Innholdsfortegnelse for 9/7/2022 i Variety

HBO’s “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” as well as Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” lead the early Emmy tally heading toward TV’s big night: All three series landed five trophies during the Creative Arts Emmys, dispensed on two consecutive nights over Labor Day weekend, and are in the hunt for more high-profile prizes Sept. 12 when the 74th annual Primetime Emmy ceremony gets underway on NBC. Variety special “Adele: One Night Only” and docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back” also scored five trophies, though they won’t figure in the Primetime Emmy ceremony. Those wins, along with the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show’s victory for variety special (live), led some to quip that the Creative Arts Emmys felt more like the Grammys. Also notable: Former president Barack Obama landed his first Emmy win, as…

If you’re a long-time Rolling Stone subscriber, reading Jann Wenner’s memoir may feel like having your life flash before your eyes. Except maybe for the parts about yachting with Jackie Onassis, which, to be clear, are plentiful in “Like a Rolling Stone.” Wenner writes compellingly about being a true believer in the power of rock —as well as his undying interest in slightly left-of-center, transformative politics — even if his eventual mega-success with Us Weekly was as much a reflection of his sensibilities as Rolling Stone, the magazine that he founded in 1967, was. Variety spoke with him about the book, which comes out Sept. 13. In 2017, there was another book about Rolling Stone, “Sticky Fingers,” by Joe Hagan, which you fully cooperated with before you came to regret…

“I’m so sweaty. I’m gonna roll these Spanx off,” Kelly Clarkson exclaims in front of a live audience at Lincoln Center, having just belted out Mary J. Blige’s “Just Fine” — a song she learned only hours before. The crowd cheers her on and laughs as she announces, mid-performance, “I have to pee, so I’m gonna have an extra pep in my step.” This is not a concert. On this rainy, humid morning in August, Clarkson is on set for Season 4 of “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” which has relocated to New York City from L.A. for a week to pre-tape shows for its fall premiere. And things need to be more than “just fine,” as this is not your ordinary season launch: The daytime star has been thrust into…

No one could have predicted the way awards season would change over the past few years, but the TV Academy is looking to the future. The 74th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will return Sept. 12 to the Microsoft Theatre in downtown Los Angeles for the first time in three years, this time hosted by “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson, a staple on NBC. Still, though this will be the first time the biggest names in TV are indoors together in years, “We’re not going back [to pre-COVID times]. It’s not like we’re making a return to how we had just been doing things in the past,” says TV Academy president Maury McIntyre. “We absolutely learned a lot from the pandemic. We learned a lot from the two shows we…

Producers, showrunners, line producers and location managers all agree: When it comes to shooting a production in Spain, they need a bridge with local administrations. As film and TV shoots ramp up to historic heights — doubling expenditure in 2021 vs. the average spend for 2016-19 — Spain’s intoxicating mix of historic cities, natural parks and intricate local regulations means that the role of the film commissions has become crucial in successfully carrying out production. To date, there are 37 film commissions or offices across Spain, forming part of the SFC Network. “Film commissions have come a long way in recent years and have understood what their role is,” says Meñakoz Films’ Fernando Victoria de Lecea, president of the Profilm line producers’ body, who fulfilled that role on Wes Anderson’s…

The wealth of Spain’s attractions as a big-shoot locale are in the details. To that end, below are the 37 Film Commissions or Film Offices that form part of the nationwide Spain Film Commission network, as well emblematic shoots, locations and initiatives: ALICANTE FILM OFFICE Iy was launched in 2008 to support shoots at Alicante’s Ciudad de la Luz studios, such as J.A. Bayona’s “The Impossible” and Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor.” Connected by high-speed train and an international airport, Alicante’s Santa Bárbara Castle featured in Movistar+’s “Tell Me Who I Am,” and Netflix’s “Money Heist” used its beaches and port. With Ciudad de la Luz reopening, international producers are returning, with Guy Ritchie’s “The Interpreter” shooting in the area. ANDALUCÍA FILM COMMISSION Boasting flagship destinations such as Tabernas — Europe’s…

San Sebastian’s Spanish Screenings XXL, organized under the aegis of Spain’s post-pandemic Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), has launched a Creative Investors Conference at which 10 highend Spanish movies will be pitched to prominent international film biz players who are attending. The Screenings are also diving deep into the metaverse with the Zinemaldia Startup Challenge, showcasing 10 tech projects in competition. Among the international investors are: MUBI’s Bobby Allen, Piers Wenger at A24 Europe, Focus Features’ Kiska Higgs, 30West’s Trevor Groth, Vincent Maraval at Wild Bunch Intl. and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo. Titles to be pitched at the conference, co-organized with CAA Media Finance, include “Whalemen (at the Ends of the Earth)” from “Everest” director Baltasar Kormákur as well as the latest from “Amama” helmer Asier Altuna and “Raqa,” from…

Zach Cregger has delivered one of the most twist-filled movies of the year with “Barbarian.” But perhaps the biggest shock to fans is that a member of irreverent sketch group Whitest Kids U’Know switched to horror so effortlessly. For Cregger, the two worlds are not far apart. “I don’t think horror and comedy are too dissimilar,” Cregger says. “The anatomy of a scare is very similar to the anatomy of a laugh. It’s all about timing and tone and zigging when the audience expects you to zag. I feel like my time in sketch comedy has equipped me to play in this pool.” Cregger got advice from a friend who had a similar trajectory: Jordan Peele, who went from sketch comedy series “Key & Peele” to directing his breakout feature…

Ahead of the 74th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, the industry is getting together to celebrate TV’s biggest night. While most parties were scrapped over in the past two years due to the pandemic, actors, execs and creatives are ready to gather again. The celebrations kicked off early on Aug. 27 with the return of BAFTA’s garden party, this year in partnership with Netflix’s “Squid Game.” Held at the British Residence in L.A., the outdoor event was held to raise awareness and support for BAFTA’s learning, inclusion and talent initiatives in North America. Variety shares the Ultimate Emmys party guide below. SEPT. 8 Variety’s Showrunners Dinner 7 p.m. Sunset Tower David E. Kelley accepts Variety’s inaugural Creative Conscience Award in the field of television. SEPT. 9 Performers Nominees Event 7:30 p.m.…

In the first shot of “Offworld” (“Apagón”), the camera focuses on Ernesto — balding, serious, tired, lost in thought. It then pulls back to reveal the whole of his office, a computer screen-packed room at an emergency intervention unit. The shot says much about the latest series from Movistar+, “Offworld,” which world premieres in Official Selection at Spain’s San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival, and in turn speaks volumes about the ambitions and priorities of Telefonica-owned Movistar+, Southern Europe’s biggest national pay-TV/SVOD service. Produced with Buendía Estudios, “Offworld” presents five stories that place very different individuals in a world where there’s no electricity after a massive power; things taken for granted like phones and the internet, don’t work. Opening close-ups in each episode underscore the protagonists’ identities. In Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Denial,”…

FILM REVIEW Director: Noah Baumbach Starring: Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle With “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach enjoyed the kind of success an independent filmmaker dreams of. So it’s no surprise, in a way, that his first film since then, “White Noise,” is different from anything he’s done before. A meticulously reverent adaptation of Don DeLillo’s acerbic domestic academic satirical dystopian novel of American middle-class life in the 1980s, it’s the kind of madly audacious, swing-for-the-fences literary-event movie that a gifted director makes when he’s coming off a celebrated triumph, eager to elevate his artistry to the next level. In the early scenes, one recognizes, and responds with jittery pleasure to, the Baumbach touch. “White Noise” is set in a cozy leafy college town that has grown up around a…

TV REVIEW Horror: Mubi (5 episodes; all reviewed) Starring: Bodil Jørgensen, Mikael Persbrandt, Lars Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro “The Kingdom Exodus” begins with a joke, and for the next five hours, it never gets serious, not even for a second. That’s not what you might expect for the long-delayed finale to Lars von Trier’s made-for-TV horror series, though it sure makes this over-the-top return to the haunted Rigshospitalet — that big, brutalist medical center in the heart of Copenhagen — a lot more fun. For all of two minutes, von Trier tricks us into thinking that maybe this third season is going to look like a polished, peak-TV miniseries of the sort you might find on HBO or Netflix (after all, the original series came out in 1994, one year before…

Make no mistake: CJ ENM is on the move. The South Korean conglomerate that has done as much as any company to build out the nation’s entertainment ecosystem is actively looking to expand its “production capability and competency.” That’s the word from Kang Hosung, CEO of the cluster of film, TV and music companies that now share the CJ ENM banner. Kang gave a rare, extensive interview to Variety on Aug. 21 in downtown Los Angeles on the sidelines of CJ ENM’s KCON LA pop culture convention, which brought in close to 100,000 fans from across the U.S. Despite the palpable teen spirit that KCON brought to two packed concerts at Crypto.com Arena, Kang describes CJ ENM’s current mission in terms that are both humble and loftily ambitious. “Our core…

Betty Gilpin (1) is in the desert. She’s there filming “Mrs. Davis,” Damon Lindelof (2) and Tara Hernandez’s (3) Peacock drama series, but doesn’t give a specific location — “We’re shooting in the middle of nowhere,” she says — because the project is still mostly under wraps. Gilpin does share that toplining the show as a nun has been quite uncomfortable. “The costume designer is very much British and put me in a wool habit, and we are shooting in the absolute desert, and it’s so hot,” Gilpin tells me on this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast. “I don’t know how these nuns do it. I hope that when they’re at the convent and they have no visitors, they’re like, ‘Should we just wear boxers today?’ Because this is insane.” Also…

Waking Dream 1.5 oz Ketel One Vodka1.5 oz cold brew concentrate(La Colombe).5 oz tea syrup (infused with2010 Vintage Pu’Erh Caramel& Vanilla Tea & orange zest)10 drops 20% saline solutionDash aromatic bitters(Angostura) Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a Boston shaker, shake well with plenty of ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Grate fresh chocolate over the top. To make infused syrup: simply combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water in a pot. Heat gently and stir to dissolve. Infuse with 4 tea bags on lowest heat for 15 minutes (don’t boil). Strain and cool for use. To make saline solution: Combine .5 oz of kosher salt with 3 oz of warm water. Stir until dissolved fully and bottle for use. Garnish with orange peel chocolate. Only Martinis in…

In a bid to further extend its Shooting in Spain brand around the world, the Spain Film Commission (SFC) began in 2018 to name prominent figures in the international entertainment biz as honorary ambassadors. Among them are former HBO executive and U.S. ambassador to Spain James Costos; director Terry Gilliam; actors Emily Blunt and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón; NBCUniversal executive Veronica Sullivan; DP Javier Aguirresarobe and Indian location manager Ramji Natarajan. Variety approached three of them to give their take on helping to promote Spain as a key destination for film-TV shoots and assess the challenges that remain. As the U.S. ambassador to Spain from 2013-17, Costos was laser focused on supporting U.S. studios’ efforts to find growth opportunities. However, despite the country’s many advantages, other European destinations offered better incentives and…

Packing its first full-on onsite edition since the pandemic, Spain’s San Sebastian festival has never been busier or bigger. Ten takes on what is turning out to be a vibrant edition: PLAYING OFF POWERFUL MARKET FORCES Nine of Netflix’s 20 Top 10 non-English-language films and TV series are sourced from Spain or Latin America. Platforms are battling to tie down talent. This year, eight movies from Spain and Latin America play in competition alone at San Sebastian. The fest’s main sidebar is its New Directors strand. San Sebastian’s focus on the Spanish-speaking world and new talent now aligns with powerful market forces. SAN SEBASTIAN’S NEW CREATIVE INVESTORS’ CONFERENCE CAA Media Finance is teaming with San Sebastian to organize the festival’s first Creative Investors’ Conference, running Sept. 19-20. Attendees take in…

The San Sebastian Festival opens on Sept. 16 with a bang: Alberto Rodriguez’s “Prison 77,” a taste of one of the future faces of Spanish cinema, thanks to Movistar+. In the 1977 film, Miguel, a young accountant (Miguel Herrán, “Money Heist”), is sent to Barcelona’s notorious Modelo penitentiary pending trial for embezzlement. He gradually befriends Pino (Javier Gutiérrez, “Below Zero”), his seen-it-all cell mate. “‘Prison 77’ is a story of friendship and solidarity,” says José Antonio Félez, head of Atípica Films, which produced with Movistar+. The film returns Rodríguez, who directed Movistar Plus+ mega-series “The Plague,” to his central theme: Spain’s historical push back against progress. Sold by Film Factory Entertainment, “Prison 77” marks Movistar+’s third feature production, following up on Alejandro Amenábar’s 2019 “While at War.” By producing movies,…

Benjamin Millepied, who choreographed and co-starred in 2010 Oscar nominee “Black Swan,” had been wanting to bring his take on the classic opera “Carmen” to the big screen for more than six years. The score would be one of the most important components for Millepied, who was directing a feature film solo for the first time, and he turned to composer Nicholas Britell (“Don’t Look Up,” “If Beale Street Could Talk”) to help execute his vision. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that their collaboration made choirs sing. “We wanted it to have a level of sonic aggressiveness. There are synthesizers, audio experiments and a string orchestra.”—Nicholas Britell Georges Bizet’s opera, which bowed in Paris in 1875, was set in southern Spain. Millepied’s movie, debuting Sept. 11 at the Toronto…

Age: 38 Hometown: Luxembourg City Nix on royalty: Krieps’ mother was a feminist. If her daughter wanted to watch princess movies, she had to go to a neighbor’s house. Squeeze play: She says the corsets in “Corsage” were torture: “I couldn’t sit right. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t breathe. It was very painful.” “You learn to smile, and you get a candy. But if you don’t smile, people look at you and say you’re weird.” Vicky Krieps could be describing the experience of any young woman in America these days, but instead she’s talking about Empress Elisabeth of Austria in “Corsage,” which is making its way along the festival circuit — from Cannes to Toronto to New York — before a December U.S. debut via IFC Films. The Luxembourg-born actor…