Alberto Rodriguez Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In an acquisition which underscores the often shared sensibility between Canal+, France’s biggest pay TV operator, and Movistar Plus+, the largest Spanish pay TV player, Canal+ has acquired Canneseries winner “The Left-Handed Son” (“El hijo zurdo”), a Movistar Plus+ original series. The series will bow on Canal+ on April 5 in a deal brokered by Movistar Plus+ International. A psychological thriller with a lyrical undertow which surfaces to moving effect in key scenes, “The Left-Handed Son” marks the auspicious directorial debut of Rafael Cobos, the career-long co-scribe of Alberto Rodríguez, from 2005’s “7 Virgins” through international hit “Marshland” to 2017’s “The Plague,” still one of the biggest series which Movistar Plus+ has ever made.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent MALAGA — Antonio Chavarrías’ “Holy Mother,” Celia Rico’s “Little Loves” and Diogo Viegas’s “Alice’s Diary” play at this year’s 3rd Spanish Screenings Content, the Malaga Festival’s part of the Spanish Screenings XXL, Spain’s biggest international industry platform in its history, featuring over March 4-7 and – when it comes to Málaga – the monumental number of 222 titles. In production volume, Spain has never had it so good.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Jean Labadie’s Le Pacte and sales agency Film Factory have joined Spanish pay giant Movistar Plus on the next film from Alberto Rodríguez (“Marshland”), which is shaping up fast with as one of the biggest packages from Spain this year at the Berlinale’s European Film Market. Le Pacte will co-produce the thriller out of France and handle French distribution rights. Film Factory is launching international sales at Berlin.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent A new film industry superclass is emerging in Spain: movies powered or co-backed by its streaming giants. Perhaps the biggest example, Netflix Spain’s Andes flight disaster “Society of the Snow,” scored two Academy Award nominations last month. Now, in the run-up to Berlin, London-based Film Constellation has acquired most world sales rights to “The Captive,” from Oscar winner Alejandro Amenábar (“The Sea Inside”) and Mod Producciones, a $15 million period adventure epic on the literary makings of “Quixote”author Miguel de Cervantes, held to ransom in a Moorish corsair jail.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Telefonica’s Movistar Plus+, Spain’s biggest pay TV-SVOD operator, is set to co-produce new movies from Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Iciar Bollaín, Alberto Rodríguez, Óliver Laxe and Ana Rujas. It’s a move which sees the high-end Spanish TV powerhouse become one of Spain’s most significant movie players.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In a significant play for audience growth at Telefonica’s Movistar+, Domingo Corral has been promoted to the position of director of fiction and entertainment at the company, the biggest Spanish pay TV/SVOD service.  The move, which in some ways echoes the larger oversight of ITV Studios’ Ruth Berry, marks further recognition for the former director of original fiction who has spearheaded Movistar+’s notably successful drive into scripted production, begun with its first releases in 2017.  Playing off Corral’s innate flair at forge talent relationships his passion for premium entertainment and willingness to explore flexible market models, Movistar+ has created some of the most lauded and prized series in Spain, such as Canneseries double winner “A Perfect Life,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Riot Police” and “Offworld,” chosen by Variety as one of its best international TV shows of 2022.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Series Mania has always been about discovery: Of drama series as an art form, in its early days from launch in 2009; then of key players on a burgeoning international premium TV scene. Series Mania’s International Panorama now catches a new wave of creatives transitioning from film to scripted TV – Israel’s Yaron Shani with “Innermost,” Spain’s Isaki Lacuesta and Isa Campo with episodes of “Apagón”; and highlights notable emerging auteurs: Denmark’s Kasper Møller Rask, Canada’s Alexis Durand-Brault, Spain’s Fran Araujo, Pakistan’s Assim Abassi and Germany’s Jakob and Jonas Weydemann.  But for having already bowed at national festivals, some of the 12 titles below could well have been in the running for a Competition berth. 

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s latest pic, The Beasts (As bestas), dominated the main prizes, taking home nine gongs, including best film and director at the 37th edition of Spain’s Goya awards Saturday evening.

At September’s San Sebastian Festival, Movistar+, Spain’s biggest content investor, hosted a press conference for the world premiere of its newest original, “Offworld” (“Apagón”), featuring five stories, all set in a Spain without electricity, the result of a massive solar storm.  On-stage, fielding questions, were not “Offworld’s” actors, however, though they included Goya actress winner Patricia López Arnaiz, but the series’ screenwriters and directors. These took in Oscar nominee Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“Madre”), Isaki Lacuesta and Isa Campo, whose  “The Double Steps” and “Between Two Waters” both won San Sebastian Golden Shells, and Alberto Rodríguez, director of Goya best picture winner “Marshland.” 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In the first shot of “OffWorld” (“Apagon”), the camera focuses on Ernesto – balding, serious, tired, lost in thought. It then pulls back to reveal the whole of his office, a computer-screen packed rom at an emergency intervention unit. The shot says much about the latest series from Movistar+, “Off world,” which world premieres in Official Selection at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival and in turn speaks volumes of the ambitions and priorities of Telefonica-owned Movistar+, Southern Europe’s biggest national pay-TV/SVOD service.  Produced with Buendía Estudios, “OffWorld” presents five stories which place very different individuals in the same context, a world where there’s no electricity thanks to a massive power outage; things taken for granted like phones and the internet don’t work. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The San Sebastian Festival opens on Sept. 16 with a bang: Alberto Rodriguez’s “Prison 77,” most probably the biggest Spanish film of 2022, the latest title from one of the Spain’s most preeminent auteurs and a foretaste of one possible future face of Spanish cinema, thanks to Movistar+. “Prison 77” begins as a fish-out-of-water jail survival thriller. Manuel, in 1977, a young accountant, played by Miguel Herrán (“Money Heist,” “Elite”), is sent to Barcelona’s legendary Modelo penitentiary pending trial for embezzlement.  It grows, however, for all of its length, as a character-driven tale of psychological observance, as Miguel gradually befriends Pino, his seen-it-all cell mate, who just wants a quiet life.

American actress Glenn Close has been announced as the jury president for the Official Section of the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival, running from September 16-24.

K.J. Yossman Neil Jordan’s “Marlowe,” which stars Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger, is set to close the San Sebastian Festival next month. It will be the film’s world premiere. Jordan, who is known for writing features including “The Crying Game” (for which he won an Oscar) and directing “Interview with the Vampire,” which featured Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, will be in attendance at the Kursaal Auditorium on Sept. 24 for the “Marlowe” premiere alongside the film’s stars. Based on John Banville’s novel “The Black Eyed Blonde,” “Marlowe” is set in 1930s Los Angeles where private eye Philip Marlowe (played by Neeson) is tasked with finding a beautiful heiress’s missing former lover. The character of Marlowe was originally created by Raymond Chandler almost a century ago.

The San Sebastián Film Festival has revealed the line-up for its latest edition, which is due to unfold from September 16-24.

Rafael Cobos, the co-screenwriter of Alberto Rodríguez’s Goya best picture winner “Marshland” and “The Plague,” one of Movistar Plus’ most ambitious series ever, is getting his own show.   Moving into production on July 18, “El hijo zurdo” stars María León, a stunning 2011 San Sebastian best actress winner for “The Sleeping Voice,” in a series which Cobos describes an “emotional thriller.”Movistar Plus’ newly announced original is not only written by Cobos but co-directed too in the directorial debut of the Seville-based scribe. A six part, half hour drama, “El Hijo Zurdo” is scheduled for release first half of 2023. Movistar Plus Internacional is handling worldwide distribution.

San Sebastian Opener To Star Money Heist Actor Miguel Herrán

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentShaping up as one of the most anticipated movies from Spain this year, “Prison 77” (“Modelo 77”) has an international teaser trailer, which Movistar Plus has shared in exclusivity with Variety.“Modelo 77” marks the third Movistar Plus original film, re-teaming Telefonica’s pay TV/SVOD service with director Alberto Rodríguez, co-writer Rafael Cobos and co-producer Atípica Films, the driving forces behind “The Plague,” Movistar Plus’ big banner 2017 series.Sold internationally by Film Factory, “Prison 77” will be released in Spanish theaters by Buena Vista International on Sept. 23, the second Friday of Spain’s San Sebastian Festival, which begs the question as to whether it will feature at the event.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentOpening up what could be a rich vein in Spanish movies coming onto the open market, Film Factory Entertainment has acquired world sales rights outside Spain to “Modelo 77,” the next film by Alberto Rodríguez, director of “Marshland” and “The Plague.”A potential jewel in Spanish cinema’s 2022 crown, “Modelo 77” is produced by Spanish pay TV/VOD giant Movistar Plus and Madrid-based Atípica Films, Rodríguez’s career-long producer.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentMiguel Herrán, who plays Aníbal “Río” Cortés in “Money Heist” and Christian Varela in “Elite,” will star with “Below Zero” lead Javier Gutiérrez in “Modelo 77,” produced by Movistar Plus and Madrid-based Atípica Films.The feature film will be released in Spanish cinema theaters by Buena Vista Intl.

By Rollo Ross and Jill SerjeantLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A year ago, photographer Alberto Rodriguez would have been jostling for position on a celebrity red carpet during Hollywood's hectic awards season. Today, with award shows going virtual, you're more likely to find the 20-year veteran delivering food for Uber.