Month: December 2020

ViacomCBS International Studios is developing  a TV series depicting the life of groundbreaking Spanish fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga with British director James Kent (“Testament of Youth”) on board to direct and Spain’s Frida Torresblanco (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Assassination of Richard Nixon”) to serve as executive producer. Balenciaga was born in 1895 in Getaria, a fishing
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Production and distribution powerhouse All3Media has acquired leading natural history producer Silverback Films. Founded in 2012 by Alastair Fothergill (pictured, left) and Keith Scholey (right), Silverback Films is the U.K.’s top natural history producer outside of the BBC Natural History Unit, and creates wildlife content for film and TV. Recent credits include the documentary “David
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Francisco Ramos, VP of Spanish-language Originals for Netflix in Latin America, headlined a Ventana Sur chat on Wednesday, joined virtually by Latin American industry journalist Nicolás Smirnoff, managing partner of Editorial Prensario and director of Prensario International and Prensario TI Latin America. Titled Netflix, between the Pandemic and the New OTT Ecosystem, the talk focused
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“Versailles” star Alexander Vlahos has partnered with German executive producer Nicole Oebel (“Lola”) to form independent film production company CowHouse Films. The Welsh-German company will kick off in early 2021 with principal photography on “Watchtower,” a film that explores the inner conflict of isolating oneself and allowing the presence of a loved one to be
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In “The Time of Indifference,” Italian filmmaker Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli adapts the 1929 novel by renowned author Alberto Moravia about a once wealthy family in decline but unable to give up the pretenses of appearance. Transposed to modern-day Rome, the film retains the novel’s timeless story of a hapless widow whose devious and manipulative lover
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Berlin-based Picture Tree International, which is participating in this week’s Ventana Sur, has announced a swathe of deals on its sales slate, including a pact with HBO for U.S. rights on Mexican comedy “Go Youth,” which premiered locally at Morelia Film Festival recently. Carlos Armella’s movie tells the intertwined stories of four teenagers struggling with
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The centerpiece of “Love, Weddings & Other Disasters” is a sweetly engaging story about the improbable autumnal romance between an impossibly demanding celebrity caterer, played by a perfectly cast Jeremy Irons, and the age-appropriate, sight-impaired free spirit (a very winning Diane Keaton) who manages to locate a warm heart beneath his frosty demeanor. Unfortunately —
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China on Thursday announced selection of Hong Kong director Peter Chan’s sports drama “Leap” as its contender for the Academy Awards’ best international feature film competition this year. The film tells the fact-based story of the Chinese women’s national volleyball team and their travails over the course of decades, from their world championship win in
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The hybrid festival model, combining in-theater screenings and online playout, that emerged during coronavirus lockdown periods may help festivals reach a wider audience, said panelists at a Singapore International Film Festival talk on Wednesday. The transition from programming traditional festivals to putting together online ones initially posed tech problems, said Anderson Le, festival consultant and
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UPDATE: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an emergency targeted safer-at-home order late Wednesday evening, effective immediately. The order requires all residents to remain in their homes, ceases the operation of non-essential businesses that require in-person attendance by workers and prohibits gatherings with those outside of one’s household. However, there is a long list of
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Blackpink is coming in your area — virtually, anyway. YouTube Music has announced a livestream concert featuring the K-pop group, set for launch on Dec. 27 at midnight ET. The event, available exclusively on Blackpink’s YouTube channel, will include first-time performances of songs from “The Album,” released in October. Members of Blackpink, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa
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In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announced the premiere date and released a trailer for “Lupin,” and Fox shared an extended teaser for “The Masked Dancer.” CASTING Netflix announced Page Kennedy, Diamond Lyons, Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins, Jermelle Simon, Gabrielle Dennis and Journey Christine have been cast in “The Upshaws.” The newly announced actors join Mike
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For just $20 a month, Philo offers consumers more than 60 cable channels. It’s a simple value proposition that has helped this venture stand out in a crowded marketplace of so-called virtual MVPDs. And as Philo CEO Andrew McCollum explains, he’s not about to make the mistake that has the prices of many of his
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Spotify’s stock jumped 12.6% Wednesday — closing at an all-time high price of $320.89 per share — as investors rallied around new features the audio-streaming platform introduced and data signaling its podcast push is gathering steam. The surge pushed Spotify’s market capitalization to $60.8 billion, with the stock more than doubling in value since the
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“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” stars Kyle Richards, Kathy Hilton and Dorit Kemsley have tested positive for COVID-19. A source close to Bravo told Variety that production for the upcoming season has been suspended because of positive test results, but could not confirm identities because of privacy concerns. According to TMZ, cast members “did not contract
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The “DuckTales” reboot will not continue past its current third season on Disney XD. “The talented creative team, led by Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones, have delivered exceptional storytelling with uniquely reimagined characters for three seasons of 75 episodes and more than 15 shorts,” a Disney XD spokesperson said in a statement. “While physical production
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Last December, when Ellie Goulding accepted the Variety’s Decade award at our annual Hitmakers event, she noted — more out of curiosity than bitterness — that for all the commercial and critical success in her decade-plus-long career, particularly in her native U.K., she has had little recognition from the industry’s biggest awards. “I haven’t really
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