Series Mania: Banijay Consolidates French Fiction Business
Banijay France, the French division of the global indie TV giant, is consolidating its scripted operations with the merger of Banijay Studios France and Shine Fiction, the company announced today at Series Mania in Lille. The unified entity will operate under the Shine Fiction banner and be led by chairman Dominique Farrugia, with Guillaume Thouret serving as chief operating officer.
The newly structured label will focus on premium scripted series for both local linear broadcasters and global streaming platforms.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Harlan Coben's New Novel 'Nobody's Fool' Is "More of a Sequel" to Netflix Hit Series 'Fool Me Once'
Sony Scores Global Deals for Amanda Seyfried Series 'Long Bright River'
'No Other Land' Filmmaker Beaten and Detained, Claims Co-Director and Activist Group
The newly merged label now oversees a slate of high-profile titles, including Marie Antoinette, which has sold into more than 140 markets via Banijay Rights and recently launched its second season on Canal+, Apple TV+'s French-language foodie-themed period drama Carême, and upcoming productions including the comedy-crime series The Family Detective (TF1), thriller Rien ne t'efface (TF1), and coming-of-age drama Désenchantées (France TV).
'By proactively bringing together these two renowned labels under the Shine Fiction banner, we will unlock an entirely new level of creative and production expertise for our scripted business in France,' said Banijay France CEO Alexia Laroche-Joubert. 'Strengthening and expanding our scripted standing is a major priority for us, and with Dominique and Guillaume at the helm, we are poised to ambitiously deliver high-quality storytelling to audiences both in France and around the world.'
Banijay France continues to expand its scripted content portfolio, with upcoming releases including Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight, produced by Montmartre Film for Netflix, and Montmartre, a co-production between Authentic Productions and TF1.
As Europe's leading scripted studio, Banijay Entertainment maintains a diverse pipeline of new and returning titles such as House of Guinness (Kudos/Netflix), The World According to Lidea Poët (Groenlandia/Netflix), Elixe (Topkapi/New 8), Rogue Heroes (Kudos/BBC One), Fallen (Filmlance/TV4), Bergerac (Blacklight TV for U and U& Drama), and Culpa Tuya (Pokeepsie/Prime Video). Series Mania will showcase several of Banijay's major titles, including the world premiere of Carême and the festival debuts of A Life's Worth (Yellowbird/Jarowskij/Viaplay/Arte) and Weiss & Morales (Portocabo/RTVE/ZD
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
The Cast of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' Then and Now
'Yellowstone' and the Sprawling Dutton Family Tree, Explained
A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Ginny & Georgia' Season 3 Debuts Strong With 17.6 Million Views on Netflix
Tyler Perry's 'Straw' and 'Ginny & Georgia' Season 3 led the week of June 2 on Netflix. The thriller was the most-watched title of the week with 25.3 million views, while the third season of the Netflix original saw 17.6 million views. Written, produced and directed by Perry, 'Straw' stars Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor and Sinbad. It marks the filmmaker's latest collaboration with Netflix following 'Beauty in Black,' 'Mea Culpa' and 'A Fall from Grace.' The second most-watched English-language movie of the week was the 2013 magic heist thriller 'Now You See Me,' which secured 4.9 million views. That was followed by the children's romp 'The Bee Movie' in third place (4.8 million views), the beloved cult thriller 'M3GAN' in fourth place (3.8 million views) and the biographical comedy-drama 'Nonnas' in fifth place (3.2 million views). On the television side of Netflix, people didn't just watch Season 3 of 'Ginny & Georgia.' Both Seasons 1 and 2 also landed on the Netflix's Top 10 English-language series list for the week in question, though Season 3 predictably took the No. 1 spot. The first season of the comedy-drama snagged sixth place spot with 3 million views, and Season 2 came in ninth place with 2.5 million views. As for what other English-language shows Netflix subscribers were watching, the U.K. crime thriller 'Dept. Q' climbed to the second most-watched spot during its second week, securing 8.9 million views, and the dark comedy 'Sirens' came in third place with 7.9 million views. The third most-watched category for the week was non-English movies, a subset that was led by the Spanish crime thriller 'A Widow's Game,' which secured 16.6 million views. That was followed in second place by the French martial arts drama 'K.O.' (14 million views) and third place by the Argentinian romantic drama 'The Heart Knows' (9.4 million views). As for non-English language television, the Italian crime drama 'Sara: Woman in the Shadows' led the pack with 6.1 million views. That was followed closely by the Korean limited series 'Mercy for None,' which saw 4.9 million views. The third most-watched title of the week was the Korean rom-com and limited series 'Tastefully Yours,' which saw 3.5 million views. The post 'Ginny & Georgia' Season 3 Debuts Strong With 17.6 Million Views on Netflix appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
How an ancient place of death made Josh Homme feel alive
Josh Homme sips a Modelo the other night as he sits amid the vibey greenery behind Brain Dead Studios on Fairfax Avenue. Inside the movie theater, a small crowd including several of Homme's friends and family members is watching 'Alive in the Catacombs,' a black-and-white short film that documents an acoustic gig Homme's rock band, Queens of the Stone Age, played last July in the Paris Catacombs, where the remains of an estimated 6 million people are stored beneath the streets of the French capital. Back here on the patio, the 52-year-old singer and guitarist is musing about how audiences are likely to react. 'I'm so proud of the film because it's either 'I hate it' or 'Holy s—, that was intense,'' he says. 'It's nothing in between.' Advertisement The inspiration for 'Alive in the Catacombs,' which comes accompanied by a behind-the-scenes documentary (and a five-song EP due Friday), stretches back two decades to a trip to Paris when a long line stymied Homme's attempt to visit the historical site. Yet he sees a certain poetry in the fact that the show — with radically stripped-down renditions of tunes like 'Villains of Circumstance' and 'Suture Up Your Future' — came together only as he found himself in a health crisis that forced Queens to postpone the remaining dates of its 2024 tour. With Homme having recovered from cancer, the band will return to the road this week for its first shows in nearly a year. How arduous was it to convince the Parisian officials to let you shoot in the catacombs? It was a f— nightmare. There's a national attitude that's pervasive in France where you ask a question and the first reaction is, 'Ask him over there.' The runaround, as we would call it. We received the runaround for many years. Are you attracted to spooky spots in general? I love when music is scary. I recall hearing the Doors as a young boy and being like, 'Whoa.' And they're so consistently terrifying — I've always been obsessed with that. My vision of Queens, when it's perfect, is: There's a hill with the sun behind it, and this crippled army of minstrels comes over the horizon. The townspeople go, 'S—, grab the kids.' When we sound like that, we're at our best. What's a place in L.A. that might be comparable to the catacombs? There are some Steinbeck-y hobo hotels. And in the right light the Hollywood Forever cemetery has a certain ominous beauty. But that feels too simple. I grew up working on a tree farm, and there's something about the uniformity of a tree farm that I find terrifying. Further out, the oil fields of Kern County are like dinosaur relics — scabs on the surface of the earth. Advertisement Seems reasonable to ask why someone in such perilous physical shape would want to spend time in a place defined by death. Having worked on this for the better part of 20 years, the chances that when it finally occurs, I would be dealing with the very issue that is why it exists — I mean, the chances are almost zero. That plays into my romantic side, and I don't see the value in running hypotheticals about why it's happening. I'd rather hold it close and say, 'I'm supposed to be here,' accept that and feel empowered by it. There were a lot of people who love me that were saying I shouldn't do this. And I respect that. But it does ignore the point — like, how many signs do you need? I saw the behind-the-scenes film — I watched it once, and I can never watch it again. I see how medicated I was. I know that vulnerable is the way to go, but I don't do a lot of sorting through things in hindsight — it makes me uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable with the documentary. Why put it out? Because that's what this is. I was uncomfortable in the catacombs too. Read more: A timeline of Sly Stone's career in 10 essential songs Advertisement You don't play guitar in the movie. Did it feel natural for you to sing without holding one? It didn't in earlier years, but now it's as natural as anything else. I'm sort of slowly falling out of love with the guitar. I'll just use any instrument. I don't play them all well, but it doesn't really matter — it's whatever will get the idea across. Who were some of your models for the kind of singing you're doing? I've always loved [Jim] Morrison and his poetry. Sometimes the music isn't great in the Doors, but it's all in support of someone that I do believe is a true poet. The words are the strongest part of that band. Your crooning made me want to hear you do an album of standards. I was talking about this with my old man today. He's like, 'You're not gonna retire,' and I was like, 'Oh, yes, I am — I'm going to Melvyn's in Palm Springs to be like [sings], 'Fly me to the moon…'' You grew up in Palm Desert. This might be an underappreciated aspect of your lineage. KDES 104.7, baby. The DJ would be like, 'Are you by the pool? Well, you should be.' Very Robert Evans. Advertisement Are there Queens songs you knew wouldn't work in the catacombs? We didn't think of it that way. The people in there, they didn't choose to be there, so what would they want to hear? I chose things about family, acceptance, the difficulties in life and the way you feel the moment they're revealed — and the way you feel the moment they're over. My first thought was: How do I emotionally get on my knees and do the very best I can to present something that these people have been longing for? It felt very religious. Do you believe in God? I believe in God, but God is everything I can't understand. Do you think there's an afterlife? I believe there's a return to something. Is it like, 'Oh my God, Rodney Dangerfield!'? That's not what I believe. But the energy that keeps you and I alive, it can't simply disappear. You must just go home to the big ball somewhere. Last time you and I spoke, you told me you you'd learned to pursue your art with less of the reckless abandon of your youth. I wondered how that figured into your decision to call off shows last year after Paris. By the time we walked down the steps into the catacombs, we all knew in the band that it was over. The morning we were supposed to play Venice [a few days before the Paris gig], I just couldn't take it anymore, so I was like, 'Take me to the hospital.' But I realized there was nothing that could happen for me there. I said, 'Bathroom?' and I had them pull the car up and we left. Advertisement Does that seem irresponsible in retrospect? No, because they didn't know what was going on and they didn't have the ability to know. I was like, 'I made a mistake — I should have just kept going.' We went to the next show in Milan because Paris was so close. You work on something for all these years, and now you can almost see it. You're gonna turn around because it's hard? You can't go two more hours? My old man says, 'Quitting on yourself is hardest the first time, and it's easy every time after that.' Whoa. Is that wrong? That's the guy that brought me up, and he's proud to be here tonight. So did I make a mistake or not? I'm not sure what I would have done if I'd walked away. You've been reluctant to get too specific about your illness. It doesn't matter. Who cares? It was hard and it was dangerous. Big f— deal. Queens is about to get back onstage. We're gonna finish what we started. I thought I was gonna be out of commission for 18 months or two years — that's what I was told. Advertisement How'd you take that? I wasn't looking for high-fives. But it ended up being seven months. I've changed so many things, and I feel so good. Are you writing songs? Lots. The great part about these physically or mentally dangerous situations is that now I feel super-alive and ready to go. I spent a lot of months bedridden, and now that I'm not, I'm very much like a rodeo bull. Not the rider — the bull. When you open that gate, I will destroy. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
How an ancient place of death made Josh Homme feel alive
Josh Homme sips a Modelo the other night as he sits amid the vibey greenery behind Brain Dead Studios on Fairfax Avenue. Inside the movie theater, a small crowd including several of Homme's friends and family members is watching 'Alive in the Catacombs,' a black-and-white short film that documents an acoustic gig Homme's rock band, Queens of the Stone Age, played last July in the Paris Catacombs, where the remains of an estimated 6 million people are stored beneath the streets of the French capital. Back here on the patio, the 52-year-old singer and guitarist is musing about how audiences are likely to react. 'I'm so proud of the film because it's either 'I hate it' or 'Holy s—, that was intense,'' he says. 'It's nothing in between.' The inspiration for 'Alive in the Catacombs,' which comes accompanied by a behind-the-scenes documentary (and a five-song EP due Friday), stretches back two decades to a trip to Paris when a long line stymied Homme's attempt to visit the historical site. Yet he sees a certain poetry in the fact that the show — with radically stripped-down renditions of tunes like 'Villains of Circumstance' and 'Suture Up Your Future' — came together only as he found himself in a health crisis that forced Queens to postpone the remaining dates of its 2024 tour. With Homme having recovered from cancer, the band will return to the road this week for its first shows in nearly a year. How arduous was it to convince the Parisian officials to let you shoot in the catacombs?It was a f— nightmare. There's a national attitude that's pervasive in France where you ask a question and the first reaction is, 'Ask him over there.' The runaround, as we would call it. We received the runaround for many years. Are you attracted to spooky spots in general?I love when music is scary. I recall hearing the Doors as a young boy and being like, 'Whoa.' And they're so consistently terrifying — I've always been obsessed with that. My vision of Queens, when it's perfect, is: There's a hill with the sun behind it, and this crippled army of minstrels comes over the horizon. The townspeople go, 'S—, grab the kids.' When we sound like that, we're at our best. What's a place in L.A. that might be comparable to the catacombs?There are some Steinbeck-y hobo hotels. And in the right light the Hollywood Forever cemetery has a certain ominous beauty. But that feels too simple. I grew up working on a tree farm, and there's something about the uniformity of a tree farm that I find terrifying. Further out, the oil fields of Kern County are like dinosaur relics — scabs on the surface of the earth. Seems reasonable to ask why someone in such perilous physical shape would want to spend time in a place defined by worked on this for the better part of 20 years, the chances that when it finally occurs, I would be dealing with the very issue that is why it exists — I mean, the chances are almost zero. That plays into my romantic side, and I don't see the value in running hypotheticals about why it's happening. I'd rather hold it close and say, 'I'm supposed to be here,' accept that and feel empowered by it. There were a lot of people who love me that were saying I shouldn't do this. And I respect that. But it does ignore the point — like, how many signs do you need? I saw the behind-the-scenes film —I watched it once, and I can never watch it again. I see how medicated I was. I know that vulnerable is the way to go, but I don't do a lot of sorting through things in hindsight — it makes me uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable with the documentary. Why put it out?Because that's what this is. I was uncomfortable in the catacombs too. You don't play guitar in the movie. Did it feel natural for you to sing without holding one?It didn't in earlier years, but now it's as natural as anything else. I'm sort of slowly falling out of love with the guitar. I'll just use any instrument. I don't play them all well, but it doesn't really matter — it's whatever will get the idea across. Who were some of your models for the kind of singing you're doing?I've always loved [Jim] Morrison and his poetry. Sometimes the music isn't great in the Doors, but it's all in support of someone that I do believe is a true poet. The words are the strongest part of that band. Your crooning made me want to hear you do an album of standards.I was talking about this with my old man today. He's like, 'You're not gonna retire,' and I was like, 'Oh, yes, I am — I'm going to Melvyn's in Palm Springs to be like [sings], 'Fly me to the moon…'' You grew up in Palm Desert. This might be an underappreciated aspect of your 104.7, baby. The DJ would be like, 'Are you by the pool? Well, you should be.' Very Robert Evans. Are there Queens songs you knew wouldn't work in the catacombs?We didn't think of it that way. The people in there, they didn't choose to be there, so what would they want to hear? I chose things about family, acceptance, the difficulties in life and the way you feel the moment they're revealed — and the way you feel the moment they're over. My first thought was: How do I emotionally get on my knees and do the very best I can to present something that these people have been longing for? It felt very religious. Do you believe in God?I believe in God, but God is everything I can't understand. Do you think there's an afterlife?I believe there's a return to something. Is it like, 'Oh my God, Rodney Dangerfield!'? That's not what I believe. But the energy that keeps you and I alive, it can't simply disappear. You must just go home to the big ball somewhere. Last time you and I spoke, you told me you you'd learned to pursue your art with less of the reckless abandon of your youth. I wondered how that figured into your decision to call off shows last year after the time we walked down the steps into the catacombs, we all knew in the band that it was over. The morning we were supposed to play Venice [a few days before the Paris gig], I just couldn't take it anymore, so I was like, 'Take me to the hospital.' But I realized there was nothing that could happen for me there. I said, 'Bathroom?' and I had them pull the car up and we left. Does that seem irresponsible in retrospect?No, because they didn't know what was going on and they didn't have the ability to know. I was like, 'I made a mistake — I should have just kept going.' We went to the next show in Milan because Paris was so close. You work on something for all these years, and now you can almost see it. You're gonna turn around because it's hard? You can't go two more hours? My old man says, 'Quitting on yourself is hardest the first time, and it's easy every time after that.' that wrong? That's the guy that brought me up, and he's proud to be here tonight. So did I make a mistake or not? I'm not sure what I would have done if I'd walked away. You've been reluctant to get too specific about your doesn't matter. Who cares? It was hard and it was dangerous. Big f— deal. Queens is about to get back gonna finish what we started. I thought I was gonna be out of commission for 18 months or two years — that's what I was told. How'd you take that?I wasn't looking for high-fives. But it ended up being seven months. I've changed so many things, and I feel so good. Are you writing songs?Lots. The great part about these physically or mentally dangerous situations is that now I feel super-alive and ready to go. I spent a lot of months bedridden, and now that I'm not, I'm very much like a rodeo bull. Not the rider — the bull. When you open that gate, I will destroy.
