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Film and television producer, management and sales company 5X Media has hired Madrid-based producer-manager Michael Kaufman to build and run its first European outpost.

Kaufman brings more than 20 years of experience working in Spain, the United States, China, Ireland, Argentina and Israel and will operate out of Madrid.

He recently had a first-look deal with Moonrise Pictures working on a range of US projects with writers-directors like Tessa Blake, Liz Benjamins, J. Todd Harris, and The Lehrer Boys with companies such as Mmc Studios, Creativity Capital, and Paramount Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer.

The executive brings a client roster that includes Spain-based Argentinian writer-showrunner Juan Carballo,...

Scott Einbinder’s 5X Media has set its sights on Europe and is tying with ex-Queer Eye and Wife Swap producer Michael Kaufman.

The nascent studio, which is run by Alon Shtruzman and Gil Goldschein, will open in Madrid under Kaufman’s leadership. Among the clients entering the 5X fold with Kaufman are Spain-based Argentinian writer/showrunner Juan Carballo (Netflix’s El Amor Después Del Amor), producer/showrunner Anne Clements (The Kill Room), writers the Lehrer Brothers (Tubi’s The Freak Brothers), producer/writer/director Paul Kampf and 2Team Productions (Come Closer). Clements and Kampf are in production on Undercard, which stars Wanda Sykes and is shooting in Puerto Rico, as well as Harvest, starring Matthew McNulty and Angus Macfadyen and filming in Serbia.

5X currently has offices in LA and Cape Town, having launched in January 2023, as we revealed at the time. Well-known international TV execs Alon Shtruzman and...

Exclusive: Boxing mother-and-son drama Undercard, starring comedian Wanda Sykes in her first big dramatic film role, has begun principal photography in Puerto Rico for Catalyst Studios.

Emmy Award-winning Sykes plays Cheryl “No Mercy” Stewart, a two-time former boxing champion and recovering alcoholic.

The movie follows her attempts to reconnect with 20-year-old son Keith, a talented but troubled young man, played by rising star Bentley Green (Heist 88), who has followed his mother’s footsteps into the boxing ring.

When Keith finds himself alone in his corner, because of his gambling-addicted trainer, he is forced to turn to his mother. Determined to right past wrongs, she embarks on a mission to train her son for glory in a World Championship title fight.

They are joined in the cast by William Stanford Davis (Abbott Elementary), Xavier Mills, Estella Kahiha, Berto Colon and Puerto Rican star Roselyn Sanchez.

Undercard marks the sixth production in two years for Catalyst Studios.

It is directed by Tamika Miller and co-written by Miller and Anita M. Cal.

The movie is billed as following in the tradition of Raging Bull, Million Dollar Baby and Creed, but with the story told through the eyes of the trainer.

“It is about the struggle and survival of the human spirit. Getting up when life does its best to knock you down. This powerful, moving story is a metaphor for our own challenges. And it shows Wanda like we have never seen her before,” said Catalyst Studios Chairperson Holly Anderson Levow.

“I’m thrilled to have this amazing cast bring Undercard to life, with Wanda leading the way in what I know will be a breathtaking performance,” said Miller.

Veteran producer Anne Clements along with local producers Frances Lausell and Andres Ramirez are overseeing production in Puerto Rico. Kim Coleman is Co-Producer. Sykes also serves as an executive producer.