del Toro Comes Aboard as Executive Producer of “Viva”

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Life’s a drag for Benicio del Toro…

The 48-year-old Puerto Rican actor and Oscar winner has come aboard as executive producer of Viva, director Paddy Breathnach’s new film having its World Premiere here at the Telluride Film Festival.

An Irish production shot in Cuba en Español, the film is about Jesus, a young man growing up in Havana who works as a hair and make up artist for drag acts. What he REALLY wants to do is perform on stage himself, a development that leads to major conflicts with his father who has just been released from prison.

Hector Medina stars as Jesus with a supporting cast including Jorge Perugorria and Luis Alberto Garcia. Screenwriter Mark O’ Halloran also is featured in the film.

del Toro was most recently an executive producer of Escobar: Paradise Lost, a film in which he also starred that had its World Premiere at last year’s Telluride Film Festival.

He has produced other films in which he had roles including Che and The Wolfman, but his participation in a behind-the-scenes role on Viva appears to be his first in a film he does not appear since Lovesickness in 2007.

del Toro next appears in Lionsgate’s Sicario, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival later this month in advance of its September 18 release.

He’s already getting Oscar buzz for his intensely searing role in the film.

Film Arcade to Release Mescudi’s “James White” in November

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi latest film is hitting theaters in November.

This year’s Sundance Film Festival’s Best of Next award winner James White, starring the 31-year-old part-Mexican American hip-hop singer/actor, is getting an awards-season push from distributor The Film Arcade, beginning with a theatrical release on November 13.

Starring Mescudi, Christopher Abbott and Cynthia Nixon, the coming-of-age story follows a young New Yorker struggling with self-destructive tendencies in the midst of momentous family changes. While the young man’s mother deals with serious illness, he must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding.

The feature debut of writer-director Josh Mond, James White also stars Makenzie Leigh, Ron Livingston and David Call.

Film Arcade is still solidifying the details of the theatrical release but intends to keep it in theaters as long as it can. The film will make the festival rounds before its release, including the Toronto International Film Festival next month.

Teaser Clip Released for Hayek’s Thriller “Septembers of Shiraz”

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

It’s September of Shiraz for Salma Hayek…

The first clip has been released for Wayne Blair’s thriller Septembers of Shiraz, starring the 48-year-old Mexican actress.

Based on the best-selling novel by Dalia Sofer, the film will debut at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival as a Gala presentation.

Starring Hayek, Adrien Brody and Shohreh Aghdashloo, the film portrays the true story of a secular Jewish family and the unexpected journey they face during post-revolutionary Iran.

The snippet features Farnez Amin (Hayek), pleading for details on the whereabouts of her husband, who was taken into custody and accused of espionage.

“It’s time you understood, sister Amin, that the times when people like you could demand things from us are over. Now, it is our turn,” forewarns a malevolent Mohsen (Alon Aboutboul).

As events build toward a dangerous bid to escape, Farnez and her husband Isaac Amin (Brody) must confront their fundamental identity and what their future may hold.

Dawson & Chris Rock’s “Top Five” to Open in Wide Release on December 12

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson’s latest film is set to open in full force in mid-December…

Paramount Pictures has shifted the release of the 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress and Chris Rock’s acclaimed film Top Five to a wide release on December 12, instead of a previously scheduled limited bow a week earlier.

Written and directed by Rock, the film tells the story of New York City comedian-turned-film star Andre Allen (Rock), whose unexpected encounter with a journalist forces him to confront both the career that made him famous and the life he left behind.

Dawson stars as Chelsea Brown, the journalist assigned to interview Allen.

Along with Rock and Dawson, the film also stars J.B. Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Romany Malco.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and earned critical acclaim. Days later, Paramount confirmed it had acquired the film’s worldwide distribution rights for $12.5 million.

del Solar’s “Magallanes” Wins Films in Progress Award at San Sebastian Film Festival

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

The first time’s the charm for Salvador del Solar…

The 44-year-old Peruvian actor’s directorial debut Magallanes picked up the Films in Progress award on Wednesday night at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

del Solar’s film portrays a man who’s humdrum life suddenly changes when a woman he met while serving in Peru’s military leaps into his taxi.

Magallanes, a Peru-Argentina-Columbia co-production, beat out five other promising, yet unfinished film contenders, including Jayro Bustamante‘s Ixcanul, which received an honorable mention from the competition jury.

The Films in Progress sidebar gives international buyers of Spanish-speaking films a sneak peek at strong projects aimed at the world market.

del Solar just starred in Javier Fuentes-León‘s The Vanished Elephant, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.

Also in San Sebastian, the Europe-Latin America co-production forum award for the best 2014 project went to Armando Capo’s Agosto, a Costa Rica-Cuba co-production. The jury gave an honorable mention to Walls, directed by Spain’s Pablo Iraburu and Migueltxo Molina.

The San Sebastian festival runs in Spain’s Basque region until Saturday.

Saban Films Acquires U.S. Rights to Brewster’s “American Heist”

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Jordana Brewster’s latest film will most certainly make its way to American theaters…

Saban Films has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to American Heist, the bank robbery actioner that stars the 34-year-old Panamanian actress and Dallas star.

American Heist centers on two brothers, both with troubled pasts, who find themselves in the middle of one last bank job.

In addition to Brewster, who portrays Emily in the film, American Heist also stars Hayden Christensen, Adrien Brody, Tory Kittles and Aliaune “Akon” Thiam.

The deal followed its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Bovaira Heading the Seven-Person Jury at This Year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Fernando Bovaira is the head of the class at one of Spain’s biggest film festivals…

The Spanish producer will head the seven-person jury that will select the winner of the top prize, the Golden Shell, at this year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival, which runs September 19-27.

One of Spain’s most international names, Bovaira has produced all of director Alejandro Amenabar’s films including The Others, The Sea Inside and the upcoming Regression — starring Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson — as well as Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful, Julio Medem’s Sex and Lucia and Javier Fesser’s Mortadelo and Filemon, The Big Adventure.

Bovaira is joined by Venezuelan writer/director/producer Mariana Rondon, who returns to San Sebastian after winning last year’s Golden Shell with her acclaimed film Bad Hair, while Iranian born writer and director Marjane Satrapi will come to the seaside resort town in Spain’s northern Basque region after premiering her latest work, The Voices, starring Ryan Reynolds, at the Toronto Film Festival.

Singaporean director Eric Khoo, who heads Zhao Wei Films/Gorylah Pictures, will also join the panel. He has been credited with putting Singapore on the international film map with films like My Magic and animated Tatsumi.

Berlin-born actress Natassja Kinski, Germany director of photography Reinhold Vorschneider and Romanian character actor Vlad Ivanov, who won the L.A. Critics Award for his portrayal of an illegal abortion doctor in 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, round out the jury.

In addition to the seven official jurors, named Thursday, jailed Ukraine filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is an honorary jury member. The Federal Security State of the Russian Federation (FSB) arrested Sentsov on May 10 for backing the protests in Kiev and for his opposition to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The festival said it took the step of officially naming Sentsov to the jury to defend freedom of expression and in response to an request by the European Film Academy.

Michael Douglas & Orlando Bloom to Star Opposite Rapace in “Unlocked”

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Noomi Rapace has unlocked the secret to the co-stars in her upcoming film…

Michael Douglas and Orlando Bloom have signed on to star opposite the 34-year-old half-Spanish actress in filmmaker Michael Apted’s thriller Unlocked.

The film centers on a CIA interrogator who unwittingly provides information to terrorists planning to wage a biological warfare attack on London.

Apted is set to begin shooting Nov. 3 from a script by Peter O’Brien. In the film, the CIA officer, played by Repace, rushes to stop the attack.

“I am delighted to introduce this fresh, smart European thriller to buyers in Toronto,” said Alex Walton, who is representing international rights and are pre-selling the project to foreign buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival. “With three major studio movies in production, Noomi Rapace is becoming one of the hottest female international stars working today. When you add Michael Apted, Michael Douglas and Orlando Bloom, you have a commercial package that I am confident will draw strong interest.”

Fuentes-León’s Thriller “The Vanished Elephant” to Premiere at the Toronto Film Festival

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Javier Fuentes-León has an elephant-sized project…

The Peruvian film writer and director’s thriller pays homage to Hollywood film noir and the reality-twisting fictions of Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar.

Fuentes-León’s The Vanished Elephant, which has its premiere Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival, stars Salvador del Solar as a crime novelist whose fiancée has been missing for seven years.

He’s given a clue to the mystery by a woman (portrayed by Angie Cepeda) whose ex-husband died the same day the writer’s betrothed vanished.

Lucho Cáceres, Tatiana Astengo, Vanessa Saba and Andrés Parra also star in the Peru-Colombia-Spain co-production.

Mundial is selling international rights at TIFF.

Monteverde Signs with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Alejandro Monteverde’s stock is on the rise in Hollywood…

The 36-year-old Mexican filmmaker has signed on with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) just as his latest project, Little Boy, is garnering critical acclaim.

His latest film centers on a young American boy who tries to bring his father back from World War II. The film stars Kevin James, Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson and Michael Rapaport.

Monteverde’s first film, Bella won the People’s Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and the director of the Department of Citizenship gave Monteverde the “American by Choice” award for Bella‘s positive contribution to Latino art and culture in the U.S.

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