"Vaya Crack" is the new family game-show for Saturday evenings on La 1. Presented by Roberto Leal, along with Pablo Ibáñez and Luis Quevedo, it sets out to show that intelligence is a multi-faceted phenomenon. An RTVE production with the support of Globomedia (THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO) premieres on Saturday September 14th at 22:05 on La 1.
Aimed at viewers of all ages, "Vaya Crack" invites viewers to play from home challenging them to demonstrate that they can be the best at any of the facets that make up intelligence: logic, music, social skills, physical abilities, as well as linguistic and visual skills.
The game-show brings together contestants of all ages, educational backgrounds and professions who are put to the test with a series of interesting challenges (Memory games; musical tests; the wind tunnel; word games; true or false
). In total there are 52 possible games across the different programs. Contestants from around Spain include 18-year-old students, retirees, engineers, actors, performers, musicians, doctors, youtubers, real estate agents, funeral directors, the owner of a haberdasher's and an MOT mechanic.
In addition, the program will also see a series of special guest appearances: the acting Science Minister, Pedro Duque, will put on his spaceman suit again, the magician Jorge Blass and the Michael Jackson Forever musical will bring the keys to their success to the program along with performers and presenters such as Alejo Sauras, Jorge Sanz, Paula Prendes, Elisa Mouliaá and Berta Collado.
On March 30th 1968, four 12 and 13-year-old girls claimed they saw the Virgen Mary at Alcaparrosa Farm, a kilometer away from the small village of El Palmar de Troya, in Seville province. Weeks later, other villagers also claimed further appearances and in the summer of that year an altar was built that would later become Cristiana Palmariana Church. In June 2018, Ginés, the last Pope of El Palmar de Troya, and his wife attacked the church leading to a mass brawl. The attack uncovered a sordid world of scandal, possible sexual abuse cases, unlikely stories and a whole series of accusations thrown at the church and its congregation dating back more than 50 years who, for some, is a church and for many others nothing more than a sect.
"El Palmar de Troya" is a four-part documentary series which draws on hitherto unseen footage, fictional recreations and first-hand accounts from the former Pope Ginés, his wife and other key members of the community who were all part of the strange world which built up as a consequence of the original claims and which still attracts pilgrims from around the world.
The series is an in-depth account of the 50-year history and a step inside the world of the church and its congregation and the result of three years of documentary research.
"El Palmar de Troya" is a documentary series directed by Israel del Santo and produced by Movistar+ together with 100 Balas (THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO) and 93 Metros. The four-part series will shortly be available on #0 Movistar+ (dial 7).
Los responsables del Madrid Club de Fútbol Femenino han impedido el acceso a sus instalaciones de los equipos de producción de MEDIAPRO (dos Unidades Móviles y todo su equipamiento) que debían producir la retransmisión del partido entre el Madrid CFF y el Real Betis Féminas con grave daño a la afición, a las jugadoras y a la imagen de seriedad y profesionalidad de la competición. Con su actitud, los responsables están incumpliendo los acuerdos alcanzados con MEDIAPRO y con la Asociación de Clubes de Fútbol Femenino para la gestión de los derechos audiovisuales de la competición. Esta Asociación ostenta la representación de 13 clubes incluido el Madrid CFF. En marzo de 2019 la Asociación, con el voto unánime de los Clubes, adjudicó al Grupo MEDIAPRO los derechos audiovisuales de la Primera Iberdrola mediante un concurso público donde se analizaron tanto los aspectos económicos como los técnicos. Hecha y formalizada ya la adjudicación, responsables de la RFEF empezaron a realizar ofertas económicas a los clubs de fútbol femenino para adquirir dichos derechos audiovisuales previamente adjudicados, algo totalmente inaudito y que escapa de sus competencias y que entra en competencia directa con los operadores audiovisuales.
MEDIAPRO denuncia, además, la actitud oportunista de la RFEF y de su presidente Luis Rubiales, que, sin haber contribuido especialmente al desarrollo del fútbol femenino, pretenden ahora acapararlo y hacerlo suyo sin importarle destruir la imagen de seriedad y profesionalidad que estaba alcanzando. Para ello, la Federación no duda ni en utilizar fondos que debían destinarse a otros fines, ni en amenazar con aplicar normas restrictivas y sanciones contra los Clubes femeninos que no había aplicado en estos seis últimos años. Resulta, cuanto menos insólito que una institución que se dice tan preocupada por la ética e integridad, esté presionando a los clubs sin ningún tipo de escrúpulos instándoles al incumplimiento contractual.
MEDIAPRO emprenderá todas las acciones legales necesarias para garantizar el cumplimiento de los contratos suscritos.
Un impulso decidido al fútbol femenino
El apoyo del Grupo MEDIAPRO, a través de sus canales, al fútbol femenino no es reciente. Desde 2012 retransmite regularmente partidos de esta categoría. Con el apoyo prestado por MEDIAPRO, el buen hacer de los Presidentes de los Clubes y de la Asociación creada por los mismos, el fútbol femenino ha registrado una gran progresión tanto deportivamente como en su notoriedad, llegando en la actualidad a cosechar importantes triunfos deportivos en las competiciones internacionales y niveles de asistencia y audiencias televisivas nunca conseguidos. Ya en las últimas temporadas, los canales del Grupo MEDIAPRO retransmitían un mínimo de 3 partidos por jornada. En esta jornada está prevista la emisión de dos partidos por parte de Movistar, el mayor difusor del deporte en España, gracias a un acuerdo con MEDIAPRO.
La RFEF ha estado ausente en todo este proceso de profesionalización y con su actitud está poniendo en peligro lo que se ha conseguido con años de esfuerzo y profesionalidad, tanto por parte de los clubs, como de la Asociación y MEDIAPRO.
THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, Hulu Japan and HBO Asia are shooting the first series by Àlex Pastor and David Pastor in Spain, more specifically in Tenerife. Directed by Jorge Dorado ("El Embarcadero", "Mindscape") for 12 weeks, this survival thriller is set in one of the remotest places on the planet Antarctica. The shooting is taking place in the Canary Islands and Iceland.
The Pastor brothers and Jorge Dorado have worked with Ran Tellem ("Homeland"), Head of International Content Development of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, in the creation of this thriller.
The project, one of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO's major investments, took its first steps in 2017 at the prestigious International Series Mania Forum, held in Paris. The Head was presented at a pitching session and aroused great interest among representatives from the media and entertainment sector.
According to Javier Méndez, Chief Content Officer of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, "The Head is an example of the direction we're headed in, with ambitious and complex international projects based on great stories. The Head is a major step in the Studio's strategy to guarantee that the best stories reach our clients around the world; to do so, we have excellent partner like Hulu Japan".
Laura Fernández Espeso, Corporate Director and CoHead of TV of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, commented: "The Head is the fruit of many months' labor to meet deadlines when demand for content is huge. Having talent like Jorge Dorado and Àlex and David Pastor working from the beginning to build and shape this project, altogether with a great international cast and a prominent partner such as Hulu Japan, gives an idea of the magnitude of the project. It is a privilege for THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO to bring this amazing series to the audiovisual market".
The dark, long months in Antarctica, the cold, the wind and the large stretches of ice, along with the feelings of loneliness and claustrophobia, are the distinguishing features of this six-episode series.
The plot of "The Head", with dialogues in English and Danish, is set in the Polaris VI international base, in Antarctica. A small group of scientists from several countries will be in charge of the base during the long polar nights. But in the middle of winter, the base stops communicating with the outside world.
"After a process lasting two and half years, we at THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO are proud to bring this unique story to the screen", explained Tellem. "'The Head'" is about Good and Evil. Our story begins when a group of people find themselves completely disconnected from the world, in the frozen darkness of the South Pole winter. For the unknown killer among them, this is the perfect setting. For everybody else, telling good from evil just might be the thing that saves your life."
"In 'The Head', I made some contribution to the development, which is quite unusual," director Jorge Dorado explains, "because directors normally join in at a much later stage. And this is very interesting, because this way, the story in a way becomes yours too." The director also emphasizes the work of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO: "At the moment, no one else in Spain is doing projects of this magnitude and with such international ambition."
Àlex and David, who have worked on the screenplays of "The Head", along with Isaac Sastre, define the production as a "claustrophobic thriller with a central mystery." "The series plays with two different times, because the idea is to find out who the murderer is, the reasons why they have done this, and if there is something else behind or beyond what seem to be a series of crimes," they suggest.
The Pastor brothers have a brilliant track record in filmmaking with titles like "Carriers" and "The Last Days", both written and directed by them, and "SELF/LESS", written by them, directed by Tarsem Singh ("The Cell") and starring Ben Kingsley and Ryan Reynolds. They made their debut in the TV world with the series "Incorporated", for the US channel Sy Fy, produced by Pearl Street Films, which is Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's company. The Pastor brothers were in charge of the screenplay and the direction of the pilot episode. Recently, they have directed the film "Hogar" for Netflix.
THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO
The mission of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, the content division of the MEDIAPRO Group, is to expand the creation, production and distribution of content globally, creating high-quality international content in association with the very best Spanish and international talent, including Paolo Sorrentino, Woody Allen, Isabel Coixet, Ran Tellem, Oliver Stone, Daniel Burman, Fernando León de Aranoa, Iván Escobar, Javier Fesser, Patricio Guzmán, Borja Cobeaga, Diego San José, Marc Cistaré, Manuel Huerga, Ernesto Daranas, Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn, Laura Belloso, Marc Vigil, Fernando González Molina, Javier Olivares and Ruth García. THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, with 58 offices distributed across four continents, 14 of which develop and produce content, launched 34 series in 2019 with a global investment of 200 million for the production of series, movies, entertainment programs, short-formats and documentaries. MEDIAPRO has partnered with key industry players worldwide including HBO, Netflix, Amazon, DirectTV, Fox, Viacom, Yle Turner and Disney, which have earned international acclaim winning awards including 2 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes, multiple Goya awards and two Daytime Emmy Awards.
ABOUT HULU JAPAN
Hulu Japan was originally launched in Sept 2011 by Hulu LLC and got acquired by HJ Holdings Inc, (a Nippon TV company) in April 2014. Over 2 million paying subscribers of Hulu Japan's SVOD service have instant access to 60,000 videos, and its content line-up covers global-hit scripted series and feature films, local shows including popular dramas, animations, variety shows, documentaries, and Hulu Japan original series besides exclusive catch up and library from Nippon TV, which is the leading terrestrial network and the majority owner of HJ Holdings. Hulu Japan has been maintaining the leading position in the Japanese OTT market since its launch and is regarded as one of the most used services there. Besides Nippon TV, the shareholders include Hulu LLC, Yahoo Japan, TOHO, Yomiuri TV, and CHUKYO TV.
About HBO ASIA
Wholly owned by HBO (a subsidiary of WarnerMedia), Singapore-based HBO Asia brings the best of Hollywood to Asia first through its exclusive licensing deals with major Hollywood and independent studios, including Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros., Lionsgate and DreamWorks Animation. HBO is available across 23 territories across Asia. HBO Asia has proprietary and award-winning HBO and HBO Asia Original programmes produced exclusively for HBO viewers. HBO Asia broadcasts five 24-hour commercial-free subscription movie channels: HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Hits and Cinemax; an Asian movie channel, Red by HBO; internet streaming platform, HBO GO; subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, HBO On Demand; and a branded SVOD service in China, 鼎级剧场 (ding ji ju chang). HBO Asia is also the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst channel in the region. Log on to www.hboasia.com for more information.
HBO and Home Box Office are trademarks of Home Box Office, Inc. Used with permission
An unexplained disappearance, an extremely diverse group of protagonists, all with a painful past, and the city of Malaga. The three keys to "Malaka", the latest reality thriller from La 1 which has been chosen to open the XI edition of the Vitoria FesTVal, getting underway today, Monday 2nd September. Maggie Civantos, Salva Reina and Vicente Romero head up the cast of this hour long serialized drama in which our protagonists strive to settle old scores with their pasts... and with their present.
Produced by RTVE in association with Globomedia (THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO), Malaka begins with the disappearance of an important local Malaga-born businessman's daughter. The Andalusian city takes on the role of an additional cast member in what has been described as a 'warts and all' look at the city, with everything from the bright lights of high society to the very underbelly of the underworld producing the drug.
The series features a formidable cast, a great many of who are native Andalusian's: Cuca Escribano, Antonio Gil, Laura Baena Torres, Susana Córdoba, Alejandro Casaseca, Manuel Morón, Víctor Castilla, Emilio Palacios, Ignacio Mateos, Héctor Medina, Pilar Gómez, Helena Kaittani, and Naomi Ruiz. The nuts and bolts of society's landscape; wealthy businessmen and young people, mafia clan capos and petty criminals.
Created by Daniel Corpas (Yo soy Bea, Lo que me contaron los muertos, Bajo el mismo techo) and Samuel Pinazo (Topos, Las tetas de mi madre), directed by Marc Vigil (The Ministry of Time, Red Eagle, Locked Up, Aída, 7 Lives), Malaka originated in the 2018 SGAE Workshops. The drama is supervised by Javier Olivares (The Ministry of Time), showrunner and co-producer, and with Jordi Calafí as script coordinator.
Characters with a painful past
Blanca Gámez (Maggie Civantos), only child and daughter of legendary Police Chief Gámez, poised, intelligent, calm and straight-talking. But nobody in Malaga knows why she has decided to return to her hometown after spending her entire working-life in Madrid. She may be an elite Inspector, but she's got a lot to learn about what the real world is like.
Darío Arjona (Salva Reina) has no doubt in his mind "Someone has to get dirty to keep everything clean", the soundbite that best defines his moral compass and its flexibility. Dario is a Police Inspector who navigates skillfully around the city's grimiest neighborhoods that spawned him and his type. With one foot in the world of corruption, he fights to maintain the status quo in the drug market.
These are two very different Police Inspectors, but who share a complicated past as more is revealed to us in each episode.
Joaquín Romero 'Quino' (Vicente Romero) joins Blanca and Darío in their inquiries into Noelia's disappearance. The ex-cop turned private detective handed in his badge a long time ago. A murky affair he prefers not to discuss.
An unexplained disappearance
Noelia's disappearance is the starting point for Malaka. A young loner, in love with oriental mysticism and nature, the daughter of Germán Castañeda, an important local businessman. The investigation into her disappearance begins to reveal unimaginable connections and secrets.
Oro, a new drug that comes in the form of a gold ingot, unleashes a gang-war between rival clans who run drug trafficking. Among these, boss of the Los Cucos clan, La Tota rules with an iron fist.
But, who really is Noelia? Who benefits from flooding the streets of society's underbelly with the strange yellow pollen? These are just some of the questions Inspectors Darío and Blanca with Detective Quino will be forced to find answers to.
Malaga, an additional member of the cast
Filming for Malaka took place in partnership with the City of Malaga between April and July of this year. The capital of the Costa del Sol was host to and backdrop for scenes filmed on location at some of Malaga's best-known natural interior and exterior beauty spots, taking in a varied route including emblematic spots like the Paseo de los Curas, the Alameda Principal and Avenida de Cervantes, in addition to the Puerto del Condado and the Cerrado de Calderón district.
Other well-known locations featured include the Perchel bridge over the Guadalmedina river, Balneario Los Baños del Carmen, former Provincial Prison, and the area surrounding the Albéniz cinema in the Alcazaba neighborhood.
"4x4", a THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO and Televisión Abierta co-production will premiere in Spain at the 52nd edition of the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, being held in Sitges this coming October 3rd to 13th. The film is set to compete in the Òrbita section, one of the most important sections in the contest, which features previously unreleased fantasy-themed films in Spain including thrillers, action, adventure and black comedy titles.
Directed by Mariano Cohn, who is also the screenwriter together with Gastón Duprat, "4x4" is a disturbing thriller whose cast includes Peter Lanzani, Dady Brieva, Noelia Castaño and veteran Argentine actor Luis Brandoni, who repeats after starring in "My Masterpiece", also co-produced by THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, and which received a magnificent reception at the Venice Festival winning the Public Award at the Seminci.
The new co-production from THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO arrives in Spain on the heels of its successful release in Argentina, where it premiered last April to excellent box office success, becoming the highest grossing Argentine movie of the year. The film is distributed internationally by Latido Films.
PLOT
"4x4" is a thriller with a disturbing intro. A luxurious SUV is parked in a neighborhood like so many others in Buenos Aires. A young man breaks into the car with the intention of stealing it. However, when he tries to leave, he can't. Doors and windows refuse to open and the 4x4 becomes an armored bunker. The situation is desperate: He's locked into a vehicle that someone is controlling from outside and they seem to have a plan.
THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO
THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, whose mission is to expand the creation, production and distribution of content globally drawing on its already well-established foundations, creating high-quality international content in association with the very best Spanish and international talent, including Paolo Sorrentino, Woody Allen, Isabel Coixet, Ran Tellem, Oliver Stone, Daniel Burman, Fernando León de Aranoa, Iván Escobar, Javier Fesser, Patricio Guzmán, Borja Cobeaga, Diego San José, Marc Cistaré, Manuel Huerga, Ernesto Daranas, Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn, Laura Belloo, Marc Vigil, Fernando González Molina, Javier Olivares and Ruth García.
The MEDIAPRO Group, with 58 offices distributed across four continents, 14 of which develop and produce content, launched 34 series in 2019 with a global investment of 200 million for productions of series, films, entertainment programs, short-formats and documentaries. Projects by the Group include the latest Woody Allen film, shot on location in San Sebastian this August. This is the fourth collaboration between THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO and the prestigious American director and screenwriter after Midnight in Paris, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which won two Oscar® Awards, among other prestigious prizes.
MEDIAPRO has partnered with key industry players worldwide including HBO, Netflix, Amazon, DirectTV, Fox, Viacom, Yle and Disney, on award-winning productions which have earned international awards including 2 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes, multiple Goya awards and 2 Daytime Emmy Awards.
