‘Ne Zha 2’ & London Book Fair: International Insider

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here delivering your weekly bulletin. Read on. And if you’re not signed up, then do so here.

Seeking The Next Big Adaptation

Leafing through the shelves: Experts say around half of what we see on TV is the result of an adapted novel or news article, and the next big adaptation project could have been brewing in the great halls of the London Olympia this week. We were down at the London Book Fair checking things out, keeping ears to the ground of an ever buzzy market that is, nonetheless, experiencing its fair share of hardship. In our primer from Monday, Jesse and I wrote about cautious optimism in the books-to-screen market, with one agent positing that in times of economic volatility big IP wins out. But there was a question as to how many big deals would actually get done, especially considering a number of big-budget adaptations like the BBC’s Shuggie Bain are currently stuck in budgetary limbo. On the ground, in the enormous Olympia, a certain malaise had set in over the dominance of the ‘romantasy’ genre, with giant billboards advertising the next big ‘romantasy’ hit above all others. Driven by the ever-popular ‘Booktok’ corner of TikTok, producers fear that the genre is not a natural fit for adaptation, given how much it costs to build these worlds. Publishers, meanwhile, say the genre represents the lowest common denominator in a market desperate for a bit more literary fiction. “We need our Baby Reindeer moment,” said one attendee, as she wished for a breakout novel with the raw originality of the award-winning Netflix hit. Yet there were still, of course, plenty splashy novels to discuss. Check out our rundown of the seven buzzy book-to-screen potentials to read more about Adam Kay’s debut, the latest from The Night Agent creator Matthew Quirk and a WME-repped book billed as Emily in Paris meets The Bear. Soon coming to a screen near you?

‘Ne Zha 2‘ Breaks Records

Swell of nationalist pride: This week the Chinese animated megahit Ne Zha 2 became the first non-Hollywood movie to cross $2B worldwide. Let that sink in. It’s only the sixth title to do so in history. The story behind the film is unusual but there are several noteworthy factors contributing to its success. Firstly, the film is a sequel. The first movie in the franchise was previously the highest-grossing animated film in China at nearly $700M. The sequel was also released during the highly lucrative Lunar New Year period in China, so all signs were pointing towards record box office takings, although perhaps not by this much. Our resident box office expert Nancy theorized earlier this week that a swell of nationalist pride, which included some local companies giving their staff the day off to see the film, ultimately pushed the pic over the edge. The film has now locked a UK and European release through Trinity CineAsia, starting March 14. “At base, any movie that does well is considered a positive for the industry, and while studio executives we’ve spoken with are gobsmacked by Ne Zha 2’s success, they remain cautious about its true global (read: Hollywood) impact,” Nancy writes. Let’s see if Ne Zha 2 can replicate some of its local heat over here. And in case you’re curious, check out our rundown of the top-grossing animated movies of all time.

SXSW Turns Green

Pot of gold: Huge stars of the big and small screens have been in Austin, Texas this week for SXSW but one person whose attendance may be a bit more surprising was Irish Prime Minister (or Taoiseach) Michael Martin. Anthony D’Alessandro reports that Michael rocked up Monday alongside Cinetic CEO John Sloss, The Astronaut filmmaker Jess Varley and Irish producer Tristan Orpen Lynch to share the great experience of not only shooting in the country of leas and cliffs, but also the extremely competitive tax credit. When Ireland’s world-beating tax rebate is placed under the microscope, it perhaps becomes less surprising that Michael took a break from domestic diplomacy to journey down to Austin. Ireland’s tax credit, which will soon rise to 40% on eligible Irish expenditures based on 80% of a pic’s budget, is the envy of the world, especially given the fact it pays 90% upfront to a film or TV series’ budget – crucial in times of economic volatility. Michael and co talked a packed panel session through a few recent examples (pictured above). While producers pondering where to set their next movie will surely be tempted, this does come at a time when those in Hollywood especially are desperate to bring production back to home shores. How things develop will be fascinating. After SXSW, Michael Martin journeyed to the White House for a meeting with the POTUS. For all our SXSW coverage from the team in Texas, have a gander over here.

Italian TV Market

“Updated incarnation”: There’s a new TV fest in town, and judging by the first tranche of guests this should be a splashy one. Unveiled at a press conference in Rome yesterday, the Italian Global Series Festival is described as an “updated incarnation” of the now-defunct Roma Fiction Festival, and will take place in June in Rimini and Riccione. On board from day dot are jury member Bille August, the two-time Palme d’Or winning Danish auteur, and Paolo Genovese (Perfect Strangers), while early awards winners include Evangeline Lilly, Adjoa Andoh and Godmother’s Elena Sofia Ricci. Not bad eh? The fest will feature the usual combo of screenings, awards, masterclasses and (hopefully) shindigs. TV markets have very much become a year-round business and the IGSF launches at a particularly busy time in the weeks that events like Seriencamp, NEM and Monte Carlo are taking place. But organizers were bullish that the IGSF can carve its way into the calendar. “IGSF aims to soon become a point of reference and a meeting place for the national and international industry,” proclaimed artistic director Marco Spagnoli. In other festival-related news, Kaleem Aftab is stepping down as Director of International Programming at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival. The film writer, critic, programmer and moderator has been part of the festival programming team since its inaugural edition in 2001, when there was still a lot of skepticism and pushback in the wider film world about the event.

Subverting Hollywood Under Communism

Familiar Strangers: Anyone around Coal Drops Yard in London over the coming weeks could do worse than check out this fascinating exhibition set out by Deadline pictures guru Rob Lang in our latest gallery. Rob had the skinny on the The Familiar Strangers Outdoor Polish Film Poster Exhibition, which unveils how Polish artists reinterpreted American and UK cinema while navigating the harsh realities of Communist and post-Soviet Poland. Fair to say my ‘history nerd radar’ is tingling. The exhibition, which includes subversive posters of Cabaret, The Shinning, or Tootsie (Rob writes that you’ll never look at these movies the same way again), runs for the next few weeks and is connected with the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival. Cancel all your weekend plans and check out a sneak peek over here.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Rachel Zegler, star of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, will make her London theater debut as Eva Perón in an Evita revival.

🌶️ Another: See-Saw Films is plotting an English-language remake of Yehuda Levi-starring Israeli spy series Trust No One.

🌶️ More spice: Kate Beckinsale and Lewis Tan are underway in the UK on under-the-radar action-thriller Lioness.

🏪 Setting up shop: Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow has launched Invada Films and wrapped his first movie.

🎭 New series: PBS Masterpiece’s The Forsytes has been greenlit for a second season before the first has even aired, while Channel 5 has taken for UK.

🎤 The big interview: Hong Kong Filmart director Jacob Wong told Sara about Asia’s animation boom and his support for sophomore features.

🏕️ Festivals latest: San Diego Comic-Con is expanding to Spain.

🍿 Box office: Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 had topped $50M global last weekend.

🕯️ RIP: Athol Fugard, iconic South African playwright whose book Tsotsi was turned into an Oscar-winning movie.

🎥 Trail: For Black Mirror Season 7 – lose your mind and your realities.

This week’s International Insider was written by Max Goldbart and edited by Stewart Clarke. Zac Ntim contributed.