Italian Producer Andrea Iervolino to Build Upscale Production Facility Tuscany Film Studios

Ashley Olsen’s old “Full House” co-stars are celebrating her big news.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Chile’s Francisca Alegria, whose debut feature “The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future” premiered at Sundance 2022, is launching a Latinx production company called Madre, with offices based in Chile, Uruguay and the U.S. Together with her partners Fernanda Urrejola, Gabriela Rosés and Cristóbal Güell, Alegria said: “We firmly believe that stories have the ability to shape perspectives, challenge norms, and inspire action.

EXCLUSIVE: It’s a tough time to be a mid-sized unscripted production company right now.

Chances are you’ve seen a “Star Wars” movie. Still, even if you haven’t, you know such basics things like the tagline, “in a galaxy far, far away…” (which actually has four ellipsis points in it, despite the incorrect grammar), you’ll know who George Lucas is, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and probably Yoda.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Shazam!” star Zachary Levi railed against Hollywood “garbage” during an appearance at Chicago Fan Expo (via Entertainment Weekly). The actor urged attendees at the event to “actively not choose” to seek out garbage movies. Levi’s own 2023 release, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” is one of the biggest studio flops of the year.

“Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot didn’t need the lasso of truth when advised that she was considered for the plum role of “Barbie” in that film you’ve all seen.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Rome-based sales agency True Colours has added Edoardo de Angelis’ “Comandante,” which opens the Venice Film Festival, to its slate. The film, which plays in the main competition section, stars Pierfrancesco Favino (“World War Z,” “Angels & Demons”).

SAG-AFTRA has revealed more thinking behind its interim agreements, with leadership saying the initiative is “designed to undermine the production slates and timing of the AMPTP companies and ensure that they come back to the table”.

Film at Lincoln Center has set the 32 features from 18 countries making up the Main Slate of the New York Film Festival, from Cannes prize-winners Anatomy Of A Fall by Justine Triet (Palme d’Or) and Zone Of Interest by Jonathan Glazer (Grand Prix), to the latest by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland, Hong Sangsoo, Radu Jude, Yorgos Lanthimos and Alice Rohrwacher.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Production has kicked off on “A Better Place,” which is produced by Komplizen Serien and Studiocanal Series in Germany. Komplizen Serien, headed by David Keitsch, is the TV arm of leading movie production company Komplizen Film, whose credits include “Spencer,” for which Kristen Stewart was Oscar-nominated, and “Toni Erdmann,” which was Oscar-nominated in the foreign language film category. “A Better Place” is the first German TV show to be produced by Studiocanal Series, the German TV arm of the French production powerhouse.

Arthur Schmidt, the film editor whose decades-long collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis on classics such as Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cast Away, Contact and all three Back to the Future films won him two Oscars, has died, Deadline has confirmed. He was 86.

Following a nine-week investigation and cast petition, Albert Alarr, the “Days of Our Lives” co-executive producer, has been replaced.

Andrea Iervolino, the Italian producer behind Michael Mann’s forthcoming Ferrari, today announced his investment of around 50 million euros, or $55M U.S., in The Tuscany Film Studios, a top-flight production facility soon to be active in central Italy.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Prime Video has acquired the Ancient Rome gladiator drama series “Those About to Die” in multiple European territories. The show is directed by “Independence Day” helmer Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner. The 10-episode first season will debut exclusively on Prime Video in Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, Turkey, Andorra, Monaco, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Franco-Tunisian film and TV entrepreneur Tarak Ben Ammar is expanding the scope of his Italian operations by buying local unscripted production outfit Blu Yazmine, while also entering talks to build a large studio complex in Rome. Though Ben Ammar’s ambition to build sprawling new filming facilities in the Italian capital are in advanced talks but not fully concrete, the purchase of a majority stake in Blu Yazmine via his Rome-based Eagle Pictures has been closed.

Cinephiles already know that “Ferrari,” Michael Mann‘s first film since 2015’s “Blackhat,” will have its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival in September. But now Mann fans know when his biopic will have its North American premiere: as the closing film of the New York Film Festival on October 13.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Beta Film has sold more than 100 hours of drama series to PBS Distribution-backed Walter Presents for the U.S., and Channel 4-backed Walter Presents for the U.K. Five seasons of Italy’s gritty crime series “Rocco Schiavone” as well as Canadian mystery dramas “The Wall – The Chateau Murder” and “The Wall – The Orchard” will be available in both territories.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Michael Mann’s racing drama “Ferrari” is set to close the 61st annual New York Film Festival. The sports biopic, starring Adam Driver as automotive mogul Enzo Ferrari, will make its North American premiere at Alice Tully Hall on Oct. 13.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Gianluca Matarrese’s “The Zola Experience,” which will have its world premiere at Venice Days, has been picked up for international sales by Syndicado. Cinecittà will distribute the film in Italy. According to Matarrese, the film “explores the boundaries between fiction and documentary.” It centers on Anne, a theater director, who has separated from her husband and is moving house.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sound of Freedom, the indie action-drama film that has already earned over $125 million at the North American box office, will begin to move into international distribution from next month.Angel Studios, the crowd-funded, Utah-based production and distribution firm behind the picture, says it has set releases in territories including the U.K., Australia and Latin America. The company explained that it has arranged direct-to-theater distribution deals in Latin America, the U.K, and Ireland. In other territories it will take the more conventional route of partnering with distributors.