Alex Rivera to Write & Direct “Zorro 2.0,” A Reimagining of the Iconic Character

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Rivera is ridin’ high…

The 48-year-old Peruvian American filmmaker, a recipient of a 2021 MacArthur Genius grant, will write and direct Zorro 2.0 for Sobini Films.

The film reimagines the iconic character as Oscar de la Vega, a young, undocumented hacker known as ‘z0rr0.’ While fighting back against a secret government unit that attacked his mother, he discovers a high-tech conspiracy that threatens not only his family but the world.

“I’ve always been interested in films that address real-world issues through genre,” Rivera said in a statement to Deadline. “This project is an opportunity to connect Zorro—the original masked avenger—to today’s border wars, a conflict in which immigrant families are pitted against regimes of hi-tech surveillance and government control. ‘Zorro 2.0’ will be visually elevated, socially grounded, sci-fi cinema, and I’m thrilled to be working with Sobini to get this vision on the screen.”

Sobini Films’ Mark Amin, Cami Winikoff and Tyler Boehm will produce. John Gertz of Zorro Productions International and Michael Helfant of Amasia Entertainment will serve as executive producers.

Zorro is a fictional character created by Johnston McCulley in 1919 widely recognized by his all-black costume featuring a sombrero, cape and mask. He’s been portrayed multiple times on the big and small screen by actors including Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power and Frank Langella.

Antonio Banderas most recently played the mysterious vigilante in 1998’s The Mask of Zorro and its 2005 sequel The Legend of Zorro.

A Zorro drama series with a female lead was being developed at NBC from Robert Rodriguez and Sofia Vergara last December.

Rivera made his feature film debut with 2008’s cyberpunk thriller Sleep Dealer set at the U.S.-Mexico border. He followed that with the doc/scripted hybrid The Infiltrators that tells a true story about an immigrant detention center. A scripted series based on the film is being adapted for the small screen by Blumhouse Television.

GKIDS to Release Hayek’s “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet” in August

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Salma Hayek’s latest personal project is headed to theaters in August…

GKIDS has announced plans to release Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet on August 7 in Los Angeles and New York before expanding it nationwide the following week.

The animated film, adapted from Kahlil Gibran‘s book The Prophet, was spearheaded by Hayek and features a narrative story written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), with “chapters” based on Gibran’s poems designed and directed by animation directors including Tomm Moore, Joan Gratz, Bill Plympton, Nina Paley, Joann Sfar, Paul and Gaetan Brizzi, Michal Socha and Mohammed Harib.

Hayek, Liam Neeson, Quvenzhané Wallis, John Krasinski, Frank Langella and Alfred Molina make up the voice cast.

The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry essays written in English by the Lebanese artist, philosopher and writer^. It was originally published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf. It is Gibran’s best-known work. The Prophet has been translated into over 40 different languages and has never been out of print.

Plaza to Star in “The Driftless Area”

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Aubrey Plaza is driftless in Hollywood…

The 29-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian and Parks and Recreation star has joined the cast of The Driftless Area, starring Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, John Hawkes and Frank Langella.

The film centers on the young love between a bartender and a mysterious woman. Their relationship is threatened after the bartender, Pierre, gets mixed up with a dangerous crook and his bag of stolen cash.

The Driftless Area, an adaptation of Tom Drury‘s novel of the same name, is currently shooting in Vancouver.

Zachary Sluser, who co-wrote the screenplay with Drury, is directing.

Plaza, who starred in 2012’s Safety Not Guaranteed, which earned her the Breakthrough Performer of the Year award at CinemaCon,and 2013’s The To-Do List, can next be seen in the upcoming A Many Splintered Thing opposite Chris Evans and Michelle Monaghan and Lionsgate’s Mortdecai, co-starring Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Both films are in postproduction.

Millennium Entertainment Acquires Dawson’s Sci-Fi Drama “Parts Per Billion”

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a billionparts deal for Rosario Dawson’s latest project…

Millennium Entertainment has picked up the U.S. rights to Parts Per Billion, starring the 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress, Josh Hartnett, Teresa Palmer, Penn Badgley, Frank Langella and Gena Rowlands.

The ensemble film centers on the three couples forced to make life-defining decisions in the face of a biological catastrophe that threatens to destroy the human race. As the pandemic spreads and civilization is thrown into chaos,generations old and young must each make the ultimate decision.

No release date has been setfor the sci-fi drama, which was written and directed by Brian Horiuchi.

Vega Stuns as Maria Callas in the New Trailer for Nicole Kidman’s “Grace of Monaco”

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Nicole Kidman may star as Grace Kelly in Grace of Monaco, but Paz Vega shines bright as late opera legend Maria Callas.

In the just-released extended trailer for the Olivier Dahan-directed film, the 38-year-old Spanish actress briefly (and stunningly) appears as the legendary soprano singer, considered one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.

Set in 1962, six years after her celebrated Wedding of the Century, “Grace of Monaco” is an intimate snapshot of a year in the life of the twentieth century’s most iconic Princess – Grace Kelly – as she strived to reconcile her past and her present, a yearning for a return to the big screen with her newfound role as a mother of two, monarch of a European principality and wife to Prince Ranier III.

Grace of Monaco, set in 1962, is an intimate snapshot of a year in the life of the twentieth century’s most iconic princess as she strived to reconcile her past and her present, a yearning for a return to the big screen with her newfound role as a mother of two, monarch of a European principality and wife to Prince Ranier III (portrayed by Tim Roth).

The trailer shows some of the struggles the former Hollywood star faced over her role as Princess Grace.

Along with Kidman, Vega and Roth, the film also stars Frank Langella, Derek Jacobi, Parker Posey and Milo Ventimiglia.

The movie will have its world premiere as the opening-night film at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14. It also gets released in France on that same day.

Warner Bros. releases in the United Kingdom on June 6. The Weinstein Company will release the film in the U.S.

Dawson to Star in “Queen of the Night”

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson will be racing against time in her next project…

The 33-year-old Puerto Rican/Cuban American actress will star opposite Ryan Reynolds in the thriller Queen of the Night.

The film centers on the father of an abducted daughter who uncovers a series of disturbing clues eight years later that suggest she’s still alive.

Dawson, one of the best dressed Latinas at this year’s Golden Globes, will play the detective in charge of the investigation, and they race against the clock to rescue the imprisoned girl before the trail goes cold.

Dawson joins Scott Speedman and Mireille Enos in the David Fraser-directed film.

Dawson will soon be appearing in the Sin City sequel, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. And she just wrapped Parts Per Billion with Josh Hartnett, Penn Badgley and Frank Langella.

Her upcoming films include Diego Luna’s biopic Chavez and Danny Boyle’s Trance.

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