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“If you look at the history of Hollywood, 50%, 60%, maybe 70% of the stories are based on books or IP or games. There’s a big gap between how Europe thinks about developing television and the Hollywood system,” producer Erik Barmack reflected a few months back.

“There’s just tremendous opportunities now as the market’s tightening to find source IP where, you know, there’s an installed audience,” he added.

Now Europe and indeed Latin America is catching up. In one of its biggest innovations of 2023, Ventana Sur has launched a Buenos Aires version of Shoot the Book! offering IPs from a clutch of Argentina’s highest rated novelists and a best-selling French author, as one star attraction of its multitudinous titled El Principio del Film.

In another departure, Brazil and Andalusia offer screenplays whose themes capture the zeitgeist – whether in the battle to reconstitute family, odes to sorry, the exploration of cross-generational relationships,...

The soundtrack of Long Shot is filled with both modern and nostalgic tunes that perfectly complement the romantic journey of the lead characters. The songs in the movie range from optimistic and upbeat to sentimental and reflective, enhancing the different moments and emotions experienced by Fred and Charlotte. The inclusion of nostalgic songs adds depth to the relationship between the characters, grounding them in a shared history and creating a sense of authenticity.

Supporting the lead stars Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron in the feel-good romantic comedy Long Shot is a fun and upbeat soundtrack riddled with plenty of nostalgic tunes. The movie stars Seth Rogen as the recently unemployed journalist Fred Flarsky who reunites with his former babysitter turned US Secretary of State, Charlotte Field (played by Theron). Their spontaneous reunion fans the flames of a cursory but intimate moment they once shared as teenagers, and Charlize Theron's character...

The Black Vampire! The most impressive Spanish-language noir restoration yet, Román Viñoly Barreto’s superior serial murder thriller hails from 1953 Argentina. It re-interprets Fritz Lang’s “M” from a different, more emotionally engaging perspective: star Olga Zubarry’s nightclub singer hesitates to tell what she knows about a child-killer, because she might lose custody of her own young daughter. The expressionist noir owes little to Hollywood. Some find it more satisfying than Lang’s classic version. The Film Noir Foundation’s extras are excellent.

El vampiro negro

Blu-ray + DVD

Flicker Alley

1953 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 90 min. / Street Date November 18, 2022 / Available from Flicker Alley / 39.95

Starring: Olga Zubarry, Nathan Pinzón, Roberto Escalada, Nelly Panizza, Pascual Pelliciota, Georges Rivière, Mariano Vidal Molina, Gloria Castilla, Emma Bernal, Lucía Besse.

Cinematography: Anibal González Paz

Production Designer: Jorge Beghé

Film Editors: Jorge Gárate, Higinio Vecchione

Original Music: Juan Ehlert

Written by Román Viñoly Barreto, Alberto Etchebehere

Produced...

Carlos Gardel, the most famous figure in tango history, is set to become the subject of a bio-series made by Kapow, the Argentine producer of HBO Max/Amazon hit “La Jauría,” and Luis Ortega, director of episodes of Netflix’s “El Marginal” as well as smash hit true crime feature “El Angel.”

Currently being written by Ortega, with partner Rodolfo Palacios at their prodco El Despacho, which will co-produce the series, the series should be ready for presentation by around the end of May, Ortega told Variety.

Designed as an “auteur, premium and original” production and part of Kapow’s fiction department output, the bio has to be high-end, said Kapow founder Agustín Sacanell. “This has to be a big production to be done well. It can’t be done on a modest budget,” he added.

The series is inspired by Felipe Pigna’s 500-page plus biography of the singer-composer,...

Daniel Rosenfeld’s “Piazzolla, the Years of the Shark,” a biographical documentary about tango musician Astor Piazzolla, world premieres at the Intl. Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Idfa). Rosenfeld talked with Variety about Piazzolla’s legacy, the revelations within the film and his interesting exhibition strategy.

Piazzolla is, along with Carlos Gardel, the most notable tango musician of the 20th century. The film features a previously unreleased collection of interviews with the artist himself, recorded before his death in 1992. The film uses those tapes, video of classic performances and the extensive memorabilia collection of Piazzolla’s son, Daniel, to tell the story of the international superstar.

The film is an Argentine-French co-production between Rosenfeld – an equally accomplished producer and director – and France’s Françoise Gazio from Idéale Audience. Euroarts is handling sales.

Rosenfeld found early success as a documentary filmmaker with his 2000 debut “Saluzzi – Essay for Bandoneon and Three Brothers.” The bandoneon,...

It's the John Ford film you never heard of, not because it's bad, but because it's a little confused. Richard Greene, David Niven and an emotional George Sanders (!) dedicate their lives to clearing their father's name of a smear by international arms smugglers! Their spirited companion Loretta Young behaves almost as if this were a screwball comedy. So does the director! Ford aficionados will be fascinated. Four Men and a Prayer 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives 1938 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 85 min. / Street Date December 15, 2015 / 19.98 Starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene, George Sanders, David Niven, C. Aubrey Smith. J. Edward Bromberg, William Henry, John Carradine, Alan Hale, Reginald Denny, Berton Churchill, Barry Fitzgerald, Chris-Pin Martin. Cinematography Franz Planer Film Editor Louis R. Loeffler Written by Richard Sherman, Sonya Levien, Walter Ferris from a novel by David Garth Produced by Kenneth Macgowan Directed by John Ford

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

We all...

Santa Monica, Calif. — It's been four years since Natalie Cole received a kidney from a Salvadorian donor, and the singer says it not only connected her to Hispanic culture, it has given her the strength to record her first post-operation album – totally in Spanish.

"I don't believe in coincidences. I believe everything happens for a reason. That this was a Latin family, I feel like I'm part Latino now. That (made) the desire to make this record became even stronger," Cole said recently during a private listening session of "Natalie Cole En Espanol," released this week.

This is Cole's first album since she received her kidney in May 2009. Her donor was a young woman from El Salvador who died while giving birth to a baby boy, Lucas, said Cole (the Grammy-winner received the donation after suffering from hepatitis C, a liver disease spread through contact with infected blood).

"I couldn't totally grasp,...

The Recording Academy has released the inductees for the 2013 Grammy Hall of Fame and it's quite the interesting mix.

Just how far does the list run the gamut? Two of the inductees are Frank Sinatra's recording of "Theme from 'New York, New York'" and Richard Pryor's comedy album, "That N-----'s Crazy."

"With the Grammy Hall Of Fame celebrating 40 years, it's especially important to note that these entries continue the tradition of inducting a wide variety of recordings that have inspired and influenced both fans and music makers for generations," President/CEO of The Recording Academy Neil Portnow said in a release. "Memorable for being both culturally and historically significant, we are proud to add them to our growing catalog of outstanding recordings that have become part of our musical, social, and cultural history."

Other standouts include AC/DC's "Back In Black," Elton John's self-titled album, and Billy Joel's "Piano Man.

The Recording Academy announces its 2013 Hall of Fame inductees. From the press release: "Representing a great variety of tracks and albums, the 2013 Grammy Hall Of Fame inductees range from AC/DC's 'Back In Black' album to Frank Sinatra's recording of 'Theme from "New York, New York."' Also added to the highly regarded list are Billy Joel's 'Piano Man,' Paul McCartney & Wings' album 'Band On The Run,' Ray Charles' 'Hit The Road Jack,' the Drifters' 'On Broadway,' Charles Mingus' album 'Mingus Ah Um,' and self-titled albums from Elton John and Whitney Houston. Other inductees include the Broadway cast recording of 'Lost In The Stars,' and recordings by James Brown, Bob Dylan, Carlos Gardel, Buck Owens, Richard Pryor, and Little Richard, among others." Sony Pictures Classics launches its official website for Amour. Will "Life of Pi" win the Visual Effe.

The Recording Academy announces its 2013 Hall of Fame inductees. From the press release: "Representing a great variety of tracks and albums, the 2013 Grammy Hall Of Fame inductees range from AC/DC's 'Back In Black' album to Frank Sinatra's recording of 'Theme from "New York, New York."' Also added to the highly regarded list are Billy Joel's 'Piano Man,' Paul McCartney & Wings' album 'Band On The Run,' Ray Charles' 'Hit The Road Jack,' the Drifters' 'On Broadway,' Charles Mingus' album 'Mingus Ah Um,' and self-titled albums from Elton John and Whitney Houston. Other inductees include the Broadway cast recording of 'Lost In The Stars,' and recordings by James Brown, Bob Dylan, Carlos Gardel, Buck Owens, Richard Pryor, and Little Richard, among others." Sony Pictures Classics launches its official website for Amour. Will "Life of Pi" win the Visual Effe.