Global Flicks: Pedro Pascal Attached To New Spanish Western; Vodacom Video Play Officially Shut Down; Kakao Entertainment Producing Film Adaptation Of ‘Solo Leveling’
Vodacom Video Play
Africa: Vodacom Video Play has joined the other failed streaming services in South Africa. The streaming service will no longer offer content to viewers in the region. Video Play originally debuted in 2015; by 2019, it had 890,000 viewers. Since then, Vodacom has offered streaming deals for more prominent streaming brands including an offer of half a year of free Amazon Prime. Video Play was officially shut down on July 1st, 2, 2022.
Asia: Kakao Entertainment has confirmed they will be producing a film adaptation of the fan-favorite webtoon Solo Leveling. Kakao Entertainment is a branch of the Korean company Kakao and will work alongside Japan’s A-1 Pictures (Sword Art Online, Your Lie In April). The music will also be scored by Sawano Hiroyuki, the composer behind Attack On Titan’s soundtrack. Released back in 2016, the webtoon series follows Sung Jinwoo, a notoriously weak hunter of evil monsters that plague the world, and his journey to become the strongest hunter of all. With over 14.2 billion views from around the world, many fans are anxious to see if the animated film will hold up visually to the explosive art style depicted in the webtoon.
Netflix is producing a new comedy titled Love And Deep Water. The film stars Yoshizawa Ryo (Gintama, Reach Beyond The Blue Sky) and Miyazaki Aoi (Future Family, The Boy And The Beast). It will be written by Sakamoto Yuji (We Made A Beautiful Bouquet) and is described as a murder mystery that is investigated by a loyal butler and an elusive woman on a large, luxury cruise ship. Production is expected to begin later this year.
Ventana Sur
Latin America: The 2022 edition of the Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur has set its dates in late November. The Ventana Sur is the largest TV-Film market in Latin America and will be reappearing after 3 long years. It was originally launched back in 2009 and was formed by Cannes Festival’s Film Market Initiative and the INCAA Agency from Argentina. It offers many financing opportunities to filmmakers including its newest initiative, Oscura Tinta, which will be a screenplay competition offering a $25,000 cash prize to the best fantasy/horror feature. The official dates are from November 28th to December 2nd.
Pedro Pascal - Alberto E. Rodriguez / Stringer
Europe: Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal will be the leading men in Pedro Almodóvar’s new film Extraña Forma De Vida (Strange Way Of Life). The film is described as a western and will be shot in English. Locations will be in Spain and production is run by Madrid-based company El Deseo. The plot is kept under wraps but in a statement from the director, the story will follow two gunmen reuniting after 25 years to reminisce their fond times together. Notably, the shooting will take place in the Tabernas Desert in the south of Spain where Sergio Leone filmed his spaghetti western Dollars Trilogy.
