Sales and production company Other Angle is hoping to drum up remake interest for upcoming French comedy A Little Something Extra with a screening at the fourth edition of its French Comedy Club in L.A. this weekend.
Actor and comedian Artus directs and co-stars with Clovis Cornillac as father and son bank robbing team, who infiltrate a bus taking a group of disabled youngsters to a holiday camp, in a bid to escape the police. The cast is made up mainly of youngsters with different types of disability.
Other Angle co-founder Olivier Albou suggests the comedic storyline, the disabled cast and sensitive storytelling makes for a rare combination.
“Even if the pitch is not the same, the film has similarity with the Spanish movie Campeones (Champions) which sold really well as an original film and as a remake as well,” he says, referring to Javier Fesser’s drama about...
Actor and comedian Artus directs and co-stars with Clovis Cornillac as father and son bank robbing team, who infiltrate a bus taking a group of disabled youngsters to a holiday camp, in a bid to escape the police. The cast is made up mainly of youngsters with different types of disability.
Other Angle co-founder Olivier Albou suggests the comedic storyline, the disabled cast and sensitive storytelling makes for a rare combination.
“Even if the pitch is not the same, the film has similarity with the Spanish movie Campeones (Champions) which sold really well as an original film and as a remake as well,” he says, referring to Javier Fesser’s drama about...
- 4/26/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The international endurance of Spanish film adaptations was front and center this year at the Malaga Festival Industry Zone’s (Mafiz) Remake Day event on Thursday, with a presentation of Shanghai-based Aim Media’s “Lose to Win,” the Chinese adaptation of the Latido Films-sold 2018 hit “Campeones” (“Champions”), directed by Javier Fesser.
“Champions” is produced by Luis Manso at Fesser’s Madrid-based Películas Pendleton (“Historias Lamentables”) alongside Alvaro Longoria at Spain’s Morena Films (“Everybody Knows”).
Global remakes of “Champions,” about a basketball coach who coaches a team of people with disabilities as community service, have so far included Arabic, German, U.S. (starring Woody Harrelson and directed by Bobby Farrelly) and Indian versions, not to mention a hugely successful Spanish sequel.
Discussing “Lose to Win,” directed by Gao Hu, ahead of a special screening of the film, Aim Media’s Emily Ruan detailed the benefits and challenges presented by the production.
“Champions” is produced by Luis Manso at Fesser’s Madrid-based Películas Pendleton (“Historias Lamentables”) alongside Alvaro Longoria at Spain’s Morena Films (“Everybody Knows”).
Global remakes of “Champions,” about a basketball coach who coaches a team of people with disabilities as community service, have so far included Arabic, German, U.S. (starring Woody Harrelson and directed by Bobby Farrelly) and Indian versions, not to mention a hugely successful Spanish sequel.
Discussing “Lose to Win,” directed by Gao Hu, ahead of a special screening of the film, Aim Media’s Emily Ruan detailed the benefits and challenges presented by the production.
- 3/7/2024
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Aamir Khan On Laal Singh Chaddha failure ( Photo Credit – IMDb )
Aamir Khan starrer Laal Singh Chaddha was released in 2022. The film is a remake of Tom Hanks’ 1994 Hollywood film, Forrest Gump. The Hindi remake, directed by Advait Chauhan, also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh, Naga Chaitanya, Manav Vij, Ahman Ibn Umar and others. When the film was announced, fans were excited to see the Hindi remake on the big screen. However, it didn’t receive the desired response when it was released.
Despite many positive reviews from critics, the audience didn’t appreciate the Aamir Khan starrer. The film failed to do a decent collection at the box office. It is very rare for an Aamir starrer to perform poorly at the box office. After all, he’s called the Mr Perfectionist of the Hindi film industry. After the film didn’t do well, there were reports of how...
Aamir Khan starrer Laal Singh Chaddha was released in 2022. The film is a remake of Tom Hanks’ 1994 Hollywood film, Forrest Gump. The Hindi remake, directed by Advait Chauhan, also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh, Naga Chaitanya, Manav Vij, Ahman Ibn Umar and others. When the film was announced, fans were excited to see the Hindi remake on the big screen. However, it didn’t receive the desired response when it was released.
Despite many positive reviews from critics, the audience didn’t appreciate the Aamir Khan starrer. The film failed to do a decent collection at the box office. It is very rare for an Aamir starrer to perform poorly at the box office. After all, he’s called the Mr Perfectionist of the Hindi film industry. After the film didn’t do well, there were reports of how...
- 2/24/2024
- by Pooja Darade
- KoiMoi
Buenos Aires-based sales outfit FilmSharks has closed major territories on dark comedy “Lobo Feroz,” from director Gustavo Hernández (“La Casa Muda”), and on “The Forgotten Killings,” the latest from Ines Paris (“Miguel and William”).
Produced by Uruguay’s Mother Superior, FilmSharks and Spains’ Bowfinger Intl. Pictures, “Lobo Feroz” is a remake of Israeli film “Big Bad Wolves” from Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado.
Bingo Films picked up “Lobo Feroz” rights for the U.K. following prior sales to Av Jet for Taiwan, Palace Films for Australia, AMC for Eastern Europe and Nashe Kino for Russia. Netflix picked up Spanish rights via Filmax, ViX will take Latin America and the U.S.
Negotiations for Korea, Japan, France and Germany are underway. FilmSharks handles remake sales for “Big Bad Wolves.”
“We’re very happy with the international performance of ‘Lobo Feroz.’ IP and film have proven outstanding and deals always bring more deals.
Produced by Uruguay’s Mother Superior, FilmSharks and Spains’ Bowfinger Intl. Pictures, “Lobo Feroz” is a remake of Israeli film “Big Bad Wolves” from Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado.
Bingo Films picked up “Lobo Feroz” rights for the U.K. following prior sales to Av Jet for Taiwan, Palace Films for Australia, AMC for Eastern Europe and Nashe Kino for Russia. Netflix picked up Spanish rights via Filmax, ViX will take Latin America and the U.S.
Negotiations for Korea, Japan, France and Germany are underway. FilmSharks handles remake sales for “Big Bad Wolves.”
“We’re very happy with the international performance of ‘Lobo Feroz.’ IP and film have proven outstanding and deals always bring more deals.
- 2/17/2024
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Update: Here we are with a sort of hybrid weekend at the international box office: there were fresh entries from the Hollywood studios, as well as major new titles timed to holiday play in local markets, and a holdover that’s continuing to rack up records.
On the studio side, Paramount/Spin Master’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie took top dog status in its expanded rollout. The family title had, last week, released in Australia and New Zealand before adding 43 offshore markets this session for a total $23.1M to date overseas. The global start is $46.1M.
Word of mouth is strong with these pups, who are out in just 53% of the international marketplace to date. On a like-for-like basis including previews, the overseas opening result is 70% ahead of Paw Patrol: The Movie, giving this Cal Brunker-directed title the best opening for the franchise.
Amid heavy competition, but also with praise from local media,...
On the studio side, Paramount/Spin Master’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie took top dog status in its expanded rollout. The family title had, last week, released in Australia and New Zealand before adding 43 offshore markets this session for a total $23.1M to date overseas. The global start is $46.1M.
Word of mouth is strong with these pups, who are out in just 53% of the international marketplace to date. On a like-for-like basis including previews, the overseas opening result is 70% ahead of Paw Patrol: The Movie, giving this Cal Brunker-directed title the best opening for the franchise.
Amid heavy competition, but also with praise from local media,...
- 10/1/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Few European arthouse-crossover film sales agents have better weathered the ebb and flow of international market dynamics than Madrid’s Latido Films, which turns 20 in 2023.
Proof of that came at April’s Platino Awards, where Latido scored six statuettes, split between an acting double for Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby” and four for Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts,” which has already swept Spain’s Goya Awards and scored a French Cesar for foreign film.
Scoring €6.8 million ($7.5 million) in Spain, and 327,000 admissions in France, “The Beasts” also rates as one of the top-performing recent Spanish-language movies.
If Latido has survived for so long, insists director general Antonio Saura, it’s because of a core strategy of “working with talent, our search for talent.” Beyond that, other keys have been “collaboration with production companies that understand long-term relationships, and well-established relationships with clients.”
Companies with which Latido has held or holds...
Proof of that came at April’s Platino Awards, where Latido scored six statuettes, split between an acting double for Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby” and four for Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts,” which has already swept Spain’s Goya Awards and scored a French Cesar for foreign film.
Scoring €6.8 million ($7.5 million) in Spain, and 327,000 admissions in France, “The Beasts” also rates as one of the top-performing recent Spanish-language movies.
If Latido has survived for so long, insists director general Antonio Saura, it’s because of a core strategy of “working with talent, our search for talent.” Beyond that, other keys have been “collaboration with production companies that understand long-term relationships, and well-established relationships with clients.”
Companies with which Latido has held or holds...
- 5/16/2023
- by John Hopewell and Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Based on the 2018 Spanish dramedy “Campeones” by Javier Fessar, Bobby Farrelly’s 2023 movie “Champions” is about a group of intellectually disabled basketball players. The movie stars Woody Harrelson in the role of the alcoholic coach Markus Marakovich with an anger issue who finds himself coaching a group of basketball players with special needs upon being sentenced to community service after a DUI. The movie features Markus and the group’s journey from being a hapless and disorganized group to the fiery breakthrough stars who manage to arrive in the Regionals thanks to their team spirit. Do they manage to win the trophy and become champions? Here’s what happens in this lighthearted, feel-good movie:
Spoilers Ahead
‘Champions’ Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
When Assistant Basketball Coach Markus Marakovich is fired from his job at the J-League of Iowa Stallions for drunk driving, he’s served a court order...
Spoilers Ahead
‘Champions’ Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
When Assistant Basketball Coach Markus Marakovich is fired from his job at the J-League of Iowa Stallions for drunk driving, he’s served a court order...
- 4/2/2023
- by Indrayudh Talukdar
- Film Fugitives
Champions is a comedy movie directed by Bobby Farrelly starring Woody Harrelson and Ernie Hudson.
Remake of the Spanish film Campeones. No one dared to trash the Spanish film, but this one has been given its due by specialized critics.
Sometimes you have to judge cinema as cinema, and sometimes even film critics get it right.
Sentimental and trite.
Movie Review
Is it better than the Spanish version? Of course, Hollywood exhibits all its industry muscle, and what was a European production in the Hispanic film – with its own merit but lacking on a production level, here the industry exhibits its potential and gives a quick polish to everything: the editing, the sound, and puts a star, Woody Harrelson, in the spotlight.
It takes everything from the Spanish film, except for the great campaign that was made to judge a film not by its cinematic content but by its more social side.
Remake of the Spanish film Campeones. No one dared to trash the Spanish film, but this one has been given its due by specialized critics.
Sometimes you have to judge cinema as cinema, and sometimes even film critics get it right.
Sentimental and trite.
Movie Review
Is it better than the Spanish version? Of course, Hollywood exhibits all its industry muscle, and what was a European production in the Hispanic film – with its own merit but lacking on a production level, here the industry exhibits its potential and gives a quick polish to everything: the editing, the sound, and puts a star, Woody Harrelson, in the spotlight.
It takes everything from the Spanish film, except for the great campaign that was made to judge a film not by its cinematic content but by its more social side.
- 3/29/2023
- by Martin Cid
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Malaga, Spain — “My Parents’ Great Bazar,” from “Ane is Missing” co-scribe Marina Parés, bio “Costus,” on the iconic Madrid Movida artists, and “Villa Futuro,” a queer old age drama from “Locked Up” star Alberto Velasco, all feature among eight winners of Tell Us the Stories That Nobody Tells, a diversity drive contest for movies and TV shows backed by Netflix and Dama, the Spanish audiovisual authors’ rights collection body.
Announced Wednesday at an awards ceremony hosted by the Malaga Film Festival, the winners of the competition, which forms part of the partners’ Cambio de Plano initiative, will receive €6,000 a piece.
Two will also get a teaser financed by Netflix and Dama. As importantly, the partners will pay for mentoring for the development of their projects from Daniela Fejerman, director of Malaga’s opening film, “Someone Who Takes Care of Me,” TV critic and screenwriter Bob Pop (“Maricón perdido”), screenwriter Valentina Viso,...
Announced Wednesday at an awards ceremony hosted by the Malaga Film Festival, the winners of the competition, which forms part of the partners’ Cambio de Plano initiative, will receive €6,000 a piece.
Two will also get a teaser financed by Netflix and Dama. As importantly, the partners will pay for mentoring for the development of their projects from Daniela Fejerman, director of Malaga’s opening film, “Someone Who Takes Care of Me,” TV critic and screenwriter Bob Pop (“Maricón perdido”), screenwriter Valentina Viso,...
- 3/16/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Bobby Farrelly’s redemptive crowdpleaser casts Harrelson as an irascible minor league basketball coach tasked with training a team with learning disabilities
The Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby, made their name with blunt slapstick comedies such as There’s Something About Mary, Me Myself & Irene and Shallow Hal – films with a gross-out edge that tended to delight audiences while dividing critics. Peter struck awards gold with Green Book, a bland period road movie that became the Driving Miss Daisy of its time when it won the Oscar for best picture in 2019. Now Bobby makes his solo feature directorial debut with this very likable sports comedy – a remake of the 2018 Spanish film Campeones (inspired by the real-life story of the Aderes basketball team in Burjassot) that delivers belly laughs and heartfelt charm in equal measure.
Woody Harrelson, who starred in the Farrellys’ 1996 bowling comedy Kingpin, plays Marcus Marakovich, an irascible assistant...
The Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby, made their name with blunt slapstick comedies such as There’s Something About Mary, Me Myself & Irene and Shallow Hal – films with a gross-out edge that tended to delight audiences while dividing critics. Peter struck awards gold with Green Book, a bland period road movie that became the Driving Miss Daisy of its time when it won the Oscar for best picture in 2019. Now Bobby makes his solo feature directorial debut with this very likable sports comedy – a remake of the 2018 Spanish film Campeones (inspired by the real-life story of the Aderes basketball team in Burjassot) that delivers belly laughs and heartfelt charm in equal measure.
Woody Harrelson, who starred in the Farrellys’ 1996 bowling comedy Kingpin, plays Marcus Marakovich, an irascible assistant...
- 3/12/2023
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Scream VI is scaring up a series-best opening of $43.5 million from 3,675 theaters at the domestic box office after starting off Friday with roughly $19.3 million, including $5.7 million in Thursday previews.
The film — which is earning strong exits and received a B+ CinemaScore — will easily win the weekend, thanks to moviegoers between the ages of 18 and 34.
The last Scream film, released in January 2022, opened to $30 million domestically in an impressive showing for the pandemic era. The biggest North American start of the franchise belongs to 2000’s Scream 3 ($34.7 million), not adjusted for inflation.
Scream VI, which cost a reported $33 million to make before marketing, follows survivors of last year’s installment as they leave Woodsboro for New York City. Unfortunately, the menacing killer Ghostface isn’t far behind. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who run Radio Silence Productions with Chad Villella, returned to direct.
Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega,...
The film — which is earning strong exits and received a B+ CinemaScore — will easily win the weekend, thanks to moviegoers between the ages of 18 and 34.
The last Scream film, released in January 2022, opened to $30 million domestically in an impressive showing for the pandemic era. The biggest North American start of the franchise belongs to 2000’s Scream 3 ($34.7 million), not adjusted for inflation.
Scream VI, which cost a reported $33 million to make before marketing, follows survivors of last year’s installment as they leave Woodsboro for New York City. Unfortunately, the menacing killer Ghostface isn’t far behind. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who run Radio Silence Productions with Chad Villella, returned to direct.
Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega,...
- 3/11/2023
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Matthew Von Der Ahe stars in “Champions,” Bobby Farrelly’s refreshingly unsentimental, hilarious and rather gritty remake of the 2018 Spanish hit “Campeones.” The story follows a disgraced minor league basketball coach (Woody Harrelson) who, after a DUI, is sentenced by a judge to coach a local Special Olympics basketball team, the Friends. Von Der Ahe, who has Down syndrome, plays the saucy Craig, who loves the game, his teammates and the ladies, and stars with Kaitlin Olson, Cheech Marin and a large cast of actors with intellectual and developmental disabilities [Idd]. Von Der Ahe has been acting since he was 7, and his credits include “Code Black,” “Weeds” and “Yo Gabba Gabba.” He’s also a state ambassador for Idd advocacy and volunteer organization Best Buddies, works at a restaurant called the Village, paints watercolor art, takes drum lessons and works out with a personal trainer, “who pushes me to do my best.
- 3/10/2023
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
Scream VI is already drawing blood at the box office, where it earned $5.7 million in Thursday previews from 3,125 theaters, including a special fan event.
That compares to $3.5 million in previews for last year’s Scream, and the $5.5 million in previews for last weekend’s Creed III.
Scream VI expands into a total of 3,675 cinemas today and should post a series-best domestic debut of at least $35 million over Oscar weekend for Paramount and Spyglass.
The last Scream film, released in January 2022, opened to $30 million domestically in an impressive showing for the pandemic era. The biggest North American start of the franchise belongs to 2000’s Scream 3 ($34.7 million), not adjusted for inflation.
Scream VI, which cost a reported $35 million to make before marketing, follows survivors of last year’s installment as they leave Woodsboro for New York City. Unfortunately, the menacing killer Ghostface isn’t far behind. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett,...
That compares to $3.5 million in previews for last year’s Scream, and the $5.5 million in previews for last weekend’s Creed III.
Scream VI expands into a total of 3,675 cinemas today and should post a series-best domestic debut of at least $35 million over Oscar weekend for Paramount and Spyglass.
The last Scream film, released in January 2022, opened to $30 million domestically in an impressive showing for the pandemic era. The biggest North American start of the franchise belongs to 2000’s Scream 3 ($34.7 million), not adjusted for inflation.
Scream VI, which cost a reported $35 million to make before marketing, follows survivors of last year’s installment as they leave Woodsboro for New York City. Unfortunately, the menacing killer Ghostface isn’t far behind. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Out in UK cinemas today is Champions, the Bobby Farelly-directed feel-good movie starring Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson, Ernie Hudson, Cheech Marin, and Matt Cook. The underdog story is a remake of Javier Fesser’s 2018 film Campeones, and we were invited to talk to the cast and crew about the new film. Sarah Cook asks the questions.
Firstly we sit down with the wonderful Ernie Hudson who told us about goofing around with Woody Harrelson on set & the story of the coach who inspired him.
Then we caught up with Champions producer Paul Brooks who talked about discovering the original film, finding the perfect cast & why we love an underdog story
Plot:
A heartwarming story of a former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of missteps, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team...
Firstly we sit down with the wonderful Ernie Hudson who told us about goofing around with Woody Harrelson on set & the story of the coach who inspired him.
Then we caught up with Champions producer Paul Brooks who talked about discovering the original film, finding the perfect cast & why we love an underdog story
Plot:
A heartwarming story of a former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of missteps, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team...
- 3/10/2023
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The pitch for “Champions” is simple enough — a salty, washed-out basketball coach can only avoid jail time for a drunk driving charge by coaching a team of intellectually disabled adults, known as the Friends, and he learns to be a better person along the way — though the director behind it might give some people pause. Wait, Bobby Farrelly? Like, “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary” and “Stuck on You” Bobby Farrelly? The very same.
Four years after his brother (and frequent collaborator) Peter Farrelly won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for his “Green Book,” Bobby is offering up his own, slightly unexpected new feature. Based on the Spanish film “Campeones,” Farrelly’s “Champions” casts his “Kingpin” star Woody Harrelson as said washed-out coach, who has to learn a few things when he starts working with a plucky gang of young adults with intellectual disabilities. It’s sweet and straightforward,...
Four years after his brother (and frequent collaborator) Peter Farrelly won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for his “Green Book,” Bobby is offering up his own, slightly unexpected new feature. Based on the Spanish film “Campeones,” Farrelly’s “Champions” casts his “Kingpin” star Woody Harrelson as said washed-out coach, who has to learn a few things when he starts working with a plucky gang of young adults with intellectual disabilities. It’s sweet and straightforward,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
One day, Hollywood will finally realise that marginalised people deserve to be at the centre of their own stories. Until then, we’ve got Champions – the latest film in which a bigot is patiently taught not to be a bigot by the very targets of his ignorance, while we’re all expected to stand up and applaud his bravery. It’s a sports comedy, directed by Bobby Farrelly, in which Woody Harrelson’s disgraced basketball coach Marcus is charged with community service after a drunk driving incident. For the next 90 days, he’ll head up a local team of intellectually disabled adults, with an eye to helping them land a spot at the Special Olympics.
With his brother Peter, Farrelly spent the 1990s and early 2000s making occasionally funny, largely offensive comedies like There’s Something About Mary (1998) and Me, Myself & Irene (2000). Champions, Bobby’s first solo project, exists at...
With his brother Peter, Farrelly spent the 1990s and early 2000s making occasionally funny, largely offensive comedies like There’s Something About Mary (1998) and Me, Myself & Irene (2000). Champions, Bobby’s first solo project, exists at...
- 3/9/2023
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
The masked killer Ghostface is back and he’s looking as terrifying as ever. Paramount and Spyglass’ Scream VI opens over Oscar weekend at the domestic box office, where it has a shot at a series-best $35 million-plus opening.
The previous Scream film, released in 2022, opened to $30 million domestically in a strong showing for the pandemic era. To set an overall franchise record, Scream VI will have to best the $34.7 million debut of Scream 3 in 2000.
The latest installment in the iconic slasher franchise follows survivors of the 2022 film as they leave Woodsboro for New York City. Unfortunately, the menacing Ghostface isn’t far behind. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed last year’s Scream, returned to direct.
Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere (last seen in Scream 4) and Courteney Cox likewise return alongside franchise newbies Dermot Mulroney, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato Devyn Nekoda,...
The previous Scream film, released in 2022, opened to $30 million domestically in a strong showing for the pandemic era. To set an overall franchise record, Scream VI will have to best the $34.7 million debut of Scream 3 in 2000.
The latest installment in the iconic slasher franchise follows survivors of the 2022 film as they leave Woodsboro for New York City. Unfortunately, the menacing Ghostface isn’t far behind. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed last year’s Scream, returned to direct.
Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere (last seen in Scream 4) and Courteney Cox likewise return alongside franchise newbies Dermot Mulroney, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato Devyn Nekoda,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There is something comforting and appealing about “Champions” in that it’s the type of film that used to be multiplex mainstays in the ’80s and ’90s but now usually pops up on a streaming service’s carousel without much fanfare. Audiences need accessible and entertaining movies like this.
It’s an adaptation of the 2018 Spanish film “Campeones,” which drew its inspiration from a real-life team of people with intellectual disabilities.
Continue reading ‘Champions’ Review: An Entertaining Feel-Good Underdog Sports Comedy That Wins On Charm at The Playlist.
It’s an adaptation of the 2018 Spanish film “Campeones,” which drew its inspiration from a real-life team of people with intellectual disabilities.
Continue reading ‘Champions’ Review: An Entertaining Feel-Good Underdog Sports Comedy That Wins On Charm at The Playlist.
- 3/8/2023
- by Simon Thompson
- The Playlist
Grumpy coach Harrelson trains a team of teens with learning disabilities in this remake of the Spanish film Campeones
This big-hearted underdog sports comedy runs on rails, with no great surprises, but it’s likable. It’s the story of Marcus (Woody Harrelson), a washed-up, grumpy basketball coach with a booze problem who gets busted for drunk driving: the judge sentences him to 90 days’ community service coaching a basketball team of teens with learning disabilities.
It’s a remake of a Spanish film called Campeones and inspired by a true story from Spain, but the fact that this film is directed by the broad comedy maestro Bobby Farrelly might remind you of The Ringer, the Johnny Knoxville comedy from 2005 that Farrelly produced with his brother Peter. The Ringer had Knoxville pretending to have a mental disability to compete in the Special Olympics. That film toyed with some grossout bad taste...
This big-hearted underdog sports comedy runs on rails, with no great surprises, but it’s likable. It’s the story of Marcus (Woody Harrelson), a washed-up, grumpy basketball coach with a booze problem who gets busted for drunk driving: the judge sentences him to 90 days’ community service coaching a basketball team of teens with learning disabilities.
It’s a remake of a Spanish film called Campeones and inspired by a true story from Spain, but the fact that this film is directed by the broad comedy maestro Bobby Farrelly might remind you of The Ringer, the Johnny Knoxville comedy from 2005 that Farrelly produced with his brother Peter. The Ringer had Knoxville pretending to have a mental disability to compete in the Special Olympics. That film toyed with some grossout bad taste...
- 3/8/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
There’s scarcely a word or move in Champions that you haven’t seen somewhere else before, but in a very modest way this goofball minor-league basketball yarn throws off enough amiable and vaguely raucous charm to keep a smile on sports fans’ faces much of time. Woody Harrelson makes the exasperated most of his role as a been-around-the-block minor-league coach whose likely final hope at employment is to whip a bunch of physically challenged misfits into presentable shape. It’s very easy to imagine gobs of middle-aged guys sitting around the tube at home or in a bar chugging a few while having a good time with this one.
Mark Rizzo’s script is based on the 2018 Spanish comedy Campeones, directed by Javier Fesser and inspired by a real team. The new film is set securely in the American Midwest, though many of its biggest fans might end up...
Mark Rizzo’s script is based on the 2018 Spanish comedy Campeones, directed by Javier Fesser and inspired by a real team. The new film is set securely in the American Midwest, though many of its biggest fans might end up...
- 3/7/2023
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Does “Champions” have its heart in the right place? That question, with regards to Bobby Farrelly’s latest starring Woody Harrelson, is honestly harder to answer than one might think. The film, directed by Farrelly and written by Mark Rizzo (who adapted it from the 2018 Spanish feature “Campeones”), casts Harrelson as a troublemaking basketball coach who, after a DUI gets sentenced to 90 days of community service helping a team of young adults with intellectual disabilities.
On one hand, Farrelly has made an earnest attempt at a feel-good comedy, complete with its share of moments meant to tear-jerk about an underdog team subverting prejudice. On the other, it operates from a place of ignorance that assumes its audience will laugh at that ignorance and recognize it in themselves. “Champions” makes jokes about the r-word being a “no no word,” but it also seems a little too eager to use that word itself,...
On one hand, Farrelly has made an earnest attempt at a feel-good comedy, complete with its share of moments meant to tear-jerk about an underdog team subverting prejudice. On the other, it operates from a place of ignorance that assumes its audience will laugh at that ignorance and recognize it in themselves. “Champions” makes jokes about the r-word being a “no no word,” but it also seems a little too eager to use that word itself,...
- 3/7/2023
- by Esther Zuckerman
- Indiewire
While Peter Farrelly was off winning Oscars for “Green Book,” younger brother Bobby has been largely absent from feature directing. It’s been nearly a decade since the siblings shared credit — the last time being 2014’s “Dumb and Dumber To.” Now, rather than competing with Peter at the respectability game, Bobby sticks to what he knows with “Champions,” in which Woody Harrelson plays a minor-league basketball coach court-ordered to assist a Special Olympics team for 90 days — just long enough to take the team from bumbling incompetents to national finalists.
There are zero surprises in “Champions,” unless you count the not-inconsiderable shock that such a movie exists at all. A remake of 2018 Spanish box office sensation “Campeones,” this awkward (if presumably well-intentioned) comedy might have felt enlightened 25 years ago — back when “Forrest Gump” was an Oscar favorite — but today makes for a patronizing portrayal of people with intellectual disabilities. That’s...
There are zero surprises in “Champions,” unless you count the not-inconsiderable shock that such a movie exists at all. A remake of 2018 Spanish box office sensation “Campeones,” this awkward (if presumably well-intentioned) comedy might have felt enlightened 25 years ago — back when “Forrest Gump” was an Oscar favorite — but today makes for a patronizing portrayal of people with intellectual disabilities. That’s...
- 3/7/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. An irascible, down-on-his-luck coach is reluctantly put in charge of a ragtag team of misfits who can barely play the game. Although he can hardly disguise his initial disgust, the players’ enthusiastic attitudes and general lovability soften him up until he becomes not just their coach but also their most ardent cheerleader. In the process, he becomes a better person.
That’s the Bad News Bears-style template for the latest cinematic variation on the subject, starring Woody Harrelson in a role he was seemingly born to play. You don’t need to have seen the 2018 Spanish hit comedy Campeones, which won multiple Goya Awards including Best Film, to think that its American remake, Champions, feels overly familiar. But that doesn’t make this sure-to-be crowd-pleaser any less winning, especially with the endlessly likable Harrelson at its center.
In this case, the...
That’s the Bad News Bears-style template for the latest cinematic variation on the subject, starring Woody Harrelson in a role he was seemingly born to play. You don’t need to have seen the 2018 Spanish hit comedy Campeones, which won multiple Goya Awards including Best Film, to think that its American remake, Champions, feels overly familiar. But that doesn’t make this sure-to-be crowd-pleaser any less winning, especially with the endlessly likable Harrelson at its center.
In this case, the...
- 3/7/2023
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Woody Harrelson steps onto the court once again in the heartfelt sports comedy “Champions.” Directed by Bobby Farrelly, the remake of the 2018 Spanish film “Campeones” sees Harrelson as Marcus, a former minor-league basketball coach who leads a team of intellectually disabled players called the Friends.
“It’s really hard to make an authentically funny and emotionally vulnerable film, and I thought they did such a wonderful job,” Kaitlin Olson, who plays Alex in the movie, told Variety Monday night at the New York premiere of “Champions.” “I met all the Friends and they’re such an incredible cast. They all showed up ready to play, and we just had the most amazing time.”
After watching hundreds of auditions during an open casting call across the U.S. and Canada, the production team found the ideal Friends: Kevin Iannucci, Joshua Felder, Madison Tevlin, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair,...
“It’s really hard to make an authentically funny and emotionally vulnerable film, and I thought they did such a wonderful job,” Kaitlin Olson, who plays Alex in the movie, told Variety Monday night at the New York premiere of “Champions.” “I met all the Friends and they’re such an incredible cast. They all showed up ready to play, and we just had the most amazing time.”
After watching hundreds of auditions during an open casting call across the U.S. and Canada, the production team found the ideal Friends: Kevin Iannucci, Joshua Felder, Madison Tevlin, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair,...
- 3/1/2023
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
“Championext”(“Campeonex”), the anticipated follow-up to Javier Fesser’s Spanish comedy triumph “Champions” (“Campeones”) which scooped Forqué, Goya, and Feroz awards for best picture and delighted audiences to the tune of a stellar €18.5 million (21.4 million) box office grab, has been acquired for international sales by Latido Films (“The Beasts”).
Written by Fesser (“Camino”) and Athenea Mata (“El Secreto de Lilith”) in collaboration with David Marqués, the film follows nearly the same cast of beloved characters two years after they’ve left the fierce competition behind. A Los Amigos reunion will see “the landscape move from the world of basketball to the world of athletics for people with disabilities while making room to explore the fascinating world of metaverses and virtual reality,” Fesser revealed in a statement.
Delving further into the world of its protagonists, the film allows for a broader reveal while cementing the feel-good sentiment and relatability that brought the original high-acclaim.
Written by Fesser (“Camino”) and Athenea Mata (“El Secreto de Lilith”) in collaboration with David Marqués, the film follows nearly the same cast of beloved characters two years after they’ve left the fierce competition behind. A Los Amigos reunion will see “the landscape move from the world of basketball to the world of athletics for people with disabilities while making room to explore the fascinating world of metaverses and virtual reality,” Fesser revealed in a statement.
Delving further into the world of its protagonists, the film allows for a broader reveal while cementing the feel-good sentiment and relatability that brought the original high-acclaim.
- 2/14/2023
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
When the world met Mindy Kaling on The Office, her status as a TV power player was yet to come. In the US spin-off of the British sitcom, Kaling played Kelly Kapoor, an optimistic, man-crazy customer service operative. Even though she was a supporting character, Kelly’s scenes always sparkled and provide meme fodder even today. “My resolution was to get more attention,” she quipped in a season seven scene, one of many examples of her causing a fuss in order to get her way.
But while Kelly made us laugh on screen, Kaling was honing her comic skills behind the scenes as a writer – when the show’s staff were hired in 2004, Kaling was the only woman and sole person of colour in an eight-person writers’ room. “The way that writers’ rooms look now versus when I started at The Office in 2004 is night and day,” she told Variety in 2019. Now,...
But while Kelly made us laugh on screen, Kaling was honing her comic skills behind the scenes as a writer – when the show’s staff were hired in 2004, Kaling was the only woman and sole person of colour in an eight-person writers’ room. “The way that writers’ rooms look now versus when I started at The Office in 2004 is night and day,” she told Variety in 2019. Now,...
- 9/5/2022
- by Nicole Vassell
- The Independent - TV
“Tequila, Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll,” from Goya Award-winning producer-helmer Alvaro Longoria, has been acquired for international sales by Latido Films.
Set up at Madrid’s Morena Films, which Longoria co-founded, doc marks a return to directing for Longoria, whose 2012 debut, “Sons of the Clouds,” produced by Javier Bardem, scored a Spanish Academy Goya while 2015’s “The Propaganda Game” nabbed a nomination. Meanwhile, just in the last few years, Longoria has produced Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener “Everybody Knows” and Spanish box office juggernaut “Champions.”
“I produce, that is how I make a living, but I direct documentaries as a passion.’ said Longoria.
Set to world premiere at this month’s San Sebastian Festival as part of its Made in Spain showcase, “Tequila” charts the rise of the Argentine-Spanish rock band fronted by Ariel Rot and Alejo Stivel.
The two are set to perform again in a series of post-film screening concerts.
Set up at Madrid’s Morena Films, which Longoria co-founded, doc marks a return to directing for Longoria, whose 2012 debut, “Sons of the Clouds,” produced by Javier Bardem, scored a Spanish Academy Goya while 2015’s “The Propaganda Game” nabbed a nomination. Meanwhile, just in the last few years, Longoria has produced Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener “Everybody Knows” and Spanish box office juggernaut “Champions.”
“I produce, that is how I make a living, but I direct documentaries as a passion.’ said Longoria.
Set to world premiere at this month’s San Sebastian Festival as part of its Made in Spain showcase, “Tequila” charts the rise of the Argentine-Spanish rock band fronted by Ariel Rot and Alejo Stivel.
The two are set to perform again in a series of post-film screening concerts.
- 9/5/2022
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid — Disney. An extraordinary Mouse House septet, all ranking in Spain’s Top 10, drove its 2019 box office to its biggest cinema theater ticket sales in the decade, according to Comscore figures released Thursday.
The last time movies in Spain scored more spectators was 2009, said David Rodríguez, general manager, Spain & Portugal, Comscore Movies.
In all, Spain’s B.O. gross for movies of any nationality came in at €624.1 million ($699.0 million), 7% up on 2018, and the best figure for Spain since 2011’s €630 million ($705.6 million). Admissions totaled 105.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 8%, and the best score since 2009, Comscore announced.
Disney’s “The Lion King” alone grossed €37.2 million ($41.7 million), the best result in Spain for any individual movie since 2014’s “Ocho apellidos vascos” (“Spanish Affair”), which earned €56.1 million ($62.8 million).
No. 3 at 2019’s box office was “Avengers: Endgame,” which made the best opening of any film last year with €10.4 million ($11.6 million) over April 26-29, accounting for...
The last time movies in Spain scored more spectators was 2009, said David Rodríguez, general manager, Spain & Portugal, Comscore Movies.
In all, Spain’s B.O. gross for movies of any nationality came in at €624.1 million ($699.0 million), 7% up on 2018, and the best figure for Spain since 2011’s €630 million ($705.6 million). Admissions totaled 105.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 8%, and the best score since 2009, Comscore announced.
Disney’s “The Lion King” alone grossed €37.2 million ($41.7 million), the best result in Spain for any individual movie since 2014’s “Ocho apellidos vascos” (“Spanish Affair”), which earned €56.1 million ($62.8 million).
No. 3 at 2019’s box office was “Avengers: Endgame,” which made the best opening of any film last year with €10.4 million ($11.6 million) over April 26-29, accounting for...
- 1/2/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s untitled Netflix series has found its lead.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was chosen after Kaling put out a tweet for an open casting call for the role in April. Over 15,000 people responded to it. This will be Ramakrishnan’s first on-screen role.
The series, which was inspired by Kaling’s childhood, revolves around Ramakrishnan as Devi, who Netflix describes as an overachieving high school sophomore who has a short fuse that gets her into difficult situations.
Also Read: Netflix Orders Mindy Kaling Coming-of-Age Comedy
Kaling’s casting call outlined two other roles for women of South Asian descent that have yet-to-be-announced — one character in her mid-40s and one in her mid-20s.
Kaling and Fisher are co-creators, co-writers, executive producers, and showrunners. Howard Klein David Miner and Tristram Shapeero (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) will also executive produce.
The 10-episode series is under Kaling’s deal with Universal TV,...
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was chosen after Kaling put out a tweet for an open casting call for the role in April. Over 15,000 people responded to it. This will be Ramakrishnan’s first on-screen role.
The series, which was inspired by Kaling’s childhood, revolves around Ramakrishnan as Devi, who Netflix describes as an overachieving high school sophomore who has a short fuse that gets her into difficult situations.
Also Read: Netflix Orders Mindy Kaling Coming-of-Age Comedy
Kaling’s casting call outlined two other roles for women of South Asian descent that have yet-to-be-announced — one character in her mid-40s and one in her mid-20s.
Kaling and Fisher are co-creators, co-writers, executive producers, and showrunners. Howard Klein David Miner and Tristram Shapeero (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) will also executive produce.
The 10-episode series is under Kaling’s deal with Universal TV,...
- 7/10/2019
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
Mindy Kaling has signed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, leaving her longtime home at Universal, TheWrap has learned.
Under the terms of the deal, the “Mindy Project” creator will develop, write and produce new television projects, including ongoing and limited series, unscripted programming and digital content, for the studio.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Kaling is just the latest in a string of major TV creators to sign onto exclusive multi-year deals at traditional studios as the companies continue to vie for talent against the deep pockets of streaming outfits like Netflix and Amazon.
Also Read: Mindy Kaling Leaves Universal for Overall Deal at Warner Bros. Television
Kaling had been with Universal Television since getting her start on NBC’s “The Office.” She went on to create “The Mindy Project” for the studio, which ran for a total of six seasons on Fox and Hulu,...
Under the terms of the deal, the “Mindy Project” creator will develop, write and produce new television projects, including ongoing and limited series, unscripted programming and digital content, for the studio.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Kaling is just the latest in a string of major TV creators to sign onto exclusive multi-year deals at traditional studios as the companies continue to vie for talent against the deep pockets of streaming outfits like Netflix and Amazon.
Also Read: Mindy Kaling Leaves Universal for Overall Deal at Warner Bros. Television
Kaling had been with Universal Television since getting her start on NBC’s “The Office.” She went on to create “The Mindy Project” for the studio, which ran for a total of six seasons on Fox and Hulu,...
- 2/21/2019
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
Mindy Kaling has signed an exclusive, long-term overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, leaving Universal TV where she had been for a decade and a half.
The studio landed The Mindy Project creator in a very competitive situation. She is among a slew of A-list writer-producers who have been seeking overall deals in the past month or so, sparking bidding wars among traditional studios and Svod platforms that have sent prices through the roof.
No terms of her Wbtvg deal are being revealed but I hear it is for six years and is worth about $8.5 million a year. It’s been a strong overall deal marketplace for female writer-producers, with Fresh Off the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan recently leaving her longtime studio home at 20th TV for a rich four-year overall pact at Universal TV, said to be comparable to Kaling’s in yearly compensation.
The two pacts follow...
The studio landed The Mindy Project creator in a very competitive situation. She is among a slew of A-list writer-producers who have been seeking overall deals in the past month or so, sparking bidding wars among traditional studios and Svod platforms that have sent prices through the roof.
No terms of her Wbtvg deal are being revealed but I hear it is for six years and is worth about $8.5 million a year. It’s been a strong overall deal marketplace for female writer-producers, with Fresh Off the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan recently leaving her longtime studio home at 20th TV for a rich four-year overall pact at Universal TV, said to be comparable to Kaling’s in yearly compensation.
The two pacts follow...
- 2/21/2019
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
The 35th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will run from Jan. 15 to Jan. 25, 2020 — a radical shift in dates that will affect Oscar strategies as well as other festivals.
Next year, Academy Award nominations will be announced Jan. 13, two days before the start of the Santa Barbara Festival. The Oscar ceremony will be Feb. 9, which is two weeks earlier than this year’s event. Those changes will continue to have a ripple effect on the dates of other festivals as well as awards planning.
The Santa Barbara Fest has enjoyed a long (but unofficial) Oscar connection. This year, Variety presented its annual Artisan Awards earlier this week to nine behind-the-camera creatives who are all Oscar nominees; other contenders saluted at Sbiff this year include Glenn Close, Viggo Mortensen, Rami Malek, Melissa McCarthy, and Richard E. Grant.
Santa Barbara next year will overlap with Sundance, which will run from Jan. 23 to Feb.
Next year, Academy Award nominations will be announced Jan. 13, two days before the start of the Santa Barbara Festival. The Oscar ceremony will be Feb. 9, which is two weeks earlier than this year’s event. Those changes will continue to have a ripple effect on the dates of other festivals as well as awards planning.
The Santa Barbara Fest has enjoyed a long (but unofficial) Oscar connection. This year, Variety presented its annual Artisan Awards earlier this week to nine behind-the-camera creatives who are all Oscar nominees; other contenders saluted at Sbiff this year include Glenn Close, Viggo Mortensen, Rami Malek, Melissa McCarthy, and Richard E. Grant.
Santa Barbara next year will overlap with Sundance, which will run from Jan. 23 to Feb.
- 2/11/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Iconic horror movie actress Julie Adams, who starred as Kay Lawrence in Creature from the Black Lagoon, has died. She was 92.
Adams died early Sunday morning in Los Angeles, her son Mitchell Danton confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
She rose to fame as the woman who wore a white, one-piece bathing suit to take a dip in a lagoon in the 1954 film as the Gill-man beneath copied her every movie. The scene was often recreated in movies like Jaws and The Shape of Water.
I mourn Julie Adams passing. It hurts in a place deep in me, where monsters swim.
Adams died early Sunday morning in Los Angeles, her son Mitchell Danton confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
She rose to fame as the woman who wore a white, one-piece bathing suit to take a dip in a lagoon in the 1954 film as the Gill-man beneath copied her every movie. The scene was often recreated in movies like Jaws and The Shape of Water.
I mourn Julie Adams passing. It hurts in a place deep in me, where monsters swim.
- 2/4/2019
- by Maura Hohman
- PEOPLE.com
Creature From the Black Lagoon star Julie Adams, an actress who, like Fay Wray and Evelyn Ankers before her won the hearts of classic Hollywood monsters and then generations of devoted fans, died Sunday in Los Angeles. She was 92.
Adams’ death was confirmed on her official website.
Where Wray perched atop the Empire State Building with King Kong and Ankers ran through fog-shrouded forests pursued by The Wolf Man, Adams secured her place in horror iconography underwater, notably an indelible scene in the 1954 Creature during which the actress, in a one-piece white bathing suit, swims atop the lagoon water as the creature known as the Gil-Man mimics her moves some feet below. The imagery would be echoed in countless films thereafter, memorably in both Jaws and 2017’s The Shape of Water.
“I mourn Julie Adams passing,” tweeted del Toro today. “It hurts in a place deep in me, where monsters swim.
Adams’ death was confirmed on her official website.
Where Wray perched atop the Empire State Building with King Kong and Ankers ran through fog-shrouded forests pursued by The Wolf Man, Adams secured her place in horror iconography underwater, notably an indelible scene in the 1954 Creature during which the actress, in a one-piece white bathing suit, swims atop the lagoon water as the creature known as the Gil-Man mimics her moves some feet below. The imagery would be echoed in countless films thereafter, memorably in both Jaws and 2017’s The Shape of Water.
“I mourn Julie Adams passing,” tweeted del Toro today. “It hurts in a place deep in me, where monsters swim.
- 2/4/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Madrid — Javier Fesser’s “Champions” won best picture at the 33rd Spanish Academy Goya Awards, having seemed to have been locked out of major awards.
“Champions” entered the ceremony as most probably the favorite in one of the most open fields in recent years, given the diversity of best picture contenders in artistic and industry terms.
But, produced by Morena Films, Películas Oendelton and Movistar +, “Champions” had already been selected by the Academy as Spain’s Oscar entry and had proven a blockbuster hit on home turf for Upi Spain, earning €18.5 million ($21.1 million). Selling near worldwide, the comedy turns on an off-the-rails Spanish coach sentenced to train a basketball team of special-needs players.
Before director Javier Fesser climbed onto the stage on Saturday night to take best picture, however, the film had won just two of 10 nominations, for breakthrough actor (Jesús Vidal) and song (Coque Malla’s “Este es...
“Champions” entered the ceremony as most probably the favorite in one of the most open fields in recent years, given the diversity of best picture contenders in artistic and industry terms.
But, produced by Morena Films, Películas Oendelton and Movistar +, “Champions” had already been selected by the Academy as Spain’s Oscar entry and had proven a blockbuster hit on home turf for Upi Spain, earning €18.5 million ($21.1 million). Selling near worldwide, the comedy turns on an off-the-rails Spanish coach sentenced to train a basketball team of special-needs players.
Before director Javier Fesser climbed onto the stage on Saturday night to take best picture, however, the film had won just two of 10 nominations, for breakthrough actor (Jesús Vidal) and song (Coque Malla’s “Este es...
- 2/3/2019
- by John Hopewell, Emilio Mayorga and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
You’re the Worst actress Kether Donohue just got the best news: She’s joining the cast of ABC’s comedy pilot Happy Accident, TVLine has learned.
Hailing from Modern Family EPs Abraham Higginbotham and Jon Pollack, Happy Accident follows two Pittsburgh families: a father (Veep‘s Matt Walsh) with three adult daughters and a hotel lounge singer (Ugly Betty‘s Vanessa Williams) with her med student son, who are forced together after a decades-old secret is revealed.
Donohue will co-star as Danielle Bennett, the middle child of Walsh’s patriarch Bud. Described as emotionally sloppy and neurotic, Danielle is...
Hailing from Modern Family EPs Abraham Higginbotham and Jon Pollack, Happy Accident follows two Pittsburgh families: a father (Veep‘s Matt Walsh) with three adult daughters and a hotel lounge singer (Ugly Betty‘s Vanessa Williams) with her med student son, who are forced together after a decades-old secret is revealed.
Donohue will co-star as Danielle Bennett, the middle child of Walsh’s patriarch Bud. Described as emotionally sloppy and neurotic, Danielle is...
- 1/31/2019
- TVLine.com
Spain’s box office dipped slightly last year, edging down 1.9% in theatrical revenues and 2% in admissions, according to a Comscore report published Wednesday.
In all, Spain’s B.O. gross came in at €585.7 million ($673.1 million), with 97.7 million cinema tickets sold.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” from Universal Pictures Intl., which dominated last year in Spain with three of the seven top-grossing movies, topped the chart, the fourth time a non-Spanish production has done so this decade. But the film world-premiered in Madrid and had a Spanish connection in its director, J.A. Bayona, each of whose four feature outings has, remarkably, been the top annual performer in Spain since his 2007 debut, “The Orphanage.”
“Bayona’s Spanish nationality undoubtedly helped ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ to its No. 1 ranking,” said David Rodríguez, managing director of Comscore Spain.
Fox’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is running “Fallen Kingdom” a pretty close second, earning €22.1 million ($25.4 million) at Spanish theaters last year.
In all, Spain’s B.O. gross came in at €585.7 million ($673.1 million), with 97.7 million cinema tickets sold.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” from Universal Pictures Intl., which dominated last year in Spain with three of the seven top-grossing movies, topped the chart, the fourth time a non-Spanish production has done so this decade. But the film world-premiered in Madrid and had a Spanish connection in its director, J.A. Bayona, each of whose four feature outings has, remarkably, been the top annual performer in Spain since his 2007 debut, “The Orphanage.”
“Bayona’s Spanish nationality undoubtedly helped ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ to its No. 1 ranking,” said David Rodríguez, managing director of Comscore Spain.
Fox’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is running “Fallen Kingdom” a pretty close second, earning €22.1 million ($25.4 million) at Spanish theaters last year.
- 1/2/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid — Spain’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the nominees for the 33rdedition of the Goya Awards, to be held at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones in Sevilla on Feb. 2, 2019.
Leading the pack with 13 nominations is Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s ultra-current political thriller “The Realm,” which impressed in San Sebastian’s main competition. The film is produced by Spain’s Tornasol and Atresmedia Cine and co-produced by Le Pacte and Mondex Cie out of France.
Spain’s foreign-language Oscar submission “Champions” scored an impressive 11 nominations of its own. The heartwarming dramedy about a special needs basketball team was a breakout hit at the Spanish box office this year, grossing €18.5 million ($21.4 million Usd) for Universal Pictures Intl. Spain.
It would hardly be a Goya Awards ceremony without one of Spain’s big three export acting talents – Banderas, Bardem or Cruz – and this year two are likely to be in attendance,...
Leading the pack with 13 nominations is Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s ultra-current political thriller “The Realm,” which impressed in San Sebastian’s main competition. The film is produced by Spain’s Tornasol and Atresmedia Cine and co-produced by Le Pacte and Mondex Cie out of France.
Spain’s foreign-language Oscar submission “Champions” scored an impressive 11 nominations of its own. The heartwarming dramedy about a special needs basketball team was a breakout hit at the Spanish box office this year, grossing €18.5 million ($21.4 million Usd) for Universal Pictures Intl. Spain.
It would hardly be a Goya Awards ceremony without one of Spain’s big three export acting talents – Banderas, Bardem or Cruz – and this year two are likely to be in attendance,...
- 12/12/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes opener Everybody Knows scores eight nominations.
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s political thriller The Realm led the Goya nominations from the Spanish Film Academy with 13 nods including for best film director, actor and original screenplay. It was closely followed by Javier Fesser’s hit comedy Champions with 11 nominations.
Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener Everybody Knows garnered eight nominations, including for best film, best actress for Penélope Cruz and best actor for Javier Bardem.
Fesser’s comedy is the most successful Spanish film by far at the local box office this year with a gross of $22m. Produced by Peliculas Pendleton, Movistar+ and Morena Films,...
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s political thriller The Realm led the Goya nominations from the Spanish Film Academy with 13 nods including for best film director, actor and original screenplay. It was closely followed by Javier Fesser’s hit comedy Champions with 11 nominations.
Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener Everybody Knows garnered eight nominations, including for best film, best actress for Penélope Cruz and best actor for Javier Bardem.
Fesser’s comedy is the most successful Spanish film by far at the local box office this year with a gross of $22m. Produced by Peliculas Pendleton, Movistar+ and Morena Films,...
- 12/12/2018
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
A version of this story about “Champions” first appeared in the Foreign Language Issue of TheWrap’s Oscar magazine.
Javier Fesser’s film “Champions,” a huge hit in Spain, finds a hotheaded professional basketball coach sentenced to community service working with a team of mentally disabled players, all of them played by nonprofessional actors.
The film is Spain’s entry in this year’s Oscar foreign-language race, and this interview is one of a series of conversations TheWrap had with directors of the foreign contenders.
Also Read: Oscars Foreign Language Race 2018: Complete List of Submissions
What led you to this story?
Javier Fesser: This is my fifth feature film, and the first time I have worked with a screenplay that was not my idea originally. Three years ago, I read the screenplay and fell in love with the characters. Not with the story, with the characters. I felt...
Javier Fesser’s film “Champions,” a huge hit in Spain, finds a hotheaded professional basketball coach sentenced to community service working with a team of mentally disabled players, all of them played by nonprofessional actors.
The film is Spain’s entry in this year’s Oscar foreign-language race, and this interview is one of a series of conversations TheWrap had with directors of the foreign contenders.
Also Read: Oscars Foreign Language Race 2018: Complete List of Submissions
What led you to this story?
Javier Fesser: This is my fifth feature film, and the first time I have worked with a screenplay that was not my idea originally. Three years ago, I read the screenplay and fell in love with the characters. Not with the story, with the characters. I felt...
- 11/17/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
NBC has put in development Woman Scouts, a comedy from former Late Night With Seth Meyers writer Allison Hord, Champions co-creator Charlie Grandy, Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker’s Sethmaker Shoemayers Productions and Universal TV where the company is based.
Written and co-executive produced by Hord, Woman Scouts centers on a feminist who, after dropping out of grad school, pledges to kickstart the lives of a group of women by becoming an adult Girl Scout troop. There’s no limit to what life achievement badge they can conquer together, if they can just figure out the whole sisterhood thing first.
Meyers, Shoemaker and Grandy executive produce for Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions, which co-produces with Universal TV.
Hord served as a staff writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2016-2017. Her other credits include Turkey Shore and Black Swan 2: Epidemic.
Sethmaker Shoemeyers Prods produces A.P. Bio, which is heading...
Written and co-executive produced by Hord, Woman Scouts centers on a feminist who, after dropping out of grad school, pledges to kickstart the lives of a group of women by becoming an adult Girl Scout troop. There’s no limit to what life achievement badge they can conquer together, if they can just figure out the whole sisterhood thing first.
Meyers, Shoemaker and Grandy executive produce for Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions, which co-produces with Universal TV.
Hord served as a staff writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2016-2017. Her other credits include Turkey Shore and Black Swan 2: Epidemic.
Sethmaker Shoemeyers Prods produces A.P. Bio, which is heading...
- 10/9/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Snapshot: New series time slot premiere: NBC’s I Feel Bad
After a tough Premiere Thursday for entertainment programming on the broadcast networks on the day of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing, there was more bad news for the nets last night, but there was some good news too.
Let’s start withe good news, and it’s all CBS-related. Juggernaut The Big Bang Theory started its final season with uncharacteristically modest ratings, hitting all-time viewership Live+same day low last Thursday. Its numbers seem to have stabilized, and the veteran comedy was even with last week’s delivery. There was even better news for CBS...
After a tough Premiere Thursday for entertainment programming on the broadcast networks on the day of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing, there was more bad news for the nets last night, but there was some good news too.
Let’s start withe good news, and it’s all CBS-related. Juggernaut The Big Bang Theory started its final season with uncharacteristically modest ratings, hitting all-time viewership Live+same day low last Thursday. Its numbers seem to have stabilized, and the veteran comedy was even with last week’s delivery. There was even better news for CBS...
- 10/5/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Latido Films’ selling spree continues at San Sebastian, where the Spanish sales agent has closed with Beijing-based distributor Lemon Tree Chinese rights to two Argentine high profile titles, Mariano Cohn’s thriller “4X4” and Carlos Sorin’s drama “Joel.”
Both titles head a raft of new deals clinched by Latido in San Sebastian, and come a week after reporting 23 higher-profile deals across seven titles struck from Cannes through Toronto.
Teaming Gaston Duprat and Cohn’s Buenos Aires-based Television Abierta with Spain’s Mediapro, and toplining Peter Lanzani (“The Clan”), “4 x 4” kicks-off with a luxury 4 x 4 stationed in a Buenos Aires district. A petty car thief enters the vehicle. But when he tries to get out, can’t. The doors, windows won’t open. He’s trapped.
The thriller marks Cohn’s follow-up to “The Distinguished Citizen” which won Oscar Martínez a Volpi Cup best actor award at 2016’s Venice Festival,...
Both titles head a raft of new deals clinched by Latido in San Sebastian, and come a week after reporting 23 higher-profile deals across seven titles struck from Cannes through Toronto.
Teaming Gaston Duprat and Cohn’s Buenos Aires-based Television Abierta with Spain’s Mediapro, and toplining Peter Lanzani (“The Clan”), “4 x 4” kicks-off with a luxury 4 x 4 stationed in a Buenos Aires district. A petty car thief enters the vehicle. But when he tries to get out, can’t. The doors, windows won’t open. He’s trapped.
The thriller marks Cohn’s follow-up to “The Distinguished Citizen” which won Oscar Martínez a Volpi Cup best actor award at 2016’s Venice Festival,...
- 9/28/2018
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Last season, NBC found success in the ratings with This Is Us and some other scripted series. Many other new TV shows were cancelled. Which TV shows will be cancelled or renewed during the 2017-18 season? Stay tuned.
NBC shows this season (so far): American Ninja Warrior, America's Got Talent, AP Bio, Better Late Than Never, The Blacklist, The Brave, Champions, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago Pd, Dateline NBC, Ellen's Game of Games, Genius Junior, Good Girls, The Good Place, Great News, Law & Order True Crime, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Little Big Shots, Making It, Marlon, Running Wild w/ Bear Grylls, Rise, Shades of Blue, Superstore, This Is Us, Timeless, Trial & Error, The Voice, The Wall, and Will & Grace.
There's lots of data that NBC execs look at when deciding whether to renew or cancel a TV series but the ratings...
NBC shows this season (so far): American Ninja Warrior, America's Got Talent, AP Bio, Better Late Than Never, The Blacklist, The Brave, Champions, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago Pd, Dateline NBC, Ellen's Game of Games, Genius Junior, Good Girls, The Good Place, Great News, Law & Order True Crime, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Little Big Shots, Making It, Marlon, Running Wild w/ Bear Grylls, Rise, Shades of Blue, Superstore, This Is Us, Timeless, Trial & Error, The Voice, The Wall, and Will & Grace.
There's lots of data that NBC execs look at when deciding whether to renew or cancel a TV series but the ratings...
- 9/25/2018
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
San Sebastian — Everybody agrees: World markets for arthouse films have contracted, first in prices paid, now in number of territories sold.
But that doesn’t mean there’s no arthouse market at all. A case in point: Latido Films. Headed by Antonio Saura, the Madrid-based sales house heads into this year’s San Sebastian Festival reporting 23 higher profile deals across seven titles struck from Cannes through Venice, Toronto and multiple festivals in between.
Only one of these titles, only Javier Fesser’s “Champions,” can be said to be anywhere near selling out. But, with foreign-language movies so dependent these days on scoring berths at big fests, and sales cycles lengthening given ever-more cautious buyers, none of the films are anywhere near the end of their sales cycle. Among deals:
*Caca Diegues’s Cannes Special Screening “The Great Mystical Circus,” a five-generation circus saga, has closed three major markets: the U.
But that doesn’t mean there’s no arthouse market at all. A case in point: Latido Films. Headed by Antonio Saura, the Madrid-based sales house heads into this year’s San Sebastian Festival reporting 23 higher profile deals across seven titles struck from Cannes through Venice, Toronto and multiple festivals in between.
Only one of these titles, only Javier Fesser’s “Champions,” can be said to be anywhere near selling out. But, with foreign-language movies so dependent these days on scoring berths at big fests, and sales cycles lengthening given ever-more cautious buyers, none of the films are anywhere near the end of their sales cycle. Among deals:
*Caca Diegues’s Cannes Special Screening “The Great Mystical Circus,” a five-generation circus saga, has closed three major markets: the U.
- 9/21/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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