Netflix Releases Trailer for Jennifer Lopez’s Sci-Fi Thriller “Atlas”

Jennifer Lopez is fighting to save the world…

Netflix has released the official trailer for the 54-year-old Puerto Rican star’s new sci-fi thriller Atlas.

Jennifer Lopez

“The future of humanity is in her hands,” reads the opening subtitle to the trailer.

The film, which opens May 24, follows Atlas Shepherd (Lopez), a brilliant but misanthropic data analyst with a deep distrust of artificial intelligence, who joins a mission to capture a renegade robot with whom she shares a mysterious past. But when plans go awry, her only hope of saving the future of humanity from AI is to trust it.

Starring alongside Lopez are Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, Gregory James Cohan, Abraham Popoola, Lana Parrilla and Mark Strong.

The film was written by Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite, with Brad Peyton serving as the director.

Lopez last led Netflix’s The Mother, which debuted on the streamer on May 12, 2023. The action thriller was watched by 2.8M U.S. households over its debut weekend, according to L+2D data from Samba TV. According to data, the film outperformed two of Netflix’s other recent popular films, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Murder Mystery 2. The film went on to enter Netflix’s most popular film list.

Julio Rojas Penning His First Rom-Com Film “Detras de ti”

Julio Rojas is bringing the romance…

The Chilean author/screenwriter, whose serial podcast Case 63 was Spotify’s most popular podcast in Latin America and was adapted into English with Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac starring, is writing his first rom-com following the global success of Case 63.

Julio Rojas,Titled Detras de ti (working title), the upcoming project is being co-produced by Spain’s EvaFilms and David Naranjo’s Pris & Batty, best known for its hit comedies 8 apellidos vascos, 8 apellidos catalanes and Toc toc.

“Ever since I listened to ‘Case 63,’ I was very keen to work with Julio and bring his work to the big screen,” said Eva Cebrián of EvaFilms, adding: “Julio is an indisputable storyteller who has most understood the audio format, given his deep experience as a screenwriter.”

While Rojas has a predilection for sci-fi projects, Cebrián pointed out that romance was very much intrinsic to his work. Detras de ti will be a departure for Rojas, but it’s set in the near future and will still bear science-fiction elements.

Rojas is also known for co-writing Pablo Fendrik’s Latino sci-fi series The Shelter, story editing Lucia Puenzo’s La Jauria and penning a number of acclaimed features, led by Marcela Said’s The Summer of Flying Fish and Matias Bize’s The Memory of Water.

To be directed by Vicente Villanueva, Detras de ti centers on 24-year-old Joaquin, an aspiring screenwriter who while trying to land a job at a streaming platform, forms part of an “image support team,” a top secret service where a group of nerds in a control room connect visually and aurally with a celebrity to guide him through situations and make him appear more intelligent, creative and talented than he really is.

When Joaquin sees his client, B-list actor Daniel Casañas, start falling in love with the same girl he loves, the boundaries between appearance and reality begin to blur for everyone. This is “a romantic comedy in a world where the real and the artificial, where the authentic and the apparent grow increasingly muddled,” the synopsis says.

EvaFilms and Pris & Batty are also co-producing fantasy tale La Ternura, which is being shot in the Dominican Republic.

EvaFilms was founded in 2019 by Cebrián, who held executive positions at pubcaster RTVE as head of film and later, of TV programming. She also founded OnDemand Media, an audiovisual producer and consultant in Mexico and Spain, was an advisor to the digital creative agency Social Noise and was director of new projects and developments for Stage Entertainment Spain, a company that produces some of the most successful musicals in the world.

Salma Hayek to Star in Season 6 Episode of “Black Mirror”

Salma Hayek is Black-ing out…

Netflix has revealed the official episode titles and plot synopses for Season 6 of its dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror, with the 56-year-old Mexican actress/producer appearing in one episode.

Salma HayekThe series, which is set to debut in June, will feature five new episodes titled “Joan Is Awful,” featuring Hayek, “Loch Henry,” “Beyond the Sea,” “Mazey Day” and “Demon 79.”

Meanwhile, Danny Ramirez will appear on a separate episode.

The Colombian & Mexican American actor will star alongside Zazie Beetz and Clara Rugaard in Mazey Day.

Here are Netflix’s plot descriptions and cast for each episode:

Joan Is Awful
An average woman is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life — in which she is portrayed by Hayek.
Directed by: Ally Pankiw
Written by: Charlie Brooker
Starring: Annie Murphy, Hayek Pinault, Michael Cera, Himesh Patel, Rob Delaney, Ben Barnes 

Loch Henry
A young couple travel to a sleepy Scottish town to start work on a genteel nature documentary – but find themselves drawn to a juicy local story involving shocking events of the past.
Directed by: Sam Miller
Written by: Charlie Brooker
Starring: Samuel Blenkin, Myha’la Herrold, Daniel Portman, John Hannah, Monica Dolan

Beyond the Sea
In an alternative 1969, two men on a perilous high-tech mission wrestle with the consequences of an unimaginable tragedy.
Directed by: John Crowley
Written by: Charlie Brooker
Starring: Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara, Auden Thornton, Rory Culkin 

Mazey Day
A troubled starlet is dogged by invasive paparazzi while dealing with the consequences of a hit-and-run incident.
Directed by: Uta Briesewitz
Written by: Charlie Brooker
Starring: Zazie Beetz, Clara Rugaard, Danny Ramirez 

Demon 79
Northern England, 1979. A meek sales assistant is told she must commit terrible acts to prevent disaster.
Directed by: Toby Haynes
Written by: Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali
Starring: Anjana Vasan, Paapa Essiedu, Katherine Rose Morley, David Shields

“Black Mirror” creator Charlie Brooker wrote all five of the Season 6 episodes, including executive producer Bisha K. Ali for “Demon 79.” Brooker serves as an executive producer alongside longtime producing partner Annabel Jones and Jessica Rhoades.

This is the first “Black Mirror” season to be produced by Brooker and Jones’ new production company Broke & Bones.

 

Tainy Discusses Upcoming Solo Debut Album, “DATA”

He co-produced Bad Bunny’s history-making album Un Verano Sin Ti, and now Tainy is preparing to release his solo debut LP.

The 33-year-old Puerto Rican record producer and songwriter, whose real name is Marcos Efraín Masís Fernández, will release the star-studded DATA, in early 2023.

Tainy“[DATA] is a representation of who I am as a person, and as a fan of music,” Tainy tells Billboard Español. “To be able to have my own album is so special. I’m putting my everything into this, all the knowledge I’ve acquired since I started working with the people I admire.”

In addition to established hitmakers like J Balvin, Wisin & Yandel and Arcángel, the album will also feature brilliant upstarts like Young Miko, Ankhal and Kris Floyd.

To date, the 2022 Latin Grammy winner for producer of the year has unveiled the wildly successful “Lo Siento BB:/,” featuring Bad Bunny and Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas, as well as “Sci-Fi,” co-starring Rauw Alejandro.

“I’ve been 100% focused on my project, and “Lo Siento BB:/” is the first single. We will be releasing the final product at the top of the year. I’m so excited for it. I’ve been dreaming of doing this album before I even got into music, because these types of projects are what inspired me to get into music,” says Tainy. “As you might imagine, I’m working with most of the people that I’ve already worked with for a long time, and who I have a great relationship with: Benito, Jhayco, Rauw, Feid, Balvin, Wisin & Yandel, Arcángel…They have been a huge part of my career, so I wanted them to be a part of this, because they were a part of my journey. At the same time, I wanted to combine two worlds and merge this with the up-and-coming artists that I’m a fan of: Young Miko, Ankhal, Kris Floyd … all these guys, and how I brought in Julieta Venegas. [The album] shows more of who I am, and who my musical influences are.”

No exact date has been announced for the release of Tainy’s Data album.

Alba Flores to Star in the Sci-Fi Thriller “Ulterior”

Alba Flores has an ulterior motive…

The 36-year-old Spanish actress and Money Heist star will star in and executive-produce Ulterior, a sci-fi thriller film from Matt Brodlie and Jonathan Kier’s Upgrade Productions and Spain’s Morena Films.

Alba FloresCreated by Money Heist director Alex Rodrigo and Vida Perfecta’s Manuel Burque, the film follows a young singer and influencer who wakes up in a life that she does not recognize in a world where humans are given the opportunity to virtually connect to a simulation of their own lives. Protagonist Ada must play along with the game in order to return to her real life and, with the help of a mysterious stranger, unravel the puzzle of her new existence.

Flores is best known for playing Nairobi in Netflix Spanish smash hit Money Heist. No broadcaster is attached as of yet.

Brodlie and Kier called Ulterior a “chilling and complex science fiction story,” adding: “Manuel Burque and Alex Rodrigo have crafted a visionary and timely thriller and we’re excited to bring their distinct and authentic voices forward.”

Alice Braga to Star in Sci-Fi Series “Dark Matter”

It’s a Dark time for Alice Braga.

The 39-year-old Brazilian actress and producer will star opposite Jimmi Simpson and Joel Edgerton in Dark Matter, an adaptation of Blake Crouch’s acclaimed sci-fi novel, at Apple TV+.

Alice Braga

Jennifer Connelly also stars in the series from Sony Television and executive produced by Edgerton.

Written and showrun by Crouch, the nine-episode series will follow Jason Dessen, (Edgerton) a physicist, professor, and family man who — one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago — is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the multiverse of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of mind-bending realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.

Braga will play Amanda, a psychiatrist. Simpson portrays Ryan, a brilliant neuroscientist and friend of Jason’s (Edgerton).

Dark Matter is executive produced by Matt Tolmach and David Manpearl for Matt Tolmach Productions.

Crouch will write and serve as showrunner and executive producer on the series, and Jakob Verbruggen is set to direct the first three episodes.

Braga is known for her starring role as Teresa Mendoza in USA’s Queen of the South. On the film side she was most recently seen in The Suicide Squad, and soon will be seen in FX’s upcoming limited series Retreat.

Screen Media Acquires U.S. Rights to Garcia Bernal’s Sci-Fi Comedy “Zoom”

Gael Garcia Bernal will zoom into American theaters next year…

Screen Media has acquired the U.S. rights to the Pedre Morelli-directed dimension-hopping sci-fi comedy Zoom, starring the 37-year-old Mexican actor.

Gael Garcia Bernal in Zoom

Screen Media plans to release the film sometime during the third quarter of 2016.

Starring Garcia Bernal, Alison Pill, Jason Priestley and Tyler Labine, the partly animated, partly live action film sees three creative spirits — a comic book artist, a novelist, and a film director — who live in different realities but end up each writing a story about one of the others.

The Rhombus Media and 02 Filmes Canada/Brazil co-production was written by Matt Hansen and produced by Niv Fichman and Andrea Barata Ribeiro.

Zoom saw its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

The deal was negotiated by Needle for Screen Media, with Gregory Chambet of WTFilms on behalf of the filmmakers.