Bella Thorne, the star of “Shake It Up” and “Amityville Horror,” and Rebecca De Mornay, best known for “Risky Business” and “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” are at the Taormina Film Festival this week with Mitzi Peirone’s horror-thriller “Saint Clare,” which opened the Sicilian event. The actors and director spoke to Variety about how the film was inspired by Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who led the French army against the English invaders, and was burned to death at the stake.
“Saint Clare” tells the story of Clare Bleeker, a Catholic college student who has a knack of killing sexual predators. Peirone said: “Clare’s role model is Joan of Arc because she literally gave everything, herself included, to her mission. She says: The fire that burns inside of me is stronger than the fire around me, which is a great message. I think that having moral...
“Saint Clare” tells the story of Clare Bleeker, a Catholic college student who has a knack of killing sexual predators. Peirone said: “Clare’s role model is Joan of Arc because she literally gave everything, herself included, to her mission. She says: The fire that burns inside of me is stronger than the fire around me, which is a great message. I think that having moral...
- 7/16/2024
- by John Bleasdale
- Variety Film + TV
This post contains spoilers for "True Detective: Night Country."
The "True Detective: Night Country" corpsicle might just be the scariest thing on TV right now. We're three episodes into the chilling new season of HBO's bleak detective series, and the giant mass of frozen, terrified bodies only gets creepier with time. By now, the group of naked, dead scientists has mostly thawed out, dripping death all over the floor of a local hockey rink under the watchful, increasingly anxious eye of rookie cop Peter (Finn Bennett).
The corpsicle is clearly the horror centerpiece of "True Detective: Night Country," and the camera loves it. Each episode so far has been punctuated by close-up shots of the frozen faces of the doomed research team, and somehow, the jolt of adrenalized fear that accompanies the body horror reveal never quite wears off. In fact, the closer the group gets to a full thaw,...
The "True Detective: Night Country" corpsicle might just be the scariest thing on TV right now. We're three episodes into the chilling new season of HBO's bleak detective series, and the giant mass of frozen, terrified bodies only gets creepier with time. By now, the group of naked, dead scientists has mostly thawed out, dripping death all over the floor of a local hockey rink under the watchful, increasingly anxious eye of rookie cop Peter (Finn Bennett).
The corpsicle is clearly the horror centerpiece of "True Detective: Night Country," and the camera loves it. Each episode so far has been punctuated by close-up shots of the frozen faces of the doomed research team, and somehow, the jolt of adrenalized fear that accompanies the body horror reveal never quite wears off. In fact, the closer the group gets to a full thaw,...
- 1/29/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
There she is, stepping out from behind a screen and seen in glorious close-up: the vibrant red dress, the half-shadowed face, the untamed tangle of ginger hair. (We Stan an icon.) For the next half-hour, you’ll see Tilda Swinton’s spurned woman — she is merely referred to as “Woman” — shop for axes at a hardware store in Madrid, attack an empty suit on a bed, try on several gorgeous outfits, beg and plead for a lover’s return over the phone, hang out with a dog named Dash and...
- 4/30/2021
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) president Jc Acosta has used his virtual NATPE address to unveil the studio’s latest slate of content, spanning high-end drama series, TV movies, documentaries, and kids content.
Among the more eye-catching content announced by Jc Acosta was an action heist series, titled Electric Years, which Vis is co-producing with CBS Studios and LatAm production outfit Dynamo.
Created by Fernando Navarro (Veronica) and Cristian Conti (Wild District), the show is set in Europe during the Spring of 1968 throughout the student revolution. At the center of it all is Campano, a wanderer, daredevil, and an unlikely, anachronistic hero who journeys across the Mediterranean.
Acosta also pulled the curtain back on another development: The Gold. Written by Neil Forsyth, the screenwriter behind BBC series Guilt, the true-crime series tells the story of one of Britain’s most notorious criminal investigations.
Elsewhere, The Great and Tin Star scribe Vanessa Alexander...
Among the more eye-catching content announced by Jc Acosta was an action heist series, titled Electric Years, which Vis is co-producing with CBS Studios and LatAm production outfit Dynamo.
Created by Fernando Navarro (Veronica) and Cristian Conti (Wild District), the show is set in Europe during the Spring of 1968 throughout the student revolution. At the center of it all is Campano, a wanderer, daredevil, and an unlikely, anachronistic hero who journeys across the Mediterranean.
Acosta also pulled the curtain back on another development: The Gold. Written by Neil Forsyth, the screenwriter behind BBC series Guilt, the true-crime series tells the story of one of Britain’s most notorious criminal investigations.
Elsewhere, The Great and Tin Star scribe Vanessa Alexander...
- 1/21/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) has unveiled a new slate of projects tapping talents as diverse as “Guilt” writer-creator Neil Forsyth, “The Great” writer Vanessa Alexander, “Wild District” originator Cristian Conti and “High School Musical” writer Peter Barsocchini.
Underscoring Vis’ ambitions to play in the big league of international local content producer-distributors, both in production volume and breadth of content, Vis also confirmed its drive into documentary production, of both doc features and series, and unveiled its first four titles.
This year will, moreover, see Vis bow development and production of its first made-for-streaming movies and first content for Vis Kids, created last year.
Launched in 2018, Vis has proved one of the fastest-growing production powers on the Latin American and Latinx scene, signing first-look deals with Argentina’s Juan José Campanella, writer-director of the Oscar winning “The Secret in Their Eyes,” and Ariel Winograd, director of remake phenomenon “Ten Days Without Mom.
Underscoring Vis’ ambitions to play in the big league of international local content producer-distributors, both in production volume and breadth of content, Vis also confirmed its drive into documentary production, of both doc features and series, and unveiled its first four titles.
This year will, moreover, see Vis bow development and production of its first made-for-streaming movies and first content for Vis Kids, created last year.
Launched in 2018, Vis has proved one of the fastest-growing production powers on the Latin American and Latinx scene, signing first-look deals with Argentina’s Juan José Campanella, writer-director of the Oscar winning “The Secret in Their Eyes,” and Ariel Winograd, director of remake phenomenon “Ten Days Without Mom.
- 1/21/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
ViacomCBS International Studios is developing a TV series depicting the life of groundbreaking Spanish fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga with British director James Kent (“Testament of Youth”) on board to direct and Spain’s Frida Torresblanco to serve as executive producer.
Balenciaga was born in 1895 in Getaria, a fishing village in northern Spain, and moved to Paris in 1937 where he made his mark as an innovative master of haute couture revered by colleagues and contemporaries such as Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy and Coco Chanel.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Balenciaga reached the height of his career by unveiling previously unseen styles, fabrics and shapes, such as the tunic, the “baby doll” and shift dresses. Unlike many other designers, Balenciaga was very private and elusive, having given only two newspaper interviews during his 50-year career. On the day of his death, in 1972, Women’s Wear Daily ran the headline “The king is dead.
Balenciaga was born in 1895 in Getaria, a fishing village in northern Spain, and moved to Paris in 1937 where he made his mark as an innovative master of haute couture revered by colleagues and contemporaries such as Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy and Coco Chanel.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Balenciaga reached the height of his career by unveiling previously unseen styles, fabrics and shapes, such as the tunic, the “baby doll” and shift dresses. Unlike many other designers, Balenciaga was very private and elusive, having given only two newspaper interviews during his 50-year career. On the day of his death, in 1972, Women’s Wear Daily ran the headline “The king is dead.
- 12/3/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
ViacomCBS International Studios is developing a series on Spanish fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga and has attached Testament Of Youth director James Kent to helm and Pan’s Labyrinth producer Frida Torresblanco to executive produce.
Written by Rebecca Pollock and Kas Graham, the project — which is slated to shoot in 2021 — will depict the life of Balenciaga, who helped lead a revolution in fashion, with his precision and perfectionism earning him the admiration of contemporaries, including Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, and Coco Chanel.
In 1917, at the age of 22, he established his first fashion house in San Sebastian, and later opened fashion houses in Madrid and Barcelona, before moving to Paris in 1937, where his work won the admiration of an influential cosmopolitan clientele. In the 1950s, Balenciaga unveiled never-before-seen styles and shapes, which were considered radical designs at the time.
Torresblanco said: “I have long admired the genius of the greatest Spanish fashion designer in history.
Written by Rebecca Pollock and Kas Graham, the project — which is slated to shoot in 2021 — will depict the life of Balenciaga, who helped lead a revolution in fashion, with his precision and perfectionism earning him the admiration of contemporaries, including Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, and Coco Chanel.
In 1917, at the age of 22, he established his first fashion house in San Sebastian, and later opened fashion houses in Madrid and Barcelona, before moving to Paris in 1937, where his work won the admiration of an influential cosmopolitan clientele. In the 1950s, Balenciaga unveiled never-before-seen styles and shapes, which were considered radical designs at the time.
Torresblanco said: “I have long admired the genius of the greatest Spanish fashion designer in history.
- 12/3/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
ViacomCBS International Studios is setting its sights on Southern Europe, with company execs outlining their plans for the region at Rome’s Mia market on Saturday.
“South Europe is a focus for us right now. We have quite a strong lineup in development in Spain right now, and Italy to us is our next big priority,” said ViacomCBS International Studios senior vice president Laura Abril, who heads the company’s Emeaa team in Spain.
The company announced last week that it is developing a TV series based on the life of the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi with producer Frida Torresblanco, with whom it has a first-look deal. Former ViacomCBS International Studios U.K. managing director Jill Offman is also attached as an executive producer. Gentileschi was one of the most acclaimed painters of the Baroque period, and would later become an icon of the modern-day feminist movement. The series is...
“South Europe is a focus for us right now. We have quite a strong lineup in development in Spain right now, and Italy to us is our next big priority,” said ViacomCBS International Studios senior vice president Laura Abril, who heads the company’s Emeaa team in Spain.
The company announced last week that it is developing a TV series based on the life of the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi with producer Frida Torresblanco, with whom it has a first-look deal. Former ViacomCBS International Studios U.K. managing director Jill Offman is also attached as an executive producer. Gentileschi was one of the most acclaimed painters of the Baroque period, and would later become an icon of the modern-day feminist movement. The series is...
- 10/17/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
ViacomCBS Intl. Studios Unveils its First Animated Series: ’Gloria Wants to Know It All’ (Exclusive)
ViacomCBS Intl. Studios (Vis), the fast expanding international content production arm of ViacomCBS, is driving for the first time into animation, partnering with Marc Anthony and Argentina’s Juan José Campanella, writer-director of the Academy Award winning “The Secret in Their Eyes.”
First up is a development deal on animated series “Gloria Wants to Know It All,” alongside Anthony’s Mangnus Studios, Campanella’s Mundoloco Animation Studios in Buenos Aires and Miami-based Laguna Media, co-founded by Carla Curiel and a family entertainment company committed to creating culturally relevant content promoting diversity.
Targeting pre-school children, “Gloria Wants to Know It All” turns on Gloria, an eight-year-old alpaca from the big city. Vacationing at her grandfather’s house in Pueblo Lanugo, described by Vis in a statement as “an incredible small town that is a vibrant example of the richness of Latin American culture,” Gloria discovers that there’s a huge amount to learn and,...
First up is a development deal on animated series “Gloria Wants to Know It All,” alongside Anthony’s Mangnus Studios, Campanella’s Mundoloco Animation Studios in Buenos Aires and Miami-based Laguna Media, co-founded by Carla Curiel and a family entertainment company committed to creating culturally relevant content promoting diversity.
Targeting pre-school children, “Gloria Wants to Know It All” turns on Gloria, an eight-year-old alpaca from the big city. Vacationing at her grandfather’s house in Pueblo Lanugo, described by Vis in a statement as “an incredible small town that is a vibrant example of the richness of Latin American culture,” Gloria discovers that there’s a huge amount to learn and,...
- 10/13/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Eccho Rights to represent select Sony Pictures Television titles; ViacomCBS commissions Artemesia Gentileschi series; Channel 4 revives “Changing Rooms”; and Cake sells “Tish Tash.”
Sweden-based global distributor Eccho Rights has agreed an exclusive representation deal with Sony Pictures Television that includes 15 titles from all over the world.
The titles that are part of this deal are “Leverage” (South Korea), “Crane in the Sky,” “Midwives” (Russia), “Friday on My Mind,” “Love Child” (Australia), “Hugo El Comandante,” “Isa Tkm,” “Isa Tk+,” “Lady La Vendedora de Rosas,” “Los Caballeros Las Prefieren Brutas,” “Metastasis,” “Manual Para Galanes,” “Rosario Tijeras,” “La Guzman” (Colombia) and “Rosario Tijeras” (Mexico).
Brendan Fitzgerald, senior VP international co-production, Sony Pictures Television, said: “Eccho Rights has a stellar reputation for their specialized distribution of local-language content from all over the world. We see them as a terrific complement to our existing distribution activity in certain territories to further bring our local-language productions to a wider audience.
Sweden-based global distributor Eccho Rights has agreed an exclusive representation deal with Sony Pictures Television that includes 15 titles from all over the world.
The titles that are part of this deal are “Leverage” (South Korea), “Crane in the Sky,” “Midwives” (Russia), “Friday on My Mind,” “Love Child” (Australia), “Hugo El Comandante,” “Isa Tkm,” “Isa Tk+,” “Lady La Vendedora de Rosas,” “Los Caballeros Las Prefieren Brutas,” “Metastasis,” “Manual Para Galanes,” “Rosario Tijeras,” “La Guzman” (Colombia) and “Rosario Tijeras” (Mexico).
Brendan Fitzgerald, senior VP international co-production, Sony Pictures Television, said: “Eccho Rights has a stellar reputation for their specialized distribution of local-language content from all over the world. We see them as a terrific complement to our existing distribution activity in certain territories to further bring our local-language productions to a wider audience.
- 10/9/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
ViacomCBS International Studios has announced that it is developing a TV series based on the life of Italian female artist Artemisia Gentileschi, who is considered to be one of the most accomplished painters in the Baroque period.
ViacomCBS International Studios has attached Pan’s Labyrinth producer Frida Torresblanco to develop the project, while former ViacomCBS International Studios UK managing director Jill Offman is also involved through her new outfit 66 Media. Both will serve as executive producers.
Currently in development and slated to begin production in 2021, ViacomCBS International Studios said the project will be the first TV series to depict Gentileschi, who was known for her violent, seductive autobiographical portraits and later became a figure of the modern-day feminist movement.
The series will be based on Mary Garrard’s non-fiction academic text, Artemisia Gentileschi: The Image of the Female Hero in Italian Baroque Art, which includes 400-year old transcripts of the...
ViacomCBS International Studios has attached Pan’s Labyrinth producer Frida Torresblanco to develop the project, while former ViacomCBS International Studios UK managing director Jill Offman is also involved through her new outfit 66 Media. Both will serve as executive producers.
Currently in development and slated to begin production in 2021, ViacomCBS International Studios said the project will be the first TV series to depict Gentileschi, who was known for her violent, seductive autobiographical portraits and later became a figure of the modern-day feminist movement.
The series will be based on Mary Garrard’s non-fiction academic text, Artemisia Gentileschi: The Image of the Female Hero in Italian Baroque Art, which includes 400-year old transcripts of the...
- 10/9/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Pedro Almodóvar has concocted a delicious short film despite the obstacles of filming during the Covid crisis. Clocking in at just 30 minutes, The Human Voice is an amuse bouche, whetting the palate and reminding viewers what a feast cinemagoing can be.
The drama is a monologue, loosely adapted from Jean Cocteau’s play of the same name, featuring a woman on the phone to a man she has been with for years and who has left her. Perhaps in homage to the play, Almodóvar has maintained a theatrical element: we see Tilda Swinton in a studio, the back of the set behind her. At one point the director films the action from above, from where we look down on the woman’s ‘apartment’ and at another we see earthenware being hurled from a balcony only for it to smash onto the studio floor. This popping in and out of the...
The drama is a monologue, loosely adapted from Jean Cocteau’s play of the same name, featuring a woman on the phone to a man she has been with for years and who has left her. Perhaps in homage to the play, Almodóvar has maintained a theatrical element: we see Tilda Swinton in a studio, the back of the set behind her. At one point the director films the action from above, from where we look down on the woman’s ‘apartment’ and at another we see earthenware being hurled from a balcony only for it to smash onto the studio floor. This popping in and out of the...
- 9/4/2020
- by Jo-Ann Titmarsh
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The annual Frigid Festival has once again made its welcome return to New York City's East VIllage. Split between the Kraine Theater and Under St. Mark's, Frigid features indie plays of no more than an hour, and all proceeds from ticket sales go directly to the artists. The productions are nothing if not wide-ranging, from solo shows dealing with addiction to a dark rom-com played out against the zombie apocalypse to a feminist exploration of tentacle erotica. While we will be discussing only a regrettably small fraction of what Frigid has to offer (a pair of plays here and another pair in a post to follow), information on the 29 plays and something like 150 total individual performances can be found on Frigid New York's website: http://www.horsetrade.info/frigid-festival-df84.
Artemisia's Intent Devised by Mariah Freda, Irina Kuraeva, Brianna Kalisch, Melissa Moschitto, and Lynde Rosario Direction and script by Melissa Moschitto...
Artemisia's Intent Devised by Mariah Freda, Irina Kuraeva, Brianna Kalisch, Melissa Moschitto, and Lynde Rosario Direction and script by Melissa Moschitto...
- 2/22/2018
- by Leah Richards
- www.culturecatch.com
Second #56, 43:52
The implied violence before the explicit violence, as the patterns and objects of Dorothy’s apartment have settled into a merciless, strict formalism. The fact of Dorothy’s bare leg, the tenderness of her foot upon the carpeting, sets a machine in motion somewhere. In his monumental, multi-volume work Rising Up and Rising Down, William T. Vollmann explains his reasons for exploring violence in such calculus-like detail: “I wanted to find a base point beneath which we couldn’t go—the ‘floor’ of evil. I could then note that the fall would not be bottomless. I might hit it and die from the distance but at least I wouldn’t fall forever” (Vol. 1, p. 292).
Like a painted-over painting, something lurks behind the image of Frank and Dorothy. It is, perhaps, an act of time-reversed violence, like finding—beneath a baroque pastoral oil painting with soft clouds and gentle...
The implied violence before the explicit violence, as the patterns and objects of Dorothy’s apartment have settled into a merciless, strict formalism. The fact of Dorothy’s bare leg, the tenderness of her foot upon the carpeting, sets a machine in motion somewhere. In his monumental, multi-volume work Rising Up and Rising Down, William T. Vollmann explains his reasons for exploring violence in such calculus-like detail: “I wanted to find a base point beneath which we couldn’t go—the ‘floor’ of evil. I could then note that the fall would not be bottomless. I might hit it and die from the distance but at least I wouldn’t fall forever” (Vol. 1, p. 292).
Like a painted-over painting, something lurks behind the image of Frank and Dorothy. It is, perhaps, an act of time-reversed violence, like finding—beneath a baroque pastoral oil painting with soft clouds and gentle...
- 12/19/2011
- by Nicholas Rombes
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
True Blood has a new vampire in its midst — and I have a feeling she's going to be very popular.
That tuxedoed Italian beauty is Valentina Cervi, who's joining True Blood in Season 5 as a series regular. According to TV Line, Cervi will play Salome, "an ancient vampire who is a world class seductress and fiercely intelligent." She is also a tiny bit mad. And although she is quite powerful, she is able to hide her abilities when she wants.
If Cervi looks familiar to you, you're probably a fan of foreign language cinema. Her best-known role is as Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the world's first female painters whose work remains well known today, in the controversial French film, Artemisia. (She learned to speak French for the part.)
Americans may recognize her from Jane Campion's Portrait of a Lady, in which she played Pansy Osmond. More recently, she guest...
That tuxedoed Italian beauty is Valentina Cervi, who's joining True Blood in Season 5 as a series regular. According to TV Line, Cervi will play Salome, "an ancient vampire who is a world class seductress and fiercely intelligent." She is also a tiny bit mad. And although she is quite powerful, she is able to hide her abilities when she wants.
If Cervi looks familiar to you, you're probably a fan of foreign language cinema. Her best-known role is as Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the world's first female painters whose work remains well known today, in the controversial French film, Artemisia. (She learned to speak French for the part.)
Americans may recognize her from Jane Campion's Portrait of a Lady, in which she played Pansy Osmond. More recently, she guest...
- 11/17/2011
- by the linster
- AfterEllen.com
Forget movies about art as you’ve seen them before. Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ellen Weissbrod takes a compellingly intimate tack in her look at the convention-busting 17th-century artist Artemisia Gentileschi, who was trained by her father, Orazio, a renowned follower of Caravaggio, and still, to this day, finds her work both celebrated for its distinctive spirit and artistry and simultaneously challenged: No woman could have done such beautiful work, too many argue, so it must have been done by a man. Weissbrod blends her own experience as an artist with Gentileschi’s -- via the testimony of art experts and Gentileschi’s own words in documents from her time -- to create an extraordinary synthesis that is part art appreciation, part personal diary, and all very moving and powerfully revealing about what it means to be a woman alive in the world, today and four hundred years ago. Taking direct...
- 3/3/2011
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
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