10 Stories You Should Know: 10/06/2022

A 20-year-old Steven Seagal movie becomes a hit on Netflix.

Here are the TV and media stories that should be on your radar for Thursday, October 6th, 2022:

Netflix Pitched LOTR Universe With Gandalf, Aragorn Shows To Tolkien Estate (Screenrant)
Netflix took their own crack at acquiring the rights to The Lord of the Rings from the Tolkien Estate, pitching an entire universe that would consist of multiple shows, including ones for Aragorn and Gandalf. One insider calls Netflix's pitch "the Marvel approach," which, according to the report, "completely freaked out the estate." Included with their Marvel-esque Lord of the Rings universe pitch, Netflix reportedly offered $250 million for the rights, a number previously attributed to Amazon, which is said to have paid less.

Netflix Unveils Upcoming Arab Films & Series Including Telfaz11 Feature ‘Alkhallat’, Docu-Soap ‘Dubai Bling’ (Deadline)
Netflix has previewed a selection of upcoming films and shows aimed at the Arab world and hailing from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.

Non-fiction hits in the region have included the Arabic unscripted reality show The Fastest, and the archaeological documentary, Secrets Of The Saqqara Tomb which was viewed by 22 million households in its first week of launch.

Vietnam Requests Netflix Remove ‘Little Women’ Over Distortion Of Vietnam War Events (VietnamNet)
According to the Deputy Director General, Little Women has violated the prohibited acts specified in Clause 4, Article 9 of the Press Law on distorting history, denying revolutionary achievements and insulting the nation. Furthermore, it has violated the prohibited acts in cinematographic activities specified in Clause 4, Article 11 of the Law on Cinema with similar content to the provisions mentioned above in the Press Law.

Amazon Picks Up Korean Fantasy Series ‘Island’ (The Hollywood Reporter)
Amazon Prime Video is adding to its K-drama collection with the hotly anticipated fantasy-action series Island. The show will debut on Prime Video in 240 countries outside South Korea in December, while launching at home on CJ ENM’s local streamer TVING. 

Catholic Activists In Africa Decry Netflix “LGBT indoctrination” In New Children’s Film (AciaAfrica)
They add, in their call to action, “Write now to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and show your outrage. A lesbian kiss is absolutely inappropriate for 7-year-olds. As long as he doesn't back down on LGBT indoctrination in children's series, I will support this boycott campaign!”

The 2022 series, Jurassic World (Camp Cretaceous in Spanish) narrates the adventures of a group of teenagers abandoned on Isla Nublar, evacuated after the events of Jurassic World 2015.

Channel 4 & Sky Deal Keeps Formula 1 Highlights FTA For 2023 Season (Broadband TV News)
Channel 4 has renewed its partnership with Sky, ensuring that motorsport fans will be able to enjoy free-to-air Formula 1 coverage on the terrestrial broadcaster throughout the 2023 season.

Sky will continue to broadcast exclusive live coverage of all practice laps, qualifiers and race days on Sky, while Channel 4 will have highlights of all Formula 1 qualifiers and races. There will also be live coverage of the British Grand Prix weekend including the race itself on 9th July 2023 and the practice and qualifying laps in the build-up to the British GP race day.

Banijay to Acquire ‘MythBusters’ and ‘Back in the Groove’ Producer Beyond International (The Hollywood Reporter)
Production giant Banijay has struck a deal to acquire scripted and non-scripted producer/distributor Beyond International (MythBusters), the company said on Wednesday. Beyond has been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1987, but will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Banijay and its shares will cease to be publicly traded.

A Wretched Action Flop Goes Undercover To Convince Netflix Users It Doesn’t Suck (We Got This Covered)
Netflix users have proven a thousand times over that the critical consensus, or a movie’s reputation, doesn’t mean a damn thing when it comes to combing through the library in search of some brainless running and gunning. The streaming service’s customer base are a hugely forgiving bunch, then, something that’s been reiterated yet again by the undeserved popularity of Half Past Dead.

As per FlixPatrol, the utterly wretched Steven Seagal vehicle has become a Top 10 hit in multiple countries around the world, almost 20 years to the day after sinking without a trace in theaters by way of failing to recoup the $25 million budget in ticket sales. Seagal flicks shouldn’t be held to a particularly high standard, though, but even by the polarizing actor’s standards – this one was a disaster.

TV Remains More Popular Option Among Saudis For Watching The World Cup (ArabNews)
Sixty percent of those surveyed said they watch football coverage at least once a week, indicating that the sport is one of the most popular in the Kingdom.

Given the range of options available for viewing, 86 percent of respondents said they plan to use more than one device to follow the World Cup, with 58 percent saying they will watch at least some of it on TV and 55 percent using their smartphones at least part of the time.