News

Up on Variety about a year ago, there was an interesting interview with the German distributor of the Expendables and John Wick movies. Fred Kogel, who runs Leonine Studios, noted that all the top action heroes now, Keanu Reeves, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise, and Harrison Ford, are the same ones we had in the eighties and nineties. But with Stallone and Ford in their late seventies, who will be the new action stars when the icons are done with the genre? Liam Neeson’s action career can’t go on forever, and Bruce Willis has, sadly, had to retire. For his part, Kogel doesn’t believe distributors and studios have done enough to build up a new crop of action heroes, noting that for the older stars, there was “a great deal of identification with the type of the actor, with the physicality of the actor so that you could relate to that.

CAA Media Finance co-head Roeg Sutherland, FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner, Mediawan Pictures Elisabeth d’Arvieu and Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben will be among the industry executives participating in the 10th Zurich Summit this weekend.

Dubbed by organizer the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) as “the Davos of the film industry”, in reference to the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps, the event will gather more than 100 top film professionals from North American and Europe at the city’s luxury Dolder Grand hotel.

Over the course of Saturday, they will discuss key issues including AI, monetization of indie films, financing, distribution, representation, and the awards season.

As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.

Sutherland, a long-time supporter of the meeting,...

France’s Mediawan has acquired German group Leonine Studios.

The all-stock transaction creates a European-based production and distribution group with a presence across 13 countries, 85 labels and revenues over €1bn. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.

Paris-based Mediawan has had a 25% stake in Munich-based Leonine since 2020, and both groups are backed by US private equity firm Kkr. Mediawan was reported to be weighing an acquisition of Leonine back in November 2023.

For Mediawan the deal bolsters its European footprint with the addition of the German-speaking market.

Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton will continue to lead the group while Leonine CEO...

French studio Mediawan and Germany’s Leonine have signed a deal to merge their operation, forming one of Europe’s biggest film and TV companies.

The all-stock transaction, announced Sunday, will create a mini-major with companies and operations across 13 countries and annual revenues of more than €1 billion ($1.06 billion). Mediawan took a 25 percent stake in Leonine back in 2020. Both companies are backed by private equity group Kkr. The agreement is conditional on regulatory approval.

Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton will be CEO of the new, merged group, with Leonine head Fred Kogel leading operations in German-speaking territories. Kogel will also join Mediawan’s executive committee.

Both Mediawan, launched in 2015 by Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, and Leonine, which Kogel founded in 2019, have followed similar strategies of tapping private equity funding to buy up independent production and distribution companies in Europe. Among the titles produced by Mediawan-owned labels include Netflix hit Call My Agent,...

France’s Mediawan has acquired Germany’s Leonine Studios.

The deal, financial terms of which were not revealed, has been bubbling since November last year. Call My Agent maker Mediawan has owned a 25% stake in the business since 2020.

The all-stock deal will see the two companies move even closer together and forms a major European indie studio with 85 labels operating across 13 countries and revenues of more than €1B ($1.1B).

Leonine was founded in 2019 by Fred Kogel with financial support from Kkr — a Mediawan backer — and Atwater Capital through acquiring and merging Tmg, Universum Film, i&u TV and Wiedemann & Berg Film, and then W&b Television, Seo Entertainment, Hyperbole, BeetzBros Film Production and Toon2Tango.

Productions from within the group include The Lives of Others, School of Magical Animals, Dark, The Gryphon, Crooks, Juan Carlos – Downfall of The King, and The Cleaners. It also has certain rights to blockbuster titles such as the John Wick franchise,...

European powerhouse Mediawan has acquired Leonine, a leading production and distribution group active in German-speaking markets.

With the acquisition of Leonine, Mediawan will boast a portfolio of 85 labels, a catalogue spanning 30,000 hours of premium content and revenues exceeding €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion). Mediawan’s worth is now believed to be in the $2-billion range. The deal is an all-stock transaction; both companies have the same shareholder, the U.S. private equity fund Kkr whose stake in Mediawan will still be below 50%, according to a source close to the company.

Mediawan now has a significant footprint in all major European markets, including German-speaking territories which represent the continent’s second largest TV market. The pact positions Mediawan as one of the world’s biggest super indies with a large proportion of scripted business across prestige series and movies. Mediawan now spans 13 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux and the U.K.

Germany’s film and TV sectors have been eagerly awaiting the biggest reform in the history of German film funding this year, and while the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz struggles to navigate a major budget crisis, leading industry representatives are confident the planned overhaul will improve business despite the hurdles.

Overseen by Claudia Roth, the federal government commissioner for culture and media (Bkm), the plan, unveiled this week, aims to create a more centralized film funding system to support production, distribution and cinemas.

A major European film and media hub, Germany boasts myriad funding organizations at the federal and regional level that support films and high-end series. In addition to the Bkm, the German Federal Film Board (Ffa) and nine major regional funders provide significant support. In 2022, they offered a combined €370 million ($400.6 million) in subsidies to the film and TV sector.

Roth’s planned reform includes an amendment to...

Leonine Studios, one of Germany’s leading film and TV companies, has set up Leonine Animation Studios together with Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris, the managing directors of Toon2Tango.

The three partners will each contribute their shares in Toon2Tango to the new division on Jan. 1, 2024, and will channel all their animation output through it going forward. Toon2Tango becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leonine Animation Studios.

Leonine Studios, which has held a 25.1% stake in Toon2Tango since October 2022, holds a 50% stake in Leonine Animation Studios, with Stoef and Daris also jointly holding 50%. Leonine has the option to acquire a controlling majority in Leonine Animation Studios from 2025.

The managing directors of Leonine Animation Studios are Bernhard zu Castell, who as Leonine’s chief distribution officer is responsible for the distribution and licensing division of the company, Stoef and Daris.

Leonine describes Leonine Animation Studios as “a growth and investment platform for the development,...

German production powerhouse Leonine Studios has launched an animation studio as it ups its stake in Mia and Me producer Toon2Tango.

Toon2Tango will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leonine Animation Studios from 1 January and Leonine will take a 50% stake, with Toon2Tango founders Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris holding the other half. Stoef and Daris will run the studio with Chief Distribution Officer Bernhard zu Castell.

Leonine described the studio as a “growth and investment platform for the development, production and acquisition of new IPs with international scope as well as other selective M&a activities in the animation sector.” Leonine has the option to acquire a controlling majority from next year.

Leonine already makes a number of animation shows including The School of Magical Animals, Lassie – a New Adventure and The Ogglies. Toon2Tango, meanwhile, has found global success with international hit Mia and Me and...

German-born laywer acquired hundreds of film and TV projects as pre-buys from US producers.

International media consultant and producer Thomas Augsberger has passed away suddenly at his home in the Hollywood Hills. He was 60 years old.

The German-born lawyer was founder of Eden Rock Media, a film and television production company and media consulting business.

Augsberger advised a number of high-profile media clients over the years, most prominently Germany’s Leonine Studios. Before Leonine, Augsberger spent 23 years as an advisor to Dr. Herbert Kloiber’s Tele Muenchen Group as Tmg’s exclusive North American representative in the US.

Augsberger’s...

Thomas Augsberger, the producer, international film consultant, former Lionsgate board member and founder of Eden Rock Media, has died. He was 60.

Augsberger died suddenly on Monday, November 27, at his home in the Hollywood Hills, members of his family told The Hollywood Reporter.

The German-born and trained attorney was best known as the longtime consultant and North American representative for Herbert Kloiber‘s German mini-major Tele Muenchen Group (Tmg). After Leonine acquired Tmg in 2019, Augsberger continued to advise the company on film projects and acquisitions.

Over more than two decades, Augsberger acquired hundreds of film and TV projects for the German market from producers, sales agents and studios, making him one of the most important figures on the independent scene. He helped secure prebuys of Marvel’s Iron Man, Summit Entertainment’s Twilight and Lionsgate’s John Wick and Hunger Games franchises, including the recent prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,...

Deadline has learned that Thomas Augsberger, Eden Rock Media founder, producer and international media consultant died suddenly today at his Hollywood Hills home. He was 60 years old.

The German-born and trained attorney advised a number of high-profile media clients over the years, most prominently Germany’s Leonine Studios. Prior to Leonine, Augsberger served 23 years as an advisor to Dr. Herbert Kloiber‘s Tele Muenchen Group as Tmg’s exclusive North American representative in the US.

In 2002, he founded Eden Rock Media, a film and television production company and media consulting business.

Augsberger was widely respected for his deep experience in the production and acquisition of feature films, television series, and content libraries; investments in US distributors and production companies; the co-financing, co-production, and distribution of film, television, and digital projects; and the negotiation of German output deals with studios for theatrical, home entertainment, and television. Over the course of his 26-year consulting career,...

Fred Kogel, CEO of leading German film and TV group Leonine Studios, which distributes the “Expendables” and “John Wick” movies in Germany, made the case for a new generation of action stars during the Zurich Summit over the weekend, where he was presented with Zurich Film Festival’s Game Changer Award.

He noted that many of today’s action stars are the same ones he watched on the big screen back in the 1980s, among them Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise.

Action movie fans identified with these actors because they could believe they were doing their own stunts, he added. There was “a great deal of identification with the type of the actor, with the physicality of the actor, so you could relate to that.”

By contrast, in modern CGI-laden superhero movies, “the younger generation doesn’t even know who does what.”

“I think it’s...

The Zurich Summit returned for another year bringing together some of the top creatives in the industry. More than 100 film pros took part in the all-day session that drilled down into the state of the industry.

Executives at the summit included Founder and CEO of Neon Tom Quinn, film producer Thomas Benski, Head of Anonymous Content independent Nick Shumaker and CEO of Leonine Studios Fred Kogel.

The conference gathers a line-up of film producers, sales executives and creators in film, TV and entertainment as well as technology entrepreneurs and financiers at The Dolder Grand. It offers a smart mix of knowledge transfer and inspiration, as well as ideal networking opportunities.

Panels at the summit included “Are Film Festivals Drifting Away From What Works In Cinemas,” “Rethinking Streaming,” “Streaming Scale Back,” “Now That Box Office Comes Back: What Are The Latest Business Strategies,” “What’s Behind the Success of Leonine,” “Are...

Leonine Studios founder and CEO Fred Kogel has said he does not expect his Germany-focused content group to expand much more in the near future, after four years of rapid and continuous growth.

The veteran film and TV exec was talking about the journey around the creation of Leonine Studios in 2019 in an onstage conversation with CAA Media Finance Co-head Benjamin Kramer at the Zurich Film Festival’s finance and industry-focused Zurich Summit on Saturday.

Kogel will be feted with the Zurich Film Festival’s Game Changer Award on Sunday, following in the footsteps of Pamela Abdy, Patrick Wachsberger as well as Michael Barker and Tom Bernard.

“There are many companies who drop by Leonine at the moment who say: ‘Can we be interesting for you in the German market?’,” said the veteran exec.

“There are always two questions for us: ‘Who is the talent and what kind of programs they do,...

The Zurich Film Festival opens Thursday with the European premiere of Kristoffer Borgli’s “Dream Scenario,” starring Nicolas Cage. The festival boasts a strong lineup of international films, among them Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” and Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn,” and high-profile guests who include Jessica Chastain, Ethan Hawke, Todd Haynes, Mads Mikkelsen, Pete Doherty, Diane Kruger and Wim Wenders.

The Zff this year screens a record number of world and European premieres – 52 from a total of 148. Another 52 films are debut works. “This high number reflects the Zff’s growing reputation in the global film industry,” says Zff artistic director Christian Jungen. “The Zurich Film Festival is the perfect festival to boost the prestige of films for the upcoming award season.”

Praising “Dream Scenario,” Jungen observes: “Cinema is like a seismograph that registers the trends in society, what we are talking about, what concerns us, and the...

Jochen Koestler will take up the position of executive vice president non-fiction at German media company Leonine Studios on Jan. 1, 2024.

Together with CEO Fred Kogel, he will head the group’s non-fiction production division, which includes production banners gebrueder beetz Filmproduktion, hyperbole Medien, i&u TV, Madame Zheng Production and Seo Entertainment.

From January 2025, he will assume sole overall responsibility for Leonine Studios’ non-fiction production business.

In addition, Koestler will join the management board of Cologne-based i&u TV, one of the leading production companies for information and entertainment programs, on Jan. 1, 2024, where he will be responsible for the entire entertainment division, including the genres show and comedy.

As managing director of i&u TV, Andreas Zaik will remain responsible for the information productions comprising the weekly news magazine “Stern TV” as well as documentaries and will continue to act as chairman of the management board. As chief digital officer of...

Leonine’s Fred Kogel To Be Feted In Zurich

Leonine CEO Fred Kogel is to receive the Zurich Film Festival’s Game Changer Award, which has previously gone to executives including Pamela Abdy, Patrick Wachsberger, Michael Barker and Tom Bernard. The Leonine boss will accept the award during the Zurich Summit industry conference on Sunday, October 1. Prior to setting up German studio Leonine, Kogel served as Head of Entertainment at Zdf and Managing Director of SAT1, where he was responsible for the station’s merger into ProSiebenSat.1 Media Ag. He was CEO of Constantin Film Ag from 2003 – 2009, working on Oscar nominees including Downfall and The Baader Meinhof Complex. “Fred Kogel has built Leonine from the ground up, a new entertainment company for the digital age that brings together the most exciting artists and successful producers, allowing them to focus on their core strengths while the studio takes care of services such as Hr,...

Award

Zurich Film Festival will honor the chief executive of German film and TV company Leonine Studios, Fred Kogel, with its Game Changer Award, which is presented to a leading personality from the film industry whose “extraordinary efforts serve to advance the sector.”

Kogel set up Leonine four years ago, and it has grown rapidly to become Germany’s leading independent film company, as well as a major TV producer. Its successes as a film distributor have included the release of “The School of Magical Animals,” “Knives Out” and the “John Wick” franchise. This autumn, Leonine will release in-house productions like “Weekend Rebels” and “Girl You Know It’s True.”

“Fred Kogel has built Leonine from the ground up, a new entertainment company for the digital age that brings together the most exciting artists and successful producers, allowing them to focus on their core strengths while the studio takes care of services such as Hr,...

First films to be released will be Wizards! and The Iron Claw.

German producer and distributor Leonine Studios and A24 have launched a joint label to release films in Germany and Austria called A24 | Leonine Studios.

The first films to be released under the new banner are the newly acquired titles David Michôd’s Wizards! starring Orlando Bloom, Naomi Scott and Pete Davidson and Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw with Lily James, Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White.

The two companies previously collaborated on the release in Gemany and Austria of Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once,...

A24 and German mini-major Leonine Studios have set up a joint venture, originally named A24 | Leonine Studios, to release films in Germany and Austria. The first films to go out under the new banner will be David Michôd’s Wizards! starring Orlando Bloom, Naomi Scott and Pete Davidson and The Iron Claw, Sean Durkin’s wrestling biopic of starring Zac Efron, Lily James, Harris Dickinson and Jeremy Allen White.

Wizards! follows two hapless pothead beach-bar operators who run into trouble when they stumble across stolen loot that they really should have just left alone. Iron Claw is centered around the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers from the 1960s onwards that had enormous success and greatly influenced the sport.

Leonine has had success with A24 titles in the German-speaking market, including Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once, which sold more than 380,000 tickets in Germany and Austria, grossing more than $3.2 million.

Germany’s leading independent film distributor Leonine Studios and A24 are partnering to set up joint label A24 | Leonine Studios, which will distribute films in Germany and Austria.

The first films to be released under the new banner are the newly acquired titles “Wizards!” by David Michôd, starring Orlando Bloom, Naomi Scott and Pete Davidson, and Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw,” with Lily James, Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White. Producing alongside A24 are Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Angus Lamont for House Productions. “The Iron Claw” was developed by House Productions, with the support of Access Entertainment and BBC Film.

The new label builds on the companies’ collaboration on multi-Oscar winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which was released by Leonine on April 28, 2022, and garnered more than 380,000 admissions in Germany and Austria.

Leonine and A24 will also work together to create additional benefits for members of...

In the four years since roaring to life, Leonine Studios has reshaped Germany’s film and television landscape, becoming a leading player in Europe’s biggest and most competitive market.

The company is receiving Variety’s International Achievement in Film Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Built by industry veteran Fred Kogel with financing from U.S. private equity group Kkr, Leonine Studios is an entertainment conglomerate that has brought together some of Germany’s most successful production and distribution companies under one roof.

“I always wanted to establish and create a company as a home of talents – the best people in the German business and then internationally – and create a new company for the digital age,” says Kogel, Leonine’s CEO. “That was the reality behind bringing Leonine to life in 2019 as that was the first time that German content could travel the world. That was the rationale.”

“It...

Variety will bestow its International Achievement in Film Award on German production, licensing and distribution company Leonine Studios at a ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

This award is the most prestigious honor Variety can bestow on an international film company or executive, and is designed to spotlight the honoree’s achievements over the past few years.

Steven Gaydos, Executive Vice President, Global Content, Variety, said: “Building on the links to a storied, successful history, Leonine Studios has rapidly established itself in the past few years as one of the world’s leading producers, licensors and distributors of premium movies and series.

“The Leonine Studios name is now known for its brave and highly informed decision-making, as well as its innovation, and its allegiance to high-quality product. In a challenging and complex global entertainment business environment, Leonine is steering a dynamic, creative course that is serving as a...

Multistory Media Bolsters Entertainment Team

ITV Studios label MultiStory Media has bolstered its entertainment team. Simone Haywood has been promoted to Creative Director for MultiStory London, while Jon Cahn has joined as Executive Producer and Zinia Scroggs has been appointed Series Editor. Haywood was previously Head of Factual Entertainment, steering shows such as Scared of the Dark for Channel 4, BBC Three’s Project Icon, Big Flower Fight for Netflix and Come Dine With Me for Channel 4. Reporting to Chief Creative Officer Ana de Moraes, she will work with Ceri Aston, Creative Director at MultiStory North. Cahn most recently worked on the Danny Dyer-hosted, celebrity show Scared of the Dark, with other credits including Channel 4’s Sas: Who Dares Wins and Married at First Sight. Scroggs is currently working on Project Icon with previous credits inlcuding BBC Three’s Glow Up. “Simone is fearless about breaking new ground and...

Exclusive: German doc maker Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion is lining up feature-length projects on former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and another from the UK’s Lucy, the Human Chimp director Alex Parkinson.

Deadline can reveal the Reeperbahn Special Unit 65 producer, which we last week reported had sold to Leonine Studios, is working on The Netanyahu Paradox and Lost at Sea – The Longest Night (working title).

The company has also confirmed a second season of Reeperbahn – Special Unit 65. It is already part-funded, with the award-winning doc series about German cops fighting organized crime in the 1980s moving into the 1990s for a new run.

The news came in a wide-ranging interview with Gebrueder Beetz co-founders Christian and Reinhardt Beetz, in which they discussed how being part of a consolidated group would impact their independent approach and revealed the existence of a deep development fund that will allow them to make up...

Acquisition adds to Munich-based production and distribution group’s collection of labels.

Leonine Studios has acquired a 50 controlling interest in leading German documentary producer Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion.

Gebrueder Beetz’s credits include Academy Award-nominated documentary Open Heart, Sundance-selected docu-thriller The Cleaners, the first German Netflix original A Perfect Crime and Emmy-nominated doc The Hunt for Gaddafi’s Billions.

The company’s latest doc series Reeperbahn – Special Unit 65 – world premieres this week at Filmfest Hamburg.

Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion will remain an independent company and brand within the Leonine Studios, which has the option to acquire the remaining 50 percent of the shares in the company.

Exclusive: Fast-growing European production group Leonine Studios has bought into compatriot Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, the company behind Netflix’s first German docuseries, we’ve learned.

Munich-based Leonine has bought 50 of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. Kg and 100 of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion Lüneburg GmbH, both of which are part of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktiongruppe. An option to acquire the other 50 of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion is included in the transaction, which closed today.

Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion is one of German-speaking Europe’s foremost documentary producers with credits for Netflix’s first German original docu-series, A Perfect Crime, the 2013 Academy Award-nominated Open Heart and The Cleaners, which debuted at Sundance International Film Festival in 2018 and won several awards.

It has made more 250 productions productions and is soon launching Reeperbahn — Special Unit 65, a Ard Mediathek show supported by the German Motion Picture Fund that was awarded best docu-series of the year 2022 at the Berlin Series Festival.

Acquisition/Rebranding

Banijay‘s planned acquisition of Sony Productions Film und Fernseh Produktions GmbH Germany (Sony Pictures Television Germany) from Sony Pictures is now complete. Following customary closing conditions, Banijay Germany has secured 100 stake in the company. The label, founded in 1995, will now operate as Noisy Pictures GmbH, with Astrid Quentell and Mirek Nitsch remaining in leadership positions.

Sony Pictures Television Germany’s successful shows include “Die Höhle der Löwen,” which has been on Vox since 2014; drama-comedy “Der Lehrer,” which has played nine seasons on Rtl and won numerous awards; and Zdf crime series “Heldt.”

Founded in 2018 by Marcus Wolter and Banijay, Banijay Germany now has more than 1,200 employees. Leading titles include “Tatort Dresden, Schlag den Star” (“Beat the Star”), “TV Total,” “Wer wird Millionär?” (“Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”), “Kitchen Impossible,” “The Masked Singer” and “Promi Big Brother” (“Celebrity Big Brother”).

Wolter said: “Sony Pictures in Germany is known for high-quality scripted titles,...

Germany’s Leonine Studios is acquiring Berlin-based Hyperbole Medien.

Effective June 1, Hyperbole will sit next to i&u TV, Madame Zheng Production, Odeon Fiction, Seo Entertainment, W&b Television and Wiedemann & Berg Film in the Leonine production group.

Hyperbole focuses on socially relevant entertainment using a mix of politics and pop culture that targets Generations Y & Z. Its productions include Zdf’s series Germania, which won the Grimme Award and the Golden Camera Digital Awards and ZDFneo’s political entertainment format 13 Fragen (ZDFneo). It also operates German political journalism YouTube channel titled Die Da Oben for Swr/Funk.

Hyperbole’s previous owner Bastian Asdonk will continue as Managing Director. At his side, Christian Meinberger, Chief Digital Officer of Leonine Studios, will join the Hyperbole management team. He manages the creative exchange for digital format development for all Leonine Studios producers and realizes synergies in the production area.

Leonine CEO Fred Kogel said:...

Rebranding

Germany’s Leonine Studios has rebranded its television subsidiary Odeon Entertainment as Madame Zheng Production to reflect its primary focus of “equality and diversity in every aspect of the production business, both in front of and behind the camera.” Tina Wagner, previously producer and executive producer at RedSeven Entertainment, and Nina Etspüler, co-head of entertainment at Leonine Studios, are joining the management team and will lead the company under Wagner’s direction along with Martin Schneider, Odeon Entertainment’s long-standing managing director.

Fred Kogel, CEO and co-head of entertainment at Leonine Studios, said: “Ever since Nina Etspüler joined Leonine in Jan. 2021, we have jointly pursued the goal of establishing a production brand that advocates for equality and diversity in front of and behind the camera, in order to firmly anchor these themes, which are essential for Leonine Studios, in the production market. The entertainment sector in Germany, in particular,...

Exclusive: German major Leonine has rebranded its TV subsidiary Odeon Entertainment as Madame Zheng Production and appointed producer Tina Wagner as Managing Director as part of a restructure.

Madame Zheng, which will continue to specialize in factual/reality TV and documentaries, will be led by Wagner with Leonine’s Co-Head Of Entertainment Nina Etspüler also joining the management alongside Martin Schneider, Odeon Entertainment’s long-standing managing director.

Wagner was previously producer and executive producer of docutainment formats at German outfit RedSeven Entertainment. Her productions include Moms Make Porn, Kiss Bang Love, Five Senses For Love, which was nominated for the German Television Award, as well as Old People’s Home For Four Year-Olds and Married At First Sight, which won the German Television Award.

Nina Etspüler is Co-Head of Entertainment at Leonine Studios and Managing Director of i&u TV and Madame Zheng Production. Previously, she was Group Creative Director of Red Arrow Studios,...

Amazon Prime Video and Germany’s Leonine Studios are expanding their existing partnership with a multi-year license agreement.

Under the deal, Prime Video gets exclusive second window SVOD-rights for a six-month period to upcoming theatrical feature films and home entertainment titles from Leonine’s slate and also includes non-exclusive SVOD rights to titles from Leonine’s content library.

Titles include Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick 4” and its spin-off “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas; Channing Tatum’s directorial debut “Dog”; Roland Emmerich’s “Moonfall,” starring Halle Berry; Nicolas Cage action-comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”; Guillaume Canet’s “Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom,” with Gilles Lellouche, Marion Cotillard, Vincent Cassel and soccer star Zlatan Imbrahimović; Jennifer Lopez starrer “Shotgun Wedding”; and Leonine Studios co-production “The School of Magical Animals 2,” the sequel to Germany’s most successful theatrical release of 2021.

Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel said: “It’s fantastic that we...

Amazon Prime Video has signed an expanded multi-year licensing deal for Germany and Austria with Leonine Studios.

The pact sees Prime Video take exclusive second-window SVOD-rights for a six-month period across Leonine’s theatrical and home entertainment slate. Upcoming titles covered include Moonfall, John Wick: Chapter 4, Ballerina, Dog, and The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent.

Non-exclusive SVOD rights to titles from Leonine’s content library are also part of the deal.

Leonine recently brokered a deal with local broadcaster Sky Deutschland.

Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel said on the agreement: “It’s fantastic that we can expand our long-standing partnership with Prime Video by this agreement and achieve another important milestone for our licensing business with premium content. In addition to our strong production collaboration, which includes series like Fc Bayern – Behind The Legend, The Gryphon and One Mic Stand, Prime Video can now offer its customers the top...

The aim is to raise the profile of work by Belarussian filmmakers living in exile or in fear of persecution.

The European Film Market (EFM) has provided a virtual platform for the recently launched, Vilnius-based Belarussian Filmmakers Network (Bfn) to showcase their work and raise awareness about the situation of independent Belarussian filmmakers who are either forced to live in exile or are facing persecution and repression at home.

The market premieres of Vladimir Kozlov’s coming of age tale Summer of 89, Maxim Shved’s documentary The Route Recalculated, and three animation shorts by Nata Korneyeva (Shirey Mara), Yuri Semashko...

Family sci-fi premiered at Sundance last month.

Est Studios, the fledgling Los Angeles-based finance, production and sales company, has acquired worldwide rights, excluding Vietnam, to Ham Tran’s Sundance title Maika.

The family sci-fi centres on a grieving young boy who encounters a new friend who appears to have come from a falling star. The film is inspired by the 1978 children’s TV show of the same name from the former Czechoslovakia. Bhd Films has Vietnamese rights and has is scheduled a May 27 release.

Producers are Jenni Trang Le, Duy, Anderson Le, Francis Smith and Charlyn Ng, while Quang Binh Nguyen Phan,...

Spanish outfit scooped up rights to Aga Woszczyńska’s Toronto title Silent Land and Ukrainian director Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Reflection.

Spain’s Reverso Films has scooped up rights to Aga Woszczyńska’s Toronto title Silent Land and Ukrainian director Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Reflection, both being sold by Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales at the EFM.

New Europe is also reporting a Romanian pre-sale to Follow Art Distribution for Dorota Kobiela’s hand-painted animated feature. The Peasants. The ambitiousu film will be Kobiela’s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated Loving Vincent.

Meanwhile Japan’s Skouil and the former Yugoslav...

Spanish outfit scooped up rights to Aga Woszczyńska’s Toronto title Silent Land and Ukrainian director Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Reflection.

Spain’s Reverso Films has scooped up rights to Aga Woszczyńska’s Toronto title Silent Land and Ukrainian director Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Reflection, both being sold by Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales at the EFM.

New Europe is also reporting a Romanian pre-sale to Follow Art Distribution for Dorota Kobiela’s hand-painted animated feature. The Peasants. The ambitiousu film will be Kobiela’s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated Loving Vincent.

Meanwhile Japan’s Skouil and the former Yugoslav...

Alexandra Park, Sisi Stringer and Harry Greenwood star.

Arclight Films has acquired international rights, excluding Australia and New Zealand, to Sean Lahiff’s Australian horror thriller Carnifex from the producers of Wolf Creek 2 and is introducing it to buyers at the EFM.

The film, now in post after wrapping its Adelaide shoot, is about an aspiring documentarian and two conservationists who venture into the Outback to record animals displaced by bushfires where they discover a terrifying new species.

Alexandra Park, Sisi Stringer and Harry Greenwood star in Carnifex which is produced by Helen Leake and Gena Ashwell from Adelaide-based Dancing Road Productions,...

Deals close in Germany, Latin America, Australia, more.

Premiere Entertainment Group (Peg) has closed key sales on action thriller Commando, starring Mickey Rourke and Michael Jai White.

Deals have been done for Germany (Tiberius), Latin America (California Filmes), Australia (Rialto), Japan (New Select) and Scandinavia (Scanbox).

Asif Akbar directed the film, which Peg also produced, in which White plays a DEA agent who returns with Ptsd after a botched mission, He has to protect his family from a home invasion when a recenty released convict (Rourke) and his henchmen come after their stash of millions hidden inside the agent’s home.

Romantic comedy ‘Marry Me’ and Oscar-nominated ‘Flee’ among other titles set for release.

All-star murder mystery Death On The Nile leads the new openers at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, which will also see a wide release for action thriller Uncharted, starring Tom Holland.

Released by the Walt Disney Studios, Death On The Nile opens in a hefty 718 sites – the widest release since October 2020, when James Bond blockbuster No Time To Die opened in a record 772 cinemas.

The Agatha Christie adaptation is a follow-up to Murder On The Orient Express, which opened on 624 sites and took £4.98m across its...

Cross Creek fully financing.

Jean-Claude Van Damme will star in Cross Creek’s EFM sales title What’s My Name? which Wild Bunch International and CAA Media Finance have introduced to market buyers.

The film is described as the most ambitious and personal film from martial arts screen legend Van Damme, whose credits include Double Impact, Kickboxer and Universal Soldier, and his “final and epic farewell to fighting”.

Jeremy Zag directs and Tyler Thompson will produce for Cross Creek alongside Zag and Van Damme. Cross Creek is fully financing the film, in which the “Muscles from Brussels” plays himself.

When...

As the physical edition of the Berlin Film Festival kicks off today and with the virtual edition of the European Film Market well underway, a number of key talking points such as Covid, the uncertainty of the theatrical sector and satisfying the demand for streaming platforms are likely to be hot button topics amongst buyers and sellers alike.

While the volume of business in what is looking like a rather compact market remains to be seen (with a host of sales agents admitting it’s harder to create buzz around titles at a virtual market rather than a physical one), there’s a few packages out there likely to whet the appetite of international buyers.

But before the deal-making commences, Deadline asked some of Germany’s major players in the film world to give us a sense of the lay of the land in their territory at the moment, highlighting...

Latest edition previews this year’s Berlinale and features an in-depth interview with Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel.

Screen’s February 2022 edition previews this year’s Berlinale, with profiles of the festival line-up and analysis of the virtual European Film Market. Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel is the subject of our centrepiece interview, and we also focus on bullying in the UK film and TV industry.

Click here to read the digital edition

Read Screen’s other digital editions...

Munich-based Leonine Studios has taken all rights to ohn Wick: Chapter 4 spin-off Ballerina with Ana de Armas.

Leonine Studios has secured German and Austrian rights to a slate of upcoming Lionsgate features.

Munich-based Leonine Studios has taken all rights to Chad Stahleski’s John Wick: Chapter 4 starring Keanu Reeves, and John Wick spin-off Ballerina starring No Time to Die’s Ana de Armas.

Also included in the deal are: culture-clash comedy About My Father starring stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco alongside Robert De Niro; the action thriller Shadow Force with Kerry Washington; the untitled new comedy from director Adele Lim...

Leonine And Lionsgate Strike Germany/Austria Film Deal

Leonine Studios has extended its relationship with Lionsgate by securing the rights to a premium feature film slate for Germany and Austria. The blockbuster deal incorporates high-profile titles for the region such as Keanu Reeves’ John Wick: Chapter 4, the Ana De Armas-starring Ballerina, Sebastian Maniscalco’s About My Father, Kerry Washington’s Shadow Force and a new comedy from Crazy Rich Asian’s Adele Lim. “All the films we release in cooperation with Lionsgate are made for the big screen,” said Leonine CEO Fred Kogel. “We’re delighted to be able to offer this excellent new slate of high-profile titles to both audiences and our licensing partners alike.” Lionsgate International President Helen Lee-Kim praised Leonine for “building a world-class content and distribution studio.”

Channel 4 Goes Big On ‘Married At First Sight UK’

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has agreed a two-series deal...

Leonine Studios has secured all German and Austrian rights for Lionsgate’s upcoming film slate, including Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick 4” and its spin-off “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas.

The deal, which extends Lionsgate’s existing relationship with Leonine, also includes culture-clash comedy “About My Father” from stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco (“The Irishman”) starring opposite Oscar-winner Robert De Niro (“Meet The Parents”); action thriller “Shadow Force” with Kerry Washington (“Django Unchained”); the untitled new comedy from director Adele Lim starring Tony winning actor Ashley Park (“Emily in Paris”); gamer comedy “1Up” with Ruby Rose (“Batwoman”); and horror-thriller “Dear David,” centering on the urban legend that had its origins on the Twitter channel of Adam Ellis, starring Augustus Prew (“The Morning Show”) in the lead.

Fred Kogel, CEO of Leonine Studios, said: “We are thrilled to extend our strong partnership with our friends at Lionsgate with this tremendous feature film slate. Leonine Studios stands for premium content.

Fremantle Media distribution exec Caroline Kusser has joined Mediawan and Leonine Studios as Executive Vice President, International Co-Production.

The high-profile exec will be responsible for all TV co-production activities for the newly-merged Call My Agent and Dark outfit, managing and co-ordinating shows across more than 60 production companies as the firm pushes through its acquisition of Doctor Foster producer Drama Republic.

Starting earlier this month, she is also driving the development of Leonine Studios’ global distribution from the newly-opened LA office and has taken on the additional role of Leonine Studios EVP World Sales.

At Fremantle, Kusser was involved in closing co-production deals with Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, Starz and Nat Geo. Prior to this she worked for 10 years in the U.S. for Red Arrow International, rising to Senior Vice President. She also established distribution outfit Carokusser.

“Caroline is an expert with an excellent network and the ideal person for our...

German production house and distributor Leonine Studios has signed an expanded partnership with local broadcaster Sky Deutschland.

The multi-year license deal sees Sky acquire exclusive first pay-tv rights and SVOD rights in Germany for a period of 12 months to upcoming titles from Leonine Studios, as well as a number of films from the company’s library.

The pact commences with Leonine films that have their theatrical releases from January 1, 2022, including the recently rolled out all-star spy pic The 355, as well as the upcoming Roland Emmerich disaster movie Moonfall, Dog starring Channing Tatum, Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune, and the Jennifer Lopez starrer Shotgun Wedding. It also includes German pics such as Alireza Golafshan’s Jga and The School Of Magical Animals 2, the sequel to Germany’s most successful theatrical release of 2021 with more than 1.5 million admissions.

Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel said of the deal: “We’re delighted that we...

Roland Emmerich’s upcoming “Moonfall” and Simon Kinberg’s current release “The 355” are part of a multi-year licensing agreement between German independent content house Leonine Studios and Sky Deutschland.

Under the terms of the deal, Sky Deutschland secures exclusive first pay TV rights and the exclusive SVOD rights for a period of 12 months to the upcoming theatrical feature films and home entertainment titles from Leonine Studios’ premium content line-up.

The multi-year license agreement also includes Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune,” Reid Carolin’s and Channing Tatum’s “Dog,” and Jennifer Lopez starrer “Shotgun Wedding.” Included in the deal are two upcoming German films – Leonine co-production “The School of Magical Animals 2,” the sequel to Germany’s most successful theatrical release 2021 of with more than 1.5 million admissions, and the upcoming comedy “Jga,” the second film by award-winning director Alireza Golafshan from Leonine’s production banner Wiedemann & Berg Film.

The deal also...