Ed Meza Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Ed Meza @edmezavarRussia-set documentary “Tolyatti Adrift,” which premieres in competition at the Malaga Festival, has debuted its trailer with Variety. The first feature-length work by Spanish director Laura Sisteró is being sold internationally by Prague-based Filmotor (excluding Spain and France).“Tolyatti Adrift” examines life in the Russian city of Tolyatti, once the symbol of socialist pride and home of the famed Lada automobile (currently manufactured by Renault-owned AvtoVAZ), but now known as Russia’s Detroit.

Ed Meza @edmezavarInternational feature film and commercial content group Iconoclast and Berlin-based StickUp Films have established a new joint venture to produce feature films and series for the domestic and international markets.Represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the new shingle, Iconoclast Films Germany, is aiming to produce a minimum of three film or series projects annually within a five-year ramp-up period.The company is headed by Luis Singer and Dennis Schanz of StickUp Films – the creators and co-producers of Netflix’s award-winning series “Skylines” — as well as Iconoclast executive producer Swantje Rummel.Iconoclast sees the new venture as part of its international content strategy and a logical extension of its brand. In addition to producing recent works by the likes of Gus Van Sant (“Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot”), Julian Schnabel (“At Eternity’s Gate”), Harmony Korine (“The Beach Bum”) and Romain Gavras (“The World Is Yours”) through its companies in the U.S.

Ed Meza @edmezavarThe founder of the blockchain-based film sales platform Cinemarket is launching Cineverse, an ambitious start-up that will make it possible for filmmakers, distributors and producers to market films directly using blockchain and NFT tech.Established by Cinemarket CEO Adrian Lugol and partners Vincent Lopez and Daniel Siegler (pictured), Cineverse will allow users to buy, share, gift, sell and resell films over the platform.The idea for the project came to Lugol during Christmas of 2020, when he wanted to give his young nephew some DVDs of his favorite films. The plan was thwarted when he learned the family no longer owned an old-fashioned DVD player.“I was like, wow, how am I going to give you these movies in a simple way?” Lugol recalls.

Ed Meza @edmezavarZDF Enterprises has struck further deals for the first season of post-apocalyptic disaster thriller “Sløborn,” including sales in the U.K., Russia and Japan.The eight-part series is produced by Christian Alvart’s Berlin-based Syrreal Entertainment in co-production with ZDF, Tobis, Nordisk Film and ZDF Enterprises. Alvart, who also penned and helmed the Netflix series “Dogs of Berlin,” co-wrote and directed “Sløborn” along with Adolfo J.

Ed Meza @edmezavarWarnerMedia and RTL Deutschland are partnering for the first time on the six-part co-production “Two Sides of the Abyss.”RTL Deutschland has secured first-run rights to the Warner TV original for Germany, where it will initially stream on its newly renamed RTL Plus platform, as well as free-TV rights thereafter.Warner TV Serie (formerly TNT Serie) will offer the series on pay TV in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, while WarnerMedia streaming platform HBO Max will launch the series as a Max Original in 61 territories across the U.S., Latin America and Europe. WarnerMedia International Television Distribution will handle international distribution outside of these territories.Created and written by Kristin Derfler,  “Two Sides of the Abyss” follows Wuppertal police officer Luise Berg (Anne Ratte-Polle) as she heads for an inevitable catastrophe after her daughter’s murderer is released early from prison.

Ed Meza @edmezavarThe 72nd Berlin Film Festival got off to a promising if somewhat subdued start Feb. 10 amid strict restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, which put a major damper on this year’s festivities and kept crowds to a minimum.While only some 800 guests attended the opening night ceremony at the Berlinale Palast — less than half of the normal capacity of the festival’s grand main venue — the event was nevertheless a hopeful sign for the local film industry and for cinema in general.The festival was uncompromising in its mask policy for the red carpet, rendering most high-profile guests unrecognizable — although many whipped them off for the phalanx of photographers.

Ed Meza @edmezavarOrganizers of the upcoming Berlinale continue to plan for a physical festival under strict safety measures, but with the EFM already moved online due to rising COVID-19 cases, this year looks set to be another gloomy gathering, not only for Germany’s dispirited film sector, but also for Berlin businesses bracing for more lost revenue.Local cinema operators and distributors have welcomed the move, but the condensed event and ongoing Omicron scare is likely to keep attendance on the low side.“This is such an important signal for the entire culture and film industry,” says Christian Bräuer, chairman of independent cinema association AG Kino – Gilde and managing director of Berlin’s Yorck-Kino group. “Of course, as social venues, we are aware of our responsibility.

Ed Meza @edmezavarThe Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market is gearing up for its second virtual edition with an improved online infrastructure for exhibiting companies and a wide-ranging conference program that focuses on a transforming industry and the changes that are shaping its future.For Dennis Ruh, who took over as EFM director in 2020, it’s the second market that has been forced online due to the pandemic — a disappointing development after physical space at the Gropius Bau and Marriott Hotel, the event’s main venues, had been nearly completely booked.“The biggest challenge was to switch from a hybrid to an online event — to make this decision,” says Ruh.With Germany and much of Europe hit by the Omicron onslaught in December and January, a physical event was no longer feasible. “We had to make this decision by the beginning of January and that was not an easy one,” he says.

Ed Meza @edmezavarIn making “Moonfall,” his latest world-destroying sci-fi epic, Roland Emmerich once again tapped talent from his native Germany to bring his apocalyptic visions to life.“Moonfall” follows two former astronauts and a brilliant but discredited scientist, played by Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry and John Bradley, who team up on a mission to save the planet after the moon is knocked out of its orbit and begins hurling toward Earth, creating catastrophic environmental devastation in the process.Of the four VFX companies that worked on the film’s massive action sequences, two originated in Germany, Scanline VFX and Pixomondo, while the others, DNEG and Framestore, are British.Scanline, which is being taken over by Netflix, has been a regular partner for Emmerich since the 2009 disaster film “2012.” That project coincided with Scanline’s arrival in Hollywood, says Stephan Trojansky, the company’s president and senior visual-effects supervisor. Scanline had also just made a major splash with its proprietary fluid effects software Flowline, which won the company a Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Award in 2008.“That was just when I arrived in Los Angeles and Roland had this little movie called ‘2012,’” Trojansky recalls.

Ed Meza @edmezavarGerman sales company Pluto Film is under new ownership following its sale by founders and former CEOs Heino Deckert and Torsten Frehse to Daniela and Benjamin Cölle.Deckert and Frehse, who established the Berlin-based shingle in 2015, are stepping down to focus on the activities of their respective companies, the Leipzig-based production shingle Maja.de and Berlin film distributor Neue Visionen.The new husband and wife team will head Pluto Film as co-CEOs, with Daniela Cölle also serving as head of acquisitions. Cölle has worked at the company since its launch, initially as festival manager.“We are very thankful to Torsten and Heino for trusting in us as new owners and CEOs,” she said.

Ed Meza @edmezavarZDF Enterprises has closed deals with Asian buyers for new Scandinavian and Russian series, among them “Agatha Christie’s Hjerson,” “Sherlock: The Russian Chronicles” and “Top Dog.”Japan’s AXN Mystery picked up exclusive pay-TV rights for “Agatha Christie’s Hjerson,” a playful, modern-day whodunnit based on the fictional detective Sven Hjerson, created by Christie’s fictional writer Ariadne Oliver. The series centers on Hjerson and trash TV producer Klara Sandberg, who wants to reset her career with a true crime show featuring the once renowned criminal profiler.

Ed Meza @edmezavarViacomCBS International Studios (VIS) has boarded Rob Schneider’s “Love is Love,” a new Paramount Plus Original film which marks the multihyphenate’s Spanish-language directorial debut.Schneider also stars in the movie, which VIS is producing in association with transatlantic film and TV production companies El Estudio and Infinity Hill.

Ed Meza @edmezavarAs part of its 70th anniversary, the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH) is presenting its new Grand IFFMH Award for the first time, honoring two filmmakers at the top of their game, Andrea Arnold and Guillaume Nicloux.

Ed Meza @edmezavarCelebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH) is for the first time taking place in cinemas across both cities, introducing new sections, and looking back at its rich history with a special retrospective.“Being 70 in a way is a starting point for reflection,” says festival director Sascha Keilholz.

Ed Meza @edmezavarPaulina García, who won the Berlinale’s 2013 best actress Silver Bear for her role in Sebastián Lelio’s Chilean drama “Gloria,” is starring in and executive producing Matías Rojas Valencia’s “Our Memory” (“Nuestra Memoria”).The documentary-hybrid is based on Rojas’ research into a powerful enclave in southern Chile and the influence it continues to have on the country — subject matter that he also explores in his latest feature, “A Place Called Dignity.”“Our Memory” is a film

Ed Meza @edmezavar“Dating & New York” helmer Jonah Feingold is set to direct the Paramount Plus original film “At Midnight,” toplining Diego Boneta, star of Telemundo/Netflix smash hit “Luis Miguel” and “Rock of Ages.”Part of the robust Spanish-language production slate at ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS), the romantic comedy, scheduled to begin production in January, follows two people who have made the “safe” choice not to fall in love.

Ed Meza @edmezavarSwiss national film archive Cinémathèque Suisse is finishing up a new restoration of Hans Trommer and Valerien Schmidely’s 1941 romantic drama “Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe” (“Romeo and Julia in the Village”), considered one of Switzerland’s best films of all time.It is one of a number of recent restorations carried out or made possible by the film archive, which recently opened its impressive new Research and Archive Center in Penthaz, equipped with a film digitization lab

Ed Meza @edmezavarParis-based Carlotta Films, a leading player in the distribution of heritage cinema, is preparing a number of major releases next year, including a retrospective of Pier Paolo Pasolini and a showcase of works by Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr.

Ed Meza @edmezavarCohen Film Collection is gearing up for a number of newly restored releases, among them Simon Callow’s 1991 drama “The Ballad of the Sad Café” and a number of Buster Keaton works.Part of New York-based Cohen Media Group, Cohen Film Collection restores classic films and re-releases them theatrically.

Ed Meza @edmezavarGerman sellers returning to Cannes’s Mipcom TV mart will be packing a wide selection of domestic and international TV fare heavy on high-end crime and historical series.With a market that has become increasingly open to different formats, sales companies see good opportunities for diverse offerings.“Crime is still the most in- demand genre in the market, as well as action,” says Julia Weber, head of international sales and acquisitions at Munich-based Global Screen.

Ed Meza @edmezavarSwedish cult film streaming service Cultpix, which launched in April, continues to beef up its catalogue while expanding deals with distribution partners.Company co-founders Rickard Gramfors and Patrick von Sychowski will be attending the Lumière Festival’s International Classic Film Market (MFIC) in Lyon, France, where they will be on the lookout for new acquisitions.“This is the first time that either of us are attending and we are already in discussions via email with other

Ed Meza @edmezavarThe Lumière Festival’s International Classic Film Market (MIFC) in Lyon, France, bows Tuesday, again bringing together distributors, exhibitors, streamers, TV programmers, film restorers and festival reps for one of the world’s leading heritage cinema events.This year’s market looks set for a much more upbeat atmosphere compared to the 2020 edition, which took place right before the pandemic’s second wave that led to months-long cinema closures.“It’s more about getting back on

Ed Meza @edmezavarMunich-based Koch Films has struck a deal with Studiocanal Germany to take over the distributor’s entire sales and logistics activities for all physical home entertainment activities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.Studiocanal’s extensive portfolio comprises new releases, series and classic catalog titles such as Francis Ford Coppola’s newly restored 1983 teen drama “The Outsiders” and David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” as well as works by the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Wim

Ed Meza @edmezavarSwiss productions and co-productions are on the rise, driven in part by federal and regional funders that offer attractive opportunities for domestic and international filmmakers.Quickly recovering from the impact of the pandemic, the local film industry has gotten off to another strong year with local films and international co-productions.Elie Grappe’s Swiss-Ukrainian-French title “Olga” premiered at this year’s Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, while unspooling in Locarno

Ed Meza @edmezavar“A Tale of Love and Desire” is the story of a young Arab man in Paris whose first love is accompanied by the discovery of a very different Arab culture than the one he knows, one that is sensual and liberating.The film screens as part of the Zurich Film Festival’s New World View section, which this year is celebrating a new generation of Tunisian filmmakers.In making her sophomore feature, Leyla Bouzid says she wanted to tell the story of a young man experiencing his first

Ed Meza @edmezavarFlorian Gallenberger, the director behind “John Rabe,” a historical drama about the Nanking Massacre in China, and “Colonia,” a political thriller set in Chile against the backdrop of the 1973 military coup, has made his first comedy.“It’s Just a Phase, Honey,” which had its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival, offers a hilarious look at a married couple, played by Christoph Maria Herbst and Christiane Paul, who, in the midst of a mid-life crisis, attempt a trial

Ed Meza @edmezavar“Welcome to Siegheilkirchen” not only honors Manfred Deix, one of Austria’s most revered cartoonists and satirists, it also marks the country’s first ever animated feature film.Unspooling in Gala Premieres at the Zurich Film Festival, the film follows a kid whose immense talent for drawing gives him an outlet for his discontent while growing up in a small conservative Austrian town, where Nazi sympathy is still very prevalent.

Ed Meza @edmezavarIn telling the story of champion alpine ski racer Franz Klammer, one of Austria’s most revered and beloved sports heroes, director Andreas Schmied forewent the usual biopic tropes, focusing instead on a few fateful days that culminated in his victory at the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck. It was that focus that ultimately convinced Klammer to give the film, “Chasing the Line,” a thumbs up.

Ed Meza @edmezavarDirector Michael Steiner opens this year’s Zurich Film Festival with “And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead,” a timely thriller about a real-life Swiss couple captured by the Taliban while traveling through Pakistan in 2011.The film is sure to generate headlines in view of the recent Taliban victory in Afghanistan that followed the withdrawal of U.S. forces.