction is available to three nominees recently selected by a jury.

Sitting on the selection committee were Efa board members Per Holst, a Danish film producer, and Spanish producer Antonio Saura. Also picking the films were representatives of Cartoon, the European Association of Animation Film: Agnès Bizzaro, program consultant and editor in France and Germany; Italian director Enzo d'Alo; and British director Joanna Quinn. The jury's picks included "Mia et la Migou," "Niko - Lentäjän poika" and "Brendan et le Secret de Kells."

"Mia et la Migou" - English title "Mia & the Migoo" - is a 2008 French film by Jacques-Rémy Girerd about Mia, a girl who, after the death of her mother,...