‘Boyzone,’ Series Charting the Cost of Celebrity, at Sky Documentaries

BOYS WILL BE BOYZ

Sky Documentaries has unveiled plans for “Boyzone,” a three-part documentary series that will examine the trials and tribulations of Irish boyband and 1990s pop sensation Boyzone.

“For the first time in 30 years, band members Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Michael Graham grant rare and exclusive interview access [..] revealing their personal experiences in a band that sold over 25 million records worldwide, the boys also talk candidly about how they grappled with the true cost of global fame,” Sky said. “They confront the strained relationships and tragic events that have had a lasting impact on all their lives, families and friendships.”

“The documentary examines the key events that shaped Boyzone, including the highs and lows of global stardom, the intense tabloid intrusion in 1990’s Britain forcing Stephen Gately to come out, and after a sensational comeback in 2007, a devastating tragedy struck the band, as Gately died.” 

The series is a Curious Films production, commissioned for Sky Documentaries by Poppy Dixon, director of documentaries and factual, and Tom Barry, commissioning editor. Executive producers for Sky are Tom Barry and Hayley Reynolds, acting director of documentaries and factual. It is directed by Sophie Oliver and executive produced by Dov Freedman and Charlie Russell.

BUSAN JURY

Exiled Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been set as the head of the jury for the new currents competition section at October’s Busan International Film Festival. His works include “A Man of Integrity” (2017), “There Is No Evil” (2020) and the recent “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which he presented this year in Cannes after escaping from Iran. Rasoulof served a prison sentence in 2022 for criticizing the government and was then sentenced to a further eight years of jail.

Others on the jury include Korean film director Lee Myung-se, Chinese woman actor Zhou Dongyu (“Soul Mate,” “Better Days”), Indian woman actor Kani Kusruti (“Biriyaani” and 2024 Sundance audience award-winner “Girls Will Be Girls”) and Vanya Kaludjercic, festival director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

The New Currents section is for first and second-time Asian features. The jury will select two winners which each receive $30,000 prizes.

SCREENWRITERS’ SOIREE SELECTS SIX

India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) has chosen six projects for its 17th annual Screenwriters’ Lab. Selected projects include Aakash Chhabra’s “I’ll Smile in September,” which previously participated at the 2023 Busan Asian Project Market, following a brass band player’s quest to recover from heartbreak; and Triparna Maiti’s “Mangal – The Holy Beast,” chronicling an elephant’s journey from captivity to deity status, which participated at the Annecy MIFA Pitch earlier this year and is headed to the 2024 Busan Asian Project Market.

The other chosen projects are Anuritta K. Jha’s “Hawa Mithai,” about a village boy’s fantastical journey to eat the Sun; Anam Danish’s “Kalaa Kaali,” exploring a family’s generational curse; Uddhav Ghosh’s “Konyak,” depicting tribal warfare in Nagaland; and Piyush Srivastava’s “Piyush Ki Toh…Nikal Padi,” a comedy about a man hiding his bedwetting problem from his in-laws.

The three-part program, running for five months, pairs writers with mentors including Marten Rabarts, Claire Dobbin and Ritesh Shah. Projects will be pitched to producers and investors at Film Bazaar at Goa, India in November.

CULINARY BATTLE

Netflix has set Sept. 17 as the premiere date for its “Culinary Class Wars,” a Korean unscripted series that brings together 100 chefs in a kitchen battle. It features “black spoon” hidden masters — home-meal restaurant chefs, trendy pub owners, and more — who go head-to-head against Korea’s top “white spoon” star chefs, such as Michelin-starred chefs, culinary survival show winners, and those who have made history in the culinary world. The show features two legendary judges: Paik Jong-won, Korea’s top restaurateur and national culinary mentor, and Anh Sung-jae of Mosu Seoul, Korea’s only three-star Michelin restaurant.

The show is directed by Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji, written by Mo Eun-sol and is produced by Studio Slam.

ADELAIDE ANNOUCEMENT

The Adelaide Film Festival has announced the first six films which will screen at the festival in October, including the world premiere of “The Correspondent” as the event’s opening film on Oct. 23. “The Correspondent,” directed by Kriv Stenders, stars Richard Roxburgh as Australian war correspondent Peter Greste who was arrested and jailed in Cairo, Egypt in 2013, while working for broadcaster Al Jazeera.

The other five titles are “All We Imagine as Light,” Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix-winner; Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch,” with Amy Adams; the world premiere of Shalom Almond’s “Songs Inside,” with music from inside a prison; Apple Original film “Blitz,” directed by Steve McQueen; and Zak Hilditch’s horror title “We Bury the Dead.” The festival runs Oct. 23 – Nov. 3.

DOT PLOT

Kim Dotcom, the founder file-sharing platform Megaupload, is to be extradited to the U.S., on charges of fraud and copyright infringement, risking a prison sentence of several decades, it was announced recently.

Dotcom is the subject of a six-part narrative series “The Kim Dotcom Story,” written by British author James Payne (“The Window,” “Mr Selfridge,” “Hooten & The Lady”) which is now heading into at casting stage. The series is a co-production of ZDF Studios and Boogie Entertainment with Robert Franke, VP drama at ZDF Studios, and Rolant Hergert, producer and founder of Boogie Entertainment, as executive producers.

“In the autumn, we will be working with our New Zealand partners to further develop the cast and secure locations in Auckland and the surrounding area, including Dotcom’s spectacular estate,” said producer Rolant Hergert. It is set for completion in 2025.

TIGER APP

Asian TV channels operator, Celestial Tiger Entertainment has launched new Chinese Movie subscription streaming app, CMGO, in Singapore. It debuted with both major platforms, Singtel and StarHub and cost S$6.98 per month.

CMGO offers a curation of the best movies from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. New and exclusive movies to catch on CMGO include Andy Lau-starring “I Did It My Way,” Aaron Kwok’s latest action comedy “Rob n Roll” and “The Goldfinger,” starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Hong Kong blockbuster “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” will also be on CMGO later this year.