Shortparis

When Ruggero Deodato decided to become a filmmaker, the last thing he would have expected was to be charged with murder. Indeed, the last thing the film industry expected was Cannibal Holocaust. At first, just one of many Italian exploitation, or giallo, movies that were cheap, violent, and sexual, it very quickly drew attention in the vein of Andy Warhol: don’t worry about what they print, just measure it in inches. Deodato shortly found himself hauled up in front of an Italian court, accompanied by actors he was accused of murdering, to recreate effects that had convinced people of his guilt. This was just one of many chapters in the strange legacy of his seminal horror Cannibal Holocaust, which would, in one way or another, brand him a legendary degenerate. But in the way only the underground horror scene can, these same controversies would propel him to cult infamy and attract the kind of serious attention that Deodato was seeking all along.

Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine has launched an unscripted unit in the U.K. The Candle Media-backed studio has appointed former Channel 4 head of features and formats Sarah Lazenby to lead the division as executive VP of unscripted U.K. She will report into Hello Sunshine’s head of unscripted Sara Rea, who joined the studio following the acquisition of her company SKR Productions. As part of the expansion, Hello Sunshine Unscripted U.K. is currently developing its first production with “It’s a Sin” broadcaster Channel 4. The move into the U.K., particularly for unscripted, is a sound move for Hello Sunshine, and follows similar drives by...