Jaenada to Star Opposite Amy Schumer & Goldie Hawn in Mother-Daughter Adventure Comedy

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Oscar Jaenada has a little blonde ambition…

The 41-year-old Spanish actor will star opposite Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn in the still untitled mother-daughter adventure comedy in a yet-to-be-revealed role.

The 20th Century Fox pic is directed by Jonathan Levine and written by Katie Dippold, who drew inspiration from her relationship with her mother.

Jaenada won a Goya Award for his portrayal of legendary flamenco dancer Camaron de la Isla in Camaron: When Flamenco Became Legend, and will next be seen opposite Blake Lively this summer in the Cannes Film Festival thriller The Shallows, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.

His other credits include the lead role in Cantinflas, Mexico’s 2015 foreign language Oscar submission, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Steven Soderbergh’s Che.

Jaenada to Star Opposite Blake Lively in “The Shallows”

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Oscar Jaenada is heading to the shallows…

The 40-year-old Spanish actor has joined the cast of Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Shallows opposite Blake Lively.

Jaenada, a Goya Award winner, is crossing over into the mainstream after bringing beloved Mexican comedic icon Cantinflas to the screen in the 2014 movie of the same name.

He has a small, but book-ended role in The Shallows.

Written by Anthony Jaswinski, the story centers on a young woman (Lively) who is grieving the loss her mother and surfing in an isolated area when she gets stranded on a buoy. Things take a turn for the worse when a gigantic great white shark comes between her and the shore.

The film was known as In The Deep when Sony Pictures won a bidding war for the spec script in September 2014, and brought Collet-Serra aboard in June.

Jaenada, who appears in The Weinstein Company’s 2016 offering Hands Of Stone opposite Robert De Niro, will play Carlos in the film, described as a workman who drives Lively’s character to the beach and then shows up again at the end of the film to check on her.

The film is casting now and has three other small supporting roles that are earmarked for Hispanic actors.

Jaenada won the coveted Goya (Spain’s equivalent of the Academy Award) for his portrayal of Camaron de la Isla, the legendary Spanish flamenco dancer, in 2005’s Camaron: When Flamenco Became Legend.

Cantinflas was Mexico’s 2015 foreign-language Oscar submission.

In addition, the actor had a starring role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and a critically praised appearance in Steven Soderbergh’s Che.

Mendez Signs with Paradigm

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a paradigm shift for Luis Gerardo Mendez…

The 32-year-old Mexican actor, considered one of his country’s fastest-rising stars, has signed with entertainment talent agency Paradigm.

As part of the deal, which was announced at the third edition of the Los Cabos International Film Festival, Mendez will be represented in all areas.

Mendes gained acclaim and a strong fan following after his performance as the partying son of a supposedly bankrupt millionaire in Gaz Alazraki’s Nosotros los nobles/

He most recently appeared in Sebastian del Amo’s Cantinflas, Mexico’s foreign-language Oscar entry.

Nobles became Mexico’s highest-grossing movie ever in early 2013, taking in $28 million for distributor Warner Bros., while Cantinflas, released by Pantelion Films, is the biggest foreign-language hit so far this year in the U.S. with a $6.4 million gross.

Mendez is the star, co-creator and exec producer of Netflix’s first Spanish-language original series, Los Escorpiones, which will go into production in three weeks, scheduled for a 2015 bow. The series is helmed by Alazraki.

Mendez is also attached to star in Fox International Productions’ The Brothers Huffington-Fynne, a comedy originally developed for Sascha Baron Cohen. He’ll play four roles in the film.

Mendez is also the face of Pepsi in Mexico.

Jaenada Lands Series Regular Role on TNT’s Untitled Miami Project

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s dealer or no deal for Óscar Jaenada…

The 39-year-old Spanish actor has landed a series regular role on TNT’s Untitled Miami Project.

From Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay and written by Masters Of Sex creator/executive producer Michelle Ashford, the serialized character drama is set in the wild and unpredictable world of the Florida drug trade in the 1970s.

Jaenada, who most recently starred in the Spanish-language biopic Cantinflas, will portray Jimeno “The Poodle” Padilla, a pot dealer-turned-cocaine trafficker.

But Jaenada isn’t the only Latin actor joining the cast.

Adria Arjona will portray Colombia-born Maria Zorilla. She’s in love with all things American and also is one of the most vicious drug traffickers to ever grace the Miami stage.

Kristen Hager and Kelsey Siepser will also star in the television series.

Moreno Joins Cast of the Drug Biopic About Griselda Blanco, “The Godmother”

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Catalina Sandino Moreno is heading back into the drug world…

The 33-year-old Colombian actress, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in the drug-themed drama Maria Full Of Grace, has joined the cast of the drug biopic The Godmother.

Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, the film is the true-tale biopic about Colombian cocaine queenpin Griselda Blanco. The film stirred media interest after it was announced that Zeta-Jones was cast in the lead role.

Moreno earned an Academy Award nod for playing a drug mule in Maria Full Of Grace and recently hit the small screen in Red Band Society. She’ll next appear in a recurring role on TNT’s Falling Skies.

In addition to Moreno, the film will also star Oscar Jaeneda, who recently appeared in the film Cantinflas, as well as Jon Bernthal (Fury) and Mehdi Dehbi (A Most Wanted Man).

The Godmother is set to begin filming next spring. Eva Sørhaug is directing from a screenplay by Frank Baldwin.

Mexico Selects del Amo’s “Cantinflas” as its Best Foreign Language Film Oscar Submission

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastián del Amo is one step closer to a possible Academy Award nomination…

The Mexican filmmaker’s second feature film Cantinflas has been named by Mexico as its Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission, just in time for the film’s theatrical push into Mexico and Latin America this month.

The biopic about famed Mexican comedian Mario Moreno aka Cantinflas was released by Pantelion Films in the United States on August 29 and has grossed $5 million stateside in 400 theaters.

del Amo co-wrote the script with Edui Tijerina.

Óscar Jaenada (The Losers, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) stars opposite Michael Imperioli in the tale of the oddly mustachioed icon who rose from humble beginnings, earned the nickname “The Charlie Chaplin of Mexico,” and helped launch the country’s golden age of cinema.

Pantelion has been pushing Cantinflas hard for months, attaching its trailer to screenings of studio blockbusters and marketing to multigenerational Latino audiences.

The film opens in Mexico on September 16 via Videocine Distribucion and will be released in 14 Latin American countries during the next few months.

Mexico’s most recent submissions to earn an Oscar nomination were Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful in 2010 and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006.

Pantelion Films Opening the Bio-Drama “Cantinflas,” Starring Jaenada, in Theaters This Weekend

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Óscar Jaenada is ready to bring the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico to life in U.S. theaters this weekend…

The 39-year-old Spanish actor is starring as the late, great Mexican actor Cantinflas in the Spanish-language bio-drama of the same name.

Written and directed by Sebastian del Amo, Cantinflas is an “untold story” from his humble beginnings to Hollywood and international stardom. Pantelion Films is betting on the enduring popularity of late Mexican actor, whose real name is Mario Moreno, as it brings the title to primarily Latino U.S. audiences this weekend

“We began our discussions with the film’s producers about a year ago,” said Pantelion’s Edward Allen. “Cantinflas as a character has no comparison in America. Unlike American actors [of his generation] Cantinflas is still a part of regular viewing for people of Latin American descent. They see him here all the time through sources like Telemundo and Univision. He appeals across generations.”

From the mid-1930s up until his death in 1993, Cantinflas was Mexico’s most beloved and iconic comedian. He starred in dozens of movies in his native country, often playing impoverished campesinos, before his Hollywood debut. He became known to U.S. audiences for his award-winning role in 1956’s Around the World in 80 Days.

Last year Pantelion hit box office gold with Instructions Not Included. The comedy grossed $44 million, the most of any Spanish-language title in the States. It will go after a similar audience with Cantinflas partnering with Spanish-language media in the U.S. and some non-media partners to spread the word.

“We are doing grass-roots marketing, partnering with supermarkets that cater to Latin American [clientele],” added Allen. “In L.A. we’re doing an outdoor campaign, but also saturating Spanish-language media across all channels.”

Instructions Not Included opened in 348 theaters grossing $7.84 million on August 30, nearly one year ago. It is clearly taking a cue from that successful roll out with a similar strategy with Cantinflas opening in over 380 theaters around the country.

“It will mirror the Latino population across the country,” added Allen. “We will expand based on performance and adjust the plan accordingly.”

In addition to Jaenada, the film also stars Michael Imperioli, Ilse Salas, Bárbara Mori, Ana Layevska and Adal Ramones.

Syntek Aiming to Bring Spanish Pop to U.S. Audiences with New Album “Romantico Desliz”

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Aleks Syntek is ready to get American audiences to embrace Spanish pop…

The 44-year-old Mexican singer-songwriter is preparing to launch his new album in the United States.

Entitled Romantico Desliz, Syntek’s latest sudio effort seeks to “praise human goodness and get back to believing in people,” the artist told Efe in an interview.

Syntek knows it isn’t easy to position Spanish-language pop music in the United States, partly because record labels tend to prefer “whatever is easy, whatever is selling.

“What’s happening is that people (in the U.S.), who previously listened to pop from Latin America are currently listening to music in English, they’re listening to Katy Perry or the Black Eyed Peas,” he said.

Describing it as a “lack of faith, of objectivity and of vision,” Syntek noted how record labels promote reggaeton, bachata and regional Mexican and ignore all the other forms of Spanish music.

As a strategy to penetrate the U.S. market without shedding his commitment to Spanish, Syntek pointed out the single “Riete de Amor hasta que Te Mueras,” his new song for the biopic about Mexican comedian Cantinflas.

“Riete de Amor hasta que Te Mueras,” composed as the movie’s theme song, will be launched in a bilingual version.

“What I want to do is sort of contradictory: jump into English to attract people to listen to pop in Spanish, with bilingual songs and with other kinds of strategies and even with another kind of marketing,” Syntek said.

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