World Screen

NEW YORK: News Corporation has named Paul Cheesbrough as its chief technology officer, reporting directly to chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. In the new role, Cheesbrough is responsible for the company’s global technology strategy as well as coordinating with senior leaders to develop new digital products and expand the digital …

MIAMI: MP & Silva has expanded its relationship with Major League Soccer (MLS) until 2014, giving it the exclusive distribution rights outside of North America for all games, tournaments and events. The agreement covers MLS regular season, Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup. MLS is North America’s professional soccer league. Carlo Pozzali, …

LOS ANGELES: BoPaul Media Worldwide (BMW) has purchased a library of 200 films from Spain’s Jose Frade Productions. The collection includes Blood and Sand, a 1989 action romance starring Sharon Stone, Chris Rydell and Ana Torrent. Another title is Dr. Jekyll and the Manwolf, starring Paul Naschy—who was also the director. Additional films …

SAN FRANCISCO: AFL Productions has secured the global distribution rights to the complete libraries of Russia’s Home Channel and Peretz TV. The library for Home Channel consists of factual programming—including cooking and travel shows—aimed at women between the ages of 25 and 59. Peretz TV’s catalogue contains content such as home …

NEW YORK: Five additional scripted projects are currently in development at Bravo Media, including an update on the ’80s cult classic Heathers. From Sony Pictures Television, Heathers will be a present-day update from the 1980’s film that starred Winona Ryder. The Apartment (working title) is from Uni TV. It looks …

LOS ANGELES: Adding to its catalogue, MarVista Entertainment has acquired three new telefilms—Today’s Special, Language of a Broken Heart and Doggie Boogie—for international distribution. Today’s Special, a romantic comedy starring Aasif Mandvi (The Dictator), Jess Weixler (Teeth), Harish Patel (Run Fat Boy Run) and Naseeruddin Shah (Monsoon Wedding), is about a …

NEW YORK: Nancy Dubuc, who is slated to deliver a keynote at the upcoming MIPCOM event, has been appointed to the newly created role of president of entertainment and media at A+E Networks. In this promoted role, Dubuc will be overseeing all content creation, brand development and marketing for the entire …

NEW YORK: As the fall season formally kicks off in the U.S., Networked Insights shares with World Screen analyses of the most-anticipated new shows, which include NBC’s Ryan Murphy comedy The New Normal and the J.J. Abrams drama Revolution. The New York-based company has been tracking interest in the new …

PREMIUM: Liz Meriwether, the creator of New Girl, which was one of the breakout comedies of last season, talks to World Screen.   WS: How would you describe your style of comedy? MERIWETHER: I write about relationships and people trying to connect with each other but failing. The funniest stuff …

PREMIUM: Aaron Sorkin, who won an Academy Award for The Social Network and multiple Emmys for The West Wing, talks to World Screen about his latest show, The Newsroom, for HBO. WS: Why did you choose TV news as a topic to explore in a TV series? SORKIN: I like …