Abstract
This article analyzes the industrial and cultural dynamics of transnational film remakes, focusing on the recent rise of remake rights representatives and the production of comedy remakes for local-language markets. Through the use of in-depth interviews with remake rights representatives and the analysis of primary and secondary sources, we scrutinize the strategies of these players in mediating the production processes of remaking foreign popular films into local-language hits. The article takes on two tasks: First, it dissects the work of the different agents at play in buying and selling remake rights and examines their business models and tactics; second, it looks at the generic contents that these agents are circulating through selected catalogs. In this context, comedy becomes a privileged interface to link diverse national markets and manufacture an ideal of proximity, whereby foreign popular comedies – unknown to local audiences – are remade with a local flavor and presented as ‘new’ national hits.
Acknowledgments
The authors have written this article in the context of the research project CSO2017-85290-P, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. We would also like to thank David Castellanos (Cinema Republic), Mercedes Gamero (ATRESMEDIA), Guido Rud (FilmSharks), and Meg Thomson (Globalgate) for sharing their time and knowledge on film remakes with us.
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Tables
Company’s name | Year/Place of foundation | Type of business |
Crazy Cow | 2007 / Brussels | Distribution of TV & film, remake rights representative |
Cinema Republic | 2008 / Madrid | Remake rights representative and film production |
FilmSharks Int’l | 2003 (from 2008 in remake rights business) / Buenos Aires | Sales agent, remake rights representative, production |
Eccho Remakes | 2011 / Los Angeles | Remake rights representative |
Globalgate Entertainment | 2016 / Los Angeles | IP trade, production |
GENRES & CATEGORIES | NUMBER OF FILMS | COUNTRY | YEARS |
Comedy | 6 | Brazil (4) Italy (1) Spain (1) | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 2013 2002 |
Comedy / Drama | 1 | Argentina | 2012 |
Romantic comedy | 1 | Spain | 2009 |
Buddy comedy | 1 | Mexico | 2002 |
Family / Superhero | 3 | Denmark | 2013, 2014, 2016 |
Children / Fantasy / Superhero | 1 | Italy | 2014 |
TOTAL | 13 | Brazil (4) Denmark (3) Italy (2) Spain (2) Argentina (1) Mexico (1) | 2002–2016 |
GENRES & CATEGORIES | NUMBER OF FILMS | COUNTRY | YEARS |
Comedy | 11 | Denmark (4) Netherlands Germany (2) Italy South Africa Norway Poland | 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 2013 2007, 2010 2007 2011 2010 2004 |
Romantic comedy | 6 | Chile Italy Belgium Germany Norway (2) | 2010 2009 2007 2010 2003, 2005 |
Thriller | 8 | Netherlands (2) Poland Denmark (2) Spain (2) Russia | 2008, 2009 2009 2008, 2009 2004, 2010 2012 |
Romantic thriller | 1 | Bulgaria | 2011 |
Horror | 3 | Denmark Norway Spain | 2007 2008 2007 |
Thriller / Horror | 1 | Spain | 2010 |
TOTAL | 30 | Denmark (7) Norway (4) Spain (4) Netherlands (3) Germany (3) Italy (2) Poland (2) Belgium (1) Bulgaria (1) Russia (1) Chile (1) South Africa (1) | 2003–2013 |
GENRES & CATEGORIES | NUMBER OF FILMS | COUNTRY | YEARS |
Comedy | 9 | Argentina (4) Spain (2) Italy 1 Argentina-Spain 1 Chile 1 | 2000, 2016 (2), 2017 2016, 2017 2017 2015 2016 |
Romantic comedy | 1 | Argentina | 2004 |
Erotic comedy | 3 | Argentina Brazil Spain | 2012 2010 2010 |
Fantastic comedy | 1 | Chile | 2007 |
Dramatic comedy | 3 | Argentina | 2007 2010 2011 |
Dramatic black comedy | 1 | Argentina | 2008 |
Dramatic comedy Romance | 1 | Argentina | 2014 |
Black comedy | 1 | Mexico | 2011 |
Black comedy-social satire | 1 | Argentina | 2005 |
Black comedy-thriller | 1 | Spain | 2000 |
Social satire | 1 | Mexico | 2013 |
Family social satire | 1 | Israel | 2001 |
Action comedy | 4 | Mexico Spain (2) Colombia-Brazil | 2011 2011, 2014 2010 |
Drama | 1 | Finland-Sweden | 2009 |
Urban drama | 1 | Chile | 2004 |
Revenge drama | 2 | Israel Sweden | 2007 2009 |
Sci-fi inspirational drama | 1 | Brazil | 2010 |
Thriller | 1 | Argentina | 2017 |
Action thriller | 1 | Germany | 2010 |
Thriller-black comedy | 1 | Mexico | 2007 |
TOTAL | 36 | Argentina (13) Spain (6) Mexico (4) Chile (3) Brazil (2) Israel (2) Italy (1) Germany (1) Sweden (1) | 2000–2017 |
Argentina-Spain (1) Colombia-Brazil (1) Finland-Sweden (1) |
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