International Insider: Russell Brand Guilty; AFM Fires Up; Trudie Styler Interview

As the nights draw in over here in Europe, the International Insider stays strong. Jesse Whittock with you this week, in a week full of drama in the worlds of TV and film. Don’t forget to sign up for the full Insider experience here. And we begin…

Russell Brand Guilty

Convicted on multiple charges: Yesterday afternoon, Russell Brand’s freedom came to an abrupt end. The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star and former TV presenter was found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault following a four-week trial in London, and was remanded in custody. The judge told him to expect a “custodial sentence of some length” when he learns his fate on Monday. Multiple women had accused him of sex offences dating back to 1999 and though he was found not guilty on a number of charges, , a jury found him guilty on four counts. Max and Jake have diligently followed the trial via video link over the last month and their stellar reporting can be found here. Following the guilty verdict, the drama wasn’t quite over as Brand’s lawyer was overheard outside the court verbally attacking one of the journalists who had originally brought Brand’s behavior to light in the 2023 joint investigation between The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers and UK network Channel 4. It was unpleasant and shouldn’t have happened. That Brand was able to act as he did for so long says much about the British TV industry during those pre-#MeToo days, as our snap analysis following the verdict noted. More from the trial has now emerged, including that comedy producer Jack Bayles has been dropped from projects after he was revealed during the trial to have “laughed” and told one of Brand’s victims to give the star a massage, a crime for which Brand was found guilty. Brand wasn’t the only celebrity in the news over alleged impropriety this week, with a legal case continuing over whether a high-profile male can keep his name out of the press. Channel also ended Married at First Sight UK after a rape scandal.

AFM Fires Up

Package deals: The American Film Market begins in earnest on Tuesday (November 10). If product is anything to go by, it’s shaping up to be a hot one in Los Angeles. We’ve already told you that A24’s Elden Rings adaptation is set to be the biggest-budget project ever to hit a market, and the volume of packages shows that producers, studios and agents are rolling the dice. Robert Schwartzman’s next movie will be in town, as will a Jeremy Renner action pic set in London. Nicolas Cage and Maria Bakalova are lined up for true crime story The Brand, while Gillian Anderson and Rebecca Hall clash in steamy psychological thriller The Portrait. Jean-Claude Van Damme’s long-gestating return to martial arts finally looks to be coming with Katana being shopped, and Guy Pierce and Sabrina Impacciatore are among the stars of Trudie Styler‘s latest, The Reception (more on that below). Out of Japan comes Toho’s high-anticipated sci-fi thriller Leviathan as you can see above. Deadline will be on the ground at the market, so expect more news and analysis next week. For now, all AFM coverage can be found here.

The Deadline Interview #1: Alok Jain

Alok Jain is the man Indian TV producers go to to see if they have a tasty new Hindi- or English-language unscripted idea for streamer JioHotstar. That makes him one of the most important figures in the world’s biggest television market. I landed some time with Jain this week to talk through his approach to Indian reality TV, how the country is emerging as a formats testbed for the first time, and how he feels about popular talk show Koffee With Karan, which is ending after nine seasons and 22 years. “You never want something to end that’s doing well,” admits Jain. Alas, this time, that’s the situation. >>>Read The Interview

The Deadline Interview #2: Trudie Styler

Trudie Styler turned up to her interview with Deadline at the Maven Screen Media offices bearing gifts of olive oil from her Tuscan vineyard, but it was her drive to direct two movies, Up Against It and The Reception, that was on the interview agenda. Her chat with Melanie is a fascinating insight into the working life of a woman whose marriage to rockstar Sting has been the subject of thousands of column inches over the years. Did you know her 1994 movie Moving the Mountain means she is still banned from entering China to this day? If not, or even if you did, head straight to the article for more unexpected tales. >>>Read The Interview

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: The Walking Dead star Lennie James is leading ITV thriller Nightswimming, about a man accused of brutally murdering his family years before.

🌶️ Another: Jonathan Pryce, James D’Arcy and Lena Olin are among those playing the Vanger family in Sky’s adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

🔥 Hot third: Kartik Aaryan is to lead Ladaku, a “heart-tugging, inspiring” movie from Kabul Express director Kabir Khan.

📹 Documented: The final days of legendary video games studio BioWare will be told in a doc from Shane Fennessey and Adam Scorgie for Canada‘s Super Channel.

🔎 Review: Damon Wise had this to say about Manchester rock and roll pic 7 Miles Out.

📖 Book-to-screen: Bri Lee’s Australian bestseller The Work is getting a TV adaptation, with Rose Byrne’s Dollhouse Pictures attached.

🕵🏼 Investigated: Two UK competition authorities will formally scrutinize the £1.6B ($2.2B) deal bringing together Sky with ITV’s networks division.

🏆 Big winner: Sister Brother Manhole Cover, from Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski, won the the top award at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.

🏪 New shop: UK agent Lucy Loveridge, the former global entertainment chief at YMU, launched London agency Nothing to See Here to rep creators.

🎃 Spooooooky: The UAE’s Faisal Hashmi gave genre fans a Halloween treat by unveiling horror-focused production company Spin Drop Pictures.

🍿 Box office: Spain’s buzzy Oscar entry La Bola Negra has become the runaway leader at the local box office.

🕯️ RIP: Tinto Brass, the director of cult historical-erotic 1979 movie Caligula, died aged 93.

Photo of the Week

The Boycott Who Lived – Trans rights protestors made their feelings about J.K. Rowling known at the opening of a new Harry Potter store on London’s Oxford Street.