MIPCOM Unveils Talent Roster

PARIS: The 25th edition of MIPCOM will feature star power such as Lisa Kudrow, Joan Rivers, Matt Groening and Jerry Seinfeld.

Kudrow, best know as Phoebe from the hit series Friends, will be on hand to promote her role as producer on the doc series Who Do You Think You Are?, supported by Wall to Wall and Is or Isn’t Entertainment, Kudrow’s production company. Lisa Kudrow will present “International Formats Creator” on October 6 at noon.

Comedy Central has added Joan Rivers to its Roast franchise. The comedy icon will be promoting the launch of Comedy Roast with Joan Rivers for international syndication.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons, MIPCOM welcomes series creator Matt Groening, who will deliver a keynote along with the show’s producer, Al Jean. The two will discuss their 20 successful years on the series. Morgan Spurlock, best known for his film Super Size Me, will present the conference. Groening will deliver a keynote on October 6 at 5:30 p.m.

Stand-up comedian and sitcom legend Jerry Seinfeld will be promoting his new comedy The Marriage Ref, created by The Oprah Winfrey Show producer Ellen Rakien and distributed by Endemol. Seinfeld will give a press conference on October 6 at 2:30 p.m.

A veritable fashion phenomenon in Japan, the singers from AKB48 will perform at the opening night soirée. The group’s producer, Yasushi Akimoto, will explain what goes into this successful concept.

Considered to be the inventor of molecular cookery, celebrated Catalan chef Ferran Adrià Acosta from the El Bulli restaurant, will present Canal Cultura, a new channel from Spanish group RTVE. He will be unveiling his first gastronomic show dedicated to avant-garde cuisine. Acosta will give a press conference on October 5 at 10 a.m.

Midsomer Murders’ John Nettles will be accompanied by key members of the cast, to look back at on the show’s success and bid farewell to the very popular Inspector Thomas Barnaby. Nettles will be giving interviews on October 6 from 11 a.m.

Swedish actor Jakob Eklund will be in Cannes for the presentation of crime series Johan Falk. Eklund plays the boss of a special crime-fighting task force and will be joined at MIPCOM by the team from German distributor Bavaria Film.