Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu and his Bucharest-based company Mobra Films will join forces with Poland’s Kijora Films on “Tales of the Golden Age – The Warsaw Pact,” a follow up to his 2009 sketch comedy referencing urban legends from the Ceausescu regime.
Expanding to accommodate stories from different ex-communist Eastern European countries, including Poland, it will be written by Mungiu and directed by Ioana Uricaru. France’s Les Films du Worso is also on board.
“Perhaps the most important function of comedy is to help us confront negative emotions and terrible events, and give us a way to talk about them that makes them less frightening. The most effective comedies are set in tragic situations,” Mungiu and Uricaru said in a statement.
“The stories presented in the script take place at a dark moment in history and talk about very grim issues in that comical and absurd way – one...
Expanding to accommodate stories from different ex-communist Eastern European countries, including Poland, it will be written by Mungiu and directed by Ioana Uricaru. France’s Les Films du Worso is also on board.
“Perhaps the most important function of comedy is to help us confront negative emotions and terrible events, and give us a way to talk about them that makes them less frightening. The most effective comedies are set in tragic situations,” Mungiu and Uricaru said in a statement.
“The stories presented in the script take place at a dark moment in history and talk about very grim issues in that comical and absurd way – one...
- 2/19/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Nathaniel welcomes back Nick Davis to talk about making peace with Oscar night such as it was. It's the only Oscar podcast you'll hear that doesn't discuss The Incident! Instead we talk about our first Oscar nights as children as well as what we liked about Sunday's show and then the conversation drifts towards what's next. What do we hope to see from some of the actors and directors in the future?
You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify or download the attachment below. ...
You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify or download the attachment below. ...
- 4/1/2022
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The Criterion Channel’s July 2021 Lineup Includes Wong Kar Wai, Neo-Noir, Art-House Animation & More
The July lineup at The Criterion Channel has been revealed, most notably featuring the new Wong Kar Wai restorations from the recent box set release, including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, and his shorts Hua yang de nian hua and The Hand.
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
With last year’s Comedy Lead Actress winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”) out of contention, this Emmy category is up for grabs. This year’s slate of nominees includes three previous Emmy winners and three women looking for their first victory. We have considered the pros and cons of each of their episode submissions to help you make your final Emmy predictions. Who will win the Emmy on Sunday, September 20? Follow the links below for each episode analysis.
See 2020 Emmy nominations complete list: All the nominees for the 72nd Emmy Awards
Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me”
Christina Applegate is a seven-time Emmy nominee. She won the Comedy Guest Actress category for “Friend” in 2003. She was nominated for that classic comedy again the following year before landing two consecutive bids for “Samantha Who” in 2007 and 2008. “Dead to Me” netted her two more Comedy Lead Actress nominations as well as a Comedy Series bid this year.
See 2020 Emmy nominations complete list: All the nominees for the 72nd Emmy Awards
Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me”
Christina Applegate is a seven-time Emmy nominee. She won the Comedy Guest Actress category for “Friend” in 2003. She was nominated for that classic comedy again the following year before landing two consecutive bids for “Samantha Who” in 2007 and 2008. “Dead to Me” netted her two more Comedy Lead Actress nominations as well as a Comedy Series bid this year.
- 9/18/2020
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
The 1990 Primetime Emmys ceremony didn’t have any sweeps, but a longtime TV favorite won an overdue award from an unlikely group of presenters, a record was set for the most ties in a single ceremony, a couple of legends were remembered and, despite Academy love being spread around, there were two shows that surprisingly ended the night with zero major wins. Hosted by the unlikely trio of Candice Bergen, Jay Leno and Jane Pauley, the 42nd Emmy Awards ceremony took place on September 16, 1990. Let’s flashback 30 years to the highlights.
Although “Cheers” had won Best Comedy Series three times, its lead actor failed to nab a trophy himself, despite being nominated seven straight years for the classic character. However, Ted Danson finally got his moment on the stage, winning for Best Comedy Actor for his role as Sam Malone on “Cheers.” He quipped, “I suppose this means you’ll be saying,...
Although “Cheers” had won Best Comedy Series three times, its lead actor failed to nab a trophy himself, despite being nominated seven straight years for the classic character. However, Ted Danson finally got his moment on the stage, winning for Best Comedy Actor for his role as Sam Malone on “Cheers.” He quipped, “I suppose this means you’ll be saying,...
- 9/9/2020
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
We’ve been exclusively revealing all 2020 Emmy Awards episode submissions throughout the first days of August. Every title is now listed below. All guest acting titles were indicated on the ballots from early July. The program, lead and supporting contender episodes are courtesy of networks, studios and/or personal reps. The 72nd annual Emmys will be live (yet virtual) September 20 on ABC and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel (“Jimmy Kimmel Live”).
Each drama series and comedy series must submit six episodes for voters to view. Each lead and supporting nominee from dramas and comedies enter one episode each. Leads in the movie/limited categories are viewed for their entire programs, but supportings in that genre also entire a single title each. The complete list for all confirmed submissions is below.
To weigh in with your thoughts and analysis, join our special discussion in the Gold Derby forums.
SEE2020 Emmy nominations complete...
Each drama series and comedy series must submit six episodes for voters to view. Each lead and supporting nominee from dramas and comedies enter one episode each. Leads in the movie/limited categories are viewed for their entire programs, but supportings in that genre also entire a single title each. The complete list for all confirmed submissions is below.
To weigh in with your thoughts and analysis, join our special discussion in the Gold Derby forums.
SEE2020 Emmy nominations complete...
- 8/13/2020
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Michael Cusumano back again with my new series on great scenes/films of the 21st Century. This week a title we will surely hear often when the best of the decade lists start rolling in...
Scene: Razieh is Fired (aka The Incident)
It’s rare for a movie, even a great movie, to sneak up on the audience the way Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation does.
The screenplay is centered around an inflection point. Everything pulling the characters inexorably toward, or ricocheting off of, the moment when a man shoves a woman out his front door. Yet this action is not granted any special emphasis. First-time viewers have no clue they’ve witnessed the action around which the entire story pivots. It is only a few short scenes later, when the man is on trial for causing the miscarriage of the women he pushed (a murder charge in Iran) that...
Scene: Razieh is Fired (aka The Incident)
It’s rare for a movie, even a great movie, to sneak up on the audience the way Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation does.
The screenplay is centered around an inflection point. Everything pulling the characters inexorably toward, or ricocheting off of, the moment when a man shoves a woman out his front door. Yet this action is not granted any special emphasis. First-time viewers have no clue they’ve witnessed the action around which the entire story pivots. It is only a few short scenes later, when the man is on trial for causing the miscarriage of the women he pushed (a murder charge in Iran) that...
- 5/14/2019
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Seeing that the time-off in between films was working nicely for the franchise, this fourth and final entry in the ‘Sister Street Fighter’ series now arrives with a full year break in between the releases, in a sequel in name-only since it was graced with a new creative team in director Shigehiro Ozawa and writers Isao Matsumoto and Motohiro Torii.
Trying to please her mother, young Kiku Nakagawa continually leaves their successful kimono shop business in order to take martial arts at a local dojo. Her friend at the dojo, Michi becomes concerned about her stepbrother Jim (Ken Wallace) going missing one day, eventually learning that he’s been in the employ of movie studio owner Fujiyama, who’s been using the studio as a base for a series of smuggling operations and the film shoots as a front for the activities. Taking the situation up with police detective Takagi,...
Trying to please her mother, young Kiku Nakagawa continually leaves their successful kimono shop business in order to take martial arts at a local dojo. Her friend at the dojo, Michi becomes concerned about her stepbrother Jim (Ken Wallace) going missing one day, eventually learning that he’s been in the employ of movie studio owner Fujiyama, who’s been using the studio as a base for a series of smuggling operations and the film shoots as a front for the activities. Taking the situation up with police detective Takagi,...
- 3/14/2019
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Empire returned from its midseason hiatus Wednesday with its first episode since Jussie Smollett‘s February arrest for allegedly orchestrating his own hate crime. And it was weird.
In something of an eerie coincidence (considering “My Fault is Past” was shot months before the embattled actor’s alleged attack on the streets of Chicago and subsequent dismissal from Season 5), the episode’s plot found Jamal enduring crises on multiple fronts.
“I don’t know if you’ve been reading the blogs, but it’s been kind of a tough week,” Jamal lamented to an enthusiastic, standing room only crowd at...
In something of an eerie coincidence (considering “My Fault is Past” was shot months before the embattled actor’s alleged attack on the streets of Chicago and subsequent dismissal from Season 5), the episode’s plot found Jamal enduring crises on multiple fronts.
“I don’t know if you’ve been reading the blogs, but it’s been kind of a tough week,” Jamal lamented to an enthusiastic, standing room only crowd at...
- 3/14/2019
- TVLine.com
Amazon has gone back to the long-form, star-studded well for the Super Bowl, incorporating Harrison Ford, Forest Whitaker and Broad City duo Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson into a 90-second spot promoting Alexa.
The spot, which was released today online and will air on Sunday’s Super Bowl Liii, pivots on the gimmick of Amazon experimenting with uses for Alexa voice-activation technology. The joke is, the company has has more than a few fails with these tests. It tried putting it in a toothbrush (which muffles the sound of Whitaker’s favorite podcast); a dog collar (which has Ford’s dog ordering his own sausage and gravy); and a hot tub (where Glazer and Jacobson get propelled into the air with a Bellagio-style fountain spray).
As a framing device, the spot has two Amazon employees comparing notes about the beta-testing. After one furtively acknowledges “The Incident,” the action shows...
The spot, which was released today online and will air on Sunday’s Super Bowl Liii, pivots on the gimmick of Amazon experimenting with uses for Alexa voice-activation technology. The joke is, the company has has more than a few fails with these tests. It tried putting it in a toothbrush (which muffles the sound of Whitaker’s favorite podcast); a dog collar (which has Ford’s dog ordering his own sausage and gravy); and a hot tub (where Glazer and Jacobson get propelled into the air with a Bellagio-style fountain spray).
As a framing device, the spot has two Amazon employees comparing notes about the beta-testing. After one furtively acknowledges “The Incident,” the action shows...
- 1/30/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s been one year since deadly fires and mudslides came close to shutting down the 33rd edition of the Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival. The Thomas Fire and subsequent flooding devastated the city and left 23 dead in the Montecito area. After some soul searching, organizers decided to carry on as scheduled.
“Last year there was a lot of questioning about whether we were going to move forward with the festival,” admits executive director Roger Durling, at Sbiff since 2004. Ultimately, the disasters gave organizers a renewed sense of purpose.
One year later, they are preparing to open the 34th edition of the festival with a greater appreciation of the event’s role in the community. Sbiff gets under way Jan. 30 with a lineup that includes 63 world premieres and 59 U.S. premieres from 48 countries.
The lineup is bookended with films deeply rooted in Santa Barbara: Mimi deGruy’s “Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy...
“Last year there was a lot of questioning about whether we were going to move forward with the festival,” admits executive director Roger Durling, at Sbiff since 2004. Ultimately, the disasters gave organizers a renewed sense of purpose.
One year later, they are preparing to open the 34th edition of the festival with a greater appreciation of the event’s role in the community. Sbiff gets under way Jan. 30 with a lineup that includes 63 world premieres and 59 U.S. premieres from 48 countries.
The lineup is bookended with films deeply rooted in Santa Barbara: Mimi deGruy’s “Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy...
- 1/29/2019
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been only tangentially related to the movies, though there have been oblique references to the major events of the McU in order to remind us that “it’s all connected.” For instance, all those mentions of “The Incident” – aka the Battle of New York in The Avengers – and some discussion of the Sokovia Accords in Jessica Jones season 2.
Because it’s such a thorny issue, though, none of the Defenders-verse shows have referenced the events of Avengers: Infinity War as yet. Daredevil season 3, for example, didn’t pull an Ant-Man and the Wasp and end with Matt Murdock and his pals turning to dust. And thank God it didn’t, otherwise that would’ve made its subsequent cancellation unbearable.
Anyways, we can now confirm that the same can be said of The Punisher season 2, which arrives on Netflix in the new year.
Because it’s such a thorny issue, though, none of the Defenders-verse shows have referenced the events of Avengers: Infinity War as yet. Daredevil season 3, for example, didn’t pull an Ant-Man and the Wasp and end with Matt Murdock and his pals turning to dust. And thank God it didn’t, otherwise that would’ve made its subsequent cancellation unbearable.
Anyways, we can now confirm that the same can be said of The Punisher season 2, which arrives on Netflix in the new year.
- 12/29/2018
- by Christian Bone
- We Got This Covered
Ahead of the UK premiere screening of Parallel at Arrow Video FrightFest Halloween – which takes place at Cineworld, Leicester Square on November 3rd 2018, director Isaac Ezban discusses the film, making his first English-language feature and directing from someone else’s script.
Parallel is the first film you didn’t write yourself (Scott Blaszak did) but it feels so like one from your heart – dealing with the ramifications of identity, life-shattering decision-making and the possibilities of an endless universe as also explored in The Incident and The Similars?
Yes, that its right, I had many firsts on this one: first movie in English, first movie outside of my country with a completely new crew, first studio film, first film in Canada, and first film I didn´t write, and all those firsts added up to an amazing experience. After The Incident and The Similars, I really had the curiosity to do sci-fi in English,...
Parallel is the first film you didn’t write yourself (Scott Blaszak did) but it feels so like one from your heart – dealing with the ramifications of identity, life-shattering decision-making and the possibilities of an endless universe as also explored in The Incident and The Similars?
Yes, that its right, I had many firsts on this one: first movie in English, first movie outside of my country with a completely new crew, first studio film, first film in Canada, and first film I didn´t write, and all those firsts added up to an amazing experience. After The Incident and The Similars, I really had the curiosity to do sci-fi in English,...
- 11/1/2018
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
(Note: This post contains spoilers for Netflix’s “The Defenders.”)
Detective Misty Knight becomes a big player in Season 2 of “Iron Fist,” helping Danny Rand and Colleen Wing deal with the Triad gangsters in Chinatown. But if you’re not caught up on “The Defenders” or “Luke Cage” Season 2, you might be wondering what the deal is with Misty and her superpowered arm, and you might have missed how she came by it.
Netflix’s “The Defenders” takes place between “Luke Cage” seasons 1 and 2; after “Daredevil” Season 2 and “Iron Fist” Season 1, but before “Jessica Jones” Season 2 and “Iron Fist” Season 2. For a brief period, it finds most of New York’s street-level superheroes teaming up to take down the operation of the evil ninja group known as the Hand.
Also Read: 'Luke Cage': What Exactly Is 'The Incident'?
While Luke (Mike Cotter) and the rest are fighting the Hand,...
Detective Misty Knight becomes a big player in Season 2 of “Iron Fist,” helping Danny Rand and Colleen Wing deal with the Triad gangsters in Chinatown. But if you’re not caught up on “The Defenders” or “Luke Cage” Season 2, you might be wondering what the deal is with Misty and her superpowered arm, and you might have missed how she came by it.
Netflix’s “The Defenders” takes place between “Luke Cage” seasons 1 and 2; after “Daredevil” Season 2 and “Iron Fist” Season 1, but before “Jessica Jones” Season 2 and “Iron Fist” Season 2. For a brief period, it finds most of New York’s street-level superheroes teaming up to take down the operation of the evil ninja group known as the Hand.
Also Read: 'Luke Cage': What Exactly Is 'The Incident'?
While Luke (Mike Cotter) and the rest are fighting the Hand,...
- 9/7/2018
- by Phil Hornshaw
- The Wrap
While you can now experience the start of Clementine's last chapter in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: The Final Season, you'll soon be able to go back to where it all began in portable form when The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season comes to the Nintendo Switch on August 28th:
Press Release: San Rafael, Calif., August 21st, 2018 -- Leading publisher and developer of digital entertainment Telltale Games, alongside Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment, today announced that The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season will launch on Nintendo Switch on August 28, bringing the multiple 'Game of the Year' award-winning first season to Nintendo's latest console.
The Complete First Season includes all five original episodes, as well as add-on anthology 400 Days. Both have been ported from last year's The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series Collection, which offered substantial visual and performance enhancements over previous editions. Those upgrades will now carry...
Press Release: San Rafael, Calif., August 21st, 2018 -- Leading publisher and developer of digital entertainment Telltale Games, alongside Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment, today announced that The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season will launch on Nintendo Switch on August 28, bringing the multiple 'Game of the Year' award-winning first season to Nintendo's latest console.
The Complete First Season includes all five original episodes, as well as add-on anthology 400 Days. Both have been ported from last year's The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series Collection, which offered substantial visual and performance enhancements over previous editions. Those upgrades will now carry...
- 8/24/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Mexican filmmaker Isaac Ezban definitely has a type. After impressing festival audiences with his debut feature The Incident, a film about people stuck in an eternal moment, and The Similars, in which identities being to shift when a group of strangers find themselves stuck waiting at a bus stop, it's pretty clear where his interests lay. Ezban's fascination with the ramifications of identity, decision making, and the possibilities of an endless universe makes another, perhaps more coherent appearance in his newest film, Parallel. Ezban's first English language feature, Parallel is the story of four friends who stumble upon a passage to infinite dimensions in their attic, and how they utilize this new, unnatural power. The short take? Not well. More an exploration of the ethics...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/24/2018
- Screen Anarchy
The Walking Dead continues its expansion into new areas of media and we knew it was only a matter of time before Robert Kirkman's living dead world was brought to life in virtual reality. Today, it has been officially announced that Skydance Interactive is working on The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, a Vr game due out in 2019 where you'll need to survive in a walker-infested New Orleans:
"San Diego, Calif. – July 18, 2018 – Today at San Diego Comic-Con, Skydance Interactive, a division of Skydance Media, unveiled The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, the first official Vr title set in the expansive universe of The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is set to launch in 2019 and is being developed in partnership with Skybound Entertainment, the company founded by Eisner Award-winning creator of the The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman.
Set in the flooded remains of New Orleans, the game will challenge players...
"San Diego, Calif. – July 18, 2018 – Today at San Diego Comic-Con, Skydance Interactive, a division of Skydance Media, unveiled The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, the first official Vr title set in the expansive universe of The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is set to launch in 2019 and is being developed in partnership with Skybound Entertainment, the company founded by Eisner Award-winning creator of the The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman.
Set in the flooded remains of New Orleans, the game will challenge players...
- 7/18/2018
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
If you’re a Daredevil fan, you’ll probably know that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and Black Widow go way back in the comics as they were both lovers and crime-fighting partners in the 1970s. Likewise, if you’re a devotee of Netflix’s drama based on the vigilante, you might have heard Charlie Cox’s repeated cries to get Scarlett Johansson on his show.
Due to the dissonance between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television – not to mention the fact that ScarJo doesn’t come cheap – there’s never been much chance of making this a reality, however. That said, rumors pointed to an intriguing alternative crossover being on the cards instead. That being that maybe Cox could appear in the upcoming Black Widow solo movie, which was just announced to be helmed by director Cate Shortland.
Recently, though, Marvel chief Kevin Feige seemingly put paid to these...
Due to the dissonance between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television – not to mention the fact that ScarJo doesn’t come cheap – there’s never been much chance of making this a reality, however. That said, rumors pointed to an intriguing alternative crossover being on the cards instead. That being that maybe Cox could appear in the upcoming Black Widow solo movie, which was just announced to be helmed by director Cate Shortland.
Recently, though, Marvel chief Kevin Feige seemingly put paid to these...
- 7/13/2018
- by Christian Bone
- We Got This Covered
(Obviously, this post has some spoilers for “Luke Cage” season 2 on Netflix.”)
The return of “Luke Cage” continues to expand the size of the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Season 2 of the show continues Luke’s story after “The Defenders,” with links to “Iron Fist,” “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones” and even some of the McU movies.
Here’s rundown of all the references in “Luke Cage” Season 2 to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from the Netflix TV shows to “The Avengers.”
Atreus Plastics
The company Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) and Shades Alvarez (Theo Rossi) want to purchase has a history of being related to shady dealings. In particular, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) was rescued from prison in an Atreus Plastics truck in the first season of “Daredevil.”
Also Read: 'Luke Cage' Season 2: Is Luke Cage Faster Than Usain Bolt?
Hammer Technologies’ weapons
The...
The return of “Luke Cage” continues to expand the size of the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Season 2 of the show continues Luke’s story after “The Defenders,” with links to “Iron Fist,” “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones” and even some of the McU movies.
Here’s rundown of all the references in “Luke Cage” Season 2 to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from the Netflix TV shows to “The Avengers.”
Atreus Plastics
The company Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) and Shades Alvarez (Theo Rossi) want to purchase has a history of being related to shady dealings. In particular, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) was rescued from prison in an Atreus Plastics truck in the first season of “Daredevil.”
Also Read: 'Luke Cage' Season 2: Is Luke Cage Faster Than Usain Bolt?
Hammer Technologies’ weapons
The...
- 6/22/2018
- by Phil Hornshaw and Phil Owen
- The Wrap
(Note: This post contains light spoilers for the second episode of “Luke Cage” Season 2.)
After the events of the first season of “Luke Cage,” the titular bulletproof hero for hire also becomes the Hero of Harlem — and a local celebrity.
Luke (Mike Colter) continues to hang out in Harlem in Season 2, stopping bad guys and working toward bringing down Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) and Shades Alvarez (Theo Rossi). Now, all the people of Harlem know about Luke, and they even take selfies with him and track his movements with a smartphone app.
Early in the second season, Luke Cage is making appearances around the community while also looking to make some money to save Pop’s Barbershop from foreclosure. He winds up going to a practice session with the Harlem Jets, a real Harlem youth athletics organization, and shows off his abilities to real-life New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles.
After the events of the first season of “Luke Cage,” the titular bulletproof hero for hire also becomes the Hero of Harlem — and a local celebrity.
Luke (Mike Colter) continues to hang out in Harlem in Season 2, stopping bad guys and working toward bringing down Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) and Shades Alvarez (Theo Rossi). Now, all the people of Harlem know about Luke, and they even take selfies with him and track his movements with a smartphone app.
Early in the second season, Luke Cage is making appearances around the community while also looking to make some money to save Pop’s Barbershop from foreclosure. He winds up going to a practice session with the Harlem Jets, a real Harlem youth athletics organization, and shows off his abilities to real-life New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles.
- 6/22/2018
- by Phil Hornshaw and Phil Owen
- The Wrap
“Marvel’s Luke Cage” costume designer Stephanie Maslansky went two routes to dress Misty Knight (Simone Missick) in Season 2.
“There’s various ways to create the look of a one arm,” Maslansky told TheWrap in an interview ahead of Season 2’s drop on Netflix Friday. “One of them is very low-tech, and it revolves around hiding the fact that you have an arm, and it’s done with cutting away, and costume, and you know, making a fake stump, and a variety of ways. And the other way is, of course, very high tech, and that’s the usage of a green sleeve.”
Maslansky, who has worked on other Netflix Marvel shows “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist” and “The Defenders,” said that although that high-tech option is “expensive and time-consuming,” it pays off for the big scenes, like Misty and Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick)’s fight in the bar.
Also...
“There’s various ways to create the look of a one arm,” Maslansky told TheWrap in an interview ahead of Season 2’s drop on Netflix Friday. “One of them is very low-tech, and it revolves around hiding the fact that you have an arm, and it’s done with cutting away, and costume, and you know, making a fake stump, and a variety of ways. And the other way is, of course, very high tech, and that’s the usage of a green sleeve.”
Maslansky, who has worked on other Netflix Marvel shows “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist” and “The Defenders,” said that although that high-tech option is “expensive and time-consuming,” it pays off for the big scenes, like Misty and Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick)’s fight in the bar.
Also...
- 6/22/2018
- by Ashley Boucher
- The Wrap
“Luke Cage” Season 2 continues the story of the bulletproof “Hero of Harlem,” picking up shortly after the events of 2017’s “The Defenders,” when he helped his fellow Marvel Netflix heroes defeat The Hand.
But it’s been almost three years since Luke (Mike Colter) was first introduced back in the first season of “Jessica Jones” in 2015, and almost two since the first season of “Luke Cage,” so there’s a lot of catching up to do before you watch his latest adventures. Here are all the story events and characters that have informed Luke’s journey across three shows, to understand everything that is yet to come in “Luke Cage” Season 2.
Luke’s dad and Willis Stryker: Luke Cage was born Carl Lucas, son of Georgia preacher James Lucas. James, through an affair with his secretary, also had an illegitimate son named Willis Stryker. Willis and Carl grew up together and became best friends,...
But it’s been almost three years since Luke (Mike Colter) was first introduced back in the first season of “Jessica Jones” in 2015, and almost two since the first season of “Luke Cage,” so there’s a lot of catching up to do before you watch his latest adventures. Here are all the story events and characters that have informed Luke’s journey across three shows, to understand everything that is yet to come in “Luke Cage” Season 2.
Luke’s dad and Willis Stryker: Luke Cage was born Carl Lucas, son of Georgia preacher James Lucas. James, through an affair with his secretary, also had an illegitimate son named Willis Stryker. Willis and Carl grew up together and became best friends,...
- 6/22/2018
- by Phil Hornshaw and Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
One of the key elements linking together Marvel’s Netflix series “Luke Cage” to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe is one key event that everyone knows about, but nobody talks about in detail.
That event is known as The Incident, and it informs a ton of elements in the McU. It popped up in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” and has been mentioned repeatedly in “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones” and “The Defenders.” Everybody in the McU knows about it and remembers it, and it serves as the beginning point for a lot of stories about Marvel characters — it’s sort of the point that everyone realized superheroes were a real thing.
So what is The Incident? Put simply, it’s the climax of “The Avengers” that took place in New York City.
Also Read: 'The Defenders': What is K'un-Lun? A Quick Explainer of the Heavenly, Mystical City
Specifically, The Incident is the...
That event is known as The Incident, and it informs a ton of elements in the McU. It popped up in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” and has been mentioned repeatedly in “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones” and “The Defenders.” Everybody in the McU knows about it and remembers it, and it serves as the beginning point for a lot of stories about Marvel characters — it’s sort of the point that everyone realized superheroes were a real thing.
So what is The Incident? Put simply, it’s the climax of “The Avengers” that took place in New York City.
Also Read: 'The Defenders': What is K'un-Lun? A Quick Explainer of the Heavenly, Mystical City
Specifically, The Incident is the...
- 6/21/2018
- by Phil Hornshaw
- The Wrap
Marvel’s Netflix shows have always had a very loose relationship with the movies of the McU. Unlike the studio’s network TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter, no characters from the silver screen have ever appeared in any form. It’s always fun, then, when the shows make the effort to drop in a reference to remind us that it’s still all connected.
The latest such nod is featured in the brand new trailer for Jessica Jones season 2, which released this morning. In classic Jessica style, it sees the super-powered sleuth reacting against her reputation as a hero. After killing Kilgrave, her heroics are now famous throughout the city, which means that people tend to be in awe of her and put her on a pedestal along with the Avengers. In one moment, an excited kid even asks Jessica if she knows Captain America. Obviously, she...
The latest such nod is featured in the brand new trailer for Jessica Jones season 2, which released this morning. In classic Jessica style, it sees the super-powered sleuth reacting against her reputation as a hero. After killing Kilgrave, her heroics are now famous throughout the city, which means that people tend to be in awe of her and put her on a pedestal along with the Avengers. In one moment, an excited kid even asks Jessica if she knows Captain America. Obviously, she...
- 2/7/2018
- by Christian Bone
- We Got This Covered
Anyone who has seen the raucous biopic “I, Tonya” knows that one of the film’s highlights is Shawn Eckhardt, Jeff Gillooly’s aloof best friend and “bodyguard” to Tonya Harding. Throughout the film, Eckhardt, often squinting and covered in food, talks about how he’s trained in “recognizance,” eventually telling Gillooly that he “knows a guy” who can scare Nancy Kerrigan, which sets “The Incident” into action.
While actor Paul Walter Hauser’s portrayal of Eckhardt almost seems too comical to be real, the film smartly shows actual video evidence of the man in question during the film’s credits, proving Hauser really did stick the landing, nailing the voice, the squinting, and the ridiculous, unbelievable bragging.
Read More:‘I, Tonya’ Star Sebastian Stan On Moving Past Marvel to Take on a Genuinely ‘Scary’ Role
“I, Tonya” landed its own big triple axel last month, picking up three key...
While actor Paul Walter Hauser’s portrayal of Eckhardt almost seems too comical to be real, the film smartly shows actual video evidence of the man in question during the film’s credits, proving Hauser really did stick the landing, nailing the voice, the squinting, and the ridiculous, unbelievable bragging.
Read More:‘I, Tonya’ Star Sebastian Stan On Moving Past Marvel to Take on a Genuinely ‘Scary’ Role
“I, Tonya” landed its own big triple axel last month, picking up three key...
- 2/1/2018
- by Jamie Righetti
- Indiewire
The new sci-fi horror film “The Similars” takes audiences onto a mysterious journey where paranoia runs rampant. Set on a rainy night in a Mexico City bus station in October, 1968, eight people start experiencing a strange phenomenon. Threatened by fear and unexplained seizures, the strangers show the best and worst of themselves as they try to unravel the condition that’s invading each of them like a virus. It has garnered comparisons to “The Twilight Zone” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” The film stars Gustavo Sánchez Parra (“Amores Perros”), Fernando Becerril (“The Mask of Zorro”), Cassandra Ciangherotti (“Even the Rain”), Luis Alberti (“The Golden Dream”), Humberto Busto (“Never on a Sunday”) and more. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.
Read More: Fantastic Fest 2016 Preview: How a Wacky Austin Genre Festival Became A Secret Weapon for the Foreign Language Film Market
The film is directed by Isaac Ezban.
Read More: Fantastic Fest 2016 Preview: How a Wacky Austin Genre Festival Became A Secret Weapon for the Foreign Language Film Market
The film is directed by Isaac Ezban.
- 11/15/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Chicago – The 32nd edition of the Chicago Latino Film Festival Kicks Off on Friday, April 8, 2016, with the Mexican film “Illusions S.A.” (“Illusiones S.A.”). All films are at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago.
This year’s festival promises another huge array of films originating from Latino countries all over the world, and runs from April 8th through the 21st. The kick-off film “Illusions S.A.” will be followed by a reception at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Chicago. For details and to purchase tickets click here.
’Illusions S.A.’ is the Opening Night Film at the 32ndst Chicago Latino Film Festival
Photo credit: Chicago Latino Film Festival
The Opening Night Capsule and the highlights of Week One are as follows…
Opening Night: “Illusions S.A.”
Starring Jaime Camil (“Jane the Virgin”) and set in Campeche, México in the 1950s, “Illusions S.A.” centers around an agency that turns your deepest fantasies,...
This year’s festival promises another huge array of films originating from Latino countries all over the world, and runs from April 8th through the 21st. The kick-off film “Illusions S.A.” will be followed by a reception at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Chicago. For details and to purchase tickets click here.
’Illusions S.A.’ is the Opening Night Film at the 32ndst Chicago Latino Film Festival
Photo credit: Chicago Latino Film Festival
The Opening Night Capsule and the highlights of Week One are as follows…
Opening Night: “Illusions S.A.”
Starring Jaime Camil (“Jane the Virgin”) and set in Campeche, México in the 1950s, “Illusions S.A.” centers around an agency that turns your deepest fantasies,...
- 4/7/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Paul Feig tweeted a photo of four Ghostbusters reboot figures on Friday that look pretty rad. We have details, as well as a look at the figures, below. A Q&A with Daniel Abella, the director of the Philip K. Dick Film Festival, and info on Robert Englund's upcoming appearance at Silver Scream Festival, are also in this round-up.
Mattel's Ghostbusters Figures: The photo below features the prototypes of all four of the figures which stand at six inches tall. The official release date for these items is not available at this time.
Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, and Leslie Jones, Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot is slated to hit theaters on July 15th, 2016. Chris Hemsworth will play Kevin the receptionist, with Andy Garcia, Matt Walsh, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Cecily Strong also along for the ride.
Original Ghostbusters stars Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts,...
Mattel's Ghostbusters Figures: The photo below features the prototypes of all four of the figures which stand at six inches tall. The official release date for these items is not available at this time.
Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, and Leslie Jones, Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot is slated to hit theaters on July 15th, 2016. Chris Hemsworth will play Kevin the receptionist, with Andy Garcia, Matt Walsh, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Cecily Strong also along for the ride.
Original Ghostbusters stars Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts,...
- 1/9/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
UK horror photography studio, Horrify Me, has created a photo tribute to George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, and we have a look at it below. Also: trailer for Intruders, two clips from Anguish, a new clip from Under the Shadows, and details on the Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival 2016 lineup.
Dawn of the Dead Tribute: Press Release: "UK horror photography studio Horrify Me has created a brand new set of images to pay tribute to one of the greatest zombie flicks of all time, the original 1978 version of Dawn of the Dead. Directed by George A. Romero and with groundbreaking gore effects by Tom Savini, the film has passed effortlessly into a classic status and has a rich following today, despite its age.
Horrify Me, one of the UK's leading horror photography studios, spends a lot of time creating horrific portraits for people, and in between jobs,...
Dawn of the Dead Tribute: Press Release: "UK horror photography studio Horrify Me has created a brand new set of images to pay tribute to one of the greatest zombie flicks of all time, the original 1978 version of Dawn of the Dead. Directed by George A. Romero and with groundbreaking gore effects by Tom Savini, the film has passed effortlessly into a classic status and has a rich following today, despite its age.
Horrify Me, one of the UK's leading horror photography studios, spends a lot of time creating horrific portraits for people, and in between jobs,...
- 12/17/2015
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
An innovative way of tackling piracy in Peru was among the topics up for discussion at a panel hosted by Ventana Sur genre sidebar Blood Window on Wednesday.
Peruvian director Dorian Fernández-Moris told the audience in a session moderated by Screen International Us editor Jeremy Kay how the counterfeiters wasted no time going after his first film Cementario General.
“My movie opened and next day they were selling my movie at the traffic lights for $2,” said Fernández-Moris. “I wanted to kick them but I understand this is part of a huge machine.”
What happened next was even more eye-opening. The filmmaker explained how the people who distributed pirate copies formed Fencopac, an association that acquired home distribution rights to Peruvian films.
Fencopac sells legal DVDs and Blu-ray discs at around $4 and returns $1 from each sale to the producers.
“We don’t have piracy any more. I received $35,000 for Cemetary 2 and a similar amount for another film. Now...
Peruvian director Dorian Fernández-Moris told the audience in a session moderated by Screen International Us editor Jeremy Kay how the counterfeiters wasted no time going after his first film Cementario General.
“My movie opened and next day they were selling my movie at the traffic lights for $2,” said Fernández-Moris. “I wanted to kick them but I understand this is part of a huge machine.”
What happened next was even more eye-opening. The filmmaker explained how the people who distributed pirate copies formed Fencopac, an association that acquired home distribution rights to Peruvian films.
Fencopac sells legal DVDs and Blu-ray discs at around $4 and returns $1 from each sale to the producers.
“We don’t have piracy any more. I received $35,000 for Cemetary 2 and a similar amount for another film. Now...
- 12/2/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Incident
Directed by Isaac Ezban
Mexico, 2014
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
An explosion, a death, a tiny deck of cards. These are the things tying the two strange worlds of Isaac Ezban’s The Incident together. The director upends genre, taking the conventions of a drug-police thriller and a domestic family drama and turning them into something entirely different.
Three men are trapped in a never-ending apartment building staircase. Somewhere and sometime (maybe) else a family of four is caught on a never-ending, desolate highway.
At first blush The Incident feels like it’s going to be a series of Twilight Zone-esque vignettes, but director Ezban intertwines them in unexpected ways. The most satisfying moment of his film is at about the midway point when, following the family’s desperate attempt to reach an end of the road, there’s a fade to black…followed by a fade back up to the staircase.
Directed by Isaac Ezban
Mexico, 2014
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
An explosion, a death, a tiny deck of cards. These are the things tying the two strange worlds of Isaac Ezban’s The Incident together. The director upends genre, taking the conventions of a drug-police thriller and a domestic family drama and turning them into something entirely different.
Three men are trapped in a never-ending apartment building staircase. Somewhere and sometime (maybe) else a family of four is caught on a never-ending, desolate highway.
At first blush The Incident feels like it’s going to be a series of Twilight Zone-esque vignettes, but director Ezban intertwines them in unexpected ways. The most satisfying moment of his film is at about the midway point when, following the family’s desperate attempt to reach an end of the road, there’s a fade to black…followed by a fade back up to the staircase.
- 11/5/2015
- by Neal Dhand
- SoundOnSight
Ahead of its November 3rd DVD and digital release from Dark Sky Films, the horror anthology México Barbaro is teased in a new trailer.
"Eight Mexican directors have united to create a film anthology featuring the most brutally terrifying Mexican traditions and legends, brought to vividly shocking life. MÉXICO Barbaro presents haunting stories that have been woven into the fabric of a nation’s culture, some passed down through the centuries and some new, but all equally frightening. Stories of boogeymen, trolls, ghosts, monsters, Aztec sacrifices, and - of course - the Day of the Dead all come together to create a film that is as original as it is familiar... and as important as it is horrifying.
The directors represented in this anthology film are Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are, The ABCs of Death), Isaac Ezban (upcoming Fantastic Fest award winner The Incident), Laurette Flores, Ulises Guzmán,...
"Eight Mexican directors have united to create a film anthology featuring the most brutally terrifying Mexican traditions and legends, brought to vividly shocking life. MÉXICO Barbaro presents haunting stories that have been woven into the fabric of a nation’s culture, some passed down through the centuries and some new, but all equally frightening. Stories of boogeymen, trolls, ghosts, monsters, Aztec sacrifices, and - of course - the Day of the Dead all come together to create a film that is as original as it is familiar... and as important as it is horrifying.
The directors represented in this anthology film are Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are, The ABCs of Death), Isaac Ezban (upcoming Fantastic Fest award winner The Incident), Laurette Flores, Ulises Guzmán,...
- 10/9/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The Similars (Los Parecidos)
Isaac Ezban
Isaac Ezban
Mexico, 2015
Mexico’s Isaac Ezban is two for two with his follow-up to last year’s gripping psychological thriller The Incident. Combining equal parts 50’s sci-fi b-movies and lost Twilight Zone episodes, The Similars is an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek black comedy with just the right amount of gore. Right from the start writer/director Ezban revels in the trappings of 60s aesthetics, opening with a Saul Bass-style credit sequence, a Bernard Herrmann-inspired score, a soundtrack that includes classic surf music and a voiceover that brings to mind The Outer Limits.
The Similars begins with a very simple set up as an omniscient narrator fills us in on how a bunch of strangers came together (by chance or fate) to the desolate bus station which serves as the only location in the lean 89 minute feature. The year is 1968 and a heavy rain...
Isaac Ezban
Isaac Ezban
Mexico, 2015
Mexico’s Isaac Ezban is two for two with his follow-up to last year’s gripping psychological thriller The Incident. Combining equal parts 50’s sci-fi b-movies and lost Twilight Zone episodes, The Similars is an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek black comedy with just the right amount of gore. Right from the start writer/director Ezban revels in the trappings of 60s aesthetics, opening with a Saul Bass-style credit sequence, a Bernard Herrmann-inspired score, a soundtrack that includes classic surf music and a voiceover that brings to mind The Outer Limits.
The Similars begins with a very simple set up as an omniscient narrator fills us in on how a bunch of strangers came together (by chance or fate) to the desolate bus station which serves as the only location in the lean 89 minute feature. The year is 1968 and a heavy rain...
- 9/30/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Dark Sky Films has announced a November 3rd DVD and VOD release for Mexico Barbaro, a horror anthology film comprising eight segments from eight Mexican directors:
New York, NY (September 28, 2015) – Hits like The Devil’s Backbone and Cronos helped put Mexico on the global horror cinema map, and now the new anthology film Mexico Barbaro brings the latest examples of this thriving industry. The film, which gathers eight short films from the country’s leading horror directors, comes to digital download and Dark Sky DVD on November 3, 2015.
Eight Mexican directors unite to create tales of the most brutally terrifying Mexican traditions and legends to vividly shocking life. Mexico Barbaro presents haunting stories that have been woven into the fabric of a nation’s culture, some passed down through the centuries and some new, but all equally frightening. Stories of boogeymen, trolls, ghosts, monsters, Aztec sacrifices and of course the Day of the Dead...
New York, NY (September 28, 2015) – Hits like The Devil’s Backbone and Cronos helped put Mexico on the global horror cinema map, and now the new anthology film Mexico Barbaro brings the latest examples of this thriving industry. The film, which gathers eight short films from the country’s leading horror directors, comes to digital download and Dark Sky DVD on November 3, 2015.
Eight Mexican directors unite to create tales of the most brutally terrifying Mexican traditions and legends to vividly shocking life. Mexico Barbaro presents haunting stories that have been woven into the fabric of a nation’s culture, some passed down through the centuries and some new, but all equally frightening. Stories of boogeymen, trolls, ghosts, monsters, Aztec sacrifices and of course the Day of the Dead...
- 9/28/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Returning to Fantastic Fest with his second feature, following last year’s The Incident, Isaac Ezban’s sci-fi thriller, The Similars (Los Paracidos), will have its world premiere on September 25th, and in leading up to the big event the studio has released the first trailer which shows Ezban’s signature lo-fi sci-fi aesthetic. PopOptiq will becovering Fantastic Fest once again this year and we hope to bring you a review of The Similars which many people are already describing as a mind-bending Twilight Zone-tinged thriller that pays tribute to the great sci-fi films of the 1950s and ’60s. In an interivew with variety, the director had this to say about this sophomore feature:
My biggest influences on that genre, well, there’s obviously The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. I even took specific references from some specific episodes, as I did with Lost for The Incident. Hopefully...
My biggest influences on that genre, well, there’s obviously The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. I even took specific references from some specific episodes, as I did with Lost for The Incident. Hopefully...
- 9/23/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
In what it feels like the scene with the most personal dialog during the first half of Isaac Ezban's The Incident (El Incidente), the agonizing character of Amores Perros' Humberto Busto shares his thoughts about life in general. "Life is a long highway and what we pass along never comes back", he says to his younger brother while also regretting the fact that he never enjoyed the different stages of his own life and always wanted to be somewhere else. It's easy to connect with this kind of thought as life works in mysterious ways and sometimes you can recognize and appreciate a certain moment until it's long gone. In The Incident, however, things work in an even weirder way and what the characters pass...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 9/9/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Stars: Raúl Méndez, Humberto Busto, Erick Trinidad Camacho, Magda Brugengheim, Santiago Mendoza Cortes, Nailea Norvind | Written and Directed by Isaac Ezban
My initiation into Sci-Fi London looked like it was going to tick all the boxes for me: time-twisting premise; Primer-esque allusions to a complex (and possibly unsolvable) narrative; and, best of all, the fact that El Incidente was an original, mid-budget science-fiction movie I knew almost nothing about.
Well, the final result isn’t quite what I just described, but it’s still a far cry from being a cookie-cutter blockbuster, and everyone in the (very enthusiastic) crowd seemed very happy that was the case. Without giving too much away, the film concerns two sets of separate characters in parallel situations: in one, a group of three men are stranded in an infinitely repeating staircase; in the other, the same is true of a family of four stuck on...
My initiation into Sci-Fi London looked like it was going to tick all the boxes for me: time-twisting premise; Primer-esque allusions to a complex (and possibly unsolvable) narrative; and, best of all, the fact that El Incidente was an original, mid-budget science-fiction movie I knew almost nothing about.
Well, the final result isn’t quite what I just described, but it’s still a far cry from being a cookie-cutter blockbuster, and everyone in the (very enthusiastic) crowd seemed very happy that was the case. Without giving too much away, the film concerns two sets of separate characters in parallel situations: in one, a group of three men are stranded in an infinitely repeating staircase; in the other, the same is true of a family of four stuck on...
- 6/2/2015
- by Mark Allen
- Nerdly
Dark Sky Films will release México Bárbaro, the eight-director horror anthology focused Mexican legend and folklore, in the U.S. With contributions from Isaac Ezban (The Incident), Laurette Flores Bornn, Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Ulises Guzman, Edgar Nitro, Lex Ortega, Gigi Saul Guerrero and Aaron Soto, México Bárbaro “presents to the world stories that form…
The post Dark Sky Films to Release Horror Anthology, México Bárbaro appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Dark Sky Films to Release Horror Anthology, México Bárbaro appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 5/19/2015
- by Samuel Zimmerman
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Heavy metal horror, a Lovecraftian love story, party-crashing mutant wasps, and relentless New England ghosts will grace the silver screen at this year's Fantaspoa film festival in Brazil.
Press Release -- "Porto Alegre, April 27, 2015 - Brazil's Fantaspoa is proud to reveal the first wave of films selected for their upcoming eleventh edition, running from May 15th through the 31st. Latin America's largest genre film festival, which takes place annually in Porto Alegre, will announce their full line-up, consisting of more than 100 films, next weekend.
Fourteen titles have been confirmed, aside of the previously-announced opening night film, Jason Lei Howden's Deathgasm, and closing night features Uptake Fear (from Kapel Furman, Armando Fonseca and Gurcius Gewdner) and Toda La Noche (directed by Tamae Garateguy and Jimena Monteoliva).
Honored guests include Dennis Paoli, American screenwriter of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Dagon; and Italian composer Fabio Frizzi, best known for...
Press Release -- "Porto Alegre, April 27, 2015 - Brazil's Fantaspoa is proud to reveal the first wave of films selected for their upcoming eleventh edition, running from May 15th through the 31st. Latin America's largest genre film festival, which takes place annually in Porto Alegre, will announce their full line-up, consisting of more than 100 films, next weekend.
Fourteen titles have been confirmed, aside of the previously-announced opening night film, Jason Lei Howden's Deathgasm, and closing night features Uptake Fear (from Kapel Furman, Armando Fonseca and Gurcius Gewdner) and Toda La Noche (directed by Tamae Garateguy and Jimena Monteoliva).
Honored guests include Dennis Paoli, American screenwriter of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Dagon; and Italian composer Fabio Frizzi, best known for...
- 4/28/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up which includes films representing 54 countries, 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres. The U.S. premiere of Niki Caro’s McFarland USA will close out the 30th fest. Based on the 1987 true story and starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, the film follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. The unlikely band of runners overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
- 1/8/2015
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
A self-acknowledged "showcase for Academy Award frontrunners," the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is often overlooked for the actual films that earn it festival status. An amalgamation of international discoveries and ’merica’s circuit highlights, the Sbiff curates a week of best-of-the-best to pair with their star-praising. The 2015 edition offers another expansive selection, bookended by two films that aren’t on any radars just yet. Sbiff will open with "Desert Dancer," producer Richard Raymond’s directorial debut. Starring Reece Ritchie and Frieda Pinto, the drama follows a group of friends who wave off the harsh political climate of Iran’s 2009 presidential election in favor of forming a dance team, picking up moves from Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev thanks to the magic of YouTube. The festival will close with "McFarland, USA," starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello. Telling the 1987 true story of a Latino high school’s underdog cross-country team,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
Los Cabos International Film Festival took place this month of November. It was a brave move to keep it going after Cabo had been so hard hit by Hurricane Odile with winds of 125mph less than a month earlier. The vast destruction in our part of town was quickly being repaired though traces remained visible and repairs still to be done necessitated cutting the normal invitation list by half and doubling up hotel rooms for a few unlucky journalists. That being said, there were 15,000 attending the festival. Volunteers wore the worthy words on their t-shirts: #Unstoppable, and they were that.
For all the infrastructure problems of the city in the midst of rebuilding itself, the festival seemed to thrive with all sorts of invitees showing up from all over the world. It seemed like gala events, panels, master classes, coproduction meetings, works in progress, screenings and interviews were constantly taking place. It was a great team and we all felt part of it.
The festival is overseen by the executive board members Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, Alfonso Pascal Barcenas, Scott Cross and Sean Cross (who also founded Vail Film Festival) and is organized by the festival team of Alonso Aguilar (General Director), Alejandra Paulin (General Coordinator) - who was a great market director in Guadajalara before coming here, Maru Garzon (Head of Programming), Ana Molinar Trujillo (Communication Manager), and Monica Herrera (Film Programmer). My friend from Guadalajara, normally an English teacher, Fabian Cruz was also there working for the festival.
When Eduardo Sánchez Navarro Redo remembers how he first came to Los Cabos, there is no doubt in his mind that destiny and luck played an important part. When he married his wife 30 years ago, he decided to travel along the entire Pacific Coast, from Acapulco to Mazatlan, where he crossed over to La Paz eventually driving to Los Cabos. The beauty of the area impressed him and it was during this trip that he and his wife decided to buy a vacation home in Los Cabos, thus beginning a distinguished career as a principal player and developer of what is Los Cabos today. Over the course of more than 20 years, his company, Grupo Questro, has emerged as one of the most highly respected developers in all of Mexico. He, together with Juan Gallardo Thurlow, Scott Cross, and Sean Cross, founded the festival in 2012.
My job as a journalist was to explore and write, hard to do when you are having such fun 24/7. We journalists were all in one hotel where we were given space and time to bond. Travel writers mixed with trade writers: from Film Journal David Noh, whose article is worth sharing here, my colleagues Peter Rainer from NPR and Christian Science Monitor, Anne Thompson from Thompson on Hollywood on Indiewire, Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com and many others met and mixed. Also Ira Deutchman of Colombia University Film School and Emerging Pictures and Robin Brock of Creative Coalition were there with time to share dinners.
The filmmakers, in another hotel, mixed by day and at the communal lunches and parties. I will write more on them in an upcoming blog! After all, filmmakers are the backbone of our industry. Without them, we have nothing!
The agents, mostly from CAA, were placed in another hotel, luxurious and far away. As someone said, Cabos is like Cannes, only in November. If so, perhaps they were at the Eden Roc in Cap d’Antibes. (Actually they were at Hacienda Beach Club & Residences) CAA has always been an honored part of this festival. I have heard that that is because someone with lots of money from Mexico invests it in cinema through CAA and even started the festival. That is, however, pure conjecture. Under the guidance of CAA agent, Micah Green, people can be assured that the directions he sees and the decisions he makes about investing private individuals' capital into filmed entertainment is priceless. I could think of no one I would trust more --in this untrustworthy business we are in-- than Micah.
At least two other agents – Bec Smith and Rena Ronson from UTA -- were also there. Rena and Micah were on the Film Financing Panel moderated by Variety’s expert in all things Iberoamerican and my idol, John Hopewell. Other participants on the Film Finance Panel were Jonathan King, Evp of Production at Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media whose partnership with Canana formed Participant PanAmerican production fund. “No” by Pablo Lorrain was their first investment. Pp also financed "El Ardor" which played in Cannes and “Cesar Chavez”, directed by Diego Luna. Also on the panel were Mark Musselman of Canada’s 10X2yinc, the exec producer of “Eastern Promises” and most recently of “Remember” by Atom Egoyan which was also produced by Robert Lantos and son, also in Los Cabos. It went into production in 2014 and is tipped for Cannes. Other panelists included Raul Del Alto of Mexico’s Ag Studios (Itaca Films Mexico, Itaca Films USA, Itaca Films Colombia and Itaca Filkms Brazil, and Rena Ronson of UTA who, like Micah Green of CAA focuses on global film finance, distribution and marketing strategies for Independents and co-financed features and is fluent in Spanish because of her long time experience with Latin America.
At one point I looked up and found the European fund chiefs there as well, Laufey Gudjonsdottir from Iceland (where Interstellar was filmed), Katriel Schory from Israel Film Fund and Edith Sepp-Dallas from the Estonian Film Institute. They were there for Bpx. Best Practice Exchange is an initiative that brings together the leaders of film funding agencies from across the world to take part in high-level-workshops – one or two each year – designed to promote new standards of excellence in the provision of public funding for the support of film production, development and distribution. The aim of Bpx is to ensure that policies and procedures adopted by film funding agencies will act together, positively and proactively, to stimulate and sustain practices of international coproduction and cofinancing worldwide.
Triggered by the situation in which filmmaking outside the main production centers of Hollywood and Bollywood now finds itself, Bpx was created by Simon Perry, president of Ace (Ateliers du Cinéma Européen), in collaboration with Katriel Schory, executive director of the Israel Film Fund. It held its first workshop in February 2013 in Israel, and two further workshops in Toronto (September 2013) and Berlin (February 2014) and this was the third! Bravo!
Among the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. films that showed, the winners were as follow:
Mexico First
Mexico First winning film was ¨Llevate mis amores” ("All of Me") by Arturo Gonzalez. The film narrates the story of the generosity of the women of Las Patronas who feed the immigrants who ride La Bestia. The director was awarded a cash Prize of Usd $15,000. This film made me cry. I thought of it again when reading the L.A. Times article about the murder of Adrian Rodriguez and his assistant, Mexican good Samaritans who dedicated their scarce resources to feeding Central American migrants passing by on La Bestia, which is what the women in this movie do. And one of the women was at the festival too.
Los Cabos Competition
The Los Cabos Competition winner was “Güeros” by Alonso Ruizpalacios, also a winner at the Berlinale, Jerusalem Film Festival, Tribeca, Toronto and San Sebastian. Being sold internationally by Mundial, the joint venture of Canana (again!) and Im Global, the film has sold to Kino Lorber for U.S., Cannibal for Mexico, Dreams Hill for Italy, Noori for So. Korea and Maison Motion for Taiwan … "Güeros" is the undeniable triumph of a nouveau director who dares to pay homage the French New Wave on a wild detective hunt through Mexico City. In light of the 43 murdered students, this film, about students on strike, strikes a chord within the watcher. The film´s producer won a Usd $15,000 cash prize.
Work In Progress Mexico
The second Work in Progress Mexico prize was awarded to "Los Herederos," by Jorge Hernandez, a film that describes adolescent effervescence and idleness through a group of friends who spend their vacations adrenaline-seeking through parties, sex and alcohol. The winner received a Usd $10,000 cash prize.
Mexico-usa-canada Co-production Forum
The winner of the first Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum was also announced: "Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo, based on the real life story of the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Investigación Espacial e Investigación Astronómica of Zambia. Writer- Director Frances Bodomo received a Usd $8,000 cash prize. It also received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Mexico First: Fox +
In its second year running the México Primero: Fox+ chose one of the films that participated to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The México Primero: Fox+ prize consists of Usd $40,000 and was awarded to Isaac Ezban´s "El Incidente" ("The Incident"), two M.C. Escher-maze-like parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road… for a very long time. The international sales agent, Shoreline, will be showing the film at Ventana Sur December 3rd at 17:00 at Cinemark 3.
Work In Progress Mexico Fox +
In its second year running as well, Work in Progress México Fox+ selected a participating film to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The Usd $30,000 prize was awarded to Katina Medina Mora’s "Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz", produced by Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann.
Work In Progress Mexico Chemistry
This Third edition of the Festival also witnessed the first Work In Progress México –Chemistry award. Chemistry post-production studios granted the winner, Jorge Hernandez’s "Los Herederos", $45,000 Usd in color correction services.
Mexico – USA – Canada Splendor Omnia Mantarraya Co-production Forum
On its first year running, the Coproduction Forum Mexico- USA- Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArraya will be granting a $30,000 Usd equivalent prize worth 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, as well as a paid stay in Tepoztlan Morelos, site of their studios, to the winner "Afronauts" by Francez Bodomo (U.S.).
The key phrase to understanding Cabo is "Seeing what the neighbors do" as the festival and market connects Canada, U,S, and Mexico in showing of films and exploring coproduction. And the mixing of filmmakers and journalists from all three Americas was exciting in the possibilities it offered to everyone.
As for the hard-core business done there:
Mark Kassen will be directing "Criminal Empire for Dummies" written by Cliff Dorman. Kassen will also be producing the film along with James Gibb of Cutting Edge Group and Greg Hajdarowicz of Gremi Films. The deal took place at the exclusive resort Hacienda Beach Club & Residences and was reported by Variety.
Actor and producer Luis Gerardo Mendez ("Nosotros Los Nobles") signed a representation agreement with Paradigm. Reported by Variety. So I guess Paradigm also sent agents to Los Cabos.
Pat Saperstein of Variety also attended Los Cabos and scooped a story, that “Wolverine Hotel” from director Patricia Chica who was participating in the Coproduction Forum, is closing in on production with a "recent financing commitment from Jean-Guy Després, who will serve as exec producer. The edgy crime thriller is produced by Canada-based Byron Martin. Looking to cast a Latino actor as co-star, Chica met with rising Mexican thesp Luis Gerardo Mendez ('We Are the Nobles') during Afm though he has not yet been attached. 'A Latino star opens up a market', said Martin."
Celebrated producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribución. She has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". "Instructions Not Included" the Us$ 5.5 million film that grossed Us$ 100 million worldwide was also her production. With this Pan-American initiative, the company will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets. Reported by Variety again!! You would think John was the only real reporter there. Pinske should be proud of him! Most of us got no scoops, but then, I guess we have to prove ourselves worthy - which I am not because at heart, I am not a reporter hunting for news, but rather a gatherer of information and a writer.
Speaking of Monica Lozano, the Germany-based international sales agent, Media Luna, acquired world rights to Internet Junkie, directed by Alexander Katzowicz and produced by Monica Lozano. Variety reports on this again!
"Yamaha 300", a participating project of the 1st Mexico – USA- Canada Coproduction Forum, produced by Valerium Arts (Mayra Espinosa y Jorge Michel Grau, producer and writer-director of the horror hit "Somos lo que hay" respectively, and Grau, the writer of the remake "We Are What We Are") and Uncorked Productions (Andrew Corkin, the producer of the horror film "What We Were"), will be one of the first projects to receive the development stage and postproduction support offered by The Good Film Fund, an initiative of Media Darling (Amy Darling) and The Chatanooga Film Festival. See Variety.
New York producer Dodgeville Films ("To Be Takei") will be joining Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce "Ya no estoy aquí", Fernando Frias’s second film, which was also a winner during Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition. This film in the Coproduction Forum was reported on in Variety.
"Siete Horas" ("Seven Hours"), one of the winning projects of the second Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund edition, which will be directed by Chema Rodriguez and produced by Francisco Vargas, the renowned director of the film "El violin", made an alliance with the Spanish production companies Sin un Duro and Noodles Prods to co-produce the project. (Variety)
CineTren closed deals to handle Latin American distribution for Spring, a Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead film, whose Latin American Premiere was held at Los Cabos International Film Festival. Negotiations between Nate Bolotin and Marie Katz fromLos Angeles-based Xyz and Manuel Garcia from CineTren, took place at the Hotel Grand Solmar. Next time, I'll have to visit all the hotels!! See Variety article.
BH5 Group, which participates in the executive production of "Remember" by Atom Egoyan, will be working with Alonso Ruizpalacios, director of Güeros, in his second movie: Museo, a project that participated in the Ist Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum. Even though Variety wrote about this, my blog on the three year old conglomerate of companies, BH5, was more complete:
BH5 Group Makes a Splash with Three Impressive Films at Los Cabos Int'l Film Fest
BH5, a conglomerate of five formerly independent production companies all run by various friends from the same film school, will be working the international markets much more. Besides the Toronto hit, Jodorowsky's "Dance of Reality", they are working with larger companies like Pathe now. Their work in progress, "You Will Know What To Do With Me" ("Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz") which just won the The Usd $30,000 prize of Fox+, is seeking an international sales agent.
"Entrevero" by Max Zunino, also winner of the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition, was selected in the development project category by Ibermedia. See Variety.
And though Colombian Ciro Guerra, whose "The Wind Journeys" was produced by our German friends Roman Paul and Gerhard Meixner at Razor Film Production and by Burning Blue's prolific Diana Bustamente -- who is now also heading the Carthagena Film Festival -- showed in 2009 Cannes Un Certain Regard and was sold by Paris’ Elle Driver to 19 countries including Film Movement for U.S., announced to Variety's John Hopewell that his next film, "Embrace of the Serpent" will star U.S. actor Brionne Davis (“Savaged”) and Belgium’s Jan Bijvoet, the lead in Cannes Competition entry “Borgman” a really creepy dark comedy, he did not discuss his next project "Taganga" in the Coproduction Forum. "Taganga" is about a fisherman from a small village by the Colombian coast where many foreign-owned scuba diving centers have been established. A new law requiring local fisherman to change the motors of their boats forces him to earn quick money, so he chooses to dynamite to fish. The owner of the largest scuba diving center opposes this use of explosives. When the fisherman receives a death threat if he continues the dynamiting of fish, he assumes the center's owner is behind the threat. In order to prove it, he begins a series of fateful actions.
Finally, while it seems like Variety wrote all the news, I have one item which no one has reported on. Reese Witherspoon stated at her press conference in Los Cabos, where her film "Wild" premiered in a red carpet gala, that she is talking to Eugenio Derbez ("Instructions Not Included") to make a movie with him. I heard her say it and later spoke of this to Ben Odell (my next blog on Los Cabos features him). Ben (now partners with Eugenio at 3Pas Studios) said, Actually that would be a great idea but they had not spoken about it. However, they are both represented by CAA, so it would seem like a natural and really exciting pairing. After all, aren't "Legally Blond" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" the same film? She is certainly on a role as a producer with "Wild" and David Fincher's "Gone Girl" as he is with his U.S. career. The studios are all courting her now, she said. More to come on this...
For all the infrastructure problems of the city in the midst of rebuilding itself, the festival seemed to thrive with all sorts of invitees showing up from all over the world. It seemed like gala events, panels, master classes, coproduction meetings, works in progress, screenings and interviews were constantly taking place. It was a great team and we all felt part of it.
The festival is overseen by the executive board members Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, Alfonso Pascal Barcenas, Scott Cross and Sean Cross (who also founded Vail Film Festival) and is organized by the festival team of Alonso Aguilar (General Director), Alejandra Paulin (General Coordinator) - who was a great market director in Guadajalara before coming here, Maru Garzon (Head of Programming), Ana Molinar Trujillo (Communication Manager), and Monica Herrera (Film Programmer). My friend from Guadalajara, normally an English teacher, Fabian Cruz was also there working for the festival.
When Eduardo Sánchez Navarro Redo remembers how he first came to Los Cabos, there is no doubt in his mind that destiny and luck played an important part. When he married his wife 30 years ago, he decided to travel along the entire Pacific Coast, from Acapulco to Mazatlan, where he crossed over to La Paz eventually driving to Los Cabos. The beauty of the area impressed him and it was during this trip that he and his wife decided to buy a vacation home in Los Cabos, thus beginning a distinguished career as a principal player and developer of what is Los Cabos today. Over the course of more than 20 years, his company, Grupo Questro, has emerged as one of the most highly respected developers in all of Mexico. He, together with Juan Gallardo Thurlow, Scott Cross, and Sean Cross, founded the festival in 2012.
My job as a journalist was to explore and write, hard to do when you are having such fun 24/7. We journalists were all in one hotel where we were given space and time to bond. Travel writers mixed with trade writers: from Film Journal David Noh, whose article is worth sharing here, my colleagues Peter Rainer from NPR and Christian Science Monitor, Anne Thompson from Thompson on Hollywood on Indiewire, Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com and many others met and mixed. Also Ira Deutchman of Colombia University Film School and Emerging Pictures and Robin Brock of Creative Coalition were there with time to share dinners.
The filmmakers, in another hotel, mixed by day and at the communal lunches and parties. I will write more on them in an upcoming blog! After all, filmmakers are the backbone of our industry. Without them, we have nothing!
The agents, mostly from CAA, were placed in another hotel, luxurious and far away. As someone said, Cabos is like Cannes, only in November. If so, perhaps they were at the Eden Roc in Cap d’Antibes. (Actually they were at Hacienda Beach Club & Residences) CAA has always been an honored part of this festival. I have heard that that is because someone with lots of money from Mexico invests it in cinema through CAA and even started the festival. That is, however, pure conjecture. Under the guidance of CAA agent, Micah Green, people can be assured that the directions he sees and the decisions he makes about investing private individuals' capital into filmed entertainment is priceless. I could think of no one I would trust more --in this untrustworthy business we are in-- than Micah.
At least two other agents – Bec Smith and Rena Ronson from UTA -- were also there. Rena and Micah were on the Film Financing Panel moderated by Variety’s expert in all things Iberoamerican and my idol, John Hopewell. Other participants on the Film Finance Panel were Jonathan King, Evp of Production at Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media whose partnership with Canana formed Participant PanAmerican production fund. “No” by Pablo Lorrain was their first investment. Pp also financed "El Ardor" which played in Cannes and “Cesar Chavez”, directed by Diego Luna. Also on the panel were Mark Musselman of Canada’s 10X2yinc, the exec producer of “Eastern Promises” and most recently of “Remember” by Atom Egoyan which was also produced by Robert Lantos and son, also in Los Cabos. It went into production in 2014 and is tipped for Cannes. Other panelists included Raul Del Alto of Mexico’s Ag Studios (Itaca Films Mexico, Itaca Films USA, Itaca Films Colombia and Itaca Filkms Brazil, and Rena Ronson of UTA who, like Micah Green of CAA focuses on global film finance, distribution and marketing strategies for Independents and co-financed features and is fluent in Spanish because of her long time experience with Latin America.
At one point I looked up and found the European fund chiefs there as well, Laufey Gudjonsdottir from Iceland (where Interstellar was filmed), Katriel Schory from Israel Film Fund and Edith Sepp-Dallas from the Estonian Film Institute. They were there for Bpx. Best Practice Exchange is an initiative that brings together the leaders of film funding agencies from across the world to take part in high-level-workshops – one or two each year – designed to promote new standards of excellence in the provision of public funding for the support of film production, development and distribution. The aim of Bpx is to ensure that policies and procedures adopted by film funding agencies will act together, positively and proactively, to stimulate and sustain practices of international coproduction and cofinancing worldwide.
Triggered by the situation in which filmmaking outside the main production centers of Hollywood and Bollywood now finds itself, Bpx was created by Simon Perry, president of Ace (Ateliers du Cinéma Européen), in collaboration with Katriel Schory, executive director of the Israel Film Fund. It held its first workshop in February 2013 in Israel, and two further workshops in Toronto (September 2013) and Berlin (February 2014) and this was the third! Bravo!
Among the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. films that showed, the winners were as follow:
Mexico First
Mexico First winning film was ¨Llevate mis amores” ("All of Me") by Arturo Gonzalez. The film narrates the story of the generosity of the women of Las Patronas who feed the immigrants who ride La Bestia. The director was awarded a cash Prize of Usd $15,000. This film made me cry. I thought of it again when reading the L.A. Times article about the murder of Adrian Rodriguez and his assistant, Mexican good Samaritans who dedicated their scarce resources to feeding Central American migrants passing by on La Bestia, which is what the women in this movie do. And one of the women was at the festival too.
Los Cabos Competition
The Los Cabos Competition winner was “Güeros” by Alonso Ruizpalacios, also a winner at the Berlinale, Jerusalem Film Festival, Tribeca, Toronto and San Sebastian. Being sold internationally by Mundial, the joint venture of Canana (again!) and Im Global, the film has sold to Kino Lorber for U.S., Cannibal for Mexico, Dreams Hill for Italy, Noori for So. Korea and Maison Motion for Taiwan … "Güeros" is the undeniable triumph of a nouveau director who dares to pay homage the French New Wave on a wild detective hunt through Mexico City. In light of the 43 murdered students, this film, about students on strike, strikes a chord within the watcher. The film´s producer won a Usd $15,000 cash prize.
Work In Progress Mexico
The second Work in Progress Mexico prize was awarded to "Los Herederos," by Jorge Hernandez, a film that describes adolescent effervescence and idleness through a group of friends who spend their vacations adrenaline-seeking through parties, sex and alcohol. The winner received a Usd $10,000 cash prize.
Mexico-usa-canada Co-production Forum
The winner of the first Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum was also announced: "Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo, based on the real life story of the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Investigación Espacial e Investigación Astronómica of Zambia. Writer- Director Frances Bodomo received a Usd $8,000 cash prize. It also received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Mexico First: Fox +
In its second year running the México Primero: Fox+ chose one of the films that participated to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The México Primero: Fox+ prize consists of Usd $40,000 and was awarded to Isaac Ezban´s "El Incidente" ("The Incident"), two M.C. Escher-maze-like parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road… for a very long time. The international sales agent, Shoreline, will be showing the film at Ventana Sur December 3rd at 17:00 at Cinemark 3.
Work In Progress Mexico Fox +
In its second year running as well, Work in Progress México Fox+ selected a participating film to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The Usd $30,000 prize was awarded to Katina Medina Mora’s "Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz", produced by Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann.
Work In Progress Mexico Chemistry
This Third edition of the Festival also witnessed the first Work In Progress México –Chemistry award. Chemistry post-production studios granted the winner, Jorge Hernandez’s "Los Herederos", $45,000 Usd in color correction services.
Mexico – USA – Canada Splendor Omnia Mantarraya Co-production Forum
On its first year running, the Coproduction Forum Mexico- USA- Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArraya will be granting a $30,000 Usd equivalent prize worth 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, as well as a paid stay in Tepoztlan Morelos, site of their studios, to the winner "Afronauts" by Francez Bodomo (U.S.).
The key phrase to understanding Cabo is "Seeing what the neighbors do" as the festival and market connects Canada, U,S, and Mexico in showing of films and exploring coproduction. And the mixing of filmmakers and journalists from all three Americas was exciting in the possibilities it offered to everyone.
As for the hard-core business done there:
Mark Kassen will be directing "Criminal Empire for Dummies" written by Cliff Dorman. Kassen will also be producing the film along with James Gibb of Cutting Edge Group and Greg Hajdarowicz of Gremi Films. The deal took place at the exclusive resort Hacienda Beach Club & Residences and was reported by Variety.
Actor and producer Luis Gerardo Mendez ("Nosotros Los Nobles") signed a representation agreement with Paradigm. Reported by Variety. So I guess Paradigm also sent agents to Los Cabos.
Pat Saperstein of Variety also attended Los Cabos and scooped a story, that “Wolverine Hotel” from director Patricia Chica who was participating in the Coproduction Forum, is closing in on production with a "recent financing commitment from Jean-Guy Després, who will serve as exec producer. The edgy crime thriller is produced by Canada-based Byron Martin. Looking to cast a Latino actor as co-star, Chica met with rising Mexican thesp Luis Gerardo Mendez ('We Are the Nobles') during Afm though he has not yet been attached. 'A Latino star opens up a market', said Martin."
Celebrated producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribución. She has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". "Instructions Not Included" the Us$ 5.5 million film that grossed Us$ 100 million worldwide was also her production. With this Pan-American initiative, the company will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets. Reported by Variety again!! You would think John was the only real reporter there. Pinske should be proud of him! Most of us got no scoops, but then, I guess we have to prove ourselves worthy - which I am not because at heart, I am not a reporter hunting for news, but rather a gatherer of information and a writer.
Speaking of Monica Lozano, the Germany-based international sales agent, Media Luna, acquired world rights to Internet Junkie, directed by Alexander Katzowicz and produced by Monica Lozano. Variety reports on this again!
"Yamaha 300", a participating project of the 1st Mexico – USA- Canada Coproduction Forum, produced by Valerium Arts (Mayra Espinosa y Jorge Michel Grau, producer and writer-director of the horror hit "Somos lo que hay" respectively, and Grau, the writer of the remake "We Are What We Are") and Uncorked Productions (Andrew Corkin, the producer of the horror film "What We Were"), will be one of the first projects to receive the development stage and postproduction support offered by The Good Film Fund, an initiative of Media Darling (Amy Darling) and The Chatanooga Film Festival. See Variety.
New York producer Dodgeville Films ("To Be Takei") will be joining Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce "Ya no estoy aquí", Fernando Frias’s second film, which was also a winner during Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition. This film in the Coproduction Forum was reported on in Variety.
"Siete Horas" ("Seven Hours"), one of the winning projects of the second Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund edition, which will be directed by Chema Rodriguez and produced by Francisco Vargas, the renowned director of the film "El violin", made an alliance with the Spanish production companies Sin un Duro and Noodles Prods to co-produce the project. (Variety)
CineTren closed deals to handle Latin American distribution for Spring, a Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead film, whose Latin American Premiere was held at Los Cabos International Film Festival. Negotiations between Nate Bolotin and Marie Katz fromLos Angeles-based Xyz and Manuel Garcia from CineTren, took place at the Hotel Grand Solmar. Next time, I'll have to visit all the hotels!! See Variety article.
BH5 Group, which participates in the executive production of "Remember" by Atom Egoyan, will be working with Alonso Ruizpalacios, director of Güeros, in his second movie: Museo, a project that participated in the Ist Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum. Even though Variety wrote about this, my blog on the three year old conglomerate of companies, BH5, was more complete:
BH5 Group Makes a Splash with Three Impressive Films at Los Cabos Int'l Film Fest
BH5, a conglomerate of five formerly independent production companies all run by various friends from the same film school, will be working the international markets much more. Besides the Toronto hit, Jodorowsky's "Dance of Reality", they are working with larger companies like Pathe now. Their work in progress, "You Will Know What To Do With Me" ("Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz") which just won the The Usd $30,000 prize of Fox+, is seeking an international sales agent.
"Entrevero" by Max Zunino, also winner of the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition, was selected in the development project category by Ibermedia. See Variety.
And though Colombian Ciro Guerra, whose "The Wind Journeys" was produced by our German friends Roman Paul and Gerhard Meixner at Razor Film Production and by Burning Blue's prolific Diana Bustamente -- who is now also heading the Carthagena Film Festival -- showed in 2009 Cannes Un Certain Regard and was sold by Paris’ Elle Driver to 19 countries including Film Movement for U.S., announced to Variety's John Hopewell that his next film, "Embrace of the Serpent" will star U.S. actor Brionne Davis (“Savaged”) and Belgium’s Jan Bijvoet, the lead in Cannes Competition entry “Borgman” a really creepy dark comedy, he did not discuss his next project "Taganga" in the Coproduction Forum. "Taganga" is about a fisherman from a small village by the Colombian coast where many foreign-owned scuba diving centers have been established. A new law requiring local fisherman to change the motors of their boats forces him to earn quick money, so he chooses to dynamite to fish. The owner of the largest scuba diving center opposes this use of explosives. When the fisherman receives a death threat if he continues the dynamiting of fish, he assumes the center's owner is behind the threat. In order to prove it, he begins a series of fateful actions.
Finally, while it seems like Variety wrote all the news, I have one item which no one has reported on. Reese Witherspoon stated at her press conference in Los Cabos, where her film "Wild" premiered in a red carpet gala, that she is talking to Eugenio Derbez ("Instructions Not Included") to make a movie with him. I heard her say it and later spoke of this to Ben Odell (my next blog on Los Cabos features him). Ben (now partners with Eugenio at 3Pas Studios) said, Actually that would be a great idea but they had not spoken about it. However, they are both represented by CAA, so it would seem like a natural and really exciting pairing. After all, aren't "Legally Blond" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" the same film? She is certainly on a role as a producer with "Wild" and David Fincher's "Gone Girl" as he is with his U.S. career. The studios are all courting her now, she said. More to come on this...
- 12/1/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Alonso Ruizpalacios’ acclaimed film prevailed as the Los Cabos International Film Festival came to a close at the weekend.
The awards were part of a flurry of events at the Mexican festival, which ran from November 12-16 and closed with the Mexican premiere of Richard Linklater’s Boyhood attended by stars Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater.
In other developments producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribucion, Media Luna took world rights to Alexander Katzowicz’s Internet Junkie and BH5 Group boarded Ruizpalacios’ Museo that participated in the first Mexico-usa-Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArrava Co-Production Forum.
New York producer Dodgeville Films will join Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce Fernando Frias’ second film I’m No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aquí), one of the recipients of a $5,000 Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund grant. Spain’s Sin Un Duro and Noodles Prods have come on to co-produce another Gabriel Figueroa grant-winner, Chema Rodríguez’s Seven...
The awards were part of a flurry of events at the Mexican festival, which ran from November 12-16 and closed with the Mexican premiere of Richard Linklater’s Boyhood attended by stars Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater.
In other developments producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribucion, Media Luna took world rights to Alexander Katzowicz’s Internet Junkie and BH5 Group boarded Ruizpalacios’ Museo that participated in the first Mexico-usa-Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArrava Co-Production Forum.
New York producer Dodgeville Films will join Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce Fernando Frias’ second film I’m No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aquí), one of the recipients of a $5,000 Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund grant. Spain’s Sin Un Duro and Noodles Prods have come on to co-produce another Gabriel Figueroa grant-winner, Chema Rodríguez’s Seven...
- 11/16/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Just days before Isaac Ezban's science fiction picture The Incident (El Incidente) premieres in North America at Austin's Fantastic Fest, the first teaser trailer has arrived online courtesy of Cine Caníbal, the company that will distribute the film next year in its country of origin (Mexico). The Incident will screen at Fantastic Fest on Sunday, September 21 and Thursday, September 25. It has been also selected for Sitges, Busan and Vancouver. At the time, there's no other Mexican genre movie collecting as much prestigious festivals as this one. You can read my review here and watch the teaser below (it contains English subtitles).Two parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked...
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- 9/19/2014
- Screen Anarchy
We’re nearing September, which means we’re getting close to Alamo Drafthouse’s 10th annual Fantastic Fest. The film festival held in Austin, Texas is one of the most interesting and exciting fests around. Catering to hardcore cinephiles with a little bit of an interest in the strange, Fantastic Fest features a bevy of some of the best new horror films, indie thrillers, dark comedies, and low-budget sci-fi. Last year some of the best films included at the fest were Afflicted, Borgman, Jodorowsky’s Dune, The Sacrament, Blue Ruin, Grand Piano, We Are What We Are, A Field in England, The Congress, and Big Bad Wolves. In 2011 Fantastic Fest was one of the places to see Adam Wingard’s amazing You’re Next before it was shelved until it’s official release just last year.
Now the initial lineup for the 2014 festival has been announced and as always it looks very promising.
Now the initial lineup for the 2014 festival has been announced and as always it looks very promising.
- 8/6/2014
- by Max Molinaro
- SoundOnSight
Our favorite film festival in the world is nigh. Later next month, Austin, Texas will host hundreds of genre fans for Fantastic Fest 2014!! We have the full list which includes the Us Premiere of Tusk as well as the World Premieres of ABCs of Death 2 and Horsehead. These won’t be all the films that will play the 10th anniversary of the film festival but it would be enough if it was. Look forward to more announcement waves of programming and don’t forget to follow up with our predictions that we made last week. I have added trailers above the film titles, if available. If the trailer is not available, there will be a still above the title.
From the Press Release
Fantastic Fest Celebrates 10 Years Of Chaos And Destruction With Us Premiere Of Kevin Smith’S “Tusk”, Leonard Maltin, The Meltdown With Jonah And Kumail And “ABCs Of Death 2...
From the Press Release
Fantastic Fest Celebrates 10 Years Of Chaos And Destruction With Us Premiere Of Kevin Smith’S “Tusk”, Leonard Maltin, The Meltdown With Jonah And Kumail And “ABCs Of Death 2...
- 8/6/2014
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
A podcaster is slowly turned into a walrus, skaters are hunted by a cult, and 26 different ways to die are revealed. Yes, Fantastic Fest is adding some horror to their 10th anniversary this September. The first wave of programming for the festival has been announced and Kevin Smith’s Tusk will be screened, as well as the horror anthologies V/H/S Viral and ABCs of Death 2.
Fantastic Fest will open with the Us premiere of Tusk and will later feature the Us premiere of V/H/S Viral. ABCs of Death 2 will make its world debut at the festival taking place September 18th-25th in Austin, Texas. We have a press release with more details and the first wave’s full listing of films, as well as the festival’s official Mondo poster:
Austin, TX – Tuesday, August 5, 2014 - “Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Fantastic Fest is excited to...
Fantastic Fest will open with the Us premiere of Tusk and will later feature the Us premiere of V/H/S Viral. ABCs of Death 2 will make its world debut at the festival taking place September 18th-25th in Austin, Texas. We have a press release with more details and the first wave’s full listing of films, as well as the festival’s official Mondo poster:
Austin, TX – Tuesday, August 5, 2014 - “Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Fantastic Fest is excited to...
- 8/5/2014
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
It's that time of year again, isn't it? There is no greater party on Earth for fans of genre films than Austin's annual Fantastic Fest, and ten years in, they just keep making it better. "In 2014, we are taking no prisoners. This festival is going to set new boundaries of decadence, destruction and debauchery." - Tim League As much as I love events like Cannes, Sundance, or Toronto, I can't imagine the directors of those festivals ever issuing that statement. The scary thing is that Tim League isn't kidding. Fantastic Fest is special because it's much more than just movies being screened. Every day is packed with events that elevate the entire festival, and with this year taking place at the new Alamo Drafthouse on S. Lamar, complete with the brand-new Highball, it feels like it's going to be a blow-out the likes of which even the most avid Fantastic...
- 8/5/2014
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Fantastic Fest 2014 kicks off September 18th, and the first wave of programming has been announced. With films like Tusk, V/H/S Viral, The Babadook, and ABC's of Death 2 on the menu, it's one not to miss!
From the Press Release:
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the first wave of events, special guests, and film programming for Fantastic Fest 2014, taking place September 18-25 in Austin, Texas, at the newly reopened Alamo South Lamar and Highball.
Fantastic Fest is thrilled to open the fest with the Us Premiere of Kevin Smith's dark horror-comedy Tusk. Smith will be in attendance for a red carpet gala screening and Q&A.
Immediately following Tusk, the world premiere of ABCs Of Death 2 will unveil 26 devilishly diabolical tales at Fantastic Fest with multiple directors from the horror anthology sequel in attendance, including Alejandro Brugués, Robert Boocheck, Lancelot Imasuen, E.L. Katz,...
From the Press Release:
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the first wave of events, special guests, and film programming for Fantastic Fest 2014, taking place September 18-25 in Austin, Texas, at the newly reopened Alamo South Lamar and Highball.
Fantastic Fest is thrilled to open the fest with the Us Premiere of Kevin Smith's dark horror-comedy Tusk. Smith will be in attendance for a red carpet gala screening and Q&A.
Immediately following Tusk, the world premiere of ABCs Of Death 2 will unveil 26 devilishly diabolical tales at Fantastic Fest with multiple directors from the horror anthology sequel in attendance, including Alejandro Brugués, Robert Boocheck, Lancelot Imasuen, E.L. Katz,...
- 8/5/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
The Alamo Drafthouse’s Fantastic Fest has a stellar rep around these parts, and it’s not hard to see why when you consider some of the indie titles that have played there in recent years. Last year alone saw Coherence, Grand Piano and Septic Man make their world premieres, and films like Blue Ruin, Afflicted, Witching & Bitching, The Sacrament and Borgman all land in the U.S. for the first time.
This year doesn’t look to be any different, with a terrific lineup of indie titles including boatloads of promising horror. We’ve got sequels like The ABCs of Death 2 and V/H/S Viral, and originals like Kevin Smith’s anticipated Tusk and The Babadook. Keep in mind this is only the first wave of film announcements for Fantastic Fest 2014 – we’ll keep you posted as more titles are confirmed for the festival, which runs in Austin,...
This year doesn’t look to be any different, with a terrific lineup of indie titles including boatloads of promising horror. We’ve got sequels like The ABCs of Death 2 and V/H/S Viral, and originals like Kevin Smith’s anticipated Tusk and The Babadook. Keep in mind this is only the first wave of film announcements for Fantastic Fest 2014 – we’ll keep you posted as more titles are confirmed for the festival, which runs in Austin,...
- 8/5/2014
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
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