Antxon Gómez Wins European Film Awards Prize for “Pain and Glory”

Posted on November 20, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

It’s certainly pain and glory for Antxon Gómez…

The first eight 2019 European Filn Awards winners have been revealed ahead of next month’s official ceremony, with the 67-year-old Spanish production designer picking up one of the prizes.

The first round of prizes sees eight craft categories named prior to the event.

Gómez won the European Production Design award for his work on Pedro Alomodovar’s Pain and Glory. He’d previously been nominated for an EFA in 2011 for his work on another Almodovar project… The Skin I Live In.

Eduardo Esquidehas picked up his own award…

The Latino sound engineer won theEuropean Sound award alongside Nacho Royo-Villanovaand Laurent Chassaignefor their work on A Twelve-Year Night.

The jury for the initial eight winners were: Nadia Ben Rachid, editor, France: Vanja Černul, cinematographer, Croatia; Annette Focks, composer, Germany; Gerda Koekoek, hair and make-up artist, Netherlands; Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh, costume designer, Ireland; Artur Pinheiro, production designer, Portugal; Gisle Tveito, sound designer, Norway; István Vajda, visual effects, Hungary.

Almodovar is still up for the European Film, European Director and European Screenwriter awards for Pain and Glory, while the film’s star Antonio Banderasis up for European Actor.

Hulu to Feature del Castillo’s “La Reina del Sur” & Other Telemundo & Sony TV Projects

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Kate del Castillo will soon be the reina of Hulu…

Hulu has beefed up its Spanish-language offerings with deals that secure programming from Sony Pictures Television and co-owner Comcast’s Telemundo, including the 44-year-old Mexican actress’ popular telenovela La Reina del Sur.

The company didn’t disclose financial terms, but says both pacts are “multi-year.”

The first time agreement with Telemundo will give Hulu five series from its library. They include past episodes of La Reina del Sur, Celia, and Bajo El Mismo Cielo, which are available now. On April 15 Hulu will add the complete catalogs of Tierra de Reyes and La Patrona.

Meanwhile, Sony has provided telenovelas and teleseries including Lady, La Vendendora de Rosas, Doña Barbara, comedy series Los Beltran, and crime dramas El Mariachi, Metastasis and En la Boca del Lobo.

Films in the agreement include El Mariachi and The Secret in Their Eyes. Hulu also will have nine films from director Pedro Almodóvar, including The Skin I Live In, Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Bad Education, Broken Embraces, Talk to Her and Law of Desire.

Hulu’s deepening its video on demand online library as it prepares to introduce a live streaming service.

Almodóvar to Serve as Jury President at This Year’s Cannes Film Festival

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Pedro Almodóvar is taking a special role at this year’s Cannes Film Festival…

The 67-year-old Spanish film director, screenwriter, producer has been named the next President of the Jury for the 70^th edition of the festival in May.

“I am very happy to be able to celebrate Cannes Film Festival[‘s] 70^th anniversary from such a privileged position,” said Almodóvar in a statement. “I am grateful, honoured and bit overwhelmed. I am aware of the responsibility that entails being the president of the jury and I hope to be up to the job. I can only tell that I’ll devote myself, body and soul to this task, that it is both a privilege and a pleasure.”

Almodóvar has a film career that spans across 35 years and his 20 films range from From Pepi, Luci, Born to La Mancha to last year’s Julieta.

He’s worked with a range of actors including Penélope Cruz, Marisa Paredes, Antonio Banderas, Rossy de Palma, Javier Bardem, Javier Cámara, Carmen Maura and Victoria Abril.

Five of his films – All About My Mother, Volver, Broken Embraces, The Skin I Live In and Julieta – have been selected In Competition in Cannes. Bad Education opened the fest in 2004 while the director himself featured on the poster of the 60^th festival.

“For its 70^th edition, the Festival de Cannes is delighted to welcome a unique and hugely popular artist,” said the President of the Festival, Pierre Lescure and Delegate-General Thierry Frémaux. “A long and loyal friendship binds Pedor Almodóvar to the festival, where he was member of the jury under the presidency of Gérard Depardieu.”

The Cannes Film Festival runs May 17-28.

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.”

Leguizamo to Star in the Thriller “The Infiltrator”

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

John Leguizamo is infiltrating Londontown..

The 50-year-old Colombian actor has joined the cast of The Infiltrator.

The fact-based drama about a fearless undercover agent has just begun principal photography in London.

The thriller from director Brad Furman also stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger and Benjamin Bratt.

The Infiltrator is adapted from Robert Mazur’s autobiography about a customs and excise agent (Cranston) who went undercover as a money launderer and helped orchestrate one of history’s most elaborate stings, getting to the bankers behind the Medellin drug cartel. Ellen Brown Furman wrote the transfer.

Shooting will move to Miami in late April.

Amy Ryan, Olympia Dukakis, Elena Anaya (The Skin I Live In) and Juliet Aubrey have also joined the cast.

Delgado Wins Saturn Award for “Les Miserables”

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Paco Delgado is still picking up awards for his Miserables work…

The Spanish costume designer, who earned his first Oscar nomination this year, won a Saturn Award for Best Costume for his impressive work on Les Miserables.

Delgado oversaw the creation of more than 2,200 outfits for the ensemble cast of the epic film. He recently opened up about his designs in an online featurette.

Delgado’s credits include creating the Goya Award-winning costumes for Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves, as well as the Pedro Almodovar films Bad Education and The Skin I Live In.

He most recently completed work on Álex de la Iglesia’s Witching and Bitching.

Buika to Perform “Besame Mucho” at the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Buika will be helping honor one of the most recognizable Spanish-language ballads of all time…

The 40-year-old Afro-Spanish singer, who earned rave reviews after performing two songs in Pedro Almódovar’s 2011 film The Skin I Live In, will perform “Besame Mucho” at the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame’s first induction gala.

Buika and an orchestra of top musicians will perform the song – which was written by the Mexican composer Consuelo Velasquez in 1940 and performed by artists including the Beatles and Frank Sinatra, in addition to a number of Latin stars – before it receives the Hall of Fame’s La Musa award.

In addition, the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame will induct Manuel Alejandro, Jose Angel “Ferrusquilla” Espinosa, Jose Feliciano, Julio Iglesias, Armando Manzanero and Concha Valdez Miranda as the first-ever songwriters to be added to the recently created hall of fame.

Additionally, Olga Guillot, Draco Rosa, Nat King Cole, Desi Arnaz, Ralph S. Peer and emerging Spanish singer/songwriter Natalia Jimenez will receive recognition for their contribution to the music industry.

Rubén Blades, Cristian Castro, Natalie Cole and Rosa are among the artists set to perform at the black tie event, celebrating the rich past and current popularity of Latin song.

The event will take place on April 23rd at the New World Center in Miami Beach during the Billboard Latin Music Conference.

Almodóvar Shares “I’m So Excited” Trailer at London Tribute

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Pedro Almodóvar is being heralded for his “heart as big as the Grand Canyon”…

The 63-year-old Spanish filmmaker was honored at an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences retrospective of Almodóvar’s work in London, which was attended by celebrities like Grace Jones, Kristen Scott Thomas and Miranda Richardson.

During the high-profile event, Almodóvar brother Agustin, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Stephen Frears and Sally Potter were among the people offering their tributes to the Oscar-winning filmmaker.

Quentin Tarantino even participated in special pre-recorded video to thank Almodóvar for having a “a filmography to beat.” Meanwhile, Frears enthused about Almodóvar’s ability to make everything seem natural.

“He creates a coherent world in which all of the elements fit,” he said. “It comes out of his imagination complete. I met him in New York when I was with My Beautiful Laundrette. I felt like an impostor; here was the transgressive real thing. Mine was a charade.”

A humbled Almodóvar admitted to being embarrassed by all the kind words.

“Tonight I know more about myself than ever,” he joked. “I’ve always strived to try and make life more livable with my films. It’s the homework of any kind of artistic expression. That was the lesson I learned from my mother.”

He even revealed that he’d tried and failed to nab the rights to books like The Hours, Silence of the Lambs, The Human Stain and The Reader, any of which would have been his first foray into English-language film. It’s a bridge he says he’ll likely not attempt to cross again.

“But you have to respect destiny. Perhaps I was not the one to make the movies that I now admire so much.”

And as a delight to the audience, Almodóvar shared a clip from his new film I’m So Excited, which Sony Pictures Classics will release next year. The film, which was originally titled Los Amantes Pasajeros, is the famed director’s return to comedy after a number of dramas like The Skin I Live In and Habla con ella.

The film’s all-star cast includes Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas, Raul Arévalo, Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Hugo Silva, Willy Toledo, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Blanca Suárez, José Luis Torrijo, José María Yazpik and Laya Martí, with special collaborations from Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Paz Vega.

Delgado Discusses The Inspiration for His “Les Misérables” Costumes

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

He’s been nominated for Spain’s Goya Awards and Mexico’s Ariel Awards for his inspired work on The Skin I Live In and Biutiful… But Paco Delgado could soon receive his first Academy Award nod…

The Spanish costume designer, new to the Hollywood scene, is seeing his name at the top of many Oscar prediction lists thanks to his work in Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper‘s much anticipated film adaptation of the Broadway musical Les Misérables.

And now Delgado’s opening up about his inspiration and the resulting costumes in a special video leading up to the film’s release.

Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried, Les Misérables opens nationwide on December 25.

Iglesias Named Film Composer of the Year at World Soundtrack Awards

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Alberto Iglesias is still reaping the rewards for his composing work on three of last year’s highly acclaimed films.

The 57-year-old Spanish composer was named film composer of the year at the World Soundtrack Awards.

Iglesias, who received an invitation this summer to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was heralded for his work on the soundtracks for Le Moine (The Monk), The Skin I Live In and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy.

In addition, the academy also awarded Iglesias with the award for best original film score of the year for Tinker, Tailor.

Iglesias defeated fellow Latino nominee Cliff Martinez, who served as the composer on the films Contagion and Drive, in both categories.

Iglesias previously received the Hollywood Film Composer Award at the 15th annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards for his work on Pedro Almodóvar’s haunting The Skin I Live In and Tomas Alfredson’s Cold War thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy.

The World Soundtrack Awards took place on Sunday, October 21, as the closing event of the 39th Ghent Film Festival.

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