ABC Orders Pilot for Matt Lopez’s Latinx Family Drama “Promised Land” 

Matt Lopez’s promise continues…

The Latino screenwriter’s hourlong Latinx family drama Promised Land has secured a pilot order at ABC.

Matt Lopez

Previously known as American Heritage, the project is an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley.

ABC bought the project pre-emptively with a put-pilot commitment last year.

Lopez, who has written feature films including Bedtime Stories, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Race to Witch Mountain, writes and executive produces.

ABC Signature is the studio.

Lopez created the NBCUniversal International drama series Gone, starring Chris Noth, which aired on WGN America in the U.S. He also is adapting Helen Cresswell’s young-adult novel Moondial into an ambitious time-travel drama for Fulwell 73. On the feature side, he’s writing a new Father of the Bride film for Warner Bros. revolving around a Latinx family, a first for the franchise.

Pino to Star in Procedural Drama Series “Gone”

Danny Pino is going, going, Gone

The 42-year-old Cuban American actor and former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Cold Case alum will star opposite Chris Noth and Leven Rambin in Gone, a 12-episode procedural drama series for NBCUniversal International Studios, Germany’s RTL and France’s TF1.

Danny Pino

The series, which eyes a launch in winter 2017-18, was created by Matt Lopez (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) based on Chelsea Cain’s novel One Kick.

The project tells the fictional story of Kit “Kick” Lannigan (Rambin), survivor of a famous child-abduction case, and Frank Booth (Noth), the FBI agent who rescued her. Determined never to fall victim again, Kick trains in martial arts and the use of firearms. She finds her calling when Booth persuades her to join a special task force he created dedicated to solving abductions and missing persons cases. Paired with former Army intelligence officer John Bishop (Pino), Kick brings her unique understanding of the mind of a predator. Bishop is initially skeptical about bringing Kick onto the team, but over the course of the season, he will come to appreciate her unique skill-set and they will become a formidable crime-solving duo.

Pino most recently starred opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Tony Shalhoub in CBS’ critically praised series Braindead. He previously played Detective Nick Amaro on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for multiple seasons, and starred for seven seasons as Detective Scotty Valens on Cold Case. He also recurred on ABC’s Scandal.

Vazquez’s “Rob the Mob” to Premiere at the Miami International Film Festival

Yul Vazquez is preparing to rob the mob in Miami…

The Cuban American actor’s latest film, Rob the Mob, will have its world premiere at the Miami International Film Festival in March.

Screen Shot 2014-01-31 at 12.59.37 PM

Directed by Raymond De Felitta and starring Andy Garcia, the film also stars Michael Pitt, Ray Romano, Burt Young, Griffin Dunne, Frank Whaley, Cathy Moriarty, Aida Turturro and Nina Arianda.

Rob the Mob, which centers on a couple that targets the Mafia for heists and stumbles upon something big at an underground club, is one of nearly 100 films set to be screened at the Miami International Film Festival.

The North American premiere of the Shirley MacLaineChristopher Plummer pairing Elsa & Fred will take place at the 10-day event, which runs March 7-16.

Directed by Michael Radford, the film is a remake of the 2008 Argentine/Spanish film of the same name. Also in the cast are Marcia Gay HardenGeorge Segal, Chris Noth, James Brolin, Wendell Pierce, Jaime Camil and Osvaldo Rios.

In total, 92 feature films and 28 shorts representing 38 countries will premiere at this year’s festival, which marks its 31st edition.

“The programming team believes the selection of films showcased in the festival this year is a reflection of our passion for film, and we hope that it will strengthen our community’s love and appreciation for the art of filmmaking,” MIFF executive director Jaie Laplante said.

The festival will present actor-director John Turturro with its Career Achievement Tribute. Turturro will present his latest film, the Woody Allen starrer Fading Gigolo. The film, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, also stars Sharon Stone and Sofia Vergara. 

Here’s the complete list of competition films:

Festival Competition Categories:

The Knight Competition, open to dramatic works from Latin America, Spain and Portugal as well as Latino-themed works produced in the United States:

All About The Feathers (Por las plumas) (Costa Rica, directed by Neto Villalobos) U.S. Premiere
Asteroid (Asteroide) (Mexico, directed by Marcelo Tobar) World premiere
Club Sandwich (Mexico, directed by Fernando Eimbcke)
The Man of the Crowd (O homem das multidões) (Brazil, directed by Marcelo Gomes and Cao Guimarães) North American premiere
Memories of the Desert (Romance policial) (Brazil/Chile, directed by Jorge Durán) World premiere
Natural Sciences (Ciencias naturales) (Argentina, directed by Matias Lucchesi) North American premiere
Séptimo (Spain/Argentina, directed by Patxi Amexcua) North American premiere
To Kill A Man (Matar un hombre) (Chile/France, directed by Alejandro Fernández Almendras)
We All Want What’s Best For Her (Tots volem el millor per a ella) (Spain, directed by Mar Coll) North American premiere
A Wolf at the Door (O lobo atrás da porta) (Brazil, directed by Fernando Coimbra)

Knight Documentary Competition, open to engaging and thought-provoking feature-length documentaries created by international filmmakers that examine social issues, diverse cultures, icons and inspiring people:

The Art Rush (France, directed by Marianne Lamour) North American premiere
The Dog (U.S.A., directed by Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren)
Europe in 8 Bits (Spain, directed by Javier Polo)
Finding Vivian Maier (U.S.A., directed by Charlie Siskel and John Maloof)
Ivory Tower (USA, directed by Andrew Rossi)
Locations: Looking For Rusty James (Locaciones: buscando a Rusty James) (Chile, directed by Alberto Fuguet)
The Notorious Mr. Bout (U.S.A./Russia, directed by Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin)
The Overnighters (U.S.A., directed by Jesse Moss)
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (U.S.A., directed by Mike Myers)
Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (U.S.A., directed by Joe Berlinger)

The Lexus Ibero-American Opera Prima Competition for first-time feature filmmakers emerging from Spain, Portugal and Latin America:

Here’s the Deal (Somos gente honrada) (Spain, directed by Alejandro Marzoa) U.S. premiere
Mateo (Colombia/France, directed by Maria Gamboa) World premiere
Stockholm (Estocolmo) (Spain, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen) U.S. premiere
We Are Mari Pepa (Somos Mari Pepa) (Mexico, directed by Samuel Kishi Leopo)

Papi Shorts Competition:

A Big Deal (China, directed by Yoyo Yao) U.S. premiere
Blue (U.S.A., directed by Justin Malone) World premiere
Chub (U.S.A., directed by Samuel Albis) World premiere
Flamingo (Venezuela, directed by Carl Zitelmann)
Grace (Graça) (Brazil, directed by Anna Clara Peltier) North American premiere
The Phone Call (United Kingdom, directed by Mat Kirkby)
Skin (France, directed by Cédric Prévost) North American premiere
Shirt Out, Game Over! (Switzerland, directed by Eric Paternot) World premiere
Unicorn (Unicornio) (Bolivia, directed by Rodrigo Bellott)
Xenos (United Kingdom/Greece/Denmark, directed by Mahdi Fleifel) North American premiere

A list of noncompetition films and seminars can be found at MiamiFilmFestival.com.

Cannavale’s Got the XXX-Factor…

Bobby Cannavale is about to steam up the silver screen.

The 41-year-old half-Cuban actor has signed on to appear opposite Amanda Seyfried in Lovelace, a biopic of adult film star Linda Lovelace.

Bobby Cannavale Modern Family

Cannavale will play film financier Butchie Peraino, while Seyfried will play the lead role in film, which will begin shooting on location in Los Angeles this week.

Along with Cannavale and Seyfried, the film will star Hank Azaria, Chris NothRobert Patrick, Wes Bentley, Sharon Stone and Juno Temple.

The movie is being filmed with the cooperation of the Lovelace estate.