James Lee, former chairman of Scottish film agency Scottish Screen, has written to UK culture secretary Jeremy Hunt proposing all £15 million of lottery funding be injected into a single distribution label. BBC Films and Film4 would be obliged to release all their films through this ‘

(HMG) – We have heard recently, that before Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler became front runners, Elton John and Barry Manilow were offered the gig. But according to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood the judge American Idol’

[HMG] – When the Harry Potter franchise was at its globe-crushing peak the press eagerly tried to create a romance between Daniel Radcliffe and co-star Emma Watson. But the young wizard has found love elsewhere ‘

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’

This will put an even greater emphasis on overseas income through selling formats and programmes internationally, says trade body Pact.
Overall revenues for independent TV producers remained flat last year at £2.2 billion. This was despite broadcaster commissions ‘

 
At least that’s what producers think!
After the cast of Jersey Shore went on strike on Sunday, producers of the hit show are ready to let go of dead weight.
A source with 495 Productions said, “The show is not about famous rich people with managers coming to the Shore.”
But they should get something extra for the [...]

This is surprisingly early for such a big decision to be made. In fact, the earliest that the producers and director of the Academy Awards telecast have been chosen in recent years. But Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences President Tom Sherak just told me that he made up his mind last year to fill the two positions early before any of his candidates were already committed to other gig. Sherak did have a conversation with last year’s producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman  but “they wanted time off… that show is tough,” Sherak noted. As for the reasons behind his selections, well, Don [...]

Independent producers have cancelled writing an open letter highlighting their plight for fear of upsetting UK broadcasters. Indie producers were about to publish a letter in the Times newspaper this Monday. A minority has intervened, killing the letter for fear of upsetting the BBC and Channel 4.
Pact, the producers’

EXCLUSIVE: I’

The Producers Guild of America holds its second annual “Produced By” Conference this coming weekend at 20th Century Fox Studios. At the same time, PGA president Marshall Herskovitz’