Top Showrunners, TV Execs Descend on Iberseries & Platino Industria Conferences

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol concluded its likely final meeting before the midterm elections with a few surprises.

Blonde has dropped out of the Netflix Top 10 movies chart in the US.The controversial biopic, released on the streaming platform on September 28, was missing from Netflix’s Top 10 chart for Monday October 10. As reported by IndieWire, the film spent just three days at the number one spot.In the UK chart on Wednesday October 12, Blonde is currently positioned in tenth place, behind 2015’s Goosebumps and Netflix original Old People.The most popular film on the US and UK chart is Luckiest Girl Alive, an original film starring Mila Kunis which holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 43 per cent.Directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Ana de Armas, Blonde is based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates and is described as a “reimagining” of Monroe’s life.A synopsis reads: “Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe.

"Top Gun: Maverick" actress Monica Barbaro flew with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels as part of the celebrations for San Francisco’s Fleet Week.  Pilot Lieutenant Commander Griffin Stangel flew the plane during Barbaro’s VIP flight, which she was nominated to take part in by The Air Show Network due to her various charitable efforts involving the youth in her community. Barbaro is active in a number of charities to benefit the youth, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), The Make-A-Wish Foundation and The Wingman Foundation, which raises money for the families who have lost loved ones in the armed forces.

Variety as Madrid’s 2nd Iberseries & Platino Industria, a TV-film forum, wound down on Friday, running Sept. 27-30.  Three large table talk topics were the fall out from the planned merger of HBO Max and Discover+ by Warner Bros. Discovery – with the removal of more than three dozen titles on HBO Max in August alone –  Netflix’s reconfiguration of its business model and galloping inflation in Europe, threatening streamer subs, They also played out, if sometimes indirectly, at the Iberseries & Platino Industria panels. 

Anna Marie de la Fuente The Walt Disney Company Latin America team took to the stage at the 2nd Iberseries & Platino Industria event in Madrid to unveil trailers or clips of their upcoming Star+ slate that includes “Nada,” with Robert de Niro playing a key role, “Ringo, el Campeon del Pueblo,” “Pancho Villa, El Centauro del Norte” and “How to Be a Carioca,” directed by “Rio” and “Ferdinand the Bull” director Carlos Saldanha. These were just a few of the upcoming original programs destined for the company’s fledgling Latin American streaming platform Star+, which features live sports, general and adult entertainment, particularly locally-produced content.  

George Michael’s Older re-issue is currently leading a close race for this week’s UK’s Number 1 album, with the possibility of an all-new Top 5. 

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. 

Forbes is ranking the rich.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Upping the ante on its inaugural edition, the 2nd Iberseries & Platino Industria will unveil about 50 drama series, whether via first episodes (Capítulo Uno, Segunda Ventana), or showreels or trailers (Upcoming…). Following a breakdown of titles, and showreel highlights in showreels, featuring some of the most anticipated titles from Spain and Latin America, as well as recent hits: Capitulo Uno “El Encargado,” (Star Original Productions/The Walt Disney Company Latin America)

The Heritage Foundation is ranked as the third most influential think tank – left or right – in the U.S. A right-wing D.C.