Kinology has boarded international sales to “The Big War,” an epic €30-million live action-cgi characters hybrid movie which will mark the directorial comeback of “La Haine” filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz.
The ambitious feature is adapted from “La Bête Est Morte,” an iconic two-part graphic novel illustrated by Edmond Calvo during War World 2 in Nazi-Occupied France and published after the country was liberated.
Pitched as a “”Paddington” meets ‘Saving Private Ryan,'” “The Big War” is a true passion project for Kassovitz who bought rights to “La Bête est Morte” nearly two decades ago and has now joined forces with well-respected animation producer Aton Soumache, whose credits range from literary adaptations such as the Cesar-winning “The Little Prince” to the global smash-hit “Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie.”
Kassovitz and Soumache have assembled a dream team for “The Big War,” including Caroline Thompson, the award-winning screenwriter of “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare before Christmas,...
The ambitious feature is adapted from “La Bête Est Morte,” an iconic two-part graphic novel illustrated by Edmond Calvo during War World 2 in Nazi-Occupied France and published after the country was liberated.
Pitched as a “”Paddington” meets ‘Saving Private Ryan,'” “The Big War” is a true passion project for Kassovitz who bought rights to “La Bête est Morte” nearly two decades ago and has now joined forces with well-respected animation producer Aton Soumache, whose credits range from literary adaptations such as the Cesar-winning “The Little Prince” to the global smash-hit “Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie.”
Kassovitz and Soumache have assembled a dream team for “The Big War,” including Caroline Thompson, the award-winning screenwriter of “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare before Christmas,...
- 5/10/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
In 2017, Movistar Plus, Spain’s biggest SVOD-pay TV player, rocked the San Sebastian Festival, the highest-profile movie event in Spain and Latin America region, with “The Plague,” the biggest series ever made in Spain.
Movistar Plus, owned by Telefónica, looks set to make waves again at this week’s San Sebastian by world premiering another big, bold series: “La Mesías.”
It’s written, directed and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – known in Spain as Los Javis – marking their follow-up to overseas breakout “Veneno,” a raunchy but highly grounded bio of Spanish trans icon Cristina Ortiz. “Veneno” was picked up by HBO Max for the U.S. market and made Ambrossi and Calvo among the most courted young showrunners in Europe.
“We’ve had to say ‘no’ to a lot of things, to big offers, a lot of money from and outside Spain, to keep faithful to ourselves, and...
Movistar Plus, owned by Telefónica, looks set to make waves again at this week’s San Sebastian by world premiering another big, bold series: “La Mesías.”
It’s written, directed and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – known in Spain as Los Javis – marking their follow-up to overseas breakout “Veneno,” a raunchy but highly grounded bio of Spanish trans icon Cristina Ortiz. “Veneno” was picked up by HBO Max for the U.S. market and made Ambrossi and Calvo among the most courted young showrunners in Europe.
“We’ve had to say ‘no’ to a lot of things, to big offers, a lot of money from and outside Spain, to keep faithful to ourselves, and...
- 9/28/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Showmax CEO Yolisa Phahle is leaving the African streamer after nearly two decades.
The CEO of Showmax parent MultiChoice Calvo Mawela announced Phahle’s exit with “mixed emotions” in a note to staff. Marc Jury became interim Showmax CEO on September 1 as a search for the full-time successor is found.
Phahle will provide “full time advisory support” to Jury for the next six months. From March 2024, Phahle will continue to consult for another 12 months, reporting to Jury, who will lead both Showmax and MultiChoice’s South African operations.
“In what could be characterised as the end of an era defined by a solid career and almost two decades with the Group, it is with mixed emotions to announce that our Showmax CEO, Yolisa Phahle, is making her way into the next chapter of her career,” wrote Calvo.
“Discussions have been underway with an understanding that she will be entering the...
The CEO of Showmax parent MultiChoice Calvo Mawela announced Phahle’s exit with “mixed emotions” in a note to staff. Marc Jury became interim Showmax CEO on September 1 as a search for the full-time successor is found.
Phahle will provide “full time advisory support” to Jury for the next six months. From March 2024, Phahle will continue to consult for another 12 months, reporting to Jury, who will lead both Showmax and MultiChoice’s South African operations.
“In what could be characterised as the end of an era defined by a solid career and almost two decades with the Group, it is with mixed emotions to announce that our Showmax CEO, Yolisa Phahle, is making her way into the next chapter of her career,” wrote Calvo.
“Discussions have been underway with an understanding that she will be entering the...
- 9/5/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
The San Sebastián Film Festival has revealed the lineup of Spanish titles that will screen as part of the Official Selection of its latest edition, which is due to unfold from September 22 — 30. Scroll down for the full list.
Selected titles include Un Amor from Isabel Coixet, who competes for the festival’s Golden Shell for the first time with the pic based on the book of the same name by Sara Mesa and starring Laia Costa at the head of a cast also featuring Hovik Keuchkerian, Hugo Silva, Luis Bermejo, Ingrid García-Jonsson and Francesco Carril.
Filmmaker Fernando Trueba, of the Oscar-nominated feature Chico & Rita (2012), will present his latest project, They Shot the Piano Player, directed alongside Javier Mariscal in the fest’s Special Screening sidebar. The film, narrated by the voice of Jeff Goldblum, follows the figure of Brazilian musician Tenorio Jr. during the early days of the musical movement known as bossa nova.
Selected titles include Un Amor from Isabel Coixet, who competes for the festival’s Golden Shell for the first time with the pic based on the book of the same name by Sara Mesa and starring Laia Costa at the head of a cast also featuring Hovik Keuchkerian, Hugo Silva, Luis Bermejo, Ingrid García-Jonsson and Francesco Carril.
Filmmaker Fernando Trueba, of the Oscar-nominated feature Chico & Rita (2012), will present his latest project, They Shot the Piano Player, directed alongside Javier Mariscal in the fest’s Special Screening sidebar. The film, narrated by the voice of Jeff Goldblum, follows the figure of Brazilian musician Tenorio Jr. during the early days of the musical movement known as bossa nova.
- 7/14/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar winner Fernando Trueba (“Belle Epoque”), “The Secret Life of Words” director Isabel Coixet and “Veneno” writer-director-producers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo feature among talent behind Spanish titles at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival, the highest profile film event in the Spanish-speaking world.
Coixet will compete for the first time in San Sebastian’s main competition with “Un Amor,” a probing village-set tale of emotional dependence starring Laia Costa (“Lullaby”) and “Money Heist’s” Hovik Keuchkerian.
Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal will present as a special screening animated feature “They Shot the Piano Player,” a joyful and finally devastating portrait of the life and fate of pianist Francisco Tenorio Jr. narrated by Jeff Goldblum.
Ambrossi and Calvo – popularly known as Los Javis – will world premiere “La Mesías,” the most awaited Spanish series of the year, a big-scale, period-hopping Movistar Plus+ original, chronicling the devastating effect of a childhood education,...
Coixet will compete for the first time in San Sebastian’s main competition with “Un Amor,” a probing village-set tale of emotional dependence starring Laia Costa (“Lullaby”) and “Money Heist’s” Hovik Keuchkerian.
Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal will present as a special screening animated feature “They Shot the Piano Player,” a joyful and finally devastating portrait of the life and fate of pianist Francisco Tenorio Jr. narrated by Jeff Goldblum.
Ambrossi and Calvo – popularly known as Los Javis – will world premiere “La Mesías,” the most awaited Spanish series of the year, a big-scale, period-hopping Movistar Plus+ original, chronicling the devastating effect of a childhood education,...
- 7/14/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
“Veneno” writer-director-creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – popularly known as Los Javis – have dropped an international trailer for its sequel, “Vestida de Azul” (“Veneno 2: Dressed in Blue”) sharing it in exclusivity with Variety.
Sold to HBO Max for the U.S., where it aired to acclaim, “Veneno” was picked as one of Variety’s best international series in 2020.
This time round, Los Javis produce through Suma Content, the Madrid-based label they launched in 2021, where they also serve as its creative directors. The series is its fourth production after “Una navidad con Samantha Hudson,” a Christmas special, “Cardo,” and “Cardo 2.” An Atresplayer original series, “Vestidas de Azul” is produced for Atresmedia Television in collaboration with Suma Content. Atresmedia TV International Sales handles international distribution.
The trailer begins two years after “Veneno” with Valeria, her figure inspired by the real-life Spanish journalist Valeria Vegas who penned La Veneno’s memoirs, returning...
Sold to HBO Max for the U.S., where it aired to acclaim, “Veneno” was picked as one of Variety’s best international series in 2020.
This time round, Los Javis produce through Suma Content, the Madrid-based label they launched in 2021, where they also serve as its creative directors. The series is its fourth production after “Una navidad con Samantha Hudson,” a Christmas special, “Cardo,” and “Cardo 2.” An Atresplayer original series, “Vestidas de Azul” is produced for Atresmedia Television in collaboration with Suma Content. Atresmedia TV International Sales handles international distribution.
The trailer begins two years after “Veneno” with Valeria, her figure inspired by the real-life Spanish journalist Valeria Vegas who penned La Veneno’s memoirs, returning...
- 6/21/2023
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: HBO Max‘s Dune prequel TV series’ long journey to the screen is taking another turn. Dune: The Sisterhood (wt), which started production in late November, is undergoing a creative shift, a director change and a recasting.
Chernobyl executive producer Johan Renck, who had signed on to direct the first two episodes, has exited the project. Search is underway for his replacement as production has been put on hold. Shirley Henderson, who had been tapped as one of the leads, also is leaving. Her role as Tula Harkonnen will be recast. That is in addition to creator Diane Ademu-John, who had written the pilot script, stepping down as co-showrunner in the run-up to production, with veteran TV writer-producer Alison Schapker becoming sole showrunner of the Legendary-produced series.
“As Dune: The Sisterhood (wt) has entered a pre-scheduled hiatus, there are some creative changes being made to the production in an...
Chernobyl executive producer Johan Renck, who had signed on to direct the first two episodes, has exited the project. Search is underway for his replacement as production has been put on hold. Shirley Henderson, who had been tapped as one of the leads, also is leaving. Her role as Tula Harkonnen will be recast. That is in addition to creator Diane Ademu-John, who had written the pilot script, stepping down as co-showrunner in the run-up to production, with veteran TV writer-producer Alison Schapker becoming sole showrunner of the Legendary-produced series.
“As Dune: The Sisterhood (wt) has entered a pre-scheduled hiatus, there are some creative changes being made to the production in an...
- 3/1/2023
- by Rosy Cordero and Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
The latest series from Alex de la Iglesia and “Veneno” creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo feature at a first-look Next from Spain Showcase which marks a massive step-up in the country’s presence at the Berlinale Series Market.
Running Feb. 20-22, the showcase also unveils “Rapa” Season 2, with its first season proving Movistar+’s biggest 2022 bow, and “This Is Not Sweden,” a pioneering Spanish co-production with Scandinavia and Germany.
The Showcase titles are joined by Isaki Lacuesta’s “The Chauffeur’s Son,” a Co-Pro Series project from “Elite’s” Zeta Studios, and “Selftape,” a Filmin Original from Filmax and a Series Market Screening.
Prior to 2023, Spanish titles only screened very occasionally at the market. This year’s splash , however, is entirely logical.
Thanks in part to a captive audience of 580 million Spanish speakers who are largely avid for melodrama-thrillers with a modern edge – think “La Casa de Papel,” “Who Killed Sara?...
Running Feb. 20-22, the showcase also unveils “Rapa” Season 2, with its first season proving Movistar+’s biggest 2022 bow, and “This Is Not Sweden,” a pioneering Spanish co-production with Scandinavia and Germany.
The Showcase titles are joined by Isaki Lacuesta’s “The Chauffeur’s Son,” a Co-Pro Series project from “Elite’s” Zeta Studios, and “Selftape,” a Filmin Original from Filmax and a Series Market Screening.
Prior to 2023, Spanish titles only screened very occasionally at the market. This year’s splash , however, is entirely logical.
Thanks in part to a captive audience of 580 million Spanish speakers who are largely avid for melodrama-thrillers with a modern edge – think “La Casa de Papel,” “Who Killed Sara?...
- 2/20/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
ABC is scuttling its series Avalon, taking the series from David E. Kelley off its 2022-23 slate.
The drama, produced by A+E Studios and Disney’s 20th Television, was to have starred Neve Campbell as the L.A. Sheriff’s detective who leads a small office on Catalina Island off the Southern California coast. The show, based on a short story by Michael Connelly and created for television by the prolific Kelley, scored a straight to series order in February.
Dana Calvo (Good Girls Revolt, Narcos) came aboard as showrunner in April. Campbell heads a cast that also includes Steven Pasquale, Alexa Mansour, Demetrius Grosse and Roslyn Ruff.
Sources say that the show’s first episode had finished filming, but nothing beyond that. A+E Studios is said to believe in the show’s auspices and will explore options to find Avalon another home.
ABC is scuttling its series Avalon, taking the series from David E. Kelley off its 2022-23 slate.
The drama, produced by A+E Studios and Disney’s 20th Television, was to have starred Neve Campbell as the L.A. Sheriff’s detective who leads a small office on Catalina Island off the Southern California coast. The show, based on a short story by Michael Connelly and created for television by the prolific Kelley, scored a straight to series order in February.
Dana Calvo (Good Girls Revolt, Narcos) came aboard as showrunner in April. Campbell heads a cast that also includes Steven Pasquale, Alexa Mansour, Demetrius Grosse and Roslyn Ruff.
Sources say that the show’s first episode had finished filming, but nothing beyond that. A+E Studios is said to believe in the show’s auspices and will explore options to find Avalon another home.
- 11/19/2022
- by Rick Porter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In “La Mesías,” their follow-up as writers-directors to ‘Veneno,’ an HBO Max pickup for the U.S., Spanish showrunners Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi are promising their biggest series yet, a “near apocalyptic family drama,” as Ambrossi puts it, which chronicles the deep scars left for decades by childhood trauma.
In it, Enric, in the modern-day, is heavily impacted watching a viral video of a five-sister Christian pop band. Enric himself is still battling childhood memories marked by religious fanaticism and a mother with delirious messianic ambitions.
A Movistar+ Original, which is sold by Movistar+Internacional,“La Mesías” is produced by Ambrossi and Calvo at Suma Content, the robustly independent and internationally-minded production house launched last year by Los Javis, as they are popularly known in Spain,
Part of that brewing apocalypse was on show in late October in scenes shot at a masia, a traditionally farmsteads reconverted into a family home,...
In it, Enric, in the modern-day, is heavily impacted watching a viral video of a five-sister Christian pop band. Enric himself is still battling childhood memories marked by religious fanaticism and a mother with delirious messianic ambitions.
A Movistar+ Original, which is sold by Movistar+Internacional,“La Mesías” is produced by Ambrossi and Calvo at Suma Content, the robustly independent and internationally-minded production house launched last year by Los Javis, as they are popularly known in Spain,
Part of that brewing apocalypse was on show in late October in scenes shot at a masia, a traditionally farmsteads reconverted into a family home,...
- 11/11/2022
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
“La Mesías,” from “Veneno” creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, drinks deep from Catholic tradition from its very title — literally, “The Female Messiah” — to iconography and focus on faith.
Another awaited Movistar+ series, “The Left-Handed Son,” created by “The Plague” screenwriter Rafael Cobos, was presented to the press in July against a spectacular backdrop taking in, just across a waterway, Seville’s iconic Torre de Oro and, a little further away, the Giralda bell tower of Seville’s Cathedral.
In line with platform production trends the world over, rather than playing down local elements, Movistar+ is playing them up. For the Telefonica SVOD/pay TV player in Spain, this has been a longterm philosophy, reaching back to its earliest series in 2017.
No big European SVOD player has insisted as much as Movistar+ on capturing the hot button issues, history, culture (“Spanish Shame”), traumas (“The Invisible Line”) and landscapes (“Félix”) of its local market.
Another awaited Movistar+ series, “The Left-Handed Son,” created by “The Plague” screenwriter Rafael Cobos, was presented to the press in July against a spectacular backdrop taking in, just across a waterway, Seville’s iconic Torre de Oro and, a little further away, the Giralda bell tower of Seville’s Cathedral.
In line with platform production trends the world over, rather than playing down local elements, Movistar+ is playing them up. For the Telefonica SVOD/pay TV player in Spain, this has been a longterm philosophy, reaching back to its earliest series in 2017.
No big European SVOD player has insisted as much as Movistar+ on capturing the hot button issues, history, culture (“Spanish Shame”), traumas (“The Invisible Line”) and landscapes (“Félix”) of its local market.
- 10/14/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
FIFA+ & Others License Football Doc ‘Brazil 2002: The Real Story’
World football-focused streamer FIFA+ has acquired 90-minute feature doc Brazil 2002: The Real Story for territories including Asia (excluding Japan), Turkey and New Zealand following a deal with distributor Abacus Media Rights. The doc has also sold to Canal+ Group for Canal+ Foot and myCanal (France); Sky Deutschland; Sky Italia; Dbs Satellite Services (Israel and West Bank); Supersport Africa (for Africa); Nos Portugal (Portugal and PALOPs); Movistar Plus+ (Spain); and Stan (Australia). Sky in the UK, Front Row Filmed Entertainment (Middle East) and Viaplay were unveiled as buyers back in February when the doc was announced. TelevisaUnivision also announced its acquisition of the film for North and South America...
World football-focused streamer FIFA+ has acquired 90-minute feature doc Brazil 2002: The Real Story for territories including Asia (excluding Japan), Turkey and New Zealand following a deal with distributor Abacus Media Rights. The doc has also sold to Canal+ Group for Canal+ Foot and myCanal (France); Sky Deutschland; Sky Italia; Dbs Satellite Services (Israel and West Bank); Supersport Africa (for Africa); Nos Portugal (Portugal and PALOPs); Movistar Plus+ (Spain); and Stan (Australia). Sky in the UK, Front Row Filmed Entertainment (Middle East) and Viaplay were unveiled as buyers back in February when the doc was announced. TelevisaUnivision also announced its acquisition of the film for North and South America...
- 9/13/2022
- by Jesse Whittock and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
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