San Sebastian Spotlight; APOS; Al-Fayed

Hello Insiders. Jesse Whittock here to take you through a week in international TV and film that comes from as far and wide apart as Spain and Indonesia. Read on.

San Sebastian Spotlight

In-Depp analysis: Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival closes tomorrow, ending what many people on the ground described as one of the event’s strongest lineups in recent years. The festival opened with a bang with Audrey Diwan’s erotic remake Emmanuelle, but that film received mediocre reviews in Spain. Deadline’s Stephanie Bunbury was a little more generous, and described the flick as a “brave attempt.” There was a lot more love for the other big world premiere in San Sebastian — Johnny Depp’s second directorial effort, Modi — Three Days On The Wing Of Madness. The period flick debuted out of competition here in San Sebastian, where Depp was welcomed warmly by fans and festival delegates. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was met with cheers of “bravo” as the credits rolled during the film’s gala screening at the festival. There were also sporadic cheers from the San Sebastian crowd during the screening. Stephanie described the film as a “riotous celebration of artistic excess.”

Almodóvar vents: After Depp, the big names continued to roll into town. Legendary Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar arrived with Tilda Swinton to present his latest flick, The Room Next Door. He also received the festival’s honorary Donostia Award for career achievement. Almodóvar’s Donostia ceremony coincided with his 75th birthday and was headline news in Spain. Pedro Sánchez, the country’s President, even attended the ceremony. Almodóvar was asked by one of the journalists at press conference if he had remarks prepared to challenge Sánchez. The All About My Mother filmmaker dodged the question, but used the it to provide a lengthy and eloquent assessment of Spain and Europe’s approach to immigration. “Immigrants should be welcomed,” said Almodóvar. “They would make our country. We are a generation where the average age is old. We need new blood. It would rejuvenate Spain.” Politics was also on the mind of veteran Spanish actor Javier Bardem who also received a Donostia award this year and gave a lengthy plea for Palestinian liberation during a festival press conference. “What is happening in Gaza is totally unacceptable,” the Skyfall actor said. “It is terrible, it is dehumanizing. I believe that this Israeli government is the most radical government that Israel has ever had.” He added that the “impunity that the current Israeli government enjoys in its actions in Gaza and the West Bank has to change,” and challenged the U.S., Germany, and UK “in particular” to “rethink their unconditional support when we see crimes… Prohibiting the entry of food, water, medicine and electricity, as UNICEF says, is a war against children, and continues this trauma for generations.”

Film flurry: Back to the films, Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi debuted her first fiction feature in competition at San Seb. Titled In Her Place, Alberdi — who is twice nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar — directed the flick for Netflix. We spoke with her about the transition from nonfiction to fiction here. San Sebastian regular Christine Vachon spoke at the festival’s creative investors conference, where she lifted the lid on what she described as the “tragedy” behind Todd Haynes’ now-shelved gay romance flick starring Joaquin Phoenix. “Pretty much what happened is what’s out there for you to read. I don’t know any more than that. I would gossip if I had anything to gossip about,” Vachon said before adding that “it was tragic” to see the production fall. “Todd Haynes is 62,” Vachon said. “He’s not old, but there’s a finite number of films that he will be able to do in his lifetime. I consider him one of the most extraordinary film artists of his generation.” Vachon added that Haynes’ time had been “wasted” working on the shelved movie. Speaking at the same conference veteran British producer Jeremy Thomas described the UK industry as a “very barren landscape.” He was quizzed on his decades-long career, which includes credits like Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, during the conference. He said his practice has only been sustainable because of his openness to working with international partners on films that he could never “put together in the UK.” Pointing to the British Screen Forum’s recent report into the UK industry, Elysian Film Group’s Danny Perkins identified the UK’s reliance on inward investment as one of the biggest local challenges. “Star Wars and all these big films are being made in the UK, and it’s a great production base, but over the last year with the strike the production slowdown in the UK has been extraordinary,” he said. “The budgets for locally funded films are becoming smaller and smaller while the big international films are getting bigger. Local productions are disappearing.”

Not a Joke: Ending strong, San Sebastian has added Todd Phillips’ Joker sequel as a surprise closing film. The sequel will screen at the festival’s Victoria Eugenia Theatre twice before the closing ceremony where competition awards will be presented. Check back with us over the weekend to see which films grab awards. Full San Seb coverage is here.

Postulating At APOS

Collaborate or crash: There probably isn’t an industry get-together held in more beautiful surroundings than APOS. Held at the Ayana Resort on the Indonesian paradise of Bali, the event brings together the biggest names from Asia Pacific and the international content world. This year, the line-up included Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount Global, Canal+, Raine Group, YouTube and Moonbug Entertainment, along with local players such as Viacom18, Foxtel, Vidio, Viu, TVING and U-Next. The almost unified message was: come to Asia, be prepared to collaborate. Viacom18 exec Kiran Mani said it best when he told international players how to conduct themselves in India. “For anyone coming in, global models don’t apply… If you try U.S. dollar pricing and don’t show commitment to India, India does not reward.” The only route to success, he added, was working with a local partner and looking at the long-term. “That is a 5-10 year partnership.” Clearly, with Viacom18 parent Reliance merging with Disney India, some are taking heed. Elsewhere, WBD APAC boss James Gibbons outlined plans to launch Max in Southeast Asia, following a debut in Japan via streamer U-Next this week. With WBD and U-Next also set to bring Japanese anime content to max globally, Gibbons called the collaborative agreement “a two-way street.”

So many demands: Netflix India’s content chief, Monika Shergill, took to the stage on the opening morning of the event to issue a warning to the market. “Supply is not meeting the demand” in the world’s most populous country, she said. Given the number of originals Netflix is making in the country alone — ignoring those of its rivals — that demonstrates just how streaming-crazy India is right now. What’s happening is the insatiable demand for new shows and films means the country’s crews and actors are over-stretched, and this is a scenario that will be familiar to many working in other countries around the world. Shergill said the only answer was to invest in the creative industries to bring its talent “to a new level.”

Busan a move: Over in Korea, the Busan International Film Festival is gearing up for launch following a year of turbulence that saw wholesale management changes and a major reduction in funding. Liz Shackleton was on hand this morning with an interview with Pak Dosin, who was parachuted into a Co-Deputy Director role after a search for a permanent solution didn’t yield results. Pak outlined the challenges BIFF has faced, but talked up how the well-regarded fest has become a key event for the likes of Disney, Netflix and Amazon. Liz also had this neat scene-setter for BIFF’s industry platform, Asian Contents and Film Market (ACFM), including word from new chief Ellen Y.D. Kim. Busan takes place October 2-11, with ACFM running October 5-8 at the BEXCO convention center.

Al-Fayed Accusations

Horrors at Harrods: During his lifetime, Mohammed Al-Fayed was one of the UK’s most colorful and explosive characters: The Egyptian-born owner of ultra-posh Harrods department store and soccer club Fulham FC was a thorn in the side of the Royal family and father of Dodi Fayed, the boyfriend of Princess Diana when both lost their lives in a Paris car crash. However, questions about his behavior, particularly during his dictatorial reign as owner of Harrods, plagued him until his death in August last year. Questions became horrific allegations last week when he was made the subject of numerous allegations of rape and sexual assault by more than 20 women who had worked at Harrods. (It should be noted a previous allegation of sexual assault against a 15-year-old girl had been investigated and dropped by police in 2008). A BBC Two doc this week, Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods, outlined the allegations against the late business mogul, including five of rape. Max spoke to the doc’s exec producer, Mike Radford, who explained its focus was to “demonstrate that this conduct was of the most serious nature” and “to prove that Harrods… bore some responsibility” for his actions. Harrods boss Michael Ward this week released a statement saying he was “deeply sorry for failing colleagues,” but “was not aware of [Al-Fayed’s] criminality and abuse.” Radford also addressed Salim Daw’s BAFTA-nominated turn as Al-Fayed in The Crown. Some had been perceived that the character had been shown in a sympathetic light following the deaths of Lady Diana and Dodi, but Radford said he was “reluctant to point a finger” at the Netflix show as it was a “drama, not a current affairs program.” The producer, who has also made films about Andrew Tate and Tim Westwood, said his mission was “trying to change the impunity that certain powerful men feel they can act with.” More here, well worth a read.

Schofield Returns

‘Cast Away’: When Phillip Schofield left his long-time presenting role at UK daytime show This Morning in disgrace over an inappropriate relationship with a colleague, it’s unlikely anyone thought the next time they’d see him on television would be on a Channel 5 castaway show. That’s exactly what’s happening, though, folks. On Wednesday, Paramount’s UK terrestrial channel announced it had commissioned a three-part series titled Phillip Schofield Cast Away, in which the former ITV host would spend nine days and ten nights alone on a remote, unpopulated island off the coast of Madagascar. In fact, as accompanying images revealed, he’s already filmed the feat, and the sneak series will launch on Sunday. In May 2023, Schofield admitted a to an “unwise” affair with a much younger colleague and the acrimony with former This Morning co-host and ex-best friend Holly Willoughby spilled over into the public. The show will give him a chance to “look back over the last explosive 18 months of his life, and explore what happened,” according to Channel 5 comm-ed Guy Davies. It might make for fascinating viewing or car crash TV.

Sabers Rattle In Italian Battle

It was all good just a week ago: An almighty row between former partners has broken out in Italy, where Andreas reported open warfare is underway between film producers and longtime duo Monika Bacardi and Andrea Iervolino. The pair have produced dozens of movies such as Ferrari and To the Bone, but following an unexpected announcement Modi producer Iervolino was exiting the work marriage to open his own production shop, Bacardi lashed out, claiming he does not own the rights to certain titles unveiled for The Andrea Iervolino Company, including biopic Maserati vs Ferrari. She also claims she asked the board to investigate grounds to dismiss him before he made his departure. No word on what grounds were, but she says she had requested an “urgent convening of shareholders” to discuss dismissal. Iervolino hit back straight away, telling Andreas he had a “substantial slate of great productions that have nothing to do with the chain of rights of any of the films developed” during his time as CEO of Iervolino & Lady Bakardi Entertainment. He also rejected Bacardi’s accusations, saying there had been “no misconduct” on his part. His lawyers are working on a defamation suit and will be seeking damages from Monika Bacardi Media. Iervolino claims it all spirals down to “jealousy” and urged his former partner and her team to “think about turning the page.” For now, this one looks like it could get ugly.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Tim Roth is the latest to join Cillian Murphy and co in Netflix’s Peaky Blinders movie, Nancy revealed.

🌶️ More heat: The ever-smiley British boxer Nicola Adams is making her Hollywood acting debut in action-thriller The Gun on Second Street. Andreas with the story.

🌶️ Very hot: George Dawes Green’s Southern Gothic novel The Kingdoms of Savannah is getting the TV adaptation treatment. One from me.

🏀 Ballers: France’s Mediawan and LeBron James’ SpringHill Entertainemnt teamed on a content venture.

🏪 Setting up shop: Goodfellas and Enrique López Lavigne created Goodapaxte, as Mel revealed.

🏪 Another shop: Ex-Banijay exec Joris Gijsbertse formed European indie collaboration venture Thirtyfour Media, per Stewart.

🎭 Theater: Rosamund Pike is making her National Theatre debut in London in Suzie Miller’s Inter Alia.

📬 Submissions: The UK, Argentina and Switzerland were among those submitting their Oscar hopefuls.

🤝 ‘New job: For ex-Channel 4 exec Karl Warner at BBC Studios.

🤖 Here come the robots: UK paper The Evening Standard is hoping to bring its late arts critic Brian Sewell back in AI form.

🍿 Box Office: Transformers One debuted with a $39M start.

Zak Ntim contributed to this week’s Insider. It was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Stewart Clarke.