News

Mexico City-based Endemol Shine Boomdog (Esb), the Spanish-language division of Banijay Americas, has tapped veteran Latin American TV producer-executive Frank Scheuermann for the position of senior VP and head of unscripted.

Scheuermann was most recently head of Mexico for Alibi Films where he oversaw production and served as co-executive producer on hit local adaptations of reality series. These included “Bake Off Mexico” for HBO Max, “Inseparables” (“Power Couple”) for Televisa and “Quien es la Mascara?” (“The Masked Singer”) for Canal Rcn, Colombia.

Prior to that, he built solid experience in unscripted production as head of non-scripted formats for Televisa (Mexico) and Teleset/Sony (Colombia). He was also head of development and production in Latin America for Keshet International.

Scheuermann also produced a slew of other top-rated unscripted series in Mexico, Colombia and across the region, including “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” “Shark Tank,” “X-Factor” and “Survivor.” At Televisa, he...

Mexico City-based fledgling studio Endemol Shine Boomdog is launching its first-ever Upfront presentation in February as it continues to ramp up production and forge key pacts with top talent.

Spearheading its presentation during the week of Feb. 15-19 is a new, contemporary version of the wildly popular classic Spanish game show “El Gran Juego de la Oca” (“The Great Game of the Goose”) and the Gastón Pavlovich-produced drama series, “Antonieta,” based on the life of early 1900s Mexican writer, arts patron and social activist Antonieta Rivas Mercado. Rivas Mercado has been the subject of various works of art, including an opera, a telenovela, a novel and a 1982 film by Spain’s Carlos Saura starring Isabel Adjani.

Boomdog is also set to present new projects from actress/producer Kate Del Castillo and her Endemol Shine-housed Cholawood, as well as projects with actress-comedian Mara Escalante.

“Over the last year, we...

The Chicago Indie Critics announced their nominees Saturday for the group’s fourth annual film awards, with Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women leading with eight nominations, including Best Studio Film and Best Director.

Following next with seven nominations each were The Irishman, Marriage Story, 1917, and Parasite.

Winners will be announced on January 4, at the Cards Against Humanity Theater in Chicago. Stand-up comedian and former film critic Katie Baker is set to host the ceremony, which will stream live on YouTube.

In 2016, the legendary Italian-American filmmaker Martin Scorsese managed to release Silence, a highly personal project that took him more than 25 years to complete. It's no secret that the key producer in the culmination of this effort was Gastón Pavlovich, who was subsequently invited by Scorsese himself to collaborate on his next feature. Eventually, Scorsese decided to direct the adaptation of Charles Brandt's book I Heard You Paint Houses, which is based on a series of interviews with Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, a working-class and family man, World War II veteran, member of the Teamsters truckers union, and also part of organized crime. The Irishman is an epic film of remembrance, with which Scorsese returns to the gangster cinema and to several of his favorite...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Los Cabos — Netflix is proving a boon to documentary creation in Mexico. That boon has not yet yielded a fully-fledged boom. The U.S. streaming giant has just released the first results of its documentary drive. The build in cinematic standard non-fiction works in, however, palpable, the biggest case in point to date, Diego Osorno’s milestone doc series “1994,” produced by Netflix and Vice Studios Latin America.

Osorno’s masterclass on “1994” proves one of the highlights of the 2019 Los Cabos Festival.

The rise of the documentary is also related to “superficiality” social media. Osorno said in his masterclass. “You go on Twitter” and massacre in Kenia, rebellion in Bolivia, slaughter in Chihuahua an you see 140 characters and think you’re keeping up to date with the new, but you don’t go into any event,” he said.

“People are seeking out non-fiction works and documentaries to understand what we thought...

Mexico City — A crossroads for the film industries of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, Los Cabos Intl. Film Festival opens its doors on Wednesday, Nov. 13 with a lineup which takes on board hot-button issues – gender, violence in Mexico, the impact of global platforms – as the Festival consolidates its status as a Mexican new talent platform. 10 Takes on the 2019 edition:

1.Robert De Niro, Gaston Pavlovich And ’The Irishman’

Robert De Niro will attend Los Cabos’ Film Festival’s Opening Ceremony on Wednesday for a gala screening of “The Irishman.” The movie’s presence at Los Cabos can be seen as part thanks to its cinematographer. Mexico’s Rodrigo Prieto, and above all to its Mexican producer, Gastón Pavlovich. Already producer of Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,” who stuck with “The Irishman,” through thick and thin as it turned from a Paramount/Stx movie to an Oscar-contending Netflix original.

2.Buzzy Projects

Of Mexican titles,...

Through his production company Fabrica De Cine, Gastón Pavlovich is one of the producers on Martin Scorsese’s two most recent movies: 2016’s “Silence” and 2019’s “The Irishman.” The 51-year-old native of Mexico first gained notice as an executive producer on the Tom Hanks comedy-drama “A Hologram for the King.” Pavlovich also began working with Scorsese on “Silence” in Taiwan in 2015. During that time, Scorsese expressed his gratitude to Pavlovich for backing “Silence” and promised he would be a producer on his next project, which turned out to be “The Irishman.” At the American Film Market, Pavlovich discussed his relationship with Scorsese, Netflix and the future of world cinema.

Why did you decide to back “Silence”?

“Silence” was a very complicated project for Hollywood. My first conversation with Marty was a very deep conversation about faith and film, a very human conversation. We knew “Silence” was a risky project and...

Place to avoid during the market?

The lobby of the Lowes. And probably the pier as well.

Most "Afm" thing to happen to you at the market?

Being kicked out of the lobby of the Lowes for not having a badge!

What’s the best "worst" project you’ve seen on offer at Afm?

THR’s Movie Posters feature used to sum it up. Attack of the Ledderhosen, Zombie Cheerleader Camp and Fresh Meat were standouts.

Your hidden-gem restaurant or bar in West Los Angeles?

I love Capo for a nice dinner, but unfortunately it’s not very hidden. Tar ...

Vertical Entertainment to release in North America.

The Us District Court for the Central District of California has ruled in favour of Voltage Pictures and thrown out a copyright infringement case concerning The Professor And The Madman starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn.

Writer-director Farhad Safinia, who wrote a revision in 2007 of a 2001 screenplay, brought a suit in which he claimed he had signed an agreement with an affiliate of Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions to write the screenplay and that all work he performed related to the film would constitute a “work made for hire” under the Us Copyright Act.

Exclusive: The Mel Gibson-Sean Penn period film The Professor and the Madman will be getting a theatrical release with Vertical Entertainment after the distributor took U.S. rights to the Voltage Pictures production. A theatrical release is planned for the second quarter of this year.

Gibson and his Icon Productions had tried to block the release of the movie, which is based on Simon Winchester’s book about the origins of the Oxford English Dictionary. This was spurred by a disagreement with Voltage CEO Nicolas Chartier over the pic’s shooting location. Gibson and director Farhad Safinia wanted key scenes shot in Oxford, England instead of Trinity College in Dublin. Voltage argued the pic was already over budget and behind schedule, with Gibson and Safinia reportedly walking off the pic.

In the movie Gibson plays Professor James Murray and Penn portrays William Minor, an asylum inmate. Together they...

Two of Mexico’s most respected women film executives Alejandra Paulín and Maru Garzón, have been named joint heads of the country’s Los Cabos Intl. Film Festival, one of Latin America’s fastest-growing film events. Paulín will serve as executive director and Garzón as artistic director.

The appointments were announced Thursday by Los Cabos president Eduardo Sánchez Navarro and Alfonso Pasquel, president of Los Cabos Arte y Cultura A.C.

Paulín and Garzón replace Hugo Villa, Los Cabos Festival director at last year’s edition but named in February as director of Mexico’s Unam Filmoteca, a key national cinematheque.

Garzón and Paulín’s new joint leadership recognizes their role in the build of Los Cabos, launched as recently as 2012, as a key – as well as highly enjoyable – event working an ever more dynamic U.S.-Mexico-Canada movie axis. Both already held top jobs at Los Cabos, Garzón as programming director,...

Martin Scorsese is currently filming his upcoming gangster movie “The Irishman” in and around New York City with a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Ray Romano, but the answer as to whether or not audiences will get to see the film on the big screen still remains open-ended. Netflix is still refusing to confirm or deny “The Irishman” will be getting a theatrical release. “It’s premature to say anything at this point,” Netflix’s head of film publicity Julie Fontaine recently told Variety.

Read More:‘The Irishman’: 9 Things You Must Know About Martin Scorsese’s $100 Million ‘Goodfellas’ Reunion

Considering Scorsese is an outspoken proponent of theatrical exhibition, it’s surprising the streaming giant is refusing to confirm a theatrical release for the movie. Sources close to production say the negotiation between Scorsese’s team and Netflix resulted in a commitment from the...

Author: Zehra Phelan

If anyone can sway Joe Pesci to hang up his retirement hat, Martin Scorsese can. It has now been confirmed that Pesci will join his Goodfella’s co-star Robert De Niro on the cast of Scorsese’s The Irishman.

Talks reveal that Al Pacino is also close to finalising a deal while both Harvey Keitel and Bobby Cannavale are thrashing out a deal to jump on board the picture which focuses on the story of the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, an American labour union leader and author who served as the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union from 1958 until 1971.

Adapted by Steve Zaillian from Charles Brandt’s no I Heard You Paint House, De Niro joins the cast as Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran, a mob hitman whose illustrious career is today best known for a supposed involvement in the death of Jimmy Hoffa. Pesci will play Russell Bufalino,...

Last year, the biggest Cannes deal saw Stx Entertainment plunk down $50 million for foreign rights to Martin Scorsese's mob epic The Irishman, beating out Fox and Universal in a bidding war. Fast-forward 12 months, and that film may continue to dominate the conversation at the market this year. That's because in February, The Irishman financier Gaston Pavlovich opted out of the Stx pact in favor of a worldwide deal with Netflix — a move that has implications for European distributors (Netflix forgoes a traditional theatrical release and instead launches directly to its subscribers).

"The Irishman will remain a talking...

Streaming giant takes significant stride with long-anticipated hire of former Universal production chief.

When Scott Stuber assumes his new role as head of Netflix’s original film initiative in a month or so, the film industry will be watching closely.

The streaming giant has spooked the industry for several years now with headline-grabbing plays like the $12.5m Sundance acquisition of Us and multiple territories on Oscar bait Mudbound, and earlier out-of-festival buys on the likes of War Machine and Bright.

Yet despite a world-class TV pipeline and Oscar-nominated documentaries, the original film business has not earned the same level of acclaim.

Chief content officer Ted Sarandos knew it was time to act.

“Netflix wants to [compete with the] studios in production and attract more stars, producers and directors who can deliver high-quality content,” says entertainment business analyst Hal Vogel.

To do this, the streaming service brought in Stuber, whose tenure as former Universal vice-chairman of worldwide production encompassed the Fast...

As the film-business-crowds move through meetings designed to meet all sorts of movie-related objectives in this vast mix of people, and the movie-going public lines up for films in the Competition, Out-of-Competition, Panorama, Forum and Retrospectives; and families attend the Generation series, some for kindergarteners and others for preteens and some for those 14 and up, and as the constant exchange of ideas continues, there is lots of buzz, mostly positive about the Hungarian Competition film “On Body and Soul”.“On Body and Soul” by Ildikó Enyedi

Buzz continues the next day both pro and con about Oren Moverman’s Competition film, “The Dinner” which is definitely a must-see for each to decide on one’s own response to it. As Scott Roxborough in The Hollywood Reporter says, it “looks like just the political dish the times demand.” Produced by Caldecot Chubb, the script was originally to be written by Moverman for Cate Blanchett to direct.

The finance plan for Martin Scorsese’s mob story remains unclear.

Independent distributors contacted by Screen have called reports that Netflix has bought worldwide rights to Martin Scorsese’s upcoming crime-drama The Irishman “fake news” amid ongoing confusion over the film’s finance plan.

Reports surfaced in Us media two days ago that Netflix was negotiating a full finance deal for the film, something subsequently confirmed to Screen by insiders close to the project.

Following Us reports then claimed that a deal had been reached amid conjecture that producer Gaston Pavlovich could be fishing for a bigger budget for the film (and a smaller personal stake) due to its supposed escalating cost (reportedly north of $100m).

It remained unclear at time of writing whether Pavlovich, who financed a major portion of Scorsese’s Silence, intends to play a part in financing The Irishman or wants Netflix to bear the burden.

However, reports...

Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” is ready to go, right? The film was all set to be financed by Mexican producer Gaston Pavlovich‘s Fábrica de Cine, with distributors lined up worldwide to release the movie. But things took a massive shift this week when the project was repackaged and an industry-shaking, sound-the-alarm deal with Netflix was made to release the film worldwide on the streaming channel (a day after the filmmaker knocked the idea of watching films on TV, the exact domain of Netflix).

Continue reading Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ Could Get Caught In Legal Crosshairs at The Playlist.

Martin Scorcese's powerful religious film, following the Catholic church's mission to instill Christianity in Fuedal Japan, Silence is coming out this March! Come inside to find out how you can get your hands on it early.

One of the biggest snubs of this year's Academy Awards, Silence, is making its way to digital and blu-ray, merely 3 months after being on the big screen. The Martin Scorsese religious feature, starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson will arrive on Blu-Ray on March 28th, but for audiences who can't wait that long the Digital HD version will be available March 14th.

Understandably, there aren't many added features for the Blu-Ray/Digital copy of Silence. If you haven't seen the movie, there really isn't much of a need for an alternate ending, deleted scenes, bloopers, or anything of the sort. Instead, the only new content will stem from a...

Stars align as streaming giant eyes its latest notable acquisition target.

In what was shaping up on Tuesday night to be a significant development, the digital titan was understood to be closing in on Martin Scorsese’s upcoming mob feature.

According to insiders, Netflix is negotiating to acquire worldwide rights to The Irishman in a deal believed to be in the $100m range.

It is understood the budget has shot up as Scorsese plans to use costly effects to render a younger version of his cast, which includes old collaborator Robert De Niro.

Stx International reportedly paid $50m last summer for international sales rights, while Paramount currently holds Us rights.

However the studio’s leadership issues may have weakened its hand, and disappointing Us box office on Scorsese’s erstwhile awards hope Silence will have given Netflix further ammunition in a bid for all rights.

Furthermore the role of Gaston Pavlovich, the film’s...

Stars align as streaming giant eyes its latest notable acquisition target.

In what was shaping up on Tuesday night to be a significant development, the digital titan was understood to be closing in on Martin Scorsese’s upcoming mob feature.

According to insiders, Netflix is negotiating to acquire worldwide rights to The Irishman in a deal believed to be in the $100m range.

It is understood the budget has shot up as Scorsese plans to use costly effects to render a younger version of his cast, which includes old collaborator Robert De Niro.

Stx International reportedly paid $50m last summer for international sales rights, while Paramount currently holds Us rights.

However the studio’s leadership issues may have weakened its hand, and disappointing Us box office on Scorsese’s erstwhile awards hope Silence will have given Netflix further ammunition in a bid for all rights.

Furthermore the role of Gaston Pavlovich, the film’s...

Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, starring Robert De Niro, might be heading to Netflix, which apparently offered $105M for a full buyout of the film this afternoon after its Mexican financier, Gaston Pavlovich of Fabrica de Cine fell out, two sources involved with the project told Deadline. Meanwhile, it is known that Stx already had signed agreements with all output partners to the tune of $50M, with about $40M more accumulated in tax credits and incentives. The…...

Warner Bros. talking to Gibson about replacing David Ayer, according to reports.

Mel Gibson is in early talks to direct Suicide Squad 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Other directors reportedly in the frame to replace David Ayer for the DC sequel include Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) and Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies).

The first Suicide Squad received mostly negative reviews, but still made $745m at the global box office and has been fast-tracked for a sequel.

Mel Gibson, beset by personal problems in the last decade, has made a comeback with his new film Hacksaw Ridge, which has been nominated for six Oscars and made $164m worldwide.

He has several upcoming projects including a starring role in police thriller Dragged Across Concrete alongside Vince Vaughn, with Bloom launching pre-sales on the film at this year’s Efm.

As Screen reported, Mexican producer-financier Gaston Pavlovich is backing another upcoming Gibson film, The Professor And The Madman co-starring...

Exclusive: The Professor And The Madman is also set to star Sean Penn.

Fabrica de Cine chief Gaston Pavlovich, the Mexican producer-financier behind Silence, has come on board The Professor And The Madman starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn.

Fabrica is co-financing and co-producing the drama with the film’s international sales agent Voltage Pictures.

Gibson plays James Murray, who oversaw the compilation of the first Oxford English Dictionary in the 19th century, while Penn portrays Dr. William Chester Minor, an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane who submitted thousands of entries.

Pavlovich financed Martin Scorsese’s drama Silence with AI Film and Im Global licensed international territories on the period drama starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Brody and Liam Neeson.

The Mexican is also backing Scorsese’s upcoming mob drama The Irishman, which is going through Paramount in the Us and Stx International on international sales.

Fabrica de Cine’s slate includes Jennifer Morrison’s [link...

That picture above is Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II. According to producer Gaston Pavlovich, that's exactly the De Niro you can expect to see in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film The Irishman. An interview with the producer by Cinemablend has revealed the studio has plans to "digitally de-age" De Niro in a tale that spans throughout the lifetime of real-life mafia hitman Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran. 

Apparently, the studio has already performed screen tests and were confident enough in the results that they would rather go this route than cast a young actor in the earlier part of the film. All I know is it better be a step above what they did with Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy. That CGI wasn't terrible, but there were still some sections where it was more than apparent it was not a real actor in the shot. 

I guess it'll...

Robert De Niro previously spoke out about the “Benjamin Button”-type technology that Martin Scorsese would experiment with for his upcoming film “The Irishman.” The actor told Empire last year that there would be “sections, earlier periods in the film,” where they would make him and the other actors appear younger than they are.

Now, in a new interview with Cinema Blend, producer Gastón Pavlovich has confirmed that they are still exploring new technology to de-age De Niro.

“Well, it’s an extraordinary technology that we’ve been looking at. You don’t use prosthetics, make-up, they have acting and the technology is able to have them go through different time ages without the prosthetics. So we’ve seen some tests and it looks extraordinary,” Pavlovich explained. “We were able to film Bob and just do a scene, and we saw it come down to when he was like 20, 40, 60, so...

Just in time for awards season this year, acclaimed director and master filmmaker Martin Scorsese unleashes the first trailer for Silence, the story of two Christian missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson), at a time when christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden.

Andrew Garfield (of Amazing Spider-Man fame) and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren in Star Wars 7) play the two Jesuit priests in Slience, they are also joined by Liam Neeson who plays mentor to the pair. Recently, Paramount Pictures slated the movie for release on December 23 which would just barely make the cut-off date requirement for awards consideration. It's safe to bet that Silence will be a great cinematic endeavor as Martin Scorsese is known for his own unique visual style and remarkable skill as a storyteller.

Martin Scorsese's Silence stars Andrew Garfield,...

Paramount has as expected set an awards qualifying run for Martin Scorsese’s passion project and anticipated Oscar season heavy-hitter starring Andrew Garfield.

Silence will open in limited release on December 23, day-and-date with Japan through Kadokawa and Australia via Transmission. It will expand in the Us in January 2017 and roll out across Europe in January and February 2017.

The Oscar-winning director has attempted to make the film for many years and it finally began to move forward when Im Global brought Scorsese to Cannes to launch sales in May 2013.

Mexican producer Gaston Pavlovich’s Fabrica de Cine provided lead financing alongside AI Film and executive producer Dale A. Brown of Sharpsword Films. The producers are Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Barbara Defina, Vittorio Cecchi Gori and Irwin Winkler. Im Global founder Stuart Ford is among the executive producers.

The story centres on a pair of 17th century Portuguese missionaries who travel to Japan during the brutal...

Variety’s Brent Lang reports that Martin Scorsese’s Silence, produced by Gaston Pavlovich of Fabrica de Cine, with get a December 23 release date. We’ve all been factoring in...

Martin Scorsese‘s “Silence” will be getting an awards-season run. The film will open limited on December 23, 2016, and then go wide in January 2017. “Silence” is a historic drama based on the novel by Shūsaku Endō. It is produced by Scorsese, Paul Breuls, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Barbara De Fina, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Gaston Pavlovich and Irwin Winkler. Dale A. Brown of Sharpsword Films serves as an executive producer on the film. Also Read: Martin Scorsese Hopes to 'Direct a Few More' Episodes of 'Vinyl' The script was adapted by Scorsese and Jay Cocks, and the movie stars Andrew Garfield,...

Stx’s $50m play, Amazon Studios’ charm offensive and other takeaways from this year’s market.

The sunlight at the recent Cannes Film Festival may have confounded early forecasts of interminable rain but the outlook for the film business remains stormy.

While several Us companies with points to prove strutted their stuff and international buyers circled must-have titles, the struggle to survive in a dynamic post-2008 landscape remains the most urgent narrative.

That was reflected in a Croisette that seemed quieter than usual, although attendees responded to opportunities when they arose. Market attendance was up year-on-year by several points according to Jerome Paillard, executive director of the Marche du Film, although there was anecdotal evidence of several companies sending leaner teams.

The paucity of foot traffic seemed to indicate that the threat of terror attacks had weighed heavily on the mind of tourists, who by and large stayed away - although to what extent it was not...

One of the big deals to come out of Cannes over the weekend revolved around Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. With financing for the film secured, as Gaston Pavlovich's Fabrica de Cine and Stx Entertainment partnered up to foot the project's $100 million budget, it seemed like we were on the road to reunion with Scorsese once again getting together with Robert De... Read More...

The ambitious studio has scored one of the coups of the market, beating off intense competition to secure international rights to Martin Scorsese’s red hot upcoming crime drama starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

Gaston Pavlovich’s Fabrica de Cine came on last week to fully finance and produce The Irishman, which will mark his second collaboration with Scorsese after Silence.

The film marks a coup for Stx Entertainment as it continues to assemble a heavyweight slate for incoming international president David Kosse to worth with alongside president of international sales John Friedberg. Universal and Fox were among the studios bidding for the international piece on The Irishman, and there was interest from several leading sales agents.

Kosse and Friedberg played a key role in bringing in the project. Kosse acquired international rights to Scorsese’s 2013 The Wolf Of Wall Street when he and Stx Entertainment chairman of the motion picture group Adam Fogelson were at...

Screen rounds up the films from across the globe that could launch at Cannes…

With less than a month to go until the Cannes Film Festival announces its line-up at its annual Paris press conference on April 14, Screen looks at what could make it into Official Selection and the parallel sections of Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week.

UK and Ireland

The UK could have one of its strongest Cannes for years with hot favourites for a competition slot including Andrea Arnold’s Shia Labeouf-starring Us road movie American Honey and Ken Loach’s gritty Northern England-set drama I, Daniel Blake. It would be Loach’s 12th time in competition.

Ben Wheatley is also reportedly gunning for an Official Selection slot for his 1970s Boston-set, gangland thriller Free Fire, potentially Out of Competition or in Midnight Screenings. He was last in Cannes with Sightseers in Directors’ Fortnight.

Other UK hopefuls include Stephen Frears’ Florence Foster Jenkins and Indian...

Former Soviet President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev is to be the subject of a biopic from Fábrica de Cine and Cinema for Peace. Mexico City- and La-based Fabrica de Cine recently produced Martin Scorsese's Silence which Paramount is releasing. It's headed by Gaston Pavlovich who is a producer on Silence and has also worked with Gorbachev in Latin America. Gorbachev has given his consent to the producers for a feature film about the glasnost and…...

Former Soviet President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev is to be the subject of a biopic from Fábrica de Cine and Cinema for Peace. Mexico City- and La-based Fabrica de Cine recently produced Martin Scorsese's Silence which Paramount is releasing. It's headed by Gaston Pavlovich who is a producer on Silence and has also worked with Gorbachev in Latin America. Gorbachev has given his consent to the producers for a feature film about the glasnost and…...

The first official look at Liam Neeson in Martin Scorsese's Silence reveals him in an agonized pose. But the actor was completely relaxed and charming during a press conference at the Los Cabos International Film Festival this past Saturday morning, kicking off a publicity tour for the film. Why Mexico? Mexican producer Gaston Pavlovich, who was also on hand, is responsible for financing the film, a dream project of director Martin Scorsese for many years. Scorsese is still busy editing right now, but he sent along a 30-second video to express gratitude to Pavlovich: "It's been a wonderful experience. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." Asked why he wanted to make the film, Neeson joked that, as mentor to the director, he knew...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

One of Martin Scorsese‘s longest-gestating projects, his priest drama Silence, finally completed production earlier this year, and with the director currently in the editing room, we have a few more updates on the film. An adaptation of Shûsaku Endô‘s novel, the story follows Andrew Garfield as Father Rodrigues, a 17th-century Portuguese Jesuit who travels to Japan with a fellow priest amid rumors that Rodrigues’ mentor has abandoned the Church.

While at a press conference at Las Ventanas Hotel, Variety picked up some comments from Liam Neeson, who plays the aforementioned mentor. Scorsese “gives 200%. All he requires is that you give 100%,” Neeson said, who lost 20 pounds for the role. “He’s intimidating. He requires absolute silence on the set — if he hears one tiny sound, it shatters it for him.”

With the production clocking in at around $51 million, it’s said that Scorsese is angling towards a Cannes debut,...

Liam Neeson appeared at the Los Cabos Film Festival on Saturday to talk about Martin Scorsese's long-in-the-works historical drama "Silence" which has almost wrapped its lengthy shoot.

For the physically demanding shoot, the already lean Neeson dropped 20 pounds to portray a Jesuit missionary who has reportedly forsaken his faith. Co-stars Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield were similarly reduced to "a piece of wire" in terms of getting skinny.

Talking about Scorsese's work ethic, Neeson says: "[Scorsese] gives 200%. All he requires is that you give 100%. He’s intimidating. He requires absolute silence on the set - if he hears one tiny sound, it shatters it for him." However he believes the filmmaker is immensely proud of the movie: "it's Marty's true legacy."

Based on Shusaku Endo's 1966 novel, the film has a $51 million budget - failry high for an independently produced feature. Shot mostly around Taiwan, a facsimile of a 17th century...

Exclusive: Fábrica de Cine chairman and CEO Gastón Pavlovich has partnered on the adventure sports documentary with Emmy-winning director-producer Paul Taublieb.

Pavlovich, a producer on Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Japan-set drama Silence starring Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, made the announcement on Wednesday at the start of the Los Cabos International Film Festival.

The film will explore the adventure sport scene in and around Mexico’s Sea Of Cortez and is scheduled for an autumn 2016 start.

The Sea Of Cortez filmmakers plans to combine action sequences with cutting-edge Pov cinematography and provocative scientific information. Susan Cooper will handle executive producer duties.

Taublieb’s credits include the Emmy-winning Espn 30 for 30 documentary Hawaiian: The Legend Of Eddie Aikau, Fastest and Big Wave Hellman.

“I am proud and thrilled to be working with Paul Taublieb,” said Pavlovich. “With Paul’s talent and creative eye, Sea Of Cortez is sure to capture and deliver both the adventure and depths...

Exclusive: Chairman and CEO Gastón Pavlovich has partnered on the adventure sports documentary with Emmy-winning director-producer Paul Taublieb.

Pavlovich, a producer on Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Japan-set drama Silence starring Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, made the announcement on Wednesday at the start of the Los Cabos International Film Festival.

The film will explore the adventure sport scene in and around Mexico’s Sea Of Cortez and is scheduled for an autumn 2016 start.

The Sea Of Cortez filmmakers plans to combine action sequences with cutting-edge Pov cinematography and provocative scientific information. Susan Cooper will handle executive producer duties.

Taublieb’s credits include the Emmy-winning Espn 30 for 30 documentary Hawaiian: The Legend Of Eddie Aikau, Fastest and Big Wave Hellman.

“I am proud and thrilled to be working with Paul Taublieb,” said Pavlovich. “With Paul’s talent and creative eye, Sea Of Cortez is sure to capture and deliver both the adventure and depths of Mexico’s water...

Production is set to begin next month in Texas on Lian Lunson’s Waiting For The Miracle To Come starring Willie Nelson, Charlotte Rampling and newcomer Sophie Lowe.

Lunson’s (pictured) Horse Pictures produces alongside Molly Mayeux, Terence Berry and Fabrica de Cine head Gaston Pavlovich, while Cave Pictures’ Dale Brown and Mark Rodgers serve as executive producers with Matthew Malek, Wim Wenders and Bono.

Fabrica de Cine recently boarded Martin Scorsese’s passion project Silence, which is currently shooting.

Waiting For The Miracle To Come will shoot at Nelson’s private ranch, Luck, and tells of a young woman whose quest for gold takes her on a journey more rewarding than she ever imagined.

“I wrote this script for Willie Nelson — his presence and stillness as an actor is unlike anyone else,” said Lunson, who wrote the screenplay and makes her feature directorial debut.

“And growing up I always wanted to be Charlotte Rampling, so bringing...

Fabrica de Cine and SharpSword Films have come onboard to produce and finance Martin Scorsese’s historical drama "Silence". Filming is slated to begin this coming Thursday in Taiwan.

In a statement, Scorsese says: "I've wanted to make 'Silence' for almost two decades, and it is finally a reality. It is heartening to have adventurous partners like Fabrica and SharpSword to work with on this picture."

Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver star in the adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel about 17th century Portuguese Jesuits on a mission to Japan to find their mentor (Neeson). Said mentor landed in Japan over a decade earlier and has gone missing, and upon their arrival they find the local Christian population driven underground by religious persecution.

Scorsese, Gaston Pavlovich, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Irwin Winkler and Barbara DeFina will produce. "Silence" is currently targeting a 2016 release.

Source: Deadline...

Director Martin Scorsese has finally secured financing for his passion project Silence, which the filmmaker has been trying to get off the ground for the past 20 years. F&#225brica de Cine and SharpSword Films have come aboard to fully finance the film and produce, with production now set to begin on January 30 in Taiwan. Paramount Pictures announced in July that they will release the drama in November 2015, but Deadline's report reveals the studio is aiming for a 2016 release. Here's what Martin Scorsese had to say in a statement about Silence moving forward.

"I've wanted to make Silence for almost two decades, and it is finally a reality. It is heartening to have adventurous partners like Fabrica and SharpSword to work with on this picture."

Andrew Garfield is starring as one of two Jesuit priests who, in the 17th Century, take a journey to Japan to find their mentor who has abandoned the church.

Just the other day we got word that both J.K. Simmons and Anna Kendrick could possibly join the cast of Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant and now The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal is up for a role, too. Or perhaps I should say The Wolf of Wall Street, Snitch or Fury’s Jon Bernthal because ever since leaving the show, he’s been doing pretty well for himself on the big screen. In addition, it’s also being reported that Richard Gere is locked to lead a film called Oppenheimer Strategies for director Joseph Cedar. Hit the jump for more on that, The Accountant and Live By Night as well. According to Deadline, Oppenheimer Strategies focuses on a small-time operator named Norman Oppenheimer. Three years after befriending a young politician during a low point in his life, that politician winds up becoming an influential world leader and it...

Oppenheimer Strategies has found one of its leading men in Richard Gere, who has signed onto this independent thriller for writer and director Joseph Cedar (Footnote).

The project is coming together fairly quickly, and will follow a man named Norman Oppenheimer. Known as a small-time operator, Norman befriends a young politician who finds himself at a lonely and very low point in his life. This young man goes onto become a powerful world leader in the years to follow, which sets up a series of complications for Norman. Three years after their initial meeting, Oppenheimer's life begins to change drastically for both the good and the bad.

Oppenheimer Strategies is set for a January 12 start date in New York. Tadmor Entertainment Group, Fabrica de Cine and Cold Iron Pictures will handle financing. Oren Moverman, Lawrence Inglee, Eyal Rimmon, Gideon Tadmor, Gaston Pavlovich and Miranda Bailey are all on board as producers,...

Exclusive: Lotus Entertainment has reported a strong response from buyers to Tom Tykwer’s A Hologram For The King starring Tom Hanks.

Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel and the sales team have closed deals in Scandinavia (Mis.Label); Latin America excluding Mexico (Swen); Benelux (A-Film Benelux Rechten); Poland (Monolith); Portugal (Pris Audiovisuais); and the former Yugoslavia (Blitz Film).

Lotus has also licensed rights in Hong Kong (Golden Scene); Singapore (Shaw Renters); Taiwan (Caichang Int’l); Thailand (Mono Film); and China (Hgc Entertainment).

Further deals closed in Greece, Cypress, Turkey, Middle East, India and Pakistan (Italia Film); Iceland (Myndform); Israel (United King); Bulgaria and Romania (Programs4 Media); South Africa (MNet.) and airlines (Cinesky).

X Filme Creative Pool co-produced the feature and retains rights for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, while executive producer Fábrica de Cine controls Mexico and Spain.

A previously announced Icon Film Distribution holds UK rights to the tale of a man teetering on the brink of insolvency...

Icon Film Distribution acquires UK rights for Tom Tykwer’s A Hologram For The King starring Tom Hanks.

A Hologram for the King, a comedic drama starring Tom Hanks and directed by Tom Tykwer, has been acquired by Icon Film Distribution for the UK.

Tykwer, the German filmmaker behind Run Lola Run and Cloud Atlas, also adapted the script from the eponymous novel by Dave Eggers.

Hanks co-stars with Sarita Choudhury (Homeland), Omar Elba (Intelligence), Tracey Fairaway (Enough Said), David Menkin (Zero Dark Thirty) and Tom Skerritt (Ted, Top Gun).

Hanks plays Alan Clay, an American salesmen who finds himself in Saudi Arabia making a desperate bid to save his ailing career after the construction of a huge new complex in the middle of the desert.

The film is currently in post-production, following shooting in Morocco, Germany, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The film is produced by Uwe Schott and Stefan Arndt of X Filme Creative Pool, Arcadiy Golubovich...

Shooting starts in Morocco today on the comedic drama A Hologram for the King, which is being directed by Tom Tykwer (Cloud Atlas, Perfume), who also adapted the script from the eponymous novel by Dave Eggers. The independently-financed production stars multiple Oscar winner Tom Hanks alongside a remarkable cast including: Sarita Choudhury (Homeland), Omar Elba (Intelligence), Tracey Fairaway ("Enough Said"), David Menkin (Zero Dark Thirty) and Tom Skerritt (Ted, Top Gun).

A Hologram for the King is being produced by Uwe Schott (Cloud Atlas, Me and Kaminski) and Stefan Arndt (Cloud Atlas, Amour) of X Filme Creative Pool; Arcadiy Golubovich and Tim O'Hair of Primeridian; and Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (Larry Crowne, Mamma Mia!) of Playtone; in Association with Silver Reel Entertainment, and F&#225brica de Cine. Dave Eggers, Steve Shareshian of Playtone, Claudia Bluemhuber of Silver Reel, Gaston Pavlovich of Fabrica de Cine, and Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel...

Shooting started in Morocco today on the comedic drama A Hologram For The King, which is being directed by Tom Tykwer (“Cloud Atlas”, “Perfume”), who also adapted the script from the eponymous novel by Dave Eggers.

The independently-financed production stars Tom Hanks. A Hologram For The King reunites Hanks, Tykwer, Schott, and Arndt after working together on Cloud Atlas, which has grossed over $130 million globally.

The picture takes place far away from the recession-weary USA, as an up-and-coming Saudi Arabian city provides the backdrop for foundering American businessman Alan Clay’s (Tom Hanks) last-ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy, pay his daughter’s college fees, and finally accomplish something big. A Hologram For The King is a gentle, crazy, wistful ballad recounting the journey of a man, who has lost almost everything, to a country that requires him to rise to completely unknown challenges – and that answers old questions in new and unexpected ways.