Darin to Receive Honorary Platino Award

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Ricardo Darin will soon be shining as bright as platinum…

The 59-year-old Argentine actor will be honored at the third edition of the Platino Awards, the Latin America equivalent of the Oscars, which will be held on July 24 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Darin, who starred in Argentina’s 2009 best foreign-language film Oscar winner The Secret in Their Eyes and the Cannes Film Festival 2014 hit Wild Tales, is one of the most popular actors in Latin America and one of the very few who has box-office appeal across the region.

His popularity also reaches the Spanish market, where he recently starred in Cesc Gay‘s Goya winner Truman, a role for which he’s also nominated for a Platino in the best actor category.

Darin was recently confirmed as the star of La cordillera, the next movie from Argentina’s ascending indie filmmaker Santiago Mitre. The film is Mitre’s follow-up to Critics’ Week winner Paulina and was selected for Cannes’ L’Atelier de la Cinefondation program. La cordillera is set during a three-day presidential summit in the Andes Mountains, and Darin will play the Argentine head of state.

The Honorary Platino will praise “the honesty, talent and charisma with which he has engrossed some of the most renowned films made in the last three decades of Ibero-American cinema,” according to a press release Thursday from the Platino Awards organization, led by EGEDA and producers federation FIPCA.

Previous recipients of the Honorary Platino were also actors: Antonio Banderas was honored in 2015 and Brazilian legend Sonia Braga (Aquarius) in 2014.

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.

Fresnadillo to Direct Amblin Entertainment’s “Haunted”

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is turning a new leaf…

The 48-year-old Spanish filmmaker is set to direct Amblin Entertainment’s Haunted, a film that is inspired by the 1898 Henry James gothic ghost story Turn of the Screw.

Penned by Chad Hayes and Carey Hayes, the film is considered a passion project for Steven Spielberg, who really wanted to make a horror film.

Fresnadillo’s breakout film was 28 Weeks Later; his Spanish-language directing debut was Intacto, this after he received an Oscar nomination for his short film Linked.

Lately Fresnadillo, a Goya Award winner for Best New Director, has been busy working in television: He directed the pilot Falling Water, which got picked up by USA Network and was done under his overall deal with Universal Cable Productions.

He’s prepping to next direct Prototype, a UCP pilot for a Syfy series that he’s will also executive produce.

Trapero to Direct Fox Searchlight’s “The Man In The Rockefeller Suit”

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Pablo Trapero is ready to Rock(efeller)…

The 44-year-old Argentine filmmaker has been tapped to direct The Man In The Rockefeller Suit for Fox Searchlight Pictures.

The film tells the true story of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, an imposter who conned his way into various jobs on Wall Street — as well a marriage — posing as a member of the Rockefeller family. After achieving a life in rarefied social circles, his past finally catches up with him and he fears losing custody of his only daughter.

David Barr Katz has adapted the book by Mark Seal.

This part weekend, Trapero won the Goya Award for Best Ibero-American film for The Clan, which will have a platform release in the U.S. beginning March 19 through Fox. He won the Silver Lion for the picture at last year’s Venice Film Festival, just at it broke the record for largest local-language opening of all time in Argentina.
Trapero has twice had films nominated for Best Foreign Language Film Oscars, for Lion’s Den and Carancho.

Trapero, whose White Elephant premiered in Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, chaired the Cannes jury for Un Certain Regard at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

Alboran Wins Goya Award for Best Original Song

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Pablo Alborán now has the equivalent of an Oscar…

The 26-year-old Spanish pop star won the 2016 Goya Award for best original song at this weekends celebration of the awards frequently referred to as Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Alborán is also nominated for a Grammy in the Latin Pop category for his album Terral. He was on tour in the United States and Canada before returning to Spain to attend the Goya ceremonies in Madrid. He was the top-selling artist in Spain in 2014.

The 26-year-old sensation sings the track “Palmeras en la Nieve,” a collaboration with Lucas Vidal, who composed the soundtrack for the movie of the same name.

Vidal, who lives in Los Angeles, also took home the prize for best original score for another movie, Nadie Quiere la Noche, directed by Isabel Cloixet and starring Juliette Binoche.

The Spanish composer, a Berklee grad who has written scores for Fast & Furious 6, The Raven, and other Hollywood films, said in his acceptance speech that he hoped that his and Alborán’s wins would inspire young people to enter the music field.

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.

Larrain’s “The Club” Selected as Chile’s Bid for the Oscar’s Foreign Film Category

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Pablo Larrain is Chile’s choice for Oscar glory once again…

The 39-year-old Chilean filmmaker and former Oscar nominee’s latest film, The Club, has been selected as the nation’s bid for the Academy Awards‘ Best Foreign Language Film category, the Chilean Minister of Culture Ernesto Ottone has announced.

At the official send-off for the delegation that will attend the San Sebastian Film Festival, Ottone also announced Maite Alberdi’s documentary Tea Time will be the candidate for the Spanish Goya Awards.

A gripping portrait of four former priests who live secluded in a cabin as a punishment for their past sins, Larrain’s film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.

One of Chile’s most renowned directors today, Larrain’s previous film No, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, grabbed a Foreign Language nomination in 2013. Before that, his film Tony Manero was Chile’s entry in 2008, but it failed to get a nomination.

Garcia Bernal also stars in Larrain’s upcoming Neruda, about the political persecution of Chile’s renowned poet and left-wing senator Pablo Neruda, played by Luis Gnecco.

His next project, the Jackie Kennedy biopic Jackie, starring Natalie Portman, will be produced by Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin, and Chile’s Fabula, lead by Larrain’s brother Juan De Dios.

“What is relevant now is that we have two Chilean films that have already been awarded abroad, and they are aiming to secure a nomination for these academies,” said Ottone. “These awards are an important platform to make local productions visible, as they are creating a unique mark. So, we congratulate their creative teams for proposing new ways to see today’s Chilean society, both from an intimate perspective in Tea Time, and from the social questioning The Club suggests,” he added.

Anaya Starring in Matias Bize’s Drama “La memoria del agua”

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

She may be one of Pedro Almodovar’s muses, but Elena Anaya is earning raves for her work with another Latino director.

The 40-year-old Spanish actress is starring in La memoria del agua, the latest film by Chilean director Matias Bize.

Anaya describes the film as “a dark and profound – but also marvelous – journey” addressing the experience of life and love.

Known for her work with Almodovar, Anaya praised Bize and talked about the details of filming the project, which will begin showing this week in Chile.

Anaya has acted in films like Lucia y el sexo, Van Helsing and Dead Fish, but she’s best known for starring in two of Almodovar’s most highly acclaimed works: Talk to Her and The Skin I Live In.

But Anaya is now showing off her dramatic talent opposite Chilean actor Benjamin Vicuña in La memoria del agua, the latest work by the director of The Life of Fish, which won the Goya and Buñuel awards.

Anaya plays Amanda, a young woman who, after her son’s death, experiences an emotional crisis that distances her from her partner, Javier (Vicuña).

After contacting her to propose the project, Bize traveled to Madrid to discuss the details of the story and the characters with her.

“We spent several days speaking about our experiences in life regarding the issues that we would later deal with in the film,” Anaya said. “We spoke about the script, the characters, what Matias wanted to say … Later, Benjamin joined the project and made an impression on us with his generosity in sharing his experiences.”

Vicuña’s 6-year-old daughter Blanca died in 2012 from a brain hemorrhage.

The actress also emphasized the respect that prevailed among the director, actors and crew.

Anaya said that “each viewer will feel something different” upon watching the film, “but … they will find a careful, meticulous, subtle work and perhaps will manage to make the trip along with the characters, the dark and profound – but also marvelous – journey.”

Trailer Released for Baquero’s MTV Sci-Fi Fantasy Series “The Shannara Chronicles”

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Ivana Baquero is making her English-language television debut on MTV…

The 21-year-old Spanish actress, best known for her starring role in Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, is starring in the cable network’s The Shannara Chronicles, based on the best-selling books by Terry Brooks.

Set thousands of years in the future, the sci-fi fantasy series follows a trio of heroes who’ve embarked on a quest to stop a demon army hell bent on destroying humanity’s world.

The heroes are Amberle (Poppy Drayton), an Elvin Princess; Eretria (Baquero), a Human Rover; and Wil (Austin Butler), a Half-Elf, Half-Human.

The trailer for the series debuted during the MTV Video Music Awards.

Jonathan Liebesman directed the first two episodes.

MTV is producing with Sonar Entertainment.

Baquero, who won the Goya Award for Best New Actress for her role in Pan’s Labyrinth, has also starred in The New Daughter and The Anarchist’s Wife.

Rodriguez’s “Marshland” Acquired by Todo Cine Latino & AZ Films

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Alberto Rodriguez’s latest film, one of Spain’s most recent blockbusters, is ready to conquer North America.

Todo Cine Latino, the specialty label of Paul Hudson’s Outsider Pictures, has teamed with Canada’s AZ Films to acquire the North America rights to La Isla Minima.

The 44-year-old Spanish filmmaker’s fifth feature, titled Marshland in English is described as a noirish period cop thriller.

The film won 10 Spanish Film Academy Goya Awards, among them best picture, director and actor (for star Javier Gutierrez).

Produced by Atresmedia Cine, Sacromonte Films and Atipica Films, and a competition frontrunner at San Sebastian International Film Festival, where it world premiered on September 20, winning the jury prize and best actor (Gutierrez), Marshland went on to gross $8.4 million in Spain, a standout achievement for its distributor, Warner Bros. Entertainment España.

Marshland now figures with nine category recognitions as the leading contender for 2015’s Platino Awards, taking in movies from Spain, Latin America and Portugal, which takes place July 18 in Marbella.

Written by Rodriguez and his near-career-long co-scribe Rafael Cobos, and set in Spain’s deep South in 1980, Marshland begins in classic crime thriller style with two homicide detectives, one a Francoist hardliner, the other younger and more pliable with a bright future ahead of him in Madrid, being called in to investigate the disappearance of two teen girls on Seville’s flatlands, a sprawling marsh expanse of stunning natural beauty and base poverty ruled by a few families certainly not willing to give up their centuries-old power and privileges – economic, social or of droit du seigneur.

Marshland impressed for its stunning, often kinetic, and varied cinematography: It’s made up of some 170 sequences, some multi-shot, some not. It also won critical plaudits for the interplay between the two cops who realize that they must put aside their personal differences if they’re to stop a serial killer, and the shaded balance of its portrait of one, played by Gutierrez. Capable of absolute heroism, he also tortured suspects under Franco and will never be hauled up in court for that.

“Marshland has been compared to everything from the first season of True Detective to Seven, and is a first class thriller, and the Goya Awards are a testament to the quality of the filmmaking,” said Hudson.

Todo Cine Latino will look to build word-of-mouth via festivals; AZ Films will release the film in Canada on August 14, while Outsider will release in the U.S. on August 21 in Miami, where “Marshland” had its U.S. premiere in March at the Miami Film Festival.

Marshland will then be released on digital streaming site Todocinelatino.com, which is dedicated to the release of the best in Latin Cinema in North America.

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