Gina Rodriguez Among the Latinos Invited to Join The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Gina Rodriguez is joining the club…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued 928 invitations to new members, the Oscar-granting body announced Monday, including an invite to the 33-year-old actress and Jane the Virgin star.

Gina Rodriguez

The number is higher than the 774 invitations sent out in 2017. As the Academy has sought to diversify its ranks, it invited in 683 new members in 2016 and 322 in 2015 in an effort to include more women, people of color and international filmmakers.

In addition to Rodriguez, who has starred on the bog screen in the films Deepwater Horizon and Annihilation, this year’s potential Latino members include Rodriguez’s Jane the Virgin co-star Jaime Camil, Javier Bardem’s actor brother Carlos Bardem, Alice Braga, Melonie Diaz, Eugenio Derbez and Like Water for Chocolate author Laura Esquivel.

Forty-nine percent of the class of 2018 are female, and, should all accept membership, that will bring overall percentage of women in the Academy to 31 percent. Thirty-eight percent of the new invitees are people of color, which, should they all accept, would bring their overall percentage of the Academy to 16 percent.

Each of the Academy’s 17 branches draws its own list of new members, and candidates must be sponsored by two members of the branch they will be invited to join. The general requirement is that a candidate must have “demonstrated exceptional achievement in the field of theatrical motion pictures,” although each branch has its own specific requirements. Actors, for example, must have a minimum of three theatrical features under their belt, while directors must have a minimum of two helming credits. Academy Awards nominees are automatically considered for membership, although an invite is not guaranteed.

Here’s a look at the Latino invitees:

Actors
Damián Alcázar – “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “El Crimen del Padre Amaro”
Carlos Bardem – “Assassin’s Creed,” “Che”
Diana Bracho – “A Ti Te Queria Encontrar,” “Y Tu Mamá También”
Alice Braga – “I Am Legend,” “City of God”
Javier Cámara – “Talk to Her,” “Sex and Lucia”
Jaime Camil – “Coco,” “Pulling Strings”
Tantoo Cardinal – “Wind River,” “Dances With Wolves”
Elpidia Carrillo – “Nine Lives,” “Predator”
Ricardo Darín – “Wild Tales,” “The Secret in Their Eyes”
Natalia De Molina – “Kiki, Love to Love,” “Food and Shelter”
Rossy De Palma – “Broken Embraces,” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”
Eugenio Derbez – “Overboard,” “How to Be a Latin Lover”
Rosana DeSoto – “La Bamba,” “About Last Night…”
Melonie Diaz – “Fruitvale Station,” “Be Kind Rewind”
Verónica Echegui – “Let Yourself Go!,” “Katmandú, un Espejo en el Cielo”
Paulina García – “The Desert Bride,”Gloria”
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo – “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” “Murder on the Orient Express”
Daniel Giménez Cacho – “Zama,” “Blancanieves”
Ernesto Gómez Cruz – “El Crimen del Padre Amaro,” “El Imperio de la Fortuna”
Blanca Guerra – “Santa Sangre,” “El Imperio de la Fortuna”
Javier Gutiérrez – “Assassin’s Creed,” “Marshland”
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez – “Bordertown,” “El Norte”
George Lopez – “Rio,” “Real Women Have Curves”
Mía Maestro – “The Motorcycle Diaries,” “Frida”
Carmen Maura – “Volver,” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”
Ángela Molina – “Broken Embraces,” “That Obscure Object of Desire”
Jordi Mollà – “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” “Blow”
Eduardo Noriega – “Vantage Point,” “Open Your Eyes”
Rubén Ochandiano – “Biutiful,” “Broken Embraces”
John Ortiz – “Kong: Skull Island,” “Silver Linings Playbook”
Pedro Pascal – “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” “The Adjustment Bureau”
Gina Rodriguez – “Annihilation,” “Deepwater Horizon”
María Rojo – “Under the Same Moon,” “Esmeralda Comes by Night”
Emma Suárez – “Julieta,” “The Mosquito Net”
Daniela Vega – “A Fantastic Woman,” “The Guest”

Cinematographers
Céline Bozon – “Félicité,” “Black Heaven”
Benjamín Echazarretta – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Gloria”
David Gallego – “Siete Cabezas (The Sacrifice),” “Embrace of the Serpent”
Dana Gonzales – “Shot Caller,” “Incarnate”

Costume Designers
Gabriela Diaque – “Babel,” “Amores Perros”
Caroline Eselin – “Moonlight,” “The Paperboy”
Mariestela Fernández – “La Dictadura Perfecta (The Perfect Dictatorship),” “El Infierno (Hell)”
Lala Huete – “El Greco,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Graciela Mazón – “The Flowers of War,” “Nacho Libre”
Luis Sequeira – “The Shape of Water,” “Mama”

Designers
Cecilia Montiel – “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Desperado”

Documentary
Claire Aguilar – “The Interrupters,” “Last Train Home”
Everardo González – “La Libertad del Diablo (Devil’s Freedom),” “Drought (Cuates de Australia)”
Carla Gutierrez – “RBG,” “When Two Worlds Collide”
Tatiana Huezo – “Tempestad,” “The Tiniest Place”
Gema Juarez Allen – “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name,” “Soldado”
Pedro Pimenta – “A Ilha dos Espíritos (Island of Spirits),” “Memories of Dreams”
Maria Augusta Ramos – “Morro dos Prazeres (Hill of Pleasures),” “Justice (Justiça)”
Bernardo Ruiz – “Kingdom of Shadows,” “Reportero”
Juan Carlos Rulfo – “Those Who Remain,” “In the Pit”

Executives
Tony Vinciquerra

Film Editors
Felipe Lacerda – “Secrets of the Tribe,” “Garapa”
Elena Ruiz – “Eva,” “The Orphanage”
Soledad Salfate – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Gloria”
Ana Lozano – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Volver”

Music
Carlinhos Brown – “Rio,” “Capitães da Areia”

Producers
Lisa Cortés – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Shadowboxer”

Public Relations
Dora Candelaria
Fabian Castro
Melissa Martinez
Alicia Ramirez-Wyld

Short Films and Feature Animation
Sofia Carrillo – “Cerulia,” “La Casa Triste (The Sad House)”
Pedro Collantes – “Serori,” “Eskiper”
Sergio Pablos – “Rio,” “Despicable Me”
Ruben Perez – “The Boss Baby,” “Penguins of Madagascar”
Carlos Fernandez Puertolas – “The Boss Baby,” “Home”
Gini Cruz Santos – “Coco,” “The Good Dinosaur”
Cesar Velazquez – “Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph”

Sound
Antonio Diego – “Duck Season,” “Amores Perros”
Nelson Ferreira – “The Shape of Water,” “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”
Ruy Garcia – “Novitiate,” “Y Tu Mamá También”

Visual Effects
Nelson Sepulveda – “Kong: Skull Island,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”

Writers
Guillermo Calderón – “Neruda,” “The Club”
Laura Esquivel – “Like Water for Chocolate,” “Chido Guan, el Tacos de Oro”
Mateo Gil – “Realive,” “Open Your Eyes”
Gonzalo Maza – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Gloria”
Gibrán Portela – “The Untamed,” “La Jaula de Oro”
Fernando E. Solanas – “A Journey to the Fumigated Towns,” “La Guerra del Fracking”

Members-at-Large
Robert Alonzo
Jordi Casares
Mary Ramos

Bardem to Star in Peter Webber’s First Spanish-Language Film “Carteristas”

Carlos Bardem has (pick)pocketed a new project…

The 53-year-old Spanish actor is set to star in the tentatively titled film Carteristas, the drama set in the capital of Colombia, Bogota.

Carlos Bardem

Peter Webber, renowned for his Oscar-nominated The Girl with a Pearl Earring, will direct the film, his first Spanish-language pic.

Carteristas tracks a 16-year old street urchin who, together with two pals, learns the art of pickpocketing from a master in the sleight of hand.

Bardem plays mentor to the 16-year old played by newcomer Emiliano Pernia, the son of Colombian actress Marcela Mar, who appears as his onscreen mother. Natalia Reyes and theatre actor Duban Prado complete the triad of friends.

Principal photography kicked off on Sunday, October 23 in Bogota with Colombian filmmakers Diana Rico and Richard Decaillet serving as associate directors.

“I’ve been visiting Colombia regularly for over a decade, and have shot some documentary material here,” said Webber. “The chance to make a feature film set in Bogota, one of the world’s most gritty and cinematic cities, is very exciting,” he added. Fluent in Spanish, Webber has previously worked in Japanese and Arabic.

Bardem, the brother of Javier Bardem, has previously appeared in the film’s Paradise Lost, The Debt and Days of Grace.

Bardem to Star in AMC’s “The Son”

Carlos Bardem has landed his first American role…

The 53-year-old Spanish actor has joined the cast of AMC’s The Son

Carlos Bardem  

Based on Philipp Meyer’s acclaimed novel, the film is a multi-generational epic telling of the story of America’s birth as a superpower through the bloody rise and fall of one Texas family.

Production will begin in Austin, Texas in June and the 10 one-hour episodes are set to premiere in 2017.

British director Tom Harper is helming the pilot.

He’ll play the patriarch whose family is the last of the wealthy Spanish aristocracy in South Texas. He’s a proud American, but must walk a careful line between his fellow ranchers and the Mexican radicals who employ terrorist tactics in an effort to drive the Anglos out of the Rio Grande Valley.

Bardem, the brother of Javier Bardem, recently completed work on New Regency’s Assassin’s Creed alongside Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, out later this year.

His past credits include Escobar: Paradise Lost opposite Benicio del Toro and Josh Hutcherson, Che: Part 2 for director Steven Soderbergh, and Scorpion In Love, which he wrote and starred in.

Meyer, Lee Shipman and Brian McGreevy wrote the adaptation.

Cinema Libre to Release Huerta’s “Days of Grace” in the U.S.

Tenoch Huerta’s work is heading north of the border…

Cinema Libre Studio has picked up Days of Grace, starring the Mexican actor, who is considered one of his country’s fast-rising stars.

Tenoch Huerta in Dias de Gracia

The feature debut of Mexican director Everardo Gout, who also wrote the script, is a tale of police and government corruption in Mexico City. The ambitious multi-threaded movie unfolds over a dozen years amid multiple kidnappings during successive World Cup tournaments. It centers on a cop, a hostage and a wife who fight to survive during the futbol events.

Days of Grace will go out day-and-date May 1 in U.S. theatres and on HBO, and via DVD/Blu-ray and On Demand starting May 5.

Dias de Gracia

The film took eight Ariel Awards including best first film, best actor and supporting actress following its April 2012 debut in its home country.

In addition to Huerta, the film also stars Dolores Heredia, Kristyan Ferrer, Carlos Bardem and Eileen Yañez.

del Toro to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at San Sebastian International Film Festival

Benicio del Toro is about to add another award to his collection…

The 48-year-old Puerto Rican actor and film producer and Oscar-winner will receive the Donostia Award for Lifetime Achievement at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Benicio del Toro III

del Toro’s latest film Escobar: Paradise Lostwill close the Pearls Selection at the festival, which runs September 19-27.

Escobar, written by Andrea di Stefano, tells the story of young surfer Nick who thinks he has landed in paradise when he falls in love with a Colombian girl on a visit to see his brother who is living in the South American country only to have it change when he meets her uncle, Pablo Escobar.

del Toro has confirmed that he’ll come to San Sebastian to present the film and receive the Donostia at the closing ceremony. Di Stefano, Josh Hutcherson and Carlos Bardem will also be present for the film’s Spanish premiere.

del Toro is a favorite at San Sebastian where he has accompanied films from his career.

del Toro won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic as well as an Oscar nomination for his work in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 21 Grams.

del Toro re-teamed with Soderbergh to star in the biography of Che Guevera Che. The performance won him the Best Actor award at the Palme D’Or Closing Ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, and again the following year at the Goya Awards in Madrid, Spain.

He starred opposite Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins in Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman and as Lado in Oliver Stone’s Savages.

del Toro was starred as Jimmy, the lead in Jimmy P. The film was screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He was last seen in Guardians of the Galaxy a sci-fi action film for Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Enterprises, which was released in the beginning of August 2014.

Next year he’ll play Mambru in Fernando Leon’s A Perfect Day and Sauncho Smilax in Inherent Vice, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

The actor is currently in production on Denis Villeneuve’s Sicaro.

Bardem to Portray Manuel Noriega in “Hands of Stone”

Carlos Bardem is preparing to portray one of the world’s most notorious dictators…

In Hands of Stone, the 49-year-old Spanish actor, brother to Javier Bardem, has been cast as Panama’s former dictator Manuel Noriega, who was removed from power after the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States.

Carlos Bardem

The film, scheduled to be released in 2013, will tell the story of Roberto Dúran, the popular Panamanian boxer and his trainer, Ray Arcel.

Calling his character a “badass,” Bardem told Fox News Latino that he’s is ready to get on the set and play the controversial military leader.

Along with Bardem, Hands of Stone will reportedly star Andy García, Robert DeNiro, Gael García Bernal, Usher and possibly reggaeton singer Tego Calderón.

Bardem, who recently starred opposite Salma Hayek in the film Americano, will next star opposite Mia Maestro in the upcoming film Gardel about Argentine Tango phenomenon Carlos Gardel.

Bardem to Appear in Spanish-Film “Alacran enamorado”

He received a Best Actor Oscar nod for his role in 2010’s Biutiful— the first entirely Spanish language performance to be nominated for that award… And, now Javier Bardem plans to return to Spanish cinema.

The 43-year-old Spanish actor will play a neo-Nazi ideologue in Alacran enamorado (Scorpion in Love), a film based on a novel by his brother Carlos.

Javier Bardem

Spanish director Santiago Zannou says Bardem, who won a best-supporting-actor Oscar for his turn in No Country for Old Men, will play a secondary character named Solis, a role distinct from the purely villainous one he has in the upcoming James Bond film.

“In my film (the character) is more realistic, not a wicked villain who wants to destroy the world, but an ordinary person. Those are the ones who truly frighten me, for having a type of ideology that separates people, that engenders violence,” Zannou told Efe.

Alacran enamorado tells the story of Alyssa, a seductive Latin American immigrant who had fallen victim to a prostitution ring and now makes a living cleaning houses, and Julian, alias “El alacran” (The Scorpion), a member of a neo-Nazi group.

Alex Gonzalez and Judith Diakhate have the starring roles, while Carlos Bardem plays a boxing trainer and former boxer Rudo Hovic plays the owner of the gym.

This will mark the first time Bardem has worked with a Spanish director since he won a Goya award for his performance in Alejandro Amenabar’s Mar adentro (The Sea Inside).