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Multi-platform media company Macro, which focuses on representing the voice and perspectives of Black people and people of color, has promoted two key executives.

CEO Charles D. King has named Poppy Hanks as EVP, film production and development, and Greta Talia Fuentes as VP, film production and development.

Hanks is widely known for her work with a range of writers and directors. She produced Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou, Esteban Arango’s Blast Beat and Alan Yang’s Tigertail, and will next produce Cleopatra Jones for Warner Bros. Pictures.

She executive produced the six-time Academy Award nominated Judas and The Black Messiah, directed by Shaka King, Ekwa Msangi’s Farewell Amor, Angel Kristi Williams’ Really Love, Boots Riley’s Sorry To Bother You, Dan Gilroy’s Roman J. Israel, Esq., Steven Caple Jr.’s The Land, and the multi-Oscar nominated Mudbound that was directed by Dee Rees and sold to...

Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King announced promotions for film production and development executives Poppy Hanks and Greta Talia Fuentes.

Both longtime Macro employees, Hanks has been elevated to executive vice president of film production and development, while Fuentes has been upped to VP at the multi-platform media company.

“Poppy and Greta were members of the original team when I launched Macro six years ago, so there really aren’t enough words to describe my joy in announcing these promotions today,” King said, in a statement announcing the promotions.

“Poppy’s talent for story and her discerning eye have helped hone many of our award-winning films and she has been a trusted friend and colleague for two decades,” King continued. “Greta has grown into a true force in this business, with her strong relationships with artists and her keen ability to identify, package and develop projects all over town.

Former VH1 creative director Kevin Jordan has signed a first look deal with MacRo Television Studios, the company announced on Thursday.

Under the pact, Jordan is developing two projects with MacRo, a supernatural drama “Thirst” and a period drama called “Cordoba.”

“Right now we’re in a creative renaissance of storytelling in television and film, at a point in history where audiences are demanding to see the many Black and Brown stories that have not been told before,” Jordan said in a statement to TheWrap. “This is a huge opportunity not just for me, but for the entertainment industry at large, and I’m looking forward to working with the brilliant minds at MacRo to bring these narratives to life.”

Also Read: River Road Entertainment Taps MacRo Producer Kim Roth as Chief Creative Officer

“One of the most important aspects of what we do at MacRo is to identify and...

Former VH1 creative director Kevin Jordan is making the transition to producing, signing a first-look deal with MacRo Television Studios.

The ad industry veteran is developing two projects with the indie studio, a period drama called Cordoba and supernatural drama Thirst. 

"Right now we're in a creative renaissance of storytelling in television and film, at a point in history where audiences are demanding to see the many Black and Brown stories that have not been told before," said Jordan. "This is a huge opportunity not just for me, but for the entertainment industry at large,...

Kevin Jordan has signed a first look deal with MacRo Television Studios, Variety has learned exclusively.

“Right now we’re in a creative renaissance of storytelling in television and film, at a point in history where audiences are demanding to see the many Black and Brown stories that have not been told before,” Jordan said. “This is a huge opportunity not just for me, but for the entertainment industry at large, and I’m looking forward to working with the brilliant minds at MacRo to bring these narratives to life.”

Two series are already being developed under the deal — “Thirst” and “Cordoba.” The first is about a brilliant but unknown Atlanta rapper who thinks he’s finally found a way to stardom when he is offered the chance to join The Lost Boys, one of hip-hop’s biggest acts.

But behind the velvet ropes, gold grills and palatial mansion facades,...

By Fred Blosser

“Cannon for Cordoba,” a 1970 film produced by Vincent M. Fennelly for the Mirisch Corporation, written by Stephen Kandel, directed by Paul Wendkos, and distributed by United Artists, has been released by Kino Lorber Studio Classics in an attractive new Blu-ray edition. In the movie, U.S. Army Captain Rod Douglas (George Peppard) leads a three-man team across the Mexican Border in 1916. Douglas has been assigned to gather intelligence on a predatory rebel general, Cordoba (Raf Vallone), who has confiscated American-owned property in Mexico. Wealthy U.S. ranchers and politicians are demanding that the Army secure the border with troops (an outcry for a $70 billion wall would have to wait another hundred years). After Douglas’ team enters Mexico, one of the trio, Adam, is captured and tortured to death by Cordoba’s troops. Douglas and the third ranger, Jackson (Don Gordon), escape to warn Gen. Pershing (John Russell...

A middling entry in the genre of blow-it-up big action spectacles, Paul Wendkos’ Spain-filmed western gives us all the excitement promised by the poster, but with some cardboard characters and lumpy storytelling. George Peppard is on the job, however, and once again proves he can carry a big picture, flaws and all.

Cannon for Cordoba

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1970 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: George Peppard, Raf Vallone, Giovanna Ralli, Don Gordon, Pete Duel, Nico Minardos, John Russell, John Larch, Gabriele Tinti, Francine York, Lionel Murton, Hans Meyer, Aldo Sambrell, Luis Barboo.

Cinematography: Antonio Macasoli

Film Editor: Walter A. Hannemann

Special effects: Emilio Ruiz del Río

Original Music: Elmer Bernstein

Written by Stephen Kandel

Produced by Vincent M. Fennelly

Directed by Paul Wendkos

While providing backing for independent writer-producers like Billy Wilder, Walter Mirisch also shepherded various less ambitious war movies and westerns,...

Francine York, the statuesque actress who showed off her sexuality as The Bookworm's moll on Batman and in such films as It's Only Money, Cannon for Cordoba and The Doll Squad, has died. She was 80.

York died Friday morning at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, Calif., after a battle with cancer, her friend, television producer Pepper Jay, told The Hollywood Reporter.

A native of Aurora, Minn., York appeared in scores of TV shows, from Rescue 8 in 1959 to The Mindy Project in 2015. She played a seductive Venus de Milo on an episode of Bewitched, a bake-off...

By Lee Pfeiffer

MGM has released the 1970 Western Cannon For Cordoba as part of their burn-to-dvd line. This is yet another film that was written off as "run of the mill" at the time of its initial release but probably plays far better today when Westerns are scare commodities. The film is clearly designed to capitalize on movies such as The Professionals and The Wild Bunch, and while it certainly isn't in the league of those classics, it's a consistently engrossing and highly entertaining horse opera.  Set in 1916, when the Us was embroiled in assisting the Mexican government in suppressing "revolutionaries" who were really bandits, the plot centers on a crime kingpin named General Coroba (well played with charm and menace by Raf Vallone), who launches an audacious raid on American General Pershing's troops and succeeds in stealing a number of valuable cannons that will make him almost invulnerable...

You love the horror, suspense thriller, action and science fiction films that make up the world of Canadian cult cinema affectionately known as Canuxploitation.

You’ve watched the entire David Cronenberg genre filmography (if not, please do so now as The Brood, Scanners and The Fly are three of the greatest horror films ever made).

You’ve seen Black Christmas and The Changeling and watched a slasher-ific marathon of Prom Night, Terror Train, Happy Birthday to Me and My Bloody Valentine.

You caught up with Cube, the Ginger Snaps series, Splice, Hobo with a Shotgun and WolfCop all while keeping close tabs on the works of Astron-6.

Yet your hunger for Canadian genre film productions and co-productions cannot be satiated.

To aid you in your deeper exploration of the field, following is a chronological look at a number of Canadian genre films that simply don’t get enough attention.

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The Groundstar Conspiracy...

With the Academy Awards for the 2011 film year in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take a look at one of the event’s most consistently fascinating categories: Best Supporting Actor. The most interesting story in the category this year isn’t who got nominated, it’s who didn’t. More specifically, Albert Brooks was completely robbed of a nomination for his performance as film producer turned lethal gangster Bernie Rose in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive.

As much as I’d like to say I was surprised by this, considering both the quality of performance and Brooks’ slew of nominations from other critical circles, in light of the Academy’s history of overlooking outstanding supporting performances, I simply can’t.

Following is a chronological look at a number of performances richly deserving of a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination.

In some cases, the performances are in films...

The Movie Pool goes in with guns blazing to review Cannon for Cordoba on DVD for the first time!

This DVD is offered as part of MGM's "Limited Edition Collection," which is available from select online retailers and manufactured only when the DVD is ordered. The DVD features a simple menu with no menu for chapters or scenes. Manufacture-On-Demand (Mod) DVDs are made to play in DVD playback units only and may not play in DVD recorders or PC drives. This DVD did not play in our laptop DVD drive but did play in our Toshiba DVD recorder.

DVD Specs

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1  

Running Time: 104 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: None  

Special Features: Theatrical trailer  

The Set-up

During the Mexican Revolution of 1912, a U.S. Army captain (George Peppard) is sent on a mission to destroy stolen American cannons and capture a rebel leader (Raf Vallone).

Written by:...

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s manufacturing-on-demand program continues during the month of June with 29 films being released as part of MGM’s Limited Edition Collection. Unfortunately only one qualifies as real horror, but there's another that should appeal to genre fans so we're including some info on both for your perusal.

First up is 1958's Curse of the Faceless Man - A stone figure is unearthed in Pompeii followed by a series of skull crushing murders. Stars Richard Anderson, Elaine Edwards, Adele Mara; irected by Edward L. Cahn.

Next is the mash-up entitled Haunted Summer from 1988 - Romantic poets Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, along with Shelly's future wife, Mary, and her beautiful stepsister, Claire, travel blissfully through Switzerland one summer. Both women share Shelley's bed, while the tortured Lord Byron flounders in a secret relationship with his physician. They experiment with opium, "free love", and the nature of good and evil.