“Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ and Songül Öden, leading actors of the series titled “Noor,” are visiting Dubai to promote the Istanbul Shopping Fest, which will take place between July 9 and 29 this year. This year’s festival will be the second ever festival.
Speaking at a press conference, manager Füsun Sönmez introduced the festival. Tatlıtuğ said he had been visiting Dubai for many years, and added that he was very happy to see the interest in Turkish soap operas in Dubai and the wider Middle East.
Tatlıtuğ said he was proud to present Turkey and was very happy to contribute to the representation of Turkey in other countries as an actor.
He added that he had received a number of film proposals from the Middle East and said, “if the scenario is good, I would like to play in one of the projects.”
Öden agreed that it was very important to see the interest in Turkish series’ in other countries, and said that it helped to keep the relations between two cultures. “We would like to be in front of the audience with better projects. I would like to be a part of an Arabic project.
”The presentation in Dubai was the first stop on the festival’s promotional tour, before the team travels on to Baku in Azerbaijan and Belgrade in Serbia.”
“The broadcasting of all foreign TV shows has been banned in Azerbaijan as of today, in an effort to “support the domestic sector,” daily Milliyet reported.
The ban includes shows that have been dubbed in the Azerbaijani language. Turkish soap operas are included in the ban.
The head of Azerbaijan’s National Council of Televion and Radio, Nushirvan Meherremli, said the government is firm in its decision and will not back down from the ban.
A new legal regulation will first warn and then punish TV stations that broadcast foreign programming in violation of the ban. The punishment may be as severe as revoking a station’s broadcast license, the report said.
It is hoped that the ban will improve the domestic TV sector in Azerbaijan, Meherremli said.”
“Turkish distributor Global Agency has racked up more sales of Ottoman Empire drama Magnificent Century, as details emerge of a similar series in development in the US.
The TIMS Productions show is about Suleiman the Magnificent, ruler of the Ottoman Empire at the height of its glory in the 16th century.
The first season of the show, which is now in its second season in Turkey, has been picked up by Prva for transmission in Serbia and Montenegro, and by Kanal 5 in Macedonia.
Viewers will also be able to watch the series in Russia (Domashny), Azerbaijan (Lider TV), Slovakia (Markiza), Czech Republic (Barrandov), Romania (Kanal D), Kazakhstan (Khabar) and Albania (Albanian Screen), while Dubai TV will air it in 22 Arab-speaking countries.
Many territories are due to launch the show simultaneously on December 21, said Global Agency CEO Izzet Pinto.
Magnificent Century airs on free-to-air Show TV in Turkey, though it will transfer mid-season to rival Star TV in January, following the latter’s takeover by Dogus, the owner of the Turkish version of CNBC.
The latest Magnificent Century sales come as it emerged that US cablenet Starz and BBC Worldwide Productions (BBCWW) are developing Harem, a six-hour series about Suleiman the Magnificent and the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Ann Peacock, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is said to be penning the series, about a slave girl who marries the Sultan.
Harem would become the second coproduction between Starz and BBCWW Productions since a deal was signed following their collaboration on Torchwood: Miracle Day. They are also working together on historical fantasy Da Vinci’s Demons, an eight-parter due to begin production in early 2012.
Speaking about Harem, Pinto told C21: “I would be very happy if such a thing would be made because it would create more knowledge and interest in the subject. It would be an advantage, not a disadvantage.”
A BBCWW representative said: “We have various titles in stages of development, none of which are at a stage we’re prepared to discuss. Not every project between Starz and BBC Worldwide Productions falls under the overall deal recently announced.””