Gael Garcia Bernal to Star as Saul Armendariz, aka the Liberace of Lucha Libre, in the Biopic “Cassandro”

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Gael García Bernal is hitting the ring to play a Lucha Libre legend.

The 41-year-old Mexican actor/filmmaker will star in Cassandro, an independent feature from Oscar winning and two-time Emmy nominee filmmaker Roger Ross Williams.

Cassandro tells the true story of Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who rises to international stardom after he creates the “exotico” character Cassandro, the “Liberace of Lucha Libre,” and in the process upends not just the macho wrestling world but also his own life.

Armendáriz at the age of 15 quit school and began training for Lucha Libre, beginning his professional wrestling career in 1988 under the mask as Mister Romano. Ultimately he would abandon the character and take on the exotico character of Baby Sharon. Exoticos are male wrestlers who dress in drag.

Ultimately, Armendáriz would take the new ring name of Cassandro, from a Tijuana brothel keeper Cassandra whom he appreciated.

In January 1991, after bad press that he was going to wrestle El Hijo del Santo in the UWA World Welterweight Championship, Armendáriz reportedly attempted suicide by cutting his wrists with a razor blade, but was saved.

The title match occurred a week later and Armendáriz credits it as the match that earned him the lucha libre community’s acceptance.

While Cassandro failed to win the UWA World Welterweight Championship from El Hijo del Santo, he managed to win his first title, the UWA World Lightweight Championship in October 1992, by defeating Lasser, becoming the first exótico in history to hold a championship in UWA.

Bernal, who will star in M. Night Shyamalan’s new secret movie from Universal, will shoot that movie first before stepping into the ring for Cassandro, which is eyeing a November start in Mexico.

Cassandro will rep the feature narrative directorial debut for Williams, who took home the Oscar for his short docu Music by Prudence in 2010, and recently was nominated at the Emmys a second time, this time in Outstanding Documentary/Nonfiction Special category for the HBO doc The Apollo. That movie, which made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, follows the historic and famed Harlem NYC venue and its legacy.

“As a filmmaker, my own life experience has inspired my passion to tell inspirational stories about outsiders and uplift the voices of people we don’t normally see on screen. The true story of Cassandro, Saúl Armendáriz, was one I knew I wanted to tell from the moment I met him. I look forward to being able to bring Saúl’s story to a wide audience,” said Williams.

Williams wrote Cassandro with Emmy-winner David Teague and Julián Herbert (Satelite).

Bernal is a two-time Golden Globe nominee and winner for the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle. He was part of the SAG ensemble nominated cast of Paramount’s Babel, and a BAFTA nominee for Focus Features’ 2004 The Motorcycle Diaries.

The filmmakers are reportedly in talks with Amazon to acquire Cassandro once complete, but that deal is contingent on several factors before it’s a negative pick-up.

Daniel Bruhl to Star in German-Language Adaptation of Novel “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Daniel Bruhlis a Frontrunner…

The 41-year-old half-Spanish actor is set to star in and produce the first-ever German-language film version of the landmark German novel All Quiet On The Western Front.

The intriguing new version of the WWI story will bring together Bruhl, BAFTA-winning director Edward Berger, and producers Malte Grunertand Daniel Dreifuss.

One of the best-selling German novels of all time, Erich Maria Remarque’s poignant story follows three youngsters who voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervor, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of war. Their preconceptions about the enemy and the rights and wrongs of the conflict crumble. On the countdown to Armistice, the novel’s protagonist must carry on fighting until the end, with no purpose other than to satisfy the top brass’s desire to end the war on a German offensive.

The novel was famously adapted by Universal and Lewis Milestonein 1930 and went on to win Oscars for Best Pictureand Best Director.

The plan is to shoot the $20M-budgeted film at the end of the year in Belgium and Germany. Goodbye Lenin!and Rushactor Bruhl is attached for the ensemble cast and will be an executive producer.

Casting is underway for the main role of Paul Baumer. The leads will likely be newcomers or emerging actors.

The English-language script, which is being translated into German, comes from Lesley Pattersonand Ian Stokell who first optioned the book rights almost a decade ago.

In-demand German filmmaker Berger told us, “People want authenticity. There is no way this film could be made today in a language other than German. It’s actually remarkable to think there has never been a German-language version. It’s a real hole in our film history. Telling a truthful version of the story is so important to us. We’re thinking of it as being in the tradition of movies like Downfalland Das Boot.”

Gael Garcia Bernal to Star in Jonas Cuaron’s Showtime Thriller Drama Pilot “Hombre”

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Gael Garcia Bernalis the man…

The 40-year-old Mexican actor/producer has been cast as the lead in Showtime’s thriller drama pilot Hombre, which hails from BAFTA nominee Jonas Cuarón (Gravity).

Garcia Bernal, who won a Golden Globe for his lead role in Mozart in the Jungle, will star alongside Marisé Alvarez (The Vessel), Greg Grunberg (A Star Is Born), Pepi Sonuga (Famous In Love), Adriana Santos (Taken) and newcomer Noah Reyes in the pilot, which is set to begin production at the end of April in Los Angeles.

Created by Cuarón, who also will direct the pilot, Hombre centers on a Mexican-American family man named Marcos Osuna (Bernal) who is living undocumented in the United States. When his wife Leticia is detained by ICE, Marcos, both desperate and resourceful, goes to unprecedented lengths to get her back. The project is an emotional thriller about a man enmeshed in a dangerous double life, contending with powerful forces set on thwarting his unwavering desire to unite his family.

Hombre is a co-production between Showtime and Makeready.

Alvarez will play Marcos’ smart and selfless wife Leticia, whose detention by ICE proves to be the ultimate test on her marriage and close-knit family.

Sonuga will play Adanna, a kind-hearted undocumented immigrant from Nigeria who works with Marcos at a motel. Grunberg will play Norm, a friendly and well-intended ICE trainee.

Santos will play Leticia’s sister Teresa. Reyes will play Marcos’ and Leticia’s pre-adolescent son Anthony.

Alvarez recently appeared in the feature films The Vessel and Imprisoned, and the Spanish mini-series En el corredor de la muerte. She had her first notable role in the Puerto Rican feature Maldeamores, and starred in Steve Soderbergh’s Che: Part One and Che: Part Two.

Santos can be seen in the upcoming film Night Swim directed by Victoria Riverapremiering at Tribeca. Her television credits include Taken, Sweetbitter and Daredevil.

Reyes is a newcomer from Ontario, California. Hombre marks his first television series regular role.

Netflix Orders Salma Hayek-Produced Original Drama Series “Monarca”

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Salma Hayek is on Flix…

Netflix has ordered Monarca, an original drama series from Mexico produced by the 51-year-old Mexican actress/producer’s Ventanarosa Productions, Lemon Studios and Michael McDonald’s Stearns Castle.

Irene Azuela and Juan Manuel Bernal are attached to star, and production is scheduled to begin in the fall for a 2019 global premiere.

Created by Diego Gutierrez, who also serves as showrunner, and written by Lemon Studios’ Fernando Rovzar, Julia Denis, Ana Sofia Clerici and Sandra García Velten, Monarca will follow the world of wealthy Mexican elites riddled by corruption, scandal and violence. Set in the powerful world of Mexican billionaires, Monarca is a high stakes, multi-generational family saga about a tequila-born Mexican business empire, and the battle that ensues when a member of the family decides to fight the dirty system her family helped create.

“I’m extremely excited to partner with Netflix, and to be working with amazing Mexican talent in front of and behind the camera. We are proud to show Mexico as a vibrant, sophisticated and culturally rich nation, fighting to control its own destiny,” said Hayek.

“Mexico is a top priority for us in which to continue to develop series,” said Erik Barmack, VP International Originals, “and we look forward to bringing the best originals to the world through partnerships with key players such as Ventanarosa and Lemon Studios.”

Added Gutierrez: “This is the definition of a passion project for me. Having been born and raised in Mexico, I’m humbled to have the opportunity to tell this story with Netflix and the incredibly talented team of people we’re assembling, both in the U.S. and Mexico.”

Ventanarosa produced Frida, which earned Hayek nominations for an Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA. Its other titles include Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ugly Betty, animated film Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, The Maldonado Miracle, El coronel no tiene quien le escriba and In the Time of the Butterflies.

Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” Earns 12 BAFTA Nominations

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro continues to feel the Awards Season love…

The Shape of Water, the latest film by the 53-year-old Mexican filmmaker, who earned his first-ever Golden Globe on Sunday, leads the nominations for the British Academy Film Awards with 12 including Best Film, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.

Tying for the most BAFTA nominations after Fox Searchlight’s The Shape of Water are Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri — also from Searchlight — and Focus/Working Title’s Darkest Hour with nine each.

All three pictures are up for Best Film as are Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (Warner Bros.) and Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, to round out the field.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

BEST FILM
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Emilie Georges, Luca Guadagnino, Marco Morabito, Peter Spears
DARKEST HOUR Tim Bevan, Lisa Bruce, Eric Fellner, Anthony McCarten, Douglas Urbanski
DUNKIRK Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas
THE SHAPE OF WATER Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
DARKEST HOUR Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Lisa Bruce, Eric Fellner, Anthony McCarten, Douglas Urbanski
THE DEATH OF STALIN Armando Iannucci, Kevin Loader, Laurent Zeitoun, Yann Zenou, Ian Martin, David Schneider
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY Francis Lee, Manon Ardisson, Jack Tarling
LADY MACBETH William Oldroyd, Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, Alice Birch
PADDINGTON 2 Paul King, David Heyman, Simon Farnaby
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
THE GHOUL Gareth Tunley (Writer/Director/Producer), Jack Healy Guttman & Tom Meeten (Producers)
I AM NOT A WITCH Rungano Nyoni (Writer/Director), Emily Morgan (Producer)
JAWBONE Johnny Harris (Writer/Producer), Thomas Napper (Director)
KINGDOM OF US Lucy Cohen (Director)
LADY MACBETH Alice Birch (Writer), William Oldroyd (Director), Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly (Producer)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ELLE Paul Verhoeven, Saïd Ben Saïd
FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER Angelina Jolie, Rithy Panh
THE HANDMAIDEN Park Chan-wook, Syd Lim
LOVELESS Andrey Zvyagintsev, Alexander Rodnyansky
THE SALESMAN Asghar Farhadi, Alexandre Mallet-Guy

DOCUMENTARY
CITY OF GHOSTS Matthew Heineman
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO Raoul Peck
ICARUS Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan
AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk
JANE Brett Morgen

ANIMATED FILM
COCO Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
LOVING VINCENT Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Ivan Mactaggart
MY LIFE AS A COURGETTE Claude Barras, Max Karli

DIRECTOR
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Denis Villeneuve
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Luca Guadagnino
DUNKIRK Christopher Nolan
THE SHAPE OF WATER Guillermo del Toro
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Martin McDonagh

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
GET OUT Jordan Peele
I, TONYA Steven Rogers
LADY BIRD Greta Gerwig
THE SHAPE OF WATER Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Martin McDonagh

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME James Ivory
THE DEATH OF STALIN Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, David Schneider
FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL Matt Greenhalgh
MOLLY’S GAME Aaron Sorkin
PADDINGTON 2 Simon Farnaby, Paul King

LEADING ACTRESS
ANNETTE BENING Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
FRANCES McDORMAND Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
MARGOT ROBBIE I, Tonya
SALLY HAWKINS The Shape of Water
SAOIRSE RONAN Lady Bird

LEADING ACTOR
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Phantom Thread
DANIEL KALUUYA Get Out
GARY OLDMAN Darkest Hour
JAMIE BELL Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET Call Me by Your Name

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ALLISON JANNEY I, Tonya
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS Darkest Hour
LAURIE METCALF Lady Bird
LESLEY MANVILLE Phantom Thread
OCTAVIA SPENCER The Shape of Water

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER All the Money in the World
HUGH GRANT Paddington 2
SAM ROCKWELL Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
WILLEM DAFOE The Florida Project
WOODY HARRELSON Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

ORIGINAL MUSIC
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Benjamin Wallfisch, Hans Zimmer
DARKEST HOUR Dario Marianelli
DUNKIRK Hans Zimmer
PHANTOM THREAD Jonny Greenwood
THE SHAPE OF WATER Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Roger Deakins
DARKEST HOUR Bruno Delbonnel
DUNKIRK Hoyte van Hoytema
THE SHAPE OF WATER Dan Laustsen
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Ben Davis

EDITING
BABY DRIVER Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Joe Walker
DUNKIRK Lee Smith
THE SHAPE OF WATER Sidney Wolinsky
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Jon Gregory

PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
DARKEST HOUR Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
DUNKIRK Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
THE SHAPE OF WATER Paul Austerberry, Jeff Melvin, Shane Vieau

COSTUME DESIGN
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Jacqueline Durran
DARKEST HOUR Jacqueline Durran
I, TONYA Jennifer Johnson
PHANTOM THREAD Mark Bridges
THE SHAPE OF WATER Luis Sequeira

MAKE UP & HAIR
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Donald Mowat, Kerry Warn
DARKEST HOUR David Malinowski, Ivana Primorac, Lucy Sibbick, Kazuhiro Tsuji
I, TONYA Deborah La Mia Denaver, Adruitha Lee
VICTORIA & ABDUL Daniel Phillips
WONDER Naomi Bakstad, Robert A. Pandini, Arjen Tuiten

SOUND
BABY DRIVER Tim Cavagin, Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Mark Mangini, Mac Ruth
DUNKIRK Richard King, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, Mark Weingarten
THE SHAPE OF WATER Christian Cooke, Glen Gauthier, Nathan Robitaille, Brad Zoern
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Gerd Nefzer, John Nelson
DUNKIRK Scott Fisher, Andrew Jackson
THE SHAPE OF WATER Dennis Berardi, Trey Harrell, Kevin Scott
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Nominees tbc
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Nominees tbc

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
HAVE HEART Will Anderson
MAMOON Ben Steer
POLES APART Paloma Baeza, Ser En Low

BRITISH SHORT FILM
AAMIR Vika Evdokimenko, Emma Stone, Oliver Shuster
COWBOY DAVE Colin O’Toole, Jonas Mortensen
A DROWNING MAN Mahdi Fleifel, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Patrick Campbell
WORK Aneil Karia, Scott O’Donnell
WREN BOYS Harry Lighton, Sorcha Bacon, John Fitzpatrick

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
DANIEL KALUUYA
FLORENCE PUGH
JOSH O’CONNOR
TESSA THOMPSON
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET

Tessa Thompson Earns Rising Star Award Nomination from BAFTA

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Tessa Thompson is a rising star… Literally…

The 34-year-old half-Afro-Panamanian, part-Mexican American actress has been nominated for the 2018 Rising Star Award, the only BAFTA film prize voted on by the public.

Thompson is nominated for her breakout performance as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok, a role she’ll reprise in this year’s Avengers: Infinity War.

Thompson is nominated alongside Call Me By Your Name’s Timothée Chalamet; Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya, God’s Own Country’s Josh O’Connor and Lady Macbeth’s Florence Pugh.

The nominations are intended to represent five actors and actresses who have shown outstanding talent on the big screen in the past year and have captured the attention of both the public and the film industry.

Thompson has won prizes for her previous work and in 2017 starred in the blockbuster third installment in Marvel’s Thor.

The winner will be announced on February 18 at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony.

Costa Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Laia Costa has new representation…

The 31-year-old Spanish actress has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME).

Costa recently starred as the title character in Sebastian Schipper’s critically-acclaimed Victoria, a film almost entirely improvised by the actors and shot in one single take.

She also plays the lead in Drake Doremus’ The Newness, opposite Nicholas Hoult, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

Previously, Costa had the lead role in the Russian film Fort Ross, directed by Yuriy Moroz and has also starred in Palm Trees in the Snow. She has worked extensively in her native country on local television shows like Cities, the Spanish remake of Brit TV series Dates, Carlos, Rey Emperador and Polseres Vermelles. She also stars in Matthew Brown’s upcoming title Maine and Martin Hodara’s Neive Negra.

Her performance in Victoria has earned her a Lola Award (Germany’s equivalent of an Oscar) as well as a Gaudi Award for Best Actress. She’s also been nominated for a European Film Award for Best European Actress.

Costa is one of five actors competing for the coveted 2017 BAFTA EE Rising Star Award next month, alongside actors Ruth Negga, Lucas Hedges, Tom Holland and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Luna to Serve on Un Certain Regard Jury Panel at This Year’s Cannes Film Festival

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Diego Luna is ready to judge…

The 36-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer will serve as a judge on the Un Certain Regard panel at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Swiss actress Marthe Keller will act as president of the panel, with French actress Céline Sallette and Swedish director Ruben Ostlund joining Luna.

Ostlund’s 2014 existential drama Force Majeure notably won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize that year and went on to earn BAFTA, BIFA and Golden Globe nominations. Luna is in this year’s Blood Father which has a Midnight Screening berth at Cannes. There are 18 films in UCR; prizes will be awarded May 21.

Meanwhile, Argentine director-playwright-writer Santiago Loza will serve as a member of the jury panel for the Short Films and Cinéfondation, alongside president Naomi Kawase, actress Marie-Josée Croze, director/screenwriters Jean-Marie Larrieu and Radu Muntean.

They will award prizes on May 20 for three of the 18 student films shown as part of the Cinéfondation selection. And they will also decide the Short Film Palme d’Or winner who will be named at the main closing-night ceremony.

Padilha’s Netflix Crime Thriller “Narcos” Earns British Academy Television Awards Nomination

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

José Padilha’s latest project is earning special recognition overseas…

The 48-year-old Brazilian film and television director, producer and screenwriter has earned his first-ever British Academy Television Awards nomination for his Netflix original series Narcos, starring frequent collaborator Wagner Moura.

Padilha’s crime thriller, which tells the true story of notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, earned a nod in the Best International Series category from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

The series, which was renewed for a second season in September 2015, is up against The Good Wife, Spiral and Transparent.

The British Academy Television Awards will be handed out on May 8.

Here’s the detailed information on the category:

INTERNATIONAL SERIES
THE GOOD WIFE Production Team – Scott Free Productions, King Size Productions, CBST/More 4
NARCOS Jose Padilha, Eric Newman, Chris Brancato – Gaumont International Television/Netflix
SPIRAL Vassili Clert, Anne Landois – Canal + Creation Originale/Son et Lumiere/In association with BBC Four/BBC Four
TRANSPARENT Production Team – Amazon Studios/Amazon Prime Instant Video

Sanchez Earns Two World Soundtrack Awards for Composing the Music for “Birdman”

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Antonio Sanchez is flying high…

The 43-year-old Mexican jazz drummer and composer took home two awards on Saturday at the 15th World Soundtrack Awards which served as the finale to the 42nd Film Fest Ghent in Belgium.

Sanchez, a Critics Choice Movie Award winner earlier this year, was named Discovery of the Year 2015 for composing the music for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Oscar-winning film Birdman.

He also picked up the award for Best Original Film Score of the Year for Birdman.

Sanchez’s work also earned him the nomination for 2014 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, a nomination for the 2015 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), and other nominations.

Meanwhile, the honor for the year’s Best Original Song written directly for a movie went to “The Apology Song” from The Book of Life, with music by Gustavo Santaolalla, lyrics by Paul Williams and performed by Diego Luna.

Here’s a look at all the big winners:

Composer of the Year
Michael Giacchino

Original Film Score of the Year
Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) by Antonio Sanchez

Best Original Song Written for a Film
“The Apology Song” from The Book of Life
Music by Gustavo Santaolalla, lyrics by Paul Williams, performed by Diego Luna

Discovery of the Year
Antonio Sanchez for ‘Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)’

Sabam Award for Best Young Composer
Peer Kleinschmidt

Public Choice Award
The Maze Runner by John Paesano

Lifetime Achievement Award
Patrick Doyle

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

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