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LOS ANGELES, November 15: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) has tapped Paul Verhoeven to direct the thriller The Thomas Crown Affair 2, which will be produced with Pierce Brosnan’s Irish DreamTime Productions. Verhoeven has directed films like Basic Instinct, RoboCop, Starship Troopers …

LONDON, November 15: Five has commissioned Lion Television to produce a 15-part travel series titled The Rough Guide To…, based on the travel books of the same name. The show will be presented by Julia Bradbury from BBC One’s Watchdog …

MUNICH, November 15: SevenOne International will distribute ProSieben’s new antiwar-themed movie The Bridge, starring Franka Potente. The Bridge has just finished filming in Latvia under the direction of Wolfgang Panzer. The movie is a modern remake of Gregor Dorfmeister’s autobiographical …

SYDNEY, November 15: Southern Star International has secured broadcast deals in Italy for the British crime franchise Wire In The Blood and the mystery series Two Twisted with AXN and La 7, respectively. AXN Italy has sold all 21 TV …

TORONTO, November 15: Breakthrough Films & Television, Buffalo Gal Pictures and Citytv have begun production in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on 13 half-hour episodes of a new comedy series titled Less Than Kind. The series, set to debut in fall of 2008, …

LOS ANGELES, November 15: In the run up to the Asia Television Forum (ATF), Rive Gauche Television has closed several key broadcast sales in Asia for its reality and documentary programs. AXN Asia picked up the pan-satellite rights to season …

NEW YORK, November 15: Michael Rodriguez has been promoted to senior VP of sales for Telemundo, replacing Steve Mandala, who was recently named the executive VP of cable ad sales for NBC Universal. In his new role, effective immediately, Rodriguez …

ATLANTA, November 15: In its biggest expansion of news operations since it was founded 27 years ago, CNN will invest an estimated $10 million to raise the number of its correspondents worldwide and build up its international newsgathering operations by …

ADELAIDE, November 15: Speaking at the News Corporation shareholders meeting in Adelaide, Australia, CEO Rupert Murdoch sent a double message, at once waxing optimistic about the financial prospects of his company, but also expressing pessimism about the long-term profitability of …

NEW YORK, November 15: On Monday, November 19, U.S. news channel MSNBC will roll out in Southern Africa via the free-to-air satellite platform Free2View TV. The channel, MSNBC Africa, is a joint venture between Great Media and MSNBC. It will …