News

After 44 years, Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal‘s friendship continues to spark creativity.

While discussing Hulu‘s La Máquina, which premieres Oct. 9, Luna opened up about his “profound bond” with his co-star Bernal and how it contributed to their work in the boxing drama series that was more than a decade in the making.

“It would be easy to tell you, ‘It’s a daily decision to work on our friendship,'” Luna told The New York Times. “But it’s simply something neither of us can give up. I don’t want to, but even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to. That’s what’s badass about it. Friendships can sometimes be very intense. Sometimes you need space. Sometimes you confront each other. And all of that has happened to our friendship, and yet we are still here. Because ours is a profound bond...

The Joe and Anthony Russo-backed production company Agbo has announced the return of the fourth consecutive “No Sleep ‘Till Film Fest.”

The two-day festival challenges participants to make films that are three minutes or less for a chance to win prizes and receive ongoing mentorship from the independent studio.

The top three winners receive a filmmaking prize package with essential resources and “best-in-class” equipment for future filmmaking opportunities. They will also join the Agbo Storytellers Collective, an alumni network of winners from other Agbo-sponsored festivals and fellowship programs such as the Russo Brothers Italian American Filmmaker Forum and the Slamdance Film Festival Fellowship — the same festival the Russos received their start at in 1997 as emerging filmmakers.

In the past three years of the festival, “No Sleep ’til Film Fest” received over 2000 submissions from over 60 countries. 2023 winners included “Time of Your Life” directed by Darren Hinchy (Canada), “Just a Sec!

With its combined catalog of HBO originals as well as titles from Food Network, Cartoon Network, the CW, Discovery, HGTV, and more, Max is starting another month with an embarrassment of riches, be it Gilded Age fortunes or pirate booty.

The Warner Bros. streamer will pull from its multiple brands for dozens of new titles, classic movies, special-interest series, and more, from 1963’s classic horror film The Haunting to the all-new highly anticipated second season of the romantic dramedy “Our Flag Means Death.”

Get ready for the new month and check out The Streamable’s picks for the best titles coming to Max this month!

7-Day Free Trial $9.99 / month Max via amazon.com

Get 20% Off Your Next Year of Max When Pre-Paid Annually

What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Max in October 2023? “Our Flag Means Death” Season 2 | Thursday, Oct. 5

Season 2 of the hit Taikia Waititi and Rhys Darby...

Mexico’s most bankable stars, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, have teamed up with L.A. and Miami-based Exile Content to produce Travis Gutiérrez Senger’s documentary on the groundbreaking art group, “Asco: Without Permission.”

The documentary chronicles the Los Angeles based avant-garde art group Asco during the 1970s and ‘80s. Melding activism and art, they challenged Latinx representation in the art world, politics, and Hollywood through their provocative performance art, photography, video and muralism.

García Bernal and Luna will serve as executive producers with their production company La Corriente del Golfo producing alongside Los Angeles-based North of Now and Gutiérrez Senger’s Asa Nisi Masa Films, in association with Exile Content.

Asco is described to have “pioneered avant-garde tactics to respond to issues of racism, representation, and police brutality that were affecting the Chicano community in Los Angeles.”

“Where would we be without the pioneers that irrupt on a scene unsolicited,...

Euphoria‘s Hunter Schafer, John Malkovich, Gemma Chan and Sofia Boutella are headlining the Neon horror feature Cuckoo, which Tilman Singer will write and direct. Neon is also financing the project with an eye to shoot in April.

Cuckoo is Tilman’s second movie following his supernatural horror film Luz, which debuted at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival and won a Special Jury Prize for Best Horror Film at Fantastic Fest and Best Film at the Milan Film Festival. He’s bringing his Luz team back together for Cuckoo including Dp Paul Faltz, composer Simon Waskow and production designer Dario Mendez Acosta.

Jan Bluthardt, Zita Hanrot, and Proschat Madani round out the cast. Ken Kao and Josh Rosenbaum of Waypoint Entertainment are producing along with Markus Halberschmidt and Maria Tsigka of Fiction Park, and Thor Bradwell.

Schafer made her acting debut portraying Jules in the HBO Emmy-winning series Euphoria. She also...

Latin American filmmakers have done well in the Oscar race over the last three years: Awards have gone to two Mexican directors, while films from Colombia and Chile have landed nominations. Meanwhile, revered auteurs from these region have maintained their positions on the world stage, and American-based Latino filmmakers and actors have become outspoken advocates for the need of inclusion and opportunity. But many others receive far less attention even as they toil away on the sidelines to make sure these artists receive the attention they deserve.

The unsung heroes of Latin American cinema’s success work in film journalism, distribution companies, film-oriented nonprofits, festivals, and even major studios. Behind the scenes, Latinos are paving the way for filmmakers and others who are fighting to be heard, seen, and understood. This crowd of influencers includes U.S Latinos, Latin Americans and Hispanics, all of whom are represented in the following overview.

It’s rare to see someone on the verge of action-figure metamorphosis. Until now, Diego Luna was a well-respected actor (“Milk” and “Mister Lonely,” among many others) as well as a producer of TV and film, including his own directorial efforts “Mr. Pig,” “Cesar Chavez,” and “Abel.” He’s better known in his native Mexico than in the U.S.

However, as the male lead of Gareth Edwards’ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” the first standalone feature in the rapidly expanding “Star Wars” universe, all of that will change as of December 16.

He’s giddy, if not geeky, about this turn of events. A naturally generous and fast talker, Luna punctuates his points with big hand motions and bigger smiles as he shares the same refrain that seems to be programmed into all newly minted “Star Wars” actors: They were fans first. Being cast in this cinematic universe is...

Update:

I've added the update for this story at the end.

Original Column:

Today something significant will be happening. Today, people can prove me wrong about something I've been saying for years.

But I don't think they will.

See, today, Hands Of Stone will go wide. It'll jump from 810 theaters to around 2,000, with the hope of a big Labor Day Weekend payoff in a few days.

It centers on the legendary Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran, has a stellar cast, and comes from a time in history that's so recent that the film's central figure is still alive today. For advocates of diversity, you have the talented Edgar Ramirez starring as Duran, you have pop music megastar Usher Raymond as the iconic pugilist "Sugar" Ray Leonard, and a supporting cast littered with hispanic performers like Rubén Blades, Ana de Armas, and Yancey Arias.

The production is rounded out by the "Raging Bull" himself Robert De Niro,...

Diego Luna has quietly been carving out a directorial career, with a body of work that’s slowly but surely growing larger in size. The actor dropped his debut feature, “Abel,” in 2010 and it was followed by biopic “Cesar Chavez” in 2014. And this year, he hit the Sundance Film Festival with his latest and […]

The post Danny Glover & Maya Rudolph Hit The Road In First Trailer For Diego Luna’s ‘Mr. Pig’ appeared first on The Playlist.

Best known for his acting in films like "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and the upcoming "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," Diego Luna has also been building a career as a director with "Abel" in 2010 and "Cesar Chavez" in 2014.

He returns with the much more quirky "Mr. Pig" this year, a dramedy about an old school Georgian pig farmer (Danny Glover) who, on the brink of losing everything, hits the road with this daughter (Maya Rudolph) to find a final resting place for his beloved swine Howie.

Luna's friend Gael Garcia Bernal executive producers the film which has yet to receive U.S. distribution.

Yesterday afternoon, the ranks of Oscar voters grew substantially, with some welcome diversity added in for good measure. Yes, the Academy sent out invitations for new membership about 24 hours ago, with 683 names getting the coveted tap on the proverbial shoulder. Again, what made it so interesting to note is that AMPAS seemed to actively seek out women, minorities, and younger artists, hoping to make the demographics of the Academy slightly less centered on older white males. It won’t suddenly change the makeup of the Oscar nominations or upend how the Academy Awards go down next year, but it’s a slow step in the right direction, and that’s worth applauding for sure. As you can see below, in addition to basically all of last year’s Oscar winners, the new members are a diverse slate. Among the names you’ll see in the acting branch now are John Boyega,...

Gina Rodriguez posted the second installment of her "Movement Mondays" project today, this time urging Latino fans to rally behind Cuban-American actor Rosa Salazar. After highlighting some of Salazar's recent work - including her turns in Divergent and Maze Runner - Rodriguez reiterated the mission of her #MovementMondays: "How do we have Latino Stars to represent us? How do we have more Rosa Salazar's? We Make Them! We Make Them!" Rodriguez explained on Instagram. "We must show the studios that if they cast Latinos then we will go watch the movies that include us." #MovementMondays This is Rosa Salazar.

Gina Rodriguez posted the second installment of her "Movement Mondays" project today, this time urging Latino fans to rally behind Cuban-American actor Rosa Salazar. After highlighting some of Salazar's recent work - including her turns in Divergent and Maze Runner - Rodriguez reiterated the mission of her #MovementMondays: "How do we have Latino Stars to represent us? How do we have more Rosa Salazar's? We Make Them! We Make Them!" Rodriguez explained on Instagram. "We must show the studios that if they cast Latinos then we will go watch the movies that include us." #MovementMondays This is Rosa Salazar.

Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph star in actor/director Diego Luna‘s new road movie "Mr. Pig," which takes place in Mexico, and follows a farmer (Glover) who travels from the U.S. to Mexico, joined by a pig whom he strikes up a friendship with. The film's official synopsis reads: On a mission to sell his last remaining prize hog and reunite with old friends, an aging farmer abandons his foreclosed farm and journeys to Mexico. After smuggling in the hog, his estranged daughter shows up, forcing them to face their past and embark on an adventurous road trip together. Promising a more lighthearted, comedic turn than his last film, “Cesar Chavez,” producer...

Just in time for the holidays, Ant-man will available early on Digital 3D, Digital HD, and Disney Movies Anywhere November 17 & on 3D Blu-Ray Combo Pack, Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital Sd and On-Demand December 8, 2015.

In his review, Wamg’s Jim Batts wrote, “Ant-man proves that good, fun things really do come in the teeny, tiniest of packages (and heroes).”

Marvel, the Studio who brought you The Avengers, now brings to life one of the original Avengers — Marvel’s Ant-man. Bring home the epic heist as Ant-man embraces his inner hero and harnesses the unique ability to shrink in scale to save not only the world, but his daughter.

The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduces the newest member of the Avengers: Marvel’s Ant-Man. Armed with the amazing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang joins forces with his new mentor Dr.

Diego Luna, the acclaimed actor-turned-director who starred in Milk and helmed Cesar Chavez, has joined the cast of Star Wars: Rogue One, Variety reports.

The spinoff, which already stars Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) and Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), will be an ensemble piece about the heist of Death Star blueprints by a group of rebel fighters. It’s set between Episode III and Episode IV, but closer to A New Hope. Jones and Ahmed are set as members of the rebel squad deployed to retrieve the plans, while Mendelsohn will be the villain of the piece. Luna is reportedly also playing a rebel.

Luna is a prolific actor best known for Elysium, The Terminal and Y Tu Mama Tambien. He most recently shot Blood Father, starring alongside Mel Gibson, and is preparing to play a key role in Jason Momoa starrer The Bad Batch. The...

Amazon’s “Casanova” project has found its leading man in Diego Luna, and Academy Award nominee Jean-Pierre Jeunet will direct the pilot, the streaming company announced on Wednesday. The as-yet untitled Giacamo Casanova project is executive produced by “The Tudors'” Ben Silverman and “The Americans'” Stu Zicherman, who also wrote the pilot. Jeunet was nominated for an Original Screenplay Oscar in 2001 for “Amelie,” and Luna, who co-starred in “Milk” and “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” most recently produced the 2014 biopic “Cesar Chavez.” Also Read: Amazon Renews First Original Hour-Long Drama Series ‘Bosch’ for Season 2 Also joining the cast are...

Selected as the Venezuelan submission for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2014 Academy Awards, Alberto Arvelo’s The Liberator, a biopic on Simon Bolivar, actually made the shortlist of the final nine films. The positive attention it received from Academy members did little for its box office potential, grossing only $113,000 in the Us. While many seemed to agree on the film’s faults, it wasn’t without its champions, particularly concerning Edgar Ramirez’s noble performance as Bolivar.

Arriving with all the earmarks of a truncated and incredibly abridged version of history in order to cram into the corset of a two hour cinematic straightjacket, this unwisely attempts to chart nearly the entire life of Simon Bolivar in one dense chunk. The result is a jack hammered miasma of assorted clichés, conflating events into a romanticized exaggeration of generalization, which collapses, as these types often do, into a hellishly dull...

Los Cabos International Film Festival took place this month of November. It was a brave move to keep it going after Cabo had been so hard hit by Hurricane Odile with winds of 125mph less than a month earlier. The vast destruction in our part of town was quickly being repaired though traces remained visible and repairs still to be done necessitated cutting the normal invitation list by half and doubling up hotel rooms for a few unlucky journalists. That being said, there were 15,000 attending the festival. Volunteers wore the worthy words on their t-shirts: #Unstoppable, and they were that.

For all the infrastructure problems of the city in the midst of rebuilding itself, the festival seemed to thrive with all sorts of invitees showing up from all over the world. It seemed like gala events, panels, master classes, coproduction meetings, works in progress, screenings and interviews were constantly taking place. It was a great team and we all felt part of it.

The festival is overseen by the executive board members Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, Alfonso Pascal Barcenas, Scott Cross and Sean Cross (who also founded Vail Film Festival) and is organized by the festival team of Alonso Aguilar (General Director), Alejandra Paulin (General Coordinator) - who was a great market director in Guadajalara before coming here, Maru Garzon (Head of Programming), Ana Molinar Trujillo (Communication Manager), and Monica Herrera (Film Programmer). My friend from Guadalajara, normally an English teacher, Fabian Cruz was also there working for the festival.

When Eduardo Sánchez Navarro Redo remembers how he first came to Los Cabos, there is no doubt in his mind that destiny and luck played an important part. When he married his wife 30 years ago, he decided to travel along the entire Pacific Coast, from Acapulco to Mazatlan, where he crossed over to La Paz eventually driving to Los Cabos. The beauty of the area impressed him and it was during this trip that he and his wife decided to buy a vacation home in Los Cabos, thus beginning a distinguished career as a principal player and developer of what is Los Cabos today. Over the course of more than 20 years, his company, Grupo Questro, has emerged as one of the most highly respected developers in all of Mexico. He, together with Juan Gallardo Thurlow, Scott Cross, and Sean Cross, founded the festival in 2012.

My job as a journalist was to explore and write, hard to do when you are having such fun 24/7. We journalists were all in one hotel where we were given space and time to bond. Travel writers mixed with trade writers: from Film Journal David Noh, whose article is worth sharing here, my colleagues Peter Rainer from NPR and Christian Science Monitor, Anne Thompson from Thompson on Hollywood on Indiewire, Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com and many others met and mixed. Also Ira Deutchman of Colombia University Film School and Emerging Pictures and Robin Brock of Creative Coalition were there with time to share dinners.

The filmmakers, in another hotel, mixed by day and at the communal lunches and parties. I will write more on them in an upcoming blog! After all, filmmakers are the backbone of our industry. Without them, we have nothing!

The agents, mostly from CAA, were placed in another hotel, luxurious and far away. As someone said, Cabos is like Cannes, only in November. If so, perhaps they were at the Eden Roc in Cap d’Antibes. (Actually they were at Hacienda Beach Club & Residences) CAA has always been an honored part of this festival. I have heard that that is because someone with lots of money from Mexico invests it in cinema through CAA and even started the festival. That is, however, pure conjecture. Under the guidance of CAA agent, Micah Green, people can be assured that the directions he sees and the decisions he makes about investing private individuals' capital into filmed entertainment is priceless. I could think of no one I would trust more --in this untrustworthy business we are in-- than Micah.

At least two other agents – Bec Smith and Rena Ronson from UTA -- were also there. Rena and Micah were on the Film Financing Panel moderated by Variety’s expert in all things Iberoamerican and my idol, John Hopewell. Other participants on the Film Finance Panel were Jonathan King, Evp of Production at Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media whose partnership with Canana formed Participant PanAmerican production fund. “No” by Pablo Lorrain was their first investment. Pp also financed "El Ardor" which played in Cannes and “Cesar Chavez”, directed by Diego Luna. Also on the panel were Mark Musselman of Canada’s 10X2yinc, the exec producer of “Eastern Promises” and most recently of “Remember” by Atom Egoyan which was also produced by Robert Lantos and son, also in Los Cabos. It went into production in 2014 and is tipped for Cannes. Other panelists included Raul Del Alto of Mexico’s Ag Studios (Itaca Films Mexico, Itaca Films USA, Itaca Films Colombia and Itaca Filkms Brazil, and Rena Ronson of UTA who, like Micah Green of CAA focuses on global film finance, distribution and marketing strategies for Independents and co-financed features and is fluent in Spanish because of her long time experience with Latin America.

At one point I looked up and found the European fund chiefs there as well, Laufey Gudjonsdottir from Iceland (where Interstellar was filmed), Katriel Schory from Israel Film Fund and Edith Sepp-Dallas from the Estonian Film Institute. They were there for Bpx. Best Practice Exchange is an initiative that brings together the leaders of film funding agencies from across the world to take part in high-level-workshops – one or two each year – designed to promote new standards of excellence in the provision of public funding for the support of film production, development and distribution. The aim of Bpx is to ensure that policies and procedures adopted by film funding agencies will act together, positively and proactively, to stimulate and sustain practices of international coproduction and cofinancing worldwide.

Triggered by the situation in which filmmaking outside the main production centers of Hollywood and Bollywood now finds itself, Bpx was created by Simon Perry, president of Ace (Ateliers du Cinéma Européen), in collaboration with Katriel Schory, executive director of the Israel Film Fund. It held its first workshop in February 2013 in Israel, and two further workshops in Toronto (September 2013) and Berlin (February 2014) and this was the third! Bravo!

Among the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. films that showed, the winners were as follow:

Mexico First

Mexico First winning film was ¨Llevate mis amores” ("All of Me") by Arturo Gonzalez. The film narrates the story of the generosity of the women of Las Patronas who feed the immigrants who ride La Bestia. The director was awarded a cash Prize of Usd $15,000. This film made me cry. I thought of it again when reading the L.A. Times article about the murder of Adrian Rodriguez and his assistant, Mexican good Samaritans who dedicated their scarce resources to feeding Central American migrants passing by on La Bestia, which is what the women in this movie do. And one of the women was at the festival too.

Los Cabos Competition

The Los Cabos Competition winner was “Güeros” by Alonso Ruizpalacios, also a winner at the Berlinale, Jerusalem Film Festival, Tribeca, Toronto and San Sebastian. Being sold internationally by Mundial, the joint venture of Canana (again!) and Im Global, the film has sold to Kino Lorber for U.S., Cannibal for Mexico, Dreams Hill for Italy, Noori for So. Korea and Maison Motion for Taiwan … "Güeros" is the undeniable triumph of a nouveau director who dares to pay homage the French New Wave on a wild detective hunt through Mexico City. In light of the 43 murdered students, this film, about students on strike, strikes a chord within the watcher. The film´s producer won a Usd $15,000 cash prize.

Work In Progress Mexico

The second Work in Progress Mexico prize was awarded to "Los Herederos," by Jorge Hernandez, a film that describes adolescent effervescence and idleness through a group of friends who spend their vacations adrenaline-seeking through parties, sex and alcohol. The winner received a Usd $10,000 cash prize.

Mexico-usa-canada Co-production Forum

The winner of the first Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum was also announced: "Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo, based on the real life story of the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Investigación Espacial e Investigación Astronómica of Zambia. Writer- Director Frances Bodomo received a Usd $8,000 cash prize. It also received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Mexico First: Fox

In its second year running the México Primero: Fox chose one of the films that participated to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The México Primero: Fox prize consists of Usd $40,000 and was awarded to Isaac Ezban´s "El Incidente" ("The Incident"), two M.C. Escher-maze-like parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road… for a very long time. The international sales agent, Shoreline, will be showing the film at Ventana Sur December 3rd at 17:00 at Cinemark 3.

Work In Progress Mexico Fox

In its second year running as well, Work in Progress México Fox selected a participating film to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The Usd $30,000 prize was awarded to Katina Medina Mora’s "Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz", produced by Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann.

Work In Progress Mexico Chemistry

This Third edition of the Festival also witnessed the first Work In Progress México –Chemistry award. Chemistry post-production studios granted the winner, Jorge Hernandez’s "Los Herederos", $45,000 Usd in color correction services.

Mexico – USA – Canada Splendor Omnia Mantarraya Co-production Forum

On its first year running, the Coproduction Forum Mexico- USA- Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArraya will be granting a $30,000 Usd equivalent prize worth 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, as well as a paid stay in Tepoztlan Morelos, site of their studios, to the winner "Afronauts" by Francez Bodomo (U.S.).

The key phrase to understanding Cabo is "Seeing what the neighbors do" as the festival and market connects Canada, U,S, and Mexico in showing of films and exploring coproduction. And the mixing of filmmakers and journalists from all three Americas was exciting in the possibilities it offered to everyone.

As for the hard-core business done there:

Mark Kassen will be directing "Criminal Empire for Dummies" written by Cliff Dorman. Kassen will also be producing the film along with James Gibb of Cutting Edge Group and Greg Hajdarowicz of Gremi Films. The deal took place at the exclusive resort Hacienda Beach Club & Residences and was reported by Variety.

Actor and producer Luis Gerardo Mendez ("Nosotros Los Nobles") signed a representation agreement with Paradigm. Reported by Variety. So I guess Paradigm also sent agents to Los Cabos.

Pat Saperstein of Variety also attended Los Cabos and scooped a story, that “Wolverine Hotel” from director Patricia Chica who was participating in the Coproduction Forum, is closing in on production with a "recent financing commitment from Jean-Guy Després, who will serve as exec producer. The edgy crime thriller is produced by Canada-based Byron Martin. Looking to cast a Latino actor as co-star, Chica met with rising Mexican thesp Luis Gerardo Mendez ('We Are the Nobles') during Afm though he has not yet been attached. 'A Latino star opens up a market', said Martin."

Celebrated producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribución. She has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". "Instructions Not Included" the Us$ 5.5 million film that grossed Us$ 100 million worldwide was also her production. With this Pan-American initiative, the company will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets. Reported by Variety again!! You would think John was the only real reporter there. Pinske should be proud of him! Most of us got no scoops, but then, I guess we have to prove ourselves worthy - which I am not because at heart, I am not a reporter hunting for news, but rather a gatherer of information and a writer.

Speaking of Monica Lozano, the Germany-based international sales agent, Media Luna, acquired world rights to Internet Junkie, directed by Alexander Katzowicz and produced by Monica Lozano. Variety reports on this again!

"Yamaha 300", a participating project of the 1st Mexico – USA- Canada Coproduction Forum, produced by Valerium Arts (Mayra Espinosa y Jorge Michel Grau, producer and writer-director of the horror hit "Somos lo que hay" respectively, and Grau, the writer of the remake "We Are What We Are") and Uncorked Productions (Andrew Corkin, the producer of the horror film "What We Were"), will be one of the first projects to receive the development stage and postproduction support offered by The Good Film Fund, an initiative of Media Darling (Amy Darling) and The Chatanooga Film Festival. See Variety.

New York producer Dodgeville Films ("To Be Takei") will be joining Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce "Ya no estoy aquí", Fernando Frias’s second film, which was also a winner during Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition. This film in the Coproduction Forum was reported on in Variety.

"Siete Horas" ("Seven Hours"), one of the winning projects of the second Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund edition, which will be directed by Chema Rodriguez and produced by Francisco Vargas, the renowned director of the film "El violin", made an alliance with the Spanish production companies Sin un Duro and Noodles Prods to co-produce the project. (Variety)

CineTren closed deals to handle Latin American distribution for Spring, a Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead film, whose Latin American Premiere was held at Los Cabos International Film Festival. Negotiations between Nate Bolotin and Marie Katz fromLos Angeles-based Xyz and Manuel Garcia from CineTren, took place at the Hotel Grand Solmar. Next time, I'll have to visit all the hotels!! See Variety article.

BH5 Group, which participates in the executive production of "Remember" by Atom Egoyan, will be working with Alonso Ruizpalacios, director of Güeros, in his second movie: Museo, a project that participated in the Ist Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum. Even though Variety wrote about this, my blog on the three year old conglomerate of companies, BH5, was more complete:

BH5 Group Makes a Splash with Three Impressive Films at Los Cabos Int'l Film Fest

BH5, a conglomerate of five formerly independent production companies all run by various friends from the same film school, will be working the international markets much more. Besides the Toronto hit, Jodorowsky's "Dance of Reality", they are working with larger companies like Pathe now. Their work in progress, "You Will Know What To Do With Me" ("Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz") which just won the The Usd $30,000 prize of Fox , is seeking an international sales agent.

"Entrevero" by Max Zunino, also winner of the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition, was selected in the development project category by Ibermedia. See Variety.

And though Colombian Ciro Guerra, whose "The Wind Journeys" was produced by our German friends Roman Paul and Gerhard Meixner at Razor Film Production and by Burning Blue's prolific Diana Bustamente -- who is now also heading the Carthagena Film Festival -- showed in 2009 Cannes Un Certain Regard and was sold by Paris’ Elle Driver to 19 countries including Film Movement for U.S., announced to Variety's John Hopewell that his next film, "Embrace of the Serpent" will star U.S. actor Brionne Davis (“Savaged”) and Belgium’s Jan Bijvoet, the lead in Cannes Competition entry “Borgman” a really creepy dark comedy, he did not discuss his next project "Taganga" in the Coproduction Forum. "Taganga" is about a fisherman from a small village by the Colombian coast where many foreign-owned scuba diving centers have been established. A new law requiring local fisherman to change the motors of their boats forces him to earn quick money, so he chooses to dynamite to fish. The owner of the largest scuba diving center opposes this use of explosives. When the fisherman receives a death threat if he continues the dynamiting of fish, he assumes the center's owner is behind the threat. In order to prove it, he begins a series of fateful actions.

Finally, while it seems like Variety wrote all the news, I have one item which no one has reported on. Reese Witherspoon stated at her press conference in Los Cabos, where her film "Wild" premiered in a red carpet gala, that she is talking to Eugenio Derbez ("Instructions Not Included") to make a movie with him. I heard her say it and later spoke of this to Ben Odell (my next blog on Los Cabos features him). Ben (now partners with Eugenio at 3Pas Studios) said, Actually that would be a great idea but they had not spoken about it. However, they are both represented by CAA, so it would seem like a natural and really exciting pairing. After all, aren't "Legally Blond" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" the same film? She is certainly on a role as a producer with "Wild" and David Fincher's "Gone Girl" as he is with his U.S. career. The studios are all courting her now, she said. More to come on this...

The festival’s 25th edition will feature a contribution from Ai Weiwei and competition titles including Whiplash, Nightcrawler and Foxcatcher.

The Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 5-16) is to present its Achievement Award to Us actress Uma Thurman.

The Kill Bill star will will visit Stockholm to receive the prestigious Bronze Horse and meet the audience during an exclusive “Face2Face”.

Thurman will also take part in the inauguration ceremony, which will include the unveiling of an ice sculpture by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Weiwei was a Stockholm jury member last year but since he wasn’t allowed to leave China, he sent an empty chair named ”The Chair for Non-attendance” as symbol of his absence.

He is still not allowed to leave China so will send a design that will be portrayed in the form of a large ice sculpture symbolising this years’ Spotlight theme - Hope.

Brazil

The festival will focus this year on Brazil...

Acclaimed Latina actress, advocate and producer Eva Longoriawill be gracing the stage once again with television personality and actor Mario Lopez to co-host the “2014 Nclr Alma Awards.” The ground-breaking awards show will simulcast live on MSNBC and mun2 as a one-hour prime-time special onFriday, October 10, 2014, at 10 p.m. Est/7 p.m. Pst, followed by “After the ALMAs with Alex Wagner,” live on MSNBC at 11 p.m. Est/8 p.m. Pst.

The “2014 Nclr Alma Awards” telecast—a National Hispanic Heritage Month event—celebrates America’s favorite Latinos in the entertainment industry, television, film and music. With programming on multiple platforms, the mun2 All Access: Road to the ALMAs 2014 Special” hosted by Melissa “Crash” Barrera, featuring exclusive celebrity interviews, kicks off the ALMAs at 7 p.m. Est/4 p.m. Pst. Telemundo.com will livestream the Nclr Alma Awards Pre-Show hosted by Yarel Ramos (mun2) and Jorge Bernal (Telemundo, La Voz Kids) with additional Telemundo.

Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph are set to star in Diego Luna‘s road movie "Mr. Pig," which will take place in Mexico, and will follow a farm-worker (Glover) who travels from the U.S. to Mexico, joined by a pig whom he strikes up a friendship with. A more light-hearted, comedic turn than his last film, “Cesar Chavez,” producer Pablo Cruz of Luna's Canana production shingle calls "Mr Pig" "a beautiful road movie, and a chance to talk about love for Mexico through the eyes of an American," adding that, “It has a U.S. appeal because of Danny and its English-language. It’s obviously has a Mexican appeal because of Diego and...

John Malkovich will head to Zurich later this week to present his latest film and receive the festival’s Golden Eye award.

The star of Dangerous Liaisons, Red and Being John Malkovich will be in town on Saturday (Oct 4) to introduce thriller Cut Bank, which receives a gala premiere screening at the Zurich Film Festival, alongside director Matt Shakman.

The honorary Golden Eye award will be presented later that evening on the festival’s award night at Zurich’s Opera House. Malkovich will accept the honour from German actress Veronika Ferres - his co-star in The Casanova Variations.

Cut Bank, which played at Toronto and receives its European premiere in Zurich, centres on a young man played by Liam Hemsworth who dreams of escaping his small town. But his efforts to do so set a deadly series of events in motion. The film also stars Billy Bob Thornton and Bruce Dern.

Producer [link=nm...

Plowing the Sea: Arvelo’s Portrait of Famed Leader Hardly Revolutionary

Arriving with all the earmarks of a truncated and incredibly abridged version of history in order to cram into the corset of a two hour cinematic straightjacket, Alberto Arvelo’s The Liberator unwisely attempts to chart nearly the entire life of Simon Bolivar in one dense chunk. The result is a jack hammered miasma of assorted clichés, conflating events into a romanticized exaggeration of generalization, which collapses, as these types often do, into a hellishly dull exercise more appropriate for a high school history course.

It is September 25, 1828 in Bogota and Simon Bolivar (Edgar Ramirez) has just been chased out of the bed chamber of his lady love to evade members of the Spanish monarchy. We fly back to twenty eight years earlier in time, to his period as a wealthy member of the Venezuelan elite, visiting Spain to...

The Raindance Film Festival's program is packed with feature length films, shorts and documentaries from more than 50 countries. Raindance, which takes place in London at Vue Piccadilly between September 24- October 5, is Europe’s largest independent film festival and this year it will host over 100 feature length films, 150 shorts and 40 industry events.

The festival opens with critically acclaimed science-fiction drama,"I Origins," starring Boardwalk Empire's Michael Pitt, The Good Wife’s Archie Panjabi and rising star Brit Marling followed by an opening night gala at Cafe de Paris with Fine Young Cannibal’s Roland Gift to headline, alongside Douglas Hart ( The Jesus Mary and Chain) and Andy Bell (Oasis). The festival will close with a screening of the Dutch film noir thriller "Wolf," with and after party hosted at Leicester Square’s Ruby Blue.

Read More: Interview with Michael Pitt on "I Origins"

Raindance’s prestigious international program this year includes the UK premiere of Mexican film "Cesar Chavez," directed by Diego Luna and starring Wes Bentley, America Ferrera and John Malkovich, who will also be making a personal appearance at the screening on Saturday September 27th. Asia Argento’s latest feature "Misunderstood," starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, will also be premiering at the festival as part of Raindance’s Italian film selection.

Other highlights include the world premieres of "Like Sunday, Like Rain" starring Debra Messing and Leighton Meester, and musical comedy "The Beat Beneath My Feet" featuring Luke Perry as a washed-up rock god, as well as drama "Things People Do," with British screen anti-hero Jason Isaacs.

In a change to previous years, the festival program has been segmented by mood and tone, rather than genre; feature films will be categorized as spring, summer, autumn and winter, while documentaries predominantly focus on areas of conflict in the Middle East and women’s rights in Africa. Raindance’s Shorts Program will this year include "Dotty," an experimental short film starring Sadie Frost and her son Rudy Law.

The festival will culminate in the annual Raindance Awards Ceremony on 4th October with a jury made up of influential industry figures including Andrew Scott (BBC’s Sherlock), Alice Lowe ("Sightseers," "Hot Fuzz"), and Amy Hubbard (casting director Homeland and 24).

Raindance will also be running its expert-hosted Events Series which will cover every aspect of filmmaking from the old-fashioned basics to the cutting edge advances. High profile events include, In conversation with Sean Bobbit, cinematographer famed for his work on Academy Award Winning "12 Years a Slave," "Shame" and "The Place Beyond the Pines."

Full details on the program and tickets to the festival can be found at www.raindancefestival.org...

Hollywood has been threatening a movie based on the cops television series CHiPs for nearly a full decade, but only now does the project seem like it actually has some real direction. Dax Shepard, the actor best known for playing Frito in Mike Judge's Idiocracy, has been hired by Warner Bros. to not only write and direct a feature version of the late-'70s/early-'80s series, but also star. He will be playing Officer Jon Baker in the film, a role originated by Larry Wilcox, but the film has already found its new Ponch as well: The comedy/drama double threat Michael Pena has signed on for the part that introduced the world to Erik Estrada. Pena has been pretty damn busy of late, not only starring in movies like Cesar Chavez, Amercan Hustle and the upcoming Fury, but also working on the television series Gracepoint. Along with...

Independent film festival to open with I Origins and close with Wolf.

Raindance Film Festival (Sept 24 - Oct 5) has unveiled the programme for its 22nd edition, comprising more than 100 features and 150 shorts from more than 50 countries. The festival, held at London’s Vue Piccadilly, will also incldue 40 industry events.

The festival will open with sci fi drama I Origins, starring Michael Pitt, Archie Panjabi and Brit Marling, and will close with a screening of Dutch thriller Wolf.

Raindance’s international programme this year includes the UK premiere of Mexican film Cesar Chavez, directed by Diego Luna and starring Wes Bentley, America Ferrera and John Malkovich, who will present the screening on Sept 27.

Asia Argento Misunderstood, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, will also receive its UK premiere at the festival as part of Raindance’s Italian film selection.

Other highlights include the world premieres of Like Sunday, Like Rain starring Debra Messing and Leighton Meester, and musical...

Ever since appearing as Gameskeeper Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games, Wes Bentley has been on a roll, taking on parts in small-scale projects like romance Hidden Moon, SXSW entry Things People Do and biopic Cesar Chavez, but expect the actor to step up his screen time in the coming months. Already this year, Bentley has shot roles in such buzzy films as Interstellar, Knight of Cups and Final Girl. Additionally, the actor has a supporting role on FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show. Now, it’s been announced that Bentley’s next project will be We Are Your Friends, an Edm-centric drama which centers on an up-and-coming DJ.

In the film, which will mark Catfish investigator Max Joseph’s directorial debut, Zac Efron plays a troubled, aspiring DJ named Cole, who eventually finds his place in the world of electronic dance music (Edm). Bentley will portray James, described by Deadline as “a wealthy,...

A new study has revealed that little has changed in Tinseltown in terms of offering up more diverse casting choices. Despite the fact that Hispanics make up a huge amount of the paying public, and have shown strong enthusiasm towards spending their money supporting whatever blockbusters are released, Hispanics only accounted for 4.9% of the speaking roles in last year's top 100 films. That figure is identical to what it was back in 2008- despite a strong surge in the Latino population here in the states. 

Even when they do get roles, the women in particular are marginalized as eye candy. The study shows that Latinas are the highest-represented ethnicity when it comes to roles that feature some form of nudity. 

"Part of the problem is conditioning. When you hear the names De Niro or Pacino, you automatically know it's an American movie," says actor Esai Morales. "But the minute you have...

Actress Jaimie Alexander was spotted on the set of Broken Vows with costar Wes Bentley on Thursday.

Jaimie Alexander films 'Broken Vows'

Alexander was captured exiting her trailer on the La set, wearing a bathrobe. Elsewhere on set, Bentley, best known for playing Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games, walked around shirtless on the lot. Carrying a box of food, Bentley put his character's ample tattoos on full display.

In Broken Vows, Bentley plays a man named Patrick, who goes on a downward spiral after getting a rejection from a women named Tara (Alexander) he was hoping to seduce. Though he appears charming, Patrick is a troubled soul. Also starring in the film are Cam Gigandet, Alexandra Breckinridge and Matt Gerald. Bram Coopens is directing the feature from a script by Jim Agnew and Sean Keller.

Alexander, who shot to superstardom playing Sif in the Thor films, had...

Actress Jaimie Alexander was spotted on the set of Broken Vows with costar Wes Bentley on Thursday.

Jaimie Alexander films 'Broken Vows'

Alexander was captured exiting her trailer on the La set, wearing a bathrobe. Elsewhere on set, Bentley, best known for playing Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games, walked around shirtless on the lot. Carrying a box of food, Bentley put his character's ample tattoos on full display.

In Broken Vows, Bentley plays a man named Patrick, who goes on a downward spiral after getting a rejection from a women named Tara (Alexander) he was hoping to seduce. Though he appears charming, Patrick is a troubled soul. Also starring in the film are Cam Gigandet, Alexandra Breckinridge and Matt Gerald. Bram Coopens is directing the feature from a script by Jim Agnew and Sean Keller.

Alexander, who shot to superstardom playing Sif in the Thor films, had...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods Heaven Is for Real (drama; Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly; rated PG) Sabotage (action; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway, Terrence Howard; rated R) Transcendence (sci-fi; Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman; rated PG-13) The Single Moms Club (Tyler Perry-directed comedy; Nia Long, Amy Smart; rated PG-13) Cesar Chavez (drama; Michael Peña, America Ferrera; rated PG-13...

Read More...

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"Dom Hemingway"

What's It About? Jude Law dons impressive chops and gold teeth to play a sleazy

safecracker fresh out of jail. Dom took the fall without ratting out his boss (Demián Bichir), and now it's time to pay the piper. Richard E. Grant co-stars as his best friend, whom Dom enlists on his quest to get paid. Emilia Clarke (the mother of dragons!) plays Dom's estranged daughter, Evelyn.

Why We're In: We love darkly funny crime thrillers, and it's cool to see Jude Law back in action.

Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week

The Essential Jacques Demy (Criterion)

What's It About? This box set comes with the most beloved movies by the French auteur: "Lola," "Bay of Angels," "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," "The Young Girls of Rochefort," "Donkey Skin," and "Une Chambre en Ville."

Why We're In: In addition to the digital restorations of these delightful classics,...

On Demand DVD New Releases July 21-27 Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez was a civil rights leader famous for his attempts to secure a living wage for farm workers. The film tells the story of his life and his struggles with his role as a husband and father alongside the millions of Americans he was inspiring. Michael Peña, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson (PG-13, 1:42) 7/22 Heaven Is for Real Based on the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, this is the true story of a boy in a small town who has a near-death experience and claims to have seen things … Continue reading →

The post On Demand DVD New Releases July 21-27 appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

“Cesar Chavez,” the biopic that tells the story of the American activist who fought for reform, is coming to Blu-ray plus Digital HD Ultraviolet and DVD plus Digital Ultraviolet, and Pay-Per-View July 22 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film is now available on Digital HD and Video on Demand. We have an exclusive clip from the film. The clip is from a behind-the-scenes featurette and includes commentary from stars Diego Luna and Rosario Dawson concerning the importance of the characters and what Dawson and America Ferrera brought to the film. check out the clip below the post. “Cesar Chavez” will be available for $19.99 (Blu-ray) and $19.98 (DVD) respectively. The [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: Clip from Cesar Chavez Discusses Importance of Film appeared first on Shockya.com.

To hear an actor speak so highly of their own film is not a rarity, but for America Ferrera, the way she discusses her work on How to Train Your Dragon 2, is almost like that of a fan, as she admits that as it’s an animation she can detach herself and appreciate it as a punter, when speaking to HeyUGuys to mark the releases of this eagerly anticipated sequel.

Ferrera tells us why she feels this picture works, and how much trust you have to have in the filmmakers when lending your voice to an animated production. She also tells us what she believes to be this franchises biggest appeal, her own relationships with pets, and a little on the forthcoming drama Cesar Chavez.

How to Train Your Dragon is released on July 11th.

The post The HeyUGuys Interview: America Ferrera on How to Train Your Dragon 2 appeared first on HeyUGuys.

To be clear, we're not saying that America Ferrera looks bad in this black and red combo. We're not even saying that she looks silly or awkward. We're just pointing out the fact that the Cesar Chavez star is perfectly dressed to report to work at a local bank in South Beach, Florida circa 1975. Again, not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, we think the former ABC actress should consider taking a time machine back to that exact era. She'd kill it with this style! But for a 2014 appearance in London, this Latin flare is an odd choice. We can get behind the high-waisted pencil skirt and sky-high peep toe sandals, but the top is so...ole! Minus those bell sleeves it might be a cute...

The nominees for the 29th Annual Imagen Awards, honoring portrayals of Latinos and Latino cultures in television and film, have been announced and Diego Luna's "Cesar Chavez" is up for four awards:

Best Picture Best Actor (Michael Pena) Best Actress (America Ferrera) Best Actress (Rosario Dawson) The awards will be presented at a gala black-tie dinner on Friday evening, August 1st, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, airing as a one hour special on PBS SoCal.

The complete list of nominees is below:

Best Primetime Television Program: Drama or Comedy

The Bridge (FX Networks/Shine America and FX Productions) Chicago P.D. (NBC/Wolf Films/NBCUniversal Television) The Fosters (ABC Family in association with Prodco, Inc.) Law & Order: Svu (NBC/Wolf Films/NBCUniversal Television) Switched at Birth (Prodco, Inc. in association with ABC Family) Best Primetime Program: Special or Movie-of-the-Week

Historias Detras Del Diamante: Yasiel Puig (Time Warner Cable Deportes) John Leguizamo's Ghetto Klown (HBO Entertainment in association with Silver Lining Entertainment, Insurgent Media and Rebel Films) The 2013 Nclr Alma Awards (Big Vida Entertainment) Best Actor/Television

Demian Bichir, The Bridge (FX Networks/Shine America and FX Productions) Raul Castillo, Looking (HBO Entertainment in association with Fair Harbor Productions) Ian Gomez, Cougar Town (TBS) Danny Pino, Law & Order: Svu (NBC/Wolf Films/NBCUniversal Television) Best Actress/Television

Edy Ganem, Devious Maids (Lifetime/ABC Studios) Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, The Fresh Beat Band (Nickelodeon) Ana Ortiz, Devious Maids (Lifetime/ABC Studios) Dania Ramirez, Devious Maids (Lifetime/ABC Studios) Judy Reyes, Devious Maids (Lifetime/ABC Studios) Roselyn Sanchez, Devious Maids (Lifetime/ABC Studios) Best Supporting Actor/Television

Frankie J. Alvarez , Looking (HBO Entertainment in association with Fair Harbor Productions) Nestor Carbonell, Bates Motel (A&E/ Universal Television) Al Madrigal, About a Boy (Universal Television) Joe Minoso, Chicago Fire (NBC/Wolf Films/NBCUniversal Television) Mel Rodriguez, Getting On (HBO Entertainment in association with Anima Sola Productions and BBC Worldwide) Jon Seda, Chicago P.D. (NBC/Wolf Films/NBCUniversal Television) Best Supporting Actress/Television

Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine Nine (Universal Television) Constance Marie, Switched at Birth (ABC Family/ ABC Studios) Hayley Orrantia, The Goldbergs (ABC) Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation (Universal Television) Monica Raymund, Chicago Fire (NBC/Wolf Films/NBCUniversal Television) Emily Rios, The Bridge (FX Networks/Shine America and FX Productions) Catalina Sandino Moreno, The Bridge (FX Networks/Shine America and FX Productions) Best Young Actress/Television

Paola Andino, Every Witch Way (Nickelodeon in association with Cinemat) Amber Montana, The Haunted Hathaways (Nickelodeon) Fatima Ptacek, Dora the Explorer (Nickelodeon) Bella Thorne, Shake It Up! (Disney Channel/ It's A Laugh Productions) Best Young Actor/Television

Mateo Arias, Kickin' It (Disney Xd/ Poor Soul/ It's A Laugh Productions) Benjamin "lil-p-Nut" Flores Jr., The Haunted Hathaways (Nickelodeon) Fabrizio Zacharee Guido, Welcome to the Family (NBC) Adam Irigoyen, Shake It Up! (Disney Channel/ It's A Laugh Productions) Xolo Mariduena, Parenthood (Universal Television) Best Children’s Programming

Dora the Explorer (Nickelodeon) Every Witch Way (Nickelodeon in association with Cinemat) Best Documentary/Film or Television

America ReFramed: Deputized (American Documentary, Inc.; World Channel) El Boxeo (El Boxeo Productions) Mendota (Espn ) Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle (City Projects, LLC; Latino Public Broadcasting) The State of Arizona (Camino Bluff Productions, Inc.) Valentine Road (HBO Documentary Films Presents a Bmp Film in association with Eddie Schmidt Productions) Best National Informational Program

LatiNation (Latv Networkds) Latino Americans (Weta; Bosch and Co., Inc; Latino Public Broadcasting; In association with Itvs) mun2 News Special: Hecho en America (mun2) Oprah's Next Chapter (Own/Harpo Studios) Pati's Mexican Table (Weta/Follow Productions) Best Local Informational Program

#LAPrepa (Time Warner Cable Deportes) CBS2/KCAL9 News Special (CBS) Kvcr Now (Kvcr TV (PBS)) Latino Americans of NY & NJ (Wliw) Vista L.A. (Kabc - TV/ABC7) Best On-Air Advertising

"Premio lo nuestro " Award Show On-Air Promotion (Univision Network) Combate Americas (mun2) Friends for Change (Riverstreet and 7ate9) PBS SoCaL Community Champions (PBS SoCal) Best Variety or Reality Show

Brain Games (National Geographic Channel) Cesar 911 (Nat Geo Wild) Combate Americas (mun2/Bunim-Murray Productions) I Love Jenni (mun2/Blank Paige) The Voice (Mark Burnett's One Three Inc. and Talpa Media USA in association with Warner Horizon Television) Best Picture

A Miracle in Spanish Harlem (DigiNext/Vista Clara Productions) After School (True Form Film and Plus Entertainment) Cesar Chavez (Canana Films) Coyote (Toe Pictures/Gravitas Ventures) Sleeping with the Fishes (Unikki Productions, LLC) Best Director

Carlos Melendez, After School (True Form Film and Plus Entertainment) Jeffrey Travis, Dragon Day (Burning Myth Films/Entertainment One) Christopher Landon, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (Paramount Pictures/ Blumhouse Productions) Nicole Gomez Fisher, Sleeping with the Fishes (Unikki Productions, LLC) Best Actor/Supporting Actor - Feature Film

Jorge Diaz, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (Paramount Pictures/Blumhouse Productions) Mauricio Mendoza, After School (True Form Film and Plus Entertainment) Adrian Moreira-Behrens, After School (True Form Film and Plus Entertainment) Diogo Morgado, Son of God (20th Century Fox Film) Michael Pena, Cesar Chavez (Canana Films) Carlos Pratts, Coyote (Toe Pictures/Gravitas Ventures) Best Actress/Supporting Actress - Feature Film

Rosario Dawson, Cesar Chavez (Canana Films) America Ferrera, Cesar Chavez (Canana Films) Priscilla Lopez, Sleeping with the Fishes (Unikki Productions, LLC) Ana Ortiz, Sleeping with the Fishes (Unikki Productions, LLC) Gina Rodriguez, Sleeping with the Fishes (Unikki Productions, LLC) Michelle Rodriguez, Fast & Furious 6 (Universal Pictures) Best Theatrical Short or Student Film

Chub (Yb Project) Dirty Laundry (The Other Sock Productions) El Toro (Juan Ramirez) Madrugada quebradiza: The Break of Day (USC School of Cinematic Arts) Mediation (Top Rebel Productions) You're Dead to Me (PBS) Best Web Series: Drama

Caribe Road (Helu Films) Encounters Web Series (Angel Flight Media in association with True Form Films) Fixing Paco (Mendez National Institute of Transplantation) Best Web Series: Comedy

Fixing Paco (Mendez National Institute of Transplantation) Larry Hernandez: El Presidente (mun2) Saved by the Pole (Blame it on Rios) Best Web Series: Reality or Informational

Fixing Paco (Mendez National Institute of Transplantation) Big Shots, Los Angeles Magazine Online Web Series (Giselle Fernandez Productions for Los Angeles Magazine) Newsbreaker en Español (Ora TV) Street Knowledge 2 College (Specific Pictures, Latino Public Broadcasting)...

Taormina, Sicily -- Friday turned out to be soccer themed at the Taormina Film Fest, with a late afternoon screening of Italy's World Cup soccer match against Costa Rica drawing the day's biggest crowds, ahead of the Teatro Antico Italian premiere of Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez. The fest handed out several awards ahead of the Cesar Chavez screening, including one to former Italian soccer star Antonio Cabrini. Among the other honorees: Italian producer Marina Cicogna, whose 1970 crime drama Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra ogni sospetto) won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language

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(Cbr) Rosario Dawson has joined the cast of Netflix's "Daredevil" series, as announced Friday on Marvel.com. Dawson's exact role on the series was not specified, but described as "a dedicated young woman whose quest to heal the wounds of Hell’s Kitchen brings Matt Murdock unexpectedly crashing into her life, while her own journey forever alters the course of his battle against the injustices of this broken city." "Rosario Dawson is one the most charismatic, talented and powerful actresses in Hollywood, so she was always at the top of our list for 'Marvel's Daredevil,'" Jeph Loeb, head of Marvel Television, said in a statement. "Her role in the series is absolutely critical to Matt Murdock's journey to become the hero we know as Daredevil." Since her film debut in 1995's controversial "Kids," Dawson has worked in a variety of genres in her acting career, with appearances ranging from...

Marvel and Netflix are proud to announce that acclaimed actress Rosario Dawson has joined "Marvel’s Daredevil," an all-new 13-episode series premiering on Netflix in 2015.

Known for her powerful work in “Cesar Chavez,” “Kids” and the upcoming “Sin City: A Dame To Kill For,” Rosario Dawson will play a dedicated young woman whose quest to heal the wounds of Hell’s Kitchen brings Matt Murdock unexpectedly crashing into her life, while her own journey forever alters the course of his battle against the injustices of this broken city.

Dawson joins Charlie Cox (previously announced as Matt Murdock) and Vincent D’Onofrio (previously announced as Wilson Fisk) in the critically-lauded cast of "Marvel’s Daredevil."

Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television said:

“Rosario Dawson is one the most charismatic, talented and powerful actresses in Hollywood, so she was always at the top of our list for 'Marvel’s Daredevil.'...

Marvel and Netflix are proud to announce that acclaimed actress Rosario Dawson has joined "Marvel’s Daredevil," an all-new 13-episode series premiering on Netflix in 2015. Known for her powerful work in “Cesar Chavez,” “Kids” and the upcoming “Sin City: A Dame To Kill For,” Rosario Dawson will play a dedicated young woman whose quest to heal the wounds of Hell’s Kitchen brings Matt Murdock unexpectedly crashing into her life, while her own journey forever alters the course of his battle against the injustices of this broken city. Dawson joins Charlie Cox (previously announced as Matt Murdock) and Vincent D’Onofrio (previously announced as Wilson Fisk) in the critically-lauded cast of "Marvel’s Daredevil." “Rosario Dawson is one the most charismatic, talented and powerful actresses in Hollywood, so she was always at the top of our list for 'Marvel’s Daredevil,'” said Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television.

Mexican stars Gael García and Diego Luna need your help. For almost a decade now, they have been known in Mexico not only for their acting but also as film producers and distributors. Together with Pablo Cruz, García and Luna founded in 2005 the film company Canana and the traveling documentary film festival Ambulante, which has brought to several Mexican states, during its latest editions, such docs as Searching for Sugar Man, Blackfish, and The Square. Canana itself has produced movies like Miss Bala and this year's Cesar Chavez, as well as been responsible of theatrical and home distribution in Mexico for such films as Only God Forgives and The Master. Now García and Luna are heading to Kickstarter, trying to expand their duties to...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

If the new season of Game of Thrones isn’t satisfying all your dragon needs, you’re in luck! The sequel to 2010′s How to Train Your Dragon picks up five years later, with Hiccup and Toothless exploring previously uncharted land full of brand-new dragons, plus a run-in with someone from Hiccup’s past.

Watch the latest trailer for How to Train Your Dragon 2 below:

Jay Baruchel (This Is the End), Gerard Butler (Gods of Egypt), Craig Ferguson (The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson), Jonah Hill (22 Jump Street), America Ferrera (Cesar Chavez), and more lend their voices to the upcoming animated feature,...

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is yet another piece of evidence that Marvel’s formula for its behemoth superhero film franchise is exactly what audiences want.

The sequel to the 2011 original starring Chris Evans as the Super Soldier grossed an estimated $96.2 million this opening weekend, setting a record for best April opening and earning an “A” CinemaScore from its audiences.

Its opening is all the more impressive when you consider that, while it falls beneath The Avengers and Iron Man 3 and 2, it outranks many of the stand-alone Marvel character debuts, including both Thor films and the original Captain America,...

Now in theaters the film Cesar Chavez, starring Michael Peña, and directed by Diego Luna , has sparked an alliance between The Equitable Food Initiative (Efi) and Participant Media on a campaign called “Follow Your Food,” aimed at keeping food safe, and families healthy starting in the fields where the food is grown.

With the mission of implementing safe food practices, providing education and training to farmworkers, and a fair wage, the initiative is crucial for the Efi, a group representing food retailers, growers, NGOs and farm worker organizations. Participant Media is supporting Efi’s efforts through the “Follow Your Food” action campaign aimed at building awareness and support for equitably-sourced food.

“Just as Cesar Chavez raised awareness of the conditions of farmworkers by organizing a boycott that millions of Americans supported, we believe that consumers today can advance Chavez’ groundbreaking achievements by supporting the concept of equitable food. We are proud to join forces with Efi on this natural extension of Chavez’ work,” said Chad Boettcher, Participant’s Evp Social Action & Advocacy.

“The Equitable Food Initiative is delighted to collaborate with Participant Media to spread the word about our ‘responsibly grown, farmworker assured’ certification,” says Peter O’Driscoll, Project Director of Efi. “Participant has repeatedly demonstrated a capacity to mobilize movie-goers to act on the issues that move them on the screen. We look forward to helping the audience of ‘Cesar Chavez’ follow their food and support the farmworkers, growers and food companies who are working together to make our produce better for all of us.”

The “Follow Your Food” campaign invites consumers to take the pledge at takepart.com/chavez to support the initiative and promote responsibly, ethically-harvested produce. The program launches with a video, “This is Your Food,” that elucidates the work of Efi and the benefits of equitable food certification. Sharable infographics and other collateral are featured to illustrate the issues related to responsibly grown, farmworker assured food, and the American Farmworker and Food Safety. In addition, consumers can learn more about equitable food by visiting Participant’s website www.TakePart.com/chavez.

In coming months, Efi will introduce a new food label trustmark that will certify that the produce is “responsibly grown and farmworker assured.”

The “Follow Your Food” campaign is part of a broader effort celebrating the release of Participant and Pantelion’s film Cesar Chavez, which includes an initiative urging the President to declare a Cesar Chavez National Day of Service Here

About The Film

Chronicling the birth of a modern American movement, Cesar Chavez tells the story of the famed civil rights leader and labor organizer torn between his duties as a husband and father and his commitment to securing a living wage for farm workers. Passionate but soft-spoken, Chavez embraced non-violence as he battled greed and prejudice in his struggle to bring dignity to people. Chavez inspired millions of Americans from all walks of life who never worked on a farm to fight for social justice. His triumphant journey is a remarkable testament to the power of one individual's ability to change the world.

Lionsgate, Pantelion,Televisa Cine and Canana present in association with Participant Media, Image Nation, Dream Management & Entertainment, Mr Mudd with the support of El Gobierno del Estado de Sonora Cesar Chavez. A Canana Production starring Michael Peña, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, Jacob Vargas, Yancey Arias, Wes Bentley, John Ortiz and John Malkovich. Executive producers are Emilio Azcárraga Jean, Haim Saban, Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Gael García Bernal, Julián Levin, Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith, John Malkovich. Producers are Diego Luna, Lawrence Meli and Keir Pearson. Produced by Pablo Cruz, the story is by Keir Pearson. Screenplay by Keir Pearson and Timothy J. Sexton. Directed by Diego Luna.

About Participant Media

Participant (ParticipantMedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant's more than 45 films include Good Night, And Good Luck, Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc., Waiting For ‘Superman’, The Help, Contagion and Lincoln. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network TakePart.com and Pivot, its new television network for Millennials, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.

About The Equitable Food Initiative

The Equitable Food Initiative (Efi) is a new project that brings together workers, growers and retailers in the effort to produce better fruits and vegetables. As produce farms comply with the Efi Standard—for improved working conditions, pesticide management, and food safety—the entire food system sees benefits, all the way from farm workers to consumers. Current members of Efi include Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce International, Bon Appétit Management Company, Calvert Investments, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Farmworker Justice, Farm Labor Organizing Committee, National Farm Worker Ministry, Oxfam America, Pesticide Action Network North America, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, United Farm Workers.

Continuing promotions for her new film "Cesar Chavez," Rosario Dawson graced the April 2014 issue of Ocean Drive magazine.

The "10 Years" beauty looked gorgeous in designer duds from Yigal Azrouel and M Missoni for the Nigel Parry photo shoot while she opened up about her career and shared details about the bio-pic.

Check out a few highlights from Miss Dawson's interview below. For more, be sure to visit Ocean Drive!

On her life as an actress:

"I’m proud I’m still doing it. I’m proud that I’m still feeling challenged, that I’m still working on things that scare me a bit or inspire me, and that I still get to do what I love. As a woman in her 30s, I know I’m supposed to feel like I’m about to have a nail put in my coffin or something. But I don’t. Actors I...

Darren Aronofsky's biblical "Noah" film opened to an impressive $44 million domestically, a good enough start to make back its $125 million budget. Internationally it earned another $51 million, bringing its worldwide debut to $95 million. The film has a 75% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes. The other wide release of the weekend was Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Sabotage" action film, which grossed a lousy $5.3 million, becoming the actor's worst opening in nearly three decades and the worst out of his movies that opened in more than 2,000 theaters. "Terminator" was released in 1,112 theaters and earned $4 million in 1984. "Red Sonja" opened in 1,091 theaters and earned $2.3 million in 1985. Recently, however, this has become a pattern for Schwarzenegger. His "Escape Plan" opened to $9.9 million and "The Last Stand" opened to $6.3 million. "Sabotage" is also getting poor reviews, currently sitting on a 22% fresh rating. On the limited release side, Michael Pena's "Cesar Chavez" biopic opened in 664 theaters, landing in 12th place.

Amir reporting. You’ve heard it all: Noah stormed the theatres; audiences flooded to see it; “Oh, Noah! The film isn’t very good;” Aronofski’s drowning in his worst reviews since The Fountain was showered with… oh fuck it! This will be the only pun-free box office report you will read this Sunday. (But yes, since you’re asking, Noah did sail comfortably ahead of the competition!)

With even stronger numbers coming in from abroad, Aronofsky’s latest is going to be a massive international hit despite the (mostly made up) controversies that preceded its release. On the other hand, God’s Not Dead barely dropped at all from last week’s astonishing sales. Perhaps Freestyle Releasing, the film’s distributor, has intentionally pit it against Noah to offer an ideological alternative? Am I reading too much into it? Possibly.

Box Office

01 Noah $44 *new*

02 Divergent $26.5 (cum. $95.2) Review / Jai Courtney

03 Muppets Most Wanted $11.3 (cum.

Hispanicize 2014 Reveals Official Film Festival Selections, Presented by: Aarp, MyLingo.com, and Regal Cinemas

Festival will feature filmmaking stars Edward James Olmos, Nicholas Gonzales, Diego Luna, and many more

Miami Beach, Fl – March 28, 2014 – (Hispanicize Wire) – With a strong star presence and a national Hispanic media and social media stage as the backdrop, Hispanicize 2014 organizers today unveiled the event’s film festival selections, celebrity screenings and professional development sessions. Hispanicize 2014 (http://www.hispanicizeevent.com/), the largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in social media, journalism, advertising, public relations, film, music and innovation, will take place at the Intercontinental in downtown Miami, April 1-4.

This year’s film selections are: “ Cesar Chavez”, “Water and Power”, “Sleeping with The Fishes”, “Avenues”, “The House That Jack Built”, and six short films: “Missing Grandma,” “J-1”, “Tender Love”, “Reason Y I’m Single”, “ The Price We Pay” and “Stereotypically Me”.

Hollywood celebrities confirmed to...