MUMBAI: Television format creator and distributor Endemol has announced that leading talent from its portfolio of US scripted series will be heading to Cannes for the television trade event Mipcom 2011 next month.

Among the international names attending the market as guests of Endemol are Happily Divorced co-writer, executive producer and star Fran Drescher as well as executive producer Peter Marc Jacobson.

Also joining Endemol?s line up this year is Kristen Johnston who has the leading role in TV Land?s latest sitcom ?The Exes?.

Endemol Worldwide Distribution CEO Cathy Payne said; "As we continue to drive our growth in US scripted programmes, we are thrilled to have star guests from these brilliant new series at Mipcom. It?s extremely exciting to be bringing such a high calibre of talent to Cannes and these stars will truly bring the shows to life for buyers at the market."

Inspired by the real life story of Drescher and her ex husband Peter Marc Jacobson, Happily Divorced is the latest sitcom offering from US network TV Land. After 18 years of marriage, Fran (Drescher) is shocked to discover that her husband Peter (John Michael Higgins) is gay. The LA based florist must deal with this bombshell and learn to juggle her new relationships and her ex-husband, who remains in the same house post-divorce.

Now renewed for a second season, Happily Divorced averaged 2.2 million total viewers in its first season, posting triple digit gains over the network?s primetime average.

Also from TV Land?s slate is The Exes - a sitcom which focuses on the lives of three men whose landlord also happens to be their female divorce attorney. Kristen Johnston (?3rd Rock from the Sun?) plays the attorney who avoids her own relationship and commitment issues by becoming immersed in the men?s affairs.

Endemol will announce further talent attending the market in due course.

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide is to play host to Death in Paradise stars, Ben Miller and Sara Martins, when they arrive at the television trade event Mipcom to launch the ambitious new eight-part detective series.

BBC Worldwide will introduce the title to international buyers at a special event in Cannes on 4 October.

Also premiering at Mipcom will be a raft of new dramas including the adaptation of Dickens? Great Expectations, crime thriller The Body Farm and supernatural suspense series The Fades.

BBC Worldwide sales and distribution president, MD Steve Macallister said, "BBC Worldwide is having a stellar year with more stand-out drama in our catalogue than ever before. Returning hits including Sherlock (S2) and Misfits (S3) sit alongside some very exciting new titles such as The Body Farm and Great Expectations and, of course, the international thriller Torchwood: Miracle Day.

"We?re continuing to invest in some really high-profile shows and we are particularly proud to be part of the production partnership for Death in Paradise. Red Planet Pictures and Atlantique Productions have produced a superb detective series, the first ever drama collaboration between BBC and France T?l?visions."

Death in Paradise sees quintessential British cop Richard Poole (Miller) posted to the Caribbean island of Sainte Marie where, unsuited to the Caribbean way of life, he struggles with the sun, sea, sand and the local style of policing.

Great Expectations stars Gillian Anderson, Douglas Booth and Ray Winstone.

Already snapped up by broadcasters globally, Torchwood: Miracle Day will be on offer at Mipcom, as will returning series Sherlock (S2), Misfits (S3) and Being Erica (S4).

In children?s drama, Sadie J (S2) is back for the kids with a glossy and fun new series. Joined again by her best friends Kit and DeDe, this series sees 13-year-old Sadie fall in love with hot surfer dude, Taylor Bell, and DeDe questions her good-girl persona.

MUMBAI: Next month?s television trade event Mipcom 2011 that will take place in Cannes is preparing to welcome a galaxy of  internationally-recognised actors, directors, writers, producers and show business personalities.

Holding a Mipcom World Premiere Television Screening of its new thriller TV series Missing in the Palais des Festivals? Grand Auditorium, ABC Studios is bringing stellar cast members of the show to Cannes.

American film and television star Ashley Judd portrays Becca Winstone, a mother and former CIA agent struggling across Europe to rescue her kidnapped son. Ashley Judd is known internationally for her numerous leading roles in major Hollywood productions including Heat (co-starring Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and Val Kilmer), A Time To Kill (Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock), High Crimes (Morgan Freeman), Crossing Over (Harrison Ford), Double Jeopardy (Tommy Lee Jones), De-Lovely (Kevin Kline) and Bug (directed by William Friedkin).

New Zealand?s Cliff Curtis gained his fame in Hollywood while portraying characters of many ethnic origins in blockbusters like Live Free Or Die Hard (with Bruce Willis), Training Day (Denzel Washington), Three Kings (George Clooney), The Insider (Al Pacino and Russel Crowe) and Bringing Out The Dead (Nicolas Cage, directed by Martin Scorsese).

The son of Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini and Italian director Livia Giampalmo, Adriano Giannini co-starred with Madonna in the 2002 Swept Away, directed by Guy Ritchie. Giannini became a huge name in Italy with The Consequences Of Love, directed by Paolo Sorrentino, and appeared in Steven Soderbergh?s Ocean?s Twelve.

Creator and executive producer of Missing, Gregory Poirier, previously wrote the screenplay of the John Singleton film Rosewood in 1997, for which he won the Writers Guild of America?s Paul Selvin Award. Poirier also gained professional recognition in writing National Treasure: Book of Secrets (starring Nicolas Cage), Gossip (Kate Hudson), A Sound Of Thunder (Ben Kingsley), The Lion King II: Simba?s Pride and in writing and directing the spirited and energetic comedy Tomcats (2001).

?Missing? executive producers, Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo, are joining the ABC Studios entourage in Cannes along with Mipcom 2011 Personality of the Year Anne Sweeney, Disney/ABC Television Group President and Disney Media Networks Co-chair.

Dutch director of major blockbusters Robocop, Basic Instinct, Total Recall and Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven is flying to Mipcom to promote FCCE?s Hollywood-style format and cross-media event called The Entertainment Experience, the world?s first multi-platform format based on a user-generated movie. All aspects of movie making, including acting and filming, are produced by new talent ? anybody can sign up ? guided by an established director who will also make the final cut of the movie. FCCE is in talks with several major international directors for a worldwide rollout of The Entertainment Experience.

Emmy Award winner Eddie Izzard is sailing into Mipcom to promote his appearance as legendary pirate Long John Silver in RHI Entertainment?s new miniseries event adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson?s ?Treasure Island?. Eddie will be accompanied by Treasure Island?s director Steve Barron. The classic tome, which has been given an edgier tone to appeal to the modern viewer, also stars Elijah Wood (The Lord Of The Rings) and Donald Sutherland (Pride & Prejudice).The adrenaline-charged adventure was filmed earlier this year in Puerto Rico and Ireland and is due to premiere on Sky1 HD in the UK.

Entertainment One and Endemol are bringing the eagerly-awaited new western show Hell On Wheels to MIPCOM, along with cast members Anson Mount (City By The Sea, In Her Shoes, Last Night), Grammy Award-winning hip hop artist and actor Common (Terminator Salvation, American Gangster, Date Night, Wanted), Dominique McElligott (Moon, The Philanthropist, Blackthorn) and Colm Meaney (Dick Tracy, Die Hard 2, The Commitments, Con Air). Hell On Wheels will debut in November on AMC in the US.

Endemol is jetting to Mipcom with two other shows. Fran Drescher (The Nanny), writer, producer and star of hit sitcom Happily Divorced will appear alongside co-writer and Executive Producer Peter Marc Jacobson. Renewed for a second season on TV Land, the show is inspired by the real life story of Fran Drescher and her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson. After 18 years of marriage, Drescher is shocked to discover that her husband Peter (John Michael Higgins) is gay. The LA-based florist must deal with this bombshell and learn to juggle her new relationships and her ex-husband, who remains in the same house post-divorce. Emmy Award-winning actress Kristen Johnston (Third Rock From The Sun, ER, Ugly Betty, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) leads the cast of brand new TV Land sitcom The Exes, focusing on the lives of three men whose landlord also happens to be their female divorce attorney and avoids her own relationship and commitment issues by becoming immersed in the men?s affairs.

A man of many talents, Bruce Springsteen?s E Street Band?s guitar player and singer Stevie van Zandt is also a radio show producer and a versatile film songwriter. In 1999, Van Zandt became a TV series face when portraying mob consigliere Silvio Dante in the show ?The Sopranos?. At Mipcom this year, Stevie van Zandt is promoting his new ?dramedy? mafia series Lilyhammer, the story of a reformed criminal who testified against his mafia boss in New York and entered the Witness Protection Programme in the Norwegian countryside. The show is produced by Rubicon and distributed by SevenOne International.

After the recent success of his 3D hit feature length documentary ?Cave Of Forgotten Dreams?, German filmmaker Werner Herzog will attend Mipcom to present his documentary film on the fate of American convicts on death row ?Into The Abyss - A Tale Of Death, A Tale Of Life?, presented by ZDF Enterprises.

Distributed by BBC Worldwide, ?Death In Paradise? is a fish-out-of-water story about a quintessential English cop posted to the Caribbean island of Sainte-Marie. British comedian, actor and director Ben Miller and French actress Sara Martins will be accompanied at Mipcom by executive producer Anthony Jordan of Red Planet Pictures. ?Death In Paradise? is the first drama partnership between the BBC and France Televisions.

One of America?s leading stand-up comics and American Comedy Award winner Margaret Cho will electrify the red carpet and the Mipcom Opening Night Party, promoting her new concert film release Cho Dependent, that is represented internationally by Beyond Distribution.

French star photographer, filmmaker and Goodplanet Foundation President Yann Arthus-Bertrand, French production companies Robin & Co and Calt Productions president Jean-Yves Robin and Robin & Co MD Nicolas Coppermann are attending Mipcom to present their new film and television production joint venture Hope Production, dedicated to addressing international environmental questions.

Reed Midem?s television division director Laurine Garaude said, "We are delighted to welcome such a rich line-up of international talent at Mipcom this year. This reflects the fact that some truly big cinema names are increasingly involved in television projects and that producers and distributors recognise the importance of bringing this talent to Mipcom to meet the international entertainment community and promote their shows."

MUMBAI: Sparks Network will introduce a number of new formats and series to the television trade event Mipcom 2011 market in Cannes next month.

In total, it is bringing over 20 new fresh formats and series that it says have started to air or are in production for a launch later this year.

One offering is ?Lady Burlesque? from Europroduzione.

The art of burlesque is a phenomenon spreading all over the world. ?Lady Burlesque? is a reality-based talent competition featuring women with normal lives that compete in the art of burlesque. They attend the burlesque school and absorb the culture, movements and fine details that go into performances, from seduction tips and tricks, hair, make-up and accessories. Ultimately, they compete in weekly studio based elimination game that will reveal the femininity and sensuality that will woo the viewers. And what is burlesque?
Striptease without nudity.

Meanwhile, ?Phenomenon? is a studio game show where the brainiest young adults compete in solving challenging questions in logic, math patterns, vocabulary etc. Ten contestants can in each question choose to sign in or not. If they play, they may lose or win the points at stake. The winner of the season wins a prize that further develops the phenomenon inside.

?Speed Dancing? follows the story of a single person looking for love, and the method of selection between the eager candidates is to dance ? with each of them. But first, with the help of a trusted dance coach, the participants get intensive lessons and then are turned loose on the dance floor. By the end of the evening, they will reveal their feelings. Who will be the one out of three who gets asked out on a date?
 

MUMBAI: Reed Midem has announced that Fox president of entertainment Kevin Reilly will give a keynote address on 4 October, as part of the television trade event Mipcom?s Media Mastermind series of presentations.

Reilly will be joining the roster of industry leaders participating in the Art of Television conference track at this year?s Mipcom. His address will explore what it takes to develop and nurture some of the world?s most successful television series and the challenges and opportunities of an evolving media landscape.

Reilly comments, "Part of what I hope to do here is to discuss how to be mindful of the rules, but not fearful of breaking them. In this business, you need to know how to break the fundamentals and encourage a creator to go to the edge. Some of the best work comes when we break the rules."

Throughout his career, Reilly championed television shows such as ?he Sopranos?, ?ER?, ?The Shield?, ?The Office?, ?Heroes?, ?30 Rock? and ?The Biggest Loser?. He joined Fox in July 2007 and under his leadership, Fox launched ?Glee?

MUMBAI: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Viacom International Media Networks and Russian television broadcaster Channel One Russia, will team up at the television trade event Mipcom to discuss the future of media, entertainment and broadcasting on 3 October.

PwC global leader entertainment and media Marcel Fenez will present the annual PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook at Mipcom, outlining forecasts in the media and leisure industries. This industry report will be followed by interviews conducted by Fenez with Viacom International Media Networks president and CEO Robert Bakish and Channel One Russia CEO Konstantin Ernst.

These two executives will share their thoughts on the digital migration of the global entertainment industry and their outlook for the next five years.

Fenez said, "This is the golden age for consumers, who?ve never had it so good when it comes to accessing premium content (often for free) over multiple devices. And the migration to digital has continued to accelerate due largely to the device revolution. Entertainment & Media (E&M) CEOs are having to adapt their business models to capture the shifting nature of consumer demand. But the bottom line is that in order to continue to create the quality content demanded by consumers, someone has to pay."