Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here penning the newsletter in the week the new James Bond director was announced. If you want to be shaken, never stirred, please read on. 

Bond Takes Next Step

The name's Villeneuve...: The next 007 movie just drew a step closer. Noise around one of the world's leading franchises has reached fever pitch since Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson sold the keys to Amazon MGM and Amazon's biggest move since then is a popular one, bringing in Dune auteur Denis Villeneuve to direct. The four-time Oscar nominated helmer will work with storied producers David Heyman and Amy Pascal and he certainly has the chops for the spy franchise, having overseen many an action movie and bringing something a little extra to the likes of Blade Runner 2049, Arrival and the two Dune movies. He has been connected to the gig since the beginning, alongside the likes of Alfonso Cuarón, Edward Berger, Edgar Wright, Jonathan Nolan and Paul King. Denis is a busy man, however, casting doubt on any new Bond movie being imminent. He'll be tied up for the foreseeable with his third and final Dune film for Warner Bros and Legendary Entertainment, which is shooting this summer and slated for release December 2026. That gives time for Amazon to answer the even grander, unanswered question: Who will play the lead? Odds at the moment still point to this being anyone's guess, with the likes of 28 Years Later star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Henry Cavill, Theo James and James Norton all regularly connected with the role. That one continues to be quite the source of intrigue. Reminder: Longtime Bond producers Broccoli and Wilson relinquished control of the beloved spy franchise to Amazon earlier this year in what was undoubtedly one of the biggest industry deals of this generation. Picking a director of Villeneuve's prestige feels something of a Broccoli/Wilson-esque choice and will have fans breathing a sigh of relief that the new custodians want to keep that legacy going. Jake looked back over a decade's worth of Denis stating his desire to one day direct Bond and there is some lovely detail – the clues were there from the start.

out in apos

'Squid Game' Season 3 unleashed: Good timing for the annual Asian media and tech confab APOS in Bali this week, with the concluding season of Squid Game launching at the same time. Netflix's most-watched show of all time and arguably the biggest to ever come out of Asia dropped just two days after Don Kang, the streamer's head of content in the region, appeared on stage to discuss the wide-ranging cultural impact of Korean shows and the Korean industry’s production lull. Promotion is in full swing for Squid Game 3, which has arrived pretty sharpish after Season 2. “At this point, I’m not focused on any numbers or expectations or performance, but really focused on the delivering this great finale for the fans, and delivering the excellent work by the entire cast and crew,” said Kang. Hard to believe he won't be keeping an eye on those much-vaunted numbers! The hard reality of Korean production in 2025 has set in of late, mind, and Kang was forced to address what has felt a lull in recent months, noting that production comes in phases and that he's "confident" there will be future peaks. Sara Merican was in Bali for us, covering a wealth of buzzy sessions including a fascinating discussion around micro-dramas and vertical videos, which could maybe go some way to resolving the aforementioned production lull if they seriously start taking off beyond Asia. There were also some interesting deals to emerge from the event, including this fascinating tie-up between Hello Kitty owner Sanrio and Moonbug, the firm behind CoComelon. The pair will explore consumer initiatives and create a series featuring characters from both universes. Check out all our APOS coverage here.

RTL Buys Sky Deutschland

Sky (Germany) is the limit: How does Comcast solve a problem like Sky Deutschland? Answer: Sell it, eventually, to RTL . Chatter has abound for yonks around the sale of Sky's German arm and this morning that chat became reality when it was revealed that RTL would be paying €150M ($175M) plus additional cash depending on share price performance. The resulting merger creates an 11.5 million sub machine and €250M of synergies are now incoming over the next three years, which could get painful. RTL boss Thomas Rabe described the deal as "transformational." Sky Deutschland exited the scripted originals game two years back and has been ripe for a sale, with rumors also swirling that the Italian arm could head in a similar direction. For RTL, the move is an interesting one. On the same morning the Sky Germany buy was announced, the Luxembourg-headquartered giant got the greenlight for the sale of RTL Nederland to DPG Media for the far bigger sum of €1.1B, another indication of a regulatory softening around big-ticket M&A in European media. RTL is also being connected with the ongoing sales chatter around ITV Studios, alongside the likes of Banijay and RedBird IMI. RTL launched in 2000 and the Sky Deutschland buy is its biggest acquisition to date. The European M&A market is heating up amid U.S. competition and this doesn't feel the end of it.

Spacey Dominates Italian Fest Debut

“Guts” and “forgiveness”: The news was all about Kevin Spacey at the first Italian Global Series Festival (IGSF), which has been running this week in the sunny seaside resort of Rimini and neighboring Riccione on the Adriatic Riviera. The Se7en, American Beauty and The Usual Suspects star was controversially presented with a Maximo Excellence Award on Monday night, the latest in a line of European rosettes bestowed on him over the past year as he seeks to rehabilitate his image and career. Given that IGSF Artistic Director Marco Spagnoli told Deadline before the event  he wants the Maximo Excellence prizes to be the Italian equivalent of landing an Emmy, well, that’s quite a statement. Spacey used his acceptance speech to thank Italy’s Franco Nero, who was the first to cast him in a role after allegations over his sexual conduct began in 2017. Spacey claimed “very few had the guts” to do the same. He doubled down two days later during an eyebrow-raising on-stage interview  with Spagnoli, where he said he had “forgiveness” for those who had assumed his guilt in his UK legal trial and a U.S. civil suit. In both cases, he was eventually cleared (though a new civil case looms in the UK), but his career has not been revived there and Hollywood remains uninterested. Jesse was in the room for the talk and noted how the Italian public, students and several European film journalists in attendance wildly supported his every word, which is unlikely to be the response in every country. As for an overall assessment of the first IGSF, our sources range from optimistic and supportive to annoyed over logistics and downright angered by poor attendances at screenings. All our coverage from the week can be found  here.

"The Untalented Mr Ripley"

A disturbing tale: The tragic discovery of the bodies of a baby girl and young woman in a park in Rome has been generating headlines in Italy. A U.S. man was arrested on the Greek island of Skiathos on suspicion of being the killer and it turned out that this had serious ripples in the world of film and television. Rexal Ford, AKA Francis Charles Kaufmann, calls himself a film producer and director, but his carefully-curated profile has started to unravel. His IMDb profile suggests he has worked on Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World and Clint Eastwood’s The 15:17 to Paris  but all those who he claims to have worked with have distanced themselves from him. In an astonishing interview with his sister, Penelope Kaufmann, he was described as a “monster,” “psychopath” and “manipulator” who "would be capable of selling you your own clothes." His nickname at home was the 'Untalented Mr Ripley,' she said. Melanie did some digging. Read more over here.

the essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Breaking Baz had an exclusive first look at Rosamund Pike wearing Crown Court judge robes in new play Inter Alia.

🌶️ Another One: James Vanderbilt's Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon, has sold to multiple international buyers.

🎤 The big interview: TIFF boss Cameron Bailey talked to Zac about why the fest is focused on "celebrating Canada" this year.

🏕️ Festivals latest: Shonda Rhimes will receive the inaugural Edinburgh TV Fellowship at this year's 50th edition.

🏕️ More festivals: SXSW Sydney will fete Bridesmaids filmmaker Paul Feig.

🤝 Done deal: Nigeria and Brazil inked a landmark co-pro arrangement.

✅ New job: UTA's Darnell Strom is heading to London to oversee the agency's UK office.

⚡ Disruptors: Execs from The Leopard producer Indiana were in the Disruptors hot seat this week.

🍿 Box office: Brad Pitt's F1 is set to vroom around the world to a $115M opening.

💵 Show me the money: The BBC will charge U.S. audiences for news content for the first time.

🎥 Trail: For Click the Link Below, Audun Amundsen’s doc exploring the world of high-rolling digital marketing and lifestyle gurus.

🕯️ RIP: Our thoughts at Deadline go out to the family and friends of Michael Peter Schmidt, President of Israel's Sipur Studios and a co-founder of Red Arrow Studios, who has died aged 52. Michael was an absolute force in international TV, who had a huge impact on the industry. A funeral mass will be held next week in New York.

Max Goldbart wrote this week’s Insider and Jesse Whittock contributed. It was edited by Jesse Whittock.