Sky News Boss John Ryley Steps Down
Sky News Head John Ryley is stepping down next year after almost 20 years at the helm. In a letter to colleagues over the weekend, the UK news vet said he would move on to projects “incompatible with leading a news organisation” and that the plan was always to step down by summer 2023. A new Head of News will be unveiled in the coming weeks. Ryley has overseen huge shifts in the news landscape and major stories during a 17-year tenure, including the 2008 financial crash, Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and Covid-19 pandemic. He thanked a number of people in his letter and paid tribute to “present and past colleagues for your exceptional good work, enterprise, innovation, creativity, and success.” He was in turn thanked for his “extraordinary and enduring contribution to Sky over more than two decades” by Dana Strong, Sky Group Chief Executive, and Andrea Zappia, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, New Markets and Businesses.
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‘Elvis‘ Wins Big At Australia’s ACCTA Awards
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Baz Luhrman’s Elvis and Bunya Productions’ TV drama Mystery Road: Origin were among the big winners at the Australian Academy of Cinema Television Arts Industry Awards on Sunday night. In total, 31 craft prizes were presented ahead of the full AACTA Awards ceremony on Wednesday. In film, Warner Bros/Bazmark/Roadshow’s Elvis won trophies for Catherine Martin’s Costume Design and Production Design, while Mandy Walker became the first woman to win the Best Cinematography AACTA Award for her work on the Austin Butler-starrer. Elvis also won in the Sound and Editing categories and will vie for five additional prizes on Wednesday. On the TV side, Mystery Road: Origin took wins for Cinematography, Editing, Direction and Best Sound. It’s up for six more prizes on Wednesday. See the full list of nominees and winners here.
‘Euphoria’ Creator’s ‘Red Skies’ Cast Oz-UK Actress Annie Shapero
Upcoming Australian-UK actress Annie Shapero has landed the lead role on Israeli series Red Skies, which is from the creator behind the original Euphoria, Ron Lesham, and writer Daniel Amsel. Red Skies is based on a book of the same name in which an Israeli and a Palestinian’s unlikely friendship throws the region into chaos when tragedy strikes. Yoav Gross Productions in making the Reshet 13 show alongside Red82 and Nebo Content, with Shistel’s Alon Zingman is set to direct. Amir Khoury, Maor Schwitzer and Alona Sa’ar are among the other stars. Shapero is understood to be nearing a key role in an upcoming U.S. cable series. She’s repped by Karli Doumanis at Zero Gravity Management and Collective Talent in Australia.
Charles Dance-Narrated Sea Adventurer Doc Heads To Canal+
Feature documentary Savage Waters is headed to Canal+ in France and Outside in the U.S. Narrated by Charles Dance (The Crown, Games of Thrones), the film is billed as “a portrait of modern adventurers as they follow clues left in a 19th century treasure-hunter’s journal to find and ride a mythical wave in some of the most dangerous waters of the Atlantic.” Abacus Media Rights struck the deals for the doc, which Mikey Corker (Beneath the Surface) directs and Ghislaine Couvillat (Girls Can’t Surf, The Quest for Nature, Against the Tides) produced for production company Whipped Sea.