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Animation will possibly always be inextricably linked with and thought of as family-friendly content. Even though it's a medium of storytelling, animation continues to be widely perceived as a genre. As a result, it's simply considered a children's genre by most, even though the best R-rated animated films demonstrate that there's nothing inherently child-friendly about animation. Horror as a genre, on the other hand, barring horror comedy movies which are hilarious and terrifying, is largely considered to be an adult genre, exploring adult themes and featuring visuals inappropriate for children.

So, the blend of horror and animation is very commonly appropriate only for adults. In fact, one of the best horror movies of the past 10 years is an animated movie called The Wolf House. But the most interesting area of intersection between the two categories is the family-friendly animated horror movie, which doesn't always come in the form of horror comedy.

Actress Felicity Jones, aka 'Jyn Erso' in the feature "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", recently signed to lead Amazon MGM Studios ‘Formula 1’ racing drama “One”, poses for the December 2024 issue of “Marie Claire” (UK) magazine, wearing Chloe, Versace and Gucci, photographed by Kate Davis-Macleod:

Since 2006, Jones has appeared in the films "Northanger Abbey" (2007), "Brideshead Revisited" (2008)…

…”Chéri" (2009), "The Tempest" (2010)….

…"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (2014), "The Theory of Everything" (2014) and "True Story" (2015)....

In 2016, Jones starred in "Inferno", "A Monster Calls" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" as 'Jyn Erso'…

…winning the 'BAFTA Britannia Award' for 'British Artist of the Year'.

She currently co-stars in “The Brutalist” (2024).

Click the images to enlarge...

20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell recently spoke with THR about various upcoming projects, including several new Predator movies, a sequel to Alien: Romulus, and another Planet of the Apes movie. However, Asbell also gave an update on one project that has flown under the radar: a prequel to Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

“I’m trying so hard. It’s the first movie I worked on at Fox twenty years ago,” Asbell said of the Master and Commander prequel. “We have a great script. It just needs the right director.“

Based on the novels by Patrick O’Brian, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was released over twenty years ago, and although the sea-faring adventure was intended to launch a franchise, it didn’t happen. Over the years, the film has developed a passionate fanbase who are eager for more. Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls...

2024's The Brutalist features an outstanding cast led by Academy Award-winner Adrien Brody. Directed by Brady Corbet, The Brutalist is an early Best Picture contender at the 97th Academy Awards, which take place on March 2, 2024. The Brutalist follows a visionary architect named Lszl Tth (Brody) who flees post-war Europe with his wife Erzsbet (Felicity Jones) for the United States of America. Along the way, Lszl encounters a mysterious and wealthy man who changes the course of his life forever. The Brutalist releases in theaters on December 20, 2024.

The Brutalist initially premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024, where Corbet won the Silver Lion award for Best Direction. He is also considered to be an early favorite to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar. The Brutalist has received widespread critical acclaim, earning a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score at the time of writing. Although actors such as Joel Edgerton, Marion Cotillard,...

As per multiple reports, the Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home; Avengers: Endgame) has landed the lead role in Christopher Nolan's next epic movie, which is scheduled to begin shooting in early 2025, with an eye on a prime Summer 2026 release date. 

The fan-favorite actor was reportedly at the top of Nolan's wish list for this project and will now co-star with Academy Award-winner Matt Damon (Jason Bourne; Ford v Ferrari), who is set to reunite with Nolan for the third time in his career, after the sci-fi thriller Interstellar and last year's Best Picture winner Oppenheimer. 

Plot details on Nolan's latest film are being kept under wraps, but the film is rumored to be an action film and The Hollywood Reporter claims the setting is not present day. However, whether the film is set in the past or in the future remains a mystery. 

According to the trades, Nolan...

J.A. Bayona’s Society of the Snow is one of Netflix’s most-watched movies of this year so far yet the director revealed today it was mainly intended for an older audience.

Speaking at MIPCOM, the Oscar-nominee said his creative team were “surprised” when the movie about the Uruguayan rugby team’s survival experience after their plane crashed in the Andes proved to be a “phenomenon” with younger audiences.

“Society of the Snow was meant to be for a more mature audience,” said Bayona. “When I look back it makes sense because it had young actors going through a difficult situation and the younger audience felt related to these characters. But it was never intended to be a film for young people and it became one.”

Society of the Snow, which launched in late 2023, was third in Netflix’s most-watched movies of the first half of this year, and top...

Correction: An early version of this article indicated that Studiocanal had acquired global rights to 11 River Road Entertainment, but Searchlight holds domestic U.S. and Canada rights to “12 Years a Slave” and U.S. and U.K. rights to “The Tree of Life.”

Studiocanal and River Road Entertainment have announced an exclusive international distribution deal for 11 celebrated films, including Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning “12 Years a Slave,” Terrence Malick’s Palme d’Or-winning “The Tree of Life” and Sean Penn’s critically acclaimed “Into the Wild.”

The partnership brings together Europe’s leading production and distribution house, Studiocanal, and the American independent film production giant, River Road Entertainment, in a multi-territory arrangement covering TV, SVOD, theatrical and other media platforms.

Under the agreement, Studiocanal will distribute nine feature films and two documentaries, a roster of prestigious titles that have collectively earned over $440 million at the global box office.

Juliette Hochart,...

‘Tis the season to draw viewing inspiration from all things Halloween, and haunted houses are one of the key staples of the holiday. And for good reason, too, as few things are as inherently terrifying as an invasion of the very place where you’re meant to feel safest: your home.

Dealing with a paranormal presence isn’t quite as easy to deal with as masked maniacs or a more tangible threat. It’s often a fear of the unknown that induces the most nerve-fraying anxiety, and a haunted house is full of unknowns. This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to one of horror’s most foundational subgenres: the haunted house movie.

These five titles range from classic haunted house fare to modern frights that reinterpret what a haunted house can be. All aim to induce maximum frights, perfect for this Halloween season.

Here’s where you can stream them this week.

Exclusive: Goodfellas is expanding its footprint into Spain in a new production venture with prolific local producer Enrique López Lavigne aimed at producing ambitious projects with Spanish talent with international appeal.

Bannered Goodapatxe – in a nod to Lavigne’s Apache Films company, which he runs alongside El Studio – the venture aims to get two to three productions off the ground a year.

Details of the first projects are under wraps, but the partners have revealed they are in development on a Spanish historic film noir, a western and science fiction picture and four additional genre feature films directed by young Spanish authors.

Lavigne has been a driving force in the Spanish independent cinema scene for more than 30 years.

He started out as a film buyer for Canal Plus, before moving into distribution at Sogecine. He branched into producing in the late 1990s, taking credits on a host of early films...

CAA’s Roeg Sutherland is set to be honored with the Zurich Film Festival’s Game Changer Award for his outstanding achievements and contributions within the film industry.

The co-Head of CAA’s Media Finance department as well as its International Film Group, will be presented with the award during the festival’s industry-focused Zurich Summit, which takes place in October within the framework of the 20th Zurich Film Festival (Zff).

As part of the recognition, FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner will host the Game Changer Award recipient conversation, in which he will speak with Sutherland about his journey.

“Roeg is a passionate cinephile and industry leader, who has not only discovered, but also nurtured and developed the careers of countless artists. In the past several years, he has secured financing and sold some of the most important and critically acclaimed films, both domestic and international,” commented Zff Artistic Director Christian Jungen.

Here is another film that ponders the big life-or-death existential questions, in the grand cinematic tradition of 1946’s A Matter Of Life And Death or, say, 1990’s Ghost. Tuesday, the ambitious debut feature from Croatian filmmaker Daina O. Pusić, in fact bears most similarities to 2016’s A Monster Calls: as with J.A. Bayona’s tear-jerking drama, this is a devastatingly moving fairy tale about a gravelly voiced, anthropomorphised fantasy character making friends with a human grappling with the terminal illness of a family member. Unlike that film, this comes from A24 and is decidedly made for adults rather than children, being distinctly, deliciously oddball.

It begins with a montage of people about to die. Cheerful stuff. Facing their end, this cavalcade of poor souls beg for mercy from Death, who takes an unlikely form: a shapeshifting CG macaw parrot, voiced by British actor Arinzé Kene (Connor from EastEnders). Who needs a cloak and scythe?...

Seeing isn’t always believing in The Chapel, the latest film from Piggy writer/director Carlota Pereda. Written by Pereda, as well as Albert Bertran Bas and Carmelo Viera, The Chapel is a supernatural drama about intergenerational trauma between mothers and their daughters.

The film opens in 1631 in a small Spanish town that is besieged by the Black Plague. Men in plague masks gather up sick individuals to lock them in the titular chapel to preserve the health of the community and, as the crowd watches, a young, infected Uxoa (Alba Hernández) is separated from her mother, who refuses to help.

The moment of familial discomfort is upended, however, when a member of the crowd raises a smartphone to shoot video of the event, shattering the authenticity of the moment. It turns out what we’re seeing is a historical reenactment: these are actors who are playing a part in an annual five day festival.

A sweeping family adventure, My Penguin Friend is a triumphant tale of friendship between a lonely father and the little lost penguin DinDim who recharges his spirit and heals his family with an unshakable, ocean-crossing loyalty.

Starring Jean Reno and Adriana Barraza, check out the sweet trailer now.

Humble fisherman João (Jean Reno) has turned away from the world in the wake of tragedy. But when he discovers a penguin drifting alone in the ocean, drenched in oil from a spill, his first instinct is to help. To his wife’s (Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza) dismay, he not only rescues the sea creature, but takes the flightless bird under his wing. For the first time in years João starts to feel joy, even if he cannot fathom just how unbreakable a bond is being formed. When the penguin suddenly disappears back into the immense wilds of the ocean, João believes...

When John Krasinski stepped behind the camera for his 2018 smash hit horror feature “A Quiet Place,” he drew inspiration from an unlikely place: “This movie was for my kids,” he told IndieWire in April 2018. Well, not so much for them, but about them, and the lengths parents will go in order to protect their nearest and dearest. Krasinski and co-star and wife Emily Blunt’s kiddos were quite young at the time, and not at all the target audience for the nearly wordless alien invasion thriller. Perhaps then, when Krasinski set about writing his first post-“A Quiet Place” and “A Quiet Place Part II” film, the PG outing “If,” the filmmaker wanted to finally make something his kids could actually watch.

That’s a fine enough place to start, and a more tender reading of Krasinski’s fifth directorial feature, which takes an interesting enough idea — what if imaginary friends were real?...

In the early scenes of his new fantasy film geared to families, John Krasinski is seen as a 12-year-old girl’s father who’s in the hospital preparing for what seems to be life-threatening heart surgery. To keep up his daughter’s spirits, he delivers elaborate jokes and comedy routines, leading her to complain that he needn’t bother, that she’s not a child anymore. In other words, she thinks he’s trying too hard, which is something you could also say about If.

There’s no denying the ambition and thoughtfulness on display in this effort written and directed by Krasinski, which marks a notable stylistic turn from his smash hit horror films A Quiet Place and its sequel. If, whose title means “Imaginary Friends,” aims for obvious laughs with its multitude of amusing computer-animated characters featuring all sorts of incarnations from teddy bears to melting marshmallows. But...

Some exciting Star Wars news this morning as The Mandalorian & Grogu has cast its first major supporting role. 

As per The InSneider newsletter (and confirmed by multiple trades), 3x Academy Award-nominee Sigourney Weaver has joined the cast of Disney and Lucasfilm's next Star Wars film, which is expected to begin production at the tailend of this year. 

The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau (Iron Man; Iron Man 2; The Lion King) will helm and produce the upcoming feature, with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni also serving as producers. 

Weaver will join a cast headlined by series leading man Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones; The Last of Us; Wonder Woman 1984), who is expected to reprise his role as Din Djarin for the film. However, the extent of his involvement is yet-to-be-determined as the 3x Primetime Emmy-nominated actor also has Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four, where he plays Reed Richards,...

The Cannes Film Festival has named the eight members of its main Competition jury who will join previously announced president Greta Gerwig in deciding the Palme d’Or and other key prizes at 77th edition running from May 14 to 25.

They are Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, U.S. actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor and producer Omar Sy.

The wife and long-time collaborator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, screenwriter and photographer Ceylan co-wrote 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep and also took co-writing credits on Cannes selected films Three Monkeys (Best Director Prize 2008), Once upon a time in Anatolia (Grand Prix 2011), The Wild Pear Tree (2018) and About Dry Grasses (2023).

Ceylan also appeared as an actress and took art director credits on her husband’s early films...

The Motion Picture Association will honor filmmaker J.A. Bayona with its Creator Award at a ceremony in June in Madrid.

His latest film, Society of the Snow, is nominated for best international feature film as well as for makeup effects. His other credits include Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Impossible and A Monster Calls.

The award is presented “to an individual whose expert and brilliant display of their craft behind the camera has moved and shaped culture and helped audiences see the world in new and different ways,” according to the MPA. The trade association also will present an Industry Champion Award at the Madrid ceremony.

Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the MPA, said in a statement that Bayona’s work “pushes the boundaries of storytelling and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit. This award recognizes Mr. Bayona for embodying the best of the global creative community.”

Past...

Society Of The Snow Ja Bayona’s Society Of The Snow won an avalanche of awards as Spain's Oscar equivalent Goya awards in Valladolid yesterday. The film, which is available to watch on Netflix, recounts the true story of a rugby team who survived a plane crash in the Andes took home 12 prizes, including best film and director.

Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren's debut 20,000 Species Of Bees won a trio of prizes for best new director and original screenplay and best supporting actress for Ane Gabarain.

Justine Triet continued her successful awards run as Anatomy Of A Fall, was named best European film, while Maite Alberdi took home the Ibero-American gong for The Eternal Memory. Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams won best adapted screenplay and feature animation.

The international Goya for lifetime achievement went to Sigourney Weaver, who has worked with Bayona, on A Monster Calls, and fellow Spaniard Rodrigo Cortés on [film id=21091]Red.

Ja Bayona’s Society Of The Snow was the big winner at Spain’s Goya awards on Saturday night (February 10), scooping 12 prizes including best film and director to become the third-most garlanded film in Goya history.

Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall, was named best European film, and Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams won the prizes for best adapted screenplay and feature animation.

20,000 Species Of Bees, the feature debut of Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, received three Goyas for best new director and original screenplay for Solaguren, and best supporting actress for Ane Gabarain. The 15 nominations for Bees were the...

Here’s the latest episode of The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro-budget indie films to bigger-budget studio films and everything in between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dom Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #377: J. A. Bayona – Society of the Snow,...

In the early 1970s, a rugby team from Uruguay set out for a match in Chile. Some brought friends or family members, some left them behind. On their small chartered plane, everyone was giddy with excitement. But as they made their way over the Andes, the plane started to descend — far too early. They struck a mountain and broke into pieces. Miraculously, some of the 45 passengers on board survived — but they faced perilous conditions.

From Gaudí and Goya award–winning director J.A. Bayona,Society of the Snow tells the near-impossible true story of the 1972 Andes flight disaster. Bayona’s first Spanish feature since 2007’s The Orphanage, the film closed out the 2023 Venice Film Festival and is nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. The tale is not for the faint of heart: For those not familiar with the story,...

If Ann Landers had it right, and hanging on to resentment amounts to letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head, then “Your Monster” is what happens when you kick open the door and let those feelings run amok. Drawing from personal experience, writer-director Caroline Lindy delivers a clumsy metaphor of a movie, in which a promising young actor named Laura Franco (“In the Heights” star Melissa Barrera) has her Broadway dreams derailed by a cancer diagnosis, only to discover a ferocious inner strength, courtesy of the beastly creature she finds hanging around her childhood home.

In what amounts to a heavy-handed empowerment tale, the monster in question is at first a surly roommate, later a potential love interest and ultimately a manifestation of Laura’s long-suppressed sense of rage. The symbolism isn’t exactly subtle as Laura learns to break free of her polite good-girl upbringing and embrace those roiling emotions.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Society of the Snow.

Society of the Snow, a film based on the 1972 Andes plane crash, accurately portrays the survivors' incredible story while omitting certain details. The film gained popularity on Netflix and was recognized with various nominations for awards. The survivors faced public backlash and accusations from the press, but were ultimately vindicated by the Catholic Church.

Society of the Snow has been celebrated for its undeniable authenticity in the portrayal of the 1972 Andes plane crash and the survivors' incredible and harrowing true story. With that being said, any given movie cannot fully capture the complete extent of a real-life scenario in order to maintain a logical pace and composition of the narrative. As a result, some key details of the true story were omitted from Society of the Snow, which is not to say that it is any less accurate. Rather, the film is...

Behind the scenes of Society of the Snow.

All images courtesy of Netflix

by Chad Kennerk

While researching and preparing to make his 2012 survival film The Impossible, filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona came across the book La sociedad de la nieve by journalist Pablo Vierci. Though the story of the 1972 Andes accident was a familiar one, Bayona had never seen the account contextualised in the same way. Uruguayan native Vierci’s book, written 36 years after the tragic events, benefitted from distance, looking beyond the facts to provide a psychological approach to the circumstances and how they shaped the survivors’ lives. After completing The Impossible, Bayona bought the rights to Vierci’s book and began a decade-long journey to bring the story to the screen.

Society of the Snow marks the writer/director’s first Spanish language film since his 2007 directorial debut The Orphanage (El orfanato). A ghost story of a different kind,...

Society of the Snow meticulously captures the realism of the 1972 Andes plane crash, with attention to detail in every aspect, including dialogue and costumes. The film features real-life survivors and family members, including survivor Carlitos Páez playing his own father and survivor Nando Parrado appearing in an airport scene. The use of real names of the deceased, the filming at the actual crash site, and the chronological shooting process all contribute to the authenticity and commitment of Society of the Snow.

J.A. Bayona's epic survival movie Society of the Snow was made with incredible care and thoughtfulness to the real-life survivors and the families of the deceased. While there are several differences between Society of the Snow and the 1993 film Alive, which both chronicle the same amazing true story of the horrific 1972 Andres plane crash, Bayona's film goes above and beyond to capture the realism of the events as...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Society of the Snow.

Society of the Snow offers a fresh perspective on the Andes plane crash with added layers of realism, making it a more accurate depiction than Alive. Society of the Snow has an entirely South American cast, speaking mainly in Spanish, which adds an authentic touch to the story. Society of the Snow includes more details about the real-life passengers and survivors, honoring their stories and offering a straightforward narrative of the events.

Although Society of the Snow and Alive both tell the true story of the survivors the the 1972 Andes plane crash, there are several key differences between the two films. Released more than 30 years ago in 1993, Alive was directed by Frank Marshall, a prominent producer known for his work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Signs (2002), and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Society of the Snow was directed by Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona,...

Society of the Snow is a highly acclaimed film that accurately portrays the 1972 Andes plane crash and the survival of 16 people. It is referred to as the Miracle of the Andes. The film has been nominated for Best Motion Picture at the Golden Globes and is expected to be a strong contender at the Academy Awards. It has already made the Oscars shortlist in several categories. While the story is remarkable and the film is well-done, there are intense and graphic scenes that may be difficult to watch, including the plane crash, deaths, cannibalism, and injuries.

Society of the Snow is an excellent story of survival and endurance but it also has moments of intense and graphic scenes. The new J.A. Bayona film has been widely celebrated as one of the most accurate portrayals of the 1972 Andes plane crash and the story of the 16 survivors in the aftermath. As depicted in Society of the Snow,...

If there is one thing you can say about Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona, it’s that he knows how to capture tragedy in a most beautiful, authentic way. Bayona’s latest, Society of the Snow, treads a similar path to his previous work, like The Impossible, as a disaster movie tackling real-world events, while also harnessing the kind of emotional agony of his coming-of-age drama, A Monster Calls. While Society of the Snow ultimately has a relatively happy ending, it is not without sacrifice, and this is one of those rare films that you simply have to see, but will likely never want to watch ever again once you come out the other side.

Society of the Snow is based on the true story of Flight 571, also known as the Andes flight disaster, which occurred on October 13, 1972. When a Uruguayan rugby team’s plane crashes in the Andes mountains,...

Warning: Major Spoilers ahead for Society of the Snow.

Society of the Snow is a gripping film that depicts the astonishing true story of a rugby team's fight for survival after a plane crash in the Andes Mountains. The film honors the real-life passengers by featuring an all-South American cast and is being praised as the most accurate cinematic portrayal of the events by their families. Nando and Roberto's heroic journey to Chile led to the eventual rescue and hospitalization of the survivors, showing their incredible endurance and the overwhelming relief they experienced.

The new disaster film Society of the Snow retells the remarkable true story about a Uruguayan rugby team whose flight crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972. The story has previously been dramatized in the 1993 movie Alive which was directed by Frank Marshall (Eight Below) and starred Ethan Hawke as the real-life Nando Parrado. While there are several...

Society of the Snow is a Netflix film based on the real-life rugby team involved in the tragic 1972 Andes plane crash. The film has been praised for its accuracy compared to the 1993 movie Alive and is a strong contender at the 2024 Golden Globes and Academy Awards. The key cast of Society of the Snow, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, is made up of Argentine and Uruguayan actors.

As one of the first Netflix films of 2024, Society of the Snow features an outstanding ensemble cast who are based on the real-life rugby team involved in the tragic 1972 Andes plane crash. The new J.A. Bayona film has been celebrated as the most accurate cinematic portrayal of the true events compared to the 1993 movie Alive starring Ethan Hawke which retold certain elements of the factual story. The key cast of Society of the Snow is made entirely of Argentine and Uruguayan actors.

We made it to 2024! Or, rather, we've almost made it at the time of writing. It's been a long year wherein a historical dual strike that was prompted (and then unnecessarily prolonged) by studio greed brought the film and TV industry to a grinding halt for months. But all that's behind us now, and it's time for a fresh start. Even Netflix is turning over a new leaf by making viewership data available for just about every title on the platform. Well, sort of. It's still Netflix, so, of course, its newfound transparency comes with an asterisk or two.

Staying on the positive beat, things aren't slowing down on the Netflix front in January. In fact, after a 12-month period that saw the streamer releasing a veritable treasure trove of notable animated features, international films, and star-studded projects (be sure and peruse through the /Film team's ranking of the 12 best...

“To go back home with my people to shoot a movie was fantastic,” says director J.A. Bayona, whose film “Society of the Snow” has been selected as Spain’s entry for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards. “Every time I work in Hollywood I bring my people with me. It’s been a whole journey. I did my first movies in Spain, ‘The Orphanage,’ ‘The Impossible’ and ‘A Monster Calls.’ I established my voice. I wanted to show the world, ‘This is who I am.’ I moved to Hollywood. Then, doing this film after so many years, this is where I really like to be. I’m going back to my people. Being selected for the Oscars was extraordinary.”

We talked with Bayona as part of Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2023/2024 awards contenders. Watch our exclusive video interview above.

See Watch interviews...

Last month, the Netflix streaming service unveiled a teaser trailer for the Spanish-language survival thriller Society of the Snow, or La sociedad de la nieve, the latest project from director J.A. Bayona – whose credits include The Orphanage, The Impossible, A Monster Calls, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Now a full trailer for the film has arrived online, and you can check it out in the embed above.

Society of the Snow will be streaming on the Netflix service as of January 4th.

An adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name, written by Pablo Vierci, Society of the Snow is about the Uruguayan rugby team which, en route to Chile in 1972, crash-landed on a glacier in the heart of the Andes. The survivors were forced to resort to extreme measures in order to stay alive. That is the same real-life event that director Frank Marshall brought to the screen with the 1993 film Alive,...

From director J.A. Bayona, the visionary filmmaker behind The Orphanage, A Monster Calls, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, comes the Netflix survival thriller Society of the Snow, which is based on both true events and the same-titled book by Pablo Vierci.

Society of the Snow will premiere in select theaters on December 22, 2023, followed by the film’s Netflix arrival on January 4, 2024. Watch the brand new official trailer below.

In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which had been chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile, crashed in the heart of the Andes. Only 29 of its 45 passengers survived the accident.

Trapped in one of the most hostile and inaccessible environments on the planet, they have to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.

The film’s cast includes Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Esteban Bigliardi, Diego Vegezzi, Fernando Contigiani García, Esteban Kukuriczka, Rafael Federman, Francisco Romero, Valentino Alonso, Tomás Wolf, Agustín Della Corte,...

Laika, the groundbreaking Portland, Oregon-based animation studio, has brought in new filmmakers in the form of director Pete Candeland and Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, the duo known as Headless, TheWrap has confirmed.

Candeland and Headless will be developing new animated features, although details on those features have yet to be revealed.

Maldonado and Torres won an Annie for an episode of the Guillermo del Toro DreamWorks Animation series “Trollhunters” and have also directed three episodes of Netflix’s adult animated series “Love, Death & Robots.” Maldonado also directed and co-wrote “Nocturna,” a 2007 animated feature. Torres also worked on “Nocturna” as production designer, which won the Best Animated Feature at the Goya Awards. They also worked on the animated sequences from J.A. Bayona’s “A Monster Calls” and were in development at Skydance Animation, which recently moved its feature output from Apple TV+ to Netflix.

Candeland is best known for directing music videos for Gorillaz,...

Exclusive: Oregon studio Laika has brought in new talent, hiring director Pete Candeland, along with Victor Maldonado & Alfredo Torres, the Annie Award-winning duo together known as Headless, to develop new animated features.

The appointments are effective immediately, though there’s no word yet on what the projects are.

Maldonado and Torres are an L.A.-based team that landed their Annie for the helming of “Win, Lose or Draal,” an episode of the Guillermo del Toro series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, produced by DreamWorks Animation and Double Dare You Productions. The duo also directed three episodes of the Emmy-winning Netflix animated series Love, Death & Robots, additionally partnering on the 2007 fantasy Nocturna which won Best Animated Feature at the Goya Awards, Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars. Maldonado directed that title alongside Adrià García, with Torres serving as production designer and tackling numerous other creative responsibilities.

Maldonado and Torres also...

Netflix’s Society of the Snow recounts the harrowing true story of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes that killed 16 people on impact and left 29 passengers struggling to survive in an inhospitable environment. The second one-minute teaser shows the moments before the plane carrying Uruguay’s Old Christians Club rugby team crashed into the mountains.

Director J.A. Bayona co-wrote the screenplay with Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques, and Nicolás Casariego, based on the book by Pablo Vierci. Speaking with Netflix, Bayona described his path to making the film.

“I discovered the book while we were preparing The Impossible, and I immediately thought that I wanted to make it into a film,” said Bayona. “We put the project together over a period of more than 10 years, developing an approach to the story while working closely with Pablo Vierci.”

Society of the Snow is Spain’s Best International Film entry for the 2024 Academy...

The latest project from director J.A. Bayona – whose credits include The Orphanage, The Impossible, A Monster Calls, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – is the Spanish-language survival thriller Society of the Snow, or La sociedad de la nieve. We’ve previously heard that the film will be streaming on the Netflix service as of January 4th and now, with just over two months to go until that date arrives, a trailer for it has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.

An adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name, written by Pablo Vierci, Society of the Snow is about the Uruguayan rugby team which, en route to Chile in 1972, crash-landed on a glacier in the heart of the Andes. The survivors were forced to resort to extreme measures in order to stay alive. That is the same real-life event that director Frank Marshall brought to...

The latest project from director J.A. Bayona – whose credits include The Orphanage, The Impossible, A Monster Calls, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – is the Spanish-language survival thriller Society of the Snow, or La sociedad de la nieve. An adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name, written by Pablo Vierci, the film is about the Uruguayan rugby team which, en route to Chile in 1972, crash-landed on a glacier in the heart of the Andes. The survivors were forced to resort to extreme measures in order to stay alive. That is the same real-life event that director Frank Marshall brought to the screen with the 1993 film Alive, which was based on Piers Paul Read’s book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. If you’re interested in seeing Bayona’s take on the story, you’ll be glad to hear that its release is just a few months away.

J.A. Bayona was given a homecoming hero’s welcome at the San Sebastian Film Festival over the weekend as he touched down for the Spanish premiere of air crash survival drama Society Of The Snow.

The drama – recounting the experiences of the Uruguay rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes mountains in Argentina in 1972 – was the closing film of Venice but in many ways its San Sebastian outing was a more momentous affair.

The screening came just three days after the film was announced as Spain’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy awards. The picture is Bayona’s first Spanish-language film since the 2007 title The Orphanage, which also represented Spain.

The director was given a rapturous reception on Friday night as he took to the stage in the company of one of the survivors Gustavo Zerbino. He was then feted over the weekend by...

"What happened to us? What happens when the world deserts you?" Another film I was lucky to watch on the big screen at the 2023 Venice Film Festival this year was the latest film by acclaimed Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona. It's called Society of the Snow, also known as La Sociedad de la Nieve in Spanish, adapted from the book of the same name by Pablo Vierci. For his fifth feature, Bayona decided to head to South America to tell the famous story of the scary crash and survival of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. This is the same story told in the 1993 movie Alive, directed by Frank Marshall, which anyone who grew up in the 90s is absolutely familiar with for grotesque reasons. This is all a part of the story, a key part of the story, as it's a survival thriller. In the real world, their story became known as...

From director J.A. Bayona, the visionary filmmaker behind The Orphanage, A Monster Calls, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, comes the Netflix survival thriller Society of the Snow, which is based on both true events and the same-titled book by Pablo Vierci.

Society of the Snow will have its World Premiere at Venice Film Festival as the closing night film on September 9, 2023 and follow in the Pearl’s section at San Sebastian Film Festival.

Watch the official teaser trailer below and expect a Netflix premiere date soon.

In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which had been chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile, crashed in the heart of the Andes. Only 29 of its 45 passengers survived the accident.

Trapped in one of the most hostile and inaccessible environments on the planet, they have to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.

The film’s cast includes Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt,...

Exclusive: Spain’s J.A. Bayona has carved a niche for himself in survivalist drama, starting with 2012’s The Impossible, in which a family’s dream trip to Thailand becomes a nightmare when a tsunami destroys their luxury resort. It was based on a true story, unlike 2018’s Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom, which nevertheless featured human beings facing unimaginable odds when confronted by a terrifying new breed of carnivorous dinosaurs.

With his new Netflix production Society of the Snow, Bayona is back in the real world again, telling a story that might be his most extraordinary yet. Based on the book of the same name by Pablo Vierci, first published in 2008, it charts the story of the 45 people who, on October 13 1972, boarded Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 from Montevideo to Chile. There were five crew members on board and 40 passengers, including 19 members of the Old Christians Club rugby team. Tragedy struck when...

Sigourney Weaver Depositphotos

Susan Alexandra “Sigourney” Weaver, born on October 8, 1949, is an accomplished American actress known for her contributions to the action heroine archetype in science fiction movies. Weaver’s notable portrayal of Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise garnered her an Academy Award nomination in 1986 and solidified her status as one of the most influential female protagonists in the history of cinema.

Throughout her career, Weaver has received seven Golden Globe Award nominations. In 1988, she made history by winning both the Best Actress in Drama and Best Supporting Actress categories for her outstanding performances in Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl, respectively. This achievement made her the first individual to secure two acting Golden Globe Awards in a single year. Moreover, Weaver received Academy Award nominations for her exceptional work in both films. Additionally, she was honored with the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role...

Large scale puppets, miniatures and various other all-practical effects will come together for Grylu Sker, an Icelandic ghost story from the creators of The Haunted Swordsman – along with Sjón, co-writer of Robert Eggers’ The Northman – that is now funding on Kickstarter.

The film will even feature a stop motion animation sequence supervised by Oscar-winner Phil Tippett (Mad God), so it’s no surprise that the Kickstarter fund has been a smashing success so far. Running until August 11, over $90,000 of the total $120,000 goal has already been raised!

Billed as a gothic adventure, Grylu Sker is the tale of a lost explorer set in a world of Icelandic folklore written by Tab Murphy and Icelandic author Sjón (co-writer of The Northman). It is a story of an explorer’s fight for survival on a bleak unforgiving island and also a re-imagining of the legendary Icelandic witch Gryla.

Director Kevin McTurk explains, “This...

Venice International Film Festival has announced which film will be closing the event in September.

La Sociedad de la nieve (‘Society of the Snow’), a story of survival in extreme conditions, will be screened on Saturday 9 September in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema at the Lido di Venezia – the screening to be held after the Festival’s awards are handed out.

The film is directed by J.A. Bayona and tells the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 which, in 1972, had been chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile, and crashed in the heart of the Andes.

Only 29 of its 45 passengers survived the accident. Trapped in one of the most hostile and inaccessible environments on the planet, they had to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.

The cast of the film includes Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Esteban Kukuriczka and Tomas Wolf.

The Venice Film Festival will close with the world premiere of J. A. Bayona’s Netflix survival thriller La Sociedad De La Nieve (Society Of The Snow).

The latest film from The Orphanage and The Impossible director charts the iconic true story of a 1970s rugby team whose plane crashes on a glacier in the Andes. The few passengers who survived the crash find themselves in one of the world’s toughest environments. The story was told by Frank Marshall in 1993 pic Alive.

The Out Of Competition screening will take place September 9 in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema after the awards ceremony.

Starring in the Spanish-language film are Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Esteban Kukuriczka and Tomas Wolf.

Pic is produced by Belén Atienza, Sandra Hermida and J.A. Bayona. Screenplay comes from J.A. Bayona, Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques and Nicolás Casariego from the novel by Pablo Vierci.

Director J.A. Bayona – whose credits include The Orphanage, The Impossible, A Monster Calls, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – has set up a Spanish-language thriller at the Netflix streaming service. Titled Society of the Snow, or La sociedad de la nieve, the film is an adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name, written by Pablo Vierci. The film is about the Uruguayan rugby team which, en route to Chile in 1972, crash-landed on a glacier in the heart of the Andes. The survivors were forced to resort to extreme measures in order to stay alive.

That is the same real-life event that director Frank Marshall brought to the screen with the 1993 film Alive, which was based on Piers Paul Read’s book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors.

Bayona wrote the screenplay for Society of the Snow with Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques, and Nicolás Casariego. The Hollywood Reporter notes...

Move over “Yellowjackets,” there’s a new survival thriller involving a plane crash and cannibalism in the works. THR reports today that J.A. Bayona is reteaming with his Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom composer, Michael Giacchino (The Batman), for Society of the Snow (La sociedad de la nieve), a Netflix Spanish-language thriller based on true events.

Society of the Snow will tell “the story of the Uruguayan rugby team which, en route to Chile in 1972, crash-landed on a glacier in the heart of the Andes. The survivors were forced to resort to extreme measures in order to stay alive.”

The true events that the survival thriller will be based on puts the emphasis on “extreme measures.” The chartered Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972 and resulted in grisly deaths and injuries. Weather conditions complicated search efforts and was called off altogether, forcing survivors to take extreme...