New Duke of Edinburgh Opening Sky Studios Sound Stage
Prince Edward, the new Duke of Edinburgh, opened the sound stage at Sky Studios Elstree. The former Earl of Wessex, who is a Patron of the Production Guild of Great Britain, headed to the Hertfordshire film and TV studio the day before he took his father Prince Philip’s former title. Last Thursday, he toured the site, meeting local charity partners and young talent, before unveiling a plaque on Stage 5 to commemorate the significant moment for the UK film and TV sector as it marks the biggest new studio facility to open in the UK in decades. Sky Studios Elstree will house 13 sound stages and Sky says it will generate an additional £3B ($3.6B) of production investment in the UK creative sector in its first five years. Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Edward will be given the title Duke of Edinburgh late last week, which Prince Philip held for more than 70 years until his death in 2021. King Charles gave Edward the title. The couple’s other brother, Prince Andrew, is no longer a working royal after a series of controversies surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
ABC hires Netflix Australia Production Boss
Australian network ABC has hired Netflix Australia/New Zealand’s production boss as Chief Content Officer. Chris Oliver-Taylor joins the newly created role following a restructure that saw the Entertainment & Specialist and Regional & Local divisions brought under one roof. Reporting to ABC MD David Anderson, Oliver-Taylor will be responsible for content appearing across both divisions. He joins from his role as Director of Production Netflix and previously worked for ABC, the BBC and NBCUniversal label Matchbox Pictures. He was also previously CEO of Fremantle Asia Pacific. “Chris is one of the most experienced, both local and international, content leaders in the industry with a good sense of audience expectations and creative trends in platforms and technologies,” said Anderson.
SkyShowtime Debuts Juan José Campanella Series ‘The Envoys’
SkyShowtime is gearing up to launch an action thriller The Messengers from the Oscar winner Juan José Campanella. The show will air on the Comcast/Paramount streamer later this month. Starring Miguel Ángel Silvestre (Narcos, Sense8), Luis Gerardo Méndez (Narcos: Mexico, Charlie’s Angels), Irene Azuela (Sense8) and Miguel Rodarte (Narcos: Mexico), The Messengers is an action thriller that follows the mission of two priests from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Vatican agency in charge of verifying and studying the miracles of potential saints, who are sent to Mexico to verify the alleged miraculous healings of another cleric known to have performed. them in a psychiatric hospital. Campanella, who won an Oscar for 2009’sThe Secret in Their Eyes, will show, produce and direct. SkyShowtime is now live in many European territories where Peacock and Paramount+ have not yet launched.