UFA Hires ‘September 5’ Exec Producer Christoph Müller
Fremantle’s German production house UFA has hired Constantin Film‘s Christoph Müller for its cinema division. The producer, who is an exec producer on the Golden Globe-nominated September 5, joins from Constantin Film and will begin at UFA Fiction on February 1, 2025. He also is known for productions including the Oscar-nomnated Sophie Scholl, box office hit Er Ist Wieder Da and Elyas M’Barek and Sönke Wortmann’s films Contra and Der Nachname. “We want to open up new business areas and continue to expand on already successful ones,” said Sascha Schwingel, CEO of UFA. “I am therefore very pleased that we are now strengthening our team with Christoph Müller, who is a renowned producer of cinema productions that delight audiences and critics alike. With him on the team, we will significantly increase the rate of our successful cinema productions.” Sebastian Werninger, Managing Director of UFA Fiction, added Müller was a “pure cinema person who lives and loves this genre.” Werninger and Müller worked together on films such as Medicus, Ich War Noch Niemels in New York and Stasikomödie. Müller exits Constantin after seven years. He is also known for launching his own company, Goldkind Film, where he made Mathias Schweighöfer and Nora Tschirner’s Soloalbum, and was Managing Director of Senator Film, where he produced Goethe!. He founded founded Mythos Films in Berlin in 2013 but has been Managing Director at Constantin Film Produktion since 2017.
Trailer Drops For Thriller Series ‘Patience’ Starring ’Breaking Bad’s Laura Fraser
Trailer has dropped for thriller series Patience starring Breaking Bad’s Laura Fraser. Watch it above or click here. The show from Eagle Eye Drama has been picked up by Channel 4, PBS Distribution and Beta Film. Fraser is Detective Bea Metcalf, the first person to spot the talents of Patience Evans (Ella Maisy Purvis), who works in the criminal records department of Yorkshire Police, cataloguing and filing the evidence produced during major cases. A young autistic woman, she craves routine and order, relishing the solitude and structure her job provides, but she yearns for more. The show launches in early Jan on Channel 4.
BBC World Service & CBC Explore ‘The Con: Kaitlyn’s Baby’
BBC World Service and Canadian pubcaster CBC are teaming for a six-part true-crime podcast. The Con: Kaitlyn’s Baby will comprise part of the the pair’s international scam stories strand The Con, and will look into the story of Kaitlyn Braun, a promising young social worker, who pretended to be pregnant on numerous occasions. Canadian writer and producer Sarah Treleaven will host, asking why Braun took the path she did and whether she should be held accountable for her actions. Episodes debut as a boxset on January 14, 2025, on BBC Sounds in the UK and have weekly drops on other platforms. The Con strand already comprises Love, Janessa, about the murky world of online romance scams. The BBC and CBC have partnered several times on podcasts over recent years, forming an alliance in 2019 that has led to the likes of Hollywood Outcasts.
‘Better Man’ & ‘The Brutalist’ Lead AACTA Noms
Robbie Williams biopic Better Man and The Brutalist lead the pack chasing trophies at the 2025 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards. Better Man, helmed by Aussie director Michael Gracey (The Great Showman) landed six noms, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, plus lead actor nominations. The Brutalist landed five, including a Best Supporting Actor for Australian actor Guy Pearce, while Emilia Pérez, which swept the Golden Globes nominations, took home four noms. Anora and Dune: Part Two join Better Man, Brutalist and Emilia Pérez in the Best Film category. Among TV shows, Disney+ and Hulu drama Shōgun landed a medium-leading three, including Best Drama Series, alongside The Bear, whose triple includes a Best Comedy Series nomination. Australian production Boy Swallows Universe is up for Best Drama against the likes of After the Party, Slow Horses and The Diplomat, while comedy Colin From Accounts, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks and Only Murders in the Building round out the Comedy Series category. The award will be held across two ceremonies, the AACTA Awards Industry Gala on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, and the AACTA Award Ceremony on Friday, February 7. Both will be held at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast.
The nominees for the 2025 AACTA International Awards are:
Best Film
- Anora
- Better Man
- Dune: Part two
- Emilia Pérez
- The Brutalist
Best Lead Actor in Film
- Adrien Brody – The Brutalist – as László Tóth
- Daniel Craig – Queer – as Lee
- Jonno Davies – Better Man – as Robbie Williams
- Colman Domingo – Sing Sing – as John “Divine G.” Whitfield
- Ralph Fiennes – Conclave – as Thomas Lawrence
Best Lead Actress in Film
- Kirsten Dunst – Civil War – as Lee Smith
- Karla Sofia Gascón – Emilia Pérez – as Emilia Pérez
- Nicole Kidman – Babygirl – as Romy
- Mikey Madison – Anora – as Mikheeva
- Kate Winslet – Lee – as Lee Miller
Best Supporting Actor in Film
- Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain – as Benji Kaplan
- Damon Herriman – Better Man – as Nigel
- Guy Pearce – The Brutalist – as Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr.
- Stanley Tucci – Conclave – as Cardinal Bellini
- Denzel Washington – Gladiator II – as Macrinus
Best Supporting Actress in Film
- Toni Collette – Juror #2 – as Prosecutor
- Ariana Grande – Wicked – as Glinda
- Felicity Jones – The Brutalist – as Erzsébet Tóth
- Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez – as Rita Mora Castro
- Alison Steadman – Better Man – as Betty
Best Direction in Film
- Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
- Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
- Michael Gracey – Better Man
- George Miller – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
Best Screenplay in Film
- Anora – Sean Baker
- Better Man – Michael Gracey, Oliver Cole, Simon Gleeson
- Conclave – Peter Straughan
- The Brutalist – Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
- Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Best Drama Series
- After the Party
- Boy Swallows Universe
- Shōgun
- Slow Horses
- The Diplomat
Best Comedy Series
- Colin from Accounts
- Curb your Enthusiasm
- Hacks
- Only Murders in the Building
- The Bear
Best Actor in a Series
- Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm – (as Larry David)
- Idris Elba – Hijack – (as Sam Nelson)
- Gary Oldman – Slow Horses – (as Jackson Lamb)
- Hiroyuki Sanada – Shōgun – (as Yoshii Toranaga)
- Jeremy Allen White – The Bear – (as Carmy)
Best Actress in a Series
- Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown – (as Princess Diana)
- Ayo Edebiri – The Bear –(as Sydney Adamu)
- Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer – (as Martha Scott)
- Anna Sawai – Shōgun – (as Toda Mariko)
- Jean Smart – Hacks – (as Deborah Vance)