French-U.S. Firm Zag Launches Streaming Content Unit And Sets Fantasy Superhero Toon ‘Fairyon’ As First Project

EXCLUSIVE: Buffalo 8 has set a November 4 release date on Prime Video for James Hemings: Ghost In America’s Kitchen. The historical documentary follows the profound life of James Hemings, the first American to train as a chef in France, who at 8 years old was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content and XYZ Films have dropped the trailer for “Tropic,” Edouard Salier sci-fi drama which world premiered at Fantastic Fest and will next play in competition at Sitges on Oct. 9. Penned by Salier and Mauricio Carrasco, the film follows Lázaro and Tristán, two twin brothers and best friends who are training together for the Astronaut Academy entrance tests. One day, Tristán is contaminated with some mysterious residue which makes him monstrous physically and weakened mentally. This disaster forces Lázaro to let go of how he remembers his brother and learn to love him as he is now, in a world where there is no room for monsters.

France’s CNC Sets Carbon Footprint Stipulations In Return For Support

EXCLUSIVE: In December 2000, a man broke into a suburban Tokyo home and ruthlessly slaughtered an entire unsuspecting family. But instead of fleeing the scene, the brutal killer – dubbed The Faceless Man – made himself at home. He took a nap; he ate their food; he used their computer; he changed into clothes owned by one of the victims; and then seemingly vanished in broad daylight.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Buoyed by the success of last year’s one-to-one networking sessions, Madrid’s 2nd Iberseries & Platino Industria market is launching a new TV forum aimed at fostering co-production and financing pacts between selected producers and potential partners or investors. “We are functioning as an accelerator in a way as the selected projects have at least 40% of their financing in place and just need that final push to see the light,” said Iberseries director Samuel Castro, who adds that these series have budgets ranging from €5 million-€30 million ($ million-$30 million) . The 10 companies, selected out of some 25 submissions, include some heavy hitters led by Spain’s Zebra Prods (Grupo Izen), Gato Grande-MGM, Argentina’s Storylab and El Estudio, founded by former Canana producing partner Pablo Cruz, producer Enrique López Lavigne and former Sony Pictures Intl. Prods. head, Diego Suárez Chialvo. 

His Majesty the King today shows him attending to his red box, starting as he means to go on as a working monarch in the new office at Buckingham Palace. The King, whose late mother reputedly attended to her red box every day except Christmas Day, has been photographed carrying out his own constitutional duties, in an image taken last week.

J Balvin’s newest venture into the wellness space targets the Latino and Hispanic communities. The award-winner star is introducing OYE, a next-level platform poised to disrupt the wellness industry through the revolutionary concept of transforming emotions into creative actions.

The Rome Film Festival has unveiled its first line-up under the new management team of former Rai executive Paola Malanga as artistic director and Cineteca di Bologna director Gian Luca Farinelli as president, who were both appointed to their roles last March.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent An English-language reimagining of the world of Sergio Corbucci’s cult 1966 spaghetti western “Django,” which launched the career of Italian icon Franco Nero, is set to launch from the Rome Film Festival in October. The high–concept TV series, titled “Django,” will play in 2023 exclusively on Sky and its streaming service NOW in all countries where Sky operates, including the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria. It will also air on Canal+ in France, Switzerland, Benelux and Africa. The Rome Film Festival runs from Oct. 13-23. The 10-episode “Django” show stars Matthias Schoenaerts (“Rust and Bone,” “Bullhead”) as the iconic gunman who is the title character, alongside Nicholas Pinnock (“For Life”) as John Ellis, described as the “visionary founder” of the town of New Babylon. Lisa Vicari (“Dark”) plays Django’s daughter Sarah and Noomi Rapace (Millennium Trilogy) has the adversarial role of John’s powerful and ruthless enemy Elizabeth Thurman. 

Brad Pitt is breaking into the beauty industry! The actor launched a skincare line that aims to “reduce the visible signs of aging.”

When he’s not making films like “The Cabin In The Woods” or “Bad Times At The El Royale,” Drew Goddard puts his signature on TV shows of all kinds. And over the years, he’s left his mark on shows as diverse as “Alias,” “Lost,” “Daredevil,” and “The Good Place.” Now he looks to do it again with ABC and a pilot of a French detective series the network picked up the rights to last week.

Lise Pedersen French director Julien Villanueva whose animation and VFX outfit Circus Studio has worked on the likes of “Lego City Adventures”, “Around the World in 80 Days” and “White Fang,” has pitched his first ever original TV series project at Cartoon Forum in Toulouse. “Dr Bob is a very simple concept,” he joked to the crowd of industry professionals gathered at the pitching forum in the southern French city. “It’s like Freud meets Kermit the Frog,” he explained about his show, a sitcom centered around Dr. Bob, a wacky psychologist who goes to extremes to make his patients happy, which often leads to radical consequences.

EXCLUSIVE: Genre firms Pulsar Content and XYZ Films have partnered to handle sales on the Fantastic Fest and Sitges sci-fi drama Tropic, written and directed by Edouard Salier.

Liza Foreman Expanding the diversity of Spain’s film-TV sector, Moroccan-Spanish director, Swel Noury Cazorla’s “Azahar Baby,” is 10 of ten projects pitching at San Sebastian first Creative Investors’ Conference, which is co-organized with CAA Media Finance.  Written, and to be directed, by Noury (“Heaven’s Door,” “The Man Who Sold the World”), the feature project is the first out of the gate for Noury and executive producer Sonia Ziadi Trives, who is also Moroccan–Spanish, at their Madrid-based joint production venture,Two Flavours Productions. “Azahar Baby” weighs in as a coming-of-age dramedy. It tells the story of Yusef, an aspiring filmmaker who is making a documentary to make sense of his identity as a second-generation Moroccan immigrant. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Alvaro Longoria, partner-producer at Morena Films, one of Spain’s top production shingles, is teaming with the Government of Cantabria to create El Bosque del Cine, a pioneering reforestation scheme offering producers a simple but inspiring way of cancelling productions’ carbon footprints.  The program is set to be unveiled on Sept. 13 at a round table at this week’s Santander Film Festival. El Bosque del Cine aims to plant 34,000 trees over 40 hectares, lent to the program by the Government of Cantabria. Creation will be divided into two phases of 20 hectares each, the first beginning this year. The forest will absorb 19,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions, equivalent to the footprint of 320 movies. 

Barcelona failed in their attempts to sign Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva this summer, but they will likely renew their efforts in the next transfer window.

Oscar winner Florian Zeller (The Father), fresh off Venice Film Festival drama The Son, is launching production firm Blue Morning Pictures with backing from European studio Mediawan (Call My Agent).