John Turturro, Melissa Leo, ‘24’s’ Evan Katz, ‘Mafia Spies’ Director Tom Donahue, Juan José Campanella on the Mediapro Studio’s First U.S. Slate
UPDATED: John Turturro, Melissa Leo, “24” showrunner Evan Katz and Oscar winner Juan José Campanella will be joined by Tom Donahue, director of “Mafia Spies,” “The Floor” showrunner Anthony Carbone and Matt and Tina Hastings (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Fallen”) on the first English-language slate of The Mediapro Studio US & Canada.
Presented at Mipcom at a Media Mastermind session on Wednesday by The Mediapro Studio’s CEO Laura Fernández Espeso, Juan “JC” Acosta, head of the Los Angeles-based The Mediapro Studio US & Canada, the slate represents a long-standing major gameplan announced by Fernández Espeso in 2021.
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One highlight of the presentation was video message relayed on the big screen of Cannes’ Palais des Festival’s Grand Auditorium where Tuturro relayed his thoughts on his upcoming film, with The Mediapro Studio, turning on a brilliant woman who suffers schizophrenia and underscored its emotional relevance to him.
“I’ve always resisted doing one of these kind of films, because I’ve had personal experience in growing the brother, who also suffered with schizophrenia, but also got the book,” Turturro said. “I was really enthused that someone had captured all its complexities and humour and lust and manipulations and hopes and dreams.”
The CEO’s aim is to drive into the biggest film-TV market in the world, combining top-tier U.S. showrunners and the financing muscle, production facilities, in-house talent and co-production expertise and infrastructure of The Mediapro Studio, headquartered in Madrid but running production operations in many markets in Europe and Latin America. That allows TMS to combine local expertise and global perspective to create universal content, she commented.
Fernández Espeso and Acosta were flanked on stage by Pam Healey, who is leading TMS’ charge of unscripted content, Ran Tellem, TMS head of international content development and Katz and Campanella.
“The U.S. is not just another market. What is created there has the potential to resonate globally, influencing cultures and trends worldwide…and there is no way we would miss the opportunity to join that market as well,” Fernández Espeso told Variety.
“We’ve been working on this for the last 10 years, and now it is time to celebrate the fruits of our hard work and to go further,” she added.
First details on the slate:
“Is There No Place on Earth for Me?”
John Turturro is writing and set to direct and star in the film “Is There No Place on Earth for Me?” adapting Susan Sheehan’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize reportage about a family whose daughter battles schizophrenia. The film is fully packaged and almost ready to go, said Acosta.
” Witness 36″
“24” showrunner Evan Katz will lead the series, created by The Mediapro Studio’s Daniel Burman and described by Acosta as a high-stakes “cat and mouse thriller with ‘Killing Eve’ vibes.” In it, a young woman who creates new identities at an extraterritorial witness protection program meets a guy at a bar one night whose personal story is exactly the same as one of the identities she’s thought up. As a project, “Witness 36” won the coveted Series Mania Award at February’s Berlinale Co-Pro Series.
“The Son of the Bride”
Oscar-winning director Juan José Campanella (“The Secret in Their Eyes”) is set to adapt as an English-language series his Academy Award-nominated movie “The Son of the Bride,” hailed by Variety in 2001 as “unflaggingly genial and universally funny.” “A thought-making exploration of family and a reminder that all human beings are always coming of age,” said Acosta. The adaptation is being written by Campanella, who has directed episodes of iconic U.S. series such as “House” and, most recently, “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
“Screaming Ball of Chaos”
The Mediapro Studio has optioned and is working on “Screaming Ball of Chaos,” the next novel from Juliet McDaniel, whose fiction book “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie” became the Apple TV+ hit series “Palm Home Royale.” “Screaming Balls…” is described by Acosta as “an unexpected Bonnie and Clyde with cults, male strippers and a little bit of Neil Diamond.” A fun, female-led comedy about a chaotic woman’s bank-robbing spree, it speaks to the tenor of The Mediapro Studio: “Big characters, iconic hooks, stories that will maintain and continue for many seasons.”
“I Love the Prime Minister”
Matt Hastings, a co-executive producer on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” is attached to “I Love the Prime Minister,” from an original idea by Ran Tellem (“Homeland,” “The Head”). An around half-hour light romantic comedy, it turns on a successful female lawyer who’s been very focused on her career and is now up to become prime minister and juggling the pressures of leadership with modern dating.
“Catch Me If You Can”
“The Floor” showrunner-executive producer Anthony Carbone is working with The Mediapro Studio to package a U.S. adaptation of one of the longest-running unscripted formats in Spain, “Catch Me If You Can,” which has run to more than 10,000 episodes.
Hollywood Homicide: Robert Blake
Tom Donahue, director of “Mafia Spies,” and his label CreativeChaos are teaming with The Mediapro Studio for its first true crime doc series about the case of actor Robert Blake (“In Cold Blood,” “Barretta”) case, accused of murdering his wife Bonny Lee Bakley. The story is now told by his son, Noah Blake.
“Mother Wolf”
Academy Award-winner Melissa Leo (“Frozen River”) is starring in “Mother Wolf,” directed by indie darling Suzi Yoonessi (“Dear Lemon Lima,” “Unlovable”), a “dark, comedic fairy tale,” said Acosta, in which Leo plays a retired teacher suddenly tasked with caring for her grandchildren. She will basically do anything for her family. Movie is now in post, supported by The Mediapro Studio.
“Our activity in Latin America and Europe is solid. These are key markets for us, as well as Spain, of course. We have earned the trust and respect of the region’s key clients,” said Fernández Espeso.
“And we have had invaluable support from our production partners, who have enriched our productions. We want to keep this close connection to talent, clients and partners where we produce our content because a big part of our international expansion relies on local connections,” she added.
“The commitment, the plans, the offices and everything means we can finally dedicate ourselves to creating and producing English Language content as much as we have in Spanish,” Fernández Espeso went on. “We have an extensive library of formats, and we have a strong track record of creating content that transcends borders, both geographically and thematically.”
“Our objective with our international productions is delivering high quality, delivering that in English and delivering with amazing talent,” added Acosta. “That’s why we’re doubling down on English.”
The productions will look to get the most out of the investment, capitalizing on The Mediapro Studio’s global infrastructure and local incentives, he added.
The slate announcement catches the U.S. TV scene at a particular crux. “For many years, we’d liked to produce in the U.S. and keep it in the U.S. and dabble in local content, local for local,” Acosta told Variety. “Now, however, given the realities of how the market has settled, how price per episode is being viewed, we have a competitive advantage because we can bring the talent, the creativity, the infrastructure, and have a distribution arm – the entire package. I think that sets you apart,” he added.
More to come….
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