Tuesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

France’s SND to sell Alice: Pioneer of Cinema drama 

Paris-based film and TV firm SND has taken on worldwide distribution for Alice: Pioneer of Cinema, which has been ordered by HBO Max and France Télévisions.

The six-part Paris-based drama stars Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and tracks how a 22-year-old secretary called Alice Guy becomes the first person ever to direct a fiction film.

Guy went on to run production at Gaumont before launching the first US film studios, but lost her fortune and was largely erased form history, before the Directors Guild of America gave her a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award in 15 years ago.

Movistar Plus+ (Spain), HBO Max (Belgium) and Crave (Canada) have also bought the show, which was created by Tim Loane (Versailles) and Claire Lemaréchal (The Bureau). André Gulluni (Rematch) is writer, while Virginie Verrier and Guillaume Lonergan direct. Wild Bunch and Ligne de Front (France), Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique (Belgium) and Sphère Média (Canada) produce.

North Road’s Josh Stern joins Duffer brothers

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer have hired The North Road alum Josh Stern as president of their Upside Down Pictures banner.

Stern will steer Upside Down’s development and production slate, with the deal coming four months after the company struck an overall deal with Paramount.

Stern was previously exec vice president of TV at North Road, which was acquired by French group Mediawan at the start of the year.

Before that, he was creative lead at Wiip, working on shows such as The Off Weeks for Apple TV.

Japan’s U-Next and NBCU strike IP-focused pact

NBC Universal has agreed a deal with Japanese media giant U-Next that will see the US-based company’s Universal+ streaming service launching in the country.

The far-reaching deal also covers a vast array of film and TV content, as well as related non-screen IP such as future experiences at Universal Studios Japan, live events and the global expansion of Japanese content.

The companies described the deal as “a more IP-centered model spanning digital platforms, live experiences and global distribution”.

It aims to shift U-Next from a domestic streamer into “a platform that connects Japanese content with the vast global entertainment market.”

Paris Hilton preps Roku doc

Roku has greenlit a documentary fronted by Paris Hilton that looks back at the culture of the tabloid era in the early 2000’s.

The It Girls: Inside the 2000s (w/t) is in pre-production and is being exec produced by Hilton through her 11:11 Media banner, alongside EverWonder Studio, and Hi Mom Productions.

The doc is in inspired by Sarah Ditum’s book, Toxic: Women, Fame and the Tabloid 2000s and will exclusively launch on The Roku Channel in 2027.