While introducing the Middle East and North Africa premiere of John Woo’s “Silent Night” at the Red Sea Film Festival, actor Joel Kinnaman emphasized the rare opportunity to have “everyone in the world watching the same film.” The actor is referring to the fact that Woo’s first U.S. film in 20 years features no language — no spoken language, that is — and so needs no subtitles.
The characters in the revenge thriller have not a single line of dialogue throughout the film, with the only snippets of speech coming from diegetic music, a few brief radio broadcasts and phone messages.
Speaking with Variety in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Swede said he had a suspicion early on that the film was going to translate in a way that “no other film does.”
“I grew up watching subtitled films but there is always a nuance in the language that gets lost.
The characters in the revenge thriller have not a single line of dialogue throughout the film, with the only snippets of speech coming from diegetic music, a few brief radio broadcasts and phone messages.
Speaking with Variety in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Swede said he had a suspicion early on that the film was going to translate in a way that “no other film does.”
“I grew up watching subtitled films but there is always a nuance in the language that gets lost.
- 12/3/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival launched its third edition on Thursday evening with a characteristically starry red carpet featuring the likes of Michelle Williams, Johnny Depp, Sharon Stone and Will Smith.
The kick-off had more of a local feel than the first two editions, however, with an Arabic-language film, the fantasy adventure Hwjn, opening the festival for the first time.
Set against the backdrop of the festival’s home city of Jeddah, the drama stars rising Saudi actor Baraa Alem, as an endearing young djinn who falls for a young woman, played by emerging actress Nour Alkhadra.
Its selection as the opening title is seen as a sign of the growing strength of the film and TV business in Saudi Arabia, just six years after the lifting of the country’s 35-year cinema ban as part of its 2030 strategy aimed at moving the economy away from oil.
Directed...
The kick-off had more of a local feel than the first two editions, however, with an Arabic-language film, the fantasy adventure Hwjn, opening the festival for the first time.
Set against the backdrop of the festival’s home city of Jeddah, the drama stars rising Saudi actor Baraa Alem, as an endearing young djinn who falls for a young woman, played by emerging actress Nour Alkhadra.
Its selection as the opening title is seen as a sign of the growing strength of the film and TV business in Saudi Arabia, just six years after the lifting of the country’s 35-year cinema ban as part of its 2030 strategy aimed at moving the economy away from oil.
Directed...
- 12/1/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The aliens in Neill Blomkamp’s latest thriller must put their probing tools in hydrogen peroxide after pre-production for They Found Us shut down in Saudi Arabia. While the project starring Joel Kinnaman reworks its financial structure, hostility in the region is increasing as the Israel-Gaza crisis continues. While Neom is hundreds of miles from Gaza, the Israel-Hamas conflict could alter insurance figures and make traveling toward the reason dangerous.
Speaking with Deadline about the filming conditions for They Found Us, AGC Studios told the outlet, “We’ve taken the reluctant decision with our valued partners at Neom to pause pre-production on the film while we further explore a cross border legal and funding structure that makes all stakeholders comfortable. In deciding when to resume pre-production we’ll obviously assess what impact macro events in the region may have on obtaining production insurances and travel plans. Our friends at Neom...
Speaking with Deadline about the filming conditions for They Found Us, AGC Studios told the outlet, “We’ve taken the reluctant decision with our valued partners at Neom to pause pre-production on the film while we further explore a cross border legal and funding structure that makes all stakeholders comfortable. In deciding when to resume pre-production we’ll obviously assess what impact macro events in the region may have on obtaining production insurances and travel plans. Our friends at Neom...
- 10/17/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: Neill Blomkamp’s alien abduction thriller They Found Us has shut down pre-production in Saudi Arabia as it reworks its finance structure, we have learned.
Suicide Squad and For All Mankind star Joel Kinnaman is attached to star in the AGC Studios-backed movie, which was due to get underway in coming weeks. Cast had yet to travel to set.
A growing number of sizeable English-language movies are choosing to film in Saudi Arabia. Among big productions to recently shoot in the territory have been AGC’s Anthony Mackie pic Desert Warrior — currently in post-production — and Gerard Butler movie Kandahar. They Found Us is among a handful of U.S. productions being made in collaboration with Saudi production hub Neom.
The move to restructure the finance plan behind the independent movie comes just as tension in the region is growing due to the Israel-Gaza crisis.
Neom is hundreds of miles from Gaza,...
Suicide Squad and For All Mankind star Joel Kinnaman is attached to star in the AGC Studios-backed movie, which was due to get underway in coming weeks. Cast had yet to travel to set.
A growing number of sizeable English-language movies are choosing to film in Saudi Arabia. Among big productions to recently shoot in the territory have been AGC’s Anthony Mackie pic Desert Warrior — currently in post-production — and Gerard Butler movie Kandahar. They Found Us is among a handful of U.S. productions being made in collaboration with Saudi production hub Neom.
The move to restructure the finance plan behind the independent movie comes just as tension in the region is growing due to the Israel-Gaza crisis.
Neom is hundreds of miles from Gaza,...
- 10/17/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Stuart Ford may have been named Variety’s Billion Dollar Producer, but the AGC Studios founder is already looking ahead to his next big milestone.
“We’ve raised more than $1.5 billion in production financing [over the last 17 years] and, the way our cinema business is evolving, who knows, in three or four years from now, I might be standing in front of you having achieved $1.05 billion at the box office!” said Ford.
The executive was feted by Variety at a May 19 cocktail reception in Cannes. Many of the super-producer’s business associates and partners, as well as industry friends, dropped by the Croisette villa to toast Ford, who was given the honor by Variety’s co-editor in chief Ramin Setoodeh.
“Variety invented words such as boffo, legit, sitcom, sex appeal and striptease. It’s my recollection that your colleagues have used [most] of these words to describe me and my companies over the years, but...
“We’ve raised more than $1.5 billion in production financing [over the last 17 years] and, the way our cinema business is evolving, who knows, in three or four years from now, I might be standing in front of you having achieved $1.05 billion at the box office!” said Ford.
The executive was feted by Variety at a May 19 cocktail reception in Cannes. Many of the super-producer’s business associates and partners, as well as industry friends, dropped by the Croisette villa to toast Ford, who was given the honor by Variety’s co-editor in chief Ramin Setoodeh.
“Variety invented words such as boffo, legit, sitcom, sex appeal and striptease. It’s my recollection that your colleagues have used [most] of these words to describe me and my companies over the years, but...
- 5/20/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
The stars are out at this year’s Cannes, and not just on the red carpet that leads up to the splashy premieres that make the festival the most glamorous celebration of movies in the world. From Daisy Ridley to Alicia Vikander, Angelina Jolie to Sylvester Stallone, Idris Elba to Jude Law, several A-list actors are attached to projects that are being brought to market at Cannes in what looks like its biggest edition in years. Will all that high-wattage talent lead to one mega-deal after another?
“It’s obviously going to be an outrageously busy market,” says Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much product, definitely not for the last couple of years, led by very high-profile movies with big cast, big directors, big budgets.”
Yet, the big question, Moszkowicz adds, is when and how all these projects will get made.
“It’s obviously going to be an outrageously busy market,” says Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much product, definitely not for the last couple of years, led by very high-profile movies with big cast, big directors, big budgets.”
Yet, the big question, Moszkowicz adds, is when and how all these projects will get made.
- 5/16/2023
- by John Hopewell, Elsa Keslassy and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: We told you about Ron Howard’s survival thriller Origin of Species last fall and the project now has a killer cast with Oscar nominee Ana De Armas (No Time To Die), Oscar nominee Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) and Golden Globe nominee Daniel Brühl (All Quiet On The Western Front) attached and Oscar winner Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider) in talks to join.
Howard’s Imagine Entertainment are behind the buzz project with CAA Media Finance and Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, the latter which is newly aboard to finance and will be selling at the upcoming Cannes market.
Shoot is being lined up for Q4, 2023, in Queensland, Australia. Script comes from Noah Pink (Tetris).
Based on two different accounts of the same true story, the film is being described as an “a darkly comic tale of murder and survival, set around a group of eclectic characters who abandon civilization for the Galapagos.
Howard’s Imagine Entertainment are behind the buzz project with CAA Media Finance and Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, the latter which is newly aboard to finance and will be selling at the upcoming Cannes market.
Shoot is being lined up for Q4, 2023, in Queensland, Australia. Script comes from Noah Pink (Tetris).
Based on two different accounts of the same true story, the film is being described as an “a darkly comic tale of murder and survival, set around a group of eclectic characters who abandon civilization for the Galapagos.
- 5/14/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman and Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
To this day, Stuart Ford’s mother would prefer that her son had used his Oxford University degrees to build a career as a top lawyer or as a member of the U.K. parliament, representing the left-leaning Labour Party.
But if the career choice of the founder of indie powerhouse AGC Studios is a source of regret to his mom, her son’s approach to life and business has every chance of making her proud.
Variety will be feting Ford with the Billion Dollar Producer honor at a May 19 cocktail reception
in Cannes.
Ford has built AGC on policies of calculated risk-taking, diversity, diversification and integrity. He’s betting that these qualities position the company well for the globalized streaming era.
AGC’s divisions have completed 36 film and TV productions in five years. They have been for many of the major Hollywood conglomerates and streamers — Paramount Global, Peacock, Lionsgate, Netflix and Amazon,...
But if the career choice of the founder of indie powerhouse AGC Studios is a source of regret to his mom, her son’s approach to life and business has every chance of making her proud.
Variety will be feting Ford with the Billion Dollar Producer honor at a May 19 cocktail reception
in Cannes.
Ford has built AGC on policies of calculated risk-taking, diversity, diversification and integrity. He’s betting that these qualities position the company well for the globalized streaming era.
AGC’s divisions have completed 36 film and TV productions in five years. They have been for many of the major Hollywood conglomerates and streamers — Paramount Global, Peacock, Lionsgate, Netflix and Amazon,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
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