Alves: The Best-Dressed Latina on the Oscars Red Carpet

Her husband may have taken home the Academy Award for Best Actor… But Camila Alves claimed the title of Best-Dressed Latina on the Oscars red carpet.

The 32-year-old Brazilian model, fashion designer and Mrs. Matthew McConaughey, was pretty in pastel in a look that channeled old-school Hollywood.

Camila Alves

Alves donned a custom pale pink silk crepe Gabriela Cadena gown that featured a gorgeous train and a cape.

She completed the look with a matching clutch, sparkling earrings and a fresh face.

But Alves wasn’t the only Latina starlet looking pretty in pink…

Penelope Cruz

Penelope Cruz wore a silk mousseline Giambattista Valli Haute Couture gown to this year’s Academy Awards.

The Oscar-winner’s dress featured a black ribbon belt, making Cruz look modern and effortless.

Cruz to Star in Julio Medem’s Upcoming Film “ma ma”

Penelope Cruz is ready for ma ma duty…

The 39-year-old Oscar-winning actress will portray the lead role of Magda in Julio Medem upcoming film ma ma.

Penelope Cruz

It’s Cruz’s first film with the Spanish writer/director.

The Vicky Cristina Barcelona star and Medem will produce the film, along with Morena Films, with Alvaro Longoria acting as executive producer.

Luis Tosar and Asier Etxeandia will round out the cast and Oscar-nominated composer Alberto Iglesias will write the music for the film, of which little else is known.

 

ma ma could start shooting in the spring, entirely in Spain.

Producers are now looking for financing, while Medem finishes the TV adaptation of his novel Aspasia and the feature biopic about designer Cristobal Balenciaga.

Medem is considered one of Spain’s best known directors with titles that include the steamy Sex and Lucia — which launched Paz Vega’s international career — and Lovers of the Arctic Circle.

Cruz Named 2013 Best Body by Fitness Magazine

Penélope Cruz is fit to be honored…

The 39-year-old Spanish actress has been selected by Fitness magazine as the 2013 “Best Body

Penelope Cruz

The designation comes after Cruz’s pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Luna in July.

While other celebs like Jennifer Lawrence and Sandra Bullock made the list of hottest celeb bodies, the Oscar-winning actress grabbed the magazine’s no.1 spot.

E! Online reported that the stunning actress credits “following a Mediterranean diet, taking women protein bars, following myfitnesshub.com fitness guides, dancing and chasing after her kids for getting her back into shape after both pregnancies.”

In a recent interview with WSJ Magazine, Cruz says she’s “lucky and grateful” for being a mom, a wish she always had.

“It changes everything in your life,” she said. “It’s also going to change the way you approach your work and the way you understand a character like this because she is obsessed with becoming a mother but her body is not working that way and she has to live with the frustration.”

Cruz described her choice to feed Luna naturally, making her the priority.

“I’m breastfeeding and don’t want to give her formula if I can avoid it,” she said. “When I get them to bed, I’ll think about what I want to eat. I’m only thinking about them now.”

The actress also recently discussed her new slim figure with Red magazine after giving birth to Luna.

“I think I’m very lucky that I can breastfeed my children because sometimes even if a woman wants to, she can’t,” she said. “I breastfeed my son for 13 months and I plan to do at least the same with my daughter. That’s an amazing thing for babies, but it’s also really good for the mother because it regulates your body again after pregnancy.”

First International Trailer Released for “The Counselor,” Featuring Penelope Cruz

Penélope Cruz is bedding a counselor

The 39-year-old Spanish actress, who recently gave birth to her second child with husband Javier Bardem, makes an appearance in the first international trailer for Ridley Scott’s The Counselor.

Penelope Cruz

From 20th Century Fox UK, the trailer gives the longest glimpse at the film’s plot so far and includes a bit more on the story.

Michael Fassbender leads the film’s all-star cast, portraying a lawyer who gets in over his head when he enters the drug trade.

Along with Cruz and Fassbender, the film’s cast includes Brad Pitt, Bardem and Cameron Diaz.

The film will be released in the US on October 25 and in the United Kingdom on November 15.

First-Time Director Cruz Helms Ad for Agent Provocateur

Penélope Cruz’s latest project has her on the other side of the camera…

The 39-year-old Spanish actress, who gave birth to her second child last week, has directed her first project, an advertising video for Agent Provocateur.

Penelope Cruz

The clip for the noted lingerie line features her husband, Javier Bardem, portraying a laborer.

The project was “a very interesting experience” because not only did it star family and friends, but it provided “much creative freedom” to tell the story with some highly charged erotic images, said Cruz in a statement released by the company.

The most steamy scene in the video features a man in a suit, played by Miguel Angel Silvestre, walking out onto the terrace of a mansion and spotting model Irina Shayk, the girlfriend of soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, dancing in the pool in black lingerie and a cap.

Cruz’s sister, Monica Cruz, also appears in the video along with actress Goya Toledo.

The story turns out to be a dream and Silvestre awakens to see the face of his boss, a laborer played by Bardem.

 

The video is the latest project between the Cruz sisters and Agent Provocateur.

The sisters designed a collection of lingerie for the company called L’Agent, which hit the market soon.

Cruz has been making a big push into the world of fashion and design, inking a three-year deal to be the face of Loewe.

Cruz Gives Birth to Second Child with Javier Bardem

Penélope Cruz and husband Javier Bardem will be pulling double duty from now on.

The 39-year-old Spanish actress and the 44-year-old Spanish actor welcomed their second child, a daughter, on Monday.

Penelope Cruz & Javier Bardem

Cruz gave birth at Madrid’s Ruber International hospital just to the north of the city, where Spain’s Crown Princess Letizia gave birth to her two daughters, a hospital source said.

“The couple checked in yesterday and she gave birth yesterday,” the source told AFP without specifying the gender of the baby.

Cruz gave birth to a girl “just a few hours” after Kate Middleton welcomed her little boy in St Mary’s Hospital in London on Monday, according to the online edition of Spanish celebrity magazine Hola!.

The new arrival is the couple’s second child. They are already parents to two-year-old son Leonardo, who was born at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles in 2011.

Cruz and Bardem met when they starred opposite each other in Bigas Luna‘s film Jamon, Jamon back in 1992.

In 2008, they were back together on the silver screen in Woody Allen‘s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, for which Cruz won an Academy Award as best supporting actress.

Bardem, nominated for an Oscar in Before Night Falls, won an Academy Award in 2007 for his role in No Country for Old Men.

The couple married in July 2010 at a ceremony in the Bahamas after keeping their romance quiet for years.

Both Bardem and Cruz star in Ridley Scott‘s The Counselor, a high-profile autumn release written by Scott and also featuring Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and Michael Fassbender.

Blades May Sign with Nacional Records

Rubén Blades is looking to become a Nacional star…

The 64-year-old Panamanian salsa singer/songwriter/actor, is looking to make Los Angeles-based Nacional Records the possible home for his new music, according to Billboard.com.

Rubén Blades

Blades, who spoke at this week’s Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) in New York, said he was still unsigned with several music projects on the way.

The singer also confirmed he has two upcoming feature films in the works, including The Counselor with Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt and John Leguizamo.

“I’m not signed to a label,” said Blades during an interview at the conference, adding that he’s been working on several projects including the re-recording of his music from his time at Fania, the salsa label that was co-founded in the mid ’60s by Dominican-born composer Johnny Pacheco.

Tomas Cookman, who founded the LAMC, owns Nacional Records and confirmed that he had a weekend meeting with Blades about working with the singer.

“We had an amazing time together,” said Cookman. “The coming weeks will get us closer to potential next steps. I can’t wait.”

So it looks like Blades, who is also attached to the feature Hands of Stone with Robert De Niro, could have a bright future at Nacional.

“We’re going to look forward [to meeting with Blades in the upcoming weeks],” Cookman said. “He’s so beloved. It’s an exciting time for Nacional Records. We have plans to expand in 2014.”

Almodóvar’s “I’m So Excited” to Premiere in Mexico at ES.CINE Festival

Pedro Almodóvar’s new film project will be flying high into Mexico…

I’m So Excited, the latest film from the 63-year-old Spanish director, will be screened at Mexico’s ES.CINE, according to organizers of the festival, which celebrates Spanish and Ibero-American films.

I'm So Excited Poster

I’m So Excited, known as Los amantes pasajeros in Spanish, debuted in Spain three months ago.

It will have its Mexican premiere at the July 5-11 festival, which will feature a total of 13 films from Spain and Latin America.

ES.CINE will also pay homage to Spanish filmmaker Jose Juan Bigas Luna, who died in April at the age of 67, with screenings of four of his most important movies: Las edades de Lulu, Jamon, jamon, Huevos de oro and La teta y la luna.

Bigas Luna helped launched the careers of future international stars like Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Ariadna Gil and Jordi Molla.

Es.Cine plans to reconvene in October to present the Luis Buñuel awards, created to recognize iconic figures in Ibero-American cinema.

I’m So Excited had its U.S. premiere in LA earlier this month at the Los Angeles Film Festival. It opened in New York and LA this weekend.

International Trailer Released for the Diaz-Starrer “The Counselor”

Cameron Diaz is getting counseled, in haute style no less…

The 40-year-old half-Cuban American dons some serious attire in the just-released international trailer for Ridley Scott’s The Counselor.

Cameron Diaz

The Counselor follows a lawyer (portrayed by Michael Fassbender) who wades into treacherous waters when he gets involved in the drug trade.

Along with Diaz and Fassbender, the thriller – written by No Country for Old Men author Cormac McCarthy also stars Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt, John Leguizamo and Goran Visnjic.

The Counselor will be released in the UK on October 25:

Bardem Lands Roles in “A Most Violent Year” and “The Gunman”

Javier Bardem has landed two killer roles…

The 44-year-old Spanish actor will star in J.C. Chandor’s next film, A Most Violent Year, which will shoot in Manhattan this fall.

Javier Bardem

Unlike his critically acclaimed roles in No Country for Old Men and Skyfall, Bardem will play a good guy in the film.

A Most Violent Year was written by Chandor.

Meanwhile, Bardem has also signed on to go mano a mano with Sean Penn in The Gunman.

The film is being directed by Pierre Morel and financed by Studio Canal.

Bardem excels in these types of films, winning the Oscar for No Country For Old Men, and most recently playing the existentially tortured villain who squared off against James Bond in Skyfall.

He’ll next be seen in the Ridley Scott-directed The Counselor, opposite Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and his wife Penelope Cruz.