\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVertical<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tLess washing:<\/strong> The actions of nations like Saudi Arabia led terms such as \u201csportswashing\u201d and \u201cculturewashing\u201d to enter the lexicon, but now the Gulf state appears to be in something of a funding retreat. Reports that\u00a0Saudi Arabia\u2018s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will stop financing the LIV Golf Tour shook up the world of sport earlier this week, and these reports were effectively confirmed yesterday afternoon. For those unfamiliar, LIV was a controversial, multi-billion dollar rival to the established PGA tour, featuring famous players including Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson. Saudi Arabia\u2019s removal of funds has unsurprisingly thrown its future into doubt, although organizers insist they can find new backing and are seeking \u201csecure long-term financial partners.\u201d Fox and TNT Sports, the U.S. and European rights holders respectively, will certainly hope so. The move feels reflective of the state of things. There was a time when Saudi was shelling big bucks on major cultural projects and institutions. One noteworthy example was the $150M epic Desert Warrior, <\/em>which finally landed in cinemas last week. Desert Warrior<\/em> has suffered bruising headlines based on its performance in America, where it has grossed $596,000 to date, and been\u00a0billed as one of the biggest box office flops in history.\u00a0These struggles will likely do nothing to restore Saudi faith in cultural investment. We wrote 18 months ago about Desert Warrior\u2019s <\/em>journey to the big screen, which began right at the start of this decade. We may not be seeing another of its ilk for a little while.<\/p>\n \n\tScaling Up In Spain<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAF Films<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tFast AF: <\/strong>Always worth keeping an eye on our International Disruptors column and this week we featured Frank Ariza\u2019s AF Films, an indie production house scaling up in Spain. Ariza is busy. Across the last five years he has built up his Madrid banner from indie studio behind internationally-driven projects to a distribution label plus soundstage owner in the tax-friendly Canary Islands. The international portfolio includes Eva Victor\u2019s Sundance-winning directorial debut\u00a0Sorry, Baby<\/em>, Antonio Banderas shark thriller\u00a0Above and Below<\/em>\u00a0with Capstone Pictures and upcoming\u00a0dystopian thriller\u00a0No Man\u2019s Land\u00a0<\/em>with Millicent Simmonds. It even has an upcoming doc about St.Peter\u2019s tomb with Chris Pratt. Spain is an attractive place to film and Ariza knows what this means. \u201cIncentives are a big driver for international productions,\u201d he explains. \u201cThere are so many production services where people are not as hands on, but what we bring to the table is that we\u2019re involved early on and we take risk.\u201d Tempted by a Banderas shark thriller? Dive in here.<\/p>\n \n\tLunch With Jeff Pope<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGareth Cattermole\/Getty Images for IMDb<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tWhat\u2019s in a number?: <\/strong>UK press were given rare, unfettered access to one of the nation\u2019s top creatives this week at a 90-minute on-record natter with Jeff Pope. Pope was Oscar nominated for Philomena, <\/em>which he co-wrote with Steve Coogan, but has also been behind tonnes of hard-hitting factual TV drama, his latest being ITV\u2019s Believe Me<\/em> about British serial rapist John Worboys. Pope, who has been making programs for decades but only made his first for a streamer last year, has been scratching his head of late about the entrance of the American streaming giants into his factual drama heartland. He spoke candidly about how this has muddied the waters in terms of defining a show\u2019s success, with reviews now mattering even more than they used to and ratings declining in importance. While he used to wait with bated breath for the overnight ratings to be published, Pope said he would \u201cstruggle to tell you\u201d how well his Disney+ show Suspect<\/em>, about the police killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, rated. Elsewhere, Pope took journalists behind the scenes of the making of Believe Me <\/em>\u2013 \u201cI never thought this was a story about Worboys or was really interested in Worboys\u2019 motivations,\u201d he said \u2013 and claimed that despite many of his projects taking on the cops, he \u201cdoes not have an anti-police agenda.\u201d More here from this particular Pope.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Essentials <\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOliver Rosser\/Feast Creative<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Hot One:<\/strong> Keira Knightley, Stephen\u00a0Dillane and\u00a0Luke Thompson are starring in a London stage adaptation of Oscar-winning German movie\u00a0The Lives of Others<\/em>, per Baz.<\/p>\n \n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Another One:<\/strong> A24 UK\u2019s busy year continues with a TV adaptation of Alexis Hall\u2019s BookTok sensation Boyfriend Material.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\ud83d\udd25 A third:<\/strong> Dami\u00e1n Szifron is helming\u00a0classical music movie El Sobrino<\/em>\u00a0for Netflix.<\/p>\n \n\t\ud83d\udc69\u200d\u2696\ufe0f Legal: <\/strong>Jake has been keeping an eye trained on the twists and turns of the Rebel Wilson courtroom drama.<\/p>\n \n\t\ud83c\udf0e Global Breakout: <\/strong>Jesse explored Still Breathing, <\/em>Norway\u2019s answer to The Pitt<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 Cannes roundup:<\/strong> The festival is nearly upon us. Check out all the big stories here including a new Jason Statham project and many more. <\/p>\n \n\t\ud83e\uddcd New gig: <\/strong>Nippon TV has boosted its U.S. hub with the hire of former ITV America exec Nick Ower.<\/p>\n \n\t\u26fa Fest latest: <\/strong>Minions & Monsters<\/em> will open the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which unveiled a buzzy lineup featuring Ricky Gervais and Mike Judge.<\/p>\n \n\t\ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f Calendar shift: <\/strong>Canneseries is moving. Next year\u2019s fest will take place in early February, putting it ahead of rival\u00a0Series Mania.<\/p>\n \n\t\ud83c\udfea Setting up shop:<\/strong> Screenwriter, actor and producer Will Jeffs and producer John Hauber launched Red Imp Films in Toronto and London.<\/p>\n \n\t\ud83e\udd16 Robots are coming:<\/strong> Some UK film and TV industry organizations are imposing \u201cstrict internal controls\u201d around artificial intelligence, according to a new report.<\/p>\n![\"Aiysha](\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-deadline-2019\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.jpg\")
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