World Screen

UNIVERSAL CITY, September 19: NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios have signed actress Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls, Evan Almighty) to an exclusive one-year talent and development deal. Graham is represented by ICM and manager John Carrabino, who will also serve …

LAREN/PARIS, September 19: John de Mol’s Talpa Content has announced that it is acquiring a substantial stake in the French company Brainbox, which specializes in creating game-show formats for television and other platforms. Brainbox is run by Clement Gayet, who …

LOS ANGELES, September 19: Tom Hanks’ production company Playtone and HBO will team up to produce a 10-part mini-series based on Vincent Bugliosi's bestseller Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Bugliosi's book refutes many of the conspiracy …

LONDON, September 19: Channel 4 will be the first analog network in the U.K. to launch a high-definition channel, with plans to roll out an HD simulcast of its flagship service starting in December on Sky’s digital satellite service, while …

NEW YORK, September 19: News Corporation’s chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, has said that Fox Business Network, which is scheduled to launch next month, will focus on consumer news more than rival CNBC. Murdoch unveiled some plans for Fox Business …

TORONTO, September 18: Mary Powers, CTVglobemedia’s senior VP of corporate communications, has left her current position to launch her own strategic communications and brand marketing company, Powers Communications, with CTVglobemedia as her lead client. In this new role, Powers will …

NEW YORK, September 18: Through an exclusive partnership, IFC will produce an original series of interstitials, Beyond the Multiplex, based on Salon.com’s arts and entertainment column of the same name. The series of two-to-three minute interstitials will feature conversations between …

MOSCOW, September 18: Russia’s Central Partnership has bagged its first deal in the U.K. with the sale of three movies to Dolphin Television’s Movies4Men Channels. Titles include Shadowboxing, one of Russia’s biggest box-office grossing films of 2005; Moscow Mission, an …

NEW YORK, September 18: VOOM HD Networks has acquired three new programs for premiere on its kids- and family-targeted channels Family Room HD and Animania HD: RenegadePress.com, Animal Atlas, and Katakune. The 28×30-minute RenegadePress.com, acquired from FilmOption International, premiered on …

SANTA MONICA, September 18: Speed Racer Enterprises has signed four new licenses for the classic Speed Racer animated television series for a range of apparel, books, posters and calendars, in addition to two licenses for Speed Racer: The Next Generation, …