Venice Critics’ Week Unveils 2022 Selection
05.07.2022 - 16:47 / variety.com
Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based distributor DCD Rights has acquired Grammy-nominated feature documentary “Music, Money, Madness… Jimi Hendrix Live In Maui.” The 90-minute documentary chronicles guitar legend Jimi Hendrix’s visit to Maui in July 1970 and details how he became ensnared in “Rainbow Bridge,” an ill-fated independent film produced by his manager, Michael Jeffery.Jeffery secured a $300,000 advance against the promise of a soundtrack album by Hendrix — the first time a movie was funded solely by an album. Jeffery hired Chuck Wein, a former associate of Andy Warhol, to direct.
However, without a script or professional actors, the shoot was proving one of excess. With Hendrix and the Experience already booked to play Honolulu, Wein, desperate to feature the band, planned to film them playing on the slope of the dormant Haleakala volcano.
The show was a success but the film, less so. The documentary is produced under the Experience Hendrix label, which is owned and operated by the Hendrix family, and features previously unseen color footage of the performance mixed in surround sound, as well as new interviews with key players.Opening in November, Clint Dyer directs Shakespeare’s “Othello” in the U.K.
National Theatre‘s Lyttelton theater. The cast includes Giles Terera (“Death of England: Face to Face”) as Othello, Rosy McEwen (“The Alienist”) as Desdemona and Paul Hilton (“The Inheritance”) as Iago.
This interpretation of the play follows a bright, headstrong daughter of a senator who elevated by her status but stifled by its expectations and a refugee of slavery, who having risen to the top of a white world, finds that love across racial lines has a cost. Wed in secret, Desdemona and Othello crave a new life
.Venice Critics’ Week Unveils 2022 Selection
Naman Ramachandran BBC Factual has commissioned “Zuckerberg” (working title), a three-part BBC Two and BBC iPlayer series aiming to present the definitive account of Mark Zuckerberg and his brainchild, marking the 20th anniversary of Facebook’s founding. On Feb.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFormer Manchester City and England soccer player Micah Richards fronts “Player Pranks,” a show commissioned by Sky, produced by Zig Zag and Krempelwood. The show sees the Premier League winner team up with his Sky Sports colleague Adam ‘Smithy’ Smith for a top-secret mission to prank the great and good of football.
Naman Ramachandran A trio of global festival favorites — Pan Nalin‘s “Last Film Show,” Mostofa Sarwar Farooki‘s “No Land’s Man” and Gurvinder Singh‘s “Crescent Night” (“Adh Chanani Raat”) — will open the 11th edition of the BMO International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA), Toronto (Aug. 11-21).
Naman Ramachandran While HBO Max is yet to debut in the territory, 11 original series and 10 features from the streamer are bowing exclusively on Amazon Prime Video India across July and August. The slate includes comedic thriller “The Flight Attendant,” starring Kaley Cuoco; DC Comics adaptation “Peacemaker,” created for television by James Gunn and starring John Cena; “And Just Like That…,” the next chapter of the Sex and the City franchise; the new “Gossip Girl,” an extension of the original pop culture classic series; and “Doom Patrol” that reimagines a group of DC superheroes.The slate also includes comedy “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble; drama “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”; true crime-drama “The Staircase”; dystopian drama “DMZ”; and science fiction drama “Raised by Wolves.” HBO Max original features include “An American Pickle,” “Aquaman: King of Atlantis,” “Let Them All Talk” and “Superintelligence.” Manish Menghani, director, content licensing, Amazon Prime Video India, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Warner Bros.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Asian Cinema Fund, a bursary scheme for film and documentary projects operated alongside the Busan International Film Festival, has announced six Korean recipients and seven hailing from elsewhere in Asia. The fund was put on hiatus during the two years of COVID, which also reduced the festival in size and turned the Asian Contents & Film Market into a virtual event. Three winners – “In the Land of Brothers,” by Raha Amirfazali, “Life I Stole,” by Putri Purnama Sugua and “Smart City,” by Rohin Raveendran – each receive KRW10 million ($7,50) for script development and are invited to participate in the ACFM’s Asian Project Market.
Thania Garcia The search is on for new members of Menudo, the Latin boy band which helped launch the career of Ricky Martin, its most famous graduate. This latest incarnation returns after a 12-year time-out.
Naman Ramachandran U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 is teaming with TV talent company Gritty Talent to help independent production companies build more diverse senior teams. The move in the wake of the broadcaster’s new commissioning guidelines published in June, which require all the indies it works with to have ethnically diverse as well as disabled off screen talent on production teams, with the new framework coming into play Aug.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNew president of the Philippines Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday swore in a swath of new officials at government agencies. Among them, veteran actor Tirso Cruz III, was appointed as chair and chief executive of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). He replaces Liza Dino Seguerra who has held the post for the past four years.
Naman Ramachandran The world Premiere of local filmmaker Tearepa Kahi’s action-drama “Muru” will open the Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin chapters of the New Zealand International Film Festival, while American filmmaker Sara Dosa’s Sundance-winning documentary “Fire of Love” will open all the other festival locations, which include Gore, Hamilton, Hawke’s Bay, Masterton, Matakana, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Tauranga and Timaru. Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning “Triangle of Sadness” will close the festival in all centers.Other Cannes titles joining the lineup include Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future,” Queer Palm winner “Joyland,” from Saim Sadiq and “Sick of Myself,” by Kristoffer Borgli. Award winners from this year’s Berlin International Film Festival include Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” by Carla Simón and Natalia López Gallardo’s Silver Bear jury winning “Robe of Gems.” Other local films include Fergus Grady and Noel Smyth’s “Gloriavale,” Tom Levesque’s “Shut Eye” and New Zealand-U.S.
Naman Ramachandran The BBC is marking the 30 anniversary of its Ukrainian-speaking service as the Russian invasion of the country continues. On June 1, 1992, the BBC started short- and medium-wave radio broadcasts for then newly independent Ukraine. Today, BBC News Ukraine operates via website bbc.ua, its YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok and Viber.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefCJ ENM Hong Kong has secured the first and exclusive Pay TV, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and over-the-top (OTT) rights in key Southeast Asia markets to a slate of current and upcoming South Korean films. These are to play on the tvN Movies channel in Southeast Asia.
Naman Ramachandran Penny Lane (“Listening to Kenny G”) will direct “Mrs. America,” a documentary which will explore the changing role of American womanhood through the Mrs.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefWarner Bros. Discovery has partnered with energy company Shell for an adrenaline-filled show, “Dare to Ride,” that has begun airing on Discovery in Southeast Asia and India. “Dare to Ride” showcases some of Asia’s most accomplished riders as they attempt to conquer the region’s most iconic routes with just their bikes, their wits, and their technical knowhow.
Zack Sharf Woody Allen made a rare live appearance for an interview with Alec Baldwin on Instagram Live that was hosted on the latter’s social media page. Baldwin’s profile has 2.4 million followers. Allen directed Baldwin in “Alice” (1990), “To Rome With Love” (2012) and “Blue Jasmine” (2013).
A new food hall and other proposed improvements at Bolton market hall hopes to attract early evening diners and increase visits to the town centre by 800,000 a year. Plans have been published by Bolton Council for the food court extension and a general refurbishment of the building.
Naman Ramachandran Sky original drama series “The Lovers,” starring Johnny Flynn (“Beast”) and Roisin Gallagher (“The Fall”) has commenced production. The six-part series, written by playwright David Ireland (“Cyprus Avenue”) and directed by Justin Martin (“Together”), follows Janet (Gallagher), a foul-mouthed, disaffected Belfast supermarket worker and Seamus (Flynn) a self-centred, political broadcaster with what looks to be a perfect London life and a celebrity girlfriend.
Naman Ramachandran Transatlantic production powerhouse Sister (“Chernobyl”) has optioned the rights to adapt BAFTA and Emmy winning screenwriter and longtime collaborator Abi Morgan’s (“The Split”) “This is Not a Pity Memoir.” Morgan will adapt her book for screen, and also direct and executive produce, with Sister co-founder and chief creative officer, Jane Featherstone (“Landscapers”). The memoir follows Morgan’s family life after a tragic change in her family circumstance.Morgan said: “Working with Jane and Sister over the last few tumultuous years, they have been my running partners, given a unique birds eye view on the unfolding drama.
K.J. Yossman COMMISSIONFormer “The Great British Bake-Off” host Mel Giedroyc is set to present a raunchy new show for Channel 4 featuring celebrities and puppets. In each 30-minute episode of “The Really Really Rude Puppet Show,” Giedroyc will invite a different celebrity to read some erotic fan fiction written by viewers in which the celebrity is the protagonist – Giedroyc and her guest will then act out and voice the entire story with puppets.“This is going to be a celebration of erotic fan fiction.