Gerardo Naranjo’s stock in Hollywood continues to rise…
The 40-year-old Mexican filmmaker has just inked a deal with Focus Features to direct A Man Must Die.
Naranjo—who helmed Miss Bala, Mexico’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission—wrote the script for the project. The film is described as a political thriller comparable to the critically acclaimed Carlos.
The news comes as 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment continue to develop the film adaptation ofCharles Martin’s novel The Mountain Between Usfor Naranjo to direct, with Michael Fassbender attached to star.
It may be better to give than to receive… But Emilio Portes is receiving plenty of attention this weekend…
The Mexican writer-director’s sophomore film Pastorela picked up seven awards at Mexico’s 54th Ariel Awards, including best picture and best director.
In addition, Portes’ holiday-themed film also won best original screenplay at the Saturday awards ceremony in Mexico City.
But Pastorela wasn’t the only big winner…
Everardo Gout‘s high-octane thriller Dias de Gracia, a furiously paced portrait of violence in contemporary Mexico, nabbed eight statuettes, with best first work going to Gout and a best actor nod for rising star Tenoch Huerta.
Gerardo Naranjo‘s actioner Miss Bala, also in the running for best picture and director, walked away empty handed despite having been selected as Mexico’s foreign-language Oscar submission.
In the Ibero-American category, best picture went to Agusti Villaronga‘s Catalan-language wartime saga Pa Negre, winner of nine of Spain’s Goya Awards last year.
Tatiana Huezo‘s El Lugar Mas Pequenowon the Ariel for best documentary. A big hit on the festival circuit, the film focuses on a village that was decimated during El Salvador’s civil war of the 1980s.
During the ceremony, the academy paid homage to veteran actor Pedro Armendariz, who passed away late last year. In one of the final performances of his five decade career, Armendariz appeared in the Will Ferrell’s Spanish-language film Casa de mi Padre.
He’s gained critical acclaim for helming Mexico’s Best Foreign Language FilmOscar submission, Miss Bala… And, now Gerardo Naranjo could be directing his first big studio film.
The Mexican filmmaker is currently in negotiations with 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment to helm The Mountain Between Us—an adaptation of the Charles Martin novel, a harrowing tale of survival and love.
It centers on Ashley, a writer catching a flight from Salt Lake City for her wedding on the East Coast. Meanwhile, Ben is a doctor returning from a medical conference. When their flight cancelled due to a broken de-icer, the strangers agree to charter a ride, only to see the pilot suffer a heart attack and crash into a desolate snowy mountain region. Fortunately, Ben is an avid climber who works to get her down the mountain. As the injured pair struggle to get down from the mountain in harsh weather conditions, Ashley begins to realize that maybe she was preparing to marry the wrong guy.
Naranjo is coming off the success of Miss Bala, an intense and riveting thriller about an innocent beauty queen who gets caught up in the Mexican drug wars.
