Andrew Tate Doc Update; ‘The Failure of Russia’s Blitzkrieg’ Film; Banjoy M&A Boss; The fifth season expands the team; ‘Ash and Bone 2’ cast; Drive-In Theater Doc Sales – Global Briefs

Andrew Tate Doc of Abacus Board Dan Read

Abacus Media Rights has acquired worldwide sales rights (excluding the UK) to Dan Read’s feature doc on social media influencer Andrew Tate. (in) Famous: Andrew Tate, which examines the rapid rise of ex-kickboxer and porn entrepreneur Tate, was announced by UK network Channel 4 last week. Late last year, Tate was arrested by Romanian police on charges of rape, organized crime and human trafficking. He and his brother Tristan remain in prison after being detained before trial. Reed, best known for the Channel 4 doc Leaving Neverland, secured full access to Tate and was in Romania at the time of Tate’s arrest. How he became successful so quickly will be seen in the film.

Liev Schreiber describes the ‘failure of Russia’s blitzkrieg’ delivered

Exclusive: Germany’s Authentic Distribution will sell the live Schreiber-Lecture Against All Odds: The Failure of Russia’s Blitzkrieg An agreement with the Organization of Ukrainian Producers (OUP) followed. The Artem Litvinenko film will premiere in Germany on February 20 on the RTL network NTV. The documentary depicts the first months of the Russo-Ukrainian war. It is a joint project of The Organization of Ukrainian Producers (OUP), Gingers Media of Ukraine (Ukraine) and Liev Schreiber’s Light Content, with support from Andriy Zagorodniuk’s Center for Defense Strategies. “We can see how Germany’s attitude towards Russia has changed since the invasion began,” director Litvinenko said. “We see them still changing. In this regard, the German premiere is very symbolic.“

Banijay Head of M&A adds

Banijay has hired a head of M&A. Stephen Prefol has taken up the new role, which strongly suggests that Banijay is planning to further enhance its ranks after a string of acquisitions. Prefol will be based in Paris and report jointly to CEO Marco Bassetti and Chief Financial Officer Cédric Brignon. He started on March 6. Prefol has worked in M&A for 15 years and joins from Publicis Groupe, where he was associate director. Banejoy recently secured a $30M deal for Australia’s Beyond International and last week was again linked with a buyout of ITV Studios. Its subsidiaries have also acquired a number of production companies in recent months, such as JohnyDepny, Puzzle Media and A Fabrica.

The fifth season recruits and promotes

break up And Tokyo Vice Firm Fifth Season (fka Endeavor Content) has expanded its London-based EMEA television distribution team with a new hire and promotion. Jennifer Abel has been promoted from SVP to EVP of EMEA sales and acquisitions, while Liz Tang, who was director of content, is now executive director of acquisitions. Ava Mustos joins from BBC Studios as Associate Director of Sales and will report to Tang. Fabio Tinchant has been promoted to executive director, French Europe, CEE, MENA and VP for Turkey, and also added Southern Europe and former Disney and Sony executive Maria Grazia Ursino as director of southern Europe, based in Rome. Vubiquity exec Simon Algee has been appointed executive director of digital sales to oversee AVOD and FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) and digital transactions. Ann Schröderrises Director, Sales, Executive Director from Nordics, Benelux and Ireland and Kaia Roemer joins as Senior Sales Manager for Germany and CEE.

Sean Whalen stars in ‘Ash and Bone 2, A New Chapter’

Exclusive: Sean Whalen (Twister, Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell), Billy Worth (The Lost Boys, The Godfather of Harlem) and Dawna Lee Huijing (bad president) has joined the cast of the horror feature Ash and Bone 2, a new chapter. Angelina Danielle Kama, Katy Wallen, Harley Wallen and Vida Ghaffari have already joined the Painted Creek production movie, which is set to film in June in Detroit, Michigan. Harley Wallen, directing from a script by Brett Miller. The film follows the Vanderbilts, who go home to rebuild their lives after a brutal attack by the McKinley family, only to find that they are being hunted in town.

‘Back in the day’ landed in Cork

Exclusive: Uncorked Entertainment picks up April Wright’s doc about modern day drive-in theaters and their business, Back in the day. It will release in March. The film follows 11 family-owned drive-ins across the country – including the recently closed Mission Tiki in LA, and Field of Dreams Drive-In – to reveal how they keep the businesses alive. It d among others. Features interviews with Edward Vogel, Dwight Grimm and Leigh Van Swaal. Ryan Bury at MPX discussed the deal on behalf of the filmmakers with Keith Leopard of Uncorked Entertainment.