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Netflix commemorated five years of local production releases in Brazil last November announcing a drive into production outside the country’s two traditional powerhouse bases of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Last week, Netflix Brazil revealed more productions set across the country’s vast terrain to bring compelling and fresh narratives to the platform.

“Ricos de Amor” relocates to Northern Brazil for a second season. Produced by São Paulo’s Prodigo Films, “Invisible City,” the first live action title from “Ice Age” creator Carlos Saldanha, has direction and production teams working out of Belém, Pará, in northern-most Brazil.

“This is a very special series, with diverse artists, with accents from all over Brazil,” said Lucy Alves of “Só Se For Por Amor,” in which she stars. “When we see something this big being done in the countryside we identify a lot… it’s immediate,” she added.

Netflix has also...

In this week’s special Natpe: Miami International TV Newswire, Variety looks at the AVoD revolution through a new deal between Tubi and Mexico’s Azteca, ITV and Kew Media sell big across the Americas and two high-profile HBO Latin America series join Hulu Japan’s Latin American showcase.

Tubi and Azteca Presage AVoD Revolution

Tubi, the world’s largest AVoD (Advertising Supported Video on Demand) player, based out of San Francisco, signed this week a strategic partnership with Mexico’s broadcast network TV Azteca to launch a localized Spanish-language app.

As part of the deal, TV Azteca will sell ads on behalf of Tubi while promoting the service to the company’s audience across several platforms. Several of TV Azteca’s more popular titles will also be made available to Tubi members in Mexico, including: “Exatlón Mexico,” “MasterChef,” and “Lo que La Gente Cuente.”

That’s the deal. More will come.

Before “Terminator: Dark Fate” opened in theaters and became one of the fall movie season’s biggest box office bombs, producer James Cameron told CinemaBlend that he and director Tim Miller fought through many creative differences during the editing process. “The blood is still being scrubbed off the walls from those creative battles,” Cameron said. “This is a film that was forged in fire.” “Dark Fate” has grossed just under $60 million since opening November 1. In his first interview since the film’s disastrous theatrical run started, Miller told Kcrw’s “The Business” podcast that he will no longer work with Cameron or any producer, actor, or director that can take creative control over a project away from him.

“I’m sure we could write a book on why it didn’t work,” Miller said of “Dark Fate” bombing. “I’m still not sure and I’m processing, but I’m very proud of the movie.

It’s been a difficult few weeks for Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller, who’s seen the movie bomb at the box office, with the long-running franchise seemingly at risk of being retired. Miller’s recently been trying to explain some of the issues he faced with the picture though, which he’d intended to be a fresh take on the Terminator mythos, including problems with producer James Cameron over the finished product.

Now, however, the Deadpool director has pointed to a lack of female writers for the woman-centric movie as another reason for the film’s struggles. Although each had a varying role to play in the final product, Terminator: Dark Fate is credited to six different scribes: James Cameron, David Goyer, Justin Rhodes, Charles H. Eglee, Billy Ray and Josh Friedman.

When asked on the Kcrw The Business podcast about the lack of diversity in this group,...

Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller got his start on big-budget action movies with his hit Deadpool movie starring Ryan Reynolds back in 2016. Miller quietly turned down the chance to helm the sequel and today we know why. It turns out that franchise star Ryan Reynolds wanted too much control over Deadpool 2. So Miller walked.

Specifically, Tim Miller says about his decision to leave the Deadpool 2 director's chair.

"It became clear that Ryan wanted to be in control of the franchise. You can work that way as a director, quite successfully, but I can't. I don't mind having a debate, but if I can't win, I don't want to play. And I don't think you can negotiate every creative decision, there's too many to make. So Ryan's the face of the franchise, and he was the most important component of that, by far. So if he decides he wants to control it,...

“Dark Phoenix” is already disappearing from movie theaters after a few weeks because of its dismal box office performance, but the debut of new concept art photos are revealing part of the movie fans never got to see. Much of the film’s behind-the-scenes troubles have been well documented, including a drastic overhaul of the film’s third act in reshoots, and the images released by concept artist Houston Sharp detail what would’ve been Sophie Turner’s appearance in the original ending.

Sharp has served as a concept artist on several major studio tentpoles over the last several years, including “Wonder Woman” and its upcoming sequel “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Tomb Raider,” “Rampage,” and Dwayne Johnson’s “Jungle Cruise.” For “Dark Phoenix,” Sharp and the creative team were planning for an ending where Turner’s Jean Grey resembled the fiery look of the character from the comic books. “Dark Phoenix...

Dark Phoenix wasn’t a hit with critics, or with audiences, and the film’s writer and director is taking full responsibility.

“It’s not gonna kill me to talk about it,” Simon Kinberg shared on last week’s episode of Kcrw’s The Business podcast, adding, “I actually really like the movie.”

The film, which was released on June 7, earned $33 million on its opening weekend, and went on to gross just $9 million during its second week, according to IndieWire.

“This weekend for me was certainly more disappointing then I’d anticipated, but I was anticipating or bracing for a tough weekend,...

A good leader is often someone that is willing to share success with their colleagues, while also taking the blame for when something goes wrong. And while we’ll never know how writer-director Simon Kinberg might have accepted acclaim for “Dark Phoenix,” it’s pretty admirable to see how he reacts to the film’s box office and critical failure.

Speaking on the Kcrw show The Business, Kinberg was brutally honest about the film he just released.

Continue reading Simon Kinberg Falls On The Sword For ‘Dark Phoenix’ Critical & Box Office Failure: “That’s On Me” at The Playlist.

The bad news keeps coming for “Dark Phoenix,” the Simon Kinberg-directed “X-Men” movie starring Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence. After tanking at the box office in its debut weekend with $33 million, the superhero tentpole dropped a huge 72.6% in its second weekend with a gross of just $9 million. That decline makes “Dark Phoenix” the unfortunate record holder for biggest second weekend drop ever for a superhero movie.

According to IndieWire’s box office expert Tom Brueggemann, “Dark Phoenix” is now destined to lose perhaps $100 million at the box office. The movie’s second weekend brings its total gross to about $52 million, and Brueggemann reports that a final gross of $65 million would be an optimistic outcome for the struggling “X-Men” tentpole. At this point, “Dark Phoenix” will have a final gross that is barely above the lowest openings in the “X-Men” franchise.

Kinberg has already admitted defeat...

Alec Bojalad Jun 17, 2019

X-Men: Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg has said "that's on me" of the film's box office struggles.

They say success has many fathers but failure is an orphan. X-Men: Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg has decided to take one for the team and adopt that orphan.

In a recent interview with Kcrw's The Business, Kinberg discussed X-Men: Dark Phoenix's disappointing box office haul and tepid critical reception. Thus far the film has only made just over $50 million domestically and is holding down a 24% at Rotten Tomatoes, including a poor review from Den of Geek's own Don Kaye.

“It clearly is a movie that didn’t connect with audiences that didn’t see it, it didn’t connect enough with audiences that did see it. So that’s on me,” Kinberg said. “I’m here, I’m saying when a movie doesn’t work, put it on me.

For Simon Kinberg, the buck stops here when it comes to the failure of Dark Phoenix to live up to the commercial and critical success of previous films in the X-men franchise.

“I’m here and I’m saying when a movie doesn’t work, put it on me,” Kinberg said on the Kcrw podcast The Business. “I’m the writer/director of the movie, the movie didn’t connect with audiences, that’s on me.”

The film debuted last weekend and scored only $33 million at the Us box office. At an estimated $200 million production cost before marketing, that’s trouble. Not helping is the critical reception, which registered 23 percent Rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest score ever for an X-men movie.

A report from Anthony D’Alessandro in Deadline detailed the behind-the-scenes drama on the film’s production, including the shocking news that the film was originally set up as a two-parter,...

“Dark Phoenix” has ended the “X-Men” series with a thud at the box office, and writer-director Simon Kinberg says he blames himself for the film’s failure.

“It clearly is a movie that didn’t connect with audiences that didn’t see it, it didn’t connect enough with audiences that did see it. So that’s on me,” Kinberg told Kcrw’s The Business.

Kinberg joined the “X-Men” film series as a writer on its third installment, 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.” He went on to serve as the lead producer for the series during its soft reboot and the “Deadpool” films, as well as a writer on “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.” But “Dark Phoenix,” the final film to feature the X-Men before their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, was his first film as a director.

Also Read: Why 'Dark Phoenix' Ended the '...

Not only was X-Men: Dark Phoenix littered with bad reviews, it also has a very disappointing box office opening. The movie bombed and director Simon Kinberg has addressed the poor opening and takes responsibility for the film’s failings.

During an interview with Kcrw’s The Business, Kinberg said, "It clearly is a movie that didn't connect with audiences that didn't see it, it didn't connect enough with audiences that did see it. So that's on me." However he does like how the move turned out and enjoyed the process of making it saying, "I loved making the movie, and I loved the people I made the movie with.”

While the movie could have and should have been a lot better, I don’t think that’s the only reason it bombed. After Disney and Marvel got the rights back to these characters, I think the fans are just burnt...

Simon Kinberg isn’t burying his head in the sand. After debuting his feature filmmaking debut, the critically savaged and drastically underperforming “Dark Phoenix” last week, Kinberg popped up on KCRW’s “The Business” (via EW) to open up about his perceived failures on the X-Men feature.

“It clearly is a movie that didn’t connect with audiences that didn’t see it, it didn’t connect enough with audiences that did see it. So that’s on me,” Kinberg said.

The film debuted last weekend during the crush of the summer movie-going season, where it pulled in only $33 million in domestic dollars, a far cry from the receipts of recent X-Men features like “X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Logan.” With an estimated $200 million production cost (and that’s before marketing) and uninspiring foreign numbers, the film will likely go down as the franchise’s biggest bust ever.

And that’s to...

Dark Phoenix had a brutal opening weekend. The would-be blockbuster culmination of Fox's decades-long X-Men franchise fizzled out at the box office with just $32.8 million -- an all-time low for the franchise -- despite a star-studded cast and one of the most recognizable titles in the X-Men legacy. On the heels of the disappointing debut, writer/director Simon Kinberg gave a candid, classy interview on Kcrw's The Business podcast, diving into how release date shuffles and the Disney-Fox merger impacted the film's journey and why he's not using any …...

It's rare to hear a filmmaker speak publicly in the days after a movie bombs at the box office. But following his film's disappointing opening, Dark Phoenix writer-director Simon Kinberg is opening up in an interview with Kim Masters, host of Kcrw's The Business and editor-at-large of The Hollywood Reporter.

Last weekend, Dark Phoenix earned just $33 million stateside, a dismal showing for the final installment of Fox's X-Men franchise. A number of factors have been put forward to explain Dark Phoenix's failure: Kinberg's creative team took the wrong lessons from 2016's Apocalypse; there was X-Men ...

It's rare to hear a filmmaker speak publicly in the days after a movie bombs at the box office. But following his film's disappointing opening, Dark Phoenix writer-director Simon Kinberg is opening up in an interview with Kim Masters, host of Kcrw's The Business and editor-at-large of The Hollywood Reporter.

Last weekend, Dark Phoenix earned just $33 million stateside, a dismal showing for the final installment of Fox's X-Men franchise. A number of factors have been put forward to explain Dark Phoenix's failure: Kinberg's creative team took the wrong lessons from 2016's Apocalypse; there was X-Men ...

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl and Nick Davis talk Oscar races

Hello! No new movies to review but plenty to talk about.

Index (56 minutes)

00:01 Glenn, Regina, Olivia, and Patty saved the Globes

05:16 What we've been watching lately: Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother, plus Support the Girls, Minding the Gap, Eighth Grade and A Star is Born (again).

18:00 Supporting Actress / Actor: Foy or Robbie, and King? Sam, Sam, or Timothée?

29:22 Actor & Actress: Hawke or Washington? Blunt, Aparacio, or Kidman?

35:45 Screenplay confusions / Score weirdness

42:30 Foreign Film: Never Look Away or Burning?

45:50 Nick is thumbs down At Eternity's Gate

47:20 Director / Picture and Pawel Pawlikowski and Spike Lee

55:00 Wrap-up

Further Reading / References

• Oscar Charts

• Golden Globe Speeches

• Kcrw's "The Business" interview with Spike Lee

• Nathaniel's Ben Foster interview

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes.

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl and Chris Feil talk new films

Index (51 minutes)

00:01 Mary Poppins Returns, the songs, the costumes, the Blunt

20:17 James Wan bonkers vision of Aquaman, shirtlessness and the lack thereof, and the kick-ass fun Nicole Kidman is having as Aquamom

30:08 Returning to the Poppins-Verse for a moment

33:20 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and comic book style

40:40 Split opinions on Cold War but we all love the cinematography, music, and the performance of its leading actress Joanna Kulig

46:47 Murtada makes us talk about Beale Street... again.

49:45 Wrap-up

Further Reading / References

• Pawel Pawlikowski on Kcrw's "The Business"

• Chris's review of Aquaman

• Yahya Abdul-Mateen underneath the "Black Manta" suit

• Jason's review of Cold War

• Tim's review of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments,...

After “Lost” ended, executive producer Carlton Cuse famously escaped to a remote part of Europe to decompress — where he still ran into fans. But even now, more than eight years after the series wrapped, he’s still constantly recognized on the street.

“I would say it happens once or twice a week,” Cuse said. “I was just in an airport, and a guy came up to me. It was really super touching. I really like it when people come up and say that they liked the show. He said that his dad had died, and he loved ‘Lost,’ and that whole kind of connection between Jack [Matthew Fox’s character] and his father was something that meant a lot to him because of his own personal circumstances. It was very emotional.”

But Cuse is now behind another “Jack” on the small screen: Amazon Prime Video’s “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.

So you want to make it in Hollywood? If you’ve moved out here for the sun, surf and stars — welcome! Los Angeles has a lot to offer and is the perfect place to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. But you may be wondering just why Hollywood ended up here in Southern California and not, as the legend goes, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

In this first episode of “The Business,” a new video series produced by TheWrap, we ask, why is Hollywood the center of the entertainment industry? How did Hollywood end up in… Hollywood?

TheWrap’s Paul Nyhart leads you through the history of the early days of cinema and the formation of Tinseltown. Where does the name “Hollywood” came from? How did early filmmakers push the boundaries of what a movie could be? Why did D.W. Griffith, Lillian Gish, Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Chaplin and more artists come west? Why was Los Angeles the perfect place to settle down and make movies? What role did Thomas Edison have in shaping the industry?

Also Read: Pay Attention Or Fall Behind: Industry Pros Share How to Get Ahead in Entertainment (Video)

We answer all these questions and more in this first episode of “The Business.” In future episodes, TheWrap will speak with experts in the industry and take you through the history of Hollywood.

Watch the video for “The Business” above.

Read original story ‘The Business': How Hollywood Became the Center of the Entertainment Industry (Video) At TheWrap...

Back in 2004, Disney bought the rights to The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company and since then we've seen a couple of films and an attempt at a TV series that didn't work out very well. It was also recently announced that they were going to give it another try and develop a new series for their streaming service and they have a Muppet Babies animated series on the way.

Now, I love The Muppets, but I haven't really been that impressed with what they've done with the property so far. I know a lot of fans feel the same way. It just doesn't have the same kind of magic that it used to have. Legendary Muppets performer Frank Oz recently opened up about this and in his comments, he says that Disney just doesn't get it.

Oz recently appeared on Kcrw’s The Business (via The Hollywood Reporter) to...