Wagner Moura Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a new endeavor for Wagner Moura…

The 44-year-old Brazilian actor, filmmaker, musician and journalist has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME).

Moura, a Golden Globe nominee for his role as Pablo Escobar in the Netflix acclaimed series Narcos, was previously represented by UTA.

He can currently be seen starring in two Netflix films; Sergio, which he also produced, and Wasp Network, opposite Penelope Cruz and Gael Garcia Bernal.

Wagner made his directorial debut with Marighella, which premiered at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival.

His other credits include Walter Salles’ Behind The Sun for Miramax, Sony’s Elysium, opposite Matt Damon, and Jose Padilha’s Elite Squad, which won the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival.

Padilha to Direct Film Adaptation of Kevin Boyle’s Book “Arc of Justice”

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

José Padilha is forming his own Justice league…

The 49-year-old Brazilian television and film director, producer and screenwriter is at the center of a deal by The Mark Gordon Company to helm the film adaptation of Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, the 2004 nonfiction National Book Award winner by historian Kevin Boyle.

The Mark Gordon Company will finance the Padilha-directed will adaptation, with a script by Max Borenstein and Rodney Barnes.

The book tells the true story of a racial incident in 1925 Detroit that put African American doctor Ossian Sweet on the stand for murder. His defense was funded by the nascent NAACP and was led by legendary lawyer Clarence Darrow.

There’s no start date yet, but the film will happen quickly.

Padilha, who directed Elite Squad and its sequel before taking on the acclaimed Netflix hunt for Pablo Escobar series Narcos, has wrapped Entebbe, which stars Daniel Brühl and Rosamund Pike.

Brühl In Talks to Star in Jose Padilha’s “Entebbe”

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Daniel Brühl is thisclose to lift off…

The 38-year-old half-Spanish actor is in talks to star opposite Rosamund Pike and Vincent Cassel in Jose Padilha’s Entebbe for Working Title.

Participant is also on board as producer and in negotiations to fully finance the film, which was penned by Greg Burke, who wrote Yann Demange’s brilliant ’71.

It’s the 1976 true story, when four hijackers — two Palestinian, two German — took a plane hostage and diverted it to land in Entebbe, Uganda, while they demanded the release of dozens of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian prisoners.

The ticking-clock thriller follows the hijackers, hostages, then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and future PM Shimon Peres trying to decide whether to negotiate or launch a raid to free the hostages, as well as the French crew led by the pilot who refused to leave when they could with the other French hostages.

Given Europe’s own summer of terror, with the wave of attacks in France and Germany — not to mention devastating attacks in Iraq, Turkey, Orlando and elsewhere — the picture is likely to have strong contemporary relevance even with its historical setting.

Padilha, who shot to prominence with his gritty police crime tale Elite Squad — which won Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2007 — will bring his research-based documentary background to bear as he did so successfully in both Elite Squad films, his searing documentary Bus 174 and, of course his brilliant Pablo Escobar Netflix drama Narcos. Padilha will examine the story from multiple points of view – the German and Palestinian hijackers, the Israeli (and other nationalities) hostages, as well as Israeli officials like Peres and Rabin.

The story of the Entebbe raid and hijackings has been told before on TV and in numerous docus. Peter Finch and Charles Bronson starred in the 1976 NBC movie of the week Raid On Entebbe directed by Irvin Kershner, while a rival TV movie Victory At Entebbe was produced the same year at ABC starring Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster.

The latest project reps the first time the story will be told for the big screen by a filmmaking team at the absolute top of its game.

Brühl has The Zookeeper’s Wife opposite Jessica Chastain in post and is also set to star in the JJ Abrams-produced God Particle alongside Elizabeth Debicki, John Krasinski and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

Padilha to Co-Write and Direct “Mindcorp” for Warner Bros.

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Jose Padilha isn’t about to mind his own business…

Warner Bros. has purchased Mindcorp, a science fiction thriller based on a short story by the 47-year-old Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter that he’ll direct.

Dwain Worrell has been set to write the script with Padilha. It’s the second studio gig for Padilha after his Robocop remake.

The studio is keeping the logline under wraps, but in broad strokes it’s a high-concept intense thriller involving next-generation mind-body experimentation and a priest who becomes responsible for the survival of humanity.

Padilha won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Elite Squad in 2008.

Moura to Portray Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s New Series Narcos

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Wagner Moura has landed one (drug) lord of a role…

The 37-year-old Brazilian film, television and stage actor has been cast as the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Gaumont International Television and Netflix’s new series Narcos.

The starring role as the Medellin Cartel leader will reunite Moura with Brazilian director Jose Padilha, who directed him in Elite Squad films.

Moura portrayed the police captain who battled corruption in his effort to take down drug dealers in the two Padilha-directed films that were blockbuster hits in Brazil.

Now, Moura, one of Brazil’s biggest stars, will be bringing to life the biggest drug trafficker of his era.

The series, based on Padilha’s idea, will chronicle the life and death of Escobar, the cold-blooded jefe of the Medellin Cartel. Escobar, a known terrorist who was also a congressman and family man, was revered by the poor as a modern-day Robin Hood.

Padilha is slated to oversee and direct the 13-episode first season, which is eying a 2014 debut on Netflix.

Moura most recently gained recognition globally playing “Spider” in the 2013 sci-fi film Elysium.

Garcia Starring in Non-Typical Latina Role in Jose Padilha’s “RoboCop”

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Call it a Robo-tastic moment in Aimee Garcia’s acting career…

The 35-year-old Mexican American and Puerto Rican actress is starring in MGM‘s reboot of the RoboCop franchise.

Garcia portrays Dr. Jae Kim in the film, a role she landed through sheer determination even though the role was written with an Asian actress in mind.

“The role was not for a Latina initially,” Garcia told Efe in an interview. “But I fought hard. I wanted to work with (Brazilian director) Jose Padilha because I love the Elite Squad films. And the cast was amazing. So I did a lot of auditions. Why couldn’t a Latina be a scientist?”

“Jose chose me in the end and I feel proud to play someone who knows about biology, engineering and chemistry like modern-day Hispanics. That’s the reality. I like the fact young Latinos can see themselves reflected in my character and realize they can also achieve their dreams,” said Garcia.

RoboCop, a remake of the 1987 film of the same name, is set to open in U.S. theaters on February 12. It’s set in the year 2028 and tells the story of conglomerate OmniCorp’s efforts to bring its hi-tech crime-fighting technology to the United States.

A new product developed by OmniCorp scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) has been developed to circumvent a ban on the use of drones: a half-man, half-machine known as “RoboCop.”

Garcia plays Norton’s assistant, Jae Kim, a researcher who heads a team responsible for assembling the first cyborg (Joel Kinnaman) and helping him transition to becoming a machine that can faithfully respond to a series of pre-programmed directives.

“We all know that Latinas are sexy, sassy and full of life, but it was time to also show another side of that reality: well-educated, intelligent people,” said Garcia, who most recently starred on Showime’s Dexter.

Padilha Ready to Remake RoboCop

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Tom Castaneda

Jose Padilha has massive plans for his remake of the 1980s cult classic RoboCop.

The 44-year-old Brazilian director says the film will not only be jam-packed with action scenes, but also offer aggresive social satirical commentary.

“The satire element of RoboCop is, I think, needed today,” he explained in an interview with The Telegraph. “That kind of social, aggressive satire I haven’t seen done well in movies lately. And it’s almost like the politics and violence in the world is asking for this: ‘Someone please make some satire now!’ So we’re going to keep that edge.”

Padilha, best known for directing Elite Squad director admitted he isn’t too worried the satire will be misunderstood.

“I just don’t think about it. If people want to misunderstand it, it’s their problem,” he said. “This is something that happened with films throughout history. Elite Squad became one of those. Taxi Driver is famous for that kind of misunderstanding.”

“But, as a filmmaker, I don’t feel like constraining artistic expression by second guessing an audience,” Padilha continued. “I have to be clear with myself and very conscious of what I am trying to say. Misunderstandings will always take place: it’s unavoidable.”

RoboCop, released in 1987, follows a police offiver brought back from the brink of death in the form of a cyborg with no memories of his prior life.

No word on who will play the lead, although Padilha has hinted he’d love to audition the hot-right-now actor Michael Fassbender, who recently appeared in X-Men: First Class and Shame.

Filming on the project is set to begin in Detroit, Michigan in early 2012.

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