"Sangre Fría (Cold Blood)" (2004)

****URGENT!****
Do you live in Argentina, or live in the U.S. and have "DirecTV Para Todos"?
"Sangre Fría" is airing in August on Telefé, and no doubt scores of BR fans worldwide are going to be eager to see this show. Help us get this series on videotape! Post in the battleroyalefilm forums to let us know you're out there!

Welcome to the first English-language news site for "Sangre Fría," the Argentinian TV miniseries remake of Battle Royale. It'll look kind of cluttered and disorganized here for a while, but as more news trickles in and the series actually hits the air in South America, I hope this section of the site will take shape (and we'll figure out how the rest of us BR fans will get to see this).

First announced in March 2004, the 13-part miniseries is being taped in Neuquen in Patagonia, a rugged and picturesque region in the southern part of Argentina. The show is scheduled to debut in August on the Telefe Network.

The students this time around are university students in their early twenties, and "The Contest," as it is known, pits the best and brightest from all around Argentina against each other.

SYNOPSIS

An old mansion in the middle of the rustic, snow-covered landscape of Patagonia is the site of an exclusive university where a traditional competition between the brightest of the youth is held annually. The "Concurso Gallogher" is so prestigious, it's said that no-one can become a politician of great ambitions or a leading professional in a field without having been through the competition. But the school hides a tragic secret; three years ago, a student named Laura disappeared without a trace, forcing the institution to close down its program. The disappearance made headlines in the media, and grew into a well-known legend in the population's imagination. Now the competition has reopened and new, bloody deaths occur among the students, while the legend of Laura haunts the contest.

The Latest News:
For breaking news, check the Sangre Fría News thread at the battleroyalefilm General Discussion Forum.

7/31/04
"Sangre Fría" set to debut in August : Telefe has scheduled the premiere of "Sangre Fría" for Thursday, August 12. The headline article on telenovelas.com.ar this week talks about the show, and points out that SF is a "superproduction" completely shot on location with over 70 cast and crew members. Producer Marco Tinelli assures that the show "is not only for local consumption, but is planned to compete at the international level."

7/15/04
"Sangre Fría" hits theaters (sort of): In a first for a television series in Argentina, teasers for "Sangre Fría" have begun running in movie theaters.

6/18/2004 - Character info is released; another pic appears; this subsection of the battleroyalefilm site expands and rearranges the furniture a little.

6/13/2004 - Another rather unrevealing pic was found on Argentina's version of AOL. The caption identifies the subjects as actors Mimi Ardu, Max Ghione, and Dolores Fonzi.

6/10/2004 - The first photograph from the set has been released; take a gander at it here.

6/5/2004 - Photography for the series officially begins today in and around the Villa La Angostura in Neuquen. El Messidor (below), a chateau currently used as the governor's official residence, will be used as the location for the fictional university.

News blurbs add Mirta Busnelli as a guest star for the first episode and Maximiliano Guione to the main cast. Previously announced cast members Julieta Cardinali and Gaston Pauls are now identified as guest stars.

An official synopsis has also appeared in the telenovelas.com.ar website which makes the premise, oddly enough, read more like a slasher flick than a series based on Battle Royale. Either way, it may now be unlikely that the series will be faithful to the previous incarnations of BR.

5/24/04
Alejo Ortiz and Julieta Zilberberg join the cast; actress Valeria Gastaldi drops out after contract negotiations fall through.