Robert Rodríguezis getting into business with Univision…
The Spanish-language network has announced a new partnership with El Rey Network, the upcoming English-language cable network from the 44-year-old Mexican American filmmaker and John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa’s FactoryMade.
El Rey is set to launch at the end of the year via Comcast.
Univision will be responsible for the back-office operations, sales and distribution of the network.
“The El Rey Network is going to be the home of kick-ass entertainment,” said Rodriguez at Univision’s upfront presentation.
The first shows from El Rey, according to the El Mariachi director, will be a TV version of his and Quentin Tarantino’s Dusk Till Dawnfilm and a still-unnamed action series developed by Fringeand Star Trek Into Darknessproducers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci’s K/O Paper Products.
Pedro Almodóvar is being heralded for his “heart as big as the Grand Canyon”…
The 63-year-old Spanish filmmaker was honored at an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences retrospective of Almodóvar’s work in London, which was attended by celebrities like Grace Jones, Kristen Scott Thomas and Miranda Richardson.
During the high-profile event, Almodóvar brother Agustin, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Stephen Frears and Sally Potter were among the people offering their tributes to the Oscar-winning filmmaker.
Quentin Tarantino even participated in special pre-recorded video to thank Almodóvar for having a “a filmography to beat.” Meanwhile, Frears enthused about Almodóvar’s ability to make everything seem natural.
“He creates a coherent world in which all of the elements fit,” he said. “It comes out of his imagination complete. I met him in New York when I was with My Beautiful Laundrette. I felt like an impostor; here was the transgressive real thing. Mine was a charade.”
A humbled Almodóvar admitted to being embarrassed by all the kind words.
“Tonight I know more about myself than ever,” he joked. “I’ve always strived to try and make life more livable with my films. It’s the homework of any kind of artistic expression. That was the lesson I learned from my mother.”
He even revealed that he’d tried and failed to nab the rights to books like The Hours, Silence of the Lambs, The Human Stain and The Reader, any of which would have been his first foray into English-language film. It’s a bridge he says he’ll likely not attempt to cross again.
“But you have to respect destiny. Perhaps I was not the one to make the movies that I now admire so much.”
And as a delight to the audience, Almodóvar shared a clip from his new film I’m So Excited, which Sony Pictures Classics will release next year. The film, which was originally titled Los Amantes Pasajeros, is the famed director’s return to comedy after a number of dramas like The Skin I Live In and Habla con ella.
The film’s all-star cast includes Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas, Raul Arévalo, Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Hugo Silva, Willy Toledo, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Blanca Suárez, José Luis Torrijo, José María Yazpik and Laya Martí, with special collaborations from Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Paz Vega.
