Gwendoline Christie Boards German Drama ‘Black Gold‘
Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie, Marton Csokas (The Luminaries) and Merlin Sandmeyer (Die Discounter) have joined the cast of German-language oil town drama Black Gold. Joining them are two-time Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer, who will compose the score alongside violinist Aleksey Igudesman. Christie and Csokas play English prospectors Emma and Tyler Robertson, who come to a quiet village near Lüneburg Heath after oil fields are discovered. The oil rush threatens to tear the town apart as the wealthy Pape family seek the claim the fields from the Lamberts, a family of farmers whose lives have been transformed by the discovery. Above is a first look at Christie and Csokas. They are joining Harriet Herbig-Matten (Maxton Hall), Aaron Hilmer (All Quiet on the Western Front), Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones), Lena Urzendowsky (How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)), Jessica Schwarz (The Canoe of Manitu), Henny Reents (North by Northwest), Slavko Popadić (Krank Berlin) and Liliom Lewald (Oderbruch) in the cast. Fifth Season has boarded for international sales rights, with Germany’s NDR and ARD the commissioners. It comes from the UK’s FilmNation Entertainment, which is new to the set up, and Kinescope Film, part of the Swiss Studios development and production group. 4film and Hero Square also provide exec producers on the six-part show, which is from Justin Koch, who also serves as head writer. Several regional German funds and the Hungarian National Film Office are financially supporting production. We revealed news of Black Gold in an interview with Swiss Studios CEO Malte Probst last year.
BBC Appoints Drama Development Boss
BBC Drama has officially appointed Bradley Down as its Head of Development. He has been in situ in an acting capacity for the past six months following Sami El-Hadi’s move to Baby Reindeer prodcuer Clerkenwell Films. Prior to that, he was a commissioning editor on shows such as EastEnders, Cheaters and Just Act Normal. He is currently working on drama Open Water and Honey. Before the BBC, Down held roles at Complete Fiction Pictures and Big Talk Studios. “Brad has been an outstanding asset to BBC Drama since he joined and a real joy to work with,” said Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama. “Brad’s all about backing brave and entertaining work full of purpose and surprise, so he’ll be a great support and champion for producers and talent.”
Cyber Thriller ‘Phish_’ Underway In Amsterdam
EXCLUSIVE: Dutch director Thijs Meuwese (Molly) is underway in Amsterdam on cyber thriller Phish_, which will star Aliona Baranova (ITV’s Maternal). Set in the hacking world, Meuwese is directing from a script he wrote with Lawant. Maurice Schutte (The Occupant) serves as producer. The synopsis reads: “An ethical hacker (Baranova) sticks up for a friend who fell victim to a phishing scam, but finds herself descending into paranoia as she gets caught up in a risky game of cat and mouse with a dangerous blackhat cyber criminal.” Above is a first look image. Baranova is repped by Citizen Skull Management in the U.S. and International Artists Management in the UK.
‘Ghosts Australia’ Producer Joins Australia’s Typecast
Australian producer Typecast has hired Ghosts Australia exec Christopher Kam as Head of Development. Kam will oversee the Indigenous content specialist’s slate and exec-produce select projects. He has worked across international film and TV for 15 years, and between 2023 and 2024 was development producer at BBC Studios ANZ, where he worked on Ghosts, Paramount+ Australia’s version of the UK and U.S. hit sitcom. Before that, he spent nine years at UK indie Eleventh Hour Films, and also served as Director of Scripted Development at NBCUniversal International Studios, where he worked as a studio exec on Prime Video’s Hanna and the BBC’s The Capture, and a script editor on The Long Song. “We’re over the moon that Christopher has decided to join Typecast,” said Tony Briggs, company director of Typecast. “He brings a level of skill and expertise to our team that will help take our business to the next level.
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