World Screen

LOS ANGELES: The hit vampire-themed series True Blood has been renewed for a fourth season by HBO, with 12 fresh episodes slated for summer 2011.  The show, created by Alan Ball, will go into production on its fourth season early …

Managing Director, Sales & Distribution BBC Worldwide   This interview originally appeared in the June 2010 issue of World Screen.   The sales-and-distri­bution division of BBC World­wide is a behemoth in the international tele­vision business. Second only to the Hollywood studios, …

Telenovelas are faring well in Central and Eastern Europe, as are a number of other scripted genres, including dramas and event movies. Any good telenovela has its fair share of ups and downs, high and lows, victories and losses. Such …

NEW YORK/LONDON: Allen Bohbot’s new company, 41 Entertainment, has appointed Sheryl Radack as VP and sales manager for TV and DVD. In her post, Radack will oversee TV and home entertainment sales to Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, CIS, Middle East, Africa, …

HYDERABAD: DQ Entertainment has signed up as co-production partner on The Qpiz, an HD 2-D animated series from Neo Network for RaiSat. Neo Network, a Zodiak Entertainment company, conceived of the 52-episode interstitials series. The 2.5-minute episodes mix slapstick humor with romance …

LONDON/BURBANK: Warner Bros. Entertainment has firmed up a U.K. distribution agreement for its WarnerFilm service to provide movies for the LOVEFiLM platform.  The multi-year agreement sees the Warner Bros. International Branded Services’ movie SVOD service, WarnerFilms, debut on LOVEFiLM’s player. WarnerFilms …

MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network, a division of Anil Ambani’s Reliance-ADA Group, this weekend announced a proposed joint venture with CBS Studios International to roll out entertainment networks in India. According to published reports, the companies have entered into a preliminary nonbinding agreement …

HARRINGTON PARK: Janson Media has licensed the rights to the documentary Great North, from the Giant Screen Films collection, to First HDTV of Russia.  The documentary was originally filmed for release in IMAX theaters. Great North is set to air …

LONDON: British production outfit Shed Media—parent company of Outright Distribution—is in sale talks with Warner Bros. Entertainment. Reports indicate that Warner Bros. is discussing a £75 million price tag for the independent, which owns Shed Productions, Ricochet, Twenty Twenty, Wall to …

LONDON: Southern Star, Endemol’s Australian production company, has entered into a long-term partnership with drama producer John Edwards.  Edwards produced the only two Australian episodic series ever commissioned for prime time in the U.K.: Police Rescue for BBC One and …