Martin Cid's Blog: Martin Cid Magazine, page 4

To Define a Feeling: Joan Mitchell’s 1960–1965 Canvases Return to New York

David Zwirner will present a concentrated selection of paintings and works on paper by Joan Mitchell that map a brief but pivotal arc in her practice. Drawn from public and private lenders as well as the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the presentation centers on the five-year span in which Mitchell loosened earlier structural armatures and moved toward more exploratory composition. The exhibition is curated by Sarah Roberts, Senior Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

Positioned as a hinge between Mitchell’s landscape-anchored formats and her later painterly architecture, the works from these years often organize around a dense, swirling core—predominantly in layered blues and greens—set against thinner veils of color. The tension between compression and openness becomes the organizing principle, as chromatic depth and gestural turbulence share the same field.

Mitchell’s studio life in Paris coincided with extended voyages along the Côte d’Azur with painter Jean Paul Riopelle. Time on the water, living for stretches on a sailboat and studying the shifting horizon, informed the canvases indirectly. Rather than depict specific views, she restructured sensations of glare, distance, and coastal fracture into a vocabulary of centralized constellations and ruptured strokes. The horizon recedes as a scaffold; atmosphere becomes structure.

Contemporaries registered the change. The period’s canvases were described as meditations on fragments of landscape and air, aligning with the exhibition’s emphasis on process over motif. Color masses, accelerations of stroke, and the intervals between them carry the emotional load, displacing any single site or storyline.

Mitchell’s own remarks provide a compact key: she sought something that could not be verbalized—“to define a feeling.” The show takes that ambition seriously. Layers of paint accumulate, are partially erased, then reassert themselves; embedded reds and violets surface through dominant blues and greens, testing the stability of the image and registering memory as a persistent undertone rather than a subject.

The installation clarifies the interplay between structural and technical shifts. Thick, elastic strokes interrupt scumbled zones; percussive clusters meet long sweeps of the brush. Compositions gravitate toward the center without conceding a single focal point, holding a workable balance between restlessness and order. The paintings’ internal weather—gusts, stalls, sudden clarities—reads as an operational logic rather than a metaphor.

By restricting the lens to 1960–1965, the presentation isolates the moment when Mitchell moved beyond landscape as subject while retaining its atmospheres and temporalities as structuring forces. It is a compact argument, made on the surface of the works themselves, for how sensation, memory, and method converged to redirect her pictorial thinking.

Venue and dates: David Zwirner, 537 West 20th Street, New York — “To define a feeling: Joan Mitchell, 1960–1965,” curated by Sarah Roberts. Exhibition dates: November 6–December 13, 2025.

Netflix Releases Examination of Notorious South African Criminal Case

The South African limited documentary series Beauty and the Bester arrives on Netflix, presenting a detailed examination of one of the most sensational criminal cases in the nation’s recent history. The three-part series investigates the intricate and disturbing relationship between Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, a respected celebrity doctor, and Thabo Bester, a convicted murderer and rapist known for his elaborate prison escape. The title itself is a deliberate narrative device, framing a complex criminal saga through the subversive lens of a familiar archetype to explore the central paradox of a celebrated public figure’s entanglement with a dangerous felon. The series is structured around a central thematic question regarding Magudumana’s motivations: “How far would she go for love?”.

Documentary Form and Narrative Construction

Directed by Anthony Molyneaux, the series employs a composite of documentary techniques to construct its narrative. The production integrates courtroom footage with previously unreleased investigative materials, creating a procedural framework that grounds the story in official evidence. This evidentiary backbone is augmented by a series of original interviews with individuals closely connected to the case, including family, friends, and notable public figures. The inclusion of testimony from Magudumana’s father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, provides a personal perspective on her life. The documentary also features commentary from prominent South African media personalities such as Pearl Thusi, Happy Simelane, and Penny Lebyane, who had connections to Magudumana’s professional and social circles. This selection of interview subjects serves to reconstruct the social milieu in which Magudumana operated, contextualizing her public image and the profound shock of her subsequent downfall. The narrative arc is structured around Magudumana’s “rise and dramatic fall,” tracing the deconstruction of her carefully curated public persona as a successful doctor and influencer in the wake of the scandal.

Beauty and the Bester

Factual Chronology of the Bester-Magudumana Case

For an international audience, the documentary’s subject matter is rooted in a sequence of events that captured national attention in South Africa. Thabo Bester was initially convicted for two counts of rape and one murder, earning the moniker “the Facebook rapist” for his method of luring victims online before being sentenced to life imprisonment. The central event of the saga occurred when Bester orchestrated an elaborate escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre by faking his own death in a prison cell fire. He was officially declared deceased after a burned body was discovered in his cell.

Subsequent journalistic investigations, primarily by the news organization GroundUp, exposed critical inconsistencies in the official account, including post-mortem findings that the body in the cell was already dead before the fire started. Following his escape, Bester and Magudumana lived a lavish lifestyle in a Johannesburg mansion, operating a fraudulent property company under aliases. Magudumana’s social and professional credibility was instrumental during this period, lending a veneer of legitimacy that allowed Bester to operate in plain sight. Their fugitive status was dramatically exposed after a photograph of the couple shopping in a high-end Sandton City grocery store went viral, confirming Bester was alive and triggering a nationwide manhunt. The pair was ultimately apprehended in Arusha, Tanzania, and extradited to South Africa. Authorities later identified the body used in the escape as that of Katlego Bereng Mpholo. Bester, Magudumana, and several alleged co-conspirators now face a range of charges including fraud, corruption, and aiding an escape, with their trial pending.

The South African True-Crime Boom and the Battle for Narrative Control

Beauty and the Bester does not arrive in a vacuum. Its release marks a significant moment within a burgeoning South African true-crime documentary market, a genre that has seen explosive growth on both local and international streaming platforms. The intense public fascination with the Bester-Magudumana case has transformed it from a national news story into a highly valuable piece of intellectual property. This is evidenced by the series’ direct competition with Tracking Thabo Bester, a four-part documentary directed by Nikki Comninos that premiered on the rival African streaming service Showmax in 2024. The existence of two major productions from competing services highlights a larger trend in the nation’s media landscape, where complex criminal cases are now central to the content strategies of major platforms, joining other high-profile local productions that delve into the country’s most compelling criminal histories.

A significant meta-narrative surrounding this content boom is the battle for narrative control, often fought in the nation’s courts. Bester and Magudumana mounted urgent legal challenges to block the broadcast of both the Showmax and Netflix series, arguing the documentaries were defamatory and would violate their constitutional rights to a fair trial. In both instances, their legal bids were unsuccessful. The court dismissed the application against the Showmax series, noting the applicants had demonstrated only a “generalised anxiety” about its potential impact. These repeated legal battles have become an integral part of the public story, illustrating the high stakes involved when journalistic documentation intersects with active legal proceedings and the commercial demand for true-crime content.

Release Notes

The release of this documentary before the conclusion of the criminal trial is a critical factor in its cultural impact. The series offers an in-depth examination of the psychological dynamics, systemic failures, and the collision of high society with the criminal underworld that define this scandal. By focusing its narrative lens specifically on Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, the production constructs a powerful version of events that will invariably shape the popular understanding of the case. As a prominent entry in South Africa’s expanding true-crime genre, Beauty and the Bester not only documents a complex criminal saga but also participates in the ongoing public conversation and interpretation of one of the nation’s most compelling stories.

Beauty and the Bester was released for global streaming on Netflix on September 12, 2025.

Don Bachardy’s Life and Work, in His Own Words

A new oral biography presents an unfiltered account of Hollywood portraitist Don Bachardy, tracing his artistic development, his circle of sitters and friends, and his decades-long partnership with writer Christopher Isherwood. Compiled by Michael Schreiber from extensive one-on-one interviews at the Santa Monica home Bachardy shared with Isherwood, the volume centers the artist’s voice while situating his practice within film, literature, and art histories.

Forewords by filmmaker James Ivory and actor-writer Simon Callow frame the book’s approach and historical scope. Their contributions underscore Bachardy’s role as both a chronicler of public figures and a figure of cultural history in his own right.

The publication includes previously unseen photographs and a curated selection of Bachardy’s artworks, many of which align with a current retrospective of his portraiture at The Huntington in Los Angeles. This linkage between page and exhibition highlights continuities across media—drawing, painting, photography—and underscores the sustained interest in Bachardy’s method of direct, time-bound portrait sittings.

Bachardy’s archive of sitters spans cinema, letters, and the visual arts. The press materials emphasize portraits of Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Tennessee Williams, and Truman Capote, among others—works notable for an economy of line and a focus on psychological presence over ornament. The book places these sessions in narrative context, recounting how public image, private encounter, and studio routine intersected in Bachardy’s practice.

At the core of the narrative is Bachardy’s partnership with Isherwood—from their meeting in the 1950s through the creative life they built together until Isherwood’s death—documented here through Bachardy’s recollections. The account interweaves domestic scenes, collaborative projects, and the afterlives of Isherwood’s work (including the Berlin Stories that became the basis for Cabaret), treating the relationship as both personal biography and cultural document.

Schreiber structures the book as an oral history rather than a conventional critical monograph. The result is a first-person chronicle that moves from formative years to mature practice, punctuated by portraits, studio anecdotes, and observations about the demands of working from life. The tone aims to balance celebrity lore with a clear accounting of process, discipline, and the stakes of representation.

Bachardy’s drawings and paintings are held in institutions across Europe and the United States, and the book positions this museum presence alongside the intimate mechanics of his sittings: the limited duration of a live session, the insistence on direct looking, and the refusal to idealize. In gathering these elements, the biography proposes a through-line from the artist’s earliest encounters to a sustained body of work that treats recognition—of sitter and of self—as its central problem.

Publication date: October 28, 2025.

Tom Petty’s Career Receives a Comprehensive Illustrated Retrospective

A new large-format volume, TOM PETTY: THE LIFE & MUSIC, assembles an expansive portrait of the artist’s path from Gainesville beginnings to international stature, combining narrative chapters with an image-rich archive of concert photography, candid shots, posters, and period ephemera.

Written by rock journalist Gillian G. Gaar, the book surveys Petty’s formative years in Florida and his earliest work with Mudcrutch, then proceeds album by album through the Heartbreakers era and his solo releases, including landmarks such as Damn the Torpedoes and Wildflowers. Major singles—“American Girl,” “Don’t Do Me Like That,” and “Free Fallin’”—are treated within their recording and radio contexts, underscoring Petty’s presence across decades of rock airplay.

The narrative also traces Petty’s collaborations and alliances within a broader rock constellation, detailing relationships with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Johnny Cash, and Stevie Nicks, among others. Live milestones feature prominently, from an early SNL appearance to high-profile stages including the Super Bowl halftime and a celebrated Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance with Prince.

Designed as a collectible object, the hardcover arrives housed in a high-quality slipcase and spans 200 pages with approximately 300 images, aiming to function both as a reference and as a visual record of touring and studio life. The publisher frames the project as an “unprecedented retrospective,” pairing accessible chronology with coffee-table presentation.

Contextual passages situate Petty’s catalogue—from the self-titled debut through Hypnotic Eye—within a through-line of American rock, documenting commercial impact (including twenty-eight Billboard Top-10 singles) and the artist’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The account emphasizes continuity across band and solo work while noting stylistic shifts that broadened his audience across multiple generations.

Gaar, whose credits include contributions to Mojo, Rolling Stone, and Goldmine, brings a bibliography of rock histories (on Nirvana, Elvis Presley, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen) to the project. The text is positioned to serve specialist readers and general fans alike by combining archival detail with concise chaptering.

Publication details: Motorbooks (The Quarto Group); hardcover with slipcase; ISBN 9780760392614; $55 USD / $72 CAN. Availability begins November 4, 2025.

TOM PETTY: THE LIFE & MUSIC

5 Ways to Use AI Voice Cloning Free for Marketing

Marketing is evolving faster than ever, and businesses constantly look for fresh, cost-effective ways to stand out. One trend gaining attention is AI voice cloning free tools like Pippit, which allow brands to replicate realistic human voices without expensive recording sessions. From creating personalized ads to enhancing customer engagement, AI-powered voice technology opens new possibilities for marketers of all sizes. Whether you’re a startup on a budget or a seasoned brand looking to innovate, free voice cloning software can give you a creative edge. Let’s explore five powerful ways to use it in your marketing strategy.

Importance of AI voice cloning in digital marketing

AI voice cloning is fast emerging as a cornerstone of modern digital marketing. Forecasts estimate the AI voice cloning market to grow from roughly $1.9 billion in 2023 to $9.75 billion by 2030, at a robust CAGR of around 26%—a clear signal of its soaring adoption by brands across industries.

In practice, technology delivers measurable results. For example, an e-commerce company implemented an AI voice agent to handle customer inquiries and saw sales increase by 25%, while voicemails dropped by 99%—all through enhanced responsiveness and personalization.

This balance of scale, cost savings, and efficacy makes AI voice cloning invaluable. It enables brands to deliver hyper-personalized, consistent voice experiences—be it across ads, support lines, or content—without the repeated expense of professional voice actors. For marketers, it means better engagement, stronger brand identity, and faster time-to-market.

5 ways of personalized marketing with AI voice cloning freePersonalized customer experiences

Using AI voice cloning free tools, brands can create personalized audio messages for customers at scale. Imagine sending a welcome note, thank-you message, or follow-up reminder in a voice that sounds warm and engaging, without hiring a voice actor. This adds a human touch to automation while keeping costs low. Personalized voices help strengthen brand-customer relationships and boost loyalty. It’s an affordable way for small businesses to sound professional while making every interaction feel unique and memorable.

Create engaging social media content

Social media thrives on creativity, and AI voice cloning is free, opening the door to endless possibilities. Instead of relying only on text or generic music, marketers can add cloned voices to short-form videos, memes, or audio snippets. This makes content more interactive and relatable. When paired with visuals like an AI product photo, brands can craft immersive posts that stand out in crowded feeds. The blend of authentic-sounding voices and strong visuals helps boost engagement and encourages audiences to share content.

Enhance podcasts and audio ads

Podcasts and audio ads are becoming essential marketing channels, and voice cloning makes them easier to produce. With AI voice cloning free, businesses can generate natural-sounding narrations in minutes, eliminating the need for expensive recording sessions. This is especially helpful for small brands testing audio marketing. Companies can create multiple versions of ads tailored to different demographics, each delivered in a tone that resonates. It’s a cost-effective way to scale audio campaigns while maintaining consistent quality and branding across channels.

Repurpose existing content

One of the most powerful applications of AI voice cloning free is repurposing written content into audio. Blogs, newsletters, and product descriptions can be transformed into podcasts, voiceovers, or explainer clips. This not only extends content lifespan but also reaches audiences who prefer listening over reading. When combined with a product video maker, brands can easily add cloned narrations to product demos or tutorials, turning static information into engaging multimedia. It’s a smart strategy for making marketing assets more dynamic and versatile.

Strengthen brand identity

A consistent brand voice is crucial, and AI voice cloning allows businesses to develop one without limits. Instead of relying on different voice actors, companies can use cloned voices across all channels—ads, social media, websites, and customer support. This builds recognition and trust, as audiences begin associating a specific voice with the brand. Over time, this “signature sound” becomes as recognizable as a logo. By making voice part of their identity, businesses can create stronger emotional connections with their customers.

Start personalizing your marketing videos with the Pippit AI voice cloning tool

Start transforming your content with the Pippit AI voice cloning tool, designed to give your marketing videos a realistic, engaging voice in seconds. With AI-powered personalization, you can connect with your audience more effectively—without costly recording sessions.

Step 1: Generate a video

To start, sign up for the Pippit AI voice cloning tool dashboard and click “Video generator” on the left sidebar. Enter the product link or click “Add media” to upload your pictures or videos, and click “Generate.” Type in the product name, highlight the features, do some advanced settings, and click “Generate.”

Step 2: Use AI voice cloning for free

Once the video is generated, select the one you like and click “Quick edit.” Go to the “Voice” tab, select the voice character for the voiceover, or click “Get started” under “Create your custom voices” to use AI for voice cloning and add it to your video.

Step 3: Export the video to your device

Finally, click the “Export video” option, select “Publish” to directly share your content to social profiles, or choose “Download,” set the resolution, quality, frame rate, and file format, and click “Export” to save the video with a cloned voiceover to your device.

Conclusion

AI voice cloning is reshaping digital marketing by making personalization, scalability, and brand identity more accessible than ever. With the market projected to grow rapidly, it’s clear this technology is not just a trend but a long-term game-changer. Tools like the Pippit AI voice cloning tool empower businesses, big or small-to create professional, engaging content without heavy costs. By embracing AI voice cloning today, marketers can stay ahead, build stronger customer connections, and future-proof their digital strategies.

New Netflix Series You and Everything Else Explores the Complexities of a Lifelong Friendship

The South Korean drama You and Everything Else has premiered globally on the Netflix streaming platform, presenting a significant entry in the evolution of contemporary Korean melodrama. The series offers a longitudinal study of the friendship between Ryu Eun-jung and Cheon Sang-yeon, charting their intricate relationship from adolescence into their 40s. Its narrative is built upon the psychological tension of their bond, which oscillates between profound admiration and corrosive resentment. This focus on character-driven storytelling signals a strategic diversification for the platform, setting the series apart from the action and thriller genres that often define its Korean original programming. By delving into the nuanced and often painful interior lives of its protagonists, the production is positioned to capture an audience that values emotionally resonant and psychologically complex narratives.

A Melodramatic Study of the Mundane

The series utilizes a decades-spanning temporal structure to track its protagonists through formative life stages, culminating in a pivotal reunion in adulthood. This extensive scope facilitates a thorough examination of how their relationship fractures under the pressures of time, ambition, and unspoken rivalry. The narrative functions as an example of the “melodramatic mundane,” a mode of storytelling where a heightened, dramatic event is used to illuminate the ordinary, everyday complexities of human connection. The catalyst is the diagnosis of a terminal illness, which compels one friend to ask the other to accompany her on a final journey. This plot device serves a critical structural purpose: it imposes a finite endpoint on a sprawling narrative, creating an urgency that forces the characters to confront decades of suppressed emotions. This elevates the “slice-of-life” framework into a high-stakes psychological drama, using an extreme circumstance to dissect the subtle dynamics of a lifelong bond.

You and Everything Else

The Auteurial Vision of Jo Young-min and Song Hye-jin

The series is helmed by director Jo Young-min and screenwriter Song Hye-jin, a creative pairing that indicates a distinct artistic intent. Jo Young-min’s previous work, including Do You Like Brahms? and The Interest of Love, is marked by a deliberate, observational pacing and a focus on social realism, particularly the subtle hierarchies that shape interpersonal relationships. Screenwriter Song Hye-jin is known for the emotionally intense melodrama The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, a series that showcases a proficiency in crafting narratives that explore the more challenging aspects of human connection. The synthesis of Jo’s grounded direction and Song’s experience in high-stakes emotional storytelling points toward a “slow burn” psychological study. Their collaboration is positioned to deliver a narrative that prioritizes deep character development and social commentary, aligning with the modern melodrama’s function as a vehicle for exploring contemporary social issues.

Ensemble Performance and Casting Dynamics

The series is led by Kim Go-eun as Ryu Eun-jung and Park Ji-hyun as Cheon Sang-yeon. Kim Go-eun has built a versatile career with acclaimed performances in television series such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Yumi’s Cells, and Little Women, alongside critically recognized films like Exhuma. Park Ji-hyun has gained prominence through roles in Reborn Rich, Flex X Cop, and the horror film Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. The casting of the two leads is particularly notable, as they previously appeared as rivals in the series Yumi’s Cells. This choice creates a layer of intertextual resonance, leveraging the audience’s memory of their prior on-screen dynamic to establish an immediate undercurrent of tension and enrich the narrative’s themes of a friendship defined by unspoken competition. The supporting cast includes Kim Gun-woo, known for his role in The Glory, as Kim Sang-hak. The psychological demands of the material were highlighted at the series’ press conference, where Kim Go-eun’s emotional response underscored the intensity of the performances.

Distribution Strategy and Market Context

As a Netflix original, You and Everything Else benefits from a simultaneous global release, continuing the platform’s strategy of leveraging South Korean productions for an international audience. The series’ distribution model is distinguished by its unconventional 15-episode count, a length that deviates from the 12- or 16-episode standard for broadcast dramas and the shorter 6- to 10-episode runs typical of streaming originals. Furthermore, all 15 episodes were released in a single batch. This binge-release model is structurally suited to a character study of this nature, allowing the narrative’s emotional momentum and “affective interludes” to build without the interruption of a weekly release schedule. The decision to commit to a non-standard episode count suggests that narrative requirements, rather than commercial formatting, dictated its length, positioning the series as prestige television that relies on its artistic integrity to command sustained viewer engagement.

The series became available for worldwide streaming on September 12, 2025.

Where to Watch “You and Everything Else”

Netflix

The Perfect Mistake: How Netflix’s ‘The Wrong Paris’ Crafts the Ultimate Rom-Com

The central conceit of The Wrong Paris operates on a simple yet effective geographical misdirection. The narrative follows Dawn, an aspiring artist portrayed by Miranda Cosgrove, whose ambitions are decidedly Francophile. Her participation in a televised dating competition, titled “Honey Pot,” is not a quest for love but a pragmatic maneuver designed to secure funds for an art school education in the French capital. The film’s primary conflict is ignited by the revelation that the show’s producers have engaged in a clever bit of cartographical chicanery: the location is not Paris, France, but its namesake in Texas. This bait-and-switch serves as the narrative engine, propelling the film’s comedic and dramatic trajectories. Dawn’s initial strategy is to orchestrate her own elimination, a meta-performance intended to escape the larger, professionally produced performance she has unwittingly joined. This premise immediately establishes the film’s thematic exploration of authenticity versus artifice. While the film initially presents itself as a classic “fish-out-of-water” comedy, it systematically subverts the conventions of that trope. The narrative specifies that this Texan town is merely 30 minutes from Dawn’s own hometown, a crucial detail that reframes the nature of her displacement. Unlike traditional protagonists of the genre who must adapt to a completely alien environment, Dawn is physically close to her origins but psychologically and aspirationally distant. The “water” she is out of is not the cultural landscape of Texas but the idealized, romanticized fantasy of France she has constructed. The conflict, therefore, is not one of external adaptation but of internal re-evaluation, forcing her to confront the very world she sought to escape.

The Anatomy of a Modern Rom-Com

The screenplay, penned by Nicole Henrich, meticulously constructs a narrative that functions simultaneously as a romantic comedy and a satire of the reality television apparatus. The film’s structure adheres to the familiar three-act arc of a rom-com, yet filters it through the episodic, challenge-based format of a dating show. This framework is deeply informed by the cultural lexicon of programs like The Bachelor, a direct inspiration for Cosgrove’s character arc. It leverages the audience’s familiarity with its tropes—the talking-head confessionals, the orchestrated group dates, the climactic elimination ceremonies—to build its world and generate conflict. The core tension of the script lies in the collision between the manufactured “scripted romance” of the television production and the “something real” that unexpectedly develops between Dawn and the show’s bachelor, Trey, played by Pierson Fodé. The narrative relentlessly interrogates the nature of performance. Dawn performs a role to get eliminated, her fellow contestants perform for the cameras, and Trey is contractually obligated to perform the part of the ideal suitor. The film thus poses a compelling question: can genuine emotion emerge from, and survive within, such a heavily mediated and artificial context? In this, the film becomes a meta-commentary on its own genre. Both the romantic comedy and the reality dating show rely on established conventions and predictable arcs to arrive at a predetermined romantic conclusion. The dating show within the film, with its producer manipulations and contrived scenarios, serves as a diegetic stand-in for the rom-com genre’s own narrative mechanics. Dawn’s struggle to break free from the show’s script can be read as a character attempting to find authenticity within the rigid confines of a romantic comedy plot. When she develops feelings for Trey against her own calculated plan, the film suggests that genuine connection can indeed blossom from formula, thereby satirizing the artificiality of its genre while ultimately reaffirming its core romantic fantasy.

The Wrong Paris

The Central Performances and Character Arcs

The film marks a significant transition for Miranda Cosgrove, who steps decisively into the territory of adult romantic comedy. Known for a career built on comedic timing in productions like iCarly and School of Rock, her performance as Dawn navigates the character’s initial cynicism and comedic frustration before plumbing more nuanced depths of emotional vulnerability. Opposite her, Pierson Fodé’s portrayal of the bachelor, Trey, is crafted to subvert audience expectations. He is introduced with the superficial gloss of a reality-TV stereotype but is gradually revealed to be unexpectedly sincere and grounded. Fodé, who was raised on a family farm in Washington State, brings a layer of verisimilitude to the “homegrown country-kid” persona. Director Janeen Damian has noted the immediate and palpable “chemistry” between the two leads, a crucial element that allows the film’s central relationship to evolve believably from a scripted setup to a genuine connection. Cosgrove’s role extends beyond her on-screen performance; she is also an executive producer. This position represents a critical stage in her professional evolution. Having begun her career as a child actor with limited creative input, she has progressively sought more authorial control, a process that began in earnest with the revival of iCarly, where she also served as an executive producer to have a say in the creative process. Her credit on The Wrong Paris is a continuation of this trajectory. The film’s narrative—of a young woman navigating a manufactured reality in which she initially has no agency but ultimately forges her own authentic path—thematically mirrors Cosgrove’s own career journey from teen idol to an artist shaping her own projects.

The Directorial Signature of Janeen Damian

Director Janeen Damian has cultivated a distinct niche within the contemporary media landscape, establishing herself as a reliable purveyor of romantic comedies for Netflix, with Falling for Christmas and Irish Wish preceding this latest effort. The Wrong Paris is a continuation of this successful partnership, showcasing a directorial vision finely tuned to the platform’s content strategy. Damian’s background as a professional dancer palpably informs her aesthetic, particularly in her approach to physical comedy, which she treats as a form of choreography that “has to have a rhythm”. This method is evident in the film’s more antic sequences, which are executed with a precision that elevates them beyond simple slapstick. Her directorial style is also marked by a highly collaborative process, working in close concert with key department heads to create a cohesive and unified visual world. This recurring collaboration extends to her core creative team, including cinematographer Graham Robbins, composer Nathan Lanier, and producers Brad Krevoy and Michael Damian, who have worked with her across multiple Netflix projects. This consistent partnership functions as a modern, project-based equivalent of the classic Hollywood studio system. It creates an efficient production pipeline that delivers a product with a predictable, yet polished, aesthetic and thematic quality, tailored specifically to the streaming service’s vast audience for light, high-concept romantic fare. Consequently, The Wrong Paris is best understood not as an isolated artistic work, but as a product of this “mini-studio system,” where creative choices are shaped by the demands of brand consistency and rapid content delivery.

Crafting a Cinematic Texas in Canada

The film’s technical execution is a study in meticulous world-building, made more complex by the geographical dissonance of its production. Though set in Texas, principal photography took place in Vancouver and Agassiz, British Columbia. The task of bridging this gap fell to a seasoned technical crew. Cinematographer Graham Robbins, a frequent Damian collaborator, employs RED V-Raptor X cameras to lend the film a high-quality, cinematic sheen, imbuing the frame with the warmth and vibrancy requisite for the genre. The visual world itself was conceived by production designer Brian Kane, an award-winning designer with a minimalist philosophy who was tasked with transforming Canadian landscapes into a believable simulacrum of Paris, Texas, replete with its specific small-town, cowboy-inflected charm. This sense of place is further reinforced by the film’s sonic landscape. The score, by composer Nathan Lanier, is complemented by a curated soundtrack featuring country and Americana songs with titles such as “Paris Texas Man” and “Hey Cowboy,” which aurally establish the Texan milieu. This production reality creates a profound meta-textual irony. A film whose narrative hinges on the discovery of a “fake” Paris was itself produced by creating a “fake” Texas. The entire apparatus of the film’s production is an exercise in constructing a believable illusion of place, just as the reality show within the film constructs an illusion of romance. The technical craftsmanship, therefore, is not merely in service of the story; it is a parallel enactment of the story’s core ideas about authenticity and fabrication.

The Supporting Ensemble

The narrative is populated by a strong supporting ensemble that includes established performers such as Yvonne Orji, Frances Fisher, and Madison Pettis, alongside Torrance Coombs, Madeleine Arthur, and Christin Park. These actors primarily function as archetypes within the ecosystem of the reality dating show, embodying the various contestant stereotypes—the cynic, the true believer, the antagonist—that are staples of the genre. Their performances provide a satirical commentary on the casting conventions of reality television and generate much of the “reality show chaos” that serves as a comedic counterpoint to the developing sincerity of the central romance. The ensemble is critical in maintaining the film’s delicate tonal balance, navigating the line between its satirical critique of media artifice and its earnest investment in a heartfelt love story.

Ultimately, The Wrong Paris utilizes the accessible framework of a high-concept romantic comedy to probe more complex themes of identity, ambition, and the search for authenticity in a culture saturated by manufactured narratives. The film’s central conceit—finding the right romance in the wrong place—serves as a compelling metaphor for discovering genuine connection in the most unexpected and seemingly artificial of circumstances. It stands as a notable entry in the streaming-era rom-com, a film that is at once a polished product of a content-driven production model and a surprisingly nuanced deconstruction of its own generic and thematic conventions. It is both a reflection of, and a commentary on, our mediated reality. The film is distributed by Netflix and premiered globally on September 12, 2025.

Netflix Prequel ‘Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series’ Puts Film’s Beloved Characters in the Spotlight

The Indonesian comedy-drama Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series has premiered globally on the Netflix streaming platform. The six-episode limited series centers on the lives of four Indonesian women who immigrate to Queens, New York, each with a distinct personality and motivation for starting a new life abroad. The narrative explores their initial struggles and the eventual formation of a powerful friendship in a foreign land.

A New Chapter in an Established Universe

This series serves as a direct prequel to the successful 2021 Indonesian film Ali & Ratu Ratu Queens. The production sees the return of the original creative leadership, including director Lucky Kuswandi and producer Muhammad Zaidy of Palari Films, who also acts as showrunner for the series. Set eight years before the events depicted in the film, the series executes a significant narrative shift. While the film presented a coming-of-age story focused on the male protagonist, Ali, and his search for his mother, the series deliberately moves the four women who were his supporting cast to the center of the story. This structural reorientation elevates the characters from their role as a collective maternal support system into individual protagonists with their own distinct agencies and backstories. The decision to develop the series was driven by significant audience interest in these characters following the film’s release, representing a strategic expansion of the narrative world that retroactively provides depth to the film’s concept of a “chosen family”.

Ensemble Focus and Character Dynamics

A crucial element of the series’ continuity is the return of the principal cast to reprise their roles. Nirina Zubir portrays Party, Asri Welas is Biyah, Tika Panggabean plays Ance, and Happy Salma returns as Chinta. The series deconstructs the unified front these characters presented in the film to explore the individual conflicts that defined their early experiences in the United States. The narrative assigns each woman a specific, high-stakes personal challenge, transforming them from archetypes into fully realized characters. Party’s arc involves navigating her precarious legal status while working as a cleaning service employee with aspirations of opening her own restaurant. Ance, a single parent contending with the death of her husband, faces the complexities of raising her teenage daughter in a new cultural environment. Chinta, a dreamer and massage therapist who believes in astrology, has her story focus on the personal reinvention required after she faces an unexpected divorce. Biyah’s journey continues to explore the economic hustle required for survival, building on her established film persona as a resilient paparazzi photographer with a proud Javanese accent. The series’ central dramatic thrust is to chronicle how these women, through their separate trials, eventually forge the powerful solidarity that defines them as the “Queens”.

Ratu Ratu Queens The Series

Thematic Resonance and Cultural Specificity

The series examines universal themes of friendship, cultural adaptation, social pressure, and the search for identity, all filtered through the specific lens of the Indonesian diaspora experience. The narrative uses the immigrant condition as a catalyst, stripping the characters of their familiar social structures and forcing them to confront crises of identity in a heightened, isolating context. Their individual struggles with professional ambition, single motherhood, and post-divorce independence become emblematic of broader explorations of modern womanhood. The formation of a “chosen family” emerges as a central theme, presented not as a given but as a constructed sanctuary built out of necessity and mutual support in response to displacement and hardship. The story is grounded in the socio-economic realities of immigrant life in New York, avoiding idealized depictions in favor of a more authentic portrayal of the community and its financial challenges.

Auteur-Driven Vision and Technical Execution

The retention of the core creative team from the original film ensures a high degree of aesthetic and tonal consistency. Director Lucky Kuswandi’s established sensibility for blending heartfelt drama with nuanced comedy is evident throughout the series. Known for using film as a medium for social commentary and posing questions rather than statements, Kuswandi’s direction shapes the series as an exploration of complex relationships and cultural norms. With Muhammad Zaidy as showrunner and Palari Films co-producing, the series is positioned as an auteur-driven extension of a singular artistic vision rather than a derivative work.

The screenplay is penned by Andri Cung, a writer and former photographer whose preference for capturing realism over artifice informs the narrative’s grounded tone. To maintain visual and atmospheric authenticity, principal photography was conducted on location in Queens, New York, the same setting as the film. The cinematography, continuing the work of Batara Goempar from the film, captures the borough from the perspective of its immigrant inhabitants, deliberately avoiding picturesque, postcard-like visuals in favor of a more genuine representation. The sound design further enhances this authenticity, combining traditional and contemporary music to guide emotion and utilizing contextual language and code-switching to reflect how the characters would naturally speak.

Global Distribution and Concluding Remarks

Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series is receiving a simultaneous global release, positioning it as a significant Indonesian production on the international streaming landscape. By synthesizing comedic and dramatic elements, the series presents an accessible yet meaningful narrative that explores the challenges and triumphs of the immigrant experience. Ultimately, the story champions the core values of female fortitude, resilience, and the profound power of solidarity to create a sense of home in a foreign land. The series premiered on the streaming service on September 12, 2025.

Where to Watch “Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series”

Netflix

A Governor’s Daughter Is Kidnapped by His Most Trusted Man in Tense New Netflix Political Thriller Maledictions

The global streaming landscape receives a significant new entry with the premiere of Maledictions (original title: Las Maldiciones), an Argentine-produced limited series. Structured as a political thriller with deep psychological underpinnings, the narrative is set in motion by a high-stakes crisis: the daughter of a provincial governor is abducted at a career-defining moment. This act of violence is made more complex by its timing, coinciding with a crucial legislative vote on the exploitation of lithium reserves, and by the identity of the perpetrator—the governor’s most trusted right-hand man. The series immediately establishes a framework where personal betrayal and political intrigue are inseparable, using an intimate family catastrophe as a lens through which to examine the broader corrupting influences of power. The choice of lithium as the political fulcrum is a pointedly contemporary one; the resource, essential for the global transition to green energy, grounds the drama in tangible geopolitical and economic realities, elevating the central conflict beyond a simple plot device into a commentary on resource control and national sovereignty. Created by the esteemed Argentine filmmaker Daniel Burman, the series positions itself as a taut exploration of ambition, loyalty, and the secrets that bind and ultimately destroy powerful families.

Narrative Architecture and Thematic Concerns

Constructed as a compact, three-episode miniseries, Maledictions employs a narrative economy that prioritizes thematic density and psychological depth over expansive plotting. This condensed format necessitates a focused, high-tension story where each development is critical to the central mystery. The core of this mystery is not the kidnapping itself, but the motives behind it, which are revealed to be rooted in a conspiracy concealed for thirteen years. This temporal framework is fundamental to the series’ thematic ambitions, suggesting that the present crisis is an inevitable reckoning for past transgressions. The narrative operates as a “slow burn” thriller, meticulously peeling back layers of history to expose the origins of the titular “curses.” These are not supernatural afflictions but rather the inherited burdens of family secrets and the toxic legacies passed between generations—what the series terms “the curses of filiation.” The governor, portrayed by Leonardo Sbaraglia, is thus caught in a crucible, forced to navigate a conflict where his political future is pitted against his daughter’s life. His dilemma transcends a simple choice between public duty and private affection; it becomes a confrontation with a history he helped create, where the lines between ally and enemy have dissolved. The series dissects the very nature of power, questioning its limits and exposing the moral compromises required to attain and maintain it, all within a tightly wound narrative that links every action to a long-dormant, and now violently awakened, past.

Maledictions

Literary Provenance and the Art of Adaptation

The series draws its narrative and thematic weight from a significant work of contemporary Argentine literature, being an adaptation of the 2017 novel Las Maldiciones by Claudia Piñeiro. Piñeiro is one of Argentina’s most celebrated and internationally translated authors, a writer whose work consistently merges the conventions of genre fiction—particularly crime and noir—with incisive social and political critique. Her involvement provides the series with a solid foundation of literary prestige and intellectual rigor. Piñeiro’s novels frequently dissect the hypocrisies and moral failings of the Argentine upper and political classes, exploring themes of corruption, systemic injustice, and feminist concerns through the accessible framework of a thriller. Her previous successful collaboration with Netflix on the series El Reino (The Kingdom), which examined the intersection of evangelical religion and political ambition, established a precedent for adapting her complex, socially relevant narratives for a global audience.

A key decision in the adaptation of Malediciones is a shift in narrative perspective. The source novel centers on the character of Román Sabaté, a young political aide who serves as an entry point into the world of his charismatic and ethically compromised boss, Fernando Rovira. This provides an outsider’s view of the corrupting mechanisms of power. The series, in contrast, places the governor himself at the center of the story, focusing the drama on the internal conflict of the man who wields power. This structural alteration leverages the considerable screen presence of lead actor Leonardo Sbaraglia and intensifies the narrative’s central themes by forcing the audience to inhabit the moral crisis of the decision-maker, making the exploration of choice, consequence, and betrayal a more direct and visceral experience.

Auteurial Vision and Generic Hybridity

The creative direction of Maledictions is helmed by Daniel Burman, a central figure in the cinematic movement known as the “New Argentine Cinema” that emerged in the late 1990s. Burman’s filmography, which includes internationally acclaimed works like El Abrazo Partido (Lost Embrace) and Derecho de Familia (Family Law), is distinguished by its focus on intimate character studies, often exploring themes of identity and family within the Jewish community of Buenos Aires. His involvement signals a commitment to nuanced psychological portraiture. He shares directorial duties with Martín Hodara, a filmmaker with established credentials in the thriller genre. Hodara previously directed Leonardo Sbaraglia in the tense drama Nieve Negra (Black Snow), establishing a creative shorthand with the series’ lead. This directorial pairing represents a synthesis of artistic sensibilities: Burman’s capacity for intimate, character-driven drama is fused with Hodara’s experience in building suspense and navigating the mechanics of the thriller genre.

This synthesis is further reflected in the series’ ambitious generic hybridity. The production explicitly blends the political thriller with the aesthetic and thematic language of the western. This choice is anchored by the series’ setting, with filming taking place in the arid, expansive landscapes of northern Argentina. The cinematography utilizes this geography to evoke the iconography of the classic western—a vast, morally ambiguous frontier where law is fragile and survival depends on ruthless calculation. By transposing a contemporary story of political corruption and resource conflict onto this mythic landscape, the series constructs a powerful modern allegory. The struggle over lithium mining becomes a modern-day land grab, and the political arena is reimagined as a lawless territory where foundational myths are forged through violence and betrayal.

Cinematic Craft and Production Framework

The series’ high artistic ambitions are evident in its assembly of a top-tier technical crew. The cinematography is managed by the decorated duo of Rodrigo Pulpeiro and Javier Juliá. Pulpeiro’s extensive credits include acclaimed films such as La odisea de los giles (Heroic Losers). Juliá’s involvement is particularly notable, as he served as the director of photography on two of the most internationally successful Argentine films of the past decade: the Oscar-nominated anthology Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) and the historical drama Argentina, 1985. His participation connects Maledictions to a lineage of Argentine productions recognized for their world-class visual craft and narrative sophistication, promising a cinematic language that is both polished and dramatically potent.

The score, composed by Hernán Segret and Nico Cota, provides the auditory texture for the unfolding psychological drama. The editing, by Eliane D. Katz and Andrea Kleinman, is crucial in maintaining the tension required by the three-part structure. Art direction by Mariela Rípodas is responsible for creating the visual world that supports the series’ generic blend of modern political thriller and classic western. The production itself is a collaboration between Daniel Burman’s company, Oficina Burman, and Cimarrón Cine, both operating under the umbrella of the major Spanish media conglomerate The Mediapro Studio. This structure exemplifies a prevailing model in contemporary global television, where a distinctly local story, conceived by an Argentine auteur and adapted from a major national author, is realized with the financial backing and production infrastructure of a major international entity, ensuring its aesthetic quality and reach for a global market.

Ensemble and Character Dynamics

At the heart of the political and familial drama is a formidable ensemble of Argentine actors. The series is led by Leonardo Sbaraglia as the embattled governor Fernando Rovira. Sbaraglia is an actor of international stature, with a career that spans both Argentine cinema and major productions in Spain and Hollywood, including roles in Relatos Salvajes and Pedro Almodóvar’s Dolor y gloria (Pain and Glory). His presence provides the series with a charismatic and complex center. He is supported by a cast of accomplished performers, including Gustavo Bassani, who plays the trusted aide turned kidnapper, and Mónica Antonópulos. Alejandra Flechner, a veteran of Argentine stage and screen, also holds a key role. The critical part of the kidnapped daughter, Zoe, is performed by Francesca Varela. The wider cast is populated by a roster of respected character actors, including Osmar Núñez, César Bordón, Nazareno Casero, and María Ucedo. The decision to assemble such a deep bench of talent underscores the series’ focus on performance-driven drama. It is not merely a star vehicle but a true ensemble piece, where the intricate web of political conspiracy and personal history is brought to life through the complex interactions of its many well-drawn characters.

Maledictions presents itself as a meticulously crafted work, synthesizing the narrative complexity of a literary adaptation with the taut suspense of a political thriller and the allegorical power of a modern western. It stands as an ambitious project within the Argentine audiovisual landscape, leveraging the country’s formidable creative talent—from its literary figures and auteur directors to its world-class cinematographers and veteran actors—to produce a dense, psychologically rich drama for a global platform. The three-part miniseries Maledictions is available for global streaming on Netflix from September 12, 2025.

3 Years of Malibu Crush: James Pratt on the Indie Film’s Success, Comedy Chaos & One Wild Ride

It’s been exactly three years since Malibu Crush premiered on September 13, 2022, at Fox Studios in Sydney. Just one day later, it screened at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and was released across the U.S. The film an independent comedy — was originally developed during the COVID lockdown, when actor/director James Pratt found himself back home in Bondi Beach Australia with nine months of unexpected downtime before returning to Los Angeles.

Despite its humble beginnings, Malibu Crush has gained a cult following in the United States for its bold chaotic comedy and offbeat charm. The storyline follows two best friends from Los Angeles who pretend to be celebrated Malibu film school students to get a free trip to Bondi Beach, Australia, in a last-ditch attempt to stop a wedding.

From people getting run over by golf carts, an unfortunate spa scene, to crashing a wedding, Malibu Crush leans into the spirit of old-school comedies like Super Troopers and Dumb and Dumber. It’s this kind of mayhem, mixed with some surprisingly cinematic shots of Bondi Beach that helped the film win multiple festivals including the Cannes Film Awards, Beyond Hollywood Int’l Film Festival, and L.A. Cinematography Awards.

The film stars James Pratt, Brittany Hockley, Billy White, Bella Valentini, Daniel Musial, and Sarah-Louise Collidge, with a strong ensemble cast including Scott E. Miller, Demitra Sealy, Damien Nixey and Yuan Lim.

Now on the third anniversary of its release we sit down with James Pratt to reflect on the film’s unexpected success, the wild moments behind the scenes and if there will be a sequel.

BTS filming Malibu Crush

Q&A with James Pratt: Behind the Chaos of Malibu Crush

Q: When you first started writing Malibu Crush did you ever expect it to reach this level of success?

Not at all, it started as a fun and spontaneous idea during covid— I was back in Bondi Beach with nine months of downtime before going back to Los Angeles and wanted to make something rather than just sitting around. My intention was to make a movie that could make people laugh and bring some joy to people.

Q: The film is packed with outrageous moments — golf cart accidents, that spa scene, even some wild sailor subplots. Was that chaotic tone always intentional?

I was hoping for that Farrelly brothers tone of comedy combining physical comedy mixed with underdog characters trying to achieve an objective, such as Dumb and Dumber and Hall Pass.

I always had a passion for those films. The chaos was 100% by design.

Q: What was the wildest moment behind the scenes during filming?

There was a lot of crazy moments, I think filming at the Cammeray Golf Course was one, Layton the GM, was such a great dude – he basically said we could do whatever we wanted and gave us free golf carts and blocked off one of the holes for us to film. At one point in the day we tried to jump the golf carts in the sand trap before driving across the greens, Layton came down from the club house (we were thinking we were in trouble), but instead he had 2 large containers full of drinks and food and said he thought we might be hungry, he then suggested ways to get the golf carts airborne.

Was the Character of Mrs Taylor based off Stifler’s Mum from American Pie.

Not Stifler’s Mum, but I can see why you ask that; Mrs. Taylor is that force of nature that appeals to Duey’s character who is wanting to impress Michael at that moment and he see’s Mrs Taylor as his version of Bridget Van Ryan.

What’s been the most surprising piece of feedback you’ve received?

A lot of people have asked what happens to Michael and Duey after the film ends and once they get back to Los Angeles.

Sarah Louise Collidge in Malibu Crush

Q: Why do you think it resonated so well with audiences?

I think this style of humor is still hugely popular, these fans from hits such as The Hang Over and American Pie are still there but Hollywood isn’t making raw comedy films as often so Malibu Crush is a movie that this audience was hungry for.

Q: What was the reaction like when the film first came out in America vs Australia.

The USA liked the comedy more than Australia and the reviews probably reflect that. But the support making the film in Australia was very special.

Q: Any chance of a sequel — Malibu Crush 2 maybe

Laughs – Maybe One Day, Michael and Duey created enough chaos on their one trip to Australia.

Malibu Crush was distributed by Cardinal XD in the United States and Bounty Entertainment in Australia

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3437892