Antonio Banderas, Andrew Lloyd Webber To Bring Top Musicals And Theatre Shows To Spanish-Speaking World

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentJulianne Moore will preside over the main jury of the Venice Film Festival’s upcoming 79th edition.The Oscar-winning U.S. actor, who most recently starred in A24’s “When You Finish Saving the World,” directed by Jesse Eisenberg, and will next appear in Benjamin Caron-directed “Sharper,” alongside Sebastian Stan and John Lithgow, also from A24, is a longtime Venice regular.Moore was last on the Lido with George Clooney-directed “Suburbicon” in 2017.

Hugh Grant has denied reports that he is in talks to play Prince Andrew in an upcoming movie.The project is said to centre on the disgraced Royal’s disastrous TV interview with Newsnight host Emily Maitlis which aired in November 2019, and will follow behind the scenes of the infamous interview. Actor Hugh, 61, was said to be “one of the unconfirmed names in the frame” to portray the Royal in the movie, according to Deadline.

Hugh Grant is reportedly in talks to play Prince Andrew in an upcoming movie.The project is set to centre on the disgraced Royal’s disastrous TV interview with Newsnight host Emily Maitlis which aired in November 2019, and will follow behind the scenes of the infamous interview. Actor Hugh, 61, is “one of the unconfirmed names in the frame” to portray the Royal in the movie, according to Deadline.

EXCLUSIVE: Star Trek Into Darkness, Black Mirror and Belgravia star Alice Eve has joined the cast of Sky’s upcoming comedy-drama series The Lovers.

Love Island fans were left convinced newcomer Coco Lodge isn’t interested in Andrew Le Page romantically, after an awkward chat aired on Tuesday night’s episode. Coco and Andrew could be seen discussing their relationship as the brunette bombshell laid the charm on thick with Andrew, who was coupled up with Tasha Ghouri in the main villa before Casa Amor.  While discussing the night before, Coco claimed it was “really hard to control” herself, as she and Andrew cuddled up together in bed.

EXCLUSIVE: Alice Eve (Belgravia), Shelley Hennig (Unfriended) and Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) have signed on to star in Jon Keeyes’ thriller The Last Girl for Yale Entertainment, which will head into production in Ireland this summer.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAndrew Lloyd Webber and Antonio Banderas are teaming to create a joint company Amigos Para Siempre (APS) aimed at producing musicals, stage plays and live entertainment for major markets in the Spanish-speaking world, including the Latino U.S. Upcoming productions will include Spanish-language makeovers of Lloyd Webber classics, such as “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Starlight Express,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Evita,” “Cinderella,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “School of Rock.”Spanish-language adaptation rights to these works will be ceded to the new joint venture  by Lloyd Webber’s company, Really Useful Group.  Building on a decades-long friendship, APS will also license third-party works, as well as develop and produce original shows for the Spanish-speaking market, the biggest easily accessible non-English-language market in the world, whose theater and musical scene is experiencing robust growth. The joint venture will be overseen by Emanuel Nuñuz, CEO of the NuCO Media Group, who has a deep knowledge of the Spanish-world entertainment scene, and Jessica Koravos, president of Really Useful Group. “Antonio Banderas not only forms part of entertainment royalty but is also one of the most versatile creative minds with whom I’ve have the pleasure of working,” Lloyd Webber said.He added: “It’s really moving to associate with Antonio to present my work, as well as other brilliant Broadway and West End titles, in new markets. Though millions of people in all of the Spanish-speaking world already love our shows and music, there’s an extraordinary appetite to receive more and the levels musical and stage play talent is extraordinary.

There are big movies, and there are box office behemoths.

Zack Sharf Reports surfaced in 2019 that Quentin Tarantino was going to continue the “Django Unchained” universe on the big screen by adapting his own crossover comic book “Django/Zorro,” which finds the freed slave (played by Jamie Foxx in the film) teaming up with the masked vigilante. Tarantino courted comedian Jerrod Carmichael to write the script, and he even went to Antonio Banderas to get him to reprise the Zorro character he played in 1998’s “The Mask of Zorro” and 2005’s “The Legend of Zorro.”Banderas recently confirmed to USA Today that Tarantino approached him to star in the crossover movie.

Several years ago, it was announced that Quentin Tarantino was going to team up with writer-comedian Jerrod Carmichael for a potential “Django/Zorro” crossover film. Not much else was known at the time, but it was assumed that the film would include Jamie Foxx reprising his role as Django.

Jaime King and Antonio Banderas are teaming up in the new action thriller Code Name Banshee!

One of the reported victims at the center of the long-developing Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal is speaking out in a new book by detailing her alleged experiences with disgraced royal family member Prince Andrew.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn late April, Banijay Iberia moved waves by taking an equity stake in Alex de la Iglesia and Carolina Bang’s Pokeespsie Films, with the aim of scaling up on its Spanish-language high-end original series and fiction production.Via Shine Iberia, Banijay is also producing biopic “Bosé,” one of VIS’ biggest Spanish-language plays for Paramount Plus, about singer-songwriter Miguel Bosé.Best known for its entertainment formats – though it does own Barcelona’s Diagonal TV, producer of hit Netflix historical sagas “Cathedral of the Sea” and “Heirs to the Land” and DLO Producciones, behind “Tell Me Who I Am” and “El Immortal,” – Banijay is now moving to strengthen its position in scripted in the Iberian market and, via it, across the globe. That is seen at Conecta Fiction, which runs June 21-24 in Toledo, Spain, where Banijay will have one of the biggest presences of any global company at the TV co-production forum, with Lars Blomgren, Banijay head of scripted, teaming with Maria Rua Aguete, Omdia senior research director, to deliver a first full day keynote on Wednesday on Global Fiction Trends, Consumer Choices & The Future of Fiction TV in a Streaming World.James Townley, Banijay’s global director of content development, who overseas new non-scripted IP, will also speak at Conecta Fiction;  Pilar Blasco, CEO of Banijay Iberia, will engage in a conversation with María José Rodríguez, head of Spanish originals at Amazon’s Prime Video.In the run up to Conecta Fiction, Variety talked with Blomgren about Banijay’s plans to ramp up its series and fiction output in the Spanish-speaking world.At Conecta Fiction, you’ll deliver a keynote on global TV fiction trends. Could you anticipate

IFC Films opened Official Competition starring Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martínez at four theaters in NYC and LA for an estimated three-day gross of $34,000 and per-theater-averages of $8,500 for the comedy directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat following it U.S. premiere at the Tribeca Festival last week.

Another royal rift is reportedly ongoing, with Prince Andrew allegedly refusing to speak to his brother Charles and nephew William, after the pair blocked his so-called ‘comeback’ plans. Andrew, 62, has taken a backseat from public life since sexual assault allegations against him resurfaced following the death of his former friend, peadophile Jeffrey Epstein, in 2019.The Duke of York has always vehemently denied the accusation brought against him by Virginia Giuffre.

Andrew Le Page may have won our hearts on season 8 of Love Island as he charmed his way into Tasha Ghouri’s good graces, but when not in the villa, where does the 27 year old realtor live? While it’s widely known that the property hotshot has been living in Dubai while carving a name for himself in the sun-soaked property scene, the Guernsey born hunk has also shared a brief glimpse into his UK homes with fans on social media. From stay-at-home workouts to nights on the town, Andrew has given fans an insight into his personality as he has shared a number of updates on social media about his day to day life.

It’s been over a decade since the last adventure in the “Shrek” universe (if you don’t count Netflix‘s ‘The Adventures Of Puss In Boots‘ series). But prepare to head back to that world’s offbeat take on fairytale lore with “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish,” a sequel to that series and the 2011 film.

Penelope Cruz made an appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday for the American premiere of her film Official Competition.MORE: Penelope Cruz turns heads in statement pink dress as she joins famous friends at annual Tribeca dinnerShe stars alongside Oscar Martínez and prior co-star Antonio Banderas, who was also at the premiere with her, and both also spoke to the audience prior to the screening.VIDEO: Penelope Cruz stars in The 355 trailerAfter Antonio shared his remarks, Penelope commented that she was excited for audiences to see their passion project and talked of returning to New York City."I've been totally in love with this city since the first time I came here almost 30 years ago, and that's when I met Antonio, we were neighbors" she said.MORE: Penelope Cruz strikes a pose in a chic power suit with an unexpected touchHowever, she also shared a surprising detail about their working relationship, explaining: "But it's taken us all this time to get to work together and really having a lot of scenes together, in the other movies we were always separated."A post shared by Penélope Cruz (@penelopecruzoficial)The two star in Official CompetitionThe two friends have been part of quite a few projects in the past, most recently 2019's Pain and Glory, which netted Antonio his first Oscar nomination.