Film Factory ink deal flurry on 'End'

MADRID -- Telemarketer Film Factory Ing. has struck a flurry of deals on first-time The spanish language helmer Jorge Torregrossa's thriller "Fin" (The Finish). France's Seven Sept and flicks Distribution have collectively acquired French distribution privileges. Nettai Museum closed Japan Quality Films required Mexico. A lot more than 15 areas were inked off last month's European Film Market in Berlin, where Film Factory demonstrated purchasers a 3-minute promo. Pic also offered to concentrate Cultural Media in China, Paradiso (Benelux), Frenetic (Europe), Premier Film (CIS and also the Baltics) and Ares Film (Poultry). A mountain cabin chiller with fantasy elements, "Finish" verifies the worldwide market appetite for greater-profile foreign-language genre movies from companies with bullish records. Created by three of Spain's top worldwide film production companies, Apaches Ing. ("The Impossible"), Mod Prods ("Biutiful") and Antena 3 Films ("Red-colored Lights"), pic is composed by "Cell 211" scribe Jorge Guerricaechevarria and Sergio G. Sanchez ("The Orphanage"). Further sales include Cineplex for Colombia and Guatemala, Cines Unidos in Venezuela and Delta Films in Peru. Film Factory has additionally licensed Latin American pay TV privileges to Leda Films and it is in advanced discussions for that U.K. and Germany, based on Film Factory founder Vicente Canales. The new sony Pictures will release "Finish" in The spanish language theaters on August. 31. Maribel Verdu ("Pan's Labyrinth"), Daniel Grao ("Julia's Eyes") and Clara Lago ("Primos") star. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Spanish TV ads dive 9.5% in 2011

MADRID -- In its worst result for years, Spanish TV advertising revenues plunged 9.5% to 2.2 billion ($3.0 billion) in 2011, vs. 2010, according to a report by Madrid consultancy InfoAdex. The slide won't stop. TV advertising market will plummet about 5% more in 2012, said an analyst. This dire degradation will trickle-down to both film and TV production -- very likely prompting broadcasters to turn ever more to low-cost and cost-effective imports. Encompassing movie theaters, press, radio and TV, Spain's total ad market tumbled 6.5% to $15.8 billion in 2011, the lowest result since 2003. Worst hit of TV operators were Spain's regional pubcasters. Their ad revs dived almost 30% after some lost flagship slots such as Formula One sportscasts in drastic austerity measures. After anti-trust diktats forbade their advertising to be sold by Spain's big broadcasters, Spain's smaller DTT channels also lost ad clout: one, Veo 7, owned by Italy's RCS Media Group, suffered a 48% ad rev crash to $16.6 million in 2011. Mediaset Espana and Antena 3, Spain's biggest broadcasting groups, punched profits last year, of $148.1 million and $125.2 million respectively. But their ad revs were down, 12% at Mediaset Espana to $1.3 billion. Given the two are obliged to invest 3% of annual sales into Spain's film production, both will be funneling less coin this year. Broadcasters are subjecting original shows' profitability to intense scrutiny. For cash-strapped operations, low cost imports will increasingly prove more attractive, one analyst said. Emiliano de Pablos contributed to this report. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Ridley Scott Can Have Japan Per Day

He'll make the new crowdsourced docFollowing on from the prosperity of Existence Per Day, Ridley and Tony Scott have made the decision to show the format right into a franchise, featuring two times the amount of explosions along with a different situation for Sigourney Weaver to... Okay, so they have really just became a member of forces with Fuji TV to capture a Japan Per Day, that will concentrate on March 11.Your day is important since the earthquake and tsunami struck this past year on that date. Scott Free's plan's to provide out 200 cameras to individuals within the most heavily impacted areas and also have them, just like Existence, document one 24-hour period beginning at night time. The very best footage will be edited together and coupled with Fuji TV's coverage to produce a new documentary feature.Director Kevin Macdonald oversaw Existence Per Day, there is however not sure yet on who definitely are helping obtain the Japanese project fit. While Ridley Scott is again serving as executive producer, we doubt he'll possess the time for you to be completely hands-on, considering that he's finishing and promotingPrometheus and planning to shoot Cormac McCarthy script The Counsellor alongside developing roughly 72,000 other projects.Have a gander in the Japan Per Day trailer below.

Tom Hollander Joins Invisible Woman

Ralph Fiennes' Dickens biopic The Charles Dickens bi-centenary continues to fling interesting projects at us, like Mr Smallweed hurling cushions at his wife. Along with BBC and BFI seasons and Mike Newell's Great Expectations, Ralph Fiennes is directing The Invisible Woman, in which he'll also play the author. Just revealed to be joining him is Tom Hollander, who'll be playing Dickens' friend and frequent collaborator Wilkie Collins.Calling The Invisible Woman a "Dickens biopic" is useful shorthand, but it also ironically plays into exactly what the the book and the film are about: Dickens' secret mistress Ellen "Nelly" Ternan, and her airbrushing from his official history.Ternan was a theatre actress (a year younger than Dickens' eldest daughter) with whom Dickens conducted an affair for the last thirteen years of his life. As a member of a less-than-respected profession, Nelly's social position was negligible, and Dickens went to inordinate lengths to keep the relationship out of the public eye. Exposure as Dickens' mistress would have brought the actress utter disgrace and ruin during his lifetime, but she did achieve some status after Dickens' death, despite their relationship having by then come to light.Expect a colourful depiction of the world of the Victorian theatre, masking an excoriating view of nineteenth-century social mores. Felicity Jones is playing Nelly, with Kristin Scott Thomas as Dickens' long-suffering wife Catherine. Holland, as we said, is Wilkie Collins, most famous as the author of The Moonstone and The Woman In White, but also a prolific playwrite. He co-authored The Frozen Deep with Dickens, and it was that fateful production on which Dickens and Nelly first met.The screenplay is by Shame's writer Abi Morgan, and it's based on Claire Tomalin's book, first published in 1991. Shooting starts in April.The Invisible Woman is available in paperback from Penguin, and Tomalin's more recent Charles Dickens: A Life is currently still only in hardcover from Viking.

'Saturday Evening Live's' Abby Elliott Nabs Lead in Fox Comedy Pilot

"Saturday Evening Live" may be losing Abby Elliott.The actress remains attracted onto star in "Ben Fox Is My Manny," the Fox comedy pilot from "Couples Retreat" scribe Dana Fox, a studio repetition has confirmed to "The Hollywood Reporter."Inside the project Elliott would play just one mother who'll have an assist from her brother who moves together with her in the bid to help her raise her baby. The title character is known to love a elevated version of Fox's brother, Ben Fox.The writer, whose credits include "What Continues in Vegas" and Adult Swim's "Children's Hospital," is repped by WME and Anonymous Content.Should "Ben Fox" obtain a series order, Elliott would depart Lorne Michaels' NBC late-evening sketch series for the primetime slot at Fox.Elliott, who grew to become part of "SNL" in 2008, is much better known on "SNL" on her behalf impersonations of Jennifer Aniston, "Glee's" Jum Michele and "New Girl's" Zooey Deschanel.She joins the formerly cast Maggie Manley and Echo Kellum inside the single-camera project from 20th Television and Chernin Entertainment. The Hollywood Reporter

CBS sees Q4 profit hike, Netflix pact

Ted Danson in "CSI" CBS is in talks to produce an original series for Netflix as it expands its content business, moving beyond selling the streaming service its old series.CBS chief exec Leslie Moonves didn't provide details of the new show. But the Eye's willingness to produce content for Netflix is proof that Moonves doesn't see Netflix as a rival to CBS. "Unless they are doing 22 hours a week of premium content, we don't look at them as a competitor," he said.Streaming licensing pacts with Netflix and other outlets plumped up CBS profits last quarter even as revenue dipped in part on lower political advertising. But that will change fast as the primaries heat up, he promised during a conference call Wednesday to talk about earnings. CBS is "looking forward to a lot of nastiness on both sides" to fill its coffers, Moonves said. "They're talking about the number $2 billion. Generally speaking, we get 9%-10%. That's generally the ballpark," he said. That was the figure spent for local broadcast spots in the political 2008 cycle. Moonves sees it flowing amply to radio as well as TV.CBS Corp. profit rose 30% last quarter to $370 million. Execs promised that existing output agreements with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus and new ones would keep the coin flowing year after year.Revenue slid to $3.78 billion in the fourth quarter from $3.9 billion on tough comparisons from the year before, which included second-cycle syndication sale of "CSI."The entertainment division -- comprised of CBS, CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios Intl., CBS Television Distribution, CBS Films, and CBS Interactive -- saw revenue ease 1% to $1.9 billion. Advertising revenue was flat.But operating income rose to 31% to $275 million on streaming deals, retransmission pacts and lower costs.Execs said scatter prices are up in mid-teens from last year's upfront and major categories are rebounding led by automotive. CBS has sounded the most upbeat among big media companies so far on the state of the ad market after a dour fourth quarter. "Because of our ratings we are commanding the bulk of the scatter market," Moonves said.Local broadcast, including TV and radio stations, saw revenue fall by $100 million to $721 million. Operating income was down 18% to $242 million.Cable network revenue rose 10% to $1.62 billion. Adjusted operating income nosed up 3% to $169 million. These are heady times for Showtime, which passed 21 million subscribers and just won two Golden Globes including best television drama series for "Homeland." At Simon & Schuster, revenue eased 1% to $229 but sales of digital content grew 83%. Digital sales are cost less and are more profitable, which led to a 50% boost in operating income to $27 million. Outdoor revenue firmed 1% to $514 million. Operating income surged 80% to $76 million on more profitable contracts. In brief remarks at the opening of the call, CBS chairman Sumner Redstone called Moonves "a genius" at least four times. "Thank you Sumner, very much, for that overly kind introduction," Moonves said. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Pilot Season: Melrose Place's Katie Cassidy lands Female Lead in CW's Arrow

Katie Cassidy Eco-friendly Arrow, meet your Black Canary. Melrose Place reboot star Katie Cassidy has showed up the feminine lead in CW's Arrow, starring Hung's Stephen Amell as Electricity superhero Eco-friendly Arrow in this particular modern retelling in the legendary archer's adventures. Pilot Season: Stephen Amell Lands Leading Role inside the CW's Arrow Cassidy, whose credits have Gossip Girl and Supernatural, may have Laurel, a young legal clinic attorney who shares a romantic past with Oliver, the Eco-friendly Arrow's alter-ego. Electricity fans will realize that Laurel is Dinah "Laurel" Lance, also called the second Black Canary. Brothers and sisters & Sisters' Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim will executive-produce while using Vampire Diaries' Andrew Kreisberg. As formerly introduced, David Ramsey and Susanna Thompson may even star.