Every Hollywood screenwriter knows that the way to ratchet up tension is to introduce a ticking clock. And that’s just what ITV is doing with the next series of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire over here. Contestants will have just 15 seconds to answer the £500 and £1,000 questions. They’ll have 30 seconds to answer every question after that, including the £1 million jackpot. The US introduced a looming ticking clock in 2008. Other tweaks include a new feature called “Switch” where contestants can swap a question they don’t like for another. Will the Millionaire reboot help the show’s declining ratings? I dunno. I guess I’d better phone a friend.
You are viewing the archive: “Foreign”
ITV Reboots ‘Millionaire’ With Ticking Clock
German TV Slashing Film Investment
Actors, directors and producers in Germany have united to fight broadcaster cuts in the amount TV invests in feature films. Talks are ongoing with Germany’s public and private broadcasters. If nothing’s resolved, Germany’s filmmakers will write a joint letter of complaint.
The … Read More »
Johnny English Recruits Gillian Anderson
EXCLUSIVE: The X Files star has been cast as MI7 secret agent Pamela Head in Johnny English Reborn. The Working Title film starts shooting in September. Anderson stars opposite Rowan Atkinson, reprising his turn as the buffoonish spy. She’s represented by … Read More »
‘League of Gentleman’ Creator Wins Prize
Jeremy Dyson, co-creator of cult BBC comedy The League of Gentlemen, won the Edge Hill Short Story Prize last night for The Cranes That Build Cranes. Ghost Stories, the sell-out play which Dyson co-wrote, is transferring to the West End following … Read More »
UK Box Office Rises To $775M in First Half
That’s a rise of 3% year-on-year. And the best is yet to come this month and next, with the release of Toy Story 3 – tipped to be the biggest movie of the year – adult must-see Inception and Twi-hard threequel Twilight: Eclipse. Around 25 million people are expected to … Read More »
Who’s Not Bidding For UK’s Channel Five
EXCLUSIVE: The European TV producer Endemol will not be among those bidding for the UK’s fifth terrestrial channel. ITV has also walked away from the auction, as has BSkyB and Time Warner. Endemol’s founder John De Mol is bidding, as is … Read More »
‘Eclipse’ Kicks Off Big International Run
UPDATED: Summit Entertainment is disclosing that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE had “an incredible start” overseas. Despite great weather and the World Cup, ECLIPSE launched with an estimated $19M from 22 markets. The only major territories that opened on June 30th were Italy, Brazil, and CIS. Other majors like Spain, Australia and Mexico launch today. France, Germany, S. Korea and Japan will launch in the weeks to come. Here are some highlights of opening day results:
ITALY – No. 1 and the 3rd best opening of all time with an estimated €2.550M and counting from 638 playdates. ECLIPSE outgrossed the opening day of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX and ICE AGE 3D and outperformed NEW MOON’s opening of €1.934M.
BELGIUM – No. 1, the highest opening day of all time ousting HARRY POTTER 5 (587K Euros) and outperforming HARRY POTTER 1,2,3,4. The opening day grossed an estimated €875K and counting, with approx 89K+ admissions, including the super successful midnight shows
BRAZIL – An incredible No. 1 start in Brazil with an estimated 4.3M Reals from 310 play dates. The opening day was stronger than that of HARRY POTTER’s 4.015M Reals. ECLIPSE has also bested NEW MOON’s opening day which tallied 3.7M Reals. Read More »
BBC vs TV Stars: Talent Agents Dismiss Beeb Threat To Reveal Their Clients’ Pay
The talent agents point out the BBC needs their clients’ permission to quote how much their clients earn. Which the stars are hardly likely to give. “What the BBC is doing is just a sop to the government,” says one agent. Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC’s oversight body BBC Trust, has called on the Beeb to publish how much its stars earn. It all stems from the furor after the BBC disclosed that TV host Jonathan Ross was paid £6 million ($9 million) a year. Read More »
Newspaper Tycoon Tipped To Win Five
Richard Desmond, owner of Express Newspapers, is seen as a frontrunner to buy UK terrestrial channel Five. Other bidders include John De Mol, founder of TV producer Endemol (Big Brother), and Endemol itself, which De Mol’s investment company Cyrte Investments owns … Read More »
Cineworld Income Rises 4% Over 7 Months
The UK multiplex operator says total revenue, including ticket sales and popcorn, rose by 3.7% in the 26 weeks to July 1. Box office has increased by 4.1% including this month’s World Cup month. But the ticket sales rise was offset … Read More »
Shine Acquires UK Comedy TV Producer
Liz Murdoch has talked about wanting to beef up comedy at her Shine Group and now she’s done it. Shine has bought UK comedy producer Brown Eyed Boy from Motive Television. This is Shine’s 5th … Read More »
Michael Grade Shrugs Off Call For Him To Quit As Pinewood Shepperton Boss
The former ITV chairman has survived a shareholder rebellion at this morning’s annual general meeting of the company that owns Pinewood and Shepperton film studios.
Crystal Amber, an activist investment fund with 18% of the shares in Pinewood Shepperton has attacked Grade’s … Read More »
Bolloré Media Launches Movie Arm
The French industrial group is setting up a movie acquisition and co-production subsidiary. Bolloré Media will invest €3 million ($3.8 million) in the company. Called Direct Cinéma, the new division will buy or co-produce between 6 and 10 films each year. … Read More »
Viewers Must Know When They’re Watching Product Placement, Says UK Regulator
Broadcasters must let TV viewers know which programmes contain product placement, according to new rules published today. A symbol will appear at the start and end of programmes, says communications regulator Ofcom.
The UK government is finally allowing … Read More »
Lovely Day Hires BBC Script Producer
The Kudos/Shine-based indie has poached Dominic Treadwell-Collins from the Beeb as head of development. Treadwell-Collins is currently series story producer of long-running soap EastEnders. No surprise there. Lovely Day’s managing director Diederick Santer was the … Read More »
Italian Producers Call For Exhibition Levy
Anica, the Italian producers association, has proposed a ticket price increase to fund local movies. Speaking at a conference on the economics of Italian cinema, Anica president Riccardo Tozzi said that ticket prices have remained fixed for years. A levy managed … Read More »
RHCSE Signs Four More Kids Books
It’s all children’s TV and movies today. RHCSE has optioned its next four projects: Fish-Head Steve by Jamie Smart; the Gargoyles series by Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler: the Charlie Small series by Nick Ward; and the Princess Poppy … Read More »
Vertigo Plans ‘Horrid Henry’ 3D Movie
Britain’s prolific production company (Streetdance 3D) is making a children’s movie next. It has teamed up with kid’s TV producer Novel Entertainment for a big-screen version of the Horrid Henry kid’s books. Nick Moore (Wild Child) is directing. Filming will take … Read More »
UK Film Council Faces Even Deeper Cuts
The culture department, which funds British film to the tune of £26 million each year, is preparing for savage cuts. The Department For Culture, Media and Sport faces having its budget slashed by 25% – or even higher – over the … Read More »
-
Marketplace
News/Opinion Poll
Loading ...
Box Office Poll