World
‘Those About to Die’ Producer AGC Studios Ups Lourdes Diaz to Partner, Board Member
AGC Studios chief creative officer Lourdes Diaz has signed a new multi-year employment agreement and has been elevated to partner with a seat on the board of the independent film and television studio.
The promotion comes on the back of founders Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO, and Miguel Palos, chief operating office, themselves signing new multi-year agreements late last year.
Since AGC launched in 2018, it has become one of Hollywood’s leading production and financing players, with 41 major film and TV productions under its belt.
In a statement, Ford and Palos said Diaz had been a “hugely influential contributor to the company’s explosive growth.”
They added: “Aside from building a highly respected scripted television operation, in her broader role as chief creative officer she has shaped key decisions on the feature film and unscripted sides of the company, helped kickstart our Family and YA division and has made us a very visible player in the Hispanic film and TV sector.”
This year is shaping up to be AGC’s busiest yet. In July, Peacock will launch the studio’s $155 million 10-hour first season of ancient Rome gladiatorial epic “Those About to Die” from director Roland Emmerich.
AGC is also in post-production on Ron Howard’s psychological thriller feature “Eden,” starring Ana De Armas, Jude Law, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Kirby and Daniel Brühl, and Justin Kurzel’s white supremacist thriller “The Order,” starring Law, Nicholas Hoult and Tye Sheridan. Will Smith action thriller “Sugar Bandits” is in pre-production.
AGC-financed and produced features “Poolman,” from director Chris Pine, Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” starring Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” and Brad Anderson’s crime thriller “The Silent Hour,” starring Joel Kinnaman and Mark Strong, will be released this year, along with season 2 of Amazon crime drama “Troppo,” starring Thomas Jane.
Other 2024 releases are Christian Ditter’s family comedy “The Present,” starring Greg Kinnear and Isla Fisher, eight-part espionage drama “Gray,” starring Patricia Clarkson, Lydia West and Rupert Everett, and feature documentary “Transition,” co-produced with Matthew Heineman’s Our Time Projects.
AGC Intl. is also a worldwide sales and distribution partner on Rupert Wyatt’s Arabian epic “Desert Warrior,” starring Anthony Mackie and Ben Kingsley, Matt Tyrenaur’s feature documentary biopic “Nobu,” upcoming Sylvester Stallone thriller “The Epiphany,” and Michelle Yeoh action thriller “The Mother.”
Responding to news of her promotion, Diaz said that it had been “an incredibly rewarding experience” working at AGC, which she joined as head of television, later becoming chief creative officer.
She added: “The level of collaboration, trust, and creative fearlessness shown by Stuart and Miguel is unparalleled, and I’m excited to continue here as a partner and board member to continue building this studio as the go-to home for filmmaker-driven features and television in the independent market.”
Prior to joining AGC, Diaz served as president of entertainment for Univision Communications Inc., diversifying its entertainment content and working closely with Televisa, Netflix, Globo, Endemol and other partners. Prior to UCI, Diaz was head of global production and development at Viacom Intl., where she oversaw its development across all Comedy Central Intl. channels and was the executive producer on numerous international scripted and unscripted series and shows.
Before Comedy Central, Diaz was vice president, primetime programming at NBC and Universal Media Studios. She also served as executive producer for multiple NBC comedies and dramas, including “House,” “Parenthood” and “The Office.”
Prior to NBC, Diaz founded Agua Entertainment Group, specializing in film, television and new media, and was head of creative affairs for Green Moon Productions, a company formed and operated by Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith.
Diaz began her career as an agent at ICM, representing over 50 writers and directors.
Since its inception, AGC Studios has been backed by the same three key strategic investors: Latin American private asset management firm MediaNet Partners; Image Nation Abu Dhabi, one of the leading media and entertainment companies in the Arabic-speaking world; and leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur Greg Clark.
Ford was awarded Variety’s Billion Dollar Producer award last year and is also a member of Variety 500, which profiles the world’s most influential media and entertainment leaders.
World
Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
World
Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’
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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.
“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.
Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”
“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”
Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.
As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.
According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.
TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ
People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.
“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.
“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.
EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME
Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)
Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.
“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.
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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.
“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.
World
Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM
Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.
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As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.
EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.
Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.
“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”
On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.
“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.
“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”
Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”
“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.
When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”
On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.
Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.
“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.
Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET
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