News

Right on the heels of the news that Elon Musk is nearing a deal to buy Twitter, a television documentary about the polarizing businessman has been announced to premiere this May.

Titled “Elon Musk’s Crash Course,” the upcoming film is the latest in FX and The New York Times’ collaborative documentary series “The New York Times Presents,” which provides in depth looks at prominent people and events, ranging from Janet Jackson to Juul to the 2020 Australian bushfire disasters. The series is best known for its two in-depth films about Britney Spears, “Framing Britney Spears” and “Controlling Britney Spears,” which helped contribute to the eventual end of the singer’s conservatorship.

Directed by Emma Schwartz, “Elon Musk’s Crash Course” is an exposé into Musk’s company Tesla, and its work on self-driving cars. Featuring the reporting from Cade Metz and Neal Boudette of The New York Times, the film...

Exclusive: The Eurovision brand continues its North American expansion. Leading Canadian producer Insight Productions, a Boat Rocker company, has teamed with Eurovision Canada rights owners and ASC, Inc., one of the companies behind NBC’s music reality competition series American Song Contest, to debut the first-ever Eurovision Canada in 2023.

Similar to American Song Contest –– which is following the blueprint of the Eurovision Song Contest — Eurovision Canada will feature musical artists and bands from each of the 10 provinces and three territories and across every musical genre, to perform all original songs on the live televised event. The participating artists will go head-to-head against other provincial/territorial representatives in a series of televised Qualifier Competitions, leading to Semi-Finals and the ultimate primetime Grand Finale.

The move follows the recent appointment of Greg Lipstone as President and COO of ASC, Inc., joining producers Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Ola Melzig and Peter Settman in their expansion efforts,...

“American Song Contest” has revealed its detailed online and TikTok voting procedures and the 56 members of its expert jury panel, including Isaac Slade, Matt Pinfield and Jose Tillan, ahead of the U.S. adaptation of “Eurovision’s” big two-hour debut Monday on NBC, Variety has learned exclusively.

Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, the all-live “American Song Contest” will feature 56 artists representing the 50 states, five U.S. territories and our nation’s capital, all competing for best hit song. A combination of public and jury votes will decide who will advance in the competition, with the jury being comprised of 56 people, one representing each state/territory, who are a mix of music industry executives, songwriters, and radio programmers from various genres as well as managers and members of the Recording Academy. The jury, whose names you can see listed in full below, will evaluate each artist’s performance based on artistic expression,...

Former Propagate president Greg Lipstone is making the move over to oversee American Song Contest Inc. as its president and COO, just days before the ambitious NBC competition series launches on March 21.

An offshoot of the long-running global phenomenon Eurovision, “American Song Contest” will attempt to try something similar in the United States, via song writing and performer competitors representing 56 U.S. states and territories. In taking over the company, Lipstone has been tasked with developing and growing the Eurovision Song Contest internationally via new markets and new revenue streams — including new and existing digital platforms, as well as finding production and broadcast partners in new markets.

“Greg’s unique profile with a combination of entrepreneurship and experience makes him the perfect complement to further expand the ASC footprint,” said Peter Settman, CEO of American Song Contest, Inc. “As one of our executive producers, we liked how he worked, and...

Exclusive: Former Propagate President Greg Lipstone has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of American Song Contest Inc., one of the companies behind NBC’s upcoming music reality competition series of the same name, which premieres March 21.

Following the blueprint of the Eurovision Song Contest and inspired by its spectacle and production elements, the nine-week series, hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg and produced by Propagate Content and Universal TV Alternative Studio, features artists going head to head in state-to-state weekly competitions, leading to semi-finals and a March Madness-style Grand Final.

In the newly created role, Lipstone’s focus will be to develop and grow the Eurovision Song Contest brand globally. Domestically, that involves creating auxiliary businesses around the American Song Contest reality series, including digital commerce. Based in ASC, Inc.’s home base in Los Angeles, Lipstone also will work on the brand’s international expansion, including...

Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg have been named the hosts of NBC’s upcoming singing competition “American Song Contest,” the U.S. adaptation of “Eurovision Song Contest.”

Per NBC, “Based on the worldwide phenomenon ‘Eurovision Song Contest,’ organized for 65 years by the European Broadcasting Union and watched by 200 million viewers annually, this amazing musical spectacular combines the competitive spirit of rooting for your favorite sports team with the joy of watching a live performance of an original song.”

“American Song Contest” will feature live new music performances – representing all 50 states, five U.S. territories and our nation’s capital – competing to win the country’s vote for the best hit song, according to the broadcast network. “An incredible solo artist, duo or a band will represent each location and perform a new original song, celebrating the depth and variety of different styles and genres across America. The live competition consists...

Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson have been named hosts of NBC’s upcoming musical competition series, American Song Contest. The announcement was made in a promo that aired at the start of the Super Bowl halftime show on NBC, which featured Snoop Dogg as one of the headliners.

American Song Contest is based on the Eurovision Song Contest, which has been organized for 65 years by the European Broadcasting Union and watched by 200 million viewers annually. The NBC series will premiere March 21, 8-10 p.m. Et/Pt from the NBCUniversal lot. The series will run for eight weeks on Monday nights, with the Grand Final scheduled for May 9, just ahead of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy, which will consist of two semifinals on May 10 and 12, followed by the final on May 14. Eurovision semifinals and final were are available in the US on NBC sibling streaming platform Peacock as part of a two-year deal.

NBC has pushed “American Song Contest,” its ambitious U.S. take on the legendary Eurovision Song Contest, back a month in order to give the production more time to handle Covid concerns when it comes to having a live audience.

“American Song Contest” will now premiere on Monday, March 21 at 8 p.m. Et, and air there for eight weeks, with a finale on May 9. The show was originally set to launch on Monday, Feb. 21; in its place, “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” will now premiere that day at 8 p.m. and air in that timeslot (also for two hours weekly) for four weeks.

“America’s Got Talent: Extreme” completed its season despite an accident on set last fall, in which stuntman Jonathan Goodwin was injured while performing a daredevil stunt. Production paused in October after the incident, and was resumed in January.

“AGT: Extreme” features “outrageous, unique and jaw-dropping acts of enormous scale and magnitude,...

NBC has tweaked its midseason schedule, pushing the premiere of Eurovision offshoot American Song Contest by a month, from the previously announced Monday, Feb. 21 (8-10 p.m.) to March 21. Taking over the slot is new reality series America’s Got Talent: Extreme, which made headlines last fall when a contestant was badly hurt in an on-set accident.

According to sources, the decision to delay American Song Contest is being done over Covid concerns amid the current Omicron surge as the series consists of live shows whose logistics could be difficult in the current wave of rampant infections nationwide.

AGT: Extreme, which will debut Feb. 21, shut down filming in Georgia after stuntman Jonathan Goodwin was crushed between two cars in a daredevil stunt that went wrong. I hear the show had a few days left when production was halted. Filming wrapped in early January. It hasn’t been decided yet whether...

Peacock has locked in the full cast for Last Light, a series adaptation based on Alex Scarrow’s bestselling apocalyptic thriller novel. Game of Thrones alum Tom Wlaschiha, Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher), Victor Alli, Alyth Ross, Taylor Fay and Hakeem Jomah are set as leads opposite Matthew Fox and Joanna Froggatt in the limited series from MGM International TV Productions in association with Nordic Entertainment Group’s Viaplay. Production is currently underway in Prague, with Film United overseeing physical production.

The five-episode limited drama series is based on Scarrow’s Last Light, which tells the story of a family fighting to survive in a world that has been suddenly thrown into chaos.

Ross will play Laura Yeats. Laura is a passionate and informed university student committed to confronting the mounting crisis of climate change and finding a solution to helping the planet.

Lost alum Matthew Fox is set to star alongside Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey) in Peacock’s Last Light, a series adaptation based on Alex Scarrow’s bestselling apocalyptic thriller novel. Fox also will executive produce the series from MGM International TV Productions in association with Nordic Entertainment Group’s Viaplay. Production is set to begin soon in Prague with Film United overseeing physical production.

The five-episode limited drama series is based on Scarrow’s Last Light, which tells the story of a family fighting to survive in a world that has been suddenly thrown into chaos.

Fox will play Andy Neilson, an ex-pat living in London who is one of the world’s leading petro-chemical engineers. He’s brilliant and very in-demand, but his drive and ambition sometimes have been to the detriment of his family life. The story’s unfolding crisis will force Andy to reassess his priorities — both familial and professional.

After an 11-year hiatus, Matthew Fox is returning to TV.

The “Lost” and “Party of Five” star will join Joanne Froggatt (“Downton Abbey”) in “Last Light,” an action-packed thriller mini-series adapted from Alex Scarrow’s bestselling novel. The show will be directed by Dennie Gordon (“Jack Ryan”).

The five-part series, which Fox will also executive produce, marks the actor’s first TV foray since ABC’s desert-island thriller “Lost.” Fox played Jack Shepard on the hit series across its six seasons until wrapping in 2010. He has since starred in a handful of feature films, including Brad Pitt’s “World War Z” and “Bone Tomahawk” alongside Kurt Russell.

MGM International TV Production, which is headed by former Studiocanal executive Rola Bauer, is producing “Last Light” in association with Nordic Entertainment Group’s streaming service Viaplay, NBC streamer Peacock and Entertainment 360 which is exec producing along with Fox. It’s believed...

NBC has announced that submissions for the new music event series “American Song Contest” are now open.

Based on “Eurovision Song Contest,” the world’s largest music event, the series will feature a series of live music performances from American contestants who are in competition to win the country’s vote for best original song. All 50 states, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. will be repped by a solo artist, duo, band or DJ.

“American Song Contest” is looking for artists, signed or independent, who can own the stage and captivate an audience with their original music (cover or tribute bands are not allowed to participate). As the submission process to represent each state or territory is underway, the showrunners welcome all varieties of music including country, dance/electronic, pop, rap, R&b and rock. Applicants must be 16 or older,...

Nent Group’s Swedish label Brain Academy is plotting two major films from A-list writing-directing teams. The first, “The World Council of Magic,” is helmed by “The Most Beautiful Boy in the World”’s Kristian Petri, based on a screenplay by genre-bending author John Ajvide Lindqvist(”Border,” “Let the Right One In”).

”The World Council of Magic” is my first script not based on one of my stories,” said Lindqvist, often dubbed the Stephen King of Sweden. The film deals with a group of elderly magicians of the practical kind. In their hungry youth, they searched for the secret behind actual magic. Now, when they’re in their seventies, one of them gets the long-awaited revelation that allows him to manipulate the material world with his mind,

“Magic, real magic! But like with all great powers, it comes at a high – and bloody – price” said Lindqvist. “Despite their own lack of powers,...

The producers of the Eurovision Song Contest will bring the long-running competition to American televisions in 2021.

Similar to its continent-spanning cousin across the Atlantic, American Song Contest will feature musical acts from all 50 states, with each artist trying to win the live television event with the best original song.

American Song Contest arrives during the 2021 holiday season, with the Eurovision rights owners Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Ola Melzig and Peter Settman teaming with television exec Ben Silverman.

“Imagine if music was an Olympic sport and artists from all over the...

The long-gestating American Song Contest series is getting close to fruition and is now targeting a debut during the holiday season 2021. There is no network yet.

American Song Contest was announced in May 2019 when Nordic Entertainment Group-backed Brain Academy struck a deal with the European Broadcasting Union (Ebu) for the format rights.

The American Song Contest project had been developed by Brain Academy’s Anders Lenhoff and Peter Settman alongside Christer Björkman and Ola Melzig, who have worked on over 20 Eurovision Song Contests between them. They are now joined by Ben Silverman of Propagate Content.

As previously reported, American Song Contest will feature musical artists and bands from each of the 50 states and across every musical genre, to perform all original songs on the live televised event. (Watch a promo video above).

The first Eurovision Song Contest was held in 1956 with the aim of uniting nations and exploring new television technology.

The U.S. is getting its own take on the Eurovision Song Contest after producer Brain Academy struck a deal to develop a North American remake.

The Swedish company, which is best known for producing Keanu Reeves-starring Pop TV project Swedish Dicks, is developing the American Song Contest. It does not currently have a broadcaster attached but it aims to air the version in 2021.

This comes after the Nordic Entertainment Group-backed company struck a deal with the European Broadcasting Union (Ebu) for the format rights.

The American Song Contest project is being developed by Brain Academy’s Anders Lenhoff and Peter Settman alongside Christer Björkman and Ola Melzig, who have worked on over 20 Eurovision Song Contests between them.

The first Eurovision Song Contest was held in 1956 with the aim of uniting nations and exploring new television technology. Since then, over 50 nations have taken part in this unique competition...

Exclusive: Reeves reunites with his former Constantine co-star Peter Stormare in the Viaplay original series.

Keanu Reeves has joined the cast of comedy series Swedish Dicks, the first original production from Swedish online streaming service Viaplay.

Reeves will appear in a number of episodes in the anticipated English-language series, which stars Peter Stormare (Fargo) and Swedish comedian Johan Glans. The cast also features Vivian Bang, Felisha Cooper, Traci Lords and Eric Roberts.

Swedish Dicks is shooting now in Los Angeles and will launch exclusively on Viaplay this autumn. Screen can also reveal the first shot of the Reeves and Stormare on set.

Set in downtown La, the 10-episode series stars Stormare as Ingmar, a former stunt man who is now working as a small-time private detective. A former DJ (Glans) partners with him in the Pi firm.

During the series, one case will be solved per episode, while a longer mystery runs throughout the series.

For Reeves...

Exclusive: TrustNordisk/Zentropa and Brain Academy are partnering on an eight-part TV series.

Danish sales powerhouse TrustNordisk and its parent production company Zentropa are developing a major TV thriller series in partnership with Swedish TV veteran Peter Settman’s new production company, Brain Academy.

The planned eight-part series is adapted from UK writer Alex Scarrow’s 2007 novel Last Light.

The story looks at the breakdown of global society over just one week – starting with attacks on the world’s oil supply, creating an imminent oil shortage. During seven days the anonymous terrorists hold the planet hostage while the world rapidly collapses. The disaster is seen through the eyes of one family, including a London-based oil engineer and his estranged 21-year-old daughter.

Although the series is created by Los Angeles and Stockholm-based writer Soni Jorgensen and Brain Academy partner Patrik Ehrnst, there are a group of writers in discussions but none can be announced yet. Writers and directors...

A healthy Twitch thumbs up to producer and showrunner Peter Settman who clearly knows his way around a title along with cult hero character actor Peter Stormare, who always seems to embrace the chance to be the butt of the joke.Settman's Brain Academy have announced their upcoming series Swedish Dicks in which Stomare and John Glans - the unintentionally hilarious in this context last name appears to be legitimate - co-star as a pair of unlicensed Swedish private detectives trying to survive in downtown Los Angeles. Stormare is also on board as a co-producer. The first original series commissioned by Nordic streaming service Viaplay there is no word yet as to international distribution....

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Peter Stormare and Johan Glans to play Swedish detectives in Los Angeles.

Nordic digital platform Viaplay is plotting its first original series, titled Swedish Dicks.

Peter Stormare (The Big Lebowski, Fargo, The Blacklist) will star alongside popular Swedish comedian Johan Glans, who has twice been named as Sweden’s funniest comedian.

The series is about two Swedes working as unlicensed private investigators in downtown Los Angeles.

Peter Settman serves as showrunner through his new production company Brain Academy, which will co-produce, alongside Los Angeles-based Viking Brothers Entertainment and Glenn Lund.

Settman said: “We are thrilled to deliver the first Viaplay original series, starring the largest names from Sweden’s acting and humor elite. Swedish Dicks is nothing you have ever seen before, the perfect mixture of laugh-out-loud moments and dialogues with a more serious undertone.”

The series will start showing throughout the Nordics, exclusively on Viaplay, in 2016.

Viaplay is part of the Modern Times Group.

Brain Academy...

Exclusive: Nymphomaniac actress to co-star with Robert Pattinson, Tim Roth and Berenice Bejo.

Stacy Martin, who played the youthful heroine exploring her erotic life in Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, has joined the cast of Brady Corbet’s The Childhood of a Leader.

Martin, a former Screen International Star of Tomorrow, will next be seen in Ben Wheatley’s Jg Ballard adaptation, High-Rise.

The Childhood of a Leader, sold by Protagonist Pictures and co-starring Robert Pattinson, Tim Roth and Berenice Bejo, is in pre-production and is set to shoot in Budapest in January.

The $5m feature is a collaboration between Swedish producer Helena Danielsson, Chris Coen from Unanimous Entertainment (UK) and Antoine de Clermont Tonnerre from Mact Productions (France). Co-producer is Ildiko Kemeny of Pioneer Pictures Hungary.

Corbet’s debut

It marks the feature directorial debut of Corbet, a Us actor best known for roles in Melancholia, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Thirteen. More recently...

Cologne, Germany – Private equity group CapMan is set to merge its three Scandinavian TV production companies -- Denmark's Gong, Monster in Norway and Finland's Moskito to form the Northern Alliance Group. CapMan is closing the final link in the Scandinavian chain with the recent acquisition of Swedish producer Baluba.

Management of the individual production houses, including Baluba chief executive Peter Settman, will control a 32% stake in the new Northern Alliance Group.

With some 60 series in production across all genres and estimated annual sales of nearly $80 million, the Northern Alliance Group will be Scandinavia's fourth-largest production operation after Nordisk, Shine-owned Metronome and Zodiak Entertainment.