D-Lo

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/outlander-prequel-series-starz-1235185922/

An “Outlander” prequel series is in development at Starz, Variety has learned exclusively.

According to sources, “Outlander” executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts is attached to write and executive produce the prequel. A writers’ room is currently being assembled with an eye to begin work in the coming weeks.

Exact plot details for what the prequel would focus on are being kept under wraps. Ronald D. Moore, who developed “Outlander” for television, will also executive produce along with Maril Davis under their Tall Ship Productions banner. As with “Outlander,” Sony Pictures Television will be the studio. Roberts is currently under an overall deal at Sony.

Reps for Sony and Starz declined to comment.

Yeah that was pretty wild because it was one of the worst kept secrets in TV. Katy Couric talked about it in her recent book last year. If he didn't go after Chris Cuomo, nothing likely would have changed. I think that was one of those release before it starts getting reported as hypocrisy situations. I wonder if CC's lawyers brought it up at some point during the discussions for leverage.

Overall, they missed street expectations on revenue and earnings.  Their only saving grace right  now is the money they earn by their massive library of titles.  (They are looking to buy another company which has a lot of titles from an investment group of John Malone’s.)  Usually the investor questions are softballs but I felt they pushed back a lot on the financials and spin on this call.

Italics are my comments.

Feltheimer in his call intro: “ Drilling down on each of our businesses we have significantly ramped our investment in Starz programming, coming into the year with our best slate ever. However, COVID-driven and other production delays on multiple series, including an 11-month delay on fan favorite Outlander, have pushed back the full benefit of that investment. This resulted in diminished subscriber growth in the first half of the year relative to our expectations. And we’re seeing that pressure coming through in our revenue and segment profit in our current quarter. “

He also said

 March is debut of the Courtney Cox starring horror comedy Shining Vale and the return of Outlander for its sixth season.

In closing, while everyone is operating in an intensely competitive, disruptive and unpredictable environment, each of us is dealing with it differently. Our strategy is simple, continuing to execute a focused content approach at Starz, supplying profitable premium television series to an expanding universe of buyers, leaning into our portfolio of movie brands and franchises and benefiting from an entrepreneurial culture and a business model.

Lionsgate produces the CBS comedy Ghosts so they bragged about that a lot.  (I think the UK version is better but mostly because the female lead in the US show is weak.)

The CFO said that the longer a series is on (i.e. number of seasons), the higher the profit margin.

They refused to give any answers to the “for sale” question except this ridiculous paragraph of nothingness.

“ we are working with a terrific team of advisers with complementary strength and expertise as we continue the process of unlocking the shareholder value within our 2 core businesses. So it’s important to note that we will be providing additional updates on our progress at the appropriate time. “

Jeffrey Hirsch answering a question about Starz subscriber growth slowing, etc.

“ Jon (Feltheimer) referenced the Outlander, which is one of our big tentpoles, which is now and will be into – coming into its 18 months of Droughtlander, which is a huge fan favorite. There’s about 7 million multi-platform views a week, which is 1 of the bigger shows on television, a very passionate fan base. And missing a year of that content, it really hurts the subscriber growth that we – and you saw that in the first half of the year. “

Repeat it with me as I say every quarter.  Outlander is important to Starz and Starz is important to Lionsgate.

AND  HERE IT IS -THE MONEY QUOTE AND WHY YOU WON’T SEE NARRATIVE ENDING ANY TIME SOON.

Hirsch: I think having the point of view that we have as a network has been able to bring great creators and great talent to the network. You see, obviously, our lead in Outlander just got nominated for BAFTA for Belfast and I think she’s becoming a huge star – or she is a huge star both on TV and movies.

Hey may play quite the romantic on his hit series Outlander, but in real life, Sam Heughan’s love is found most through world exploration or simply within a quality pour of the finest spirits around. Fortunately, both of his passions have recently become one with his newly announced The Sassenach Select Double Wood Reposado tequila.

The Sassenach Select limited-edition batch is available now in select markets. Being the founder of The Sassenach Spirits, Heughan says it was the bond formed between The Sassenach and El Tequileño that has made this new tequila product an exciting reality today.

“I think it comes out of friendship,” Heughan reveals to me today at Forbes on the inspiration behind the new tequila brand. “A couple of years ago, pre-Covid, we went to visit [Mexico]. I had very little experience with tequila. I think especially in the UK, we’re quite far behind the rest of the world in our appreciation for it. I was just completely blown. My eyes were opened the whole experience. We went to Tequila Town. We met Tony Salles, we met the whole family, Tequileño. Just to discover the whole process and the history and the heritage behind it. What was really fun was that we took our whisky with us. We were just launching. In fact, when we were there, we launched our first release of the Sassenach whisky and those guys were really excited for us. We celebrated with some whisky and they said they enjoyed it, and we enjoyed their tequila. It was really a very sort of natural, organic process.”

Even though Scotland and Mexico are on opposite sides of the world, Heughan says he has come to realize through his travels that their values and what matters most to the people from their proud lands are not so different between the two countries.

“It’s a very dear place and they’re very similar actually, the Mexican culture and the Scottish culture. This love of storytelling and celebration and family. We just feel really honored to be part of that family.”

Being the holiday season and a special time where people are slowly starting to come together again, following nearly two years in this ongoing pandemic, Sam has his own strong opinion on why The Sassenach Select tequila should be a beverage people should consider responsibly indulging in during their next happy gathering. 

“I just think there are so many tequilas out there and it’s hard to choose, but this one is completely unique. These guys have never created a tequila for anyone else. Tony Salles is third-generation master distiller. We didn’t compromise on the product. There’s no glycerine, there’s no coloring, vanilla, or the crap people put in there. We want to celebrate them. If you want a Christmas gift or Christmas treat, give this a whirl. You’ll not regret it.”

Regarding his own Christmas celebrations, I asked Heughan what his plans were for the upcoming holiday. “Well, I think I’m allowed to reveal that I’m going to actually be alone in quarantine over the Christmas period. I’m going to New Zealand, shooting Men In Kilts, our next season down in New Zealand, so I will be taking a bottle maybe of both [tequila and whisky], so it will be a very merry Christmas but quite a lonely one.”

Heughan is excited, however, to end the loneliness of his Outlander fans rather soon, when the long-awaited sixth season premieres on Starz on March 6, 2022. Being less than three months until viewers can see more from his beloved Jamie Fraser character, Heughan shared with me some early hints at what is to come on the popular drama series.

“I would say the world that we know - the success of Fraser’s Ridge, the success of Jamie & Claire and their sort of extended family really goes into question and really starts to disintegrate. We have a blast from Jamie’s past and some relationships that come to plague him. It’s a pretty dark season actually. It’s a shorter season but the episodes are longer and a lot more time with the characters. We’re also building to The War of Independence. It’s literally on the horizon and it’s Outlander, so (laughs) prepare for a rollercoaster.”

As I wrapped up my conversation with Heughan, I left him with one final question - What message might you have for your loyal Outlander, Men In Kilts, and The Sassenach Spirits fans & supporters around the world this holiday season?

Jamie Dornan and Caitriona Balfe joined the cast of their new film Belfast today, ahead of its Irish premiere tonight.

Alongside Ciarán Hinds, Jude Hill and Lewis McAskie, the actors posed with the film’s director Sir Kenneth Branagh at the iconic Harland & Wolff cranes Samson and Goliath in Belfast.

The cast will walk the red carpet at the Belfast Film Festival tonight, where Kenneth will introduce his new movie at an event co-hosted by Northern Ireland Screen.

Belfast is a personal and joyful story about the power of memory, set in late 1960s Northern Ireland.

At the centre of the film is Buddy, a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance.

Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.

The film was written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, and is based on his experiences of growing up in the Tigers Bay area of north Belfast.

Marking the opening night of the Belfast Film Festival, Kenneth will introduce the movie alongside it’s star-studded cast at the Waterfront Hall this evening.

Ahead of the festival, Kenneth said: “I am fortunate to have attended film festivals throughout the world for this most personal of films, but it was always my hope that we might be invited to bring Belfast home.

“To be included as a part of the Belfast Film Festival is a great honour for us.

“This year’s festival is packed with local talent in all areas of the industry from acting and directing to producing, and shows the phenomenal strength of the film industry here.”

Belfast hits cinemas across Ireland from January 21st, 2022.

Outlander fans will be delighted with the news Graham McTavish is to be joined on the set of the new Game of Thrones prequel by another Outlander favourite.

It was recently announced following his casting as spymaster Dijkstra in the second season of Netflix smash The Witcher, Graham will also be playing Ser Harrold Westerling in House of Dragons.

He is also set to be joined by Outlander co-star and fellow Scot Bill Paterson, who will be playing Master of Coin, Lord Lyman Beesbury.

The pair will join five others announced by HBO for the highly-anticipated drama series which is filming now and is set to air in 2022.

Graham has already been snapped on set mounted on a white horse in his Kingsguard uniform.

The Scots star is beginning to make a name for himself starring in hugely popular film and tv shows based on some of the world’s favourite fantasy novels.

Best known as war chief Dougal MacKenzie in Outlander, he has also starred as the dwarf Dwalin in the film adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s classic story, The Hobbit.

Bill will also soon be on set, the Veteran Scots actor, who played lawyer Ned Gowan in Outlander, is joining the glittering cast which also includes the likes of Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Steve Toussaint, and Rhys Ifans.