Ventureland

Thirty years after a Los Angeles jury found O.J. Simpson not guilty of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, the case is still being poked and prodded under the microscope of curious filmmakers. The latest is Floyd Russ, whose documentary series American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson premieres Jan. 29 on Netflix.

EXCLUSIVE: 011films and Ventureland are partnering on what promises to be the definitive documentary on undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk.

We’re told post-production is underway in Rome on the film directed and produced by Pablo Benedetti, who gained access to the Ukrainian powerhouse across a span of five years, following the star athlete inside and outside the ring. Usyk, gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, became the first boxer to simultaneously hold titles from boxing’s four top sanctioning bodies — the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council, International Boxing Federation, and World Boxing Organization.

Apple TV+ has dropped some of the first images for Government Cheese, its upcoming comedy series starring and executive produced by David Oyelowo. You can see them above and below. The streamer also announced the 10-episode series will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, April 16 with the first four episodes, followed by one episode weekly every Wednesday through May 28.

Government Cheese is produced by Apple Studios and Macro Television Studios. The series is written, executive produced and co-showrun by Hunter, who also directs, and Aeysha Carr. Oyelowo executive produces under his Yoruba Saxon banner. Charles D. King and Marta Fernandez executive produce for Macro Television Studios. Ali Brown executive produces for Ventureland.

Academy Award-winning producer Dan Janvey (Nomadland) has joined Ventureland, the studio behind the Emmy and PGA Award-winning docuseries Beckham and the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated Bobi Wine: The People’s President, as Head of Film. 

Based in New York City, Janvey joins from the Brooklyn-based Present Company, where he was a producer. His appointment follows news over the summer that Jesse Uram joined as vice president of strategic partnerships, where he is focused on expanding the company’s relationships with partners across the financial, creative, brand, and distribution communities. Kerstin Emhoff, John Battsek, Ali Brown launched the studio, specializing in the development of original entertainment across all media platforms, alongside Paul Hunter in 2018.

On Saturday night, ‘Beckham’ won the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. The four-part docuseries, directed by Fisher Stevens and produced by Ventureland and Studio 99, was nominated for five Emmys in total, including Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program.

‘Beckham’ is streaming on Netflix.

Jesse Uram has joined Ventureland, the creative studio behind “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” and “Beckham,” as vice president of strategic partnerships. He will be based in the company’s Los Angeles office, where he will work closely with CEO Kerstin Emhoff and managing director John Battsek on expanding the company’s relationships with partners across the financial, creative, and distribution communities.

The Peabody Award nominees for Documentary, News, Public Service, and Radio/Podcast, listed by category and in alphabetical order (network/platform in parentheses) include: Bobi Wine: The People’s President.

One incredibly discerning guest. Ten conversation starters. An endlessly fascinating look into the world of hotels. This is Perfect 10 by Hotels.com NBA center Nikola Jokić has strong feelings about hotels from the best beach getaway to how every minibar should be stocked.

Universal Pictures Content Group has boarded “The Beat of a Nation: Kerouac’s Road,” a feature documentary directed by Ebs Burnough (“The Capote Tapes”) about Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel “On the Road.” Produced by London-based banner Ventureland, the documentary starts filming this week and sees Burnough using the prism of “On the Road” to depict the turmoils of today’s political and cultural landscape in the U.S.

As a documentary subject, free diving has the death-defying lunacy of big-wave surfing and the cosmopolitan appeal of Formula 1. And in the Italian free-diving champion Alessia Zecchini, The Deepest Breath has a vibrant heroine who is beautiful and tragically monomaniacal. This gripping movie tells her story and follows her blossoming love affair with the Irish safety diver Stephen Keenan, who runs a free-dive training facility in Dahab, Egypt, where Zecchini goes to train. Their affair gives poignant momentum to The Deepest Breath, which is fascinated with athletic obsession. Tragedy, when it comes, is all but inevitable.