Dakota Johnson To Receive Zurich’s Golden Eye
The Zurich Film Festival will fete Dakota Johnson with its Golden Eye award for career achievement. Johnson will accept the award live on opening night and present her 2025 feature Splitsville. In Splitsville, Johnson plays the character Julie. When her friend Ashley (Adria Arjona) tells her husband Carey (Kyle Marvin) that she wants a divorce, he seeks comfort from Julie and Paul (Michael Angelo Covino). The couple shares their secret to a happy marriage: an open relationship. Michael Angelo Covino directed Splitsville. Zurich runs from September 25 to October 5. Johnson could recently be seen in Celine Song’s The Materialists.
‘The Way You Dance‘ Heads To TIFF For Sales
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EXCLUSIVE: As the cameras are set to roll on September 22, 2025, in the greater Vancouver and Langley areas of Canada, dramedy The Way You Dance has added 2025 Canadian Screen Award winner Josette Jorge (Ruby And The Well). Pic tells the story of a dancer (Kyle Toy) returning home to care for his estranged father (Tzi Ma) with terminal cancer and finding redemption, healing, and purpose by mentoring a diverse community dance class – including a transgender teen struggling to live authentically. The dance-driven dramedy feature, written and directed by Quentin Lee, and produced by 2024 Canadian Screen Award winners Cindy Au Yeung and Lee, and Alan Chu and Kevin Huie through BC-based Margin Films, is executive-produced by Jennifer Price and Colette Johnson. Price is selling the movie at TIFF, along with The Unlucky, which is set to star Mortal Kombat actor Ludy Lin.
BBC Studios & ITV Studios Pledge To “Solve Challenges” Around “Broken Turnaround“
BBC Studios and ITV Studios will seek to “exchange ideas and contribute to solving the challenges” around eliminating “broken turnaround” following a rare meeting between the two big players, Bectu, Pact and the body that represents UK agents. “Broken turnaround” refers to the practice of crew being required by their employer to return to work within less than 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period. Bectu and Pact have called it a scourge and pledged to try and eliminate the problem. At the “positive and constructive” meeting, “the parties agreed that commissioners need to actively engage with these issues to help alleviate the pressure on resourcing productions and eventually eliminate ‘broken turnaround’,” the group said. The PMA, which represents agents, will soon be putting forward suggestions on best practice in the space. Bectu research from earlier this year found that around 40% of UK film and TV crew were frequently being asked to “break turnaround.” This followed research from Bectu and Timewise that predicted production costs would rise by just 4% if the industry reduced its standard working day by two hours. At the time, the BBC said it was “considering” the findings and whether to implement them in some form.
Amazon MX Player Bags 18 CJ Dramas
Amazon MX Player has acquired 18 drama series from Korea’s CJ ENM. The Indian free streamer will begin rolling out the shows on September 8 with Lovely Runner, a K-pop romance drama that launched recently. Following that, the likes of My Lovely Liar, Twinkling Watermelon, Wedding Impossible and Delightfully Deceitful will follow over four quarters. All titles will be dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. “The demand for global content, especially Korean dramas, has grown exponentially in India,” said Amogh Dusad, Director and Head of Content, Amazon MX Player. “Through this partnership, we’re bringing 18 premium K-dramas — including recent blockbusters — to Indian audiences on AVOD, many of them for the very first time. With international stories now available in localized languages, we’re excited to make these compelling shows accessible to viewers completely free.”
Thai Media Fund Partners Signs MOU With True CJ
The Thai Media Fund has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Thai-based studio True CJ Creations Co. Ltd to promote the development of media professionals and producers. Under the agreement, the studio will also be able to develop content created through CJ ENM’s “OPEN” screenwriting program. The signing ceremony took place at the office of the Thai Media Fund, and signed by Dhanakorn Srisooksai, CEO of the Thai Media Fund; Michael Jung and Ari Arijitsatien, co-CEOs of True CJ Creations; and Chamnan Ngammaneeudom, Deputy CEO of Thai Media Fund. True CJ Creations is the joint venture formed between Thai communications and television company True Corporation and South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM. In June this year, True CJ signed a new licensing partnership with regional arm CJ ENM HK to bring Korean IP remakes to Latin America and several Asian markets, including Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
BBC Content Boss Lands National Film Television School Role
BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips has joined the board of governors of the National Film and Television School (NFTS). Phillips’ predecessor Charlotte Moore has served as an NFTS governor since 2022 and will continue in her new post working for Sony and Left Bank. Phillips took on her new BBC role over the summer and is now effectively the most powerful commissioner in British broadcasting. She previously created and ran the BBC’s Future Formats, which trained new talent to develop and pitch TV formats. NFTS Chair Sophie Turner Laing said: “Kate will be a valuable addition to the NFTS Board of Governors and we feel extremely fortunate to have access to her sound judgement and expertise. As we continue working to keep the NFTS a world leading home for training the next generation of behind-the-scenes talent, Kate’s input will be vital to our ambitions for the future.”