Latest news with #SphereAbacus
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Prime Video Buys Docs On The Kray Twins & The Murder Of Joanna Yeates As Part Of Ten-Title Deal With Sphere Abacus
The life of the notorious Kray twins and the murder of British architect Joanna Yeates are among the latest true crime stories headed to Prime Video. The Amazon streamer has struck a ten-title deal with London-based distributor Sphere Abacus for rights in the UK and Ireland. All the shows hail from British independent producers. More from Deadline Jacob Elordi Series 'The Narrow Road To The Deep North' Finds A U.S. Buyer 'Carrie' TV Series From Mike Flanagan Officially Greenlighted By Prime Video David Spade Sets New Comedy Special 'Dandelion' At Prime Video The package comprises Woodcut Media productions Krays: London's Gangsters, The Murder of Joanna Yeates, The Crossbow Cannibal, Murder in Concrete, Confessions of a Female Serial Killer and Murdered or Missing?; Yeti Television's Surviving the Tunisia Beach Attack; Wag Entertainment's Murderer Behind the Mask, Middlechild Productions' The Facebook Honeytrap: Catching a Killer and recently announced pick up The Wimbledon Killer, which is from Blink Films. Single doc The Murder of Joanna Yeates launches first, a week today on April 22. It looks into the case of Yeates, who was found murdered on Christmas Day in 2010 after going missing from her home in Bristol. The case became a grim lesson how media frenzies can go wrong, with Yeates' innocent landlord, Christopher Jefferies, accused of murder and put on trial by the press. A Dutch national living in the building was later jailed for the killing. Krays: London's Gangsters is a two-parter looking how twin brothers Ronnie and Reggie Kray built a criminal empire and turned themslves into underworld legends in London's East End in the 1950s and 1960s. The doc includes never-heard-before audio of the brothers during their later imprisonments and explores the deep and complex relationship between them. The Crossbow Killer profiles murderer Stephen Griffiths, Murder in Concrete looks into the case of a body discovered in a concrete tomb, Confessions of the Female Serial Killer explores the 10-day murder spree committed by Joanne Dennehy in March 2013 and Murder or Missing? looks at three generations of a family – including an eight-week-old baby – were killed as part of a money laundering scheme. Surviving the Tunisia Beach Attack is billed as 'the definitive account' of the 2015 massacre of tourists that claimed 38 lives in the less than 40 minutes, Murder Behind the Mask looks into how successful architect and seemingly happy family Graham Dwyer secretly committed a murder, and The Facebook Honeytrap explores how the doting niece of murdered British expat Christine Robinson ensnared her aunt's killer. As we revealed last month, The Wimbledon Killer looks into the murder of Rachel Nickell, who was stabbed to death in broad daylight on Wimbledon Common. It is one of two docs on the killing, along with Netflix's Wimbledon Common (working title). 'We are extremely proud of the relationships we have built with a wide group of indies throughout the world,' said Will Stapley, Sphere Abacus Head of Acquisitions. 'The producers included in this significant deal are best in class and we are sure that these diverse, high quality true crime titles will strongly appeal to Prime Video subscribers.' Prime Video has shopped at Sphere Abacus several times in the past for true crime docs, taking a similarly large slate back in January 2024 in one instance. Canada's Bell Media recently completed a deal to buy Sphere Abacus, as Deadline revealed a few weeks back. Sphere Abacus had previously been sold to Sphere Media, in which Bell holds a minority stake. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About Celine Song's 'Materialists' So Far Everything We Know About Netflix's 'Ransom Canyon' So Far 'The Last of Us' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Bloomberg
28-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bell Media Wants to Export Canadian TV With Seth Rogen's Help
For decades, Hollywood has traveled north to film in Canada, with productions such as the Twilight movies and the Suits TV series lured by generous tax incentives and skilled crews. Now the country's largest media company wants to flip the script and sell more Canadian shows to Hollywood. Bell Media, the television and radio subsidiary of Quebec-based telecom company BCE Inc., has signed deals to develop new shows with Canadian stars who've made it big in the US, including Seth Rogen, Tom Green and Elliot Page. On Wednesday, the company acquired a majority stake in distributor Sphere Abacus, which will help sell Bell Media's productions internationally.
Globe and Mail
26-03-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Bell Media Acquires Majority Stake of Global Content Distributor Sphere Abacus
- Bell Media maintains its existing minority ownership in Sphere Media - - Sphere Abacus becomes primary international distributor of Bell Media's owned distribution rights - - Acquisition to enhance the reach of Canadian content and creators with international audiences -
USA Today
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Leaving Neverland' sequel will follow Michael Jackson accusers' journey to trial
Six years after the documentary "Leaving Neverland" publicized intimate accounts from Michael Jackson's alleged child sexual assault victims, an upcoming sequel will detail the men's journeys as they take their claims to trial. The 50-minute documentary "Leaving Neverland II: Surviving Michael Jackson," again directed by Dan Reed and featuring accusers James Safechuck and Wade Robson, will be broadcast on Channel 4 in the U.K., according to distributor Sphere Abacus. Rolling Stone, Deadline and Variety report the special will air March 18. USA TODAY has reached out to Channel 4 and representatives for Reed. "The third and final film will cover the trial, scheduled for late 2026, thus completing the Leaving Neverland trilogy. If their cases are successful, the potential positive impact on the United States' entertainment industry will be huge," Sphere Abacus' description of the film states. "Music and movie companies will no longer be able to shrug off responsibility when one of their stars sexually abuses a minor in their care." Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Channel 4 co-produced the 2019 "Leaving Neverland," released by HBO in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the U.K. Since the two-part doc's release, Robson and Safechuck, describing themselves as survivors of childhood abuse, have hosted a podcast called "From Trauma to Triumph. The venture speaks with "survivors, trauma specialists and advocates" and aims "to inspire the brave steps to starting, or continuing, the healing journey." Robson, an Emmy-winning choreographer who worked with the likes of Britney Spears and NSYNC, is now a "life mentor," songwriter/producer and dance teacher, according to his social media. In a previous statement to USA TODAY, shared as "Leaving Neverland" premiered in 2019, Jackson's estate denounced the project, saying it "isn't a documentary, it is the kind of tabloid character assassination Michael Jackson endured in life, and now in death. The film takes uncorroborated allegations that supposedly happened 20 years ago and treats them as fact." An upcoming biopic of the King of Pop, starring nephew Jaafar Jackson and directed by Antoine Fuqua, is due for release later this year. The project is backed by Michael Jackson's estate. Wade Robson, James Safechuck's lawsuits revived by appeals court, set to go to trial In 2023, a California appeals court revived lawsuits against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures from Robson, originally filed in May 2013, and Safechuck, which was filed in May 2014. Both leveled the following allegations: intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; negligent supervision; negligent retention/hiring; negligent failure to warn, train or educate; and breach of fiduciary duty. Both suits had been tossed out of lower courts due to the state's statute of limitations, as well as a judge who cast doubt on the defendant's culpability, before the three-judge appeals court panel ruled in August 2023 that the men could go forward with their claims that Jackson's companies had a duty to protect them from their alleged abuse. Safechuck's lawsuit alleges that after meeting the singer on the set of a Pepsi commercial when he was 10 years old, Jackson abused him hundreds of times between 1988 and 1992. The lawsuit claims that "the thinly-veiled, covert second purpose of (Jackson's) businesses was to operate as a child sexual abuse operation, specifically designed to locate, attract, lure and seduce child sexual abuse victims." Robson's lawsuit alleges his abuse began in 1990 and lasted around seven years. In February 2024, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted the men's request to consolidate their suits into one case, which received no objection from the defendants, according to a court filing obtained by USA TODAY. A trial start date of Nov. 23, 2026, has been proposed, per a Jan. 14 filing reviewed by USA TODAY. 'Leaving Neverland' claims:Michael Jackson staged a mock wedding, ensured accusers' silence Michael Jackson faced child molestation charges, but was never convicted Lawyers for the Jackson estate, the popstar's family members and administrators of his estate, which owns Jackson's companies, have for years denied the allegations against him by Robson and Safechuck, whom they have repeatedly labeled liars. The estate also sued HBO for $100 million over "Leaving Neverland," citing a decades-old anti-arbitration clause, and the case was reportedly sent to private arbitration in 2020. Allegations against Jackson — who died in 2009 at age 50 — began surfacing publicly in the 1990s. In 2003, Jackson was arrested and charged on child molestation charges in Santa Barbara County, but he was acquitted in 2005. During the trial, Robson testified in favor of Jackson and denied being molested by him; in "Leaving Neverland," he alleged Jackson had leveraged his relationship with Robson and persuaded him to lie. In 1993, the Los Angeles Times reported the police were interviewing several minors affiliated with Jackson about possible sexual abuse, based on a 13-year-old boy's claims. Jackson was never criminally charged in that case; The New York Times reported in 1994 that this was because the "primary alleged victim" declined to testify. The Times noted the boy and his family settled the civil suit they had filed against Jackson the prior year. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: (4673) and and en Español Contributing: Maria Puente, USA TODAY
