Neon Acquires North American Rights to Pablo Berger’s First Animated Feature “Robot Dreams”

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Pablo Berger’s dreams will bring him stateside…

Neon has acquired the North American rights to Robot Dreams, the first animated feature from the 60-year-old Spanish Goya Award-winning filmmaker.

The film premiered in the Special Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 20th.

Based on the award-winning graphic novel of the same name by Sara Varon, Robot Dreams follows DOG, who lives in Manhattan and one day, tired of being alone, decides to build himself a robot, a companion. Their friendship blossoms, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of ’80s NYC. One summer night, DOG, with great sadness, is forced to abandon ROBOT at the beach. Will they ever meet again?

Berger produced the film alongside Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé, Sandra Tapia Diaz and Ángel Durández, with Jérôme Vidal, Sylvie Pialat and Benoit Quainon co-producing.

The acquisition, which is the first North American deal announced for a Cannes festival movie this edition, comes on the heels of Neon’s past triumphs at Cannes with three consecutive Palme d’Or winners: Parasite, Titane and Triangle of Sadness.

Berger’s previous projects include Torremolinos, Blancanieves and Abracadabra.

Daddy Yankee to Executive Produce & Appear in Netflix’s Reggaeton-Themed Series “Neon”

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

It’s an electric time for Daddy Yankee…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar is set to executive produce the upcoming Netflix series Neon.

Daddy Yankee, a pioneer of the reggaeton genre popularized in his native Puerto Rico, will also make a cameo appearance.

Across 8 episodes, Neon follows three friends who move from a small town in Florida to Miami, hoping to make it big in the world of reggaeton. The show chronicles their larger-than-life dreams and the harsh comic realities of attempting to make it in the music industry.

Tyler Dean Flores plays Santi, a budding reggaeton artist who, with the help of his friends, Ness (Emma Ferrerira) and Felix (Jordan Mendoza) and A&R rep, Mia (Courtney Taylor) hopes to become the biggest reggaeton star in the world—or at least make rent.

Shea Serrano created Neon and Max Searle is the showrunner. In addition to Serrano and Daddy Yankee, executive producers include Searle alongside Scooter Braun, James Shin and Scott Manson for SB Projects and Anne Clements. Kyle Vinuya and Demi Adejuyigbe co-executive produce. Jordan Mendoza serves as consulting producer.

Daddy Yankee, the multi-hyphenate born Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, recently announced his retirement as a performer following a successful three-decades-long career with his final shows set from November 30 to December 3 in Puerto Rico. The 5-time Latin Grammy Award winner’s biggest hit Gasolina, recently became the first reggaeton song to be inducted into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

Daddy Yankee previously executive produced and starred in the film Talento de Barrio (2008) from director José Iván Santiago.

Although he has yet to announce his plans for the future, he remains dedicated to his non-profit Daddy’s House via his Corazon Guerrero Foundation.

Netflix Orders Reggaeton-Themed Comedy Series “Neon,” Starring Tyler Dean Flores

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tyler Dean Flores is bringing a little reggaeton to Netflix…

Netflix has given a series order to Neon, a comedy series starring the Puerto Rican actor.

The project is set in the world of the musical genre that birthed the song “Despacito,” the second-most-viewed video ever on YouTube.

Flores, Emma Ferreira, Jordan Mendoza and Courtney Taylor star in the series, which hails from creator Shea Serrano with Max Searle set as showrunner.

Serrano, the author of The Rap Year Book, is behind Amazon Freevee series Primo with Mike Schur and Searle is co-showrunner of the second season of Chad and co-exec producer of Dave.

The eight-part series focuses on three friends who move from a small town in Florida to Miami with the hopes of making it big in the world of reggaeton. The show chronicles not only their larger than life dreams but the harsh comic realities of attempting to make it in the music industry.

Flores (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) plays Santi, a budding reggaeton artist who, with the help of his friends, Ness, played by (Ferreira) and Felix, (Mendoza) and A&R rep, Mia (Taylor) hopes to become the biggest reggaeton star in the world. Or at least make rent.

The series is executive produced by Serrano and Searle. It comes from Scooter Braun’s SB Projects with Braun executive-producing alongside Scott Manson and James Shin. Kyle Vinuya is co-executive producer. Mendoza also serves as consulting producer.

Flores’ previous credits include The Dark Knight Rises, When They See Us and Chicago Fire.

Zoe Saldana to Receive “Star of the Year” Award at CinemaCon

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Zoe Saldana is a shining star…

The 43-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress will be among the honorees at CinemaCon’s Big Screen Achievement Awards.

Saldana will receive a CinemaCon Star of the Year award as The Adam Project star prepares for the release of a slate of projects that includes a new David O. Russell film, Keyhole Garden, the Avatar franchise and a new Guardians of the Galaxy installment.

The Big Screen Achievement Awards will be held at CinemaCon headquarters at Caesars Palace on April 28 and will be hosted by Entertainment Tonight veteran Kevin Frazier from inside the Colosseum. The awards are designed to shine a spotlight on the big-screen achievements of actors and filmmakers.

Other honorees include Robert De Niro, Billy Eichner, Abby Ryder Fortson and Glen Powell.

Additional honors are expected to be announced.

“CinemaCon may be the only time during the course of the year where the exhibition community gets to thank the creative world for providing the very best in the world of movies,” said Neuhauser. “Our roster of honorees this year represents an incredible scope of talent and to have one of the most legendary actors in the history of film being honored, that of course being Robert De Niro — well, it really doesn’t get better than that.”

The news comes just days before the big event that sees Hollywood studios and cinema operators gather in Las Vegas for the annual convention hosted by the National Association of Theatre Owners.

This year, all five major Hollywood studios plus Lionsgate and Neon will be touting their upcoming slates during their time on stage inside the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

CinemaCon, expected to draw upward of 6,000 guests, runs April 25-28. Partners this year include both the International Cinema Technology Association and National Association of Concessionaires.

Gabriela Revilla Lugo to Pen Mattel’s Live-Action Family Drama “Christmas Balloon”

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriela Revilla Lugo is blowing up in Hollywood…

The 39-year-old Nicaraguan film director, producer and writer is teaming up with Mattel to develop the live-action family drama Christmas Balloon.

Revilla Lugo will write the script based on a true story.

The film follows a young girl, Dáyami, living in a Mexican border town who tries to send her Christmas list to Santa tied to a balloon. The balloon is found by Randy and Marcella Heiss, a couple in Arizona grieving the loss of their own child, who make it their mission to fulfill the girl’s touching Christmas wishes.

Mattel worked with the couple and donated toys to fulfill Dáyami’s wish towards a brighter future.

“Much like Dáyami’s balloon itself, the journey of this touching story and Mattel’s direct role in fulfilling her real-life wishes made it a must-do for us,” said Kevin McKeon, VP of Mattel Films. “We were immediately struck by this little girl’s spirit and the story’s positive message. We also knew there was no one better to tell her story with passion and sensitivity than Gabriela. We are proud to work with her, along with Vital Pictures, to bring this touching family drama to audiences around the world.”

McKeon and Ivan Sanchez, Creative Executive are overseeing the project for Mattel Films. Chris Lemos and Luis Guerrero of Vital Pictures are producing.

“Randy and Marcella’s story exemplifies the holiday spirit and shows the miraculous way small acts of kindness can change lives, bring families together, and inspire entire communities on both sides of the border. We can’t think of better partners than Mattel and Gabriela to bring this wonderful true story to audiences everywhere,” said Lemos on behalf of Vital Pictures.

“I am honored to bring Dáyami’s journey to life in a time when it’s clear we all need to believe in hope and magic,” Revilla Lugo said.

Writer/producer Revilla Lugo is best known for executive producing Hulu/Neon’s Palm Springs and the Netflix movie The Starling, starring Melissa McCarthy.

Neon Acquires Worldwide Rights to Rebeca Huntt’s Debut Film “Beba”

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Rebeca Huntt’s acclaimed debut film is going global…

Neon has acquired the worldwide rights to Beba, the debut film by the Afro-Latina artist.

Huntt’s 16mm feature film of poetry and interview footage, which recently made its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival to rave reviews, will debut in 2022.

Huntt undertakes an unflinching exploration of her own identity in the coming-of-age documentary/cinematic memoir. Reflecting on her childhood and adolescence in New York City as the daughter of a Dominican father and Venezuelan mother, she investigates the historical, societal and generational trauma she’s inherited and ponders how those ancient wounds have shaped her, while simultaneously considering the universal truths that connect us all as humans.

Huntt searches for a way to forge her own creative path amid a landscape of intense racial and political unrest as an Afro-Latina artist hungry for knowledge and yearning for connection.

“Poetic, powerful and profound, Beba is a courageous, deeply human self-portrait of an Afro-Latina artist hungry for knowledge and yearning for connection,” Neon said.

Huntt wrote and directed the film, and she produced it with Sofia Geld. Oscar nominee Petra Costa, Alyse Ardell Spiegel, Alessandra Orofino, Joy Bryant and Inuka Bacote-Capiga serve as the film’s executive producers.

Dominga Sotomayor to Write & Direct “Niebla”

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Dominga Sotomayor has locked up her next project…

The 36-year-old Chilean filmmaker, one of the directors on Neon’s anthology movie The Year of the Everlasting Storm, will write and direct Niebla for RT Features’ Rodrigo Teixeira.

The film takes place on a cruise ship heading towards a distant nondescript coastline. In the middle of the ocean, the large and eclectic group of international passengers, all seem to be escaping their own realities. Among them Julia, a 35-year-old woman who won the cruise as a raffle prize at work, embarks on what she believes to be a simple vacation and finds herself stuck in a physical and emotional purgatory.

Teixeira and Lourenço Sant’Anna will produce with Alan Terpins executive producing.

The project is planning to shoot next year.

Sotomayor previously directed Too Late to Die, which won Locarno’s Golden Leopard for Best Direction in 2018, making Sotomayor the first woman to win that prize.

Amazon Prime Video Acquires Rights in Several International Territories to “Palm Springs,” Featuring Camila Mendes

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Mendes’ repeat Wedding Day is going global…

Amazon Prime Video has acquired a swathe of international rights on Palm Springs, featuring the 26-year-old Brazilian American actress and Riverdale star as the bride celebrating her wedding day.

The Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti-starring comedy caused a splash at the Sundance Film Festival this year when Hulu and Neon sealed a record-breaking $17.5M world rights deal.

FilmNation was selling international rights to the film, and several of those key territories have now sold to Amazon, which will launch the film in Australia and New Zealand (November 20), Canada (December 18), Netherlands, France and the UK (all early 2021).

The movie’s North America release was heavily disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, screening primarily at drive-ins before its Hulu launch.

Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti star in the Max Barbakow-directed feature in which Milioti plays a lost and occasionally self-destructive bridesmaid to a younger sister (Mendes) getting hitched in the desert. A moving wedding toast from a fellow guest (Samberg) gets the pair talking, and they seem to be a decent match until a metaphysical event occurs, leaving the two with ample time to ponder the meaning of life and how it should be spent.

MUBI Acquires UK/Ireland Rights to Michel Franco’s Diego Boneta-Starrer “New Order”

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Diego Boneta’s latest film is heading across the pond…

Arthouse outfit MUBI has acquired all UK and Ireland rights to Michel Franco’s Venice Film Festival drama New Order, starring the 29-year-old Mexican singer and actor.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize.

Conceived six years ago, Franco’s timely class conflict drama sees a high-society wedding interrupted by the arrival of unwelcome guests as protests rage on the streets.

Parasite distributor Neon recently picked up the North American rights for the Spanish-language film. It will next play at BFI London Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival. The movie also played at San Sebastian Film Festival and made its North American debut at Toronto.

Written, produced and directed by Franco, the film features an ensemble cast comprised of Boneta, Naian González Norvind, Darío Yazbek Bernal, Lisa Owen, Fernando Cuautle, Mónica Del Carmen, Eligio Meléndez, Patricia Bernal, Roberto Medina, Enrique Singer and Gustavo Sánchez Parra.

Boneta served as an executive producer on the project.

Colombia Selects Alejandro Landes’ “Monos” as Its Pick for the Oscar’s International Feature Film Race

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Alejandro Landes is representing Colombia…

The 39-year-old Brazil-born Colombian-Ecuadorian film director’s latest project, the Spanish-language survival thriller Monos, has been selected as Colombia’s selection for the International Feature Film race at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The film centers on a young group of soldiers and rebels training on a remote mountain in Latin America with an American hostage (Julianne Nicholson).

Moisés Arias, Sofia Buenaventura, Deiby Rueda, Karen Quintero and Laura Castrillón star in the film, which Landes co-wrote with Alexis Dos Santos.

The film won a World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Awardat this year’s Sundance Film Festivalin Park City, Utah.

The news comes as Neon and co-distributor Participant Media prepare to release the film theatrically in the U.S. on September 13.

Colombia has only seen one film nominated in what was formerly known as the Best Foreign Language Film category. That was Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent in 2015, the year Hungary’s Son of Saulwon the Oscar.

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