STREAMING
“Schumacher,” a documentary on champion German Formula 1 racing driver Michael Schumacher, will stream on Netflix from Sept. 15. The film follows his journey from his humble beginnings to the top of Formula 1 where he dominated with seven world championship titles and a total of 91 victories.
In addition to his father and his brother Ralf, Schumacher’s wife Corinna and his two children Gina and Mick, by now a Formula 1 driver himself, speak openly for the first time, as do his closest peers and competitors. Among them are Jean Todt, Bernie Ecclestone, Sebastian Vettel, Mika Häkkinen, Damon Hill, Flavio Briatore, David Coulthard, Willi Weber, Luca di Montezemolo, Piero Ferrari, his manager Sabine Kehm.
Benjamin Seikel and Vanessa Nöcker from B|14 FILM GmbH produced “Schumacher”. Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns, Vanessa Nöcker and Michael Wech directed the film.
London based Rocket Science is representing sales and distribution of the film worldwide and facilitated the partnership with Netflix.
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Kai Finke, Director, EMEA TV licensing Netflix, said: “This deeply personal portrait of Michael Schumacher will inspire and touch his fans that followed his career, and introduce this iconic personality to our members worldwide who may not be familiar with the star’s huge Formula 1 accolades.
SALES
“Midas Man,” a biopic of The Beatles manager Brian Epstein to be directed by Jonas Åkerlund (“Lords of Chaos”) and starring Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queen’s Gambit”) has sold to a raft of territories.
Following buzz at the virtual Cannes market, Mister Smith Entertainment has sold to Transmission Films in Australia/NZ, ACME in the Baltics, WW Entertainment in Benelux, Exponenta in CIS, Blitz in Ex-Yugoslavia, Metropolitan in France, Eagle Pictures in Italy, Monolith Films in Poland, NOS Lusomundo in Portugal, Mislabel in Scandinavia, Tripictures in Spain, and Ascot Elite in Switzerland.
Signature Entertainment has acquired rights for the U.K. and Ireland. The deal was negotiated by Signature’s director of acquisitions and development Elizabeth Williams and Mister Smith’s David Garrett.
Epstein discovered a series of legendary artists, from The Beatles to Cilla Black and Gerry and The Pacemakers in the 1960s. “Midas Man” will explore his dazzling and tumultuous life which saw him shoot to fame at the tender age of 25 but ended in tragedy at the age of 32.
The film, based on a story by Brigit Grant (“Red Top”) with a screenplay by Jonathan Wakeham (“Misanthrope”), is produced by Kevin Proctor and Perry Travers at StudioPOW (“Funny Cow”) and Trevor Beattie and Jeremy Chatterton at Trevor Beattie Films (“Moon”), in association with Er Dong Pictures who will also be distributing the film in Greater China.
SERIES
Filming for YouTube Originals series “Seat at the Table,” documentary maker and climate activist Jack Harries sets off on Friday on a 100-day low-carbon journey from the Southern tip of the U.K. before ending in November in Glasgow at the COP26 global climate change meeting. The trip will culminate with his mission to present a film featuring underrepresented young people around the world sharing their hopes and realities from the front lines of climate change to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other world leaders.
Harries will begin his journey by interviewing David Attenborough about climate change and the great threat that it poses to our planet. On each leg of his journey, Jack will meet experts and speak to young people from around the globe who are experiencing the impacts of climate change, some of whom are developing innovative solutions.
Along his journey he will be connecting with young climate change allies in Thailand, India, Africa, Morocco, and Greenland to hear about their similar experiences.